Modeling the impact of the oil sector on the economy of sultanate of Oman

This study constructs and analyses a simple macroeconomic model that specifically tailored to model the impact of oil sector on the economy of Sultanate of Oman. The constructed model of the study measures the impact of oil sector on the Oman economy for the last three decades and also provides some forecasting for the major macroeconomics indicators related to the Oman economy. Model simulations indicate that the oil sector has large and positive impact on Oman gross domestic product and its influence spills over to all other non-oil sectors of Oman economy. The study found that largest influence of oil was on the gas sector and the least economic sector influenced by oil was agricultural sector. The findings of the study suggest that Oman economy is far from being diversified and that the proposed model helps the policy makers in Oman to identify and forecast the impact of oil on other components of the Oman economy

Bilateral intra-industry trade flows and intellectual property rights protections: further evidence from the United Kingdom

This paper investigates the relationship between the United Kingdom's (hereafter referred as UK) bilateral intra-industry trade (IIT) and foreign intellectual property rights (IPRs) protections. The empirical investigation is based on pooled UK data and benefits from the theoretical distinction between horizontal and vertical IIT. It also estimates a gravity equation for international trade using both fixed and random effects models. We then extend the analysis by employing the GMM system for dynamic panel models. The principal findings suggest that the UK's IIT is stimulated when the level of a trading partner's IPRs and its imitative ability are considered jointly. However, when IPRs and imitation abilities are considered separately, their disparate effects are not an important factor in determining UK IIT flows

Remdesivir and three other drugs for hospitalised patients with COVID-19: final results of the WHO Solidarity randomised trial and updated meta-analyses

Background The Solidarity trial among COVID-19 inpatients has previously reported interim mortality analyses for four repurposed antiviral drugs. Lopinavir, hydroxychloroquine, and interferon (IFN)-beta 1a were discontinued for futility but randomisation to remdesivir continued. Here, we report the final results of Solidarity and meta-analyses of mortality in all relevant trials to date.Methods Solidarity enrolled consenting adults (aged >= 18 years) recently hospitalised with, in the view of their doctor, definite COVID-19 and no contraindication to any of the study drugs, regardless of any other patient characteristics. Participants were randomly allocated, in equal proportions between the locally available options, to receive whichever of the four study drugs (lopinavir, hydroxychloroquine, IFN-beta 1a, or remdesivir) were locally available at that time or no study drug (controls). All patients also received the local standard of care. No placebos were given. The protocol specified primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality, subdivided by disease severity. Secondary endpoints were progression to ventilation if not already ventilated, and time-to-discharge from hospital. Final log-rank and Kaplan Meier analyses are presented for remdesivir, and are appended for all four study drugs. Meta-analyses give weighted averages of the mortality findings in this and all other randomised trials of these drugs among hospital inpatients. Solidarity is registered with ISRCTN, ISRCTN83971151, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04315948.Findings Between March 22, 2020, and Jan 29, 2021, 14 304 potentially eligible patients were recruited from 454 hospitals in 35 countries in all six WHO regions. After the exclusion of 83 (0.6%) patients with a refuted COVID-19 diagnosis or encrypted consent not entered into the database, Solidarity enrolled 14 221 patients, including 8275 randomly allocated (1:1) either to remdesivir (ten daily infusions, unless discharged earlier) or to its control (allocated no study drug although remdesivir was locally available). Compliance was high in both groups. Overall, 602 (14.5%) of 4146 patients assigned to remdesivir died versus 643 (15.6%) of 4129 assigned to control (mortality rate ratio [RR] 0.91 [95% CI 0.82-1.02], p=0.12). Of those already ventilated, 151 (42.1%) of 359 assigned to remdesivir died versus 134 (38.6%) of 347 assigned to control (RR 1.13 [0.89-1.42], p=0.32). Of those not ventilated but on oxygen, 14.6% assigned to remdesivir died versus 16.3% assigned to control (RR 0.87 [0.76-0.99], p=0.03). Of 1730 not on oxygen initially, 2.9% assigned to remdesivir died versus 3.8% assigned to control (RR 0.76 [0.46-1.28], p=0.30). Combining all those not ventilated initially, 11.9% assigned to remdesivir died versus 13.5% assigned to control (RR 0.86 [0.76-0.98], p=0.02) and 14.1% versus 15.7% progressed to ventilation (RR 0.88 [0.77-1.00], p=0.04). The non-prespecified composite outcome of death or progression to ventilation occurred in 19.6% assigned to remdesivir versus 22.5% assigned to control (RR 0.84 [0.75-0.93], p=0.001). Allocation to daily remdesivir infusions (vs open-label control) delayed discharge by about 1 day during the 10-day treatment period. A meta-analysis of mortality in all randomised trials of remdesivir versus no remdesivir yielded similar findings.Interpretation Remdesivir has no significant effect on patients with COVID-19 who are already being ventilated. Among other hospitalised patients, it has a small effect against death or progression to ventilation (or both)

Distribution of wealth and resources in Islam: Restoring social justice, peace and prosperity

Purpose: This paper primarily aims to investigate and discuss the underlying principles of distribution of wealth and resources in Islam. In addition, this paper also aims to derive contradictions between these principles and that of materialistic ways of acquiring wealth and resources. Design/ Methodology/Approach: Fairness and justice are fundamental virtues in Islam. With respect to fair and equitable distribution of wealth and resources in Islam this article follows the Tawhidi approach. Findings: The paradigms and guidelines set out in Qur'an regarding the creation, possession and disposition of wealth have been discussed and several contradictions are found with materialistic ways of acquiring wealth and resources. Research Limitations/ implications: As there is no Tawhidi methodology perfectly implemented in any country of the world, the proposal of this paper is still open to discussions and improvements. This paper will, hopefully, spark off quite a discussion on the topic; may result in a better understanding of the Tawhidi methodology and its operation. Practical Implications: The paper provides some ideas for implementation of Shariah principles in case of distribution of wealth and resources in order to establish peace, prosperity, justice, security and economic balance in society. Originality/Value: The paper shows its originality in substance and makes unique contribution to the literature on Tawhidisystems and ethics

Predicting the Stone-Free Status of Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy with the Machine Learning System

Rami AlAzab,1 Owais Ghammaz,2 Nabil Ardah,2 Ayah Al-Bzour,2 Layan Zeidat,2 Zahraa Mawali,2 Yaman B Ahmed,2 Tha’er Abdulkareem Alguzo,1 Azhar Mohanad Al-Alwani,1 Mahmoud Samara1 1Department of General Surgery and Urology, King Abdullah University Hospital, Irbid, Jordan; 2Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, JordanCorrespondence: Owais Ghammaz, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, P.O Box 3030, Irbid, 22110, Jordan, Tel +962775741299, Email [email protected]: The study aimed to create a machine learning model (MLM) to predict the stone-free status (SFS) of patients undergoing percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) and compare its performance to the S.T.O.N.E. and Guy’s stone scores.Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective study that included 320 PCNL patients. Pre-operative and post-operative variables were extracted and entered into three MLMs: RFC, SVM, and XGBoost. The methods used to assess the performance of each were mean bootstrap estimate, 10-fold cross-validation, classification report, and AUC. Each model was externally validated and evaluated by mean bootstrap estimate with CI, classification report, and AUC.Results: Out of the 320 patients who underwent PCNL, the SFS was found to be 69.4%. The RFC mean bootstrap estimate was 0.75 and 95% CI: [0.65– 0.85], 10-fold cross-validation of 0.744, an accuracy of 0.74, and AUC of 0.761. The XGBoost results were 0.74 [0.63– 0.85], 0.759, 0.72, and 0.769, respectively. The SVM results were 0.70 [0.60– 0.79], 0.725, 0.74, and 0.751, respectively. The AUC of Guy’s stone score and the S.T.O.N.E. score were 0.666 and 0.71, respectively. The RFC external validation set had a mean bootstrap estimate of 0.87 and 95% CI: [0.81– 0.92], an accuracy of 0.70, and an AUC of 0.795, While the XGBoost results were 0.84 [0.78– 0.91], 0.74, and 0.84, respectively. The SVM results were 0.86 [0.80– 0.91], 0.79, and 0.858, respectively.Conclusion: MLMs can be used with high accuracy in predicting SFS for patients undergoing PCNL. MLMs we utilized predicted the SFS with AUCs superior to those of GSS and S.T.O.N.E scores.Keywords: Guy’s stone score, machine learning, percutaneous nephrolithotomy, renal stones, S.T.O.N.E scor

Psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers: cross-sectional analyses from 14 countries

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) have been impacted psychologically due to their professional responsibilities over the prolonged era of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The study aimed to identify the predictors of psychological distress, fear, and coping during the COVID-19 pandemic among HCWs. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among self-identified HCWs across 14 countries (12 from Asia and two from Africa). The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, and the Brief Resilient Coping Scale were used to assess the psychological distress, fear, and coping of HCWs, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 2447 HCWs participated; 36% were doctors, and 42% were nurses, with a mean age of 36 (±12) years, and 70% were females. Moderate to very-high psychological distress was prevalent in 67% of the HCWs; the lowest rate was reported in the United Arab Emirates (1%) and the highest in Indonesia (16%). The prevalence of high levels of fear was 20%; the lowest rate was reported in Libya (9%) and the highest in Egypt (32%). The prevalence of medium-to-high resilient coping was 63%; the lowest rate was reported in Libya (28%) and the highest in Syria (76%). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 has augmented the psychological distress among HCWs. Factors identified in this study should be considered in managing the wellbeing of HCWs, who had been serving as the frontline drivers in managing the crisis successfully across all participating countries. Furthermore, interventions to address their psychological distress should be considered