The Impact of Investment Decision Quality of Islamic Banks in Bangladesh: A Critical Review

The study investigates investment decision quality of Islamic banks in Bangladesh. Five financial ratios are selected for measuring investment performances of selected banks. Deposits and credits do not always ensure better profitability performance and operational efficiency and asset utilization. CAR and Tire_1 ratio do not differ significantly at Islamic banks in last five years. The researchers have found that there is a satisfactory improvement in bank’s credit quality in last five years despite of certain fluctuations. It is also worth mentioned that investment quality of Islamic banks is much better than that of conventional banks in Bangladesh. Key words:  Investment decision, LSRNPL , LSRTL, Bangladesh

Credit Exposure and Lending Decision Quality of Private Commercial Banks in Bangladesh: An Empirical Analysis

The main focus of this paper is to examine empirically the level of credit exposure and lending decision quality of local private commercial banks in of Bangladesh during the period of 2007-2011. Five financial ratios are selected for measuring credit performances of selected banks. By applying one way ANOVA it is found that NPLTL. LSRTL and LSRNPL ratios differ significantly while CAR and Tire_1 ratio do not differ significantly between conventional banks and Islamic banks in last five years. The empirical study also found that there is a satisfactory improvement in banks’ credit quality in last five years despite of certain fluctuations. It is also worth mentioned that level of credit exposure and quality of Islamic banks is much better than that of conventional banks in Bangladesh in last. Keywords: Credit Exposure, Lending decision, Non-performing loan, Capital Adequacy rati

Hyperuricemia Is Independently Associated with Coronary Heart Disease and Renal Dysfunction in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

AIMS: To investigate the relationship between hyperuricemia (HUA) and the clinical backgrounds in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: After a cross-sectional study evaluating the association of HUA with the clinical characteristics in 1,213 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and the incidence of diabetic macroangiopathies was investigated in a prospective observational study in 1,073 patients during a 3.5 year period. HUA was defined by serum uric acid levels >327 μmol/L or as patients using allopurinol. RESULTS: The frequency of HUA was significantly higher in the diabetic patients (32% in men and 15% in women) than in the normal controls (14% in men and 1% in women). In total, HUA was found in 299 (25%) of the patients during the cross-sectional study. Even after adjusting for sex, drinking status, treatment for diabetes mellitus, body mass index, hypertension, use of diuretics, hyperlipidemia, HbA1c and/or the eGFR, the HUA was independently associated with some diabetic complications. The eGFR was significantly reduced in HUA patients compared to those with normouricemia in the 12 months after observation was started. HUA was also an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease even after adjustment in the Cox proportional hazard model. CONCLUSIONS: HUA is a associated with diabetic micro- and macroangiopathies. HUA is a predictor of coronary heart disease and renal dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the influence of HUA is considered to be limited

Global, regional, and national age-specific progress towards the 2020 milestones of the WHO End TB Strategy: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background Global evaluations of the progress towards the WHO End TB Strategy 2020 interim milestones on mortality (35% reduction) and incidence (20% reduction) have not been age specific. We aimed to assess global, regional, and national-level burdens of and trends in tuberculosis and its risk factors across five separate age groups, from 1990 to 2021, and to report on age-specific progress between 2015 and 2020. Methods We used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2021 (GBD 2021) analytical framework to compute age-specific tuberculosis mortality and incidence estimates for 204 countries and territories (1990–2021 inclusive). We quantified tuberculosis mortality among individuals without HIV co-infection using 22 603 site-years of vital registration data, 1718 site-years of verbal autopsy data, 825 site-years of sample-based vital registration data, 680 site-years of mortality surveillance data, and 9 site-years of minimally invasive tissue sample (MITS) diagnoses data as inputs into the Cause of Death Ensemble modelling platform. Age-specific HIV and tuberculosis deaths were established with a population attributable fraction approach. We analysed all available population-based data sources, including prevalence surveys, annual case notifications, tuberculin surveys, and tuberculosis mortality, in DisMod-MR 2.1 to produce internally consistent age-specific estimates of tuberculosis incidence, prevalence, and mortality. We also estimated age-specific tuberculosis mortality without HIV co-infection that is attributable to the independent and combined effects of three risk factors (smoking, alcohol use, and diabetes). As a secondary analysis, we examined the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis mortality without HIV co-infection by comparing expected tuberculosis deaths, modelled with trends in tuberculosis deaths from 2015 to 2019 in vital registration data, with observed tuberculosis deaths in 2020 and 2021 for countries with available cause-specific mortality data. Findings We estimated 9·40 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 8·36 to 10·5) tuberculosis incident cases and 1·35 million (1·23 to 1·52) deaths due to tuberculosis in 2021. At the global level, the all-age tuberculosis incidence rate declined by 6·26% (5·27 to 7·25) between 2015 and 2020 (the WHO End TB strategy evaluation period). 15 of 204 countries achieved a 20% decrease in all-age tuberculosis incidence between 2015 and 2020, eight of which were in western sub-Saharan Africa. When stratified by age, global tuberculosis incidence rates decreased by 16·5% (14·8 to 18·4) in children younger than 5 years, 16·2% (14·2 to 17·9) in those aged 5–14 years, 6·29% (5·05 to 7·70) in those aged 15–49 years, 5·72% (4·02 to 7·39) in those aged 50–69 years, and 8·48% (6·74 to 10·4) in those aged 70 years and older, from 2015 to 2020. Global tuberculosis deaths decreased by 11·9% (5·77 to 17·0) from 2015 to 2020. 17 countries attained a 35% reduction in deaths due to tuberculosis between 2015 and 2020, most of which were in eastern Europe (six countries) and central Europe (four countries). There was variable progress by age: a 35·3% (26·7 to 41·7) decrease in tuberculosis deaths in children younger than 5 years, a 29·5% (25·5 to 34·1) decrease in those aged 5–14 years, a 15·2% (10·0 to 20·2) decrease in those aged 15–49 years, a 7·97% (0·472 to 14·1) decrease in those aged 50–69 years, and a 3·29% (–5·56 to 9·07) decrease in those aged 70 years and older. Removing the combined effects of the three attributable risk factors would have reduced the number of all-age tuberculosis deaths from 1·39 million (1·28 to 1·54) to 1·00 million (0·703 to 1·23) in 2020, representing a 36·5% (21·5 to 54·8) reduction in tuberculosis deaths compared to those observed in 2015. 41 countries were included in our analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis deaths without HIV co-infection in 2020, and 20 countries were included in the analysis for 2021. In 2020, 50 900 (95% CI 49 700 to 52 400) deaths were expected across all ages, compared to an observed 45 500 deaths, corresponding to 5340 (4070 to 6920) fewer deaths; in 2021, 39 600 (38 300 to 41 100) deaths were expected across all ages compared to an observed 39 000 deaths, corresponding to 657 (–713 to 2180) fewer deaths. Interpretation Despite accelerated progress in reducing the global burden of tuberculosis in the past decade, the world did not attain the first interim milestones of the WHO End TB Strategy in 2020. The pace of decline has been unequal with respect to age, with older adults (ie, those aged >50 years) having the slowest progress. As countries refine their national tuberculosis programmes and recalibrate for achieving the 2035 targets, they could consider learning from the strategies of countries that achieved the 2020 milestones, as well as consider targeted interventions to improve outcomes in older age groups

Technical and economic evaluation for off-grid hybrid renewable energy system using novel bonobo optimizer

202212 bckwVersion of RecordPublishe

FO membrane fabricated by layer-by-layer interfacial polymerisation and grafted sulfonamide group for improving chlorine resistance and water permeability

This study presents a layer-by-layer interfacial polymerization approach to enhance the chlorine resistance and water permeability of thin-film composite (TFC) polyamide (PA) forward osmosis membranes. The PA film was prepared by self-polymerization using 3,5-Dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHBA) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) with addition of 4-amino-benzene sulfonamide (4-ABSA), which is a sulfonamide monomer, on a polysulfone (PSF) support layer. The cross-linking structure and surface characterisation of the DHBA-ABSA membrane was studied systematically. FTIR results showed the successful grafting of the sulfonamide group on the membrane surface. Compared with the MPD-TMC membrane, the water flux of three modified membranes-DHBA, ABSA, and DHBA with ABSA-improved by 27.6%, 44.0%, and 67.6%, respectively, and reverse salt flux decreased by 9.9%, 12.3%, and 16.2%, respectively. Furthermore, the chlorine-stability test using 200 ppm NaClO indicated stable long-term performance under different pH values. The stable sulfonamide structure of ABSA with N-H group effectively prevented chlorine from directly attacking the active layer and improve the chlorine-stability of the membrane. In addition, the abundant hydrophilic groups on ABSA and DHBA monomers formed a hydration layer with water molecules on the membrane surface through hydrogen bonding, which enhanced the permeability of the TFC-PA membranes. The findings of this study demonstrate the DHBA-ABSA membrane's wider application potential in water and wastewater treatment processes