In this research, an attempt was made to reveal the land use patterns of Lahore, the 2nd largest city of Pakistan, using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Results revealed that at present more than 1200 hectares of agricultural and forest land is acquired for urban uses every year. From 1972 to 2009, the urban area of Lahore expanded 68 percent while a loss of 32500 hectares in agricultural land is recorded. Around 5000 hectares of forest land had vanished from the landscape of the city. More than 200 rural localities have been merged into the city since 1972. Around 100 new housing schemes are approved to accommodate the ever increasing population at the expense of loss in agricultural land. Most of the expansion took place in south and southwest direction along major roads and highways.

On the basis of the strict solution of the classical problem of two bodies, it is shown that the interaction of an electron with the proton occurs by the law of binomial potential. With regard for this law, we obtain a formula for the calculation of the angles of deviation of electrons at the scattering by protons. The formula allows one to find the angles for the energies of electrons from several eV to hundreds of MeV and for the impact parameters down to 10-13 cm. Generally, we may assert that the classical mechanics with the binomial potential can sufficiently exactly represent any phenomena in the microworld.

Since 2008, the EU (European Union) and the global economy through a deep economic and financial crisis. With the first signs of recovery emerged from the first half of 2010, developments and the rapidly changing global market stress the importance of maintaining competitiveness. The annual reports for 2009 and 2010 on competitiveness have focused on potential impacts of the economic recession on productivity and future determinants EU competitiveness in global markets (changes in the structure of trade and chains supply of the EU, R & D and innovation of foreign companies in the EU, the European competitiveness in key enabling technologies, innovation and competitiveness in the creative industries .... ) . Along these lines, many countries, including emerging, experiencing unprecedented performance and display substantial competitivity in some sectors where the EU sometimes feels challenged, even threatened. That earned him a diverse reaction to revive its economy and improve its competitiveness to stay in the global economy.

The competitiveness of nations has become essential for successful integration into the global economy. It is determined by the productivity with which a nation or a region uses its various resources and determining the standard of living of the nation. Algeria is carried low scores, despite the sustained economic growth,macroeconomic stability, substantial foreign exchange reserves and external debt insignificant. It gets bad ratings by independent institutions. The objective of this paper is to analyze the competitiveness of Algeria, locate its position relative to its partners, identify the real obstacles to the acquisition of competitive advantages, and propose actions to be implemented to allow the countries to become more competitive.

Generally, in fasting state, gluconeogenesis accounts for about 30% of overall hepatic glucose output, the increase in type 2 diabetic subjects may be much more than this level. There is a close relationship between glucose metabolism and amino acid metabolism which is established through transamination reactions. The key amino acid -keto acid pairs involved in transamination reactions are glutamate – α ketoglutarate, aspartate – oxaloacetate and pyruvate - alanine. A study was undertaken to assess the plasma levels of total amino acids, glutamate and alanine in type 2 diabetic subjects. A blood sample (5ml) with heparin as an anticoagulant was collected in the fasting state, from each of the selected normal as well as diabetic subjects. The separated plasma samples were employed for the estimation of total amino acid nitrogen levels, as well as for the estimation of plasma alanineand glutamate levels. The results indicate a significant rise in the plasma levels of total amino acids, alanine & glutamate in type-2 diabetic subjects as well as a significant increase in plasma alanine levels in diabetics of 30- 40 yrs age as compared to diabetics of 41-60yrs of age. These findings suggest an increased availability of glucogenic amino acid precursors for glucose formation may be due to lack of proteolytic suppression of insulin.

The paper examined the eradication and/or reduction of poverty in Rivers State through the targets and indicators of MDGs objectives. The paper posited that through the institutional agencies in the state, MDGs one (1) and two (2) achieved up to 70% deliverables. The scenario analysis method was deployed in line with MDG assessment indicator framework which provided information and reference items to measure specific goals and progress in terms of poverty alleviation – (A 3 days training workshop held in Port Harcourt). The workshop dovetailed into syndicate groups were critical analysis and inputs were made by participants. The finding is that goal 1 and 2 achieved up to 70% success in alleviating poverty in the state through Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), Rivers Microfinance Agency (RIMA) etc. The government has projected a more comprehensive reduction package come 2015.

This paper addresses a pressing topic of present times on Romania’s need to fulfill the European integration objective, namely to adopt the single European currency, euro. This paper addresses several key aspects of the economic context and then, based on reliable data, analyzes the stage of completion of the criteria of nominal convergence viewed from two perspectives. One perspective is on the absolute completion of these criteria and another from a relative completion, with reference to the percentage of effectiveness for achieving the criteria. Although this second method is not mentioned in EU’s operating documents or in the accession and integration documents, we believe that, theoretically, it can be taken into account and may be an argument in favor of taking a political decision to accelerate Romania’s transition to the single European currency. The paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the transition to the euro currency, the courses of action for this transition and some conclusions and suggestions. The paper highlights the advantages and benefits of a rapid changeover, the costs of delaying this process, the forces that can put it in a firmer motion.

The conventional method of diagnosing ascariasis is by testing the stool for the presence of the eggs. When there are atypical abdominal symptoms a routine ultrasound scan using the common 3-3.5 MHz probe yields no definite findings to diagnose intestinal ascariasis. If a high frequency probe of 5-10 MHz is used instead, intestinal ascariasis could be definitely established. This case illustrates a typical worm diagn-osed with the help of a high frequency probe.

It is generally accepted that business strategy has a significant influence on the success of many organizations. However, it has been rarely tested in the context of export operation and performance on SMEs. Thus, the objective of this research is to determine the combined effect of competitive strategy and manufacturing strategy on export performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia.Quantitative survey method was employed and data were collected from 201 exporting SMEs through structured questionnaires. The results from regression analysis found both competitive strategy and manufacturing strategy have significant and positive relationships to export performance. Manufacturing strategy was also found to be a more significant contributor to export performance of SMEs. These findings emphasize the importance of adopting both the competitive strategy and manufacturing strategy among the owner/managers of SMEs to enhance their performance and be successful in the international markets.

Making a comparative analysis between conventional and Islamic banks, this paper examines which bank characteristics and macroeconomic environment affect the bank performance in Saudi Arabia. We estimate a linear panel date model using Prais-Winsten technique for 12 Saudi conventional and Islamic banks over the period 2005-2011. The findings suggest that low cost, high capital adequacy and low inflation rate improve the levels of Saudi conventional bank performance. However, high performance in Saudi Islamic banks requires better asset quality, higher capital adequacy, lower cost, higher bank weigh and higher number of branches.