A study of Kuwait's monetary sector.

This study is concerned with the structure, development and working of the monetary sector in the State of Kuwait. Initially, the characteristics of the Kuwaiti economy are examined in order to put the monetary sector into perspective. It is shown that the Kuwaiti economy possesses the general characteristics of less developed economies together with some distinguishing properties. It is argued that since there exists no one-to-one relationship between government revenue and expenditure, the money supply, in the short run, tends to be insulated from the effect of the external balance. - The working of Kuwait's monetary sector is studied through the balance sheets of the Central Bank and commercial banks, and that leads on to an analysis of the money supply process. The definition of money is discussed, and it is argued on the basis of empirical evidence that the broad money supply is the most appropriate for the purpose of monetary control. Causality testing reveals a unidirectional effect from money to income, and the estimation of velocity equations indicates that financing economic development by monetary injections is inflationary in the short run. A multiplier reduced-form model reveals the viability of short-run monetary control in Kuwait, but it is argued that monetary policy has been ineffective in this respect. It is also postulated that the combination of interest and exchange rate policies gives rise to the recurring problem of capital outflows. A structural econometric model of the monetary sector shows that the equilibrium stock of money is determined by supply and demand factors, and that the control of banks' reserves can (in part) accomplish the objective of monetary control. The model also reveals that both monetary and fiscal actions affect real output and prices, but the former tend to be more powerful. It is recommended on the basis of this study that the Central Bank should be given greater autonomy in formulating and executing monetary policy, and that its research capabilities need to be improved. Urgent attention must be paid to developing financial markets and upgrading tools of monetary policy. Finally, It Is argued that the Ministry of Finance should take part in the control of money and credit by manipulating its deposits and, perhaps, adopting a simple constant change rule in government expenditure

Population dynamics of Terapon jarbua (Forskal) in coastal area of Pakistani waters

Terapon jarbua is a widely distributed species in Pakistani inshore waters. It is well cherished by local coastal population. Present study is an attempt to determine some parameters of the population dynamics of the species in Pakistani waters. Analysis of data shows that the species attains asymptotic length (Loo) at 33.2 cm and have growth curve (K) of 0.62. Total mortality coefficient (Z) comes to 1. 67 per year, natural mortality coefficient (M) is estimated as 1.23 per year. The fishing mortality (F) is about 0.44 per year; whereas exploitation rate E=0.26

Security threats of finger print biometric in network system environment

Biometrics-based personal authentication systems that use physiological (e.g., fingerprint, face) or behavioral (e.g., speech, handwriting) traits are becoming increasingly popular, compared to traditional systems that are based on tokens (e.g., key) or knowledge (e.g., password). On the other hand, biometric systems are vulnerable to attacks, which can decrease their security. This paper analyzes and surveys the vulnerabilities and security threats of the finger print biometric systems used for access control and the authentication of access to confidential information in network system environment. As analysis tools, two biometric network models are implemented and connected to see some of the arguments of the vulnerabilities and security threats. Based on that, analysis and surveying, experimental solutions and countermeasures are presented

Turbulent mixing at a shear-free density interface

The interaction of a sharp density interface with oscillating-grid-induced shear-free turbulence was experimentally investigated. A linear photodiode array was used in conjunction with laser-induced fluorescence to measure the concentration of dye that was initially only in the less dense layer. A laser-Doppler velocimeter was used to measure the vertical velocity in and above the density interface at a point where the dye concentration was also measured. Potential refractive-index-fluctuation problems were avoided using solutes that provided a homogeneous optical environment across the density interface. Internal wave spectra, amplitudes and velocities, as well as the vertical mass flux were measured. The results indicate that mixing occurs in intermittent bursts and that the gradient (local) Richardson number remains constant for a certain range of the overall Richardson number R_j, defined in terms of an integral lengthscale, buoyancy jump and turbulence intensity. The spectra of the internal waves decay as f^(−3) at frequencies below the maximum Brunt-Väisälä frequency. These findings give support to a model for oceanic mixing proposed by Phillips (1977) in which the internal waves are limited in their spectral density by sporadic local instabilities and breakdown to turbulence. The results also indicate that, for a certain R_j range, the thickness of the interfacial layer (normalized by the integral lengthscale of the turbulence) is a decreasing function of R_j. At sufficiently high R_j the interfacial thickness becomes limited by diffusive effects. Finally, we discuss a simple model for entrainment at a density interface in the presence of shear-free turbulence

Antioxidant Status, C-Reactive Protein and Iron Status in Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of acute pulmonary tuberculosis and the effect of drug therapy on markers of oxidative stress (malondialdehyde [MDA] and total antioxidant status [TAS]), C-reactive protein (CRP) and iron body status indices. Methods:Forty patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis from the Advisory Clinic for Chest and Respiratory Diseases in Mosul City, Iraq,were included in this study, with fifty healthy age and sex matched subjects as controls. Assessment of serum concentrations of MDA, TAS, CRP, serum iron, total iron binding capacity, transferring saturation percent and ferritin were done for both patients and controls. After two months of therapy with a daily dose of isoniazid 75 mg, rifampicin 150mg, pyraziamide 400 mg, and ethambutol 275 mg, the same parameters were reassessed for the patients. Results: After two months of therapy, there was a significant reduction in the levels of MDA, CRP, and ferritin, with a significant increase in the TAS, serum iron, and transferring saturation percentage with an insignificant effect on the total iron binding capacity in comparison with the patients’ pre-therapy values. Conclusion: Active pulmonary tuberculosis is associated with oxidative stress; the increase in the levels of CRP indicated that pulmonary tuberculosis is associated with an inflammatory response. The initial two months therapy led to significant improvement in oxidative stress and suppression of inflammatory responses. Newly diagnosed cases of pulmonary tuberculosis often had chronic anaemia of inflammation, but this therapy resulted in a significant correction of such anaemia

A hybrid modified lightweight algorithm for achieving data integrity and confidentiality

Encryption algorithms aim to make data secure enough to be decrypted by an attacker. This paper combines the Speck and the Salsa20 to make it difficult for an attacker to exploit any weaknesses in these two algorithms and create a new lightweight hybrid algorithm called Speck-Salsa20 algorithm for data integrity and confidentiality (SSDIC). SSDIC uses less energy and has an efficient throughput. It works well in both hardware and software and can handle a variety of explicit plaintext and key sizes. SSDIC solves the difficulties of the Speck algorithm. The sequence generated by Speck is not random and fails to meet an acceptable success rate when tested in statistical tests. It is processed by generating a random key using the Salsa20 algorithm. Salsa20 is a high-speed secure algorithm that is faster than advanced encryption standard (AES) and can be used on devices with low resources. It uses a 256-bit key hash function. The recovery of the right half of the original key of the Speck algorithm is also handled by modifying the Speck round function and the key schedule. Simulation results show, according to a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) test, the performance achieved by the SSDIC is increased by nearly 66% more than that achieved from the Speck in terms of data integrity and confidentiality