Economic Growth in Egypt: Constraints and Determinants

Egypt accelerated its ongoing transition from a public sector dominated economy to a private sector led and market oriented economy after the collapse of oil prices in the mid-1980s. Some aspects of the economy, such as trade policy, have been substantially transformed since then whereas other aspects, such as public control of the financial sector, have experienced less change in substance. We examine some determinants of growth in Egypt since the mid-1980s using insights from both standard econometric techniques and a diagnostic approach proposed by Hausmann, Rodrik and Velasco (2004). We find that trends in government consumption, credit to the private sector and the average growth rate of OECD countries have been significant determinants of growth in Egypt in the past. We also present evidence that suggests that inefficiency of financial intermediation is a significant current constraint on growth.Economic growth, Egypt, growth diagnostic, binding constraint, financial intermediation

Prof. Dr. Ehsan Rashid Memorial Lectures: Reflections on the Concept of Inclusive Development Based on the Recent Experience of Pakistan

The term inclusive development has become popular in the discourse and documents of the international donor community.1 While the concept is sometimes interpreted differently by different agencies there is a shared understanding that it has to do with a more broad-based pattern of development than has been attempted or achieved in most developing countries in the past few decades. The prominence of the concept is reflected in the fact that inclusion was adopted as an underlying principle of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda which is to guide international and national development efforts till 2030 which succeeded the previous effort known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) agenda. The focus of the SDGs is not just on achieving gains in development on average but on ensuring that these gains are better distributed within the society. This also accounts for the wide range of SDGs that were adopted. The motivation behind the proliferation of goals was at least in part the desire to include items that were of great importance to some social groups, even if not of general importance to all. The SDGs thus differ from the MDGs in both breadth and depth. More goals are covered (breadth) and more goals have been specified in a way that encompasses distributional outcomes as well (depth)

Morphology controlled synthesis of 1-D-nanomaterials for electrocatalysis and energy storage applications

This dissertation is about morphology controlled synthesis of one dimensional (1D) nanomaterials (NMs) for electrocatalysis and supercapacitance applications. Template assisted electrodeposition technique was employed to grow 1D NMs; the morphology of which could be varied from nanotubes (NTs) to nanorods (NRs), through two simple and cost effective methods. In the first method, morphology was controlled by controlling the time of electrodeposition inside the anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. The presence of sputtered gold on the inside walls of the template provided the first nucleation sites for the formation of nanotube walls that are subsequently thickened due to gradual increase of the deposition time. We tuned the wall thickness of gold (Au), platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd) NTs until the formation of nanorods. This method was also extended to synthesize bimetallic and trimetallic NTs. Furthermore, Pt NTs modified with monolayers of tin (Sn) and ruthenium (Ru) were also synthesized through underpotential deposition of Sn and Ru. In the second method, 1D NTs of nickel (Ni) were grown inside the template and were subsequently oxidized to yield 1D-NiO nanostructures; the morphology of which was controlled from nanotube to nanorods due to advancing oxide layer via adjusting the annealing time. The synthesized NSs were tested as electrodes for direct liquid fuel cells and electrochemical supercapacitors. Pt and Pd were characterized for electrooxidation of methanol and formic acid, respectively, while NiO was tested for supercapacitance applications. All our NMs exhibited high electrochemical activity towards electrocatalysis and supercapacitance properties. In addition, modified Pt NTs showed enhanced electrooxidation of methanol as compared to bare Pt. Furthermore, a strong dependence of the electrochemical properties on morphology was observed where, superior electrochemical properties were observed for NTs owing to the large active surface area involved

A mini review of phytoconstituents and pharmacological activities of Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.)

Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.), is a globally utilized fruit during hot summer season.  When a plant is explored for medicinally important phytoconstituents then other parts of the plant are also screened. This review provides knowledge about phytoconsituents and pharmacological activities of C. lanatus fruit, juice, leaf, rind and seeds. The plant has nutritional and medicinal value due to phenolic compounds and flavonids present in fruit and juice. The seeds are essential due to its fatty acid content. The major phytoconstituents reported include Lycopene, β Carotene, Cucurbutacin E, Citrulline, Arginine, β ionone, citral and ascorbic acid. Xanthophylls are also reported in some varieties.  Some researchers have conducted toxicological studies on C. lanatus seeds and found it safe for long term use. Others have reported antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. It also possesses antibacterial, antiulcer and antispasmodic activities. Citrulline, arginine and phenolic play role in dilation of vessels.  Much research work is carried out on C. lanatus seeds as compared to other parts of the plant

Effectiveness of various treatment strategies in COVID-19 patients having Solid Organ Transplant: A Systematic Review

Introduction: This narrative review provides an evidence-based summary of the various interventions in the management of Post Solid organ transplant patients who reported positive for COVID-19.  Materials and Methods: For this systematic review, observational and experimental studies; conducted on Post- Organ transplant patients, either symptomatic or asymptomatic, who tested positive for COVID-19 were included. Only solid organ transplant patient studies were considered standard for this review type. The English version, both published and unpublished articles, from Dec 2019 to Aug 2020, were evaluated using Pubmed, Google Scholar, Science direct, Medrixv search engines. The articles with incomplete details about a transplant or covid management were excluded. Results: We selected 43 articles out of which 9 were retrospective studies, 2 were cohort studies, one was an experimental study, and 31 were case studies. According to the literature review, effective management therapy includes the withdrawal of immunosuppressive drugs, increase/ constant steroid dose, and regimen containing HCQ, interleukin inhibitor, and one antiviral drug especially remdesivir proved to be the most effective among all. In others, administration of IV immunoglobulins/convalescent plasma therapy proved effective in various trials but related data is currently limited. While Lop/Rit, Interferons alpha, and oseltamivir trials are also given; these therapies didn’t prove to be much effective individually. Conclusion: More trials are required to find the effectiveness of Convalescent plasma therapy. It can be proved as an effective treatment in critical patients. IV immunoglobulins effectiveness should also be tested in critical patients and for this more experimental trials are needed

Comparison of Garden Soil with Nitrogen and Potassium for Growing Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in Glass House.

The experiment was conducted during the year 2019-20 by Vegetable Section, Agriculture Research Station (ARS) Baffa Mansehra to compare garden soil with nitrogen (Urea) and potassium (Murate of Potash) for lettuce production in glass house. Lettuce is an important summer off-season and high valued crop cultivated at District Mansehra in the months of July-August. The produce is transported to other metropolises with handsome earning,  but excessive use of minerals and synthetic fertilizers may render the produce less profitable in one or another way. Hence this experiment was designed to compare garden soil with  nitrogen and potassium doses.  It is evident from the statistical analysis that garden soil has a significant effect on  number of leaves, leaf area, seed per plant, yield per plant and yield per acre. Seed production is noticeable for garden soil when the prevailing temperature during seed formation was 250C.  In terms of leaf area maximum leaf area 576.10 cm2was recorded for garden soil while minimum leaf area 303.43 cm2 was recorded with nitrogen applied @ 200 kg ha-1 and potassium applied @ 100 kg ha-1 respectively. Maximum number of leaves 28.03 was recorded for garden soil while the minimum number 21.96 was recorded for nitrogen applied @ 200 kg ha-1 and potassium applied @ 100 kg ha-1. Seed formation was successful with mean temperature 250C in glass house for 30 days, here again garden soil surpassed nitrogen and potassium with 4.03gm plant-1. Yield per plot 3.69 kg was recorded for garden soil and the minimum value 1.1843 kg was recorded for nitrogen and potassium applied @ 200 kg ha-1 nitrogen while potassium applied @ 100 kg ha-1. Garden soil gives maximum yield of 13600 kg acre-1 compared with the lowest production 6070.5 kg acre-1 of nitrogen and potassium applied @ 200 kg ha-1 nitrogen while potassium applied @ 150 kg ha-1.  Keywords:, Lettuce, garden soil, leaf area, seed production, glass house DOI: 10.7176/CEIS/14-2-06 Publication date:May 31st 202

Patterns of Head Injuries in Pediatric Patients Treated in Emergency Department of Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health Lahore

Objective:  To analyze the pattern of head injuries along with characteristics and outcomes among pediatric age group presenting in The Children hospital Lahore, Pakistan. Material and Methods:  A cross-sectional study was conducted and a total of 384 children of both genders aged up to 12 years presenting with head injuries were included. After initial review and resuscitation by the trauma unit or neurosurgery unit, children were evaluated clinically and radiologically and the plan was decided for further treatment. Gender, age, place of injury occurrence, etiology of injury, Glasgow coma score (GCS) at the time of enrollment, the interval between injury and admission, management, outcome, and total duration of hospital stay were recorded on a predesigned proforma. Results:  In a total of 384 children, 249 (64.8%) were boys. Overall, the mean age was 5.8 ± 3.3 years. Falls were the commonest etiology in 210 (54.7%) children while motor vehicle accidents were the cause of head trauma among 78 (20.3%) children. The mean interval between injury and presentation was noted to be 3.2 ± 2.1 hours. Mortality was reported in 56 (14.6%) children and it was observed that a significant association was noted between outcome and GCS at the time of presentation (p < 0.0001). Conclusion:  The majority of the pediatric head injury cases were male and aged above 5 years. The most common etiology of head injuries was falls followed by motor vehicle accidents. GCS ? 8 at the time of presentation was significantly linked with poor outcomes