Education, employment and gender gap in MENA region

Education is central to human capital capacity‐building, and major determinant of economic development, as it has long been considered as an important investment both for social and economic development. The Middle East and North African countries have been aware of the importance of education therefore considered it as a key part of their strategies and future planning; enrollments at different levels of education have improved dramatically over the past few decades. This study is an empirical investigation to the impact of different level of education attainment on employment level, labor force participation rate and gender gap of employment. For that purpose the cross section time series or panel data set consisting of 15 countries – where the data is comparable -has been taken. Panel data regression analysis has been carried out to find out the magnitude and direction of relationship between dependent and independent variables. Further Hausman test of specification has been applied for the selection between fixed effect model and random effect model. The main finding of this study, that there is negative relationship between educational attainment and male labor participation rate, while it is positive in case of females labor force. The study found also that with the improvement of educational attainment there has been a decrease employment gender gap

ANALISIS PERBANDINGAN PERHITUNGAN PAJAK PENGHASILAN BADAN TERUTANG MENGGUNAKAN UNDANG – UNDANG NO. 36 TAHUN 2008 TENTANG PPh DAN PERATURAN PEMERINTAH NO. 23 TAHUN 2018 TENTANG TARIF PPh FINAL (Studi Kasus : PRIMKOPPOL Resor Ciamis)

Taxpayers often make mistakes in determining the tax burden payable which causeslosses for both the taxpayer and the government. The purpose of this study is todetermine the appropriate and beneficial tax provisions for cooperative businessentities in determining the income tax payable. The data obtained is sourced from theCooperative PHU Report for the 2020 Fiscal Year. The method of analysis carriedout is a comparative description analysis between the calculation of corporateincome tax using Law no. 36 of 2008 and Government Regulation no. 23 of 2018. Theresults of the study conclude that cooperatives are more profitable by usingGovernment Regulation no. 23 of 2018, because the tax burden borne by taxpayersis smaller than the calculation according to Law No. 36 of 2008, with the results ofthe discussion and analysis that the Ciamis Resort PRIMKOPPOL Cooperative hasa gross turnover of less than Rp4.8 billion in one financial year. And has fulfilled therequirements according to Government Regulation no. 23 of 2018

Listening to students' voices on inclusive teaching strategies in Chinese primary schools

Altres ajuts: The first author received financial support from China Scholarship Council (201708310219)Inclusive education has become a new global agenda in educational reform since Salamanca Statement in 1994. However, inclusion in education cannot be realized unless inclusive education teachers enable them to implement inclusive teaching strategies to meet all students' diverse needs. This study aims to analyze the pupil perspectives of inclusive teaching strategies in Chinese regular primary schools by designing a questionnaire. The questionnaire is developed and validated with satisfactory reliability and validity to collect quantitative data from the 730 students of three regular primary schools in Shenzhen City, one of the largest cities in China. The literature has summarized three dimensions regarding inclusive teaching strategies: 'values and attitudes,' 'management and environment,' and 'teaching and instruction'. The results show that these regular primary schools have inclusive values, and students have positive attitudes toward inclusive teaching strategies. Students think that sample schools have inclusive school management and environment concerning inclusive teaching strategies, and some inclusive teaching strategies are used, but others are not so often used in their classrooms. The findings are discussed, and implications for policy and research are presented

A Replica Inference Approach to Unsupervised Multi-Scale Image Segmentation

We apply a replica inference based Potts model method to unsupervised image segmentation on multiple scales. This approach was inspired by the statistical mechanics problem of "community detection" and its phase diagram. Specifically, the problem is cast as identifying tightly bound clusters ("communities" or "solutes") against a background or "solvent". Within our multiresolution approach, we compute information theory based correlations among multiple solutions ("replicas") of the same graph over a range of resolutions. Significant multiresolution structures are identified by replica correlations as manifest in information theory overlaps. With the aid of these correlations as well as thermodynamic measures, the phase diagram of the corresponding Potts model is analyzed both at zero and finite temperatures. Optimal parameters corresponding to a sensible unsupervised segmentation correspond to the "easy phase" of the Potts model. Our algorithm is fast and shown to be at least as accurate as the best algorithms to date and to be especially suited to the detection of camouflaged images.Comment: 26 pages, 22 figure

Transscleral cyclophotocoagulation followed by cataract surgery:a novel protocol to treat refractory acute primary angle closure

Background: To introduce a novel protocol to treat refractory acute primary angle closure (APAC): transscleral cyclophotocoagulation (TCP) followed by cataract surgery. Methods: Thirteen APAC eyes (13 patients) were enrolled in this prospective case series as study group. All patients underwent emergency TCP (20 pulses of 2000 mW during 2000 ms applied to the inferior quadrant) followed by scheduled cataract surgery. They were compared to 13 age- and gender-matched patients treated with emergency phacotrabeculectomy. We recorded intraocular pressure (IOP), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and complications, and several ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) parameters before and after TCP. Results: In the study group, IOP decreased from 51.5 +/- 7.0 mmHg (mean +/- standard deviation) before TCP to 16.4 +/- 5.4 mmHg 1 day after TCP (P <0.001). At 6 months, there was no significant difference in IOP between the study group (14.0 +/- 3.4 mmHg) and control group (16.7 +/- 4.3 mmHg;P = 0.090); IOP lowering medications were used by 0/13 in the study group and 2/13 patients in the control group (P = 0.48). At 6 months, there was no significant difference in BCVA between the study group and the control group (20/25 (20/200 to 20/25) and 20/30 (20/50 to 20/25), respectively;P = 1.0). The UBM parameters anterior chamber depth (P = 0.016), angle-opening distance at 500 mu m (P = 0.011), and maximum ciliary body thickness (P <0.001) increased significantly while the iris-ciliary process distance decreased significantly (P = 0.020) after TCP. Conclusions: TCP effectively lowers IOP and modifies the anterior chamber morphology in APAC; TCP followed by cataract surgery can be considered an alternative to treat refractory APAC but needs further evaluation

Visualization of positive and negative sense viral RNA for probing the mechanism of direct-acting antivirals against hepatitis C virus

RNA viruses are highly successful pathogens and are the causative agents for many important diseases. To fully understand the replication of these viruses it is necessary to address the roles of both positive-strand RNA ((+)RNA) and negative-strand RNA ((-)RNA), and their interplay with viral and host proteins. Here we used branched DNA (bDNA) fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to stain both the abundant (+)RNA and the far less abundant (-)RNA in both hepatitis C virus (HCV)- and Zika virus-infected cells, and combined these analyses with visualization of viral proteins through confocal imaging. We were able to phenotypically examine HCV-infected cells in the presence of uninfected cells and revealed the effect of direct-acting antivirals on HCV (+)RNA, (-)RNA, and protein, within hours of commencing treatment. Herein, we demonstrate that bDNA FISH is a powerful tool for the study of RNA viruses that can provide insights into drug efficacy and mechanism of action

Co-occurrence of chronic kidney disease and glaucoma:Epidemiology and etiological mechanisms

As the histology, physiology, and pathophysiology of eyes and kidneys show substantial overlap, it has been suggested that eye and kidney diseases, such as glaucoma and chronic kidney disease (CKD), may be closely interlinked. We review the relationship between CKD and various subtypes of glaucoma, including primary open-angle glaucoma, primary angle- closure glaucoma, normal tension glaucoma, pseudoexfoliation syndrome, and several glaucoma endophenotypes. We also discuss the underlying pathogenic mechanisms and common risk factors for CKD and glaucoma, including atherosclerosis, the renin-angiotensin system, genes and genetic polymorphisms, vitamin D deficiency, and erythropoietin. The prevalence of glaucoma appears elevated in CKD patients, and vice versa, and the literature points to many intriguing associations; however, the associations are not always confirmed, and sometimes apparently opposite observations are reported. Glaucoma and CKD are complex diseases, and their mutual influence is only partially understood

Testing linear hypotheses in high-dimensional regressions

For a multivariate linear model, Wilk's likelihood ratio test (LRT) constitutes one of the cornerstone tools. However, the computation of its quantiles under the null or the alternative requires complex analytic approximations and more importantly, these distributional approximations are feasible only for moderate dimension of the dependent variable, say $p\le 20$. On the other hand, assuming that the data dimension $p$ as well as the number $q$ of regression variables are fixed while the sample size $n$ grows, several asymptotic approximations are proposed in the literature for Wilk's \bLa including the widely used chi-square approximation. In this paper, we consider necessary modifications to Wilk's test in a high-dimensional context, specifically assuming a high data dimension $p$ and a large sample size $n$. Based on recent random matrix theory, the correction we propose to Wilk's test is asymptotically Gaussian under the null and simulations demonstrate that the corrected LRT has very satisfactory size and power, surely in the large $p$ and large $n$ context, but also for moderately large data dimensions like $p=30$ or $p=50$. As a byproduct, we give a reason explaining why the standard chi-square approximation fails for high-dimensional data. We also introduce a new procedure for the classical multiple sample significance test in MANOVA which is valid for high-dimensional data.Comment: Accepted 02/2012 for publication in "Statistics". 20 pages, 2 pages and 2 table

Inference of hidden structures in complex physical systems by multi-scale clustering

We survey the application of a relatively new branch of statistical physics--"community detection"-- to data mining. In particular, we focus on the diagnosis of materials and automated image segmentation. Community detection describes the quest of partitioning a complex system involving many elements into optimally decoupled subsets or communities of such elements. We review a multiresolution variant which is used to ascertain structures at different spatial and temporal scales. Significant patterns are obtained by examining the correlations between different independent solvers. Similar to other combinatorial optimization problems in the NP complexity class, community detection exhibits several phases. Typically, illuminating orders are revealed by choosing parameters that lead to extremal information theory correlations.Comment: 25 pages, 16 Figures; a review of earlier work

Self-Pillared, Single-Unit-Cell Sn-MFI Zeolite Nanosheets and Their Use for Glucose and Lactose Isomerization

Single-unit-cell Sn-MFI, with the detectable Sn uniformly distributed and exclusively located at framework sites, is reported for the first time. The direct, single-step, synthesis is based on repetitive branching caused by rotational intergrowths of single-unit-cell lamellae. The self-pillared, meso- and microporous zeolite is an active and selective catalyst for sugar isomerization. High yields for the conversion of glucose into fructose and lactose to lactulose are demonstrated