Clinical Profile and Outcomes of Epidemic Dropsy Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Centre in Assam, India.

Background The clinical condition of epidemic dropsy is caused by the consumption of edible oils contaminated with Argemone mexicana oil. Two of the most toxic alkaloids found in argemone oil are sanguinarine and dehydrosanguinarine, which cause capillary dilation, proliferation, and increased permeability. Extreme cardiac decompensation leading to congestive heart failure and glaucoma resulting in blindness are the most serious consequences of epidemic dropsy.  Materials and methods All patients attending the medicine department of Tezpur Medical College and Hospital with clinical features of epidemic dropsy were included in the study after obtaining informed consent. All patients, after a complete history, underwent a thorough clinical examination, and findings were recorded using a pre-formed proforma. Along with routine blood examination, patients were also evaluated with echocardiography, ECG, and chest X-ray. Cooking oil samples obtained from patients were investigated for the presence of sanguinarine in a standardized laboratory with the help of the district authority. The statistical analysis was done using MS Excel 2017. Results Out of 38 patients, 36 were male (94.7%), and only two were female (5.2%). Male to female ratio was 18:1. This difference in sex ratio may be due to the fact that only severely ill patients attended our tertiary care hospital. In contrast, moderate and mildly ill patients were treated in local hospitals. The mean age of patients was 28.1 years, and the mean length of hospital stay was eight days. Bilateral pitting type of ankle edema was the most common clinical manifestation, and all 38 patients (100%) exhibited edema. A total of 76% of patients had dermatological manifestations. Sixty-two percent of patients had gastrointestinal manifestations. In cardiovascular manifestation, persistent tachycardia was seen in 52% of patients, pansystolic murmur was best heard in the apical area in 42% of patients, and 21 percent had evidence of a raised jugular venous pressure (JVP). Five percent of patients had pleural effusion. Sixteen percent of patients had ophthalmological manifestations. Eight patients (21%) required ICU care. The in-hospital fatality rate was 10.53% (n=4). Of the expired patients, 100% were male. The most common cause of death was cardiogenic shock (75%), followed by septic shock (25%). Conclusion From our study, it was found that most of the patients were male, with an age group of 25-45 years. The most common clinical manifestation was dependent edema, along with signs of heart failure. Other common manifestations were dermatological and gastrointestinal. The severity and outcome were directly related to the delay in seeking medical consultation and diagnosis.

Eco-friendly and effective antimicrobial Melaleuca alternifolia essential oil Pickering emulsions stabilized with cellulose nanofibrils against bacteria and SARS-CoV-2.

Melaleuca alternifolia essential oil (MaEO) is a green antimicrobial agent suitable for confection eco-friendly disinfectants to substitute conventional chemical disinfectants commonly formulated with toxic substances that cause dangerous environmental impacts. In this contribution, MaEO-in-water Pickering emulsions were successfully stabilized with cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) by a simple mixing procedure. MaEO and the emulsions presented antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). Moreover, MaEO deactivated the SARS-CoV-2 virions immediately. FT-Raman and FTIR spectroscopies indicate that the CNF stabilizes the MaEO droplets in water by the dipole-induced-dipole interactions and hydrogen bonds. The factorial design of experiments (DoE) indicates that CNF content and mixing time have significant effects on preventing the MaEO droplets' coalescence during 30-day shelf life. The bacteria inhibition zone assays show that the most stable emulsions showed antimicrobial activity comparable to commercial disinfectant agents such as hypochlorite. The MaEO/water stabilized-CNF emulsion is a promissory natural disinfectant with antibacterial activity against these bacteria strains, including the capability to damage the spike proteins at the SARS-CoV-2 particle surface after 15 min of direct contact when the MaEO concentration is 30 % v/v.

Prospects for the Development of Transport in Poland during the Energy Crisis

Recent years have been times of crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian attack on Ukraine. Energy markets have seen dynamic increases in commodity prices, which have continued to this day. The prices of oil, whose rise fuels inflation are particularly important for the world economy. The paper presents an overview and per-prospects for the development of transport in Poland during the energy crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. The analysis carried out on the example of Poland clearly shows that in the near term there is no chance to reduce fuel prices in Poland, which would result in a decrease in transport costs. It seems that the only chance for companies to reduce transport costs is to change their supply and inventory management strategies to take advantage of economies of scale and maintain high inventory levels. On the other hand, in world markets, oil prices will fall only if the war in Ukraine finishes. © 2023, Econjournals. All rights reserved.

Volatility Spillovers between Commodity and Financial Markets

The paper analyzes price volatility spillovers between commodity and financial markets order to investigate the interconnectedness and market integration and their potential in port-risk diversification. The paper analyzes gold and silver prices, oil prices, and the exchange of the Euro and British pound using the Diebold-Yilmaz spillover index methodology for-frequency weekly data from 1988 to 2020. The total spillovers between commodities and exchange rates were found to be 25.7% and the volatility spillover index during the analyzed period mostly ranged between 25% and 50% with extremes during the global financial crisis and during COVID-19 pandemic. This indicates a strong integration of commodity and financial markets, especially in crisis periods. Also, the results of the work suggest that silver price movements are affected by spillovers from other markets and therefore silver can be used to diversify risks. contribution of the paper to the existing literature is as follows: Firstly, the analysis of transmis-processes showed significant volatility spillovers between commodity markets and exchange indicating the existence of integration between different markets. Furthermore, a long period time is analyzed and the dynamic analysis shows intensified volatility spillovers in global crises periods. Secondly, the results of the analysis can help professional forecasters in forecasting and financial analysts to provide a comprehensive investment analysis. Managers and investors can thus design optimal protection instruments against unwanted movements in the financial and commod-markets. Investors benefit from portfolio diversification, and the information content obtained volatility spillover analysis can be used to assess potential determinants of future risk-adjusted returns, which would help them make investment decisions.

Food Processing Waste in Vietnam: Utilization and Prospects in Food Industry for Sustainability Development

Vietnam is a country that produces a variety of agricultural products, including vegetables, tubers, fruits, and processed products. Along with the increase in population, the demand for consumers also increases, and the by-products of farming are increasing and being discharged into the environment. This is one of the critical research issues that need to be solved to ensure sustainability in agriculture. This review summarized recent studies on familiar sources of by-products in Vietnam, such as banana peels, citrus peels, dragon fruit skins, rice bran, and rice husks, and their potential in the food industry. Some solutions are also proposed to solve and turn this low-value raw material into a high-value product and serve a variety of products and consumers in the food industry. Especially after the COVID19 pandemic, the by-products contain valuable and reusable biological resources. These compounds could be future applications to support improving the consumer's immune system and various health benefits. Processed and utilized by-products from food production could not only help increase incomes for farmers, especially in developing countries like Vietnam but also could aid in ensuring food security and sustainability in agricultural production.

Tangerine (Citrus reticulata L.) Wastes: Chemistry, Properties and Applications

Horticultural crops, especially fruits and vegetables, are highly consumed as food and food products. These items are consumed either uncooked, partially cooked, or fully cooked, according to their nature and the cooking process. A large amount of waste is generated from fruit-and vegetable-based industries and household kitchens. According to the FAO, waste generated from fruits and vegetable processing is estimated by 25–30% of the total product. This waste is rich in active compounds and has high nutritional content. Utilization of this waste into beneficial by-products could represent an essential strategy for reducing significant dietary and economic loss as well as the negative environmental impacts. The most common wastes include pomace, peels, rind, and seeds are fabulously rich in valuable bioactive compounds such as carotenoids, enzymes, phenolics, essential oils, vitamins, and many other compounds. These bioactive compounds show their application in various industries, including food industries to develop edible films, health industries for probiotics, and other industries for valuable and natural products. The utilization of these low-cost waste for producing the high value-added product is a novel step in its sustainable utilization. Tangerine is commonly produced and consumed as fresh or processed worldwide. The Mediterranean area produces the best and high-quality tangerine in the world. It is a high vitamin C source and rich in nutrients and provides many medicinal and health benefits. According to the new information released by the FAO, considering the influences of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), populations with extreme starvation in the world will perhaps increase. Consequently, countries should gain proficiencies and try to reduce trade-related costs, for example, by reducing food waste and losses. Therefore, the present chapter intends to summarize the different types of waste originating from Tangerine (Citrus reticula L.) and highlight their potential in developing edible films, probiotics, nanoparticles, carbon dots, microbial media, biochar, and biosorbents. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

CATALYTIC PYROLYSIS OF DISCARDED COVID-19 MASKS OVER SEPIOLITE

This research aims to develop a new strategy to valorize wasted COVID-19 masks based on pyrolysis to convert them into useful products. First, surgical and FFP2 masks were thermally pyrolyzed at temperatures of 450–550 ºC with the purpose of determining gas, liquid (oil) and solid (char) yields. At low temperatures, solid yield was high, while at high temperatures the gas product was enhanced. The highest yield of liquid was found at an operating temperature of 500 ºC in both surgical and FPP2 masks pyrolysis. The liquid product yields were 59.08% and 58.86%, respectively. Then, the volatiles generated during thermal pyrolysis of residual masks were cracked over sepiolite as catalyst at a temperature of 500 ºC. The catalytic pyrolysis increased the yield of gas product (43.89% against 39.52% for surgical masks and 50.53% against 39.41% for FFP2 masks) and decreased the viscosity of the liquid product. Finally, the effect of sepiolite regeneration and reuse in consecutive pyrolysis tests was examined. Results showed that, with the higher regeneration-reuse of sepiolite, the catalyst was degraded obtaining a liquid product with higher molecular mass. This effect was hardly noticeable in the case of FFP2 masks. © 2022 International Multidisciplinary Scientific Geoconference. All rights reserved.

Dynamic effects and driving intermediations of oil price shocks on major economies

Interest in oil price shocks' economic effects has grown in recent years. However, previous studies mostly failed to clarify the dynamic transmissions of oil price shocks on representative economies from global and driver perspectives, even ignoring oil price fluctuations when linking oil prices and economy together. This paper examines the dynamic relationships and driving intermediations between multiple oil price shocks and macroeconomy by applying Bayesian vector autoregressive models with stochastic volatility and time-varying parameters, using the USA, China, the Euro-19, and Japan as research objects. Results show that, in the whole sample, all oil prices have the strongest effects on Japan, followed by China, Euro-19, and the USA, with possible directional differences. All oil prices' economic effects intensified during the crisis and Covid-19, accompanying significant oil price fluctuations. Regarding asymmetry, in the whole sample and critical times, stronger effects of rising oil prices show in the short term, but opposite in the long term. Consumer price, interest rate, and exchange rate are the general intermediations of oil prices in China and the USA, Euro-19, and Japan, respectively, and exchange rate is the additional intermediation in China, Euro-19, and Japan during the crisis and Covid-19. Overall, the results are solid.

THE STRATEGY OF PALM OIL PLANTATION EXPANSION BUSINESS IN RELATION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES: OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES

The qualitative study aims to find out the strategy to overcome challenges of palm oil plantation expansion business in relation to environmental sustainability issues. The contribution of palm oil plantation related business has been an essential part in developing the Indonesian economy for decades. With its contribution to Indonesia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) surmounting to more than 15 billion USD in terms of export on the year 2020 (GAPKI, 2020), and with more than 40 billion USD in terms of foreign exchange revenue to Indonesia on the year 2021 (Astra, 2021), it is no doubt the importance of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) which is the by-product of palm oil tree (Elaeis guineensis) has the utmost significant contribution to the Indonesian economy. The palm oil plantation has also significant contribution to the livelihood of the Indonesian citizen by providing jobs for more than 16 million people (CNN, 2021) especially when the pandemic Covid-19 era is happening throughout the world, and the industry also increases the social welfare of its farmers by programs that enrich the farmers with its nucleus-plasma program which fosters a partnership between the palm oil plantation companies and its local communities in a profit sharing mechanism that contributes to a minimum of 20% of total land cultivated for palm oil plantation. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Eduvest: Journal Of Universal Studies is the property of Green Publisher and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Trade-based money laundering and informal remittance services: implications on the sustainability of the balance of payments of a small open economy

PurposeThis study aims to discuss the consequences of trade-based money laundering (TBML) and informal remittance services on the sustainability of the position of balance of payments and net foreign assets of a small open economy.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a case study design using facts related to TBML and informal remittance services on the balance of payment and net foreign assets of Sri Lanka.FindingsThe contextual analysis reveals that the growth of the informal economy promotes informal remittance services in Sri Lanka. The policy decision to peg local currency to US dollars as a result of a shortage of foreign exchange had forced people to use informal channels for different purposes. The unclear and vague customer due diligence process of the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime also has forced people to use informal remittance services. Criminals especially drug traffickers have grabbed the promoted informal remittance services to transfer proceeds from Sri Lanka to overseas drug suppliers. On the other hand, systematic deficiencies in monitoring and regulation of movement of fund transfers and merchandise across borders provide opportunities for criminals to use different TBML techniques to transfer funds. These limitations force policymakers and regulators to think of developing a comprehensive payment ecosystem to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. Therefore, the global initiative is required to move towards a payment ecosystem from a recommendation-based AML/CFT regime to reduce global crimes.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was designed to discuss the implications of TBML and informal remittance services on the balance of payments and net foreign assets in a small open economy. The structure and size of the economy, the strength of the overall economy and the AML/CFT regime will play an important role in controlling criminal activities and combating money laundering of an economy;hence, the impact of TBML and informal remittance services will vary accordingly across the countriesOriginality/valueThis paper is an original work done by the authors, which discusses the implications of TBML and informal remittance services on the balance of payments and net foreign assets of an emerging market context.

Modelling volatility effects between stock, oil, gold and forex markets: Evidence from India

Although several studies on the integration of diverse stock markets have been conducted in the financial literature, most of them have focused on the integration and volatility spillovers across established stock markets. The present study explores the dynamics of integration and volatility spillover across gold, oil, forex, and stock markets during four significant events in India: the pre-changed government regime, the post-changed government regime, the post-Brexit referendum date, and the COVID era. Daily data from 2010 to 2022 is divided into four categories using the Chow test. This is done to examine if these events' financial turmoil affects market interconnectivity. The unit root test determines data stationarity. The ARCH LM test examines series volatility clustering, and the BEKK GARCH test examines market volatility spillover. Results indicate that gold cannot be considered a hedge or safe haven. Secondly, market interconnectedness increased during the crisis period. Third, domestic political and geopolitical conditions globally do not increase the scale of spillover amongst financial assets, though they impact the spillover's magnitude. The results of this study have several important implications for portfolio diversification and risk management. © Varsha Ingalhalli, Prachi Kolamker, 2023.

BIST Tourism and BIST Electricity Index Relationship

In this study, which is based on daily data, the relationship between BIST electricity index and BIST tourism index was measured between 2012:M9 – 2022:M9 periods. The aim of the study is to measure the relationship between BIST electricity index and BIST tourism index. VAR Granger causality test was applied to determine whether there is any causal relationship between the variables. It has been determined as a result of the analysis that the BIST electricity index has no effect on the BIST tourism index. Two-way ineffectiveness was determined among the variables. In addition, it was obtained as a result of the analysis that the applied correlation relationship was weak between these variables. The results obtained from the study are important in terms of measuring the effects among BIST indices.

Competitiveness, Market Structure, and Energy Policies: A Case Study of the World's Largest Crude Palm Oil Exporter

Crude Palm Oil (CPO) is the mainstay of Indonesian agricultural products which is the largest CPO producing country in the world. The high market share of Indonesian CPO exports reflects the high competitiveness of Indonesian CPO in the global market. The purpose of this study is to determine the competitiveness of Indonesian CPO, the concentration of the Indonesian CPO industry, and analyze the factors that are suspected to affect the competitiveness of the CPO industry in Indonesia. The data used in this study are secondary data with a five-digit ISIC (10432) using time series data for 2001-2020 and the analytical techniques used in this study include Revealed Competitive Advantage (RCA), Gini Coefficient, and Error Correction Model (ECM). The results showed that Indonesian CPO has high competitiveness in the international market, the Indonesian CPO industry is not concentrated, in the short term the variables that affect competitiveness are CPO prices, subsidized solar prices policy, and industrial concentrations, while in the long term the influential variables are biodiesel policy, subsidized diesel oil policy and industrial concentration

Different Moments Create Different Spillovers: A Study of Commodity Markets

Although the spillover effects of return and volatility risk across commodity markets have been demonstrated, evidence of extreme risk spillovers is limited. Using an autoregressive conditional density model, this study estimates the conditional skewness of nine S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity indices and then applies the Diebold-Yilmaz TVP-VAR-based approach to investigate the higher moment spillovers across commodity markets. Our findings provide evidence of extreme risk transfers from one commodity index to another. Among three energy indices including crude oil, natural gas and gasoil, crude oil transmits the most return, volatility risk and extreme risk to the agricultural indices and precious metal indices. Furthermore, our results confirm that spillovers in all three moments were significantly strengthened by extreme events such as the September 11 attacks, the global financial crisis, the food price crisis, the violent shock of international oil prices and the coronavirus disease of 2019. However, different events may have different impacts on spillovers. Finally, the results indicate that return spillover and skewness are affected by extreme events with almost the same intensity and direction for most periods.

Scientific rationale of Indian AYUSH Ministry advisory for COVID-19 prevention, prophylaxis, and immunomodulation

The current outbreak of COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that has affected > 210 countries. Various steps are taken by different countries to tackle the current war-like health situation. In India, the Ministry of AYUSH released a self-care advisory for immunomodulation measures during the COVID-19 and this review article discusses the detailed scientific rationale associated with this advisory. Authors have spotted and presented in-depth insight of advisory in terms of immunomodulatory, antiviral, antibacterial, co-morbidity associated actions, and their probable mechanism of action. Immunomodulatory actions of advised herbs with no significant adverse drug reaction/toxicity strongly support the extension of advisory for COVID-19 prevention, prophylaxis, mitigations, and rehabilitation capacities. This advisory also emphasized Dhyana (meditation) and Yogasanas as a holistic approach in enhancing immunity, mental health, and quality of life. The present review may open-up new meadows for research and can provide better conceptual leads for future researches in immunomodulation, antiviral-development, psychoneuroimmunology, especially for COVID-19.Copyright © 2021, Institute of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University.

Economic Policy Uncertainty and Emerging Stock Market Volatility

This research examines the effect of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) indices on Pakistan's stock market volatility. Particularly, we examine the impact of the economic policy uncertainty index for Pakistan and bilateral global trading partner countries, the US, China, and the UK. We employ the GARCH-MIDAS model and combination forecast approach to evaluate the performance of economic uncertainty indices. The empirical findings show that the US economic policy uncertainty index is a more powerful predictor of Pakistan stock market volatility. In addition, the EPU index for the UK also provides valuable information for equity market volatility prediction. Surprisingly, Pakistan and China EPU indices have no significant predictive information for volatility forecasting during the sample period. Lastly, we find evidence of all uncertainty indices during economic upheaval from the COVID-19 pandemic. We obtained identical results even during the Covid-19. Our findings are robust in various evaluation methods, like MCS tests and other forecasting windows.

Quantification of oil and gas methane emissions in the Delaware and Marcellus basins using a network of continuous tower-based measurements

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), emissions from oil and gas infrastructure contribute 30 % of all anthropogenic methane (CH4) emissions in the US. Studies in the last decade have shown emissions from this sector to be substantially larger than bottom-up assessments, including the EPA inventory, highlighting both the increased importance of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector in terms of their overall climatological impact and the need for independent monitoring of these emissions. In this study we present continuous monitoring of regional methane emissions from two oil and gas basins using tower-based observing networks. Continuous methane measurements were taken at four tower sites in the northeastern Marcellus basin from May 2015 through December 2016 and five tower sites in the Delaware basin in the western Permian from March 2020 through April 2022. These measurements, an atmospheric transport model, and prior emission fields are combined using an atmospheric inversion to estimate monthly methane emissions in the two regions. This study finds the mean overall emission rate from the Delaware basin during the measurement period to be 146–210 Mg CH4 h-1 (energy-normalized loss rate of 1.1 %–1.5 %, gas-normalized rate of 2.5 %–3.5 %). Strong temporal variability in the emissions was present, with the lowest emission rates occurring during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, a synthetic model–data experiment performed using the Delaware tower network shows that the presence of intermittent sources is not a significant source of uncertainty in monthly quantification of the mean emission rate. In the Marcellus, this study finds the overall mean emission rate to be 19–28 Mg CH4 h-1 (gas-normalized loss rate of 0.30 %–0.45 %), with relative consistency in the emission rate over time. These totals align with aircraft top-down estimates from the same time periods. In both basins, the tower network was able to constrain monthly flux estimates within ±20 % uncertainty in the Delaware and ±24 % uncertainty in the Marcellus. The results from this study demonstrate the ability to monitor emissions continuously and detect changes in the emissions field, even in a basin with relatively low emissions and complex background conditions.

Global Uncertainty and Economic Growth - Evidence from Pandemic Periods

This paper investigates whether global uncertainty predicts economic growth rates using a global sample of 136 countries. We use the panel regression model and find strong evidence that global uncertainty negatively predicts the economic growth rate. Further, the negative impact of global uncertainty on economic growth rates is amplified during pandemic periods versus non-pandemic periods. Our main findings hold after a range of robustness tests.