Competitiveness among Asian Exporters in the World Rice Market.

With the gradual reduction in trade barriers led by the process of globalisation, more emphasis is now being placed on promoting export competitiveness. Asia is the home of many of the world’s top rice exporters. The food-price crisis has divided Asia into “rice haves” and “rice have-nots”. In order to describe the processes involved in securing and maintaining international competitiveness in rice exports, the present study has used the Balassa and White indices of revealed comparative advantage and revealed competitive advantage respectively. Results have revealed that Pakistan is the most competitive country in rice trade and ranks first in both agricultural product trade and total merchandise exports. JEL classification: C12, C43, Q17 Keywords: Asian Countries, Competitiveness, Revealed Comparative Advantage, Revealed Competitive Advantage

Impact of Political and Economic Institutions on FDI Inflows: evidence from South Asian countries

The current study examines the effects of political and economic institutions on the FDI inflows for the selected 4 South Asian countries including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.  For this, Panel data is employed for the period 1984--2020. Panel unit root test, Pedroni Cointegration test, Dynamic OLS (DOLS), and Panel Error Correction Model (PECM) methods have been used to extract the results. The empirical findings revealed the significant and positive effect of economic institutions on the inward FDI of South Asian countries. However, political institutions are found to be insignificant for inward FDI. The outcomes of the VECM and the panel cointegration approach confirmed the presence of a cointegrated relationship among the variables. The short-run effects are found to be insignificant.  Therefore, Policymakers should make certain policies by taking into account the heterogeneity between economic and political institutions. They need to pay attention to the steps through which the institutions can be made stronger and more effective so that they can make the environment more favorable to attract the maximum number of FDI projects into a specific region

Tris-diamine-derived transition metal complexes of flurbiprofen as cholinesterase inhibitors

Purpose: To synthesize novel tris-diamine-derived transition metal  complexes of flurbiprofen M(C2H8N2)3 (fp)2 and M(C3H10N2)3 (fp)2, and to evaluate their acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory activities.Method: Tris-diamine-derived transition metal complexes of Co(II),  Ni(II), and Mn(II) were synthesized and characterized using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility, conductivity  measurement and single crystal x-ray analysis. The synthesized  complexes were also evaluated for their AChE and BChE inhibitory activities.Results: Based on magnetic susceptibility and electronic studies, the synthesized complexes possessed distorted octahedral geometry.  Conductance measurements indicated that diamine-derived metal complexes of flurbiprofen were electrolytes, whereas, simple metal complexes of flurbiprofen were non-electrolytes. The structure of Ni (C2H8N2)3 (fp)2 was also confirmed by single crystal x-ray analysis. The synthesized metal complexes exhibited moderate-to-very good inhibition of AChE and BChE. In vitro assays revealed that Ni complexes were most active, with the least half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values against AChE and BChE, compared to Co and Mn  complexes. Furthermore, 1, 2-diaminoethane-derived complexes were more potent, with lower IC50 values against both AChE and BChE, compared to 1,3-diaminopropane-derived complexes. Among the complexes, 4a and 5a revealed significant cholinesterase inhibitory activities relative to the standard drug, galantamine.Conclusion: All the synthesized metal complexes are active against  AChE and BChE, but only 4a and 5a are more active than the standard drug, galantamine, indicating their potential for drug development.Keywords: Flurbiprofen, Cholinesterase, Diamines, Galantamine, Metal complexes, Cholinesterase inhibitio

Methyl 2-[2-(2,6-dichloro-4-nitro­anilino)-3,5-dinitro­phen­yl]acetate

In the title compound, C15H10Cl2N4O8, the methyl­acetate and dichloro­anilinic groups are oriented at dihedral angles of 57.73 (8) and 62.44 (4)°, respectively to the dinitro-sustituted benzene ring. S(5) and S(7) rings are formed due to intra­molecular N—H⋯Cl and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, respectively. In the crystal, N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into C(8) chains along the a axis. Further C—H⋯O and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link these chains in pairs, forming a polymeric network

N-{(E)-[4-(Dimethyl­amino)­phen­yl]methyl­idene}-2,3-dimethyl­aniline

There are two independent mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit of the title compound, C17H20N2, in which the dihedral angles between the aromatic rings are 30.34 (11) and 41.44 (8)°. In the crystal, weak C—H⋯π inter­actions may help to establish the packing

5-[(E)-(2,6-Dichloro­benzyl­idene)amino]-2-hy­droxy­benzoic acid

There are two geometrically different mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit of the title compound, C14H9Cl2NO3. The 5-amino-2-hy­droxy­benzoic acid units [r.m.s. deviations of 0.0323 and 0.0414 Å] and 2,6-dichloro­benzaldehyde groups [r.m.s. deviations of 0.0285 and 0.0226 Å] are roughly planar and oriented at dihedral angles of 11.69 (13) and 83.12 (6)° in the two mol­ecules. An intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond completes an S(6) ring motif in each mol­ecule. The two mol­ecules form dimers with each other through inter­molecular O—H⋯N and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, completing an R 2 2(8) ring motif. The dimers are inter­linked via inter­molecular O—H⋯N and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming polymeric sheets

N-[(E)-3,4-Dimeth­oxy­benzyl­idene]-2,3-dimethyl­aniline

In the title compound, C17H19NO2, the aromatic rings are oriented at a dihedral angle of 59.27 (12)°. In the crystal, inversion dimers linked by pairs of weak C—H⋯O inter­actions generate R 2 2(12) loops

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension; three case reports with similar clinical manifestations, treated successfully using different management techniques.

Spontaneous Intracranial hypotension (SIH) is a rare neurological disorder, characterized by orthostatic headaches. Due to the complicity of its diagnosis and lack of awareness amongst physicians, SIH remains an under-diagnosed disease and its true prevalence remains unknown. It is a reversible condition, if diagnosed early. Delay in diagnosis can result in life threatening complications.Case Reports:We present a case series of three patients who presented with typical symptoms of SIH. But management course of each patient varied. The first patient responded well to the EBP (epidural blood patch) while the second improved with conventional symptomatic treatment. The third patient needed a surgical intervention for complication developed due to SIH. This case series hence covers a variety of treatment options for patients with SIH.Conclusion:SIH is an emerging challenge for neurologists worldwide. Awareness amongst physicians regarding this disease along with a high level of suspicion and good history skills will allow early diagnosis of the disease and prevent delay in treatment and hence complications

N-[(E)-4-Chloro­benzyl­idene]-2,3-dimethyl­aniline

In the title compound, C15H14ClN, the conformation about the C=N bond is trans and the dihedral angle between the aromatic rings is 51.48 (4)°. In the crystal, some very weak C—H⋯π inter­actions may help to establish the packing