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Sample records for portugal qatar romania

  1. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Quarterly Report to the United States Congress

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-10-30

    Croatia Bahrain Poland Cyprus Belgium Portugal Estonia Brazil Qatar Ireland Brunei Romania Latvia Bulgaria Russia Macedonia (FYR) Canada Saudi Arabia Malta...remainder dependent on traditional irrigation methods, some of these based on run-offs from or use of aquifers that are being degraded by deep water...Egypt Portugal Observers Estonia Qatar Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Finland Romania Relief France (co-chair) Russia Economic Cooperation

  2. 22 CFR 228.03 - Identification of principal geographic code numbers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ..., ORIGIN AND NATIONALITY FOR COMMODITIES AND SERVICES FINANCED BY USAID Definitions and Scope of This Part...*, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, People's Republic of China, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, San...

  3. Urinary cotinine levels and environmental tobacco smoke in mothers and children of Romania, Portugal and Poland within the European human biomonitoring pilot study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lupsa, Ioana-Rodica; Nunes, Baltazar; Ligocka, Danuta

    2015-01-01

    study sample consisted of 360 children and their mothers (120 in each of the three countries - Romania (RO), Portugal (PT) and Poland (PL). Smoking was assessed using a detailed questionnaire for the participants, which addresses both active and passive smoking. This assessment uses exposure......-relevant questionnaire data, in particular on the home environment and residence, socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle such as nutrition, smoking behavior, other exposure-relevant behavior and occupational history, as well as urinary cotinine and creatinine measurements. We performed general statistical analysis...... confirmation of the high and similar smoking prevalence for the three countries. Concerning ETS exposure, Romania presented significantly higher levels, for children as well as for non-smoking mothers, with Portugal showing significantly lower levels. Compared to non-smoking mothers, the children showed...

  4. Find an Audiologist

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius ... Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint ...

  5. ClinicalTrials.gov

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Réunion Saint Kitts and Nevis Saudi ... you may be able to participate in or learn about new treatments that are being considered. Learn ...

  6. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS IN PORTUGAL AND ROMANIA 2004-2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emese PANYIK

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Free movement of persons within the EU and the modernization of infrastructure in most states are factors that favor the development of tourism. Different trajectories taken up in 1989 by the former communist countries, the policies applied to them, both during the Cold War and after 1990 influenced the development of tourism in these countries. Based on these considerations, this paper offers a comparative view on an old and the new EU member states regarding foreign tourist arrivals: Portugal (joined the EU in 1986 and Romania (joined the EU in 2007. Are analyzed the evolutions of the main indicators of tourist traffic in the two countries during 2004 - 2012

  7. International Disability Educational Alliance (IDEAnet)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-03-01

    Andorra Haiti Peru Argentina Honduras Philippines Armenia Hong Kong Poland Australia Hungary Portugal Austria Iceland Qatar Azerbaijan India Romania...Menopause and climax Lecture 5:Osteoporosis Lecture 6:Heart and blood vessels in elderly people, prevention and treatment Lecture 7: Diabetes

  8. Chart context menu

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ivoire, 3. Croatia, 2. Curaçao, 1. Cyprus, 5. Czech Republic, 15. Denmark, 7. Ecuador, 3 ... Peru, 2. Philippines, 37. Poland, 11. Portugal, 22. Puerto Rico, 1. Qatar, 6. Romania, 7. Russian Federation, 17. Rwanda, 6. Saudi Arabia, 17. Senegal, 1.

  9. African Journals Online: Singapore

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, State of, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Bartelemey, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia ...

  10. Per Diem Tables

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Marissa Farruggia

    15 juil. 2017 ... 343. POLAND / POLOGNE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 371. PORTUGAL. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 455. PUERTO RICO / ÉTAT LIBRE DE PORTO RICO. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 368. QATAR. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 607. ROMANIA / ROUMANIE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays.

  11. Per Diem Tables

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Marissa Farruggia

    15 janv. 2017 ... 361. POLAND / POLOGNE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 365. PORTUGAL. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 306. PUERTO RICO / ÉTAT LIBRE DE PORTO RICO. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 526. QATAR. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 643. ROMANIA / ROUMANIE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays.

  12. Per diem tables

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Andre Lavoie

    15 janv. 2016 ... 365. POLAND / POLOGNE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 386. PORTUGAL. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 392. PUERTO RICO / ÉTAT LIBRE DE PORTO RICO. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 541. QATAR. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 604. ROMANIA / ROUMANIE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays.

  13. Per Diem Tables

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Marissa Farruggia

    15 avr. 2018 ... 327. POLAND / POLOGNE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 381. PORTUGAL. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 537. PUERTO RICO / ÉTAT LIBRE DE PORTO RICO. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 376. QATAR. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 533. ROMANIA / ROUMANIE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays.

  14. All rates are effective 15 October 2017 / En vigueur le 15 octobre ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    15 oct. 2017 ... 324. POLAND / POLOGNE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 363. PORTUGAL. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 457. PUERTO RICO / ÉTAT LIBRE DE PORTO RICO. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 366. QATAR. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 590. ROMANIA / ROUMANIE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays.

  15. Per diem tables

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Andre Lavoie

    15 avr. 2016 ... 344. POLAND / POLOGNE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 366. PORTUGAL. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 319. PUERTO RICO / ÉTAT LIBRE DE PORTO RICO. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 367. QATAR. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 563. ROMANIA / ROUMANIE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays.

  16. Per diem tables

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Andre Lavoie

    POLAND / POLOGNE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 356. PORTUGAL. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 309. PUERTO RICO / ÉTAT LIBRE DE PORTO RICO. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 364. QATAR. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 560. ROMANIA / ROUMANIE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 328. RUSSIA / RUSSIE.

  17. Per Diem Tables

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Marissa Farruggia

    15 avr. 2017 ... 356. POLAND / POLOGNE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 368. PORTUGAL. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 308. PUERTO RICO / ÉTAT LIBRE DE PORTO RICO. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 524. QATAR. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 637. ROMANIA / ROUMANIE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays.

  18. Per Diem Tables

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Marissa Farruggia

    15 oct. 2016 ... 357. POLAND / POLOGNE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 369. PORTUGAL. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 319. PUERTO RICO / ÉTAT LIBRE DE PORTO RICO. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 371. QATAR. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 630. ROMANIA / ROUMANIE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays.

  19. Per Diem Tables

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Marissa Farruggia

    15 janv. 2018 ... 327. POLAND / POLOGNE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 371. PORTUGAL. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 467. PUERTO RICO / ÉTAT LIBRE DE PORTO RICO. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 500. QATAR. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays. 520. ROMANIA / ROUMANIE. Everywhere / Dans tout le pays.

  20. Chart context menu

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Philippines, 5. Poland, 3. Portugal, 3. Qatar, 2. Romania, 3. Russian Federation, 2. Serbia, 1. Singapore, 1. Slovakia (Slovak Republic), 2. Slovenia, 1. South Africa, 2. Spain, 14. Syrian Arab Republic, 2. Taiwan, 2. Thailand, 7. Tunisia, 6. Turkey, 16. Ukraine, 1. United Kingdom, 15. United States, 37. Zambia, 2. Zimbabwe, 1 ...

  1. Qatar Exoplanet Survey : Qatar-3b, Qatar-4b, and Qatar-5b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsubai, Khalid; Mislis, Dimitris; Tsvetanov, Zlatan I.; Latham, David W.; Bieryla, Allyson; Buchhave, Lars A.; Esquerdo, Gilbert A.; Bramich, D. M.; Pyrzas, Stylianos; Vilchez, Nicolas P. E.; Mancini, Luigi; Southworth, John; Evans, Daniel F.; Henning, Thomas; Ciceri, Simona

    2017-04-01

    We report the discovery of Qatar-3b, Qatar-4b, and Qatar-5b, three new transiting planets identified by the Qatar Exoplanet Survey. The three planets belong to the hot Jupiter family, with orbital periods of {P}{{Q}3{{b}}} = 2.50792 days, {P}{{Q}4{{b}}} = 1.80539 days, and {P}{{Q}5{{b}}} = 2.87923 days. Follow-up spectroscopic observations reveal the masses of the planets to be {M}{{Q}3{{b}}} = 4.31 ± 0.47 {M}{{J}}, {M}{{Q}4{{b}}} = 6.10 ± 0.54 {M}{{J}}, and {M}{{Q}5{{b}}} = 4.32 ± 0.18 {M}{{J}}, while model fits to the transit light curves yield radii of {R}{{Q}3{{b}}} = 1.096 ± 0.14 {R}{{J}}, {R}{{Q}4{{b}}} = 1.135 ± 0.11 {R}{{J}}, and {R}{{Q}5{{b}}} = 1.107 ± 0.064 {R}{{J}}. The host stars are low-mass main sequence stars with masses and radii M Q3 = 1.145 ± 0.064 M ⊙, M Q4 = 0.896 ± 0.048 M ⊙, M Q5 = 1.128 ± 0.056 M ⊙ and R Q3 = 1.272 ± 0.14 R ⊙, R Q4 = 0.849 ± 0.063 R ⊙, and R Q5 = 1.076 ± 0.051 R ⊙ for Qatar-3, 4, and 5 respectively. The V magnitudes of the three host stars are V Q3 = 12.88, V Q4 = 13.60, and V Q5 = 12.82. All three new planets can be classified as heavy hot Jupiters (M > 4 M J).

  2. Qatar Exoplanet Survey

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alsubai, Khalid; Mislis, Dimitris; Tsvetanov, Zlatan I.

    2017-01-01

    We report the discovery of Qatar-3b, Qatar-4b, and Qatar-5b, three new transiting planets identified by the Qatar Exoplanet Survey. The three planets belong to the hot Jupiter family, with orbital periods of PQ3b=2.50792 days, PQ4b=1.80539 days, and PQ5b=2.87923 days. Follow-up spectroscopic......3= 1.145±0.064 Ṁ, MQ4=0.896±0.048Ṁ, MQ5=1.128±0.056 Ṁ and RQ3=1.272±0.14 RṀ, RQ4=0.849±0.063 R , and RQ5=1.076±0.051 Ṙ for Qatar-3, 4, and 5 respectively. The V magnitudes of the three host stars are VQ3=12.88, VQ4=13.60, and VQ5=12.82. All three new planets can be classified as heavy hot Jupiters...

  3. Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1987-11-01

    Qatar is an oil-exporting Arab country that juts out from the north coast of Saudi Arabia into the Persian Gulf. Fewer than half of the 320,000 population are Arabs, however, most are Pakistani, Indian, Iranian and Egyptian foreign workers. Education is compulsory to age 16, and 60% are literate. Oil and refined petroleum products account for the $2 billion trade surplus, amounting to a $27,000 annual per capita income. The government is centralized and run by consensus under the Amir, head of the Al Thani, or ruling family. Political parties are banned. Qatar is evolving from a traditional to a modern welfare state.

  4. PERLINDUNGAN TENAGA KERJA INDONESIA DI QATAR: TINJAUAN PERAN PEMERINTAH DALAM MELINDUNGI TKI DI QATAR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aprilia Restuning Tunggal

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The Indonesian government’s policy of protecting Indonesian workers in Qatar is a mandate from the member countries of the Republic of Indonesia; Therefore, the Indonesian government should be able to carry out this mandate well and be responsible. International law states that a country has the right and responsibility to protect its citizens abroad. Furthermore, the regulation on the protection of foreign citizens is also regulated in the 1961 Vienna Convention on article 3 on diplomatic relations between countries. The protection of the state against citizens abroad is known as Diplomatic Protection. Currently, the number of Indonesian workers in Qatar is 43,000, so the government needs to protect, and serve the citizens. The Government of Indonesia has established its citizenship service system at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia to Doha Qatar, and provides legal assistance to Indonesian citizens and workers living in Qatar. So far the government’s policy to protect Indonesian workers in Qatar has been running maximally and in accordance with the legal corridor.

  5. Islamic Archaeology in Qatar

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Walmsley, Alan

    2014-01-01

    Three years of archaeological research at Al Zubarah on the northwest coast of the Qatar peninsula has produced detailed information on social, cultural, and economic structures of a major trading town of the Gulf in the 18th and 19th centuries CE. Detailed investigations, undertaken in partnership...... with the Qatar Museums Authority, have revealed vital evidence on developments in urban topography and planning, water systems, the arrangement of commercial and private space, commerce and inter-regional trade, relationships with hinterlands, and material culture horizons. The implications of these discoveries...... are discussed in relation to the socio-economic history of Qatar....

  6. The Reform of Qatar University. Monograph

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moini, Joy S.; Bikson, Tora K.; Neu, C. Richard; DeSisto, Laura

    2009-01-01

    In 2003, the State of Qatar engaged the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute to assist Qatar University, the nation's first and only public higher education institution, with reform of its major administrative and academic structures, policies, and practices. This monograph summarizes that reform effort, which formally lasted from October 2003 through…

  7. In Brief: Monitoring ozone in Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Showstack, Randy

    2008-12-01

    Qatar is establishing an ozone and pollution monitoring ground station in West Asia, following discussions between the government, the Qatar Foundation, and the United Nations Environment Programme, according to a 19 November announcement. The station will assist in understanding whether the ozone layer is actually recovering after being damaged by ozone-depleting chemicals. Qatar also announced plans to establish a global center of excellence for research and development of ozone and climate-friendly technology, equipment, and appliances. UNEP executive director Achim Steiner said the announcements by Qatar ``will help plug key data gaps relating to information gathering in West Asia and the Gulf to the benefit of the region and the world.''

  8. Qatar Islamic Archaeology and Heritage Project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Report on the archaeological fieldwork at Al Zubarah and environs for the Qatar Museums Authority......Report on the archaeological fieldwork at Al Zubarah and environs for the Qatar Museums Authority...

  9. Burden of Stroke in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibrahim, Faisal; Deleu, Dirk; Akhtar, Naveed; Al-Yazeedi, Wafa; Mesraoua, Boulenouar; Kamran, Sadaat; Shuaib, Ashfaq

    2015-12-01

    Qatar is located on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The total population is over 2.1 million with around 15% being Qatari citizens. Hamad General Hospital (HGH) is the only tertiary referral governmental hospital in Qatar which admits acute (thrombolysis-eligible) stroke patients. To provide an overview of the burden of stroke in Qatar. Data from literature databases, online sources and our stroke registry were collated to identify information on the burden of stroke in Qatar. Overall, over 80% of all stroke patients in Qatar are admitted in HGH. In 2010, the age-standardized incidence for first-ever ischemic stroke was 51.88/100,000 person-years. To date our stroke registry reveals that 79% of all stroke patients are male and almost 50% of stroke patients are 50 years or less. Hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia are the main predisposing factors for stroke, with ischemic stroke being more common (87%) than hemorrhagic stroke (13%). Despite the lack of a stroke unit, 9% of ischemic stroke patients are being thrombolyzed. However the presence of a stroke ward allows swift turnover of patients with a length of stay of less than 5 days before discharge or, if required, transfer to the fully-equipped hospital-based rehabilitation service. Several community awareness programs are ongoing, in addition to several research programs funded by the Qatar National Research Fund and Hamad Medical Corporation. In a country where over 15% of the population suffers from diabetes there is continuous need for national community-based awareness campaigns, prevention and educational programs particularly targeting patients and health care workers. Copyright © 2015 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Qatar - large capital investment planned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roberts, J.

    1996-01-01

    Large capital investments are planned throughout Qatar's energy industry over the next five years totalling $25 billion. This article describes the successful commissioning of Qatar's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) project on time and within budget. The second LNG plant is well underway and plans for a third are under negotiation. (UK)

  11. The Intra Industry Trade between Portugal European Union, Portugal Spain, Portugal-France, Portugal Germany, Portugal-Ireland, Portugal-Greece and Portugal-Netherlands - a Dynamic Panel Data Analysis (1996 2000)

    OpenAIRE

    Horácio Faustino; Nuno Carlos Leitão

    2005-01-01

    PortugalÂ’s main trade partners have been Spain, Germany and France. In this paper we analyse the intra industry trade in the manufacturing industry between Portugal Spain, Portugal-France, Portugal Germany, Portugal-Ireland and Portugal-Greece. We also present the results of intra industry trade (IIT) between Portugal and the European Union. The innovation, technological progress, human capital, and scale economies are some of the explicative variables of the intra industry trade phenomena. ...

  12. Postcards from Qatar: Introduction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eleanor Preston

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This report is the first of a series of ‘Postcards from Qatar’ aimed at providing information and updates on projects conducted by UCL Qatar in the region by both staff and students. This initial postcard provides an overview of UCL Qatar courses and facilities, an account of campus life, as well as a review of an exhibition for Doha’s Msheireb Museum created by the museum studies masters students.

  13. Qatar Exoplanet Survey: Qatar-6b—A Grazing Transiting Hot Jupiter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsubai, Khalid; Tsvetanov, Zlatan I.; Latham, David W.; Bieryla, Allyson; Esquerdo, Gilbert A.; Mislis, Dimitris; Pyrzas, Stylianos; Foxell, Emma; McCormac, James; Baranec, Christoph; Vilchez, Nicolas P. E.; West, Richard; Esamdin, Ali; Dang, Zhenwei; Dalee, Hani M.; Al-Rajihi, Amani A.; Al-Harbi, Abeer Kh.

    2018-02-01

    We report the discovery of Qatar-6b, a new transiting planet identified by the Qatar Exoplanet Survey (QES). The planet orbits a relatively bright (V = 11.44), early-K main-sequence star at an orbital period of P ∼ 3.506 days. An SED fit to available multi-band photometry, ranging from the near-UV to the mid-IR, yields a distance of d = 101 ± 6 pc to the system. From a global fit to follow-up photometric and spectroscopic observations, we calculate the mass and radius of the planet to be M P = 0.67 ± 0.07 M J and R P = 1.06 ± 0.07 R J, respectively. We use multi-color photometric light curves to show that the transit is grazing, making Qatar-6b one of the few exoplanets known in a grazing transit configuration. It adds to the short list of targets that offer the best opportunity to look for additional bodies in the host planetary system through variations in the transit impact factor and duration.

  14. Revitalizing Qatar's National University. Research Brief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinberg, Paul

    2009-01-01

    Although Qatar University (QU) had been well regarded in the past, its performance had deteriorated by 2003, and the country's leadership was concerned that the university was not meeting Qatar's needs. From 2003 to 2007, the university led a reform process facilitated by RAND and outside experts, which clarified QU's mission and reformed QU's…

  15. Levels of radioactivity in Qatar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Thani, A.A.; Abdul-Majid, S.; Mohammed, K.

    1995-01-01

    The levels of natural and man-made radioactivity in soil and seabed were measured in Qatar to assess radiation exposure levels and to evaluate any radioactive contamination that may have reached the country from fallout or due to the Chernobyl accident radioactivity release. Qatar peninsula is located on the Arabian Gulf, 4500 km from Chernobyl, and has an area of ∼11,600 km 2 and a population of ∼600,000

  16. Stakeholder Perception of Service Quality in Qatar Higher Education Institutions: An Application to Qatar University

    OpenAIRE

    Shurair, Amal S.

    2017-01-01

    Managing quality of services offered by institutions of higher education is important in any country due to the inherent aim of producing quality graduates from programs offered in the university. Qatar has made substantial investments in higher education. Qatar University, being the national university of the country, the perception of stakeholders on the service quality in education becomes an important factor for developing a quality education system. Therefore, the main goal of this thesi...

  17. Civic life and democratic citizenship in Qatar: Findings from the First Qatar World Values Survey

    OpenAIRE

    Gengler, Justin; Tessler, Mark; Al-Emadi, Darwish; Diop, Abdoulaye

    2013-01-01

    The present study examines the Arab nation that has remained least affected by the regional upheaval that has gripped much of the Middle East and North Africa since the beginning of 2011: the Gulf state of Qatar. Using previously unavailable data from the inaugural Qatar World Values Survey administered in December 2010, we explore the political orientations of ordinary Qatari citizens. Specifically, we extend several recent empirical analyses that suggest a conditional relationship between c...

  18. Developing and Implementing the Qatar Student Assessment System. Research Brief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, Gabriella; Le, Vi-Nhuan; Broer, Markus; Mariano, Louis T.; Froemel, J. Enrique; Goldman, Charles A.; DaVanzo, Julie

    2009-01-01

    This research brief summarizes the development of a standards-based student assessment system in Qatar, lessons for policymakers in Qatar and elsewhere, and challenges in aligning the assessment with future changes in the curriculum standards. Analysis of Qatar's standards-based student assessment system, the first in the region, offers several…

  19. Portugal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eckles, David; Toro, Leonor, Ed.

    Brief information is provided on the region, climate, agriculture and industry of 10 provinces in Portugal: Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro, located in Portugal's northeastern region; Beira Alta, the province with Portugal's highest elevation point; Beira Baixa, one of Portugal's poorest regions; Beira Litoral, located in central Portugal along the…

  20. CHALLENGES OF THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY: EXPLORING THE CASE OF QATAR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fethi. B Jomaa AHMED

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Qatar’s Permanent Constitution and National Vision 2030 constituted the turning point in Qatar’s transition towards knowledge society. Articles 22-49 of Qatar’s Permanent Constitution together with the 4 pillars of Qatar’s National Vision 2030 explicitly refer to the importance of knowledge acquisition, production and dissemination, and promotion of human socioeconomic development. Qatar has remarkably invested in education, human capital, R&D, and ICT. Institutions such as Qatar Foundation (QF and its entities like Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF, Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP, in addition to Qatar University and ictQatar are in the heart of Qatar’s knowledge society construction. Moreover, Qatar has capitalized in importing existing organizational capacity, faculty and staff, and accumulated reputation of a number of eminent global higher education institutions such as Georgetown University, Texas A&M University, and Weill Cornell Medical College. Despite many years of substantial investments in human capital, ICT and the relevant infrastructures, Qatar’s transition toward knowledge society is facing serious challenges. These challenges relate to reform and development of education and training to make knowledge as a principal driver of growth, diversification of the economy to ensure endurance of adequate revenues to fund projects, resolve the expatriate and workforce issues to ensure excellence and efficiency, efficient management of growth and uncontrolled expansion to avoid duplication of works and waste of recourses, good governance across government and private sectors and projects to cope with modernization, balancing between modernization and preservation of traditions in responding to the convergent impacts of globalization, balancing the needs of current generation and the needs of future generations, and sustain the environment. The aim of this paper is threefold: Outline the main features of Qatar society

  1. Qatar: Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-09-07

    weather the downturn than are most of the other GCC states because of its development of a large natural gas export infrastructure and its small... Infrastructure ........................................... 18 Tables Table 1. Senior Leaders of Qatar...expressed disappointment over the ruling but accepted it as binding. Yemen In 2015, Qatar joined the Saudi-led military coalition that is battling

  2. Qatar's School Transportation System: Supporting Safety, Efficiency, and Service Quality. Monograph

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henry, Keith; Younossi, Obaid; Al-Dafa, Maryah; Culbertson, Shelly; Mattock, Michael G.; Light, Thomas; Rohr, Charlene

    2012-01-01

    In consideration of the many challenges associated with Qatar's continued growth and demographic changes, the government of Qatar is interested in updating its school transportation system (STS). This volume assesses the perspectives of parents and school administrators on Qatar's STS, identifies a vision and goals for the STS, reviews…

  3. Fluoride Content of Bottled Waters in Hong Kong and Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Mulla, Hessa I; Anthonappa, Robert P; King, Nigel M

    2016-01-01

    To determine the F concentration of bottled waters that was available in Hong Kong and Qatar. The F concentrations of bottled waters collected from Hong Kong (n=81) and Qatar (n=32) were analysed. The F ion selective electrode method was used to measure the F concentration in the samples. Three measurements were obtained for every sample to ensure reproducibility and appropriate statistical analyses were employed. Qatar group: F concentrations ranged from 0.06 ppm to 3.0 ppm with a mean value of 0.8 ppm. The F concentrations displayed on the labels of the samples (60%) were significantly lower than the measured F concentration (p Qatar. The F concentrations displayed on the labels were not consistent with the measured F concentrations.

  4. Prevalence, demographics and clinical characteristics of multiple sclerosis in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deleu, Dirk; Mir, Danial; Al Tabouki, Ahmed; Mesraoua, Rim; Mesraoua, Boulenouar; Akhtar, Naveed; Al Hail, Hassan; D'souza, Atlantic; Melikyan, Gayane; Imam, Yahia Z B; Osman, Yasir; Elalamy, Osama; Sokrab, Tageldin; Kamran, Sadaat; Ruiz Miyares, Francisco; Ibrahim, Faiza

    2013-05-01

    No published epidemiologic data on multiple sclerosis (MS) in Qatar exist. Our objectives were to determine the prevalence, demographics and clinical characteristics of MS in the Middle Eastern country of Qatar. We analyzed data for Qatari MS patients fulfilling the McDonald diagnostic criteria. A total of 154 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. On 31 April 2010, the crude prevalence of MS in Qatar was 64.57 per 100,000 inhabitants (95% CI: 58.31-70.37). The female-to-male ratio was 1.33:1. A positive family history was found in 10.4% of included MS patients. We conclude that Qatar is now a medium-to-high risk area for MS, with some important differences in clinical characteristics as compared to other countries in the region.

  5. Natural Gas Reserves, Development and Production in Qatar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naji, Abi-Aad.

    1998-01-01

    Qatar entered the club of natural gas exporters in early 1997 when the first shipment of liquefied natural gas left the state for Japan. Qatar was helped by the discovery in 1971 of supergiant North Field gas field, the country's suitable location between the established gas consuming markets in Europe and Southeast Asia, and its proximity to developing markets in the Indian subcontinent and in neighbouring countries. All that have combined to make gas export projects from Qatar economically viable and commercially attractive. In addition to export-oriented development, increased gas production from the North Field is planned for meeting a growing domestic demand for gas as fuel and feedstock for power generation and desalination plants, as well as value-added petrochemical and fertilizer industries

  6. Applying Concepts of Critical Pedagogy to Qatar's Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romanowski, Michael H.; Amatullah, Tasneem

    2016-01-01

    Qatar is in the midst of a systemic education reform, Education For a New Era, steered by RAND's (a nonprofit research organization) analysis and report of Qatar's Educational system. Driven by a neoliberal agenda, the reform includes international curricula, curriculum standards, teacher licensure, and professional standards for school leaders…

  7. Status of energy intensive industrial development and ecological aspects of State of Qatar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Emadi, Y.

    1993-01-01

    The existing oil reserves in Qatar are likely to be exhausted within 20-30 years, but Qatar is fortunate to have large natural gas reserves on which future industrial development will be based. This document briefly reviews the Qatar North Field Gas Project

  8. Social effects of the educational revolution in Qatar: a gender perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Jakobsen, Maria

    2010-01-01

    Qatar has experienced a rapid economic development throughout the last decades. Similar economic development as in Qatar has been seen in all the states that belong to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.Oil and gas incomes are the major drivers in this development Furthermore, over the last decades, we have observed increased efforts in the field of education in Qatar. Different institutional reforms have been int...

  9. The Qatar Biobank: background and methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al Kuwari, Hanan; Al Thani, Asma; Al Marri, Ajayeb; Al Kaabi, Abdulla; Abderrahim, Hadi; Afifi, Nahla; Qafoud, Fatima; Chan, Queenie; Tzoulaki, Ioanna; Downey, Paul; Ward, Heather; Murphy, Neil; Riboli, Elio; Elliott, Paul

    2015-12-03

    The Qatar Biobank aims to collect extensive lifestyle, clinical, and biological information from up to 60,000 men and women Qatari nationals and long-term residents (individuals living in the country for ≥15 years) aged ≥18 years (approximately one-fifth of all Qatari citizens), to follow up these same individuals over the long term to record any subsequent disease, and hence to study the causes and progression of disease, and disease burden, in the Qatari population. Between the 11(th)-December-2012 and 20(th)-February-2014, 1209 participants were recruited into the pilot study of the Qatar Biobank. At recruitment, extensive phenotype information was collected from each participant, including information/measurements of socio-demographic factors, prevalent health conditions, diet, lifestyle, anthropometry, body composition, bone health, cognitive function, grip strength, retinal imaging, total body dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and measurements of cardiovascular and respiratory function. Blood, urine, and saliva were collected and stored for future research use. A panel of 66 clinical biomarkers was routinely measured on fresh blood samples in all participants. Rates of recruitment are to be progressively increased in the coming period and the recruitment base widened to achieve a cohort of consented individuals broadly representative of the eligible Qatari population. In addition, it is planned to add additional measures in sub-samples of the cohort, including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain, heart and abdomen. The mean time for collection of the extensive phenotypic information and biological samples from each participant at the baseline recruitment visit was 179 min. The 1209 pilot study participants (506 men and 703 women) were aged between 28-80 years (median 39 years); 899 (74.4%) were Qatari nationals and 310 (25.6%) were long-term residents. Approximately two-thirds of pilot participants were educated to graduate level or above. The

  10. The Zubarah Archaeology and Heritage Park - State of Qatar

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kinzel, Moritz; Thuesen, Ingolf

    2010-01-01

    The Poster summarized the Masterplan for the Heritage Park in NW-Qatar and the componants of the Project presented at SMARTdoc Heritage Symposium in Philladelphia in November 2010......The Poster summarized the Masterplan for the Heritage Park in NW-Qatar and the componants of the Project presented at SMARTdoc Heritage Symposium in Philladelphia in November 2010...

  11. Epilepsy in Qatar: Causes, treatment, and outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haddad, Naim; Melikyan, Gayane; Al Hail, Hassan; Al Jurdi, Ayman; Aqeel, Faten; Elzafarany, Abdullah; Abuhadra, Nour; Laswi, Mujahed; Alsamman, Yasser; Uthman, Basim; Deleu, Dirk; Mesraoua, Boulenouar; Alarcon, Gonzalo; Azar, Nabil; Streletz, Leopold; Mahfoud, Ziyad

    2016-10-01

    Qatar is a small country on the Eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Its population is a unique mixture of native citizens and immigrants. We aimed to describe the features of epilepsy in Qatar as such information is virtually lacking from the current literature. We summarized information retrospectively collected from 468 patients with epilepsy seen through the national health system adult neurology clinic. Epilepsy was classified as focal in 65.5% of the cases and generalized in 23%. Common causes of epilepsy were as follows: stroke (9%), hippocampal sclerosis (7%), infections (6%), and trauma (6%). Sixty-six percent of patients were receiving a single antiepileptic drug, with levetiracetam being the most frequently prescribed drug (41% of subjects). When the patients were divided by geographical background, remote infections caused the epilepsy in 15% of Asian patients (with neurocysticercosis accounting for 10%) but only in 1% of Qatari and 3% of Middle East/North African subjects (with no reported neurocysticercosis) (pepilepsy in Qatar. The geographical origin of patients adds to the heterogeneity of this disorder. Neurocysticercosis should be in the etiological differential diagnosis of epilepsy in patients coming from Southeast Asian countries, despite the fact that it is not endemic to Qatar. The choice of antiepileptic drugs is influenced by the availability of individual agents in the patients' native countries but had no bearing on the final seizure outcome. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Qatar's economy transition from oil based economy to gas based economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sastry, G.R.N.

    1993-01-01

    The historical aspects of petroleum industry development in Qatar are reviewed. Evaluation of Qatar's oil and natural gas reserves and production capacities is outlined. Trends of petroleum, petrochemical and gas industry further development are discussed. (V.G.)

  13. Groundwater vulnerability mapping of Qatar aquifers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baalousha, Husam Musa

    2016-12-01

    Qatar is one of the most arid countries in the world with limited water resources. With little rainfall and no surface water, groundwater is the only natural source of fresh water in the country. Whilst the country relies mainly on desalination of seawater to secure water supply, groundwater has extensively been used for irrigation over the last three decades, which caused adverse environmental impact. Vulnerability assessment is a widely used tool for groundwater protection and land-use management. Aquifers in Qatar are carbonate with lots of fractures, depressions and cavities. Karst aquifers are generally more vulnerable to contamination than other aquifers as any anthropogenic-sourced contaminant, especially above a highly fractured zone, can infiltrate quickly into the aquifer and spread over a wide area. The vulnerability assessment method presented in this study is based on two approaches: DRASTIC and EPIK, within the framework of Geographical Information System (GIS). Results of this study show that DRASTIC vulnerability method suits Qatar hydrogeological settings more than EPIK. The produced vulnerability map using DRASTIC shows coastal and karst areas have the highest vulnerability class. The southern part of the country is located in the low vulnerability class due to occurrence of shale formation within aquifer media, which averts downward movement of contaminants.

  14. The Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative and Qatar, 2016

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamad A. Chehab, MBBCh

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Breastfeeding instills countless benefits that extend beyond the infant and child to the entire nation. One of the global targets set by the WHO to improve maternal, infant, and young child nutrition is to increase the rate of exclusive breast-feeding “in the first 6 months” up to at least 50% by 2025.3 Thus, as a global endeavor to promote and sustain breastfeeding, the WHO and UNICEF launched the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI 1 year after the Innocenti Declaration of 1990. Regarding the State of Qatar, there was a 34% rate of early initiation of breastfeeding “within the first hour of birth” and a 29% rate of exclusive breastfeeding between 2010 and 2015. In Qatar during 2016, many obstacles in achieving the aforementioned global target remained. In addition, there are still no hospitals with a BFHI accreditation. Keywords: Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative, Breastfeeding, Maternal health, Qatar

  15. A Portrait of Low-Income Migrants in Contemporary Qatar

    OpenAIRE

    GARDNER, ANDREW; GARDNER, ANDREW; PESSOA, SILVIA; DIOP, ABDOULAYE; AL-GHANIM, KALTHAM; LE TRUNG, KIEN; HARKNESS, LAURA

    2013-01-01

    Though transnational labor migration in the Gulf States has increasingly been of scholarly interest, that scholarship has to date relied largely on qualitative ethnographic methodologies or small non-representative sampling strategies. This paper presents the findings of a large representative sample of low-income migrant laborers in Qatar. The data describe the basic characteristics of the low-income migrant population in Qatar, the process by which migrants obtain employment, the frequency ...

  16. Qatar pharmacists' understanding, attitudes, practice and perceived barriers related to providing pharmaceutical care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Hajj, Maguy Saffouh; Al-Saeed, Hassna Sohil; Khaja, Maryam

    2016-04-01

    Pharmaceutical care (PC) is the philosophy of practice that includes identifying and resolving medication therapy problems to improve patient outcomes. The study objectives were to examine the extent of pharmaceutical care practice and the barriers to pharmaceutical care provision as perceived by Qatar pharmacists and to assess their level of understanding of pharmaceutical care and their attitudes about pharmaceutical care provision. Setting Qatar pharmacies. A cross sectional survey of all pharmacists in Qatar was made. Consenting pharmacists were given the option to complete the survey either online using an online software or as paper by fax or by hand. 1. Extent of pharmaceutical care practice in Qatar. 2. Barriers to pharmaceutical care provision in Qatar. 3. Qatar pharmacists' level of understanding of pharmaceutical care. 4. Qatar pharmacists' attitudes toward pharmaceutical care provision. Over 8 weeks, 274 surveys were collected (34 % response rate). More than 80 % of respondents had correct understanding of the aim of PC and of the pharmacist role in PC. However, only 47 % recognized the patient role in PC and only 35 % were aware of the differences between clinical pharmacy and PC. Yet, more than 80 % believed that they could be advocates when it comes to patients' medications and health matters. Concerning their practice, respondents reported spending little time on PC activities. Offering feedback to the physician about the patient progress was always or most of the time performed by 21 % of respondents. The top perceived barriers for PC provision included inconvenient access to patient medical information (78 %) and lack of staff and time (77 and 74 % respectively). Although PC is not incorporated into pharmacy practice, Qatar pharmacists showed positive attitudes toward PC provision. Further work should focus on improving their PC understanding and on overcoming all barriers.

  17. Analyzing Human Behaviour Toward Food Waste in Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    A Hussain, Shaema Mohd Hassan

    Food waste is a major issue in many countries due to the impact of waste on the environment and the cost of producing food and water. Food waste not only constitutes a hazard to the environment through the emission of greenhouse gases, but billions of dollars are also lost as a result of production, distribution and waste management costs. In view of this, this study examined factors that have potential to influence intent to waste food and food waste behavior among consumers in Qatar. The main objective of the study was to find a suitable model that explains food waste behavior in Qatar and compare it to an international model in order to understand region specific factors and try to replicate a hypothesized model of the causal effects of some factors (i.e., subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and personal attitude) on intent to waste food and food waste behavior. Three research questions were developed and answers were provided by random selection of 139 respondents from the Qatar Foundation and Georgetown University Qatar databases gathered through a survey with 139 complete questionnaires in order to test the hypothesized model, which was created based on literature. The Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach was the main statistical tool of the investigation and was used to carry out the path analysis. The findings of the study revealed that factors, including, planning routine, Ramadan, gender task, and personal norm were strong predictors of intention to waste food and food waste behavior.

  18. Gestational age specific neonatal survival in the State of Qatar (2003-2008) - a comparative study with international benchmarks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, Sajjad; Salameh, Khalil; Al-Rifai, Hilal; Masoud, Ahmed; Lutfi, Samawal; Salama, Husam; Abdoh, Ghassan; Omar, Fahmi; Bener, Abdulbari

    2011-09-01

    To analyze and compare the current gestational age specific neonatal survival rates between Qatar and international benchmarks. An analytical comparative study. Women's Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar, from 2003-2008. Six year's (2003-2008) gestational age specific neonatal mortality data was stratified for each completed week of gestation at birth from 24 weeks till term. The data from World Health Statistics by WHO (2010), Vermont Oxford Network (VON, 2007) and National Statistics United Kingdom (2006) were used as international benchmarks for comparative analysis. A total of 82,002 babies were born during the study period. Qatar's neonatal mortality rate (NMR) dropped from 6/1000 in 2003 to 4.3/1000 in 2008 (p Qatar were comparable with international benchmarks. The survival of Qatar (p=0.01 and p 32 weeks babies was better in UK (p=0.01) as compared to Qatar. The relative risk (RR) of death decreased with increasing gestational age (p Qatar. The current total and gestational age specific neonatal survival rates in the State of Qatar are comparable with international benchmarks. In Qatar, persistently high rates of low birth weight and lethal chromosomal and congenital anomalies significantly contribute towards neonatal mortality.

  19. The Migrant Effect: An Evaluation of Native Academic Performance in Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheema, Jehanzeb R.

    2014-01-01

    Recent data have suggested that despite massive outlays on educational reform Qatar consistently ranks as one of the least academically proficient countries in key areas of literacy. Of the seventy-four countries that participated in PISA 2009 Qatar ranked between sixty-seven and sixty-nine in mathematics, reading and science literacy. Although…

  20. Smoking cessation counseling in Qatar: community pharmacists' attitudes, role perceptions and practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Hajj, Maguy Saffouh; Al Nakeeb, Reem Raad; Al-Qudah, Raja'a Ali

    2012-08-01

    Smoking is a major public health problem in Qatar. The potential for community pharmacists to offer smoking cessation counseling in this country can be high. To determine the current smoking cessation practices of community pharmacists in Qatar, to examine their attitudes about tobacco use and smoking cessation, to evaluate their perceptions about performing professional roles with respect to smoking cessation and to assess their perceived barriers for smoking cessation counseling in the pharmacy setting in Qatar. Community pharmacies in Qatar. The objectives were addressed in a cross sectional survey of community pharmacists in Qatar from June 2010 to October 2010. A phone call was made to all community pharmacists in Qatar (318 pharmacists) inviting them to participate. Consenting pharmacists anonymously completed the survey either online or as paper using fax. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS®) Version 18. Qatar community pharmacists' smoking cessation practices, their attitudes toward tobacco use, smoking cessation and smoking cessation counseling and their perceived barriers for smoking cessation counseling. Over 5 months, we collected 127 surveys (40 % response rate). Only 21 % of respondents reported that they always or most of the time asked their patients if they smoke. When the patients' smoking status was identified, advising quitting and assessing readiness to quit were always or most of the time performed by 66 and 52 % of respondents respectively. Only 15 % always or most of the time arranged follow-up with smokers and 22 % always or most of the time made smoking cessation referrals. Most respondents (>80 %) agreed that smoking could cause adverse health effects and that smoking cessation could decrease the risk of these effects. In addition, the majority (>80 %) believed that smoking cessation counseling was an important activity and was an efficient use of their time. The top two perceived barriers for smoking

  1. The epidemiology of viral hepatitis in Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bener Abdulbari

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Viral hepatitis is a major public health problem in many countries all over the world and especially in Middle East, Asia, East-Europe, and Africa. The aim of our study was to assess the incidence of viral hepatitis A, B and C in Qatar and compare it with other countries. This is a retrospective cohort study, which was conducted at Hamad General Hospital, State of Qatar from 2002-2006. Patients who were screened and diagnosed with viral hepatitis were included in this study. The diagnostic classification of definite viral hepatitis was made in accordance with criteria based on the International Classification of Disease tenth revision (ICD-10. A total of 527 cases of hepatitis C, 396 cases of hepatitis B, 162 cases of hepatitis A and 108 cases of unspecified were reported during the year 2006. Reported incidence rate per 10,000 populations during the year 2006 for hepatitis A was 1.9, hepatitis B 4.7, and Hepatitis C 6.3. The proportion of hepatitis B and C was significantly higher in male population than females across the years (2002-2006. Hepatitis A was more prevalent in children below 15 years (72.3%, hepatitis B in adults aged above 15 years, and hepatitis C in the population above 35 years of age. The incidence of hepatitis A has been declining in Qataris and increasing in expatriates. There was a significant relationship in gender and age group of the patients with hepatitis A, B and C. We conclude that hepatitis has become a national health issue in Qatar. The incidence rate of hepatitis in Qatar is comparable to its neighboring countries, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. There is a need for further research on hepatitis and the associated risk factors.

  2. Qatar: Background and U.S. Relations

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Blanchard, Christopher M

    2008-01-01

    .... military facilities for command, basing, and equipment pre-positioning. Qatar holds the third largest proven natural gas reserves in the world, and its small population enjoys the highest per capita income of any Middle Eastern country...

  3. Use of complementary and alternative medicine among midlife Arab women living in Qatar

    OpenAIRE

    Gerber, L.M.; Mamtani, R.; Chiu, Y-L.; Bener, A.; Murphy, M.; Cheema, S.; Verjee, M.

    2014-01-01

    The prevalence of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widespread and is growing worldwide. This cross-sectional study in Qatar examined the use of CAM and its correlates among Arab women in their midlife years. Women aged 40–60 years (n = 814) were recruited at primary health-care centres in Qatar and completed a specially designed, pre-tested questionnaire. Overall, 38.2% of midlife women in Qatar had used CAM in the previous 12 months. Nutritional remedies and herbal reme...

  4. ROMANIAPORTUGAL: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE TWO COUNTRIES’ LABOUR MARKETS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    DIMIAN Gina Cristina

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Our choice was justified by the fact that between the two countries exist some features that make them interesting to study from the employment point of view. Thus, both countries are Latin and this is why we consider they are comparable, because employment means people, more precisely mentalities and attitudes to work. We considered that it is interesting to see how the labour market from the east Latin Europe has evolved, in a comparable, crucial period, with its counterpart from west Latin Europe. First of all, we would like to point out the fact that our intention is to analyse the periods which from the economic history point of view have influenced in a decisive manner the present evolution of the two countries. The Portugal labour market is a subject of real scientific interest (we would like to mention that even Michael Porter was interested by this topic. Our paper tries to emphasize the common and different features of the two labour markets, in order to facilitate an experience sharing process on this topic. To achieve the paper’s objectives statistical and cluster analysis have been used. This is one of the best ways to capture the influence of determinant factors on labour market performance. The degree of originality is given by the assumed objectives, namely studying some very up-to-date problems from an interconnected perspective (historical similarities, structural changes, labour market performance and analyzing the Romanian situation compared to other EU countries, i.e. Portugal. The main impact of the paper will be on the practical level through the model outcomes and conclusions. One of the objectives is to look for solutions to the problems identified and to persuade policy makers to give them a greater importance. Our main contribution is represented by the fact that we have approached this topic from an economic and historical perspective, trying to find explanations for the present situation in the modern past of the

  5. Small Steps Lead to Quality Assurance and Enhancement in Qatar University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al Attiyah, Asma; Khalifa, Batoul

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents a brief overview of Qatar University's history since it was started in 1973. Its primary focus is on the various small, but important, steps taken by the University to address the needs of quality assurance and enhancement. The Qatar University Reform Plan is described in detail. Its aims are to continually improve the quality…

  6. Appropriate Utilization and Stocking of Antidotes in Qatar Public Hospitals

    OpenAIRE

    Rawan Salameh; Waleed Awad Salem; ISMA Qureshi; Asma Al-Bukari; Eman Shaat; Jibin Moinudheen; Galal Aleassi; Robert Hoffman

    2017-01-01

    Background: There are a few studies that evaluate preparedness and availability of antidotes in the emergency setting and none have been conducted in Qatar. Published studies show that timely availability of antidotes in the emergency department setting is a common issue. To address this, we conducted a study to evaluate antidote stocking and utilization in Qatar hospital pharmacies and emergency departments. Methods: In order to evaluate the appropriate use and timely administration of antid...

  7. Karst Aquifer in Qatar and its bearing on Natural Rainfall Recharge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baalousha, Husam; Ackerer, Philippe

    2017-04-01

    Qatar is an arid country with little rainfall and high evaporation. Surface water is non-existent so aquifer is the only source of natural water. The annual long-term averages of rainfall and evaporation are 80 mm and more than 2000 mm, respectively. Despite the low rainfall and high evaporation, natural recharge from rainfall occurs at an average of approximately 50 million m3 per year. Rainfall recharge in Qatar takes in land depressions that occur all over the country. These depressions are a result of land collapse due to sinkholes and cavity in the limestone formation. In the northern part of the country, karst features occur as a result of dissolution of limestone, which leads to land depressions. Results of this study shows groundwater recharge occurs in land depression areas, especially in the northern part of the country, where surface runoff accumulates in these land depressions and recharges the aquifer. This paper was made possible by NPRP grant # [NPRP 9-030-1-008] from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The findings achieved herein are solely the responsibility of the author[s]."

  8. Qatar: Background and U.S. Relations

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Sharp, Jeremy M

    2004-01-01

    .... In April 2003, the Bush Administration announced that the U.S. Combat Air Operations Center for the Middle East will be moved from Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia to Qatar's Al-Udeid airbase, which served as a logistics hub for U.S...

  9. Enhanced Thermal Performance of Mosques in Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Touma, A. Al; Ouahrani, D.

    2017-12-01

    Qatar has an abundance of mosques that significantly contribute to the increasing energy consumption in the country. Little attention has been given to providing mitigation methods that limit the energy demands of mosques without violating the worshippers’ thermal comfort. Most of these researches dealt with enhancing the mosque envelope through the addition of insulation layers. Since most mosque walls in Qatar are mostly already insulated, this study proposes the installation of shading on the mosque roof that is anticipated to yield similar energy savings in comparison with insulated roofs. An actual mosque in Qatar, which is a combination of six different spaces consisting of men and women’s prayer rooms, ablutions and toilets, was simulated and yielded a total annual energy demand of 619.55 kWh/m2. The mosque, whose walls are already insulated, yielded 9.1% energy savings when an insulation layer was added to its roof whereas it produced 6.2% energy savings when a shading layer was added above this roof. As the reconstruction of the roof envelope is practically unrealistic in existing mosques, the addition of shading to the roof was found to produce comparable energy savings. Lastly, it was found that new mosques with thin-roof insulation and shading tend to be more energy-efficient than those with thick-roof insulation.

  10. Palliative care knowledge and attitudes among oncology nurses in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Kindi, Sadeer G; Zeinah, Ghaith F Abu; Hassan, Azza Adel

    2014-08-01

    Formal palliative care (PC) education is lacking in the middle eastern state of Qatar. This study was done to assess the need for PC education among oncology nurses in Qatar. In March 2012, a self-constructed questionnaire was distributed to 115 nurses at the Qatar National Center for Cancer Care and Research. A total of 115 nurses responded to the questionnaire. The majority (87.8%) were female. Although 60% had more than 10 years of work experience, only 31% had received formal training in PC, with only 6.1% having completed postgraduate training. The majority (63%) of responders attributed this issue to unavailability of PC courses rather than lack of time, interest, or financial issues. Currently, only 16.7% did not express interest in the field, with 56% showing some kind of interest. In terms of knowledge, 54% of the responders were familiar with the World Health Organization ladder for pain relief. Only 43.6% know about Palliative Performance Scale, and half of the nurses know the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System. Overall, 56% of the nurses indicated a need for training in more than 1 aspect. These aspects included training in care of the dying patients (14.6%), communication strategies (22%), caregiver support (10.6%), psychosocial care (15%), pain management (10.2%), other symptom management (13%), and other ethical/spiritual issues (14.2%). There is a clear deficiency in formal PC education among the nurses at the National Center for Cancer Care and Research, in Qatar. This is reflected by their lack of experience and exposure to PC and their mediocre knowledge in the field. This could be attributed to the fact that formal PC service was established only recently in Qatar (2008). Formal training courses in PC nursing are required. © The Author(s) 2013.

  11. The Role Of Social Media on consumer Behavior in Qatar

    OpenAIRE

    El-Sherif, Tarek

    2016-01-01

    Social media has evolved our lives in many ways, it has made the world seem like a smaller place. This is in particular applicable when doing business. In Qatar, there are many business retailers who are not necessarily physically existent that operate, sell and communicate through social media platforms. Because there is no legal protection and regulations on this market, confidence is definitely an issue. This research paper aims to identify how consumer behavior in Qatar has changed by usi...

  12. Use of complementary and alternative medicine among midlife Arab women living in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerber, L M; Mamtani, R; Chiu, Y-L; Bener, A; Murphy, M; Cheema, S; Verjee, M

    2014-10-12

    The prevalence of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widespread and is growing worldwide. This cross-sectional study in Qatar examined the use of CAM and its correlates among Arab women in their midlife years. Women aged 40-60 years (n = 814) were recruited at primary care centres in Qatar and completed a specially designed, pre-tested questionnaire. Overall, 38.2% of midlife women in Qatar had used CAM in the previous 12 months. Nutritional remedies and herbal remedies were the most commonly used CAM therapies, followed by physical methods. Qatari nationality and higher level of education were independently associated with CAM use. Menopause transition status was not independently associated with use of CAM. The prevalence of CAM use by women in Qatar was high, consistent with other reports worldwide. It is essential to educate and inform patients and health-care providers about the benefits and limitations associated with CAM.

  13. The gas industry in Qatar: strategies and options

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nasser Jaidah

    1997-01-01

    Possessing the largest gas field in the world with definitive proven reserves, Qatar started its development of these reserves towards the end of the last decade. The overall situation of the gas market was unfavourable. The prices of energy were declining and the cost for development of both offshore field and transportation was almost prohibitive. Major international gas players were shy and very reluctant to invest or enter the gas market through the Qatar road. Such ventures were considered to be too risky. Since then interest in the development of export and local gas projects has multiplied, with major gas players and premier market buyers willing to participate by investing in further developments. 8 fig

  14. The cultural life script of Qatar and across cultures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ottsen, Christina Lundsgaard; Berntsen, Dorthe

    2014-01-01

    Cultural life scripts (CLS) are culturally shared cognitive representations of the expected order and timing of important life events in a prototypical life. Through three studies data from Qatar were analysed and compared to previously collected data from Denmark, Turkey, and the US. In Study 1 we...... examined the CLS of Qatar in order to determine whether the clear segregation of men and women as well as the centrality of religion in this society would influence the CLS. A total of 55 Qatari undergraduates completed the standard CLS task, imaging a Qatari infant of their own as well as the opposite...

  15. First liver transplant in Qatar: an evolving program facing many challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khalaf, Hatem; Derballa, Moataz; Elmasry, Mohammed; Khalil, Ahmed; Yakoob, Rafie; Almohannadi, Muneera; Almaslamani, Muna; Fadhil, Riadh; Al-Kaabi, Saad; Al-Ansari, Abdulla; Almaslamani, Yousuf

    2013-10-01

    Beginning to do liver transplants in a developing country is challenging. We report on the first few liver transplants performed in Qatar and discuss future exceptions and challenges facing our program. The first liver transplant was performed in Qatar on December 6, 2011. Since starting the program, 4 deceased-donor liver transplants have been performed in Qatar. All recipients underwent a standard deceased-donor liver transplant procedure, which included a duct-to-duct biliary anastomosis without a veno-venous bypass. All liver transplants were performed at the Hamad Medical Corporation by a local team of surgeons without external assistance. The 4 patients were all men, with a median age of 56 years (age range, 46-63 y). Indications for liver transplant included hepatitis C cirrhosis in 2 patients, and 1 patient with hepatitis B cirrhosis with hepatocellular carcinoma, and the other patient with cryptogenic liver cirrhosis. Median amount of blood transfused was 6 units (range, 0-10 U); median time spent in the intensive care unit was 2 days (range, 2-5 d); median amount of time spent in the hospital was 10 days (range, 9-16 d). All 4 recipients have survived after a median follow-up of 438 days (range, 33-602 d) and are enjoying a healthy life, with no significant posttransplant complications. A deceased-donor liver transplant can be performed in Qatar with no external assistance. However, a severe organ shortage remains the biggest obstacle facing us. Efforts should be directed toward improving the number and quality of available deceased donors in Qatar. Meanwhile, live-donor liver transplant may be the only way for us, going forward, to prevent deaths on the waiting list.

  16. Al-Zubarah and its Hinterland, North Qatar

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Walmsley, Alan George; Barnes, Richard Hugh; Macumber, Phillip

    2010-01-01

    , and two areas of investigative open-area excavations within the town of al-Zubarah. Overall, the extraordinary complexity of the natural and human environment encountered through this work is being revealed, and suggests that in the future many more rewarding outcomes can be expected in the study......In anticipation of a major new project at the extensive walled site of al-Zubarah, which dates to the Islamic period and is located on the west coast of northern Qatar, an exploratory programme of archaeological survey work, excavations, and environmental studies was undertaken from January to May...... 2009. At the invitation of the Qatar Museums Authority, Antiquities Department, the University of Copenhagen fielded a team of thirteen led by Alan Walmsley (Director, Excavations) and Ingolf Thuesen (Director, Heritage) with the intention of completing a preliminary assessment, recording, and survey...

  17. Attitudes of medical oncologists in Qatar toward palliative care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeinah, Ghaith F Abu; Al-Kindi, Sadeer G; Hassan, Azza Adel

    2013-09-01

    The first and only palliative care (PC) unit in Qatar was established in 2008 to serve adult patients with cancer. As PC was only recently introduced to oncology practice in Qatar and the region, raising awareness among physicians is crucial. This survey study is designed to outline the level of awareness and knowledge of oncologists in Qatar toward PC. In this cross-sectional survey study, copies of a self-constructed questionnaire were distributed to 49 physicians at the National Center for Cancer Care and Research in Qatar during January 2012 and collected for data analysis. The physician response rate was 100%. Less than half of the responders (36.7%) had official training in PC, but the majority (89.8%) showed interest in the field. Only 57.8% of the physicians reported self-competence in providing good PC to the dying patient. On the other hand, up to 69.4% are aware of the guidelines for pain relief and 58.7% apply them in their clinical practice. The concept of PC hospice was familiar to 77.1% of participants. On one hand, 85.7% of the physicians advocated that every medical center should have PC service, while up to 70.8% preferred that patients with short survival expectancy die in the community, rather than in a hospital setting. There is relatively good awareness and knowledge among health care providers specialized in cancer treatment in our hospital, despite the lack of formal training. Further training and informative sessions are required to raise awareness among oncologists and encourage utilization of PC services and thus optimize patient accessibility to PC.

  18. Oral health knowledge, behaviour and practices among school children in Qatar

    OpenAIRE

    Al-Darwish, Mohammed Sultan

    2016-01-01

    Background: The aim of this study was to assess the oral health knowledge behaviour and practices among school children in Qatar. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Qatar from October 2011 to April 2012. A total of 2200 school children aged 12–14 years were approached from 16 schools of different areas. The information about oral health knowledge and sources of information was obtained through a self-administrated questionnaire. Data analyses were performed. ...

  19. History of Slaves in Qatar: Social Reality and Contemporary Political Vision

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariam Ibrahim Al-Mulla

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Museums today play vital roles in the Arabian Peninsula in general and Qatar in particular. These functions vary between the social, economic and political. Recently, Qatar museums’ practices have focused on a political role. To highlight this role, I will take the recently opened slavery museum Bin Jelmood House (BJH as a case study in this article. This paper aims to discuss and analyse the use of BJH in a comprehensive ‘soft power’ strategy to deflect international criticism of Qatar following the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to the country. Analysing BJH’s narrative was problematic, as the museum chooses to display a particular history which has been politicized to fit directly into Qatar’s international politics. The central questions this paper focuses on are as follows: Why was this specific social history chosen? What purpose does BJH serve? Why is Qatar trying to portray itself as liberating and open? To find the answers, I first interviewed the museum’s researchers, who talked about the process of collecting that specific narrative of the museum and the audience’s reaction. Second, analysing the museum’s narrative shows that museum practice today creates a different starting point than it used to, such as new ideas, strategies and policies. That conveyance the museum’s desire to become more open and liberal compared to previous practices.

  20. Investigating Extra-solar Planetary System Qatar-1 through Transit Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thakur, Parijat; Mannaday, Vineet Kumar; Jiang, Ing-Guey; Sahu, Devendra Kumar; Chand, Swadesh

    2018-04-01

    We report the results of the transit timing variation (TTV) analysis of the extra-solar planet Qatar-1b using thirty eight light curves. Our analysis combines thirty five previously available transit light curves with three new transits observed by us between June 2016 and September 2016 using the 2-m Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (Hanle, India). From these transit data, the physical and orbital parameters of the Qatar-1 system are determined. In addition to this, the ephemeris for the orbital period and mid-transit time are refined to investigate the possible TTV. We find that the null-TTV model provides the better fit to the (O-C) data. This indicates that there is no evidence for TTVs to confirm the presence of additional planets in the Qatar-1 system. The use of the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT) operated by the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES, Nainital, India) could improve the photometric precision to examine the signature of TTVs in this system with a greater accuracy than in the present work.

  1. Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in feral cats in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boughattas, Sonia; Behnke, Jerzy; Sharma, Aarti; Abu-Madi, Marawan

    2017-01-18

    Cats are essential in the life cycle of Toxoplasma gondii as they can shed the environmentally resistant oocysts after acquiring infection. Human populations living in cities with high densities of feral cats are therefore likely to be at risk of infection. The current study is the first to estimate the seroprevalence of T. gondii in the feral cat population in Qatar. We investigated the seroprevalence of T. gondii among 495 adult cats from urban and suburban districts in Qatar. Using results from the Modified Agglutination Test, we fitted statistical models with host sex, area and season as explanatory factors and seropositivity as the outcome. The analysis revealed an overall seroprevalence of 82%. Seroprevalence was significantly higher in the summer season (P = 0.006). No significant difference was detected (P > 0.05) between seroprevalence in female and male cats and in cats from urban and suburban districts of Qatar. Despite the seasonal difference, the observed seroprevalence of T. gondii suggests high environmental contamination throughout the year, with some female cats generating more intense responses compared to males. Both findings merit further investigations.

  2. Strategies of development and diversification: a comparative analysis of Qatar and Dubai’s economic development models

    OpenAIRE

    Althani, Aldana

    2017-01-01

    More than any other GCC states, political and economic foundation linkages between Dubai and Qatar have been great factors that could result in similar economic development. Shared oil boom experiences and early political cooperation brought several significant opportunities where Qatar and Dubai can manage similar economic development. Yet, Dubai’s government was able to develop and diversify its economy, thus becoming one of the largest economic hubs in the world, while Qatar wasn’t able to...

  3. A market basket survey of As, Zn and Se in rice imports in Qatar: health implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowell, Candace; Kuiper, Nora; Al-Saad, Khalid; Nriagu, Jerome; Shomar, Basem

    2014-08-01

    Qatar is dependent on importation of rice, its staple dish, and is therefore susceptible to compromises of food quality in the global market. This market basket study assesses potential health risks of As exposure from rice consumption in Qatar and examines its contribution to the recommended nutritional intakes (RNI) for Zn and Se. Fifty-six rice types and 12 products sold in Qatar were analyzed by ICP/MS. Mean concentrations and ranges were 96.2±54.1μg/kg (9.76-258μg/kg) for As; 12.5±5.35mg/kg (2.79-29.9mg/kg) for Zn and 103±113μg/kg (Qatar is not a significant route of As exposure but can contribute up to 100% and 50% of the RNI for Se and Zn, respectively. Results indicate that children in Qatar may be at elevated risk of arsenic exposure from rice-based infant cereals but more data is needed to obtain a definitive assessment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Uncommon opportunistic yeast bloodstream infections from Qatar

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Taj-Aldeen, S.J.; AbdulWahab, A.; Kolecka, A.; Deshmukh, A.; Meis, J.F.G.M.; Boekhout, T.

    2014-01-01

    Eleven uncommon yeast species that are associated with high mortality rates irrespective of antifungal therapy were isolated from 17/187 (201 episodes) pediatric and elderly patients with fungemia from Qatar. The samples were taken over a 6-year period (January 2004-December 2010). Isolated species

  5. Romania non-proliferation policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Biro, Lucian; Grama, Viviana

    2001-01-01

    Full text: Non-proliferation concept in Romania is based on the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which was ratified in 1970. According to the Article III of the Treaty, Romania ratified in 1972, the Agreement between Romania and IAEA for the application of Safeguards in connection with the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. In 2000 Romania ratified the Additional Protocol to contribute through increased transparency, to confidence that no undeclared nuclear activities are concealed within the declared programme or make use of elements of that programme. Under the Additional Protocol Romania understands to increase the transparency of its nuclear activities lengthways fuel cycle. Romania has a strong legal framework to control nuclear material and nuclear activities. The Law 111/1996, republished is the Law on the safe deployment of nuclear activities. CNCAN issued National Regulations for Safeguards and Physical Protection. Prospecting for uranium in Romania was initiated in 1950. Between 1962 and 1978 all the uranium ore production was stockpiled at the mine sites. In 1978 the Feldioara Powder Plant was commissioned, since then both ore stockpiles and ore exploited have been processed to uranium chemical concentrates. The Powder Plant Feldioara was conceived and built following the necessity of milling and processing the uranium ore to UO 2 , in concordance with the national nuclear programme in order to produce electric energy from nuclear fuel. The Nuclear Fuel Plant has capability to manufacture CANDU-6 nuclear fuel. Nuclear Fuel Plant consists of two Production areas, the Quality Assurance and Engineering Departments. There are two Production Departments: Pelleting area including granulation, pressing, sintering, pellet grinding, uranium recycling and Assembling area including components fabrication, beryllium coating, brazing, graphite coating, fuel element and bundle assembly welding. Romania's Strategy for Energy Sector

  6. Evaluation of clinical pharmacy services offered for palliative care patients in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilby, Kyle John; Mohamad, Alaa Adil; AlYafei, Sumaya AlSaadi

    2014-09-01

    Palliative care is an emerging concept in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a political and economic union of Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Clinical pharmacy services have not yet been evaluated in this region. The objectives of this study were to create a baseline inventory of clinical pharmacy interventions in palliative care and to assess the perceived importance of interventions made. This was a prospective, single-center characterization study. Interventions were documented from September 30 to December 1, 2013. They were characterized into predetermined categories and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Physician acceptance rate and intervention rate per patient were calculated. Classification categories were sent to 10 practicing pharmacists in each of Qatar and Canada, who ranked the categories on the basis of perceived importance. A total of 96 interventions were documented, giving 3 interventions per patient and an acceptance rate of 81%. Discontinuing therapy (29%), initiating therapy (25%), and provision of education/counseling (13.5%) were most common. No differences were found between rankings from pharmacists in Qatar or Canada. Clinical pharmacy interventions are frequent, and those relating to alterations in drug therapy are most common. Interventions align with the perceived importance from pharmacists in both Qatar and Canada.

  7. Qatar chooses Snam to market LNG in Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports that Qatar has chosen Italy's Snam SpA as its European partner to sell liquefied natural gas to Europe from a $4.8 billion joint venture project involving supergiant North offshore gas field. State owned Qatar General petroleum Corp. (QGPC) and Snam signed an agreement in Doha to create a joint company owned 65% by QGPC and the remainder by Snam. Italy's state electricity monopoly, ENEL, which is seeking Qatari gas a fuel for its power plants, may later acquire part of Snam's interest in the project. The joint venture will transport and market North LNG to Europe. Exports to Europe by Snam via Italy, to begin in 1997, are expected to be 283 bcf/year at first and may climb to 459 bcf/year, depending upon demand

  8. Patient perceptions of pharmacist roles in guiding self-medication of over-the-counter therapy in Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kerry Wilbur

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Kerry Wilbur1, Samah El Salam1, Ebrahim Mohammadi21Qatar University College of Pharmacy, Doha, Qatar; 2Qatar Petroleum Medical Services, Doha, QatarBackground: Self-care, including self-medication with over-the-counter (OTC drugs, facilitates the public’s increased willingness to assume greater responsibility for their own health. Direct consultation with pharmacists provides efficient professional guidance for safe and appropriate OTC use.Objective: The purpose of this study was to characterize patient perceptions of pharmacists and use of nonprescription therapy in an ambulatory care population in Qatar. Methods: Patients having prescriptions filled at one organization’s private medical clinics during two distinct two-week periods were invited to participate in a short verbal questionnaire. Awareness of pharmacist roles in guiding OTC drug selection was assessed, as were patient preferences for OTC indications. Attitudes towards pharmacist and nurse drug knowledge and comfort with direct dispensing were also evaluated.Results: Five hundred seventy patients participated representing 29 countries. Most respondents were men (92.1% with mean age of 38.3 years. Almost 1 in 7 did not know medical complaints could be assessed by a pharmacist (15.3% and 1 in 5 (21.9% were unaware pharmacists could directly supply OTC therapy. The majority (85.3% would be interested in this service. In general, respondents were more comfortable with medication and related advice supplied by pharmacists as opposed to nursing professionals.Conclusion: Patients were familiar with the roles of pharmacists as they pertain to selfmedication with OTC therapy and described the desire to use such a service within this Qatar ambulatory health care setting.Keywords: patient, self-medication, over-the-counter, pharmacist, Qatar

  9. Radiation protection in Qatar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al Maadheed, Khalid; Al Khatibeh, Ahmad

    2008-01-01

    Full text: The State of Qatar has become a member State of IAEA since 1974. Later the Department of Industrial Development (DID) beam the focal point and the competent authority regarding all aspects of the peaceful application of Nuclear Technology. In July, 2000 the Supreme Council was established and charged with all matters related to environmental protection. The Supreme Council joined the IAEA Projects on upgrading protection infrastructure in West Asia region. A preliminary research was initiated to discover where radiation sources are being used, and the legal framework, if any, to regulate their use. The research indicated that radiation sources were being used in the industrial practices (well logging, industrial radiography and nuclear gauges) and in medical practices (mainly diagnostic radiology). The research also indicated that there was virtually no legal framework to regulate them. In less than five years, the State of Qatar was able to issue the radiation protection law, three sets of regulations, namely: Radiation Protection Regulations, Radioactive Waste Management Regulations and the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials Regulations. In addition, several specific regulation work, dose limits and radiation protection officers were issued. A radiation Protection Department, comprising three sections was established. We are providing individual exposure monitoring for most of the radiation workers in the public sector and some in the private sector. We have set up a proper licensing and inspections procedures, where our inspectors are enforcing the law. More recently, we established an early warning network for nuclear of radiological emergencies, consisting of 6 transplantable stations, five mobile stations and two navigating stations. This year, the network was augmented with five fixed station and an advanced early warning centre, which provides early warning via multiple means (MMS, Fax, E-mail and audio alarms). Last year we signed a nuclear

  10. PERLINDUNGAN TENAGA KERJA INDONESIA DI QATAR: TINJAUAN PERAN PEMERINTAH DALAM MELINDUNGI TKI DI QATAR

    OpenAIRE

    Aprilia Restuning Tunggal

    2017-01-01

    The Indonesian government’s policy of protecting Indonesian workers in Qatar is a mandate from the member countries of the Republic of Indonesia; Therefore, the Indonesian government should be able to carry out this mandate well and be responsible. International law states that a country has the right and responsibility to protect its citizens abroad. Furthermore, the regulation on the protection of foreign citizens is also regulated in the 1961 Vienna Convention on article 3 on diplomatic re...

  11. MODALITIES OF LOCAL DEBT ANALYSIS IN THE NORTH-WEST REGION OF ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioan BĂTRÂNCEA

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Public debt is a topic of great interest, problem tracked over the years and has worsened with the outbreak of the second wave of financial crisis around the world, namely the sovereign debt crisis . Among the countries affected by this phenomenon are, along with countries like Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal, our country whose public debt has doubled in the past four years and will affect future regional development in Romania. In late 2010, the Romanian government debt (according to ESA 95 methodology reached 31.02 % of GDP. Although this indicator falls comfortably within the 60 % of GDP Maastricht Treaty, its growth rate remains worrying. In 2012 there was a level of government debt ( EU methodology - ESC 95 37.8 % of GDP, and for 2013 the estimated level of government debt is below 36.4 % of GDP ( 51 billion euro ranging is below the Maastricht Treaty provided for 60% of GDP, an advantage for Romania , given the new rules on public debt and budget deficit introduced by the new rules of economic governance at the European level , the concept of prudent fiscal policy becomes central . This is a reason for adopting a pro- active stance by continuing fiscal consolidation measures. That is why in this paper the authors present an analysis of public debt based on a correlated system of indicators.

  12. Occupational Exposure to Dromedaries and Risk for MERS-CoV Infection, Qatar, 2013-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reusken, Chantal B E M; Farag, Elmoubasher A B A; Haagmans, Bart L; Mohran, Khaled A; Godeke, Gert-Jan; Raj, Stalin; Alhajri, Farhoud; Al-Marri, Salih A; Al-Romaihi, Hamad E; Al-Thani, Mohamed; Bosch, Berend-Jan; van der Eijk, Annemiek A; El-Sayed, Ahmed M; Ibrahim, Adel K; Al-Molawi, N; Müller, Marcel A; Pasha, Syed K; Drosten, Christian; AlHajri, Mohd M; Koopmans, Marion P G

    2015-08-01

    We determined the presence of neutralizing antibodies to Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in persons in Qatar with and without dromedary contact. Antibodies were only detected in those with contact, suggesting dromedary exposure as a risk factor for infection. Findings also showed evidence for substantial underestimation of the infection in populations at risk in Qatar.

  13. Sustainability in the Qatar national dietary guidelines, among the first to incorporate sustainability principles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seed, Barbara

    2015-09-01

    To present one of the first national dietary guidelines that incorporates food sustainability principles into its public health recommendations. The paper outlines recommendations and utilizes an ecological framework of policy analysis to examine context, drivers, consequences and future suggestions in establishing and maintaining sustainability principles within the Qatar Dietary Guidelines. Qatar. Population of Qatar. Qatar has produced one of the first national dietary guidelines to integrate principles of food sustainability. National interest in environmental sustainability and food security, population concern over food waste (reinforced by Islamic religious law), strong authority of the Supreme Council of Health (supported by an Emirate government), a small domestic food industry and a lack of food industry influence on the guidelines have contributed to the inclusion of sustainability principles within the document. Whether these principles will be embraced or rejected by the population in the long term will likely be determined by the Dietary Guidelines Task Force and the Supreme Council of Health's commitment to educating the population about the relevance and importance of these principles and establishing champions to advocate for them.

  14. Do socioeconomic factors influence breast cancer screening practices among Arab women in Qatar?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donnelly, Tam Truong; Al Khater, Al-Hareth; Al Kuwari, Mohamed Ghaith; Al-Bader, Salha Bujassoum; Al-Meer, Nabila; Abdulmalik, Mariam; Singh, Rajvir; Chaudhry, Sofia; Fung, Tak

    2015-01-22

    Breast cancer incidence rates are rising in Qatar. Although the Qatari government provides subsidised healthcare and screening programmes that reduce cost barriers for residents, breast cancer screening (BCS) practices among women remain low. This study explores the influence of socioeconomic status on BCS among Arab women in Qatar. A multicentre, cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted with 1063 Arab women (87.5% response rate) in Qatar from March 2011 to July 2011. Women who were 35 years or older and had lived in Qatar for at least 10 years were recruited from seven primary healthcare centres and women's health clinics in urban and semiurban regions of Qatar. Associations between socioeconomic factors and BCS practice were estimated using χ(2) tests and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Findings indicate that less than one-third of the participants practised BCS appropriately, whereas less than half of the participants were familiar with recent BCS guidelines. Married women and women with higher education and income levels were significantly more likely to be aware of and to practise BCS than women who had lower education and income levels. Findings indicate low levels of awareness and low participation rates in BCS among Arab women in Qatar. Socioeconomic factors influence these women's participation in BCS activities. The strongest predictors for BCS practice are higher education and higher income levels. Additional research is needed to explore the impact of economic factors on healthcare seeking behaviours in the Middle Eastern countries that have a high national gross domestic product where healthcare services are free or heavily subsidised by the government; promotion of BCS and intervention strategies in these countries should focus on raising awareness about breast cancer, the cost and benefit of early screening for this disease, particularly among low-income women. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to

  15. Medicinal Product Regulation: Portugal׳s Framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herdeiro, Maria Teresa; Bastos, Paulo D; Teixeira-Rodrigues, António; Roque, Fátima

    2016-09-01

    The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most tightly regulated sectors, and it is essential to know each country׳s legal framework to understand the regulation, approval, and marketing of medicinal products for human use. This article describes the main statutes and procedures governing medicinal products for human use in Portugal and the role of the country׳s National Medicines and Health Products Authority (Autoridade Nacional do Medicamento e Produtos de Saúde, I.P.; INFARMED). From the most recently available data, an update of requests and approvals concerning marketing authorizations, variations, pricing, and reimbursements is provided. Data were sourced from the INFARMED website, Infomed (database of medicinal products for human use), and periodic reports issued by national authorities. Organic laws, acts, and law decrees published in the government gazette (Diário da República) are cited and reproduced as required. In 2015 Portugal ranked fifth in the European System of Medicines Evaluation in terms of the number of completed procedures as a reference member state. Approximately 80% of all approved drug applications in Portugal in 2015 were for generic drugs, mostly pertaining to the nervous system. In Portugal, INFARMED monitors drug quality, safety profile, and efficacy in all stages of the drug life cycle, ensuring patients' safety. The Portuguese market for medicinal products for human use has been appreciably changed by the advent of generic drugs. There is an increased trend for new request applications for biological and biotechnological substances. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier HS Journals, Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Qatar, the gas factory of the world; Le Qatar, l'usine a gaz du monde

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dupin, L.

    2010-11-15

    This article describes the huge development of a natural gas industrial site in Qatar through which this country will soon become the first world liquefied natural gas producer. It also describes the huge works in which the French company Technip is involved on this site which comprises gas production factories, a polyethylene factory, electricity and water supply buildings, storage tanks, a harbour for gas carriers

  17. Secondhand smoke emission levels in waterpipe cafes in Doha, Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al Mulla, Ahmad; Fanous, Nadia; Seidenberg, Andrew B; Rees, Vaughan W

    2015-10-01

    Exposure to the emissions of a tobacco waterpipe is associated with increased health risks among its users as well as those exposed to its secondhand smoke. Waterpipe use is an emerging concern to the tobacco control community, particularly among countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. In 2002, Qatar adopted legislation that prohibited cigarette smoking inside public venues, but exempted tobacco waterpipe smoking. To inform the development and enforcement of effective policy, the impact of cigarette and waterpipe use on indoor air quality was monitored in waterpipe cafes in Doha, Qatar. Particulate matter (PM2.5) levels were measured inside and outside of a sample of 40 waterpipe cafes and 16 smoke-free venues in Doha, Qatar between July and October 2012. In addition, the number of waterpipes being smoked and the number of cigarette smokers were counted within each venue. Non-paired and paired sample t tests were used to assess differences in mean PM2.5 measurements between venue type (waterpipe vs smoke-free) and environment (indoor vs outdoor). The mean PM2.5 level inside waterpipe venues (476 μg/m(3)) was significantly higher than the mean PM2.5 level inside smoke-free venues (17 μg/m(3); pQatar, potentially endangering the health of employees and patrons. To protect the public from the dangers of secondhand tobacco smoke, and to change social norms around tobacco use, smoke-free policies that apply to all forms of combusted tobacco products, including the waterpipe, are needed. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  18. Corrosion Challenges for the Oil and Gas Industry in the State of Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnsen, Roy

    In Qatar oil and gas has been produced from onshore fields in more than 70 years, while the first offshore field delivered its first crude oil in 1965. Due to the atmospheric conditions in Qatar with periodically high humidity, high chloride content, dust/sand combined with the temperature variations, external corrosion is a big treat to the installations and connecting infrastructure. Internal corrosion in tubing, piping and process systems is also a challenge due to high H2S content in the hydrocarbon mixture and exposure to corrosive aquifer water. To avoid corrosion different type of mitigations like application of coating, chemical treatment and material selection are important elements. This presentation will review the experiences with corrosion challenges for oil & gas installations in Qatar including some examples of corrosion failures that have been seen.

  19. Qatar: Background and U.S. Relations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-06

    Science Monitor, February 6, 2007. 10 For example, Senator John Kerry voiced specific concerns about alleged Qatari government and private support...Sen. Kerry Speaks on Middle East to Brookings Institute,” April 2, 2009. Qatar: Background and U.S. Relations Congressional Research Service 6...alcohol, which is available in licensed premises such as the bars of major hotels and clubs. 53 U.S

  20. Arranging marriage; negotiating risk: genetics and society in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilshaw, Susie; Al Raisi, Tasneem; Alshaban, Fouad

    2015-01-01

    This paper considers how the globalized discourse of genetic risk in cousin marriage is shaped, informed and taken up in local moral worlds within the context of Qatar. This paper investigates the way Qataris are negotiating the discourse on genetics and risk. It is based on data from ongoing ethnographic research in Qatar and contributes to anthropological knowledge about this understudied country. Participants were ambivalent about genetic risks and often pointed to other theories of causation in relation to illness and disability. The discourse on genetic risk associated with marrying in the family was familiar, but for some participants the benefits of close marriage outweighed potential risks. Furthermore, the introduction of mandatory pre-marital screening gave participants confidence that risks were monitored and minimized.

  1. Contextualizing the Physician Charter on Professionalism in Qatar: From Patient Autonomy to Family Autonomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Ming-Jung; Alkhal, Abdullatif; Tekian, Ara; Shih, Julie; Shaw, Kevin; Wang, Chung-Hsiang; Alyafei, Khalid; Konopasek, Lyuba

    2016-12-01

    The Physician Charter on medical professionalism has been endorsed by professional organizations worldwide, yet it is unclear if this Western framework of professionalism is applicable in non-Western countries. This study examines how physicians practicing in a Middle Eastern context perceive the terms, principles, and commitments outlined in the charter. In May 2013, the authors conducted 6 focus groups with 43 clinician-educators practicing at Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha, Qatar, to discuss the applicability of the Physician Charter in a local context. The research team coded and analyzed transcripts to identify sociocultural influences on professionalism. Participants generally expressed agreement with the applicability of the charter's principles to physician professionalism in Qatar. However, 3 contextual factors (religious beliefs and practices, family-centered decision making, and multinationality) complicated the application of the core principles of patient autonomy and social justice. Islamic beliefs reinforced the importance of professional values such as altruism, but presented a barrier to the principle of self-determination for female patients. The family-centered culture in Qatar called for enlarging the scope of patient-centered decision making to include the patient's family. Qatar's multinational population prompted debate over equal treatment and how to conceptualize and implement the principle of social justice. Several sociocultural contexts influence the conceptualization of the principles of medical professionalism in Qatar. The findings suggest that contextual factors should be considered when developing or adopting a professionalism framework in an international setting and context.

  2. Trauma research in Qatar: a literature review and discussion of progress after establishment of a trauma research centre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Menyar, A; Asim, M; Zarour, A; Abdelrahman, H; Peralta, R; Parchani, A; Al-Thani, H

    2016-02-01

    A structured research programme is one of the main pillars of a trauma care system. Despite the high rate of injury-related mortalities, especially road traffic accidents, in Qatar, little consideration has been given to research in trauma. This review aimed to analyse research publications on the subject of trauma published from Qatar and to discuss the progress of clinical research in Qatar and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries with special emphasis on trauma research. A literature search using PubMed and Google Scholar search engines located 757 English-language articles within the fields of internal medicine, surgery and trauma originating from Qatar between the years 1993 and 2013. A steep increase in the number of trauma publications since 2010 could be linked to the setting up of a trauma research centre in Qatar in 2011. We believe that establishing a research unit has made a major impact on research productivity, which ultimately benefits health care.

  3. SOCIAL ENTREPRISES IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela PIRVU

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The concept of social economy concept is relatively new in Romania, but the interest of specialists and practitioners is growing because significant funds has been allocated to stimulate the development of social economy organizations and numerous supporting statements was made by the European Commission. The present paper realizes an exploratory approach on the concept of social enterprise in Romania and clarifies some notions, given the practices of social economy in recent years. Also, a typology of the Romania's counties in terms of the presence of social enterprises has been obtained. A series of data were collected by accessing sites of specialized institutions or requesting information under the Law regarding the free access to information of public interest. After their processing a territorial distribution of social enterprises in Romania was shaped.

  4. TRANSIT TIMING VARIATION MEASUREMENTS OF WASP-12b AND QATAR-1b: NO EVIDENCE OF ADDITIONAL PLANETS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collins, Karen A.; Stassun, Keivan G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235 (United States); Kielkopf, John F. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292 (United States)

    2017-02-01

    WASP-12b and Qatar-1b are transiting hot Jupiters for which previous works have suggested the presence of transit timing variations (TTVs) indicative of additional bodies in these systems—an Earth-mass planet in WASP-12 and a brown-dwarf mass object in Qatar-1. Here, we present 23 new WASP-12b and 18 new Qatar-1b complete (or nearly complete) transit observations. We perform global system fits to all of our light curves for each system, as well as RV and stellar spectroscopic parameters from the literature. The global fits provide refined system parameters and uncertainties for each system, including precise transit center times for each transit. The transit model residuals of the combined and five minute binned light curves have an rms of 183 and 255 parts per million (ppm) for WASP-12b and Qatar-1b, respectively. Most of the WASP-12b system parameter values from this work are consistent with values from previous studies, but have ∼40%–50% smaller uncertainties. Most of the Qatar-1b system parameter values and uncertainties from this work are consistent with values recently reported in the literature. We find no convincing evidence for sinusoidal TTVs with a semi-amplitude of more than ∼35 and ∼25 s in the WASP-12b and Qatar-1b systems, respectively.

  5. Portugal; Portugal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-03-01

    This short report summarizes the main lines of the energy policy of Portugal. It presents the main energy companies and utilities (EDP, CPPE, REN, Petrogal, GDP, Galp SGPS) of the country, the energy supplies (resources, electricity, petroleum, coal, natural gas), the prices and pricing policy, the global energy consumption per sector, the stakes and perspectives of the energy market (forecasts, contracts). (J.S.)

  6. Medical education and research environment in Qatar: a new epoch for translational research in the Middle East

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Recent advances in medical technology and key discoveries in biomedical research have the potential to improve human health in an unprecedented fashion. As a result, many of the Arab Gulf countries, particularly Qatar are devoting increasing resources toward establishing centers of excellence in biomedical research. However, there are challenges that must be overcome. The low profile of private medical institutions and their negligible endowments in the region are examples of such challenges. Business-type government controlled universities are not the solution for overcoming the challenges facing higher education and research programs in the Middle East. During the last decade, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development has attracted six branch campuses of American Institutions of higher learning to the Education City in Qatar, a 2500-acre area, which is rapidly becoming a model of integrating higher education and research in the region. Not-for profit, time-tested education institutions from abroad in public-private partnership with local organizations offer favorable conditions to build robust research programs in the region. Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) of Cornell University is an example such an institution. It is the first and only medical school in Qatar. WCMC-Q's interwoven education, research and public health based framework lays a sturdy foundation for developing and implementing translational medicine research programs of importance to the State of Qatar and Middle Eastern nations. This approach is yielding positive results. Discoveries from this program should influence public policy in a positive fashion toward reducing premature mortality and morbidity due to diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer, examples of health conditions commonly encountered in Qatar. PMID:21272322

  7. Medical education and research environment in Qatar: a new epoch for translational research in the Middle East.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chouchane, Lotfi; Mamtani, Ravinder; Al-Thani, Mohammed H; Al-Thani, Al-Anoud M; Ameduri, Marco; Sheikh, Javaid I

    2011-01-27

    Recent advances in medical technology and key discoveries in biomedical research have the potential to improve human health in an unprecedented fashion. As a result, many of the Arab Gulf countries, particularly Qatar are devoting increasing resources toward establishing centers of excellence in biomedical research. However, there are challenges that must be overcome. The low profile of private medical institutions and their negligible endowments in the region are examples of such challenges. Business-type government controlled universities are not the solution for overcoming the challenges facing higher education and research programs in the Middle East.During the last decade, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development has attracted six branch campuses of American Institutions of higher learning to the Education City in Qatar, a 2500-acre area, which is rapidly becoming a model of integrating higher education and research in the region. Not-for profit, time-tested education institutions from abroad in public-private partnership with local organizations offer favorable conditions to build robust research programs in the region. Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) of Cornell University is an example such an institution. It is the first and only medical school in Qatar.WCMC-Q's interwoven education, research and public health based framework lays a sturdy foundation for developing and implementing translational medicine research programs of importance to the State of Qatar and Middle Eastern nations. This approach is yielding positive results. Discoveries from this program should influence public policy in a positive fashion toward reducing premature mortality and morbidity due to diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer, examples of health conditions commonly encountered in Qatar.

  8. Medical education and research environment in Qatar: a new epoch for translational research in the Middle East

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ameduri Marco

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Recent advances in medical technology and key discoveries in biomedical research have the potential to improve human health in an unprecedented fashion. As a result, many of the Arab Gulf countries, particularly Qatar are devoting increasing resources toward establishing centers of excellence in biomedical research. However, there are challenges that must be overcome. The low profile of private medical institutions and their negligible endowments in the region are examples of such challenges. Business-type government controlled universities are not the solution for overcoming the challenges facing higher education and research programs in the Middle East. During the last decade, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development has attracted six branch campuses of American Institutions of higher learning to the Education City in Qatar, a 2500-acre area, which is rapidly becoming a model of integrating higher education and research in the region. Not-for profit, time-tested education institutions from abroad in public-private partnership with local organizations offer favorable conditions to build robust research programs in the region. Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q of Cornell University is an example such an institution. It is the first and only medical school in Qatar. WCMC-Q's interwoven education, research and public health based framework lays a sturdy foundation for developing and implementing translational medicine research programs of importance to the State of Qatar and Middle Eastern nations. This approach is yielding positive results. Discoveries from this program should influence public policy in a positive fashion toward reducing premature mortality and morbidity due to diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer, examples of health conditions commonly encountered in Qatar.

  9. Pragmatism of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s and European Union’s Strategic Partnership

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-04-13

    Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia , Spain, Turkey...Netherland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia , Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom. 3 North Atlantic Treaty Organizations, “NATO-EU: A...supranational organization through a constitutional process, the organization did achieve its highest level of state integration within the

  10. Adult tuberculous meningitis in Qatar: a descriptive retrospective study from its referral center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imam, Yahia Z B; Ahmedullah, Hasan S; Akhtar, Naveed; Chacko, Kadavil C; Kamran, Saadat; Al Alousi, Faraj; Alsuwaidi, Zubaida; Almaslmani, Muna; Al Khal, A Latif; Deleu, Dirk

    2015-01-01

    Tuberculous meningitis is the severest and commonest form of central nervous system tuberculosis causing high mortality and morbidity. We aim to study the clinical, biochemical, and radiological characteristics of tuberculous meningitis in adult patients in Qatar and to calculate the incidence. A descriptive retrospective 7-year study was conducted at the Hamad General Hospital (the only tertiary referral center and sole health care provider for tuberculosis in Qatar) between the 1st of January 2006 and the 31st of December 2012, to describe the clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, outcome, and the incidence of adult tuberculous meningitis in Qatar. Tuberculous meningitis was diagnosed in 80 patients (65 male, 15 female), with a mean age of 30.3 ± 8.9. The majority of patients (76.3%) were from the Indian subcontinent. The commonest clinical features were fever (79%), headache (71%), and meningism (56%). Cerebrospinal fluid tuberculosis culture was positive in 44% of patients. Almost 39% of patients were in Stage I, 46% in Stage II and 15% in Stage III of the disease. The commonest neuroimaging features were leptomeningeal enhancement (34%) and hydrocephalus (33%). Cranial nerve palsy, limb weakness, and an elevated C-reactive protein were associated with a poorer outcome. Sixty eight percent had complete recovery, 10% had residual neurological sequelae without disability, 17% had disability, and 5% died. The average incidence of tuberculous meningitis over 7 years was 0.9 per 100,000 adult population. The characteristics of tuberculous meningitis were described in our population. Our data indicate that the incidence of tuberculosis meningitis in Qatar has increased. Tuberculous meningitis in Qatar is mainly an imported disease.

  11. Qatar Airways Official Partner of China Team At 15th Doha Asian Games 2006

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2006-01-01

    @@ Asian Games was held from Dec.1-15 this year in Qatar's capital Doha,which attracted more than 10,500 athletes and team officials from 45 countries competing in 39sports.As Official Airline of the 15th Asian Games,Qatar Airways delivers its award-winning Five Star service to visitors to the Games,whether they are participating or are spectators.

  12. An Overview of Food Patterns and Diet Quality in Qatar: Findings from the National Household Income Expenditure Survey

    OpenAIRE

    Akram, Hammad

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Introduction Availability of accurate data pertaining to a population’s dietary patterns and associated health outcomes is critical for proper development and implementation of related policies. This article is a first attempt to share the food patterns, amounts and diet quality among households (HH) in Qatar. Methods Data from the 2012-2013 Qatar National Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) was used. This cross-sectional survey included 3723 HH (1826 Qatar...

  13. 31 March 2016 - Qatar Foundation Research and Development Executive Vice President H. Al-Ibrahim signing a Cooperation Agreement with CERN Director-General F. Gianotti.

    CERN Multimedia

    Brice, Maximilien

    2016-01-01

    Dr Hamad Al-Ibrahim Executive Vice President, Qatar Foundation Research and Development. Were present: CERN International Relations Unit, Adviser for Qatar P. Fassnacht; CERN Director for Research and Computing E. Elsen; Texas A&M Professor of Physics A. Safonov ; CERN Director for International Relations C. Warakaulle; Professor of Physics, Qatar University I.Al-Qaradawi; Executive Vice President H. Al-Ibrahim; CERN Director-General F. Gianotti; Ambassador Faisal Bin Abdulla Al-Henzab to the UNOG; Director of Research Computing, Texas A&M, Qatar O. Bouhali; Vice Dean, Texas A&M, Qatar E. Massad; Executive Director, Research Coordination & Special Initiatives, Qatar Foundation R&D D. Khoury.

  14. Liberal Arts Education in Qatar: Intercultural Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rostron, Magdalena

    2009-01-01

    This paper is an attempt to sketch a historical, cultural and social background of recent educational developments in Qatar, briefly review the traditions of western liberal arts education with its goals and teaching and learning methodologies, explain its benefits and their relevance to Muslim Qatari students of universities in Education City in…

  15. The Private-Public Literacy Divide amid Educational Reform in Qatar: What Does PISA Tell Us?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheema, Jehanzeb R.

    2015-01-01

    The education system in Qatar comprises of both private schools, which receive money through student fees, and public schools, which are fully government-funded. In the mid-2000s, Qatar started its transition towards an independent school model with the aim of eventually converting all public schools into government-supported independent schools.…

  16. A PEARL Study Analysis of National Neonatal, Early Neonatal, Late Neonatal, and Corrected Neonatal Mortality Rates in the State of Qatar during 2011: A Comparison with World Health Statistics 2011 and Qatar's Historic Data over a Period of 36 Years (1975-2011).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, Sajjad; Al Rifai, Hilal; El Ansari, Walid; Nimeri, Nuha; El Tinay, Sarrah; Salameh, Khalil; Abbas, Tariq; Jarir, Rawia A; Said, Nawal; Taha, Samer

    2012-10-01

    To prospectively ascertain Qatar's national Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR), Early Neonatal Mortality Rate (ENMR), and Late Neonatal Mortality Rate (LNMR) during 2011, compare it with recent data from high-income countries, and analyze trends in Qatar's NMR's between 1975 and 2011 using historic data. A National prospective cohort-study. National data on live births and neonatal mortality was collected from all public and private maternity facilities in Qatar (1(st) January-December 31(st) 2011) and compared with historical neonatal mortality data (1975-2010) ascertained from the database of maternity and neonatal units of Women's Hospital and annual reports of Hamad Medical Corporation. For inter country comparison, country data of 2009 was extracted from World Health Statistics 2011 (WHO) and the European Perinatal Health report (2008). A total of 20583 live births were recorded during the study period. Qatar's national NMR during 2011 was 4.95, ENMR 2.7, LNMR 2.2, and cNMR 3.33. Between 1975 and 2011, Qatar's population increased by 10-fold, number of deliveries by 7.2 folds while relative risk of NMR decreased by 87% (RR 0.13, 95% CI 0.10-0.18, P<0.001), ENMR by 91% (RR 0.09, 95% CI 0.06-0.12, P<0.001) and LNMR by 58% (RR 0.42, 95% CI 0.23-0.74, P=0.002). The comparable ranges of neonatal mortality rates from selected high-income West European countries are: NMR: 2-5.7, ENMR 1.5-3.8, and LNMR 0.5-1.9. The neonatal survival in the State of Qatar has significantly improved between 1975 and 2011. The improvement has been more marked in ENMR than LNMR. Qatar's current neonatal mortality rates are comparable to most high-income West European countries. An in-depth research to assess the correlates and determinants of neonatal mortality in Qatar is indicated.

  17. Population Genetic Structure of the People of Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter-Zinck, Haley; Musharoff, Shaila; Salit, Jacqueline; Al-Ali, Khalid A.; Chouchane, Lotfi; Gohar, Abeer; Matthews, Rebecca; Butler, Marcus W.; Fuller, Jennifer; Hackett, Neil R.; Crystal, Ronald G.; Clark, Andrew G.

    2010-01-01

    People of the Qatar peninsula represent a relatively recent founding by a small number of families from three tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, and Oman, with indications of African admixture. To assess the roles of both this founding effect and the customary first-cousin marriages among the ancestral Islamic populations in Qatar's population genetic structure, we obtained and genotyped with Affymetrix 500k SNP arrays DNA samples from 168 self-reported Qatari nationals sampled from Doha, Qatar. Principal components analysis was performed along with samples from the Human Genetic Diversity Project data set, revealing three clear clusters of genotypes whose proximity to other human population samples is consistent with Arabian origin, a more eastern or Persian origin, and individuals with African admixture. The extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) is greater than that of African populations, and runs of homozygosity in some individuals reflect substantial consanguinity. However, the variance in runs of homozygosity is exceptionally high, and the degree of identity-by-descent sharing generally appears to be lower than expected for a population in which nearly half of marriages are between first cousins. Despite the fact that the SNPs of the Affymetrix 500k chip were ascertained with a bias toward SNPs common in Europeans, the data strongly support the notion that the Qatari population could provide a valuable resource for the mapping of genes associated with complex disorders and that tests of pairwise interactions are particularly empowered by populations with elevated LD like the Qatari. PMID:20579625

  18. Population genetic structure of the people of Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter-Zinck, Haley; Musharoff, Shaila; Salit, Jacqueline; Al-Ali, Khalid A; Chouchane, Lotfi; Gohar, Abeer; Matthews, Rebecca; Butler, Marcus W; Fuller, Jennifer; Hackett, Neil R; Crystal, Ronald G; Clark, Andrew G

    2010-07-09

    People of the Qatar peninsula represent a relatively recent founding by a small number of families from three tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, and Oman, with indications of African admixture. To assess the roles of both this founding effect and the customary first-cousin marriages among the ancestral Islamic populations in Qatar's population genetic structure, we obtained and genotyped with Affymetrix 500k SNP arrays DNA samples from 168 self-reported Qatari nationals sampled from Doha, Qatar. Principal components analysis was performed along with samples from the Human Genetic Diversity Project data set, revealing three clear clusters of genotypes whose proximity to other human population samples is consistent with Arabian origin, a more eastern or Persian origin, and individuals with African admixture. The extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) is greater than that of African populations, and runs of homozygosity in some individuals reflect substantial consanguinity. However, the variance in runs of homozygosity is exceptionally high, and the degree of identity-by-descent sharing generally appears to be lower than expected for a population in which nearly half of marriages are between first cousins. Despite the fact that the SNPs of the Affymetrix 500k chip were ascertained with a bias toward SNPs common in Europeans, the data strongly support the notion that the Qatari population could provide a valuable resource for the mapping of genes associated with complex disorders and that tests of pairwise interactions are particularly empowered by populations with elevated LD like the Qatari. Copyright 2010 The American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Romania en bankgarantie: een herlezing van de arresten Romania, Aukema en TEP

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jonkers, A.L.

    2014-01-01

    In het Romania-arrest geeft de Hoge Raad in een obiter dictum aan dat in het daar voorliggende geval de garant geen regresvordering jegens de boedel geldend kan maken. Die garant was in Romania de aandeelhouder van de failliet. In deze bijdrage wordt betoogd dat de garantie van een bank - met

  20. Mineralogy and Genesis of Heavy Minerals in Coastal Dune Sands, South Eastern Qatar

    OpenAIRE

    Nasir, Sobhi J. [صبحي جابر نصر; El-Kassas, Ibrahim A.; Sadiq, A. Ali M.

    1999-01-01

    Large amounts of aeolian sand occur in the southeastern coastal zone of Qatar Peninsula as sand dunes accumulated in a vast sand field locally called " Niqyan Qatar ". The present work, carried out on a sand dune belt of this field near Mesaied Industrial City, revealed the distribution of heavy minerals shows a regional variability induced by provenance and local variability reflecting genetic differences. The studied dune sands are rich in shells of pelecypods, with the light mineral assemb...

  1. Photometric investigation of hot exoplanets: TrES-3b and Qatar-1b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Püsküllü, Ç.; Soydugan, F.; Erdem, A.; Budding, E.

    2017-08-01

    New photometric follow-up observations of transitting 'hot Jupiters' TrES-3b and Qatar-1b are presented. Weighted mean values of the solutions of light curves in R-filter for both planetary systems are reported and compared with the previous results. The transit light curves were analysed using the WINFITTER code. The physical properties of the planets were estimated. The planet radii are found to be Rp = 1.381 ± 0.033RJ for TrES-3b and Rp = 1.142 ± 0.025RJ for Qatar-1b. Transit times and their uncertainties were also determined and a new linear ephemeris was computed for both systems. Analysis of transit times showed that a significant signal could not be determined for TrES-3b, while weak evidence was found for Qatar-1b, which might be tested using more precise future transit times.

  2. Letter regarding article "Primary coronary angioplasty for ST-°©‐Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Qatar: First nationwide program"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Badreldin Elshazly

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Dear Editor: In their article “Primary Coronary Angioplasty for ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI in Qatar: First Nationwide Program”, Gehani et al. developed an impressive plan to implement primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI for the first time in Qatar [1]. As a graduate of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, I have witnessed immense improvement in the Qatari healthcare system over the past few years. From building the new state of the art Heart Hospital to developing the first unified nationwide primary PCI program in the world, there is no doubt that Qatar has made an immense leap towards implementing world-class cardiovascular healthcare in the Middle East.

  3. Teacher Perceptions of Professional Development in the Context of National Educational Reform: The Case of Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasser, Ramzi; Romanowski, Michael

    2011-01-01

    In light of nationally mandated educational changes in Qatar, this study investigates in-service teachers' perceptions of professional development (PD). The aims are to identify challenges facing teachers' PD. The respondents were 40 in-service teachers from two schools in Doha, Qatar, who had received PD connected with national educational…

  4. Sizzling Qatar boom sparked by foreign money, technology, and gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aalund, L.R.

    1998-01-01

    International oil companies have collected advanced upstream and downstream technology and focused it on the small Persian Gulf emirate of Qatar, a roughly 110 mile long by 50 mile wide, thumb-like peninsula that juts out from Saudi Arabia. The emirate, in a burst of enlightened self interest, has opened its doors to international companies and is now riding a wave of foreign investment and new technology to major increases in oil, natural gas, and petrochemical production. The largest natural gas reserve in the world is under Qatari waters and is the driver for the activity that includes two LNG plants. Qatar has proven that you don''t need crude oil in the Persian Gulf to be important. Activities are discussed

  5. A review of cyberbullying legislation in Qatar: Considerations for policy makers and educators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foody, Mairéad; Samara, Muthanna; El Asam, Aiman; Morsi, Hisham; Khattab, Azhar

    Cyberbullying is a worldwide problem affecting mental health, education, safety and general well-being for individuals across the globe. Despite the widespread availability of the Internet, research into prevalence rates of cyberbullying in Qatar is lacking and legislating for the crime has been slow to develop. Recently there have been some positive initiatives in the country such as a Cybercrime Prevention Law, the development of a National ICT Strategy, and a website detailing safe practice guidelines for Internet usage. However, the implementation and usage of these initiatives are still limited and there is a lack of awareness of cyberbullying in Qatar. As a result, the risk factors and consequences among school-aged children are unknown. The current paper presents an evaluation of the legislative and public policy solutions to cyberbullying available in Qatar, and outlines the critical challenges that could potentially face educators in shaping best practice guidelines for the future. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. 19 CFR 4.22 - Exemptions from special tonnage taxes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belgium Belize Bermuda Bolivia Brazil Bulgaria Burma Canada Chile Colombia... Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay People's Republic of China Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar...

  7. OCONUS Compliance Assessment Protocols - Qatar (Army Version) (CD-ROM)

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Krooks, David A

    2004-01-01

    ...: 1 CD-ROM; 4 3/4 in.; 578 KB. ABSTRACT: This environmental compliance assessment manual is based on the Final Governing Standards for Environmental Security of United States Forces in the State of Qatar, 21 May 1999, and the Overseas...

  8. Science Education Reform in Qatar: Progress and Challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Said, Ziad

    2016-01-01

    Science education reform in Qatar has had limited success. In the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS), Qatari 4th and 8th grade students have shown progress in science achievement, but they remain significantly below the international average. Also, in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), Qatari…

  9. UCL Qatar and the Institute of Archaeology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thilo Rehren

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Setting up a new department is an exciting process, and particularly so in a location such as Qatar. It is hard work – and rich in experiences. The most pleasant new experience so far has been to welcome our first-ever cohort of 30 Masters’ students, enrolled across our three different degree programmes (Fig. 1. As expected, the MA in Museum and Gallery Practice recruited best, with about half of all students on this one-year MA. Across the board, our student body is as international and as diverse as one could hope for at UCL in such a location; just under one third of our students are Qatari nationals, together with a handful of others already living in the country before they enrolled. In addition to students from Syria and Jordan, about one third is from the US and across Europe, and from as far away as Panama and China. Even out here in Doha, it is UCL as a Global University. And since we are here, among other reasons, to bring a truly international education to the people of Qatar and the region, this is a great success in its own right

  10. Proposed artificial recharge studies in northern Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimrey, J.O.

    1985-01-01

    The aquifer system in northern Qatar comprises a water-table aquifer in the Rus Formation which is separated by an aquitard from a partially confined aquifer in the top of the overlying Umm er Radhuma Formation. These two aquifers are composed of limestone and dolomite of Eocene and Paleocene age and contain a fragile lens of freshwater which is heavily exploited as a source of water for agricultural irrigation. Net withdrawals are greatly in excess of total recharge, and quality of ground water is declining. Use of desalinated seawater for artificial recharge has been proposed for the area. Artificial recharge, on a large scale, could stabilize the decline in ground-water quality while allowing increased withdrawals for irrigation. The proposal appears technically feasible. Recharge should be by injection to the Umm er Radhuma aquifer whose average transmissivity is about 2,000 meters squared per day (as compared to an average of about 200 meters squared per day for the Rus aquifer). Implementation of artificial recharge should be preceded by a hydrogeologic appraisal. These studies should include test drilling, conventional aquifer tests, and recharge-recovery tests at four sites in northern Qatar. (USGS)

  11. Behaviour of fibre reinforced concrete using steel slag coarse aggregate produced in Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alnahhal Wael

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The state of Qatar suffers from the shortage of natural resources needed for concrete production. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the feasibility of using by-product recycled materials as aggregates to maintain the concrete construction industry. Several types of recyclable materials are currently used in concrete. One of the potential resources of recycled concrete is steel slag. Knowing that Steel slag is the most significant solid waste generated by Qatar Steel Company in Qatar, replacing of natural coarse aggregate with steel slag aggregate will have a significant environmental and economic impact to the state of Qatar. This paper presents the compression and flexural test results of different concrete mixes made of steel slag coarse aggregate combined with a newly developed basalt chopped fibres. The parameters investigated included the volume fraction of the fibre used and the type of coarse aggregates (natural aggregates “Gabbro” and steel slag aggregates. Plain concrete specimens containing natural coarse aggregates and steel slag aggregates with no fibres added were also tested to serve as control. Test results showed that adding the basalt chopped fibres to the concrete mixes enhanced their flexural tensile strengths at different percentages. In addition, the compressive strength of concrete made with steel slag aggregate was higher than that made with natural gabbro aggregate. Test results clearly showed that steel slag aggregates can be used as sustainable and eco-friendly alternative materials in concrete structures.

  12. A qualitative study of pharmacists' perceptions of, and recommendations for improvement of antibiotic use in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Emily; Cartwright, Andrea; Bakharaiba, Sumaia; Al-Mekaty, Eman; Alsahan, Dima

    2014-08-01

    Use of antibiotics has been correlated with increasing rates of resistance. Pharmacists are ideally positioned as front line health care providers to limit indiscriminate antibiotic use and promote the safe and effective administration of these medications. The aim of this project was to assess pharmacists' opinions relating to antibiotic utilization in the community setting. Doha, Qatar. Community and primary care pharmacists were invited to participate in one of three focus groups or a semi-structured interview at Qatar University or at their site of employment. A total of 22 community and primary care pharmacists participated in this study. Interviews were facilitated using a focus group guide, were recorded, and later transcribed. Transcripts were reviewed for recurring themes and coded using Nvivo software for qualitative research. Pharmacists' perceptions. Five major themes emerged from a series of focus groups and interviews. Themes which recurred across interview groups included: misconceptions and inappropriate practices by patients and healthcare providers, currently implemented strategies, perceived barriers, ways to overcome perceived barriers, and targets for improvement of antibiotic use in Qatar. The greatest need, as identified by pharmacists in this study was increased knowledge of the general population about appropriate antibiotic use through various educational interventions. Pharmacists report a number of misconceptions and inappropriate practices relating to antibiotic use in Qatar by patients and healthcare providers. Education to improve knowledge of appropriate antibiotic use is needed. Despite recognition of these issues, barriers are preventing pharmacists from implementing strategies to improve antibiotic use in Qatar.

  13. Honey Market in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nica Maria

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In Romania, beekeeping is an important traditional occupation. Honey and other bee products produced in our country are appreciated both in Europe and around the world. Honey is a complex food, one of the healthiest: it contains vitamins, organic acids, minerals and enzymes from bees, thanks to which honey is considered a superfood. The main objectives of the research are to analyze: the evolution of the number of bee families; the evolution of honey production and consumption in Romania; the value of exports and imports of honey from Romania. Estimates will also be made on honey production and consumption. The data used in the research will be taken from national and international databases.

  14. All That Glitters Is Not Gold: Challenges of Teacher and School Leader Licensure Licensing System in Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellili-Cherif, Maha; Romanowski, Michael H.; Nasser, Ramzi

    2012-01-01

    In 2001, the Government of Qatar began a comprehensive education reform (Education for a New Era) based on RAND's recommendations and options for building an educational system that would meet the country's changing needs. Nine years later, Qatar's educational landscape has significantly changed. Among these changes is the introduction of…

  15. Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-09-01

    This economic analysis provides data and information on the organizations and the energy policy of Romania. The enterprises, the energy supply for each energy sources, the prices policy, the consumption and the stakes and forecasts are discussed. (A.L.B.)

  16. Perception of aging and ageism among women in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musaiger, Abdulrahman O; D'Souza, Reshma; Al-Roomi, Khaldoon

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this study was to find out the perceptions of age and aging among women in Qatar. Respondents consisted of 250 women aged between 20 and 70 years, selected from those attending the health centers in Doha city, the capital of Qatar. They were interviewed using a pretested validated questionnaire, and data were collected through direct face-to-face interviews using the incidental sampling method. It was found that physical appearance and mental alertness were the most important criteria for defining aging in men and women. A statistically significant association was found between age of respondents and physical criteria for aging such as hair color (p age of women studied. Both positive (socializing factors, independence, housework, retirement, and geriatric care) and negative stereotyping (care for self, learning capabilities, irritability, and worries) with regard to aging were evident among the Qatari women. In general, Qatari women had several positive attitudes toward aging. Such attitudes could be utilized in any health promotion for elderly people.

  17. Alternatives to Nuclear Power in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andrei, L.; Manea, Gh.

    1996-01-01

    The paper proposes alternatives to nuclear power generation in Romania. The priorities are: improvement of efficiency in producing, transmission, and energy use; promoting the renewable resources of energy, especially of hydroelectric power; restructuring industry under criteria of power consumption efficiency; commercial purposes from horizontal nuclear sector activity in Romania. There are described the causes behind the energy crisis in Romania and present energy policy solutions to it. (author). 2 tabs., 10 refs

  18. Oral health knowledge, behaviour and practices among school children in Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed Sultan Al-Darwish

    2016-01-01

    Conclusion: The oral health knowledge in Qatar is below the satisfactory level. Parents were the most popular source of oral health knowledge for the children followed by dentists, school teachers, and media.

  19. Case study on combined CO₂ sequestration and low-salinity water production potential in a shallow saline aquifer in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Tausif Khizar; Nasrabadi, Hadi

    2012-10-30

    CO₂ is one of the byproducts of natural gas production in Qatar. The high rate of natural gas production from Qatar's North Field (world's largest non-associated gas field) has led to the production of significant amounts of CO₂. The release of CO₂ into the atmosphere may be harmful from the perspective of global warming. In this work, we study the CO₂ sequestration potential in Qatar's Aruma aquifer. The Aruma aquifer is a saline aquifer in the southwest of Qatar. It occupies an area of approximately 1985 km₂ on land (16% of Qatar's total area). We have developed a compositional model for CO₂ sequestration in the Aruma aquifer on the basis of available log and flow test data. We suggest water production at some distance from the CO₂ injection wells as a possible way to control the pore pressure. This method increases the potential for safe sequestration of CO₂ in the aquifer without losing integrity of the caprock and without any CO₂ leakage. The water produced from this aquifer is considerably less saline than seawater and could be a good water source for the desalination process, which is currently the main source of water in Qatar. The outcome of the desalination process is water with higher salinity than the seawater that is currently discharged into the sea. This discharge can have negative long-term environmental effects. The water produced from the Aruma aquifer is considerably less saline than seawater and can be a partial solution to this problem. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Molecular detection of vector-borne pathogens in dogs and cats from Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alho, Ana Margarida; Lima, Clara; Latrofa, Maria Stefania; Colella, Vito; Ravagnan, Silvia; Capelli, Gioia; Madeira de Carvalho, Luís; Cardoso, Luís; Otranto, Domenico

    2017-06-20

    Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) have been increasingly reported in dogs and cats worldwide. However, no data are currently available regarding canine and feline VBDs in Qatar and limited information is available from other Persian Gulf countries. Blood samples from 98 client-owned animals (i.e. 64 dogs and 34 cats) living in Doha (Qatar) were collected and the presence of genomic DNA of Anaplasma spp., Babesia spp., Dirofilaria spp., Ehrlichia spp., Hepatozoon spp., Mycoplasma spp. and Rickettsia spp. was assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), real time-PCR (rt-PCR) and sequence analysis. Of the 64 dogs, 12 (18.8%) were infected with at least one pathogen (i.e. 7.8% with Mycoplasma spp., 4.7% with Babesia vogeli, 3.1% with Ehrlichia canis, and 1.6% with Anaplasma platys, Babesia gibsoni and Hepatozoon canis, each). One of the 12 dogs was co-infected with B. vogeli and E. canis. Of the 34 cats, seven (20.6%) animals were infected with at least one pathogen (i.e. 5.9% were positive for Mycoplasma spp., and 2.9% for Babesia felis, B. vogeli, E. canis, "Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum" and Mycoplasma haemofelis, each). No dogs or cats were positive for Dirofilaria spp. or Rickettsia spp. Although the sample sizes of dogs and cats herein analysed was moderately small, data from this study report the occurrence of A. platys, B. vogeli, B. gibsoni, E. canis, H. canis and Mycoplasma spp. in domestic dogs and of B. felis, B. vogeli, "Candidatus M. haemominutum", E. canis and M. haemofelis in domestic cats from Qatar. Further investigations along with prophylactic measures are strongly recommended in order to reduce the risk of dogs and cats acquiring VBDs in Qatar.

  1. Nuclear power: benefits for the future in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vultur, C.

    2001-01-01

    This paper explains how nuclear power was implemented in Romania, why Romania chose nuclear energy and what the impact of building a power plant is on the industry and environment of Romania. In the 1960's, Romania started discussions with different partners to cooperate in the development and application of atomic energy for peaceful purpose. In 1977 Romanian Government decided that the Candu-600 to be the basic unit for its nuclear program. The contract between Romania and Canada was for 5 units. In 1979, the construction of the first Candu - 600 unit started in Cernavoda, on the right side of Danube River, about 160 km east of Bucharest. (author)

  2. CERN and Portugal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1995-01-01

    In its continual tour of CERN Member States, the European Committee for Future Accelerators (ECFA) visited Lisbon, Portugal, on 21-22 April, where it met at the Instituto Superiore Tecnico, a technical university with 9,000 students. Portuguese particle physics is in a particularly healthy situation, having developed considerably following Portugal's admission to CERN in 1985. With support from Brussels, scientific infrastructure has developed rapidly, although the science base has yet to attain the levels seen in larger nations. The 45-strong population of experimentalists in Portugal, including 14 PhDs, represents a 2.5-fold increase since Portugal joined CERN ten years ago and is in line with the goal stated at the time. This successful development of experimental particle physics has benefited much from physicists returning from abroad (mainly France and the UK). The direct result of the efforts of a few individuals (notably J.M. Gago), this splendid achievement provides an excellent role model for new and potential CERN Member States. At present, particle physics represents some 3 0% of all Portuguese physics publications. This very special role (and the financial support it implies) provides a visible target, but one which can be defended as it provides a catalyst for other national scientific developments. The national hub is the Laboratory for experimental high energy physics and related R&D projects (LIP), with centres in Lisbon (Head, J.M. Gago) and Coimbra (Head, A. Policarpo). LIP, with close links to two universities in Lisbon and to the University of Coimbra, has developed into a centre of expertise and training in electronics, computing and software engineering. Present LIP funding is some 2 million Swiss francs/year (70% in Lisbon and 3 0% in Coimbra), covering most of the salaries of the nonuniversity people, the remainder being supported by grants from Portuguese and European programmes. Portugal's contribution to CERN's 1995 budget

  3. Primary Teachers’ Burnout in Qatar Independent Schools

    OpenAIRE

    Alloh, Maymona Mohamed

    2017-01-01

    The present research aims at investigating the burnout levels among primary teachers in independent (government) schools in Qatar. It also intends to investigate if there are significant differences in the level of burnout attributed to some demographic characteristics. The third version of the most commonly used burnout scale; Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES), was utilized in order to measure participants’ burnout level. A total of 1657 participants responded and completed...

  4. Biosystems Engineering in Portugal

    OpenAIRE

    Marques da Silva, José Rafael; Silva, Luis Leopoldo; Cruz, Vasco Fitas

    2008-01-01

    The paper gives the definition of Biosystems Engineering in Portugal; Possible revisions of the core curriculum presented in the FEANI report; the current situation of Biosystems Engineering in Portugal; The impacts of the transition to Biosystems Engineering; The need for a transition to Biosystems Engineering;Opportunities to the Biosystems Engineer in the labour market.

  5. Find an ENT

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Republic Congo, The Dem Rep Of ... Palau Palestinian Territory Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion ...

  6. Nations of the earth report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    These books contain summaries of the national reports prepared for the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, June 1992. Summary reports of the following countries are included: V. 1) Algeria, Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Canada, Chad, China, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Fiji, Finland, France, Guinea, Jordan, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Paraguay, Romania, Senegal, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Sweden, Tokelau, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, Yemen Arab Republic, Yugoslavia. V. 2) Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Central African Republic, Colombia, Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Japan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Oman, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, Pacific Islands Developing Countries, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Spain, Sudan, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Zimbabwe

  7. Attitudes toward Science among Grades 3 through 12 Arab Students in Qatar: Findings from a Cross-Sectional National Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Said, Ziad; Summers, Ryan; Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad; Wang, Shuai

    2016-01-01

    This study assessed students' attitudes toward science in Qatar. A cross-sectional, nationwide probability sample representing all students enrolled in grades 3 through 12 in the various types of schools in Qatar completed the "Arabic Speaking Students' Attitudes toward Science Survey" (ASSASS). The validity and reliability of the…

  8. A road map to Translational Medicine in Qatar and a model for the world

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Translational Medicine (TM) in Qatar is part of a concerted effort of the Qatari medical and scientific leadership supported by a strong political will by Qatari authorities to deliver world-class health care to Qatari residents while participating in the worldwide quest to bridge the gap between bench-to-bedside-to-community. TM programs should embrace the Qatar National vision for research to become an international hub of excellence in research and development, based on intellectual merit, contributing to global knowledge and adhering to international standards, to innovate by translating new and original ideas into useful applications, to be inclusive at the national and international level, to build and maintain a competitive and diversified economy and ultimately improve the health and well-being of the Qatar’s population. Although this writing focuses on Qatar, we hope that the thoughts expressed here may be of broader use for the development of any TM program particularly in regions where an established academic community surrounded by a rich research infrastructure and/or a vibrant biotechnology enterprise is not already present. PMID:22929646

  9. How Crowdfunding Works in Romania?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mădălina Bălău

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Crowdfunding is increasingly becoming a good solution for entrepreneurial ventures to obtain funds, being facilitated by internet and social networks, and it is also spreading in Romania as well. The current paper aims to explore this alternative for financing in Romania in order to understand better its evolution until now, whether if it is viewed as suitable for business as well, and to compare the advices offered for entrepreneurs in Romania versus those on famous crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. In order to achieve this we explored websites offering crowdfunding in Romania and the information they offer entrepreneurs, we identified the types of most successful campaigns and we compared advices offered to those existing on international websites, renowned for their success. The marketing strategy and the planning of the campaign seem to be essential for its success and this paper highlights in its conclusion some lessons Romanian entrepreneurs could learn from international crowdfunding campaigns and the growing scientific literature available on this subject.

  10. Portugal's Petrogal eyes expansion amid continuing privatization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1995-01-01

    Portugal's recently privatized state oil company Petrogal is about to embark on a major expansion worldwide. That comes against the backdrop of major change in Portugal's energy sector and the rocky road to Petrogal's partial privatization. Despite the controversy, there remain opportunities for foreign companies investing in Portugal's energy sector. The most attractive opportunities are in Portugal's downstream petroleum sector and in the country's continuing campaign to develop its natural gas industry. Typical of the latter is Portugal's participation in the Trans-Maghreb gas pipeline megaproject. The paper discusses the background to privatization, its current status, Petrogal strategy, modernization of refineries, a joint partnership with Venezuela, constraints, energy policy program, gas pipeline privatization, and concerns of the gas industry

  11. RESEARCHES ON OILSEEDS MARKET IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena SOARE

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This scientific paper presents the evolution of oilseeds market in Romania, during the period 2008-2013. In order to show as concise as possible the reality of the oilseeds sector, the research pictures, on the one hand, an evolution of oilseeds specific indicators and on the other hand, an evolution of external trade. Romania disposes of tradition and favourable pedo-climatic conditions for cultivating the oilseeds plants. This is demonstrated by the favourable results obtained in the last years, especially concerning the sunflower crop. In 2013, Romania registered a record for sunflower, occupying the first position in the European Union for cultivated area and production. A negative aspect is represented by the fact that our country has the best conditions in Europe for soybean crop, but it is still dependent on import. Romania imports a huge quantity of soybean oilcakes for animal feeding. Nowadays, Romania is an important actor in the sunflower world market, covering almost 19% of the global demand. In perspective, one could expect significant oilseeds productions with a positive influence on the agro-food trade balance in our country.

  12. Romania becomes a candidate for accession to CERN

    CERN Document Server

    CERN Bulletin

    2010-01-01

    Romanian Minister Daniel Petru Funeriu, and CERN Director-General Rolf Heuer. On Thursday 11 February Romanian Minister of Education, Research, Youth and Sport, Daniel Petru Funeriu, and CERN Director-General, Rolf Heuer, signed an agreement that formally recognises Romania as a Candidate for Accession to membership of CERN. Romania’s pre-membership will cover a five-year period during which the country’s contributions will ramp up to normal Member State levels, in parallel with Romania's participation in CERN projects. At the end of this five-year period the Council will decide on Romania's application for full membership, as the Organization's 21st Member State. Romania entered into direct collaboration with CERN in the early 1990s. In recent years Romania has been constantly increasing its expenditure on R&D and this has been intensified since the country's accession to the EU in January 2007. Romania is involved in three LHC experiments, namely ATLAS, ALICE and LHCb . It al...

  13. Getting Its Ducks in a Row? Qatar Foundation's Agreement with HEC Paris and the Launch of the Qatar Foundation Management, Education and Research Centre

    Science.gov (United States)

    Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, 2010

    2010-01-01

    Last week, private, non-profit organisation the Qatar Foundation (QF) announced a partnership agreement with French business institution HEC Paris to offer executive education programmes. According to the terms of the agreement, a full-time faculty will provide executive and short certificate programmes and corporate-specific training, including…

  14. Socio-demographic study of obsessive compulsive disorder in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gad, Ehsane M; Shaltout, Taher E

    2004-10-01

    We dedicated our work to study the socio-demographic aspect of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients seeking psychiatric treatment in the outpatient clinic of Hamad General Hospital for a duration of approximately 5 years of continuous follow-up. Out of 8878 individual patients who attended the psychiatric outpatient clinic of Hamad General Hospital in Qatar, during the period from August 1996 to December 2001, we reviewed a total number of 348 patients with the diagnosis of OCD (according to International Classification of Diseases-10 diagnostic criteria). We divided them according to their age, sex, nationality, duration of illness, occupation and marital status. Each patient was interviewed using a structured interview technique and evaluated by a psychiatrist in one session at the psychiatric outpatient clinic. We found that the disorder is more prevalent among non-Qatari people (52%) (Arabs 36.2%, non-Arabs 15.8%) than Qatari people (48%); more common at the age groups of 31-45 years (44.8%); more frequent in the category that visited the outpatient clinic for a period of 1-4 years (60%). We found that the married females (34.5%) are affected more than the married male patients (24.7%). It was also found that in the diagnosis of OCD predominantly obsessional thoughts were 54.9%; more frequent in the sample than the other diagnosis. In the State of Qatar, where expatriates usually outnumber Qatari patients, we discovered that non-Qatari patients are affected more with OCD than the natives. Sex, marital status and occupation also proved to be important factors. From our study, in the female married group, being a housewife seems to pose a greater risk in developing OCD. Predominantly obsessional thought was the most common sub-type of OCD affecting the patients in Qatar.

  15. Detection of Cercopithifilaria bainae in western Romania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersson, Martin O; Chitimia-Dobler, Lidia

    2017-11-01

    Cercopithifilaria species are tick-transmitted filarial parasites of mammals. In Europe, three Cercopithifilaria spp. are known to parasitize dogs, all occurring mainly in the Mediterranean countries. In Romania, Cercopithifilaria bainae has been reported in a single dog in eastern Romania but the occurrence in other parts of the country is not known. To further elucidate the geographic distribution of Cercopithifilaria spp. infection, 544 ticks were collected from dogs in several locations across Romania. The presence of Cercopithifilaria spp. was investigated with real-time PCR. A single Dermacentor reticulatus female tick was found to be infected with Cercopithifilaria bainae. The finding in the present study is geographically separated from the previous finding in Romania by 800 km, as well as by the Carpathian mountain range. Hence, C. bainae is more geographically widespread in Romania than previously recognized. However, the single detection does suggest that infection is rather uncommon in Romanian dogs. Nevertheless, further studies on Cercopithifilaria spp. distribution and prevalence are needed.

  16. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Remus Gherman

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Regional development policy is a policy of investment for economic development by supporting competitiveness, increasing the standards of living, improving the quality of life, creating new jobs. Regions and regional development policy occupies in recent decades an increasingly important position in the list of the economic and social factors being found on the agendas of governments, both central and local authorities, of political groups and civil society. Regional development and regional development policy in Romania are present both in the economic reform and in social one. Development Regions from Romania are set up in 1998 by Law number 151 and supported by their own institutional framework. The applicability of regional development in Romania must take into account the fundamental elements of the possibilities of Regional Development, meaning the major indicators of reference for measuring the level of disparities, GDP per capita and unemployment.

  17. Oral health knowledge, behaviour and practices among school children in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Darwish, Mohammed Sultan

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the oral health knowledge behaviour and practices among school children in Qatar. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Qatar from October 2011 to April 2012. A total of 2200 school children aged 12-14 years were approached from 16 schools of different areas. The information about oral health knowledge and sources of information was obtained through a self-administrated questionnaire. Data analyses were performed. The overall response rate was (96%). Only (25.8%) of children reported a high level of oral health knowledge. After each meal, tooth brushing was observed by a very low percentage of children (3.7%). About 44.6% of children recognized dental floss as a cleaning device for between the teeth. A large number of children (32.5%) thought incorrectly that one must visit the dentist only in case of pain. A great majority was not aware of cariogenic potential of soft drinks (39%) and sweetened milk (97.8%). Less than half (38.9%) of children actually had heard about fluoride. Only (16.8%) correctly answered the question about sign of tooth decay. Slightly, less than half (48.4%) could not define the meaning of plaque. Parents were the most popular (69.1%), source of oral health information for the children. The oral health knowledge in Qatar is below the satisfactory level. Parents were the most popular source of oral health knowledge for the children followed by dentists, school teachers, and media.

  18. SCALES OF FLOWS: Qatar and the Urban Legacies of Mega Events

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Grichting

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available In 2022, Qatar will become the first Middle Eastern and Arab country to host such an  important Mega-Event as the FIFA World Cup. Global cultural and sporting Mega Events  ave driven the urban transformation of cities such as Barcelona, London, Rio, Beijing,Shanghai, and Lisbon and the spectacle and economic boosterism encourages cities to  compete on the World Stage for these events. The best practices of successful bids and  their enduring legacies create a knowledge and policy flow of Mega Event strategies for global branding and sustainable Urban, Social, and Economic Development at the local and regional scales. This paper discusses the urban legacies that will result from Qatar hosting the World Cup and other Mega Events, and questions how an emerging global host city like Doha will benefit on the long and short term.

  19. Communication of 29 September 1998 received from the Permanent Mission of Qatar to the International Atomic Energy Agency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    The document reproduces the text of a Communication received at IAEA on 29 September 1998 from the Permanent Mission of Qatar to the IAEA in connection with the vote of the delegation of Qatar to the forty-second session of the Agency's General Conference regarding the agenda item 19 on the 'Implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution relating to Iraq'

  20. The negotiation of The Constitution of Romania of 1923 and The Constitution of Romania of 1991

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivona-Arina Raef

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In the present study the author is trying to find if there was a negotiation between main parties regarding The Constitution of Romania of 1923 and The Constitution Of Romania of 1991 or if there was a project imposed by one party to the others.

  1. Comparison of intestinal parasitic infection in newly arrived and resident workers in Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abu-Madi Marawan A

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The rapid growth of Qatar in the last two decades has been associated with an enormous expansion of building programs in its cities and in the provision of new service industries. This in turn has attracted a large influx of immigrant workers seeking employment in jobs associated with food handling, domestic service and the building industry. Many of these immigrants come from countries in the tropics and subtropics where intestinal parasitic infections are common. Methods We analyzed intestinal parasitic infections recorded in 2008 among immigrant and long-term resident workers in Doha city, Qatar (n = 1538. Stool examinations were carried out at the Hamad Medical Corporation and at the Medical Commission in Doha using standard procedures. Results Overall, 21.5% of subjects were infected with at least one of the species recorded (8 helminth and 4 protozoan species; the highest prevalence was for hookworms = 8.3% and there were strong regional effects on prevalence of helminths, with subjects from North East Africa and Nepal showing particularly high prevalence. Most helminths declined in prevalence in subjects that acquired residency status in Qatar, especially among female subjects, but there was a marked exception among male Nepalese workers, who continued to harbour helminth infections (notably hookworms after they became residents. Contrary to all other regional groups the prevalence of Giardia duodenalis was higher among Nepalese residents compared with new arrivals, while Blastocystis hominis infections were more common among residents of all regions, and especially among North East Africans. Conclusions Our analysis has identified male Nepalese workers as a particular risk group continuing to harbour hookworm infection and G. duodenalis as residents, and subjects from North East Africa are as particularly likely to acquire B. hominis infection after settling in the country. These conclusions have important

  2. East European energy. Romania's energy needs persist

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, Elliott C.; Denman, Sara B.; Kutnick, Bruce; Schultz, John R.; Foley Hinnen, Patricia; Bylsma, Peter J.

    1992-08-01

    Romania's economic growth and development have been hampered by declining domestic energy production and disrupted fuel imports, creating an energy shortage. Consequently, homes and businesses lack sufficient light and heat, and industrial output has fallen. In order to ensure sufficient energy supplies in the future, Romania is taking steps to decentralize its state-owned energy industries, modernize its outdated facilities and equipment, diversify its fuel sources, and eliminate its inefficient production practices. To accomplish these objectives, Romania needs substantial foreign trade and investment, according to Romanian officials. However, despite government efforts to reform the energy sector and improve the business climate, impediments to U.S. trade with and investment in Romania persist. These barriers include lack of a comprehensive energy strategy, underdeveloped legal and business infrastructures, uncertain economic and political conditions, and the absence of U.S. most-favored-nation trade status. Recent efforts by the Romanian and U.S. governments to overcome the barriers to most-favored-nation status have led to progress in this area. U.S. government and international agencies have initiated a variety of efforts to assist Romania's energy sector. For example, the Agency for International Development (AID) funded an Emergency Energy Program; the U.S. Trade and Development Program is evaluating requests to fund several feasibility studies in the power generation sector; and the Department of Commerce offers energy-related information exchanges and trade missions to Romania. International organizations such as the World Bank and the European Investment Bank have also granted loans for energy sector development projects in Romania

  3. Seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus among blood donors in Qatar (2013-2016).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasrallah, Gheyath K; Al Absi, Enas S; Ghandour, Rula; Ali, Nadima H; Taleb, Sara; Hedaya, Laila; Ali, Fatima; Huwaidy, Mariam; Husseini, Abdullatif

    2017-07-01

    Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an RNA virus transmitted mainly through zoonotic transmission or fecal-oral route. More than 80% of Qatar's population are expatriates, including many coming from hyperendemic countries; thus, it is important to estimate the seroprevalence and to compare between different nationalities. The results can be useful in alerting blood banks to the importance of HEV screening. Samples from 5854 blood donations provided by Hamad Medical Corporation were tested in the period between June 2013 to June 2016. Samples were tested for the presence of anti-HEV immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgM antibodies and viral RNA using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis, and multivariate logistic regression were used. Anti-HEV seroprevalence was 20.7%. A total of 1198 and 38 donations tested positive for IgG and IgM antibodies, respectively. Of the IgM-positive donations four tested positive by PCR. A significant association was detected between HEV seroprevalence with age and nationality. The seroprevalence of anti-HEV was high in Qatar. Since HEV IgM and RNA were detected, this suggests the possibility of HEV transmission by transfusion. Blood banks in Qatar and the region should consider screening for HEV, especially when transfusion is intended to pregnant women or immunocompromised patients. © 2017 AABB.

  4. IMPOZITELE DIN ROMANIA: O COMPARATIE REGIONALA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentin Lazea

    2001-12-01

    Full Text Available The author provides a comparative analysis of taxation in the six Central European candidate countries to EU integration: Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and Romania. As the focus is primarily on Romania, this complex topic raises many questions, most of which relate to the way in which the government should improve the taxation system. To which extent the level of taxation differs in Romania from those of other applicants in Central Europe? Which are the main causes influencing the pattern of collecting the budgetary benefits? How the Romanian taxation system can be restored to good health?

  5. Identification of wind fields for wave modeling near Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nayak, Sashikant; Balan Sobhana, Sandeepan; Panchang, Vijay

    2016-04-01

    Due to the development of coastal and offshore infrastructure in and around the Arabian Gulf, a large semi-enclosed sea, knowledge of met-ocean factors like prevailing wind systems, wind generated waves, and currents etc. are of great importance. Primarily it is important to identify the wind fields that are used as forcing functions for wave and circulation models for hindcasting and forecasting purposes. The present study investigates the effects of using two sources of wind-fields on the modeling of wind-waves in the Arabian Gulf, in particular near the coastal regions of Qatar. Two wind sources are considered here, those obtained from ECMWF and those generated by us using the WRF model. The wave model SWAN was first forced with the 6 hourly ERA Interim daily winds (from ECMWF) having spatial resolution of 0.125°. For the second option, wind fields were generated by us using the mesoscale wind model (WRF) with a high spatial resolution (0.1°) at every 30 minute intervals. The simulations were carried out for a period of two months (7th October-7th December, 2015) during which measurements were available from two moored buoys (deployed and operated by the Qatar Meteorological Department), one in the north of Qatar ("Qatar North", in water depth of 58.7 m) and other in the south ("Shiraouh Island", in water depth of 16.64 m). This period included a high-sea event on 11-12th of October, recorded by the two buoys where the significant wave heights (Hs) reached as high as 2.9 m (i.e. max wave height H ~ 5.22 m) and 1.9 (max wave height H ~ 3.4 m) respectively. Model results were compared with the data for this period. The scatter index (SI) of the Hs simulated using the WRF wind fields and the observed Hs was found to be about 30% and 32% for the two buoys (total period). The observed Hs were generally reproduced but there was consistent underestimation. (Maximum 27% for the high-sea event). For the Hs obtained with ERA interim wind fields, the underestimation was

  6. Earthquake data base for Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rizescu, M.; Ghica, D.; Grecu, B.; Popa, M.; Borcia, I. S.

    2002-01-01

    A new earthquake database for Romania is being constructed, comprising complete earthquake information and being up-to-date, user-friendly and rapidly accessible. One main component of the database consists from the catalog of earthquakes occurred in Romania since 984 up to present. The catalog contains information related to locations and other source parameters, when available, and links to waveforms of important earthquakes. The other very important component is the 'strong motion database', developed for strong intermediate-depth Vrancea earthquakes where instrumental data were recorded. Different parameters to characterize strong motion properties as: effective peak acceleration, effective peak velocity, corner periods T c and T d , global response spectrum based intensities were computed and recorded into this database. Also, information on the recording seismic stations as: maps giving their positioning, photographs of the instruments and site conditions ('free-field or on buildings) are included. By the huge volume and quality of gathered data, also by its friendly user interface, the Romania earthquake data base provides a very useful tool for geosciences and civil engineering in their effort towards reducing seismic risk in Romania. (authors)

  7. La contabilidad pública en Portugal

    OpenAIRE

    Alberto Pedrosa, Fernanda

    2014-01-01

    LA CONTABILIDAD PÚBLICA EN PORTUGAL - Que se entiende por Sector Público - Arquitectura del Sector Público en Portugal. - Evolución de la Contabilidad del Sector Público en Portugal. - El Plan Oficial de Contabilidad Pública (POCP) y Planes de Contabilidad sectoriales. - Las normas de consolidación de cuentas en el Sector Público. - Y hoy, ¿cuál es el punto de la situación? Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.

  8. ROMANIA'S EU ACCESSION. GAINS AND LOSSES (I

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caba Stefan

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available EU accession has brought, as expected, many changes in economic, social and cultural domains. An important chapter is the trade dynamics and how this dynamic has been modified over time by changes in the legal status of Romania's relations with certain trading partners. In this paper we present data on trade with countries with which Romania has concluded trade agreements before accession. Data presentation and analysis continues in "Romania's EU accession. Gains and losses (II".

  9. Prevention of type II diabetes mellitus in Qatar: Who is at risk?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christos, Paul J; Chemaitelly, Hiam; Abu-Raddad, Laith J; Ali Zirie, Mahmoud; Deleu, Dirk; Mushlin, Alvin I

    2014-01-01

    Type II diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the leading chronic diseases in Qatar as well as worldwide. However, the risk factors for DM in Qatar and their prevalence are not well understood. We conducted a case-control study with the specific aim of estimating, based on data from outpatients with DM in Qatar (cases) and outpatient/inpatient controls, the association between demographic/lifestyle factors and DM. A total of 459 patients with DM from Hamad General Hospital (HGH) outpatient adult diabetes clinics, and 342 control patients from various outpatient clinics and inpatient departments within Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) (years 2006-2008), were recruited. The association between risk factors and DM was evaluated using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses. In addition to odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), we estimated the population attributable risk fractions for the DM demographic/lifestyle risk factors. Qatari nationality was the strongest risk factor for DM (adjusted OR = 5.5; 95% CI = 3.5-8.6; p 65 years (adjusted OR = 3.3; 95% CI = 0.9-11.4; p = 0.06), male gender (adjusted OR = 2.9; 95% CI = 1.8-4.8; p nationals, obesity was found to be the main risk factor for DM (unadjusted OR = 3.0; 95% CI = 1.6-5.6; p nationals. Promoting physical activity may reduce the burden of DM by up to 9.4% for the population at large and up to 17.3% for Qatari nationals. Demographic/lifestyle factors appear to be the main risk factors for the high DM levels observed in Qatar, with a contribution that outweighs that of genetic risk factors. While further evaluation of DM risk factors among the Qatari population (as opposed to the resident population) is important and of interest, these findings highlight the need to focus short-term DM interventions on addressing demographic/lifestyle risk factors to achieve substantial and timely declines in DM levels.

  10. Nation branding in the Middle East - United Arab Emirates (UAE vs. Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeineddine Cornelia

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Nation branding is crucial in order to attract investment, boost exports and attract tourists and talented workforce. Nation branding stands between public diplomacy and economic benefits. An adequate policy of Nation Branding-based on a positive, credible and economically reliable image-can be able to extend the range of potential customers and of potential investors. With the aim of better understanding the new challenges, opportunities and threats existent in a globalized economy, the paper compares nation branding in the context of UAE and Qatar. The paper examines nation-branding as a driver for boosting the economy, taking into account that clichés and stereotypes (especially in the context of the Middle East can influence our perception towards one country or another. The analysis explores the strategy adopted in order that Dubai becomes the flagship-brand of the UAE. Abu Dhabi complements this strategy, driving UAE to the position of the most valuable brand in the Middle East. The paper further enquires the case of Qatar and compares it with the branding process of the UAE. Qatar has established various branding resources such as the Al Jazeera news network, international sport events and several cultural and educational exchange programs with international profile. The UAE strives to become an influencer in the global economy, overriding its dependence on hydrocarbon reserves. Qatar is richer in hydrocarbon reserves than the UAE; nevertheless, it shares the interest of detaching itself from the rentier economy. The study explores the fact that from 2014-onwards the global oil economy was hit hard, as the price of the oil barrel is at an historic low, thus it has become stringent for the Persian Gulf countries to diversify the revenue sources. As a result, their branding strategy has become even more salient. The processes undertaken for establishing nation-brands in the Gulf are noteworthy and constitute the focal point of the paper.

  11. The Qatar genome project: translation of whole-genome sequencing into clinical practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zayed, Hatem

    2016-10-01

    Qatar Genome Project was launched in 2013 with the intent to sequence the genome of each Qatari citizen in an effort to protect Qataris from the high rate of indigenous genetic diseases by allowing the mapping of disease-causing variants/rare variants and establishing a Qatari reference genome. Indeed, this project is expected to have numerous global benefits because the elevated homogeneity of the Qatari population, that will make Qatar an excellent genetic laboratory that will generate a wealth of data that will allow us to make sense of the genotype-phenotype correlations of many diseases, especially the complex multifactorial diseases, and will pave the way for changing the traditional medical practice of looking first at the phenotype rather than the genotype. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. STAGE OF TEXTILE RECYCLE WASTE IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TRIPA Simona

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Aim of this article is to examine the stage of textile recycle waste in Romania. For this purpose were analyzed the main sources of textile waste from Romania (industry of manufacture of textiles, wearing apparel, leather and related products, imports of textiles, clothing and footwear and imports of second hand clothing and also evolution of the quantity of textile waste in Romania. The benefits (economic and environmental of the collection and recycling of waste and the legislation on the waste management, have determined the diversification and increasing the number and the capacity of recovery and disposal of waste in Romania. We found the most textile waste in Romania was deposited in deposits onto or into land, in the proportion of 18.51%. This proportion is under the EU average of 34.03%, but is much higher than in other European country. Also, has been an increase in the number of incinerators, in the last years. With all of this, the interest in textile waste management in Romania is far from being to the level of European, where are associations who dealing with the collection and recycling of textiles and is achieved a selective collection of textile waste in the points especially designed for this thing. The information for this paper was gathered from literature, from the EUROSTAT database and INSSE database analysis and by Internet.

  13. ENERGY CRISIS IN COMMUNIST ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pãrean Mihai - Olimpiu

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available If during the interwar period Romania has managed to move from an agrarian economy to an industrial-agrarian one, after the 2nd world war in Romania, as in other communist countries, has monitored the further development of the industry. It wanted to be a true industrial revolution.Over time one can identify several types of industrial revolutions, each giving impetus to a given development cycle, which had its beneficiaries and the losers. At first it was steam power, and then use the internal combustion engine, which used oil instead of steam. While other countries developed would increase of production capacity of nuclear power, a higher stage of economic development, in Romania continued the industrial development on the same grounds as in the inter-war period. This has had very serious tracks for the Romanian economy and society, since before and during World War II, the German war machine operated within the national resources of energy. The time and manner in which each country is part of this race are defining the social welfare. Unfortunately, Romania has failed to take advantage, each time losing the start. Creation of some production capacity and the development of industries (metallurgy, chemical industry, iron and steel industry, which consumed significant energy amounts was the wrong decision for the future well-being of the country. Oil impacts which have affected the world economy, hit also Romania. The first oil shock (impact was more easily broken because of the continued use of internal resources (oil, coal, natural gas, but the second shock was catastrophic. It was too much for Romania after being forced to use those resources in the last decades (including the interwar period. Romanian leaders probably had in mind that Western countries were developed by enhancing industry of this type, but they did it in a different historical period when also the prices of such resources were much smaller and the lack of them was not a

  14. The underground economy in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Veronica LITRA

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The paper aims at covering issues related to the underground economy, activities that compound this phenomenon, its magnitude in Romania and reported to the European average. Underground economy in Romania consists of undeclared work (2/3 from the total and unreported income; it decreased from 33.6% of GDP in 2003 to 28% in 2014, but remained over EU-28 average with about 10 p.p. Among EU-28 countries, only Bulgaria exceeds the size of the underground economy of Romania. The underground economy is a challenge for the leadership of the state which must act simultaneously to stop illegal activities, and to discourage non-declaration of the legal activities. Corruption favours maintaining the underground economy, delays economic development, obstructs democratic processes and affects justice and the law state.

  15. ROMANIA: GEOGRAPHICAL AND GEOPOLITICAL POSITION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ciprian Beniamin Benea

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper intends to bring to the reader’s attention the importance of understanding the role education plays in creating a good geopolitical position for a state which has a good geographical position, and which is well endowed in natural resources. The case of Romania is the main focus of the paper. There is presented a peculiar strange situation of a country (Romania which is very well located from geographical point of view but which is incapable to exploit its natural endowments and special location. One reason for this situation is the fact that most people living in present Romania belong to a category named in this paper ‘individuals’. Individuals are not aware of their country’s geography and history, let alone its possible future development possibilities. They do not know the role their country could play, and living in an atomized society, they choose emigration as the easiest way to escape harsh social and economic environment. Contrary to this attitude is that of a citizen, a man conscious about his country’s potential, and which is dedicated to work hardly together with his fellows in order to promote national interests in a peaceful manner. Even there was found remnants of an ancient city close to present day Romanian territory – proves of well endowed environment – moral and psychological factors have contributed after 1990 in an crucial manner to push Romania from its civilization path back to the archaic spirit, from active urban spirit to rural mentality. In such a situation it is not uncommon for a nation to lose its means for projecting power, which could promote the value and the importance of a geographical position – transportation; rural mentality has nothing to do with modern transportation as they are technical tools with geopolitical essence for controlling space. It is a well known fact that transportation and geopolitics are closely interrelated. Furthermore, social dissolution in post communist

  16. Strategies for improving antibiotic use in Qatar: a survey of pharmacists' perceptions and experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawluk, Shane; Black, Emily; El-Awaisi, Alla

    2015-02-01

    The objectives of this study were to identify antimicrobial stewardship activities in Qatar, identify pharmacist involvement in activities and summarize perceived barriers for implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs). A cross-sectional survey was developed based on study objectives and completed by pharmacists in Qatar. Most hospital settings have implemented components of ASP. Lack of infectious disease specialists and training of healthcare providers was the most common barrier to implementation or expansion of ASP identified in the hospital and community settings respectively. Pharmacists report some components of ASP have been implemented; however, barriers must be overcome to further expand ASPs. © 2014 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

  17. Romania; Roumanie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-09-01

    This economic analysis provides data and information on the organizations and the energy policy of Romania. The enterprises, the energy supply for each energy sources, the prices policy, the consumption and the stakes and forecasts are discussed. (A.L.B.)

  18. The implications of the relative risk for road mortality on road safety programmes in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Consunji, Rafael J; Peralta, Ruben R; Al-Thani, Hassan; Latifi, Rifat

    2015-04-01

    The epidemiology of road deaths and in particular the relative risk for road mortality (RRRM) in Qatar has not been fully defined. This study will analyse and compare the proportionate mortality and age-specific death rates from road traffic injuries (RTIs) and make recommendations for targeted injury prevention programmes for road safety in Qatar. Data from the Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA), for the year 2010, was collected and analysed. All deaths classified as 'ICD-10 (V89) Motor- or Nonmotor-Vehicle, Accident Type of Vehicle Unspecified' were included. There were 247 RTI related deaths in Qatar in 2010. An overall death rate was computed at 14.4 deaths per 100 000 population. The RRRM varied over 10 times among different populations with Qatari males (QM) having an increased RRRM from 10 years of age, those aged 20-29 years had the highest RRRM of 10.2. The lowest RRRM was for Qatari females who did not have a single reported road fatality in 2010. Populations with a significantly elevated RRRM (ie, RRRM>1.0) were non-Qatari men older than 50 years and Qatari males from the age of 10 onward. Proven and definite programmes must be implemented to reduce these unnecessary deaths among the populations at the highest risk. Multidisciplinary approaches must be implemented and their efficacy evaluated. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  19. A Perspective on Student Learning Outcome Assessment at Qatar University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Thani, Shaikha Jabor; Abdelmoneim, Ali; Daoud, Khaled; Cherif, Adel; Moukarzel, Dalal

    2014-01-01

    This paper provides a unique perspective on the student learning outcome assessment process as adopted and implemented at Qatar University from 2006 to 2012. The progress of the student learning outcome assessment and continuous improvement efforts at the university and the initiatives taken to establish a culture of assessment and evidence-based…

  20. Molecular epidemiology and genotype distribution of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) among Arab women in the State of Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bansal, Devendra; Elmi, Asha A; Skariah, Sini; Haddad, Pascale; Abu-Raddad, Laith J; Al Hamadi, Aysha H; Mohamed-Nady, Nady; Affifi, Nahla M; Ghedira, Randa; Hassen, Elham; Al-Thani, Asma A J; Al-Ansari, Afaf A H M; Sultan, Ali A

    2014-11-26

    Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection is the major cause of cervical cancer worldwide. With limited data available on HPV prevalence in the Arab countries, this study aimed to identify the prevalence and genotypic distribution of HPV in the State of Qatar. 3008 cervical samples, exclusively of women with Arabic origin residing in Qatar were collected from the Women's Hospital and Primary Health Care Corporation in Doha, State of Qatar. HPV DNA detection was done using GP5+/6+ primers based real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay followed by the usage of HPV type specific primers based RT- PCR reactions and Sanger sequencing for genotype identification. Similar prevalence rates of HPV infection was identified in both Qatari and non-Qatari women at 6.2% and 5.9% respectively. HPV prevalence rate of 5.8% and 18.4% was identified in women with normal cytology and in women with abnormal cytology respectively. HPV 81, 11 and 16, in decreasing order were the most commonly identified genotypes. HPV 81 was the most frequent low-risk genotype among women with both normal (74.0%) and abnormal (33.3%) cytology. HPV 16 (4.6%) was identified as the predominant high-risk HPV genotype among women with normal cytology and HPV 16, HPV 18, and HPV 56 (22.2% each) were the most common identified high-risk genotypes in women with abnormal cytology. The overall HPV prevalence in Arab women in Qatar was identified as 6.1% with an increased HPV prevalence seen in women with abnormal cytology results and no significant trends seen with age. In contrast to Western countries, we report a varied genotypic profile of HPV with a high prevalence of low-risk HPV genotype 81 among the Arab women residing in Qatar.

  1. España, Portugal y los falsos amigos | Spain, Portugal and the false friends

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ángel RIVERO RODRÍGUEZ

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available España y Portugal son dos países que comparten mucho en el terreno de la historia, la cultura y la geografía. Sin embargo, esa misma proximidad se ha convertido muchas veces en el principal obstáculo para que cooperen entre sí.Desde la perspectiva portuguesa, la proximidad española se ha visto permanentemente como una amenaza a la independencia de Portugal. Desde el punto de vista de España, la cercanía de Portugal ha debilitado su consideración como país extranjero y ha acentuado un sentido de comunidad no siempre bien recibido por los portugueses. De modo que Portugal siempre ha querido diferenciarse y España ha respondido siempre aproximándose. Esta es la raíz del malentendido.Este cruce de percepciones distintas sobre el valor de proximidad, da lugar a todo tipo de equívocos, pues el deseo de diferenciación de uno puede entenderse como enemistad por el otro y, a la inversa, el de aproximación del segundo como invasión por el primero. Ejemplo de esto es lo que ocurre con la palabra iberismo, una palabra que se escribe igual en ambas lenguas pero que puede significar cosas opuestas, esto es, que puede ser un falso amigo. Así en las dos lenguas iberismo señala el ideal de una integración de ambos países, pero en portugués esto implica la subordinación de la soberanía portuguesa a la española y puede vincularse a la idea de traición; mientras que en español tiene una carga política mucho menor y puede apuntar a la simple simpatía por Portugal.En este artículo quiero mostrar cómo la proximidad de España y Portugal ha sido un obstáculo en las relaciones exteriores entre los dos países peninsulares, cuya comunicación ha sido distorsionada por los falsos amigos hasta el punto de convertirse, ellos mismos, en falsos amigos. Esto es, en países a los que se presupone una cercanía de propósitos que casi nunca se ve realizada en los hechos. Portugal and Spain are two countries that share history, culture and

  2. QATAR-2: A K DWARF ORBITED BY A TRANSITING HOT JUPITER AND A MORE MASSIVE COMPANION IN AN OUTER ORBIT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bryan, Marta L.; Alsubai, Khalid A.; Latham, David W.; Quinn, Samuel N.; Carter, Joshua A.; Berlind, Perry; Brown, Warren R.; Calkins, Michael L.; Esquerdo, Gilbert A.; Fűrész, Gábor; Stefanik, Robert P.; Torres, Guillermo; Parley, Neil R.; Collier Cameron, Andrew; Horne, Keith D.; Fulton, Benjamin J.; Street, Rachel A.; Buchhave, Lars A.; Jørgensen, Uffe Gråe; West, Richard G.

    2012-01-01

    We report the discovery and initial characterization of Qatar-2b, a hot Jupiter transiting a V = 13.3 mag K dwarf in a circular orbit with a short period, P b = 1.34 days. The mass and radius of Qatar-2b are M P = 2.49 M J and R P = 1.14 R J , respectively. Radial-velocity monitoring of Qatar-2 over a span of 153 days revealed the presence of a second companion in an outer orbit. The Systemic Console yielded plausible orbits for the outer companion, with periods on the order of a year and a companion mass of at least several M J . Thus, Qatar-2 joins the short but growing list of systems with a transiting hot Jupiter and an outer companion with a much longer period. This system architecture is in sharp contrast to that found by Kepler for multi-transiting systems, which are dominated by objects smaller than Neptune, usually with tightly spaced orbits that must be nearly coplanar.

  3. Concussion surveillance: do low concussion rates in the Qatar Professional Football League reflect a true difference or emphasize challenges in knowledge translation?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Eirale, Cristiano; Tol, Johannes L.; Targett, Steve; Holmich, Per; Chalabi, Hakim

    2015-01-01

    To investigate concussion epidemiology in the first football (soccer) division of Qatar. Prospective cohort study. Professional First Division Football League of Qatar. All first team players were included at the beginning of each season. Daily collection of training and match exposure from August

  4. The natural gas industry in Portugal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kheloufi, S.

    2004-01-01

    This article makes a synthesis of the evolution of the natural gas sector in Portugal since the end of the 1990's. The aim of the energy policy of Portugal was the creation of a liberalized energy market capable to ensure the security of the energy supplies and to encourage the energy efficiency in order to reduce the environmental impact. The success of the introduction of natural gas in Portugal perfectly fulfills these goals. Since 1997, the natural gas consumption has increased significantly. The start-up of the methane terminal of Sines allows the diversification of the supply sources and contributes to the growth of the offer. The opening of the market is under development. It will allow the main consumers to select their supplier among those present on the Portuguese market. GALP company should keep its leader position and its daughter company 'Gas du Portugal' should reach 300 MW of power generation capacities by 2005 with the development of multi-energy services. The creation of an Iberian energy market between Spain and Portugal should speed up in 2004 leading to deep modifications in the energy sector of southern Europe. (J.S.)

  5. Awareness and Current Use of Electronic Cigarettes in Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar, and Greece: Findings From 2011-2013 Global Adult Tobacco Surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palipudi, Krishna Mohan; Mbulo, Lazarous; Morton, Jeremy; Mbulo, Lazarous; Bunnell, Rebecca; Blutcher-Nelson, Glenda; Kosen, Soewarta; Tee, Guat Hiong; Abdalla, Amani Mohamed Elkhatim; Mutawa, Kholood Ateeq Al; Barbouni, Anastasia; Antoniadou, Eleni; Fouad, Heba; Khoury, Rula N; Rarick, James; Sinha, Dhirendra N; Asma, Samira

    2016-04-01

    Increases in electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) awareness and current use have been documented in high income countries but less is known about middle and low income countries. Nationally representative household survey data from the first four Global Adult Tobacco Surveys to assess e-cigarettes were analyzed, including Indonesia (2011), Malaysia (2011), Qatar (2013), and Greece (2013). Correlates of e-cigarette awareness and current use were calculated. Sample sizes for Greece and Qatar allowed for further analysis of e-cigarette users. Awareness of e-cigarettes was 10.9% in Indonesia, 21.0% in Malaysia, 49.0% in Qatar, and 88.5% in Greece. In all four countries, awareness was higher among male, younger, more educated, and wealthier respondents. Current e-cigarette use among those aware of e-cigarettes was 3.9% in Malaysia, 2.5% in Indonesia, 2.2% in Greece and 1.8% in Qatar. Across these four countries, an estimated 818 500 people are currently using e-cigarettes. Among current e-cigarette users, 64.4% in Greece and 84.1% in Qatar also smoked cigarettes, and, 10.6% in Greece and 6.0% in Qatar were never-smokers. E-cigarette awareness and use was evident in all four countries. Ongoing surveillance and monitoring of awareness and use of e-cigarettes in these and other countries could help inform tobacco control policies and public health interventions. Future surveillance should monitor use of e-cigarettes among current smokers and uptake among never-smokers and relapsing former smokers. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Observational study of atmospheric surface layer and coastal weather in northern Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samanta, Dhrubajyoti; Sadr, Reza

    2016-04-01

    Atmospheric surface layer is the interaction medium between atmosphere and Earth's surface. Better understanding of its turbulence nature is essential in characterizing the local weather, climate variability and modeling of turbulent exchange processes. The importance of Middle East region, with its unique geographical, economical and weather condition is well recognized. However, high quality micrometeorological observational studies are rare in this region. Here we show experimental results from micrometeorological observations from an experimental site in the coastal region of Qatar during August-December 2015. Measurements of winds are obtained from three sonic anemometers installed on a 9 m tower placed at Al Ghariyah beach in northern Qatar (26.08 °N, 51.36 °E). Different surface layer characteristics is analyzed and compared with earlier studies in equivalent weather conditions. Monthly statistics of wind speed, wind direction, temperature, humidity and heat index are made from concurrent observations from sonic anemometer and weather station to explore variations with surface layer characteristics. The results also highlights potential impact of sea breeze circulation on local weather and atmospheric turbulence. The observed daily maximum temperature and heat index during morning period may be related to sea breeze circulations. Along with the operational micrometeorological observation system, a camera system and ultrasonic wave measurement system are installed recently in the site to study coastline development and nearshore wave dynamics. Overall, the complete observational set up is going to provide new insights about nearshore wind dynamics and wind-wave interaction in Qatar.

  7. Assessing the burden of intestinal parasites affecting newly arrived immigrants in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Madi, Marawan A; Behnke, Jerzy M; Ismail, Ahmed; Boughattas, Sonia

    2016-12-01

    In the last decades, the enormous influx of immigrants to industrialized countries has led to outbreaks of parasitic diseases, with enteric infections being amongst the most frequently encountered. In its strategy to control such infection, Qatar has established the Pre-Employment Certificate (PEC) program which requires medical inspection before arrival in Qatar and which is mandatory for immigrant workers travelling to the country. To assess the reliability of the PEC, we conducted a survey of intestinal parasites, based on examination of stool samples provided by immigrant workers (n = 2,486) recently arrived in Qatar. Overall prevalence of helminths was 7.0% and that of protozoa was 11.7%. Prevalence of combined helminths was highest among the western Asians and the highest prevalence of combined protozoan parasites was among workers from North to Saharan Africa. Analysis of temporal changes showed an increasing trend of protozoan infections over the investigated 3 years. A major contribution to this temporal change in prevalence came from Blastocystis hominis as well as from other protozoan species: Giardia duodenalis and Endolimax nana. Analysis of the temporal trend in species richness of the protozoan species showed a significant increase in the mean number of species harboured per subject across this period. The increase of protozoan infections over recent years raises some concerns. It suggests that screening protocols for applicants for visas/work permits needs to be revised giving more careful attention to the intestinal protozoan infections that potential immigrants may harbor.

  8. Emergence of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii producing OXA-23 Carbapenemase in Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.-M. Rolain

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The objective of our study was to describe the molecular support of carbapenem resistance from randomly selected clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant (MDR Acinetobacter baumannii as a pilot study from the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC, Qatar. Results of our report will be used to study carbapenemases using molecular techniques in all isolated MDR A. baumannii. Forty-eight MDR A. baumannii were randomly selected from isolates preserved at HMC. Identification of all isolates was confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Antibiotic resistance was tested phenotypically by Phoenix and confirmed by Etest. The molecular support of carbapenemases (blaOXA-23, blaOXA-24, blaOXA-58, blaNDM was investigated by real-time PCR. The epidemiologic relatedness of the isolates was verified by phylogenetic analysis based on partial sequences of CsuE and blaOXA-51 genes. All 48 isolates were identified as A. baumannii and were confirmed to be resistant to most antibiotics, especially meropenem, imipenems, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, amikacin, gentamicin and most of the β-lactams; they were sensitive to colistin. All the isolates were positive for blaOXA-23 and negative for the other tested carbapenemase genes. Clonality analysis demonstrated that different lineages were actually circulating in Qatar; and we suggest that an outbreak occurred in the medical intensive care unit of HMC between 2011 and 2012. Here we report the emergence of MDR A. baumannii producing the carbapenemase OXA-23 in Qatar.

  9. Assessing the effectiveness of a pharmacist-delivered smoking cessation program in the State of Qatar: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Hajj, Maguy Saffouh; Kheir, Nadir; Al Mulla, Ahmad Mohd; Al-Badriyeh, Daoud; Al Kaddour, Ahmad; Mahfoud, Ziyad R; Salehi, Mohammad; Fanous, Nadia

    2015-02-26

    It had been reported that up to 37% of the adult male population smokes cigarettes in Qatar. The Global Youth Tobacco Survey also stated that 13.4% of male school students aged 13 to 15 years in Qatar smoke cigarettes. Smoking cessation is key to reducing smoking-related diseases and deaths. Healthcare providers are in an ideal position to encourage smoking cessation. Pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare providers and are uniquely situated to initiate behavior change among patients. Many studies have shown that pharmacists can be successful in helping patients quit smoking. Studies demonstrating the effectiveness of pharmacist-delivered smoking cessation programs are lacking in Qatar. This proposal aims to test the effect of a structured smoking cessation program delivered by trained ambulatory pharmacists in Qatar. A prospective, randomized, controlled trial is conducted at eight ambulatory pharmacies in Qatar. Participants are randomly assigned to receive an at least four-session face-to-face structured patient-specific smoking cessation program conducted by the pharmacist or 5 to 10 min of unstructured brief smoking cessation advice (emulating current practice) given by the pharmacist. Both groups are offered nicotine replacement therapy if feasible. The primary outcome of smoking cessation will be confirmed by an exhaled carbon monoxide test at 12 months. Secondary outcomes constitute quality-of-life adjustment as well as cost analysis of program resources consumed, including per case and patient outcome. If proven to be effective, this smoking cessation program will be considered as a model that Qatar and the region can apply to decrease the smoking burden. Clinical Trials NCT02123329 .

  10. Awareness and Current Use of Electronic Cigarettes in Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar, and Greece: Findings From 2011–2013 Global Adult Tobacco Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palipudi, Krishna Mohan; Mbulo, Lazarous; Morton, Jeremy; Mbulo, Lazarous; Bunnell, Rebecca; Blutcher-Nelson, Glenda; Kosen, Soewarta; Tee, Guat Hiong; Abdalla, Amani Mohamed Elkhatim; Al Mutawa, Kholood Ateeq; Barbouni, Anastasia; Antoniadou, Eleni; Fouad, Heba; Khoury, Rula N.; Rarick, James; Sinha, Dhirendra N.; Asma, Samira

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Increases in electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) awareness and current use have been documented in high income countries but less is known about middle and low income countries. Methods Nationally representative household survey data from the first four Global Adult Tobacco Surveys to assess e-cigarettes were analyzed, including Indonesia (2011), Malaysia (2011), Qatar (2013), and Greece (2013). Correlates of e-cigarette awareness and current use were calculated. Sample sizes for Greece and Qatar allowed for further analysis of e-cigarette users. Results Awareness of e-cigarettes was 10.9% in Indonesia, 21.0% in Malaysia, 49.0% in Qatar, and 88.5% in Greece. In all four countries, awareness was higher among male, younger, more educated, and wealthier respondents. Current e-cigarette use among those aware of e-cigarettes was 3.9% in Malaysia, 2.5% in Indonesia, 2.2% in Greece and 1.8% in Qatar. Across these four countries, an estimated 818 500 people are currently using e-cigarettes. Among current e-cigarette users, 64.4% in Greece and 84.1% in Qatar also smoked cigarettes, and, 10.6% in Greece and 6.0% in Qatar were never-smokers. Conclusions E-cigarette awareness and use was evident in all four countries. Ongoing surveillance and monitoring of awareness and use of e-cigarettes in these and other countries could help inform tobacco control policies and public health interventions. Future surveillance should monitor use of e-cigarettes among current smokers and uptake among never-smokers and relapsing former smokers. PMID:25895951

  11. The 2010-2011 excavation season at Al Zubarah, north-west Qatar

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Richter, Tobias; al-Naimi, Faisal; Yeomans, Lisa

    2012-01-01

    This paper briefly summarizes the results of the 2010–2011 archaeological fieldwork at the late eighteenth–twentieth-century abandoned city of al-Zubarah in north-west Qatar. The excavations in five areas inside the town, covering courtyard houses, a suq, a palatial compound, and a midden...

  12. Vitamin D deficiency among the elderly: insights from Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alhamad, Hanadi Khamis; Nadukkandiyil, Navas; El-Menyar, Ayman; Abdel Wahab, Luay; Sankaranarayanan, Anoop; Al Sulaiti, Essa Mubarak

    2014-06-01

    Vitamin D (VitD) deficiency is associated with comorbidities in the elderly. The present study investigates the prevalence of VitD deficiency among the elderly in Qatar. A retrospective study conducted between April 2010 and April 2012 that involved chart reviews. All elderly patients of age ≥65 years in geriatrics facilities including Rumailah hospital, skilled nursing facility and home healthcare services in Qatar were included in the study. Patient characteristics and outcomes were analyzed and compared according to the severity of VitD deficiency. Correlation of VitD with comorbidities was analyzed. Mean follow-up period was 6 months. A total of 889 patients were enrolled; the majority (66%) were females and the mean age was 75 ± 8.7 years. Patient comorbidities included hypertension (76.5%), diabetes mellitus (63%), dyslipidemia, (47.5%), dementia (26%) coronary artery disease (24%) and cerebrovascular accident (24%). The mean baseline serum VitD level was 24.4 ± 13.5 ng/ml; 72% of patients had VitD deficiency: mild (31%), moderate (30%) and severe (11%). Patients with severe VitD deficiency had significantly higher HbA1c levels compared with patients with optimal VitD (P = 0.03). High density lipoprotein (HDL-C) levels were significantly lower in severe VitD deficiency patients compared with optimal VitD patients (P = 0.04). There was a positive correlation between HDL-C and VitD level (r = 0.17, P = 0.001), whereas HbA1c levels showed negative correlation with VitD (r = -0.15, P = 0.009). A high prevalence of VitD deficiency (72%) was observed among the elderly in Qatar. Lower VitD was associated with higher HbA1c and lower HDL-C levels. Further studies are warranted to evaluate whether VitD supplementation controls diabetes mellitus (DM) and low HDL-C levels among the elderly.

  13. Remote sensing of Qatar nearshore habitats with perspectives for coastal management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, Christopher; Dupont, Jennifer; Abdel-Moati, Mohamed; Hobeichi, Sanaa; Palandro, David; Purkis, Sam

    2016-04-30

    A framework is proposed for utilizing remote sensing and ground-truthing field data to map benthic habitats in the State of Qatar, with potential application across the Arabian Gulf. Ideally the methodology can be applied to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of mapping the nearshore environment to identify sensitive habitats, monitor for change, and assist in management decisions. The framework is applied to a case study for northeastern Qatar with a key focus on identifying high sensitivity coral habitat. The study helps confirm the presence of known coral and provides detail on a region in the area of interest where corals have not been previously mapped. Challenges for the remote sensing methodology associated with natural heterogeneity of the physical and biological environment are addressed. Recommendations on the application of this approach to coastal environmental risk assessment and management planning are discussed as well as future opportunities for improvement of the framework. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Oil and Gas Industry In Qatar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-12-01

    In less than two decades, numerous impressive developments have taken place. These include: the realization of full ownership and complete control by the State over oil and gas operations and related industries, the establishment of Qatar General Petroleum Corporation (QGPC), the development of exploration and production activities, the full utilization of natural gas in industry and domestic sectors and the construction of down stream industries in the industrial area (Umm Said) including the refinery, the natural gas liquids plants and the fertilizer and petrochemical complexes. Such important achievements have been crowned with the development of the North Field massive reserves of non associated gas. 4 figs

  15. Validation of an Arabic version of the Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilbur, Kerry; Al Hammaq, Abdulla O

    2016-03-01

    Several instruments evaluate patient-reported outcomes in diabetes mellitus (DM), but almost none are validated for use in Arabic language. The aim of this study is to test the psychometric properties and responsiveness of the Arabic version of the Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (DTSQs) in Qatar. Ambulatory Arabic speaking DM patients were interviewed at two consecutive time points in Doha, Qatar. The 8-item DTSQs was administered in conjunction with the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Measure (WHOQOL-Bref) to assess convergent validity. Reliability was evaluated by internal consistency and item analysis. Construct validity was evaluated using "known groups" comparisons (including gender, insulin use, and HbA1c). Sensitivity of DTSQs scores to the subject's metabolic conditions was determined. One hundred subjects (mean age 50.7) participated. Half (54%) were female. The majority (93%) had Type 2 DM, but 39 (42%) were using insulin. Results revealed satisfactory internal consistency. Metabolic measures (fasting blood glucose and AIC) had significant inverse correlations with DTSQs scores (interview 1, Pearson's r=-0.333 and r=-0.401, respectively, pQatar Arabic DTSQs version was found to be a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of treatment satisfaction in Arabic diabetes mellitus patients in the country. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Ecotourism Destinations in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iuliana Ioana Merce

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Romania has about 800 protected areas, which now covers about 5% of the country. Most ecotourism destinations are located within or adjacent to these protected areas such as Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, northern communities National Park, Yosemite National Park, Apuseni Natural Park. In Romania there are still non-fragmented forest, and over a third of the population of bears, wolves and lynx in Europe, unique paradise of birds in the Danube Delta, more than 12 000 caves and, not least, full of authentic local traditions. Ecotourism allows recovery and conservation of the country's natural capital.

  17. Optometry in Portugal: a historical perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teixeira, Eduardo; Baptista, António M. G.; Sousa, Raul A. R. C.

    2011-05-01

    The establishment and development of optometry in Portugal resulted from the committed work of many individuals and institutions. These efforts have had good results in terms of raising the public's awareness of the major role played by optometrists in primary eye care. Back in the late 80's higher education in optometry was started. Ten years ago the results of scientific research on the topic first became available and are now also contributing to the success of optometry in Portugal. In regard to the optometry profession, specific regulations are to be discussed in the national parliament. The Associação de Profissionais Licenciados de Optometria (APLO), as the professional organization representing optometrists in Portugal, has been critically important in this process. This article will present an overview of the history of optometry in Portugal, of change in the foreseeable future and of the APLO's experience and activities.

  18. Epidemiological review of scorpion stings in Qatar. The need for regional management guidelines in emergency departments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alkahlout, Baha H; Abid, Muhammad M; Kasim, Mohammad M; Haneef, Shumaila M

    2015-07-01

    To review the epidemiology of scorpion sting in Qatar, to explore both the clinical significance, and the role of the emergency department (ED) in the management of such cases. In this retrospective study, we reviewed the records of all scorpion sting cases presented to the ED of Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar between October 2010 and May 2013. A total of 111 cases of scorpion stings were reviewed, 81 (72.9%) were males and 30 (27.1%) were females, with a mean age of 38 years. Localized pain was the most frequent presenting complaint (89 [80.2%]), whereas localized redness (44 [39.6%]) and swelling (38 [34.2%]) were the most common clinical signs. Abroug's classification was used, and all cases  were found to be class I. All patients received symptomatic treatment and were sent home. Scorpion sting problem in Qatar has a low clinical significance. Data from such studies should be utilized to create more specific (local) management guidelines, which should be more efficient with more rational utilization of ED resources.

  19. Pharmacist characteristics, medication use perceptions, and professional satisfaction: a first national survey in the state of Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maguy Saffouh El Hajj

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Maguy Saffouh El Hajj1, Nadir Kheir1, Manal Zaidan2, Peter J Jewesson11College of Pharmacy, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar; 2Pharmacy Department, Al Amal Cancer Centre, Doha, QatarPurpose: To characterize the professional demographics, opinions about the medication use process, perceived public satisfaction with pharmacy services, and professional satisfaction of pharmacists practicing in the state of Qatar.Materials and methods: The study was designed as a hypothesis-generating, online, anonymous, opinion survey of practicing pharmacists in Qatar.Results: Two hundred and sixty-four survey accesses were recorded during the 6-week study period, and 250 surveys containing responses to one or more questions were included in the analysis. Eighty-four percent of respondents reported graduating at least 5 years prior to the survey, and 86% held a baccalaureate degree in pharmacy as their highest degree. The most common source of the highest degree was one of five countries (Egypt, Jordan, India, Sudan, or Pakistan. Forty-five percent of respondents were working in a hospital setting, and 33% were in a community pharmacy. The lowest incidence of agreement across the 10 drug procurement and distribution process statements was observed for the adequacy of medication supplies statements (33% of all respondents. The highest incidence of agreement across the eight medication use process statements was for the statement pertaining to infrequent dispensing errors (68%, and the lowest incidence of agreement was observed for the statement pertaining to the adequacy of patient monitoring (30%. The pharmacist was chosen as the best candidate to resolve perceived unmet medication needs for four of eight statements, whereas physicians were most frequently chosen for three of the four remaining statements. Respondents' perceptions regarding patient satisfaction with the different elements of the medication use process revealed that the lowest incidence of agreement

  20. An Overview of Food Patterns and Diet Quality in Qatar: Findings from the National Household Income Expenditure Survey

    OpenAIRE

    Al-Thani, Mohammed; Al-Thani, Al-Anoud; Al-Mahdi, Nasser; Al-Kareem, Hefzi; Barakat, Darine; Al-Chetachi, Walaa; Tawfik, Afaf; Akram, Hammad

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Availability of accurate data pertaining to a population?s dietary patterns and associated health outcomes is critical for proper development and implementation of related policies. This article is a first?attempt to share the food patterns, amounts and diet quality among households (HH) in Qatar. Methods Data from the 2012-2013 Qatar National Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) was used. This cross-sectional survey included 3723 HH (1826 Qatari HH and 1897 non-Qatari ...

  1. RISK AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catalin Drob

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper tries to present the main categories (types of risks that affect the inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI in Romania, such as: country risk, political risk, economic risks, sovereign risks and so on. FDI is an important factor contributing to the economic development and to the economic growth of a country. In order to recuperate its economic handicap as compared to the other countries in the EU, Romania needs a massive inflow of foreign capital, especially in the form of direct investment. The paper also presents the evolution of FDI inflows in Romania and how they were influenced by the main factors affecting the FDI. In principle, between risk and the level of FDI inflows there is a direct dependency relationship: the higher the risk is in a country, the lower the level of FDI inflows is in that country. This is demonstrated by the empirical studies regarding FDI. These studies show that countries with high risk have major difficulties in attracting foreign investment. Therefore, it is important to identify very precisely the main risks that may affect the level of FDI inflows in Romania, in order to propose and implement strategies to mitigate these risks and to attract more foreign direct investment in Romania.

  2. Detection and phylogenetic analysis of human pegivirus (GBV-C) among blood donors and patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    AbuOdeh, Raed O; Al-Absi, Enas; Ali, Nadima H; Khalili, Makiyeh; Al-Mawlawi, Naema; Hadwan, Tameem A; Althani, Asmaa A; Nasrallah, Gheyath K

    2015-12-01

    Human Pegivirus (HPgV), formerly GB virus-C/Hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV), collectively known as GBV-C, is widely spread and has been reported to be associated with non-A-E hepatitis. To our knowledge, no previous study was conducted about HPgV in Qatar. Thus, the objectives of this study were as follows: (i) to determine the rates of HPgV infection in Qatar among healthy blood donors and HBV-infected patients, and (ii) to determine the most predominant HPgV genotype in Qatar. A total of 714 blood plasma samples from healthy donors (612) and HBV-infected patients (102) were collected. RNA was extracted, reversed transcribed, and then subjected for HPgV detection by two round-nested PCR using primers amplifying a 208 bp of 5'-UTR of the HPgV. For genotyping, the 5'-UTR PCR products (from 25 randomly picked samples) were cloned and sequenced. The overall infection rate of HPgV in Qatar was 13.3%. There was no significant difference (P = 0.41) in the infection rates between healthy donor (13.7%) and in HBV-infected patients (10.7%). Moreover, we did not find any significant association between HPgV infection rates and nationality, sex, or age (P > 0.05). Sequence analysis of 40 5'-UTR PCR amplicons yielded the European genotype 2 as most predominant in Qatar, although other genotypes (5 and 7) were also present. Our results indicate that there is no strong correlation between HPgV infection rate, condition, nationality, age, and sex, and genotype 2 is most predominant in Qatar. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Marine Biogeochemistry of Particulate Trace Elements in the Exclusive Economic Zone (eez) of the State of Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yigiterhan, O.; Al-Ansari, I. S.; Abdel-Moati, M.; Murray, J. W.; Al-Ansi, M.

    2016-02-01

    We focus on the trace element geochemistry of particulate matter in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Qatar. A main goal of this research was to analyze a complete suite of trace elements on particulate matter samples from the water column from different oceanographic biogeochemical zones of the EEZ around Qatar. The sample set also includes plankton samples which are the main source of biogenic particles, dust samples which are a source of abiological particles to surface seawater and surface sediments which can be a source of resuspended particles and a sink for settling particles. The 15 metals and 2 non-metals analyzed in this study will be Al, Ti, V, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, Mo, Ag, Ba, U and P, N. Many factors control the composition of trace elements in marine particles. Most of these are important in the EEZ of Qatar, including:1. Natural sources: These are rivers, atmospheric dust, sediment resuspension and leaks from oil beds. However, due to very limited rainfall rivers play no major role in Qatar but resuspension of shallow carbonate rich sediments and input of atmospheric dust are important due to strong currents and surrounding deserts.2. Adsorption/desorption: These chemical processes occur everywhere in the ocean and transfer metals between particles and the solution phase.3. Biological uptake: This process is likewise a universal ocean process and results in transport of metals from the solution phase to biological particles.4. Redox conditions: These are important chemical reactions in the oxic, suboxic and anoxic zones. This can be the dominant controlling mechanism in the northeastern hypoxic deeper waters of the Qatar EEZ.5. Anthropogenic sources: The eastern part of the Qatar contains numerous industrial sites, petroleum/gas platforms and refineries. There are numerous industrial sources but the main hot spots are the port of Doha and the industrial cities of Mesaieed, Khor Al-Odaid, and Ras Laffan. We aimed to determine the

  4. Qatar's Educational System in the Technology-Driven Era: Long Story Short

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karkouti, Ibrahim Mohamad

    2016-01-01

    This paper provides an overview of Qatar's educational system. Specifically, it focuses on the national educational reform that has been unfolding since 2003, tracks its progress, and describes the extent to which educational technology is utilized within Qatari institutions of the higher education. The paper ends with recommendations for practice…

  5. Epidemiological review of toxoplasmosis in humans and animals in Romania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubey, J P; Hotea, I; Olariu, T R; Jones, J L; Dărăbuş, G

    2014-03-01

    Infections by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii are widely prevalent in humans and other animals worldwide. However, information from eastern European countries is sketchy. In many eastern European countries, including Romania, it has been assumed that chronic T. gondii infection is a common cause of infertility and abortion. For this reason, many women in Romania with these problems were needlessly tested for T. gondii infection. Most papers on toxoplasmosis in Romania were published in Romanian in local journals and often not available to scientists in other countries. Currently, the rate of congenital infection in Romania is largely unknown. In addition, there is little information on genetic characteristics of T. gondii or prevalence in animals and humans in Romania. In the present paper we review prevalence, clinical spectrum and epidemiology of T. gondii in humans and animals in Romania. This knowledge should be useful to biologists, public health workers, veterinarians and physicians.

  6. Sociocultural Influences on Arab Women's Participation in Breast Cancer Screening in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Jasmine J; Donnelly, Tam T; Ewashen, Carol; McKiel, Elaine; Raffin, Shelley; Kinch, Janice

    2017-04-01

    Breast cancer, the most common cancer among Arab women in Qatar, significantly affects the morbidity and mortality of Arab women largely because of low participation rates in breast cancer screening. We used a critical ethnographic approach to uncover and describe factors that influence Arab women's breast cancer screening practices. We conducted semistructured interviews with 15 health care practitioners in Qatar. Through thematic analysis of the data, we found three major factors influencing breast cancer screening practices: (a) beliefs, attitudes, and practices regarding women's bodies, health, and illness; (b) religious beliefs and a culturally sensitive health care structure; and (c) culturally specific gender relations and roles. Arab women's health practices cannot be understood in isolation from the sociocultural environment. The problem of low rates of breast cancer screening practices and supportive interventions must be addressed within the context and not be limited to the individual.

  7. Social Economy in Romania - Challenges and Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Corina CACE

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available In Romania, the term of social economy is rather new and almost unknown for the public at large, and the legal framework contains only regulations specific for different types of entities which perform activities or which generate effects that may be considered as partial forms of social economy. This paper reviews the recent literature which approached mostly the problems of conceptualization and definition of the social economy, both at the national and European level. The paper also proposes an evaluation of the social economy sector in Romania in terms of its development capacity on medium-term. The paper reviews scientific contributions from Romania and abroad, reports of public or private institutions, and development policies. All these documents are used to develop a theoretical framework of the social economy and to describe the social economy as a sector of activity within the European Union and Romania, taking into consideration several criteria.

  8. Radiochemical education in Iasi, Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Popa, Karin

    2009-01-01

    The teaching and research in radiochemistry is disregarded by most universities (mainly due to the cost and legal requirements for maintaining a nuclear unit of first or second class), although the interest in new generation nuclear reactors is increasing worldwide. The historical background and the educational and the research activities conducted in the Laboratory of Radiochemistry of the Al.I. Cuza University of Iasi as of one of the last bastions of radiochemistry in Romania are presented here. This unit remains one of the last Romanian educational structures which allow the next generation of radio chemists to gain hands on experience as a part of their training: an impressive number of former students are currently employed by nuclear research centres and nuclear energy production facilities not only in Romania but all around Europe. Unfortunately, without a stronger involvement of the authorities, the laboratory risks to be closed by 2011, despite of the effort of a few people (as most of other similar structures in Romania. (author)

  9. CHINESE ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY IN PORTUGAL: TRADITIONAL ETHNIC STRATEGIES?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catarina Reis Oliveira

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available In Portugal in recent decades, just like in other welcoming countries, immigrants have reached levels of entrepreneurial activity that are higher than those of autochthonous citizens. However, a deeper analysis of the official data shows that not all immigrant groups have the same tendency to become entrepreneurs. In this respect, the Chinese stand out as being the group with the highest ratio of entrepreneurial activity in Portugal, despite the fact that their migration is a relatively recent phenomenon. What factors can explain the Chinese community’s disproportionate rate of entrepreneurial initiative? Do they possess any particular resources that make them more enterprising than the autochthonous population, or than other groups of immigrants? Does the context of Portugal hamper certain opportunities or in some way limit their economic integration into the job market? Do we find similar business strategies among other Chinese entrepreneurs residing in welcoming societies apart from that of Portugal? Why did Chinese business initiative grow at such an exceptional rate in Portugal in the late 1990s? By seeking answers to these questions, this article attempts to examine Chinese business strategies in Portugal, as well as their exceptional success rate in comparison with other entrepreneurial immigrants. To that end, the author has analysed the data gathered in a survey carried out on 309 Chinese entrepreneurs resident in Portugal (see Oliveira, 2005.

  10. Developing a School Finance System for K-12 Reform in Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guarino, Cassandra M.; Galama, Titus; Constant, Louay; Gonzalez, Gabriella; Tanner, Jeffery C.; Goldman, Charles A.

    2009-01-01

    Reform-minded leaders of Qatar, who have embarked on a sweeping reform of their nation's education system, asked RAND to evaluate the education finance system that has been adopted and to offer suggestions for improvements. The authors analyze the system's evolution and resource allocation patterns between 2004 and 2006 and develop analytic tools…

  11. BANKING ETHICS IN THE FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS FROM ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MEDAR LUCIAN-ION

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Capital account liberalization created premises and allow Romania for final exit from the financial crisis. Promoting direct investment in Romania can lead to sustainable economic growth, create new jobs and thus, by selling labor set up new forms of saving, which will support investments. Banking ethics elements behind the development of direct investments in Romania are legislation, regulation and behavior of participants. Amid an emerging economy rocked by the global financial crisis, capital account liberalization has allowed entry direct investment, but allowed and the capital flight. Respect for ethics in the business financial banking groups provide, at least, economic development and upgrading the infrastructure of Romania

  12. Transnational citizenship: Latin Americans in Portugal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatriz Padilla

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This article is a reflection upon the exercising of transnational citizenship as a consequence of international migration, applied to Latin Americans resident in Portugal. In order to do this we have adopted the concept of transnational citizenship, as its malleability allows us to consider the whole concept of countries of origin and destination and the influence of bilateral and international relations. We ask how transnational citizenship is exercised in the European Union, Ibero-American and, particularly, Portuguese spaces, and whether it is affected by the economic crisis in Europe and, in particular, Portugal, by analysing the cases of Argentines, Brazilians and Uruguayans living in Portugal.

  13. Portugal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-03-01

    This short report summarizes the main lines of the energy policy of Portugal. It presents the main energy companies and utilities (EDP, CPPE, REN, Petrogal, GDP, Galp SGPS) of the country, the energy supplies (resources, electricity, petroleum, coal, natural gas), the prices and pricing policy, the global energy consumption per sector, the stakes and perspectives of the energy market (forecasts, contracts). (J.S.)

  14. Computer Tomography Scanners in Portugal (1990-2011

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Crispim

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The use of Computed Tomography (CT has increased every year since its introduction into medicine in 1972. Technological developments have made CT one of the most important imaging modalities in modern medicine. This importance is evidenced in the increasing demand and number of CT scanners installed in Portugal and worldwide. This review compiles the most recent national statistics from official publications on the number of CT scanners installed in Portugal and compares them with data available in international publications. We conclude that the number of CT scanners installed in Portugal exceeded the EU27 average by 61.5 % and the OECD average by 78.2 %, and that in 2011 there were 203 CT scanners installed in hospitals in Portugal, which equated to 19.23 CT scanners per million inhabitants.

  15. POST-CRISIS FISCAL DILEMMAS IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    IFRIM MIHAELA

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper represents a synthetic exposure in critical note of some aspects of fiscal policy after the economic crisis in Romania. The paper aimed to analyze several topics related to taxation that are found in current debates in Romania, in the context of the need to establish a coherent legal framework compatible with sustainable economic growth. I considered pointing the moral aspects related to taxation, analysis of the tax-expenditure tandem and criticize the prevalence of the Keynesian approach to fiscal policy in Romania. From the research method point of view, the approach is a qualitative one, in a praxeological note based on economic argumentation. This paper is not intended to provide advice on fiscal policy, but to expose the necessary ideas for understanding its implications.

  16. THE EFFECTS OF REGIONAL POLICIES IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oțil (Beţa Maria - Daniela

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available If we were to consider that Romania was formed by the unification of provinces that experienced a strong unity through culture, language, religion, as well as through the intense trade relations existing between them over time, we may say that our country has an important historical experience regarding regionalisation. After 1989, Romania underwent a radical change of economic and political organisation (from a centralised economy to a free, market economy and the approximation to the Western economic structures, the European Union (EU. Under these conditions the national authorities had to take into account the principles and the organisation and functioning of the European capitalist economies. During the communist period, Romania had an administrative-territorial and economic organisation that favoured centralised decision making. In the case of market economies, organisation allows and encourages the decentralisation of decision making. In the mid '90s, the economic and social realities of Romania lead to the achieving of the regionalisation of the national territory in accordance with the subsidiarity principle of the EU. Regionalisation sought to identify the most appropriate spatial and territorial framework for guiding the economic development processes, by facilitating the use of tools and resources provided by the European Union. The regional development policy is a continuation of the policies of national economic growth and development, both aiming at improving the economic and social life of the national communities. The final aim of this paper is to identify the economic and social situation of the development regions in Romania. The study provides insight into Romania's relations with the European Union, with regard to the access and use of the pre-accession European funds. Furthermore, the paper achieves a qualitative analysis, through a positive approach, but also a quantitative one of the economic and social situation of each

  17. Natural and depleted uranium in the topsoil of Qatar: Is it something to worry about?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shomar, Basem; Amr, Mohamed; Al-Saad, Khalid; Mohieldeen, Yasir

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Scientific studies on Uranium in the arid environment are almost absent. • Qatar is closed to Iraq and Iran where the two countries were exposed to long wars. • The paper introduces baseline study integrates chemistry, instrumentation and GIS mapping. • The study opens new horizons for similar studies on the field using similar approach. - Abstract: This study examines uranium in soils of Qatar to investigate whether there is any detectable traces of depleted uranium (DU). 409 soil samples were collected using a 10 km grid system throughout the State of Qatar. The U concentrations and isotopic compositions ( 235 U/ 238 U) were determined using an ICP-MS. The U concentrations range from 0.05 to 4.7 mg/kg and the 235 U/ 238 U isotopic signatures are in the range 0.007–0.008, i.e. comparable to the isotopic ratio in natural uranium (NU). The distribution of these concentrations in the topsoil were used to see correlations with locations of pollution point sources and environmentally hot areas associated with human activity: industrial estates, solid waste dumping sites, wastewater treatment plants, sea harbors, airports, and public transport network. New thematic maps were built using Geographic Information System (GIS) software. The results showed that there is no linkage between the occurrence, distribution, concentrations and isotopic ratios of U and these hotspots. More importantly, due to the low concentration of organic matter (OM) in soils of Qatar, very limited P-fertilization, the alkaline nature of soil (pH 8) and low Fe/Mn contents make soil uranium concentrations very low. The residential areas, including the capital Doha, had the lowest total concentrations of uranium and isotopic ratios of the country while the northern and western parts showed the highest values

  18. Determination of 137Cs activity in soil from Qatar using high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Sulaiti, Huda; Nasir, Tabassum; Al Mugren, K.S.; Alkhomashi, N.; Al-Dahan, N.; Al-Dosari, M.; Bradley, D.A.; Bukhari, S.; Matthews, M.; Regan, P.H.; Santawamaitre, T.; Malain, D.; Habib, A.; Al-Dosari, Hanan; Al Sadig, Ibrahim

    2016-01-01

    With interest in establishing baseline concentrations of 137 Cs in soil from the Qatarian peninsula, we focus on determination of the activity concentrations in 129 soil samples collected across the State of Qatar prior to the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident. As such, the data provides the basis of a reference map for the detection of releases of this fission product. The activity concentrations were measured via high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry using a hyper-pure germanium detector enclosed in a copper-lined passive lead shield that was situated in a low-background environment. The activity concentrations ranged from 0.21 to 15.41 Bq/kg, with a median value of 1 Bq/kg, the greatest activity concentration being observed in a sample obtained from northern Qatar. Although it cannot be confirmed, it is expected that this contamination is mainly due to releases from the Chernobyl accident of 26 April 1986, there being a lack of data from Qatar before the accident. The values are typically within but are sometimes lower than the range indicated by data from other countries in the region. The lower values than those of others is suggested to be due to variation in soil characteristics as well as metrological factors at the time of deposition. - Highlights: • A baseline for the radionuclide 137 Cs in soil samples collected from Qatar was established. • 129 soil samples collected across the landscape. • Samples were collected before the most recent accident “the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi NNP accident”. • The highest activity concentration was found to be 15.41±0.67 Stat. and 0.11 Syst. • The relatively high concentrations can be attributed to rain washout.

  19. Intestinal Parasitic Infections among Long-Term-Residents and Settled Immigrants in Qatar in the Period 2005 to 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Madi, Marawan A.; Behnke, Jerzy M.; Doiphode, Sanjay H.

    2013-01-01

    The expanding economy of Qatar in the last two decades has attracted immigrants, often from countries with poor socio-economic levels. Many arrive with patent intestinal parasitic infections, and recent analyses have indicated consistently rising trends in the prevalence of some infections. Here, we examined 18,563 hospital records of subjects in Qatar seeking medical assistance for a variety of ailments, combining data from 2009 to 2011 with the earlier dataset from 2005 to 2008 to enable trends to be identified across a 7-year period. We found that 8.6% were infected with one or more species of parasites, however in contrast to the earlier period (2005–2008), in the latter 3 years there were falling trends of prevalence providing some optimism that parasitic infections among the resident immigrants have begun to decline. We identified also geographic regions from which resident workers still maintain a relatively high prevalence of helminth infections despite their long-term residence in Qatar. PMID:23478576

  20. CANDU in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keillor, M.

    1990-01-01

    The author, a former journalist, and now manager of media relations at AECL CANDU, visited Romania to get a first-hand account of conditions at the Cernavoda site. He refutes allegations of slave labour, or inhuman conditions

  1. Blood glucose control for patients with acute coronary syndromes in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilby, Kyle John; Elmekaty, Eman; Abdallah, Ibtihal; Habra, Masa; Al-Siyabi, Khalid

    2016-01-01

    Blood glucose is known to be elevated in patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes. However a gap in knowledge exists regarding effective management strategies once admitted to acute care units. It is also unknown what factors (if any) predict elevated glucose values during initial presentation. OBJECTIVES of the study were to characterize blood glucose control in patients admitted to the cardiac care unit (CCU) in Qatar and to determine predictive factors associated with high glucose levels (>10 mmol/l) on admission to the CCU. All data for this study were obtained from the CCU at Heart Hospital in Doha, Qatar. A retrospective chart review was completed for patients admitted to the CCU in Qatar from October 1st, 2012 to March 31st, 2013, of which 283 were included. Baseline characteristics (age, gender, nationality, medical history, smoking status, type of acute coronary syndrome), capillary and lab blood glucose measurements, and use of insulin were extracted. Time spent in glucose ranges of 10 mmol/1 was calculated manually. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were performed to assess factors associated with high glucose on admission. The primary analysis was completed with capillary data and a sensitivity analysis was completed using laboratory data. Blood glucose values measured on admission and throughout length of stay in the CCU. Capillary blood glucose data showed majority of time was spent in the range of >10 mmol/l (41.95%), followed by 4-8 mmol/l (35.44%), then 8-10 mmol/l (21.45%), and finally 10 mmol/l on admission (p < 0.05) in a univariate analysis but only diabetes remained significant in a multivariate model (OR 23.3; 95% CI, 11.5-47.3). Diabetes predicts high glucose values on hospital admission for patients with ACS and patients are not being adequately controlled throughout CCU stay.

  2. Faculty Members' Views of Effective Teaching: A Case Study of Qatar University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Thani, Alanood Mubarak; Al-Meghaissib, Latifa A. Aziz A. A.; Nosair, Mohamed Ragab Abdelhakeem Ali

    2016-01-01

    Effective teaching (ET) has recently drawn attention within higher educational intuitions owing to the need for greater accountability, and high quality learning outcomes. The present study investigated Qatar University faculty member's (QUFM) perception of ET, characteristics, practices, and impediment, by assembling data from a cluster sample of…

  3. The Orphaned and Institutionalized Children of Romania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Alice K.; Groze, Victor

    1994-01-01

    Notes that professionals from all over the world have been assisting Romania since the fall of the Ceausescu dictatorship in December 1989. Describes some of the difficulties faced by children and families in Romania. Contends that problems faced by Romanian families are massive, and professionals planning to help these families must learn about…

  4. Preliminary Determination of Natural Radioactivity Levels of the State of Qatar using High-Resolution Gamma-ray Spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Sulaiti, H.A.; Regan, P.H.; Bradley, D.A.; Matthews, M.; Santawamaitre, T.; Malain, D.

    2009-01-01

    The State of Qatar is a peninsula with a total area of 11,437 km 2 which lies over a geological formation comprising a sequence of limestone, chalk, clay and gypsum. Establishing a baseline for the radioactivity concentration in Qatar's soil is the main purpose behind the present study. The project is focused on obtaining measurements of representative soil samples from various areas in Qatar to establish concentrations of the 235 U, 238 U and 232 Th natural decay chains and also the long-lived naturally occurring radionuclide 40 K. The 235 U, 238 U, 232 Th and 40 K concentrations have been measured via high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry using a hyper-pure germanium detector situated in a low-background environment with a copper inner-plated passive lead shield. A wide range of different gamma-ray energy transitions lines arising from the multiple decay products from the 235 U, 238 U and 232 Th decay chains have been analyzed separately to obtain more statistically significant overall results

  5. The private-public literacy divide amid educational reform in Qatar: What does PISA tell us?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheema, Jehanzeb R.

    2015-04-01

    The education system in Qatar comprises of both private schools, which receive money through student fees, and public schools, which are fully government-funded. In the mid-2000s, Qatar started its transition towards an independent school model with the aim of eventually converting all public schools into government-supported independent schools. The idea was to give public schools more autonomy in terms of hiring decisions, adoption of curriculum and textbooks, and budget spending, enabling them to emulate some of the private schools' strategies for turning out successful students. This study examines evidence from the 2006-2012 administrations of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in Qatar in order to evaluate whether or not recent educational reform efforts in this country have succeeded in bridging the literacy divide between private and public schools. The results, presented in a number of detailed tables and discussed in the last part of the article, indicate that there is a significant difference in key literacy skills between the two types of schools. Private schools were found to outperform their public counterparts in areas such as mathematics, reading and science, both before and after controlling for important student-level differences, and this gap has evidently persisted from 2006 to 2012.

  6. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE UNDERGROUND ECONOMY OF ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loredana Maftei

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Shadow economy affected for a long time Romania, even since the old regime. During the period 1995-1996, the expansion of this phenomenon has become more serious. Along with Bulgaria, Romania is the second most affected country in the Eastern part of Europe, the shadow economy reaching around 28% of national GDP. This process is boosted by a high level of tax evasion, black labor and overregulation. With the ascension into EU, Romania made considerable efforts to combat the underground economy through a increase of electronic payments, credit card and deposit use.

  7. Lessons from wind policy in Portugal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peña, Ivonne; L. Azevedo, Inês; Marcelino Ferreira, Luís António Fialho

    2017-04-01

    Wind capacity and generation grew rapidly in several European countries, such as Portugal. Wind power adoption in Portugal began in the early 2000s, incentivized by a continuous feed-in tariff policy mechanism, coupled with public tenders for connection licenses in 2001, 2002, and 2005. These policies led to an enormous success in terms of having a large share of renewables providing electricity services: wind alone accounts today for ~23.5% of electricity demand in Portugal. We explain the reasons wind power became a key part of Portugal's strategy to comply with European Commission climate and energy goals, and provide a detailed review of the wind feed-in tariff mechanism. We describe the actors involved in wind power production growth. We estimate the environmental and energy dependency gains achieved through wind power generation, and highlight the correlation between wind electricity generation and electricity exports. Finally, we compare the Portuguese wind policies with others countries' policy designs and discuss the relevance of a feed-in tariff reform for subsequent wind power additions.

  8. Romania biomass energy. Country study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burnham, M; Easterly, J L; Mark, P E; Keller, A [DynCorp, Alexandria, VA (United States)

    1995-12-01

    The present report was prepared under contract to UNIDO to conduct a case study of biomass energy use and potential in Romania. The purpose of the case study is to provide a specific example of biomass energy issues and potential in the context of the economic transition under way in eastern Europe. The transition of Romania to a market economy is proceeding at a somewhat slower pace than in other countries of eastern Europe. Unfortunately, the former regime forced the use of biomass energy with inadequate technology and infrastructure, particularly in rural areas. The resulting poor performance thus severely damaged the reputation of biomass energy in Romania as a viable, reliable resource. Today, efforts to rejuvenate biomass energy and tap into its multiple benefits are proving challenging. Several sound biomass energy development strategies were identified through the case study, on the basis of estimates of availability and current use of biomass resources; suggestions for enhancing potential biomass energy resources; an overview of appropriate conversion technologies and markets for biomass in Romania; and estimates of the economic and environmental impacts of the utilization of biomass energy. Finally, optimal strategies for near-, medium- and long-term biomass energy development, as well as observations and recommendations concerning policy, legislative and institutional issues affecting the development of biomass energy in Romania are presented. The most promising near-term biomass energy options include the use of biomass in district heating systems; cofiring of biomass in existing coal-fired power plants or combined heat and power plants; and using co-generation systems in thriving industries to optimize the efficient use of biomass resources. Mid-term and long-term opportunities include improving the efficiency of wood stoves used for cooking and heating in rural areas; repairing the reputation of biogasification to take advantage of livestock wastes

  9. Romania biomass energy. Country study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burnham, M.; Easterly, J.L.; Mark, P.E.; Keller, A.

    1995-01-01

    The present report was prepared under contract to UNIDO to conduct a case study of biomass energy use and potential in Romania. The purpose of the case study is to provide a specific example of biomass energy issues and potential in the context of the economic transition under way in eastern Europe. The transition of Romania to a market economy is proceeding at a somewhat slower pace than in other countries of eastern Europe. Unfortunately, the former regime forced the use of biomass energy with inadequate technology and infrastructure, particularly in rural areas. The resulting poor performance thus severely damaged the reputation of biomass energy in Romania as a viable, reliable resource. Today, efforts to rejuvenate biomass energy and tap into its multiple benefits are proving challenging. Several sound biomass energy development strategies were identified through the case study, on the basis of estimates of availability and current use of biomass resources; suggestions for enhancing potential biomass energy resources; an overview of appropriate conversion technologies and markets for biomass in Romania; and estimates of the economic and environmental impacts of the utilization of biomass energy. Finally, optimal strategies for near-, medium- and long-term biomass energy development, as well as observations and recommendations concerning policy, legislative and institutional issues affecting the development of biomass energy in Romania are presented. The most promising near-term biomass energy options include the use of biomass in district heating systems; cofiring of biomass in existing coal-fired power plants or combined heat and power plants; and using co-generation systems in thriving industries to optimize the efficient use of biomass resources. Mid-term and long-term opportunities include improving the efficiency of wood stoves used for cooking and heating in rural areas; repairing the reputation of biogasification to take advantage of livestock wastes

  10. SUSTAINABILITY OF TAX SYSTEM IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Patricia HOMORODEAN (CSATLOS

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available In the context of globalization, sustainable development is the key to the development of contemporary society and future generations. Sustainability has become a key point for the debates in the political, economic, and academic environment. Therefore, today wehave reached the point when we speak of a country or company sustainability, of environmentalor agricultural sustainability, while speaking,at the same time, of fiscal policy sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Romanian fiscal policy sustainability in terms of tax revenues. The methodology used in this research is bibliographical analysis of specialist literature and statistical analysis of data. Bibliographical analysis was used to define operating concepts: fiscal sustainability and tax revenues. Statistical analysis was used to analyze the evolution of tax revenues in Romania between2005and2013, as well as the share of tax revenues in the general consolidated budget of Romania. Statistical data were processed using Microsoft Excel and presented as evolution diagrams. The novelty and originality of the present work consist in the bibliographical study on Romanian fiscal policy sustainability, the statistical study on the evolution of tax revenues in Romania between 2005and2013, and the analysisof fiscal policy sustainability in Romania in terms of tax revenues.

  11. Appropriate Utilization and Stocking of Antidotes in Qatar Public Hospitals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rawan Salameh

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: There are a few studies that evaluate preparedness and availability of antidotes in the emergency setting and none have been conducted in Qatar. Published studies show that timely availability of antidotes in the emergency department setting is a common issue. To address this, we conducted a study to evaluate antidote stocking and utilization in Qatar hospital pharmacies and emergency departments. Methods: In order to evaluate the appropriate use and timely administration of antidotes, research assistants prospectively collected data on ED patients. All ED patients who received any key antidote over the 6-month study period were identified through both ED and pharmacy records. In order to evaluate the stocking of the 31 most important antidotes in our main public hospitals, a survey assessing the stocking of these key antidotes was sent to the four general hospitals in Qatar, to determine their availability and whether they are stocked in the ED or only in the main pharmacy. Results: Poison exposure was evaluated in 471 cases. Antidotes were given within 30 minutes in 73% of cases, which included atropine, calcium, dextrose, flumazenil, naloxone, pralidoxime, sodium bicarbonate, thiamine, vitamin K and scorpion and snake antivenoms. Administration occurred later than 60 minutes in 2% of cases, exclusively with N-acetylcysteine and activated charcoal. Atropine, calcium, dextrose, naloxone, pralidoxime (2-PAM, sodium bicarbonate, and anti-venoms were clinically indicated 92% of the times they were ordered. N-acetylcysteine was indicated in only 51.5% of administrations. Significant variation in antidote stocking existed between hospitals, and there was no stocked hydroxocobalamin as antidotes for cyanide poisoning or fomepizole for toxic alcohol poisoning. Conclusion: Antidote stocking varied significantly between hospitals, and antidotes necessary for cyanide and toxic alcohol poisoning were deficient in all public hospitals. The

  12. Satisfaction with a 2-day communication skills course culturally tailored for medical specialists in Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carma L Bylund

    2017-01-01

    CONCLUSION: Physicians in Qatar positively evaluated a 2-day communication skills course, though the majority of participants did not have any previous exposure to experiential communication skills training.

  13. Quality of Life of Caregivers of Children with Autism in Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kheir, Nadir; Ghoneim, Ola; Sandridge, Amy L.; Al-Ismail, Muna; Hayder, Sara; Al-Rawi, Fadhila

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: Caring for a child diagnosed with autism could affect the quality of life of the caregiver in various different ways. No previous research has assessed the quality of lives of caregivers of children with autism in Qatar. Methods: Caregivers of a child with autism between 3 and 17 years old were recruited from child rehabilitation…

  14. Little Steps at Improving Preschool Teachers Practices through Counseling Skills in Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Thani, Aisha; Nasser, Ramzi

    2012-01-01

    The study focused on the effects of basic counseling skills program, such as listening, understanding, respecting, and empathizing, to elementary school teachers in Qatar. Through a three-hour intervention program, the authors used a self-reported questionnaire, interview questions and classroom observations to examine changes in how preschool…

  15. Latest climate changes in Romania :tornadoes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pop, Elena

    2014-05-01

    Latest climate changes in Romania :tornadoes As climate change has been considered a research priority in the European Strategy for enduring development , I have done a detailed research with my students of the new climate change that has been going on in Romania for the past decade. More precisely I have studied together with my students the phenomenon of tornadoes that have seriously affected on some occasions some our our country's locations, such as Facaeni, in the county of Ialomita, in August 2002. A quite unusual phenomenon occurred on that location situated at 44.56 degrees northern latitude and at 27.89 degrees eastern longitude, that caused severe damage to the local environment and three persons lost their lives in the process, as well as other thirty people suffering from bad injuries. The magnitude of that strong phenomenon rose on the Fujita scale at level F3 which implied wing gusts between 252-300 km/ hour . A main cause of occurrence of such a severe weather was the difference in temperature of two huge air masses, one of Polar origin, and other coming from tropical latitudes . Their crossroads was on that precise territory of Romania. The duration of the worst part of the tornado path lasted only for two minutes, but the consequences of its passage were colossal : total destruction of 33 households, and other 395 were partially damaged, 1,000 people afflicted by the devastation and 100 acres of acacia tree forest ripped off the ground. The first ever recorded tornado phenomenon in Romania was around 1894-1896, considered at that time " a freak of nature" was seen as a cloud formation abnormality , an uncontrolled force of nature that had a huge impact , and at the same time, it vanished into "thin air " fast. The most affected areas in Romania by tornadoes are the south-eastern planes where the cloud formations can create fast columns of air rotating up to 500 km/hour. The local people compared the cloud funnels created on the planes to "serpents

  16. Employing nation branding in the Middle East - United Arab Emirates (UAE and Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeineddine Cornelia

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Branding represents the instrument through which an entity communicates and identifies itself in the consumer’s perception. National branding is a similar mean employed at country level. Nation branding is crucial in order to attract investment, boost exports and attract tourists and talented workforce. Nation branding stands between public diplomacy and economic benefits. An adequate policy of Nation Branding-based on a positive, credible and economically reliable image- can be able to extend the range of potential customers and of potential investors. With the aim of better understanding the new challenges, opportunities and threats existent in a globalized economy, the paper evaluates nation branding in the context of UAE and Qatar. The paper examines nation-branding as a driver for boosting the economy, taking into account that clichés and stereotypes (especially in the context of the Middle East can influence our perception towards one country or another. The analysis explores the strategy adopted in order that Dubai becomes the flagship-brand of the UAE. Abu Dhabi complements this strategy, driving UAE to the position of the most valuable brand in the Middle East. The paper further enquires the case of Qatar and compares it with the branding process of the UAE. Qatar has established various branding resources such as the Al Jazeera news network, international sport events and several cultural and educational exchange programs with international profile. The UAE strives to become an influencer in the global economy, overriding its dependence on hydrocarbon reserves. Qatar is richer in hydrocarbon reserves than the UAE; nevertheless, it shares the interest of detaching itself from the rentier economy. The study explores the fact that from 2014-onwards the global oil economy was hit hard, as the price of the oil barrel is at an historic low, thus it has become stringent for the Persian Gulf countries to diversify the revenue sources. As a

  17. REGULATION AND SUPERVISION OF BANKING ACTIVITY IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anisoara Niculina APETRI

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The main challenges currently faced by most central banks are generated by the effects of the economic and financial crisis. Thus, at the national, European and international level there is a trend of changing the economic governance structures and improving the regulatory and supervisory policies, focusing on macro-prudential oversight. In the context of changes at the European Union level, the central banks of the Member States become also subject to changes in their carried out actions. The objectives of this research aim mainly at: highlighting the role of the National Bank of Romania in regulating and supervising the banking system in Romania and analyzing the measures implemented by the National Bank of Romania after the crisis so far; identifying the challenges of the National Bank of Romania on the basis of changes operated by European Union at the supervisory framework level.

  18. Implementation of corporate governance principles in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramona Iulia Țarțavulea (Dieaconescu

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper aims to conduct a study regarding the manner in which corporate governance principles are applied in Romania, in both public and private sector. In the first part of the paper, the corporate governance principles are presented as they are defined in Romania, in comparison with the main international sources of interest in the domain (OECD corporate governance principles, UE legal framework. The corporate governance (CG principles refer to issues regarding board composition, transparency of scope, objectives and policies; they define the relations between directors and managers, shareholders and stakeholders. The research methodology is based on both fundamental research and empirical study on the implementation of corporate governance principles in companies from Romania. The main instrument of research is a corporate governance index, calculated based on a framework proposed by the author. The corporate governance principles are transposed in criteria that compose the framework for the CG index. The results of the study consist of scores for each CG principles and calculation of CG index for seven companies selected from the public and private sector in Romania. The results are analyzed and discussed in order to formulate general and particular recommendations. The main conclusion of this study is that that a legal framework in the area of corporate governance regulation is needed in Romania. I consider that the main CG principles should be enforced by developing a mandatory legal framework.

  19. Qatar's Educational Reform Past and Future: Challenges in Teacher Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasser, Ramzi

    2017-01-01

    Until the late 1990s, Qatar's educational system used the intrinsic-nationalistic and cultural traditions of Arabic schools. The Qatari leadership and stakeholder was outdated; hence, they approached the RAND Corporation to examine and analyze the existing educational system and recommend options for building a new educational system. The RAND…

  20. THE QATAR HEALTH SYSTEM: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

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    Shaher ALSHAMARI

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Qatar’s healthcare system is comparatively new and has experienced noteworthy developments over its brief history. In this paper, our aim is to look at the unique challenges this small nation has faced in building that system. This paper will describe the accomplishments of Qatar’s medical authorities and the challenges they faced. It will also compare public and private healthcare providers. Today, the government of Qatar has financed all the health care for this rapidly-developing, multicultural nation, but it is now planning to introduce medical insurance. This report of its experience will benefit other nations wanting to develop their own healthcare systems.

  1. First LNG deliveries from Qatar to Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Legros, E.J.

    1997-01-01

    Twenty five years after the discovery of the giant North Field natural gas deposit, the Qatargas company has delivered its first LNG freight to Japan in December 1996. This paper recalls the history of the company from the discovery of the offshore North Field, its valorization and development, the LNG project with the building of the Ras Laffan harbour and its condensates processing factory and the 3 offshore production platforms. Ten methane-tanker ships will be in operation in the year 2000. Qatar's LNG exports should reach 20 to 25 Mt/year in the next ten years, when all its liquefaction factory projects will be completed. (J.S.)

  2. Recent warming trend in the coastal region of Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Way Lee; Saleem, Ayman; Sadr, Reza

    2017-04-01

    The objective of this study was to analyze long-term temperature-related phenomena in the eastern portion of the Middle East, focusing on the coastal region of Qatar. Extreme temperature indices were examined, which were defined by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices, for Doha, Qatar; these indices were then compared with those from neighboring countries. The trends were calculated for a 30-year period (1983-2012), using hourly data obtained from the National Climatic Data Center. The results showed spatially consistent warming trends throughout the region. For Doha, 11 of the 12 indices studied showed significant warming trends. In particular, the warming trends were represented by an increase in the number of warm days and nights and a decrease in the number of cool nights and days. The high-temperature extremes during the night have risen at more than twice the rate of their corresponding daytime extremes. The intensity and frequency of hot days have increased, and the minimum temperature indices exhibited a higher rate of warming. The climatic changes in Doha are consistent with the region-wide heat-up in recent decades across the Middle East. However, the rapid economic expansion, increase of population since the 1990s, and urban effects in the region are thought to have intensified the rapidly warming climate pattern observed in Doha since the turn of the century.

  3. [Profile of tropical diseases in Portugal].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ventura, F A

    1996-01-01

    The increased incidence of Imported Tropical Diseases in Portugal is correlated to a recent higher standard of living, influence of media and a consequent expansion of tourism, and above all to the close relationship existing between Portugal and Africa. The number and pathology (parasitic diarrhoeas, protozoal and helminthic infections) of in-patients with Tropical Diseases at the Unidade de Doenças Infecciosas, Parasitárias e de Medicina Tropical (UDIP-MT) were described, with special emphasis on Malaria (155 in-patients during the period from 1989 to 1993) and on Sleeping Sickness, where Eflornitin (DFMO) was for the first time used in Portugal. Finally, the impact of HIV epidemic on incidence and different clinical presentations of parasitic and other tropical pathology was also evaluated.

  4. The cavernicolous Oniscidea (Crustacea: Isopoda) of Portugal

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    P. S. Reboleira, Ana Sofia; Gonçalves, Fernando J.; Oromí, Pedro

    2015-01-01

    The study of subterranean Oniscidea in Portugal has been neglected for nearly 70 years, but recent investigations have revealed high diversity. All the terrestrial isopods known from caves of mainland Portugal, including data from the literature and new material, are listed, revealing new biodive...

  5. Country policy profile - Romania. April 2015

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2015-04-01

    According to the Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the European Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources the target for the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption in the year 2020 for Romania is 24%, whereas in 2012 it reached 21,3%. The Romanian renewable electricity promotion relies primarily on a quota system. Grid operators are obliged to develop their grids on the request of a plant operator, if the connection of a plant to the grid requires so. Romania has certain policies pertaining to renewable energy like training programmes for RES installers and on enhancing the development of RES-H infrastructure. This report monitors the policy changes after the release of the 2013 Progress Report for Romania and is regularly updated. In recent months, no significant change in country's RES policies has been reported

  6. EURO CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES FOR ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandu Carmen

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The process of preparation and adoption of the European single currency is one of the most important challenges that Romania has to face in the first decade as a full time member of the European Union. This process will test both the political and the administrative capacity, requiring very clear programs for the adaptation of European regulations and directives that will ensure real and nominal convergence. This process will surely prove to be a difficult one and it will bring a high degree of pressure upon the economic system in general. The worldwide financial crisis is making the process of single European currency adoption even more difficult for Romania. Although its effects are not directly felt in Romania, the disorder created within international markets can easily transform the management of economic and currency politics into an insecure and extremely difficult task.

  7. Country policy profile - Romania. December 2015

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2015-12-01

    According to the Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the European Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources the target for the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption in the year 2020 for Romania is 24%, whereas in 2012 it reached 21,3%. The Romanian renewable electricity promotion relies primarily on a quota system. Grid operators are obliged to develop their grids on the request of a plant operator, if the connection of a plant to the grid requires so. Romania has certain policies pertaining to renewable energy like training programmes for RES installers and on enhancing the development of RES-H infrastructure. This report monitors the policy changes after the release of the 2013 Progress Report for Romania and is regularly updated. In recent months, no significant change in country's RES policies has been reported

  8. DEBATE ON ROMANIA INTEGRATION IN EUROPEAN UNION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roxana M. SÎRBU

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to analyze the current state of Romanian integration into the European Union through the analysis of statistical data related to the absorption way of structural and cohesion funds available in 2007-2013 (absorption indicators and economic competitiveness indicators: Gross Domestic Product, employment rate, unemployment, population. In addition there are analyzed the structural and cohesion funds available for Romania in 2014-2020, for each category of available operational program and also the measures that must be implemented for Romania to adapt in a performance way to Europe 2020. The analysis results are considered as prerequisites for the development of an underlying model of investment decisions in the integrated sustainable development of Romania.

  9. Meting at Qatar confirms the new OPEC pragmatism; Reuniao no Qatar confirma o novo pragmatismo da OPEP

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boussena, Sadek

    2007-07-01

    On June 11, the the members of OPEC had a meeting at Qatar, and based on the current oil prices, decided not reducing their production quotes, maintaining the production total limit at 25.4 millions of b/d, established before the entering of American troops in Baghdad on April 22. Therefore, the OPEC prefers to consolidated his profits taking advantage of the positive news from prior weeks. Some factors seems to sustain the prices at an elevated level: the late retaking of Iraq exportations; the doubts on the real production capacity of the PDVSA; the inventories at under level to that recent years; the reduced production of Saudi Arab in June; and the support required by the non OPEC largest producers, including Mexico, Russia and Norwegian.

  10. Economic crisis and the automotive industry in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iosip, A.

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The economic crisis has affected many areas but the auto industry is perhaps one of the most affected. Renault, Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, BMW are just some of the big players caught unprepared. Through this paper we propose an analysis of the automotive market in Romania in order to understand the sales decrease of the last two years. At the same time we aimed at understanding the reasons that led to a decrease in car sales, what were the measures taken by the government to stop this phenomenon and how the economic crisis influenced the automotive field in Romania. An objective image of the situation in the automobile market in Romania at this moment also requires an analysis of the marketing environment and the changes it has undergone over time. Last but not least we will try to find a series of measures to re-launch the car market in Romania.

  11. Chart context menu

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Netherlands, 2. Nigeria, 3. Pakistan, 6. Philippines, 1. Poland, 1. Qatar, 3. Romania, 3. Russian Federation, 1. Rwanda, 1. Saudi Arabia, 5. Serbia, 7. South Africa, 4. Spain, 3. Sweden, 1. Switzerland, 1. Taiwan, 2. Thailand, 2. Turkey, 5. United Arab Emirates, 1. United Kingdom, 11. United States, 49. Unknown, 1. Uruguay, 3.

  12. Trends In Funding Higher Education In Romania And EU

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raluca Mariana Dragoescu

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Education is one of the determinants of the economic growth in any state, education funding representing thus a very important aspect in public policies. In this article we present the general principles of funding higher education in Romania and how it evolved over the last decade, stressing that the public higher education has been consistently underfunded. We also present an overview of the evolution of the main statistical indicators that characterize higher education in Romania, the number of universities and faculties, the number of students, number of teachers, revealing discrepancies between their evolution and the evolution of funding. We compared the funding of higher education in Romania and EU countries highlighting the fact that Romania should pay a special attention to higher education to achieve the performancen of other EU member countries.

  13. Characteristics and determinants of adult patients with acute poisoning attending the accident and emergency department of a teaching hospital in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khudair, I F; Jassim, Z; Hanssens, Y; Alsaad, W A

    2013-09-01

    Data about etiologic and demographic characteristics of acute poisoning in adults in Qatar are lacking. This prospective observational study was undertaken to analyze characteristics and possible determinants of acute poisoning in adults in Qatar. During 2010, 18,073 patients attended the emergency department of Hamad General Hospital, a teaching hospital in Qatar. Out of them, 599 (3.3%) patients were diagnosed as "poisoning case" with either chemical or pharmaceutical substances. The prevalence rate of poisoning incidence was 35.3/100,000 population. Seven patients died, corresponding with a case-fatality rate of 0.39/1000. The majority were male (65%) and the mean age was 34 years. The poisons involved were mainly chemicals (61.6%) and pharmaceuticals (38.4%). Female, mainly single, suffered more intentional poisoning compared to male. Of the patients aged 60 years and above (7.2%), the majority (95.3%) suffered unintentional poisoning with pharmaceuticals; 56% with warfarin, 12% with digoxin and 7% with insulin. Multivariate analysis shows that female gender, single status, younger than 35 years of age, being poisoned by pharmaceutical products, and the need for hospitalization are significant determinants for acute intentional poisoning after adjusting all other possible covariates. The findings of this study can be used to establish awareness and prophylactic campaigns in Qatar.

  14. Patterns in place of cancer death in the State of Qatar: a population-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohsen, Hassan; Haddad, Pascale; Allam, Ayman; Hassan, Azza

    2014-01-01

    International studies show that most people prefer to die at home; however, hospitals remain the most common place of death (PoD). This study aims to investigate the patterns in PoD and the associated factors, which are crucial for end-of-life cancer care enhancement. This retrospective, population-based study analyzed all registered cancer deaths in Qatar between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2012 (n = 1,224). The main outcome measures were patient characteristics: age, gender, nationality, cancer diagnosis, year of death, and PoD. Time trends for age-standardized proportions of death in individual PoDs were evaluated using chi-square analysis. Odds ratio (OR) were determined for variables associated with the most preferred (acute palliative care unit [APCU] and hematology/oncology ward) versus least preferred (ICU and general medicine ward) PoDs in Qatar, stratified by nationality. The hematology/oncology ward was the most common PoD (32.4%; 95% CI 26.7-35.3%) followed by ICU (31.4%; 95% CI 28.7-34.3%), APCU (26.9%; 95% CI 24.3-29.6%), and general medicine ward (9.2%; 95% CI 7.6-11.1%). APCU trended upward (+0.057/year; pQatar occur in hospital. As home was the preferred PoD for most people, effective home care and hospice programs are needed to improve end-of-life cancer care.

  15. Factors that influence awareness of breast cancer screening among Arab women in Qatar: results from a cross sectional survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donnelly, Tam Truong; Khater, Al-Hareth Al; Al-Bader, Salha Bujassoum; Al Kuwari, Mohammed Ghaith; Malik, Mariam; Al-Meer, Nabila; Singh, Rajvir; Fung, Tak

    2014-01-01

    Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the State of Qatar. Due to low participation in breast cancer screening (BCS) activities, women in Qatar are often diagnosed with breast cancer at advanced stages of the disease. Findings indicate that low participation rates in BCS activities are significantly related to women's low level of awareness of breast cancer screening. The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the factors that influence Qatari women's awareness of breast cancer and its screening activities: and (2) to find ways to effectively promote breast cancer screening activities among Arabic speaking women in Qatar. A multicenter, cross-sectional quantitative survey of 1,063 (87.5% response rate) female Qatari citizens and non-Qatari Arabic-speaking residents, 35 years of age or older, was conducted in Qatar from March 2011 to July 2011. Outcome measures included participant awareness levels of the most recent national recommended guidelines of BCS, participation rates in BCS activities, and factors related to awareness of BCS activities. While most participants (90.7%) were aware of breast cancer, less than half had awareness of BCS practices (28.9% were aware of breast self-examination and 41.8% of clinical breast exams, while 26.4% knew that mammography was recommended by national screening guidelines. Only 7.6% had knowledge of all three BCS activities). Regarding BCS practice, less than one-third practiced BCS appropriately (13.9% of participants performed breast self-examination (BSE) monthly, 31.3% had a clinical breast exam (CBE) once a year or once every two years, and 26.9% of women 40 years of age or older had a mammogram once every year or two years). Awareness of BCS was significantly related to BCS practice, education level, and receipt of information about breast cancer and/or BCS from a variety of sources, particularly doctors and the media. The low levels of participation rates in BCS among Arab women in this study

  16. Analysis of traffic accidents in Romania, 2009.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Călinoiu, Geovana; Minca, Dana Galieta; Furtunescu, Florentina Ligia

    2012-01-01

    This paper aimed to underline the main consequences of traffic accidents in Romania 2009 and their associated causes or circumstances. We identified some problematic geographic areas, some critical months or moments of the day and also the most frequent causes; all these should become targets for the future planning. The current analysis provides some priority criteria for public health interventions. So, the future national road safety strategy should be in line with the EU objectives, but also with the national priorities. Romania is far away from the average EU target for 2010 of halving the death by traffic accidents registered in 2001. To describe the circumstances and the consequences related to traffic accidents registered in Romania, for the year 2009. An ecological study was conducted. The traffic accidents circumstances were analyzed in terms of magnitude, geographic space, time and cause. The consequences were analyzed as affected people and damaged cars. A total of 28,627 traffic accidents were registered in Romania during the year 2009. 2,796 people were killed and 27,968 were hospitalized and 42,443 cars were damaged. 3 of 4 accidents were caused by violations on behalf of the car drivers. Most common violations in car drivers were excess of speed and priority violations (52.4%). Among the pedestrians, 7 of 10 accidents were caused by illegal crossing. A higher number of accidents occurred during the summer months and during the evening hours (from 5.00 pm till 8.00 pm). The traffic accidents represent a real public health problem in Romania and a serious burden for the health system. The gap between Romania and the other EU member states needs to be diminished in the next decade. In this purpose, the future national road safety strategy should be in line with the EU objectives, but also with the national priorities. Research is needed to understand the causes and the socio-economical impact of traffic accidents and to define appropriate national

  17. PUBLIC FINANCE SUSTAINABILITY IN ROMANIA. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mura Petru-Ovidiu

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the sustainability of public finance in Romania and to explore the fiscal threats Romania might face in the future. A sound fiscal policy implies avoiding excessive liabilities of the government, but at the same time delivering the proper public goods and services, including the necessary safety net in times of crisis. An unsustainable fiscal position negatively impacts on macroeconomic stability; moreover, if public finances are perceived to be unsustainable in the long run, the reaction of the international financial markets could generate a fiscal crisis, which might surprise the fiscal planners. The main findings of the paper are the following: i according to the multidimensional approach of the European Commission, in the short run, it seems that Romania is free from fiscal stress, there is a low risk in the medium term, and in the long run the risk becomes medium; ii a potential medium-term fiscal sustainability risk derives from the accumulation of losses and arrears in the business and companies sectors in which the state is a majority shareholder; iii Romania records one of the lowest budget revenues to GDP ratios in EU, while the Romanian tax system is characterized by a poor tax collection, inefficient administration and excessive bureaucracy; iv the structure of public spending in Romania is characterized by the predominance of wage spending and social assistance, while the poor state of the public pension system is an important vulnerability of the public finance position; v overall, the degree of tax compliance in Romania was only 55.8% in 2013, and according to the calculations made by the Fiscal Council, tax evasion represented 16.2% of GDP in 2013. All these aspects make up a grim picture of sustainability of public finances, which has to be considered by the public decision makers regarding future fiscal policy actions.

  18. A course-based cross-cultural interaction among pharmacy students in Qatar and Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilby, Kyle John; Taylor, Jeff; Khalifa, Sherief I; Jorgenson, Derek

    2015-03-25

    To develop, implement, and evaluate a course-based, cross-cultural student interaction using real-time videoconferencing between universities in Canada and Qatar. A professional skills simulation practice session on smoking cessation was run for students in Qatar (n=22) and Canada (n=22). Students role played cases in small group situations and then interacted with colleagues from the other country regarding culturally challenging situations and communication strategies. Students were assessed on analytical content and communication skills through faculty member and peer evaluation. Cultural competency outcomes were assessed using a postsession survey. Overall, 92.3% of respondents agreed that learning was enhanced through the cross-cultural exchange, and 94.9% agreed that insight was gained into the health-related issues and needs of people from another culture. A course-based, cross-cultural interaction was an effective method to incorporate cultural competency principles into student learning. Future initiatives should increase direct student interaction and focus on culturally sensitive topics.

  19. Open Geodata Initiative for Romania

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craciunescu, Vasile; Iosifescu, Ionut; Ilie, Codrina Maria; Gaitanaru, Dragos; Radu Gogu, Constantin; Hurni, Lorenz

    2013-04-01

    The concept of open data access is a very important topic nowadays. The concept assumes that all data collected or generated by public sector bodies (excepting personal data and data protected under existing privacy protection or accessibility rules) is made publicly accessible in commonly-used, machine-readable formats and can be re-used for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial. Governmental agencies are considered to be the most significant data owners and providers in modern societies. The sheer volume and wealth of this data makes apparent the potential benefits of reusing, combining, and processing governmental data. Even though metadata (information about the data) is sometimes published, administrations typically express reluctance to making their data available, for various reasons, cultural, political, legal, institutional and technical. The governmental spatial information (also called geospatial data, georeferenced data or geodata) producers in Romania are no exception -with the additional situation that even metadata is not usually available. Starting from 2013 a joint program between a Swiss partner (The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH- Zurich - Institute of Cartography and Geoinformation) and a Romanian partner (Technical University of Civil Engineering - UTCB) is developed in order to establish a new approach on the open geodata topic. The main objective of the project GEOIDEA.RO (GEodata Openness Initiative for Development and Economic Advancement in ROmania) is to improve the scientific basis for open geodata model adoption in Romania. Is our believe that publishing government geodata in Romania over the Internet,under an open license and in a reusable format can strengthen citizen engagement and yield new innovative businesses, bringing substantial social and economic gains.

  20. Mothers' Perceptions of the Treatment of Their Children with Disabilities in Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kay, Alyn K.

    2011-01-01

    This article constitutes one part of a study of the perceptions of mothers of children with disabilities in Qatar with the purpose of obtaining mothers' unique perceptions of treatment of their children within their community. Participants included 40 mothers of one or more children with disabilities from ages 4 to 19 who attended the same…

  1. A Classroom Observational Study of Qatar's Independent Schools: Instruction and School Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmer, Douglas J.; Sadiq, Hissa M.; Lynch, Patricia; Parker, Dawn; Viruru, Radhika; Knight, Stephanie; Waxman, Hersh; Alford, Beverly; Brown, Danielle Bairrington; Rollins, Kayla; Stillisano, Jacqueline; Abu-Tineh, Abdullah M. Hamdan; Nasser, Ramzi; Allen, Nancy; Al-Binali, Hessa; Ellili, Maha; Al-Kateeb, Haithem; Al-Kubaisi, Huda

    2016-01-01

    Qatar initiated a K-12 national educational reform in 2001. However, there is limited information on the instructional practices of the teachers in the reform schools. This project was an observational study of classrooms with a stratified random sample of the first six cohorts of reform schools. Specifically, 156 classrooms were observed in 29…

  2. Romania country report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stiopol, Mihaela [Nuclearelectrica SA, 65 Polona Street, 010494 Bucharest (Romania)

    2008-07-01

    Nuclear 2007 highlights: - Commissioning of Cernavoda NPP Unit 2 (700 MWh), on September 28; - Starting the process of negotiation for completion and commissioning of Units 3 and 4; - National Energy Strategy upgrade - Cernavoda NPP represents a key position as the promoter of sustainable economical development; - Nuclear Fuel Plant in Pitesti has completed the process of doubling its production capacity to feed both nuclear units from Cernavoda NP; - Unit 1 produced in 2007 an amount of 6.005.175 MWh; capacity factor of about 97%; - Unit 2 produced an amount of 961,986 MWh; capacity factor of 93,23%; - Units 1 and 2 covered 13% of the electricity demand in Romania for 2007. Energy policy: Nuclear share in the Romanian National Grid will be increased in 2008, and further, to about 18%. Cernavoda NPP Units 3 and 4 will be completed and commissioned by 2014-2015. A site for building a new nuclear power plant will be selected in Romania. Nuclearelectrica plans to enlist shares on the stock exchange market in 2008. Public acceptance: Positive public and local authorities perception of the nuclear energy: - 56% citizens in favour of nuclear power at the national level and 65% at the local level; - More men support nuclear power than women; - Older people tend to support nuclear more than young people. Nuclear waste management policy - 3 components on site storage facilities: - The Spent Fuel Bay, - The Spent Fuel Dry Storage Facility, - Solid radioactive waste facility. The National Agency for Radioactive Waste - 2004 with the task of disposal of radioactive waste. Final waste surface repository was analyzed by IAEA and received the partial authorization in February 2008. IFIN HH in charge with collecting, treating and conditioning all non-fuel cycle radioactive waste and depositing it in Baita Bihor repository. Research developed by: - Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering - IFIN HH specialized in areas of research including Astrophysics

  3. Additional records of vector mosquito diversity collected from Al Khor district of North-eastern Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahmoud Mohammed Kardousha

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To survey mosquito diversity in the north-eastern area, which includes the most important gas industrial city in Qatar, and to investigate the potential mosquitoes for transmitting diseases. Methods: A study was performed from September 2009 until June 2011 in Al-Khor district of North-eastern Qatar. Five localities were selected for larval collection: Al Khor City (the main city, Al Dhakira, Ras Laffan (gas industrial city, Simsimah and Al Ghuwariyah. The survey was carried out by using different sampling methods and covering all expected natural breeding sites. The larvae were collected, preserved and transferred to the laboratory for identification. Results: Our findings revealed that 10 species of mosquito larvae had been detected from the area and five of them were new records in Qatar. The species encountered were: Ochlerotatus caspius (Pallas 1771, Anopheles stephensi (Liston 1901, Culex quinquefasciatus (Say 1823 (Cx. quinquefasciatus, Culex pipiens biotype molestus (Forskal 1775 (Cx. pipiens, Culex univittatus (Theobald 1901, Culex pusillus (Macquart 1850, Culex tritaeniorhynchus (Giles 1901 (Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Culex laticinctus (Edwards 1913, Culex sitiens (Weidmann 1828 and Culex perexiguus (Theobald 1901. The new recorded species were Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Culex laticinctus, Culex sitiens and Culex perexiguus. The most prevalent type was Cx. pipiens molestus (31.29% and followed by Culex pusillus and Cx. quinquefasciatus which have relatively similar prevalence of 18.72% and 18.52% respectively. Anopheles stephensi was an established vector for malaria. Cx. pipiens molestus and Cx. quinquefasciatus were vectors of West Nile virus and filariasis. Cx. tritaeniorhynchus was established as a vector of Rift Valley virus and Culex univittatus was the main vector of Sindbis virus. Conclusions: The north-eastern area of Qatar harbors is the most important industrial city in the country, which has

  4. Hypoxia in the central Arabian Gulf Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Qatar during summer season

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Ansari, Ebrahim M. A. S.; Rowe, G.; Abdel-Moati, M. A. R.; Yigiterhan, O.; Al-Maslamani, I.; Al-Yafei, M. A.; Al-Shaikh, I.; Upstill-Goddard, R.

    2015-06-01

    One of the most fascinating and unexpected discoveries during the Qatar University Marine Expeditions to the marine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Qatar in 2000-2001, was the detection of a hypoxic water layer in the central region of the Arabian Gulf in waters deeper than 50 m. Hypoxia was defined as the region where the concentration of dissolved oxygen was less than 2 mg L-1. This article presents the discovery of hypoxia in the Arabian Gulf, based on samples collected (mainly during evening or night time) from vertical profiles along transects of the EEZ of Qatar and analyzed for physico-chemical properties, nutrients and chlorophyll-a. Hypoxia occurred in the summer months caused by an interaction between physical stratification of the water column that prevents oxygen replenishment, and biological respiration that consumes oxygen. Strong south-westerly winds (the SW monsoon) from June to September drive the relatively low-salinity nutrient-rich surface water from the Arabian Sea/Arabian Gulf (Sea of Oman) through the Strait of Hormuz into the central-Arabian Gulf, and this surface current penetration fertilizes the deep central-Arabian Gulf during the summer period. A strong seasonal pycnocline is formed between deeper waters at an ambient temperature of 20.9 °C and surface waters at 31.9 °C. This prevents the mixing of supersaturated O2 (>100-130%) water from the upper layer that would otherwise raise concentrations of dissolved oxygen below the thermocline, thus resulting in deep water hypoxia, i.e. dissolved oxygen levels of less than 0.86 ml L-1 at 17.3% saturation. These are the lowest values ever recorded for the Arabian Gulf. The calculated area of hypoxia is around 7220 square kilometers, and occurs in a layer about ≥15 m thick above the sea floor which extends toward the deep part of the Qatar Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The biological consequences of this hypoxia on the sea floor are yet to be investigated.

  5. Annual Omnibus Survey: A survey of life in Qatar 2014

    OpenAIRE

    Diop, Abdoulaye; Gengler, Justin John; Khan, Mohammad N.; Traugott, Michael; Elawad, Elmogiera Fadlallh; Al Ansari, Majed; Le, Kien T.; El-Maghraby, Engi; Elkassem, Rima Charbaji; Qutteina, Yara; Al Khulaifi, Buthaina; Nasrallah, Catherine; Al Subaey, Mohammed; Mustafa, Semsia Al-Ali; Alqassass, Haneen

    2015-01-01

    This Executive Summary presents the highlights of the 2014 Omnibus survey, the fourth in a series of Omnibus surveys since 2010. The surveys were carried out by the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) of Qatar University. Each Omnibus survey interviews a large and representative sample of Qatari citizens, resident expatriates and laborers. In these surveys, we asked a number of questions covering several topics of importance to Qatari society, including their ...

  6. Promotion of renewable energy sources in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turcu, Ioan

    2005-01-01

    Romania's climate and geographical conditions offer the following types of renewable energy sources: solar energy, wind energy, hydro energy, biomass and geothermal energy. These are here considered within the country's energy balance on medium and long term. Romania has a significant renewable energy potential. Unfortunately at present this potential is not used but to a small extent, except for hydraulic energy and biomass (especially as firewood), the latter being used in the great majority of cases in low performance installations. Government Decision No. 443/2003 on the promotion of electric energy generation from RES and Government Decision No. 1535/2003 regarding the Strategy of RES, establish the legal framework necessary for the promotion of RES in Romania. Consequently, an Action Plan defining actions, measures, responsibilities and financial sources has been settled. (author)

  7. Inclusive Education in Romania: Policies and Practices in Post-Communist Romania

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Gabriela

    2010-01-01

    This paper discusses current inclusive education policies and practices in Romania. There are few accounts of and no systematic study published on this topic. The Romanian special educational policies began to evolve towards integration and inclusion. Today, Romanian special education functions according to democratic principles and Romanian…

  8. GREEN BANKING IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dumitrascu Mihaela

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The paper investigates the green banking in Romania, a new approach of conducting the banking business through considering the corporate social responsibility and environmental aspects. Nowadays, it is difficult to face the globalization and competition in order to asssure the implementation of the green banking practices. The aim of the present study is to identify corporations that have sustainability concerns. To achieve this objective, we set some hypothesis and after this we showed that the corporations are more likely to be included in the list of top banks in the world. Our study is relevant for future research in this area, because of the importance of such aspects in corporations nowadays.The conclusions of our study is that green banking practices in Romania is in an incipient stage

  9. Padrões de casamento dos imigrantes brasileiros residentes em Portugal Patrones de matrimonio de los inmigrantes brasileños residentes en Portugal Marriage patterns of Brazilian immigrants living in Portugal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Cristina Ferreira

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Ao longo das últimas décadas, o número de estrangeiros residentes em Portugal aumentou de forma expressiva. Neste contexto, a comunidade brasileira assumiu uma importância cada vez maior, sendo em 2009 a nacionalidade mais representada, com uma participação de 25% no total de residentes estrangeiros em Portugal. Esta evolução tem, como seria de se esperar, reflexos a outros níveis, em particular no contexto do casamento. Contrariando a tendência decrescente observada para o total de casamentos ocorridos entre 2001 e 2009, aqueles em que pelo menos um dos cônjuges nasceu no Brasil quase quadruplicaram nesse período. Para muitos autores, os casamentos mistos são um bom indicador da integração das comunidades imigrantes na sociedade de acolhimento. Assim, dada a importância da comunidade brasileira residente em Portugal, é relevante observar qual o peso dos casamentos mistos nesta comunidade e analisar seus padrões de matrimônio. A análise estatística dos microdados dos casamentos disponibilizados pelo Instituto Nacional de Estatística possibilitou estudar e caraterizar a evolução dos casamentos registrados em Portugal, entre 2001 e 2009, envolvendo brasileiros residentes em Portugal. Ficou patente a existência de um elevado nível de casamentos mistos, em especial com portugueses, neste período, o que indicia sua integração na comunidade de acolhimento. Verificaram-se igualmente algumas diferenças nos padrões de matrimônio entre os sexos, bem como uma tendência para a diminuição da importância dos casamentos mistos, em especial entre os homens.A lo largo de las últimas décadas, el número de extranjeros residentes en Portugal aumentó de forma expresiva. En este contexto, la comunidad brasileña asumió una importancia cada vez mayor, siendo en 2009 la nacionalidad más representativa, con una cuota de residentes del 25% en el total de población extranjera en Portugal. Esta evolución tiene, como cabr

  10. Does Emigration Affects Wages? A Case Study on Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Costin-Alexandru Ciupureanu

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The migration phenomenon in Romania is characterized by emigration; the number of Romanian migrants skyrocketed after the Romanian accession to the European Union in 2007. With the economic and financial crisis outlook and with the labour market liberalization across the whole European Union for the Romanian workers starting this year the number of Romanian migrants is expected to increase further. Against this background this paper analyses the effects of emigration on wages in Romania. It is found that emigration has a positive impact on wages in Romania.

  11. Alignment of Teacher-Developed Curricula and National Standards in Qatar's National Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasser, Ramzi; Zaki, Eman; Allen, Nancy; Al Mula, Badria; Al Mutawaha, Fatma; Al Bin Ali, Hessa; Kerr, Tricia

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated the degree to which teacher developed curriculum was aligned with the national standards in Qatar. Three sources of data included teacher response to a questionnaire, teacher interviews and expert rating of the alignment of teacher-developed materials with curriculum standards. A survey and interview questions measured…

  12. Clinical Presentation, Management, and Outcome of Patients with Incidental Renal Angiomyolipoma in Qatar

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    Hassan Al-Thani

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Our study aimed to analyze the clinical presentation, management, and outcome of renal angiomyolipoma patients incidentally detected upon computed tomography (CT examination. Methods: Between 2004 and 2008, all patients who underwent abdominal CT examination for any reason at the radiology department at Hamad General Hospital, Qatar were retrospectively reviewed. The diagnosis of renal angiomyolipoma was based on abdominal CT evaluation. Angiomyolipoma patients were followed-up by CT evaluation as per standard care for three years to observe any change in size and outcome. Results: A total of 13,115 patients were screened, of which 56 (40 females and 16 males had renal angiomyolipoma. The mean age of patients was 52±13 years with 46% Qatar nationals. The majority (95% of cases had unilateral tumors (52% right-sided and 43% left-sided. Twenty-six cases showed increase in tumor size and the median increase was 0.5cm (0.1–3.6. Surgical intervention was required in four (7% cases with tumor size ≥4cm. The overall mortality on follow-up was 7%. The cause of death included metastasis, renal failure, hepatic failure and mesenteric thromboembolism. Conclusion: Renal angiomyolipoma is an uncommon benign tumor with an overall prevalence of 0.4% in Qatar. It has characteristic clinical features and its recognition is often challenging for proper clinical diagnosis and treatment in asymptomatic patients. Asymptomatic patients need regular radiological surveillance. In contrast, surgical interventions are mainly required in symptomatic patients with increased tumor size (≥4cm. Timely diagnosis and treatment is necessary to avoid complications such retroperitoneal hemorrhage and renal impairment.

  13. Prevalence of dental caries among 12-14 year old children in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Darwish, Mohammed; El Ansari, Walid; Bener, Abdulbari

    2014-07-01

    To ensure the oral health of a population, clinicians must deliver appropriate dental services, and local communities need to have access to dental care facilities. However, establishment of this infrastructure must be based on reliable information regarding disease prevalence and severity in the target population. The aims of this study were to measure the incidence of dental caries in school children aged 12-14 throughout Qatar, including the influence of socio-demographic factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Qatar from October 2011 to March 2012. A total of 2113 children aged 12-14 were randomly selected from 16 schools located in different geographic areas. Three calibrated examiners using World Health Organization (WHO) criteria to diagnose dental caries performed the clinical examinations. Data analyses were subsequently conducted. The mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth index values were respectively 4.62 (±3.2), 4.79 (±3.5), and 5.5 (±3.7), for 12, 13, and 14 year-old subjects. Caries prevalence was 85%. The mandibular incisors and canines were least affected by dental caries, while maxillary and mandibular molars exhibited the highest incidence of dental caries. Dental caries were affected by socio-demographic factors; significant differences were detected between female and male children, where more female children showed dental caries than male children. In addition, children residing in semi-urban areas showed more dental caries than in urban areas. Results indicated that dental caries prevalence among school children in Qatar has reached critical levels, and is influenced by socio-demographic factors. The mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth values obtained in this study were the second highest detected in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

  14. Role of nuclear power in Romania's sustainable development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Popescu, Anca; Lavrov, George; Costea, Diana; Vasile, Camelia

    2002-01-01

    The role of nuclear power in Romania can be assessed by taking into account the present situation of Romania electro-power systems, the socio-economic and technological evolution, of Romania as well as world wide evolution of the unique power market according the 'Green Card - Towards an European strategy for power securement' endorsed by the European Commission in November 2000. The Romanian electro-power systems is currently undergoing a restructuring process aiming at efficiency improvement, cost reduction, private investment encouraging, efficient use of available national resources. The energy demand in Romania decreased in the period 1989-2000 by an annual rate of 3.8% due to the new trends in the Romanian economy. A thorough analysis for the 2002-2020 showed the necessity for installing a capacity of about 9,000 MW what implies: - achievement of about 1935 MW in hydroelectric plants and 2,100 MW from the Cernavoda NPP; - construction of new condensation groups operating with domestic lignite and pitcoal from import; - new groups with combined cycle based on natural gas; - new nuclear units with 700 MW CANDU type reactors. Achievement of the nuclear program will reduce the Romania's dependences on fossil fuel import enhance will secure the fulfilment of the provisions of European Union's Green Card. It will require important investments what will entailed a rice in cost of the electric energy for end consumers. Although a moderate nuclear power realization is a viable solution for Romania ensuring both the levelling of prices and taxes for fuel and energy to those of European countries and the fulfilment of the Kyoto protocol requirements. Decision for the proper sizing of nuclear program will be made according to many factors implied in the Romanian electro-power system development, as well as by using the experience acquired from the Cernavoda NPP Unit 1 operation

  15. Occupational Exposure to Dromedaries and Risk for MERS-CoV Infection, Qatar, 2013-2014

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reusken, Chantal B E M; Farag, Elmoubasher A B A; Haagmans, Bart L; Mohran, Khaled A; Godeke, Gert-Jan; Raj, Stalin; Alhajri, Farhoud; Al-Marri, Salih A; Al-Romaihi, Hamad E; Al-Thani, Mohamed; Bosch, Berend-Jan; van der Eijk, Annemiek A; El-Sayed, Ahmed M; Ibrahim, Adel K; Al-Molawi, N; Müller, Marcel A; Pasha, Syed K; Drosten, Christian; AlHajri, Mohd M; Koopmans, Marion P G

    We determined the presence of neutralizing antibodies to Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in persons in Qatar with and without dromedary contact. Antibodies were only detected in those with contact, suggesting dromedary exposure as a risk factor for infection. Findings also showed

  16. Fiscal and Financial Stability in Romania - An Overview

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florin OPREA

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available The recent financial crisis has seriously shaken economies around the world, and raised serious doubts about the long-term viability of the public policies to remedy market imperfections. The effect has been pronounced for Romania, a newly transitioned country with a fragile market economy due to political, economic and social consequents. This paper examines the correlation between fiscal policy and financial stability in Romania in the period from 1990 to 2011. Specifically, we analyze the country’s main monetary and fiscal policy decisions and their associations with macro-economic variables, highlighting the requirements for a sustainable macro-economic policy and whether such requirements have been met in Romania. Based on the results, we further outline recommendations to improve Romania’s public policy initiatives, considering the specific correlations between monetary and fiscal policies. The results for the period under study indicate that fiscal and monetary policies promoted in Romania have not been consistently harmonized, at times lacking necessary mutual support, or even generating conflicting outcomes favorable to the manifestation of fiscal and financial instability.

  17. The Patriarchal Bargain in a Context of Rapid Changes to Normative Gender Roles: Young Arab Women’s Role Conflict in Qatar

    OpenAIRE

    James-Hawkins, Laurie; Qutteina, Yara; Yount, Kathryn M.

    2016-01-01

    Social norms in patriarchal countries in the Middle East are changing at differing rates. In Qatar, expectations about education have shifted, and women’s participation in higher education is normative. However, women’s participation in the workforce remains relatively low, and women still are expected to perform all household and child-rearing activities. Interviews with 27 18–25 year-old Qatari women enrolled in college in Qatar are used to illustrate the conflict between norms about educat...

  18. Stigma associated with mental illness: perspectives of university students in Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zolezzi M

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Monica Zolezzi,1,2 Nawal Bensmail,2 Farah Zahrah,2 Salma Mawfek Khaled,3 Tayseer El-Gaili4 1Clinical Pharmacy and Practice, 2College of Pharmacy, 3Research Unit, Social and Economic Survey Research Institute, 4Student Counseling Center, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar Background: Stigma in relation to mental illness is one of the main factors inhibiting people from seeking help. Studies have been undertaken looking into the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs (KAB about mental illness among residents in Qatar; however, none have looked specifically at students in higher education. The aim of this study was to understand the KAB toward mental illness among students at a Qatari university and determine if there are any differences based on gender, nationality, and college type. Methods: A convenience sample of students from all genders, colleges, and nationalities was approached to participate in a survey that consisted of four sections: demographic, beliefs, attitudes, and help-seeking and treatment preferences associated with mental illness. Chi-square testing was performed to test for differences in the distribution of proportions of our primary outcomes (students’ beliefs, attitudes, and help-seeking and treatment preferences. Results: A total of 282 students completed the survey. The majority of the participating students were females (59.3%, non-Qataris (64.3%, and enrolled in science-based colleges (62.7%. Beliefs reflecting poor mental health literacy, such as “medications to treat mental illness can cause addiction”, “mental illness is not like any other illness”, or that “mental illness is a punishment from God”, were reported by a majority of students (84.4%, 56.7%, and 50.2%, respectively. Stigmatizing attitudes that were endorsed by a majority of students included believing that people with mental illness cannot have regular jobs (60.2%, that people with mental illness are dangerous (65.7%, and that they would not marry

  19. Enoturismo em Portugal: as Rotas de Vinho

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simões, Orlando

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Since 1993, as supported by the Dyonisios program of the European Union, the wine routes have been the most visible face of the wine tourism practice in Portugal. Since these thematic routes have no specific rules, they usually depend on the initiative of the promoters, namely through the creation of adherent/promoters associations or other institutions, like the Regional Viticulture Commissions, and Tourism Regions. This article aims at analysing the basis for the development of wine tourism in Portugal and its structure around wine routes. The socioeconomics traits of both the vineyards and wine, are analysed. The existing routes in Portugal are presented and their strengths and limitations are identi-fied.

  20. LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT AND LAND USE IN QATAR: AN INTEGRATED PLANNING STRATEGY FOR AL-QASSAR’S TOD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raffaello Furlan

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The State of Qatar is presently facing the development of major transport infrastructure, to be finalized (A by 2022 for the planned FIFA World Cup and (B by 2030, as envisioned by the comprehensive national development planning strategy, also named Qatar National Vision (QNV-2030. The under-development metro system foresees the construction of four main lines. In addition, Doha, the capital city of the State of Qatar, is experiencing the progress of (1 prestigious mega projects and (2 several transit villages around the major metro stations. These projects are the manifestation of the deliberate attempt of Qatar to establish Doha as the service, economic and cultural hub of Middle East. Currently, traffic is considered a major concern: ‘Park-and-Ride’ facilities along train stations may reduce the general amount of vehicles on the road network and provide a ‘stress-free’ passenger experience when transitioning to and from the new Doha Metro System. Therefore, one of major challenges for urban planners is guaranteeing that all metro-stations and facilities (A are fully integrated within the urban context of their surroundings and (B provide multi modal transportation facilities. This urban planning strategy aims at reducing traffic through the design of compacted, mixed used transit villages, or Transit Oriented Developments (TODs. This paper explores the case of the neighborhood of Al-Qassar metro station. The exploration starts with the review of the relevant literature and the analysis of the site. Finally, the resultant planning-strategy for an integrated conceptual development of AL-Qassar-TOD envisions the development of a compact transit village, which contributes to reduce the traffic, to enhance pedestrian connectivity and to shape a liveable community.

  1. Adoption of wireless internet parks: An empirical study in Qatar

    OpenAIRE

    Weerakkody, V

    2008-01-01

    This paper examines the adoption of free wireless internet parks (iPark) by Qatari citizens as means of accessing electronic services from public parks. The Qatar government has launched the iPark concept with a view of providing free internet access for all citizens while enjoying the outdoors. By offering free wireless Internet access, the Qatari government encourages its citizen's to actively participate in the global information society with a view of bridging the digital divide. Using a ...

  2. Child Labour and Educational Success in Portugal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goulart, Pedro; Bedi, Arjun S.

    2008-01-01

    The current debate on child labour focuses on developing countries. However, Portugal is an example of a relatively developed country where child labour is still a matter of concern as between 8% and 12% of Portuguese children may be classified as workers. This paper studies the patterns of child labour in Portugal and assesses the consequences of…

  3. Distribution of Mutations Associated with Antifolate and Chloroquine Resistance among Imported Plasmodium vivax in the State of Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bansal, Devendra; Acharya, Anushree; Bharti, Praveen K; Abdelraheem, Mohamed H; Elmalik, Ashraf; Abosalah, Salem; Khan, Fahmi Y; ElKhalifa, Mohamed; Kaur, Hargobinder; Mohapatra, Pradyumna K; Sehgal, Rakesh; Idris, Mohammed A; Mahanta, Jagadish; Singh, Neeru; Babiker, Hamza A; Sultan, Ali A

    2017-12-01

    Plasmodium vivax is the most prevalent parasite worldwide, escalating by spread of drug resistance. Currently, in Qatar, chloroquine (CQ) plus primaquine are recommended for the treatment of P. vivax malaria. The present study examined the prevalence of mutations in dihydrofolate reductase ( dhfr ), dihydropteroate synthase ( dhps ) genes and CQ resistance transporter ( crt-o ) genes, associated with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) and chloroquine resistance, among imported P. vivax cases in Qatar. Blood samples were collected from patients positive for P. vivax and seeking medical treatment at Hamad General Hospital, Doha, during 2013-2016. The Sanger sequencing method was performed to examine the single nucleotide polymorphisms in Pvdhfr , Pvdhps , and Pvcrt-o genes. Of 314 examined P. vivax isolates, 247 (78.7%), 294 (93.6%) and 261 (83.1%) were successfully amplified and sequenced for Pvdhfr , Pvdhps , and Pvcrt-o , respectively. Overall, 53.8% ( N = 133) carried mutant alleles (58R/117N) in Pvdhfr , whereas 77.2% ( N = 227) and 90% ( N = 235) isolates possessed wild type allele in Pvdhps and Pvcrt-o genes, respectively. In addition, a total of eleven distinct haplotypes were detected in Pvdhfr / Pvdhps genes. Interestingly, K10 insertion in the Pvcrt-o gene was observed only in patients originating from the Indian subcontinent. The results suggested that CQ remains an acceptable treatment regimen but further clinical data are required to assess the effectiveness of CQ and SP in Qatar to support the current national treatment guidelines. In addition, limited distribution of genetic polymorphisms associated with CQ and SP resistance observed in imported P. vivax infections, necessitates regular monitoring of drug resistant P. vivax malaria in Qatar.

  4. An Overview of Food Patterns and Diet Quality in Qatar: Findings from the National Household Income Expenditure Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Thani, Mohammed; Al-Thani, Al-Anoud; Al-Mahdi, Nasser; Al-Kareem, Hefzi; Barakat, Darine; Al-Chetachi, Walaa; Tawfik, Afaf; Akram, Hammad

    2017-05-15

    Availability of accurate data pertaining to a population's dietary patterns and associated health outcomes is critical for proper development and implementation of related policies. This article is a first attempt to share the food patterns, amounts and diet quality among households (HH) in Qatar. Data from the 2012-2013 Qatar National Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) was used. This cross-sectional survey included 3723 HH (1826 Qatari HH and 1897 non-Qatari HH). Dietary data on monthly amounts food items available at HH according to the nationality was used. The food items were expressed in terms of grams per capita per day and aggregated into groups to examine the food patterns, energy, and adequacy. The overall average amount of purchased food at HH in Qatar was 1885 g/capita/day. Qatari HH purchased more food (2118 g/capita/day) versus non-Qataris (1373 g/capita/day); however, the percentages of the amounts purchased by food types were similar among both nationalities. Average daily energy (kcal) per capita was almost double among Qatari HH (4275 kcal) vs. non-Qatari HH (2424 kcal). The food items under subsidy program for Qatari citizens provided 1753 kcal/capita/day and accounted for 41% of total daily energy. Proteins (29.2), fats (39.2), sodium (3.3), and vitamin C (32.5) had higher than recommended levels of nutrient density (grams per 1000 kcal). Calcium (227), vitamin A (302.3), fiber (2.0), and carbohydrates (132.6) had lower than recommended levels of nutrient energy density (g/1000 kcal). The study predicts unhealthy dietary habits among HH in Qatar and provides useful information for policy makers and healthcare community.

  5. Epidemiological Characteristics of HIV/AIDS Pandemic in Romania

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    Corina-Liana MANIU

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: A comparative research regarding the occurrence and evolution patterns of the HIV-AIDS epidemic between Romania and the major areas (Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA and the USA, respectively in order to establish the current trends of the diseases and the specific prognosis. Material and Methods: The research represents a systematic study over the entire period, of the HIV-AIDS pandemic from 1981-2008, based on specialty literature published in English or Romanian. In addition to theses, published articles, materials presented at conferences and congresses, reports and information from the main governmental and international organizations such as WHO, CDC, UNAIDS have been consulted. Results: Romania was the first country in Central and Eastern Europe to announce the diagnosis of an AIDS case in 1985. Since then, the prevalence per 100000 population of HIV infection cases, has demonstrated an ascending trend from 0.27 in 1992 to 19.67 in 2007. HIV-AIDS infection in children from Romania is unique worldwide. Therefore, from the cumulative total of 7606 AIDS pediatric cases between 1989-2007, 4885 have had a nosocomial transmission. The mother-to-child transmission is well controlled in Romania, similar to the USA. High-risk groups (injecting drug users or men having sex with men, represent a small percentage among the Romanian HIV-AIDS and SSA cases, compared to the USA. Romania, similar to the rest of Europe and USA, has not experienced in general population.

  6. Testing connections between exo-atmospheres and their host stars. GEMINI-N/GMOS ground-based transmission spectrum of Qatar-1b

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Essen, C.; Cellone, S.; Mallonn, M.; Albrecht, S.; Miculán, R.; Müller, H. M.

    2017-07-01

    Till date, only a handful exo-atmospheres have been well characterized, mostly by means of the transit method. Some classic examples are HD 209458b, HD 189733b, GJ-436b, and GJ-1214b. Data show exoplanet atmospheres to be diverse. However, this is based on a small number of cases. Here we focus our study on the exo-atmosphere of Qatar-1b, an exoplanet that looks much like HD 189733b regarding its host star's activity level, their surface gravity, scale height, equilibrium temperature and transit parameters. Thus, our motivation relied on carrying out a comparative study of their atmospheres, and assess if these are regulated by their environment. In this work we present one primary transit of Qatar-1b obtained during September, 2014, using the 8.1 m GEMINI North telescope. The observations were performed using the GMOS-N instrument in multi-object spectroscopic mode. We collected fluxes of Qatar-1 and six more reference stars, covering the wavelength range between 460 and 746 nm. The achieved photometric precision of 0.18 parts-per-thousand in the white light curve, at a cadence of 165 s, makes this one of the most precise datasets obtained from the ground. We created 12 chromatic transit light curves that we computed by integrating fluxes in wavelength bins of different sizes, ranging between 3.5 and 20 nm. Although the data are of excellent quality, the wavelength coverage and the precision of the transmission spectrum are not sufficient to neither rule out or to favor classic atmospheric models. Nonetheless, simple statistical analysis favors the clear atmosphere scenario. A larger wavelength coverage or space-based data is required to characterize the constituents of Qatar-1b's atmosphere and to compare it to the well known HD 189733b. On top of the similarities of the orbital and physical parameters of both exoplanets, from a long Hα photometric follow-up of Qatar-1, presented in this work, we find Qatar-1 to be as active as HD 189733. The white light curve

  7. Travel Agencies in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ionel Marian

    2017-01-01

    If the hotel service provider does not provide quality services then the intermediary is guilty of this and consequently the tourists are dissatisfied. In Romania, this situation has reduced the number of foreign tourists who visited our country.

  8. The Mutual Investments in Romania - Current Developments and Trends

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florina Oana VIRLANUTA

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Mutual fund industry in Romania has undergone significant growth in recent years in the number of investors and the net assets managed, but still very small compared to other European countries. Capital market development in Romania, the emergence of new investment instruments provides a greater variety of mutual funds investments. Managers decide on the structure of the portfolio by selecting categories of assets in accordance with the rules set out in the Prospectus and according to the degree of risk. In this paper we propose to realize an analysis of mutual investments system in Romania, the progress and their efficiency.

  9. Main factors influencing the production of biofuels in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alin Paul OLTEANU

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Despite the considerable progress achieved by Romania in regenerative energies, especially for the hydro energy, the energy production from biomass still has a great unused potential compared with other EU countries. The interest for biomass has increased over the last years in the EU also in the context of biofuels for the transport sector and has lead to a series of strategic choices to increase their use in the economy. Biofuel production in Romania is at a low level compared with other more developed countries like Germany or France. Thus, outlining the country profile of Romania from the perspective of a national production of biofuels becomes imperative for the integration in the EU market and the development of a new industrial branch, with high growth rates and a positive impact on other economic branches (e.g. agriculture. The present study aims at laying the foundation for a strategic analysis of the biofuels production in Romania. In this regard different factors with a direct impact on the sustainable biofuels production were identified and analyzed. For the purpose of this study information from various reports, issued by both governmental and non-governmental bodies from Romania and internationally, were used.

  10. THE CHART ROMANIA-NATO-UE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duduială Popescu Lorena

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available viewed in the context of geopolitical and geostrategic current and through the elements of distinction in terms of identity and cultural institutions, chart Romania - NATO / Israel - EU stands under the sign of the common interest channel, firstly, on common values and hence the collective interests of the partners involved in the two organizational structures. Noteworthy in this context is the extent of bilateral involvement of Romania in the bodies and the politico-military, represented by NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which is primarily military values and the construction superstate permanent expansion and development - European Union , both generating as much for our country as obligations of a politico-military security, and economic, social, institutional, cultural.

  11. Radioactive waste management in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barariu, Gheorghe; Radu, Maria; Dobos, Ion; Glodeanu, Florin; Popescu, V. Ion; Rotarescu, Gheorghe; Turcanu, Cornel

    1998-01-01

    The paper presents the main aspects of management of radwastes generated within the frame of Nuclear Fuel Cycle (NFC) and out of Nuclear Fuel Cycle in Romania. There are mentioned the Romanian legislative and regulatory framework concerning nuclear activities which include provisions for radwaste management generated in Romania. The paper lists the radwaste producers, mentions waste inventory and gives future estimates for radwaste generation, all determining development of the radwaste management strategy. Choosing selected strategy for radwaste management, the main responsible organizations have been established as well as the planned facilities for treatment conditioning, storage and disposal of radwastes generated within the frame of both NFC and out of NFC fields of peaceful nuclear activity. (authors)

  12. Patterns in Place of Cancer Death in the State of Qatar: A Population-Based Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohsen, Hassan; Haddad, Pascale; Allam, Ayman; Hassan, Azza

    2014-01-01

    Background International studies show that most people prefer to die at home; however, hospitals remain the most common place of death (PoD). This study aims to investigate the patterns in PoD and the associated factors, which are crucial for end-of-life cancer care enhancement. Method This retrospective, population-based study analyzed all registered cancer deaths in Qatar between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2012 (n = 1,224). The main outcome measures were patient characteristics: age, gender, nationality, cancer diagnosis, year of death, and PoD. Time trends for age-standardized proportions of death in individual PoDs were evaluated using chi-square analysis. Odds ratio (OR) were determined for variables associated with the most preferred (acute palliative care unit [APCU] and hematology/oncology ward) versus least preferred (ICU and general medicine ward) PoDs in Qatar, stratified by nationality. Results The hematology/oncology ward was the most common PoD (32.4%; 95% CI 26.7–35.3%) followed by ICU (31.4%; 95% CI 28.7–34.3%), APCU (26.9%; 95% CI 24.3–29.6%), and general medicine ward (9.2%; 95% CI 7.6–11.1%). APCU trended upward (+0.057/year; pQatar occur in hospital. As home was the preferred PoD for most people, effective home care and hospice programs are needed to improve end-of-life cancer care. PMID:25536076

  13. Business Plan: Community Business Incubator for Scaling Independent Designers in Qatar

    OpenAIRE

    Bachir, Abir

    2012-01-01

    Local design is a business incubator that seeks to scale design and designers in Qatar within the category of furnishings, home wear and apparel. Meeting larger social objectives includes increasing national entrepreneurial activity and decreasing the gender gap through the provision of accessible opportunities in design. Our products reflect individual and regional pride. Our processes utilize efficient operational resources while infusing social responsibility in a growing economy. The Wo...

  14. Dr. Lenke Horvath (1917-1991): Creator of Pediatric Neurosurgery in Romania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohan, Dumitru; Moisa, Horatiu Alexandru; Nica, Dan Aurel; Ciurea, Alexandru Vlad

    2016-04-01

    The development of neurosurgery as an independent specialty took place with great difficulty in Romania. In this respect, the most revered personalities are those of Professor Alexandru Moruzzi (1900-1957) (in Iasi) and Professor Dimitrie Bagdasar (1893-1946) (in Bucharest), who are the fathers of modern neurosurgery in Romania. Professor Bagdasar was schooled in Professor Harvey Cushing's clinic in Boston and is credited with creating the first completely independent neurosurgical unit in Romania. His legacy was carried on with honor by Professor Constantin Arseni (1912-1994), who, in 1975, tasked Dr. Lenke Horvath (1917-1991) with creating the first autonomous pediatric neurosurgery unit in Bucharest. This article is a small tribute to the founder of pediatric neurosurgery in Romania and one of the female pioneer neurosurgeons, who, by personal example of dedication and hard work, radically changed medical thinking and neurosurgery in Romania. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION OF ROMANIA: POST MODERNITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. RATHNASWAMY

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Austria had in 1920 Constitutional Court followed by Italy in 1946, Germany in 1949, Romania in 1989, South Africa in 1991, and Ethiopia in 1995. Each Constitution has its provisions on the constitutional interpretation. Romania has its own provisions and it is considered here its legality and the best possible measures and recommendations for future. Judicial power is vested in judiciary to interpret constitution, laws, and actions of other organs of government. Judicial review is the function resulted upon judicial power. Political body joins through the appointment of its members in the judicial review and it limits the independence of judiciary. It also reduces the values of separation of powers. Challenges and opportunities of growth and development do influence the spirit of separation of powers and judicial independence. The principle of inherent judicial power in judiciary inducts upon the constitutional interpretation. Thus, the principles of constitutional interpretation are varying in Romania and other similar constitutional courts of Germany, Ethiopia, and Italy but not in South Africa.

  16. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation of out-of-hospital traumatic cardiac arrest in Qatar: A nationwide population-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irfan, Furqan B; Consunji, Rafael; El-Menyar, Ayman; George, Pooja; Peralta, Ruben; Al-Thani, Hassan; Thomas, Stephen Hodges; Alinier, Guillaume; Shuaib, Ashfaq; Al-Suwaidi, Jassim; Singh, Rajvir; Castren, Maaret; Cameron, Peter A; Djarv, Therese

    2017-08-01

    Traumatic cardiac arrest studies have reported improved survival rates recently, ranging from 1.7-7.5%. This population-based nationwide study aims to describe the epidemiology, interventions and outcomes, and determine predictors of survival from out-of-hospital traumatic cardiac arrest (OHTCA) in Qatar. An observational retrospective population-based study was conducted on OHTCA patients in Qatar, from January 2010 to December 2015. Traumatic cardiac arrest was redefined to include out-of-hospital traumatic cardiac arrest (OHTCA) and in-hospital traumatic cardiac arrest (IHTCA). A total of 410 OHTCA patients were included in the 6-year study period. The mean annual crude incidence rate of OHTCA was 4.0 per 100,000 population, in Qatar. OHTCA mostly occurred in males with a median age of 33. There was a preponderance of blunt injuries (94.3%) and head injuries (66.3%). Overall, the survival rate was 2.4%. Shockable rhythm, prehospital external hemorrhage control, in-hospital blood transfusion, and surgery were associated with higher odds of survival. Adrenaline (Epinephrine) lowered the odds of survival. The incidence of OHTCA was less than expected, with a low rate of survival. Thoracotomy was not associated with improved survival while Adrenaline administration lowered survival in OHTCA patients with majority blunt injuries. Interventions to enable early prehospital control of hemorrhage, blood transfusion, thoracostomy and surgery improved survival. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Natural gas reserve/production ratio in Russia, Iran, Qatar and Turkmenistan: A political and economic perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Esen, Vedat; Oral, Bulent

    2016-01-01

    In this study, changes in natural gas reserve/production ratio (R/P) of the four countries having the highest natural gas reserves (Russia, Iran, Qatar, Turkmenistan), the importance of which increases in the world market each day due to developing technology and the demand for clean energy, has been analyzed depending on the economic and political developments in national and international fields. Change of R/P ratio depending on years has been displayed on graphics from different sources and these alterations have been tried to be associated with such issues as natural gas agreements in history, handover of political authority, economic crises etc. Therefore; it has been put forward whether or not political and economic changes of the countries are factors on the amount of natural gas production and the discovery of new reserve fields with the addition aim of providing a general overview on natural gas market. - Highlights: •Russia, Iran, Qatar and Turkmenistan are the top four countries with the highest natural gas reserves. •R/P ratios of Russia, Iran, Qatar and Turkmenistan are presented in this study. •Change of R/P ratio has been associated with the political and economic events of the countries are being analyzed. •The effect of political and economic changes on the ratio of natural gas R/P has been proposed.

  18. Adequacy, accountability, autonomy and equity in a Middle Eastern school reform: The case of Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guarino, Cassandra M.; Tanner, Jeffery C.

    2012-04-01

    This study examines Qatar's recent and ambitious school reform in the early stages of its implementation against a set of four criteria for successful education systems drawn from guidelines developed by the international community: adequacy, accountability, autonomy and gender equity. We investigate both the initial structure of the reform and its sustainability in light of concerns that movements in these directions might be politically unfeasible. To some degree, these concerns are substantiated by the developments we trace. However, it is important to note that the reform has changed the landscape of primary and secondary education in Qatar and that many reform principles, though diluted, have been retained. This paper highlights lessons learned - both hopeful and cautionary - in the first few years of reform and presents a methodology for evaluating progress along key dimensions that can be applied to school systems in many nations.

  19. How can Portugal attract more China´S young generation tourists?

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Yujing

    2017-01-01

    Portugal as a tourism destination has great potential to be further developed, however it is still not well known by the Chinese outbound tourists, especially the young generation who would stay longer and spend more in Portugal. This paper describe the current situation of Portugal tourism in Chinese outbound market, after analyzing explained why Portugal should aim at the young generation, and finally gave some recommendations of how to attract them, mainly through social media platforms.

  20. Fluoride Content of Bottled Drinking Waters in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almulla, Hessa Ibrahim; King, Nigel M; Alnsour, Hamza Mohammad; Sajnani, Anand K

    2016-12-01

    Fluoridation of drinking water has been recognized as one of the most effective ways of achieving community-wide exposure to the caries prevention effects of fluoride (F). A vast majority of people in Qatar use bottled water for drinking. Use of bottled water without knowing the F level may expose children to dental caries risk if the F level is lower than optimal or to dental fluorosis if the F level is too high. The aim of this study was to determine the F concentration of bottled water available in Qatar. A total of 32 brands of bottled water were evaluated. The F concentrations displayed on the labels were recorded. The F ion-selective electrode method was used to measure the F concentration in water samples, and three measurements were taken for every sample to ensure reproducibility. The p value was set at 0.05. The F concentration ranged from 0.06 to 3.0 ppm with a mean value of 0.8 ppm (±0.88). The F levels were provided by the manufacturers on the labels of 60 % of the samples, but this was significantly lower than the measured F levels (p < 0.0001). Moreover, bottled water that was produced in Saudi Arabia had significantly higher levels of F when compared to those produced in other countries (p < 0.05). There was a wide variation in the F levels in the different brands of bottled water. Furthermore, there was a significant disparity between the F levels which were measured and those that were provided on the labels.

  1. Evaluation of endometrial cancer epidemiology in Romania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bohîlțea, R E; Furtunescu, F; Dosius, M; Cîrstoiu, M; Radoi, V; Baroș, A; Bohîlțea, L C

    2015-01-01

    Endometrial cancer represents the most frequent gynecological malignant affection in the developed countries, in which the incidence of cervical cancer has significantly decreased due to the rigorous application of screening methods and prophylaxis. According to its frequency, endometrial cancer is situated on the fourth place in the category of women's genital-mammary malignant diseases, after breast, cervical and ovarian cancer in Romania. The incidence and mortality rates due to endometrial cancer have registered an increasing trend worldwide and also in Romania, a significant decrease of the age of appearance for the entire endometrial pathology sphere being noticed. At the national level, the maximum incidence is situated between 60 and 64 years old, the mortality rate of the women under 65 years old being high in Romania. The study evaluates endometrial cancer, from an epidemiologic point of view, at the national level compared to the international statistic data.

  2. Spatial distribution of Dermacentor reticulatus in Romania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chitimia-Dobler, Lidia

    2015-11-30

    Dermacentor reticulatus (Fabricius, 1794), also known as the marsh tick or ornate dog tick is the second most significant vector (next to Ixodes ricinus) of protozoan, rickettsial and viral pathogens in Europe. Until now, only limited information on the distribution of D. reticulatus in Romania is available. A study was conducted on the distribution of D. reticulatus in Romania during 2012-2014. In this study, D. reticulatus was detected in 17 counties, in 14 of which the species was recorded for the first time. Tick activity was evident throughout the year, except during July and August. Additionally, D. reticulatus was recorded for the first time in Romania from wild boar, foxes and humans. These data suggest that this tick species has a broader geographic range and may have more veterinary and medical importance than previously known. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Portugal to Accede to ESO

    Science.gov (United States)

    2000-06-01

    The Republic of Portugal will become the ninth member state of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) [1]. Today, during a ceremony at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany), a corresponding Agreement was signed by the Portuguese Minister of Science and Technology, José Mariano Gago and the ESO Director General, Catherine Cesarsky , in the presence of other high officials from Portugal and the ESO member states (see Video Clip 05/00 below). Following subsequent ratification by the Portuguese Parliament of the ESO Convention and the associated protocols [2], it is foreseen that Portugal will formally join this organisation on January 1, 2001. Uniting European Astronomy ESO PR Photo 16/00 ESO PR Photo 16/00 [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 405 pix - 160k] [Normal - JPEG: 800 x 809 pix - 408k] Caption : Signing of the Portugal-ESO Agreement on June 27, 2000, at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany). At the table, the ESO Director General, Catherine Cesarsky , and the Portuguese Minister of Science and Technology, José Mariano Gago . In his speech, the Portuguese Minister of Science and Technology, José Mariano Gago , stated that "the accession of Portugal to ESO is the result of a joint effort by ESO and Portugal during the last ten years. It was made possible by the rapid Portuguese scientific development and by the growth and internationalisation of its scientific community." He continued: "Portugal is fully committed to European scientific and technological development. We will devote our best efforts to the success of ESO". Catherine Cesarsky , ESO Director General since 1999, warmly welcomed the Portuguese intention to join ESO. "With the accession of their country to ESO, Portuguese astronomers will have great opportunities for working on research programmes at the frontiers of modern astrophysics." "This is indeed a good time to join ESO", she added. "The four 8.2-m VLT Unit Telescopes with their many first-class instruments are nearly ready, and the VLT

  4. Lessons from wind policy in Portugal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peña, Ivonne; Azevedo, Inês L.; Marcelino Ferreira, Luís António Fialho

    2017-01-01

    Wind capacity and generation grew rapidly in several European countries, such as Portugal. Wind power adoption in Portugal began in the early 2000s, incentivized by a continuous feed-in tariff policy mechanism, coupled with public tenders for connection licenses in 2001, 2002, and 2005. These policies led to an enormous success in terms of having a large share of renewables providing electricity services: wind alone accounts today for ~23.5% of electricity demand in Portugal. We explain the reasons wind power became a key part of Portugal’s strategy to comply with European Commission climate and energy goals, and provide a detailed review of the wind feed-in tariff mechanism. We describe the actors involved in wind power production growth. We estimate the environmental and energy dependency gains achieved through wind power generation, and highlight the correlation between wind electricity generation and electricity exports. Finally, we compare the Portuguese wind policies with others countries’ policy designs and discuss the relevance of a feed-in tariff reform for subsequent wind power additions. - Highlights: • Portugal relies on feed-in tariffs as the key mechanism for wind diffusion. • Wind generation accounts for a quarter of total electricity generation. • The current feed-in tariffs system is not economically efficiency. • A feed-in tariff reform should be considered.

  5. The phenomenon of domestic servants in the State of Qatar

    OpenAIRE

    Alshafai, Nedham

    2015-01-01

    Of new phenomena that emerged in the State of Qatar, and on a large scale in the post-oil era (after 1950) is domestic servant's phenomenon. Historically, the phenomenon was presented in the pre-oil and limited to the homes of the royal families, pearls' merchants, senior traders and tribal leaders. However, today the phenomenon exists in all Qatari families, under the name of maids, drivers, educators, nurses and others, recently; it began spreading in non-citizenship families as well. Base...

  6. Radioactivity levels in the marine environment along the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Qaradawi, Ilham; Abdel-Moati, Mohamed; Al-Yafei, Mohsin Al-Ansi; Al-Ansari, Ebrahim; Al-Maslamani, Ibrahim; Holm, Elis; Al-Shaikh, Ismail; Mauring, Alexander; Pinto, Primal V; Abdulmalik, Dana; Amir, Amina; Miller, Mark; Yigiterhan, Oguz; Persson, Bertil

    2015-01-15

    A study on (137)Cs, (40)K, (226)Ra, (228)Ra, and (238)U was carried out along the EEZ of Qatar. Results serve as the first ever baseline data. The level of (137)Cs (mean value 1.6 ± 0.4 Bq m(-3)) in water filters was found to be in the same order of magnitude as reported by others in worldwide marine radioactivity studies. Results are also in agreement with values reported from other Gulf regions. The computed values of sediment-water distribution coefficients Kd, are lower than the values given by IAEA. Measurements were carried out for bottom sediments, biota samples like fish, oyster, sponge, seashell, mangrove, crab, shrimp, starfish, dugong and algae. The 'concentration factors' reported for biota samples are below the levels published by IAEA and cause no significant impact on human health for seafood consumers in Qatar. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. The Counter-Reformation, Diplomacy, and Art Patronage in Portugal under Cardinal-Infant D. Henrique of Portugal: A Legacy to Serve Church and Kingdom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milton Pedro Dias Pacheco

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Commonly known as the Cardinal-King, Don Henrique of Portugal was a Portuguese royal-blood infant who was destined to become a prince of the Church. He was a preeminent figure of the sixteenth century: the period of the political, economic, religious, and cultural expansion of the Portuguese Empire, and of the Counter-Reformation. During his service to the Roman Catholic Church, D. Henrique occupied the seats of the three Portuguese archdioceses, was chosen to govern some of the wealthiest religious orders, and represented the Holy Office in Portugal. He was also nominated cardinal and legate a latere to Portugal. The Cardinal-Infant was responsible for an unprecedented architectural innovation in Portugal and beyond, reforming, expanding, and erecting several buildings. This study focuses on the institutional projects and material reforms in Portugal initiated by Cardinal-King D. Henrique through complex diplomatic relations between the Portuguese Crown and the Holy See during the sixteenth century. Its main objective is to create a basis for further research into his architectural patronage while occupying his several positions of ecclesiastical and lay authority.

  8. Renewable Energy in Romania after 2007

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Enachescu

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable development requires obtaining energy from alternative sources which are clean and sustainable. In Romania, there are categories of renewable energy that basically were not used, such as solar PV and wind energy by 2007. Even today, their share is minor compared to energy from conventional sources, but they were made important steps, including in legislation domain. The paper aims to present the evolution of renewable energy in Romania after 2007, as a result of EU integration. The analysis is done separately for installed capacity in the following chapters: Hydropower, Wind Onshore, Solid biomass, Solar Photovoltaic and Biogas.

  9. Physicians’ perceptions, expectations, and experience with pharmacists at Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zaidan M

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Manal Zaidan1, Rajvir Singh2, Mayyada Wazaify3, Linda Tahaineh41Department of Pharmacy, Al-Amal Hospital, 2Medical Research Centre, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; 3Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Biopharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan; 4Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, JordanObjectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the physicians’ perceptions, and expectations of their experiences with the pharmacists at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC in Qatar.Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted at HMC between January and March 2006 using a validated questionnaire. The self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 500 physicians who were working at HMC comprising Hamad General Hospital, Women’s Hospital, Rumaila Hospital, Al-Amal Hospital, Al Khor Hospital, and primary health centers. The questionnaire was composed of four parts, investigating the physicians' expectations, experiences, and perceptions of the pharmacists.Results: A total of 205 questionnaires were completed (response rate 41%. A total of 183 physicians (89% expected the pharmacist to educate patients about safe and appropriate use of drugs, whereas 118 (57% expected the pharmacist to be available for health-care team consultation during bedside rounds. The indices of physicians showing how comfortable they were with pharmacists, and their expectations of pharmacists, were 61% and 65%, respectively, whereas the index on experience of physicians with pharmacists was lower (15%.Conclusions: Physicians were comfortable with pharmacists and had high expectations of pharmacists in performing their duties. However, physicians reported a poor experience with pharmacists, who infrequently informed them about the effectiveness of alternative drugs, patients experiencing problems with prescribed medications, and who took personal responsibility to resolve any drug

  10. The economic and communication implications of tourism in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Elena PAICU

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The tourism in Romania is based on diversity of relief forms, on the natural landscape, on the specific customs and on history and rich tradition, having also an important contribution to the economy. Tourism is considered one of Romania's economic sectors characterized by dynamism. So it is that the statistical data records data upon which we can support that tourism in Romania is, despite weaknesses, developing and with a high potential for expansion. In the present paper we propose a comprehensive analysis of tourism, based on statistical data obtained from specialized institutions, at the same time aiming to capture its impact on the economic level.

  11. Introducción de las artes marciales asiáticas en Portugal = The introduction of asian martial arts in Portugal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Gutiérrez García

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available El presente estudio analiza la introducción del jujutsu en Portugal, sucedida a principios del siglo XX. Para su realización se ha consultado fundamentalmente prensa histórica portuguesa, tanto general como específica del ámbito deportivo. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la introducción del jujutsu en Portugal se produjo fundamentalmente a través del mundo del espectáculo, mediante actuaciones de expertos japoneses. Las notables diferencias técnicas y corporales entre estos luchadores japoneses y los luchadores profesionales de lucha libre y grecorromana de la época, a los que habitualmente solían derrotar, contribuyeron a generar un potente imaginario de las artes de combate orientales como sistemas superiores de cultura física y defensa personal. No obstante, a pesar del éxito del jujutsu este no logró afianzarse sólidamente en Portugal, desapareciendo progresivamente de la escena pública desde principios de la segunda década del siglo XX.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------The present study analyzes the introduction of jujutsu in Portugal at the beginning of the 20th century. Mainly, historical Portuguese newspapers were reviewed, both general and specific from sports field. Results show that the introduction of jujutsu in Portugal was principally conduced via the show business through exhibitions performed by Japanese experts. Significant technical and physical differences between the Japanese fighters and the professional Freestyle and Greco-roman fighters, who were usually defeated by the former, contributed to create a powerful imaginary of the eastern fighting arts as superior systems of physical culture and self-defence. However, in spite of jujutsu’s success, it did not come to be strongly established in Portugal, vanishing progressively off the public scene since the beginning of the 1910s.

  12. Post Fire Vegetation Recovery in Portugal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gouveia, Celia; Bastos, Ana; DaCamara, Carlos; Trigo, Ricardo M.

    2011-01-01

    Fires in Portugal, as in the Mediterranean ecosystems, have a complex effect on vegetation regeneration due to the different responses of vegetation to the variety of fire regimes and to the complexity of landscape structures. A thorough evaluation of vegetation recovery after fire events becomes therefore crucial in land management. In 2005, Portugal suffered a strong damage from forest fires that damaged an area of 300 000 ha of forest and shrub. This year are particularly interesting because it is associated the severe drought of 2005. The aim of the present study is to identify large burnt scars in Portugal during the 2005 fire seasons and monitoring vegetation behaviour throughout the pre and the post fire periods. The mono-parametric model developed by Gouveia et al. (2010), based on monthly values of NDVI, at the 1km×1km spatial scale, as obtained from the VEGETATION-SPOT5 instrument, from 1999 to 2009, was used.

  13. Perspectives for Romania on adopting agricultural innovations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lavinia DOVLEAC

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper highlight the efforts Romania needs to do on the path of agricultural development through innovation. A smart, modern agriculture could contribute to a wide variety of economic, societal and environmental goals. Considering its potential in this sector, Romania should learn from the experience of other European countries how to manage its rich resources. Innovative technologies, products and practices can help make the most efficient and sustainable use of natural resources, and thereby improve farming process.

  14. FOOD SECURITY IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silviu STANCIU

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The increasing world population, the limitation of the natural availability for food production, the climate issues and the food consumption need for modification imposed a continuous updating of the food security concept. Although Romania has sufficient natural resources, which may ensure, by means of proper exploitation, the population’s food needs, the lack of a unitary approach at the government level, materialized in the dependence on imports and in fluctuations in the agro-food production, leads to a re-evaluation of national food needs. National food security may be affected by a series of risks and threats, which appeared due to an imbalance connected with the availability, the utility and the stability of the agro-food sector, interdependent elements that must be functional. The present article proposes an analysis of food security in Romania, with a short presentation of the concept in an international context.

  15. Health-related quality of life in midlife women in Qatar: relation to arthritis and symptoms of joint pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerber, Linda M; Chiu, Ya-Lin; Verjee, Mohamud; Ghomrawi, Hassan

    2016-03-01

    The prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been poorly documented in the Middle East and North African region, including the State of Qatar. Given that musculoskeletal pain is commonly reported among midlife women, we evaluated the association between self-report of either OA or RA and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among midlife women in Qatar. In addition, HRQoL among women in Qatar was compared with that of women in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). A cross-sectional study was conducted among 841 women 40 to 60 years recruited from primary care centers in Qatar. Face-to-face interviews were conducted and included measures of self-reported OA and RA, health-related symptom experience, and HRQoL using the SF-36 health survey. Most women were obese (75.5%) and reported being bothered by aches and stiffness in joints (71.6%). Prevalence of self-reported OA and RA was 4.8% and 4.3%, respectively. OA was significantly associated with reduced physical function (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.97; P=0.003). RA was also significantly related to reduced physical function (adjusted OR, 2.94; P = 0.01) and role physical (adjusted OR, 2.67; P = 0.01). When compared with women from the SWAN, women from the current study had significantly lower mean scores for bodily pain (53.0 vs. 68.9, P = 0.0001) and for vitality (49.9 vs. 54.8, P = 0.0001). Self-report of OA or RA was associated with significant disability in our sample. Because symptoms of aches and stiff joints were so frequently reported, arthritis may be under-diagnosed, especially given the high rates of obesity observed.

  16. Prevalence and molecular profiling of Epstein Barr virus (EBV) among healthy blood donors from different nationalities in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smatti, Maria K; Yassine, Hadi M; AbuOdeh, Raed; AlMarawani, Asmaa; Taleb, Sara A; Althani, Asmaa A; Nasrallah, Gheyath K

    2017-01-01

    The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the causative agent of infectious mononucleosis. EBV is highly prevalent lymphotropic herpesvirus and has been linked to several malignancies. Transmission is generally by oral secretions, but can be through blood transfusions and organ transplantations. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence, viremia rates, and circulating genotypes of EBV in healthy blood donors in Qatar. Blood samples from 673 blood donors of different nationalities residing in Qatar (mainly Qatar, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Pakistan, and India) were collected and tested for anti-EBV capsid (VCA; IgG & IgM), nuclear (EBNA; IgG), and early (EA-D; IgG) antigens. Avidity testing was determined when active infection was suspected. DNA was extracted from the buffy coat and subjected to EBV-DNA quantification using qRT-PCR. Genotyping was performed using nested-PCR targeting EBV-EBNA2 gene, and phylogeny by sequence analysis of the LMP-1 gene. 97.9% (673/659) of the samples were seropositive as indicated by the presence VCA-IgG, while 52.6% (354/673) had detectible EBV-DNA. EBV seroprevalence and viremia rates increased significantly with age. Genotyping of 51 randomly selected samples showed predominance of Genotype 1 (72.5%, 37/51) as compared to genotype 2 (3.5%), and mixed infections were detected in 4% of the samples. Sub-genotyping for these samples revealed that the Mediterranean strain was predominant (65.3%), followed by B95.8 prototype and North Carolina strains (12.2% each), and China1 strain (6%). As a first study to evaluate EBV infection in highly diverse population in Qatar, where expatriates represent more than 85% of the population, our results indicated high seroprevalence and viremia rate of EBV in different nationalities, with genotype 1 and Mediterranean strain being predominant. Clinical significance of these finding have not been investigated and shall be evaluated in future studies.

  17. Health-related Quality of Life in Midlife Women in Qatar: Relation to Arthritis and Symptoms of Joint Pain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerber, Linda M.; Chiu, Ya-Lin; Verjee, Mohamud; Ghomrawi, Hassan

    2016-01-01

    Objective The prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been poorly documented in the Middle East and North African region, including the State of Qatar. Given that musculoskeletal pain is commonly reported among midlife women, we evaluated the association between self-report of either OA or RA and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among midlife women in Qatar. Additionally, HRQoL among women in Qatar was compared to that of women in the Study of Women Across the Nation (SWAN). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 841 women 40–60 years recruited from primary-care centers in Qatar. Face-to-face interviews were conducted and included measures of self-reported OA and RA, health-related symptom experience, and HRQoL using the SF-36 health survey. Results Most women were obese (75.5%) and reported being bothered by aches and stiffness in joints (71.6%). Prevalence of self-reported OA and RA was 4.8% and 4.3%, respectively. OA was significantly associated with reduced physical function (adjusted OR, 2.97; p=0.003). RA was also significantly related to reduced physical function (adjusted OR, 2.94; p=0.01) as well as role physical (adjusted OR, 2.67; p=0.01). When compared to women from the SWAN, women from the current study had significantly lower mean scores for bodily pain (53.0 vs 68.9, p=0.0001) and for vitality (49.9 vs 54.8, p=0.0001). Conclusions Self-report of OA or RA was associated with significant disability in our sample. Since symptoms of aches and stiff joints were so frequently reported, arthritis may be under-diagnosed, especially given the high rates of obesity observed. PMID:26382317

  18. Occupational exposure to dromedaries and risk for MERS-CoV infection, Qatar, 2013–2014

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C.B.E.M. Reusken (Chantal); E. Farag (Elmoubasher); B.L. Haagmans (Bart); K.A. Mohran (Khaled A.); G-J. Godeke (Gert-Jan); V.S. Raj (Stalin); F. Alhajri (Farhoud); S.A. Al-Marri (Salih); H.E. Al Romaihi (Hamad); M. Al-Thani (Mohamed); B.J. Bosch (Berend Jan); A.A. Eijck (Annemiek); A.M. El-Sayed (Ahmed M.); A.K. Ibrahim; N. Al-Molawi; M.A. Müller (Marcel); S.K. Pasha; C. Drosten (Christian); M.M. AlHajri (Mohd); M.P.G. Koopmans D.V.M. (Marion)

    2015-01-01

    textabstractWe determined the presence of neutralizing antibodies to Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in persons in Qatar with and without dromedary contact. Antibodies were only detected in those with contact, suggesting dromedary exposure as a risk factor for infection. Findings also

  19. Portugal Democrático: An Exiles’ Newspaper

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabel Travancas

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to present the newspaper Portugal Democrático (Democratic Portugal through its history, its style and format. It is a periodical publication produced in São Paulo by Portuguese exiles during the dictatorship of Antônio Salazar (1926-1974. The newspaper began to circulate in 1956 and came to an end in 1975, a year after the Carnation Revolution that occurred on April 25, 1974. Fighting the Salazar dictatorship outside Portugal was the reason for the creation of the newspaper in Brazil, where it also had the collaboration of Brazilian journalists and intellectuals. This paper analyzes the newspaper Portugal Democrático both in its political aspect and in its editorial feature and concludes that the paper played a greater role than informative. It was an important part of the international opposition movement and resistance to Salazar's dictatorial regime. O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar o jornal Portugal Democrático através de sua história, de seu estilo e formato. Trata-se de uma publicação periódica produzida em São Paulo por exilados portugueses durante a ditadura de Antônio Salazar (1926-1974. O jornal começou a circular em 1956 e chegou ao fim em 1975, um ano depois da Revolução dos Cravos ocorrida em 25 de abril de 1974. Lutar contra a ditadura salazarista fora de Portugal foi o motivo da criação do jornal no Brasil, onde contou com a colaboração de jornalistas e intelectuais brasileiros. O trabalho analisa o jornal Portugal Democrático tanto em seu aspecto político quanto em sua feição editorial e conclui que o periódico teve um papel maior do que informativo. Ele foi parte importante no movimento internacional de oposição e resistência ao regime ditatorial de Salazar. El objetivo de este artículo es dar a conocer el periódico Portugal Democrático a través de su historia, de su estilo y formato. Se trata de una publicación periódica producida en São Paulo por los

  20. Palliative care in Romania

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dumitrescu, Luminita

    2006-01-01

    Palliative care concentrates on supporting and helping people with an incurable disease and aims to improve patient’s quality of life by reducing or eliminating pain and other physical symptoms. Palliative care is a new phenomenon in Romania . PhD student Luminita Dumitrescu describes the

  1. Epidemiological review of Toxoplasmosis in humans and animals in Romania

    Science.gov (United States)

    Infections by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii are widely prevalent in humans and other animals worldwide. However, information from former East European countries, including Romania is sketchy. Unfortunately, in many Eastern European countries, including Romania it has been assumed that T. ...

  2. The Qatar National Historic Environment Record: a Platform for the Development of a Fully-Integrated Cultural Heritage Management Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuttler, R. T. H.; Tonner, T. W. W.; Al-Naimi, F. A.; Dingwall, L. M.; Al-Hemaidi, N.

    2013-07-01

    The development of the Qatar National Historic Environment Record (QNHER) by the Qatar Museums Authority and the University of Birmingham in 2008 was based on a customised, bilingual Access database and ArcGIS. While both platforms are stable and well supported, neither was designed for the documentation and retrieval of cultural heritage data. As a result it was decided to develop a custom application using Open Source code. The core module of this application is now completed and is orientated towards the storage and retrieval of geospatial heritage data for the curation of heritage assets. Based on MIDAS Heritage data standards and regionally relevant thesauri, it is a truly bilingual system. Significant attention has been paid to the user interface, which is userfriendly and intuitive. Based on a suite of web services and accessed through a web browser, the system makes full use of internet resources such as Google Maps and Bing Maps. The application avoids long term vendor ''tie-ins'' and as a fully integrated data management system, is now an important tool for both cultural resource managers and heritage researchers in Qatar.

  3. 48 CFR 25.407 - Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Civil Aircraft. Those countries are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Macao, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania...

  4. Reconstruindo memórias: jovens refugiados em Portugal Rebuilding memories: young refugees in Portugal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Cristina Santinho

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available O presente ensaio foi apresentado em setembro de 2007, no contexto do Seminário Internacional "Programa de Cooperação em Ciências Sociais para os Países da CPLP", promovido pela LIESP - Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Estudos e Pesquisas Sociais em Saúde Pública, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo. Resulta de um work in progress conducente a uma tese de doutoramento em antropologia médica. Pretende apresentar a condição dos jovens refugiados e requerentes de asilo em Portugal, em particular na vertente da saúde mental. O trabalho de campo levado a cabo com estes jovens envolveu a escuta de muitas narrativas de sofrimento provocado pela sua experiência de vida nos contextos originais de guerra, com testemunhos de violência e tortura, e também as dificuldades sentidas no longo percurso de viagem de fuga e posterior inserção em Portugal. O isolamento, as barreiras linguísticas, a ausência de redes sociais e familiares de apoio e a dificuldade de encontrar, em Portugal, referentes socioculturais e simbólicos, comprometem o seu desenvolvimento enquanto jovens, levando-nos a equacionar o valor dos referentes identitários na construção do eu e até o próprio conceito de juventude.This essay was first presented in September 2007, within the seminar "Programa de Cooperação em Ciências Sociais para os Países da CPLP", promoted by LIESP - Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo. It is a work in progress, leading to a PhD thesis on medical anthropology. It aims to present refugee's youth and asylum seeker's condition in Portugal, particularly in regard to mental health. The fieldwork conducted with these youth comprised active listening of their suffer narratives, provoked not only by life experiences in their original war contexts, with testimonies of violence and torture, but also the difficulties felt during the long flee journey and subsequent insertion in Portugal. Isolation, pain

  5. Regulatory framework for radioactive waste disposal in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dogaru, D.M.

    2005-01-01

    To fulfill the obligations assumed by Romania by joining to the international convention and treaty as well as for implementing the European Commission legislative framework a lot of regulations was already issued or are under the development. The National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control as regulatory authority in nuclear field in Romania considered the process of developing regulations in order to detail the requirements for safe management of radioactive waste. (authors)

  6. Foreign Direct Investments – Challenges and Perspectives for Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina Batusaru

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available In the context of globalization of markets, foreign direct investments have an important role in terms of supporting endogenous growth factors, on the one hand and the circuit of financial flows between countries, on the other hand. If we refer to the effects of the economic crisis on economies, ISD may represent capital infusion instruments for affected economic sectors, contributing to faster recovery of economic gaps that occurred. By studying this topic of FDI we consider the great impact and benefits that they can bring, being essential element in the development of a country, as in the case of Romania. This paper presents the main trends of international financial flows for the period 2008-2012, whereas in the context of economic globalization requires an overall analysis of country-specific FDI performance as it helps in improving and optimizing strategies adopted by foreign transnational companies. In order to underline their importance and necessity, we study the situation of Romania in this field by analyzing the performance of countries in attracting direct foreign investments. Following the study conducted it has been made a number of conclusions and recommendations on how to improve this process in Romania. Academics, researchers, administrators of the university all have a great responsibility on how they support to attract FDI in Romania, even if we refer to work force that they form, the ideas they can provide in supporting and developing this process or by sharing the “know-how” related to the many fields that FDI can have an impact on. This paper aims to bring on the loop the main strengths and weaknesses that Romania has in the field of FDS and invites the readers interested on the topic to involve by providing feedback in order to improve this process in Romania.

  7. Risk-targeted maps for Romania

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vacareanu, Radu; Pavel, Florin; Craciun, Ionut; Coliba, Veronica; Arion, Cristian; Aldea, Alexandru; Neagu, Cristian

    2018-03-01

    Romania has one of the highest seismic hazard levels in Europe. The seismic hazard is due to a combination of local crustal seismic sources, situated mainly in the western part of the country and the Vrancea intermediate-depth seismic source, which can be found at the bend of the Carpathian Mountains. Recent seismic hazard studies have shown that there are consistent differences between the slopes of the seismic hazard curves for sites situated in the fore-arc and back-arc of the Carpathian Mountains. Consequently, in this study we extend this finding to the evaluation of the probability of collapse of buildings and finally to the development of uniform risk-targeted maps. The main advantage of uniform risk approach is that the target probability of collapse will be uniform throughout the country. Finally, the results obtained are discussed in the light of a recent study with the same focus performed at European level using the hazard data from SHARE project. The analyses performed in this study have pointed out to a dominant influence of the quantile of peak ground acceleration used for anchoring the fragility function. This parameter basically alters the shape of the risk-targeted maps shifting the areas which have higher collapse probabilities from eastern Romania to western Romania, as its exceedance probability increases. Consequently, a uniform procedure for deriving risk-targeted maps appears as more than necessary.

  8. Portugal and United States cooperative energy assessment. Volume 3. Reference reports, Part 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1981-09-01

    Statistical data on energy production and consumption and supporting information were obtained from US Bureau of Mines records supplemented by additional data obtained in Portugal. Geologic descriptions and analysis of known areas and of areas having possible future potential have been prepared by the US Geological Survey. Portugal lacks sufficient indigenous supplies of organic fuels to meet its energy demands, and so must import large quantities of petroleum and coal. Approximately 80% of Portugal's electric energy is produced by hydroelectric stations; thermal stations produce the other 20%. Portugal has produced no crude oil, natural gas, or condensate; no resources or reserves in these categories are listed for Portugal in the 1976 World Energy Conference report. Until the last year or so (1980), no significant onshore petroleum exploration had been done in Portugal since 1963. Production of coal in Portugal has declined steadily to the present annual yield of about 200,000 metric tons. On the basis of estimates in only three coal fields, resources of coal of all ranks in Portugal total at least 76 million (10/sup 6/) metric tons. Uranium is mined near Viseu and Guarda in the northern part of Portugal; the Nisa mine in east-central Portugal will begin producing uranium ore in 1985 after installation of a processing plant. Portugal produced 95 metric tons of uranium oxide (U/sub 3/O/sub 8/) from ore stocks in each year from 1972 through 1974; production is assumed to have continued at the same rate since then. Geothermal energy has not been developed in mainland Portugal; however, hot springs that may have geothermal energy potential are known in the Minho district in the northwest. Geothermal energy resources exist in the Azores and a program of evaluation and exploration with technical assistance from the USGS is presently in progress there.

  9. Aspects of Romania's Economic Efforts in the Second World War

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Gheorghe

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Romania's participation in the Second World War was caused by loss of an area ofapproximately 1/3 of the national territory and has 6 million inhabitants, for the three neighbors of theRomanian state, that the Soviet Union, Hungary and Bulgaria will bethe reason fundamental ofRomania's participation in military operations on both fronts, east and west of the Second World War.Although Romania's war economic effort, amounted to the enormous amount of 1,200,000,000dollars in 1938 currency, a situationan honorable fourth place in the hierarchy of the United Nationsthat led the fight against Germany, co-belligerent status, the country justly deserved our will berefused for political reasons known only to the Great Powers. Of all the states, are in a situationsomewhat similar to that of Romania, no one made an effort not so much military or economic indefeating Germany.

  10. Analysis Regarding the Growing Presence of Italian Firms in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefano Valdemarin

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available At the end of 2014, the number of firms with an Italian presence in Romania was 39,556, representing 19.33% out of total registered firms and this number is still growing. This article focuses on answering the following question: what kind of Italian firms are investing in Romania and why? Starting from the empirical observation that the number of Italian firms in Romania grew by 6.82% last year, we have used a PESTEL analysis to find the key points characterizing the country, paying attention also to the concept of country brand. From the point of view of Italian firms, we have also analyzed the shifting paradigm of internationalization from a Vertical Foreign Direct Investment model to a Horizontal Foreign Direct Investment model. This paper can be useful for managers and entrepreneurs who are oriented towards investing in Romania following the path of Italian firms.

  11. FRANCHISING AS A GROWTH STRATEGY. EVIDENCE FROM ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TRIPA Simona

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available There are many ways in which businesses can growth. Aim of this article is to make the business owner aware of the scope of the franchise and business opportunity law and how they may affect growth strategy tried to be employed by the business owner. For this purpose we present a list of advantages and disadvantages of franchising for the franchisee and for the franchisor and examined the status and trends of the Romanian market franchise, especially in clothing, which are available for prospective franchisees in Romania. We find out that although it is increasing its level of development is much lower than in EU, (according to Romanian Franchise Association in Romania are slightly over 400 franchises, with various business fields, while in the Europe there are about 10,000 franchise networks. Reasons for slower development of the textile franchise business in Romania can be found in the effects of economic crisis on the Romanian economy, which shifted the structure the consumer spending of the people of Romania, expenditures for clothing and footwear have decreased and have reached at 5.3% of total household expenditure. In these conditions, the clothing franchises who had suffered most in Romania were those whose offer to address at high-income consumers (Escada, Esprit, Etam and medium (Debenhams, Gap. Less affected were franchises for which targets are low-income consumers and who besides the low price of products offers a wide range of products and models with a very short life cycle (fast fashion. The information for this paper was gathered from literature, from the analysis financial indicators of the different companies and by Internet

  12. CURRENT CONCERNS REGARDING THE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN ROMANIA

    OpenAIRE

    IONELA CARMEN PIRNEA; NICOLETA BELU; EMILIA IORDACHE

    2012-01-01

    The propose of this paper is to identify current concerns regarding the corporate social responsibility in Romania. First the paper present a short introduction about the concept of corporate social responsibility. Next the paper highlights the importance of corporate social responsibility in Romania and some results about the involvement of small and medium enterprises in social responsibility activities.

  13. STUDY ON THE APPLICATION OF CASH ACCOUNTING SYSTEM FOR VAT IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ECOBICI NICOLAE

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The cash accounting system for VAT has been implemented in Romania as of 1 January 2013 and now turns one year of application in Romania. Since its implementation the system has sparked controversy, being harshly criticised by professional accountants in Romania and elsewhere. Criticisms mainly concerned the following issues: no possibility to choose to apply the system, breach of the VAT neutrality principles, maximum period of 90 days to postpone the chargeability of VAT for unpaid deliveries, while VAT deduction was subject to payment of the value of goods and services invoiced without specifying any term. In this article we would like to examine the extent to which the legislative changes that came into effect as of 1 January 2014 improve the cash accounting system for VAT in Romania. We will also analyse to what extent the system applied in 2013 has brought advantages/disadvantages to the economic entities in Romania based on a survey carried out on a heterogeneous sample of companies in the county of Gorj, regarded as nationally representative. Finally, we intend to compare the cash accounting system for VAT in Romania with its UK counterpart.

  14. Demographic Evolution in Romania – Convergence or Peripherisation?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Veronica Litra

    2006-02-01

    Full Text Available Romania began its demographic transition about one century later than the developed countries. We put the blame of this gap on the delayed economic, social and political development in comparison with the Western Europe. But also, it could not be forgotten the shift from a population forced and subdue by the totalitary regime, to a free people to decide when to have a child or how large should be the family. During transition, Romania has pointed many negative demographic evolutions, as compared with the other european countries. It may be said that the transition in Romania over the period 1990-2004 adjusted the classical pattern of demographic evolution. Not fully felt at this moment, we will probably find ourselves few decades later older, less, deprived of skilled labor force and unbalanced as gender ratio.

  15. Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Western Romania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olariu, Tudor Rares; Petrescu, Cristina; Darabus, Gheorghe; Lighezan, Rodica; Mazilu, Octavian

    2015-08-01

    Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that most commonly causes asymptomatic infection in immunocompetent hosts, but can have devastating consequences in congenitally infected infants and immunocompromised patients. We evaluated the seroprevalence of T. gondii in the general population in Western Romania. Sera from 304 individuals were analysed with the Pastorex Toxo test, which allows the simultaneous detection of T. gondii IgG and/or IgM antibodies. T. gondii antibodies were demonstrated in 197 individuals (64.8%) and the prevalence increased with age: 35.0% in those Romania.

  16. Standard forms of construction contracts in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristian Bănică

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Construction industry in Romania is under pressure to modernize in order to cope with the new demands of development and convergence with EU. Contractual procedures in construction have to become an integral part in this process of modernization. The article makes an introduction to the advantages of standard forms of contract and professional contract administration in construction and presents the current state-of-the art in the use of standard construction contracts in Romania. Some practical conclusions and recommendations are presented considering the need for further contract studies.

  17. Detection and Phylogenetic Analysis of Human Pegivirus (GBV-C) Among Blood Donors and Patients Infected With Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) in Qatar

    OpenAIRE

    AbuOdeh, Raed O.; Al-Absi, Enas; Ali, Nadima H.; Khalili, Makiyeh; Al-Mawlawi, Naema; Hadwan, Tameem A.; Al Thani, Asmaa A.; Nasrallah, Gheyath K.

    2015-01-01

    Human Pegivirus (HPgV), formerly GB virus-C/ Hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV), collectively known as GBV-C, is widely spread and has been reported to be associated with non-A–E hepatitis. To our knowledge, no previous study was conducted about HPgV in Qatar. Thus, the objectives of this study were as follows: (i) to determine the rates of HPgV infection in Qatar among healthy blood donors and HBV-infected patients, and (ii) to determine the most predominant HPgV gen...

  18. Characteristics and Models of Effective Professional Development: The Case of School Teachers in Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Tineh, Abdullah M.; Sadiq, Hissa M.

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of effective professional development and effective models of professional development as perceived by school teachers in the State of Qatar. This study is quantitative in nature and was conducted using a survey methodology. Means, standard deviations, t-test, and one-way analysis of…

  19. Qatar's K-12 Education Reform Has Achieved Success in Its Early Years. Research Brief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larson, Judy

    2009-01-01

    To evaluate progress made in the first years of Qatar's implementation of K-12 education reform, RAND analyzed data from school-level observations, national surveys, and national student assessments. The study found that students in the new, Independent schools were performing better than those in Ministry schools, and there was greater student…

  20. Regulatory framework for radioactive waste disposal in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dogaru, Daniela

    2005-01-01

    Full text: To fulfill the obligations assumed by Romania by joining to the international convention and treaty as well as for implementing the European Commission legislative framework a lot of regulations was already issued or are under the development. The National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control as regulatory authority in nuclear field in Romania considered the process of developing regulations in order to detail the requirements for safe management of radioactive waste. (authors)

  1. Occupational Health Psychology in Romania: Managers' and employees' needs and perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Virga, Delia

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Occupational Health Psychology (OHP in Romania is now emerging, in the practitioner’s and educational field. The risk management paradigm provides a framework for this paper. The analysis focus is on presenting the perception of current national approach related to stressors and processes that threat employee’s and organizational health. Further, we compare the employees’ and managers’ perspective on OHP issues looking, in Romania and other European countries. Finally we conclude and address OHP challenges and opportunities in Romania.

  2. THE PREVALENCE OF VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY AMONG FEMALES STUDENT AT QATAR UNIVERSITY

    OpenAIRE

    Sharif, E.A.; Rizk, N.

    2011-01-01

    Background. Vitamin D deficiency is a major worldwide problem with several health consequence such osteoporosis, hyperten- sion, diabetes mellitus, autoimmune diseases and some cancers. The Prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency among female adult students with associated biochemical markers was not measured in the state of Qatar previously. Aim. Measurement of vitamin D level and other clinical parameters related to vitamin D levels. Methods. Randomly selected 71 female students ...

  3. Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) as a Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) in Qatar: a Perspective from Grade 10 Chemistry Classes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treagust, David F.; Qureshi, Sheila S.; Vishnumolakala, Venkat Rao; Ojeil, Joseph; Mocerino, Mauro; Southam, Daniel C.

    2018-04-01

    Educational reforms in Qatar have seen the implementation of inquiry-based learning and other student-centred pedagogies. However, there have been few efforts to investigate how these adopted western pedagogies are aligned with the high context culture of Qatar. The study presented in this article highlights the implementation of a student-centred intervention called Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) in selected independent Arabic government schools in Qatar. The study followed a theoretical framework composed of culturally relevant pedagogical practice and social constructivism in teaching and learning. A mixed method research design involving experimental and comparison groups was utilised. Carefully structured learning materials when implemented systematically in a POGIL intervention helped Grade 10 science students improve their perceptions of chemistry learning measured from pre- and post-tests as measured by the What Is Happening In this Class (WIHIC) questionnaire and school-administered achievement test. The study further provided school-based mentoring and professional development opportunities for teachers in the region. Significantly, POGIL was found to be adaptable in the Arabic context.

  4. THE STRUCTURE AND TERRITORIAL DYNAMIC OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LILIANA SCUTARU

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the structure of foreign direct investment in Romania, FDI agglomeration areas at the local level and their fields, with a particular analysis on greenfield investments because this type of investment is, par excellence, the promoter of new technologies and technical and technological progress. In this respect, the paper considers the analysis of foreign direct investment stock in greenfield enterprises and their location and territorial distribution by regions in Romania of stock of greenfield investments. The research reveals that, in the period under review, greenfield investments in Romania have shifted from the manufacturing sector to the service sector, thereby increasing the country's vulnerability to financial risks and speculation worldwide. In terms of regional distribution, the research highlights the fact that FDI are highly unevenly localized in Romania

  5. Feminismo(s e psicologia em Portugal

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    Azambuja, Mariana Porto Ruwer de

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Apesar da longa história em comum entre Brasil e Portugal, também existem muitas diferenças e, principalmente, muito desconhecimento. A proposta deste artigo é apresentar uma contextualização do modo como as questões de gênero têm sido tartadas Portugal e, a partir disto, estimular maiores laços de cooperação entre os dois países. Iniciamos com uma retomada da história do país e das reformas instauradas após o fim do regime fascista (1974, especialmente o surgimento da psicologia como campo científico e profissional marcado pelo paradigma positivista e, por muito tempo, alheio às transformações e questionamentos presentes em outros contextos. Da mesma forma, o percurso do movimento feminista e sua inserção no contexto acadêmico da psicologia foi marcado por avanços e entraves, os quais apresentamos a seguir. Por fim, tratamos das políticas públicas para a igualdade de oportunidades para as mulheres em Portugal

  6. FORCED INDUSTRIALIZATION IN ROMANIA AND FOREIGN TRADE CHANGES DURING SOCIALISM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugen Ghiorghita

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available During the 40 years (1949-1989 of centralized management of the economy, Romania was transformed from an agrarian-industrial country into an industrial-agrarian country, but not beyond the stage of a developing country. Planning the formation of the accumulation fund and the fixed funds allocation made possible to faster diversify and increase the industrial production. In a first stage, during the 8th decade (1971-1980, the increase in imports of capital goods needed in industries’ technology revamping engendered the growth of Romania's foreign debt. In the 9th decade, the policy of forced payment of previously accumulated foreign debt was achieved by aggressive compression of imports and boost of exports. At the end, in 1989, Romania's foreign trade structure corresponded almost completely to the structure of the supply from the countries producing industrial processed goods. From this point of view, Romania became, after four decades of accelerated development, an acceptable client to Western exporters.

  7. Putting Portugal on the Map

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João Ferrão

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper argues the need to “put Portugal on the map” in a double sense: in a prospective way, in order to place the country on the required map(s, something which entails strategic vision and capacity for action; and in an analytical way – to enable us to understand Portugal from the map(s it is part of, which presupposes a capacity to analyse and understand the current state of affairs. By drawing inspiration from the polymorphic vision on the spatialities of contemporary societies and economies defended by Jessop, Brenner and Jones (2008, we propose the creation of a unifying reference framework to “put Portugal on the map”, using a combination of five elements: territory as a geographic location; territory as a unit of reference of the nation-state; places; geographic scales; and networks. The polymorphic nature of the spatialities that characterize, or should characterize, Portugal’s place in the world reflects several, and even contradictory, ethical values, interests, preferences, and options. Accordingly, the supported polymorphic spatialities ought to stir up controversy based on knowledge and arguments that are solid from a theoretical and empirical stance, and should make explicit the objectives and values they are based on.

  8. The future of renewable energy sources in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matei, Magdalena; Cristache, Adriana; Ene, Simona; Matei, Lucian

    2004-01-01

    Assuming that RES developments are in line with the indicative targets of the EU Directive for 2010 and that the present support mechanisms applied to EU-15 in the year 2001 remain unchanged at that time, the total RES payments in 2010 for the EU-15 countries using direct support for RES can be estimated at EURO 22 billion, with prices ranging from 2.7 EUROc/kWh in Finland to 9 EUROc/kWh in Germany and Luxembourg, and 11.9 EUROc/kWh in Italy with a weighted average of 6.8 EUROc/kWh. Compared to average wholesale electricity market price, RES support in EU-15 countries in 2010 would amount to 13.3 %, varying between 2.6% in Belgium to about 56% in Denmark. In case of EU-15 countries using only feed-in tariffs to promote RES, the weighted average of RES direct support is 17% If the existing RES direct support schemes continue to 2010 (including feed-in tariffs), this will result in a very substantial level of expenditure, with a significant impact on the average level of European electricity prices, with very significant variability and thus potential market distortions between countries. Romanian Governmental Decision No. 443/2003 aimed to the harmonization of the national legislative framework with EU Directive. The harmonization of Romanian legislative framework with European Union regulation concerning the promotion of renewable resources has to contribute to new renewable resources penetration into the electricity market. The development of the EU green electricity market could offer good opportunities for Romania. The harmonization of Romanian legislative framework with European Union regulation concerning the promotion of renewable resources has to contribute to new renewable resources penetration into the electricity market. The important share of large hydroelectricity generated in Romania could represent a good opportunity for Romania to participate in the EU green electricity market, but the key problem in Romania's case is the target of 12.5 % of RES-E in

  9. 15 CFR Supplement No. 3 to Part 740 - License Exception ENC Favorable Treatment Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Commerce and Foreign Trade (Continued) BUREAU OF INDUSTRY AND SECURITY, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE EXPORT... Malta Netherlands New Zealand Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland...

  10. Prevalence and predictors of potentially inappropriate medications among home care elderly patients in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alhmoud, Eman; Khalifa, Sabah; Bahi, Asma Abdulaziz

    2015-10-01

    Older patients receiving home health care are particularly at risk of receiving potentially inappropriate medications compared to community-dwelling population. Data on appropriateness of prescribing in these patients is limited. To investigate the prevalence, patterns and determinants of potentially inappropriate medications among elderly patients receiving Home Health Care Services in Qatar. Home Health Care Services department in Hamad Medical Corporation-Qatar. A cross-sectional study, conducted over a 3 months period. Patients 65 years and older, taking at least one medication and receiving home care services were included. Potentially inappropriate medications were identified and classified in accordance with the American Geriatrics Society 2012 Beers Criteria. Prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications using updated Beers criteria. A total of 191 patients (38.2%) had at least one potentially inappropriate medication. As per Beers criteria, 35% of medications were classified as medications to be avoided in older adults regardless of conditions and 9% as potentially inappropriate medications when used with certain diseases or syndromes. The majority of potentially inappropriate medications (56%) were classified as medications to be used with caution. The two leading classes of potentially inappropriate medications were antipsychotics (27.4%) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (16%). Significant predictors of inappropriate prescribing were hypertension [adjusted OR 1.7; 95% CI (1.0, 2.8)], dementia [adjusted OR 2.0; 95% CI (1.2, 3.1)], depression [adjusted OR 21.6; 95% CI (2.8, 168.4)], and taking more than ten prescribed medications [adjusted OR 1.9; 95% CI (1.3, 2.8)]. Prescribing potentially inappropriate medications is common among older adults receiving home health care services in Qatar, a finding that warrants further attention. Polypharmacy, hypertension, depression and dementia were significantly associated with potentially

  11. Prevalence and determinants of metabolic syndrome in Qatar: results from a National Health Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Thani, Mohamed Hamad; Al-Thani, Al Anoud Mohammed; Cheema, Sohaila; Sheikh, Javaid; Mamtani, Ravinder; Lowenfels, Albert B; Al-Chetachi, Walaa Fattah; Almalki, Badria Ali; Hassan Khalifa, Shamseldin Ali; Haj Bakri, Ahmad Omar; Maisonneuve, Patrick

    2016-01-01

    Objectives To determine optimum measurements for abdominal obesity and to assess the prevalence and determinants of metabolic syndrome in Qatar. Design National health survey. Setting Qatar National STEPwise Survey conducted by the Supreme Council of Health during 2012. Participants 2496 Qatari citizens aged 18–64 representative of the general population. Primary and secondary outcome measures Measure of obesity (body mass index, waist circumference or waist-to-height ratio) that best identified the presence of at least 2 other factors of metabolic syndrome; cut-off values of waist circumference; frequency of metabolic syndrome. Results Waist circumference ≥102 for men and ≥94 cm for women was the best predictor of the presence of other determinants of metabolic syndrome (raised blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides and reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). Using these values, we identified 28% of Qataris with metabolic syndrome, which is considerably lower than the estimate of 37% calculated using the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. Restricting the analysis to participants without known elevated blood pressure, elevated blood sugar or diabetes 16.5% would be classified as having metabolic syndrome. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome increased steadily with age (OR=3.40 (95% CI 2.02 to 5.74), OR=5.66 (3.65 to 8.78), OR=10.2 (5.98 to 17.6) and OR=18.2 (7.01 to 47.5) for those in the age group ‘30–39’, ‘40–49’, ‘50–59’, ‘60–64’ vs ‘18–29’; pQatar. Approximately 28% of adult Qatari citizens satisfy the criteria for metabolic syndrome, which increased significantly with age. Education and physical activity were inversely associated with this syndrome. PMID:27601485

  12. Epidemiology of occupational injuries by nationality in Qatar: Evidence for focused occupational safety programmes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Thani, Hassan; El-Menyar, Ayman; Consunji, Rafael; Mekkodathil, Ahammed; Peralta, Ruben; Allen, Katharine A; Hyder, Adnan A

    2015-09-01

    Occupational injuries are the second leading cause of trauma admission in Qatar. Given the wide diversity of the country's migrant worker populations at risk, this study aimed to analyse and describe the epidemiology of these injuries based on the workers nationality residing in Qatar. A retrospective analysis of trauma registry data on occupational-related injuries was conducted. The analysis included all patients [aged ≥18 years] admitted to the Level I Hamad Trauma Center, from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013. Out of 6555 trauma admissions, 2015 (30.7%) patients had occupational injury. The admitted Case Fatality Rate (CFR) was 4.3 per 100 occupational injury related trauma admissions. Overall non-fatal occupational injury rate was 37.34 per 100,000 workers, whereas fatal injury rate was 1.58 per 100,000 workers. Most of the workers experiencing occupational injuries were from Nepal (28%), India (20%) and Bangladesh (9%). Fatal occupational injuries were predominately among Indians (20%), Nepalese (19%), and Filipinos/Bangladeshis (both 8%). Filipinos had the highest admitted CFR at 8.2 deaths per 100 trauma admissions with the next highest being Indians and Indonesians (4.2 per 100 trauma admissions). During the study period, the incidence of severe occupational injuries decreased despite a simultaneous increase in the worker population within Qatar. Almost one in four occupational injuries was a major trauma (ISS≥16). Nepalese and Indian workers represented 29% and 18% of all major trauma cases. Non-fatal occupational injuries appear to follow a pattern distinct from fatal ones. High-risk worker populations as defined by those with high admitted CFRs, experiencing the most severe or fatal injuries, must be the focus of targeted risk factor analysis and occupational safety interventions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Prevalence of dental caries among 12–14 year old children in Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Darwish, Mohammed; El Ansari, Walid; Bener, Abdulbari

    2014-01-01

    Background To ensure the oral health of a population, clinicians must deliver appropriate dental services, and local communities need to have access to dental care facilities. However, establishment of this infrastructure must be based on reliable information regarding disease prevalence and severity in the target population. Objectives The aims of this study were to measure the incidence of dental caries in school children aged 12–14 throughout Qatar, including the influence of socio-demographic factors. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in Qatar from October 2011 to March 2012. A total of 2113 children aged 12–14 were randomly selected from 16 schools located in different geographic areas. Three calibrated examiners using World Health Organization (WHO) criteria to diagnose dental caries performed the clinical examinations. Data analyses were subsequently conducted. Results The mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth index values were respectively 4.62 (±3.2), 4.79 (±3.5), and 5.5 (±3.7), for 12, 13, and 14 year-old subjects. Caries prevalence was 85%. The mandibular incisors and canines were least affected by dental caries, while maxillary and mandibular molars exhibited the highest incidence of dental caries. Dental caries were affected by socio-demographic factors; significant differences were detected between female and male children, where more female children showed dental caries than male children. In addition, children residing in semi-urban areas showed more dental caries than in urban areas. Conclusion Results indicated that dental caries prevalence among school children in Qatar has reached critical levels, and is influenced by socio-demographic factors. The mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth values obtained in this study were the second highest detected in the Eastern Mediterranean region. PMID:25057232

  14. Perception of Organic Food Consumption in Romania

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrescu, Anca Gabriela; Oncioiu, Ionica; Petrescu, Marius

    2017-01-01

    This study provides insight into the attitude of Romanian consumers towards organic food. Furthermore, it examines the sustainable food production system in Romania from the perspective of consumer behavior. This study used a mathematical model of linear regression with the main purpose being to determine the best prediction for the dependent variable when given a number of new values for the independent variable. This empirical research is based on a survey with a sample of 672 consumers, which uses a questionnaire to analyze their intentions towards sustainable food products. The results indicate that a more positive attitude of consumers towards organic food products will further strengthen their purchasing intentions, while the status of the consumption of organic consumers will not affect their willingness to purchase organic food products. Statistics have shown that sustainable food consumption is beneficial for health, so it can also become a profitable business in Romania. Furthermore, food sustainability in Romania depends on the ability of an organic food business to adapt to the new requirements of green consumption. PMID:28556795

  15. Aging in Romania: research and public policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bodogai, Simona I; Cutler, Stephen J

    2014-04-01

    Romania has entered a period of rapid and dramatic population aging. Older Romanians are expected to make up more than 30% of the total population by 2050. Yet, gerontological research is sparse and the few studies of older Romanians that exist are not well used by policy makers. Much of the research is descriptive and focused on needs assessments. Most databases created from studies of older adults are not available for secondary analysis, nor is Romania among the countries included in the Survey of Health and Retirement in Europe. The pension and health insurance systems and the system of social welfare services address the specific needs of older Romanians, but comparing the social protection systems in the European Union with those in Romania suggests the existence of a development lag. The relevant legislation exists but there are still issues regarding the implementation of specially developed social services for older persons. As a result, there are major inadequacies in the organization of the social service system: too few public services, insufficient budget funds, insufficient collaboration between public and private services, and frequently overlapping services.

  16. Perception of Organic Food Consumption in Romania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrescu, Anca Gabriela; Oncioiu, Ionica; Petrescu, Marius

    2017-05-30

    This study provides insight into the attitude of Romanian consumers towards organic food. Furthermore, it examines the sustainable food production system in Romania from the perspective of consumer behavior. This study used a mathematical model of linear regression with the main purpose being to determine the best prediction for the dependent variable when given a number of new values for the independent variable. This empirical research is based on a survey with a sample of 672 consumers, which uses a questionnaire to analyze their intentions towards sustainable food products. The results indicate that a more positive attitude of consumers towards organic food products will further strengthen their purchasing intentions, while the status of the consumption of organic consumers will not affect their willingness to purchase organic food products. Statistics have shown that sustainable food consumption is beneficial for health, so it can also become a profitable business in Romania. Furthermore, food sustainability in Romania depends on the ability of an organic food business to adapt to the new requirements of green consumption.

  17. Tourist Flows in Romania. Evolution and Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iulian Adrian SORCARU

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The research focuses on a detailed analysis of the tourist flows in Romania, both inbound and outbound, trying also to identify the major internal and external factors that have determined the specificity of their evolution over the last decade. The study uses the latest data provided by National Institute of Statistics in Romania regarding the number of Romanian and foreign tourists arriving in the main tourist regions of the country, the nationality of foreign tourists, as well as the number of Romanian tourists participating in foreign tourist activities organized by travel agencies, and their destination. The most important conclusion regards the favorable evolution of the arrivals of foreign tourists, which was generated by the unfavorable economic and political conjunctions of the states near Romania (Turkey, Greece in recent years and also by foreign tourism promotion, which have conducted the tourist flows to our country. In the near future the main actors in Romanian tourism will have to capitalize on this favorable evolution, which at present does not rely on an improvement in the Romanian tourist services

  18. Perception of Organic Food Consumption in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anca Gabriela Petrescu

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available This study provides insight into the attitude of Romanian consumers towards organic food. Furthermore, it examines the sustainable food production system in Romania from the perspective of consumer behavior. This study used a mathematical model of linear regression with the main purpose being to determine the best prediction for the dependent variable when given a number of new values for the independent variable. This empirical research is based on a survey with a sample of 672 consumers, which uses a questionnaire to analyze their intentions towards sustainable food products. The results indicate that a more positive attitude of consumers towards organic food products will further strengthen their purchasing intentions, while the status of the consumption of organic consumers will not affect their willingness to purchase organic food products. Statistics have shown that sustainable food consumption is beneficial for health, so it can also become a profitable business in Romania. Furthermore, food sustainability in Romania depends on the ability of an organic food business to adapt to the new requirements of green consumption.

  19. Pension Systems in Europe. Case of Portugal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jarosław Poteraj

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available The article presents an insight into the old age pension system in Portugal. The author’s goal was to present both past and present solutions employed by the Portuguese’s pension system, in search for ideas worth consideration in international comparisons. In the summary, the author highlights as a particular Portuguese approach, on the background of other countries, the fact of using in Portugal definite part of VAT income for pension system financing.

  20. The Qatar genome: a population-specific tool for precision medicine in the Middle East

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fakhro, Khalid A; Staudt, Michelle R; Ramstetter, Monica Denise; Robay, Amal; Malek, Joel A; Badii, Ramin; Al-Marri, Ajayeb Al-Nabet; Khalil, Charbel Abi; Al-Shakaki, Alya; Chidiac, Omar; Stadler, Dora; Zirie, Mahmoud; Jayyousi, Amin; Salit, Jacqueline; Mezey, Jason G; Crystal, Ronald G; Rodriguez-Flores, Juan L

    2016-01-01

    Reaching the full potential of precision medicine depends on the quality of personalized genome interpretation. In order to facilitate precision medicine in regions of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), a population-specific genome for the indigenous Arab population of Qatar (QTRG) was constructed by incorporating allele frequency data from sequencing of 1,161 Qataris, representing 0.4% of the population. A total of 20.9 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 3.1 million indels were observed in Qatar, including an average of 1.79% novel variants per individual genome. Replacement of the GRCh37 standard reference with QTRG in a best practices genome analysis workflow resulted in an average of 7* deeper coverage depth (an improvement of 23%) and 756,671 fewer variants on average, a reduction of 16% that is attributed to common Qatari alleles being present in QTRG. The benefit for using QTRG varies across ancestries, a factor that should be taken into consideration when selecting an appropriate reference for analysis. PMID:27408750

  1. The cultural life script of Qatar and across cultures: effects of gender and religion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ottsen, Christina Lundsgaard; Berntsen, Dorthe

    2014-01-01

    Cultural life scripts (CLS) are culturally shared cognitive representations of the expected order and timing of important life events in a prototypical life. Through three studies data from Qatar were analysed and compared to previously collected data from Denmark, Turkey, and the US. In Study 1 we examined the CLS of Qatar in order to determine whether the clear segregation of men and women as well as the centrality of religion in this society would influence the CLS. A total of 55 Qatari undergraduates completed the standard CLS task, imaging a Qatari infant of their own as well as the opposite gender. In Study 2 important personal life story events were collected from 83 Qatari undergraduates in order to explore the overlap between remembered life events and CLS events. Study 3 was a reanalysis of CLS data from Denmark, Turkey, and the US. There was a considerable overlap of events across cultures, but we also found that the Qatari CLS showed more gender differences and contained more religious and positive events compared to the other three countries.

  2. The Obstacles to Social-Economic Change in Post-Communist Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NAGY EGON

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to study the macroeconomic phase which characterizes present-day Romania, 15 years after the regime- change, embedded into that regional context which Romania is part of. The regional importance of this paper is that Romania is the biggest state of the southeastern region as far as territory and population are concerned. For this reason the country’s economic development cannot be indifferent to the neighbouring states, as it can have positive or negative social effects on them. The Romanian society was passing through a slowly and difficult process of democratization and economic liberalization during the nineties and the turn of the millenium, which was a similar way to the other post-socialist East European countries. The NATO membership of Romania and the imminent EU membership in 2007 are important stimuli to make further progresses on the way to functional capitalism and welfare. As an express of the efficient economy policy at the end of the social-democratic administration the economical growth of Romania rose to the incredible rate of 8.1%, while the budget deficit was only 1.3%. In the autumn of 2004 was elected a right, liberal coalition-government, which began his activity with a radical fiscal reform introducing a unique rate of taxes (16%. In this circumstances the possibility of the avalanche of the FDIs is a real expectance, but Romania still have to fulfill some other requirements, such as the reducing of the almost generalized corruption and to maintain the balance of the budget according to the agreement with the IMF, in order to became a major economic competitor of the Central-Eastern European region.

  3. Evaluation of the atmospheric model WRF on the Qatar peninsula for a converging sea-breeze event

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balan Sobhana, Sandeepan; Nayak, Sashikant; Panchang, Vijay

    2016-04-01

    Qatar, a narrow peninsula covering an area of 11437 sq km, extends northwards into the Arabian Gulf for about 160km and has a maximum width of 88km. The convex shape of the coast-line and narrowness of the peninsula results in the Qatar region experiencing complex wind patterns. The geometry is favorable for formation of the land-sea breeze from both coastal sides of the peninsula. This can lead to the development of sea breeze convergence zones in the middle of the country. Although circulations arising from diurnal thermal contrast of land and water are amongst most intensively studied meteorological phenomena, there is no reported study for the Qatar peninsula and very few studies are reported for the Arabian Gulf region as whole. It is necessary to characterize the wind field for applications such as assessing air pollution, renewable energy etc. A non-hydrostatic mesoscale model, Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) with a nested high resolution grid permits the investigation of such fine scale phenomena. Data from eighteen land based Automated Weather Stations (AWS) and two offshore buoys deployed and maintained by the Qatar Meteorological Department were analyzed. Based on the analysis a clear case of sea breeze convergence were seen on 18 September 2015. Model simulations were used to investigate the synoptic conditions associated with the formation of this event. The season is characterized by week ambient north westerly wind over the Arabian Gulf. The WRF model performance is validated using observed in-situ data. Model simulations show that vertical extent of sea breeze cell was up to 1 km and the converging sea breeze regions were characterized with high vertical velocities. The WRF simulation also revealed that with high resolution, the model is capable of reproducing the fine scale patterns accurately. The error of predictions in the inner domain (highest resolution) are found to be relatively lower than coarse resolution domain. The maximum wind speed

  4. ANALYSIS ON THE EVOLUTION OF INSURANCE SYSTEMS IN ROMANIA - THE PAST FIVE YEARS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AURELIA PĂTRAȘCU

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to analyze the evolution of insurance systems in Romania in the past five years. Unlike other European countries, it can be seen that Romania does not have a well-established insurance tradition. Insurance companies are constantly adapting to the realities of the financial situation and the market structure in Romania.

  5. ROMANIA: THE WAY TO EURO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raluca Gabriela DULGHERIU

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This article provides an overview of the Romanian process to join the euro, under the terms of the current economic-financial crisis. The purpose of this study is to analyze the degree of achieving real and nominal convergence criteria, along with offering perspectives regarding European monetary integration. The adoption of the unique currency represents an important challenge and opportunity for Romania during the post-adherence period, which forces the political and administrative environment to conceive and implement coherent and responsible politics meant to ensure a simultaneous fulfillment of nominal and real convergence criteria of the Romanian economy. The results of this analysis illustrate that, despite the fact that the Romanian economy recorded significant progresses on the fulfillment of the Maastricht criteria, the current economic context has introduced an additional uncertainty factor and significantly made the adoption of a single currency harder, and the enforcement of real convergence criteria has become much more difficult. Under these circumstances, the National Bank of Romania gave up the target that 2015 represented, and also the one of establishing a new target-date to enter the eurozone, the perspective of joining a single currency exceeding the horizon of this decade. In order to achieve a real, profound and sustainable reorganization of the Romanian economy and to successfully recover the discrepancies between Romania and the EU standards, the road to the euro must be paved with much caution and wisdom.

  6. High proportion of MERS-CoV shedding dromedaries at slaughterhouse with a potential epidemiological link to human cases, Qatar 2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elmoubasher A. B. A. Farag

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Two of the earliest Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS cases were men who had visited the Doha central animal market and adjoining slaughterhouse in Qatar. We show that a high proportion of camels presenting for slaughter in Qatar show evidence for nasal MERS-CoV shedding (62/105. Sequence analysis showed the circulation of at least five different virus strains at these premises, suggesting that this location is a driver of MERS-CoV circulation and a high-risk area for human exposure. No correlation between RNA loads and levels of neutralizing antibodies was observed, suggesting limited immune protection and potential for reinfection despite previous exposure.

  7. Development Contextual Factors of the System of Media Responsibility in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Aurelia Popa

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available The present study represents a research in incipient stage with the purpose of discovering certaincontextual aspects in the Romanian media. The starting point is represented by the analysis of several reportsdrafted at national and international level regarding the actual state of the instruments used to raise theawareness of the media in Romania. The action of raising awareness involves a precursory process ofinvestigating the rights, duties, actions and behavior norms in their professional activity. The journalist has toshape his opinion according to a set of ethical and deontological values so that the responsibility towards thepublic and its interest is situated first. The objectives of this study will point at aspects regarding thedetermination of the features of a context that is opportune and favorable for the implementation of a systemof media responsibility in Romania; establishing a degree of active involvement of the media organisms inRomania in the elaboration and implementation of a system of media responsibility; the identification of theactivities that can ensure the optimization of implementing a system of media responsibility in Romania; thehighlight of the effects of creating a context favorable for the implementation of a system of mediaresponsibility in Romania.

  8. FISCAL SETTLEMENTS OF INCOMES OBTAINED FROM ABROAD BY NATURAL PERSONS RESIDENT IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Buziernescu Radu

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The resident natural persons and those who qualify for residency conditions are subject to taxation in Romania for the incomes from any source, both from Romania and from abroad. External fiscal credit can be granted in order to avoid double taxation, so that the person can be entitled to deduct from the tax on income due in Romania the tax of income paid abroad, without exceeding the share of the income tax payable in Romania related to the income from abroad. The procedure of granting external fiscal credit vary depending on different categories of income.

  9. PERFORMANCE OF ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE IN ROMANIA

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    CIPRIAN APOSTOL

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The term ecological agriculture has been attributed by the European Union of Romania to define this system of agriculture and is similar with terms organic agriculture or biological agriculture, which are used in other member states. One of the main goals of ecological agriculture is the production of agricultural and food products fresh and genuine through processes created to respect nature and its systems. Thus, it prohibits the use of genetically modified organisms, fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, stimulators and growth regulators, hormones, antibiotics for livestock and the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, drastic interventions on the soil, the introduction of genetically modified organisms, in the case of the cultivated soil. The study aims to highlight the main features of ecological agriculture and its impact on the national economy. Through a descriptive and comparative analysis of specific indicators are surprising the main aspects of ecological agriculture performance in Romania and are identified investment opportunities in this sector of the national economy. Following this study, it was found that ecological agriculture in Romania is quite performant and recorded a continuous development, but mainly in the production, not in the processing and trading of natural products, which is why investment in these areas would be welcome.

  10. THE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE IN ROMANIA. AN EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE ON THEIR CURRENT SITUATION

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    Vinke Joop

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The current paper is aimed at identifying the social enterprises according to EMES criteria by investigating the social economy actors in Romania. As an emerging field of study, social entrepreneurship and social enterprise have captured the attention of both practitioners from Europe and North America, and in recent years on other continents. In Romania, very little research has been conducted into the field, mostly as part of academic research papers from doctoral study students or masters, both from Romania and abroad. In Europe, several studies have been conducted among member state of the European Union, to bring to light this new emerging field.. Investigations in regard to social entrepreneurship in Europe have revealed the existence of this field among social economy actors, in the form of social enterprise, namely work integration social enterprises and social cooperatives. So far, Romania has not been included in them This papers tries to fill the gap of knowledge on this phenomena, by exploring, from a European perspective, the actors of social entrepreneurship in Romania. The methodology used was an analysis of secondary data in the form of legal documents (laws, reports of the social economy sector and scholarly articles related to social entrepreneurship in Romania. The assessment instrument is the EMES set of economic and social criteria that the social enterprises need to meet. Also, parallels have been made with the entities of the same nature in the European Union. The paper concludes on the state of social enterprise in Romania, with an underline on what its and implications for their further study. As main finding, two types of organizations fit best with the EMES criteria, authorized protected units and companies set up by associations and foundations. Also, further developments are expected as Romania is preparing for a law defining the social enterprise and social economy. The main implications of this research is drawing

  11. DETERMINANTS OF POVERTY IN ROMANIA

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    CLAUDIA ANDREEA UREAN

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Romania is one of the poorest countries in Europe. The purpose of this investigation is to determine which factors influence the magnitude of this socio-economic phenomenon. Current availability of data from National Institute of Statistics ensures our sample. We apply a panel data analysis of regional development: North-East, SouthEast, South, South-West, West, North-West, Centre and Bucharest-Ilfov to understand how Romania can reduce poverty. The authors found a direct link between relative poverty rate and education. In addition, the negative relationship between poverty and pensioners shows the importance of a good government policies. In this context, we propose to focus our attention on the needs of people. Education can be an important determinat of national development, on the other slide, educated people are more willing to understand the role of pension system.

  12. 75 FR 76664 - Commerce Control List: Revising Descriptions of Items and Foreign Availability

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-09

    ..., 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 2705, Washington, DC 20230, ATTN: Notice of Inquiry--CCL. FOR..., Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden...

  13. 78 FR 40102 - Quarterly Update to Annual Listing of Foreign Government Subsidies on Articles of Cheese Subject...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-03

    ..., International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Ave. NW..., Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Subsidy...

  14. Seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus among blood donors in Qatar (2013-2016)

    OpenAIRE

    Nasrallah, Gheyath K.; Al Absi, Enas S.; Ghandour, Rula; Ali, Nadima H.; Taleb, Sara; Hedaya, Laila; Ali, Fatima; Huwaidy, Mariam; Husseini, Abdullatif

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an RNA virus transmitted mainly through zoonotic transmission or fecal–oral route. More than 80% of Qatar's population are expatriates, including many coming from hyperendemic countries; thus, it is important to estimate the seroprevalence and to compare between different nationalities. The results can be useful in alerting blood banks to the importance of HEV screening. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Samples from 5854 blood donations provided by Ham...

  15. ORTHOPTERA FAUNA OF SĂLAJ COUNTY, ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gellért Puskás

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available : Orthoptera fauna of Sălaj County, NW Romania is reviewed based on new and literature data. 63 species were collected during field investigations in 2014-2015, thus the known Orthoptera species in the region are 74 (30 Acridoidea, 3 Tetrigoidea, 1 Tridactyloidea, 7 Grylloidea, 33 Tettigonioidea. 9 species are recorded in the county for the first time (Chorthippus mollis, Ch. montanus, Ch. vagans, Euchorthippus pulvinatus, Stenobothrus stigmaticus, Tetrix tuerki, Isophya kraussii, Metrioptera brachyptera, Pholidoptera frivaldszkyi. Isophya kraussii kraussii is a new subspecies for the fauna of Romania. Correct original spelling of the name of Ph. frivaldszkyi (Herman, 1871 is fixed.

  16. Changing trends in intestinal parasitic infections among long-term-residents and settled immigrants in Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doiphode Sanjay H

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The rapid socio-economic development in Qatar in the last two decades has encouraged a mass influx of immigrant workers, the majority of whom originate from countries with low socio-economic levels, inadequate medical care and many are known to carry patent intestinal helminth and protozoan infections on arrival in Qatar. Some eventually acquire residency status but little is known about whether they continue to harbour infections. Methods We examined 9208 hospital records of stool samples that had been analysed for the presence of intestinal helminth and protozoan ova/cysts, over the period 2005-2008, of subjects from 28 nationalities, but resident in Qatar and therefore not recent arrivals in the country. Results Overall 10.2% of subjects were infected with at least one species, 2.6% with helminths and 8.0% with protozoan species. Although hookworms, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and Hymenolepis nana were observed, the majority of helminth infections (69% were caused by hookworms, and these were largely aggregated among 20.0-39.9 year-old male subjects from Nepal. The remaining cases of helminth infection were mostly among Asian immigrants. Protozoan infections were more uniformly spread across immigrants from different regions when prevalence was calculated on combined data, but this disguised three quite contrasting underlying patterns for 3 taxa of intestinal protozoa. Blastocystis hominis, Giardia duodenalis and non-pathogenic amoebae were all acquired in childhood, but whereas prevalence of B. hominis rose to a plateau and then even further among the elderly, prevalence of G. duodenalis fell markedly in children aged 10 and older, and stayed low (Entamoeba coli, E. hartmanni, Endolimax nana and Iodamoeba buetschlii peaked in the 30.0-39.9 age group and only then dropped to very low values among the oldest subjects examined. A worrying trend in respect of both helminth and protozoan parasites was the

  17. Adequacy, Accountability, Autonomy and Equity in a Middle Eastern School Reform: The Case of Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guarino, Cassandra M.; Tanner, Jeffery C.

    2012-01-01

    This study examines Qatar's recent and ambitious school reform in the early stages of its implementation against a set of four criteria for successful education systems drawn from guidelines developed by the international community: adequacy, accountability, autonomy and gender equity. We investigate both the initial structure of the reform and…

  18. A Study of the Differential Achievement among Graduates of the University of Qatar, 1977-81.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sefein, Naim A.

    Achievement of University of Qatar graduates between 1977 and 1981 was studied. For the sample of 766 graduates, information was collected on sex, nationality, major, and year of graduation. The degree to which secondary school graduation scores can predict college achievement was examined using Pearson product moment correlation coefficients. The…

  19. 'Nuclearelectrica' and restructuring the electric power sector in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Metes, Mircea

    2001-01-01

    The paper presents the first steps of the energy market development in Romania and the impact of this process on 'Nuclearelectrica' company which operates the Cernavoda NPP. The main directions of the power sector liberalization in the European Union are being implemented in Romania. 'Nuclearelectrica' attempts to comply with both economic and safety requirements for nuclear plant operation. So far, the evolution of power market proved the competitiveness of Cernavoda Unit 1 with the existing power producers in Romania. It is stressed that although the 'Hydroelectrica' company sells the MWh at a lower price it cannot cope with top demands higher than 2400 MW. Economical aspects are analyzed and the conclusion is drawn that the situation of 'Nuclearelectrica' company will be significantly changed after the commissioning of Cernavoda Unit 2. (author)

  20. Quality of working life of nurses in a tertiary cancer center in Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Santhirani Nagammal

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background Nurses are the largest segment of professionals working in the healthcare industry, and a satisfactory quality of working life will empower them to provide the highest quality care to their patients. Aim To assess the quality of working life among nurses in a tertiary cancer care center in Qatar concerning the following variables; control at work, employee engagement, general well-being, home-work interface, job/career satisfaction, stress at work, and working conditions. Methods A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted to assess the QoWL among 146 Staff Nurses working in different units of a tertiary cancer center in Qatar. A Quality of Work life Scale, a seven-point Likert’s scale was used, were nurses self-reported their QoWL. Results The mean age of the study participants were 36.48 years ± 6.74, and mean total years of clinical experience in nursing and clinical experience at the center was 14.16 years and 7.65 years respectively. The majority (69.9% of the nurses who participated in the study were working in inpatient units. Around fifty-four percentage were graduate nurses. A vast majority (89.7% of the respondents were married and among them, 84.2% of nurses lived with their family. Nurses’ perception of the factors associated with QoWL including control and stress at work were found average, and others such as employee engagement, general well-being, homework interface, job/career satisfaction, working condition, and overall quality of work life were considered good. There was no statistically significant difference in the QoWL scores and participants’ characteristics (P>0.05. Conclusion The overall QoWL was found to be good for the Oncology Nurses working at a cancer center in Qatar. However, Nurses reported having varying degrees of stress at work. Nurses require highly specialized clinical competencies to accurately determine patients' states and predict and cope with difficulties that may occur during

  1. Concussion surveillance: do low concussion rates in the Qatar Professional Football League reflect a true difference or emphasize challenges in knowledge translation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eirale, Cristiano; Tol, Johannes L; Targett, Steve; Holmich, Per; Chalabi, Hakim

    2015-01-01

    To investigate concussion epidemiology in the first football (soccer) division of Qatar. Prospective cohort study. Professional First Division Football League of Qatar. All first team players were included at the beginning of each season. Daily collection of training and match exposure from August 2008 until April 2012 by club medical staff. Head injuries during training and match play were recorded on standardized injury cards. Injury incidence was calculated as number of injuries per hour exposed to risk and expressed as rate per 1000 hours. The incidence of concussions in professional club football in Qatar is 0.016 (0.000-0.033) per 1000 hours of exposure. The concussion incidence is only 25% of that in the previous European studies using the same time loss injury definition. This raises the possibility that concussions are underreported. Further research is necessary. In the meantime, concussion education of players, club medical, and support staff is warranted, in keeping with the Zurich concussion consensus call for the need for an increase in knowledge translation.

  2. REFLECTIONS ON ROMANIA'S TRADE WITH EU DURING THE PERIOD 2007-2015

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    PAUL BOGDAN ZAMFIR

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the author intends to highlight the overall evolution of Romania's bilateral trade relations with EU in the period 2007-2015. On this background it is important to mention that the European Union (EU has been the main trade partner of Romania both the export and import throughout this period of post-accession. So, during the analyzed period, as can be observed from statistical data provided by INSSE it is obvious a general tendency of enhancing Romania's trade with EU. Furthermore, since 2007 EU has held a share of over 70% in total imports and exports of Romania. Also, relative to the evolution of Romania's trade balance in relation with EU, from statistical data presented in the paper, can be noticed that in the reference period it has known a general negative trend. There are also presented some positive progress of our country in issue of adjusting the trade balance deficit with EU. In these circumstances, can be proposed a range of macroeconomic measures formulated in direction of reducing the trade deficit, registered by our country in relation with EU. Another element of maximum visibility in this analyzed issues is represented by geographical orientation of Romanian exports and imports with EU countries. Starting from statistical data provided by INSSE through the prestigious official publication Romanian International Trade Yearbook, results clearly that in the whole of this reference period, Germany had the most significant share of over 20%, both export and import. Also during this period of post-accession, the attention of policy makers should focus on measures that will can lead to increase of Romania 's trade not only with Germany, Italy, France, Hungary etc. but also with other community partners whose share in Romania's total trade with EU was a insignificant along analysed period. Thus, in the current context and in perspective for Romania is imperative necessary the proliferation, intensification and

  3. Prevalence and molecular profiling of Epstein Barr virus (EBV among healthy blood donors from different nationalities in Qatar.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria K Smatti

    Full Text Available The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV is the causative agent of infectious mononucleosis. EBV is highly prevalent lymphotropic herpesvirus and has been linked to several malignancies. Transmission is generally by oral secretions, but can be through blood transfusions and organ transplantations. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence, viremia rates, and circulating genotypes of EBV in healthy blood donors in Qatar.Blood samples from 673 blood donors of different nationalities residing in Qatar (mainly Qatar, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Pakistan, and India were collected and tested for anti-EBV capsid (VCA; IgG & IgM, nuclear (EBNA; IgG, and early (EA-D; IgG antigens. Avidity testing was determined when active infection was suspected. DNA was extracted from the buffy coat and subjected to EBV-DNA quantification using qRT-PCR. Genotyping was performed using nested-PCR targeting EBV-EBNA2 gene, and phylogeny by sequence analysis of the LMP-1 gene.97.9% (673/659 of the samples were seropositive as indicated by the presence VCA-IgG, while 52.6% (354/673 had detectible EBV-DNA. EBV seroprevalence and viremia rates increased significantly with age. Genotyping of 51 randomly selected samples showed predominance of Genotype 1 (72.5%, 37/51 as compared to genotype 2 (3.5%, and mixed infections were detected in 4% of the samples. Sub-genotyping for these samples revealed that the Mediterranean strain was predominant (65.3%, followed by B95.8 prototype and North Carolina strains (12.2% each, and China1 strain (6%.As a first study to evaluate EBV infection in highly diverse population in Qatar, where expatriates represent more than 85% of the population, our results indicated high seroprevalence and viremia rate of EBV in different nationalities, with genotype 1 and Mediterranean strain being predominant. Clinical significance of these finding have not been investigated and shall be evaluated in future studies.

  4. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SIMONA BIRIESCU

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Romania's participation in the implementation of EU regional policy means, first opportunity to benefit from a system of values that can be found between economic efficiency, environmental protection,ensuring minimum standards of existence, the definition of a "European lifestyle, urban values, qualified human resources. Moreover, European integration and openness to the EU internal market and the challenge involves increasing competitiveness, which can negatively affect the process of building an economy, like Romania. In this context, structural instruments are the most important resource that Romania will have to face the challenges of change and integration. However, regional development policy can not solely be the key to overall development of a state, especially in terms of its actual effects on growth are difficult to assess. A critical dimension of this is represented on the nature of economic and quality of other public policies that form the core of economic policy mix of a state: the legal protection of property rights and market economy, taxation, antitrust, etc.

  5. [Sleep duration among school-age children in Hungary and Romania].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sólyom, Réka; Lendvai, Zsófia; Pásti, Krisztina; Szeifert, Lilla; Szabó, J Attila

    2013-10-06

    Children's sleep duration is decreasing in the last decade. Despite of the well known negative consequences, there are no data on children's sleep duration in Hungary and Romania. The aim of the authors was to assess sleep duration of school-age children in Hungary and Romania. A self-edited questionnaire was used for the study. 2446 children were enrolled. All elementary and secondary schools in a Hungarian city, and one elementary and secondary school in a Romanian city took part in the study. Mean sleep duration was 8.3 ± 1.2 hours on weekdays. There was a significant difference between the two countries (Hungary vs. Romania, 8.5 ± 1.2 hours vs. 7.8 ± 0.9 hours, p = 0.001). Age correlated with sleep duration on weekdays (r= -0.605, p = 0.001), but not during weekend. This is the first study on children's sleep duration in Hungary and Romania. The difference between countries may be due to the difference in mean age or cultural and/or geographical differences.

  6. HAS ROMANIA BECOME A SECULAR SOCIETY?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    IRINA STAHL

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the question of secularization of Europe, and in particular of Romania, by using multiple international data sets. Secularization has been defined separation of the state government and religious authority resulting in a decrease in church attendance, a diminished trust in religious institutions, a lessening of religions’ importance in society, an increase in religious diversity with a concomitant decrease in group cohesiveness, and the rise of situational ethics and moral relativism. Several theories of secularization are explored in an effort to determine the presence of a secular continuum. Although there may be an increase of secular behaviours in member states of the European Union, a claim of growing secularism in Romania is not supported by an examination of the multiple data sets

  7. Municipal solid waste disposal in Portugal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Magrinho, Alexandre; Didelet, Filipe; Semiao, Viriato

    2006-01-01

    In recent years municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal has been one of the most important environmental problems for all of the Portuguese regions. The basic principles of MSW management in Portugal are: (1) prevention or reduction, (2) reuse, (3) recovery (e.g., recycling, incineration with heat recovery), and (4) polluter-pay principle. A brief history of legislative trends in waste management is provided herein as background for current waste management and recycling activities. The paper also presents and discusses the municipal solid waste management in Portugal and is based primarily on a national inquiry carried out in 2003 and directed to the MSW management entities. Additionally, the MSW responsibility and management structure in Portugal is presented, together with the present situation of production, collection, recycling, treatment and elimination of MSW. Results showed that 96% of MSW was collected mixed (4% was separately collected) and that 68% was disposed of in landfill, 21% was incinerated at waste-to-energy plants, 8% was treated at organic waste recovery plants and 3% was delivered to sorting. The average generation rate of MSW was 1.32 kg/capita/day

  8. International Trends in Health Science Librarianship Part 18: The Middle East (Iran, Qatar and Turkey).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeraatkar, Kimia; Ayatollahi, Haleh; Havlin, Tracy; Neves, Karen; Şendir, Mesra

    2016-06-01

    This is the 18th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in the 21st century. The focus of the present issue is the Middle East (Iran, Qatar and Turkey). The next feature column will investigate trends in the Balkan States JM. © 2016 Health Libraries Group.

  9. Fronteira Portugal-Espanha e individualidade territorial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carminda Cavaco

    1997-06-01

    Full Text Available PORTUGAL-SPAIN BORDER AREA AND ITS CREATIVE TENSION - The text evokes several nuances of the concept of the Portugal-Spain border: its shades of solidarity, complicity, opposition, agitation, confrontation and abandonment. At times, the border has been the zone of tension and separation, whereas at other periods in history, the border has been very permeable and there has been free exchange and mutual cooperation. The borders will be subjected to yet another interpretation as a new area emerges with the active participation of both Iberian countries in the European Union and the cooperative efforts initiated in the programs of INTERREG I and II

  10. [Demography and employment in Portugal].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barata, O S

    1981-01-01

    The population of Portugal showed a period of slow growth between 1950-60; however, in the 1970s, the return of large numbers of former residents in African territories along with a reduction in emigration changed the trend so that the 1981 census showed a significant increase. The Portuguese economy, on the other hand, is in a state of crisis which has resulted in large numbers of unemployed. The growth of the population along with these hard times has made it more difficult to reduce the rate of unemployment. It is also more difficult for those leaving school to find jobs. The better educated generations are seeking jobs in industry and in other services that Portugal will find difficult to offer in sufficient numbers in the immediate future. At present, the Portuguese economy has a large component of agricultural labor. In any case, the means of economic and social intervention to fight unemployment have limited potential. Therefore, many of those unable to find jobs in Portugal will attempt to emigrate. Many Portuguese are already working in Germany, France, and in other Western European countries but migration today is much more difficult. In addition, these countries cannot be expected to recive many more migrant workers in the future. In fact, those better educated workers from Portugal will not be very interested in the low paying jobs which can be found more easily by foreign workers in Western Euorpe. Many will therefore attempt to find jobs in non-European countries. There has been a recent increase of migration to Canada and the US. A renewal of interest in jobs in Brazil and other South Amerian countries is also to be expected. There may also be a future increase in the number of experts, technicians, and other qualified personnel emigrating to Portuguese speaking African countries if there is adequate security and if these countries find the way to expand economic growth. (author's modified)

  11. Branding by Proxy? : How hubs market (or not) higher education systems globally: the example of Qatar

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cremonini, Leon; Taylor, John; Papadimitriou, Antigoni

    2017-01-01

    This chapter proposes a framework to understand if and how hubs contribute to stronger positioning of higher education system in global competition, and uses the case of Qatar to draw conclusions. Increasingly, governments around the world invest in so-called “education hubs”, which host excellent

  12. Romania, an ambition of future regional leader on the energy market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voicu, Alina

    2011-01-01

    After a presentation of Romania as a rather atypical and still violent society for which Europe is considered as an Eldorado, the author outlines what has changed since Romania belongs to the EU: it has become an interesting country for investors, proposes a relatively well educated and cheap workforce, and is politically living with a two-party system. He discusses how Romania could valorise its potential to become a regional energy leader: by restructuring its production industry, by becoming a key country for European gas supply, and by developing electric power production capacities. The opportunities of development of renewable energies are finally discussed

  13. Air Shipment of Highly Enriched Uranium Spent Nuclear Fuel from Romania

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    K. J. Allen; I. Bolshinsky; L. L. Biro; M. E. Budu; N. V. Zamfir; M. Dragusin

    2010-07-01

    Romania safely air shipped 23.7 kilograms of Russian origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) spent nuclear fuel from the VVR S research reactor at Magurele, Romania, to the Russian Federation in June 2009. This was the world’s first air shipment of spent nuclear fuel transported in a Type B(U) cask under existing international laws without special exceptions for the air transport licenses. This shipment was coordinated by the Russian Research Reactor Fuel Return Program (RRRFR), part of the U.S. Department of Energy Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI), in cooperation with the Romania National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN), the Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), and the Russian Federation State Corporation Rosatom. The shipment was transported by truck to and from the respective commercial airports in Romania and the Russian Federation and stored at a secure nuclear facility in Russia where it will be converted into low enriched uranium. With this shipment, Romania became the 3rd country under the RRRFR program and the 14th country under the GTRI program to remove all HEU. This paper describes the work, equipment, and approvals that were required to complete this spent fuel air shipment.

  14. Air Shipment of Highly Enriched Uranium Spent Nuclear Fuel from Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allen, K.J.; Bolshinsky, I.; Biro, L.L.; Budu, M.E.; Zamfir, N.V.; Dragusin, M.

    2010-01-01

    Romania safely air shipped 23.7 kilograms of Russian-origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) spent nuclear fuel from the VVR-S research reactor at Magurele, Romania, to the Russian Federation in June 2009. This was the world's first air shipment of spent nuclear fuel transported in a Type B(U) cask under existing international laws without special exceptions for the air transport licenses. This shipment was coordinated by the Russian Research Reactor Fuel Return Program (RRRFR), part of the U.S. Department of Energy Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI), in cooperation with the Romania National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN), the Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), and the Russian Federation State Corporation Rosatom. The shipment was transported by truck to and from the respective commercial airports in Romania and the Russian Federation and stored at a secure nuclear facility in Russia where it will be converted into low enriched uranium. With this shipment, Romania became the 3. country under the RRRFR program and the 14. country under the GTRI program to remove all HEU. This paper describes the work, equipment, and approvals that were required to complete this spent fuel air shipment. (authors)

  15. Smart Grid Operational functions and Control Challenges by Implementing SSSC Tailored to Optimize performance in between Qatar and KSA on the GCC Electrical-power grid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tariq Masood

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This research work is novel technique to control and optimize SSSC (Subsynchronous Series Controller functions with degree of precision in between Qatar and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The SSSC model developed and simulated in order to identify and determine its control and functioning parameters by introducing new tuning parameters based on that the SSSC can be adjusted stringently to witness desired results lead to address outstanding reactive power management issue. The proposed new parameters are contributing significantly to control SSSC functions in multiple directions in a power system network in between QATAR and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at different time-based transmission contingencies on the GCC Electrical-power grid. Strategically, the SSSC capacity and capability can be utilized fully in between Qatar and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by introducing and optimizing its control and tuning parameters more tangibly under both steady and dynamic states.

  16. Romania, Strategic Partner in China-CEE Relations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SARMIZA PENCEA

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Romania and China have established diplomatic relations 65 years ago and have a long track of fruitful economic, technologic, scientific and cultural exchanges and cooperation experiences all along this time lapse. During the last few decades they both have undergone major transformations, having, on the one hand, their economic fundamentals substantially changed, and, on the other hand, facing a new international environment, in which their positioning, relations, alliances and integration into the world economy are substantially different. The present paper looks at this bilateral relationship against the backdrop of both the new 16+1 platform and the larger EU-China relations, trying to identify the comparative advantages, complementarities and commonalities which could create the premises for a new, reinforced China-Romania trade and investment relationship. The focus lays on analyzing the bilateral trade, both in terms of volumes and structure, as well as on dissecting the Chinese investment presence in Romania as compared to that in other CEE countries, leading to the conclusion that there is a lot of untapped potential, but also a favourable context to change this state of facts.

  17. Qatar- The JGC/M.W.Kellog consortium achieves the construction contract of liquefaction factory of the Ras Laffan LNG Co

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1996-01-01

    Here is described a contract to build a natural gas liquefaction factory in Qatar. The value of the contract is $1 milliard. The financing is about 75% of the price guaranteed by the export credit agencies. The Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Ltd. (Ras Laffan LNG), joint venture between Mobil Corporation (30%) and the Qatar General Petroleum Corporation (QGPG, 70%) has attributed the contract to the consortium JGC and M.W.Kellog (Dresser Industries group). The project of the offshore platform built to exploit the North Field gas deposit and its progress is also detailed from the financing to the construction, it is going to be achieved in june 1996. (N.C.)

  18. ROMANIA AND THE EURASIAN UNION. PLANS, PREDICTIONS AND PERSPECTIVES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mircea-Cristian GHENGHEA

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Following the events in Ukraine, Romania might represent one of the key points for the Eurasian perspectives that have circulated in the last years in Moscow. Through our text we intend to present and to highlight the main ideas and plans of Eurasian inspiration regarding Romania, as well as the interesting predictions made, in certain moments, by some representative characters for the Eurasian paradigm, like Aleksandr Dugin, for instance, who is its main ideologist and promoter. At the same time, one must not neglect the signals of discontent from Moscow about the need of dissipating the so-called sanitary cordon of the Western powers, in which the Baltic States, Poland, and Romania are included – another aspect bearing a particular importance for understanding certain gestures, attitudes and statements related to the role and the place of the Eurasian Union.

  19. Important bioindicators for health management in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barliba I.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Performance measurement is a coherent, robust, integrated, purposeful, comprehensive, efficient and transparent system. The evaluation of healthcare performance in Romania is based on four categories of bioindicators: human resources, use of services, economic and financial aspects, as well as quality. In this work, we were mainly interested in analyzing and describing these parameters. In order to illustrate the applicability of the hospital performance indicators, we considered the results obtained for these indices from the managers of three hospitals of the same level from Romania, the “Filişanilor” Hospital from Filiaşi, the Rovinari City Hospital and the Şegarcea City Hospital, and herein present them.

  20. THE TRANSITION AND PRIVATIZATION PROCESSES IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Razvan HAGIMA

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The transition to an economy that operates on market principles represents a period of profound changes based on redefining the paradigms of development. After more than 20 years from the 1989 events, Romania has already completed some important steps towards an open market economy. The path to this main objective was sinuous, with frequent acceleration and stumbling. This paper offers a view of the complex process of privatization in Romania after the fall of the communist regime, with a detailed approach on the transition process as well. The accent falls on the economic development of the country during the mentioned period.

  1. IS READY ROMANIA FOR EURO ADOPTION? FROM STRUCTURAL CONVERGENCE TO BUSINESS CYCLE SYNCHRONIZATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marinas Marius - Corneliu

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study is to identify gaps between economic and commercial structures between Romania and the euro area and to explain whether the results obtained justify recently decision to delay euro adoption beyond 2015. According to theory of optimum currency areas, the existence of similar economic structures, increasing trade integration and synchronization of business cycles with monetary union will provide greater symmetry of shocks between Romania and the euro area. If the shocks are more symmetrical, then common monetary policy of the European Central Bank will act as a tool to neutralize the shocks in the case of Romania, and the euro adoption would have fewer adverse effects. To meet the research objective, we have structured this paper into three parts. In the first part we referred to the importance of the proposed theme in the economic literature. In the second part, we used several statistical methods to identify how divergent is Romania relative to the euro area economies. The results obtained show increasing divergence between economic structures until 2009 year using the NACE 6 methodology. In fact, Romania has the most divergent structure in EU-27 countries, being characterized by lowest contribution of services to GDP. However, structural differences do not constitute an obstacle to euro adoption, as long as Romania becomes more commercially integrated with other European countries. Thus, Romania is the seventh economy in terms of trade with the EU-27 (73.3% of exports and 74.3% of imports, and the degree of convergence between the structure of exports and imports have increased significantly compared with 2000 year. In the third part, we estimated the degree of synchronization of business cycles between Romania and the euro area, based on Hodrick-Prescott filter. Results showed an increasing correlation of business cycles as a result of increasing industrial activity and export synchronization.

  2. Regional Disparities in Romania. Contribution of the Regional Operational Program to Health Infrastructure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    VICTOR PLATON

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Health infrastructure is one of the weaknesses of socio-economic development in Romania and in other European states. In order to get a better picture of the Romanian health system issues, this paper analyzes a number of statistical indicators considered representative for the national and European health infrastructure for a 20 years period, between 1990 and 2010. Our paper has three main objectives: (a to identify the main trends for health infrastructure in some of the European Union countries; (b to describe the evolution of the health system in Romania, the comparative situation at the European level as well as regional level indicators dynamics; (c to overview the Regional Operational Program in Romania, how much does it help the regional health infrastructure in our country. At the European level, there is a constant decrease in the number of hospital beds. For this indicator, Romania has slightly higher values than the European average. We must mention that the hospital beds indicator offers limited information on health infrastructure which also includes medical equipment and specific devices and practices. The number of hospitals in Romania increased with 18.9% during the last 20 years (1990-2010. During the observed timeline, the number of hospitals in Romania had a constant positive evolution at regional level. The number of doctors in hospitals has an increasing trend at the local as well as at the international level. Romania has a number of doctors twice lower than the European average (3.6 doctors for one thousand inhabitants. The Regional Operational Program (ROP has a limited influence in achieving the objectives stated in Applicants Guide for Priority Axis 3. Major Intervention Area 3.1. This happens because supporting infrastructure improvements will not create institutional modernization. The financial contribution through ROP will result in the modernization of 11% of the existing hospitals in Romania.

  3. No variations in transit times for Qatar-1 b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maciejewski, G.; Fernández, M.; Aceituno, F. J.; Ohlert, J.; Puchalski, D.; Dimitrov, D.; Seeliger, M.; Kitze, M.; Raetz, St.; Errmann, R.; Gilbert, H.; Pannicke, A.; Schmidt, J.-G.; Neuhäuser, R.

    2015-05-01

    Aims: The transiting hot-Jupiter planet Qatar-1 b exhibits variations in transit times that could be perturbative. A hot Jupiter with a planetary companion on a nearby orbit would constitute an unprecedented planetary configuration, which is important for theories of the formation and evolution of planetary systems. We performed a photometric follow-up campaign to confirm or refute transit timing variations. Methods: We extend the baseline of transit observations by acquiring 18 new transit light curves acquired with 0.6-2.0 m telescopes. These photometric time series, together with data available in the literature, were analyzed in a homogenous way to derive reliable transit parameters and their uncertainties. Results: We show that the dataset of transit times is consistent with a linear ephemeris leaving no hint of any periodic variations with a range of 1 min. We find no compelling evidence of a close-in planetary companion to Qatar-1 b. This finding is in line with a paradigm that hot Jupiters are not components of compact multiplanetary systems. Based on dynamical simulations, we place tighter constraints on the mass of any fictitious nearby planet in the system. Furthermore, new transit light curves allowed us to redetermine system parameters with better precision than reported in previous studies. Our values generally agree with previous determinations. Partly based on (1) data collected with telescopes at the Rozhen National Astronomical Observatory and (2) observations obtained with telescopes of the University Observatory Jena, which is operated by the Astrophysical Institute of the Friedrich-Schiller-University.Tables of light curve data are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/577/A109

  4. Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dascalu, Dan; Topa, Vladimir; Kleps, Irina

    2001-01-01

    In spite of difficult working conditions and with very low financial support, many groups from Romania are involved in emerging fields, such as the nanoscale science and technology. Until the last years, this activity was developed without a central coordination and without many interactions between these research groups. In the year 2000, some of the institutes and universities active in the nanotechnology field in Romania founded the MICRONANOTECH network. The aim of this paper is to emphasize the main activities and results of the Romanian groups working in this novel domain. Most of the groups are deal with the nanomaterial technology and only few of them have activities in nanostructure science and engineering, in new concepts and device modeling and technology. This paper describes the nanotechnology research development in two of the most significant institutes from Romania: Centre for Nanotechnologies from National Institute for Research and Development in Microtehnologies (IMT-Bucharest) and from National Institute for Research and Development in Materials Physics (INCD-FM), Magurele. The Romanian research results in nanotechnology field were presented in numerous papers presented in international conferences or published in national and international journals. They are also presented in patents, international awards and fellowships. The research effort and financial support are outlined. Some future trends of the Romanian nanoscale science and technology research are also described

  5. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT VERSUS MIGRATION IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CAMELIA ANGHEL

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper describes the employment situation in Romania in terms of sustainable development and takes into account both employment issues and employment policies. The notion of occupation is described including indicators in the field of employment: objective -employment rate, unemployment, areas of economic activity and subjective - estimate working conditions, possibilities of obtaining a job, satisfaction with work and profession. Modern employment policies have the flexibility and safety as coordinating criteria and the new steering institutional / labor legislation of our country consider them. Are presented the main problems of our country related to the migration and the measures / strategies to solve them and the existing legislation taking into account Romania's development strategy in view of the next two decades. A realistic vision of economic and social development in the coming decades is a necessity for Romania, given the diminishing working population. Studies made in recent years by social actors implicated draw attention to the fact that reducing the economically active population will make its mark on the general rate of activity. For defining and structuring a national strategy population is the main element, and the developing of national strategy must include clear measures for improving the demographic situation. Policy analysis in the field of employment is based on the direction the European Union, more and better jobs, wage policy, anti-unemployment policies, policies to increase the quality of employment.

  6. National Culture Influence over the Organizational Culture in Romania

    OpenAIRE

    Carataº Maria Alina; Spãtariu Elena Cerasela

    2012-01-01

    The present paper aims highlighting the characteristics of the organisational culture concept in Romania. In the first part of the paper, we have presented the importance of organizational culture theory through a literature review; we described the factors that have an impact on it. In the second part, we developed ideas about the national culture of Romania, the national frame and how this affects the organizational culture, and we presented its peculiarities.

  7. Burden of diabetes mellitus attributable to demographic levels in Qatar: an emerging public health problem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bener, Abdulbari; Kim, Eun-Jung; Mutlu, Fatih; Eliyan, Afnan; Delghan, Hamsa; Nofal, Enas; Shalabi, Luma; Wadi, Nada

    2014-01-01

    Diabetes is one of the main contributors to ill health and premature mortality worldwide and its prevalence has been rising during the last decades. The aim of the present study was to quantify the burden of disease in terms of deaths and loss of healthy life years (DALYs) attributed to diabetes by its demographic levels in the State of Qatar. The methods were largely based on the established Global Burden of Disease methodology and use the burden of disease in terms of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) and the years lost due to disability (YLD) as the outcome measure. We calculated years lost due to disability (YLD) and years life lost (YLL) attributable to diabetes. The study was conducted during the period from June 2013 to January 2014. The study findings revealed that disability adjusted life years (DALYs) has been increasing across the years and reached to 4.35 in 2011 from 2.58 in 2007. DALYs for men was remarkably higher than women during the period (2007-2011). Diabetes mellitus was the 6th leading cause of disease burden in Qatar (3.8%). The YLD showed a sharp increase in men (2.52 in 2011 from 1.34 in 2007) and women (1.05 in 2011 from 0.33 in 2007) during the year 2011. YLL portion of women enlarged considerably in 2011 (0.10) compared to 2010 (0.04). YLL for men and women was fluctuating across the years with a decrease in 2011 (18%) from 2007 (35%). Men and women in the age group 30-44 years had the highest peak across the years. The study findings revealed that diabetes disease burden was considerably high in Qatar, particularly in the working age group. DALYs has been increasing across the years. Copyright © 2014 Diabetes India. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. 76 FR 32953 - Transportation Infrastructure/Multimodal Products and Services Trade Mission to Doha, Qatar, and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-07

    ... global financial crisis, the United States and the U.A.E. have continued their long-term trade and... business in Qatar or the U.A.E. enter these markets in support of job creation in the United States... of the United States (Ex-Im) will be invited to participate (as appropriate) to provide information...

  9. Some theoretical and practical lessons to be learnt from Romania economic crisis challengesin Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gheorghe ZAMAN

    2011-12-01

    This paper herein will analyze, in short, a few of the theoretical, methodological, practical and implementation challenges brought about by the crisis in Romania, as well as the likely ways to prevent, mitigate impacts and resist to its shocks or to go back to the path of a sustainable economic growth.

  10. Development of uranium industry in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iuhas, Tiberiu

    2000-01-01

    The management of the uranium resources is performed in Romania by the National Uranium Company. The tasks to be done are: 1. management and protection of rare and radioactive metal ores in the exploitation areas; 2. mining, preparation, refining and trading the radioactive ores, as well as reprocessing the uranium stock from the uranium concentrate in the national reserve; 3. performing geologic and technologic studies in the exploitation areas; 4. performing studies and projects concerning the maintenance of the present facilities and unearthing new ores; 5. building industrial facilities; 6. carrying out technological transport; 7. importation-exportation operations; 8. performing micro-production activity in experimental research units; 9. personnel training; 10. medical assistance for the personnel; 11. environment protection. The company is organized as follows: 1.three branches for uranium ore mining, located at Suceava, Bihor and Banat; 2. one branch for geologic survey, located at Magurele; 3. one branch for uranium ore preparation and concentration and for refining uranium concentrates, located at Feldioara; 4. One group for mine conservation, closure and ecology, located at Bucuresti. The final product, sintered powder of UO 2 produced at Feldioara plant, was tested in 1994 by the Canadian partner and met successfully the required standards. The Feldioara plant was certified as supplier of raw material for CANDU nuclear fuel production and as such, Romania is the only authorized producer of CANDU nuclear fuel in Europe and the second in the world, after Canada. Maintaining the uranium production in Romania is justified by the existence of uranium ore resources, the declining of natural gas resources, lower costs per kWh for electric nuclear power as compared to fossil-fuel power production, the possibility for Romania to become an important supplier of CANDU nuclear fuel, the low environmental impact and high costs for total shutdown of activity, high

  11. STUDY ON EUROPEAN FUNDS ABSORPTION IN ROMANIA FOR MEASURE 313

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florentina D. MATEI

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we wish to highlight the main causes of regional disparities in Romania in terms of absorption of European funds through Measure 313: Encouragement of tourism activities. The post-accession of Romania shows a major deficiency in attracting funds from the European Union, this situation is generated, in particular, by the lack of a coherent long-term vision of the authorities, insufficient resources for co-financing projects, low administrative capacity at central and local level, lack of inter-institutional coordination, public-private partnerships failures and insufficient skilled human resources . We will analyze the number of projects approved and implemented in each region of Romania (2007-2013 to establish the real possibilities of expansion of rural tourism.

  12. Portugal: setting new goals for growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cutler, B

    1987-11-01

    Portugal has entered a period of economic recovery spearheaded by Prime Minister Anibal Cavaco Silva. A slow but steady rise in the standard of living may finally offset the 0.9% annual growth in the country's population. Growth in the gross national product (GNP) reached 5% in 1987 and fixed capital investment increased 9.5% in 1986. Cavaco Silva's economic recovery program has included entry into the Common Market, foreign investment in industry, attention to the enormous public debt, and dismantling of the state-centered economy of the 1970s. Per capita GNP increased from US$743 in 1985 to $1970 in 1986 and unemployment had fallen to 8.5% by 1988. The prolongation of average life expectancy to 68 years for men and 75 years for women indicates a general improvement in the health and lifestyle of most Portuguese. By the year 2000, the population of Portugal is expected to reach 11.1 million, with the largest rates of growth occurring in the west and coastal areas. Half of the population falls into the 25-64-year age group, suggesting potential for economic growth and spending. A low rate of urbanization (30%) has complicated attempts to raise the level of technology in industry. Strong adherence to Catholicism is largely responsible for the exceptionally high marriage rate and low divorce rate in Portugal. The average birth rate was 14.5/1000 in 1987 and the average total fertility rate was 2.1. 34% of all births are to women 20-24 years old. The annual mortality rate is 9.6/1000, while infant mortality stands at 17.8/1000. A significant change occurring in Portugal in the current period is the rise of a new middle class.

  13. A locally designed mobile laboratory for radiation analysis and monitoring in qatar. Vol. 4

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abou-Leila, H; El-Samman, H; Mahmoud, H [Physics Department, University of qatar, Doha (Qatar)

    1996-03-01

    A description of a mobile laboratory for radiation analysis and monitoring, completely designed in qatar and equipped at qatar university, is given. It consists of a van equipped with three scintillation detectors mounted on the front bumper. The detectors can monitor gamma radiations along the path of the laboratory over an angle range 120 degree. One Eberline radiation monitoring station is mounted on the roof. The laboratory is also equipped with several, and neutron survey meters in addition to some sampling equipment. All equipment used are powered with solar panels. The characteristics and performance of solar power/stabilized A C conversion is given. Data acquisition from the three scintillation detectors is performed by adding the outputs of the three detectors and storing the total as a function of time in a computer based multi-channel analyzer (MCA) operated in the MSC mode. The acquisition can be switched easily to the PHA mode to analyze gamma spectra from any possible contamination source. The laboratory was used in several environmental and possible contamination missions. Some results obtained during some of these missions are given. 4 figs.

  14. A locally designed mobile laboratory for radiation analysis and monitoring in qatar. Vol. 4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abou-Leila, H.; El-Samman, H.; Mahmoud, H.

    1996-01-01

    A description of a mobile laboratory for radiation analysis and monitoring, completely designed in qatar and equipped at qatar university, is given. It consists of a van equipped with three scintillation detectors mounted on the front bumper. The detectors can monitor gamma radiations along the path of the laboratory over an angle range 120 degree. One Eberline radiation monitoring station is mounted on the roof. The laboratory is also equipped with several, and neutron survey meters in addition to some sampling equipment. All equipment used are powered with solar panels. The characteristics and performance of solar power/stabilized A C conversion is given. Data acquisition from the three scintillation detectors is performed by adding the outputs of the three detectors and storing the total as a function of time in a computer based multi-channel analyzer (MCA) operated in the MSC mode. The acquisition can be switched easily to the PHA mode to analyze gamma spectra from any possible contamination source. The laboratory was used in several environmental and possible contamination missions. Some results obtained during some of these missions are given. 4 figs

  15. Acute Bacterial Meningitis in Qatar: A Hospital-Based Study from 2009 to 2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Fahmi Yousef; Abu-Khattab, Mohammed; Almaslamani, Eman Abdulrahman; Hassan, Abubaker Ahmed; Mohamed, Shehab Fareed; Elbuzdi, Abdurrahman Ali; Elmaki, Nada Yagoub; Anand, Deshmukh; Sanjay, Doiphode

    2017-01-01

    Bacterial meningitis is a common medical condition in Qatar. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics of bacterial meningitis, the frequency of each pathogen, and its sensitivity to antibiotics and risk factors for death. This retrospective study was conducted at Hamad General Hospital between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2013. We identified 117 episodes of acute bacterial meningitis in 110 patients. Their mean age was 26.4 ± 22.3 years (range: 2-74) and 81 (69.2%) of them were male patients. Fifty-nine episodes (50.4%) were community-acquired infection and fever was the most frequent symptom (94%), whereas neurosurgery is the most common underlying condition. Coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most common causative agent, of which 95% were oxacillin-resistant, while 63.3% of Acinetobacter spp. showed resistance to meropenem. The in-hospital mortality was 14 (12%). Only the presence of underlying diseases, hypotension, and inappropriate treatment were found to be independent predictors of mortality. Acute bacterial meningitis predominantly affected adults and coagulase-negative staphylococci species were the common causative agent in Qatar with majority of infections occurring nosocomially. More than 90% of all implicated coagulase-negative staphylococci strains were oxacillin-resistant.

  16. Acute Bacterial Meningitis in Qatar: A Hospital-Based Study from 2009 to 2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fahmi Yousef Khan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objectives. Bacterial meningitis is a common medical condition in Qatar. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics of bacterial meningitis, the frequency of each pathogen, and its sensitivity to antibiotics and risk factors for death. Patients and Methods. This retrospective study was conducted at Hamad General Hospital between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2013. Results. We identified 117 episodes of acute bacterial meningitis in 110 patients. Their mean age was 26.4±22.3 years (range: 2–74 and 81 (69.2% of them were male patients. Fifty-nine episodes (50.4% were community-acquired infection and fever was the most frequent symptom (94%, whereas neurosurgery is the most common underlying condition. Coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most common causative agent, of which 95% were oxacillin-resistant, while 63.3% of Acinetobacter spp. showed resistance to meropenem. The in-hospital mortality was 14 (12%. Only the presence of underlying diseases, hypotension, and inappropriate treatment were found to be independent predictors of mortality. Conclusion. Acute bacterial meningitis predominantly affected adults and coagulase-negative staphylococci species were the common causative agent in Qatar with majority of infections occurring nosocomially. More than 90% of all implicated coagulase-negative staphylococci strains were oxacillin-resistant.

  17. Prevalence and Determinants of Glaucoma in Citizens of Qatar Aged 40 Years or Older: A Community-Based Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Mansouri, Fatma A.; Kanaan, Aida; Gamra, Hamad; Khandekar, Rajiv; Hashim, Shakeel P.; Al Qahtani, Omar; Ahmed, Mohd. Farouk

    2011-01-01

    Background: We present the prevalence and determinants of glaucoma among subjects 40 years of age and older in Qatar. Materials and Methods: This community-based survey was held in 2009 at 49 randomly selected clusters. Demographic details and history of glaucoma was collected by the nurses. Ophthalmologists evaluated the optic disc and retina using a digital camera housed in a mobile van. Visual field was tested with an automated perimeter, the intraocular pressure with an applanation tonometer and the angle of the anterior chamber by gonioscopy. A panel of glaucoma experts diagnosed subjects with glaucoma. Results: This survey enrolled 3,149 (97.3%) participants. The age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of glaucoma in the population aged 40 years and older was 1.73% (95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.69-1.77). Accordingly, 5,641 individuals in this age group in Qatar would have glaucoma. Chronological age of 60 years and older (Odds ratio [OR] 11.1) and the presence of myopia (OR 1.78) were predictors of glaucoma. Open-angle glaucoma was diagnosed in 44 (65.7%) individuals with glaucoma. In nine (13.4%) and 15 (20.9%) subjects, angle closure glaucoma and other (post-traumatic, pseudoexfoliation) glaucoma were present. Bilateral blindness (vision glaucoma, respectively. Glaucoma was treated in 36 (54%) subjects. Conclusions: The prevalence of glaucoma among citizens of Qatar aged 40 years and older was 1.71%. Glaucoma was associated with the age of 60 years and older and the presence of myopia. PMID:21731325

  18. Statistical coordinates of organic farming in Romania during the period 2000-2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    DUGULEANA Liliana

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper emphasizes the importance of developing organic farming in Romania. This sector was not affected by the economic crisis, at the end of 2008, neither in Romania, nor in European Union. The sustainable character of its evolution was doubled by the benefits and the consequences for a better and healthier life of consumers, in the spirit of respecting the principles of environmental and life sustainability. The evolutions of organic areas in Romania in comparison with the level of the European Union, and also of its proportion in the agricultural land, are presented for the period 2000-2014. Some important structural characteristics of organic farming in Romania are analysed for 2011 and 2012, the years when the expansion of organic areas was the highest. These emphasized changes could be the future factors of organic farming development.

  19. Creative economy and knowledge-based society. Perspectives for Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Istudor Laura Gabriela

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Creative economy is a rather new concept that started developing during the last decade, being currently applied to a variety of activities and professions. It has become an important sector of the global economy, being sustained and promoted by the European Union, especially in the context of an innovative and knowledge-based society. Within this new type of economy, creativity, innovation and knowledge management are essential factors that lead to a smart, sustainable and inclusive development in regard to the creation of new jobs and to the social inclusion requirements. According to John Howkins (2001, the creative industries / sectors include art, research, advertising, movies, theatre, software, with the possibility of the concept of creative economy to be extended to other non-artistic and IT related fields, where improvements are expected to arise through innovation and creativity. The Global Creativity Index (GCI and the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS, are two benchmarking tools that measure the creativity and innovation degree of the countries in the European Union, placing Romania within the last positions, especially with respect to intellectual property rights and entrepreneurship. The research methodology consists of both qualitative and quantitative methods, while the research questions to be answered are What is the degree of innovation in Romania compared to other states? What can be done in order to increase the level of innovation in Romania? In this viewpoint, the paper analyzes the development of the creative industries / sectors in Romania, in the context of creative economy and innovation. The objective of the paper is to analyze the extent to which the concept of creative economy can be promoted and implemented in Romania, given its increasing importance at the international level, with countries such as the United Kingdom that already adopted strategies to sustain this kind of economy in the past years. In order to

  20. Romania's flag raised at CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    Corinne Pralavorio

    2016-01-01

    A ceremony was held for the raising of the Romanian flag alongside the flags of CERN’s 21 other Member States.   The Romanian flag is raised alongside the flags of CERN’s other Member States, in the presence of the Romanian President, CERN’s Director-General, the President of the CERN Council and a large Romanian delegation. (Image: Maximilien Brice/ Sophia Bennett/CERN) On Monday, 5 September, the Romanian flag was raised in front of CERN for the first time, marking the country’s accession to Membership of the Organization. The blue, yellow and red flag joined those of the other 21 Member States of CERN in a ceremony attended by the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, the Romanian Minister for Education and Scientific Research, Mircea Dumitru, and several other members of the President’s office, the government and academia in Romania. The country officially became a CERN Member State on 17 July 2016, after 25 years of collaboration between the...

  1. 76 FR 38614 - Transportation Infrastructure/Multimodal Products and Services Trade Mission to Doha, Qatar, and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-01

    ...) and business strategies for U.S. companies to gain access to the Qatari and U.A.E. markets. Provide an... doing business in the target markets, as well as U.S. companies seeking to enter these markets for the... business in Qatar or the U.A.E. enter these markets in support of job creation in the United States...

  2. FISCAL SOVEREIGNTY IN ROMANIA – EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATE

    OpenAIRE

    Lidia Daniela I. Roman

    2008-01-01

    The Romania`s adhesion to the European Union involves multiple transformations with a direct impact upon many fields, such as law`s field, especially economic, fiscal laws. Taxation system should be both efficient and equitableone of the important problem is sovereignty of state became member of one regional organization, his fiscal sovereignty, state’s atributes in this field. Who can decide fiscal policy, direct taxes or taxes upon consumption? Is it attended by this adhesion to the soverei...

  3. ROMANIA AND THE EURASIAN UNION. PLANS, PREDICTIONS AND PERSPECTIVES

    OpenAIRE

    Mircea-Cristian GHENGHEA

    2016-01-01

    Following the events in Ukraine, Romania might represent one of the key points for the Eurasian perspectives that have circulated in the last years in Moscow. Through our text we intend to present and to highlight the main ideas and plans of Eurasian inspiration regarding Romania, as well as the interesting predictions made, in certain moments, by some representative characters for the Eurasian paradigm, like Aleksandr Dugin, for instance, who is its main ideologist and promoter. At the same ...

  4. New Chorological Data for Rare Vascular Plants from Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anastasiu Paulina

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available New chorological data about seven rare vascular plant taxa are reported in the present paper: Conringia austriaca, Jurinea multiflora, Linaria arvensis, Nonea pallens, Ophrys apifera, Ophrys scolopax subsp. cornuta, Saponaria officinalis. For Linaria arvensis, previously considered doubtful in the absence of the herbarium material, we confirm its presence in Romania. The report of Nonea pallens is the first for Dobrogea, while the report of Jurinea multiflora is the first for Muntenia region of Romania.

  5. A new seismic station in Romania the Bucovina seismic array

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grigore, Adrian; Grecu, Bogdan; Ionescu, Constantin; Ghica, Daniela; Popa, Mihaela; Rizescu, Mihaela

    2002-01-01

    Recently, a new seismic monitoring station, the Bucovina Seismic Array, has been established in the northern part of Romania, in a joint effort of the Air Force Technical Applications Center, USA, and the National Institute for Earth Physics, Romania. The array consists of 10 seismic sensors (9 short-period and one broad band) located in boreholes and distributed in a 5 x 5 km area. On July 24, 2002 the official Opening Ceremony of Bucovina Seismic Array took place in the area near the city of Campulung Moldovenesc in the presence of Romanian Prime Minister, Adrian Nastase. Starting with this date, the new seismic monitoring system became fully operational by continuous recording and transmitting data in real-time to the National Data Center of Romania, in Bucharest and to the National Data Center of USA, in Florida. Bucovina Seismic Array, added to the present Seismic Network, will provide much better seismic monitoring coverage of Romania's territory, on-scale recording for weak-to-strong events, and will contribute to advanced seismological studies on seismic hazard and risk, local effects and microzonation, seismic source physics, Earth structure. (authors)

  6. ABOUT DIRECT SALES IN THE WORLD, EUROPE AND ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CLAUDIA ISAC

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Direct sale represents a modern product distribution system directly to consumers, generally, directly to their homes, to their workplace or other places, beside retail shops. The best known type of direct sale, the Network Marketing or Multilevel Marketing implies the existence of a network of distributors which earn income from selling on commission, to which they add the trade markup. This paper is based upon the analysis of these types of sales starting with the study of specialized literature especially by foreign authors, mainly Americans, with the analysis of statistical data presented by several organizations such as SELDIA (The European Direct Selling Association, MLM International Romania, ACVD (Association of Direct Selling Companies in Romania, as well as the legal regulations within this field. In conclusion, the paper presents an interesting comparison of the sales and structure volume between the Europe and Romania.

  7. Romania's Agriculture and its Role in the Convergence Process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CONSTANTIN POSTOIU

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The importance of agriculture in Romania is linked to the fact that 45% of its population is in the rural area, mostly dependent on agricultural activities. This paper aims to determine in what extent agriculture influences the convergence process of Romania with the euro area. The structural convergence index is computed in order to assess the degree in which the structure of the Romanian economy resembles the one of the euro area in terms of both gross value added and employment. Research indicates that Romania has the lowest score in terms of structural convergence with the euro area. The main reason is the oversized agricultural sector which employs almost a third of the active population. The productivity of the Romanian agriculture is then assessed in order to identify its possible effect on the country’s overall competitiveness and on the whole convergence process.

  8. Agreement between the State of Qatar and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the application of safeguards in connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-01-01

    The text of the Agreement (and the Protocol thereto) between the State of Qatar and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards in Connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. The Board of Governors approved the Agreement on 24 September 2008. It was signed in Vienna on 19 January 2009. Pursuant to Article 24 of the Agreement, the Agreement entered into force on 21 January 2009, the date on which the Agency received from the State of Qatar written notification that Qatar's statutory and constitutional requirements for entry into force had been met. Pursuant to Article II of the Protocol, the Protocol entered into force on the same date

  9. Between Equality and Discrimination: Disabled Persons in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena-Loreni BACIU

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Using a qualitative approach based on aninstitutional ethnography of social organization ofwork inclusion for disabled persons, the currentpaper addresses the specifi c ways in which theindividual experiences of the Romanian disabledpersons, in society and on the labor market, areinfl uenced and shaped by the social relations oftextually mediated discourse. It draws on the resultsof a larger study, conducted between 2014and 2015 in Romania, as part of a research projectfocusing on the dysfunctionalities that impedethe labor market access of disabled personsin Romania and the institutional arrangementsand structural mechanisms that underpin thesedysfunctionalities. The paper reveals a particulartype of consonance between the Romanianlegislative provisions, institutional arrangementsand local practices, that allows for the concept of‘protection’ of the disabled persons to transcendits initial purpose and philosophy and start workingagainst the disabled persons. The article alsosheds some light on the way in which the fragmentationand parallelism that currently governthe system of protection for the disabled personshamper the development of a consistent vision,backed by a homogenous approach, in dealingwith or managing the multiple negative issuesassociated with disability in Romania.

  10. Detection of secondary eclipses of WASP-10b and Qatar-1b in the Ks band and the correlation between Ks-band temperature and stellar activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruz, Patricia; Barrado, David; Lillo-Box, Jorge; Diaz, Marcos; López-Morales, Mercedes; Birkby, Jayne; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Hodgkin, Simon

    2017-10-01

    The Calar Alto Secondary Eclipse study was a program dedicated to observe secondary eclipses in the near-IR of two known close-orbiting exoplanets around K-dwarfs: WASP-10b and Qatar-1b. Such observations reveal hints on the orbital configuration of the system and on the thermal emission of the exoplanet, which allows the study of the brightness temperature of its atmosphere. The observations were performed at the Calar Alto Observatory (Spain). We used the OMEGA2000 instrument (Ks band) at the 3.5m telescope. The data was acquired with the telescope strongly defocused. The differential light curve was corrected from systematic effects using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) technique. The final light curve was fitted using an occultation model to find the eclipse depth and a possible phase shift by performing a MCMC analysis. The observations have revealed a secondary eclipse of WASP-10b with depth of 0.137%, and a depth of 0.196% for Qatar-1b. The observed phase offset from expected mid-eclipse was of -0.0028 for WASP-10b, and of -0.0079 for Qatar-1b. These measured offsets led to a value for |ecosω| of 0.0044 for the WASP-10b system, leading to a derived eccentricity which was too small to be of any significance. For Qatar-1b, we have derived a |ecosω| of 0.0123, however, this last result needs to be confirmed with more data. The estimated Ks-band brightness temperatures are of 1647 K and 1885 K for WASP-10b and Qatar-1b, respectively. We also found an empirical correlation between the (R'HK) activity index of planet hosts and the Ks-band brightness temperature of exoplanets, considering a small number of systems.

  11. A survey on the awareness and attitude of pharmacists and doctors towards the application of pharmacogenomics and its challenges in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elewa, Hazem; Alkhiyami, Dania; Alsahan, Dima; Abdel-Aziz, Ahmed

    2015-08-01

    Pharmacists are expected to play an important role in applying pharmacogenomics discoveries to patient care. Despite the increased attention to genetic research in Qatar, clinicians' attitudes towards the application of pharmacogenomics are not yet explored. The aim of this study was to assess the awareness and attitude of pharmacists compared with doctors towards pharmacogenomics and its implications by submitting an electronic-based survey to all pharmacists and doctors currently working in a large medical corporation in Qatar. A cross-sectional survey instrument was developed based on literature review. Eligible participants were pharmacists and doctors currently practicing in Hamad Medical Corporation hospitals in Qatar. The survey comprised questions on demographic and professional characteristics. It also evaluated the awareness, attitudes and challenges towards pharmacogenomics and its application. We collected 202 surveys, 108 (53.2%) of which were pharmacists and the remaining 94 (46.5%) were doctors. The overall participants' mean total awareness score percentage was low (39% ± 22) and there were no difference between the mean score achieved by pharmacists and doctors. Pharmacists had significantly more positive attitudes than doctors towards: (i) taking the responsibility of applying pharmacogenomics to drug therapy selection, dosing and monitoring; (ii) perceiving a positive role of pharmacogenomics testing on the control of drug expenditure; and (iii) their willingness to participate in pharmacogenomics-related training sessions. Both pharmacists and doctors perceived lack of knowledge and guidelines as major challenges towards the application of pharmacogenomics in Qatar. Despite doctors' and pharmacists' low level of awareness towards pharmacogenomics, they both have positive attitudes towards the clinical implications of pharmacogenomics. Pharmacists are more motivated to learn about pharmacogenomics and are more willing to take initiatives in

  12. International Double Taxation Avoidance (Domestic Legal Regulations and Fiscal Conventions Concluded by Romania)

    OpenAIRE

    Cornelia LEFTER; Simona CHIRICĂ

    2010-01-01

    The avoidance of double taxation has been firstly introduced in the Romanian legislation in 1973. Due to the permanent development of the economic, legal, social, etc. and global environment, Romania adapted accordingly her legal tax provisions in tax law area. One of the most relevant moments is the accession of Romanian into European Union. During pre- and after accession phase Romania has adopted the mandatory European fiscal legislation. Beeing member of EU, Romania has indirectly amended...

  13. Nuclear safety. Romania. Terminal report. Report prepared for the Government of Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    The document contains the terminal report on the implementation of the project IAEA/UNDP-ROM/87/002 'Nuclear Safety' (1987-1994). The goal the project was to provide technical assistance to the Institute for Nuclear Research, Pitesti, Romania, to improve the research and technological capability to the level required for its participation in the Romanian nuclear power programme, particularly in relation to the Cernavoda nuclear power plant project

  14. Hydroelectric power in Romania. Past - present - future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bogan, V.

    1996-01-01

    This paper presents an analysis of the past and present situation in hydroelectric power (achievements, rates of commissioning and so on) and the future strategies for the hydroelectric power resource development in the conditions of a free market economy. At present the contribution of hydroelectric power in the Romania's total power balance is about 16,500 GW h/year which represents nearly 28 %. The theoretical hydroelectric power potential of Romania is 75,000 GW h/year while the technical potential, which could actually be developed, is only 40,000 GW h/year. Finally, there are presented the main directions in the hydroelectric power development up to the year 2020. (author) 3 tabs

  15. Introducción de las artes marciales asiáticas en Portugal = The introduction of asian martial arts in Portugal

    OpenAIRE

    Carlos Gutiérrez García; Vitor Alberto Rosa; Mikel Pérez Gutiérrez

    2013-01-01

    El presente estudio analiza la introducción del jujutsu en Portugal, sucedida a principios del siglo XX. Para su realización se ha consultado fundamentalmente prensa histórica portuguesa, tanto general como específica del ámbito deportivo. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la introducción del jujutsu en Portugal se produjo fundamentalmente a través del mundo del espectáculo, mediante actuaciones de expertos japoneses. Las notables diferencias técnicas y corporales entre estos luchadores j...

  16. Governance in support of integrated flood risk management? The case of Romania

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vinke-de Kruijf, Joanne; Kuks, Stefanus M.M.; Augustijn, Dionysius C.M.

    2015-01-01

    Building on an existing model of governance, this paper aims to assess the supportiveness of Romania׳s structural flood risk governance context towards integrated flood risk management. We assert that a governance structure supports the development and implementation of integrated flood risk

  17. Spain and Portugal facing Euratom. Some considerations in the access of Spain and Portugal to Euratom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corretjer, L.; Lopez Rodriguez, M.

    1985-01-01

    The access of Spain and Portugal to the European Community of Atomic Energy (EURATOM) will give rise to significative consequences and it is a subject which must be thoroughly considered as to its implications regarding the present state of nuclear development in both countries and with regard to their reciprocal relations in nuclear energy matters. To determine such consequences and implications it is necessary, first of all, to analyze what EURATOM is and how it acts, in addition to consider the situation of each of its Member States as to the utilization of nuclear energy. As well, it is necessary to explain the evolution and the present situation of nuclear development in Spain and in Portugal and their mutual relations in this field. In pursuit of such analysis we may determine the possible consequences of their access; this is made bearing in mind each of the aspects in which EURATOM acts, according to the Treaty and the ''acquis communitaire'', and dividing them into common consequences and individual ones for both countries. The whole exposition, which was studied and carried out from an exclusively technical point of view, has a result the deduction of the joint possibilities offered to Spain and Portugal to make use of EURATOM's availabilities and of the joint actions which both countries may achieve to benefit as much as possible from their access to EURATOM. (author)

  18. Premises for Shaping Metropolitan Areas in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    RAULARIAN RUSU

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The setting up of metropolitan areas is a process which is still in progress in Romania. The legislative framework for the creation of these areas has been built up only since 2001, and there are still a number of juridical inconsistencies concerning the association of administrative units to form metropolitan areas. On the other hand, political reasons and the fear of losing a certain degree of authority and to become subordinates of the large cities (in the case of rural municipalities also hindered the development of metropolitan areas in Romania. Nevertheless, the metropolitan areas already in existence are running a number of projects that are beneficial for most members of the association. Such positive examples may trigger the creation of the other metropolitan areas. Although the existing metropolitan areas did not yield spectacular results, the time passed since their foundation is yet too short to correctly assess their usefulness and territorial meaning. For the moment, the following metropolitan areas exist in Romania: Iaşi, Oradea, Braşov, Constanţa, Bacău, Cluj-Napoca, Târgu Mureş and Craiova. Bucharest, Timişoara, Ploieşti and Galaţi-Brăila metropolitan areas are still in process of setting up.

  19. Urban and rural educational system disparities in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihaela Roberta STANEF

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to analyze the complex multidimensional and multidisciplinary issue of the educational system in more details and to deal with conceptions, methodological approaches and the acquired knowledge, focused particularly on Romanian educational system.The mean of the paper is to present the complex issue of regional and territorial disparities in Romania. The educational system in Romania is at a crossroad. Initiated important reforms in the sector after the last 21 years – including changing the curriculum, student assessment, teacher training, funding and management module – will be continued to improve outcomes in education.

  20. The State-Church Relationship in Post-Communist Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ANCA GORGAN

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Starting from the Romanian edition of Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu’swork Religion and Politics in Post-Communist Romania, we argue in favour of thenecessity to study the relationship between the State and the Romanian OrthodoxChurch using an approach which takes into account the details and the possibleexistent perspectives, bringing a plus of objectivity, which is so needed in a fieldperceived as a sensible one. The arguments put forward will be justified by thehistorical tradition of the State-Church relationship in the Byzantine Empire, but alsoin Romania, as well as by the predominantly Orthodox structure of our country.

  1. CONSIDERATION REGARDING THE TAXATION IN FINLAND AND ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ELENA LUCIA CROITORU

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper shows through comparison, in the first phase, the main features of the tax system focusing on direct and indirect taxes, in Finland and Romania, and then presents an analysis of the evolution of the structure and level of taxes in both countries. Last but not least, is presented an analysis of the level of tax burden and also the factors that influenced the pressure in these two countries. The diversity of the fiscality in Finland and Romania reflecting the political choice of a given moment and is the result of the economic and social structure of each country.

  2. Effects of Inquiry-Based Science Instruction on Science Achievement and Interest in Science: Evidence from Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Areepattamannil, Shaljan

    2012-01-01

    The author sought to investigate the effects of inquiry-based science instruction on science achievement and interest in science of 5,120 adolescents from 85 schools in Qatar. Results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed the substantial positive effects of science teaching and learning with a focus on model or applications and…

  3. CONSIDERATION REGARDING BUDGETARY POLICY IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruxandra Curea-Pitorac

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to study the dynamics of the government expenditures, revenues and budgetary balance and to determine the type of budgetary policy adopted in Romania, in the period 1999-2015. The research starts with a theoretical review of the budgetary policy which includes the actions of the governmental authorities, regarding revenue collection and budget expenditures, channels and means of attracting resources. This policy is considered to be a tool in influencing the economy to attenuate the cyclical fluctuation in economy, by accepting the budgetary deficit as a viable solution for the revival and simulation of economic growth. The real value of budget balance represents the actual balance recorded during a certain period and the cyclic balance indicates the difference between the actual balance and the structural balance. This research is focused on the study of budgetary policy implemented in Romania by making a quantitative analysis of the following macroeconomic indicators: governmental expenditures and revenues, budgetary deficit and real GDP. Moreover, a correlation between the dynamics of the structural budgetary deficit and the sign of the output gap has been done, and the results have indicated that, in the analyzed period, a restrictive budgetary policy was adopted in 2000-2004 and in 2011-2014, and an expansionist budgetary policy was implemented from 2005 to 2010. The results of this research highlight the main particularities of the budgetary balance in Romania and the actions taken through this channel in different phase of the business cycle.

  4. Petroleum and natural gas economy in Arab Countries, in Iraq, Nigeria and Tunisia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1993-01-01

    This paper gives informations on petroleum and natural gas industry, petroleum market and prices, trade and contracts, prospection and investments: Portugal has retained the joining to the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline for algerian gas supply. Saudi Arabia has closed several oil fields for maintenance. New contracts have been signed for exploration or development of petroleum or natural gas fields in Nigeria, Qatar, Tunisia and Yemen

  5. Nuclear Energy in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Biro, L.

    2003-01-01

    The new energy approach towards nuclear, due to the growing political support at the beginning of this century, is the result of a complexity of economical, social, political and technological factors. The history of peaceful use of nuclear energy in Romania goes back 45 years. Considering the strategic importance of the energy sector in developing the national economy on sustainable basis, the sector evolution should be outlined through prognosis and strategies on different horizons of time, so that the development perspectives and the energy supply to be correctly estimated. This necessity is emphasized in the Governmental Program of the present administration, which takes into consideration Romanian Economic Strategy on medium term and also The Government Action Plan on 2000-2004, agreed with the European Commission. In order to implement the Governmental Program, the Ministry of Industries and Resources elaborates the National Energy Strategy. The Government Action Plan draw up the conclusion that Unit 2 from Cernavoda NPP must be finalized. This solution fits the least-cost energy development planning and answers to environment requirements. Romania became a Member State of the Agency in 1957. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s its technical co-operation program with the Agency covered mainly research in nuclear physics and some medical and other applications of radiation and isotopes. Since 1976, when the Romanian nuclear power program was embarking to use CANDU-type reactors, the Agency has supported mainly the activities related to the Cernavoda NPP. In the framework of the Romanian accession process to the European structures, CNCAN co-operates with European Commission for transposition of the communautaire acquis in the field of nuclear activities. Romania has had laws in place governing the regulation of nuclear activities since 1974. They were remained in force throughout and subsequent to the national constitutional changes started in 1989 until 1996

  6. Convergences and Divergences between Financial Reporting Systems of Romania and Spain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laptes R.

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of this paper is to perform a comparative study regarding the theory and practice of financial statements in Romania and Spain. To achieve this goal, we performed a documentary research of the main papers of this area and of the applicable accounting regulations from Romania and Spain, research that allowed us to identify convergences and divergences about financial statements in both countries. The main conclusion of this study is that, while Romania experiences improving its financial reporting system by conformism, respectively by assigning through legislation forms adapted to European accounting regulations, Spain chooses a flexible development, trying to realize a complete presentation of the accounting information published in the annual financial statements.

  7. The Equestrian Tourism Valorisation in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Violeta Andreea ANDREIANA

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Our argument for this achievement took into account medical recommendations for this tourism product, giving tourists the possibility of treating major medical conditions (e.g. autism, depression, poliomyelitis squeals, encephalitis, neurological disorders, behavioral disorders, stress, etc. and the fact that the first herds of horses in Romania are attested in documents since 1870. Romania holds a recognized potential to develop this tourism product, due to its natural setting that offers multiple equestrian tourism practice opportunities for Romanian and foreign tourists with multiple benefits for them. Admitting the fact that �the touristic space managing cannot be exclusively determined by its natural properties�, our paper aims a tourism marketing strategy portfolio within positive results for the Romanian equestrian tourism promotion and also may increase the local attractiveness of the regions/areas/localities of our country within potential to equestrian tourism development.

  8. COMPETITION ON THE WHOLESALE MEDICATION DISTRIBUTION MARKET IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alina HAGIU

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Wholesale distribution of medicines in Romania was in the constant attention of the competition authority. In order to analyze the operation of the distribution system practiced in Romania, but also changes that may occur in this system on short and medium term, the Competition Council conducted a sector inquiry after which they found some malfunctioning mainly chained to distributors access to certain medications. Conducted on a sample of 23 pharmaceutical groups operating on the Romanian market and holding approximately 80% of the pharmaceutical market in Romania in 2009, the sector inquiry aimed at two objectives, namely: Legislation analysis with impact on the wholesale distribution of drugs; Market analysis of drug distribution.Following the findings of the high concentration of markets analyzed, due to significant market shares held by innovative drugs under investigation were analyzed also the penetration of generics in the market and the factors that led to this situation.

  9. Romania's Digital Divide and the Failures of E-Government

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sorin Dan ŞANDOR

    2006-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper tries to measure the level of the digital divide existing in Romania and also to verify its relationship with e-government. At the country level, Romania is one of the least digitally developed countries in Europe, but it has shown a sharp increase in recent years. At the social level, based on data from public opinion surveys, digital divide is analyzed at two levels: lack of access and lack of knowledge. The results are similar to those in other countries: digital divide appears along the same dimensions: rural/urban, age, education, wealth and, to a lesser extent, gender. E-government services, while presumed to be at an adequate level, are used only by a very small number of citizens, thus having no impact upon the digital divide. Confronted with a serious divide, and with great possibility of its increasing, Romania needs to promote policies designed to increase access and knowledge. Also, e-government is not possible, unless administrative culture and procedures change.

  10. Seat belt and mobile phone use among vehicle drivers in the city of Doha, Qatar: an observational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahfoud, Ziyad R; Cheema, Sohaila; Alrouh, Hekmat; Al-Thani, Mohammed Hamad; Al-Thani, Al Anoud Mohammed; Mamtani, Ravinder

    2015-09-22

    In Qatar traffic injuries and fatalities are of serious concern. Mobile phone use whilst driving has been associated with increased risk of vehicular collisions and injuries. Seat belt use has been demonstrated to save lives and reduce the severity of road traffic injuries. Whereas previously published studies may have looked at all front passengers, this study aims to obtain reliable estimates of the prevalence of seat belt and mobile phone use among vehicle drivers in the city of Doha, Qatar. Additionally, we aim to investigate the association of these behaviors with other variables namely gender, time of the day and type of vehicle. An observational study on 2,011 vehicles was conducted in 2013. Data were collected at ten sites within Doha city over a two-week period. Two trained observers surveyed each car and recorded observations on a data collection form adapted from a form used in a 2012 Oklahoma observational study. Associations were assessed using the Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test. A p-value of .05 or less was considered statistically significant. Overall, 1,463 (72.7 %) drivers were found using a seat belt (95 % CI: 70.8-74.7 %) and 150 (7.5 %) their mobile phones (95 % CI: 6.3-8.6 %) during the observation period. Mobile phone use was significantly associated with not using a seat belt and driving a sport utility vehicle. Significantly lower rates of seat belt use were observed in the early morning and late afternoon. No gender differences were observed. Seatbelt use in Doha was found to be similar to countries in the region but lower than those in western countries. Also, studies from other high-income locations, reported lower rates of mobile phone use while driving than in Doha. Despite road traffic crashes being one of the leading causes of death in Qatar, three out of 10 drivers in Doha, Qatar, do not use a seat belt and about one in 12 use a mobile phone while driving. More efforts, in the form of awareness campaigns and increased law

  11. A decade of intestinal protozoan epidemiology among settled immigrants in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Madi, Marawan A; Behnke, Jerzy M; Boughattas, Sonia; Al-Thani, Asma; Doiphode, Sanjay H

    2016-08-05

    The World Health Organization estimates that about 3.5 billion people worldwide are affected by intestinal parasitic infections. Reports have already emphasized the role of immigrants in outbreaks of parasitic diseases in industrialized countries. With the mass influx of immigrants to Qatar, patent intestinal parasitic infections have been observed. Herein, the prevalence of intestinal protozoan infections was analysed in 29,286 records of subjects referred for stool examination at the Hamad Medical Corporation over the course of a decade (2005 to 2014, inclusive). Overall prevalence of combined protozoan infections was 5.93 % but there were significant temporal trends, age and sex effects and those arising from the region of origin of the subjects. The most common protozoan was Blastocystis hominis (overall prevalence 3.45 %). Giardia duodenalis, Chilomastix mesnili, Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba hartmanni, Endolimax nana, Iodamoeba butschlii, Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, Cryptosporidium sp. and a single case of Isospora were also detected. The prevalence of combined protozoan infections, G. duodenalis and the non-pathogenic amoebae all declined significantly across the decade. That of B. hominis varied between years but showed no directional trend across years and there was no evidence that prevalence of E. histolyitica/dispar changed significantly. Protozoan infections were observed among all regional groups, but prevalence was higher among subjects from the Arabian Peninsula, Africa and Asia compared to those from the Eastern Mediterranean and Qatar. Prevalence was higher among male subjects in all cases, but age-prevalence profiles differed between the taxa. These results offer optimism that prevalence will continue to decline in the years ahead.

  12. A VAR Analysis Regarding Tax Evasion and Tax Pressure in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boștină Florin

    2017-01-01

    The main aim of the paper is to identify the relationship that exists between tax evasion and tax pressure in Romania, between 2000 and 2013, using an autoregressive vector type of analysis. The VAR model with 3 lags can be considered as representative in order to describe autoregressive links between tax evasion and fiscal pressure in Romania.

  13. 76 FR 60083 - Carbon and Alloy Seamless Standard, Line, and Pressure Pipe From Japan and Romania

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-28

    ... Alloy Seamless Standard, Line, and Pressure Pipe From Japan and Romania Determinations On the basis of... pressure pipe from Japan and Romania would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material... regarding small- diameter carbon and alloy seamless standard, line, and pressure pipe from Romania...

  14. Geology and religion in Portugal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carneiro, Ana; Simoes, Ana; Diogo, Maria Paula; Mota, Teresa Salomé

    2013-01-01

    This paper addresses the relationship between geology and religion in Portugal by focusing on three case studies of naturalists who produced original research and lived in different historical periods, from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. Whereas in non-peripheral European countries religious themes and even controversies between science and religion were dealt with by scientists and discussed in scientific communities, in Portugal the absence of a debate between science and religion within scientific and intellectual circles is particularly striking. From the historiographic point of view, in a country such as Portugal, where Roman Catholicism is part of the religious and cultural tradition, the influence of religion in all aspects of life has been either taken for granted by those less familiar with the national context or dismissed by local intellectuals, who do not see it as relevant to science. The situation is more complex than these dichotomies, rendering the study of this question particularly appealing from the historiographic point of view, geology being by its very nature a well-suited point from which to approach the theme. We argue that there is a long tradition of independence between science and religion, agnosticism and even atheism among local elites. Especially from the eighteenth century onwards, they are usually portrayed as enlightened minds who struggled against religious and political obscurantism. Religion—or, to be more precise, the Roman Catholic Church and its institutions—was usually identified with backwardness, whereas science was seen as the path to progress; consequently men of science usually dissociated their scientific production from religious belief.

  15. Phylodynamics of HIV-1 subtype F1 in Angola, Brazil and Romania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bello, Gonzalo; Afonso, Joana Morais; Morgado, Mariza G

    2012-07-01

    The HIV-1 subtype F1 is exceptionally prevalent in Angola, Brazil and Romania. The epidemiological context in which the spread of HIV occurred was highly variable from one country to another, mainly due to the existence of a long-term civil war in Angola and the contamination of a large number of children in Romania. Here we apply phylogenetic and Bayesian coalescent-based methods to reconstruct the phylodynamic patterns of HIV-1 subtype F1 in such different epidemiological settings. The phylogenetic analyses of HIV-1 subtype F1 pol sequences sampled worldwide confirmed that most sequences from Angola, Brazil and Romania segregated in country-specific monophyletic groups, while most subtype F1 sequences from Romanian children branched as a monophyletic sub-cluster (Romania-CH) nested within sequences from adults. The inferred time of the most recent common ancestor of the different subtype F1 clades were as follow: Angola=1983 (1978-1989), Brazil=1977 (1972-1981), Romania adults=1980 (1973-1987), and Romania-CH=1985 (1978-1989). All subtype F1 clades showed a demographic history best explained by a model of logistic population growth. Although the expansion phase of subtype F1 epidemic in Angola (mid 1980s to early 2000s) overlaps with the civil war period (1975-2002), the mean estimated growth rate of the Angolan F1 clade (0.49 year(-1)) was not exceptionally high, but quite similar to that estimated for the Brazilian (0.69 year(-1)) and Romanian adult (0.36 year(-1)) subtype F1 clades. The Romania-CH subtype F1 lineage, by contrast, displayed a short and explosive dissemination phase, with a median growth rate (2.47 year(-1)) much higher than that estimated for adult populations. This result supports the idea that the AIDS epidemic that affected the Romanian children was mainly caused by the spread of the HIV through highly efficient parenteral transmission networks, unlike adult populations where HIV is predominantly transmitted through sexual route. Copyright

  16. Renewable energy sources evolution connected with Romania's accession to the EU process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matei, M.; Matei, L.

    2005-01-01

    The RES direct support in 2010 for the EU-15 countries varies from 0.08 Euro cents/kWh of total electricity in Finland, to 1.32 Euro cents/kWh of total electricity in Denmark, with a weighted average of 0-39 Euro cents/kWh of total electricity. In case of EU-15 countries using only feed-in tariffs to promote RES, the weighted average of RES direct support is 0.44 Euro cents/kWh. EURELECTRIC's position on RES support is in favor of market-based mechanisms to support renewable sources, which do not lead to market distortions. EURELECTRIC supports the Commission's intention to create a regulatory framework for the promotion of renewable sources in the internal market. Romanian Governmental Decision No. 443/2003 is aiming at the harmonization of the national legislative framework with EU Directive. The important share of large hydroelectricity generated in Romania could represent a good opportunity for Romania to participate in the EU green electricity market, but the key problem in Romania's case is the target of 12.5 % of RES-E in 2010 without large hydroelectricity. On the other hand, the development of the future European green market will influence Romania's energy policy concerning RES development. The development of some national schemes presenting an obstacle to a European certificate trading system, which do not recognize foreign certificates, could cut down the Romania's opportunities to sell into an European green electricity market the electricity generated at low price in the existing large hydropower plants. Some member states accepted electricity generated in large HPP as 'green', the others consider only small HPP in this category. The Romania's accession to EU could mean the acceptance to increase the share of new renewable sources in the next years. Such a request, involving the real implementation of schemes for RES support could be very difficult, taking into account the low support ability to increase the electricity price in Romania. (author)

  17. Perspectives On Accounting and Fiscal Law of Crowdfunding in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Delia David

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to analyse the accounting and fiscal regime of crowdfunding and the legal framework for such operations in Romania. Crowdfunding provides support to project developers by enabling them to access finance in a simple and inexpensive manner. Thus we refer to the following: current state of crowdfunding operations and existing legal background for conducting such operations in Romania as well as possible directions for its improvement. We will also highlight the accounting and fiscal issues encountered by both companies that hold online crowdfunding platforms and those benefiting from the sums collected through this financing method. This paper is based on case study research method. Considering the fact that in Romania the functioning of the crowdfunding platforms is not yet regulated, the information and views set out in this article are those of the authors.

  18. HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE REFERENCES FOR SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN IN WESTERN ROMANIA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chirita-Emandi, Adela; Doros, Gabriela; Simina, Iulia Jurca; Gafencu, Mihai; Puiu, Maria

    2015-01-01

    To provide head circumference references for school-aged children in western Romania, and compare them with references from other European countries. A total of 2742 children, aged 6-19 years, from Timis county, were examined by medical students, between February 2010-June 2011. Head circumference references were constructed by Cole's LMS method with LMSChartMaker software. The Romanian 3rd, 50th and 97th percentiles for head circumference were compared with recent references from Belgium and Germany. Generally, boys show significantly larger head circumference compared to girls at any age. The head circumference increments between 6 and 19 years are Romania to those from Germany and Belgium, we found lower median head circumference in Romanian boys and girls, that could be explained by a taller stature of boys and girls in Germany and Belgium compared to Romania.

  19. THE ALLOCATION OF EUROPEAN FUNDS IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Monica POP

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we try to analyze the extent to which economic and social cohesion of the enlarged European Union in order to develop a harmonious, balanced and sustainable community has been achieved with the Funds, the European Investment Bank (EIB and other financial instruments and how Romania attracts or not such funds. We analyzed using the statistical data, the absorption and implementation of funds in Romania. Consequently, we present only the results. Conclusions outlined the reducing of the economic, social and territorial disparities which have arisen particularly in regions with developmental delays and in relation to economic and social reorganization. The most important benefits of funding (in general are the growth, the competitive advantage, the employment and improvement of the environment.

  20. E-BANKING AND BANKS’ PERFORMANCE IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lavinia M. GUȚU

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Banks are important entities in the economy as they have a significant role in maintaining and encouraging the development of economic sectors. This is possible through the work of refocusing resources from those who have surplus to those who are in a deficit situation. Therefore, like any other company, the performance is highly desirable for banks. It is therefore essential to identify which are the main factors influencing the achievement of this goal. From this perspective, this paper aims to analyze the microeconomic factors affecting the financial performance of banks in Romania. Special attention will be paid to Internet technology or ICT as part of new banking technologies because, so far, in Romania, there are few studies of this kind.

  1. Norm in soil and sludge samples in Dukhan oil Field, Qatar state

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Al-Kinani, A.T.; Hushari, M.; Al-Sulaiti, Huda; Alsadig, I.A., E-mail: mmhushari@moe.gov.qa [Radiation and Chemical Protection Department, Ministry of Environment, Doha (Qatar)

    2015-07-01

    The main objective of this work is to measure the activity concentrations of Naturally Occurring radioactive Materials (NORM) produced as a buy products in oil production. The analyses of NORM give available information for guidelines concerning radiation protection. Recently NORM subjected to restricted regulation issued by high legal authority at Qatar state. Twenty five samples of soil from Dukhan onshore oil field and 10 sludge samples collected from 2 offshore fields at Qatar state. High resolution low-level gamma-ray spectrometry used to measure gamma emitters of NORM. The activity concentrations of natural radionuclide in 22 samples from Dukhan oil field, were with average worldwide values . Only three soil samples have high activity concentration of Ra-226 which is more than 185 Bq/kg the exempted level for NORM in the Quatrain regulation. The natural radionuclide activity concentrations of 10 sludge samples from offshore oil fields was greater than 1100Bq/kg the exempted values of NORM set by Quatrain regulation so the sludge need special treatments. The average hazards indices (H{sub ex} , D , and Ra{sub eq}), for the 22 samples were below the word permissible values .This means that the human exposure to such material not impose any radiation risk. The average hazards indices (H{sub ex} , D , and Ra{sub eq}), for 3 soil samples and sludge samples are higher than the published maximal permissible. Thus human exposure to such material impose radiation risk. (author)

  2. Perspective of pharmacists in Qatar regarding doping and anti-doping in sports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mottram, David; Khalifa, Sherief; Alemrayat, Bayan; Rahhal, Alaa; Ahmed, Afif; Stuart, Mark; Awaisu, Ahmed

    2016-06-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the current knowledge and perceptions of pharmacists in Qatar with regard to the use of drugs in sport and to explore their views on the introduction of education and training in the area of sports pharmacy. A cross-sectional survey was conducted targeting both hospital and community pharmacists in Qatar. A questionnaire consisting of three domains pertaining to participants' knowledge, perceived role of healthcare professionals, and attitudes towards educational needs on the use of drugs in sports was developed and validated. The online survey link and paper-based questionnaires were distributed to the target population. Data analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized for the analyses, where Pdoping and anti-doping and achieved an average knowledge score of 53.2% regarding the prohibited status of drugs that may be used by athletes, particularly with respect to over-the-counter medicines and supplements. The majority (81.7%) of the pharmacists expressed an interest in receiving education and training on sports pharmacy. Specialized training programs are warranted to ensure that pharmacists have the knowledge and skills required to provide athletes with accurate information about anti-doping issues and the safe and effective use of medicines in sport. The development of these programs should be supported by national pharmacy policy makers and designed in collaboration with anti-doping agencies and sports pharmacy experts and educators.

  3. Norm in soil and sludge samples in Dukhan oil Field, Qatar state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Kinani, A.T.; Hushari, M.; Al-Sulaiti, Huda; Alsadig, I.A.

    2015-01-01

    The main objective of this work is to measure the activity concentrations of Naturally Occurring radioactive Materials (NORM) produced as a buy products in oil production. The analyses of NORM give available information for guidelines concerning radiation protection. Recently NORM subjected to restricted regulation issued by high legal authority at Qatar state. Twenty five samples of soil from Dukhan onshore oil field and 10 sludge samples collected from 2 offshore fields at Qatar state. High resolution low-level gamma-ray spectrometry used to measure gamma emitters of NORM. The activity concentrations of natural radionuclide in 22 samples from Dukhan oil field, were with average worldwide values . Only three soil samples have high activity concentration of Ra-226 which is more than 185 Bq/kg the exempted level for NORM in the Quatrain regulation. The natural radionuclide activity concentrations of 10 sludge samples from offshore oil fields was greater than 1100Bq/kg the exempted values of NORM set by Quatrain regulation so the sludge need special treatments. The average hazards indices (H ex , D , and Ra eq ), for the 22 samples were below the word permissible values .This means that the human exposure to such material not impose any radiation risk. The average hazards indices (H ex , D , and Ra eq ), for 3 soil samples and sludge samples are higher than the published maximal permissible. Thus human exposure to such material impose radiation risk. (author)

  4. First autochthone case of sporotrichosis by Sporothrix globosa in Portugal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Oliveira, Manoel Marques Evangelista; Veríssimo, Cristina; Sabino, Raquel; Aranha, João; Zancopé-Oliveira, Rosely Maria; Sampaio, Paula; Pais, Célia

    2014-04-01

    In this study, we characterize the first autochthone case of human sporotrichosis reported in Lisbon, Portugal. Phenotypic and genotypic characterization revealed that the infection was caused by Sporothrix globosa. We conclude that sporotrichosis may be underdiagnosed particularly in Southern Europe and suggest Portugal as an emerging area for this fungal infection. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Implementing the Systems of Performance Management Indicators (Balanced Scorecard) Within Notary Offices From Romania

    OpenAIRE

    George Cristian SCHIN; Margareta RACOVITA; Viorel SUSANU

    2011-01-01

    The article concentrates on the analysis of the results of a research performed in performance management domain applied within notary offices from Romania. The results of the most relevant sections of the research:the level of understanding and knowledge of Balanced Scorecard concept by notaries’ public from Romania, main arguments for notaries’ public from Romania that desire to implement Balanced Scorecards within notary offices, as well as the success factors that facilitate implementing ...

  6. Kolmas vaatus Euroopa võlakriisis - Portugal. Oht Portugali mainel / Sirje Rank

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Rank, Sirje, 1966-

    2011-01-01

    Portugal kavatseb läbi viia riigivõlakirjade emissiooni, samas müüvad teisedki riigid lähiajal võlakirju, mille riskiaste on väiksem. Portugal eitab väidet, nagu oleks Saksamaa ja Prantsusmaa survestanud teda Euroopa kriisifondist abi küsima

  7. 78 FR 2709 - Finding Regarding Foreign Social Insurance or Pension System-Romania

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-14

    ... Insurance or Pension System-- Romania AGENCY: Social Security Administration (SSA) ACTION: Notice of Finding Regarding Foreign Social Insurance or Pension System--Romania. FINDING: Section 202(t)(1) of the Social... has in effect a social insurance or pension system which is of general application in such country and...

  8. REFLECTIONS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INFORMATION SOCIETY IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PAUL BOGDAN ZAMFIR

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to synthesize main aspects regarding the implementation of the information society in Romania in the the current period of post-accession to European Union. This approach of scientific research is based essentially on a set of official documents between which are highlighted National Strategy on the Digital Agenda for Romania 2020, corroborated with Digital Agenda for Europe. In this sense, it is important to mention that the Information Society (IS involves not only a rethinking of the way in which Romanian companies should identify efficiency and performance solutions to requirements of more ever specialized consumers, which could allow to maintain on the advantageous positions ahead of stiff trade competition intra and extra EU trade competition but also a greater awareness of behavior and valorisation mutations generated by the complexity of globalization phenomenon which could appear at national consciousness level. Also in the equation process of Romania's integration into the paradigm of information society, the innovation and technological changeshave an important role in achieving economic performances and changes in their dynamic, that can irreversibly influence the mechanism for implementing the strategies of modernization, growth and sustainable development. Finally, it is important to emphasize that from this perspective it is porposed only a schematic approach to the framework of IS implementation in Romania, without the intention of making an exhaustive presentation of the issue highlighted in this paper.

  9. PSYCHOSOCIAL REHABILITATION IN ASSISTED HOUSING IN BRAZIL AND PORTUGAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio José de Almeida Filho

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar cómo las Casas Terapéuticas para los usuarios con trastornos mentales en los municipios de Miranda do Corvo-Portugal y Volta Redonda-Brasil contribuyen a la rehabilitación psicosocial de las personas con sufrimiento mental. Estudio de perspectiva histórica, cuyas fuentes históricas fueron leyes, resoluciones e informes oficiales y declaraciones de enfermeras, psicólogos y trabajadores sociales. Se encontró que en ambos municipios la intención es la desinstitucionalización de las personas con sufrimiento mental, en Miranda do Corvo-Portugal la gestión financiera y administrativa es responsabilidad de una fundación y, en Volta Redonda-Brasil esta gestión es auspiciada por el ejecutivo municipal, además de observar en Miranda del Corvo-Portugal la adopción de medidas disciplinarias en función de exceso de los usuarios. Se concluye que la crisis económica en Portugal ha interferido con la política de expansión de las Casas Terapéuticas en cuanto al número de usuarios que no permite la intervención más individualizada.

  10. D Model of AL Zubarah Fortress in Qatar - Terrestrial Laser Scanning VS. Dense Image Matching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kersten, T.; Mechelke, K.; Maziull, L.

    2015-02-01

    In September 2011 the fortress Al Zubarah, built in 1938 as a typical Arabic fortress and restored in 1987 as a museum, was recorded by the HafenCity University Hamburg using terrestrial laser scanning with the IMAGER 5006h and digital photogrammetry for the Qatar Museum Authority within the framework of the Qatar Islamic Archaeology and Heritage Project. One goal of the object recording was to provide detailed 2D/3D documentation of the fortress. This was used to complete specific detailed restoration work in the recent years. From the registered laser scanning point clouds several cuttings and 2D plans were generated as well as a 3D surface model by triangle meshing. Additionally, point clouds and surface models were automatically generated from digital imagery from a Nikon D70 using the open-source software Bundler/PMVS2, free software VisualSFM, Autodesk Web Service 123D Catch beta, and low-cost software Agisoft PhotoScan. These outputs were compared with the results from terrestrial laser scanning. The point clouds and surface models derived from imagery could not achieve the same quality of geometrical accuracy as laser scanning (i.e. 1-2 cm).

  11. Satisfaction and responsiveness with health-care services in Qatar--evidence from a survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Faleh Mohamed Hussain; Nikoloski, Zlatko; Reka, Husein

    2015-11-01

    Satisfaction and responsiveness with health care are some of the main outcome variables of a health system. Although health outcomes have been studied in countries with different levels of economic development, there is limited information on the health provision/satisfaction/responsiveness nexus in countries where rapid transitions from middle to high-income status have occurred. Using a 2012 survey conducted in Qatar (amongst both Qatari and non-Qatari respondents), we analysed satisfaction and responsiveness of health care. The sample consisted of 4083 respondents. We use logit analysis [as well as robustness checks involving ordered logit, ordered probit, ordinary least squares (OLS) and probit analysis] in order to estimate the determinants of satisfaction and responsiveness. Both, satisfaction and responsiveness rates were high. Gender, nationality and, to some extent, income and age were significant sociodemographic determinants of satisfaction, with non-Qataris and females, having higher levels of satisfaction. Cost, previous experience with the same health provider and provision of medical insurance for a particular health provider were the attributes significantly correlated with general satisfaction. The results are consistent when the analysis is applied to the correlates of responsiveness. Sociodemographic factors explain the satisfaction with quality of health care in the state of Qatar (both from the general population point of view and from the patient point of view). Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  12. Intestinal helminths of feral cat populations from urban and suburban districts of Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Madi, Marawan A; Behnke, Jerzy M; Prabhaker, K S; Al-Ibrahim, Roda; Lewis, John W

    2010-03-25

    A survey of the helminths of 658 adult cats from feral urban and suburban populations in Qatar was conducted across all months in 2006 and 2007. Six species of helminths were identified, comprising two cestodes (Taenia taeniaeformis [73.6%] and Diplopylidium acanthotetra [47.1%]) and four nematodes (Ancylostoma tubaeforme [14.7%], Physaloptera praeputialis [5.2%], Toxocara cati [0.8%] and Toxascaris leonina [0.2%]), and 83% of cats were infected with at least one of these. The average number of species harboured was 1.4 and the average worm burden was 55.8 worms/cat. The vast majority of worms (97.6%) were cestodes, nematodes being relatively rare. Prevalence and abundance of infections were analyzed, taking into consideration four factors: year (2006 and 2007), site (urban and suburban), season (winter and summer) and sex of the host. Analyses revealed marked year effects, female host bias in some species and interactions involving combination of factors, but especially sex and season of the year. The results indicate that whilst the majority of adult feral cats in Qatar carry helminth infections, infections are variable between years and subject to annual changes that may reflect climatic and other environmental changes in the rapidly developing city of Doha and its suburban surroundings. Only two species have the potential to infect humans and both were rare among the sampled cats (A. tubaeforme and T. cati).

  13. Monetary Policy in a DSGE New Keyesian Model –Case Study for Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgiana Alina Ionita

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The paper proposes the analysis of a Basic New Keynesian model with imperfect competition in goods market and price adjustment mechanism for the macroeconomic context of Romania, as an emerging country. Given the vulnerabilities of the economy of Romania at the beginning and during the recent global economic and financial crisis, there is an increased interest to identify models that can explain the main features of Romania macroeconomic data and to put an eye on shocks that are really necessary to describe the stochastic dynamic of macroeconomic variables.

  14. PPPs IN THE EUROPEAN UNION. GUIDELINES FOR ROMANIA?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ciprian GORIŢĂ

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Several starting points could be used in an analysis on the possible routes for developing Public-Private Partnership1 (henceforth PPP projects in Romania, regarded as an alternative financing mechanism for public infrastructure. This paper follows a “classical” approach, with a focus on the pros and cons of the Public-Private Partnership concept, legal forms met in the European acquis, the Eurostat view on such projects in terms of the statistical classification of assets, financing and policy directions in the European Union and lessons learnt for practitioners in Romania, while taking into account the recent developments of the PPP market in the European Union

  15. Issues regarding environmental protection in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirela Draghicescu

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The “environmental protection” activity in our country should be approached by taking into consideration its entire complexity, and the most reliable solutions may be provided only by direct and permanent reference to the vast issue of social development in its entirety. The present work aims to draw attention towards pollution, the main cause of environmental deterioration in Romania, as well as towards the management of waste materials, while taking into account the national strategy. In Romania, environmental protection is a distinct domain of the national policy, establishing the priority objectives by “The National Strategy for Environmental Protection”, according to the communitarian strategy, as well as to the tendencies and initiatives existing at global level. Our country’s efforts over the past years with respect to environmental protection are very important in the framework of contemporary economy and are reflected in the expenses incurred for environmental protection.

  16. Nurses in advanced roles: a review of acceptability in Portugal Las enfermeras de competencias avanzadas: una revisión de aceptación en Portugal Enfermeiros em funções avançadas: uma análise da aceitação em Portugal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Buchan

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: This paper focuses on the policy context for the deployment of nurses in advanced roles, with particular reference to Portugal. The health sector in Portugal, as in all countries, is labour intensive, and the scope to utilise nurses in more advanced roles is currently being debated. METHODS: Mixed methods were used: an analysis of international data on the nursing workforce; an analysis of documents and media articles; interviews with key-informants; an online survey of managers, and a technical workshop with key-informants. CONCLUSIONS: The limited evidence base on nurses in advanced roles in Portugal is a constraint on progress, but it is not an excuse for inaction. Further research in Portugal on health professionals in innovative roles would assist in informing policy direction. There is the need to move forward with a fully informed policy dialogue, taking account of the current political, economic and health service realities of Portugal.OBJETIVO: Este estudio se focaliza en el contexto político del desarrollo de competencias avanzadas de enfermería, con énfasis en el caso portugués. El sector de la salud en Portugal, como en todos los países, es intensivo en mano de obra, y la posibilidad de utilizar enfermeros en funciones más avanzadas está actualmente en debate. MÉTODOS: Fue utilizado una aproximación mixta: análisis de datos internacionales sobre la fuerza de trabajo de enfermería; análisis de documentos y noticias; entrevistas con informadores clave; un cuestionario online y una oficina técnica con informadores clave. CONCLUSIONES: La limitada base de evidencia sobre la extensión de competencias de los enfermeros en Portugal es un obstáculo para el progreso pero no es una excusa para la inacción. Investigación adicional sobre profesionales de la salud en papeles innovadores podría ayudar a informar y direccionar la decisión política. Es necesario avanzar con un diálogo político plenamente informado

  17. A comparative analysis of tourism destination demand in Portugal

    OpenAIRE

    Serra, Jaime; Correia, Antónia; Rodrigues, Paulo M.M.

    2014-01-01

    Tourism has experienced different levels of development in the different regions of Portugal.To frame this development, in this paper dynamic panel data models were estimated with the objective of explaining the evolution of international overnight stays in each region.Secondary data from 2000 to 2011 was used.The analysis includes the main tourism source markets for Portugal, such as the United Kingdom, Germany,the Netherlands, Ireland, France and Spain. The tourism literature suggests that,...

  18. Modeling sediment transport in Qatar: Application for coastal development planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yousif, Ruqaiya; Warren, Christopher; Ben-Hamadou, Radhouan; Husrevoglu, Sinan

    2018-03-01

    Hydrodynamics and sediment transport are key physical processes contributing to habitat structure within the marine environment. Coastal development that results in the alteration of these processes (e.g., changing water flushing and/or sedimentation rates) can have detrimental impacts on sensitive systems. This is a current, relevant issue in Qatar as its coastal regions continue to be developed, not only around the capital of Doha, but in many areas around this Arabian Gulf peninsula. The northeastern Qatari coast is comprised of diverse and sensitive flora and fauna such as seagrass and macroalgae meadows, coral reefs and patches, turtles, and dugongs that tolerate harsh environmental conditions. In the near future, this area may see a rise in anthropogenic activity in the form of coastal development projects. These projects will add to existing natural stresses, such as high temperature, high salinity, and low rates of precipitation. Consequently, there is a need to characterize this area and assess the potential impacts that these anthropogenic activities may have on the region. In the present study, a novel sediment transport model is described and used to demonstrate the potential impact of altering hydrodynamics and subsequent sediment transport along the northeastern Qatar nearshore marine environment. The developed models will be tested using potential scenarios of future anthropogenic activities forecasted to take place in the area. The results will show the effects on water and sediment behavior and provide a scientific approach for key stakeholders to make decisions with respect to the management of the considered coastal zone. Furthermore, it provides a tool and framework that can be utilized in environmental impact assessment and associated hydrodynamic studies along other areas of the Qatari coastal zone. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:240-251. © 2017 SETAC. © 2017 SETAC.

  19. Environmental Hazards and Mud Volcanoes in Romania

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Romania, an eastern European country, is severely affected by a variety of natural hazards. These include frequent earthquakes, floods, landslides, soil erosion, and...

  20. Tendências comportamentais frente à saúde de imigrantes brasileiros em Portugal Behavioral health trends of Brazilian immigrants in Portugal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria da Penha de Lima Coutinho

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Este estudo teve como objetivo principal obter um conhecimento das condições e configurações das formações de imigrantes brasileiros no contexto português. De modo mais específico, procurou-se determinar quais fatores influenciam a busca, pelos imigrantes, dos serviços de saúde existentes no país acolhedor. A amostra foi composta por 75 brasileiros que vivem em Portugal, sendo 35 homens e 40 mulheres. Os dados foram coletados através de um questionário sociodemográfico e analisados por meio de estatísticas descritivas e inferenciais. Os resultados mostraram um perfil atualmente crescente do imigrante brasileiro em Portugal e a sua inserção em um grupo de risco social, refletido nas suas precárias condições psicológicas, sociais e, mais especificamente, no campo da saúde.This study aimed to understand the main conditions and setting of the Brazilian immigrants formations in the Portuguese context. Specifically, the aim was to clarify which factors contribute to determine the searching for Health services in the host country. The sample was consisted by 75 Brazilians who live in Portugal, from which 35 were men and 40 were women. The data were collected by a socio-demographic questionnaire and analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed an increasing of a Brazilian Immigrants' profile in Portugal, and the insertion of such into a group of social risk, reflected in their psychological and social conditions, and more specifically in the Health field.

  1. Latent constructs of adjustment to aging and subjective age in Portugal and Romania: a comparative multiple correspondence analysis

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    Sofia von Humboldt

    Full Text Available Objective: To analyze the determinants of adjustment to aging (AtA and subjective age (SA identified by older adults and to investigate the differences of latent constructs that can work as major determinants in AtA and SA in an older Portuguese and Romanian population. Method: Measures were completed, including demographics and interviews. Complete data were available for 38 older adults aged between 74-90 years (M=80.6; SD = 5.4, from Portugal and Romenia. Data was subjected to content analysis. Representation of the associations and latent constructs were analyzed by a Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA. Results: The most prevalent response of the interviewed participants for determinants to AtA was ‘health status, physical and intellectual functioning’ (18.1%. ‘With apprehension’ and ‘good enough’ (both 27.0% were identified as the most frequent SA responses. Findings showed a model for each nationality. AtA and SA for Portuguese elderly were explained by a three-factor model: ‘regardful’, ‘engaged’ and ‘conciliated’. A three-dimension model formed by ‘perseverant’, ‘congruent’ and ‘enjoyers’ was indicated as a best-fit solution for Romanian elderly. Conclusion: AtA and SA are strongly explained by increased likelihood of specific constructs in its definition. AtA is related to SA in older adults in both countries, although in different degree.

  2. Guidance levels for diagnostic radiology in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iacob, O.; Diaconescu, C.

    2002-01-01

    Over two decades surveys of radiological practice in Romania have demonstrated wide variations in patient dose levels between different hospitals. Local and national investigations revealed poor performances as well as of radiological equipment, darkroom procedure or technology of investigation. Hitherto, the annual collective effective dose to the population of Romania from diagnostic medical exposures attained a value of 13,820 manSv. Since the annual frequencies of radiological examinations remain unchanged over last ten years, this value is mostly attributed to the individual dose levels in different X-ray procedures. Notwithstanding the huge benefits to patients, the reduction of unnecessary exposures and individual doses are our principal concern and the establishment of national reference dose levels should solve this problem. British experience demonstrated that reference doses are a practical tool in this purpose and the adoption of national reference dose values indicated an overall improvement in patient exposure. Even the local of reference dose values proved a useful way to achieve patient dose reduction. In meantime the optimization of patient protection, each X-ray examination should be conducted with lowest necessary dose to achieve the clinical aim. This paper presents the first approach to establish local reference dose levels for some diagnostic examinations based on the measurements made in six (from the eighth of Eastern territory of Romania) districts, invited to cooperate in this end

  3. THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (CRPD AND QATAR'S DOMESTIC LEGISLATION: THE POTENTIAL IMPACT ON THE MAIN LEGAL DOMAINS

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    PABLO RODRÍGUEZ DEL POZO

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Equal rights for persons with disabilities is the ultimate goal mandated by the CRPD, and it can probably be gradually achieved in Qatar as steps are taken towards reconsidering the approach to disability at large. This paper examines what impact the CRPD has on the country’s legislation. To that end, we explore how the sensitive domains –health, education, employment, and justice– need to be re-evaluated in light of the CRPD, where recent improvements in the rights of persons with disabilities in Qatar can enable compliance and where the greater challenges lie. We maintain that although legal reforms are needed for Qatar to comply with CRPD, within existing legislation there is notable potential to accommodate particular amendments that could significantly assist the move towards CRPD compliance. We suggest some structural steps aimed at improving compliance, consisting of the establishment of specific institutions, the promotion of associations that represent persons with disabilities and, above all, advancement of a fundamental shift in the way disability is perceived by society, moving away from the old medical notion of disability with its focus on special features and rehabilitation and instead adopting the social model that mandates inclusion and equality.

  4. Dementia in Qatar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamad, Ahmad I.; Ibrahim, Mohammed A.; Sulaiti, Essa M.

    2004-01-01

    Dementia is the major public health problem among the elderly in developed countries and a growing problem in the underdeveloped countries. There are no published data on dementia in any of the Arab countries. The aim of this study was to determine the different subtypes of dementia among Qataris. A retrospective and prospective ongoing hospital based study in which all medical records of the patients with diagnosis of dementia seen at the Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar, between June 1997 and June 2003, whether inpatient and outpatient were reviewed. Dementia was defined according to diagnostic and statistical manual (DSM) IV criteria. Those who had dementia were evaluated by a psychologist, psychiatrist, neurologist and a geriatrician. All had brain computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging or both and routine blood test. Finally, they were classified into sub-types according to the cause of dementia. One of 300 patients, 134 fulfilled the inclusion criteria, most of them were illiterate, married and non-smokers. Among those dementia sub-types were: Alzheimer disease (AD) 39 (29%), vascular dementia (VaD) 30 (22%), mixed AD and VaD 20 (15%) and Parkinson's disease with dementia due to other medical conditions. Our stidy showed that AD is more prevalent than VaD. It also showed that patients and their families seek medical help late due to to the general belief among the public that forgetfulness and other associated cognitive impairment are part of normal aging process. The emergence of new drugs and advancement in prevention of cerebrovascular diseases make early diagnosis of dementia sub-type important. A community based study to show the real prevalence and incidence of sub-types of dementia is highly indicated. These data are necessory for planning and setting up community services and health care programs for demented patients. (author)

  5. TOURISM INDUSTRY IN ROMANIA AND JAPAN – A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

    OpenAIRE

    Daniel Bulin; Nela Miru; Ingrid Roșca

    2014-01-01

    Tourism has evolved in the last decades from “leisure activity” to “travel and tourism industry”, this semantic transformation showing the importance of this sector in the global economy. Although there are multiple socio-economic aspects that separate them, both Romania and Japan have a remarkable touristic potential and they are included in international touristic circuits as destinations to be considered. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the dimensions of the tourism in Romania and...

  6. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE VASCULAR FLORA OF ROMANIA

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    CIOCÂRLAN VASILE

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available There are present and discussed the fact that the legitimate name is Cirsium heterophyllum (L. Hill and the synonime name is Cirsium helenioides auct., non (L. Hill.In the flora of Romania, as well as in Europe, is growing Cirsium heterophyllum (L. Hill; Cirsium helenioides (L. Hill is growing in Central Asia and in Siberie.Follow, it is showed that the taxa Juncus trifidus L. ssp. monanthos (Jacq. Asch. & Graebn. is not growing in the flora of Romania. There is presented an infraspecific taxa, new for the science, namely: Juncus trifidus L. ssp. trifidus var. brevifolia Ciocârlan var. nova., discovered in the Mountains of Cozia (Vâlcea county.Also, in this paper is presented two rare plants in the flora of Romania: Dianthus kladovanus Degen and Thymus longicaulis C. Presl, species listed in the “Red Lists”, discovered by the author in new localities.

  7. EXPENDITURES AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR OF THE TOURISM SPORTS IN ROMANIA

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    Răbonţu Cecilia Irina

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available In Romania, scale sports tourism gets well deserved lately. Tourism and sport has a close relationship since the beginning of their existence, and today we are witnessing a strengthening of it, because we talk about quality of life and greatly enhanced awareness of the beneficial effects of tourism and sport, both contributing to the restoration of working capacity, to increase the health of the population and spending free time pleasant and useful. We have proposed in this paper to analyze consumer behavior of sports tourism in Romania but also places where the cost of sports activities in total expenditures grouped according to several criteria. We conducted a preliminary conceptualization of the notion of tourism and tourist sports, controversial and difficult concept to define. We used for this purpose an extensive bibliographic material and statistical data provided by the National Institute of Statistics of Romania.

  8. Underutilization of occupant restraint systems in motor vehicle injury crashes: A quantitative analysis from Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Menyar, Ayman; Consunji, Rafael; Asim, Mohammad; Abdelrahman, Husham; Zarour, Ahmad; Parchani, Ashok; Peralta, Ruben; Al-Thani, Hassan

    2016-01-01

    Restraint systems (seat belts and airbags) are important tools that improve vehicle occupant safety during motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). We aimed to identify the pattern and impact of the utilization of passenger restraint systems on the outcomes of MVC victims in Qatar. A retrospective study was conducted for all admitted patients who sustained MVC-related injuries between March 2011 and March 2014 inclusive. Out of 2,730 road traffic injury cases, 1,830 (67%) sustained MVC-related injuries, of whom 88% were young males, 70% were expatriates, and 53% were drivers. The use of seat belts and airbags was documented in 26 and 2.5% of cases, respectively. Unrestrained passengers had greater injury severity scores, longer hospital stays, and higher rates of pneumonia and mortality compared to restrained passengers (P = .001 for all). There were 311 (17%) ejected cases. Seat belt use was significantly lower and the mortality rate was 3-fold higher in the ejected group compared to the nonejected group (P = .001). The overall mortality was 8.3%. On multivariate regression analysis, predictors of not using a seat belt were being a front seat passenger, driver, or Qatari national and young age. Unrestrained males had a 3-fold increase in mortality in comparison to unrestrained females. The risk of severe injury (relative risk [RR] = 1.82, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.49-2.26, P = .001) and death (RR = 4.13, 95% CI, 2.31-7.38, P = .001) was significantly greater among unrestrained passengers. The nonuse of seat belts is associated with worse outcomes during MVCs in Qatar. Our study highlights the lower rate of seat belt compliance in young car occupants that results in more severe injuries, longer hospital stays, and higher mortality rates. Therefore, we recommend more effective seat belt awareness and education campaigns, the enforcement of current seat belt laws, their extension to all vehicle occupants, and the adoption of proven interventions that will assure sustained

  9. The changing nature of outright homeownership in Romania : Housing wealth and housing inequality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Soaita, A.M.; Dewilde, C.; Ronald, R.

    2018-01-01

    This chapter traces the historical construction and persistence of almost universal, outright owner-occupation of housing in Romania, which assists understanding of the centrality of homeownership to household welfare in Romania. It thus traces the enduring legacies of historic forms of housing

  10. LNG REGASIFICATION TERMINALS ACCESS CAPACITY ANALYSIS FOR SECURITY OF EUROPEAN NATURAL GAS SUPPLY

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    Matija Veselić

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Increasing natural gas consumption, declining North Sea gas reserves, increased production costs and the deregulation of European gas and electricity markets have all combined to create new opportunities for LNG in Europe. In these circumstances, LNG represents an opportunity for many European countries to diversify their natural gas supply, while decreasing their dependence on Russian natural gas import at the same time. The largest exporters of LNG to Europe are Qatar, Algeria, Nigeria, Trinidad & Tobago, Egypt and Oman. Spain, Great Britain and France are the largest European importers of LNG. Spain has six LNG regasification terminals, followed by four in Great Britain, three in France, two in Italy and Turkey and finally Greece and Portugal with one terminal each. New LNG regasification terminals are currently under construction in Italy, Spain, Sweden and Netherlands. In addition, more than 30 new LNG terminal projects have been proposed around Europe. Italy plans to construct as many as 10 new regasification terminals, due to the strong orientation of its national energy policy towards LNG. Many European countries are strongly considering participating in the LNG chain for the first time, namely Albania, Cyprus, Ireland, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Romania, Ukraine and Croatia. This paper focuses on a specific aspect of the LNG supply chain: the import facility (the paper is published in Croatian.

  11. The Admission and Academic Placement of Students from: Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen Arab Republic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, J. K., Ed.

    Information is provided on the educational systems of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the Yemen Arab Republic in order to assist U.S. colleges and universities as they work with international student agencies and representatives from these countries. For each country, placement recommendations are offered, along with notes to…

  12. 78 FR 41369 - Certain Small Diameter Carbon and Alloy Seamless Standard, Line and Pressure Pipe From Romania...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-10

    ... Carbon and Alloy Seamless Standard, Line and Pressure Pipe From Romania: Preliminary Results of..., line and pressure pipe (small diameter seamless pipe) from Romania. The period of review (POR) is... and Alloy Seamless Standard, Line and Pressure Pipe from Romania,'' dated concurrently with this...

  13. Portugal's Secondary School Modernisation Programme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heitor, Teresa V.; Freire da Silva, Jose M. R.

    2009-01-01

    The aim of the Secondary School Modernisation Programme, being implemented in Portugal by "Parque Escolar, EPE", is based on the pursuit of quality and makes Portuguese education a potential international benchmark. This paper discusses the strategies adopted to reorganise school spaces. It describes the conceptual model and highlights…

  14. ROMANIA IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION, REGIONALIZATION AND CONVERGENCE

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    Elena Pelinescu

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available The economic convergence is an instrument of harmonization in areas with high degree of economic integration. For Romania, it is important to know the degree of fulfillment of the convergence criteria and the impact of the policies which sustain their achievement, because few studies had as object the analysis of the degree of fulfillment in countries like Romania and Bulgaria, which were included in the latest EU extension wave. We use different methods in order to show the cointegration process and the results. The techniques applied to the statistical data regarding the nominal convergence (the consolidated budget deficit as a share of GDP, the share of public debt in GDP, the rate of inflation, the interest rate and the exchange rate have revealed some results which appear in others studies too, namely that Romania integrates in the fixed target Maastricht criteria (the budget deficit as a share of GDP, the share of public debt in GDP and follows a pattern of convergence for the other criteria.

  15. Multivariate statistical analysis of wildfires in Portugal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa, Ricardo; Caramelo, Liliana; Pereira, Mário

    2013-04-01

    Several studies demonstrate that wildfires in Portugal present high temporal and spatial variability as well as cluster behavior (Pereira et al., 2005, 2011). This study aims to contribute to the characterization of the fire regime in Portugal with the multivariate statistical analysis of the time series of number of fires and area burned in Portugal during the 1980 - 2009 period. The data used in the analysis is an extended version of the Rural Fire Portuguese Database (PRFD) (Pereira et al, 2011), provided by the National Forest Authority (Autoridade Florestal Nacional, AFN), the Portuguese Forest Service, which includes information for more than 500,000 fire records. There are many multiple advanced techniques for examining the relationships among multiple time series at the same time (e.g., canonical correlation analysis, principal components analysis, factor analysis, path analysis, multiple analyses of variance, clustering systems). This study compares and discusses the results obtained with these different techniques. Pereira, M.G., Trigo, R.M., DaCamara, C.C., Pereira, J.M.C., Leite, S.M., 2005: "Synoptic patterns associated with large summer forest fires in Portugal". Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 129, 11-25. Pereira, M. G., Malamud, B. D., Trigo, R. M., and Alves, P. I.: The history and characteristics of the 1980-2005 Portuguese rural fire database, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 11, 3343-3358, doi:10.5194/nhess-11-3343-2011, 2011 This work is supported by European Union Funds (FEDER/COMPETE - Operational Competitiveness Programme) and by national funds (FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) under the project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-022692, the project FLAIR (PTDC/AAC-AMB/104702/2008) and the EU 7th Framework Program through FUME (contract number 243888).

  16. Impact of temperature and storage time on the migration of antimony from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers into bottled water in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Otoum, Fatima; Al-Ghouti, Mohammad A; Costa, Ozeas S; Khraisheh, Majeda

    2017-11-12

    Prosperity in Qatar and the consequent stresses on water resources resulted in a sustainable increase in the bottled drinking water market. Reports on health concerns and possible migration of chemicals from the plastic material into the water have driven the current investigation. This study aims to address the extent of antimony (Sb) leaching from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) water bottles subject to temperature variations (24-50 °C) due to Qatar's hot climate and improper storage conditions. A representative basket including 66 different imported and locally produced water bottles was considered. The concentrations of Sb in bottled water ranged from 0.168 to 2.263 μg/L at 24 °C and from 0.240 to 6.110 μg/L at 50 °C. Antimony concentrations in PET bottles at 24 °C was significantly lower than those at 50 °C (p = 0.0142), indicating that the temperature was a principal factor affecting the release of Sb from the plastic into the water. Although the detected Sb amounts were below the guidelines endorsed by WHO and Qatar (standard 5 μg/L) at 24 °C, the concentration measured at 50 °C was higher than the recommended WHO values (6.11 μg/L).

  17. Varicocele among infertile men in Qatar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    ElBardisi, H; Arafa, M; Rengan, A K; Durairajanayagam, D; AlSaid, S S; Khalafalla, K; AlRumaihi, K; Majzoub, A; Agarwal, A

    2017-05-01

    Objective of this retrospective study was to assess the presence and clinical grade of varicocele among Qatari and non-Qatari men evaluated for infertility. Diagnosis of varicocele was performed clinically and confirmed via colour Doppler ultrasonography. A total of 455 infertile male patients (mean age 36.3 ± 7.6 years) were divided into either Qatari (n = 91, mean age 37.3 ± 9.1 years) or non-Qatari (n = 364, mean age 36.0 ± 7.1 years) groups. Among all patients, 43.1% (n = 196) were confirmed to have varicocele, of which 40 were Qatari and 156 non-Qatari. Among all patients, 171 (37.6%) presented with left-sided varicocele and 25 (5.5%) with bilateral varicocele. Of the 196 patients with varicocele, grade I was given to 40 (20.4%), grade II to 68 (34.7%) and grade III to 88 (44.9%). Grade II and III varicocele were seen significantly more frequently than grade I among all patients and non-Qatari patients (p Qatar among both Qatari and non-Qatari men. © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  18. THE CONDITION OF WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ROMANIA

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    Diana ZAGAN ZELTER

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The present article approaches a very important and actual theme andthat is the problem of generating waste in Romania which, on one hand,affects the environment and human health, and on the other hand itreflects the inefficient way of using the natural resources in society.Probably the majority of us have thought or hoped that the naturalresources are inexhaustible, but we can see today that the unwiseexploitation of these resources is threatening our future.Waste management is a difficult and complex problem in Romania whichis far from being solved according to the environment rules of theEuropean Union. The worsening of the waste problem, especially of thedomestic waste is generated by the significant increase of its quantity, aswell as by the inappropriate way of solving different stages of wasteprocessing.

  19. The Impact of a Research Ethics Training Program: Romania as a Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loue, Sana

    2014-12-01

    Case Western Reserve University's (CWRU) Training Program in International Research Ethics, funded by the Fogarty International Center, has been ongoing in Romania since 2000. The program consists of multiple components: a U.S.- based MA degree program for long-term trainees, Romania-based short courses, a U.S.-based opportunity for mid-and senior-level personnel to develop collaborative writing or research projects and present lectures, and a newsletter and various Internet-based activities. We evaluated the impact of the training program on bioethics in Romania through a survey of the training program's long-term trainees, a literature search for trainee publications, interviews with key informants, and identification of key events during the course of the program. Findings indicate that the program has had a considerable impact in the field of bioethics through trainee authorship of peer-reviewed publications, books, and chapters; trainee career trajectories that encompass activities related to research ethics; and the development of a Romania-based master's degree program in bioethics and a Center of Bioethics and Health Policy. We attribute these achievements to the establishment of strong relationships between CWRU in Cleveland and the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Gr. T. Popa in Iasi, Romania, prior to the initiation of the training program; collaboration with key Romania-based institutional partners that are equally invested in the program's success; reliance of the program on a solid theoretical framework; ongoing program responsiveness to trainee and country needs; and a sustained commitment of time, expertise, and funding by the funders, sponsors, and in-country collaborators.

  20. Occupational radiation doses in Portugal from 1994 to 1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alves, J.G.; Martins, M.B.; Amaral, E.M.

    2000-01-01

    This work reports on the occupational radiation doses for external radiation received in 1994-1998 by the radiation workers monitored by the Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety Department (DPRSN) in Portugal. Individual monitoring for external radiation is carried out in Portugal by DPRSN since the 60s, and the workers are monitored on a monthly or quarterly bases. In 1995 DPRSN monitored approximately 8000 people and was the only laboratory carrying out this sort of activity in Portugal. In 1998 the number of monitored people increased to nearly 8500 from 860 facilities, which leads us to state that the results shown in this work are well representative of the universe of radiation workers in Portugal. Until 1996, the dose measurement procedure was based only on film dosimetry and the results reported for the 1994-1995 period were obtained with this methodology. Since 1996, thermoluminescent dosimetry (TLD) was gradually introduced and since then an effort has been made to transfer the monitored workers from film to TLD. In 1998, both film and TLD dosimetry systems were running simultaneously, with average numbers of 4500 workers monitored with film dosimetry, while 4000 were monitored with TLD. The data presented from 1996 to 1998 were obtained with both methodologies. This work reports the annual mean effective doses received from external radiation, for the monitored and exposed workers in the different fields of activity, namely, industry, research laboratories, health and mining. The distribution of the annual effective dose by dose intervals is also reported. The collective annual dose by field of activity is estimated and the contribution to the total annual collective dose is determined. The collective dose estimates for the period 1994 to 1998 demonstrated that the health sector is the most representative exposed group in Portugal. (author)