Avian Influenza A Virus (H5N1) Outbreaks, Kuwait, 2007

Phylogenetic analysis of influenza A viruses (H5N1) isolated from Kuwait in 2007 show that (H5N1) sublineage clade 2.2 viruses continue to spread across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Virus isolates were most closely related to isolates from central Asia and were likely vectored by migratory birds

The isolation of a lipolytic strain of Xanthomonas maltophilia and the cloning of its lipase genes

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX95318 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Country Report 2018: Kuwait

The main law governing the formation of charitable organizations and institutions in Kuwait is the Public Benefit Associations Law. In accordance to Article 4 of the Public Benefit Associations Law, any group of no less than 50 persons may apply for the formation of a public benefit association to provide services or carry out social, cultural, religious, or sports activities on a voluntary basis without profit, and to manage charitable societies established in 2002. The founding member of the association is required to be a Kuwaiti citizen not less than 21 years of age and not have committed a breach of honor or any crime

Effects of moderate exercise on VLDL1 and Intralipid kinetics in overweight/obese middle-aged men

Prior moderate exercise reduces plasma triglyceride (TG)-rich lipoprotein concentrations, mainly in the large very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL1) fraction, but the mechanism responsible is unclear. We investigated the effects of brisk walking on TG-rich lipoprotein kinetics using a novel method. Twelve overweight/obese middle-aged men underwent two kinetic studies, involving infusion of Intralipid to block VLDL1catabolism, in random order. On the afternoon prior to infusion, subjects either walked on a treadmill for 2 h at ∼50% maximal oxygen uptake or performed no exercise. Multiple blood samples were taken during and after infusion for separation of Intralipid (Sf400) and VLDL1(Sf60–400). VLDL1-TG and -apoB production rates were calculated from their linear rises during infusion; fractional catabolic rates (FCR) were calculated by dividing linear rises by fasting concentrations. Intralipid-TG FCR was determined from the postinfusion exponential decay. Exercise reduced fasting VLDL1-TG concentration by 30% ( P = 0.007) and increased TG enrichment of VLDL1particles [30% decrease in cholesteryl ester (CE)/TG ratio ( P = 0.007); 26% increase in TG/apoB ratio ( P = 0.059)]. Exercise also increased VLDL1-TG, VLDL1-apoB, and Intralipid-TG FCRs by 82, 146, and 43%, respectively (all P &lt; 0.05), but had no significant effect on VLDL1-TG or -apoB production rates. The exercise-induced increase in VLDL1-apoB FCR correlated strongly with the exercise-induced changes in VLDL1CE/TG ( r = −0.659, r = 0.020) and TG/apoB ( r = 0.785, P = 0.002) ratios. Thus, exercise-induced reductions in VLDL1concentrations are mediated by increased catabolism, rather than reduced production, which may be facilitated by compositional changes to VLDL1particles that increase their affinity for clearance from the circulation.</jats:p

Country Report 2020: Kuwait

There is great encouragement from the Kuwaiti government to give outside the State of Kuwait, which is also the case in domestic giving. This encouragement by the state has helped to give Kuwaiti charitable work its signature creativity, as it differs from the policy of other countries; this is evidenced by many societies that determine their scope of work and activities abroad, such as The International Islamic Charity Organization and Mercy International. These societies are operating in addition to the Kuwaiti embassies’ support for Philanthropic work, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ representation as a member of grant committees in some charitable bodies

Supply chain optimization of petroleum organization under uncertainty in market demands and prices

A multi-period stochastic planning model has been developed and implemented for a supply chain network of a petroleum organization operating in an oil producing country under uncertain market conditions. The proposed supply chain network consists of all activities related to crude oil production, processing and distribution. Uncertainties were introduced in market demands and prices. A deterministic optimization model was first developed and tested. The impact of uncertainty on the supply chain was studied by performing a sensitivity analysis in which ±20% deviations were introduced in market demands and prices of different commodities. A stochastic formulation was then proposed, which is based on the two-stage problem with finite number of realizations. The proposed stochastic programming approach proved to be quite effective in developing resilient production plans in light of high degree of uncertainty in market conditions. The anticipated production plans have a considerably lower expected value of perfect information (EVPI). The main conclusion of this study is that for an oil producing country with oil processing capabilities, the impact of economic uncertainties may be tolerated by an appropriate balance between crude exports and processing capacities.