Malaysia will be an ageing population by 2030 as the number of those aged 60 years and above has increased drastically from 6.2 percent in 2000 and is expected to reach 13.6 percent by 2030. There are many challenges that will be faced due to the ageing population, one of which is the increasing cost of pensions in the future. In view of that, it is necessary to investigate the effect of actuarial assumptions on pension liabilities under the perspective of ageing. To estimate the pension liabilities, the Projected Unit Credit method is used in the study and commutation functions are employed in the process. Demographic risk and salary risk have been identified as major risks in analyzing pension liabilities in this study. The sensitivity analyses will be conducted in the study to investigate how the pension liabilities will be affected when these major risks changes. This study analyzes nine scenarios under assumptions in the actuarial model, namely age of retirement, rate of mortality and rate of salary growth. The result of this study indicates that the implied mortality experience and salary growth rate assumptions have a significant impact on pension liabilities.
Asthma is a condition characterized by bronchial spasms, inflammation, and mucous hypersecretion which leads to difficulties in respiration. Asthmatic patients are usually presented with recurrent attacks of coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath which could be life-threatening. More than three million cases of asthma in the United States are diagnosed annually. Resveratrol, a polyphenolic stilbene, is known to be useful in controlling asthmatic attacks via different molecular mechanisms within the lung epithelium and infiltrating immune cells. However, few studies mentioned the effect of resveratrol on the microbiome in ovalbumin-induced asthma mouse model. In this study, we ind
Three Spirurid nematodes: Amidostomoides acutum (Lundahl,1848) Seurat, 1918, Epomidiostomum uncinatum (Lundahl,1848) Seurat, 1918 and Tetrameres sp. Creplin,1846 were isolated from the stomach (provenrticulus and gizzard) of the shoveler Anas clypeata from central Iraq. A brief description, morphometric and meristic characters for the nematodes were provided.Incidence of the three nematodes discussed with pertinent literatures.
This paper deals with a preliminary survey helminth parasites of the black partridge. Francolinus francolinus arabistanicus in Baghdad area, middle of Iraq. It was found that the bird was infected with the cestodes Cotugnia digonopora and Raillietina tetragona with infection rates of 61.9% and 4.8% respectively, and the nematodes Heterakis gallinarum and Paroneoccrca rouss-lotti with infection rates of 4.8% and 19% respectively. Some important measurements, distribution and occurrence according host-sex of each parasite were provided along with some remarks on parasites biology.
Background: Different diagnostic definition and criteria have been recommended by different expert groups for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, however, it’s prevalence in the same population could differ depending on the definition used yielding different results. In Iraq, there is a lack of research comparing these different diagnostic definitions.
Objective: To find out the most suitable metabolic syndrome definition to be used for Iraqi people.
Methods: 320 participants were recruited for this study, 53.4% men and 46.6% women, aged between 25-85 years, visiting Baghdad Teaching Hospital, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to different definition
... Show MoreThe present work was aimed to form the baseline data of normal morphological and histological structure features of liver in migratory starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Anatomically, the starling liver bird was dark red -brown in colour and located in the cranial third of the abdominal cavity and consisted of undivided lobes (left and right). The liver right lobe was larger than the left. Histological examination revealed that the liver parenchyma was covered by a connective tissue capsule which appears to be thicker in the rim of liver lobes than other area in the liver lobe. Liver parenchyma was arranged in an unlimited hepatic lobules, which composed of polygonal hepatocytes organized as irregular, radial interconnecting cords or laminae of o
... Show MoreThe present study examines critically the discursive representation of Arab immigrants in selected American news channels. To achieve the aim of this study, twenty news subtitles have been exacted from ABC and NBC channels. The selected news subtitles have been analyzed within van Dijk’s (2000) critical discourse analysis framework. Ten discourse categories have been examined to uncover the image of Arab immigrants in the American news channels. The image of Arab immigrants has been examined in terms of five ideological assumptions including "us vs. them", "ingroup vs. outgroup", "victims vs. agents", "positive self-presentation vs. negative other-presentation", and "threat vs. non-threat". Analysis of data reveals that Arab immig
... Show MoreBackground: Different diagnostic definition and criteria have been recommended by different expert groups for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, however, it’s prevalence in the same population could differ depending on the definition used yielding different results. In Iraq, there is a lack of research comparing these different diagnostic definitions. Objective: To find out the most suitable metabolic syndrome definition to be used for Iraqi people. Methods: 320 participants were recruited for this study, 53.4% men and 46.6% women, aged between 25-85 years, visiting Baghdad Teaching Hospital, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to different definitions were compared and the agreement was assessed by the Kappa st
... Show MoreHypothyroidism is a condition in which thyroid hormones levels decreased in the blood. These hormones are necessary for energy production and body viability. In many occasions this condition is accompanied or followed by different metabolic disorders. The current study is conducted in the "Specialized center for endocrinology and diabetes" and carried on 70 hypothyroid patients and 60 randomly chosen individuals with normal thyroid function .Both groups were submitted to laboratory tests to evaluate thyroid function (T3,T4.TSH). The study involved evaluation of the relationship between hypothyroidism and insulin resistance (IR) . Health problem related to many diseases , became common lately. Insulin resistance diagnosed through
... Show MoreContemporary developments in various sciences and the impact of technological changes require an integrated vision of the activities and work of the organization in Iraq in light of the high costs of products and their low quality compared to imported products of high quality and low cost, and the need to use modern cost techniques based on a clear and specific philosophy that contributes to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of management In the business environment and how it can contribute to reducing product costs and being environmentally friendly at the same time, it is no secret that the main goal of most organizations is to maximize profitability and reduce costs to the minimum, but this matter is not achieved autom
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