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"Samad, Abdul"
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Novel Drug Delivery Systems for Loading of Natural Plant Extracts and Their Biomedical Applications
Many types of research have distinctly addressed the efficacy of natural plant metabolites used for human consumption both in cell culture and preclinical animal model systems. However, these in vitro and in vivo effects have not been able to be translated for clinical use because of several factors such as inefficient systemic delivery and bioavailability of promising agents that significantly contribute to this disconnection. Over the past decades, extraordinary advances have been made successfully on the development of novel drug delivery systems for encapsulation of plant active metabolites including organic, inorganic and hybrid nanoparticles. The advanced formulas are confirmed to have extraordinary benefits over conventional and previously used systems in the manner of solubility, bioavailability, toxicity, pharmacological activity, stability, distribution, sustained delivery, and both physical and chemical degradation. The current review highlights the development of novel nanocarrier for plant active compounds, their method of preparation, type of active ingredients, and their biomedical applications.
Journal Article
MicroRNA and Transcription Factor: Key Players in Plant Regulatory Network
Recent achievements in plant microRNA (miRNA), a large class of small and non-coding RNAs, are very exciting. A wide array of techniques involving forward genetic, molecular cloning, bioinformatic analysis, and the latest technology, deep sequencing have greatly advanced miRNA discovery. A tiny miRNA sequence has the ability to target single/multiple mRNA targets. Most of the miRNA targets are transcription factors (TFs) which have paramount importance in regulating the plant growth and development. Various families of TFs, which have regulated a range of regulatory networks, may assist plants to grow under normal and stress environmental conditions. This present review focuses on the regulatory relationships between miRNAs and different families of TFs like; NF-Y, MYB, AP2, TCP, WRKY, NAC, GRF, and SPL. For instance NF-Y play important role during drought tolerance and flower development, MYB are involved in signal transduction and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, AP2 regulate the floral development and nodule formation, TCP direct leaf development and growth hormones signaling. WRKY have known roles in multiple stress tolerances, NAC regulate lateral root formation, GRF are involved in root growth, flower, and seed development, and SPL regulate plant transition from juvenile to adult. We also studied the relation between miRNAs and TFs by consolidating the research findings from different plant species which will help plant scientists in understanding the mechanism of action and interaction between these regulators in the plant growth and development under normal and stress environmental conditions.
Journal Article
Toward a sustainable environment: nexus between geothermal energy growth and land use change in EU economies
There are many advantages of geothermal energy as an environmentally friendly resource; however, there are quite a several challenges that need to be overcome to completely harness sustainable and renewable energy that is also natural. The primary aim of this study is to examine what influence geothermal energy will have on land use changes among the considered 27 states in the European Union from the time being 1990 to 2021. The study adopts the auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL); the findings show that geothermal energy growth could be leveraged to achieve remarkable growth in land use change among the 13 European developing economies than among the 14 EU developed economies. On the other hand, results from analysis further show that a remarkable decrease in land use change could be better attained among the 14 EU developed economies that among the 13 EU developing economies as a result of institutional quality. Furthermore, the result suggests that through economic growth, there could be a remarkable increase in land use change among the 14 EU developed economies than among the 13 EU developing economies. It was further revealed by the study that the level of land use change among the 27 EU nations could be remarkably increased, boosting the level of geothermal energy production that will assist in attaining the aims behind the 2030 energy union. This will eventually help in curbing the incidence of climate change and pollution in the environment; the projected calculations are observed to be valid, as confirmed through the chosen three estimators for this research. The chosen estimators are the pooled mean group, mean group, and dynamic fixed effect. The regulations and governors in 27 European Union countries should give priority to using geothermal in their renewable energy mix to reduce the incidence of changes in land structures. Also, an increased level of efficiency and effectiveness should be made to the generation of geothermal energy by state actors and investors to prompt sustainability and attainability with no further depreciation in agricultural and forest natural states.
Journal Article
Does hydropower production influence agriculture industry growth to achieve sustainable development in the EU economies?
There are many advantages of the hydropower industry, as an environmentally friendly resource, and also some challenges that need to be overcome to fully exploit this sustainable and renewable natural resource. The primary objective of this study is to find out the impact of hydropower factors and economic growth on the agriculture industry output among the EU27 nations within the time factor 1990 to 2021. Adopting the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL), the findings show a significant positive effect could occur in agriculture industry growth of the European Union (EU13)-emerging economies using hydropower factors than in EU14-emerged economies. On one hand, among additional factors, economic growth and institutional quality contribute more positively to agriculture growth in EU13 economies than in EU14 economies. On the other hand, population density contributes more negatively to agriculture growth in EU13 economies than in EU14 economies. The findings show there can be a positive significant growth increase in the EU13 agriculture industry using fossil fuel output than in EU14 economies. The results show that growth could be sustained in the agricultural industry of the European nations by increasing the level of hydropower production as this will help in attaining sustainable development by the year 2030. This will therefore help in mitigating the effect of climatic changes due to environmental pollution. The projected calculations were seen to be reliable and valid and this was attested to by the three estimators used in the study (pooled mean group, mean group, and dynamic fixed effect). This study recommended that European nations could leverage hydroelectricity to achieve sustainable growth and development. The legislative arms of the government of these European nations should as well show more interest in green energy to achieve security and sustainable development in hydroelectricity production. Decision-makers in the EU nations should buttress more emphasis on sustainable means through which hydropower could be used to attain sustainable irrigation systems for the agriculture industry and thus minimize the demand for fossil fuels and reduce CO2-related emissions in the future tine ahead.
Journal Article
Internet banking service quality, e-customer satisfaction and loyalty: the modified e-SERVQUAL model
PurposeThis study explores the service quality dimensions in Internet banking and their impact on e-customer’s satisfaction and e-customer’s loyalty. This study tries to inspect the structural association between Internet banking service quality, electronic customer satisfaction and electronic customer loyalty based on separate constructs.Design/methodology/approachIn this present research, quantitative approach is applied. The data is gathered from 500 bank clients in Pakistan by using structured questionnaires, and the theoretical model is tested by partial least square structured equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Moreover, convergent validity and discriminant validity were assessed.FindingsResults show that all the dimensions are found to have a positive and significant influence on customer satisfaction while customer’s satisfaction has a significant and positive impact on customer’s loyalty. Findings indicate that service quality plays a very important role in every society, as it has become the basis for how customers interpret online banking and, in the end, how it interacts and operates with online services.Practical implicationsThis research adds up considerably to the literature of bank marketing, and it is also fruitful for the academicians since it demonstrates the way Internet banking service quality determinants predict e-satisfaction of clients which ultimately raises the e-loyalty of clients. This study is useful for those E-retailers and managers who want to grab e-retailing market.Originality/valueThis research suggests a model which ultimately enhances customer loyalty towards Internet banking service quality through customer satisfaction in Pakistan. It involves modified model of E-SERVQUAL (user friendliness, efficiency of websites, personal need, and site organization) which connects it to electronic customer satisfaction and electronic customer loyalty. Therefore, it will assist the Internet banking sector in building effective marketing tactics, establishing long lasting relationships with clients and acquiring the competitive edge in the market.
Journal Article
Relationship between wood fuel energy consumption and forest degradation at regional and sub-regional levels of sub-Saharan Africa: the role of control of corruption and government effectiveness
This paper examines the effect of wood fuel energy consumption on forest degradation at regional and sub-regional levels of sub-Saharan Africa by taking into consideration the role of control of corruption and government effectiveness. To achieve the objective of the study, system generalized method of moments was used on a sample of 45 sub-Saharan African countries over the 2005–2013 period. The estimated results of the study revealed that wood fuel consumption impact positively on forest degradation at sub-Saharan Africa’s level. In other words, the finding indicated that wood fuel consumption is a significant driver of forest degradation at the regional level of sub-Saharan Africa. While at sub-regional levels of sub-Saharan Africa, the result revealed that wood fuel consumption impact positively on forest degradation in southern, western, and central Africa only. In summary, the finding showed that forest degradation is increased by wood fuel consumption at both regional and sub-regional levels of sub-Saharan Africa with the exception of east Africa where the impact of wood fuel consumption on forest degradation is insignificant. On the other hand, control of corruption and government effectiveness were found to have negative effect on forest degradation at both regional and sub-regional levels of sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, intensifying fight against corruption and ensuring effective governance can assist to reduce degradation of forests in the region. As such, policy makers should focus on improving these institutional quality indicators to fight degradation of forests in the region.
Journal Article
Regulating Autonomous Weapon Systems: Challenges and Future Prospects
The introduction of Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS) has been described as a third revolution in warfare following the development of gunpowder and nuclear weapons. Technological advancements in Artificial Intelligence, Facial Recognition Technology, Drones and Big Data have spurred the development of AWS that can operate without meaningful human control. Given the legal, operational and ethical challenges posed by AWS, many states have called for an international treaty to regulate and prohibit these systems. This research paper seeks to understand the ongoing debate at multilateral forums on how to regulate and limit the use of these weapon systems, specifically in the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) and the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE). At the global level, there is an extensive debate on how to define concepts such as meaningful human control and autonomy in the context of governing and regulating an autonomous weapon system. The paper examines these definitional issues and locates how global powers have positioned themselves within the existing debate. The CCW has made limited progress towards agreeing on legally binding regulations and there continues to be a lack of consensus among the State Parties on the way forward. Given the current deadlock, the paper also makes recommendations on how future progress on regulating AWS can be made in the relevant forums.
Journal Article
Unveiling the impacts of geothermal energy growth on food security in EU27 region: an empirical analysis
There are many advantages of geothermal energy, as an environmental friend resource. This heat radiation emanating from beneath the earth’s surface presents man with good opportunities to harness it and makes a good level of agricultural food production and its processing in the EU region. The primary objective of this research is to examine the impact of geothermal energy on agri-food supply among the 27 European countries (EU27), within the time frame 1990 to 2021. The study adopted the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL), and the findings from this study revealed that agri-food supply can increase significantly among the 13 European countries (EU13 emerging economies), leveraging on geothermal energy and economic growth variables than in the EU14 emerged economies. Furthermore, the outcome of this study showed that there could be a significant decrease in the food products coming from agricultural practices among the 13 European countries (EU13 emerging economies), due to an ineffective population density than in EU14 emerged economies. Furthermore, fossil fuel and institutional quality contribute more positively to the agri-food supply in the EU14 emerged economies than in the EU13 emerging economies. This results in an outcome that means that the agri-food supply among the EU13 emerging economies could be greatly boosted by replacing fossil fuel consumption with geothermal energy, and this facilitates the attainment of the European energy goals by the year 2030. Substituting fossil fuels with geothermal will also assist in minimizing the risks of environmental pollution and climate change. All projected calculations were seen as valid in this study, and this was confirmed by the three estimators adopted which are the pooled mean group, the mean group, and the dynamic fixed effect. This study, therefore, recommends that the 27 European countries should lay more emphasis on geothermal energy production as this will help in ensuring food security in the region. Policymakers and other government authorities as well as local and foreign investors should make more investments in geothermal energy resources as this study has proven that this will lead to agri-food security and sustainability. Not only this, it will as well curb the incidence of climate change and environmental pollution.
Journal Article
How does government efficiency affect carbon emission intensity? A comprehensive empirical study
This study utilized panel data from 132 countries spanning from 1996 to 2019 to examine the effect of government efficiency on carbon emission intensity. Using a fixed effect model, the study found that stronger government efficiency is associated with a significant decrease in carbon emission intensity. Robustness tests were performed, the results of which consistently supported the main findings. Additionally, the study investigated the mechanisms underlying the linkage between government efficiency and carbon emission intensity, revealing that improved government efficiency can inhibit carbon emission intensity by fostering environmental innovation and promoting renewable energy consumption. Finally, the study examined the moderating effects of national income level, economic freedom, democracy, and ruling party ideology on the nexus of government efficiency and carbon emission intensity, and found empirical evidence supporting these moderating effects. These results provide new insights for governments seeking to reduce carbon emission intensity.
Journal Article