Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of short-term outcomes of geriatric palliative care patients following percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy application

Introduction: Nowadays, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) application is the preferred minimally invasive procedure for medium-and long-term enteral feeding in patients requiring palliative care. The presented study evaluated PEG-applied geriatric (>65 years old) patients staying in our hospital palliative care unit. Materials and Methods: We assessed the medical data of PEG applied, by “pull” technique, >65-year-old patients from January 2019 to February 2023 in the palliative care unit of our hospital. Demographic characteristics of the patients, pre-procedure and 30th-day body weight, body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, and hemoglobin levels following PEG application were evaluated. Results: No severe PEG-related complications were observed for 30-day follow-up. The BMI difference after PEG insertion in males and females was not significant (p>0.05 and p>0.05, respectively). Furthermore, albumin increase after PEG insertion in each gender was not significant (p>0.05 and p>0.05, respectively). Conclusion: Nutrition through PEG tube is a safe, easy-to-practice procedure, but the advantages of PEG usage in geriatric patients who require palliative care remain unclear despite its popular application. In general, individual selections for PEG insertion in this particular geriatric patient group should be considered to obtain a positive nutritional status.
Optimization of a Force Sensor Realized by Modified Plastic Optical Fibers Integral With a Cantilever

In this work, an optimized force sensor system was simulated, fabricated, and experimentally tested. It is based on a modified plastic optical fiber (POF) bonded on the back side of a spring-steel cantilever. The POF is opportunely modified with several notches in order to enhance the performance of the sensor system. In particular, an optimization analysis of the position and characteristics of these notches was presented. First, a numerical analysis based on finite element method (FEM) simulations was conducted to determine where the cantilever’s elastic stress is maximum, resulting in its constrained end. Subsequently, an experimental analysis was carried out to characterize the sensor by fixing one end of the cantilever and applying transversal forces on the unconstrained end, applying different weights. Several preliminary optimization tests were performed to establish the best working condition in terms of light source and notches parameters, i.e., depth and periodicity. From the experimental results, the optimized force sensor system denoted a very good linear behavior in the range from 50 to 300 mN, with a sensitivity and resolution equal to 110.34 mV/N and 5 mN, respectively.
Parent's Education , School-Age Children, and Household Location in American Cities

The revealed residential choice of city versus suburbs within large metropolitan areas is examined with particular focus on families with children, especially those with college-educated parents. Probit and bivariate probit estimates are presented for 15 large metropolitan areas in the United States, and for boroughs within New York City. Data are drawn from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. It is shown that overall more affluent and educated families with school-age children are less likely to live in many large central cities including Boston, Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia with a few important exceptions including Charlotte, Seattle, and the borough of Manhattan. We contrast our results with estimates for married and never married respondents without school-age children.
Effects of Physical Exercise on Cerebral Blood Velocity in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta−Analysis

As the older population grows, there is an increasing interest in understanding how physical exercise can counteract the changes seen with aging. The benefits of exercise to general health, and especially to the cardiovascular system, have been a topic of discussion for decades. However, there is still a need to elucidate the effects of training programs on the cerebrovascular blood velocity in older people. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effect of physical exercise on the cerebral blood velocity in older people (PROSPERO CRD42019136305). A search was performed on PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, ScienceDirect, and Scopus from the inception of this study to October 2023, retrieving 493 results, of which 26 were included, analyzing more than 1000 participants. An overall moderate risk of bias was found for the studies using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tools for randomized and non-randomized clinical trials. The pooled results of randomized trials showed that older people who underwent physical exercise presented a statistically significant increase in cerebral blood velocity (3.58; 95%CI = 0.51, 6.65; p = 0.02). This result indicates that physical exercise is important to help maintain cerebral health in older adults.
Processing Stage-Induced Formation of Advanced Glycation End Products in Cooked Sausages with the Addition of Spices

This study aims to evaluate the relationship between the four processing stages of cooked sausage preparation (raw, drying, baking, and steaming) and the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds, and lipid and protein oxidation in sausages with spices. Baking and steaming significantly promoted lipid and protein oxidation. The Nε-carboxymethyllysine (CML) content increased from 4.32–4.81 µg/g in raw samples to 10.68–16.20 µg/g in the steamed sausages. Nε-carboxyethyllysine (CEL) concentrations increased by approximately 1.7–3.7 times after steaming. The methylglyoxal concentration increased dramatically after baking and then rapidly decreased in the steaming stage. Chili promoted the formation of CML and CEL. The CEL concentration increased in samples containing garlic, but yellow mustard and garlic slightly reduced CML concentrations in the cooked sausages. The spices decreased the lipid and protein stability of the cooked sausages, increasing malondialdehyde and protein carbonyls. Lipid oxidation and 3-deoxyglucosone positively correlated with CML and CEL levels. Black pepper had no impact on CML when the sausages were baked but remarkably increased the content of both CML and CEL in the steaming stage. Thus, the impact of spices on sausages depends on both the specific spices used and the category of AGEs formed.
Distribution, classification, petrological and related gochemical (SRA) characteristics of a tropical lowland peat dome in the Kota Samarahan-Asajaya area, West Sarawak, Malaysia

Petrographic studies indicate that lateral variations in the decomposition levels of peat are associated with the predominantly occurring peat macerals. Source Rock Analyzer (SRA) results indicate lateral variation in peat organic matter types from type II to III and back again to type II, occurring laterally within the top 0-m to 0.5-m layer at the basin margin to the midsection and further towards the near-center areas of the peat dome. This variation is most likely caused by a combination of factors: (a) Horizontal zonation and lateral variation of the dominant species of plant assemblages (b) Fibric (marginal) peats and hemic to sapric peats associated with type II organic matter (kerogen). Sample organic matter (coal-equivalent kerogen) typing indicates that the relative abundance of phytoclasts and palynomorphs generally supports the organic matter classification obtained by the SRA method. Lateral variations in the peat organic matter types may support the lateral vegetation variation concept. The classification of peat organic matter types (interpreted from visual analyses of palynological slides) occurring from the basin periphery to the mid-section and further towards the basin center yields organic matter of type II to type III and mixed types II to III (coal kerogen-equivalent), respectively.
A strong CO 2 sink enhanced by eutrophication in a tropical coastal embayment (Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Abstract. In contrast to its small surface area, the coastal zone plays a disproportionate role in the global carbon cycle. Carbon production, transformation, emission and burial rates at the land–ocean interface are significant at the global scale but still poorly known, especially in tropical regions. Surface water pCO2 and ancillary parameters were monitored during nine field campaigns between April 2013 and April 2014 in Guanabara Bay, a tropical eutrophic to hypertrophic semi-enclosed estuarine embayment surrounded by the city of Rio de Janeiro, southeast Brazil. Water pCO2 varied between 22 and 3715 ppmv in the bay, showing spatial, diurnal and seasonal trends that mirrored those of dissolved oxygen (DO) and chlorophyll a (Chl a). Marked pCO2 undersaturation was prevalent in the shallow, confined and thermally stratified waters of the upper bay, whereas pCO2 oversaturation was restricted to sites close to the small river mouths and small sewage channels, which covered only 10 % of the bay's area. Substantial daily variations in pCO2 (up to 395 ppmv between dawn and dusk) were also registered and could be integrated temporally and spatially for the establishment of net diurnal, seasonal and annual CO2 fluxes. In contrast to other estuaries worldwide, Guanabara Bay behaved as a net sink of atmospheric CO2, a property enhanced by the concomitant effects of strong radiation intensity, thermal stratification, and high availability of nutrients, which promotes phytoplankton development and net autotrophy. The calculated CO2 fluxes for Guanabara Bay ranged between −9.6 and −18.3 mol C m−2 yr−1, of the same order of magnitude as the organic carbon burial and organic carbon inputs from the watershed. The positive and high net community production (52.1 mol C m−2 yr−1) confirms the high carbon production in the bay. This autotrophic metabolism is apparently enhanced by eutrophication. Our results show that global CO2 budgetary assertions still lack information on tropical, marine-dominated estuarine systems, which are affected by thermal stratification and eutrophication and behave specifically with respect to atmospheric CO2.
Alternating field demagnetization, single-domain-like memory, and the Lowrie-Fuller test of multidomain magnetite grains (0.6-356 μm)

[1] A fundamental question in paleomagnetism is how magnetite grains much larger than single-domain size preserve stable remanence over millions of years. In an effort to answer this question we measured alternating field (AF) demagnetization of thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM) before and after low-temperature demagnetization (LTD). LTD (zero-field cycling through 120 K) unpins or nucleates domain walls, reducing the remanence of multidomain grains. We used two sets of sized crushed magnetites (0.6, 1, 3, 6, 9, 14, 20, 110, and 135 μm), one set unannealed and the other annealed, and a set of hydrothermally grown magnetites (0.8, 6.3, 25, 64, 94, and 356 μm). For all sizes, TRM and SIRM memories after LTD are much harder to AF demagnetize than the original remanences. AF demagnetization curves after LTD are flat for the first ∼10 mT. Such initial plateaus are one hallmark of single-domain behavior. In high-stress unannealed grains, after-LTD response depends on grain size, larger grains demagnetizing more easily than smaller ones. In low-stress annealed and hydrothermal magnetites, after-LTD response is almost independent of grain size over nearly 3 decades in grain size. This size-independent behavior could be due to grains in metastable single-domain states in the smaller-sized samples, but in >100 μm grains, there must be a source of single-domain-like AF behavior within the multidomain grains themselves. We propose an ad hoc model in which LTD triggers domain wall unpinning and nucleation events up to a coercivity threshold, producing the observed initial plateaus in AF demagnetization curves of TRM and SIRM memories. The size-independent demagnetization behavior of memory in hydrothermal and annealed magnetites is ascribed to nucleation events above the threshold level, and the additional size-dependent AF demagnetization of memory in high-stress unannealed grains is explained by wall unpinning from strong stress centers. In both cases the AF properties merely mimic single-domain behavior. Although LTD memory has single-domain-like AF curves and erased remanence has multidomain-like curves in grains of all sizes, the Lowrie and Fuller [1971] test still works for the annealed samples. For memory, erased fraction and pre-LTD remanence alike, TRM is more stable than SIRM in fine grains (1 μm), less stable in large grains (135 μm), and of comparable stability in medium-size grains (9 and 20 μm).
Influence of drugs produced by electropulse ablation methods on the development of soybean phytopathogenic bacteria

The causative agents of soybean blotch (Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. glycinea) and soybean pustular bacteriosis (Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines) are common phytopathogenic bacteria. However, the lack of officially registered drugs against them stimulates the search for new solutions. The research aims to determine the effect of these micronutrient preparations obtained by electropulse ablation on bacteria during artificial infection of soybean with museum strains of pustular bacteriosis and angular spot pathogens. The antibacterial activity of the studied preparations was compared with the untreated variants and the effect of traditional chemical pesticides based on Fludioxonil and Metalaxyl-M. The spread and development of the disease were assessed by the number of affected plants using a scale from 0 to 4 points. It was found that varietal characteristics of soybeans affect the degree of infection by phytopathogenic bacteria. It was found that weather conditions, in particular air temperature, are a significant factor in the development of disease manifestations. It was proved that seed treatment with a chemical pesticide based on Fludioxonil and Metalaxyl-M in the absence of additional foliar treatment does not reduce the manifestations and degree of damage compared to the control (without treatment). Dressing and foliar treatment with a chemical pesticide based on Fludioxonil and Metalaxyl-M only partially reduce the manifestations of bacteriosis compared to the control variants (by about 15%). At the same time, the use of preparations obtained by electropulse ablation methods is promising against phytopathogenic bacteria in the system of soybean cultivation technology – namely, it was determined that under the condition of soybean plants treatment with experimental preparations according to the Comfort scheme (consumption – 150 ml/t of seeds) + Dobrodiy fertilizer (consumption – 2, 4 l/t of seeds) + microelement preparation “Micro Protect” (consumption of 500 ml/t of seeds) + two foliar treatments with the specified mixture of microelement preparations, the delay in the manifestation of plant damage until the time of harvesting is increased, which in turn is likely to lead to an increase in yields. The practical significance of the work is to determine effective methods of controlling phytopathogenic bacteria that harm soybeans
Chromium and Nickel Control in Full- and Small-scale Subsuperficial Flow Constructed Wetlands

A four-year research program has been carried out to the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of Cr and Ni removal from secondary effluent. Tests were performed in small-scale (10 l/h) and full-scale (150 m3/d) sub-surface flow (SSF) constructed wetlands (cws). Metals removal was also assessed as a function of increased clogging conditions that occur in the cws. Cr and Ni content were evaluated in sediments at various points and in plant tissues by sampling phragmites australis roots, stems, and leaves. Clogging was evaluated by measuring hydraulic conductivity at the same sampling points at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. Residence Time Distribution – RTD - curves were also assessed at the beginning and after 48 months by using lithium chloride as tracer. Plotted results showed an increased skewness in the RTD curves at the end of the experiment. Proportionality between increasing clogging conditions and sediment adsorption was observed, especially for nickel that was absorbed mainly in the roots.
Female pond bats hunt in other areas than males and consume lighter prey when pregnant

Animals with large energy requirements are forced to optimize their hunting strategy, which may result in differentiation of the diet between sexes and across seasons. Here, we examined spatiotemporal variation in the diet of both sexes of the Pond Bat Myotis dasycneme, a species known to have spatial segregation of sexes when the young are born and lactating. Fecal pellets were collected from live animals for a period of 15 years at various locations in the Netherlands. A total of 535 pellets were successfully analyzed by microscopy and an additional 160 pellets by DNA metabarcoding. Morphological and molecular analyses showed that the diet of pregnant and lactating pond bats differed significantly from the diet of females with no reproductive investment. Further analyses of the data showed that pregnant female pond bats are highly dependent on small prey and pupae, mainly nonbiting midges and mosquitoes (Diptera: Chironomidae and Culicidae). These insects can be found in large quantities in peatlands intersected with shallow waterways, the habitat type in which female pond bats were observed more often than males. Our results suggest that during pregnancy the spatial segregation of sexes coincides with sex-specific diets, which might reflect habitat selection based on energy requirements, in addition to lowered intraspecific competition.
MORPHODYNAMIC ANLYSIS OF WIND FACES USING SPATIAL SAND ROSE MODEL IN ZABOL AND ZAHAK REGION, IRAN

The majority of Iran’s area is covered by arid and semiarid climates. In these areas, wind causes more erosion compared to water. Therefore, determination of wind characteristics especially its velocity is very important. One of the simplest methods that can supply researchers with the origin of wind erosion in the shortest time is synthesizing sand rose model and interpretation of aerial photographs or satellite images. The main purpose of this research was to find the relationship of soil drift potential. Sand rose is a diagram that shows not only the direction of wind transportation but also the wind erosion potential. Using a formula, soil ablation potentials were determined for drawing sand rose. A computer program was used to simplify and speed up the computations and increase the accuracy. Two stations in Sistan – Balochestan province, namely Zabaol and Zahak were selected. These two stations are located on flat lands and are naturally faced with higher wind erosions. The two stations are faced with the 120 days winds of Sistan and have very high drift potential. The results of this study show a south- southeast direction of drift potential, which exactly matches the direction of 120 days Sistan winds. Interpretation of aerial photographs and satellite images confirmed the sand rose study results because most of sand dunes showed a south – southeast direction of wind. Considering the location of sand dunes result drift direction, and the distance that sand can be transported, the locations of sand ablation was identified to be waterways and pediments of Sistan and also agricultural lands around Zabaol and zahak.
Phase Angle Feed-Forward Control for Improving the Power Reference Tracking of Virtual Synchronous Machines

A method for improving the power reference tracking capability of Virtual Synchronous Machines (VSM) by phase angle feed-forward (PAFF) control is proposed in this article. The presented implementation includes compensation for the ac power flow dynamics and can be applied to any VSM-based control relying on a virtual swing equation. Fast and accurate power reference tracking is achieved independently from the emulated inertia time constant, and without influencing the grid synchronization mechanism of the VSM. Therefore, the grid forming capability of the VSM and the inertial response to grid frequency variations are not influenced by the proposed PAFF control. The effectiveness of the derived feed-forward terms is first validated with a simplified VSM scheme. The performance is also thoroughly evaluated for a detailed VSM implementation including closed loop current control and a virtual impedance. This includes operation with different grid impedance values and studies of the sensitivity of the PAFF function with respect to parameter variations in the VSM control or deviations from the assumed grid impedance. Experimental results with a 50 kVA converter controlled as a VSM are presented as verification of the improvement in power reference tracking capability.
The changing distribution of malaria in the

Introduction: More than half of the malaria cases reported in the Americas are from the Brazilian Amazon region. While malaria is considered endemic in this region, its geographical distribution is extremely heterogeneous. Therefore, it is important to investigate the distribution of malaria and to determine regions whereby action might be necessary. Methods: Changes in malaria indicators in all municipalities of the Brazilian Amazon between 2003-2004 and 2008-2009 were studied. The malaria indicators included the absolute number of malaria cases and deaths, the bi-annual parasite incidence (BPI), BPI ratios and differences, a Lorenz curve and Gini coeffi cients. Results: During the study period, mortality from malaria remained low (0.02% deaths/case), the percent of municipalities that became malaria-free increased from 15.6% to 31.7%, and the Gini coeffi cient increased from 82% to 87%. In 2003, 10% of the municipalities with the highest BPI accumulated 67% of all malaria cases, compared with 2009, when 10% of the municipalities (with the highest BPI) had 80% of the malaria cases. Conclusions: This study described an overall decrease in malaria transmission in the Brazilian Amazon region. As expected, an increased heterogeneity of malaria indicators was found, which reinforces the notion that a single strategy may not bring about uniformly good outcomes. The geographic clustering of municipalities identifi ed as problem areas might help to defi ne better intervention methods.
A Model of Educational Character in High School Al-Istiqamah Simpang Empat, West Pasaman, West Sumatera

This research was aimed at describing how is the model of educational character in High School Al-Istiqamah Simpang Empat, West Pasaman, West Sumatera and what strategy that was used by High School Al-Istiqamah to keep the quality outputs which have character, then this research became a model in organizing educational character related to the sustainable development and capacity human building. To get the aim of the research, the researcher used qualitative ethnography methodology. This study carried out on the condition of natural and cultural nature, it is more descriptive, it emphasis on the process rather than the product or outcome, data analysis conducted inductively, and further emphasize the significance (data behind the observed). The techniques of collecting data consisted of interviewing, observation, documentation, and triangulation. The model of educational character was (1) religious; (2) moderate; (3) smart; and (4) independent. The Strategy which was done to keep the output was forming the school’s culture such behavior, tradition, daily life, and symbols which were applied by all members of school and society around school.