Relationship of vascular variations with liver remnant volume in living liver transplant donors

Background: In this study, we investigated the relationship between the portal vein and hepatic artery variations and the remaining liver volume in living donors in liver transplantation.Materials and methods: In the study, triphasic abdominal computed tomography images of 180 live liver donor candidates were analysed retrospectively. Portal veins were divided into four groups according to the Nakamura classification and seven groups according to the Michels classification. The relationship between vascular variations and remnant liver volume was compared statistically.Results: According to the Nakamura classification, there were 143 (79.4%) type A, 23 (12.7%) type B, 7 (3.9%) type C and 7 (3.9%) type D cases. Using the Michels classification, 129 (71%) type 1, 12 (6.7%) type 2, 24 (13%) type 3, 2 (2.2%) type 4, 10 (5.6%) type 5, 1 (0.6%) type 6, and 2 (1.1%) type 7 cases were detected. There was no significant difference in the percentage of the remaining volume of the left liver lobe between the groups (p = 0.055, p = 0.207, respectively).Conclusions: Variations in the hepatic artery and portal vein do not affect the remaining liver volume in liver transplantation donors

Drivers of Environmental Degradation in Turkey: Designing an SDG Framework Through Advanced Quantile Approaches

Turkey is a laggard in terms of the achievement of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and one of the primary issues it faces is environmental deterioration. Therefore, a policy-level reorientation may be needed to address this relevant issue. From this standpoint, this research assesses the impact of renewable energy (RE) use and financial development on the emissions of CO2 as well as the role of urbanization and agriculture, utilizing a dataset stretching between 1985 and 2019. By applying the innovative quantile-on-quantile regression (QQR) and non-parametric Granger causality in quantiles techniques, the study assesses the ways in which the quantiles of the independent variables affect the quantiles of CO2 emissions. The outcomes from the QQR show that in all quantiles, financial development, economic growth, urbanization, and agriculture impact CO2 emissions positively, while in the middle quantiles, the influence of renewable energy use on CO2 is negative. Furthermore, the outcomes from the non-parametric Granger causality test disclosed that in mean and variance, all the variables could predict CO2 emissions at different quantiles. A complete SDG-oriented policy framework has been proposed based on the research's findings so that Turkey may move toward reaching its SDG 13 and SDG 7 targets. © 2022 The Author(s).The author (Hossam M. Zawbaa) thanks the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and Enterprise Ireland for their support under the Marie Sk-odowska-Curie grant agreement No. 847402. The authors thank the support of the National Research and Development Agency of Chile (ANID), ANID/Fondap/15110019

Does information and communication technology impede environmental degradation? fresh insights from non-parametric approaches

Although ICT has played a critical role in the socio-economic growth of human cultures, it has also brought with it significant environmental risks. Nevertheless, scholars remain divided on this topic; some believe that ICT has had a positive influence on the quality of the environment, while others believe that ICT has created major environmental issues. Hence, this research is another effort to assess the effects of ICT on CO2 emissions in the top 10 ICT nations (Denmark, Japan, Luxemburg, South Korea, Netherlands, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) using a dataset from the period between 1986Q1 and 2019Q4. All prior studies have established symmetric association between ICT and CO2. As a result, we applied the novel non-parametric approaches (quantile-on-quantile regression and Granger causality in quantile) to assess this association. The findings from the QQR uncovered that in the majority of the quantiles, for Denmark, Japan, Luxemburg, Netherland, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom and Switzerland, the effect of ICT on CO2 emissions is negative, while in the majority of the quantiles, the effect of ICT on CO2 emissions is positive for the Netherlands, South Korea, and Iceland. Furthermore, we applied the novel Granger causality in the quantiles approach and the outcomes provided evidence of bidirectional causality between CO2 emissions and ICT in all the selected nations. The study proposes that sustainable ICT should be used to improve carbon reduction and energy savings potential by optimizing other industries, including managing and monitoring energy usage. © 2022 The Author(s)847402Hossam M. Zawbaa was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and Enterprise Ireland for their support under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie (grant agreement No. 847402 )

Towards Sustainable Environment in G7 Nations: The Role of Renewable Energy Consumption, Eco-innovation and Trade Openness

Some of the globe’s most economically advanced nations make up the G7 (Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, United States and United Kingdom). Nevertheless, in tandem with such strong economic growth, the environmental conditions in these nations have deteriorated, raising serious issues among stakeholders. Therefore, we examine the effect of eco-innovation and trade openness on CO2 emissions in G7 nations. We also take into account the role of renewable energy, economic growth and nonrenewable energy use using a dataset covering the period from 1990–2019. We employed recent econometric techniques such as slope heterogeneity (SH) and cross-sectional dependence (CSD), Westerlund cointegration, fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS), panel quantile regression and panel causality tests to assess these associations. The outcomes of the CSD and SH tests disclosed that using a first-generation unit root test will produce biase outcomes. Furthermore, the outcomes of the Westerlund cointegration disclosed support long-run association between CO2 and its drivers. In addition, the results of the long-run estimators (FMOLS and DOLS) unveiled that nonrenewable energy and trade openness contribute to the damage to the environment while economic expansion, renewable energy and eco-innovation enhance the quality of the environment. Furthermore, the outcomes of GDP, REC and ECO curb CO2 while NREC energy and TO surge CO2. Finally, the outcomes of the panel causality test unveiled that CO2 emissions can be predicted by all the exogenous variables. Copyright © 2022 Olanrewaju, Irfan, Altuntaş, Agyekum, Kamel and El-Naggar

The Dynamic Impact of Biomass and Natural Resources on Ecological Footprint in BRICS Economies: A Quantile Regression Evidence

Many emerging economies, including the BRICS economies, are having difficulty meeting the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) objectives. Consequently, this research discusses the creation of an SDG framework for the BRICS economies, which can be utilized as a model for other blocs. To achieve this purpose, this research probes into the effect of biomass energy usage on ecological footprint in the BRICS economies between 1992 and 2018, considering the roles of gross capital formation, natural resources, and globalization. The novel Methods of Moments-Quantile-Regression (MMQR) approach with fixed effects is used, the outcomes of which reveal that in all quantiles (10th to 90th), globalization and biomass energy use mitigate environmental degradation, whereas economic growth, natural resources, and gross capital formation contribute to environmental degradation. The present research applied a series of techniques such as panel FMOLS, and DOLS, FE-OLS, the outcomes of which disclosed that globalization and biomass energy utilization help mitigate environmental degradation, while economic growth, natural resources, and gross capital formation improve environmental degradation. On the basis of the study's findings, we suggest a shift in energy policies away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy alternatives by taking measures regarding the innovation of biomass to improve conversion efficiency. © 2022 The Author(s).The author (Hossam M. Zawbaa) thanks the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and Enterprise Ireland for their support under the Marie Sk-odowska-Curie grant agreement No. 847402. The authors thank the support of the National Research and Development Agency of Chile (ANID), ANID/Fondap/15110019

Linking Financial Development and Environment in Developed Nation Using Frequency Domain Causality Techniques: The Role of Globalization and Renewable Energy Consumption

The topic of whether globalization, energy consumption and financial development can substantially reduce emissions during the globalization era remains unanswered. In this context, this research highlights empirical indications supporting this theoretical discord; assessing the effect of globalization, energy consumption and financial development on the CO2 emissions in Japan (utilizing a dataset that spans between 1990 and 2019). The study employed the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) technique and frequency domain causality to probe these relationships. Unlike other conventional causality tests, the frequency domain causality test can capture causality at different frequencies. The findings from the ARDL analysis disclosed that globalization and renewable energy contribute to the mitigation of CO2 emissions while fossil fuel, economic growth and financial development caused an upsurge in CO2 in Japan. Furthermore, the frequency domain demonstrated that all the exogenous variables can forecast CO2 mostly in the long-term which implies that any policy initiated based on the exogenous variables will impact emissions of CO2. Based on the results obtained, Japan has to improve its financial systems and increase its use of renewable energy. Furthermore, Japan needs to restructure its policy regarding globalization owing to the fact that it contributes to the degradation of the environment. Since globalization is a major driver of economic growth, the government should concentrate on luring and licensing investors that use environmentally beneficial (net-zero) technology. Copyright © 2022 Mosleh, Al-Geitany, Lawrence Emeagwali, Altuntaş, Agyekum, Kamel, El-Naggar and Agbozo

A Roadmap toward Achieving Sustainable Environment: Evaluating the Impact of Technological Innovation and Globalization on Load Capacity Factor

Technological innovations have been a matter of contention, and their environmental consequences remain unresolved. Moreover, studies have extensively evaluated environmental challenges using metrics such as nitrogen oxide emissions, sulfur dioxide, carbon emissions, and ecological footprint. The environment has the supply and demand aspect, which is not a component of any of these indicators. By measuring biocapacity and ecological footprint, the load capacity factor follows a certain ecological threshold, allowing for a thorough study on environmental deterioration. With the reduction in load capacity factor, the environmental deterioration increases. In the context of the environment, the interaction between technological innovation and load capacity covers the demand and supply side of the environment. In light of this, employing the dataset ranging from 1980 to 2017 for the case of South Africa, the bound cointegration test in conjunction with the critical value of Kripfganz and Schneider showed cointegration in the model. The study also employed the ARDL, whose outcome revealed that nonrenewable energy usage and economic growth contribute to environmental deterioration, whereas technological innovation and globalization improve the quality of the environment. This study validated the hypothesis of the environmental Kuznets curve for South Africa, as the short-term coefficient value was lower than the long-term elasticity. Furthermore, using the frequency-domain causality test revealed that globalization and economic growth predict load capacity in the long term, and nonrenewable energy predicts load capacity factors in the long and medium term. In addition, technological innovation predicts load capacity factors in the short and long term. Based on the findings, we propose that policymakers should focus their efforts on increasing funding for the research and development of green technologies. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland