Deficits and inflation; Are monetary and financial institutions worthy to consider or not?

AbstractInstitutions are important to analyze the relationship between deficits and inflation. This study examines whether deficits are inflationary or not in the presence of dependent central bank and fragile financial markets. A panel dataset has been used for eleven Asian countries from 1981 to 2010. Estimation results from system GMM show that deficits are inflationary for selected sample, while inflationary pressure of budget deficits is particularly stronger when financial markets are not fully developed and central banks are not free to follow their goals and objectives

Palindromic Rheumatism: Biology and Treatment Options

Palindromic rheumatism is a syndrome characterized by recurrent, self-resolving, and inflammatory attacks in and around the joints that have long recognized association with rheumatoid arthritis. PR attacks mostly start in small joints i.e. knees, shoulder, and small joints of the hand. Whether PR should be considered as a single disease or prodrome of RA remains a thought-provoking question. Multiple genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of PR. Many studies have explained the relationship between a high concentration of Anti-CCP antibodies and PR. Potential benefits of Gold therapy have been recognized in literature but still, there are some questions about toxicity and efficacy that need further considerations. In addition to that anti-malarial drugs, Abatacept, Tofacitinib, and Rituximab showed the variable result in different patients and needed further study to validate their medical use. Moreover, yarrow, oat, colchicum, dill, fennel, wild rue, bitter melon, willow, garlic, and burdock seem suitable candidates to treat rheumatoid although their use in PR is still not reported. Additional experimental researches on these drugs lead to an increase in our knowledge to fight against PR in the future using novel therapeutic approaches. We have attempted to cover this topic in a chapter form to provide a comprehensive view and hope that it will serve as a reference for clinicians who treat patients with PR

Health Care Associated Infections (HCAIs) a New Threat for World; U-Turn from Recovery to Death

Health care associated infections also termed as nosocomial infections are notable cause of morbidity and mortality especially in resource limited countries like Pakistan. Newborns and aged people have more probability of being infected by Health care associated infections because of immunosuppressant. Central line associated blood stream infections (CLABSI) are considered as one of the promising negotiator associated with Health Care associated infections. Improper health care setting and unaware medical staff play a championship protagonist in prevalence of health care associated infections. Standard hygienic measures should be adopted to reduce risk of Health care associated infections. So, there is a pressing need to take on control policies by Government to handle this dilemma. This chapter gives new intuition to healthcare associated microbes, infections and provides comprehensive detailed on ironic precaution to scientific community

An efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst based on a nickel iron layered double hydroxide functionalized Co3O4 core shell structure in alkaline media

Developing highly active nonprecious metal and binder free bifunctional electrocatalysts for water splitting is a challenging task. In this study, we used a simple strategy to deposit a nickel iron layered double hydroxide (NiFeLDH) onto cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanowires. The cobalt oxide nanowires are covered with thin nanosheets of NiFeLDH forming a core shell structure. The Co3O4 nanowires contain the mixed oxidation states of Co2+ and Co3+, and the surface modification of Co3O4 nanowires has shown synergetic effects due to there being more oxygen defects, catalytic sites, and enhanced electronic conductivity. Further, the core shell structure of Co3O4 nanowires demonstrated a bifunctional activity for water splitting in 1 M KOH aqueous solution. From the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), a current density of 10 mA cm - 2 is achieved at a potential of - 0.303 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). Meanwhile for the case of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a current density of 40 mA cm - 2 is measured at a potential of 1.49 V vs. RHE. Also, this electrocatalyst has shown a considerable long- term stability of 15 h for both the HER and the OER. Importantly, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has shown that the NiFeLDH integration onto cobalt oxide exhibited around 3 fold decrease of charge transfer resistance for both the HER and the OER in comparison with pristine cobalt oxide films, which reveals an excellent electrocatalytic activity for both faradaic processes. All these results confirm that the proposed electrocatalyst can be integrated into an efficient water splitting system

Facile efficient earth abundant NiO/C composite electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c8ra10472g

Due to the increasing energy consumption, designing efficient electrocatalysts for electrochemical water splitting is highly demanded. In this study, we provide a facile approach for the design and fabrication of efficient and stable electrocatalysts through wet chemical methods. The carbon material, obtained by the dehydration of sucrose sugar, provides high surface area for the deposition of NiO nanostructures and the resulting NiO/C catalysts show higher activity towards the OER in alkaline media. During the OER, a composite of NiO with 200 mg C can produce current densities of 10 and 20 mA cm(-2) at a bias of 1.45 V and 1.47 V vs. RHE, respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy experiments showed the lowest charge transfer resistance and the highest double layer capacitance in the case of the NiO/C composite with 200 mg C. The presence of C for the deposition of NiO nanostructures increases the active centers and consequently a robust electrocatalytic activity is achieved. The obtained results in terms of the low overpotential and small Tafel slope of 55 mV dec(-1) for non-precious catalysts are clear indications for the significant advancement in the field of electrocatalyst design for water splitting. This composite material based on NiO/C is simple and scalable for widespread use in various applications, especially in supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries.Funding Agencies|Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) [SFRH/BPD/97453/2013]</p

Nickel-cobalt bimetallic sulfide NiCo2S4nanostructures for a robust hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic media

There are many challenges associated with the fabrication of efficient, inexpensive, durable and very stable nonprecious metal catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this study, we have designed a facile strategy by tailoring the concentration of precursors to successfully obtain nickel-cobalt bimetallic sulfide (NiCo2S4) using a simple hydrothermal method. The morphology of the newly prepared NiCo2S4comprised a mixture of microparticles and nanorods, which were few microns in dimension. The crystallinity of the composite sample was found to be excellent with a cubic phase. The sample that contained a higher amount of cobalt compared to nickel and produced single-phase NiCo2S4exhibited considerably improved HER performance. The variation in the salt precursor concentration during the synthesis of a material is a simple methodology to produce a scalable platinum-free catalyst for HER. The advantageous features of the multiple active sites of cobalt in the CN-21 sample as compared to that for pristine CoS and NiS laid the foundation for the provision of abundant active edges for HER. The composite sample produced a current density of 10 mA cm−2at an overpotential of 345 mV. Also, it exhibited a Tafel value of 60 mV dec−1, which predominantly ensured rapid charge transfer kinetics during HER. CN-21 was highly durable and stable for 30 hours. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that the charge transfer resistance was 21.88 ohms, which further validated the HER polarization curves and Tafel results. CN-21 exhibited a double layer capacitance of 4.69 μF cm−2and a significant electrochemically active surface area of 134.0 cm2, which again supported the robust efficiency for HER. The obtained results reveal that our developed NiCo2S4catalyst has a high density of active edges, and it is a non-noble metal catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction. The present findings provide an alternative strategy and an active nonprecious material for the development of energy-related applications

Facile doping of nickel into Co3O4 nanostructures to make them efficient for catalyzing the oxygen evolution reaction

Designing a facile and low-cost methodology to fabricate earth-abundant catalysts is very much needed for a wide range of applications. Herein, a simple and straightforward approach was developed to tune the electronic properties of cobalt oxide nanostructures by doping them with nickel and then using them to catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in an aqueous solution of 1.0 M KOH. The addition of a nickel impurity improved the conductivity of the cobalt oxide, and further increased its activity towards the OER. Analytical techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to investigate, respectively, the morphology, composition and crystalline structure of the materials used. The nickel-doped cobalt oxide material showed randomly oriented nanowires and a high density of nanoparticles, exhibited the cubic phase, and contained cobalt, nickel and oxygen as its main elements. The nickel-doped cobalt oxide also yielded a Tafel slope of 82 mV dec(-1) and required an overpotential of 300 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm(-2). As an OER catalyst, it was shown to be durable for 40 h. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis showed a low charge-transfer resistance of 177.5 ohms for the nickel-doped cobalt oxide, which provided a further example of its excellent OER performance. These results taken together indicated that nickel doping of cobalt oxide can be accomplished via a facile approach and that the product of this doping can be used for energy and environmental applications

Role of pollination in yield and physicochemical properties of tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum)

Very little is known about pollination and its effects on the yield and physicochemical properties of flowering plants in tropical countries. Wind and insect pollinators are among our natural resources because pollination is the most important ecosystem service performed by wind and insects, and is vital to the socio-economic status of human beings. In this experiment, different pollination methods for tomato plants were examined. Self-pollination was encouraged by covering the plants with a plastic sheet. Wind and insects were excluded from these plants, and thus only self-pollination was possible. The experiment occurred during the flowering stage. Wind-pollinated plants were covered with a muslin cloth, which excluded insects, and only wind could pass through the cloth. For insect pollination, plants remained uncovered, allowing free access to insects to pollinate the flowers. At fruit maturity, when fruits were completely red, fruits from each treatment were harvested on the same date and under the same conditions. Results illustrated the substantial importance of insects as pollinators of tomato crops. Open field had greater tomato yield and positive effects on physicochemical properties on fruit than under self and wind pollination. Keywords: Pollination methods, Tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum, Physicochemical properties, Yiel

An advanced and efficient Co3O4/C nanocomposite for the oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline media

The design of efficient nonprecious catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) or the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a necessary, but very challenging task to uplift the water-based economy. In this study, we developed a facile approach to produce porous carbon from the dehydration of sucrose and use it for the preparation of nanocomposites with cobalt oxide (Co3O4). The nanocomposites were studied by the powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy techniques, and they exhibited the cubic phase of cobalt oxide and porous structure of carbon. The nanocomposites showed significant OER activity in alkaline media, and the current densities of 10 and 20 mA cm(-2) could be obtained at 1.49 and 1.51 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), respectively. The impedance study confirms favorable OER activity on the surface of the prepared nanocomposites. The nanocomposite is cost-effective and can be capitalized in various energy storage technologies