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This in-depth study explores: why Nairobi has developed into a renowned FinTech hub; what the barriers are to further growth for FinTech companies; and how FinTech is perceived to be contributing to the broadening of Financial Inclusion. Our findings our that Nairobi has emerged as a Financial Technology (FinTech) hub due to the pioneering success of M-Pesa, the inadequacy of incumbent financial
A Song of Ice and Fire (1996-Present) is a series of fantasy books written by George R.R. Martin. In this series, the concept of ‘prophecy’ plays a major role, as it does in many works of literature, both within the fantasy genre and in literary fiction in general. This essay defines prophecy in a literary context, looking at how prophecies are used to drive a narrative and what other purposes the
Understanding of consumers’ green purchasing behaviour is a relevant topic for businesses around the world and an interesting research field, considering the issue of climate change. This study investigates the associations of young Swedish consumers’ subjective knowledge, objective knowledge, confusion and information acquisition with regards to commonly found ecolabels. The purpose is to shed li
The role of endogenous androgens and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in ovarian carcinogenesis is poorly understood. Epithelial invasive ovarian cancer (EOC) is a heterogeneous disease and there are no prospective data on endogenous androgens and EOC risk by tumor characteristics (histology, grade, stage) or the dualistic model of ovarian carcinogenesis (i.e. type I vs. type II, leading to les
Aim: Experimental cerebral ischemia and organ culture of cerebral arteries induce an increased endothelin ET(B) receptor-mediated contraction. The aim of the present study was to examine if cytokines and growth factors, known to be activated in ischemia, can influence the expression and function of endothelin receptors after organ culture. Methods: Rat middle cerebral arteries were cultured for 24
Background: The slopes of the eastern Andes harbour some of the highest biodiversity on Earth and a high proportion of endemic species. However, there have been only a few and limited descriptions of carbon budgets in tropical montane forest regions. Aims: We present the first comprehensive data on the production, allocation and cycling of carbon for two high elevation (ca. 3000 m) tropical montan
Background: The performance of creatinine-based glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimating equations may vary in subgroups defined by GFR, age and body mass index (BMI). This study compares the performance of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) study and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equations with the revised Lund-Malmo equation (LM Revised), a new equa
While the theoretical description of population transfer subsequent to electronic excitation in combination with a line shape function description of vibrational dynamics in the context of 2D-spectroscopy is well-developed under the assumption of different timescales of population transfer and fluctuation dynamics, the treatment of the interplay between both kinds of processes lacks a comprehensiv
The thorough experimental characterization of a dowel-type connection under various combinations of bending moments and normal forces is presented in this study. Double-shear steel-to-timber connections with 12 and 20 mm steel dowels were tested in a 4-point bending test set-up. The load, between the connected steel and wood beams, was transferred by the dowels themselves and also via an additiona
A major bottleneck in high-throughput protein production is the validation step, which is why parallel and automated sample processing methods are highly desirable. Also, a miniaturized sample preparation format is preferred, as the reduction of reagent volumes significantly decreases the analysis cost per sample. We have developed an automated and miniaturized protein sequence verification protoc
The current study investigated if and how students' behaviour when using a teachable agent-based educational software were related to their working memory capacity. Thirty Swedish students aged 11-12, participated in the study. Results showed that differences in behaviour such as time spent on an off-task activity, time spent on interactive dialogues, and the number of tests that students let thei
Using in situ surface-sensitive electron microscopy performed in real time, we show that the dynamics of micron-sized Ga droplets on Ga P(111) can be manipulated locally using Au nanoparticles. Detailed measurements of structure and dynamics of the surface from microns to atomic scale are done using both surface electron and scanning probe microscopies. Imaging is done simultaneously on areas with
Aqueous solutions of charged spherical macroions with variable dielectric permittivity and their associated counterions are examined within the cell model using a field theory and Monte Carlo simulations. The field theory is based on separation of fields into short- and long-wavelength terms, which are subjected to different statistical-mechanical treatments. The simulations were performed by usin
We relate the adsorption from mixtures of well-defined poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers of generations 4 and 8 with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at the air-water interface to the bulk solution properties. The anionic surfactant shows strong attractive interactions with the cationic dendrimers at pH 7, and electrophoretic mobility measurements indicate that the association is primarily driven by
The effect of atomic oxygen adsorption on the structure and electronic properties of monolayer graphite (MG or graphene) grown on Pt(111) and Ir(111) has been studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, and scanning tunneling microscopy. For comparison, the adsorption of atomic oxygen on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite has been studied
Challengers, as opposed to defenders,of the status quo ascribe more negative motives for the attitudes of their opponentsand more positive motives to their allies. This may be associated with a heightened social cost involved in challenging the generally considered good and true. Most social issues are associated with ideology, and conservatives display more prejudices than liberals. Hence, it is
The spruce coneworm, Dioryctria abietella Denis & Schiffermüller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a major pest in spruce seed orchards in Europe. Initial work on its pheromone ecology reported significant attraction of males to (9Z,11E)-tetradecadienyl acetate (9Z,11E-14:OAc), but this compound appeared to be a very weak attractant in field trials. In this study, we show that a second female-produ
Background: A reproducible standard for a graded allergen response in allergic rhinitis is lacking. The aim was to evaluate basophil allergen threshold sensitivity, CD-sens, as a diagnostic complement to nasal allergen challenge. Methods: Twenty-six patients with a history of allergic rhinitis due to grass pollen were intranasally challenged and nasal symptom score and peak nasal inspiratory flow
The function of articular cartilage depends on its structure and composition, sensitively impaired in disease (e. g. osteoarthritis, OA). Responses of chondrocytes to tissue loading are modulated by the structure. Altered cell responses as an effect of OA may regulate cartilage mechanotransduction and cell biosynthesis. To be able to evaluate cell responses and factors affecting the onset and prog
