bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Financial System Stability and Economic Growth in Nigeria
Authors: NJANG Isaac Ikeafe , OMINI Eko Eko , BEKUN Festus Victor , Adedoyin Festus Fatai 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
This study primarily seeks to evaluate the influence of financial system stability on economic growth in Nigeria from 1986 to 2016. Employing the use of Principal Component Analysis (PCA), this study constructs a Financial System Stability Index (FSSI) as measurement for financial stability. The indicators used in building the index capture three sectors of the Nigerian Financial System (NFS). The three sectors cover the banking sector, the capital market, the external sector and include a fourth component representing financial depth. The resulting index serves as a single qualitative measure for evaluating the level of stability in a nation’s financial system and proves capable of warning of an eminent financial crisis. Employing the use of four macroeconomic indicators, the index is then regressed against the Nigerian economic growth rate with an aim of discovering the short-run and long-run dynamics existing between both variables. The granger causality test, Johansson Co-integration test and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) are the estimation techniques employed in achieving the objectives of this research. The granger causality test revealed a uni-directional causality between financial stability and economic growth in Nigeria. The Johansson Co-integration test showed that long-run co-integration relationship exists between financial stability and economic growth. Finally, the VECM results find that financial stability displays a negative relationship with economic growth and bears no significant effect on economic growth in Nigeria. The findings disclose that financial stability in Nigeria may be high and has resulted in the underutilization of financial assets thus hampering sustainable economic growth in Nigeria. In conclusion, the outcome of the findings shows that while financial stability may be necessary for initiating economic growth, it is not sufficient for sustaining economic growth in Nigeria. This research work recommends that the FSSI be employed as an additional tool for measuring the condition/state of financial stability in Nigeria and in predicting the onset of a potential financial crisis. The study further recommends that financial authorities must give attention to other aspects of financial development to facilitate sustainable economic growth in Nigeria.
HiCoP, a simple and robust method for detecting interactions of regulatory regions
Authors: Zhang Yan , Li Zhaoqiang , Bian Shasha , Zhao Hao , Feng Delong , Chen Yanhong , Hou Yuhe , Liu Qifa , Hao Bingtao 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
Background: Chromatin physical interactions provides essential information for understanding the regulation of cis -elements like enhancers, promoters, and insulators in cell development and differentiation. The Hi-C assay is a technique detecting chromatin structures of the whole genome but not sensitive to interactions of regulatory elements. Several methods, like HiChIP, DNase-C, and OCEAN-C, have been developed for enriching interactions of regulatory regions, but all of them have some shortcomings. New simple, efficient, and robust methods are still in need of detecting interactions of regulatory regions. Results: We developed a new, simple, and robust assay called CoP ( Co lumn P urified chromatin) for profiling of open chromatin regions by directly purifying fragmentized crosslinked chromatin with a DNA purification column. The open chromatin regions, including active enhancers, promoters, and insulators, were significantly enriched in CoP chromatin. The CoP-seq assay can efficiently detect open chromatin regions, especially active promoters, with a high signal-to-noise ratio. We integrated the CoP-seq and Hi-C technique (Hi-CoP) for the detection of interactions of accessible chromatin regions, which represent active cis -regulatory elements in cells. We observed that the HiCoP captured the peaks in the promoters-associated enhancer regions, and the chromatin features identified by HiCoP were similar to HiChIP of histone H3K27 acetylation rather than Hi-C. HiCoP detected more promoter-enhancer (P-E), promoter-promoter (P-P), and enhancer-enhancer (E-E) interactions within 20kb-5Mb than Hi-C. Most of the loops identified by HiCoP were associated with the expressed genes. Conclusion: CoP assay can efficiently enrich open chromatin regions. When CoP assay was integrated with Hi-C assay, it provides a simple, robust, alternative technique for profiling accessible chromatin regions and chromatin conformation simultaneously.
Patient perceptions of Hepatitis C among those failing to pursue treatment: A qualitative study of barriers and facilitators to care
Authors: Sherbuk Jacqueline , Tabackman Alexa , McManus Kathleen A , Knick Terry , Flickinger Tabor E , Dillingham Rebecca 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
Background Most people diagnosed with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) have not linked to care. The patient perspective on decision-making regarding linkage to care (LTC) in the direct acting antivirals treatment era is limited. We assess perceptions that impacted the choice not to pursue care among non-urban patients in the South who failed to attend an HCV clinic appointment. Methods We conducted a demographic survey and semi-structured interview with participants referred to our HCV clinic between 2014 and 2018 who did not attend an appointment. Data collection and analyses were guided by the Health Belief Model. Results Twelve participants enrolled, including 7 men and 5 women. Barriers to care were common including being uninsured (33%), having unreliable transportation (42%), unstable housing (33%), and a history of substance use disorder requiring treatment (58%). Participants demonstrated good knowledge of HCV disease, complications, and treatment. Emerging themes regarding failure of LTC included: (1) ambivalence due to uncertainty regarding the impact of HCV on one’s own health, (2) logistical barriers such as financial concerns, lack of insurance, transportation, scheduling conflicts, (3) prior negative experiences with HCV care resulting in hesitance to seek care, (4) stigma, and (5) patient-provider relationships as a barrier when the relationship is poor and a facilitator when good. Conclusions A strong HCV knowledge base was not sufficient for participants to seek care. Strategies to increase treatment uptake by changing patient perceptions include addressing the uncertainty of how HCV impacts one’s health, acknowledging challenges with HCV treatment in the past, eliminating stigma in health care settings, and promoting education regarding treatment ease and availability. Expanding access to Medicaid may overcome perceived financial barriers. Providing HCV care in settings with an established patient-provider relationship may increase treatment uptake.
Medical cannabis use in the Australian community following introduction of legal access: The 2018-2019 Online Cross-Sectional Cannabis as Medicine Survey (CAMS-18)
Authors: Lintzeris Nicholas , Mills Llewellyn , Suraev Anastasia , Bravo Maria , Arkell Thomas , Arnold Jonathon C , Benson Melissa J , McGregor Iain S 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
Background : In 2016 the Australian federal government passed legislation enabling a range of cannabis-based products to be prescribed to patients by registered healthcare professionals. An online survey conducted immediately prior to these legislative changes found that the vast majority of respondents at the time were illicitly sourcing cannabis plant matter, smoking was the preferred route of administration, and mental health, chronic pain, and sleep conditions were the most frequently cited reasons for medical cannabis use. This manuscript reports the results of a follow-up survey conducted in 2018-2019, the Cannabis As Medicine Survey (CAMS-18). The goal of this second questionnaire was to examine patterns of use and consumer perspectives regarding medical cannabis use in Australia, two years after the introduction of legal access pathways. Methods : Anonymous online cross-sectional survey with convenience sample, recruited mainly through online media between September 2018 and March 2019. Participants were adults (18 years or over) residing in Australia who reported using a cannabis product for self-identified therapeutic reasons during the preceding 12 months. The survey measured consumer characteristics; indications and patterns of medical cannabis use; routes and frequency of administration; perceived benefits and harms; experiences and preferred models of access to medical cannabis. Results : Data were available for 1388 respondents. The main categories of condition being treated with medical cannabis were pain (36.4%), mental health (32.8%), sleep (9.2%), neurological (5.2%) and cancer (3.8%). Respondents reported using medical cannabis on 15.8 (11.2) days in the past 28, by inhaled (71.4%) or oral (26.5%) routes and spending AUD$82.27 ($101.27) per week. There were high levels of self-reported effectiveness, but also high rates of side effects. There was uncertainty regarding the composition of illicit cannabinoid products and concerns regarding their possible contamination. Few respondents (2.7%) had accessed legally prescribed medical cannabis, with the main perceived barriers being cost, dis-interest from the medical profession, and stigma regarding cannabis use. Conclusions : Chronic pain, mental health and sleep remain the main clinical conditions for which consumers report using medical cannabis. Despite two years of legal availability, most consumers in Australia reported accessing illicit cannabis products, with uncertainty regarding the quality or composition of cannabis products.
Developing a surface water resources allocation model under risk conditions with a multi-objective optimization approach
Authors: Aalami Mohammad Taghi , Nourani Vahid , Fazaeli Hamid 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
One of the major socioeconomic and global sustainability issues is water scarcity, which imperils human survival and regional development. The current study aims to develop a model for allocating water resources more efficiently and equitably. In this regard, a multi-objective programming approach was developed with the first objective of equality of water resource allocation to be maximized, and the second objective of risk to be minimized. The risk considered in this study was the economic efficiency loss risk. For the annual water allocation model, the fluctuation in available water within the river basin is the main source of uncertainty and can result in the corresponding risk of economic efficiency loss. Thus, it is essential to manage the economic efficiency loss risk resulting from uncertainty. To solve the model, the compromise programming (CP) method was used. A sustainability index was also employed to determine the objective function weights. The developed model was applied to the Givi River basin in Iran. From the results, it was found that using the sustainability index is a suitable strategy in the CP method for determining the objective function weights. The results showed that the proposed model can be helpful in water management to allocate water resources.
Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 is Regulated by LOX-1 and erk1/2 Pathway in Dental Peri-Implantitis
Authors: Zhang Qian , Xu Haitao , Bai Na , Tan Fei , Xu Huirong , Liu Jie 
Published: February 2020

Background and Objective:
Dental peri-implantitis, which can be caused by several different
microbial factors, is characterized by inflammatory lesions of the surrounding hard and soft tissues
of an oral implant. Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis
of peri-implantitis. However, the regulatory mechanism of MMP9 in peri-implantitis has not been fully
elucidated. In this study, we tried to evaluate the regulatory mechanism of MMP9 in peri-implantitis.

Methods:
We collected Peri-Implant Crevicular Fluid (PICF) from ten healthy implants and ten periimplantitis
patients and compared their expression level of MMP9. We also cultured macrophages from
the peripheral blood of healthy volunteers infected by Porphyromonas gingivalis to reveal the regulatory
mechanism of MMP9 in peri-implantitis. Western blot, immunofluorescence staining and quantitative
Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) were used to better characterize the mechanism of MMP9.

Results:
The expression of MMP9 was up-regulated in peri-implantitis patient PICF and P. gingivalis
infected human macrophages. LOX-1, not dectin-1, was found to mediate MMP9 expression in human
macrophages with P. gingivalis infection. Expression of Erk1/2 was responsible for infection-induced
MMP9 expression. Finally, use of a broad-spectrum metalloproteinase inhibitor impaired LOX-1 expression
in infected macrophages.

Conclusion:
Our results demonstrate that MMP9 is involved in dental peri-implantitis and is regulated
by LOX-1 and Erk1/2. This LOX-1/MMP9 signaling pathway may represent a potential drug target for
peri-implantitis.
UCAEE: Uniform Clustering Algorithm for Energy Efficiency in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Babber Karuna 
Published: February 2020

Background:
The advent of wireless sensor networks makes it possible to track the
events even in the remotest areas that too without human intervention. But severe resource constraints,
generally energy of sensor nodes push researchers worldwide to develop energy efficient
protocols in order to accomplish the application objectives of these networks.

Objective:
However, till date there is no energy efficient routing protocol which provides uniformity with maximum resource utilization for WSNs.

Methods:
In this paper, a Uniform Clustering Algorithm for Energy Efficiency in Wireless Sensor Networks (UCAEE) has been proposed. UCAEE is a base station controlled algorithm where entire sensing area is partitioned into uniform clusters. The motive of the algorithm is to split the sensing area into uniform clusters and to select cluster heads and gate-way nodes within each cluster so that the network energy can be balanced in a best possible way.

Results:
Simulation results indicate that proposed UCAEE algorithm conserves more energy than its contemporary clustering algorithms like LEACH, PEGASIS and SECA and promises better network lifetime of wireless sensor networks.

Conclusion:
UCAEE achieves minimum energy consumption during data transmission and reception.
Recent Patents on Thin Coal Seam Mining Equipment
Authors: Wang Yanxiang , Yang Daolong , Xing Bangsheng , Zhao Tingting , Sun Zhiyi , Huang Qianqian , Li Qian 
Published: February 2020

Background::
China's thin and extremely thin coal seam resources are widely distributed and
rich in reserves. These coal seams account for 20% of the recoverable reserves, with 9.83 billion tons of
industrial reserves and 6.15 billion tons of recoverable reserves.

Objective:
Due to the complex geological conditions of the thin coal seam, the plow mining method
cannot be effectively popularized, and the drum mining method is difficult to be popularized and applied
in small and medium-sized coal mines, so it is necessary to find other more advantageous alternative
mining methods.

Methods:
The equipment integrates mining operations, conveying operations, and supporting operations,
and is suitable for mining short and extremely thin coal seam with a height of 0.35m-0.8m and
width of 2m-20m. It has the advantages of the low body of the shearer, no additional support on the
working face, and small underground space. The mining efficiency of thin coal seam and very thin coal
seam can be improved and the mining cost can be reduced.

Results:
Thin coal seam shear mining combines mining, conveying, and supporting processes together
and has the advantages of a low fuselage, no extra support required for the working face, and feasibility
in a small underground space.

Conclusion:
The summarized mining method can improve the mining efficiency of thin and extremely
thin coal seams, reduce mining costs, and incorporate green mining practices, which take both mining
economy and safety into account.
A Systematic Review on Various Reversible Data Hiding Techniques in Digital Images
Authors: Vaish Ankita , Jayswal Shweta 
Published: February 2020

:
Nowadays, Internet has become essential for living and running businesses smoothly; it
has made things simpler like online transaction, online shopping, sharing images, videos, audios,
messages on social media, uploading some important information on Google drives, etc. So the
very first requirement is to secure and protect digital contents from any unauthorized access. Reversible
Data Hiding (RDH) is one of the ways to provide security in digital content, through which
useful information can be embedded in the digital content, and at the receiver’s end, the complete
recovery of cover media as well as the embedded message is possible. In this digital era, digital images
are most rapidly used for communication purposes; therefore, the security of digital images is
in high demand. RDH in digital images has gained a lot of interest during the last few decades. This
paper describes and investigates a systematic review on various RDH techniques for digital images,
which can be broadly classified into five categories: Lossless Compression Based, Histogram Modification
Based, Difference Expansion Based, Interpolation Based and Encrypted image Based
techniques.
Framing Policy Visions of Big Data in Emerging States
Authors: Mahrenbach Laura C. , Mayer Katja 
Published: February 2020

Background Emerging states, such as Brazil, India, and China (the BICs), have big plans for big data and digitalization. Research has identified distinct policy visions regarding how technological advances can facilitate economic development and improve governance.Analysis This article examines how BIC governments frame data-driven ambitions across the diverse issue areas in which governments plan to use big data, as well as how they frame the role(s) of the government and citizens in the era of big data.Conclusion and implications We find clear differences in discussions of big data across the BICs and across issue areas. Moreover, we show the societal changes that governments seek to effect using big data vary greatly in scope, with Brazil and India seeking more fundamental changes than China.
Shaping “Digital Futures” in Alberta: Community Engagement for Rural Broadband Development
Authors: McMahon Rob , McNally Michael , Joseph Kris 
Published: February 2020

Background Despite rich literature on rural and remote broadband and community networking initiatives in Canada, limited research is available on the sequencing, mechanisms, and processes of community engagement for this purpose. Analysis The authors use a case study of the Digital Futures initiative in Alberta, Canada—a biannual symposium that engages a range of public, private, and community stakeholders to discuss rural broadband—to illustrate the iterative formation and application of such mechanisms. Conclusion and implications The authors demonstrate how an engaged approach to communications research situated in the unique context of the involved community of practice—in this case, stakeholders involved in addressing broadband deployment and sustainability in Alberta—can help generate a cycle of research and praxis that reflects the normative goals of the scholarship of engagement.
Malocclusion and Hair Loss: An Intimate Relationship
Authors: Dye Brian CDT 
Published: February 2020

In the dental industry, it seem no one has entertained the thought that if a dislocated mandible, in a Class II Skeletal relation could occlude or block the blood flow in in the STA.* Therefore stopping or impeding blood flow to the vertex of the head and therefor causing balding. Taking into consideration that in a healthy Class I Skeletal relation the clearance between the base of the skull and the eminence of the condyle is only 3.5mm.Pic 1 Orthodontic experience tells us that mandibles 3.5mm retrognathic and more are very common. The intent of this paper is to expose the facts and evidence that show the Class II Skeletal mandible is the cause of balding by blocking blood flow through the S.T.A. Balding of vertex can be avoided. A large array of research has been, and continues to be conducted to determine the causative agent for hair loss. Traditionally such investigation has focused on a number of varying topics, including but not limited to chromosome composition, genotype, and subsequent phenotype expression. However, little or no investigation has been conducted to deduce what effect the skeletal relationship has upon the initial development of hair loss. Through a series of observational case studies, it is evident that there is a relationship between malocclusion and hair loss. Specifically, through analysis of dental records, cephalometric radiographs, and visual observation of patients, there appears to be a correlation between Class II Skeletal malocclusion and subsequent hair loss. Further investigation yields that vascular anatomical differences between different skeletal schemes is associated with the development of hair loss.
Keywords: Craniofacial Anomalies, Pediatric Dentistry, Orthodontics, Hair Loss, Baldness
Pengetahuan, sikap, dan perilaku pekerja hutan terhadap malaria di Desa Miing Kabupaten Tanah Bumbu
Authors: Meliyanie Gusti , Rahayu Nita , Kusumaningtyas Harninda 
Published: February 2020

Beberapa upaya yang dilakukan oleh Dinas Kesehatan Kabupaten Tanah Bumbu untuk menurunkan angka APIantara lain mass blood survey dan pengendalian malaria pada pekerja hutan di Kabupaten Tanah Bumbu. Pencegahan penyakit malaria yang telah dilakukan oleh pekerja hutan pada saat berada di lokasi belum diketahui secara jelas. Berdasarkan latar belakang tersebut mendorong peneliti untuk meneliti pengetahuan, sikap, dan perilaku terhadap malaria pada pekerja hutan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengetahuan, sikap, dan perilaku pekerja hutan terhadap malaria di Desa Miing Kecamatan Kusan Hulu Kabupaten Tanah Bumbu. Metode penelitian menggunakan kuantitatif desain potong lintang, jenis penelitian analitik, populasinya seluruh pekerja hutan. Sampel yang dianalisa adalah bersedia diwawancarai dan diambildarahnya untuk diperiksa parasit malaria. Penarikan sampel dilakukan secara purposive sampling dengan jumlah sampel 110 responden, sesuai dengan kriteria inklusi dan ekslusi. Hasil Mass Blood Survei dari 110 slide tidak ditemukan positif malaria. Karakteristik pekerja terdiri dari 84% laki-laki, 36% berusia 15-25 tahun, tidak bersekolah 52%. Hasil wawancara pengetahuan, sikap, dan perilaku responden yang berhasil di wawancara sebanyak 25 responden, karena sebagian besar responden tidak bersedia diwawancara, hanya bersedia diambil darahnya dengan alasan masih bekerja. Sebagian besar 84% tidak tahu penyebab malaria, 80% setuju penyakit malaria itu berbahaya, 80% memilih berobat sendiri dengan ramuan tradisional. Upaya pengendalian malaria telah dilakukan Dinas Kesehatan Kabupaten Tanah Bumbu melalui penemuan penderita secara dini dan pengobatan. Hasil Upaya lainnya untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan, sikap, dan perilaku pekerja tambang adalah dengan penyuluhan dan sosialisasi dan menjadikan ketua kelompok pekerja sebagai kader malaria.