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FDI-growth and trade-growth relationships during crises: evidence from Bangladesh
No full textThis study examines foreign direct investment (FDI)-growth and trade-growth relationships in Bangladesh during three major crises: the economic crisis of 2007–2008, the commodity crisis of 2016, and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020. The augmented autoregressive distributed lag (AARDL) bounds testing approach and Bayer and Hanck cointegration are employed on time-series data spanning the period 1974–2020. The results suggest that exports have positive effects on economic growth, while imports have insignificant effects in both the short run and long run. Total trade (the sum of exports and imports) has a positive but weakly significant effect on economic growth only in the long run, whereas FDI exhibits a positive effect in both the short run and long run. Although the crises are not found to affect economic growth directly or through trade (i.e., no dampening effect on trade-led growth), they are found to distort FDI-led growth in both the short run and long run. As robustness tests for long-run elasticities, the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) cointegration techniques are implemented, yielding results similar to those obtained with the AARDL
Human milk composition and infant anthropometrics: overview of a systematic review with clinical and research implications
No full textBackground
Despite global public health organizations endorsing breastfeeding or human milk (HM) as the optimal source of nutrition for infants, detailed knowledge of how HM composition influences infant growth is lacking. In this commentary we summarize and interpret the key findings of a large systematic review on HM components and child growth (N = 141 articles included). We highlight the most consistent associations, discuss study quality issues, explore socio-economic and time trends in this body of research, and identify gaps and future research directions.
Key Findings of Systematic Review
We grouped HM components into three categories: micronutrients (28 articles), macronutrients (57 articles), and bioactives (75 articles). Overall, we struggled to find consistent associations between HM components and infant growth. The majority of studies (85%) were of moderate or low-quality, with inconsistent HM collection and analysis strategies being identified as the most substantial quality concerns. Additional quality issues included failing to account for potential confounding by factors such as breastfeeding exclusivity and maternal body mass index.
Considerations for Future Human Milk Research
Many opportunities exist for the future of HM research. Using untargeted metabolomics will expand our understanding of HM components beyond previously defined and well-understood components. Machine learning will allow researchers to investigate HM as an integrated system, rather than a collection of individual components. Future research on HM composition should incorporate evidence-based HM sampling strategies to encompass circadian variation as well as infant consumption. Additionally, researchers need to focus on developing high quality growth data using consistent growth metrics and definitions. Building multidisciplinary research teams will help to ensure that outcomes are meaningful and clinically relevant.
Conclusion
Despite a large body of literature, there is limited quality evidence on the relationship between HM composition and infant growth. Future research should engage in more accurate collection of breastfeeding data, use standardized HM collection strategies and employ assays that are validated for HM. By systematically evaluating the existing literature and identifying gaps in existing research methods and practice, we hope to inspire standardized methods and reporting guidelines to support robust strategies for examining relationships between HM composition and child growth
Displacement, velocity, acceleration, and energy of a dynamical system derived from a damped harmonic oscillator extracted from video frames
No full textThis dissertation reflects applying external forces to a harmonic oscillatory system based on the digital-image-based harmonic oscillator equation. This leads to solving partial differential equations (PDEs) since we consider video frame picture elements fr(x, y) in each equation. By solving each equation subject to an external applied force, we can extract motion waveforms from video frames (fr’s) showing a moving object with sinusoidal
oscillations about an equilibrium point (e.g., up and down movements of a biker in motion). A frame fr waveform emanates from a harmonic oscillator. After solving the PDE equation which results video frame pixels fr(x, y), we can compute other quantities including velocity, acceleration, and energy of the harmonic oscillator system. In fact, role of fr(x, y) in the digital-image-based harmonic oscillator equation that is the equation of motion of the oscillator is identical to the displacement of the system. As a result, the main component to computing the quantities of the oscillator is fr(x, y). By taking the derivatives of fr(x, y), we obtain the velocity, acceleration, and energy of the system and then investigate their features. A specific focus belongs to the energy of the oscillatory system. The main reason for this concentration is that the fluctuations in energy suggest a varying distribution of forces across the image. Higher energy regions likely represent important features of the object in the digital image, such as fluctuating edges, textures, and so on.February 202
The impact of COVID-19 health measures on the utilization of antipsychotics in schizophrenia in Manitoba – a population-based study using administrative data
No full textBackground: During the COVID-19 pandemic, measures were implemented to stabilize access to drugs, yet it is unknown whether those with chronic medical conditions were able to sufficiently access their medications. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of COVID-19-induced health measures on antipsychotic utility during the pandemic (in 2020 and 2021) compared to the expected trend. This was achieved through three objectives: (1) to describe the overall and individual incidence and prevalence of antipsychotics, (2) to describe the incidence and prevalence of first generation and atypical antipsychotics and (3) to describe the incidence and prevalence of oral and injectable antipsychotics.
Methods: In this repeated cross-sectional study, I used dispensed prescription drug data in Manitobans with schizophrenia. The incident and prevalent dispensation of antipsychotics in schizophrenia was assessed at two time periods (1: April-June 2020, 2: April-June 2021) and were compared with the expected trend from the previous 5 years. I stratified the primary objective results by age categories and sex.
Results: The population with schizophrenia in the first fiscal quarter (April-June) of the corresponding year ranged over the study from 8,196 (2015) to 9,166 (2021). At both time points studied, the prevalent use of antipsychotics remained stable (2020: estimate: -1.7, standard error (SE): 4.3, p = 0.6 and 2021: estimate: 4, SE: 4.3, p = 0.3). Those 65-79 years old showed a significant drop in prevalent antipsychotics in the early stages of the pandemic. In the early stages of the pandemic, the incident use of antipsychotics was reduced (estimate: -1.3, SE: 0.5, p = 0.01), although this effect was no longer significant upon extending the data to include one year later (p=0.7). We noted a significant rise in the atypical antipsychotics and risperidone incident use in April-June 2021. All other findings were non-significant.
Conclusions: The present study highlights the need for further considerations for those newly diagnosed with schizophrenia as well as elderlies during the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics regarding access to antipsychotic medications among users of antipsychotics with schizophrenia.February 202
Quantification of movement of Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Laemophloeidae) adults in one-dimensional columns under different storage conditions in stored wheat
No full textGrain storage is a complex ecological system influenced by various factors, demanding a nuanced understanding of effective management. This research addresses knowledge gaps in insect movement within grain columns, crucial for refining storage strategies, particularly regarding one of the economically impactful pests, the rusty grain beetle (Cryptolestes ferrugineus), infesting stored wheat in the Northern United States and Canada.
The study analyzed the temperature and moisture response of C. ferrugineus adults in 1- and 2-m wheat columns, revealing a diminished response with increased column length. Subsequent experiments focus on the insects' sensitivity to small temperature (0 to 6°C) and moisture (1 percentage point) differences. Results indicated that the insects could detect a 1°C temperature difference and a 1 percentage point moisture difference within 0.5 m in 24 h. The study extended to (i) additional moisture responses, exploring the impact of 3 or 5 percentage-point differences in wheat moisture content over various movement periods and column lengths. Moisture responses were effective up to approximately 0.25 m; and (ii) to additional temperature responses, exploring the impact of 1 to 20°C temperature differences in 12.5% moisture content wheat over various movement periods and column lengths. Temperature responses were effective up to approximately 0.45 m.
Further investigations examined synergistic and antagonistic effects of nonlinear temperature and moisture differences on insect movement. The study confirmed adult responses to both conditions and employed mathematical modeling to calculate diffusivity and bias movement velocity, dependent on temperature, moisture, column length, and movement period. Findings highlighted the direct proportionality of diffusivity to temperature difference and its inverse relationship with moisture difference, column length, and movement period. Bias movement velocity notably decreased in longer columns under various temperature differences.
The study underscores that insect movement is influenced not only by temperature and moisture differences but also by storage structure dimensions. Insights gained could contribute to the three-dimensional modeling of insect movement, aid in the design of insect monitoring tools, and guide decisions on sampling frequency and locations. Overall, this research advanced our understanding of the intricate dynamics within grain storage systems, facilitating the development of more effective stored grain management practices.University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship,
Canada Foundation for Innovation,
Manitoba Research Innovation Fund, and several other partners for creating research infrastructure.May 202
Prognostic value of near-infrared spectroscopy regional oxygen saturation and cerebrovascular reactivity index in acute traumatic neural injury: a CAnadian High-Resolution Traumatic Brain Injury (CAHR-TBI) Cohort Study
Get PDFBackground
Near-infrared spectroscopy regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) has gained interest as a raw parameter and as a basis for measuring cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) due to its noninvasive nature and high spatial resolution. However, the prognostic utility of these parameters has not yet been determined. This study aimed to identify threshold values of rSO2 and rSO2-based CVR at which outcomes worsened following traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Methods
A retrospective multi-institutional cohort study was performed. The cohort included TBI patients treated in four adult intensive care units (ICU). The cerebral oxygen indices, COx (using rSO2 and cerebral perfusion pressure) as well as COx_a (using rSO2 and arterial blood pressure) were calculated for each patient. Grand mean thresholds along with exposure-based thresholds were determined utilizing sequential chi-squared analysis and univariate logistic regression, respectively.
Results
In the cohort of 129 patients, there was no identifiable threshold for raw rSO2 at which outcomes were found to worsen. For both COx and COx_a, an optimal grand mean threshold value of 0.2 was identified for both survival and favorable outcomes, while percent time above − 0.05 was uniformly found to have the best discriminative value.
Conclusions
In this multi-institutional cohort study, raw rSO2was found to contain no significant prognostic information. However, rSO2-based indices of CVR, COx and COx_a, were found to have a uniform grand mean threshold of 0.2 and exposure-based threshold of − 0.05, above which clinical outcomes markedly worsened. This study lays the groundwork to transition to less invasive means of continuously measuring CVR
The impact of dual-language representation on reading development in bilingual children
Get PDFWhen reading, words are broken down into morphological components that involve meaning and letter-order information; These are activated in two languages in bilinguals. These dual representations facilitate reading in bilinguals proficient in both languages, with efficient cross-language activation and morphological processing. This dual activation may be detrimental in bilinguals with low-to-intermediate second-language (L2) proficiency, as overlap and interactions between strong- and weak-language representations of morphological components may inhibit lexical access. This study investigated how dual-language representation impacts access to morphological information during reading, and whether bilingual proficiency can mediate effects. Grade 6 monolingual (N = 26), high-proficient (HP; N = 11) and low-proficient (LP; N = 9) bilingual children participated. Standardized reading and L2 vocabulary measures were followed by a primed lexical decision task in English. Prime-target pairs were semantically related (e.g., walker-WALK), orthographically related (e.g., corner-CORN), or unrelated. Event related potential (ERP) and response time (RT) data were analyzed, focusing on how strength of dual language proficiency can impact reading in bilinguals. Comparisons between bilinguals and monolinguals were also examined. RTs and ERP N400 waveforms involving semantic processing were facilitated by semantically related primes for monolinguals. LP bilinguals performed like HP bilinguals, but with ERP N250 orthographic-prime facilitation. HP bilinguals relied more on orthographic information, with reduced primacy of semantic information in word identification. Results support interactive activation accounts of bilingualism, demonstrating that morpho-syntactic and -orthographic activation presents differently in bilinguals of varying L2 proficiency and in monolinguals; possibly driven by the quality of dual language representations.Research Manitoba
Fondation Baxter et Alma RicardOctober 202
Corporate agricultural production, smallholder farming, and the sustainability of food systems in Ghana
No full textIn Ghana, smallholder farmers are at the forefront of domestic food production. This study examined how the introduction of corporate large-scale rice production (specifically the GADCO-Fievie rice project) in a predominantly maize-producing and consuming society in Ghana interacts with the existing food system. The project, a partnership between a transnational company (GADCO) and the Fievie Traditional Area, is examined in light of international and national policies indirectly facilitating its implementation. I further examined how the Fievie community’s participation in the joint-venture addresses farmers’ autonomy, inclusion, historical exclusion, and inequality based on the intersection of political organization, gender, and native identity. The study employs three frameworks of analysis: food systems approach, political ecology, and food sovereignty. It addresses two main issues in the Ghanaian agrarian economy: the influence of corporate food production on smallholder farmers, and the potential benefits of shifting from a food security to a food sovereignty paradigm (or the integration of both). Based on 12 months ethnographic fieldwork involving interviews, life histories, participant observation and surveys, the findings indicate that while the GADCO-Fievie rice project enhanced domestic rice production, Fievie maintains a cultural preference for maize. Notably, farmers’ participation in the project was limited to those with land resource entitlement, rice production knowledge and political connections, thereby undermining farmers’ autonomy and control over production decisions. I argue that while the GADCO-Fievie partnership is significant in controlling land grabs and improving domestic rice production, it is a complex configuration of capitalism due to inequitable benefits distribution and profit maximization. Therefore, it is essential to recognize power relations in commercialized farming, anthropological understandings of culturally appropriate foods, and the embeddedness of agricultural projects in local economies. I conclude that commercialized large-scale rice production can be culturally and economically viable if local political institutions are understood and local food systems are sustained and prioritized.February 202
Assessment of l-band and c-band scatterometry for agricultural and Arctic remote sensing
No full textClimate change is drastically affecting agricultural practices and the Arctic environment as warmer conditions and extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common. Agricultural practices are having to adapt to longer periods of drier conditions and heavy rain events. At the same time, warmer global temperatures and decreasing sea ice concentrations are allowing for increased marine traffic throughout the year, posing the threat of an oil spill. The application of microwave radar systems for environmental monitoring is not a new practice but the conditions that are being monitored are continuing to evolve with the changing climate. This thesis aims to determine the usability of C-band (5.5GHz) and L-band (1.26 GHz) ground-based polarimetric microwave radar systems for agricultural monitoring (C-band and L-band) as well as detecting diesel fuel in the Arctic Ocean (C-band). Findings of the agricultural monitoring study suggest that both C-band and L-band scatterometers can detect changes in vegetation height, while C-band was only correlated with soil moisture at 5cm whereas L-band had correlations at all soil moisture depths that were monitored. Results of the diesel fuel study determined that there were significant changes to received C-band backscatter during the transition from open water to sea ice, as well as when diesel fuel emerged to the surface of the sea ice. These studies will contribute to a baseline of data that can be used to better understand satellite data for agricultural remote sensing purposes. The results of the agricultural remote sensing studies l further the understanding of the sensitivity of L-band microwave radar to vegetation cover as well as the optimal radar system parameters to determine soil moisture from radar backscatter values. The outcome of the diesel-contaminated sea ice experiments will improve and aid northern Canadian communities’ preparedness and response protocols to an oil spill in the Arctic marine environment in partnership with the Canadian Standards Association Group.UMGFOctober 202
Zero-shot synthesis of compilable code for incomplete code snippets using LLMs
No full textTechnical Q&A sites and Large Language Models (LLMs) are valuable resources for software developers seeking knowledge. However, the provided code snippets are often uncompilable and incomplete due to unresolved types, missing libraries, and incorrect import statements. This poses a challenge for users who wish to reuse or analyze these snippets. Existing methods either do not focus on creating compilable code or have low success rates. To address this, we propose ZS4C, a lightweight approach for Zero-shot Synthesis of compilable code For incomplete Code snippets using LLMs. ZS4C operates in two stages: first, it uses an LLM, like GPT-3.5, to identify missing import statements in a snippet; second, it collaborates with a validator (e.g., compiler) to fix compilation errors caused by incorrect imports and syntax issues. We evaluated ZS4C on the StatType-SO benchmark and a new dataset, Python-SO, which includes 539 Python snippets from Stack Overflow across the 20 most popular Python libraries. ZS4C significantly outperforms existing methods, improving the compilation rate from 63% to 95.1% compared to the state-of-the-art SnR, marking a 50.1% improvement. On average, ZS4C can infer more accurate import statements (with an F1 score of 0.98) than SnR, with an improvement of 8.5% in the F1.October 202