SUKUK IN ISLAMIC FINANCE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN S&P MENA SUKUK AND S&P MENA BOND INDEX

The Sharia-compliant financial market is relatively new, many studies have focused on the difference between Islamic and classic financial products, the aim of our paper is to study the difference between Sukuks and conventional bonds. To do so, we will proceed to modeling closing prices of booth Sukuks and conventional bonds, the obtained results show that Sukuk has volatility less than the conventional bonds. Also, the asymmetric model used shows that the Sukuk index has more asymmetry impact than the bond index. JEL: C58, O16, D53  Article visualizations

ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION AND SHOCK AS PORTFOLIO SELECTION CRITERIA: CASE OF THE DJIM 50 US PORTFOLIO

Volatility is an important variable in portfolio management. Generally, it is the level of risk in the market. The purpose of this article is to measure the impact of good and bad news on the evolution and risk associated with these securities in the financial market. To do so, we proceeded to use the EGARCH model (generalized autoregressive heteroskedasticity condition model), the data used in this study correspond to the portfolio Dow Jones Islamic Market 50 US. The results show that good and bad news has different impacts on assets.  Article visualizations

Adoption of Islamic finance for SMEs and very small enterprises in Morocco

Abstract. The factors that influence the adoption of Islamic finance in SMEs are the subject of many studies. In Morocco, no study has attempted to develop a model of adoption of Islamic finance in very small businesses. Our interest is to gain a better understanding of the internal and external determinants that influence the adoption of Islamic finance in microenterprises. Based on the model developed and previous studies, we have operationalized the different constructs, developing a research questionnaire for the leaders of TPE in Morocco. Subsequently, we conducted an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, based on a sample of 164 SME leaders. These different analyzes gave birth to a new model explaining the path through which the leaders of the VSEs can opt for Islamic financing in the Moroccan context.Keywords. Islamic finance, Islamic financial products, Theory of reasoned action.JEL. G21, F65, C25

Sukuk: Literature Review

Abstract. At the heart of a global financial crisis triggered since 2008, Islamic finance has been seen as an alternative less affected by the global crisis to cover the financing and investment needs and bringing a new vision that involves sharing of losses and gains and thus prohibit the notion of the interest rate. With the emergence of the concept of Islamic finance a new market has emerged known as sukuk market where its last ones play the role of bonds. These financial instruments have been able, like conventional bonds, to constitute a reliable investment alternative for both companies and governments that want to conduct their business within a framework that respects the precepts of the Sharia. The purpose of this article is to understand the concept and the mechanism of these obligations and to present a review of the literature on sukuks.Keywords. Sukuk, Islamic Finance, Bonds, Financial Instruments.JEL. A10, H12

Financial and Econometric Study of the Sustainability and Evaluation of Scenarios of Reforms for the Civil Regime of Moroccan

Abstract. The decline in the demographic ratio corollary to the maturity of the regime and in particular its generosity raise the question of the medium-and long-term financial sustainability of the civil pension scheme of the Moroccan pension fund. This article studies the financial sustainability of civil regimes and evaluates the options for reforms envisaged by the government mainly parametric reform. In this framework, an actuarial and financial model based on demographic assumptions and macroeconomic parameters is constructed and used to analyze the financial sustainability of the status quo regime and the projected regime and also to test the parametric reform. We also use econometric tests such as non-stationarity, causality and cointegration between technical recipes and technical expenditures to empirically evaluate the sustainability of civil scheme of pensions. This paper concludes that the parametric reform of our civil pay-as-you-go system is unsustainable. It would therefore be in favor of other remedial measures and reform strategies to improve and enhance the financial sustainability of the fund, such as the model based on the addition of a funded pillar, and unification of all funds in a single integrated system.Keywords. PAYG, Financial sustainability, Econometric tests, Model actuarial, Parametric reform, Civil pension scheme of the Moroccan pension fund.JEL. C12, C13, C58, C53, J1, G22, F65

Asignación Estratégica de Fondos de Reserva de Pensiones: Aplicación del Modelo ALM y LDI Técnica

This article will focus on the research for the strategic allocation of reserve fund of the Moroccan pension scheme in order to ensure and improve its solvency. The first aim of this paper is to construct and test an Economic Scenario Generator (ESG) based on a model inspired of the Ahlgrim approach (2005) and adapted to the specificities of asset-liability management (ALM) and liabilitydriven investing (LDI). In our study, we will also develop the ALM technique based on the maximization of the reserve under the criterion of maximization of solvency ratio (since the fund is in deficit).To do this, we consider a recent strategic asset allocation approach based on the "constant weight" strategy, or Fixed-Mix, Kouwenberg (2001). Indeed, we will implement the LDI strategies based on the Sharpe and Tint model (1990). For that, we will first try to find the desired weightings of the asset classes in an asset context only. Afterwards, we try to build a hedge portfolio (LHP) and a performance research portfolio (PSP).Este artículo se centrará en la investigación para la asignación estratégica del fondo de reserva del plan de pensiones marroquí para garantizar y mejorar su solvencia. El primer objetivo de este documento es construir y probar un generador de escenarios económicos (ESG) basado en un modelo inspirado en el enfoque Ahlgrim (2005) y adaptado a las especificidades de la gestión de activos y pasivos (ALM) y la inversión basada en pasivos (LDI) En nuestro estudio, también desarrollaremos la técnica ALM basada en la maximización de la reserva bajo el criterio de maximización de coeficiente de solvencia (ya que el fondo está en déficit). Para hacer esto, consideramos un enfoque de asignación estratégica de activos reciente basado en el "peso constante "estrategia, o Fixed-Mix, Kouwenberg (2001). De hecho, implementaremos las estrategias LDI basadas en el modelo de Sharpe y Tint (1990). Para eso, primero intentaremos encontrar las ponderaciones deseadas de las clases de activos solo en un contexto de activos. Luego, tratamos de construir una cartera de cobertura (LHP) y una cartera de investigación de rendimiento (PSP).Universidad Pablo de Olavid

Design and evaluation of optical laser diodes LD positioning arrangement and multiple input/ multiple output MIMO-OFDM systems

Optical communication system for the next generation of wireless communication systems are an exciting, unparalleled new technology. This paper presents a new visible light positioning algorithm system based on position by utilized neural network, which depending on directly measured received signal strength (RSS) information of 3D coordinates. This algorithm is called light positioning algorithm neural network (LPANN) which used 5 laser diodes LDs, each one consists of 5×5 LD chips. In addition, a novel multi Input multiple output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) based VLC systems generalized laser diodes (LD) modulation scheme as second part of this paper that is called Zero Forcing Equalizer Neural network ZFENN algorithm which based on 4 × 4 optical MIMO-VLC. It is accomplished by using LD index modulation and spatial multiplexing. Actual and imaginary parts of the complex time domain OFDM signals are therefore separated first and then, bipolar signals are transmitted through VLC channels by encoding sign-information in LD indexes. In addition, a novel receiver configuration is also suggested for flat frequency or limited channel scenarios. Based on the results of this analysis, the positioning accuracy have been improved, so this is lead to enhance data rate. While, by using the second part of the MIMO-OFDM system that leads to enhancing the SNR and BER more than 10-4, which are introduced to eliminate multi-user interference (MUI)

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Pharmacists regarding Dietary Supplements

Background: Dietary supplement (DS) products are sold in pharmacies very widely. However, there is no specific approval or definition for the legal and scientific usage of such products. The study aims to evaluate pharmacist\u27s knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding dietary supplements. Material and methods: A cross-sectional was designed to collect responses from community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia from February to April 2022. The data was collected via an anonymous, self-administered; postal questionnaire consisting of demographic information, knowledge (subjective and objective questions), attitude, and practice evaluation part. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using SPSS. Results: This study showed that although knowledge has a significant effect on attitude and practice, attention should be paid to other underlying factors such as experience, pharmacy ownership situation, and academic degree which might have a positive impact on pharmacists᾽ practice. According to this study, although many underlying factors such as experience, and pharmacy ownership have an impact on pharmacy practice regarding dietary supplements, the most attention should be paid to knowledge as the main factor and more attention should be paid to training on dietary supplements could be recommended

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Global burden and strength of evidence for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Understanding the health consequences associated with exposure to risk factors is necessary to inform public health policy and practice. To systematically quantify the contributions of risk factor exposures to specific health outcomes, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 aims to provide comprehensive estimates of exposure levels, relative health risks, and attributable burden of disease for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, from 1990 to 2021. Methods: The GBD 2021 risk factor analysis used data from 54 561 total distinct sources to produce epidemiological estimates for 88 risk factors and their associated health outcomes for a total of 631 risk–outcome pairs. Pairs were included on the basis of data-driven determination of a risk–outcome association. Age-sex-location-year-specific estimates were generated at global, regional, and national levels. Our approach followed the comparative risk assessment framework predicated on a causal web of hierarchically organised, potentially combinative, modifiable risks. Relative risks (RRs) of a given outcome occurring as a function of risk factor exposure were estimated separately for each risk–outcome pair, and summary exposure values (SEVs), representing risk-weighted exposure prevalence, and theoretical minimum risk exposure levels (TMRELs) were estimated for each risk factor. These estimates were used to calculate the population attributable fraction (PAF; ie, the proportional change in health risk that would occur if exposure to a risk factor were reduced to the TMREL). The product of PAFs and disease burden associated with a given outcome, measured in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), yielded measures of attributable burden (ie, the proportion of total disease burden attributable to a particular risk factor or combination of risk factors). Adjustments for mediation were applied to account for relationships involving risk factors that act indirectly on outcomes via intermediate risks. Attributable burden estimates were stratified by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintile and presented as counts, age-standardised rates, and rankings. To complement estimates of RR and attributable burden, newly developed burden of proof risk function (BPRF) methods were applied to yield supplementary, conservative interpretations of risk–outcome associations based on the consistency of underlying evidence, accounting for unexplained heterogeneity between input data from different studies. Estimates reported represent the mean value across 500 draws from the estimate's distribution, with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) calculated as the 2·5th and 97·5th percentile values across the draws. Findings: Among the specific risk factors analysed for this study, particulate matter air pollution was the leading contributor to the global disease burden in 2021, contributing 8·0% (95% UI 6·7–9·4) of total DALYs, followed by high systolic blood pressure (SBP; 7·8% [6·4–9·2]), smoking (5·7% [4·7–6·8]), low birthweight and short gestation (5·6% [4·8–6·3]), and high fasting plasma glucose (FPG; 5·4% [4·8–6·0]). For younger demographics (ie, those aged 0–4 years and 5–14 years), risks such as low birthweight and short gestation and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing (WaSH) were among the leading risk factors, while for older age groups, metabolic risks such as high SBP, high body-mass index (BMI), high FPG, and high LDL cholesterol had a greater impact. From 2000 to 2021, there was an observable shift in global health challenges, marked by a decline in the number of all-age DALYs broadly attributable to behavioural risks (decrease of 20·7% [13·9–27·7]) and environmental and occupational risks (decrease of 22·0% [15·5–28·8]), coupled with a 49·4% (42·3–56·9) increase in DALYs attributable to metabolic risks, all reflecting ageing populations and changing lifestyles on a global scale. Age-standardised global DALY rates attributable to high BMI and high FPG rose considerably (15·7% [9·9–21·7] for high BMI and 7·9% [3·3–12·9] for high FPG) over this period, with exposure to these risks increasing annually at rates of 1·8% (1·6–1·9) for high BMI and 1·3% (1·1–1·5) for high FPG. By contrast, the global risk-attributable burden and exposure to many other risk factors declined, notably for risks such as child growth failure and unsafe water source, with age-standardised attributable DALYs decreasing by 71·5% (64·4–78·8) for child growth failure and 66·3% (60·2–72·0) for unsafe water source. We separated risk factors into three groups according to trajectory over time: those with a decreasing attributable burden, due largely to declining risk exposure (eg, diet high in trans-fat and household air pollution) but also to proportionally smaller child and youth populations (eg, child and maternal malnutrition); those for which the burden increased moderately in spite of declining risk exposure, due largely to population ageing (eg, smoking); and those for which the burden increased considerably due to both increasing risk exposure and population ageing (eg, ambient particulate matter air pollution, high BMI, high FPG, and high SBP). Interpretation: Substantial progress has been made in reducing the global disease burden attributable to a range of risk factors, particularly those related to maternal and child health, WaSH, and household air pollution. Maintaining efforts to minimise the impact of these risk factors, especially in low SDI locations, is necessary to sustain progress. Successes in moderating the smoking-related burden by reducing risk exposure highlight the need to advance policies that reduce exposure to other leading risk factors such as ambient particulate matter air pollution and high SBP. Troubling increases in high FPG, high BMI, and other risk factors related to obesity and metabolic syndrome indicate an urgent need to identify and implement interventions