Using currency demand to estimate the Palestine underground economy: An econometric analysis

The existence of an underground economy may hide the official number of unemployed persons, their share in the labour force, and wages. It also gives rise to the economic and social conditions of individuals, household and countries, which are evaluated in a biased way if one relies on the official statistics. In this paper, we use the currency demand model of Tanzi to estimate the underground economy in Palestine over the period: (2008–2017). Toward that end, a group of econometric techniques of time series data was applied. The main empirical results show that the underground economy reached up to 28.6% in 2010 of the GDP with about USD 2676.227 million. The empirical study results also reveal that the explanatory variables listed in the study model suggested by economic theory and previous research have a significant impact on the dependent one, except the variable ratio of governmental wages and salaries to GDP. However, the money received by the government employees does not contribute to the underground economy.In preparation for this paper, I had to take the help of some respected professors in empirical economics, who deserve my deepest gratitude. As the completion of this paper gave me much pleasure, we would like to express my appreciation for all those who have directly and indirectly helped us in preparing this research paper

Ablative Fractional 10 600 nm Carbon Dioxide Laser Versus Non-ablative Fractional 1540 nm Erbium-Glass Laser in Egyptian Post-acne Scar patients

Introduction: Non-ablative fractional erbium-doped glass 1540 nm and fractional ablative 10600 nm carbon dioxide lasers are regarded as effective modalities for treating acne atrophic scars. In this study, we aimed to compare the effectiveness of fractional CO2 laser and fractional non-ablative 1540 nm erbium doped glass laser in treating post acne atrophic scars in Egyptian patients.Methods: Fifty-eight patients complaining of moderate and severe acne atrophic scars were randomly divided into 2 groups of 29 patients each. Both groups were subjected to 4 treatment sessions with 3 weeks interval and were followed up for 3 months. In group A, enrolled patients received CO2 laser, while in group B, patients were treated with 1540 nm erbium glass fractional laser.Results: Clinical assessment revealed that the mean grades of progress and improvement were higher with fractional 10600 nm CO2 laser but with non-significant difference between both treatments (P = 0.1). The overall patients’ satisfaction with both lasers were not significantly different (P = 0.44).Conclusion: Both fractional ablative CO2 and fractional non-ablative erbium glass lasers are good modalities for treating acne scars with a high efficacy and safety profile and good patient satisfaction. The fractional ablative laser showed higher efficacy while non-ablative laser offered less pain and shorter downtime

Does Spending Matter in Improving Healthcare Across MENA Region

This study addresses the impact of healthcare spending on quality of health. Particularly, it investigates the impact of health budget allocation, health system performance, a nation’s income, and demographic aspects on prompting health quality across the MENA region. The yearly data sample used covers the period 1995–2016. The estimated model is tested using the appropriate GLS random effects method. The findings do not show support for public spending on healthcare to improve healthcare quality across the MENA region. However, higher private spending on healthcare leads to lower infant mortality rates, thus improving healthcare quality. The results also show that the improvement in income per-capita for oil-exporting countries leads to improved quality of healthcare as well as in non-oil-exporting countries, however the marginal benefit is lower for oil-exporting countries, compared to non-oil-exporting countries. This might suggest that oil-exporting countries have already reached a significant floor level of infant mortality rate that cannot be improved. However, non-oil-exporting countries still have potential to reduce the infant mortality rate and improve the quality of healthcare

Biochemical and mineral compositions of six brown seaweeds collected from Red Sea at Hurghada Coast

484-491The biochemical and mineral compositions of six brown seaweeds collected during spring season from Red Sea at Hurghada coast were determined to evaluate their significance in animal nutrition. The results suggested that the highest ash and protein contents were recorded in Padina gymnospora (45.48%) and Sargassum muticum (5.31%), respectively. The carbohydrates content was > 24.0% in the studied seaweeds, while the fat content ranged from 0.11 to 0.27%, and the essential amino acids formed 38.13-42.34% of the total amino acids. Both Padina gymnospora and Turbinaria sp. had the majority of measured phenolic compounds. Also, the studied seaweed species were rich in vitamin B2 (> 105.0 ppm), except Sargassum aspirofolium. The highest/lowest vitamin C content existed in Sargassum muticum (11.76 ppm) and Sargassum aspirofolium (3.96 ppm), respectively. Moreover, the tested seaweeds exhibited high amounts of essential minerals. Therefore, Red Sea brown seaweeds are good food sources for animal nutrition

Flash Flood Risk Estimation of Wadi Qena Watershed, Egypt Using GIS Based Morphometric Analysis

Flash flooding is one of the periodic geohazards in the eastern desert of Egypt where many parts of Upper Egypt, Sinai, and Red Sea areas were hit by severe flash floods, for example in 1976, 1982, 1996 and January 2010. The hazard degree for each sub-basin was determined using the approach developed by El-Shamy for assessing susceptibility of sub-basins to flash flooding risk. To identify at-risk sub-basins, two different methods were applied. The first method is based on the relationship between the drainage density and bifurcation ratio, and the second one uses the relationship between drainage frequency and bifurcation ratio. The three morphometric parameters (the bifurcation ratio, drainage density, and stream frequency) were extracted and calculated for each sub-basin of the watershed. Based on the final hazard degree resulting from the two methods, a detailed hazard degree map was extracted for all sub-basins. The results illustrate that there are no sub-basins with low risk of flooding. The sub-basins with the highest hazard degree are concentrated in the middle of the watershed although they have smaller areas compared with the surrounding sub-basins. The sub-basins located at the boundary of the watershed have an intermediate risk of flooding and moderate potential for groundwater recharge. This constructed map can be used as a basic data for assessment of flood mitigation and planning

Flood Hazard Mapping and Assessment of Precipitation Monitoring System Using GIS-Based Morphometric Analysis and TRMM Data: A Case Study of the Wadi Qena Watershed, Egypt

Wadi Qena is one of the Nile Valley areas particularly at risk of severe flash flooding, located in Egypt. The study aims to verify TRMM rainfall data (TRMM 3B42), using eight stations across Egypt as well as relies on morphometric analysis to generate a flood risk map based on the ranking method. Three process could be recognized through the study, calibration, correction and verification processes. The results discuss the match daily rainfall trends of TRMM and observed data, producing a correction equation for TRMM data with root mean square error (RMSE) value of 0.837 mm d-1 and R2= 0.238 (calibration process). On the other hand, a verification process, using the developed correction equation, obtain RMSE value of 1.701 mm d-1 and R2= 0.601. The morphometric analysis shows 32 sub-basins with a hazard degree from moderate to high, amounting to 50.3% of the watershed area. Conclusively, this study confirms that the current monitoring system is not enough to cover the whole area, especially the high-risk sub-basins, and TRMM data could provide key information for water-related applications in Egypt

Environmental Remediation of Contaminated Wastewater with Ammonium Using Clay-Based Adsorbents

Due to a lack of water treatment technology, developing and emerging nations have become significant polluters and water shortage is exacerbated by pollution. Ammonium toxicity is a huge global environmental concern with no clear solution. Population growth and industrialization destroy the ecosystem. Common and industrial products contain ammonium ions. Water pollution damages fish and other aquatic life. An inexpensive and green wastewater treatment method is adsorption. Adsorbent polymers that remove ammonium ions from wastewater have been explored. Ammonium ions are very hazardous when deposited into surface waters. Surfaces of bentonite and montmorillonite clay may attach sodium ammonium ions. They are cheap and abundant, therefore used to treat drain water. Bentonite outperformed montmorillonite in eliminating ammonium ions from water. Bentonite and montmorillonite clays were used to remove residual ammonium ions. These are utilized for bentonitic and montmorillonitic clays. Both clays were absorbed in a neutral pH, and it was free of sulfuric acid, ammonium ions, and phosphorus ions. Montmorillonitic clay boosted TDS by nearly 10% whereas bentonitic clay only raised TDS by 1%. Adsorption may inexpensively filter water and the surface charge of adsorbents affect their adsorption capacity. Ammonium ions may be recycled, and several bioreactors can remove ammonium ions from liquid and solid phases. Iterate over several models and the Freundlich isotherm model outperforms the Langmuir model by 5%. And bentonite clay adsorbs better due to iron oxide content

Effect of pre-harvest application of salicylic acid, potassium silicate, and calcium chloride, on storability and quality attributes of table grape

Pre-harvest application of potassium silicate, calcium chloride and salicylic acid as spraying treatments is a promising strategy for the management of fruit quality and exhibits a high potential in controlling post-harvest losses of horticultural crops. The aim of this study was to investigate the storability of ‘ARAA18’ cultivar after some pre-harvest treatments that were applied during two consecutive growing seasons. The ‘ARRA 18’ table grape variety is one of the ‘ARRA’ group varieties that have been recently introduced to Egypt. Treatments were applied as foliar sprays at three different stages during the growing season before harvest. The plants were sprayed with potassium silicate (K2SiO3), salicylic acid, and calcium chloride, while untreated vine trees sprayed with water served as control. Mature clusters were harvested, then placed in carton containers and stored in cold storage at 0±1 °C to study the storability of ‘ARRA18’. Records of physical and chemical quality parameters were taken at 7-day intervals. All treatments reduced weight loss, berry softening and decay incidence comparing to control under storage conditions. K2SiO3 generally showed the highest significant effect compared to other treatments and control. Hence, the use of (K2SiO3) at both applied concentrations and (SA) at 100 ppm, significantly proved to be the most effective treatments in keeping the overall quality of stored grapes

Role of Ulva lactuca

Seaweeds are potentially excellent sources of highly bioactive materials that could represent useful leads in the alleviation of salinity stress. The effects of presoaking wheat grains in water extract of Ulva lactuca on growth, some enzymatic activities, and protein pattern of salinized plants were investigated in this study. Algal presoaking of grains demonstrated a highly significant enhancement in the percentage of seed germination and growth parameters. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) increased with increasing the algal extract concentration while activity of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR) was decreased with increasing concentration of algal extract more than 1% (w/v). The protein pattern of wheat seedling showed 12 newly formed bands as result of algal extract treatments compared with control. The bioactive components in U. lactuca extract such as ascorbic acid, betaine, glutathione, and proline could potentially participate in the alleviation of salinity stress. Therefore, algal presoaking is proved to be an effective technique to improve the growth of wheat seedlings under salt stress conditions

C-Abl inhibition; a novel therapeutic target for Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the most prevalent movement disorder in the world. The major pathological hallmarks of PD are death of dopaminergic neurons and the formation of Lewy bodies. At the moment, there is no cure for PD; current treatments are symptomatic. Investigators are searching for neuroprotective agents and disease modifying strategies to slow the progress of PD. However, recently, due to the ignorance of the main pathological sequence of PD, many drug targets failed to provide neuroprotective effects in human trials. Currently, a huge amount of evidence suggests the involvement of C-Abelson (c-Abl) tyrosine kinase enzyme in the pathology of PD. C-abl plays a role in PD pathology on the levels of parkin activation, alpha synuclein aggregation, and impaired autophagy of toxic elements. Experimental studies showed that (1) c-abl activation is involved in neuronal death and (2) c-abl inhibition shows neuroprotective effects and prevents dopaminergic neurons’ death. Current evidence from experimental studies and the first in-human trial shows that c-abl inhibition holds the promise for neuroprotection against PD and therefore, justifies the movement towards larger clinical trials. In this review article, we discussed the role of c-abl in PD pathology and the findings of preclinical experiments and the first in-human trial. In addition, based on the lessons of the last decade and current preclinical evidence, we provide recommendations for future research in this area