Shari'a Commercial Law : "old wine in new bottles?"

Suite à la crise financière globale de 2008, ainsi qu’aux différents facteurs qui y ont mené, il est étonnant qu’une alternative éthique et juste pour une finance lucrative et stable n’existe toujours pas (ou du moins, demeure oubliée). Ayant décidé de contribuer au domaine pluri-centenaire du Droit Commercial de la Chari’a, nous avons été surpris par la découverte d’une problématique à l’origine de cette thèse. En France, nous avons suivi des débats doctrinaux intéressants dont les conclusions se rapprochent de la perception générale Occidentale quand à la nature de la finance Islamique, que ce soit au niveau de la finance basée sur le Droit de la Chari’a ou encore les exigences de sa pleine introduction dans le système juridique français de l’époque. Cet intérêt initial dans la finance islamique a ensuite mené à un intérêt dans la question des avantages d’éthique et de justice du Droit Commercial de la Chari’a dans son ensemble, qui est au coeur de cette thèse. Dans le monde moderne du commerce et de la finance d’aujourd’hui, les transactions sont marquées par une prise de risque excessive et un esprit de spéculation qui s’apparente aux jeux de hasard, et menant à des pertes colossales. Pire encore, ces pertes sont ensuite transférées à la collectivité. Par conséquent, y at-il des préceptes, des principes ou des règles éthiques et juridiques qui peuvent fournir une certaine forme de sécurité et de protection dans les marchés financiers d'aujourd'hui? Est-ce réalisable? Cette thèse soutient que la richesse de la jurisprudence islamique ainsi que ses règles dont les avantages n’ont pas encore été pleinement saisis et régénérés en réponse aux nouveaux défis d’aujourd'hui, peuvent encore fournir continuellement des solutions, et réformer des produits financiers de façon à refléter des principes de justice et d'équité. Dans ce processus, un éclairage nouveau sera apporté à certains sujets déjà connus dans le cadre de la contribution prévue de cette thèse, mais ne sera pas le principal objectif de la thèse.Following the 2008 global financial meltdown and the various reasons that lead to it, it seemed inconceivable that no ethical and justice-driven alternative for highly lucrative and stable financing existed, or at the very least forgotten about. Deciding to contribute to the already centuries old and continuously developing domain of Shari’a Commercial law, we were first caught by surprise when we discovered one particular problem that sparked the start of this thesis. In France, we encountered interesting debates and doctrinal findings resembling a general and common western perception of the legal nature of Islamic Finance, being Shari’a Commercial law based financing, and the requirements for its full introduction into the French legal system at the time. This initial interest in Islamic Finance then evoked an interest in the ethical and justice driven gems of Shari’a Commercial law as a whole, and as the subject of this thesis. In today’s modern and global commercial and financial world, transactions are shrouded by excessive risk-taking and speculation akin to gambling, rendering at times colossal damages. To make matters worse, those damages are dislodged onto the public. Therefore, are there any ethical and legal precepts, principles and rules that may provide some form of a safety and social net in today’s financial markets? Is this achievable? This thesis argues that the richness of Islamic jurisprudence and its rules that have not had their benefits fully reaped and regenerated in response to new challenges till today, may still continuously provide solutions, as well as provide reforms to financial products, which exemplify justice and fairness. Within the process, new light will be shed on certain already known topics as part of the intended contribution of this thesis, but will not be the main objective of the thesis

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of brain in obstructive sleep apnea in Egyptian subjects

AbstractObjectiveThe overall objective of this work is to study the cerebral metabolic changes in patients with OSA and to determine the usefulness of MRS as an objective method for evaluation of CNS impairment in these patients.Materials and methodsThis study included two groups; group1 fifteen (15) patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome, and group 2 ten (10) healthy volunteers of comparable age.Magnetic resonance spectra were obtained from frontal periventricular white matter.For all subjects, height, body weight, and BMI were assessed. Waist and hip circumference were measured and waist/hip ratio (W/H ratio) was calculated.Overnight polysomnography (PSG) to identify sleep apnea was done. Daytime sleepiness was evaluated by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).ResultsN-acetylaspartate-to-creatine (NAA/Cr) and choline-to-creatine (Cho/Cr) ratios were significantly lower in the frontal white matter of obstructive sleep apnea patients when compared to controls. Absolute concentrations of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and choline (Cho) were also significantly reduced in the frontal white matter of patients with sleep apnea. Statistically significant negative correlations existed between AHI and metabolites concentrations and ratios in patients with OSAHS. Significant positive correlations existed in patients with OSAHS between Hospital and depression scale for depression (HAD-D) and AHI (r=0.764, p=0.001), ODI (r=0.571, p=0.026), and ESS (r=0.644, p=0.010), respectively. Significant positive correlations existed in patients with OSAHS between Hospital and depression scale for anxiety (HAD-A) and AHI (r=0.753, p=0.001), and ESS (r=0.537, p=0.039), respectively. Multivariate Linear regression model of factors predictive showed AHI as the main predictor factor for choline to creatine ratio in patients with OSAHS with t=5.180, at p<0.001.ConclusionOSA patients show abnormal brain metabolites related to neuronal damage due to intermittent chronic hypoxemia. Anxious and depressive symptoms are highly prevalent in patients with severe untreated OSAS. The severity of depressive and anxious symptoms may be related to excessive daytime sleepiness and to nocturnal hypoxemia both of which are strongly correlated to brain metabolites. AHI seems to be the main predictor factor for choline to creatine ratio in patients with OSAHS

Study of the Potential of a Local Geoid Model for Extracting the Orthometric Heights from GPS Measurements in Topographic Works

Due to the rapid development and expansion of geodetic applications, the determination of orthometric heights in an accurate manner is considered as one of the most required conditions to carry out such projects. Obtaining orthometric heights using traditional methods of levelling is time and cost consuming. Hence, investigating other techniques that provide the same accuracy, as leveling methods, but requiring less time and cost is very gainful. Recently, satellite positioning techniques and their applications are being used increasingly in geodetic projects. So, it is interesting to study the efficiency of such techniques for obtaining orthometric heights. GPS methods provide highly accurate measurement of ellipsoidal heights. However, the conversion of ellipsoid heights to orthometric heights may be achieved using geoid models. The objective of this research is to study the efficiency of using a local geoid model as an alternative method to obtain orthometric heights from GPS measurements. This paper proposes a methodology to generate such local geoid models. Then, the results of using the generated local geoid model for Jeddah city in Saudi Arabia are presented. These results indicate that the difference among estimated undulations values from the local geoid model and undulations values calculated from leveling techniques ranges from 1.8 cm to -1.1 cm. with a maximum standard deviation of 56 mm. These results confirm that the creation of a local geoid model is an effective method that gives the required accuracy for topographic works. Keywords: GPS/Levelling method, Local geoid model, Krigging method

Three-dimensional Structure in a Supersonic Jet: Behavior near Centerline

The unsteady structure of a supersonic jet is highly three dimensional, though the mean flow is axisymmetric. In simulating a circular jet, the centerline represents a computational boundary. As such, spurious modes can be generated near centerline, unless special attention is given to the behavior of the 3D structure near the centerline. Improper treatment of the dependent variables near the centerline results in the solution diverging or being suitable only for small amplitude excitation. With a careful treatment of the centerline formation, no spurious mode is generated. The results show that a near-linear disturbance growth is obtained, as the linear stability theory indicates. At high levels of excitation, nonlinear development of disturbances is evident and saturation is reached downstream

Effect of Coannular Flow on Linearized Euler Equation Predictions of Jet Noise

An improved version of a previously validated linearized Euler equation solver is used to compute the noise generated by coannular supersonic jets. Results for a single supersonic jet are compared to the results from both a normal velocity profile and an inverted velocity profile supersonic jet

Gain Enhancement of Octagon Microstrip Yagi Antenna Utilizing 1-D Photonic Crystal (PCs) Cover

A high gain Octagon Microstrip Yagi Antenna (OMYA) for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) application at unlicensed frequency of 5.8 GHz is presented in this paper. The proposed antenna was simulated and optimized using full-wave EM simulator. The simulated results show that the gain of the proposed antenna at frequency of 5.8 GHz is 13.45 dB with S11 of -32.57 dB. Hence, an extra gain of about 5.47 dB can be obtained through this design

Evaluation of Boundary Conditions for Computational Aeroacoustics

The performance of three boundary conditions for aeroacoustics were investigated, namely, (1) Giles-1990; (2) Tam and Webb-1993, and (3) Thompson-1987. For each boundary condition, various implementations were tested to study the sensitivity of their performance to the implementation procedure. Details of all implementations are given. Results are shown for the acoustic field of a monopole in a uniform freestream

Heterotopic pregnancy after a spontaneous conception a case report with a review of clinical, laboratory and imaging findings

Heterotopic pregnancy (HP) describes the simultaneous presence of two pregnancies at different implantation sites. Usually, one pregnancy is intrauterine and the other one is ectopic. The incidence of HP after assisted reproductive technologies reaches 1:3900, but is very rare after a spontaneous pregnancy, with a reported incidence of 1 to 30,000 pregnancies. Due to its rarity, complex clinical picture, and laboratory findings, it is challenging to diagnose HP. We present a case of spontaneous HP diagnosed in the first trimester by ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and subsequently managed successfully. We present an analysis of the clinical and laboratory findings as well as imaging, including MRI that we used to diagnose the condition. Additionally, we performed a literature review. HP is a very rare condition frequently faced in obstetrics, gynecology, and emergency departments that requires a high index of clinical suspicion. US remains the imaging modality of choice in diagnosing a HP, however, in some cases, an MRI with a reported safety in the first trimester, can be used to provide additional information over US.Qatar National Library (QNL) funded open access

Molecular markers as a prognostic system for hepatocellular carcinoma

AbstractThe gene expression profile p16, c-erbB-3 and bcl2 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with and without associated HCV infection, was assessed. Forty-eight subjects were included in the study and divided equally into two groups: HCC with and without HCV associated infection. Adjacent paracancerous tissues were assessed as control samples. Correlations with various clinico-pathological parameters of the tumour were assessed: stage, grade, and tumour size. The c-erbB-3 oncogene was expressed in 83.33% (40/48) of the total HCC sample and in 31.25% (15/48) of the noncancerous lesions. C-erbB-3 was expressed in 87.5% (21/24) of the HCC cases with associated HCV infection and in 79.16% (19/24) of the HCC cases without associated HCV infection. Gene expression of c-erbB-3 was significantly correlated with the clinico-pathological parameters of the tumour. P16 gene expression was found in 12.5% (6/48) of the total HCC sample and in 25% (12/48) of the para-cancerous lesions. P16 was expressed in 12.5% (3/24) of HCC cases with and without associated HCV infection. Gene expression of p16 exhibited significant negative correlation with clinico-pathological parameters of the tumour. Bcl2 gene expression was found in 20.8% (10/48) of the total HCC sample and in the para-cancerous lesions. Bcl2 was expressed in 20.8% (5/24) of the HCC cases with and without HCV associated infection. Gene expression of bcl2 did not show significant correlations with the clinico-pathological parameters of the tumour. In conclusion, gene expression profiles of p16 and c-erbB-3 could be used as prognostic molecular markers in HCC

Pyran-Squaraine as Photosensitizers for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: DFT/TDDFT Study of the Electronic Structures and Absorption Properties

In an effort to provide, assess, and evaluate a theoretical approach which enables designing efficient donor-acceptor dye systems, the electronic structure and optical properties of pyran-squaraine as donor-acceptor dyes used in dye-sensitized solar cells were investigated. Ground state properties have been computed at the B3LYP/6-31+G** level of theory. The long-range corrected density functionals CAM-B3LYP, PBEPBE, PBE1PBE (PBE0), and TPSSH with 6-311++G** were employed to examine absorption properties of the studied dyes. In an extensive comparison between experimental results and ab initio benchmark calculations, the TPSSH functional with 6-311++G** basis set was found to be the most appropriate in describing the electronic properties for the studied pyran and squaraine dyes. Natural transition orbitals (NTO), frontier molecular orbitals (FMO), LUMO, HOMO, and energy gaps, of these dyes, have been analyzed to show their effect on the process of electron injection and dye regeneration. Interaction between HOMO and LUMO of pyran and squaraine dyes was investigated to understand the recombination process and charge-transfer process involving these dyes. Additionally, we performed natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis to investigate the role of charge delocalization and hyperconjugative interactions in the stability of the molecule