A study of Kuwait's monetary sector.

This study is concerned with the structure, development and working of the monetary sector in the State of Kuwait. Initially, the characteristics of the Kuwaiti economy are examined in order to put the monetary sector into perspective. It is shown that the Kuwaiti economy possesses the general characteristics of less developed economies together with some distinguishing properties. It is argued that since there exists no one-to-one relationship between government revenue and expenditure, the money supply, in the short run, tends to be insulated from the effect of the external balance. - The working of Kuwait's monetary sector is studied through the balance sheets of the Central Bank and commercial banks, and that leads on to an analysis of the money supply process. The definition of money is discussed, and it is argued on the basis of empirical evidence that the broad money supply is the most appropriate for the purpose of monetary control. Causality testing reveals a unidirectional effect from money to income, and the estimation of velocity equations indicates that financing economic development by monetary injections is inflationary in the short run. A multiplier reduced-form model reveals the viability of short-run monetary control in Kuwait, but it is argued that monetary policy has been ineffective in this respect. It is also postulated that the combination of interest and exchange rate policies gives rise to the recurring problem of capital outflows. A structural econometric model of the monetary sector shows that the equilibrium stock of money is determined by supply and demand factors, and that the control of banks' reserves can (in part) accomplish the objective of monetary control. The model also reveals that both monetary and fiscal actions affect real output and prices, but the former tend to be more powerful. It is recommended on the basis of this study that the Central Bank should be given greater autonomy in formulating and executing monetary policy, and that its research capabilities need to be improved. Urgent attention must be paid to developing financial markets and upgrading tools of monetary policy. Finally, It Is argued that the Ministry of Finance should take part in the control of money and credit by manipulating its deposits and, perhaps, adopting a simple constant change rule in government expenditure

The practical significance of lactose maldigestion in institutionalised black children

A study was carried out to determine the practical significance of a high prevalence of lactose maldigestion in institutionalised children whose diet included 500 ml milk daily. Thirty of 34 children at a child we"are home were found to be lactose maldigesters as judged by a 2-hour rise in breath hydrogen of 20 parts per million or more after an oral load of lactose. Breath hydrogen tests were also perf~rmed on the same group of children, before and up to 150 minutes after the routine mid-morning cup of milk. Sixteen of the 30 lactosemaldigesting children did not show Increased breath hydrogen up to 2,5 hours after milk. No children were clinically intolerant of either the lactose or the milk. In these children the degree of lactose digestion was much improved in the non-fasting' state when measured by the breath hydrogen response to milk lactose. Lactose maldigestion per se is not a contraindication to institutional feeding routines, including regular moderate milk intake

Lactose maldigestion - age-specific prevalence black and Indian children

A study was performed to determine the prevalence and age of onset of primary lactose maldigestion in healthy black and Indian children, and to determine whether this was of clinical significance. More black (22 of 44 - 50%) than Indian children (10 of 45 - 22,2%) had lactose maldigestion (P < 0,02), the development of which was age-related and occurred earlier in blacks than in Indians; 6 of 19 black children less than 5 years old (31,6%) were lactose maldigesters, compared with 8 of 10 (80%) over 10 years old, while only 1 of 16 Indian children aged under 8 years (6,3%) were maldigesters, compared with 5 of 13 (38,5%) aged over 10 years. Most children had a very low intake of milk and lactose maldigestion was of no clinical significance to them

Is depression a concern among medical students: a cross sectional study in different academic years of a private medical college in Bangladesh

Background: Depression is not uncommon among medical students all over the world. Few studies have been conducted so far in Bangladesh to depict its actual prevalence and severity. So, the aim of this study was to assess the severity of depression and the level of difficulty faced by medical students in different academic years.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in North East medical college of Bangladesh from January 2018 to June 2018 involving 443 students from 1st year to 5th year. Students were instructed to fill up the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) which incorporates diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV) depression diagnostic criteria categorized as no, mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe depression and also evaluates their level of function.Results: The prevalence of depression was quite high (79.68%). 196 (44.24%) and 157 (35.44%) students had mild and major depression respectively, while 90 (20.32%) showed no depression. Students with major depression were scored as moderate depression 24.38%, moderately severe depression 8.35%, and severe depression 2.71%. Moderate depression was significantly higher in year 1 and year 2 students in comparison to year 3, 4 and 5. Students from year 1 to year 5 with mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe depression experienced varying degree of difficulty in their daily activities. Almost all the students in all years with severe depression found themselves very difficult or extremely difficult to cope.Conclusions: High prevalence of depression among medical students is really alarming and underlying factors need to be addressed

Normal, Abby Normal, Prefix Normal

A prefix normal word is a binary word with the property that no substring has more 1s than the prefix of the same length. This class of words is important in the context of binary jumbled pattern matching. In this paper we present results about the number $pnw(n)$ of prefix normal words of length $n$, showing that $pnw(n) =\Omega\left(2^{n - c\sqrt{n\ln n}}\right)$ for some $c$ and $pnw(n) = O \left(\frac{2^n (\ln n)^2}{n}\right)$. We introduce efficient algorithms for testing the prefix normal property and a "mechanical algorithm" for computing prefix normal forms. We also include games which can be played with prefix normal words. In these games Alice wishes to stay normal but Bob wants to drive her "abnormal" -- we discuss which parameter settings allow Alice to succeed.Comment: Accepted at FUN '1

Racemic methyl 3,10-dioxa-2-aza­tri­cyclo­[6.2.1.02,6]undecane-4-carboxyl­ate

The structure of the racemic title compound, C10H15NO4, consists of a tricyclic skeleton comprising a six-membered piperidine ring and five-membered isoxazolidine and tetra­hydro­furan rings. The piperidine ring adopts a distorted chair conformation, while the isoxazolidine and tetra­hydro­furan rings have envelope conformations

Dietary and fluid adherence among haemodialysis patients attending public sector hospitals in the Western Cape

Objective There has been considerable debate about the extent to which social cognitive models of health behaviour apply in developing countries. The purpose of this paper was to determine the applicability of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in predicting dietary and fluid adherence among a sample of haemodialysis patients attending public sector hospitals in the Western Cape. Design and methods A sample of 62 historically disadvantaged patients undergoing haemodialysis completed a battery of psychometric instruments measuring attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control regarding dietary and fluid adherence, health literacy, perceived social support, and self-reported dietary and fluid adherence. Interdialytic weight gain (IDWG), predialytic serum potassium levels, and predialytic serum phosphate levels served as biochemical indicators of dietary and fluid adherence. Results Regression analyses indicated that the linear combination of attitudes and perceived behavioural control significantly accounted for 15.5% of the variance in self-reported adherence (a medium-effect size) and 11.4% of the variance in IDWG (a modest-effect size). No significant predictors were identified for predialytic serum potassium and predialytic serum phosphate levels. Interpretation and conclusions The results indicate that, while the TPB may not function in the same manner as it does in Western samples, it may have some nuanced applicability among haemodialysis patients attending public sector hospitals in the Western Cape. SAJCN Vol. 21 (2) 2008: pp. 7-1

The Concept of Academic Excellence: A Macro Analysis

In the increasingly competitive, globalized economy and emergence of new business models, effective and efficient management is vital for any organization offering products and/or services. This highlights the significance of management and the pivotal role of academic excellence as a catalyst in shaping the future learners to serve organizations better. In the contemporary world, Governance, Leadership, strategic planning, performance and  quality management, innovation in teaching- learning, research and consulting play a vital role towards academic excellence . Based on the Global perspectives, critical elements for academic excellence are identified in addition to the risks involved Keywords: Academic Excellence, Strategic performance, Quality, Learning outcomes DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/81-0