EfFcient mcdm model for evaluating the performance of commercial banks:A case study

Evaluation of commercial banks (CBs) performance has been a significant issue in the financial world and deemed as a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) model. Numerous research assesses CB performance according to different metrics and standers. As a result of uncertainty in decision-making problems and large economic variations in Egypt, this research proposes a plithogenic based model to evaluate Egyptian commercial banks' performance based on a set of criteria. The proposed model evaluates the top ten Egyptian commercial banks based on three main metrics including financial, customer satisfaction, and qualitative evaluation, and 19 subcriteria. The proportional importance of the selected criteria is evaluated by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Furthermore, the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), Vlse Kriterijumska Optimizacija Kompro-misno Resenje (VIKOR), and COmplex PRoportional ASsessment (COPRAS) are adopted to rank the top ten Egyptian banks based on their performance, comparatively. The main role of this research is to apply the proposed integrated MCDM framework under the plithogenic environment to measure the performance of the CBs under uncertainty. All results show that CIB has the best performance while Faisal Islamic Bank and Bank Audi have the least performance among the top 10 CBs in Egypt.</p

Optimal control to limit the spread of COVID-19 in Italy

We apply optimal control theory to a generalized SEIR-type model. The proposed system has three controls, representing social distancing, preventive means, and treatment measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyze such optimal control problem with respect to real data transmission in Italy. Our results show the appropriateness of the model, in particular with respect to the number of quarantined/hospitalized (confirmed and infected) and recovered individuals. Considering the Pontryagin controls, we show how in a perfect world one could have drastically diminish the number of susceptible, exposed, infected, quarantined/hospitalized, and death individuals, by increasing the population of insusceptible/protected.publishe

Hydrophobic Polymers Flooding

Crude oil and other petroleum products are crucial to the global economy today due to increasing energy demand approximately (~1.5%) per year and significant oil remaining after primary and secondary oil recovery (~45-55% of original oil in place, OOIP), which accelerates the development of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies. Polymer flooding through hydrophobically associated polyacrylamides (HAPAM) is a widely implemented EOR-technique, so they attracted much attention on both academic and industrial scales. Hydrophobically associating polyacrylamide (HAPAM) prepared by free radical emulsion polymerization of acrylamide (AM) monomer, divinyl sulfone as hydrophobic crosslinked moiety and surfmers, to chemically anchor a surfmer and hydrophobic crosslinker moiety onto the back bone of acrylamide chain. After that, polymeric nanocomposite was prepared through copolymerization of prepared HAPAM with different molar ratios of silica nanoparticles through one shot synthesis. Rheological properties for the prepared composites were evaluated. Wettability evaluation carried through quantitative and qualitative techniques where the results indicate novel polymers ability to alter rock wettability from oil-wet to water- wet

Pramipexole protective effect on rotenone induced neurotoxicity in mice

Introduction: &#xd;&#xa;Pramipexole is a new dopaminergic drug which has been approved for PD treatment. However, we tried to find a new capacity for this drug rather than symptomatic effect. &#xd;&#xa;&#xd;&#xa;Materials and Methods: &#xd;&#xa;A chronic rotenone model with daily oral dose of 30mg/kg was induced in mice. Pramipexole was tried in a new approach where the treatment began in the middle of rotenone course with oral dose 1mg/kg/day of pramipexole. &#xd;&#xa;&#xd;&#xa;Results: &#xd;&#xa;Further analysis of behavioral tests and immunohistochemistry revealed success of pramipexole in improving the rotenone intoxicated mice. &#xd;&#xa;&#xd;&#xa;Conclusion: &#xd;&#xa;These results showed possible beneficial effects of pramipexole against rotenone-induced neurotoxicity

Enhancing the evaporative cooling performance of fan-pad system using alternative pad materials and water film over the greenhouse roof

Greenhouse technology is a viable option for sustainable crop production in the regions of adverse climatic conditions.  During hot seasons the heat input to a greenhouse causes the internal temperature to exceed its optimal value.  The present study was devoted to construct an evaporative cooling system to reduce heat stress inside a greenhouse.  Two identical small-scale greenhouses were designed, constructed, and installed on an open roof of a domestic house.  The two greenhouses were cooled using fan-pad system.  In addition, a thin water film was applied on the roof of one greenhouse to study the effect of roof water film and fan-pad (combined system) on the cooling performance.  The two cooling systems were compared under the same condition.  Three new evaporative cooling pads represented by Cryperus Alopecuroides Rottb (Samar), Cyerus Alternifolius (Purdy) and Cyperus Rotundus l (Nut-grass or Se'd) were adapted and evaluated.  Three pad face air velocities ranged between 0.45 and 1.01 m s-1 and two thicknesses of 10 and 15 cm were used in the investigation of the cooling performance criteria.  Results showed that the proposed cooling pads in the suggested evaporative cooling systems were able to maintain acceptable microclimatic conditions for greenhouse models.  Se'd pad material proved more efficiency in temperature reduction.  It was revealed that the temperature inside the greenhouse operated under the combination of roof water flow and fan-pad system was less than that for fan-pad greenhouse by about 1.1 to 5.44° C in the morning and afternoon respectively.  The air relative humidity was increased due to humid effect provided by cooling system which protects crops from excessive transpiration and crop damage.  The daily average cooling efficiencies of 88.4, 83.1 and 79.6% were obtained for Se'd, Purdy and Samar, respectively during testing days inside the combined system at 15 cm pad thickness and 0.45 m s-1 pad face air velocity.  The Se'd pad material showed the highest efficiency as compared to other pad materials and could be used as an alternative pad material.   Keywords: greenhouse, evaporative cooling, fan-pad system, pad material, roof water flo

Assessing the impacts of climatic factors on cotton yield and its economic indicators

Cotton is one of the strategic crops in Egypt. This article investigates the impacts of climatic factors and their variations on the cotton yield and its economic benefits during the period from 1998 to 2019. We chose the Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, where cotton is one of the major planted crops, was chosen for the analysis. The climatic factors utilized were the maximum, minimum and average temperatures; relative humidity; solar radiation and wind speed. Precipitation was excluded, as Egypt depends mainly on irrigation. The climatic factors utilized influenced yield during different growth stages: wind speed showed an influence only on the germination stage, whereas temperature had a major impact before and at the maturity stages. The latter correlation was positive in July and negative in August and September. Relative humidity and solar radiation impacted on yield at different growth stages, with an almost positive correlation with solar radiation and both a positive and a negative correlation with relative humidity. For the study of the economic indicators of cotton, cotton data were taken for the whole Egyptian Governorate during the period 2005-2019. The study showed a decrease in the net return during the period from 2005 to 2015 that reached a loss (minus value) of 195 Egyptian pounds (LE) in 2015, followed by an increase during the period from 2016 to 2019 due to the increase in farm gate prices

Early and delayed suture adjustments after adjustable suture strabismus surgery: a randomized controlled trial

Background: Adjustable sutures increase the success rate of strabismus surgery. However, the optimal timing of postoperative suture adjustment remains controversial. This trial was aimed at comparing the surgical outcomes and pain scores of early or 2 – 4 h and delayed or 24 h postoperative suture adjustment in adult patients undergoing strabismus surgery. Methods: An open-label, prospective, randomized, comparative interventional study was performed in consecutive adult patients scheduled for eye muscle surgery. Patients were randomized into two groups: the early group, with suture adjustment 2 – 4 h postoperatively, and the delayed group, with suture adjustment 24 h postoperatively. Subjective pain scores during the adjustment were also analyzed. The angles of misalignment at 1 and 3 months and the success rate at 3 months postoperatively were compared. Results: Forty-five (90%) patients completed the follow-up, including 23 (92%) in the early adjustment group and 22 (88%) in the delayed adjustment group, with a mean (standard deviation) age of 25.6 (9.5) years and a male-to-female ratio of 46.7:53.3. Thirty patients (66.7%) had exotropia, and 15 (33.3%) patients had esotropia. Both groups had comparable baseline characteristics (all P &gt; 0.05). The mean pain scores during adjustment did not differ significantly between groups (P &gt; 0.05). The postoperative angles of alignment were comparable between the groups before suture adjustment and at the 1- and 3-month follow-ups (all P &gt; 0.05). The success rate in the early adjustment group was slightly higher (87.0% versus 63.6%), but the difference was not statistically significant (P &gt; 0.05). The success rate was comparable between the groups in patients with esotropia or exotropia (both P &gt; 0.05). Conclusions: Although the early adjustment group had a slightly higher success rate, the difference was not significant. Both groups had comparable subjective pain scores during adjustment. Future clinical trials should be performed different time intervals for postoperative suture adjustment, and subjective and objective outcomes, such as diplopia and stereopsis, should be compared between patients with a first strabismus surgery and those who underwent reoperation. This could better resolve the persistent controversy related to the optimal time for suture adjustment

Polymorphism of growth hormone gene and its association with wool traits in Egyptian sheep breeds

Growth hormone (GH) gene has been described as a candidate gene for marker-assisted selection in different farm animals. The present study was designed to identify the polymorphism in GH gene and its association with variation of wool traits in Egyptian sheep breeds. Wool and blood samples were collected from 42 animals including two breeds (Barki and Rahmani) and one crossbred (Rahmani x Awase). Measurements of wool traits were analyzed and involved staple strength (Str), staple length (STL), fiber diameter (FD) and clean fleece yield (CFW). DNA was extracted from blood samples and a 365-bp fragment from exon V was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Single strand conformation polymorphisim (SSCP) analysis showed two conformational patterns. The pattern I was recorded to be more frequent (83.3, 92.86 and 90%) than pattern II (16.7, 7.14 and 10%) in Barki, Rahmani and crossbred, respectively. The sequence analysis showed one single nucleotide polymorphism (C/T). The pattern I (allele T) has been found to affect CFW and FD than pattern II (allele C). Whereas, C allele was more pronounced for Str and STL. These traits are the most important parameters determining commercial values of wool that are preferred for clothing or carpets industry. The nucleotide sequences of C and T alleles were submitted to GenBank and have the accession numbers: KT250511 and KT250512, respectively. In conclusion, the present results provide evidence that there is a single nucleotide polymorphism within GH gene in Egyptian sheep breeds. This mutation was found to have some effects on wool traits. Therefore our data show interesting prospects in future selection programs for improving wool industry.Key words: Sheep, wool, growth hormone (GH) gene, polymorphism, single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP)