Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Education, Openness and Economic Growth in South Africa: Empirical Evidence from VECM Analysis

ABSTRACT:The abundance of natural resources in sub-Saharan Africa has not led many of the countries in this region out of poverty. Education and trade openness have made significant contribution to economic growth in some developed and emerging countries across the globe. The recent efforts of government in South Africa towards education and trade liberalisation warrant the investigation of the causal relationship between trade openness, education and economic growth. Annual time series data on GDP growth rate, total government spending on education (as percentage of GDP) and trade openness (export plus import as a percentage of GDP) are collected from the 2016 update of World Bank's World Development Indicator (WDI) for the period 1984–2015. The choice of period was constrained by the availability of data on government spending on education and trade openness on WDI. Unit root test and Johansen cointegration test were conducted to determine the stationarity and the existence of long-run relationships among the variables respectively. Afterwards, vector error correction model was adopted to test the long run and short run causality among the variables. The result showed that the series were not stationary at levels but became stationary at first difference. Also, there is long run relationships among the variables as their series were found to be co-integrated with one another, and causality was found from education and economic growth to trade openness; from education and trade openness to economic growth; and from economic growth and trade openness to education in the long run. However, short run causality was only established from trade openness to economic growth with no feedback effects and no other variables showed any form of causality in the short run. The impulse response function also indicated that economic growth reacts more to trade openness than education. The policy implication from this study is that increase in government spending on education and improvement in trade openness especially from the export-side are important ingredients to economic growth in emerging countries like South Africa. This study make policy suggestion that continuous spending on education and trade openness are vital and not negotiable to bring about strengthening local capabilities and institutions which positively affects economic growth and development in South Africa.
Cognitive modelling of attentional networks : efficiencies, interactions, impairments and development

According to the attention network theory, attention is viewed as an organ system comprising specialised networks that carry out functions of alerting, orienting and executive control. The Attention Network Test (ANT) is a simple and popular experiment that measures the efficiencies and interactions of these three subcomponents of attention in a single task, and has been used for adults, children and attention deficit patients. In this thesis, cognitive modelling is used as a research tool to simulate the performance of subjects on the ANT, as well as variations of the ANT using ACT-R 6.0 cognitive architecture. All models are validated against human data using various goodness-of-fit criteria at multiple measures of the latency, accuracy and efficiency of the three networks. Once the simulation of healthy human performance on the ANT is established, modifications inspired by psychology literature are made to simulate the performance on ANT by children and patients affected with Alzheimer‘s disease (AD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The implementation of networks, their interactions and impairments in the models are shown to be theoretically grounded. Based on the simulation results and the understanding gained through model processes, a number of novel predictions are made, behaviour of the networks and a few discrepancies in human data are explained. The model predicts that in the case of Alzheimer‘s disease, the orienting network may be impaired and cueing may have a positive effect on conflict resolution. Also, in the case of mTBI, it was predicted that the validity effect may be impaired only in the earlier weeks after the injury. For children, a possible relationship between processing speed and mechanism of inhibitory control is predicted. It is posited that there is not always a 'global clock' that controls processing speed and further different processes may be running with different processing times.
Functional characterization connects individual patient mutations in ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) with dysfunction of specific DNA double‐strand break‐repair signaling pathways

Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) has multiple functions in homologous recombination (HR) and nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ), which lead to conflicting data regarding its DNA double‐strand break‐repair (DSBR) functions in previous studies. To explore the effect of clinically relevant ATM mutations, we characterized DSBR between mutated EGFP genes and ATM kinase signaling in 9 lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) derived from patients with ataxia telangiectasia (AT) with defined vs. 3 control LCLs without ATM mutations. Our study revealed that the DSBR phenotype in AT cells is not uniform but appears to depend on the mutation, causing up to 32‐fold increased or up to 3‐fold decreased activities in particular pathways. Comparison with a further 10 LCLs mutated in downstream factors (BRCA1, BRCA2, Nibrin, Rad50, and Chk2) showed that the most diametrically opposed DSBR patterns in AT cells phenocopied NBN/RAD50 or BRCA1 mutations. Notably, reexpressing wild‐type ATM reversed these defects by 2.3‐ to 3.5‐fold. Our data suggest that ATM stimulates repair proteins such as Nibrin, which execute HR, single‐strand annealing (SSA), and NHEJ. Concomitantly, ATM minimizes error‐prone repair (SSA and NHEJ) through activation of surveillance factors such as BRCA1. Since the outcome of the individual defect can be diametrically opposed, distinguishing repair patterns in patients with ATM mutations may also be relevant regarding therapeutic responses. —Keimling, M. , Volcic, M. , Csernok, A. , Wieland, B. , Dörk, T. , Wiesmüller, L. Functional characterization connects individual patient mutations in ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) with dysfunction of specific DNA double‐strand break‐repair signaling pathways. FASEB J. 25, 3849–3860 (2011). www.fasebj. org
Cytokinesis involves a nontranscriptional function of the Hippo pathway effector YAP

YAP has a nontranscriptional role in the separation of daughter cells during mitosis. Separating dividing cells into two By activating genes involved in cell growth and proliferation, the transcriptional coactivator YAP can act as a tumor promoter. In some contexts, however, YAP can instead act as a tumor suppressor. Bui et al. found that in mitotic cells, a kinase that promotes cell cycle progression phosphorylated YAP, and YAP was localized to subcellular structures involved in dividing cells into two, a process called cytokinesis. Furthermore, localization of YAP at these structures ensured the proper localization of other proteins necessary for cytokinesis. Cells deficient in YAP or that expressed a nonphosphorylatable form of YAP were more likely to have an abnormal number of chromosomes, a condition that can give rise to tumors. These results provide a potential mechanism to explain the tumor-suppressive activity of YAP (see also Pfeifer). YAP is a transcriptional coactivator that controls organ expansion and differentiation and is inhibited by the Hippo pathway in cells in interphase. Here, we demonstrated that, during mitosis, YAP localized to the midbody and spindle, subcellular structures that are involved in cytokinesis, the process by which contraction of the cytoskeleton produces two daughter cells. Furthermore, YAP was phosphorylated by CDK1, a kinase that promotes cell cycle progression. Knockdown of YAP by shRNA or expression of a nonphosphorylatable form of YAP delayed the separation of daughter cells (called abscission) and induced a cytokinesis phenotype associated with increased contractile force, membrane blebbing and bulges, and abnormal spindle orientation. Consequently, these defects led to an increased frequency of multinucleation, micronuclei, and aneuploidy. YAP was required for proper localization of proteins that regulate contraction during cytokinesis, including ECT2, MgcRacGap, Anillin, and RHOA. In addition, depletion of YAP increased the phosphorylation of myosin light chain, which would be expected to activate the contractile activity of myosin II, the molecular motor involved in cytokinesis. The polarity scaffold protein PATJ coprecipitated with YAP and colocalized with YAP at the cytokinesis midbody, and knockdown of PATJ phenocopied the cytokinetic defects and spindle orientation alterations induced by either YAP depletion or expression of a nonphosphorylatable YAP mutant. Together, these results reveal an unanticipated role for YAP in the proper organization of the cytokinesis machinery during mitosis through interaction with the polarity protein PATJ.
Interactions Involved in the Realignment of Membrane-associated Helices

A series of histidine-containing peptides (LAH4X6) was designed to investigate the membrane interactions of selected side chains. To this purpose, their pH-dependent transitions from in-plane to transmembrane orientations were investigated by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared and oriented solid-state NMR spectroscopies. Peptides of the same family have previously been shown to exhibit antibiotic and DNA transfection activities. Solution NMR spectroscopy indicates that these peptides form amphipathic helical structures in membrane environments, and the technique was also used to characterize the pK values of all histidines in the presence of detergent micelles. Whereas one face of the amphipathic helix is clearly hydrophobic, the opposite side is flanked by four histidines surrounding six leucine, alanine, glycine, tryptophan, or tyrosine residues, respectively. This diversity in peptide composition causes pronounced shifts in the midpoint pH of the in-plane to transmembrane helical transition, which is completely abolished for the peptides carrying the most hydrophilic amino acid residues. These properties open up a conceptually new approach to study in a quantitative manner the hydrophobic as well as specific interactions of amino acids in membranes. Notably, the resulting scale for whole residue transitions from the bilayer interface to the hydrophobic membrane interior is obtained from extended helical sequences in lipid bilayers.
Post-acute brain injury rehabilitation for patients with stroke

Primary objective: Conduct an investigation of post-acute brain injury rehabilitation (PABIR) for persons with stroke. Research design: Pre-post-treatment observation study. Methods and procedures: Demographic and medical data for 127 persons with stroke admitted for PABIR at a median interval of 87 days post-stroke were abstracted from medical records. Participants’ levels of independence and productivity were assessed at admission and discharge. Follow-up data were available for 90 participants at a median interval of 346 days post-discharge. Experimental interventions: Not applicable. Main outcomes and results: Participants showed improvements in productivity and independence level from admission to discharge and these gains were maintained at follow-up. Predictors of productivity at discharge were gender and level of independence at admission (Model R2 = 0.28). Predictors of independence at discharge were similar (Model R2 = 0.37). Conclusion: While this investigation has limitations, findings suggest that PABIR is beneficial for some persons with strokes.
Single-port laparoscopic surgery for sigmoid volvulus.

AIM To report our experience with single-port laparoscopic surgery (SPLS) for sigmoid volvulus (SV). METHODS Between October 2009 and April 2013, 10 patients underwent SPLS for SV. SPLS was performed transumbilically or through a predetermined stoma site. Conventional straight and rigid-type laparoscopic instruments were used. After intracorporeal, segmental resection of the affected sigmoid colon, the specimen was extracted through the single-incision site. Patient demographics and perioperative data were analyzed. RESULTS SPLS for SV was successful in all 10 patients (4, resection and primary anastomosis; 6, Hartmann's procedure). The median operative time and postoperative hospitalization period were 168 (range, 85-315) min and 6.5 (range, 4-29) d, respectively. No intraoperative complications were noted; there were 2 postoperative complications, including 1 anastomotic leak. CONCLUSION SPLS was a safe and feasible therapeutic approach for SV, when performed by a surgeon experienced in conventional laparoscopic surgery.
Bilingualism and Language Polic y as Key Fact ors for TESOL

This article examines bilingualism and its levels in terms of the extent of both languages’ use. The levels and various definitions of bilingualism are considered as important points of teaching strategy adoption. Special attention is given to the functional classification of bilingualism and its importance for L2 (the second language) teaching. Teaching methods and techniques are analyzed, namely the direct and bilingual methods which are regarded to be the crucial decision making factors for the modern second or foreign language teacher. The degree of positive impact on language acquisition created by the exclusive use of the TL (target language) in a language classroom, students and teachers’ motivation as well as teaching/learning effectiveness in direct and bilingual teaching approaches are also investigated. Language policy and language planning are examined as well, since they are regarded to be crucial factors influencing language situation in a particular country and setting priorities in language education.
Interrupting wild poliovirus transmission using oral poliovirus vaccine: Environmental surveillance in high‐risks area of India

Global eradication of poliomyelitis has reached critical stage. Sabin Oral Poliovirus Vaccine (OPV) has been successful in three major regions of the world. In India eradication of poliomyelitis from states of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar has been difficult due to high population and low‐socioeconomic standards of living. Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance and intensive OPV rounds continues with the World Health Organization (WHO) operational strategies. Yet apparent lack of progress in reducing the number of wild cases has resulted in occasional impatience and frustration, even leading to questions about ultimate feasibility of global eradication using OPV. Lucknow in UP is in geographical area endemic for poliomyelitis and is surrounded by high‐risk areas yet maintains a polio‐free status since 2002. Environmental surveillance study was conducted (2004–2006) to authenticate the decline in the wild poliovirus (PV) cases in Lucknow. Sewage sample analyses were compared with stools of AFP patients and healthy children from same geographical area. Study reveals useful information on OPV circulation and proves important epidemiological tool to trust WHO's OPV immunization program. Genetic sequencing had detected silent wild PV‐1 circulation of RCP1PGI (EU049849), RCP2PGI (EU049850), RCP3PGI (EU049851), and RCP4PGI (EU049852) in sewage waters. Properties of isolates from sewage reflected those of viruses excreted from human. This study provides valuable information and encouragement to AFP surveillance to maintain high levels of OPV immunization campaigns in the most difficult endemic region of India to interrupt the wild PV transmission. J. Med. Virol. 80:1477–1488, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Relative survival multistate Markov model

Prognostic studies often have to deal with two important challenges: (i) separating effects of predictions on different ‘competing’ events and (ii) uncertainty about cause of death. Multistate Markov models permit multivariable analyses of competing risks of, for example, mortality versus disease recurrence. On the other hand, relative survival methods help estimate disease‐specific mortality risks even in the absence of data on causes of death. In this paper, we propose a new Markov relative survival (MRS) model that attempts to combine these two methodologies. Our MRS model extends the existing multistate Markov piecewise constant intensities model to relative survival modeling. The intensity of transitions leading to death in the MRS model is modeled as the sum of an estimable excess hazard of mortality from the disease of interest and an ‘offset’ defined as the expected hazard of all‐cause ‘natural’ mortality obtained from relevant life‐tables. We evaluate the new MRS model through simulations, with a design based on registry‐based prognostic studies of colon cancer. Simulation results show almost unbiased estimates of prognostic factor effects for the MRS model. We also applied the new MRS model to reassess the role of prognostic factors for mortality in a study of colorectal cancer. The MRS model considerably reduces the bias observed with the conventional Markov model that does not permit accounting for unknown causes of death, especially if the ‘true’ effects of a prognostic factor on the two types of mortality differ substantially. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NUMBERS OF INTERNATIONAL TOURIST ARRIVALS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE ASEAN-8: PANEL DATA APPROACH

In an open economy, economic growth is not only supported by international trade but may also be supported through the development of tourism. We can use international tourist arrivals as one of indicators of international tourism. This study aimed to examine the factors that influence international tourist arrivals as well as to analyze the relationship between the number of international tourist arrivals and economic growth in the Southeast Asian regions. This study uses panel data regression to 8 ASEAN countries during the period of 2000 to 2012. The results showed that the variables that identified as the determinant of international tourist arrivals are GDP per capita, secondary education enrollment gross ratio, and life expectancy. Furthermore, the number of international tourist arrivals have a significant effect on economic growth in conform with tourism-led economic growth hypothesis (TLGH). This finding infers that tourism sector could be developed as an effort to increase economic growth. Keywords : International Tourism, Economic Growth, International Tourist Arrivals, TLGH, Panel Data Subject/Object of research: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR
Psychological Impact of Islet Cell Antibody Screening

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychological impact of autoantibody screening and its results on at-risk individuals and family members. Individuals who were antibody positive (AP) were identified through a large-scale screening program conducted at our institute. The sample consisted of nine families in whom 10 AP youngsters (7 M, 3 F) were identified, ranging in age from 6-18 years (mean 11.8, median 10 yr). Seventeen parents and eight diabetic youngsters (mean age 15.2, median 16 yr) participated in the study. Reaction to autoantibody positivity was assessed with the Impact of Event scale (IES). The IES was answered twice: within a week from the disclosure of the AP status, and 3 months later. Parents scored higher than their diabetic children and AP children on both measures of the IES, Intrusion and Avoidance. Three months later both scores were significantly reduced in both the parents and the AP children; however, parents still scored significantly higher on both scores than the AP children. The results suggest that learning one's AP status induces significant anxiety, especially in parents of AP youngsters. Although this initial anxiety dissipates over time it still remains quite high after 3 months. The results highlight the importance of psychosocial counseling for all members of diabetes mellitus screening and prevention trials.
Keep the Brain Cool—Endovascular Cooling in Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Case Series Study

BACKGROUND:As brain temperature is reported to be extensively higher than core body temperature in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients, posttraumatic hyperthermia is of particular relevance in the injured brain. OBJECTIVE:To study the influence of prophylactic normothermia on brain temperature and the temperature gradient between brain and core body in patients with severe TBI using an intravascular cooling system and to assess the relationship between brain temperature and intracranial pressure (ICP) under endovascular temperature control. METHODS:Prospective case series study conducted in the neurologic intensive care unit of a tertiary care university hospital. Seven patients with severe TBI with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 8 or less were consecutively enrolled. Prophylactic normothermia, defined as a target temperature of 36.5°C, was maintained using an intravascular cooling system. Simultaneous measurements of brain and urinary bladder temperature and ICP were taken over a 72-hour period. RESULTS:The mean bladder temperature in normothermic patients was 36.3 ± 0.4°C, and the mean brain temperature was determined as 36.4 ± 0.5°C. The mean temperature difference between brain and bladder was 0.1°C. We found a significant direct correlation between brain and bladder temperature (r = 0.95). In 52.4% of all measurements, brain temperature was higher than core body temperature. The mean ICP was 18 ± 8 mm Hg. CONCLUSION:Intravascular temperature management stabilizes both brain and body core temperature; prophylactic normothermia reduces the otherwise extreme increase of intracerebral temperature in patients with severe TBI. The intravascular cooling management proved to be an efficacious and feasible method to control brain temperature and to avoid hyperthermia in the injured brain. We could not find a statistically significant correlation between brain temperature and ICP.
Can We Trust Social Media Data? Social Network Manipulation by an IoT Botnet

The size of a social media account's audience -- in terms of followers or friends count -- is believed to be a good measure of its influence and popularity. To gain quick artificial popularity on online social networks (OSN), one can buy likes, follows and views, from social media fraud (SMF) services. SMF is the generation of likes, follows and views on OSN such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Using a research method that combines computer sciences and social sciences, this paper provides a deeper understanding of the illicit market for SMF. It conducts a market price analysis for SMF, describes the operations of a supplier -- an Internet of things (IoT) botnet performing SMF -- and provides a profile of the potential customers of such fraud. The paper explains how an IoT botnet conducts social network manipulation and illustrates that the fraud is driven by OSN users, mainly entertainers, small online shops and private users. It also illustrates that OSN strategy to suspend fake accounts only cleans the networks a posteriori of the fraud and does not deter the crime -- the botnet -- or the fraud -- SMF -- from happening. Several solutions to deter the fraud are provided.