The Determinants of Voluntary Disclosure in Emerging Markets: The Case of Egypt

This paper estimates the extent of voluntary disclosure and the impact of a comprehensive set of corporate governance attributes (firm size, firm age, firm profitability, firm leverage, board independent, the existence of audit committee, director ownership, block-holder ownership, Auditor Specialization and Auditor Type) on the extent of voluntary disclosure in Egypt. It is based on the measurement of disclosure to the published data generated from a checklist of 54 items to measure the levels of voluntary disclosure, which had been collected from reviewing manually the financial statements and electronic sites a sample of Egyptian companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX). We also have level standard ordinary least square (OLS) regression analysis to test for our sample of 100 observations to companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange in 2016. We find that the average level of voluntary disclosure is 18.38%. Our analysis also shows that the size of the firm, firm age, profitability of the firm, auditor specialisation, and ownership of director have a positive impact on voluntary disclosure. However, we find a negative relationship between firm leverage and voluntary disclosure. Our analysis also shows that board independence, audit committee, Block-holder ownership and Auditor Type have no impact on voluntary disclosure. The empirical evidence from this study improves the understanding of the voluntary corporate disclosure environment in Egypt as one of the emerging markets in the Middle East. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Firm characteristics, Voluntary Disclosure

Successful Surgical and Medical Management of Cesarean Scar Pregnancy in 2 Patients

Background: Cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP), once a rare entity, is on the rise due because of an increase in the cesarean section rate worldwide. Currently, there is no standard protocol available for managing CSP. To contribute to the existing literature, this article presents the current authors' experience with 2 cases of CSP that were treated successfully with two different modalities. Cases: Case 1: A 34-year-old, gravida 2, para 1, was diagnosed with a CSP on initial transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) scan at 6 weeks of gestation. Aspiration of the gestational sac and a local injection of methotrexate was performed. After 2 weeks, the gestational sac increased in size with thinning of the CS scar (1?mm), and plateauing of the ß?human chorionic gonadotropin (ß-hCG) occurred. Laparoscopic excision of the CSP and myometrial repair resulted in resolution. Case 2: A 31-year-old, gravida 3, para 1, achieved pregnancy after a frozen?thawed embryo transfer cycle. A TVUS scan, performed at 6 weeks of gestation showed a CSP. The patient's ß-hCG level was 310 mIU/mL. Systemic methotrexate was administered intramuscularly. The patient's ß-hCG on days 4 and 7 was 260 and 252, respectively. A repeat TVUS on day 7 showed a resolving gestational sac. A second dose of methotrexate resulted in complete resolution of the CSP. Results: The treatments (aspiration, methotrexate, and laparoscopic excision for Case 1, and methotrexate for Case 2) enabled resolution of the CSPs of these 2 patients. Conclusions: Various treatment modalities have been described for managing CSP with varied levels of success. When local injection of methotrexate into the gestational sac of CSP is unsuccessful, laparoscopic removal is safe and effective. Moreover, in the presence of low levels of ?-hCG, treatment with systemic methotrexate is usually successful. (J GYNECOL SURG 30:168)Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140096/1/gyn.2013.0131.pd

Effect of ciprofloxacin incorporation in PVA and PVA bioactive glass composite scaffolds

International audienceScaffolds are implants used to deliver cells, drugs, and genes into the body in a local controlled release pattern which offers many advantages over systematic drug delivery. Composite scaffolds of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and quaternary bioactive glass (46S6 system) with different ratios of glass contents were prepared by the lyophilisation technique. The broad spectrum antibiotic ciprofloxacin (Cip) was impregnated to the scaffold during the fabrication in a concentration of 5, 10 and 20%. Biodegradation rate and in-vitro mineralization of the prepared scaffolds were performed by soaking the scaffolds in simulated body fluid (SBF). Phase identification, microstructure, porosity, bioactivity, mechanical properties and drug release pattern in PBS were characterized by XRD, SEM coupled with EDS, Hg-porosimeter, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), universal testing machine, fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and UV-spectrophotometer, respectively. A porous scaffold has been obtained with porosity up to 85%. By increasing the glass contents in the prepared scaffold the porosity and the degradation rate decrease however, the compressive strength was enhanced. A sustained drug release pattern was observed with a quasi-Fickian diffusion mechanism. The formulated ciprofloxacin loaded porous polyvinyl alcohol scaffold gave an acceptable physicochemical properties and was able to deliver the drug in a prolonged release pattern which offers a distinguish treatment for osteomylitis as well as local antibacterial effect

Sustaining the population growth of desert settlements, case study: North Sinai, Egypt

Egypt faces ongoing problems in its population distribution. While heavily populated areas of the Nile Valley continue to attract migrants, depopulated areas remain largely empty. In North Sinai, in spite of governmental support represented in new infrastructure and many urban and investment projects, there exists a tremendous under- population problem. In the meantime the urban centres of Egypt are suffering worsening social, economic, infrastructural and environmental problems exacerbated by overpopulation. This thesis addresses the concept of sustaining population growth of desert settlements. It argues that the socio-economic needs of desert settlements are to a large part overlooked, thus contributing to their failure to attract and retain large numbers of people. Discussion of this subject is structured into three parts, followed by the conclusion and recommendations. Part One uses extensive literature references to give a comprehensive background to the different features of desert settlements and their social, economic and environmental dimensions. Part Two covers the theoretical approach of sustaining the population growth of desert settlements, especially in peripheral areas. This part ends with a comparative analysis between three desert development experiences; in Egypt, the USA and Israel. These first two parts are targeted to address the indicators of sustaining population growth. These investigations into the subject area support a view that it is not sufficient for governments only to use economic, employment and infrastructural means to attract people to desert settlements. These do not tackle the problem of public attitudes towards living in remote communities, nor do they provide settlements that are adaptive to the desert environment, which would invite settlers to remain and bring up their families there. These insights construct the analytical background to the field study in Part Three, which outlines the research techniques and the case study, field survey and questionnaire conducted with the assistance of residents of five chosen desert settlements in North Sinai. This analysis examines the attitudes among `local' and `new comer' households looking at their residential mobility, the relocation process, and the consequences of the community and prospects for the future. The findings lead to the conclusion that much of the deviation from achieving national and regional population dispersal policies can be explained through studying the socio-economic and socio-cultural dimensions of desert settlements. They highlight significant differences in values, motivations and interests of both `local' and `newcomer' households and explain that these forces should have a major influence in formulating and implementing effective population redistribution policies. Although the research limits itself to the context of the desert environment, the author suggest that its findings may offer valuable insights to other parts of the world, where national policies are seeking to counter the global problems of rural -urban migration

Forward-looking Disclosure and Corporate Governance Characteristics: Evidence from China.

This paper investigates the relationship between forward-looking disclosure (FLD) and a range of corporate governance characteristics in the Chinese stock markets. It finds that the implementation of certain monitoring and control mechanisms, such as independent directors on the board of directors, can improve the extent of FLD. However, separating the roles of the CEO and the chairman of the board of directors is of little help in explaining any improvement in FLD. In contrast, ownership structure appears to play an essential role in determining FLD policies. Indeed, listed firms with high levels of foreign ownership tend to disclose more forward-looking information. Of particular interest, the association between state ownership and FLD is likely to be non-linear, and the inflection point at which the association becomes negative occurs at a state ownership over 38%. In summary, this study provides new evidence on the impact of FLD on corporate governance characteristics on in China’s unique institutional environment. Keywords: Forward-looking Disclosure, Corporate Governance Characteristics, Firm Characteristics, Information Asymmetry, and Chin

Comparative Study of Nanobioactive Glass Quaternary System 46S6

International audienceDifferent bioactive glass systems have been prepared by sol-gel. However, the production of Na2O-containing bioactive glasses by sol-gel methods has proved to be difficult as the sodium nitrate used in the preparation could be lost from the glass structure during filtration and washing. The aim of this study was to prepare the quaternary system 46S6 of bioactive glass by modified sol-gel techniques with a decrease in the time of gelation. In addition, compare the behaviour of the prepared sol-gel bioactive glass system by its corresponding prepared by melting. The obtained glasses were characterized by using several physicochemical techniques; XRD, FTIR, TEM and SEM beside the effect of the glass particles on the viability of osteoblast like cells (Saos-2). Results show that nanopowders 40-60 nm of 46S6 glass system had been prepared by modified sol-gel (acid-base reaction) method at 600°C in just three days at 600°C. Cell viability by MTT assay confirmed the effectiveness of the prepared nanobioactive glass

Management Dilemma of Concurrent Fundal Submucous Fibroid and Incomplete Uterine Septum in a Patient with Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

Background: We describe a patient presenting with recurrent pregnancy loss secondary to concurrent uterine factors. Case: The patient was a 31-year-old white female who presented with recurrent pregnancy loss on two occasions. The couple had a normal work-up for recurrent miscarriages except for a fundal type II submucosal fibroid on transvaginal 3D ultrasound (US) with saline infusion hysterosonogram (SIH). Laparoscopic myomectomy and repair of the myometrial defect was performed. At the conclusion of the procedure, a diagnostic hysteroscopy suggested a possible concurrent incomplete short uterine septum, which could not be corrected for fear of cutting the myomectomy sutures. The patient did not appear for follow up, which led her to have three more miscarriages and one chemical pregnancy. The presence of a short uterine septum was confirmed on SIH with 3D US. The patient underwent hysteroscopic division of the short uterine septum. Results: Postoperative SIH showed a normal uterine cavity, and currently the patient is trying to conceive. Conclusion: Coexistence of a type II submucous fibroid in the fundal region of the uterus and an incomplete uterine septum presents both a diagnostic and management challenge. Surgical management of such coexisting uterine pathology cannot be performed in a single session. (J GYNECOL SURG 29:165)Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140093/1/gyn.2012.0029.pd

Assessment of Specific Yield and Storage Capacity of Groundwater using Borehole Log

The study aimed at evaluating the specific yield and storage capacity of groundwater in Chapai Nawabganj District of Bangladesh using borehole log data. The boring log samples from different layers were collected from each Upazila (administrative area) of the District. The specific yield of each Upazila was determined by the Cooper-Jacob method using Math lab software and storage of groundwater was then ascertained by a mathematical formula. The specific yield of the five Upazilas was determined and the values were found around 10 (%) which indicates good permeability of the areas, except Bholahat Upazila. The results illustrate that Nachole Upazila has a large storage volume, i.e., 49,305 Hec-m, but the other Upazilas have a storage capacity between 8000 to 18000 Hec-m. The storage capacity of the five Upazilas followed the order: Nachole>Nawabganj>Shibganj>Gomastapur> Bholahat. The highest number of DTWs at Nachole Upazila extracted 8848 Hec-m indicating excessive extraction concerning sustainable water management. A well-planned water resource management would have to be taken to achieve sustainable use of groundwater for irrigation aiming to achieve food security as well as an ecologically friendly environment. Keywords: Borehole, groundwater, storage, specific yield, storage capacity DOI: 10.7176/JEES/10-8-02 Publication date:August 31st 202

Evaluating the immediate and longer term impact of a refusal conversion strategy in a large scale longitudinal study

Refusal conversion is one of the fieldwork strategies commonly used to minimise non-response in surveys. There is, however, relatively little evidence about the effectiveness of this strategy, particularly for face-to-face longitudinal surveys. Moreover, much of the existing evidence is based on observational studies. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of a fieldwork strategy – intensive re-issuing - to convert refusals using evidence from an intervention on a random sub-sample of refusals implemented in wave four of a large scale longitudinal study in the UK: the Millennium Cohort Study. We show that intensive re-issuing is an effective way of reducing the refusal rate. We also show that refusal conversion led to a modest reduction in non-response bias in the survey estimates for several key variables. The longer term impact of refusal conversion is also a key concern in longitudinal surveys. We demonstrate that, although the majority of converted refusals go on to participate in the subsequent wave of the study, there is no overall effect of intensive re-issuing on sample size at this wave

Laparoscopic Myomectomy Followed by Minilaparotomy for Management of a Large Submucous Fibroid

Background: We describe a patient with a single large type II submucous fibroid distorting and occupying the entire endometrial cavity, which was managed successfully with an approach less invasive than laparotomy. Case: The patient was a 36-year-old woman who presented with primary infertility of 2 years duration. Her associated complaints were menorrhagia and known uterine fibroids. She had undergone hysteroscopic myomectomy in the past without any improvement. An hysterosalpingogram revealed that the uterine cavity was occupied by a single large submucosal fibroid. Transvaginal ultrasound and saline infusion hysterosonogram showed a large anterior type II submucous, intramural, subserous fibroid. Diagnostic hysteroscopy and laparoscopy revealed a type II submucous fibroid occupying the entire anterior wall of the uterus. Laparoscopic myomectomy was performed and a fibroid measuring 8?cm was dissected. During the process, the endometrial cavity was entered and a minilaparotomy via a 5-cm transverse skin incision was performed to repair the endometrial cavity and overlying myometrium adequately and to remove the myoma. Results: Her postoperative course was uneventful. Six weeks later, saline infusion hysterosonogram revealed a uniform endometrial cavity with no filling defects or synechiae. Conclusions: Laparoscopic myomectomy with minilaparotomy is a safe, cost-effective, and less invasive approach for the treatment of patients with large type II submucous fibroids who want to preserve their reproductive potential. (J GYNECOL SURG 29:161)Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140091/1/gyn.2012.0027.pd