Toward maritime sustainability in GCC countries: What role do economic freedom and human capital play?

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members have recently experienced rapid environmental degradation. Although there has been a boom in studies investigating the causes of environmental degradation, little is known about the drivers of maritime sustainability. This study examines the impacts of economic freedom and human capital on the fishing grounds footprint in GCC countries between 2000 and 2021.

Assessing the spillover effects of various forms of energy on CO emissions - An empirical study based on dynamic spatial Durbin model.

Previous studies ignored the geospatial dynamics spillover effects of energy consumption on CO emissions while assessing such impacts in developed and developing countries. Moreover, most studies wrongfully assess spillover effects in its aggregated format rather than decomposing by its components. This is important as not all energy sources share the same characteristics.

Modelling for disability: How does artificial intelligence affect unemployment among people with disability? An empirical analysis of linear and nonlinear effects.

There is a growing debate among scholars regarding the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the employment opportunities and professional development of people with disability. Although there has been an increasing body of empirical research on the topic, it has generally yielded conflicting findings. This study contributes to the ongoing debate by examining the linear and nonlinear effects of AI on the unemployment of people with disability in 40 countries between 2007 and 2021.

Do institutions contribute to environmental sustainability? A global analysis using the dynamic spatial Durbin and threshold models.

There has been a recent surge in attention to the potential involvement of institutions in enhancing environmental quality. This research contributes to the ongoing debate by analyzing the spillover and nonlinear effects of institutions on the load capacity factor (LCF) in a sample of 100 countries between 2000 and 2019. The spillover effects are analyzed using the dynamic spatial Durbin model (DSDM), while the dynamic threshold model is implemented to estimate the nonlinear impacts of institutions.

A revisit of the EKC hypothesis in top polluted African countries via combining the ARMEY curve into the Kuznets curve: A Fourier ARDL approach.

The present research reexamines the validity of the EKC hypothesis in the top three polluted nations in Africa, Algeria, Egypt, and South Africa, over the period 1970-2020. The central idea of the research is to reexamine the EKC hypothesis by incorporating the ARMEY curve linking government spending and GDP into the Kuznets curve, as suggested by Işık et al. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29(11):16472-16483, (2022) and Ongan et al.

Analyzing the symmetric and asymmetric effects of disaggregate natural resources on the ecological footprint in Saudi Arabia: insights from the dynamic ARDL approach.

The present study examines the symmetric and asymmetric effects of natural resource exploitation on the ecological footprint in Saudi Arabia during the period 1981-2018. The analysis is performed for total natural resources and different types of natural resources, including oil, natural gas, and minerals. This research employs the dynamic Autoregressive Distributed Lag (DYNARDL) simulation approach.

A new methodology for assessing the energy use-environmental degradation nexus.

The international community is more than ever before worrying about the unremitting global warming and climate change and the responsibility of extensive energy use for that situation. This article contributes to the existing literature by examining whether energy consumption predicts CO emissions during the past 50 years in the five most polluting nations in the world. To do this, we have been using the recently developed predictability test of Westerlund and Narayan (Journal of Banking and Finance, 36, 2632-2640, 2012, Journal of Financial Econometrics, 13, 342-375, 2015).

Influence of body mass index and self-administration of hCG on the outcome of IVF cycles: a prospective cohort study.

Final maturation of the oocyte in in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles is achieved through the administration of a timed injection of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). The success of mature oocyte retrieval is dependent on serum concentrations of the hormone reaching values capable of initiating meiosis and triggering the release of the cumulus-oocyte complex into the follicular fluid. The objective of this prospective cohort study was to examine the effect of adiposity, as measured by body mass index (BMI), on serum concentrations of hCG and gonadotrophins and to relate this to IVF outcome.

Utero-ovarian blood flow characteristics of pituitary desensitization.

Background: Down-regulation in assisted reproduction treatment cycles is monitored by suppression of ovarian/pituitary hormones and/or measurement of endometrial thickness.

Methods: This prospective longitudinal study reports on utero-ovarian characteristics of pituitary desensitization. A total of 75 patients were recruited; 32 had IVF treatment, 20 frozen--thawed embryo transfer cycles and 23 patients were recipients of donated oocytes.

Cryopreservation of human ovarian tissue.

As survival rates for young cancer patients continue to improve, protection against iatrogenic infertility caused by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy assumes a higher priority. As things stand, women patients have few options to preserve their fertility while children have none at all.

A postal survey of embryo transfer practice in the UK.

In this postal survey a questionnaire was sent to all unit directors in the UK to determine their attitudes to the factors influencing embryo transfer practice. They were requested to rate each step on a scale of 1-10, where 1 was irrelevant and 10 very important. A total of 80 practitioners from 40 units replied.

Human oocyte cryopreservation.

Despite early success with sperm and embryo cryopreservation, human oocyte cryopreservation has met with limited success both in terms of survival and subsequent fertilization. However, compared with embryo cryopreservation, oocyte freezing has great potential for eliminating the ethical and legal problems of embryo storage.

The influence of supernumerary embryos on the clinical outcome of IVF cycles.

Purpose: To assess the influence of the presence of quality supernumerary embryos on the clinical outcome and risk of multiple conception in patients having their first in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 1448 women having their first IVF treatment cycle who received 4004 embryos where at least six embryos were available for transfer treated in an Assisted Conception Unit based in a large teaching hospital.

Results: The replacement of three rather than two embryos to women under 35 years who had good-quality supernumerary embryos resulted in a higher twin (12.

Monozygotic twinning and IVF/ICSI treatment: a report of 11 cases and review of literature.

Monozygotic twinning is a relatively rare event in in-vivo conception, being estimated to occur in 0.42% of all births. The underlying mechanism for monozygotic twin formation is the division of the embryo early in its development.

New concepts in superovulation strategies for assisted conception treatments.

Controlled ovarian stimulation for in-vitro fertilization treatment using preparations that contain follicle-stimulating hormone has been routinely performed since the 1980s. The early preparations were urinary human menopausal gonadotrophins, containing follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone. In the early 1990s, highly purified follicle-stimulating hormone preparations were introduced because of a desire to provide drugs for subcutaneous administration with a lower risk of allergic reactions.

Extra-uterine pregnancy following assisted conception treatment.

Ectopic pregnancy may be the only life-threatening disease in which prevalence has increased as mortality has declined. The most prominent theory to explain this phenomenon involves increased sensitivity of serum beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) immunoassay and improved quality of transvaginal ultrasound, combined with a heightened awareness and increased suspicion of the condition among clinicians which has allowed early detection of ectopic pregnancy. Laparotomy, once the standard treatment of ectopic pregnancy, has been replaced almost entirely by operative laparoscopy.

The influence of donated gametes on the incidence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Pregnancies achieved from oocyte, sperm or embryo donation are unique, since they have resulted from donor gametes that are immunologically foreign to the mother. Thus, studying the obstetric outcome of such pregnancies may shed some light on the pathophysiology of preeclampsia, particularly in women conceiving with donated embryos, since the entire fetal genome is allogenic in these pregnancies. In this retrospective cohort study, a total of 144 women were studied.

Modern management of eclampsia.

Eclampsia, the occurrence of a seizure in association with pre-eclampsia, remains an important cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. Despite being recognised since antiquity, consistent management practices are still lacking. Given that the aim of good care is to prevent seizures, it is disappointing that in the majority of cases the first eclamptic convulsion occurs after admission to hospital.

A comparison of three gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues in an in-vitro fertilization programme: a prospective randomized study.

The use of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRHa) has resulted in improved pregnancy rates in in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment cycles. Traditionally, short-acting analogues have been employed because of concerns over long-acting depot preparations causing profound suppression and luteal phase defects adversely affecting pregnancy and miscarriage rates. We randomized 60 IVF patients to receive a short-acting GnRHa, nafarelin or buserelin, or to receive a depot formulation, leuprorelin, all commenced in the early follicular phase and compared their effects on hormonal suppression and clinical outcome.

Dynamics of human follicular growth and in-vitro oocyte maturation.

The physiological trigger for meiotic resumption in the human oocyte is the surge of luteinizing hormone, but it can also occur spontaneously if oocytes are released from antral follicles and cultured in vitro. The development of novel techniques for the culture of murine oocytes has raised the possibility of growing human oocytes to maturity in vitro. Such a system could open the door to a number of techniques with revolutionary consequences.

The relationship between follicular fluid aspirate volume and oocyte maturity in in-vitro fertilization cycles.

As a consequence of multiple follicular growth during ovarian stimulation for in-vitro fertilization (IVF), follicles of varying sizes often yield oocytes that vary in maturity and morphology of the oocyte-cumulus-corona complex. The objective of this prospective study was to explore the relationship between follicular fluid aspirate volume and the oocyte's developmental potential in an IVF treatment cycle. In total 9933 follicles were studied from 400 patients who underwent 535 consecutive IVF treatment cycles at St James's University Hospital, Leeds, UK, between February 1995 and February 1996.

Cryopreservation of immature human oocytes and ovarian tissue: an emerging technology?

Objective: To review the potential for cryopreserving immature follicles either in situ or after isolation from ovarian stroma and to consider the options for fertility by transplantation or in vitro follicle growth.

Design: The problems of storing embryos and mature (metaphase II) oocytes were considered in light of the needs of patients to protect fertility before undergoing potentially sterilizing therapy for cancer. The evidence from the experimental biology literature showing that immature oocytes (prophase I) in primordial follicles can be cryopreserved successfully and transplanted to produce fertile eggs was reviewed.

Endometrial carcinoma in a young patient with polycystic ovarian syndrome: first suspected at time of embryo transfer.

Adenocarcinoma of the endometrium is a rare condition in women under 40 years of age. However, patients with anovulatory polycystic ovarian syndrome are at risk of developing endometrial carcinoma due to the unopposed and prolonged effect of oestrogen on the endometrium. This case report discusses the dilemma of various treatment options for early disease in such patients.

Isolation and characterization of primordial follicles from fresh and cryopreserved human ovarian tissue.

Objective: To develop an efficient isolation technique for human primordial follicles.

Design: Prospective, experimental study of ovarian biopsies collected from healthy women undergoing elective cesarean section. Ovarian blocks either were fixed for histology and follicle counting or partially disaggregated with type 1A collagenase before or after cryopreservation.