Corruption and Export Diversification: Is there a relationship?

Does corruption have an impact on export diversification? Despite a growing interest from the international community regarding the detrimental effects of corruption, the consequences it may have for export diversification remain largely unexplored. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate if there is a relationship between the two and, if so, to determine if certain groups of countries have relatively more to gain from combatting corruption. I conduct my empirical investigation using panel data covering the period 2002-2012 for 157 economies at different levels of development. The baseline regression is estimated with the Poisson-pseudo-maximum-likelihood estimator and several robustness controls using alternative measures of diversification and other estimators are performed. My results imply that corruption has a significant and negative impact on export diversification. Moreover, my findings indicate that the magnitude of the effect differs depending on the exporter’s level of income and that corruption may be especially detrimental in sub-Saharan Africa. However, these results are less robust. Finally, I also find empirical evidence supporting a non-linear relationship between corruption and diversification

Sources of Variability in Nanoparticle Uptake by Cells

Understanding how nano-sized objects are taken up by cells is important for applications within medicine (nanomedicine), as well as to avoid unforeseen hazard due to nanotechnology (nanosafety). Even within the same cell population, one typically observes a large cell-to-cell variability in nanoparticle uptake, raising the question of the underlying cause(s). Here we investigate cell-to-cell variability in polystyrene nanoparticle uptake by HeLa cells, with generalisations of the results to silica nanoparticles and liposomes, as well as to A549 and primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells. We show that uptake of nanoparticles is correlated with cell size within a cell population, thereby reproducing and generalising previous reports highlighting the role of cell size in nanoparticle uptake. By repeatedly isolating (using fluorescence-activated cell sorting) the cells that take up the most and least nanoparticles, respectively, and performing RNA sequencing on these cells separately, we examine the underlying gene expression that contributes to high and low polystyrene nanoparticle accumulation in HeLa cells. We can thereby show that cell size is not the sole driver of cell-to-cell variability, but that other cellular characteristics also play a role. In contrast to cell size, these characteristics are more specific to the object (nanoparticle or protein) being taken up, but are nevertheless highly heterogeneous, complicating their detailed identification. Overall, our results highlight the complexity underlying the cellular features that determine nanoparticle uptake propensity

Designs for Learning: A Research Approach

In this article, we present some core ideas underpinning research that takes a Designs for Learning (DFL) approach guided by theoretical considerations and choices, as well as by practitioners’ challenges and inquiries. These choices shape, and are shaped by, DFL’s research goals and motives, theoretical orientation, research objectives, questions, and practitioners’ participation and ethical considerations. Further, we present and discuss how DFL as a research approach compares to other design-oriented research strategies. Even if a DFL research approach shares several similarities with other approaches of inquiry, we argue that it remains primarily oriented towards knowledge areas that relate to understanding and developing learning and teaching – both in formal education and in informal settings such as museums

Game-based situation awareness training for child and adult cyclists

Safe cycling requires situation awareness (SA), which is the basis for recognizing and anticipating hazards. Children have poorer SA than adults, which may put them at risk. This study investigates whether cyclists’ SA can be trained with a video- based learning game. The effect of executive working memory on SA was also studied. Thirty-six children (9–10 years) and 22 adults (21–48 years) played the game. The game had 30 video clips filmed from a cyclist’s perspective. Each clip was suddenly masked and two or three locations were presented. The player’s task was to choose locations with a potential hazard and feedback was given for their answers. Working memory capacity (WMC) was tested with a counting span task. Children’s and adults’ performance improved while playing the game, which suggests that playing the game trains SA. Adults performed better than children, and they also glanced at hazards more while the video was playing. Children expectedly had a lower WMC than adults, but WMC did not predict performance within the groups. This indicates that SA does not depend on WMC when passively viewing videos.Peer reviewe

The Heterogeneity of Asthma Phenotypes in Children and Young Adults

Objective. Genetic heterogeneity and risk factor distribution was analyzed in two previously proposed asthma phenotypes. Method. A sample of 412 subjects was investigated at 7-8, 12-13, and 21-22 years of age with questionnaires, skin prick tests, and genetic analysis of IL-4 receptor (IL4R) single-nucleotide polymorphisms. The sample was subdivided in one group with no asthma, and two groups with asthma separated by age of onset of symptoms, namely, early onset asthma (EOA) and late onset asthma (LOA). Risk factors and IL4R markers were analyzed in respect to asthma phenotypes. Results. EOA and LOA groups were both associated with atopy and a maternal history of asthma. Female gender was more common in LOA, whereas childhood eczema, frequent colds in infancy, and a paternal history of asthma were more common in EOA. The AA genotype of rs2057768 and the GG genotype of rs1805010 were more common in LOA, whereas the GG genotype of rs2107356 was less common in EOA. Conclusion. Our data suggest that early and late onset asthma may be of different endotypes and genotypes

Building Digital 3D Learning Environments To Support the Teaching in Geosciences

Non peer reviewe

Renal function after liver transplantation : Real-world experience with basiliximab induction and delayed reduced-dose tacrolimus

Background: Routine use of delayed reduced-dose calcineurin-inhibitor treatment with induction immunosuppression in liver transplantation to minimize post-operative kidney injury is still scarce. im: To evaluate real-world experience of basiliximab induction with delayed reduced-dose tacrolimus. Methods: In a retrospective cohort study, kidney function was evaluated pre-and postoperatively by mea-sured glomerular filtration rate (mGFR). Adult patients undergoing liver transplantation between 20 0 0 and 2017 were divided into a conventional treatment group (immediate-introduction of tacrolimus, tar-get trough levels 10-15 ng/mL, and corticosteroids, n = 203) and a revised treatment group (basiliximab induction, reduced-dose tacrolimus, target through levels 5-8 ng/mL, delayed until day three, and my-cophenolate mofetil 20 0 0 mg/day, n = 343). Results: Mean mGFR was similar between groups at wait-listing (85.3 vs 84.1 ml/min/1.73m2, p = 0.60), but higher in the revised treatment group at 3 (56.8 vs 63.4 ml/min/1.73m2, p = 0.004) and 12 months post-transplant (60.9 vs 69.7 ml/min/1.73m2, p < 0.001); this difference remained after correcting for mul-tiple confounders and was independent of pre-transplant mGFR. In the revised treatment group, biopsy proven acute rejection rate was lower (38% vs. 21%, p < 0.001), and graft-survival better ( p = 0.01). Conclusion: Basiliximab induction with delayed reduced-dose tacrolimus is associated with less kidney injury when compared to standard-dose tacrolimus, without increased risk of rejection, graft loss or death. (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l.Peer reviewe

Association between arterial hypertension and liver outcomes using polygenic risk scores : a population-based study

Arterial hypertension (HTA) is associated with liver disease, but causality remains unclear. We investigated whether genetic predisposition to HTA is associated with liver disease in the population, and if antihypertensive medication modifies this association. Participants of the Finnish health-examination surveys, FINRISK 1992-2012 and Health 2000 (n = 33,770), were linked with national electronic healthcare registers for liver-related outcomes (K70-K77, C22.0) and with the drug reimbursement registry for new initiation of antihypertensive medication during follow-up. Genetic predisposition to HTA was defined by polygenic risk scores (PRSs). During a median 12.9-year follow-up (409,268.9 person-years), 441 liver-related outcomes occurred. In the fully-adjusted Cox-regression models, both measured systolic blood pressure and clinically defined HTA were associated with liver-related outcomes. PRSs for systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly associated with liver-related outcomes (HR/SD 1.19, 95% CI 1.01-1.24, and 1.12, 95% CI 1.01-1.25, respectively). In the highest quintile of the systolic blood pressure PRS, new initiation of antihypertensive medication was associated with reduced rates of liver-related outcomes (HR 0.55, 95% CI 0.31-0.97). HTA and a genetic predisposition for HTA are associated with liver-related outcomes in the population. New initiation of antihypertensive medication attenuates this association in persons with high genetic risk for HTA.Peer reviewe

Low uptake of silica nanoparticles in Caco-2 intestinal epithelial barriers

Cellular barriers, such as the skin, the lung epithelium or the intestinal epithelium, constitute one of the first obstacles facing nanomedicines or other nanoparticles entering organisms. It is thus important to assess the capacity of nanoparticles to enter and transport across such barriers. In this work, Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cells were used as a well-established model for the intestinal barrier, and the uptake, trafficking and translocation of model silica nanoparticles of different sizes were investigated using a combination of imaging, flow cytometry and transport studies. Compared to typical observations in standard cell lines commonly used for in vitro studies, silica nanoparticle uptake into well-developed Caco-2 cellular barriers was found to be very low. Instead, nanoparticle association to the apical outer membrane was substantial and these particles could easily be misinterpreted as internalised in the absence of imaging. Passage of nanoparticles through the barrier was very limited, suggesting that the low amount of internalised nanoparticles was due to reduced uptake into cells, rather than a considerable transport through them