Full Panel Research Articles

Anticancer Properties of some Novel 2-Hetaryl-3-(5-Arylfuran-2-yl)-Acrylonitriles

In our present work, we displayed an effective synthesis and anticancer activity assessment of some novel 2-hetaryl-3-(5-arylfuran-2-yl)-acrylonitriles. The structures of synthesized substances were determined by 1H NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. In vitro anticancer activity assessment on the full panel of about 60 human cancer cell lines showed that received compounds displayed a weak and moderate kind of activity.

RENEWABLE AND NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY, ECONOMIC GROWTH AND NATURAL RESOURCES IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES WITH CS-ARDL MODELING

This study aims to estimate the effects of economic growth, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption and natural resources on carbon emissions for the period of 1990-2014, in 11 countries, using 3 panels: (i) full countries panel, (ii) South Asian countries and (iii) Southeast Asian countries. For all panels, the long-run elasticities were estimated. The results suggest that non-renewable and renewable energy consumption increase economic development in the three panels. Besides, natural resources impede the economic growth in South Asian and full countries panels while natural resources increase the economic activities in Southeast Asian countries. Non-renewable and economic growth increase CO2 emissions, whereas, renewable energy consumption lessens the carbon emissions. Natural resources also contributed to CO2 emissions in the case of South Asian and full countries panels while improved the environmental quality in the Southeast Asian region. It was also observed that there is cointegration among the variables in all three panels. Policy recommendations can be made, in the sense that renewable energy sources should be preferred to decrease CO2 emissions, and education and corruption should be improved to estimulate the economic growth in the studied areas.Keywords: Renewable Energy, Non-renewable Energy, CO2 Emissions, Natural resources, CS-ARDLJEL Classifications: Q43, Q44, Q56DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.9956

Design, synthesis, and in vitro anticancer screening of novel pyrazolinyl‐pyrazole/1, 2, 3‐triazole hybrids

AbstractNovel hybrids, pyrazolinylpyrazoles, and pyrazolinyltriazoles were designed, synthesized, and screened for their anticancer activity. Eleven compounds were selected by the National Cancer Institute (NCI)/USA for anticancer screening at single high dose (10−5 M) in full NCI 60 cell panels. Two compounds: 4‐aminopyrazole‐5‐carbonitrile, 5c (NSC‐747630/1) and ethyl 4‐aminopyrazole‐5‐ carboxylate, 7d (NSC‐747634/1) were the most active candidates of the series and were selected for further evaluation at five dose screening as they displayed significant growth inhibition with full panel median growth inhibition (GI50) 5.47 and 2.24 μM, respectively. Both 5c and 7d hybrids exhibited broad spectrum antitumor activity; however 7d showed moderate selectivity (selectivity ratio 3.6) toward leukemia.

Audiological evaluation of patients with cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD).

The description of clinical manifestation of hearing problems in cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD) remains limited and incomplete, since CCD constitutes a rare congenital disorder. The study aims to provide a complex panel analysis of the auditory system in patients suffering from the disease. The study group consisted of 4 children with CCD (aged: 12-15), who underwent orthodontic treatment. A full panel analysis of their auditory systems was performed, including high-frequency audiometry and a new method of middle ear assessment - WBT (Wideband Tympanometry). A slight conductive hearing loss was diagnosed in 3 out of 4 patients. While high frequency audiometry has shown a deterioration of hearing in 3 patients, in one case, the obtained thresholds were within the normal range. A decrease of absorbance in low frequencies has been observed in one or both ears. Only one patient has had a shift of maximum absorbance towards high frequencies in the left ear. The presented manuscript is the first with a complete evaluation of the auditory system comprising 4 cases of children in a similar age group. All of the examined patients presented an air-bone gap indicating conductive disorders.

Torsades de Pointes in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Infection

A 73-YEAR-OLD MAN (weight 69 kg, height 175 cm) was transferred to the authors’ critical care unit with respiratory and acute renal failure secondary to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. His past medical history included hypertension, diabetes, and previous stroke, from which he had made a full recovery. The patient was treated with mechanical ventilation and peritoneal dialysis. He was recruited into the hydroxychloroquine arm of the RECOVERY (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy) trial. Baseline electrocardiogram (ECG) and subsequent ECG monitoring were normal and did not demonstrate any QT prolongation. Three days later, the patient developed a ventricular tachycardia with a circulatory collapse. Immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation was initiated and defibrillator pads attached; however, the arrhythmia self-terminated within 2 minutes (Fig 1). After resuscitation, another ECG showed a normal QT interval. Arterial blood gas analysis did not show any signs of respiratory insufficiency or an acid-base disturbance. There were no signs of myocardial ischemia. A full panel of blood tests was performed, which did not demonstrate any relevant abnormalities in full blood count, biochemical studies, or coagulation. Hypomagnesemia and hypokalemia were absent. Echocardiography was normal. What is the diagnosis? Diagnosis: Torsades de pointes ventricular tachycardia presumably resulting from hydroxychloroquine therapy. Review of the telemetry data demonstrated a polymorphic ventricular tachycardia in the pattern of torsades de pointes, with a spontaneous onset and termination. A cardiac electrophysiology review was requested and confirmed the diagnosis of torsades de pointes. Review of ECGs, blood test results, and medication history allowed the authors to conclude that the arrhythmia had most likely been caused by hydroxychloroquine. Recommendations were made for stringent monitoring of serum electrolytes (to prevent hypomagnesemia and hypokalemia) and daily ECGs. No further antiarrhythmic therapy was recommended at this stage. Hydroxychloroquine was discontinued, and the patient's participation in the RECOVERY trial was terminated. No further arrhythmias were reported during the patent's stay. An adverse drug reaction report was submitted to the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (UK MHRA) to register the hydroxychloroquine-related life-threatening arrhythmia. In early 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of studies reported possible therapeutic effects of hydroxychloroquine, and it was therefore included as 1 of the drugs in the platform UK RECOVERY trial.1Randomised evalution of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY) Availible at: https://www.recoverytrial.net/files/protocol-archive/recovery-protocol-v4-0-2020-04-14.pdfGoogle Scholar However, preliminary data showed no benefit in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, which led to the UK MHRA instruction to stop recruitment into trials using hydroxychloroquine to treat patients with COVID-19.2UK Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory AgencyMHRA suspends recruitment to COVID-19 hydroxychloroquine trials.2020https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mhra-suspends-recruitment-to-covid-19-hydroxychloroquine-trialsGoogle Scholar Hydroxychloroquine was introduced in 1955 as an anti-malarial drug. It has immunomodulatory properties that include inhibition of chemotaxis and phagocytosis, reduction of cytokine synthesis, inhibition of phospholipase A2, and signaling in lymphocytes.3Ben-Zvi I Kivity S Langevitz P et al.Hydroxychloroquine: From malaria to autoimmunity.Clin Rev Allerg Immunol. 2012; 42: 145-153Crossref PubMed Scopus (398) Google Scholar,4Kalia S Dutz JP. New concepts in antimalarial use and mode of action in dermatology.Dermatol Ther. 2007; 20: 160-174Crossref PubMed Scopus (187) Google Scholar Hydroxychloroquine has a large spectrum of side effects including cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias associated with the prolongation of the QT interval.3Ben-Zvi I Kivity S Langevitz P et al.Hydroxychloroquine: From malaria to autoimmunity.Clin Rev Allerg Immunol. 2012; 42: 145-153Crossref PubMed Scopus (398) Google Scholar Between 1964 and 2020, the UK MHRA registered 916 patients with adverse drug reactions, of whom 679 were classified as serious and 15 as fatal. The most commonly reported adverse drug reactions involved skin (454 cases) and the nervous system, including eye (285) and gastrointestinal tract (165). Cardiac adverse drug reactions were reported in 48 patients and included myocardial and/or pericardial disorders, arrhythmias, and heart failure.5UK Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory AgencyInteractive drug analysis profile for hydroxychloroquine.2020https://info.mhra.gov.uk/drug-analysis-profiles/dap.html?drug=./UK_EXTERNAL/NONCOMBINED/UK_NON_000544442035.zip&agency=MHRAGoogle Scholar Cardiac arrhythmias were reported in 18 patients. Anesthesiologists should continue to be aware of the importance of a comprehensive drug history and are reminded of potential life-threatening arrhythmias when hydroxychloroquine is used. We declare that we have no known competing interests or relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.

Pharmacokinetics of a new antitumor agent, 1-[3-(Furo[3,2-C]quinolin-4-ylamino)phenyl]-ethanoe-O-methyl-oxime, in rat using a high performance liquid chromatography method

1-[3-(Furo[3,2-C]quinolin-4-ylamino)phenyl]-ethanoe-O-methyl-oxime (CCK3) is an antitumor agent, particularly active against the growth of the renal cancer cell, UO-31, and two melanoma cancer cells, UACC-257 and UACC-62, as indicated in the NCI's full panel of 60 human cancer cell lines cytotoxicity evaluation. From the structure-activity relationships between amsacrine and CCK3, CCK3 was expected to have longer half-life than amsacrine in plasma. Therefore, a reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography method was developed and validated for the determination of pharmacokinetics of CCK3 in rats. The plasma samples were spiked with the internal standard 2-naphthol and extracted using dichloromethane. A C18 column (55 × 4 mm) was used for the separation of analytes with a mobile phase consisted of 30% acetonitrile, 5% tetrahydrofuran and 65% pH 3.0 of McIlvaine buffer at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. CCK3 was detected and utilized by electrochemical detector at 1.0 voltage and 10 nA. Intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy were acceptable down to the limit of quantitation of 10 ng/mL. The lower limit of detection was 5 ng/mL. As for the in vivo study, the pharmacokinetic parameters of CCK3 in rats after intravenous administration of 3.97 and 7.94 mg/kg were determined. The apparent volume of distribution, half-life and clearance showed no significant difference between these two dosages. The area under the plasma concentration time curve increased proportionally with increase in dose. The half-life of CCK3 was prolonged 3 folds, compared to amsacrine. Therefore, CCK3 might have the potential to be tested clinically.

Systemic evaluation and localization of resistin expression in normal human tissues by a newly developed monoclonal antibody.

Resistin and resistin-like molecules are pleiotropic cytokines that are involved in inflammatory diseases. Our previous work suggested that resistin has the potential to be used as a biomarker and therapeutic target for human pulmonary arterial hypertension. However, data are limited on the distribution of resistin in healthy human organs. In this study, we used our newly developed anti-human resistin (hResistin) antibody to immunohistochemically detect the expression, localization, and intracellular/extracellular compartmentalization of hResistin in a full human tissue panel from healthy individuals. The potential cross reactivity of this monoclonal anti-hResistin IgG1 with normal human tissues also was verified. Results showed that hResistin is broadly distributed and principally localized in the cytoplasmic granules of macrophages scattered in the interstitium of most human tissues. Bone marrow hematopoietic precursor cells also exhibited hResistin signals in their cytoplasmic granules. Additionally, hResistin labeling was observed in the cytoplasm of nervous system cells. Notably, the cytokine activity of hResistin was illustrated by positively stained extracellular material in most human tissues. These data indicate that our generated antibody binds to the secreted hResistin and support its potential use for immunotherapy to reduce circulating hResistin levels in human disease. Our findings comprehensively document the basal expression patterns of hResistin protein in normal human tissues, suggest a critical role of this cytokine in normal and pathophysiologic inflammatory processes, and offer key insights for using our antibody in future pharmacokinetic studies and immunotherapeutic strategies.

Concordance Between Targeted Hotspot and Full-exon Next Generation Sequencing Tests in Ovarian and Endometrial Tumors

Objectives: Smaller hotspot-based NGS panels have emerged to provide clinically actionable information and guide targeted therapy. The objective of this study was to determine the concordance between 2 commercially available NGS tests – Circulogene 50-gene hotspot panel (CG50; target size 22 kb) and FoundationOne® 324-gene full exon panel (F1; target size 793 kb) on archival tumor from patients with gynecologic malignancies. These two tests differ in many aspects - panel composition, sequencing chemistry and bioinformatics.

Convergence in obesity and overweight rates across OECD countries: evidence from the stochastic and club convergence tests

Obesity has become a serious public health problem in the last two decades and affects not only developed countries but also the developing world. To date, despite all attempts to stop its increase, obesity remains a serious social problem, and obesity-related diseases have a significant cost on the health system. In this paper, we investigate the convergence of obesity rates, overweight rates, and body mass index (BMI) across 35 OECD countries over the period 1975–2006. The empirical findings of the paper are expected to have important policy implications to better inform policymakers. In addition to the traditional convergence tests, this paper uses a newly developed LM based panel unit root test with endogenously determined structural breaks to test for the stochastic convergence. Given the shortcomings of traditional and stochastic convergence tests in light of the possibility of multiple equilibria associated with groups of countries following different convergence paths, the club convergence algorithm is also employed. Traditional cross-sectional tests show that both β- and σ-convergence of the variables of interest exist across sampled countries. Moreover, the univariate LM unit root test results provide support for convergence in the relative BMIs, obesity rates, and overweight rates for a majority of the OECD countries. The club convergence test results, however, suggest the rejection of full panel club convergence only in BMI variables and overweight rates for females and the presence of a certain number of clubs for these variables.

A genetically unique Chinese cattle population shows evidence of common ancestry with wild species when analysed with a reduced ascertainment bias SNP panel.

In Hong Kong, there is a cattle population of ~1,200 individuals of uncertain origin and genetic diversity. This population shows heterogeneous morphology, both in body type and pigmentation. Once used as draught animals by the local farmers, they were abandoned around the 1970s due to changes in the economy, and since then have lived as feral populations. To explore the origins of these cattle, we analysed ~50k genotype data of 21 Hong Kong feral cattle, along with data from 703 individuals of 36 cattle populations of European, African taurine, and Asian origin, the wild x domestic hybrid gayal, plus two wild bovine species, gaur and banteng. To reduce the effect of ascertainment bias ~4k loci that are polymorphic in the two wild species were selected for further analysis. The stringent SNP selection we applied resulted in increased heterozygosity across all populations studies, compared with the full panel of SNP, thus reducing the impact of ascertainment bias and facilitating the comparison of divergent breeds of cattle. Our results showed that Hong Kong feral cattle have relatively high levels of genetic distinctiveness, possibly due to the low level of artificial selection, and a likely common ancestry with wild species. We found signs of a putative taurine introgression, probably dating to the import of north European breeds during the British colonialism of Hong Kong. We showed that Hong Kong feral cattle, are distinct from Bos taurus and Bos indicus breeds. Our results highlight the distinctiveness of Hong Kong feral cattle and stress the conservation value of this indigenous breed that is likely to harbour adaptive genetic variation, which is a fundamental livestock resource in the face of climate change and diversifying market demands.

Effects of odor intensity correction using n-Butanol on odor intensity perception change for three different odorants

n-Butanol is used to assess how odor intensity correction affects judges’ evaluation of the odor intensity based on the concentration. The odor intensity correction effect is verified by using three types of test solutions which are used for the selection of judges based on their concentration levels. The correction effect is statistically analyzed according to gender, odorant type, and concentration on the group and individual level. The result shows that n- Butanol correction affects the odor intensity evaluation for three odorants in different ways. In most cases, n- Butanol correction increases the panelists' sensitivity to the odor intensity change, and results to be close to the theoretical value. The female panelists can more accurately evaluate the sourness intensity of acetic acid after n- Butanol correction. All panelists regardless of gender can more accurately evaluate the fishiness intensity of trimethylamine after n-Butanol correction. For evaluating the caramel smell intensity of methylcyclopentenolone, a full panel without n-Butanol correction is recommended. Therefore, n-Butanol correction should be included in the process of judge selection and the odor intensity assessment.

Employee Happiness: Why We Should Care

Albert Schweitzer once stated that “success is not the key to happiness, happiness is the key to success.” Despite this widespread belief, employee happiness is often perceived by organizations as an insubstantial topic, irrelevant to bottom-line outcomes. Equally as problematic, past investigations have primarily utilized other positive emotion variables as a proxy for happiness, thus convoluting the relationships between happiness and work outcomes. As such, taking a scientist-practitioner approach, the present study sought to address the need to: (a) directly measure employees’ happiness, (b) link employee happiness to outcomes of organizational interest, and (c) assess the impact that organizational psychosocial factors have in decreasing employee happiness levels. Therefore, by measuring employee happiness, job demands, and organizational outcomes through a two-wave full panel design, the present study provided evidence for employee happiness’s ability to significantly mediate the relationship between job demands and organizational outcomes. Explicitly, a high level of job demands decreased employee happiness, which subsequently decreased employees’ organizational commitment, task performance, and contextual performance, while increasing turnover intentions and counterproductive work behaviors. These results carry significant theoretical and practical implications. Future QOL (Quality of Life) and organizational research would benefit from building on the present findings and establishing a nomological net of employee happiness. Additionally, practitioners have the opportunity to utilize this evidence to demonstrate the impact that employee happiness has on organizationally-relevant outcomes and the role that organizations can have in fostering employee happiness.

What drives China's natural gas consumption? Analysis of national and regional estimates

Natural gas, as a cleaner transition energy than other fossil fuels, has been widely used in China and, thus, further investigation of its potential determinants is particularly useful. For this purpose, this study explores the influencing factors for the consumption of natural gas in China and tests whether the natural gas Kuznets curve (GKC) hypothesis exists, using a panel of 30 provinces covering 1997–2015. To fully capture the significant differences in the natural gas markets across regions, the 30 provinces in China are re-divided into four regions in accordance with their natural gas consumption and economic level. Additionally, considering the possible cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity of the data, a series of econometric approaches that does accommodate cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity is utilized. For the full panel and four regions, cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity exist. The results indicate that, natural gas consumption is significantly and positively affected by economic growth, urbanization level, energy intensity, and economic structure in the long run, while energy consumption structure has a negative effect. In addition, only for the full panel, Regions I and II, is the GKC hypothesis valid. Also, the results of a panel causality test for the four regions are mixed, again confirming the presence of significant regional differences. • Potential determinants of natural gas consumption in China are investigated. • A full panel and four subpanels are separately analyzed. • Cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity exist within the data. • The natural gas Kuznets curve hypothesis is valid in China. • Key determinants of natural gas consumption across regions are mixed.

Genomic Prediction Using Low Density Marker Panels in Aquaculture: Performance Across Species, Traits, and Genotyping Platforms.

Genomic selection increases the rate of genetic gain in breeding programs, which results in significant cumulative improvements in commercially important traits such as disease resistance. Genomic selection currently relies on collecting genome-wide genotype data accross a large number of individuals, which requires substantial economic investment. However, global aquaculture production predominantly occurs in small and medium sized enterprises for whom this technology can be prohibitively expensive. For genomic selection to benefit these aquaculture sectors, more cost-efficient genotyping is necessary. In this study the utility of low and medium density SNP panels (ranging from 100 to 9,000 SNPs) to accurately predict breeding values was tested and compared in four aquaculture datasets with different characteristics (species, genome size, genotyping platform, family number and size, total population size, and target trait). The traits show heritabilities between 0.19–0.49, and genomic prediction accuracies using the full density panel of 0.55–0.87. A consistent pattern of genomic prediction accuracy was observed across species with little or no accuracy reduction until SNP density was reduced below 1,000 SNPs (prediction accuracies of 0.44–0.75). Below this SNP density, heritability estimates and genomic prediction accuracies tended to be lower and more variable (93% of maximum accuracy achieved with 1,000 SNPs, 89% with 500 SNPs, and 70% with 100 SNPs). A notable drop in accuracy was observed between 200 SNP panels (0.44–0.75) and 100 SNP panels (0.39–0.66). Now that a multitude of studies have highlighted the benefits of genomic over pedigree-based prediction of breeding values in aquaculture species, the results of the current study highlight that these benefits can be achieved at lower SNP densities and at lower cost, raising the possibility of a broader application of genetic improvement in smaller and more fragmented aquaculture settings.

How leadership behaviors influence the effects of job predictability and perceived employability on employee mental health - a multilevel, prospective study.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to elucidate the potential moderating effect of fair-, empowering-, and supportive-leadership behaviors on the relationship between job predictability, future employability, and subsequent clinically relevant mental distress.MethodThe study had a full panel, prospective design, utilizing online, self-administered questionnaire data collected at two time points, two years apart. Fair-, empowering-, and supportive-leadership behaviors, job predictability and future employability were measured by the General Nordic Questionnaire for Psychological and Social Factors at Work (QPSNordic). Mental health was measured using the 10-item Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-10), with cut-off set to >1.85 to identify clinically relevant cases. As data were nested within work units, a multilevel analytic approach was chosen.ResultsIndividual-level direct effects: (i) higher levels of job predictability [odds ratio (OR) 0.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.70–0.98], (ii) future employability (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.74–0.93), (iii) fair- (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.68–0.91), empowering- (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.67–0.87), and supportive- (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.61–0.81) leadership behavior, and (iv) the combination “quality of leadership” (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.59–0.81) were significantly associated with a lower risk of reporting subsequent mental distress. Work-unit level direct effects: higher work-unit levels of fair- (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.34–0.80) and empowering- (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.40–0.94) leadership behaviors and quality of leadership (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.34–0.87) were significantly associated with a lowered risk of subsequent mental distress. Cross-level interactions: No cross-level interaction effects were shown.ConclusionsLeadership behaviors did not moderate the effects of job predictability and future employability on mental health. However, employees embedded within work-units characterized by fair, empowering and supportive leadership behaviors had a lower risk of subsequent mental distress.

Productivity Convergence of High-Tech Automotive Industry in Asian

This study is attempting to study the convergence of high-technology productivity of the automotive industry in Asia. This study uses time series data collected from 10 Asian countries from 2002-2016. In addition, this study was tested using the panel method proposed by Phillips and Sul (2007a), to identify whether the convergence of automotive technology high-tech productivity convergence or divergence. The results for full panel convergence in this study show divergence. However, in this study there were three convergence clubs found. The first clubs are Japan, South Korea and Thailand, the second club is Indonesia and Iran while the third club is Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. This study suggests that governments need to play an important role to implement good policies to attract more Asian countries to work with each other. This study can be summarized that economies in Asian countries experience different levels of development and the shift in economic behaviour is very different among Asian countries.

Convergence of renewable energy consumption in the EU-15: evidence from stochastic and club convergence tests.

This paper investigates the convergence of per capita renewable energy consumption across 15 core EU member countries over the period 1990-2018. In addition to the traditional convergence tests, this paper employs a Lagrange multiplier (LM)-based panel unit root test that allows for two endogenously determined structural breaks to test for the stochastic convergence. Given the shortcomings of stochastic convergence tests in light of the possibility of multiple equilibria associated with groups of countries following different convergence paths, the club convergence algorithm is also employed. Traditional cross-sectional tests indicate that both β- and σ-convergence of per capita renewable energy consumption exist across the EU-15 countries. Moreover, the results of stochastic convergence tests reveal that relative per capita renewable energy consumption is converging across the sampled countries over the sample period. However, the club convergence test results suggest the rejection of full panel club convergence and the presence of a certain number of clubs for the variable of interest.

The role of financial development, energy demand, and technological change in environmental sustainability agenda: evidence from selected Asian countries.

The study seeks to examine the policy scheme of Asian countries and their efforts to achieve sustainable environmental practices in terms of green growth, green financing, and CO2emission reduction programs. This study investigates the role of GDP growth, sources of energy consumption, and other plausible hypothetical factors in CO2 emissions using evidence from selected Asian countries over the period of 1980-2015. The contribution of this research is unique, with the use of these plausible variables under the framework of EKC, which makes this study different from other studies and helps fill a gap in the literature. This study has used panel Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS) test, the panel Granger causality test namely the Dumitrescu-Hurlin test (2012) and the Innovative Accounting Approach. The results of FMOLS for the full panel set indicates the presence of an EKC hypothesis, where the impact of GDP growth and the square of GDP growth on CO2 emissions are positive and negative, respectively, in the context of 10 Asian economies. The findings of FMOLS for lower income economies do not support the EKC hypothesis; however, the results exhibit that high and upper middle income economies maintain the EKC hypothesis. The results of high income and upper middle income economies confirm the existence of the environment Kuznets curve, and the results of GDPit show that both significantly positively impact logGDPiton CO2 emission.

Genome wide association study of 5 agronomic traits in olive (Olea europaea L.)

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is one of the most economically and historically important fruit crops worldwide. Genetic progress for valuable agronomic traits has been slow in olive despite its importance and benefits. Advances in next generation sequencing technologies provide inexpensive and highly reproducible genotyping approaches such as Genotyping by Sequencing, enabling genome wide association study (GWAS). Here we present the first comprehensive GWAS study on olive using GBS. A total of 183 accessions (FULL panel) were genotyped using GBS, 94 from the Turkish Olive GenBank Resource (TOGR panel) and 89 from the USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR panel) in the USA. After filtering low quality and redundant markers, GWAS was conducted using 24,977 SNPs in FULL, TOGR and NCGR panels. In total, 52 significant associations were detected for leaf length, fruit weight, stone weight and fruit flesh to pit ratio using the MLM_K. Significant GWAS hits were mapped to their positions and 19 candidate genes were identified within a 10-kb distance of the most significant SNP. Our findings provide a framework for the development of markers and identification of candidate genes that could be used in olive breeding programs.

Cutaneous melanoma: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up†.

Cutaneous melanoma: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up†.