Assessment of Lead Pollution in Urban Roadside Environments of Gaza City

This research investigated Roadside lead concentration at four different locations at Gaza city. Road dust continues to be a major potential reservoir of lead (Pb) in the urban environment, and an important potential component of child Pb exposure. This study presents analyses of lead concentration for 20 samples, collected along selected streets of different traffic volume (PCU) of Gaza city over different intervals of time. Lead concentrations determined for particulates, which were collected from the soil and the lead accumulated by the leaves of Ficusbengalensis were also measured. The maximum lead concentrations accumulated by the leaves was 122.77 at EL-Wehda street equals to 122.77 mg/kg. Meanwhile a lead concentration of 12 mg/kg was the highest concentration in soil a sample which is also found at EL-Wehda street. A statistically significant correlation was found between the number of traffic volume and lead concentrations accumulated by the leaves which ranges between (0.87<P <0.99 ) at the designated streets . Also significant correlation was found between the lead concentration in soil and lead accumulated by the leaves which ranges between (0.4<P <0.6). From our study it was obviously noticed that a high traffic volume increases with the concentration of lead on deposits and soil. Beside traffic volume, road characterization had its effect on the distribution of lead emission

Shari’ah Compliance as a Matter for Financial Performance

Islamic banks must comply with the Shari'ah rulings fully as it is the foundation of Islamic banks. However, the level of Shari'ah compliance is not the same among the Islamic banks. Similarly, despite performing well, the financial performances of Islamic banks differ from each other. Therefore, the chapter explores the association between financial performance and Shari'ah compliance. The chapter used both the primary and secondary data. The primary data was collected through surveying 300 bank executives from six full-fledged Islamic banks operated in Bangladesh with a structured questionnaire on Shari'ah compliance, whereas information on financial performance were extracted from the annual reports of the sample banks. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used to analyze the data and conclude the findings. The findings show that Shari'ah compliance has a positive and significant impact on the financial performance with respect to the total liabilities and total assets.</p