Nexus between green finance and climate change mitigation in N-11 and BRICS countries: empirical estimation through difference in differences (DID) approach.

Green finance is inextricably linked to investment risk, particularly in emerging and developing economies (EMDE). This study uses the difference in differences (DID) method to evaluate the mean causal effects of a treatment on an outcome of the determinants of scaling up green financing and climate change mitigation in the N-11 countries from 2005 to 2019. After analyzing with a dummy for the treated countries, it was confirmed that the outcome covariates: rescon (renewable energy sources consumption), population, FDI, CO, inflation, technical corporation grants, domestic credit to the private sector, and research and development are very significant in promoting green financing and climate change mitigation in the study countries.

COVID-19 pandemic, oil prices, stock market, geopolitical risk and policy uncertainty nexus in the US economy: Fresh evidence from the wavelet-based approach.

In this paper, we analyze the connectedness between the recent spread of COVID-19, oil price volatility shock, the stock market, geopolitical risk and economic policy uncertainty in the US within a time-frequency framework. The coherence wavelet method and the wavelet-based Granger causality tests applied to US recent daily data unveil the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 and oil price shocks on the geopolitical risk levels, economic policy uncertainty and stock market volatility over the low frequency bands. The effect of the COVID-19 on the geopolitical risk substantially higher than on the US economic uncertainty.

Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure at home and at the workplace among non-smokers in Malaysia: Findings from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2011.

Introduction: Understanding the prevalence of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and the associated factors is beneficial for the formulation of effective measures to reduce exposure to SHS. The purpose of this study was to determine SHS exposure at home and workplace, and its associated factors among non-smoker Malaysian adults.

Methods: Data were extracted from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey-Malaysia (GATS-M) that involved a representative sample of 5112 Malaysian adults.

Association between Availability of Neighborhood Fast Food Outlets and Overweight Among 5⁻18 Year-Old Children in Peninsular Malaysia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

A growing number of fast-food outlets in close proximity to residential areas raises a question as to its impact on childhood overweight and obesity. This study aimed at determining the relationship between the availability of fast-food outlets that were in close proximity to residential areas and overweight among Malaysian children aged 5 to 18 years. Measurement data on the weight and height of 5544 children (2797 boys, 2747 girls) were obtained from the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2011.

Relationship between lean practices, soft total quality management and innovation skills in Lebanese hospitals.

Background: Lean practices are critical to eliminate waste and enhance the quality of healthcare services through different improvement approaches of total quality management (TQM). In particular, the soft side of TQM is used to develop the innovation skills of employees that are essential for the continuous improvement strategies of hospitals.

Aim: The main objective was to study the relationship between lean practices, soft TQM and innovation skills in Lebanese hospitals.

Causal nexus between energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission for Malaysia using maximum entropy bootstrap approach.

This study investigates the relationship between energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission in the causal framework, as the direction of causality remains has a significant policy implication for developed and developing countries. The study employed maximum entropy bootstrap (Meboot) approach to examine the causal nexus between energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission using bivariate as well as multivariate framework for Malaysia, over a period of 1975-2013. This is a unified approach without requiring the use of conventional techniques based on asymptotical theory such as testing for possible unit root and cointegration.

Ensemble classifier for epileptic seizure detection for imperfect EEG data.

Brain status information is captured by physiological electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, which are extensively used to study different brain activities. This study investigates the use of a new ensemble classifier to detect an epileptic seizure from compressed and noisy EEG signals. This noise-aware signal combination (NSC) ensemble classifier combines four classification models based on their individual performance.

Occurrence of a mosquito vector in bird houses: Developmental consequences and potential epidemiological implications.

Even with continuous vector control, dengue is still a growing threat to public health in Southeast Asia. Main causes comprise difficulties in identifying productive breeding sites and inappropriate targeted chemical interventions. In this region, rural families keep live birds in backyards and dengue mosquitoes have been reported in containers in the cages.