Foreign direct investment, exports and economic growth: evidence from two panels of developing countries

The purpose of this article is to examine the causal relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI), exports and economic growth in two panels of developing countries (eight European developing countries and eight Asian developing countries). Panel- VECM causality is employed for investigating a tri-variate model of FDI, exports and GDP. Causality results in the European developing panel indicate bidirectional causality between GDP and FDI, and unidirectional causality from GDP and FDI to exports in the shortrun. The empirical results of the Asian developing panel indicate bidirectional causality between exports and economic growth in the short-run. Moreover, there is evidence of long-run causality from export and FDI to economic growth, and long-run causality from economic growth and export to FDI for both of the aforementioned panels

The Relationship between Economic Growth, Renewable Energy, and CO2 Emissions: Evidence from Panel Data Approach

The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between economic growth, renewable energy (RE) and carbon dioxide emission (CO2) for a panel of 11 developing countries over the period 2000–2014. The panel cointegration and panel vector error correction model causality is employed to examine the long-run and causal relationships between the variables. The results of Kao and Pedroni panel cointegration test indicate the existence of long-run relationship between economic growth, RE and CO2 emissions. Also the panel causality results indicate bidirectional causality between RE and CO2 emission, bidirectional causality between gross domestic product (GDP) and CO2, and unidirectional causality from GDP to RE. Furthermore, the results of panel dynamic ordinary least squares estimates show the positive impact of economic growth on CO2 emissions and negative impact of RE on CO2 emissions. Keywords: Economic Growth, Renewable Energy, CO2 Emissions, Panel Data JEL Classifications: C33, O44, Q2

Investigating Capital Mobility and Saving- Investment Relationship: Case Study of MENA Countries

This paper determines the degree of capital mobility and saving- investment association by using the Feldstein- Horioka (1980) approach among Middle East and North African (MENA) countries during 1990-2011. According to the Feldstein- Horioka hypothesis, in a country with high degree of capital mobility there should be no relationship between domestic saving and domestic investment and inversely, in a country with low degree of capital mobility there is a high correlation between domestic saving and domestic investment. Using panel data and employing Random effect Model to estimate the model, the obtained results show that capital is highly mobile in these countries

Investigation of the Relation between Economic Globalization and Government Size in Asian Developing Countries

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between government size and openness for a 26-years panel of 30 Asian developing countries. It is argued that there is a negative relation between country size and government size and also between country size and openness. Considering that, some researchers concluded that there is a positive relationship between openness and the size of government. To reveal the relation between these two variables, we used two proxies for measuring the extent of openness. The proxy used for openness is the economic dimension of KOF index of globalization. Employing a non-stationary panel data technique and DOLS estimator, the results show that there is a positive relationship between economic globalization and government size

Antibacterial Effect of The Hydroalcoholic Extracts of Four Iranian Medicinal Plants on Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumanii

Acquiring infectious diseases due to resistant infectious agents leads to serious problems such as taking higher doses of antibiotics, additional treatments, lengthened hospital stay, and imposing additional costs. The aim of the current study is to study antibacterial effects of the hydroalcoholic extracts of four Iranian medicinal plants, occurring in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari, on Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumanii. In this experimental study, the hydroalcoholic extracts of the plants were prepared by maceration. To investigate the antibacterial effects, microdilution and determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were used. DMSO and distilled water were used as solvent. The MIC and MBC of Dianthus orientalis, Ziziphora clinopodioides, Euphorbia sp., and Acanthophyllum glandulosum Bunge ex Boiss. for S. aureus were derived 4, 0.5, 2, and 2 mg/ml and 16, 8, 8, and 16 mg/ml, respectively. Also the MIC and MBC of plants for A. baumanii were derived 4, 1, 0.5, and 2 mg/ml and 16, 8, 8, and 32 mg/ml, respectively. The greatest antibacterial effect was displayed by Z. clinopodioides on S. aureus. The greatest bactericidal effect on A. baumanii was exerted by the recently identified species, Euphorbia sp. These plants can serve as suitable choices to produce antibiotics to fight treatment-resistant bacteria

Antifungal activities of quince seed mucilage hydrogel decorated with essential oils of Nigella sativa, Citrus sinensis and Cinnamon verum

Background and Objectives: Candidiasis and pityriasis versicolor are opportunistic fungal infections that are caused by Candida spp. and Malassezia spp. yeasts. Conventional drugs like azole and amino derivatives are known to treat fungal skin diseases. However, drawbacks like long-term side effects and drug resistance lead to investigate on antifungal properties of phytochemicals as an alternative to available synthetic drugs. Materials and Methods: The herbal nano hydrogel was successfully synthesized from Quince Seed extract followed by ultrasonic treatment and it has been formulated using a mixture of essential oils. We evaluated the antifungal in vitro assay for a mixture of essential oils in combination with herbal nano hydrogel against Candida albicans and Malasezia furfur strains by micro dilution method. Results: The results indicated that essential oils possess antifungal activity with the MIC value of 12.5 and 6.24 mg/ml against C. albicans and M. furfur, respectively. No fungicidal effect was reported for the herbal hydrogel before nanofabrication while it shown some antifungal activity after ultrasonic treatment for 5 and 10 minutes. As anticipated; the antifungal property of essential oil mixture was appreciably improved when it combined with herbal nano hydrogel where the highest level of inhibition was observed at concentration of 3.125 mg/ml for both strains. The loss in biological activity observed when the ultrasonic treatment on herbal nano hydrogel performed for longer time. Conclusion: The proposed plant-based nano formulation shown promising in vitro antifungal activities against C. albicans and M. furfur strains and its antifungal properties were comparable with commercially available agents like clotrimazole. The new formulation expected to be safe with minimum long-term side effects. Further investigations are underway to confirm the safety and the mechanism of the action of this new herbal formulation

Substance Misuse Patterns and Blood Types of Self-Introduced Addicts to Substance Rehabilitation Centers of Bam City

Background: With regard to the perceptible population, cultural, social and environmental changes in the aftermath of the earthquake in Bam City, this study was conducted to pinpoint substance misuse patterns and to figure out the probable relationship between substance misuse and blood types of the addicts referred to Substance rehabilitation Clinics from 2006 to 2007 in Bam City. Methods: In this case-control study, the sample size includes volunteering and self-introduced addicts and also a random selection of 360 healthy clients referred to the Blood Transfusion Organization as the control group. Both groups' data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi square and the odds ratio was estimated too. Findings: Three-hundred ninety nine individuals from nearly 3000 clients referred to the rehabilitation clinic from 2005 to 2008 participated with complete consent in the study. The highest frequency belonged to opium addicts (85.6%) and the most prevalent addiction type pertains to opium consumption via smoke inhalation (58.2%). The probability rate of AB negative blood type compared to other blood types among the addicts was 6.07 fold the control group. Conclusion: There has been an increasing rate of addiction in bam after earthquake and The substance consumption pattern has moved towards more dangerous methods. The high prevalence of AB blood type brings about a lot of presuppositions for geneticists, epidemiologists, hematologists and all majors in basic sciences. Keywords: Substance misuse, Blood type, Substance rehabilitation centers

The Study of Substructures of Addiction Phenomena in High School Students Using Problem Finding Workshops

Background: Addiction is one of the complicated problems in Iranian young population. The social and cultural dimensions of this social disease are less considered. So considering socio-cultural and environmental resources, this study investigated the substructures of addiction according to the viewpoints of high-school students of Kerman in 2007-2008.Methods: This qualitative study accomplished in ten high schools through a one-day problem finding workshop and continued until data saturation. The resulted terms and phrases were analyzed by content analysis. To assure about the validity and reliability, the outputs reviewed by workshops participants, and classification and codification of the data were executed separately by two experts.Findings: A total of 212 students, (45.3% girls and 54.7% boys) participated in the study. The students introduced the followings as the addiction substantial fundaments: lack of knowledge, positive attitude and interpretation of addiction as a value, family or friends' habit, economy status, psycho-personality problems and availability. Rules infirmity or non-implementation of the current rules enforcement, geographical status and addiction as a conspiracy were also observed in students’ statements.Conclusion: The positive attitudes and historical roots of addiction along with the process of changing the values caused the growth of drug addiction in young population which could neutralize the security measures, legislations policy and even the knowledge. Therefore, intensification of personal protective factors and culturalization addressed for improving inner layers of values are recommended.Keywords: Addiction, Qualitative study, Students, Etiology

Promoter Methylation of Two HOXA9 and NISCH Genes in Opium Users

Background: Opiate abuse has been critically increased in the world, especially in Iran. Owing to the association of opiate use with multiple human cancers and neurological disorders, seeking for genetic and epigenetic effects of opium can pave the way for early diagnosis of major health defects in addicted users. Accordingly, the present study aimed to determine the methylation status of the promoter of two genes, which are actively involved in neurodevelopment and cancer evolution.Methods: DNA was isolated from peripheral blood of 28 opium abusers and 19 healthy controls and then subjected to sonication. Sonicated DNAs undergone methylated DNA immunoprecipitation-real time polymerase chain reaction (MeDIP-Real Time PCR) using specific primer pairs designed for HOXA9 and NISCH genes. Obtained data were analyzed using SPSS software.Findings: HOXA9 and NISCH genes were found to be significantly methylated in addicted users compared to controls (P<0.001) which was significantly associated with the mean of the age regarding HOXA9 gene (P=0.002). Neither opium amount nor duration or route of using was associated with the methylation status of HOXA9 or NISCH genes.Conclusion: Hypermethylation of HOXA9 and NISCH genes as tumor suppressor in opium-addicted individuals can be considered as confirmatory evidence for carcinogenesis of opium. Further studies are required to figure out the role of epigenetic alterations in cancer evolution among opium users

Medications Non-adherence Reasoning Scale (MedNARS): Development and psychometric properties appraisal

Background: Proper elucidation of medication non-adherence reasoning especially in older adults might pave the way for an auspicious therapeutic outcome. The main of this study was to develop and psychometrically test the Medications Non-adherence Reasoning (MedNARS) questionnaire for application in research and probably practice settings. Methods: A mixed methods design was utilized to develop the MedNARS. The item pool was mainly generated based on a qualitative query and literature review. The expert panel approved version of the MedNARS was psychometrically assessed on a convenience sample of 220 older patients with chronic disease. The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, content and face validity of the scale were appraised and its construct validity was assed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Results: A nine-item version of the MedNARS was drafted based on the classical item analysis procedures and its estimated internal consistency measure of the Cronbach’s alpha (0.85) and test-retest reliability (0.96) were in the vicinity of acceptable range. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) output revealed a unidimensional structure for the MedNARS and the conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated an acceptable data fit for the extracted one-factor model. The goodness of fit indices were as the followings: χ2 /df=1.63(90% CI: 0.02 to 0.11), root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA)=(0.07), comparative fit index (CFI)=0.95, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI)=0.93 and standardized root mean squared residual (SRMSR)=(0.05). Conclusion: The study findings were indicative of MedNARS’s applicability and feasibility for use in assessment of medication non-adherence reasoning among the elderly patients with chronic diseases. The MedNARS as a brief and elder-friendly instrument can be applied both in research and practice settings to enhance efficiency, safety, and health outcomes of the therapeutic recommendations