Enterprise creation & anti-commons in developing economies: evidence from World Bank doing business data

Abstract: This paper looks at the tragedy of anti-commons and its implications on enterprise creation in developing economies. The most important features of the anti-commons are captured under a simplified theoretical economic model. The empirical part uses the data from “Doing Business” of the World Bank, to test for the high costs implied by scattered and fragmented decisions related to enterprise creation in developing economies. The attained results show the prevalence of anti-commons in relation to the development of new enterprises in developing economies relative to more developed countries. This points out how anti-commons can limit development and market economies through reducing business and enterprise creation and expansion. Awareness and development of appropriate remedies to anti-commons are among the means to ensure higher economic and social achievements.Anti-commons, Enterprise Creation, Licensing and Costs

Transforming Uncertainties into Risks and Poverty Alleviation: Lessons Learnt from the Successful Rescuing of Miners in Chile

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to suggest how the Chilean model used to rescue the 33 miners trapped underground, can be used to accelerate the development of new means for poverty alleviation mainly in developing economies. For that, the Chilean model is described and analyzed within the framework of uncertainty and risk with emphasis on the success of all operations, under time constraints. The attained results underline that this “point in time” process can be used to extract poor individuals and households and sustain their inclusion in normal economic and social activities. But, this is conditioned on the development of further participative research-actions, innovations and monitoring processes applied to multiple small scales, well localized and targeted poverty alleviation projectsUncertainty, risks, miners, Chili, poverty alleviation

Vitamin D Signaling in Inflammation and Cancer: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications

Vitamin D and its active metabolites are important nutrients for human skeletal health. UV irradiation of skin converts 7-dehydrocholesterol into vitamin D3, which metabolized in the liver and kidneys into its active form, 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. Apart from its classical role in calcium and phosphate regulation, scientists have shown that the vitamin D receptor is expressed in almost all tissues of the body, hence it has numerous biological effects. These includes fetal and adult homeostatic functions in development and differentiation of metabolic, epidermal, endocrine, neurological and immunological systems of the body. Moreover, the expression of vitamin D receptor in the majority of immune cells and the ability of these cells to actively metabolize 25(OH)D3 into its active form 1,25(OH)2D3 reinforces the important role of vitamin D signaling in maintaining a healthy immune system. In addition, several studies have showed that vitamin D has important regulatory roles of mechanisms controlling proliferation, differentiation and growth. The administration of vitamin D analogues or the active metabolite of vitamin D activates apoptotic pathways, has antiproliferative effects and inhibits angiogenesis. This review aims to provide an up-to-date overview on the effects of vitamin D and its receptor (VDR) in regulating inflammation, different cell death modalities and cancer. It also aims to investigate the possible therapeutic benefits of vitamin D and its analogues as anticancer agent

Transitory hybrid entrepreneurship: A path to full-time entrepreneurship

The economic success of a country is often correlated to its capacity to produce national champions capable of pulling up the entire economic fabric. For Bruyat (1993) and Fayolle (2004), "business creation has become the object of a social demand that comes from different actors: citizens, governments, different financial organizations, and business creators. Entrepreneurship is therefore a strategic lever for the economic development of a country. Bohas and al. (2018) explain that a new wave of entrepreneurs is emerging in Western countries, made up of full-time entrepreneurs, hybrid entrepreneurs and freelancers. These individuals, also called "hybrid entrepreneurs," have entrepreneurial activity, which is considered by (Viljamaa and Varamäki, 2017) to be at an early stage of the entrepreneurial process. Hybrid entrepreneurs may decide to leave their jobs to focus primarily on their entrepreneurial ventures "transitional hybrid entrepreneurs" or keep the status quo "persistent hybrid entrepreneurs". In this sense, Viljamaa and Varamäki (2015) and Thorgren and al. (2016) are the first to outline the contours of persistent hybrid entrepreneurship and add that transitional hybrid entrepreneurship as a pathway to full-time entrepreneurship has not been sufficiently studied in the literature. In our research, we are particularly interested in hybrid entrepreneurship. This form of entrepreneurship consists of two stages. The first is the transition from wage employment to hybrid entrepreneurship and the second is the choice between persistent and transitory hybrid entrepreneurship. Folta and al. (2010) state that it is generally considered a way to obtain additional income. In addition, it is a way to obtain non-monetary benefits such as autonomy and personal fulfillment, which may not be available in the main wage job. In addition, it provides a chance for individuals to experience self-employment and assess whether they can adapt to the full-time self-employment environment (Folta and al., 2010). In this way, individuals can reduce the costs of change and transition without having to leave salaried employment while starting small (Folta and al., 2010; Raffiee and Feng, 2014; Thorgren and al., 2014).  Therefore, we will take a close look at the second phase of hybrid entrepreneurship, specifically transitory hybrid entrepreneurship. We will try to demonstrate the main differences between persistent and transitory hybrid entrepreneurs; answering the following question: what are the explanatory factors of transitory hybrid entrepreneurship? To do this, we will rely on the theory of planned behavior developed by Ajzen (1991). We expect that entrepreneurial attitude and perceived behavioral control contribute more than subjective norms to the explanation of transitory hybrid entrepreneurship.   Keywords: hybrid entrepreneurship, Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), transitory hybrid entrepreneurship. JEL Classification: L26  Paper type: Theoretical Research The economic success of a country is often correlated to its capacity to produce national champions capable of pulling up the entire economic fabric. For Bruyat (1993) and Fayolle (2004), "business creation has become the object of a social demand that comes from different actors: citizens, governments, different financial organizations, and business creators. Entrepreneurship is therefore a strategic lever for the economic development of a country. Bohas and al. (2018) explain that a new wave of entrepreneurs is emerging in Western countries, made up of full-time entrepreneurs, hybrid entrepreneurs and freelancers. These individuals, also called "hybrid entrepreneurs," have entrepreneurial activity, which is considered by (Viljamaa and Varamäki, 2017) to be at an early stage of the entrepreneurial process. Hybrid entrepreneurs may decide to leave their jobs to focus primarily on their entrepreneurial ventures "transitional hybrid entrepreneurs" or keep the status quo "persistent hybrid entrepreneurs". In this sense, Viljamaa and Varamäki (2015) and Thorgren and al. (2016) are the first to outline the contours of persistent hybrid entrepreneurship and add that transitional hybrid entrepreneurship as a pathway to full-time entrepreneurship has not been sufficiently studied in the literature. In our research, we are particularly interested in hybrid entrepreneurship. This form of entrepreneurship consists of two stages. The first is the transition from wage employment to hybrid entrepreneurship and the second is the choice between persistent and transitory hybrid entrepreneurship. Folta and al. (2010) state that it is generally considered a way to obtain additional income. In addition, it is a way to obtain non-monetary benefits such as autonomy and personal fulfillment, which may not be available in the main wage job. In addition, it provides a chance for individuals to experience self-employment and assess whether they can adapt to the full-time self-employment environment (Folta and al., 2010). In this way, individuals can reduce the costs of change and transition without having to leave salaried employment while starting small (Folta and al., 2010; Raffiee and Feng, 2014; Thorgren and al., 2014).  Therefore, we will take a close look at the second phase of hybrid entrepreneurship, specifically transitory hybrid entrepreneurship. We will try to demonstrate the main differences between persistent and transitory hybrid entrepreneurs; answering the following question: what are the explanatory factors of transitory hybrid entrepreneurship? To do this, we will rely on the theory of planned behavior developed by Ajzen (1991). We expect that entrepreneurial attitude and perceived behavioral control contribute more than subjective norms to the explanation of transitory hybrid entrepreneurship.   Keywords: hybrid entrepreneurship, Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), transitory hybrid entrepreneurship. JEL Classification: L26  Paper type: Theoretical Research&nbsp

Exploration of Sustainable Urban Qualities of Al Sadd Area in Doha

This research focuses on the contributions made to social sustainability, firstly by the functionality of urban spaces in Qatar, as defined by their physical form, and secondly by the socio-cultural attributes of those areas. The urban area addressed in this research is Al Sadd area, located in Doha, Qatar. Data is collected from both primary and secondary sources; the research methodologies were questionnaires, which targeted fifty users of the Al Sadd area, and initial ‘walk through observations’ of several areas of the Al Sadd neighborhood. The objective of this research is to explore urban qualities within the region, the meanings, who construct them, what are the parameters which are guiding those areas and what makes them sustainable. This exploration would allow understanding the context in which those urban areas are constructed and what makes them sustainable in the long term. The main findings related to the social sustainability of Al Sadd were: (1) population characteristics of the area and their needs are not properly addressed in the neighborhood design, where most of them are immigrant workers, (2) the architecture of the area lacks a distinguishing character, that sets it apart from other neighborhoods, and lastly (3) the urban design and lack of well defined open spaces, does not help in fostering social interaction between different groups

Novel Quinuclidinone Derivatives Induced Apoptosis in Human Breast Cancer via Targeting P53

Small molecules that can target human cancers have been highly sought to increase the anticancer efficacy, the present work describes the design and synthesis of novel series of five quinuclidinone derivatives (2a-2e). Their anticancer activities were investigated against breast cancer cells MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells harboring mutant p53 and normal breast counterpart MCF-12a. Derivative 2e reduced proliferation of MCF-7 and MCD-12a while it has no effect on MDA-MB-231. Derivative 2e induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells which is further confirmed by TUNEL assay and it reduced the percentage of cell in G2/M phase as confirmed by increased expression of cyclin B and reduced expression of cyclinD1. Derivative 2e reduced expression levels of Mdm2, Akt and ERK1/2 by and increased expression level of p53. Moreover, the apoptosis induction by 2e was also inhibited by PFT-α as evidenced by non-significant induction of apoptosis after treatment of MCF-7 cells with both derivative 2e and PFT-α. In addition, docking study reveals that derivative 2e has a binding pattern close to the pattern observed in the structure of the lead fragment 5,6-dimethoxy-2-methylbenzothiazole bound to T-p53C-Y220C. The above findings demonstrate that derivative 2e induces apoptosis in MCF-7 cells via targeting p53 which merits further development

Enterprise creation & anti-commons in developing economies: evidence from World Bank doing business data

Abstract: This paper looks at the tragedy of anti-commons and its implications on enterprise creation in developing economies. The most important features of the anti-commons are captured under a simplified theoretical economic model. The empirical part uses the data from “Doing Business” of the World Bank, to test for the high costs implied by scattered and fragmented decisions related to enterprise creation in developing economies. The attained results show the prevalence of anti-commons in relation to the development of new enterprises in developing economies relative to more developed countries. This points out how anti-commons can limit development and market economies through reducing business and enterprise creation and expansion. Awareness and development of appropriate remedies to anti-commons are among the means to ensure higher economic and social achievements

Evidence-Based Medicine; Climbing a Mountain for a Better Decision-Making

Evidence-Based Medicine is a relatively new term used in medical sittings and Health Information Technology (HIT). It is a form of medicine that integrates practitioners’ expertise with the best available practical evidences to improve better patient care. Evidence-Based Medicine has increasingly been used and incorporated into daily medical practices to overcome the shortcomings in the conventional standard care. The purpose of this literature review is to highlight the importance of Evidence-Based Medicine and how it can act as a crucial tool in decision-making to empower the quality of medical services for better patient outcomes

Transforming Uncertainties into Risks and Poverty Alleviation: Lessons Learnt from the Successful Rescuing of Miners in Chile

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to suggest how the Chilean model used to rescue the 33 miners trapped underground, can be used to accelerate the development of new means for poverty alleviation mainly in developing economies. For that, the Chilean model is described and analyzed within the framework of uncertainty and risk with emphasis on the success of all operations, under time constraints. The attained results underline that this “point in time” process can be used to extract poor individuals and households and sustain their inclusion in normal economic and social activities. But, this is conditioned on the development of further participative research-actions, innovations and monitoring processes applied to multiple small scales, well localized and targeted poverty alleviation project

Enterprise creation & anti-commons in developing economies: evidence from World Bank doing business data

Abstract: This paper looks at the tragedy of anti-commons and its implications on enterprise creation in developing economies. The most important features of the anti-commons are captured under a simplified theoretical economic model. The empirical part uses the data from “Doing Business” of the World Bank, to test for the high costs implied by scattered and fragmented decisions related to enterprise creation in developing economies. The attained results show the prevalence of anti-commons in relation to the development of new enterprises in developing economies relative to more developed countries. This points out how anti-commons can limit development and market economies through reducing business and enterprise creation and expansion. Awareness and development of appropriate remedies to anti-commons are among the means to ensure higher economic and social achievements