bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Oil Price Volatility, Exchange Rate Movements and Stock Market Reaction: The Nigerian Experience (1985-2017)
Authors: Ogbulu Onyemachi Maxwell 
Published: April 2020

Given the observed volatility in crude oil prices in the international oil market and the role which oil and gas play in the Nigerian economy, this paper is an attempt to investigate the impact of crude oil prices and foreign exchange rate movements on stock market prices in Nigeria. In addition, the paper examined whether there is any volatility pass-through between the dollar price of Nigerian crude oil, foreign exchange rate of the Naira and stock market prices respectively. Data employed for the study are monthly values of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI), Dollar price of Nigerian Crude Oil (DPO) and the Official Exchange Rate of the Naira to the US Dollar (FXR) from January, 1985 to August, 2017. The methodology adopted for the study include the ADF unit root tests, Johansen co-integration tests, the ECM technique, Granger causality tests, variance decomposition as well as the GARCH(1,1) to model the volatility relationships among the variables. Findings reveal that there is one long-run dynamic co-integrating relationship among the variables ASI, DPO and FXR while the ECM results indicate that Crude oil price (DPO) significantly impact on Stock market prices. The Granger causality test reports a bi-directional causality relationship between ASI and DPO and a unidirectional causality running from FXR to ASI. The ARCH-GARCH volatility analysis demonstrates vividly that stock market prices in the NSE exhibit ARCH effect with a significant and positive first order ARCH term. The GARCH term is also positive and significant indicating that previous month’s stock market price volatility significantly influences current stock market volatility in the NSE. In addition, findings show that the volatility of dollar price of Nigerian oil (DPO) in the world oil market is significantly transmitted to the volatility of stock market prices in Nigeria. The pass-through effect of the volatility of exchange rate (FXR) to the volatility of stock market prices is also positive and significant. These findings offer significant informational signal to policy makers, portfolio managers/advisors and the investing public in achieving optimal asset and portfolio profile.
An Islamic Perspective on Governance
Authors: Hassan Abul 
Published: April 2020

BOOK REVIEW
AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE ON GOVERNANCE, By Zafar Iqbal and Mervyn K. Lewis, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton, MA(USA): Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2009, Pp. xvi + 368. ISBN 978 1 84720 138 6
A Lagrangian analysis of upper-tropospheric anticyclones associated with heat waves in Europe
Authors: Zschenderlein Philipp , Pfahl Stephan , Wernli Heini , Fink Andreas H. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract. This study presents a Lagrangian analysis of upper-tropospheric anticyclones that are connected to surface heat waves in different European regions for the period 1979 to 2016. In order to elucidate the formation of these anticyclones and the role of diabatic processes, we trace air parcels backwards from the upper-tropospheric anticyclones and quantify the diabatic heating in these air parcels. Around 25 %–45 % of the air parcels are diabatically heated during the last 3 d prior to their arrival in the upper-tropospheric anticyclones, and this amount increases to 35 %–50 % for the last 7 d. The influence of diabatic heating is larger for heat-wave-related anticyclones in northern Europe and western Russia and smaller in southern Europe. Interestingly, the diabatic heating occurs in two geographically separated air streams; 3 d prior to arrival, one heating branch (remote branch) is located above the western North Atlantic, and the other heating branch (nearby branch) is located over northwestern Africa and Europe to the southwest of the target upper-tropospheric anticyclone. The diabatic heating in the remote branch is related to warm conveyor belts in North Atlantic cyclones upstream of the evolving upper-level ridge. In contrast, the nearby branch is diabatically heated by convection, as indicated by elevated mixed-layer convective available potential energy along the western side of the matured upper-level ridge. Most European regions are influenced by both branches, whereas western Russia is predominantly affected by the nearby branch. The remote branch predominantly affects the formation of the upper-tropospheric anticyclone, and therefore of the heat wave, whereas the nearby branch is more active during its maintenance. For long-lasting heat waves, the remote branch regenerates. The results from this study show that the dynamical processes leading to heat waves may be sensitive to small-scale microphysical and convective processes, whose accurate representation in models is thus supposed to be crucial for heat wave predictions on weather and climate timescales.
Een voorstel voor een basisinkomen voor ouderen
Authors: Verbon Harrie 
Published: April 2020

A proposal for a basic income system for the elderly
This paper lays out a proposal for a basic income system for the elderly. The proposed basic income allows elderly people to retire from the work place, or to keep on working (full time or part time). In the latter case employers are allowed to take part of the basic income into account in calculating the wages for their older workers. This characteristic makes employing older workers financially more attractive to employers. On the other hand, the basic income enables workers in physically and/or mentally challenging jobs, which are mostly low-paid jobs, to quit their job early. The effects on the government budget are calculated, based on different assumptions on the labour-participation effects of such a basic-income system. If the starting age of the basic income is 60 years and if the system incites older workers to increase their labour participation, introducing a basic income can have minor effects on the government budget. On the other hand, if the basic income has the same the labour-supply effects as the previous, but far more generous early-retirement schemes, the budgetary effects can be strongly negative. With a starting age of 65, however, positive budgetary effects can be obtained relatively easy.
Gezocht: grensoverschrijdende constructies!
Authors: Feenstra A.A. 
Published: April 2020

Gezocht: grensoverschrijdende constructies!
In deze Trending Topics worden de strafrechtelijke en boeterechtelijke consequenties besproken van een nieuw in te voeren meldplicht voor grensoverschrijdende constructies. Deze meldplicht vloeit voor uit de Mandatory Disclosure-Richtlijn en wordt uitgewerkt in het wetsvoorstel DAC6.
Establishing Rating Scales to Assess Writing Proficiency Development in Young Learners
Authors: Skar Gustaf Bernard , Jølle Lennart , Aasen Arne Johannes 
Published: April 2020

Writing assessment scales were developed to include functional aspects of writing proficiency in contemporary Norwegian teaching toolkits for Grades 1 to 3. This study aims to describe the process of developing empirically based, assessor-oriented writing proficiency scales and of investigating the quality of the scales. We focus on psychometric qualities, professional users’ perceptions of their quality, and the teachers’ use of the scales. Overall, the first piloted version of the scales showed indications of well-functioning scales. The results from this investigation show that it is possible to develop scales for the assessment of young children’s writing proficiency that capture the intended construct and provide a basis for reliable assessment. The investigation also found that users of the assessment tool found that it functioned well.
Keywords: writing assessment, writing development, rating scales, reliability
Upprätta bedömningsskalor för att utvärdera utvecklingen av skrivförmågan hos unga studenter
Sammanfattning
Denna artikel berör arbetet med att utveckla bedömningsskalor för bedömning av funktionell skrivförmåga i årskurs 1–3. Syftet med undersökningen var att dels beskriva arbetet med att skapa empiriskt baserade bedömar-orienterade skalor, dels att undersöka kvaliteten på dessa skalor. Det senare gjordes genom att studera skalorna psykometriska kvalitet, den kvalitet de uppfattades att ha samt lärares användning av skalorna. Sammantaget visade undersökningarna att skalorna fungerade väl, redan vid första utkast. Vidare indikerade resultaten att det var möjligt att konstruera skalor för bedömning av små barns skrivande som kunder generera reliabel bedömning samtidigt de fångade väsentliga aspekter av funktionellt skrivande. Undersökningarna indikerade också att användare av bedömningsverktygen generellt uppfattade dem som välfungerande.
Nyckelord: skrivbedömning, skrivutveckling, bedömningsskalor, reliabilitet
Synthesis and Properties of Fluorinated Polyimides from Rigid and Twisted Bis(Trifluoromethyl)Benzidine for Flexible Electronics
Authors: Dal Kim Sun , Byun Taejoon , Kim Jin , Sik Chung Im , Youl Kim Sang 
Published: April 2020

Fluorinated polyimides were prepared from the twisted benzidine monomer containing two trifluoromethyl (CF3) groups on one aromatic ring. The diamine monomer having a rigid and nonplanar structure was polymerized with typical dianhydride monomers including BPDA, BTDA, ODPA, 6-FDA, and PMDA, to obtain the corresponding polyimides. Most polyimides are soluble in organic solvents due to their twisted chain structure and can be solution cast into flexible and tough films. These films have a UV-vis absorption cut-off wavelength at 354–398 nm and a light transparency of 34–90% at a wavelength of 550 nm. They also have tensile strengths of 92–145 MPa and coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) of 6.8–63.1 ppm/°C. The polymers exhibited high thermal stability with 5% weight loss at temperatures ranging from 535 to 605°C in nitrogen and from 523 to 594°C in air, and high glass temperature (Tg) values in the range of 345–366°C. Interestingly, some of the soluble polyimides showed thermo-responsive behaviors in organic solvents presumably due to the multiple hydrogen bondings with unsymmetrically positioned two CF3 groups along the polymer chains.
Of Animal and Men: The Importance of Animal Environment to Antimicrobial Resistance: A One Health Approach
Authors: Moreira Soares de Souza Miliane , Marcos Rocha-de-Souza Cláudio , Araújo de Melo Dayanne , Couto da Motta Cássia , Loureiro Pimenta Ramon , da Silva Coelho Irene , de Mattos de Oliveira Coelho Shana 
Published: April 2020

The contribution of the animal environments to the worsening of the global antimicrobial resistance framework is related to the use of antimicrobials in subtherapeutic doses and, for long periods, establishing ideal conditions for the circulation of resistance genes, which can be transmitted to pathogens adapted to the human microbiota. The study of the animal environment as conducive to the acceleration of resistance evolution is an emerging and critical area for understanding the development and dissemination of resistance genes among the circulating bacteria. The connection between people, animals, and the environment allows us to consider antimicrobial resistance in an approach within the “One Health” concept, which provides a global strategy for expanding collaboration and interdisciplinary communication. This chapter will highlight the emergence of colistin resistance, a great challenge in antimicrobial resistance field. Also, it will focus on some agents included in the priority list of superbugs of the World Health Organization (WHO) or correlated species already identified in veterinary medicine, such as the critical superbugs; priority level 1, Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and ESBL-producing Carbapenemic-resistant Enterobacteriaceae; and the high-priority, level 2, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
A Review of Learning Effect in Perimetry
Authors: Chandrinos Aristeidis , Tzamouranis Dorotheos-Dimitrios 
Published: April 2020

Glaucoma is the second most common cause of visual impairment in the UK, with visual impairment registrations have increased by 22% since 2010. Glaucoma refers to a group of optic neuropathies leading to visual impairment and blindness. If glaucoma remains untreated, it may produce optic nerve damage, leading to vision loss. Consequently, visual field tests can be extremely valuable for glaucoma. At the same time, visual field assessment should be performed at baseline and periodically in the glaucoma follow-up or monitor the effectiveness of adopted therapeutic schemes. Any visual field test can be masked by one or more artefacts, which can either lead to the incorrect result of visual field loss or to the possible deterioration of existing loss. One of the most important factors is the perimetric learning effect that is present in almost all types of perimetry. To minimize the learning effect, we either have to conduct a practice test procedure, as a demonstration for the patient without collecting data, or to calculate and establish a learning index of the specific patient. By the establishment of such an index, assist the clinician in detecting possible masked or overestimated visual field defects or progression of glaucoma damage.
Conclusion: Potentially, the intense data collection at a large number of locations throughout the field in a larger cohort of subjects (visually healthy and glaucomatous) would be required for a better index establishment. The incorporation of fatigue also may be required to form a robust index enough to simulate procedures of glaucoma prognosis. The low signal to noise ratio associated with perimetric testing suggests that improvements will always be difficult to make.
Identification and characterization of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus Section Flavi by polyphase approach from Brazil nuts produced in agroforesty production system
Authors: Ribeiro Maria do Socorro Souza , Silva Silvia Helena Marques da , Silva Otniel Freitas- , Abreu Laura Figueiredo , Lima Consuelo Lúcia Sousa de 
Published: April 2020

Brazil nut is an Amazonian raw material with a fundamental role in the socioeconomic organization of the extractive areas of the Legal Amazon Brazil's largest socio-geographical division, composed of nine states are part of the Amazon basin. However, due to the precarious conditions of storage and processing, the nut is frequently subjected to contamination by aflatoxigenic fungi. These fungal species have high similarity, which makes it difficult to identify them only by traditional methods. This research had as objective the identification of a species of Aspergillus Flavi isolated from Brazil nut samples, through the polyphase approach. To identify the fungal isolate, macromorphological and micromorphological characterization techniques by microcultive in a slide were used; The molecular identification followed by sequencing compared the nucleotide sequences with the GenBank database, the aflatoxigenic potential of the strain was evaluated by HPLC. According to the results, the macromorphological and micromorphological analysis showed color characteristics and reproductive structures typical of the genus Aspergillus and the Flavi section. However, only from the results of molecular identification in which the strain showed 100% similarity with Aspergillus nomius and the metabolic production profile in which the species was producing the 4 types of aflatoxins (AFG2= 1177,23, AFG1 = 2458, 90, AFB2 = 860,23, AFB1 = 2370,06) it was possible to carry out the correct identification of the fungus as Aspergillus nomius. The combination of different techniques for identification of the strain Aspergillus section Flavi allowed a more accurate characterization. The identification of strain as Aspergillus nomius with aflatoxigenic potential in Brazil nuts confirms the affinity of these microorganisms for this substrate.
ELF AWARENESS FOR TEACHER EDUCATION IN ITALY: ATTITUDES AND ACTIONS
Authors: Grazzi Enrico , Lopriore Lucilla 
Published: April 2020

<span lang="EN-GB">The spread of English as the world's primary lingua franca (ELF) poses some challenging questions about the impact of ELF on English language teaching (ELT). The gap between the dominance of native-speaker oriented institutional curricula and the emergence of variable, context-bound forms of English in multilingual and multicultural communicative settings is plain to see, opening up an opportunity for researchers to explore new directions in which future studies might be heading in order to implement an ELF-aware pedagogic approach to English. The aim of this article is to analyse a selection of relevant data that have been collected through a teacher survey on the state of the art as regards ELT. The survey was administered in Italy (mainly at upper and lower secondary school level). In particular, the authors focus their attention on issues such as </span><span lang="EN-GB">learners’ errors, standard and non-standard English models, teachers’ attitudes and beliefs, the use of authentic materials, the encouragement of learners’ creativity, learner assessment and evaluation.</span><span lang="EN-GB"> This study, part of an Italian national research project, has been carried out by one of the three teams constituting the study group, the one from Roma Tre University, whose main objective is to take into consideration the changing scenario of Global Englishes and open new paths to revisit teachers', learners' and publishers' beliefs and offer possible perspectives about classroom practices, assessment and evaluation, and material development.</span>
Developmental regression and mitochondrial function in children with autism
Authors: Singh Kanwaljit , Singh Indrapal N. , Diggins Eileen , Connors Susan L. , Karim Mohammad A. , Lee David , Zimmerman Andrew W. , Frye Richard E. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractBackgroundDevelopmental regression (DR) occurs in about one‐third of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) yet it is poorly understood. Current evidence suggests that mitochondrial function in not normal in many children with ASD. However, the relationship between mitochondrial function and DR has not been well‐studied in ASD.MethodsThis cross‐sectional study of 32 children, 2 to 8 years old with ASD, with (n = 11) and without (n = 12) DR, and non‐ASD controls (n = 9) compared mitochondrial respiration and mtDNA damage and copy number between groups and their relation to standardized measures of ASD severity.ResultsIndividuals with ASD demonstrated lower ND1, ND4, and CYTB copy number (Ps < 0.01) as compared to controls. Children with ASD and DR had higher maximal oxygen consumption rate (Ps < 0.02), maximal respiratory capacity (P < 0.05), and reserve capacity (P = 0.01) than those with ASD without DR. Coupling Efficiency and Maximal Respiratory Capacity were associated with disruptive behaviors but these relationships were different for those with and without DR. Higher ND1 copy number was associated with better behavior.ConclusionsThis study suggests that individuals with ASD and DR may represent a unique metabolic endophenotype with distinct abnormalities in respiratory function that may put their mitochondria in a state of vulnerability. This may allow physiological stress to trigger mitochondrial decompensation as is seen clinically as DR. Since mitochondrial function was found to be related to ASD symptoms, the mitochondria could be a potential target for novel therapeutics. Additionally, identifying those with vulnerable mitochondrial before DR could result in prevention of ASD.
Unlocking the Potential of Organ‐on‐Chip Models through Pumpless and Tubeless Microfluidics
Authors: Delon Ludivine C. , Nilghaz Azadeh , Cheah Edward , Prestidge Clive , Thierry Benjamin 
Published: April 2020

AbstractMicrofluidic organs‐on‐chips are rapidly being developed toward eliminating the shortcomings of static in vitro models and better addressing basic and translational research questions. A critical aspect is the dynamic culture environment they provide. However, the associated inherent requirement for controlled fluid shear stress (FSS) and therefore the need for precise pumps limits their implementation. To address this issue, here a novel approach to manufacture pumpless and tubeless organs‐on‐chips is reported. It relies on the use of a hydrophilic thread to provide a driving force for the perfusion of the cell culture medium through constant evaporation in the controlled conditions of a cell incubator. Well‐defined and tuneable flow rates can be applied by adjusting the length and/or diameter of the thread. This approach for the preparation of an intestine‐on‐chip model based on the Caco‐2 cell line is validated. Five days culture under 0.02 dyn·cm−2 shear conditions yield monolayers similar to those prepared using a high‐precision peristaltic pump. A pumpless device can also be used to delineate the effect of FSS on the phenotype of adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial A549 cells. It is anticipated that the pumpless approach will facilitate and herefore increase the use of organs‐on‐chips models in the future.
Eye tracking as an objective measure of hyperphagia in children with Prader‐Willi syndrome
Authors: Key Alexandra P. , Zengin‐Bolatkale Hatun , Dimitropoulos Anastasia , Doernberg Ellen 
Published: April 2020

AbstractThis study examined sensitivity of eye tracking measures to hyperphagia severity in Prader‐Willi syndrome (PWS). Gaze data were collected in 57 children with PWS, age 3–11 years, and 47 typically developing peers at two study sites during free visual exploration of complex stimulus arrays that included images of food, animals, and household objects. Analysis of the number and duration of fixations as well as gaze perseverations revealed that food items are not exceptionally salient for children with PWS. Instead, increased attention to food in the context of other high‐interest items (e.g., animals) was associated with caregiver reports of more severe hyperphagia and more advanced nutritional phase. The study also provided preliminary evidence of possible genetic subtype and sex differences as well as demonstrated that multiple investigators in a wide range of settings can effectively implement the eye tracking protocol. The results indicate that gaze characteristics derived from eye tracking may be a promising objective marker of hyperphagia in PWS for use in research and clinical trials.
Efficient Gating of Ion Transport in Three‐Dimensional Metal–Organic Framework Sub‐Nanochannels with Confined Light‐Responsive Azobenzene Molecules
Authors: Qian Tianyue , Zhang Huacheng , Li Xingya , Hou Jue , Zhao Chen , Gu Qinfen , Wang Huanting 
Published: April 2020

Abstract1D nanochannels modified with responsive molecules are fabricated to replicate gating functionalities of biological ion channels, but gating effects are usually weak because small molecular gates cannot efficiently block the large channels in the closed states. Now, 3D metal–organic framework (MOF) sub‐nanochannels (SNCs) confined with azobenzene (AZO) molecules achieve efficient light‐gating functionalities. The 3D MOFSNCs consisting of a MOF UiO66 with ca. 9–12 Å cavities connected by ca. 6 Å triangular windows work as angstrom‐scale ion channels, while confined AZO within the MOF cavities function as light‐driven molecular gates to efficiently regulate the ion flux. The AZO‐MOFSNCs show good cyclic gating performance and high on–off ratios up to 17.8, an order of magnitude higher than ratios observed in conventional 1D AZO‐modified nanochannels (1.3–1.5). This work provides a strategy to develop highly efficient switchable ion channels based on 3D porous MOFs and small responsive molecules.