Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Protective doses of tetanus toxoid immunization and its associated factors among mothers in southern Ethiopia

ABSTRACT The World Health Organization recommends tetanus toxoid immunization before or during pregnancy for all women of childbearing age. The goal is to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality due to tetanus. According to the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) report, more than half (51%) of women did not receive protective doses of tetanus immunization. To the best of our knowledge, this study uniquely tried to assess the level of protective doses of tetanus toxoid immunization in southern Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 580 randomly selected participants. Variable with p-value of less than . 25 in the bivariate analysis were included in the multivariable logistic regression analysis. Finally, statistical significance was declared at a p-value of less than . 05. The proportion of protective doses of tetanus toxoid immunization uptake in the area was found to be 41.9% (95% CI: 38–46%). Being enrolled in formal education [AOR = 6.55, 95% CI: 3.23–9.01], having at least two postnatal care visits [AOR = 3.82; 95% CI: 1.78–6.40], having at least four antenatal care visits [AOR = 2.56; 95% CI: 1.41–4.34], and being visited by Health Extension Workers [AOR = 2.66; 95% CI: 1.42–4.01] were found to be factors enhancing the uptake of protective doses of tetanus toxoid immunization. Generally, the uptake or prevalence of the protective doses of tetanus toxoid immunization in the area was lower than the World Health Organization’s target. Therefore, all responsible bodies, including healthcare providers, need to strengthen counseling mothers to enhance the uptake of tetanus toxoid immunization.
A General Methodology for Climate‐Informed Approaches to Long‐Term Flood Projection—Illustrated With the Ohio River Basin

Estimating future hydrologic floods under nonstationary climate is a key challenge for flood management. Climate‐informed approaches to long‐term flood projection are an appealing alternative to traditional modeling chains. This work formalizes climate‐informed approaches into a general methodology consisting of four steps: (1) selection of predictand representing extreme events, (2) identification of credible large‐scale predictors that mechanistically control the occurrence and magnitude of the predictand, (3) development of a statistical model relating the predictors to the predictand, and (4) projection of the predictand by forcing the model with predictor projections. These four steps, developed from a review of the current literature, are demonstrated for multiple gages in the northwest Ohio River Basin in the United States Midwest as a case study. Floods are defined as annual maximum series events in January through April and are linked to geopotential height and soil moisture predictors in a Bayesian linear regression model. The projections generally show a slight decrease in future flood magnitude and demonstrate the transparency of the climate‐informed approach. An initial step for more general application across the United States and remaining challenges associated with climate‐informed flood projection are discussed.
Impact of physical activity on preeclampsia and angiogenic markers in the Finnish Genetics of Pre-eclampsia Consortium (FINNPEC) cohort

Abstract Introduction Effect of physical activity in pregnancy on preeclampsia (PE) and angiogenic markers is not well understood. We studied the association of physical activity and PE in a case-control setting and assessed whether exercise in PE and non-PE women associate with maternal serum concentrations of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (s-Flt-1), placental growth factor (PlGF) and soluble endoglin (sEng) and sFlt-1/PlGF ratio in the Finnish Genetics of Pre-eclampsia Consortium (FINNPEC) cohort. Materials and methods Participants completed a questionnaire on their background information and serum samples were collected from a subset. Questionnaire data on physical activity were available from 708 PE women and 724 non-PE women. Both first trimester serum samples and questionnaire data on physical activity were available from 160 PE women and 160 non-PE women, and second/third trimester serum samples and questionnaire data on physical activity were available from 139 PE women and 47 non-PE women. The PE and non-PE women were divided into categories of physically active (exercise 2 − 3 times/week or more) and physically inactive (exercise less than 2 − 3 times/week). Results A total of 43.4% of the PE women and 42.4% of the non-PE women were categorized as physically active. There were no differences in physical activity and exercise habits between the groups. The physically active women were more often nulliparous and non-smokers and had a lower body mass index. There were no differences in the concentrations of angiogenic markers (sFlt-1, PlGF and sEng and sFlt-1/PlGF ratio) between the groups who exercised more or less than 2 − 3 times/week. Conclusions In the FINNPEC study cohort, there was no association between physical activity and PE and no associations of physical activity in pregnant women with and without PE with maternal serum concentrations of sFlt-1, PlGF and sEng and sFlt-1/PlGF ratio.
Trends in Incidence and Drug Prescriptions for Croup in Children Under 5 Years of Age: A 2002–2019 Population-Based Study

Background Tracking national croup trends can provide important insights for childhood health management. This study aimed to analyze the incidence and drug prescription trends in Korean children over a two-decade period. Methods This population-based study encompassed 479,783 children aged < 5 years from 2002–2019, utilizing the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort. We identified participants with a primary croup diagnosis who were admitted to or visited the emergency room. Age-specific and age-adjusted incidence rates/10,000 person-years were calculated. We assessed using orthogonal polynomial contrasts and stratified by various factors (sex, age, residential area, economic status, comorbidities, and healthcare facility types). We observed changes in the use of five medications: inhaled steroids, systemic steroids, inhaled epinephrine, antibiotics, and short-acting bronchodilators. Generalized binomial logistic regression was used to analyze factors influencing prescription strategies. Results In 2002, the croup-related visits were 16.1/10,000 person-years, increasing to 98.3 in 2019 (P for trend < 0.001). This trend persisted, regardless of age, sex, region, and economic status. Children with comorbid atopic dermatitis or asthma maintained consistent croup rates, while those without comorbidities increased. Treatment trends showed decreasing antibiotic (73–47%) and oxygen use (21.3–3.4%), with increasing nebulized epinephrine (9.3–41.5%) and multiple drug prescriptions (67.8–80.3%). Primary care centers exhibited a greater increase in prescription usage and hospitalization duration than did tertiary healthcare institutions. Conclusion Over the past two decades, croup incidence has risen, accompanied by increased epinephrine use and decreased antibiotic prescriptions. Longer hospitalization and higher medication use were mainly observed in primary care facilities.
Sedimentary exhalative origin for magnetite deposits of the New Jersey Highlands

The New Jersey Highlands and contiguous Hudson (New York) Highlands host hundreds of small, worked-out magnetite mines, and the major zinc-oxide deposits of Franklin and Sterling Hill. The origin of the magnetite ore remains controversial. Two temporally distinct genetic models have been proposed for magnetite: (1) a pre-Ottawan, sedimentary exhalative model in which ores were deposited on the seafloor as precipitates from iron-enriched hydrothermal fluids; (2) a late-Ottawan, fluid alteration model in which the current mineral composition of ores was derived from Fe-rich, alkaline fluids, associated with late episodes of granitic plutonism (low-Ti Kiruna-type deposits), or in which deposits derived from metamorphogenic fluids circulating in a regional shear zone leached metals from host rocks and precipitated them in veins and faults. Detailed mapping of ore deposits and host rocks near Wanaque and Ringwood, New Jersey, and Warwick, New York, reveal that ore bodies are hosted by supracrustal rocks deposi.
Significant Floodplain Soil Organic Carbon Storage Along a Large High‐Latitude River and its Tributaries

High‐latitude permafrost regions store large stocks of soil organic carbon (OC), which are vulnerable to climate warming. Estimates of subsurface carbon stocks do not take into account floodplains as unique landscape units that mediate and influence the delivery of materials into river networks. We estimate floodplain soil OC stocks within the active layer (seasonally thawed layer) and to a maximum depth of 1 m from a large field data set in the Yukon Flats region of interior Alaska. We compare our estimated stocks to a previously published data set and find that the OC stock estimate using our field data could be as much as 68% higher than the published data set. Radiocarbon measurements indicate that sediment and associated OC can be stored for thousands of years before erosion and transport. Our results indicate the importance of floodplains as areas of underestimated carbon storage, particularly because climate change may modify geomorphic processes in permafrost regions.
What VSK reveals about phonation in Reinke’s edema

We evaluated open (OQ) and closed quotients (CQ) of vocal folds (VF) vibratory cycles at three locations (anterior, middle, and posterior glottis) using VSK lines in a cohort of patients with Reinke’s edema (RE). Mean values for OQ were 0.44 at the anterior (a), 0.46 at the middle (m), and 0.52 at posterior (p) locations. The CQ values were 0.56 (a), 0.54 (m), and 0.48 (p), respectively. Results for the whole glottis OQ and CQ were 0.48 and 0.52, respectively. Differences for OQ and CQ measured at each location were significant.
Hippocampal resting‐state connectivity is associated with posterior‐cortical cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease

Abstract Aim Frontal and posterior‐cortical cognitive subtypes in Parkinson's disease (PD) present with executive/attention and memory/visuospatial deficits, respectively. As the posterior‐cortical subtype is predicted to progress rapidly toward dementia, the present study aimed to explore biological markers of this group using resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs‐fMRI). Methods K‐means cluster analysis delineated subtypes (cognitively intact, frontal, posterior‐cortical, and globally impaired) among 85 people with PD. A subset of PD participants (N = 42) and 20 healthy controls (HCs) underwent rs‐fMRI. Connectivity of bilateral hippocampi with regions of interest was compared between posterior‐cortical, cognitively intact, and HC participants using seed‐based analysis, controlling for age. Exploratory correlations were performed between areas of interest from the group analysis and a series of cognitive tests. Results The posterior‐cortical subtype (N = 19) showed weaker connectivity between the left hippocampus and right anterior temporal fusiform cortex compared to the cognitively intact (N = 11) group, p‐false discovery rate (FDR) = . 01, and weaker connectivity between bilateral hippocampi and most fusiform regions compared to HCs (N = 20). No differences were found between HCs and cognitively intact PD. Exploratory analyses revealed strongest associations between connectivity of the right anterior temporal fusiform cortex and left hippocampus with category fluency (p‐FDR = .01). Conclusion Results suggest that weakened connectivity between the hippocampus and fusiform region is a unique characteristic of posterior‐cortical cognitive deficits in PD. Further exploration of hippocampal and fusiform functional integrity as a marker of cognitive decline in PD is warranted.
Scaling approach to microbial interactions in soil across three bioenergy cropping systems

Microbial communities are initiators, controllers, and mediators of biogeochemical processes, and nutrient and carbon cycling within terrestrial environments. Soil health is also maintained by microbial communities, including water retention, organic matter build-up, and aggregation of soil particles. All of these factors combined, create an enormous impact on terrestrial ecosystems, disproportionate to the microbial cell size, influencing everything from plant productivity and diversity, soil habitat maintenance, and the balance between carbon lost to respiration and carbon maintained within soil as organic matter. Inclusion of microbial communities into management decisions is necessary to fully improve sustainability efforts and productivity. This research investigates the interaction of the aboveground management’s impact on microbial community diversity, function, and resiliency. Specifically, the impact of cropping system and nitrogen application on the soil fungal and bacterial community were explored. In addition, local interactions between plants and fungal communities are examined to determine how trait-based approaches can be applied to microbial ecology. Soil itself is examined as a determinant of microbial community diversity, and is demonstrated to have a strong impact on both fungal and bacterial community structure. In compliment, a novel technique utilizing fluorescently labeled cellulose nanocrystals allows us to address ecosystem scale questions regarding cellulose degradation and utilization within a reductionist and tractable approach.
Multifaceted Interactions of Stereoacuity, Inter-Ocular Suppression, and Fixation Eye Movement Abnormalities in Amblyopia and Strabismus

Purpose Amblyopic and strabismus subjects experience inter-ocular suppression, impaired stereoacuity, and increased fixation instability. The purpose of the study was to investigate factors affecting suppression and stereoacuity and examine their relationship to fixation eye movement (FEM) abnormalities. Methods We recruited 14 controls and 46 amblyopic subjects (anisometropic = 18, strabismic = 14, and mixed = 14) and 11 subjects with strabismus without amblyopia. We utilized the dichoptic motion coherence test to quantify suppression, and stereoacuity was assessed using the Titmus Fly test. We recorded FEMs using high-resolution video-oculography and classified subjects that did not have nystagmus (n = 27) versus those with nystagmus (n = 32; fusion maldevelopment nystagmus [FMN], n = 10) and nystagmus that did not meet the criteria of FMN (n = 20). We also recorded FEMs under dichoptic viewing (DcV) at varied fellow eye (FE) contrasts and computed the amplitude and velocity of the fast and slow FEMs and vergence instability. Results Inter-ocular suppression and stereoacuity deficits were closely correlated with an amblyopic eye (AE), visual acuity, and strabismus angle. Subjects with nystagmus displayed more pronounced stereoacuity deficits than those without nystagmus. Strabismic subjects with and without amblyopia, who demonstrated a fixation switch at 100% FE contrast, had lower inter-ocular suppression than subjects lacking a fixation switch under DcV. Amplitude of fast FEMs and velocity of slow FEMs, and vergence instability were increased as the FE contrast was lowered in both amblyopic and strabismic subjects. Conclusions The current study highlights the intricate relationships between AE visual acuity, eye deviation, and FEM abnormalities on suppression and stereoacuity deficits and underscores the need to evaluate FEM abnormalities while assessing dichoptic treatment outcomes.
International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS)

Received Dec 20, 2022 Revised Aug 5, 2023 Accepted Aug 30, 2023 Prehospital care is an emergency medical service (EMS) administered outside of the hospital. Time-consuming documentation of medical records is one of the tasks that prehospital nurses have to complete. It requires the development of innovations to improve prehospital care. To enhance prehospital treatment, innovations must be created. The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether the emergency and disaster electronic handling system application (SPEED) decreases the time nurses spend recording patient records. A total of 54 samples will be randomly separated into two groups as part of the study's true experimental design with crossed over method. Each of the three study sessions lasts for three weeks to finish. Group B received the first period of the paper-based intervention, whereas group A received the SPEED intervention. Group B will get the SPEED intervention following the washout period (second period), whereas group A will receive a paper-based intervention (third period). The independent t-test showed that the SPEED application was more efficient than paper-based using a mean difference value of 25.22 and a sig (2-tailed) value of 0.00. The SPEED application can make nurses' jobs easier and lighten their prehospital nurses' mental, physical, and time demands.
Boosting BDNF in muscle rescues impaired axonal transport in a mouse model of DI-CMTC peripheral neuropathy

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is a genetic peripheral neuropathy caused by mutations in many functionally diverse genes. The aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (ARS) enzymes, which transfer amino acids to partner tRNAs for protein synthesis, represent the largest protein family genetically linked to CMT aetiology, suggesting pathomechanistic commonalities. Dominant intermediate CMT type C (DI-CMTC) is caused by YARS1 mutations driving a toxic gain-of-function in the encoded tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (TyrRS), which is mediated by exposure of consensus neomorphic surfaces through conformational changes of the mutant protein. In this study, we first showed that human DI-CMTC-causing TyrRSE196K mis-interacts with the extracellular domain of the BDNF receptor TrkB, an aberrant association we have previously characterised for several mutant glycyl-tRNA synthetases linked to CMT type 2D (CMT2D). We then performed temporal neuromuscular assessments of YarsE196K mice modelling DI-CMT. We determined that YarsE196K homozygotes display a selective, age-dependent impairment in in vivo axonal transport of neurotrophin-containing signalling endosomes, phenocopying CMT2D mice. This impairment is replicated by injection of recombinant TyrRSE196K, but not TyrRSWT, into muscles of wild-type mice. Augmenting BDNF in DI-CMTC muscles, through injection of recombinant protein or muscle-specific gene therapy, resulted in complete axonal transport correction. Therefore, this work identifies a non-cell autonomous pathomechanism common to ARS-related neuropathies, and highlights the potential of boosting BDNF levels in muscles as a therapeutic strategy.
Heroes, Conflicts and Reconciliations in Romanian-Hungarian Sport Confrontations

Romanians and Hungarians have a long history of rivalry in politics, culture and sport. Rarely history speaks about symbols of reconciliation, probably because these actors are episodic personalities and because the conflicts are longer and they have a cyclic manifestation. The battle for Transylvania was a permanent subject in the Romania-Hungary relation. Also, the high number of Hungarians ethnics in Romania provoked different attitudes in the last centuries. Sport was one of the newest ways to expose the conflict between the Romanians and the Hungarians. From interwar period until nowadays, sport activities which included these two national groups has generated debates, violence and few moments of reconciliation. In fact, I will follow this last aspect, in the context of an image of permanent conflict, to analyse the importance of some symbols of reconciliation.
Sexual Dimorphism in Age-Dependent Neurodegeneration After Mild Head Trauma in Drosophila: Unveiling the Adverse Impact of Female Reproductive Signaling

Environmental insults, including mild head trauma, significantly increase the risk of neurodegeneration. However, it remains challenging to establish a causative connection between early-life exposure to mild head trauma and late-life emergence of neurodegenerative deficits, nor do we know how sex and age compound the outcome. Using a Drosophila model, we demonstrate that exposure to mild head trauma causes neurodegenerative conditions that emerge late in life and disproportionately affect females. Increasing age-at-injury further exacerbates this effect in a sexually dimorphic manner. We further identify Sex Peptide (SP) signaling as a key factor in female susceptibility to post-injury brain deficits. RNA sequencing highlights changes in innate immune defense transcripts specifically in mated females during late life. Our findings establish a causal relationship between early head trauma and late-life neurodegeneration, emphasizing sex differences in injury response and the impact of age-at-injury. Finally, our findings reveal that reproductive signaling adversely impacts female response to mild head insults and elevates vulnerability to late-life neurodegeneration.
Morphology, but not microtubules, of the retinal nerve fibers are protected by nicotinamide in glaucoma mice

Glaucoma is a blinding disease where the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and the axons degenerate. Degradation of axonal microtubules is thought to play a critical role in the pathogenesis, but the mechanism is unknown. Here we investigate whether microtubule disruption in glaucoma can be alleviated by metabolic rescue. Using nicotinamide to reduce metabolic stress, the morphology and integrity of microtubules of the retinal nerve fibers are examined in a mouse model of glaucoma, DBA/2. Surprisingly, we found that morphology but not microtubules are protected by the dietary supplement of nicotinamide. Co-registered second-harmonic generation and immunofluorescence images shows that microtubule deficit is not due to a shortage of tubulins and colocalizes with the sectors in which RGCs are disconnected from the brain, indicating that the instability of axonal microtubules may underlie axonal transport deficit in glaucoma. Together, our data confirms distinct roles of axonal microtubules in glaucomatous degeneration, offering a new opportunity for neuroprotection. Significance Statement Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, but the lack of understanding on the molecular mechanism hinders the development of cure. Here the significance of axonal microtubules in the RGCs is investigated, i.e., whether it depends on metabolic decline common in the aging retina. We found that nicotinamide, a promising neuroprotective agent alleviating metabolic stress, does not protect axonal microtubules as effectively as the morphology of the retinal nerve fibers. Our data also suggests multiple independent modes of protective action by nicotinamide. Overall, our results support a crucial role of axonal microtubules in the progressive loss of RGCs in glaucoma, promoting the feasibility of novel neuroprotective strategies.