Designing Non-Depressive Urban Built Environment: Case Study of Damietta City, Egypt

Maintaining mental well-being in urban built environments with the help of technology in cities is a huge challenging trend, especially with the increasing number of people living in cities. Nowadays, urban life style has raised the risk of anxiety and mood disorders by 21% and 39% respectively. This paper aims at investigating the relationship between several attributes of the urban built environment with mental health and raising the issue of how mental health can be improved through urban design. Basically, mental health depends on human inner feelings and emotions reacting from surrounding environments. The study is based on analysing the individual experience of people and their lifestyle in several neighbourhoods of Damietta City, Egypt by using Hamilton Depression Scale as an instrument to evaluate the severity of depressive symptoms. The attributes of the built environment in those neighbourhoods are investigated using geographic information systems (GIS), on a sample of 445 individuals distributed in four different city areas. The socio-economic characteristics, built-up attributes and results from the depressive symptoms are analysed and compared in the four areas. A positive relationship has been detected between some attributes of the urban built environment and the severity of the depressive symptoms, emphasising the possibility of improving open public spaces and producing psychologically healthy cities

The performance comparison of the open-ended fund and close-ended mutual fund in Pakistan

This research study show performance comparison of the Net Asset Values (NAVs) return of Openended and Close-ended mutual funds in Pakistan. The aim of the study to analyze the dissimilarity between the “net asset values” (NAVs) returns of the open-ended and close-ended mutual funds. The monthly data of Net Asset Value return of both open-ended funds and close-ended funds were taken over the period from 2006 till 2011 (inclusive). The NAVs return was computed through (LN) natural log function. The normality test was conducted initially and then the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk test were applied, their result showed that the data is not normally distributed. The Mann- Whitney U test and then further the Kruskal Wallis was conducted to check for the differences between these two groups of independent variables. It showed dissimilarity between the net asset value returns of the openended and close-ended mutual funds. Further Kruskal Wallis test results indicated significant differences between the open-ended and close-ended funds. It is concluded that the performance of open-ended and close-ended mutual funds is not the same. Also, growth is witnessed in the mutual fund industry and many close-ended funds have been converted to open-ended fundsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cost-effectiveness of a mobile health-supported lifestyle intervention for pregnant women with an elevated body mass index

Objective To assess the cost-effectiveness of a mobile health-supported lifestyle intervention compared with usual care. Methods We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis from the perspective of the publicly-funded health care system. We estimated costs associated with the intervention and health care utilisation from first antenatal care appointment through delivery. We used bootstrap methods to quantify the uncertainty around cost‐effectiveness estimates. Health outcomes assessed in this analysis were gestational weight gain (GWG; kg), incidence of excessive GWG, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and incidence of large-for-gestational-age (LGA). Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated as cost per QALY gained, cost per kg of GWG avoided, cost per case of excessive GWG averted, and cost per case of LGA averted. Results Total mean cost including intervention and health care utilisation was €3745 in the intervention group and €3471 in the control group (mean difference €274, P = 0.08). The ICER was €2914 per QALY gained. Assuming a ceiling ratio of €45,000, the probability that the intervention was cost‐effective based on QALYs was 79%. Cost per kg of GWG avoided was €209. The cost-effectiveness acceptability curve (CEAC) for kg of GWG avoided reached a confidence level of 95% at €905, indicating that if one is willing to pay a maximum of an additional €905 per kg of GWG avoided, there is a 95% probability that the intervention is cost-effective. Costs per case of excessive GWG averted and case of LGA averted were €2117 and €5911, respectively. The CEAC for case of excessive GWG averted and for case of LGA averted reached a confidence level of 95% at €7090 and €25,737, respectively. Conclusions Results suggest that a mobile-health lifestyle intervention could be cost-effective; however, a better understanding of the short- and long-term costs of LGA and excessive GWG is necessary to confirm the results

A taxonomic revision of the myrmecophilous species of the rattan genus Korthalsia (Arecaceae)

The rattan genus Korthalsia Blume (Arecaceae: Calamoideae: Calameae) is widespread in the Malesian region. Among the 28 accepted species are 10 species that form intimate associations with ants. The ants inhabit the conspicuous ocreas that are produced by these species, using them as domatia to care for their young and to husband scale insects. As a foundation for future work, we present here a taxonomic treatment of the myrmecophilous Korthalsia species, based on extensive research both in the herbarium and the field. In addition, we conduct detailed morphological characterisation of the structure and development of ocrea using light and scanning electron microscopy. Descriptions, illustrations, keys and distribution maps are presented for all 10 species, along with microscopic images of ocrea morphology and development for selected species

Moringa oleifera Protects SH-SY5YCells from DEHP-Induced Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Apoptosis

Moringa oleifera (MO) is a medicinal plant that has been shown to possess antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and antibiotic activities. In a rat model, MO extract (MOe) has been shown to have a protective effect against brain damage and memory decline. As an extending study, here, we have examined the protective effect of MOe against oxidative stress and apoptosis caused in human neuroblastome (SH-SY5Y) cells by di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), a plasticizer known to induce neurotoxicity. Our data show that MOe prevents oxidative damage by lowering reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, restoring mitochondrial respiratory chain complex activities, and, in addition, by modulating the expression of vitagenes, i.e., antioxidant proteins Nrf2 and HO-1. Moreover, MOe prevented neuronal damage by partly inhibiting endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response, as indicated by decreased expression of CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein homologous protein (CHOP) and Glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) proteins. MOe also protected SH-SY5Y cells from DEHP-induced apoptosis, preserving mitochondrial membrane permeability and caspase-3 activation. Our findings provide insight into understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in neuroprotective effects by MOe against DEHP damag

Complete Genome Sequence of the Olive-Infecting Strain Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca De Donno

We report here the complete and annotated genome sequence of the plant-pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca strain De Donno. This strain was recovered from an olive tree severely affected by olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS), a devastating olive disease associated with X. fastidiosa infections in susceptible olive cultivars

First international proficiency testing for laboratory performance on Xylella fastidiosa detection

A proficiency test (PT) to evaluate the performance of laboratories involved in molecular and serological detection of X. fastidiosa was carried out in early 2017; 35 laboratories from EU/non- EU Countries tested 4 different methods to purify DNA, conventional and qPCR assays, and 2 ELISA tests. The number of resultant positive agreement/negative agreement/positive deviation/negative deviation was used to determine the laboratory performance (i.e. accuracy 100%). The overall results showed that all laboratories were able to correctly diagnose X. fastidiosa in the blind samples containing the highest X. fastidiosa concentrations, whereas the performance of several laboratories was negatively affected by the lack of detection in the samples with the lowest concentrations, both through molecular and serological tests. Accuracy level of 100% (laboratory conformed to the PT) was successfully recovered in the majority of the laboratories performing qPCR and PCR assays on DNA purified using at least 2 of the 4 tested protocols. The use of automated platform ensured higher laboratory performance. As expected, results of the ELISA tests generated lower performance values in the majority of the laboratories, due to the lack of detection of positive samples containing the lowest the bacterial concentration. This study provides a good overview on the laboratory performance for the diagnostics currently used in the EPPO countries and indicate useful improvements that laboratories can adopt to achieve a better performance

PENGUATAN REGULATORY SANDBOX DAN SCORING SYSTEM DALAM PENERAPAN PRINSIP KEHATI-HATIAN PADA PEER - TO - PEER LENDING

Abstrak:Financial Technology (Fintech) merupakan penggunaan teknologi dalam sistem keuangan yang menghasilkan produk, layanan, dan/atau model bisnis baru yang berdampak pada stabilitas moneter, stabilitas sistem keuangan, efisiensi, kelancaran, keamanan, dan keandalan sistem pembayaran. Karya Tulis Ilmiah Ini membahas serta mengkaji mengenai sistem pengawasan yang diterapkan dalam penyelenggaraan Fintech, khususnya Fintech Peer to Peer Lending melalui uji coba dengan menggunakan instrumen Regulatory Sandbox bagi penyelenggara Fintech dan Scoring System bagi calon nasabah peminjam dana. Metode penelitian yang digunakan dalam penulisan yaitu metode penelitian yuridis normatif dengan menggunakan data sekunder, yang ditunjang dengan metode yuridis sosiologis dengan data primer. Pendekatan yang digunakan adalah konseptual dan perundang-undangan. Uji Coba terhadap Regulatory Sandbox dan Scoring System yang ada pada saat ini masih memiliki beberapa kelemahan yang perlu diperbaiki apabila tidak diperbaiki akan berdampak pada meningkatnya angka NonPerforming Loan dan akan mengganggu sistem keuangan yang ada. Perbaikan yang dilakukan perlu diperkuat dengan adanya regulasi, dengan cara melakukan revisi atas regulasi yang telah ada. Kata Kunci: Regulatory Sandbox; Scoring System; Peer to Peer Lending