Political Systems And Economic Development In Sub-Sahara: A Multivariate Time Series Analysis

Lipset’s definition (1959) of democracy was used to test the correlation between economic development and the adoption of democracy among countries. Individual country analysis was conducted, followed by regional analysis and a significant positive correlation coefficient of 0.5 was obtained.  This showed that as the level of economic development increases, the level of democracy equally increases in Sub-Sahara Africa.  One limitation of this study is that it is important to note that if this analysis is conducted on an individual country basis, such a causal relationship might not fully exist and, therefore caution should be taken when interpreting these empirical results

Ensemble learning for detecting gene-gene interactions in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has a high incident rate in both men and women and is affecting millions of people every year. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on CRC have successfully revealed common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with CRC risk. However, they can only explain a very limited fraction of the disease heritability. One reason may be the common uni-variable analyses in GWAS where genetic variants are examined one at a time. Given the complexity of cancers, the non-additive interaction effects among multiple genetic variants have a potential of explaining the missing heritability. In this study, we employed two powerful ensemble learning algorithms, random forests and gradient boosting machine (GBM), to search for SNPs that contribute to the disease risk through non-additive gene-gene interactions. We were able to find 44 possible susceptibility SNPs that were ranked most significant by both algorithms. Out of those 44 SNPs, 29 are in coding regions. The 29 genes include ARRDC5, DCC, ALK, and ITGA1, which have been found previously associated with CRC, and E2F3 and NID2, which are potentially related to CRC since they have known associations with other types of cancer. We performed pairwise and three-way interaction analysis on the 44 SNPs using information theoretical techniques and found 17 pairwise (p < 0.02) and 16 three-way (p ≤ 0.001) interactions among them. Moreover, functional enrichment analysis suggested 16 functional terms or biological pathways that may help us better understand the etiology of the disease

microRNA expression in the prefrontal cortex of individuals with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder

BACKGROUND: microRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNA molecules that are now thought to regulate the expression of many mRNAs. They have been implicated in the etiology of a variety of complex diseases, including Tourette's syndrome, Fragile × syndrome, and several types of cancer. RESULTS: We hypothesized that schizophrenia might be associated with altered miRNA profiles. To investigate this possibility we compared the expression of 264 human miRNAs from postmortem prefrontal cortex tissue of individuals with schizophrenia (n = 13) or schizoaffective disorder (n = 2) to tissue of 21 psychiatrically unaffected individuals using a custom miRNA microarray. Allowing a 5% false discovery rate, we found that 16 miRNAs were differentially expressed in prefrontal cortex of patient subjects, with 15 expressed at lower levels (fold change 0.63 to 0.89) and 1 at a higher level (fold change 1.77) than in the psychiatrically unaffected comparison subjects. The expression levels of 12 selected miRNAs were also determined by quantitative RT-PCR in our lab. For the eight miRNAs distinguished by being expressed at lower microarray levels in schizophrenia samples versus comparison samples, seven were also expressed at lower levels with quantitative RT-PCR. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to find altered miRNA profiles in postmortem prefrontal cortex from schizophrenia patients

A preliminary investigation into the restorative potential of public aquaria exhibits: a UK student-based study

peerreview_statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope. aims_and_scope_url: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=clar2

Dementia and Imagination: a mixed-methods protocol for arts and science research

ABSTRACT Introduction: Dementia and Imagination is a multidisciplinary research collaboration bringing together arts and science to address current evidence limitations around the benefits of visual art activities in dementia care. The research questions ask: Can art improve quality of life and well-being? If it does make a difference, how does it do this-and why? Does it have wider social and community benefits? Methods and analysis: This mixed-methods study recruits participants from residential care homes, National Health Service (NHS) wards and communities in England and Wales. A visual art intervention is developed and delivered as 1×2-hour weekly group session for 3 months in care and community settings to N=100 people living with dementia. Quantitative and qualitative data are collected at 3 time points to examine the impact on their quality of life, and the perceptions of those who care for them (N=100 family and professional carers). Repeated-measures systematic observations of well-being are obtained during the intervention (intervention vs control condition). The health economics component conducts a social return on investment evaluation of the intervention. Qualitative data are collected at 3 time points (n=35 carers/staff and n=35 people living with dementia) to explore changes in social connectedness. Self-reported outcomes of the intervention delivery are obtained (n=100). Focus groups with intervention participants (n=40) explore perceptions of impact. Social network analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from arts and healthcare professionals (N=100) examines changes in perceptions and practice. Ethics and dissemination: The study is approved by North Wales Research Ethics Committee-West. A range of activities will share the research findings, including international and national academic conferences, quarterly newsletters and the project website. Public engagement projects will target a broad range of stakeholders. Policy and practice summaries will be developed. The visual art intervention protocol will be developed as a freely available practitioners guide

Radiative neutron capture cross-section measurement of ge isotopes at n_TOF CERN facility and its importance for stellar nucleosynthesis

This manuscript summarizes the results of radiative neutron capture cross-section measurements on two stable germanium isotopes, 70Ge and 73Ge. Experiments were performed at the n_TOF facility at CERN via the time-of-flight technique, over a wide neutron energy range, for all stable germanium isotopes (70,72,73,74, and 76). Results for 70Ge [Phys. Rev. C 100, 045804 (2019)] and 73Ge [Phys. Lett. B 790, 458 (2019)] are already published. In the field of nuclear structure, such measurements allow to study excited levels close to the neutron binding energy and to obtain information on nuclear properties. In stellar nucleosynthesis research, neutron induced reactions on germanium are of importance for nucleosynthesis in the weak component of the slow neutron capture processes.Peer ReviewedArticle signat per 134 autors/autores: A. Gawlik, C. Lederer-Woods, J. Andrzejewski, J. Perkowski, U. Battino, P. Ferreira, F. Gunsing, S. Heinitz, M. Krtička, C. Massimi, F. Mingrone, R. Reifarth, A. Tattersall, S. Valenta, C. Weiss, O. Aberle, L. Audouin, M. Bacak, J. Balibrea, M. Barbagallo, S. Barros, V. Bécares, F. Bečvář, C. Beinrucker, E. Berthoumieux, J. Billowes, D. Bosnar, M. Brugger, M. Caamaño, F. Calviño, M. Calviani, D. Cano-Ott, R. Cardella, A. Casanovas, D.M. Castelluccio, F. Cerutti, Y.H. Chen, E. Chiaveri, N. Colonna, G. Cortés, M.A. Cortés-Giraldo, L. Cosentino, L.A. Damone, M. Diakaki, M. Dietz, C. Domingo-Pardo, R. Dressler, E. Dupont, I. Durán, B. Fernández-Domínguez, A. Ferrari, P. Finocchiaro, V. Furman, K. Göbel, A.R. García, T. Glodariu, I.F. Gonçalves, E. González-Romero, A. Goverdovski, E. Griesmayer, C. Guerrero, H. Harada, T. Heftrich, J. Heyse, D.G. Jenkins, E. Jericha, F. Käppeler, Y. Kadi, T. Katabuchi, P. Kavrigin, V. Ketlerov, V. Khryachkov, A. Kimura, N. Kivel, I. Knapova, M. Kokkoris, E. Leal-Cidoncha, H. Leeb, J. Lerendegui-Marco, S. Lo Meo, S.J. Lonsdale, R. Losito, D. Macina, T. Martínez, P. Mastinu, M. Mastromarco, F. Matteucci, E.A. Maugeri, E. Mendoza, A. Mengoni, P.M. Milazzo, M. Mirea, S. Montesano, A. Musumarra, R. Nolte, A. Oprea, N. Patronis, A. Pavlik, J.I. Porras, J. Praena, J.M. Quesada, K. Rajeev, T. Rauscher, A. Riego-Perez, P.C. Rout, C. Rubbia, J.A. Ryan, M. Sabaté-Gilarte, A. Saxena, P. Schillebeeckx, S. Schmidt, D. Schumann, P. Sedyshev, A.G. Smith, A. Stamatopoulos, G. Tagliente, J.L. Tain, A. Tarifeño-Saldivia, L. Tassan-Got, A. Tsinganis, G. Vannini, V. Variale, P. Vaz, A. Ventura, V. Vlachoudis, R. Vlastou, A. Wallner, S. Warren, M. Weigand, C. Wolf, P.J. Woods, T. Wright, P. ŽugecObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::7 - Energia Assequible i No ContaminantPostprint (author's final draft

74 Ge(n, ¿) cross section below 70 keV measured at n_TOF CERN

The version of record os available online at:https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-022-00878-5Neutron capture reaction cross sections on 74Ge are of importance to determine 74Ge production during the astrophysical slow neutron capture process. We present new resonancedataon74Ge(n,¿)reactionsbelow70keVneutron energy. We calculate Maxwellian averaged cross sections, combining our data below 70 keV with evaluated cross sections at higher neutron energies. Our stellar cross sections are in agreement with a previous activation measurement performed at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe by Marganiec et al., once their data has been re-normalised to account for an update in the reference cross section used in that experimentPeer ReviewedArticle escrit per 123 autors/autores C. Lederer-Woods, O. Aberle, J. Andrzejewski, L. Audouin, V. Bécares, M. Bacak, J. Balibrea, M. Barbagallo, S. Barros, U. Battino, F. Bečvář, C. Beinrucker, E. Berthoumieux, J. Billowes, D. Bosnar, M. Brugger, M. Caamaño, F. Calviño, M. Calviani, D. Cano-Ott, R. Cardella, A. Casanovas, D. M. Castelluccio, F. Cerutti, Y. H. Chen, E. Chiaveri, N. Colonna, G. Cortés, M. A. Cortés-Giraldo, L. Cosentino, L. A. Damone, M. Diakaki, C. Domingo-Pardo, R. Dressler, E. Dupont, I. Durán, B. Fernández-Domínguez, A. Ferrari, P. Ferreira, P. Finocchiaro, V. Furman, K. Göbel, A. R. García, A. Gawlik-Ramięga, T. Glodariu, I. F. Gonçalves, E. González-Romero, A. Goverdovski, E. Griesmayer, C. Guerrero, F. Gunsing, H. Harada, T. Heftrich, S. Heinitz, J. Heyse, D. G. Jenkins, E. Jericha, F. Käppeler, Y. Kadi, T. Katabuchi, P. Kavrigin, V. Ketlerov, V. Khryachkov, A. Kimura, N. Kivel, M. Kokkoris, M. Krtička, E. Leal-Cidoncha, H. Leeb, J. Lerendegui-Marco, S. Lo Meo, S. J. Lonsdale, R. Losito, D. Macina, J. Marganiec, T. Martínez, C. Massimi, P. Mastinu, M. Mastromarco, F. Matteucci, E. A. Maugeri, E. Mendoza, A. Mengoni, P. M. Milazzo, F. Mingrone, M. Mirea, S. Montesano, A. Musumarra, R. Nolte, A. Oprea, N. Patronis, A. Pavlik, J. Perkowski, I. Porras, J. Praena, J. M. Quesada, K. Rajeev, T. Rauscher, R. Reifarth, A. Riego-Perez, P. C. Rout, C. Rubbia, J. A. Ryan, M. Sabaté-Gilarte, A. Saxena, P. Schillebeeckx, S. Schmidt, D. Schumann, P. Sedyshev, A. G. Smith, A. Stamatopoulos, G. Tagliente, J. L. Tain, A. Tarifeño-Saldivia, L. Tassan-Got, A. Tsinganis, S. Valenta, G. Vannini, V. Variale, P. Vaz, A. Ventura, V. Vlachoudis, R. Vlastou, A. Wallner, S. Warren, M. Weigand, C. Weiss, C. Wolf, P. J. Woods, T. Wright, P. ŽugecPostprint (published version

An Individualized Risk Calculator for Research in Prodromal Psychosis

About 20–35% of individuals aged 12–30 years who meet criteria for a prodromal risk syndrome convert to psychosis within two years. However, this estimate ignores the fact that clinical high-risk (CHR) cases vary considerably in risk. Here we sought to create a risk calculator that can ascertain the probability of conversion to psychosis in individual patients based on profiles of risk indicators. The high risk category predicted by this calculator can inform research criteria going forward

Nongenetic Determinants of Risk for Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer

Background: Incidence of early-onset (younger than 50 years of age) colorectal cancer (CRC) is increasing in many countries. Thus, elucidating the role of traditional CRC risk factors in early-onset CRC is a high priority. We sought to determine whether risk factors associated with late-onset CRC were also linked to early-onset CRC and whether association patterns differed by anatomic subsite. Methods: Using data pooled from 13 population-based studies, we studied 3767 CRC cases and 4049 controls aged younger than 50 years and 23 437 CRC cases and 35 311 controls aged 50 years and older. Using multivariable and multinomial logistic regression, we estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the association between risk factors and early-onset CRC and by anatomic subsite. Results: Early-onset CRC was associated with not regularly using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.21 to 1.68), greater red meat intake (OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.16), lower educational attainment (OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.16), alcohol abstinence (OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.08 to 1.39), and heavier alcohol use (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.50). No factors exhibited a greater excess in early-onset compared with late-onset CRC. Evaluating risks by anatomic subsite, we found that lower total fiber intake was linked more strongly to rectal (OR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.14 to 1.48) than colon cancer (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.27; P = .04). Conclusion: In this large study, we identified several nongenetic risk factors associated with early-onset CRC, providing a basis for targeted identification of those most at risk, which is imperative in mitigating the rising burden of this disease