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Lebanon’s Export Sector – A Revealed Comparative Advantage Study
Get PDFThis research paper studies the structural changes in Lebanon's export sector that occurred as a result of the financial-economic crisis. The revealed comparative advantage index is used to calculate the relative advantage or disadvantage of Lebanon’s exports as evidenced by trade flows.
The results show that the crisis had a significant impact on the export sector, leading to a shift in the structure of exports towards less diversified and more basic exports that have little to no added value. The revealed comparative advantage index revealed that the competitiveness of Lebanese exports decreased during the crisis, and shifted towards more agricultural-based exports.
The study concludes that the Lebanese government should implement policies to support the development of new export sectors and to improve the competitiveness of traditional sectors in order to revive the export sector and promote economic growth. The government should also tackle the electricity issue in order to bring back the competitiveness of complex goods
Shifting Narratives: Outcome Document on Women’s Participation Municipal Elections in Lebanon
No full textProject Description
The Embassies of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden in Lebanon, UN Women, and the Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship at the American University of Beirut are working on a project aimed at enhancing women’s political and economic empowerment in Lebanon that is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Acknowledging the underrepresentation of women in these spheres, the project focused on targeted advocacy and the identification of new political initiatives. Recognizing the macroeconomic impact of gender equality, the collaboration aims to address the low rates of women’s labor market participation and political representation in Lebanon. The project seeks to build on existing Nordic collaboration on gender issues in the country.On February 27, 2023, the Embassies of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, and the Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship hosted its first workshop as part of its new project about enhancing women’s political and economic empowerment funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
In light with the upcoming municipal elections, the workshop addressed the current challenges, impacts, and recommendations that women in Lebanon face during municipal elections. The panel discussion included current female municipal members Mona Akl and Ramona Geagea, aspiring municipal candidates Reine Sawane and Eliana Zgheib, MP Halimé el Kaakour, and LADE Board Member Ammar Abboud, moderated by Manar Zaiter.With the upcoming municipal elections in May 2023, there is a definitive interest to explore and advocate for the implementation of such a quota. By taking action to promote greater gender equality in politics, Lebanon could create a more inclusive and representative political system that better reflects the diversity and perspectives of its population...
The workshop brought together national and international stakeholders to engage in a panel discussion comprising female municipal politicians, female municipal aspiring candidates, a Member of Parliament, and electoral experts. The discussion explored the current context of women’s participation in elections, as well as the challenges and opportunities for their participation. This document serves as an outcome document from the workshop that offers actionable recommendations needed to enhance the presence of women municipal members and to encourage prospective candidates.UN Women, Nordic Council of Ministers, Embassy of Sweden Beirut, Embassy of Denmark Beirut, Embassy of Finland Beirut, Norwegian Embassy Beiru
Airborne influenza virus shedding by patients in health care units: Removal mechanisms affecting virus transmission
No full textIn this study, we characterize the distribution of airborne viruses (influenza A/B) in hospital rooms of patients with confirmed infections. Concurrently, we monitored fine particulate matter (PM2.5 & PM10) and several physical parameters including the room air exchange rate, temperature, and relative humidity to identify corresponding correlations with virus transport and removal determinants. The results continue to raise concerns about indoor air quality (IAQ) in healthcare facilities and the potential exposure of patients, staff and visitors to aerosolized viruses as well as elevated indoor PM levels caused by outdoor sources and/or resuspension of settled particles by indoor activities. The influenza A virus was detected in 42% of 33 monitored rooms, with viruses detectible up to 1.5 m away from the infected patient. Active coughing was a statistically significant variable that contributed to a higher positive rate of virus detection in the collected air samples. Viral load across patient rooms ranged between 222 and 5,760 copies/m3, with a mean of 820 copies/m3. Measured PM2.5 and PM10 levels exceeded IAQ daily exposure guidelines in most monitored rooms. Statistical and numerical analyses showed that dispersion was the dominant viral removal pathway followed by settling. Changes in the relative humidity and the room's temperature were had a significant impact on the viral load removal. In closure, we highlight the need for an integrated approach to control determinants of IAQ in patients' rooms. Copyright: © 2023 Hanna et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
2022 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for Vaccinations in Patients With Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases
No full textObjective: To provide evidence-based recommendations on the use of vaccinations in children and adults with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). Methods: This guideline follows American College of Rheumatology (ACR) policy guiding management of conflicts of interest and disclosures and the ACR guideline development process, which includes the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology. It also adheres to the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) criteria. A core leadership team consisting of adult and pediatric rheumatologists and a guideline methodologist drafted clinical population, intervention, comparator, outcomes (PICO) questions. A review team performed a systematic literature review for the PICO questions, graded the quality of evidence, and produced an evidence report. An expert Voting Panel reviewed the evidence and formulated recommendations. The panel included adult and pediatric rheumatology providers, infectious diseases specialists, and patient representatives. Consensus required ≥70% agreement on both the direction and strength of each recommendation. Results: This guideline includes expanded indications for some vaccines in patients with RMDs, as well as guidance on whether to hold immunosuppressive medications or delay vaccination to maximize vaccine immunogenicity and efficacy. Safe approaches to the use of live attenuated vaccines in patients taking immunosuppressive medications are also addressed. Most recommendations are conditional and had low quality of supporting evidence. Conclusion: Application of these recommendations should consider patients’ individual risk for vaccine-preventable illness and for disease flares, particularly if immunosuppressive medications are held for vaccination. Shared decision-making with patients is encouraged in clinical settings. © 2023 American College of Rheumatology
Novel genes linked to Class II Division 1 malocclusion with mandibular micrognathism
Get PDFIntroduction: Mandibular micrognathism (MM) is an underdeveloped mandible resulting from complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Prior research focused mainly on the genetic determinants of mandibular retrognathism, not necessarily reflecting micrognathism, thus supporting the need to study MM. This study aimed to explore the inheritance pattern and identify the candidate genes involved in the development and familial transmission of MM. Methods: Diagnosing probands with MM was based on clinical and lateral cephalometric data. The pedigrees were drawn for 11 identified families, 5 of whom accepted to undergo detailed data and biospecimen collection. These families included 15 MM and 13 non-MM subjects over 2-3 generations. The procedure involved the withdrawal of 5 mL of blood. Genomic DNA was isolated from blood cells to investigate protein-coding regions via whole exome sequencing. Standardized filtering steps were employed, and candidate genes were identified. Results: Most of the pedigrees suggested a Mendelian inheritance pattern and segregated in an autosomal-dominant manner. One of the families, which also underwent biospecimen, displayed an X-linked inheritance pattern of the trait. Genetic screening disclosed 8 potentially novel genes (GLUD2, ADGRG4, ARSH, TGIF1, FGFR3, ZNF181, INTS7, and WNT6). None of the recognized exonic regions were previously reported. Conclusions: Eight novel genes were identified in association with MM in the largest number of families reported to date. The genes were X-linked in 1 family, a finding previously not observed in mandibular genetics. © 2022 American Association of Orthodontist
Incorporating nitrogen in the water-energy-food nexus: An optimization approach
Get PDFGrowing populations and improved standards of living are increasing the global demand for food. Having to meet these demands, agricultural systems imposed unprecedented stress on water, land, energy and nutrient cycling on all scales. With nitrogen being a limiting factor for plant growth, intensified application of nitrogen fertilizers was necessary to meet the growing crop yield targets in food production, causing excessive quantities of reactive nitrogen to enter our ecosystem resulting in detrimental effects on the environment and human health. As such, this work develops a mathematical optimization model for nitrogen allocation under sustainable water, food and energy security targets, with nitrogen use efficiency as a primary indicator, and the nitrogen planetary boundary as a primary environmental constraint. Additional nutritional, socioeconomic and natural resources constraints are included. The model incorporates the nitrogen cycle within the land-crop-food continuum and optimizes the nitrogen footprint required to meet food demands, while accounting for water, energy and carbon footprints. A hypothetical case study validates the model and examines the sensitivity of the nexus to nitrogen input and nitrogen use efficiency, under different nitrogen, water and land availability scenarios and different nitrogen use efficiency and nitrogen input policy targets. The results indicate that the dynamics of the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus are highly sensitive to nitrogen. This work emphasizes the potential role of nitrogen as a primary decision factor when addressing WEF security and sustainability in agricultural systems, particularly when setting agricultural policies. © 2023 The Author
Efficient algorithms to solve atom reconfiguration problems. II. Assignment-rerouting-ordering algorithm
Get PDFProgrammable arrays of optical traps enable the assembly of configurations of single atoms to perform controlled experiments on quantum many-body systems. Finding the sequence of control operations to transform an arbitrary configuration of atoms into a predetermined one requires solving an atom reconfiguration problem quickly and efficiently. A typical approach to solving atom reconfiguration problems is to use an assignment algorithm to determine which atoms to move to which traps. This approach results in control protocols that exactly minimize the number of displacement operations; however, this approach does not optimize for the number of displaced atoms or the number of times each atom is displaced, resulting in unnecessary control operations that increase the execution time and failure rate of the control protocol. In this work we propose the assignment-rerouting-ordering (ARO) algorithm to improve the performance of assignment-based algorithms in solving atom reconfiguration problems. The ARO algorithm uses an assignment subroutine to minimize the total distance traveled by all atoms, a rerouting subroutine to reduce the number of displaced atoms, and an ordering subroutine to guarantee that each atom is displaced at most once. The ordering subroutine relies on the existence of a partial ordering of moves that can be obtained using a polynomial-time algorithm that we introduce within the formal framework of graph theory. We numerically quantify the performance of the ARO algorithm in the presence and in the absence of loss and show that it outperforms the exact, approximation, and heuristic algorithms that we use as benchmarks. Our results are useful for assembling large configurations of atoms with high success probability and fast preparation time, as well as for designing and benchmarking novel atom reconfiguration algorithms. © 2023 American Physical Society
Monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance: Multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis and treatment
Get PDFMonoclonal gammopathy of renal significance (MGRS) is a hemato-nephrological term referring to a heterogeneous group of kidney disorders characterized by direct or indirect kidney injury caused by a monoclonal immunoglobulin (MIg) produced by a B cell or plasma cell clone that does not meet current hematologic criteria for therapy. MGRS-associated kidney diseases are diverse and can result in the development of end stage kidney disease (ESKD). The diagnosis is typically made by nephrologists through a kidney biopsy. Many distinct pathologies have been identified and they are classified based on the site or composition of the deposited Mig, or according to histological and ultrastructural findings. Therapy is directed towards the identified underlying clonal population and treatment decisions should be coordinated between hematologists and nephrologists in a multidisciplinary fashion, depend on the type of MGRS, the degree of kidney function impairment and the risk of progression to ESKD. © 202
Precarity and Possibility
Get PDFAt first glance, Iran and Lebanon may appear to have very little in common when it comes to state intervention in the media economy. The Iranian government oversees nearly every aspect of media production, distribution, and exhibition, while the Lebanese state exercises relatively little oversight of media and offers no financial or infrastructural support to the country's robust creative industries. Given the divergent approaches to regulating media in Iran and Lebanon, we might expect each to yield vastly different media labor conditions. Yet in this article, I argue the opposite. I demonstrate how the two extremes foster informal labor practices that are remarkably similar. By bringing together these two unlikely case studies, I advocate for informality as a constitutive feature of Middle Eastern media. Such a claim expands the growing body of scholarship on media labor by accounting for the triangulation of informality, state regulation, and worker subjectivity. Keywords © 2023 Brill Academic Publishers. All rights reserved
Genotype–phenotype correlation in contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CNTNAP-2) developmental disorder
Get PDFContactin-associated protein-like 2 (CNTNAP2) gene encodes for CASPR2, a presynaptic type 1 transmembrane protein, involved in cell–cell adhesion and synaptic interactions. Biallelic CNTNAP2 loss has been associated with “Pitt-Hopkins-like syndrome-1” (MIM#610042), while the pathogenic role of heterozygous variants remains controversial. We report 22 novel patients harboring mono- (n = 2) and bi-allelic (n = 20) CNTNAP2 variants and carried out a literature review to characterize the genotype–phenotype correlation. Patients (M:F 14:8) were aged between 3 and 19 years and affected by global developmental delay (GDD) (n = 21), moderate to profound intellectual disability (n = 17) and epilepsy (n = 21). Seizures mainly started in the first two years of life (median 22.5 months). Antiseizure medications were successful in controlling the seizures in about two-thirds of the patients. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or other neuropsychiatric comorbidities were present in nine patients (40.9%). Nonspecific midline brain anomalies were noted in most patients while focal signal abnormalities in the temporal lobes were noted in three subjects. Genotype–phenotype correlation was performed by also including 50 previously published patients (15 mono- and 35 bi-allelic variants). Overall, GDD (p < 0.0001), epilepsy (p < 0.0001), hyporeflexia (p = 0.012), ASD (p = 0.009), language impairment (p = 0.020) and severe cognitive impairment (p = 0.031) were significantly associated with the presence of biallelic versus monoallelic variants. We have defined the main features associated with biallelic CNTNAP2 variants, as severe cognitive impairment, epilepsy and behavioral abnormalities. We propose CASPR2-deficiency neurodevelopmental disorder as an exclusively recessive disease while the contribution of heterozygous variants is less likely to follow an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern. © 2023, The Author(s)