Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exceptional oxygen evolution reactivities on CaCoO3 and SrCoO3

Small separation of surface oxygen enhances surface peroxide formation for greater oxygen evolution activity. We investigated the roles of covalent bonding, separation of surface oxygen, and electrolyte pH on the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) on transition metal oxides by comparing catalytic onset potentials and activities of CaCoO3 and SrCoO3. Both cubic, metallic perovskites have similar CoIV intermediate spin states and onset potentials, but a substantially smaller lattice parameter and shorter surface oxygen separation make CaCoO3 a more stable catalyst with increased OER activity. The onset potentials are similar, occurring where H+ is removed from surface -OH−, but two competing surface reactions determine the catalytic activity. In one, the surface -O− is attacked by electrolyte OH− to form the surface -OOH−; in the other, two -O− form a surface peroxide ion and an oxygen vacancy with electrolyte OH− attacking the oxygen vacancy. The second pathway can be faster if the surface oxygen separation is smaller.
Impaired vascular reactivity in sepsis – a systematic review with meta-analysis

Introduction Vascular dysfunction due to reduced nitric oxide bioavailability plays an important role in the pathogenesis of sepsis. This meta-analysis examines evidence from published literature to evaluate whether in the adult population the presence/severity of sepsis is associated with impaired vasoreactivity. Material and methods We performed a search of the Medline, Scopus, and EMBASE databases to identify observational studies using measurement of reactive hyperaemia in adult patients with sepsis. After data extraction using predefined protocol, qualitative synthesis of findings was performed regarding consistency of findings between methods, evidence of association between vascular reactivity and severity of sepsis, multiple organ failure, and death. A meta-analyses of standardised mean differences in vasoreactivity between groups was performed, in which data were available for relevant outcomes. Results Eighteen studies using four methods to measure vascular reactivity from a total of 466 were included in the analysis. The pooled standardised mean difference estimate showed that septic patients had less reactive hyperaemia than controls (–2.59, 95% CI: –3.46 to –1.72; p < 0.00001), and peak hyperaemic blood flow was lower in patients with sepsis than in the control group (SMD = –1.42, 95% CI: –2.14 to –0.70; p = 0.0001). The combined SMD between non survivors and survivors was –0.36 (95% CI: –0.67 to –0.06; p = 0.02) for reactive hyperaemia and –0.70 (95% CI: –1.13 to –0.27; p = 0.001) for peak hyperaemic blood flow. Conclusions Septic patients have attenuated vascular reactivity when compared to healthy volunteers. There are insufficient data indicating that these changes can identify patients at risk of worsening organ failure or death.
Evaluating Impact of Design Patterns on Software Maintainability and Performance

Software maintainability and performance are most important nonfunctional quality attributes that should be taken into consideration for software development. Good and maintainable software reduce the cost of maintenance, speed up the development process and up-gradation of software becomes easy. Poor performance, on the other hand, results in serious consequences such as loss of company reputation, loss of income and project failures. Design Patterns are the repeatable solution for commonly occurring problems. These are well tested and proven solutions. It is easy for the developers to use them in software development instead of reinventing the new design to speed up the developing process. Our research is mainly focused on evaluating the performance and maintainability by using Design Patterns. Some web-based use cases are implemented using Gang of Four Design Patterns such as Observer, Facade, Strategy, Singleton, and Command following the Model View Controller architectural style. Implementation of these Design Patterns is evaluated by measuring the maintainability using software quality metrics such as Cyclomatic Complexity, Class Coupling, Maintainability Index, Depth in Inheritance and Lines of Code. Performance is evaluated by measuring the execution time. It is concluded from the research that good maintainability can be achieved by implementation of Design Patterns in software development and using Design Pattern have no negative impact on performance. Further, We have concluded that the Design Patterns should be implemented in software applications with caution and probability of poor maintainability is less by use of Design patterns. There are fewer chances of performance issues in maintainable code and performance issues are easier to rectify in maintainable code than the complex code.
Prevalence and Predictors of White Coat Hypertension among Newly-Diagnosed Hypertensive Patients in a Tertiary Health Centre in Nigeria

Background Failure to diagnose and adequately classify newly-diagnosed hypertensive patients may lead to non-recognition of White Coat Hypertension (WCH) and inappropriate use of antihypertensive medications. This study determined the prevalence and predictors of white coat hypertension among newly-diagnosed hypertensive patients in a tertiary health centre in Nigeria. Methods One hundred and twenty newly-diagnosed hypertensive patients and 120 controls were recruited for the study. All the participants had 24-hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) using an oscillometric device (CONTEC®). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Results Out of 120 patients, 52 were males and the mean age was 44.2 ± 9.7 years whereas of the 120 controls, 53 were males and the mean age was 44.0 ± 7.5 years. The mean body mass index of the patients, BMI (27.0 ± 4.5kg/m2) was higher than control (24.1 ± 4.5kg/m2), p-value <0.001. The prevalence of WCH was 36.7%. The mean age and BMI of those with WCH were 43.3 ± 11.4 years and 26.4 ± 4.5kg/m2 respectively. Females constituted a greater proportion (70.5%). In multivariate analysis, high level of education and being overweight or obese were significant determinants of WCH. Conclusion High prevalence of WCH existed among participants studied. High level of education and being obese were predictors of white coat hypertension. Hence, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring should be included as part of routine work-up for newly-diagnosed hypertensive patients in order to limit the number of those who may be committed to lifelong antihypertensive medications with its unwanted side effects.
Can metformin stabilize PCSK9 level in stable coronary artery disease patients treated with statins?

Introduction Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) has emerged as an important marker of cardiovascular risk and a new target for therapeutic interventions. We aimed to study the influence of metformin on the level of circulating PCSK9 in patients with stable coronary artery disease (SCAD) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) or metabolic syndrome (MetS), receiving moderate doses of statins used in routine clinical practice. Material and methods The study included 80 patients with T2DM or MetS receiving rosuvastatin for at least three months prior the study. MetS was diagnosed based on the Global Consensus Definition of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Serum level of PCSK9 was measured with an ELISA kit. Results Patients with T2DM or MetS, who took part in the research, were divided into 2 groups – those who received metformin prior the main study (21 patients – 1st group) and patients who did not (59 patients – 2nd group). Addition of metformin to the 3-month statin therapy of the 2nd group patients, divided into subgroup A (n = 27) with the addition of metformin and subgroup B (n = 29) without one, did not significantly affect the level of lipids. However, the level of circulating PCSK9 in subgroup A patients decreased, compared to subgroup B (p < 0.01). At the same time, ongoing metformin and rosuvastatin therapy in the 1st group patients was not accompanied by a further decrease of the PCSK9 level. Conclusions The addition of metformin to ongoing rosuvastatin therapy did not significantly affect serum lipid levels, but stabilized the level of circulating PCSK9, compared with the group without metformin treatment.
Application of the ActiGraph GT9X IMU for the assessment of turning during walking and running

Objective. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the use of the ActiGraph GT9X gyroscope and magnetometer for turn detection and quantifying turn degree during walking and running. The secondary purpose was to examine the effect of varying turn degrees during walking and running on oxygen consumption. Approach. Participants (N = 17) completed pivot trials, straight-line treadmill walking and running (3–6 mph) and four turn conditions (45°, 90°, 135°, and 180°) during over-ground walking and running. Pivot trials were completed for 1 min and walking/running trials were completed for 6 min, both with a turn frequency of 10 turns/min. Data were collected using a GT9X device (right hip) and a Cosmed K4b2 (measured oxygen consumption). Raw GT9X gyroscope and magnetometer data were processed through various low-pass filter frequencies (0.25–2.0 Hz). Treadmill and pivot trials were used to develop thresholds for turn detection using gyroscope and magnetometer data and cross-validated using the over-ground trials. Linear mixed models were used to compare actual and estimated number of turns, measured and estimated turn degree, and differences in VO2 across walking and running speed and turn degree. Main results. Greater than 98% of turns were detected when using gyroscope data filtered at 0.25 Hz and turn degree was estimated within 2.2° of measured turn degree across all speeds. In general, the VO2 of walking and running increased as the turn degree increased beyond 135°. Significance. The GT9X gyroscope, when filtered at 0.25 Hz can be used to detect the number of turns and estimate turn degree. The magnetometer, when filtered at 0.75 Hz, was useful for detecting the number of turns, however turn detection was more accurate using the gyroscope.
The awareness of amblyopia among parents in Saudi Arabia

Purpose: Amblyopia is the most common cause of unilateral visual impairment. This study investigated parents’ awareness of amblyopia in different regions of Saudi Arabia. Methods: This was a cross-sectional population study. The survey consisted of two main sections; the first section contained 13 general background questions, and the second section (10 questions) focused on awareness of amblyopia, routine vision checks and how to raise awareness of amblyopia in the community. The survey was distributed to respondents using email and social media. Results: The responses of 1649 families were received. Respondents’ age range was from 22–62 years (mean ± standard deviation = 33.6 ± 8.7 years). Most respondents had no previous knowledge of amblyopia (1155 participants, 70%), and 313 participants (19%) had no idea if their children had amblyopia. In total, 990 participants (60%) did not visit the eye clinic with their children for a routine eye exam. A total of 495 parents (30%), who were aware of amblyopia, knew of it mainly from eye clinic visits and from Internet websites. A total of 140 respondents reported that their children had amblyopia; 58.3% of those children underwent routine eye examinations once a year, and the rest underwent routine eye examinations twice a year. Conclusion: The results clearly showed a lack of amblyopia awareness among the Saudi community. This lack of awareness can lead to visual impairment among children. More efficient efforts are urgently needed from health professionals, education centres, the media and social organizations to promote awareness of amblyopia.
Effects of probiotics on the lipid profile: systematic review

Abstract Alterations in the intestinal microbiota can modulate mechanisms involving risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, including dyslipidemias The objective was to review the effects of probiotic supplementation on the prevention and treatment of changes to the lipid profile. The searches were run on the PubMed database, using the descriptors “probiotics and lipid profile” and “probiotics and dyslipidemia,” with publication dates restricted to 2013 to 2018. Supplementation with probiotics significantly reduced total cholesterol, LDL-c, and triglycerides and increased HDL-c. Some benefits were observed on anthropometric variables, glycemic control, oxidative stress, inflammation, and immune system. The present study suggests that probiotic supplementation should be indicated as adjunctive treatment for dyslipidemias. Further studies should be developed to clarify long-term effects, as well as the influence of probiotics in combination with drug therapy.
Insights From Molecular Dynamics Simulations of a Number of G-Protein Coupled Receptor Targets for the Treatment of Pain and Opioid Use Disorders

Effective treatments for pain management remain elusive due to the dangerous side-effects of current gold-standard opioid analgesics, including the respiratory depression that has led to skyrocketing death rates from opioid overdoses over the past decade. In an attempt to address the horrific opioid crisis worldwide, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has recently proposed boosting research on specific pharmacological mechanisms mediated by a number of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). This research is expected to expedite the discovery of medications for opioid overdose and opioid use disorders, leading toward a safer and more effective treatment of pain. Here, we review mechanistic insights from recent all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of a specific subset of GPCRs for which high-resolution experimental structures are available, including opioid, cannabinoid, orexin, metabotropic glutamate, and dopamine receptor subtypes.
The case for strategic and managed climate retreat

Why, where, when, and how should communities relocate? Faced with global warming, rising sea levels, and the climate-related extremes they intensify, the question is no longer whether some communities will retreat—moving people and assets out of harm's way—but why, where, when, and how they will retreat. To the extent that retreat is already happening, it is typically ad hoc and focused on risk reduction in isolation from broader societal goals. It is also frequently inequitable and often ignores the communities left behind or those receiving people who retreat. Retreat has been seen largely as a last resort, a failure to adapt, or a one-time emergency action; thus, little research has focused on retreat, leaving practitioners with little guidance. Such a narrow conception of retreat has limited decision-makers' perception of the tools available and stilted innovation. We propose a reconceptualization of retreat as a suite of adaptation options that are both strategic and managed. Strategy integrates retreat into long-term development goals and identifies why retreat should occur and, in doing so, influences where and when. Management addresses how retreat is executed. By reconceptualizing retreat as a set of tools used to achieve societal goals, communities and nations gain additional adaptation options and a better chance of choosing the actions most likely to help their communities thrive.
Veterans Affairs Providers' Beliefs About the Contributors to and Responsibility for Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Care Disparities

Abstract Purpose: Providers' beliefs about the causes of disparities and the entities responsible for addressing these disparities are important in designing disparity-reduction interventions aimed at providers. This secondary analysis of a larger study is aimed at evaluating perceptions of providers regarding the underlying causes of racial health care disparities and their views of who is responsible for reducing them. Methods: We surveyed 232 providers at 3 Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers. Results: Sixty-nine percent of participants believed that minority patients in the United States receive lower quality health care. Most participants (64%) attributed differences in quality of care for minority patients in the VA health care system primarily to patients' socioeconomic status, followed by patient behavior (43%) and provider behaviors (33%). In contrast, most participants believed that the VA and other health care organizations (75%) and providers (70%) bear the responsibility for reducing disparities, while less than half (45%) believed that patients were responsible. Among provider-level contributors to disparities, providers' poor communication was the most widely endorsed (48%), while differences in prescribing of medications (13%) and in provision of specialty referrals (12%) were the least endorsed. Conclusions: Although most providers in the study did not believe that providers contribute to disparities, they do believe that they, along with health care organizations, have the responsibility to help reduce them. Interventions might focus on directly offering providers concrete ways that they can help reduce disparities, rather than focusing on simply raising awareness about disparities and their contributions to them.
Brain Measures of Toddlers’ Shape Recognition Predict Language and Cognitive Skills at 6–7 Years

While a number of studies have found that an improvement in object shape recognition is associated with language growth in infants and toddlers, no published studies have investigated the longitudinal relation between early shape recognition, and language abilities in later childhood. An electrophysiological measure of semantic processing (the N400) was used to assess shape recognition and general object recognition in a naming context in 20-month-olds. The measures of shape recognition strongly predicted language and cognitive abilities at 6–7 years even after controlling for toddler vocabulary size. The electrophysiological measures of general object recognition were not related to future language or cognitive abilities. These results suggest that early shape recognition abilities may play a role in language acquisition and influence even long-term language outcomes.
Images from the surface of asteroid Ryugu show rocks similar to carbonaceous chondrite meteorites

Landing on the surface of Ryugu In October 2018, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft dropped the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) lander onto the surface of the asteroid (162173) Ryugu. Jaumann et al. analyzed images taken by the MASCOT camera during its descent and when resting on the surface. Colored light-emitting diodes were used to illuminate the lander's surroundings at night and produce color images. Ryugu's surface is dominated by two types of rock, but there is no evidence for fine-grained dust. Millimeter-sized inclusions in the rocks are similar to those present in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. MASCOT operated for 17 hours on the surface before its nonrechargeable batteries ran out. Science, this issue p. 817 Images from the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout lander show that rocks on asteroid Ryugu are similar to carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. The near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu is a 900-m-diameter dark object expected to contain primordial material from the solar nebula. The Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) landed on Ryugu’s surface on 3 October 2018. We present images from the MASCOT camera (MASCam) taken during the descent and while on the surface. The surface is covered by decimeter- to meter-sized rocks, with no deposits of fine-grained material. Rocks appear either bright, with smooth faces and sharp edges, or dark, with a cauliflower-like, crumbly surface. Close-up images of a rock of the latter type reveal a dark matrix with small, bright, spectrally different inclusions, implying that it did not experience extensive aqueous alteration. The inclusions appear similar to those in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites.
Robust generation of half-metallic transport and pure spin current with photogalvanic effect in zigzag silicene nanoribbons

Using first-principles density functional theory combined with non-equilibrium Green’s function method, we investigate the spin-dependent current generated by photogalvanic effect (PGE) in photoelectric devices based on zigzag silicence nanoribbons with unsymmetrical sp2–sp3 hydrogen passivated edges (H-2H ZSiNRs) and Cs symmetry. Due to their unique atomic structures and spin-semiconductor properties, we find that the flow direction of different spin channels, spin polarization and magnitude of the photocurrent can be efficiently controlled by tuning the photon energy () or polarization/helicity angle () of the incident polarized light. Interestingly, at certain polarization/helicity angles or certain photon energy, 100% spin polarized current can be achieved by either linearly or elliptically polarized light. Further, robust pure spin current without an accompanying charge current can be achieved by the irradiation of linearly and elliptically polarized light when the two leads are in antiparallel magnetic configuration and , and . Most importantly, without suffering from Schottky barriers or tunnel barriers at metal-semiconductor interfaces, the generated pure spin current or fully spin polarized current in such a purely two-dimensional device with PGE is several orders of magnitude larger than those achieved in metal/semiconductor/metal structures. These numerical results suggest that the asymmetrically sp2–sp3 terminated ZSiNRs are promising materials for construction of novel photoinduced pure spin current and fully spin polarized current generators, which will be of great significance in future spintronic applications.
Effect of Steviol Glycosides on Human Health with Emphasis on Type 2 Diabetic Biomarkers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

The natural sweetener from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, steviol glycoside (SG), has been proposed to exhibit a range of antidiabetic properties. The objective of this systematic review was to critically evaluate evidence for the effectiveness of SGs on human health, particularly type 2 diabetic (T2D) biomarkers, collecting data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Electronic searches were performed in PubMed and EMBASE and the bibliography of retrieved full-texts was hand searched. Using the Cochrane criteria, the reporting quality of included studies was assessed. Seven studies, nine RCTs, including a total of 462 participants were included. A meta-analysis was performed to assess the effect of SGs on following outcomes: BMI, blood pressure (BP), fasting blood glucose (FBG), lipids, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). The meta-analysis revealed an overall significant reduction in systolic BP in favour of SGs between SG and placebo, mean difference (MD): −6.32 mm Hg (−7.69 to 0.46). The overall effect of BMI, diastolic BP, FBG, total cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was a non-significant reduction in favour of SGs, and a non-significant increase in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride, while no significant effect of HbA1c was found. Heterogeneity was significant for several analyses. More studies investigating the effect of SGs on human health, particularly T2D biomarkers, are warranted.