RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STOCK MARKET RETURNS AND EXCHANGERATES IN EMERGING STOCK MARKETS

Abstract-This paper aims to study the relationship between stock market returns and exchange rates in emerging stock markets including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines. The data is taken from January 2003 to December 2012 using weekly closing indices and separated in two periods; before (2003-2007) and second, after (2008-2012) the financial crisis of 2008. Johansen-Juselius (JJ). Granger causality tests show that unidirectional causality exists between the stock market returns and exchange rates for Thailand before the financial crisis, whilst, for Indonesia and Singapore, the unidirectional causality between the two variables is detected in the period after the financial crisis. Error Correction Model (ECM) indicates the existence of long run causality between the two variables for Philippines. This study also finds that most of the emerging stock markets are informationally inefficient

Electrical and Structural Properties of PVDF/Mgo (7%) Nanocomposites Thin Films at Various Annealing Temperatures

Abstract—Poly (vinylideneflouride)/nano-magnesium oxide (PVDF/MgO) film with 7% MgO loading percentage was annealed at various annealing temperatures ranging from 70°C to 150°C. The PVDF/MgO thin film was fabricated using spin coating technique with a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) configuration. The dielectric and electric properties of PVDF/MgO with respect to annealing temperatures was studied. The PVDF/MgO nanocomposites thin films annealed at temperature of 70°C (AN70-PVDF/MgO) showed an improvement in the properties; dielectric constant value of 26 at 1 kHz frequency compared to un-annealed sample (UN-PVDF/MgO), which is 21 at the same frequency. As the annealing temperatures were increased from 90°C (AN90) to 150°C (AN150-PVDF/MgO), the dielectric constant values were found to gradually decreased from 25 to 12 respectively, which was lower than the UN-PVDF/MgO thin films. AN70-PVDF/MgO also produced relatively low tangent loss (tan δ). The resistivity value of AN70-PVDF/MgO was also found to increase from 3.08x104 Ω.cm (UN- PVDF/MgO) to 4.55x104 Ω.cm. The increased in the dielectric constant, with low tangent loss and high resistivity value suggests that 70°C was the favorable annealing temperature for PVDF/MgO film suitable for the application in electronic devices such as low frequency capacitor

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010–19: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

BACKGROUND: Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. METHODS: The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk–outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. FINDINGS: Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4·45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4·01–4·94) deaths and 105 million (95·0–116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44·4% (41·3–48·4) of all cancer deaths and 42·0% (39·1–45·6) of all DALYs. There were 2·88 million (2·60–3·18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50·6% [47·8–54·1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1·58 million (1·36–1·84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36·3% [32·5–41·3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20·4% (12·6–28·4) and DALYs by 16·8% (8·8–25·0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34·7% [27·9–42·8] and 33·3% [25·8–42·0]). INTERPRETATION: The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

N-(p-Tolylsulfonyl)-L-asparagine

In the title compound, C11H14N2O5S, the amide O atom acts as a hydrogen-bond acceptor from a carboxylate O atom and a secondary amino N atom. In addition, one of the sulfonyl O atoms and the carbonyl O atom of the carboxyl group also form hydrogen bonds with the primary amido N atom. These intermolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions give rise to a layer structure, with the layers parallel to the ac plane

The apoptotic effect of 1’S-1’-Acetoxychavicol Acetate (ACA) enhanced by inhibition of non-canonical autophagy in human non-small cell lung cancer cells

Autophagy plays a role in deciding the fate of cells by inducing either survival or death. 1’S-1-acetoxychavicol acetate (ACA) is a phenylpropanoid isolated from rhizomes of Alpinia conchigera and has been reported previously on its apoptotic effects on various cancers. However, the effect of ACA on autophagy remains ambiguous. The aims of this study were to investigate the autophagy-inducing ability of ACA in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to determine its role as pro-survival or pro-death mechanism. Cell viability assay was conducted using MTT. The effect of autophagy was assessed by acridine orange staining, GFP-LC3 punctate formation assay, and protein level were analysed using western blot. Annexin V-FITC/PI staining was performed to detect percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis by using flow cytometry. ACA inhibits the cell viability and induced formation of cytoplasmic vacuoles in NSCLC cells. Acidic vesicular organelles and GFP-LC3 punctate formation were increased in response to ACA exposure in A549 and SK-LU-1 cell lines; implying occurrence of autophagy. In western blot, accumulation of LC3-II accompanied by degradation of p62 was observed, which further confirmed the full flux of autophagy induction by ACA. The reduction of Beclin-1 upon ACA treatment indicated the Beclin-1-independent autophagy pathway. An early autophagy inhibitor, 3-methyaldenine (3-MA), failed to suppress the autophagy triggered by ACA; validating the existence of Beclin-1-independent autophagy. Silencing of LC3-II using short interfering RNA (siRNA) abolished the autophagy effects, enhancing the cytotoxicity of ACA through apoptosis. This proposed ACA triggered a pro-survival autophagy in NSCLC cells. Consistently, co-treatment with lysosomal inhibitor, chloroquine (CQ), exerted a synergistic effect resulting in apoptosis. Our findings suggested ACA induced pro-survival autophagy through Beclin-1-independent pathway in NSCLC. Hence, targeting autophagy pathway using autophagy inhibitor such as CQ represented a novel promising approach to potentiate the cytotoxicity of ACA through apoptosis in NSCLC

One-pot synthesis, characterization and crystal structure determination of novel 1,4,5-Trisubstituted 1,2,3-Triazole with two conformational isomers: 1-Benzyl-5-((4- methoxyphenyl)ethynyl)-4-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole

The title compound 1-benzyl-5-((4-methoxyphenyl)ethynyl)-4-phenyl-1H-1,2,3- Triazole (C24H19N3O) was designed and synthesized using one-pot strategy and structural characterization was done by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, NMR, IR and MS. This compound was crystallized out from an ethanolic solution in triclinic system, space group P1 with a = 9.9038(9), b = 10.2928(9), c = 18.8715(19) Å, α = 103.541(6), β = 90.507(7), γ = 97.157(7)°, V = 1854.2(3) Å3, Z = 4, crystal size (mm) = 0.25 × 0.1 × 0.1 and Rint= 0.068. Its asymmetric unit contains two independent molecules. The crystal structure of the title compound is stabilized by intramolecular interactions of types C-H.........N and C-H.........O. Additionally, X-ray analysis reveals obvious C-H.........π, π-π stacking interactions between two adjacent aromatic ring planes