The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of fiscal policy in emerging countries in periods of crisis. We study the effect of fiscal policy on economic activity distinguishing between periods of recession and expansion periods. Our goal will be to explore the nonlinear effect of fiscal policy in Asian emerging countries on the activity during periods of crisis. We use the PST...

Natural gas has become more and more important in the world energy market with the change of energy consumption structure and consumption subjects. This paper applies the panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) model to study the nonlinear relationship between natural gas consumption and economic variables of emerging economies, and the empirical results show that: (1) There is a non-linear r...

This paper proposes a new approach for analyzing the dynamic relationships between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, energy use, and income Middle East North African (MENA) region. Our study implements class of regime-switching models, namely nonlinear panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) framework. Two kinds estimates emissions are provided. On one hand, we measure impact consumption on CO2...

PURPOSE To characterize retinal functional consequences of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in a rat model of experimental glaucoma. METHODS Unilateral elevation of IOP was produced by hypertonic saline injection into an episcleral vein in 20 adult male Brown-Norway rats. IOP was measured in both eyes of awake animals four to five times per week. After 5 weeks, animals were dark adapted ov...

BACKGROUND Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a key player in modulating inflammation. IL-6 and soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) complex induces the synthesis and secretion of various chemokines, adhesion molecules and angiogenic molecules. We hypothesized that the baseline peritoneal solute transport rate (PSTR) early after commencing peritoneal dialysis (PD) may depend largely on the IL-6/sIL-6R system. W...

Objectives. Epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) is important for peritoneal deterioration. We evaluated the association between peritoneal solute transport rate (PSTR) and effluent markers related to EMT with adjusted values for effluent cancer antigen 125 (CA125). Methods. One hundred five incident peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients on PD for 25 (12-68) months with biocompatible solutions w...

Purpose To investigate the benefit of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC)-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEV) as an intravitreal (ivit) therapy in two rat models of glaucoma and to determine and identify candidate miRNA involved in the mechanism. Methods sEV were isolated from human BMSC and fibroblasts and ivit injected into adult rats after induction of elevated IOP. IOP was ele...

PURPOSE Diet-induced deficiencies in Omega-3 (omega-3) fatty acids are well known to alter photoreceptor function. In this study, the broader functional changes in a diversity of retinal neurons were considered. METHODS Sprague-Dawley dams were fed either omega-3-sufficient (omega-3(+), n = 21) or -deficient (omega-3(-), n = 19) diets 5 weeks before conception, with the pups continued on the ...

Significant associations have been reported between (a) specific bacterial species isolated from root canals and (b) between individual bacterial species and endodontic symptoms and signs. The prime objective of this study was to determine whether particular combinations of specific bacteria are associated with individual endodontic symptoms and signs. Seventy root canals were investigated micr...