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Introduction: Till date, there is still no specific therapeutic agent against Corona Virus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Convalescent plasma (CP) from recently recovered patients has emerged as a potential treatment. In front of conflicting results reported by recently published articles regarding benefits of CP, we sought in this study to investigate its efficacy in COVID-19 patients. Methods: We performed a retrospective study that enrolled 190 patients confirmed SARS-CoV-2 positive at Lebanese Hospital Geitaoui-University Medical Center, between 1st of December 2020 and 1st of March 2021. Patients were divided into CP and non-CP groups. Clinical characteristics, laboratory and respiratory parameters were compared between both groups. We assessed the benefit of CP by evaluating the survival rate, the improvement in laboratory parameters and the need for oxygen on discharge. Results: Out of 190 patients, 35.2% received CP transfusion. When compared to non-CP group, CP patients were more likely to require Mechanical Ventilation and oxygen during hospitalization (p=0.027), and to be discharged on oxygen (p=0.033). After transfusion, only WBC count and ferritin levels significantly increased (p=0.048 and p=0.022 respectively). As for survival rate, it was significantly lower in CP group than non-CP group (51% vs. 67%, p=0.024). Even in mild diseased patients, survival rate of CP individuals was also significantly less than non-CP individuals (p=0.004). In addition, level of LDH (p=0.001) and ferritin (p=0.001) post transfusion were found to be higher in deceased patients. Conclusion: Our study failed to prove that Convalescent Plasma is effective in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Our findings require further research.

The article deals with the scope of intellectual services, analyzes the factors and aspects of the scope of intellectual services. In the XXI century. Came the realization that the information economy, along with virtual economies are in a bundle, the article defines the place of the basic constructs such as «knowledge», «information», human capital». The article discusses the determinants of the functioning of the virtual economy, the national innovation system, analyzes the role and principles of operation of virtual enterprises, the authors attempt a graphic description of the transition economies in virtual reality, are considered agents of the virtual economy. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n5s3p217

Currently, economic growth economic entities more and more dependent on enterprise adaptation to the changing needs of the market environment to the products manufactured by the company. In these circumstances, it is important to understand and determine what should be the methodology of construction of the control system based on an innovative approach. During the formation of the mechanism of management of the company needs to follow a number of methodological principles of management of development of the enterprise. The proposed conceptual methodological principles of formation of the system of management of development of the enterprise with the purpose of increase of efficiency of functioning and quality of production. System conceptual methodological principles of formation of the system of effective management of enterprise development, according to the authors, should be based on the following research approaches: integration, task, system, complex, situational, economic, synergistic. The synergetic approach to managing effective enterprise development based on the principles of self-organization and self-development systems, openness of the enterprise for innovation and transformation. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n3s4p25

This paper evaluates guaranty funds and solvency regulations. One main question addressed is how solvency regulations will benefit consumers. Many previous studies have found that most forms of solvency regulations do not have significant deterrent effects on insolvency. Even when solvency regulations are effective, they might still adversely affect consumers. This could happen because increasing the probability of solvency usually requires raising premiums. Therefore, it is interesting to see how regulators should design insurance regulations that benefit consumers. Insolvency of insurance firms provides a unique environment under which one is able to analyze the effects of solvency regulations and guaranty funds on the quality of insurance products and on consumers. This paper shows that guaranty funds are always desirable, but solvency regulations are of certain value only when they have the effect of protecting guaranty funds and alleviating the disincentives which they create.

The Capital Asset Pricing Model has been used frequently to derive a fair price of insurance. But the use of this model overestimates insurance premiums because it does not account for the insolvency risk of insurers. This paper examines how the insurance price should be fairly adjusted when insurers' default risk is considered. It develops a model which shows that fair insurance premiums are lower when insurance firms have a positive probability of being insolvent. Using data of property liability insurers during the period from 1943–99, the paper further estimates the effects of the insolvency risk on insurers' underwriting profit rate. It shows that the incorporation of the default risk of insurers in the model, by significantly reducing the required price for insurance, would lead to lower profit potentials. Some writers argue that including the insolvency risk when calculating insurance premiums is not so necessary because of the existence of states' guaranty insurance funds which protect consumers. However, as shown in the paper, these funds have provided inadequate protection to consumers. Therefore, because of the increase in the number of insolvencies in recent years, and because of the limited coverage provided by states' guaranty funds, it seems that considering the insolvency risk in insurance pricing has become very necessary.

Primary insurance companies diversify their underwriting risk and thus improve their financial stability through buying reinsurance contracts. However, excessive use of reinsurance by an insurance company may signal the presence of financial difficulties. In fact, as research shows, a less solvent insurer tends to use more reinsurance because of its inability to raise needed capital in the financial market. Thus, regulators need to pay extra attention to insurers that overly use reinsurance since such behavior could signal an insurer's disproportionately high risk and its eventual probability of insolvency.

The U.S. has had significant trade deficits in insurance for several years. This paper examines the reasons for such big annual deficits. A large home market, a low reinsurance capacity, and the conservative attitude of U.S. insurers toward foreign markets are identified as the primary contributors to such deficits. The paper also addresses the issue of how U.S. insurers can improve their international competitive position. By expanding their operations abroad, particularly in Mexico and Latin America, and by actively participating in the fast-growing Asian markets, American insurers have their greatest chance to accomplish that objective.

This paper provides an overview of China's major economic reforms and how they impacted certain key domestic economic indicators such as income, production, employment, and prices. More importantly, the paper concentrates on China's foreign trade focusing on such issues as import and export policies, exchange rate controls, foreign investments, balance of payments, traded commodities, and major trading partners. China's chance of becoming a member of the World Trade Organization is also addressed.

The failure of some disaster insurance market has been a very serious problem. This paper focuses on why disaster reinsurance fails and how that will affect the availability of primary disaster insurance. The insurer’s unexpected costs are added to the expected costs associated with the insured event to illustrate the necessary conditions for the existence of disaster insurance and reinsurance. Particularly, investors’ negative response to an insurer’s huge, disaster-related liability exposures may lead to availability problem unless the insurer’s value losses in the financial market because of these exposures can be minimized. A large insurer may be more likely to withdraw from underwriting disaster insurance. Three different pricing schemes for disaster reinsurance contracts are investigated. The one which is based on the Option Pricing Theory is rejected because it leads to market failure.

A new technique of application of cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive has been evaluated in 180 patients with wounds of the liver (77 patients), spleen (12 patients), pancreas (9 patients), and lung (82 patients). The technique involves injection of the tissue adhesive with a specially adapted jet injector, so that it penetrates 3–5 mm deep into the parenchyma to form an adhesive plug. The cyanoacrylate adhesive was tolerated without complications, and was highly successful in controlling bleeding, leakage of bile and pancreatic juice, and leakage of air. The adhesive plugging technique warrants widespread application in the surgery of parenchymatous organs.

Background:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted people with substance use disorders (SUDs) worldwide, and healthcare systems have reorganized their services in response to the pandemic.Methods:One week after the announcement of the COVID-19 as a pandemic, in a global survey, 177 addiction medicine professionals described COVID-19-related health responses in their own 77 countries in terms of SUD treatment and harm reduction services. The health responses were categorized around (1) managerial measures and systems, (2) logistics, (3) service providers, and (4) vulnerable groups.Results:Respondents from over 88% of countries reported that core medical and psychiatric care for SUDs had continued; however, only 56% of countries reported having had any business continuity plan, and 37.5% of countries reported shortages of methadone or buprenorphine supplies. Participants of 41% of countries reported partial discontinuation of harm-reduction services such as needle and syringe programs and condom distribution. Fifty-seven percent of overdose prevention interventions and 81% of outreach services were also negatively impacted.Conclusions:Participants reported that SUD treatment and harm-reduction services had been significantly impacted globally early during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on our findings, we highlight several issues and complications resulting from the pandemic concerning people with SUDs that should be tackled more efficiently during the future waves or similar pandemics. The issues and potential strategies comprise the following: (1) helping policymakers to generate business continuity plans, (2) maintaining the use of evidence-based interventions for people with SUDs, (3) being prepared for adequate medication supplies, (4) integrating harm reduction programs with other treatment modalities, and (5) having specific considerations for vulnerable groups such as immigrants and refugees.