Foreign Aid, FDI and Economic Growth in East European Countries

This paper examines the effectiveness of foreign aid and foreign direct investment in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The model includes the labor force, capital stock, foreign aid and foreign direct investment, and is estimated using pooled annual time series data from 1993 to 2002. Before carrying out the estimation, the time series properties of the data are diagnosed and an error-correction model is developed and estimated using a fixed-effects estimator. The results indicate that an increase in the stock of domestic capital and inflow of foreign direct investment are significant factors that positively affect economic growth in these countries. Foreign aid did not seem to have any significant effect on real GDP.

Study of Ethno-botanical Flora of Dakingari, Kebbi State Nigeria, West Tropical Africa

The present research is an attempt to study the ethnobotanical flora of Dakingari, Kebbi State, Nigeria. The study was conducted from July 2014 to June 2015 villages of Dakingari. The use of questionnaire method was used for obtaining information on the indigenous knowledge of plants that are used traditionally. The results were spreads in about 31 families, 45 genera and 53 species of angiospermic families. They are Amaranthaceae 2 species, Anacardiaceae 3species, Annonaceae 1 species, Asclepiadaceae 2 species, Asteraceae (Compositae) 2 species, Balanitaceae 1 species, Bombacaceae 1 species, Caesalpinaceae 7 species, Caricaceae 1 species, Capparaceae 1 species, Combretaceae 4 species, Convolvulaceae 1 species, Cucurbitaceae 1 species, Ebenaceae 1 species, Euphorbiaceae  4 species,  Liliaceae 1 species, Malvaceae 2 species, Meliaceae 1 species, Mimosaceae 2 species, Musaceae 1 species, Moringaceae 1 species, Mrytaceae 2 species, Nymphaeceae 1 species, Olacaceae 1 species,  Pediliaceae 2 species, Poaceae 2 species, Rubiaceae 2 species, Sapindaceae 1 species, Sapotaceae 1 species, Sterculiaceae 1 species and Verbenaceae 1 species

Pathway of human AS3MT arsenic methylation

A synthetic gene encoding human As(III) S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) methyltransferase (hAS3MT) was expressed, and the purified enzyme was characterized. The synthetic enzyme is considerably more active than a cDNA-expressed enzyme using endogenous reductants thioredoxin (Trx), thioredoxin reductase (TR), NADPH, and reduced glutathione (GSH). Each of the seven cysteines (the four conserved residues, Cys32, Cys61, Cys156, and Cys206, and nonconserved, Cys72, Cys85, and Cys250) was individually changed to serine. The nonconserved cysteine derivates were still active. None of the individual C32S, C61S, C156S, and C206S derivates were able to methylate As(III). However, the C32S and C61S enzymes retained the ability to methylate MAs(III). These observations suggest that Cys156 and Cys206 play a different role in catalysis than that of Cys32 and Cys61. A homology model built on the structure of a thermophilic orthologue indicates that Cys156 and Cys206 form the As(III) binding site, whereas Cys32 and Cys61 form a disulfide bond. Two observations shed light on the pathway of methylation. First, binding assays using the fluorescence of a single-tryptophan derivative indicate that As(GS)3 binds to the enzyme much faster than inorganic As(III). Second, the major product of the first round of methylation is MAs(III), not MAs(V), and remains enzyme-bound until it is methylated a second time. We propose a new pathway for hAS3MT catalysis that reconciles the hypothesis of Challenger ((1947) Sci. Prog., 35, 396-416) with the pathway proposed by Hayakawa et al. ((2005) Arch. Toxicol., 79, 183-191). The products are the more toxic and more carcinogenic trivalent methylarsenicals, but arsenic undergoes oxidation and reduction as enzyme-bound intermediates

Leaf Phenology of Cassia Sieberiana L. in KSUSTA Campus of Kebbi State, Nigeria

The Aliero local government area is located at approximate latitudes 110 03\u27 S, 120 47\u27N and longitudes 30 6\u27W and 40 27\u27E. In kebbi state, north western part of Nigeria, It also has a total area of 412 square kilometers and is bordered in the east by Tambuwal Local government area of Sokoto state in the North West by Birnin Kebbi local government area in the South West by Jega local government area. The study was carried out in Aliero local government area, Kebbi state Nigeria. Leaf exchange is crucial in the lifecycle patterns of a tree species, these also includes leaf fall, leaf emergence, leaf flush, death or senescence (leaf onset and leaf offset). The study of leaf dynamics is termed leaf Phenology. Phonological phases are reoccurring biological events that signal changes in climate, environmental conditions, and genetic factors during the developmental growth of plants. Cassia sieberiana L trees maintained significant foliage was recorded in March in individuals which did not become leafless