Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trade Policy and Transport Costs in Kenya

Recent studies on trade policy for low-income countries have established that high transport costs associated with poor quality infrastructure in countries such as Kenya represent a barrier to trade and an additional source of protection to domestic producers of import competing goods. This study reports results for Kenya on protection rates from tariffs and transport costs. Although Kenya reduced tariffs during the 1990s, protection increased for agriculture, manufactured foods, wood products and clothing. Two sectors experienced declines in protection (raw textiles, fishing and forestry) and chemicals moved from positive to negative protection. Effective protection due to transport costs was equivalent to 50% in the early 1990s but fell to 20% by 2003. As the new EAC Customs Union implies a reduction in tariffs, overall the level of protection will fall on average to below ten per cent.
Power Control for 5G User-Centric Network: Performance Analysis and Design Insight

User-centric network (UCN), which organizes a dynamic transmission point group (TPG) for each user, is regarded as a promising candidate to meet the exponential growth of mobile data traffic for 5G system. However, the severe interference under dense TP deployment in UCN from co-channel neighbor cell worsens the user performance. In this paper, to combat the fluctuation of user rate, a user-centric power control strategy is proposed, where TPs will take power control coefficient β to effectively mitigate the strong interference for each user within TPG of radius coefficient μ. Based on the strategy, semi-closed expressions of network downlink performance metric are first derived, including coverage probability and average achievable rate to the typical user, and average spectral efficiency of TP with the consideration of the impact of TPG overlapping on the signal link. The TPs and the users are modeled as independent 2-D Poisson point processes. The theoretical analysis confirms that the optimization of β and μ, which determine the area and intensity for power control, respectively, can realize the tradeoff between interference mitigation and resource utilization. Numerical results demonstrate significant performance gains of the user-centric power control strategy in coverage probability, average achievable user rate, and TP spectral efficiency, which can be improved at most by 30%, 15%, and 42%, respectively. In addition, the analysis gives the optimal values of β and μ according to the distance between TP and user.
Association of cancer mortality with postdiagnosis overweight and obesity using body mass index

Although overweight and obesity increase cancer risk, it is still controversial with respect to cancer mortality. In the current study, we enrolled 2670 patients of 14 tumor types from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project, to identify the prognostic role of overweight and obesity in cancer patients. After dividing the patients into different groups by the body mass index (BMI), we found significant lower mortality in the obesity group. In addition, we also treat BMI value as a binary categorical variable or continuous variable, respectively. We found significant lower mortality in the higher BMI group. Furthermore, when focusing on each tumor type, cervical cancer and bladder cancer showed lower mortality in the patients with higher BMI values. Taken together, our results demonstrate that postdiagnosis obesity might indicate a better prognosis in cancer patients. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously because of small sample size.
Relationship Between Parental Economic Factors and Students’ Dropouts from Government Secondary Schools of Zamfara, Nigeria

This conceptual paper studies the relationship between parental economic factors and students’ dropouts from government secondary schools of Zamfara, Nigeria. The paper reviews the studies on relationship between parental economic factors and students’ dropouts. In addition, the paper also examines literature related to parental economic factors and students’ dropouts from government secondary schools in both Nigeria and other countries. The discussion in the paper is based on the theoretical framework of ecological theory of Bronfenbrenner (1979). This theory is appropriate for the study because it allows the reader to understand how children’s education is significantly affected by the parental economic factors. Finally, the paper provides and presents some suggestions and recommendations on how to improve student’s retention and minimise the problem of dropout. Conclusions from the literature were drawn, and the paper concludes that parental economic factors are related to students’ dropout.
Exploring the Impact of the Prescription Automatic Screening System in Health Care Services: Quasi-Experiment

Background Hospitals have deployed various types of technologies to alleviate the problem of high medical costs. The cost of pharmaceuticals is one of the main drivers of medical costs. The Prescription Automatic Screening System (PASS) aims to monitor physicians’ prescribing behavior, which has the potential to decrease prescription errors and medical treatment costs. However, a substantial number of cases with unsatisfactory results related to the effects of PASS have been noted. Objective The objectives of this study were to systematically explore the imperative role of PASS on hospitals’ prescription errors and medical treatment costs and examine its contingency factors to clarify the various factors associated with the effective use of PASS. Methods To systematically examine the various effects of PASS, we adopted a quasi-experiment methodology by using a 2-year observation dataset from 2 hospitals in China. We then analyzed the data related to physicians’ prescriptions both before and after the deployment of PASS and eliminated influences from a variety of perplexing factors by utilizing a control hospital that did not use a PASS system. In total, 754 physicians were included in this experiment comprising 11,054 patients: 400 physicians in the treatment group and 354 physicians in the control group. This study was also preceded by a series of interviews, which were employed to identify moderators. Thereafter, we adopted propensity score matching integrated with difference-in-differences to isolate the effects of PASS. Results The effects of PASS on prescription errors and medical treatment costs were all significant (error: 95% CI –0.40 to –0.11, P=.001; costs: 95% CI –0.75 to –0.12, P=.007). Pressure from organizational rules and workload decreased the effect of PASS on prescription errors (95% CI 0.18-0.39; P<.001) and medical treatment costs (95% CI 0.07-0.55; P=.01), respectively. We also suspected that other pressures (eg, clinical title and risk categories of illness) also impaired physicians’ attention to alerts from PASS. However, the effects of PASS did not change among physicians with a higher clinical title or when treating diseases demonstrating high risk. This may be attributed to the fact that these physicians will focus more on their patients in these situations, regardless of having access to an intelligent system. Conclusions Although implementation of PASS decreases prescription errors and medical treatment costs, workload and organizational rules remain problematic, as they tend to impair the positive effects of auxiliary diagnosis systems on performance. This again highlights the importance of considering both technical and organizational issues to obtain the highest level of effectiveness when deploying information technology in hospitals.
Effective Nurse Communication With Type 2 Diabetes Patients

Many type 2 diabetes mellitus patients have difficulties reaching optimal blood glucose control. With patients treated in primary care by nurses, nurse communication plays a pivotal role in supporting patient health. The twofold aim of the present review is to categorize common barriers to nurse–patient communication and to review potentially effective communication methods. Important communication barriers are lack of skills and self-efficacy, possibly because nurses work in a context where they have to perform biomedical examinations and then perform patient-centered counseling from a biopsychosocial approach. Training in patient-centered counseling does not seem helpful in overcoming this paradox. Rather, patient-centeredness should be regarded as a basic condition for counseling, whereby nurses and patients seek to cooperate and share responsibility based on trust. Nurses may be more successful when incorporating behavior change counseling based on psychological principles of self-regulation, for example, goal setting, incremental performance accomplishments, and action planning.
The relationship between internal control and internal audit recommendations

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the relationship between the internal audit reporting line to the audit committee, the implementation of internal audit recommendations, and the amelioration of internal control weaknesses. It also concentrates on whether adequate monitoring processes are put in place to address weaknesses in internal control. A total of 338 UK listed companies comprised the sample with data being obtained from their chief internal auditors and annual reports. The findings indicate that weaknesses in internal control are indeed conditioned by whether the internal audit reporting line is primarily to the audit committee or to management, and whether recommendations made by internal audit are implemented. Additionally, a relationship is found between the absence of official monitoring/follow-up procedures and reporting weaknesses in internal control. After being subject to further analysis, these results are confirmed as robust.
Levels of Polyamines and Nucleic Acids in Human Breast Carcinoma

Polyamine and nucleic acid levels were determined in normal human breasts, in primary infiltrating ductal carcinoma breasts, in the uninvolved tissues of the same carcinoma-bearing breasts and in the urine of the same patients. The results showed that the production of polyamines in the carcinoma tissue is significantly higher than in normal tissue; the presence of a carcinoma in the breast does not modify the levels of polyamines and nucleic acids in the surrounding uninvolved tissue; spermidine and spermine are correlated both with DNA and RNA in the carcinoma; the urinary polyamine levels in the carcinoma-bearing patients were not significantly different from that of controls. There appeared to be a close relationship between polyamine biosynthesis and tumoral mammary cell development and a very fine control between the biosynthesis of both spermidine and spermine and nucleic acids. In addition, the localized solid breast carcinoma, with non-proven metastases, did not provoke an increase in polyamine excretion.
Effects of Strength Training on Running Economy

The objective of this study was to compare the effect of different strength training protocols added to endurance training on running economy (RE). Sixteen well-trained runners (27.4 +/- 4.4 years; 62.7 +/- 4.3 kg; 166.1 +/- 5.0 cm), were randomized into two groups: explosive strength training (EST) (n = 9) and heavy weight strength training (HWT) (n = 7) group. They performed the following tests before and after 4 weeks of training: 1) incremental treadmill test to exhaustion to determine of peak oxygen uptake and the velocity corresponding to 3.5 mM of blood lactate concentration; 2) submaximal constant-intensity test to determine RE; 3) maximal countermovement jump test and; 4) one repetition maximal strength test in leg press. After the training period, there was an improvement in RE only in the HWT group (HWT = 47.3 +/- 6.8 vs. 44.3 +/- 4.9 ml . kg (-1) . min (-1); EST = 46.4 +/- 4.1 vs. 45.5 +/- 4.1 ml . kg (-1) . min (-1)). In conclusion, a short period of traditional strength training can improve RE in well-trained runners, but this improvement can be dependent on the strength training characteristics. When comparing to explosive training performed in the same equipment, heavy weight training seems to be more efficient for the improvement of RE.
Altered vascular expression of EphrinB2 and EphB4 in a model of oxygen‐induced retinopathy

EphrinB2 ligands and EphB4 receptors are expressed on endothelial cells (EC) of arteries and veins, respectively, and are essential for vascular development. To understand how these molecules regulate retinal neovascularization (NV), we evaluated their expression in a model of oxygen‐induced retinopathy (OIR). EphrinB2 and EphB4 were expressed on arterial and venous trunks, respectively, and on a subset of deep capillary vessels. EphB4 expression was reduced following hyperoxia, while ephrinB2 expression remained unaltered. In addition, a subset of EphB4‐positive veins regressed in a caspase‐3‐dependent manner during hyperoxia. Arteriovenous malformations were also observed with loss of arterial‐venous boundaries. Finally, both ephrinB2 and EphB4 were expressed on a subset of neovascular tufts following hyperoxia. These data confirm the contribution of ECs from both venous and arterial origins to the development of retinal NV. Developmental Dynamics 239:1695–1707, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
On the Paradoxical Nature of Innovation : Evidence from Social Networks in Fryslân

With the ever-growing development of technology, being able to innovate is the ultimate goal to create an advantage for organizations, regions and countries. Innovation enables the prosperous growth of communities all over the world, but not all regions are able to keep up. This thesis focuses on regions that have not benefitted fully from this innovative development. Fryslân, a northern province of the Netherlands, is an example of such a region. This research aims to explore the social constructs that block progress and help regions to enhance their innovative output. To provide a holistic understanding of regional innovation systems, this research determines two consecutive paradoxes. Paradox 1 relates to the interdependency of social and technical processes within innovation systems. A comprehensive approach to innovation must consider social processes as a part of innovation, which makes understanding social constructs crucial. Social relationships form a significant part of social constructs, which are the enablers of the knowledge exchange that will lead towards an innovation ecosystem. Paradox 2 focuses on the contradictory set of relationships between actors. Social relationships among a group of individuals are commonly identified as networks and therefore, social network analysis (SNA) is an appropriate tool to study the social constructs that are relevant for innovation systems. The analysis showed that the networks in Fryslân are compact and not open enough for external knowledge. In addition, the actors that are involved are weakly connected to each other. Although the strong friendship bonds play a role in the hampering closed-like social structure of the province, the least problematic network in Fryslân is the friendship network and, therefore, it must be utilized for the purpose of innovation. Friendship does not have a direct link to innovation, but the power of existing networks and the local dynamics makes the friendship network the best path towards innovative progress.
Cognitive screening predicts magnitude of functional recovery from admission to 3 months after discharge in hospitalized elders.

BACKGROUND Many older adults lose functional ability during the course of acute illness and fail to recover function. We sought to determine whether performance on a cognitive screen at the time of hospital admission predicted the magnitude of functional recovery after hospitalization. METHODS We studied 2557 patients from two teaching hospitals to examine the association between level of impaired performance on a cognitive status screen and maintenance and recovery of functioning from admission through 90 days after discharge. On admission, 14% had mildly impaired cognitive performance with three or four errors on the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire; 28% had moderate to severely impaired cognitive performance with five or more errors on the cognitive status screen or inability to complete the screen and a diagnosis of dementia. RESULTS Performance on a brief cognitive screen on admission was strongly related to subsequent change in function. Among patients who needed help performing one or more activities of daily living at the time of admission, 23% of patients with moderate to severely impaired cognitive performance, 49% of patients with mildly impaired cognitive performance, and 67% of patients with little to no impairment in cognitive performance recovered ability to independently execute an additional activity of daily living by discharge (p <.001). Similar relationships were seen for change in instrumental activities of daily living and mobility. In multivariate repeated measures analyses of basic and instrumental activities of daily living and mobility on admission, discharge, and 30 and 90 days after discharge, patients with mildly impaired cognitive performance on admission showed less improvement than patients who did not have impaired cognitive performance, but more than those with moderate to severely impaired cognitive performance. The pattern of results did not change when patients with any signs of delirium were excluded. Patients with impaired cognitive performance were more likely to be admitted to a nursing home for the first time by 90 days after discharge. The odds ratios were 2.8 (95% confidence interval = 1.8-4.5) for patients with mildly impaired cognitive performance and 6.7 (95% confidence interval = 4.5-9.8) for patients with moderate to severely impaired cognitive performance. CONCLUSION Cognitive screening at hospital admission can be used to stratify patients according to the magnitude of expected functional recovery after an acute illness that required hospitalization.
Gibberellin Delays Ripening of Tomatoes

Treatment with gibberellic acid, at concentrations as low as 10-7M, of intact tomato fruits, or of pieces in tissue culture, markedly retarded ripening in terms of development of redness. Ethylene stimulations of color development were prevented by treatment with gibberellic acid, but ethylene stimulations of respiration were not. Gibberellin can delay the progress of some components of the ripening of fruit, preventing some of the changes triggered by ethylene.
Noninvasive monitoring of liver fibrosis in sickle cell disease: Longitudinal observation of a cohort of adult patients

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Insight into structure‐function relationship in phenol‐soluble modulins using an alanine screen of the phenol‐soluble modulin (PSM) α3 peptide

Phenol‐soluble modulins (PSMs) are a family of peptides with multiple functions in staphylococcal pathogenesis. To gain insight into the structural features affecting PSM functions, we analyzed an alanine substitution library of PSMα3, a strongly cytolytic and proinflammatory PSM of Staphylococcus aureus with a significant contribution to S. aureus virulence. Lysine residues were essential for both receptor‐dependent proinflammatory and receptor‐independent cytolytic activities. Both phenotypes also required additional structural features, with the C terminus being crucial for receptor activation. Biofilm formation was affected mostly by hydrophobic amino acid positions, suggesting that the capacity to disrupt hydrophobic interactions is responsible for the effect of PSMs on biofilm structure. Antimicrobial activity, absent from natural PSMα3, could be created by the exchange of large hydrophobic side chains, indicating that PSMα3 has evolved to exhibit cytolytic rather than antimicrobial activity. In addition to gaining insight into the structure‐function relationship in PSMs, our study identifies nontoxic PSMα3 derivatives for active vaccination strategies and lays the foundation for future efforts aimed to understand the biological role of PSM recognition by innate host defense. —Cheung, G. Y. , Kretschmer, D. , Queck, S. Y. , Joo, H. ‐S. , Wang, R. , Duong, A. C. , Nguyen, T. H. , Bach, T. ‐H. , Porter, A. R. , DeLeo, F. R. , Peschel, A. , Otto, M. Insight into structure‐function relationship in phenol‐soluble modulins using an alanine screen of the phenol‐soluble modulin (PSM) α3 peptide. FASEB J. 28, 153–161 (2014). www.fasebj. org
Cell-autonomous and cell non-autonomous signaling through endothelin receptor B during melanocyte development

The endothelin receptor B gene (Ednrb) encodes a G-protein-coupled receptor that is expressed in a variety of cell types and is specifically required for the development of neural crest-derived melanocytes and enteric ganglia. In humans, mutations in this gene are associated with Waardenburg-Shah syndrome, a disorder characterized by pigmentation defects, deafness and megacolon. To address the question of whether melanocyte development depends entirely on a cell-autonomous action of Ednrb, we performed a series of tissue recombination experiments in vitro, using neural crest cell cultures from mouse embryos carrying a novel Ednrb-null allele characterized by the insertion of a lacZ marker gene. The results show that Ednrb is not required for the generation of early neural crest-derived melanoblasts but is required for the expression of the differentiation marker tyrosinase. Tyrosinase expression can be rescued, however, by the addition of Ednrb wild-type neural tubes. These Ednrb wild-type neural tubes need not be capable of generating melanocytes themselves, but must be capable of providing KIT ligand, the cognate ligand for the tyrosine kinase receptor KIT. In fact, soluble KIT ligand is sufficient to induce tyrosinase expression in Ednrb-deficient cultures. Nevertheless, these tyrosinase-expressing, Ednrb-deficient cells do not develop to terminally differentiated, pigmented melanocytes. Pigmentation can be induced, however, by treatment with tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate, which mimics EDNRB signaling, but not by treatment with endothelin 1, which stimulates the paralogous receptor EDNRA. The results suggest that Ednrb plays a significant role during melanocyte differentiation and effects melanocyte development by both cell non-autonomous and cell-autonomous signaling mechanisms.