Co-movement between Sukuk, Conventional Bond and Islamic Stock Markets under Bullish and Bearish Market Conditions: An Application of Quantile-on-Quantile Regression

This study explores the asymmetric co-movement between conventional bonds market, sukuk market and Islamic stock markets of top ten Islamic economies. The study used daily data ranging from 1st January 2008 to 31st December 2019. However, for the dependency structure, we used Quantile-on-Quantile (QQ) method, which captures the dependence between the entire distributions of financial assets and uncovers some nuance features of the relationship. The empirical findings show that under the stress condition (bearish condition), both bonds and stocks markets negatively commove. However, in the bullish market condition, these markets show week positive correlation/ co-movement in all the sample economies. The findings also confirmed that under the bearish condition, a mild negative correlation exists between sukuk and Islamic stock markets except for Malaysia. However, in the bullish market condition, sukuk markets and stock markets show strong positive correlation in all sample economies. Furthermore, study also enriches quantiles estimation by using quantiles granger causality approach. The findings show that the conventional bond market, sukuk market and Islamic stock market granger cause to each other on all the quantiles (in bullish or bearish market conditions)

MODIFIKASI MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN BAGI ANAK BERKEBUTUHAN KHUSUS PADA JENJANG PENDIDIKAN ANAK USIA DINI

Pelaksanaan pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini bertujuan untuk memberikan pengetahuan dan pemahaman kepada guru di pendidikan anak usia dini dalam memodifikasi media pembelajaran bagi anak berkebutuhan khusus pada jenjang pendidikan anak usia dini. Medote pelaksanaan yaitu a). perencanaan, b). pelaksanaan dan c). evaluasi. Berdasarkan hasil pelaksanaan pengabdian kepada masyarakat dapat disimpulkan bahwa pelatihan tentang modifikasi media pembelajaran bagi anak berkebutuhan khusus pada jenjang pendidikan anak usia dini memberikan dampak yang baik bagi guru. Keberhasilan peningkatan pengetahuan peserta ditunjukan dengan nilai rata- rata hasil pre-test 61,75 meningkat menjadi 85,25 pada nilai rata- rata post-test

Green transformational leadership and environmental performance in small and medium enterprises

This study examines the nexus between green transformational leadership (GTL) and environmental performance (EP), considering the mediating role of green human resource management (GHRM) and green innovation (GI). Besides, we also find the moderating effects of environmental values (EV) between GTL and EP. This study collected data from 110 respondents using a survey questionnaire from small and medium enterprises and employed structural equation modeling. The findings confirm a positive and significant effect of GTL on EP. Furthermore, mediation analysis confirms that GHRM and GI positively mediate between GTL and EP. Moreover, it is also confirmed from structural equation modelling that EV play moderating role between GTL and EP. These results offer valuable recommendations for all stakeholders

Investigating the effect of inbound tourism on FDI: The importance of quantile estimations

The current study investigates the asymmetric effect of inbound tourism on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world’s top tourist destinations based on monthly data for the period between 1995 and 2017. The quantile-on-quantile (QQ) approach introduced by Sim and Zhou was adopted for this study, because it assesses how various quantiles of inbound tourism affect different quantiles of FDI. Thus, the QQ approach gives a more detailed explanation of the general dependence of inbound tourism and FDI than traditional approaches, such as ordinary least squares or quantile regression. Further, the test of Granger causality in quantiles proposed by Troster et al. was also applied in this study to check the causal relationship between inbound tourism and FDI. The empirical outcomes explain that the relationship between inbound tourism and FDI is mostly positive for all countries except Mexico and Russia on low and middle quantiles, although there are significant differences throughout the nations and across all quantiles of inbound tourism and FDI

Sectoral CO2 emissions in China: asymmetric and time-varying analysis

Today, China is the second-largest, fastest -growing economy in the world. This study analyzes asymmetric and time-varying impact of world energy prices (including world energy prices index, world coal prices, world crude oil prices and world natural gas prices) on China’s CO2 emissions. We used a non-linear ARDL (NARDL) model and wavelet analysis using monthly data from 1992 to 2017. The results based on the NARDL estimate show that world energy prices have an asymmetric impact on CO2 emissions. However, the results of wavelet pairwise correlation and wavelet-transform coherence suggest that the relationship between world energy prices and CO2 emissions differs over time and across sectors (i.e. short-term, medium-term, long-term and very long-term). Evidence suggests that ignoring fundamental non-linearities can lead to misleading outcomes. Such empirical results are expected to have a high importance for the efficient design and implementation of world energy prices and Chinese environmental policies

Water resources and tourism development in South Asia: an application of dynamic common correlated effect (DCCE) model

The current study explores the relationship between water resources and tourism in South Asia for the period of 1995-2017. The study employs the CIPS unit root test for stationarity of the variables and the CD test for cross-sectional dependence among cross-sectional units. As for the long-run parameters, a novel technique, known as dynamic common correlated effect (DCCE) model, is used which was recently developed by Chudik and Pesaran (J Econ 188:393-420, 2015b). The outcomes from the DCCE method suggest that water resources have a positive impact on tourism in South Asia. It is also proven that ignoring cross-sectional dependence among the cross-sectional units may bring about misleading outcomes. The findings of the study can be helpful for policymakers to understand the role of water resources in boosting tourism and contributing to the economic prosperity of South Asian countries

Fingolimod plays role in attenuation of myocardial injury related to experimental model of cardiac arrest and extracorporeal life support resuscitation

Background: Sudden cardiac arrest is a major global health concern, and survival of patients with ischemia-reperfusion injury is a leading cause of myocardial dysfunction. The mechanism of this phenomenon is not well understood because of the complex pathophysiological nature of the disease. Aim of the study was to investigate the cardioprotective role of fingolimod in an in vivo model of cardiac arrest and resuscitation.Methods: In this study, an in vivo rat model of cardiac arrest using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation resuscitation monitored by invasive hemodynamic measurement was developed. At the beginning of extracorporeal life support (ECLS), animals were randomly treated with fingolimod (Group A, n = 30) or saline (Group B, n = 30). Half of the animals in each group (Group A1 and B1, n = 15 each) were sacrificed after 1 h, and the remaining animals (Group A2 and B2) after 24 h of reperfusion. Blood and myocardial tissues were collected for analysis of cardiac features, inflammatory biomarkers, and cell signaling pathways.Results: Treatment with fingolimod resulted in activation of survival pathways resulting into reduced inflammation, myocardial oxidative stress and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes. This led to significant improvement in systolic and diastolic functions of the left ventricle and improved contractility index.Conclusions: Sphingosine1phosphate receptor activation with fingolimod improved cardiac function after cardiac arrest supported with ECLS. Present study findings strongly support a cardioprotective role of fingolimod through sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor activation during reperfusion after circulatory arrest

Cardioprotective effects of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor immunomodulator fty720 in a clinically relevant model of cardioplegic arrest and cardiopulmonary bypass

Objective: FTY720, an immunomodulator derived from sphingosine-1-phosphate, has recently demonstrated its immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, FTY720 might be a key pharmacological target for preconditioning. In this preclinical model, we have investigated the effects of FTY720 on myocardium during reperfusion in an experimental model of cardioplegic arrest (CPA) and cardiopulmonary bypass. Methods: 30 Sprague-Dawley rats (300-350 g) were randomized into two groups: Group-A, treated with FTY720 1 mg/kg via intravenous cannulation, and Group-B, as control. After 15 min of treatment, rats underwent CPA for 30 min followed by initiation of extracorporeal life support for 2 h. Support weaning was done, and blood and myocardial tissues were collected for analysis. Hemodynamic parameters, inflammatory mediators, nitro-oxidative stress, neutrophil infiltration, immunoblotting analysis, and immunohistochemical staining were analyzed and compared between groups. Results: FTY720 treatment activated the Akt/Erk1/2 signaling pathways, reduced the level of inflammatory mediators, activated antiapoptotic proteins, and inhibited proapoptotic proteins, leading to reduced nitro-oxidative stress and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Moreover, significant preservation of high-energy phosphates were observed in the FTY720-treated group. This resulted in improved recovery of left ventricular systolic and diastolic functions. Conclusion: The cardioprotective mechanism in CPA is associated with activation of prosurvival cell signaling pathways that prevents myocardial damage. FTY720 preserves high-energy phosphates attenuates myocardial inflammation and oxidative stress, and improves cardiac function