Energy Consumption, Trade and GDP: A Case Study of South Asian Countries

Acute shortage of energy sources in developing countries in general and South Asian countries in particular has shown that energy has become a binding input for any production process. Nowadays operation of heavy machinery and electrical equipment, and transportation of raw material and final products from their place of origination to their destination require heavy consumption of energy in one form or the other. Therefore, energy consumption that was previously ignored in the production function of a firm and an economy is now considered a vital input in production process. It affects GDP directly as by increasing energy consumption; more output can be produced with given stock of capital and labor force in a country. Also uninterrupted availability of energy at reasonable cost improves competiveness of home products in international markets and thus increases exports of home country a great deal. Resulting increase in net exports further adds to the GDP through multiplier effec

Management and Follow-up of Patients with a Bronchial Neuroendocrine Tumor in the Last Twenty Years in Ireland: Expected Inconsistencies and Unexpected Discoveries

Bronchial neuroendocrine tumors (NET) are classified into well-differentiated typical carcinoids (TC), atypical carcinoids (AC), large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (LCNEC), and small cell lung carcinomas (SCLC). We retrospectively reviewed and analyzed the diagnostic and therapeutic aspects, follow-up data, and outcomes of all patients diagnosed with a bronchial NET from 1995 to 2015 at our institution. Patients with LCNEC or SCLC were excluded due to the biological and clinical differences from the other bronchial NET. The clinical, laboratory, imaging, treatment, and follow-up data were collected and analyzed keeping in mind the recently published international recommendations. Forty-six patients were included in the study. Of these, 37 had a TC and 5 an AC. In 4 patients, the histological characterization was inadequate. Forty-four patients underwent surgery. Four patients developed metastatic disease. Interestingly, 14 patients had one or more other tumors diagnosed at some stage and 3 of them had three different tumors. A total of 7 patients died. The analysis of the laboratory and pathology assessment identified some inconsistencies when compared to the international recommendations. Although the treatment of bronchial NET at our institution was consistent with the successively published recommendations, it appears that the diagnostic process and the follow-up surveillance were not. We think that a systematic multidisciplinary approach might improve bronchial NET patient care. A relatively high rate of occurrence of a second, or also a third, non-NET tumor was observed, though the statistical value of such observation could not be exhaustively elucidated in this numerically limited patient population. In our opinion, the observed high rate of second malignancies in this patient cohort highlights the necessity of optimizing the follow-up of the bronchial NET patients, also considering the very good survival rate achieved with regard to the bronchial NET

Energy Consumption, Trade and GDP: A Case Study of South Asian Countries

Using panel co-integration approach over the period 1980-2009 for South Asian economies, this study investigates the dynamic linkages between energy consumption, trade and GDP. The results show that, in the short run, feedback relationship holds between energy consumption and GDP and between energy consumption and exports. In the long run, the feedback relation holds between energy and GDP while unidirectional causality holds from export to energy. Thus, feedback hypothesis between energy and GDP holds in the short as well as in the long run. The feedback relationship between trade and energy consumption suggests that any shortage of energy supply will lessen the trade and this reductions in trade will lessen the benefits of trade in the region since results have also shown that reduction in export can impede GDP growth

Continuous-time quantum walks for MAX-CUT are hot

By exploiting the link between time-independent Hamiltonians and thermalisation, heuristic predictions on the performance of continuous-time quantum walks for MAX-CUT are made. The resulting predictions depend on the number of triangles in the underlying MAX-CUT graph. We extend these results to the time-dependent setting with multi-stage quantum walks and Floquet systems. The approach followed here provides a novel way of understanding the role of unitary dynamics in tackling combinatorial optimisation problems with continuous-time quantum algorithms.Comment: 25 pages, 29 figure

Sustainable Irrigation Management for Higher Yield

Sustainable irrigation is sensible application of watering to plants in agriculture, landscapes that aids in meeting current survival and welfare needs. Sustainable irrigation management can help with climate change adaptation, labor, energy savings, and the production of higher-value and yield of crops to achieve zero hunger in water-scarce world. To ensure equal access to water and environmental sustainability, investments in expanded and enhanced irrigation must be matched by improvements in water governance. Sustainable irrigation must be able to cope with water scarcity, and be resilient to other resource scarcities throughout time in context of energy and finance. The themes and SDGs related to clean water, water resources sustainability, sustainable water usage, agricultural and rural development are all intertwined in the concept of “sustainable irrigation for higher yield.” Sustainable irrigation management refers to the capability of using water in optimum quantity and quality on a local, regional, national, and global scale to meet the needs of humans and agro-ecosystems at present and in the future to sustain life, protect humans and biodiversity from natural and human-caused disasters which threaten life to exist. Resultantly higher yields will ensure food security

Determining online consumer's luxury purchase intention: The influence of antecedent factors and the moderating role of brand awareness, perceived risk, and web atmospherics.

The Internet has become the fastest-growing way to sell luxury products. Purchase intention for luxury products in online stores has taken attention in the last few years since the sector has proliferated. The primary objective of this study is to examine the impact of various factors such as Product knowledge, Price consciousness, Perceived enjoyment, Perceived ease of usage, and usefulness on online luxury purchase intention in developing countries like Pakistan. Data was collected from 267 luxury fashion customers in Pakistan through an online questionnaire, and the results were analyzed using Smart PLS-SEM. In addition, the paper investigates the moderating effect of Perceived risk, Brand awareness and Web Atmospheric on the link between the Attitude and Online Luxury Purchase Intentions of the consumer to buy luxury fashion products online. The framework of this study is validated by structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings of this study show that perceived enjoyment, price consciousness, and Perceived ease of use significantly and positively impact online luxury purchase intention. Additionally, the findings indicated that brand awareness, perceived risk, and web atmospherics each intervened as moderators in the relationship between attitudes toward purchasing luxury products and online luxury purchase intentions. Product knowledge is not directly related to online purchase intention, but Attitude plays a mediating role in the relationship between product knowledge and online luxury buying purpose. In the context of luxury product intention, this study is one of the first to investigate the moderating effect that brand awareness, perceived risk, and web atmospherics play. It will help luxury brands develop the right tactics for selling luxury goods online in developing countries like Pakistan

The Impact of Bank Specific and Macro-Economic Factors on Non-Performing Loans in the Banking Sector: Evidence from an Emerging Economy

The current study examines macro-economic and bank specific determinants of non-performing loans (NPLs) for commercial banks from 2008–2018. The Pakistani banking sector has observed a significant increase in NPLs. In addition, the current study is undertaken to fill this gap in the literature as most of the prior studies focus on the developed markets. In the current study, we prefer the system GMM estimator. Its reliability depends on the validity of the instruments. To testing the second-order serial correlation, we apply the J test for testing the validity of the instruments and the Arellano–Bond AR (2) test. Using dynamic-GMM estimations, we find that credit growth, net interest margin, loan loss provision, and bank diversification significantly increase NPLs, while operating efficiency, bank size, and ROA lower NPLs. In addition, higher interest rates, exchange rates, and political risk significantly increase NPLs, while GDP growth decreases NPLs. This paper provides a timely insight to management and policy makers about the determinants of NPLs. The findings help management to take corrective actions and policy makers may take into consideration the significance of macro-economic conditions while formulating policy regarding NPLs. Likewise, the study provides insight to potential investors to consider the findings while selecting better investment opportunity. The current study is the first of its kind focusing on the link among bank specific, macroeconomic variables, and non-performing loans within the specific context of an emerging economy, Pakistan

Management and Follow-up of Patients with a Bronchial Neuroendocrine Tumor in the Last Twenty Years in Ireland: Expected Inconsistencies and Unexpected Discoveries

Bronchial neuroendocrine tumors (NET) are classified into well-differentiated typical carcinoids (TC), atypical carcinoids (AC), large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (LCNEC), and small cell lung carcinomas (SCLC). We retrospectively reviewed and analyzed the diagnostic and therapeutic aspects, follow-up data, and outcomes of all patients diagnosed with a bronchial NET from 1995 to 2015 at our institution. Patients with LCNEC or SCLC were excluded due to the biological and clinical differences from the other bronchial NET. The clinical, laboratory, imaging, treatment, and follow-up data were collected and analyzed keeping in mind the recently published international recommendations. Forty-six patients were included in the study. Of these, 37 had a TC and 5 an AC. In 4 patients, the histological characterization was inadequate. Forty-four patients underwent surgery. Four patients developed metastatic disease. Interestingly, 14 patients had one or more other tumors diagnosed at some stage and 3 of them had three different tumors. A total of 7 patients died. The analysis of the laboratory and pathology assessment identified some inconsistencies when compared to the international recommendations. Although the treatment of bronchial NET at our institution was consistent with the successively published recommendations, it appears that the diagnostic process and the follow-up surveillance were not. We think that a systematic multidisciplinary approach might improve bronchial NET patient care. A relatively high rate of occurrence of a second, or also a third, non-NET tumor was observed, though the statistical value of such observation could not be exhaustively elucidated in this numerically limited patient population. In our opinion, the observed high rate of second malignancies in this patient cohort highlights the necessity of optimizing the follow-up of the bronchial NET patients, also considering the very good survival rate achieved with regard to the bronchial NET

Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio (HTMT).

The Internet has become the fastest-growing way to sell luxury products. Purchase intention for luxury products in online stores has taken attention in the last few years since the sector has proliferated. The primary objective of this study is to examine the impact of various factors such as Product knowledge, Price consciousness, Perceived enjoyment, Perceived ease of usage, and usefulness on online luxury purchase intention in developing countries like Pakistan. Data was collected from 267 luxury fashion customers in Pakistan through an online questionnaire, and the results were analyzed using Smart PLS-SEM. In addition, the paper investigates the moderating effect of Perceived risk, Brand awareness and Web Atmospheric on the link between the Attitude and Online Luxury Purchase Intentions of the consumer to buy luxury fashion products online. The framework of this study is validated by structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings of this study show that perceived enjoyment, price consciousness, and Perceived ease of use significantly and positively impact online luxury purchase intention. Additionally, the findings indicated that brand awareness, perceived risk, and web atmospherics each intervened as moderators in the relationship between attitudes toward purchasing luxury products and online luxury purchase intentions. Product knowledge is not directly related to online purchase intention, but Attitude plays a mediating role in the relationship between product knowledge and online luxury buying purpose. In the context of luxury product intention, this study is one of the first to investigate the moderating effect that brand awareness, perceived risk, and web atmospherics play. It will help luxury brands develop the right tactics for selling luxury goods online in developing countries like Pakistan.</div

Demographic distribution of the respondents.

The Internet has become the fastest-growing way to sell luxury products. Purchase intention for luxury products in online stores has taken attention in the last few years since the sector has proliferated. The primary objective of this study is to examine the impact of various factors such as Product knowledge, Price consciousness, Perceived enjoyment, Perceived ease of usage, and usefulness on online luxury purchase intention in developing countries like Pakistan. Data was collected from 267 luxury fashion customers in Pakistan through an online questionnaire, and the results were analyzed using Smart PLS-SEM. In addition, the paper investigates the moderating effect of Perceived risk, Brand awareness and Web Atmospheric on the link between the Attitude and Online Luxury Purchase Intentions of the consumer to buy luxury fashion products online. The framework of this study is validated by structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings of this study show that perceived enjoyment, price consciousness, and Perceived ease of use significantly and positively impact online luxury purchase intention. Additionally, the findings indicated that brand awareness, perceived risk, and web atmospherics each intervened as moderators in the relationship between attitudes toward purchasing luxury products and online luxury purchase intentions. Product knowledge is not directly related to online purchase intention, but Attitude plays a mediating role in the relationship between product knowledge and online luxury buying purpose. In the context of luxury product intention, this study is one of the first to investigate the moderating effect that brand awareness, perceived risk, and web atmospherics play. It will help luxury brands develop the right tactics for selling luxury goods online in developing countries like Pakistan.</div