FDI and regional economic integration in SAARC region: problems and prospects

Regional integration has the potential to promote economic development in member countries irrespective of size and the level of growth. This potential can be exploited only through deeper cooperation. However, there are a number of challenges which restrict this region to tap its potential. As most of SAARC countries are underdeveloped economic integration is much needed for the development of this region. The process of economic integration in South Asia gathered momentum with the implementation of the South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA) in 1995 under the broad framework of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). SAPTA has, however, comes to be viewed as an interim platform in the move towards economic integration in South Asia. It is argued that regional integration has the potential to promote FDI flows and economic development of the region. This will pave the way for the most efficient use of the region’s resources through additional economies of scale, value addition, employment and diffusion of technology. Though the regional integration has yet not boosted the SAARC share in world trade, but it has attracted more FDI inflows and its share has been rise in Asia and the world respectively. In 2008 the SAARC share of FDI inflows in Asia was 7.92 percent and 2.89 percent in world. The concept of regionalism and regionalisation is new for the economies of South Asia and there are several factors combine a negative case for a viable free trade agreement in the short-term. The objective of this paper is to analyze the role of regional integration in south Asia in the promotion of region’s trade and attracting FDI. It argues that there is need for deeper integration within the region.FDI, Regional Economic Integration, SAARC, Trade

Soil quality assessment in difference vegetation structures of Surajpur lake: An urban wetland of Upper Gangetic plain, Northern India

Surajpur Lake is the prominent wetland site in National Capital Region, India known for its rich avifaunal and other aquatic biodiversity. Present study was carried out to assess the soil quality in different vegetation structures in Surajpur wetland from March 2010 to February 2013. Soil Sampling was conducted in five different vegetation habitats in the study area by applying standard sampling protocols. A total of 9 Physical and 16 chemical parameters were selected for analysis. The overall means of physical parameters of soil sample includes soil moisture content 11.17 ± 3.03 %, bulk density 1.19 ± 0.01 gm/ml, porosity 35.00 ± 5.10 %, water holding capacity 35.00 ± 3.86 %, soil organic carbon 0.09 ± 0.05 %, electrical conductivity 276.42 ± 112.83 ds/m, pH value 9.98 ± 0.42 was recorded. The means of chemical parameters of soil sample includes total Kjeldahl nitrogen 286.76 ± 42.41 mg/kg, available phosphorus 338.50 ± 32.75 mg/kg, potassium 2.85 ± 0.39 mg/kg, calcium level 10.86 ± 6 73 mg/kg, magnesium 10.56 ± 4.43 mg/kg, iron 14.90 ± 1.99 mg/kg, manganese 289.13 ± 42.89 mg/kg, zinc 4.20 ± 0.45 mg/kg, chloride 223.73 ± 62.64 mg/kg, sulphate 150.21 ± 27.99 mg/kg and silica oxide 7.97 ± 1.45 mg/kg. Boron, Copper and Molybdenum nutrients recorded less than one mg/kg in the soil sample. The viable count of bacteria recorded an overall mean of 16,56,000.00 ± 11,06,157.31 cfu/g. The results indicated that the essential mineral nutrients are widely distributed in the soil and are pollution free and also no any organic waste is coming to the site. Soil is good enough to support rich biodiversity to form a complete food web in the Surajpur wetland ecosystem

FDI and regional economic integration in SAARC region: problems and prospects

Regional integration has the potential to promote economic development in member countries irrespective of size and the level of growth. This potential can be exploited only through deeper cooperation. However, there are a number of challenges which restrict this region to tap its potential. As most of SAARC countries are underdeveloped economic integration is much needed for the development of this region. The process of economic integration in South Asia gathered momentum with the implementation of the South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA) in 1995 under the broad framework of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). SAPTA has, however, comes to be viewed as an interim platform in the move towards economic integration in South Asia. It is argued that regional integration has the potential to promote FDI flows and economic development of the region. This will pave the way for the most efficient use of the region’s resources through additional economies of scale, value addition, employment and diffusion of technology. Though the regional integration has yet not boosted the SAARC share in world trade, but it has attracted more FDI inflows and its share has been rise in Asia and the world respectively. In 2008 the SAARC share of FDI inflows in Asia was 7.92 percent and 2.89 percent in world. The concept of regionalism and regionalisation is new for the economies of South Asia and there are several factors combine a negative case for a viable free trade agreement in the short-term. The objective of this paper is to analyze the role of regional integration in south Asia in the promotion of region’s trade and attracting FDI. It argues that there is need for deeper integration within the region

FDI and regional economic integration in SAARC region: problems and prospects

Regional integration has the potential to promote economic development in member countries irrespective of size and the level of growth. This potential can be exploited only through deeper cooperation. However, there are a number of challenges which restrict this region to tap its potential. As most of SAARC countries are underdeveloped economic integration is much needed for the development of this region. The process of economic integration in South Asia gathered momentum with the implementation of the South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA) in 1995 under the broad framework of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). SAPTA has, however, comes to be viewed as an interim platform in the move towards economic integration in South Asia. It is argued that regional integration has the potential to promote FDI flows and economic development of the region. This will pave the way for the most efficient use of the region’s resources through additional economies of scale, value addition, employment and diffusion of technology. Though the regional integration has yet not boosted the SAARC share in world trade, but it has attracted more FDI inflows and its share has been rise in Asia and the world respectively. In 2008 the SAARC share of FDI inflows in Asia was 7.92 percent and 2.89 percent in world. The concept of regionalism and regionalisation is new for the economies of South Asia and there are several factors combine a negative case for a viable free trade agreement in the short-term. The objective of this paper is to analyze the role of regional integration in south Asia in the promotion of region’s trade and attracting FDI. It argues that there is need for deeper integration within the region

Co-authorship Networks of Iranian Researchers' Publications on the Field of Management during a Half-Century (1969-2018)

As one of the main bibliometric concepts, co-authorship has been thoughtfully considered in recent years. Despite many bibliometric studies on the co-authorship in different scientific fields and worldwide countries/regions, Iranian researchers' collaboration in the management field has not been studied. This study aimed to investigate the co-authorship networks in the management papers contributed by Iranian researchers indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) during the recent half-century (years, 1969-2018). Bibliometric data on 5414 papers were extracted from WoS and analyzed in Excel, UCINET, and VOSviewer to measure bibliometric indicators, the map needed co-authorship networks, and depict time-based maps and keyword clustering. Findings showed that co-authored papers increased from two items in 1973 to 721 items in 2018. Expert Systems with Applications, African Journal of Business Management, and International Journal of Production Research were ranked first to third in co-authored papers. Top 20 authors published about 17% of papers (946). Islamic Azad University, University of Tehran, and the Amirkabir University of Technology ranked first to third. Most co-authorship frequencies were made from 2012 to 2014. The first to third ranks of collaborating countries were the USA, Canada, and England. Six main keyword clusters were formed, including main topics in the field. In conclusion, Iranian researchers increasingly co-authored in management, especially during the last decade, and published in various journals that some top ones are prestigious journals. However, some gaps need to be bridged by the low contribution of research institutes and universities countrywide and the limited number of authors with high productivity and low collaboration with neighbor countries and influential universities worldwide.https://dorl.net/dor/ 20.1001.1.20088302.2022.20.1.19.

Evaluation the Overhang Rate in Class II Amalgam Restorations among Bandar Abbas Patients in 2015

Overhang in tooth restoration not only increases dental plaque size, but also is responsible for deterioration of periodontal tissues due to environmental changes and the imbalance in the equilibrium between beneficial bacteria and pro-pathogen plaque they cause. Aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of overhang in class II amalgam restoration in patients referred to Bandar Abbas dentistry faculty. This study was designed as a cross sectional study. Patients referred to Dentistry faculty of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences with at least one class II amalgam restoration in 2014-2015 first and second semesters were clinically examined and there radiographs were evaluated. Since using radiographs and clinical examination is one of the most reliable methods to diagnose overhang, both methods were used. Number and site of restoration, presence of absence of overhang and weather they were mesial or distal were recorded. Radiograph evaluation was performed twice by two students who should 95 percent homology in a pilot study under supervision of a restorative dentist. Then clinical examinations were performed and in necessary cases bitewing radiography were executed. Results showed that 22.2 percent of restorations presented overhangs from which distal, mesial, and distomesial overhangs included 7.1, 12.4, and 2.7 percent of overhangs respectively. Chi-square test was performed to analyses the relation between site and level of overhangs, results of which suggested that there is no relationship between dental site and presence of overhangs. Due to the importance of damages of overhang to dental tissue, it is suggested that principles of properly preparing the restorations be emphasized in dentistry instruction courses

Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus in Traditional Ice Cream in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Staphylococcus aureus is known to be the third leading cause of food poisoning in the world. Traditional ice cream is one of the dairy products in Iran and some countries in the world that should be controlled for Staphylococcus aureus contamination. The purpose of this review and meta-analysis is to determine the contamination of traditional ice cream with Staphylococcus aureus in different regions of Iran. Search terms “Staphylococcus aureus”, “traditional ice Cream”, and “Iran” were used in Science Direct, Pubmed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and SID, Magiran Magazine until 2018 published without time limitation selected. To review the original articles and remove duplicate articles and review titles and abstracts, articles that have the required qualities for this research were studied in this study. Data were analyzed by the random effects model in STATA (version 11) and MedCalc (version 13) software. Publication bias and sensitivity analysis were assessed by funnel and influence plots. According to a sample size of 3811 from 35 articles, the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus is estimated 32% in Iran (95% CI: 25-38%, p<0.001). The heterogeneity in the estimation of the pooled prevalence among the studies demonstrated; Cochran Q test: 1577.39, p< 0.001, I2 = 97.84%. Based on Begg's adjusted rank correlation test, publication bias was statistically significant (p <0.05). Epidemiological data is useful to determine the distribution of Staphylococcus aureus contamination and provide a broad picture of the prevalence of traditional ice cream Iran and can be used as an important indicator in the model of risk assessment of microbiologic

Muscle Tissue Engineering Using Gingival Mesenchymal Stem Cells Encapsulated in Alginate Hydrogels Containing Multiple Growth Factors

Repair and regeneration of muscle tissue following traumatic injuries or muscle diseases often presents a challenging clinical situation. If a significant amount of tissue is lost the native regenerative potential of skeletal muscle will not be able to grow to fill the defect site completely. Dental-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in combination with appropriate scaffold material, present an advantageous alternative therapeutic option for muscle tissue engineering in comparison to current treatment modalities available. To date, there has been no report on application of gingival mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs) in three-dimensional scaffolds for muscle tissue engineering. The objectives of the current study were to develop an injectable 3D RGD-coupled alginate scaffold with multiple growth factor delivery capacity for encapsulating GMSCs, and to evaluate the capacity of encapsulated GMSCs to differentiate into myogenic tissue in vitro and in vivo where encapsulated GMSCs were transplanted subcutaneously into immunocompromised mice. The results demonstrate that after 4 weeks of differentiation in vitro, GMSCs as well as the positive control human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMMSCs) exhibited muscle cell-like morphology with high levels of mRNA expression for gene markers related to muscle regeneration (MyoD, Myf5, and MyoG) via qPCR measurement. Our quantitative PCR analyses revealed that the stiffness of the RGD-coupled alginate regulates the myogenic differentiation of encapsulated GMSCs. Histological and immunohistochemical/fluorescence staining for protein markers specific for myogenic tissue confirmed muscle regeneration in subcutaneous transplantation in our in vivo animal model. GMSCs showed significantly greater capacity for myogenic regeneration in comparison to hBMMSCs (P\u3c0.05). Altogether, our findings confirmed that GMSCs encapsulated in RGD-modified alginate hydrogel with multiple growth factor delivery capacity is a promising candidate for muscle tissue engineering