The Incidence of Geography on Canada's Services Trade

We estimate geographic barriers to export trade in nine service categories for Canada's provinces from 1997 to 2007 using the structural gravity model. Constructed Home, Domestic and Foreign Bias indexes (the last two new) capture the direct plus indirect effect of services trade costs on intra-provincial, inter-provincial and international trade relative to their frictionless benchmarks. Barriers to services international trade are huge relative to inter-provincial trade and large relative to goods international trade. A novel test confirms the fit of structural gravity with services trade data.

Pengembangan Bahan Ajar Matakuliah Praktikum Pengelasan

Dalam pelaksanaan praktikum las mahasiswa diharapkan mampu mengusai cara penggunaan dan proses pengelasan logam dengan menggunakan peralatan mesin las asitelin dan las listrik. Praktikum Pengelasan (PMS 408) dilaksanakan pada semester 5 dengan bobot 3 SKS/6 JS . Dosen pengampu matakulaih praktikukm las saat ini menggunakan rujukan sangat beragam Padahal sampai saat ini belum ada bahan ajar yang baku untuk pegangan dosen pengampu mata kuliah praktikum las, maka peneliti perlu mengembangkan silabus, RPS, bahan ajar (modul) pembelajaran untuk mata kuliah praktikum las pada prodi S1 Pendidikan Teknik Mesin Universitas Negeri Malang. Tujuan penelitian untuk menghasilkan produk berupa bahan ajar (modul), job-sheet (lembar kerja) sebagai sarana pembelajaran matakuliah praktikum las untuk mahasiwa S1 Pendidikan Teknik Mesin. Model Penelitian dan pengembangan yang digunakan adalah model procedural R & D Gall dan Borg (1983).Teknik pengumpulan data yaitu instrumen berupa angket disertai dengan tanggapan berupa saran untuk keperluan revisi. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan dalam menganalisis data kuantitatif berupa skor angket penilaian untuk ahli media dan ahli materi dan kelompok kecil dengan menghitung persentase jawaban. Hasil pengembangan: dijabarkan berdasarkan uji coba dari ahli materi, ahli las dan mahasiswa. Data uji coba diperoleh dari satu orang ahli materi pembelajaran dan data uji coba materi juga diperoleh dari seorang ahli las diklat pekerjaan las dasar. Sedangkan untuk data uji coba mahasiswa, peneliti mengambil sampel 3 orang mahasiswa untuk uji coba perseorangan dan 20 mahasiswa untuk ujicoba lapangan. Hasil angket pengolahan data oleh ahli las (dosen) diperoleh hasil 89,28 dan ahli las (instruktur) 92,8 serta ahli teknologi pembelajaran 85,0 dan oleh kelompok kecil 80,8 dan uji coba lapangan 85,2 serta Berdasarkan kriteria kelayakan bahwa bahan ajar yang di-kembangkan dalam kriteria valid/layak sehingga dapat digunakan untuk kegiatan pembelajaran. Revisi produk pengembangan dilakukan perbaikan/penyempurnaan terhadap hal- hal yang kurang dalam hasil validasi data baik dari ahli media, ahli materi, maupun mahasiswa tentang produk yang divalidasikan sebagai dasar perevisian. Revisi dilakukan agar bahan ajar layak dimanfaatkan dalam proses pembelajara

Model of The 21st Century Vocational Teacher Competency Development

The development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) had changed our lives profoundly. The period known as the industrial revolution had forced various changes in all fields of knowledge. In facing the era of the industrial revolution 4.0, Human Resources development became an important factor. Human resources, mainly Vocational High Schools (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan/SMK) graduates were one of the spearheads to fulfil the needs of the industrial worlds. To achieve this goal, it was necessary to improve the quality of education. Teachers, as one of the main components in the process of increasing the quality of human resources, were required to be professionals in their fields and possess competencies according to the needs of the times. In efforts to improve the quality of the education field, developing teacher competency is a top priority. The purpose of this study is to examine the theories and models of teacher competencies and their development, especially vocational teachers. This study used a literature review method.  The initial study was conducted by examining and considering the results of previous research related to the competence of vocational teachers, then proceeded with the study of theories and models of teacher competencies and their development. The results of this literature review lead to a conceptual framework for the development of vocational teacher competencies. The conceptual framework offered can be used as a basis for reference and guidance for further studies conducted by researchers in the future

How Much Does Geography Deflect Services Trade?

Abstract We estimate geographic barriers to trade in nine service categories for Canada's provinces from 1997 to 2007 with novel high quality bilateral provincial trade data. The border directly reduces average provincial trade with the US relative to interprovincial trade to 2.4% of its borderless level. Incorporating multilateral resistance reduces foreign trade relative to interprovincial to 0.1% of its frictionless potential. Geography reduces services trade some 7 times more than goods trade overall. Surprisingly, intra-provincial (local) trade in services and goods is equally deflected upward, implying that the border increases interprovincial trade much more in services than goods. JEL Classification Codes: F13, F14, F1

Chronic hepatitis caused by persistent parvovirus B19 infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Human infection with parvovirus B19 may lead to a diverse spectrum of clinical manifestations, including benign erythema infectiosum in children, transient aplastic crisis in patients with haemolytic anaemia, and congenital hydrops foetalis. These different diseases represent direct consequences of the ability of parvovirus B19 to target the erythroid cell lineage. However, accumulating evidence suggests that this virus can also infect other cell types resulting in diverse clinical manifestations, of which the pathogenesis remains to be fully elucidated. This has prompted important questions regarding the tropism of the virus and its possible involvement in a broad range of infectious and autoimmune medical conditions.</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>Here, we present an unusual case of persistent parvovirus B19 infection as a cause of chronic hepatitis. This patient had persistent parvovirus B19 viraemia over a period of more than four years and displayed signs of chronic hepatitis evidenced by fluctuating elevated levels of ALAT and a liver biopsy demonstrating chronic hepatitis. Other known causes of hepatitis and liver damage were excluded. In addition, the patient was evaluated for immunodeficiency, since she had lymphopenia both prior to and following clearance of parvovirus B19 infection.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this case report, we describe the current knowledge on the natural history and pathogenesis of parvovirus B19 infection, and discuss the existing evidence of parvovirus B19 as a cause of acute and chronic hepatitis. We suggest that parvovirus B19 was the direct cause of this patient's chronic hepatitis, and that she had an idiopathic lymphopenia, which may have predisposed her to persistent infection, rather than bone marrow depression secondary to infection. In addition, we propose that her liver involvement may have represented a viral reservoir. Finally, we suggest that clinicians should be aware of parvovirus B19 as an unusual aetiology of chronic hepatitis, when other causes have been ruled out.</p

Effects of oral gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) administration on stress and sleep in humans: a systematic review

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-proteinogenic amino acid and is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain. GABA's stress-reducing, and sleep enhancing effects have been established. However, although several human clinical trials have been conducted, results regarding the role of natural and/or biosynthetic oral GABA intake on stress and sleep are mixed. We performed a systematic review to examine whether natural and/or biosynthetic oral GABA intake has an effect on stress and sleep. We systematically searched on PubMed database for studies published up to February 2020 following PRISMA guidelines. Only placebo-controlled human trials that assessed stress, sleep, and related psychophysiological outcomes as a response to natural GABA (i.e., GABA that is present naturally in foods) or biosynthetic GABA (i.e., GABA that is produced via fermentation) intake were included. Fourteen studies met the criteria and were included in the systematic review. Although more studies are needed before any inferences can be made about the efficacy of oral GABA consumption on stress and sleep, results show that there is limited evidence for stress and very limited evidence for sleep benefits of oral GABA intake

Familial hypercholesterolaemia in children and adolescents from 48 countries: a cross-sectional study

Background: Approximately 450 000 children are born with familial hypercholesterolaemia worldwide every year, yet only 2·1% of adults with familial hypercholesterolaemia were diagnosed before age 18 years via current diagnostic approaches, which are derived from observations in adults. We aimed to characterise children and adolescents with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH) and understand current approaches to the identification and management of familial hypercholesterolaemia to inform future public health strategies. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, we assessed children and adolescents younger than 18 years with a clinical or genetic diagnosis of HeFH at the time of entry into the Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Studies Collaboration (FHSC) registry between Oct 1, 2015, and Jan 31, 2021. Data in the registry were collected from 55 regional or national registries in 48 countries. Diagnoses relying on self-reported history of familial hypercholesterolaemia and suspected secondary hypercholesterolaemia were excluded from the registry; people with untreated LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) of at least 13·0 mmol/L were excluded from this study. Data were assessed overall and by WHO region, World Bank country income status, age, diagnostic criteria, and index-case status. The main outcome of this study was to assess current identification and management of children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia. Findings: Of 63 093 individuals in the FHSC registry, 11 848 (18·8%) were children or adolescents younger than 18 years with HeFH and were included in this study; 5756 (50·2%) of 11 476 included individuals were female and 5720 (49·8%) were male. Sex data were missing for 372 (3·1%) of 11 848 individuals. Median age at registry entry was 9·6 years (IQR 5·8-13·2). 10 099 (89·9%) of 11 235 included individuals had a final genetically confirmed diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia and 1136 (10·1%) had a clinical diagnosis. Genetically confirmed diagnosis data or clinical diagnosis data were missing for 613 (5·2%) of 11 848 individuals. Genetic diagnosis was more common in children and adolescents from high-income countries (9427 [92·4%] of 10 202) than in children and adolescents from non-high-income countries (199 [48·0%] of 415). 3414 (31·6%) of 10 804 children or adolescents were index cases. Familial-hypercholesterolaemia-related physical signs, cardiovascular risk factors, and cardiovascular disease were uncommon, but were more common in non-high-income countries. 7557 (72·4%) of 10 428 included children or adolescents were not taking lipid-lowering medication (LLM) and had a median LDL-C of 5·00 mmol/L (IQR 4·05-6·08). Compared with genetic diagnosis, the use of unadapted clinical criteria intended for use in adults and reliant on more extreme phenotypes could result in 50-75% of children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia not being identified. Interpretation: Clinical characteristics observed in adults with familial hypercholesterolaemia are uncommon in children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia, hence detection in this age group relies on measurement of LDL-C and genetic confirmation. Where genetic testing is unavailable, increased availability and use of LDL-C measurements in the first few years of life could help reduce the current gap between prevalence and detection, enabling increased use of combination LLM to reach recommended LDL-C targets early in life

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI &lt;18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For school&#x2;aged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI &lt;2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI &gt;2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesit