Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Challenges of Local Government Administration in Nigeria ; An Appraisal of Nigerian Experience

Local Government in Nigeria faces series of critical challenges like creating critical social services and how to sustain them. No Nation can boast of excellent performance within the public sector at the grass root if a large percentage of her rural inhabitants are facing uncontrollable abject poverty, needs/wants, socio-economic dilemma and basic social amenities. However in Nigeria, a series of social amenities at the grass root reveals that the third tiers of government are lacking performance in the area of service delivery, and over the years has caused the citizens to lose both faith and trust in local government, the closet tier of government to them. The failure of local government administration as an institution in Nigeria to solve ongoing problems of the people at the grass root further indicates a lack of contentment in the governance and consequently retards the closeness of the people to this grass root government. This paper looks at the reasons for the establishment of local government, functions and problems of good governance and accountability. Factors militating against performance of local government administration in Nigeria are articulated, areas of contribution to development are also identified and concludes that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be amended to empower Local Government authorities to provide the much needed goods and services for the people.
Assessment of diversity, population structure and regeneration status of tree species in Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, Northeast India

The present study was carried out for quantitative analysis of diversity, population structure and regeneration status of tree species in tropical semi-evergreen forest of Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, northeast India. The study was conducted during 2010-2011, by laying 100 quadrats (10×10m) following random plot sampling method. A total of 75 tree species (≥30 cm gbh), belonging to 60 genera and 40 families were recorded from the study area. Individuals were categorized into three groups, seedling, sapling and adult based on girth classes and the status of natural regeneration of species was determined based on their population size. Highest density (7756 individuals ha - ¹) and species richness (73) were recorded in 0-30 cm girth class, while highest basal area (9.62 m² ha - ¹) was observed in 120-150 cm girth class. Majority of tree species (36%) exhibited "fair regeneration" condition followed by "good regeneration" status (24%). The overall population structure of tree species shows a reverse J-shaped population curve and "good" regeneration status which reveals that the future communities may be sustained. The study gives an understanding of the diversity, pattern of population and regeneration of the tree species of the sanctuary which may help in forest management and conservation of the species.
Long non‐coding RNA MALAT1 mediates hypoxia‐induced pro‐survival autophagy of endometrial stromal cells in endometriosis

Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease characterized by diminished apoptosis, sustained ectopic survival of dysfunctional endometrial cells. Hypoxia has been implicated as a crucial microenvironmental factor that contributes to endometriosis. It has been reported that long non‐coding RNA MALAT1 (lncRNA‐MALAT1) highly expressed in endometriosis and up‐regulated by hypoxia. Hypoxia may also induce autophagy, which might act as cell protective mechanism. However, the relationship between lncRNA‐MALAT1 and autophagy under hypoxia conditions in endometriosis remains unknown. In the present study, we found that both lncRNA‐MALAT1 and autophagy level were up‐regulated in ectopic endometrium from patients with endometriosis, and its expression level correlates positively with that of hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1α (HIF‐1α). In cultured human endometrial stromal cells, both lncRNA‐MALAT1 and autophagy were induced by hypoxia in a time‐dependent manner and lncRNA‐MALAT1 up‐regulation was dependent on HIF‐1α signalling. Our analyses also show that knockdown of lncRNA‐MALAT1 suppressed hypoxia induced autophagy. Furthermore, inhibiting autophagy with specific inhibitor 3‐Methyladenine (3‐MA) and Beclin1 siRNA enhanced apoptosis of human endometrial stromal cells under hypoxia condition. Collectively, our findings identify that lncRNA‐MALAT1 mediates hypoxia‐induced pro‐survival autophagy of endometrial stromal cells in endometriosis.
Use of a Gluten-Free Diet in Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review.

We performed a systematic review of the literature to determine whether adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD) leads to improved outcomes for patients with schizophrenia. We searched the AMED (Allied and Complementary Medicine; 1985-June 2016), MEDLINE (1946-June 2016), and Embase (1980-2016 week 24) databases using the terms "wheat" or "glutenin" or "gliadin" or "gluten" AND "schizophrenia. " A total of 9 studies met the inclusion criteria for this review: 1 randomized controlled trial, 7 crossover studies, and 1 open-label pilot study. Six of the included studies demonstrated beneficial effects including improved functioning and decreased symptom severity after the course of a GFD, whereas 3 studies found no benefits. All of the included studies found that a GFD is well tolerated and can be adhered to by patients with schizophrenia. The findings of this systematic review should be interpreted with caution due to limitations inherent to nonrandomized trials, as well as the heterogeneity in the study design and the length of the GFD applied in each study. Publication bias is another potential limitation. Further research is required to examine the biomarkers of gluten sensitivity and inflammation to effectively target those patients with schizophrenia who will benefit most from this dietary intervention.
Donor Chimerism, Kir Ligand Mismatch and Cytokine Levels (TnfÃÂ±, Il17, Gmcsf, l1ÃÂ²) and their Association with Graft Rejection in Liver Transplant Recipients

Background: The aim of the study is to design a predictive model of graft rejection in liver transplant recipients based on donor chimerism (DC) quantification, functional study of Natural Killer cells and cytokine levels. Methods: Seventy-four liver transplant recipients and their respective donors were studied, providing a total of 468 post-transplantation samples in the chimerism study. A total of 23 Liver Transplant patients and their respective donors took part in HLA typing and KIR genotyping, phenotyping, and cytotoxicity studies. 62 liver transplant recipients were analyzed in this cytokine study (62 pre-transplant and 109 post-transplant serum samples). Chimerism study was carried out by quantitative real time PCRs and 7 indels and 14 SNPs were detected with TM probes. A study of NK-cell subsets was performed on fresh samples by multiparametric flow cytometry (Becton Dickinson). KIR genotyping and KIR ligand were analyzed by PCR with a KIR typing Kit (Milteny Biotec). Cytotoxicity assays were monitored in a conventional 2-hour europium-TDA release assay (Perkin-Elmer). Biorad “17-plex Kit on a luminex” platform was used for cytokines measurement. Results and conclusions: High chimerism levels during the first months after transplantation were related to a lower probability of rejection. A CD56 bright NK cell subset appeared to dominate the early post-transplant period following liver transplantation. A tendency to high frequency of graft rejection was observed in cases with KIR-ligand mismatches. Donors lacking C1 ligands exhibited increased risk of acute rejection. Cytokine levels predicted events in liver transplant recipients: low TNFα levels in pre-transplant recipient samples were associated with liver disease relapse and low IL17 and TNFα levels and high GMCSF and IL1β levels were associated with low rejection free survival. Finally IL6 levels showed an adverse impact on recipient overall survival.
Mathematically gifted and talented learners: theory and practice

There is growing recognition of the special needs of mathematically gifted learners. This article reviews policy developments and current research and theory on giftedness in mathematics. It includes a discussion of the nature of mathematical ability as well as the factors that make up giftedness in mathematics. The article is set in the context of current developments in Mathematics Education and Gifted Education in the UK and their implications for Science and Technology. It argues that early identification and appropriate provision for younger mathematically promising pupils capitalizes on an intellectual resource which could provide future mathematicans as well as specialists in Science or Technology. Drawing on a Vygotskian framework, it is suggested that the mathematically gifted require appropriate cognitive challenges as well as attitudinally and motivationally enhancing experiences. In the second half of this article we report on an initiative in which we worked with teachers to identify mathematically gifted pupils and to provide effective enrichment support for them, in a number of London Local Authorities. A number of significant issues are raised relating to the identification of mathematical talent, enrichment provision for students and teachers’ professional development.
Impact of probiotics Lactobacillus rhamnosus ATCC 9595 and Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 on the economic traits of silkworm Bombyx mori L.

Probiotics are viable, defined microorganisms in adequate numbers, which modify the intestinal microflora and exert favorable health effects on the host. Usage of probiotics is more common in human and veterinary medical sciences. Members of Lactobacillus are successfully and widely used as probiotics in humans and hence, in the present investigation an attempt is made to study the impact of fortification of mulberry leaves with probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus rhamnosus ATCC 9595 and Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 on the economic parameters of silkworm Bombyx mori. The results indicate that there is no significant influence of the tested probiotics on the economic traits of silkworm.
The Response of Shallow Groundwater Levels to Soil Freeze–Thaw Process on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau

The Qinghai‐Tibet plateau has the world's largest area of seasonally frozen ground. Here, shallow groundwater displays behavior that is distinct from that elsewhere in the world. In the present study, we explore the seasonal and interannual variation of the shallow groundwater levels from 2012 to 2016, and attempt to quantitatively evaluate the relative influences of individual driving factors on the shallow groundwater levels based on boosted regression trees. The results show that: (1) on a seasonal scale, the groundwater levels were characterized by a double peak and double valley relationship, while on an interannual scale the groundwater levels showed a slightly downwards trend from 2012 to 2016; and (2) during the frozen period, the seasonal variation of groundwater levels was determined by mean air temperature through its effect on the soil thaw–freeze process, accounting for 53.15% of total variation. Meanwhile, ET0 and rainfall exerted little impact on the seasonal variation of groundwater levels, which might be attributed to the aquitard of frozen soil that impedes the exchange between surface water and groundwater. Moreover, there was a lag between groundwater levels and soil freezing–thawing. During the non‐frozen period, the mean air temperature was again the most important factor impacting the variation of groundwater levels, through its effect on ET0, and accounted for 40.75% of total variation, while rainfall had little effect on groundwater levels when rainfall intensity was less than 12 mm/day. These results will benefit predictions of future trends in groundwater levels within the context of global warming.
The asymptotic behaviour of the residual sum of squares in models with multiple break points

ABSTRACT Models with multiple discrete breaks in parameters are usually estimated via least squares. This paper, first, derives the asymptotic expectation of the residual sum of squares and shows that the number of estimated break points and the number of regression parameters affect the expectation differently. Second, we propose a statistic for testing the joint hypothesis that the breaks occur at specified points in the sample. Our analytical results cover models estimated by the ordinary, nonlinear, and two-stage least squares. An application to U.S. monetary policy rejects the assumption that breaks are associated with changes in the chair of the Fed.
Assessing Stress and Stress Coping Strategies among Undergraduate Students in Ghana

The study aimed at examining the levels of stress experienced by university students and its impact on them. Stress management encompasses techniques to equip a person with effective coping mechanisms for dealing with psychological stress. Quantitative cross -sectional approach was employed to assess the level of student’s stress and the coping mechanisms adopted by individuals. The objective of the study is to assess present levels of stress in the university students and the coping mechanisms adopted, as well as its effectiveness. The research setting was at Presbyterian University College; Asante- Akyem Campus with a population of 1,490 students . A sample size of 306 was used. Simple random technique was adopted in distributing questionnaires for data retrieval. From the research, it was deduced that female students scored higher on a scales of stress, suggesting they perceived more stress than their male counterparts and have more stressors in their lives. Most of the students had ever experienced stress and majority said it caused a mental strain and decreased their GPA hence, affecting them negatively. Respondents thought stress can be managed through coping strategies, counseling and getting support from others.
Enhanced prediction of RNA solvent accessibility with long short-term memory neural networks and improved sequence profiles

MOTIVATION The de novo prediction of RNA tertiary structure remains a grand challenge. Predicted RNA solvent accessibility provides an opportunity to address this challenge. To the best of our knowledge, there is only one method (RNAsnap) available for RNA solvent accessibility prediction. However, its performance is unsatisfactory for protein-free RNAs. RESULTS We developed RNAsol, a new algorithm to predict RNA solvent accessibility. RNAsol was built based on improved sequence profiles from the covariance models and trained with the long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks. Independent tests on the same datasets from RNAsnap show that RNAsol achieves the mean Pearson's correlation coefficient (PCC) of 0.43/0.26 for the protein-bound/protein-free RNA molecules, which is 26.5%/136.4% higher than that of RNAsnap. When the training set is enlarged to include both types of RNAs, the PCCs increase to 0.49 and 0.46 for protein-bound and protein-free RNAs, respectively. The success of RNAsol is attributed to two aspects, including the improved sequence profiles constructed by the sequence-profile alignment and the enhanced training by the LSTM neural networks. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION http://yanglab.nankai. edu.cn/RNAsol/. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A Unified Cross-entropy Based Task Scheduling Algorithm for Heterogeneous Fog Networks

Fog computing, which shifts functions of clouds to the network edge along the cloud-to-things continuum, has risen as a promising architecture for realizing the vision of smart city. In fog computing, how to efficiently map computation tasks into a variety of heterogeneous fog nodes (FNs) to improve the quality of service, such as low latency and energy consumption, is a fundamental challenge. In this paper, we investigate this task scheduling problem in general multiuser multi-FN hetero- geneous fog networks. We first show that such a problem can be formulated as a typical combinational optimization problem with different objectives. Then, we study this problem utilizing the cross-entropy (CE) method through associating it with a rare event estimation problem, and propose a unified and efficient CE based task scheduling algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed CE based algorithm can achieve near-optimal performance in a fast manner, which much outperforms other baseline solutions
Targeting ulcerative colitis by suppressing glucose uptake with ritonavir

ABSTRACT Glucose is the preferred source of energy in activated inflammatory cells. Glucose uptake into the cell is ensured by a family of glucose uptake transporters (GLUTs), which have been identified as off-target molecules of the HIV protease inhibitor ritonavir. In this study, we examined the effect of ritonavir on inflammation in vitro and in vivo. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were activated with anti-CD3 in the presence or absence of ritonavir and analyzed by flow cytometric analysis. Frequencies of CD4+ cells were significantly affected by ritonavir (CD69+ P=3E-05; CD134 P=4E-06; CD25+ P=E-07; central memory P=0.02; effector P=6E-03; effector memory P=6E-05). To corroborate that inflammation has a metabolic effect in vivo, a mouse model was used that is based on immunocompromised NOD-scid IL-2Rγ null mice reconstituted with PBMCs from patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Inflammation had a significant effect on amino acid (AA) levels (Glu P=1E-07, Asp P=1E-04). Principal component analysis (PCA) discriminated between unchallenged and challenged groups. Finally, the efficacy of ritonavir was tested in the same mouse model. Dependent variables were clinical and histological scores, frequencies of human leukocytes isolated from spleen and colon, and levels of AA in sera of mice. Mice benefited from treatment with ritonavir as indicated by significantly decreased colon (P=7E-04) and histological (P=1E-04) scores, frequencies of M2 monocytes (CD14+ CD163; P=0.02), and Glu levels (P=2E-05). PCA discriminated between control and challenged groups (P=0.026). Thus, inhibition of glucose uptake might be a promising therapeutic intervention point for active UC. Summary: Insights into immuno-metabolism open up new avenues for therapeutic intervention. The study presented here suggests that inhibition of glucose suppresses inflammation in a mouse model of ulcerative colitis.
Can anti-Müllerian hormone predict success outcomes in donor sperm inseminations?

Abstract Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a useful biomarker to predict the ovarian response to controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) for IVF. However, currently there is a lack of evidence for the role of ovarian reserve markers when there is no need of COS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of AMH to predict the outcomes of donor sperm insemination cycles in non-infertile women. A retrospective study including 139 healthy women, who underwent 348 intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles with donor sperms under the stimulated or natural cycles, was conducted. All patients had an AMH evaluation performed before starting the first IUI attempt. AMH levels were similar in both, women who conceived and those who did not (2.00 ± 1.52 vs. 1.88 ± 1.64 ng/ml; p = .45). The area under the ROC curve in predicting pregnancy for AMH was 0.53. After adjusting for other confounding variables, the multivariate analysis revealed that AMH was not associated with pregnancy (aOR 0.89; 95% CI 0.57–1.37). We conclude that AMH is not predictive of pregnancy in healthy non-infertile women who perform IUI with donor sperm. These findings suggest the low capability of AMH to predict fertility when no COS is needed.
Assessing implicit and explicit dementia stigma in young adults and care-workers

This aim of this study was to assess implicit and self-reported stigma towards people with dementia in young adults with no contact or experience (n = 23), and in care-workers (n = 17 professional dementia care-workers). Data were analysed to determine whether stigma was related to self-reported levels of depression, anxiety, stress and professional burnout. Forty participants completed the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure and Dementia Attitudes Scale. The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale and Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to measure depression, anxiety, stress and professional burnout. The young adult group showed statistically significant levels of dementia stigma (on the two “dementia” trial-types, p = .027 and p = .030). Statistical analyses showed more dementia-positive attitudes in care-workers compared to young adults on the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure and the Dementia Attitudes Scale (both p’s=.021). Spearman’s Rho correlations tests showed that for the care-givers, higher levels of burn-out were associated with more negative attitudes towards people with dementia on both of the Dementia Attitudes Scale subscales (social comfort p<.001 and dementia knowledge p=.005). The results support prior research showing that experience with a stigmatised group can lower stigma and demonstrate the importance of providing a supportive work environment to mitigate burnout.
Determinants of General Practitioner Utilization : Controlling for Unobserved Heterogeneity ∗

A flexible nonparametric kernel conditional density estimator is used to estimate a model of GP utilization. The main determinants of interest are demographic (gender and immigration status); socioeconomic (income and education); and health (self-reported health status) factors. Canadian longitudinal data permits the model to control for unobserved individual heterogeneity. The nonparametric estimator, controlling directly for unobserved individual heterogeneity, performs better than longitudinal parametric models on the dimensions of model performance statistics and predictive ability. Socioeconomic factors (income and education) as well as immigration status appear to have no influence on a person’s decision to contact a GP or on the number of visits to a GP. Gender and health status appear to be important determinants in both the probability of contacting a GP and the number of visits made to a GP.
A psycho-political profile of moderates and left-wing and right-wing extremists

The present study tests for differences among samples of activists from moderate and extreme political ideologies. Previous studies comparing ideological groups have been restricted to tests of betweengroup differences in the means of relevant political psychological variables, thereby neglecting eventual group differences in the variances, meanings and nomological networks of the tested variables (i.e., their psychometric properties, the pattern of correlations among these measures, and the presence of mediation and moderator effects). A first exploratory study used data from the European Social Survey (total N = 7314) comparing groups of political party members on the basis of their scores on a selfplacement left-right scale. The second study (total N = 69) constituted an in-depth test for the presence of differences between samples of political activists of moderate parties, communists, anarchists, and right-wing extremists. The present results revealed that there is a fair amount of heterogeneity within left-wing and right-wing extremists, indicating a substantial amount of within-group variance of social attitudes, values, and prejudice. Moreover, the extremist ideologies are best approached as distinct ideologies that cannot be reduced to extreme versions of moderate ideology, and differences in the meanings and nomological networks of the various extremist ideologies were also obtained. It is erroneous to consider members of extremist groups as being ̳all alike‘. Moreover, the findings obtained in samples of political moderates do not seem to be a particularly solid basis for theories about extremism. We also present psycho-political profiles of communists, anarchists and right-wing extremists.