Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What can the African diaspora contribute to innovation and knowledge creation? The case study of Zimbabwean innovators

The importance of diaspora and transnational knowledge production, innovation, and development is of growing interest, particularly in the developing world. The phenomenal increase in high human capital migration from poor to rich countries has historically led to what is commonly known as brain drain, which has negatively impacted the capacity of such countries to innovate. Yet more recently the emergence of the phenomenon of transnationalism has demonstrated the potential to transform brain drain into brain circulation, for the mutual benefit of both sending and receiving contexts. This article uses the case of Zimbabwe to explore the role of diasporan professionals, scholars, and entrepreneurs in contributing to knowledge production, innovation, and development initiatives in their countries of origin. Zimbabwe is an example of many African countries that have experienced substantial attrition of highly qualified knowledge workers for various reasons. A qualitative approach, involving interviews and documentary evidence, enabled the researchers to engage with the Zimbabwean diaspora to capture their narratives regarding the challenges and opportunities, which were then used to develop successful transnational knowledge production initiatives.
TRAP5b and RANKL/OPG Predict Bone Pathology in Patients with Gaucher Disease

Background and objective: Bone involvement occurs in 75% of patients with Gaucher disease (GD), and comprises structural changes, debilitating pain, and bone density abnormalities. Osteoporosis is a silent manifestation of GD until a pathologic fracture occurs. Thus, early diagnosis is crucial for identifying high-risk patients in order to prevent irreversible complications. Methods: Thirty-three patients with GD were assessed prospectively to identify predictive markers associated with bone density abnormalities, osteopenia (OSN), and osteoporosis (OSR). Subjects were categorized into three cohorts based on T- or Z-scores of bone mineral density (BMD). The first GD cohort consisted of those with no bone complications (Z-score ≥ −0.9; T-scores ≥ −1), the second was the OSN group (−1.8 ≥ Z-score ≥ −1; −2.5 ≥ T-score ≥ −1), and the third was the OSR group (Z-score ≤ −1.9; T-scores ≤ −2.5). Serum levels of TRAP5b, RANKL, OPG, and RANK were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Results: TRAP5b levels were increased in GD patients, and showed a positive correlation with GD biomarkers, including plasma glucosylsphingosine (lyso-Gb1) and macrophage activation markers CCL18 and chitotriosidase. The highest level of TRAP5b was measured in patients with osteoporosis. The elevation of RANKL and RANKL/OPG ratio correlated with osteopenia in GD. Conclusion: TRAP5b, RANKL, and RANKL/OPG elevation indicate osteoclast activation in GD. TRAP5b is a potential bone biomarker for GD with the ability to predict the progression of bone density abnormalities.
Econometric Analysis of Functional Dynamics in the Presence of Persistence∗

We introduce an autoregressive model for functional time series with unit roots. The autoregressive operator can be consistently estimated, but its convergence rate and limit distribution are different in different subspaces. In the unit root subspace, the convergence rate is fast and given by T , while the limit distribution is nonstandard and represented as functions of Brownian motions. Outside the unit root subspace, however, the limit distribution is Gaussian, although the convergence rate varies and is given by √ T or a slower rate. The predictor based on the estimated autoregressive operator has a normal limit distribution with a reduced rate of convergence. We also provide the Beveridge-Nelson decomposition, which identifies the permanent and transitory components of functional time series with unit roots, representing persistent stochastic trends and stationary cyclical movements, respectively. Using our methodology and theory, we analyze the time series of yield curves and study the dynamics of the term structure of interest rates. JEL classification codes: C13, C14, C22, C53
A Low-Cost Sound Event Detection and Identification System for Urban Environments

The ability to automatically detect and classify complex and dynamic urban sounds is an important tool for urban planning such as building efficient noise monitoring, traffic management, surveillance, and urban soundscape mapping. To monitor and ultimately understand a city’s sonic environments requires long term measurements and analysis of data collected around the city. In this context, we present a proof of concept for a smart, low-cost, acoustic sensor to be deployed in urban environments. We conducted several preliminary experiments on the two major functioning parts of our system: sound event localization and classification. So far, we are able to detect the direction of arrival of two simultaneous sound sources, and classify audio clips into several predefined classes of urban sounds, but other blocks need to be implemented in order to have a fully functioning smart audio sensor. In this paper, we describe in detail the device’s design in terms of its processing blocks, the experiments we performed and their key results, as well as directions of future work.
Continuous Use Intention of Corporate Mobile SNS Users and its Determinants: Application of Extended Technology Acceptance Model

This study was intended to investigate the continuous use intention of corporate mobile SNS users and its determinants on the basis of extended technology acceptance model. For this purpose, this study examined user and social characteristics as independent variables and perceived ease of use and perceived availability as mediating variables. The sample of this study was composed of 332 cooperate mobile SNS users collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using SEM technique. This study found that four user and social characteristics of variables impact positively on the two mediating variables and that the two mediating variables have positive effects on continuous use intention. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings were discussed and the policy proposals were suggested.
Association Study between Multiple Sclerosis Disease and HLA DQA0102*1 in South-West Iran

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory and degenerative disease of the human central nervous system (CNS). Genetic aberrations of autoimmunity pathway components have been proven to significantly influence MS development. According to genome wide association studies (GWAS), HLA in the 6p21 locus seem to be associated with the MS. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the remarkable association of one allele at 6p21 locus, HLA DQA1*0102, with MS in South-West Iran. Methods: In this case-control study, HLA DQA1*0102 was analyzed in MS patients. The collected blood samples belonging to 205 MS patients (case group) and 202 healthy individuals (control group) were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction using specific sequence primers (PCR-SSP) technique, and we examined the relationship of genotypes with risk factors such as gender, age, phase of the disease and other clinical parameters. Data analyzed using SPSS 16 statistical software and chi square test Results: We observed a significant difference in the frequency distribution of HLA DQA1*0102 (OR = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.23-0.67; P-value = 0.006) between patients and controls. Strong association was found between the HLA DQA1*0102 and Intestinal symptoms of MS (P = 0.029). However, there was no association between HLA DQA1*0102 and various classifications and severity of MS. No significant association was found between this allele in Arabs as compared with the control group. Conclusions: The higher frequency of HLA DQA1*0102 in controls indicates that HLA DQA1*0102 may play a protective role against developing MS. This study is in line with previous study in Iran; but contrasts with most of the studies in European populations and is the first study reporting in southwest Iran and Arab population. © 2016. Focus on Sciences Submitted: 04.26. 2016 Accepted: 05.15. 2016
Caloric Stimulation with Water and Air: Responses by Age and Gender

Introduction: The caloric test is a well-known valuable clinical instrument that can evaluate and quantify the functional status of both lateral semicircular canals. The American National Standard Institute (ANSI) does not include air as a standard method for caloric stimulation due the lack of published data to determine response variability comparable to water. Due the controversy about air irrigators, it is worthwhile to evaluate the presence of differences between the two irrigation methods in caloric response. The goal is to compare, by age group, the post caloric responses with water and air according gender and age. Materials and Methods: Individuals without otoneurologic complaints were selected and divided in groups. All were submitted to caloric bithermal stimulation with water at temperatures of 44°C and 30°C (Micromedical Technologies, Inc., USA) and air at temperatures of 50°C and 24°C (Micromedical Technologies, Inc., USA). Results: 91 subjects were evaluated (46 men and 45 women) with a mean age of 43 years old. The caloric response was similar between genders (P=0,958) and no statistical difference was observed comparing both stimulus (P=0,93). It was identified that the Slow-Phase Velocity (SPV) was lower for the group older than 60 years comparing to the other groups. Conclusion: For the caloric test, the stimulus with air was confirmed as similar as stimulation with water, including absolute values. Lower values for SPV were found for elderly population.
Epidemiology pattern of traumatic injuries of adults older than 15 years in Kashan, Iran: A population-based study in 2018-2019

Background: Trauma is the first leading cause of death and disability in the active population in developing countries. In Iran, traumatic injuries are the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular disease and also the leading cause of years of life lost (YLL). Population-based surveys can estimate all types of injuries. This study aimed to estimate the annual incidence of nonfatal injuries in adults older than 15 years in Kashan. Methods: In a cross-sectional population-based study, people older than 15 years who were living in Kashan during 2018-2019 were studied. A cluster stratified sampling method was used. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 22 software. Chi-square and t tests and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. Significance level was set as P ≤. 05 and confidence interval (CI) at 95%. Results: In this study, which included 3880 households residing in Kashan during 2018-2019, the incidence of all injuries was estimated to be 70.61(62.60-78.70) per 1000 people in 1 year. For traffic accidents, the incidence was estimated at 36.08 (30.20-42.00) per 1000 in 1 year. Also, 231 (77.7%) of people with trauma were male, 137 (50.0%) aged 20 to 39 years, and 191 (69.7) were married. The most common cause of injuries (n = 140; 51.1%) was related to traffic accidents, and among the traffic accidents, the highest cause was motorcycle accident (n = 99; 70.71%). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the highest rate of injuries occurred among men, younger ages, married, and those with primary education. Also, the results showed the most common causes of trauma were injured hand and foot and head, and the most common location in which trauma occurred was street. The findings of this study are important to better explain the epidemiology aspects of injuries in Kashan.
Effect of varying level of ginger powder in the diet of starter turkeys on performance, haematological and serum biochemical indices

Dietary inclusion of various phytogenic additives has been used as alternative growth promoters in poultry. They enhance performance and stabilize health status of farm animals. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of inclusion of ginger powder to the diets of pre starter and starter turkeys at different levels (0g/kg, 2g/kg and 4g/kg) on its performance and some blood parameters. A total of one hundred and twenty day- old British United Turkey (BUT) poults were allotted on weight equalization basis into the 3 dietary treatments in a complete randomised design. Forty poults were assigned to each treatment group replicated four times with 10 poults per replicate. The study lasted for 56 days comprising of the prestarter (0-28 days) and starter (29-56 days) phases. At the pre-starter phase of the experiment, growth performance was not affected (p>0.05) by ginger powder inclusion while the starter phase showed improved (p<0.05) final weight, feed intake and feed conversion ratio. Final weight increased (p<0.05) with ginger inclusion in the diets, while feed intake reduced linearly as ginger inclusion increased. Supplementation with ginger reduced haemoglobin and RBC of the pre starter turkeys. The RBC increases linearly (p<0.05) as ginger supplementation increases with starter turkeys. Serum albumin improved significantly (p<0.05) following dietary inclusion of 2 g/kg ginger powder at the starter (3.37g/dl) phase. In conclusion, starter turkeys fed diet containing ginger at 2 g/kg showed improved growth with improvement in hepatic enzyme activities.
Procyclical Finance: The Money View∗

Banks are important because firms hold their debt (“inside money”) as liquidity buffer. Banking crises are costly because the contraction of inside money supply compromises firms’ liquidity management and hurts investment. By highlighting the interaction between banks and firms in the money market, this paper offers a theory of procyclical inside money creation and the resulting instability. It sheds light on the cyclicality of bank leverage, and how it affects the frequency and duration of banking crises. Introducing outside money (government debt) to alleviate liquidity shortage can be counterproductive, because its competition with inside money destabilizes the banking sector. ∗I am indebted to my advisors at Columbia University, Patrick Bolton, Tano Santos, and José A. Scheinkman, for their invaluable guidance. I also thank Tobias Adrian, Geert Bekaert, Nina Boyarchenko, Markus Brunnermeier, Charles Calomiris, Murillo Campello, Guojun Chen, Gilles Chemla, Dong Beom Choi, Nicolas Crouzet, Olivier M. Darmouni, Ian Dew-Becker, Douglas Diamond, William Diamond, John Donaldson, Lars Peter Hansen, Zhiguo He, Harrison Hong, Yunzhi Hu, Yi Huang, Gur Huberman, Christian Julliard, Peter Kondor, Arvind Krishnamurthy, Siyuan Liu, Marco Di Maggio, Harry Mamaysky, Konstantin Milbradt, Emi Nakamura, Martin Oehmke, Mitchell Petersen, Tomasz Piskorski, Vincenzo Quadrini, Adriano A. Rampini, Raghuram Rajan, Jean-Charles Rochet, Jon Steinsson, Amir Sufi, Huijun Sun, Suresh Sundaresan, Harald Uhlig, Dimitri Vayanos, S. Viswanathan, Chen Wang, Neng Wang, Kathy Yuan, and Jing Zeng for helpful comments. I am grateful to seminar/conference participants at Becker Friedman Institute (University of Chicago), Chicago Booth, CEPR Credit Cycle Conference, Columbia Finance Seminar, Columbia Economics Colloquium, New York Fed, Finance Theory Group, Georgetown McDonough, Gradudate Institute (Geneva), Imperial College, Johns Hopkins Carey, London School of Economics, Nanyang Technological University, Northwestern Kellogg, NYU Stern PhD Seminar, OSU Fisher, Oxford Financial Intermediation Theory Conference, University of Melbourne, USC Marshall, and Wharton. I acknowledge the generous dissertation support from Macro Financial Modeling Group of Becker Friedman Institute. All errors are mine. †The Ohio State University. E-mail: li.8935@osu.edu
AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-15-1-0656 TITLE: Improving Urogenital Function with Step Training after Spinal Cord Injury

s to date: Hubscher, C.H. , Herrity A.N. , Montgomery, L.R. , Willhite, A.M., Angeli, C.A. , and Harkema S.J. (2015) Task-specific training-based rehabilitation improves bladder outcomes following human spinal cord injury. 2015 Abstract Viewer/Itinerary Planner. Chicago IL: Society for Neuroscience.
Managing the institutional environment and impact on the competitiveness of transitional economies

The main unsolved issue in the qualitative research of the "new" institutional economics in the area of the institutional impact on economic growth is how productive institutions occur, i.e., which variables explicitly "stand" behind the institutional "infrastructure" impact on economic growth. The research presents the postulates of the "new" institutional economics, claiming a connection between the institutional structure and the movement of economic growth. Furthermore, the impact of institutional quality on economic growth was analyzed on examples of individual national economies. The comparative method of the assessment based on six criteria: voice and accountability, political stability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, the rule of law and control of corruption, and the comparison of the GDP per capita of the same as one of the most significant economic indicators, tested the primary hypothesis (H1) in this work: institutions are the fundamental determinant of the long-term success in economy, and the importance of government effectiveness is seen through economic growth, especially long-term growth. The conducted research showed a high level of correlation between institutions' success and the gross domestic product with indications of equal returns per ratio and the fact that the advancement of institutional quality, indirectly through GDP, can lead to the growth of the relative significance of economies.
Watching the Watchers: Resource-Efficient Mobile Video Decoding through Context-Aware Resolution Adaptation

Mobile computing evolution is critically threatened by the limitations of the battery technology, which does not keep pace with the increase in energy requirements of mobile applications. A novel approach for reducing the energy appetite of mobile apps comes from the approximate Computing field, which proposes techniques that in a controlled manner sacrifice computation accuracy for higher energy savings. Building on this philosophy we propose a context-aware mobile video quality adaptation that reduces the energy needed for video playback, while ensuring that a user’s quality expectations with respect to the mobile video are met. We confirm that the decoding resolution can play a significant role in reducing the overall power consumption of a mobile device and conduct a user study with 22 participants to investigate how the context in which a video is played modulates a user’s quality expectations. We discover that a user’s physical activity and the spatial/temporal properties of the video interact and jointly influence the minimal acceptable playback resolution, paving the way for context-adaptable approximate mobile computing.
CARRY’ SUBTYPE OF MOTION VERBS IN ENGLISH AND BUGINESE

The aims of this research were (1) to identify the motion verbs in English and Buginese based on the “Carry” subtype. (2) to investigate the similarities and differences of motion verbs of ’Carry’ subtype in English and Buginese. The data of this research consists of English and Buginese. English data were collected from Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), while data of Buginese were obtained from field research through the process of observation, and in-depth interview. Both of the data were analyzed by using a descriptive and qualitative method. The result of this research reveals that (1) There are four motion verbs of ‘Carry’ subtype in English, they are carrying, bear, cart and transport. In Buginese there are twelve motion verbs found in this research, they are mattiwi, massoppo, majjujung, maddenge, mangepa, makkaleppi, matteteng, mabbiccang, marrenreng, mallempa, matteke and maggandeng. (2) From clause structure, it can be found that the clause structure in Buginese has some variations. In Buginese there are two prepositions that have a similar meaning and different usage, they are ri and ku which mean in.
Relationship Between Orexin-A and Insulin Resistance in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Orexin-A is an orexigenic hormone that plays an important role in the metabolism of blood glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance (IR). The pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is related to the abnormality in insulin and IR. However, no sufficient studies to date have clearly shown the association of orexinA with biochemical parameters related to T2DM. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the relation of orexin-A with IR and how they associate with physiological changes in T2DM patients. Understanding this relation will offer some pharmacological tools to reduce some complications in diabetes. Materials and Methods: A total of 41 T2DM and 43 non-DM subjects, aged between 40-60 years with body mass index (BMI) ≤25 kg/m 2 , participated in the present study. Fasting serum orexin-A, IR, fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), lipid profile, liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST)), nitric oxide (NO), and malondialdehyde (MDA) parameters were evaluated. Orexin-A was evaluated by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). For statistical analysis, GraphPad Prism 7.0 and SPSS version 24.0 programs were used. Results: Orexin-A was positively correlated with blood pressure, FBG, HbA1c, insulin, and IR but inversely related to insulin sensitivity (IS), leptin, and gender. Stepwise multiple regression presented HOMA-IR, diastolic blood pressure, and very-low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol as predictors for orexin-A. The area under control value showed orexin-A, FBG, HbA1c, HOMA-IR, IS, ALT, AST, NO and MDA as biomarkers for T2DM disease. Conclusion: Orexin-A has a predictive ability to diagnose T2DM, as it is significantly associated with hyperglycemia, IR, and IS.
Study on prevalence of Frank's sign in cardiac patients in a tertiary care centre, Kanyakumari district

Background: Despite its identification over 40 years ago, very few dermatologists are aware of the relevance of Frank’s sign as a cutaneous indicator of coronary artery disease. Aim was to find out the prevalence of Frank's sign among cardiac patients attending a tertiary care centre in Kanyakumari district. Methods: This was a cross-sectional case-control study involving 270 patients, out of which 200 patients with proven CAD (by angiography) and 70 patients without evidence of CAD of more than 40 years of age, in cardiac ward as well as patients attending Cardiology and dermatology OPD in Sree Mookambika Institute of Medical Sciences, kanyakumari during a period of 5 months from August 2020 to December 2020. The data compiled included age, gender, presence of CAD, presence of DELC, grade of DELC, and laterality. Results: DELC was present in 109 cases (40.3%) out of which 92 cases (34 %) had CAD and in 17 cases (6.3%) were without CAD, which was statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusions: There have been very few studies evaluating the frequency of DELC in South Indian patients with CAD. According to results of the present study, DELC was significantly associated with CAD. DELC was an important dermatological indicator of CAD with a moderately high specificity (75%) and positive predictive value (84%), but had a low sensitivity (46%) and negative predictive value (33%).