Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antibacterial efficacy of essential oil spray formulation for post-milking disinfection in dairy cows

Background and Aim: Mastitis is an essential issue in dairy cows. Post-milking teat dips can help reduce this problem, but they employ harsh disinfectants, and many bacteria are becoming increasingly tolerant. This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial activity of clove, citronella, and sweet basil essential oils against the common bovine mastitis causative agents Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, and Escherichia coli and to develop an antiseptic post-milking teat spray for use in dairy cows. Materials and Methods: The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the essential oils was determined by broth microdilution and time-kill assays. Essential oil-based post-milking teat sprays were developed. The bacterial eradication efficacy of the formulations was determined by time-kill assays and their stability was tested by repeated freeze-thaw cycles. The most effective formulation was tested in dairy cows. Results: The minimum inhibitory concentrations and minimum bactericidal concentrations of the tested essential oils against S. aureus, S. agalactiae, and E. coli were in the range of 0.78–6.25 μL/mL. The time-kill tests indicated that the essential oils’ antibacterial activity depended on concentration and contact time. All three essential oil-based post-milking teat spray preparations showed good stability. The citronella spray formulation showed the highest antibacterial potency. In in vivo testing, the citronella spray eradicated aerobic bacteria on the teat skin of cows (99.9% or 3-log10 reduction) within 1 min, which was non-inferior to a standard 0.54% iodine solution teat dip. Conclusion: Clove, citronella, and sweet basil essential oils were effective against S. aureus, S. agalactiae, and E. coli in vitro. Of these, citronella essential oil is the most promising to be developed as a post-milking teat spray with high antibacterial activity and excellent bacterial eradication properties in vivo.
A New Approach Method for Multi Classification of Lung Diseases using X-Ray Images

—Lung disease is one of the most common diseases in today's society. This lung disease's treatment is frequently postponed. This is usually due to a lack of understanding about proper treatment and a lack of clear information about lung disease. Reading the correct X-ray images, which is usually done by experts who are familiar with these X-rays, is one method of detecting lung disease. However, the results of this diagnosis are dependent on the expert's practice schedule and take a long time. This study aims to classify lung disease images using preprocessing, augmentation, and multimachine learning methods, with the goal of achieving high classification performance accuracy with multi-class lung disease. The classification ExtraTrees was obtained from experimental results with unbalanced datasets using a balancing process with augmentation. Precision, Recall, Fi-Score, and Accuracy are 100% for training and testing data 89% for Precision, 88% for Recall, 87 for Fi-Score, and 85% for Accuracy outperform other machine learning models such as Kneighbors, Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Random Forest in classifying lung diseases. The conclusion from this research is that the machine learning approach can detect several lung diseases using X-ray images.
Sex Differences in Resting Metabolic Rate among Athletes and Association with Body Composition Parameters: A Follow-Up Investigation

The purpose of this study was to examine sex differences in resting metabolic rate (RMR) and associations between measured RMR and body composition parameters in athletes. One-hundred and ninety collegiate men (n = 98; age: 20.1 ± 1.6 yr.; body mass: 92.7 ± 17.5 kg; height: 181.6 ± 6.2 cm, body mass index: 28.0 ± 4.7 kg/m2) and women (n = 92; age: 19.4 ± 1.1 yr.; body mass: 65.2 ± 11.0 kg; height: 168.0 ± 6.6 cm, body mass index: 23.0 ± 3.6 kg/m2) athletes volunteered to participate in this study. Athletes completed a body composition assessment using air displacement plethysmography and RMR using indirect calorimetry. Assessments were completed in a fasted state and after refraining from intense physical activity > 24 h prior to testing. Data were collected during the 2016–2019 seasons. Men had a higher RMR compared to women (2595 ± 433 vs. 1709 ± 308 kcals; p < 0.001); however, when adjusted for body mass (p = 0.064) and fat-free mass (p = 0.084), the observed differences were not significant. Height, body mass, body mass index, fat-free mass, and fat mass were positively associated with RMR in both men and women athletes (r = 0.4–0.8; p < 0.001). Body mass (men: β = 0.784; women: β = 0.832)) was the strongest predictor of RMR. Men athletes have a higher absolute RMR compared to their women counterparts, which is influenced by greater body mass and fat-free mass. Body mass is the strongest predictor of RMR in both men and women athletes.
Phytochemical Studies and Toxicity Evaluation of Selected Medicinal Plants from Sarlahi District, Nepal

Medicinal plants play a vital role in primary health care and the development of herbal drugs at low prices and with fewer side effects. The aim of the present work is focused on the study of antioxidant activity, cytotoxicity, phytochemical screening, and estimation of total phenolic and flavonoid contents of Achyranthes aspera, Azadirachta indica, Cascabela thevetia, Catharanthus roseus, Clerodendrum indicum, C. infortunatum, Oxalis latifolia, Paederia foetida and Tinospora cordifolia from Sarlahi district, Nepal. Total phenolics and flavonoids were estimated by Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride methods respectively. The antioxidant activity and toxicity were evaluated by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method and brine shrimp lethality method respectively. Among the plants studied, A. indica contained the highest phenolic content (250.08 ± 0.319 mg GAE.g-1 of dry extract) and O. latifolia showed the highest flavonoid content (112.47 ± 0.07 mg QE.g-1 dry extract). Methanolic extract of the bark of A. indica, the root of Clerodendrum infortunatum, and the stem of C. indicum showed potent in vitro antioxidant activity with IC50 values of 14.84 ± 2.250 µg. mL-1, 23.94 ± 2.245 µg. mL-1, and 29.93 ± 0.993 µg. mL-1 respectively as compared to the standard ascorbic acid with an IC50 value of 9.44 ± 0.902 µg. mL-1. All nine selected medicinal plants showed low toxicity towards the larvae of Artemia salina in dose dependent pattern. The results of this study approve the traditional use of the medicinal plants by the local people.
Distribution of transpulmonary pressure during one-lung ventilation in pigs at different body positions

Background. Global and regional transpulmonary pressure (PL) during one-lung ventilation (OLV) is poorly characterized. We hypothesized that global and regional PL and driving PL (ΔPL) increase during protective low tidal volume OLV compared to two-lung ventilation (TLV), and vary with body position. Methods. In sixteen anesthetized juvenile pigs, intra-pleural pressure sensors were placed in ventral, dorsal, and caudal zones of the left hemithorax by video-assisted thoracoscopy. A right thoracotomy was performed and lipopolysaccharide administered intravenously to mimic the inflammatory response due to thoracic surgery. Animals were ventilated in a volume-controlled mode with a tidal volume (VT) of 6 mL kg−1 during TLV and of 5 mL kg−1 during OLV and a positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) of 5 cmH2O. Global and local transpulmonary pressures were calculated. Lung instability was defined as end-expiratory PL<2.9 cmH2O according to previous investigations. Variables were acquired during TLV (TLVsupine), left lung ventilation in supine (OLVsupine), semilateral (OLVsemilateral), lateral (OLVlateral) and prone (OLVprone) positions randomized according to Latin-square sequence. Effects of position were tested using repeated measures ANOVA. Results. End-expiratory PL and ΔPL were higher during OLVsupine than TLVsupine. During OLV, regional end-inspiratory PL and ΔPL did not differ significantly among body positions. Yet, end-expiratory PL was lower in semilateral (ventral: 4.8 ± 2.9 cmH2O; caudal: 3.1 ± 2.6 cmH2O) and lateral (ventral: 1.9 ± 3.3 cmH2O; caudal: 2.7 ± 1.7 cmH2O) compared to supine (ventral: 4.8 ± 2.9 cmH2O; caudal: 3.1 ± 2.6 cmH2O) and prone position (ventral: 1.7 ± 2.5 cmH2O; caudal: 3.3 ± 1.6 cmH2O), mainly in ventral (p ≤ 0.001) and caudal (p = 0.007) regions. Lung instability was detected more often in semilateral (26 out of 48 measurements; p = 0.012) and lateral (29 out of 48 measurements, p < 0.001) as compared to supine position (15 out of 48 measurements), and more often in lateral as compared to prone position (19 out of 48 measurements, p = 0.027). Conclusion. Compared to TLV, OLV increased lung stress. Body position did not affect stress of the ventilated lung during OLV, but lung stability was lowest in semilateral and lateral decubitus position.
Democracy, Political Stability and Economic Growth: A Panel Data Analysis of Selected Asian Countries

There are rare studies that have estimated the relationship between political capital and the economic growth of Asian countries. The primary objective of this study is to explore the straight and subsidiary effect of the political variables on the economic development of selected Asian developing countries. Furthermore, the study attempts to explore the direct consequences of democracy, stable governance, and government effectiveness on the GDP growth of selected Asian countries. The study also examines the indirect effect of political freedom, government stability, and governance efficiency on economic growth through intervening variables. This study was carried out from 2002 to 2019 for selected Asian countries. There are multiple dimensions of political capital, but the current study uses joint proxies, distinguishing it from the literature. The role of political capital in determining the economic growth of selected Asian developing countries is the major agenda of this study. Panel Fixed Effect and Random Effect techniques are used to determine the effect of political variables on economic growth, while the Hausman test is applied as a diagnostic measure to decide the appropriateness of Fixed Effect and Random Effect models. The results found positive direct and indirect effects of the entire political variables except for economic freedom, which negatively affects economic growth for selected Asian developing countries. The current study suggested that democracy can play a pivoting role in the economic growth of selected countries if they maintain political stability and reduce non-developmental expenditures.
Effect of concept mapping model on critical thinking skills of family medicine residents: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: The cognitive process of critical thinking (CT) involves the examination of the existing reasons and an analysis of the information to draw conclusions and make decisions. The goal of the study was to determine how concept mapping (CM) technique affects family medicine residents' capacity for critical thought. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled trial among family medicine residents aged between 26 and 28 years. A total of 100 residents were involved; over the course of 3 months, 50 residents were exposed to the conventional teaching model and 50 residents to the CM model. Data was collected using California CT skills test (CCTST) modified Arabic version and a self-administered questionnaire. The primary intervention was teaching method, experimental group received CM lessons while control group had conventional lessons. First session was carried out at baseline and second session one week after baseline, whereas 3rd, 4th, and 5th sessions conducted at end of 1st, 2nd, 3rd months, respectively. Both groups were assessed at baseline and at end of 3rd month. Both groups were reassessed at end of three months. Quantitative data was presented as mean and SD, whereas frequencies and percentages used for qualitative data. Pre- and post-intervention CT scores for study groups were compared using t-test or Mann-Whitney U test, as appropriate. Groups were compared on pre- and post-intervention CT grades using Chi-square test. RESULTS: Vast majority (98%) of participants were females, nearly half were 27 year old, and belonged primarily to urban areas (76%). There was no difference in the CT scores between the groups at baseline. The post-intervention CT scores for study group were statistically significantly higher (18.36±2.68) compared to control group (15.94±1.94) (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: The CM approach was superior to the conventional teaching approach in terms of improving CT.
COVID-19 Vaccination Effectiveness in the General Population of an Italian Province: Two Years of Follow-Up

We carried out a cohort study on the overall population of the province of Pescara, Italy, to assess the real-world effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination against infection, severe, or lethal COVID-19, two years after the start of the vaccination campaign. We included all the resident or domiciled subjects, and extracted the official demographic, vaccination, COVID-19, hospital and co-pay exemption datasets from 1 January 2021, up to 15 February 2023. Cox proportional hazards analyses were adjusted for gender, age, diabetes, hypertension, COPD, major cardio- and cerebrovascular events, cancer, and kidney diseases. Throughout the follow-up (466 days on average), 186,676 subjects received greater than or equal to three vaccine doses (of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, NVX-CoV2373, or JNJ-78436735), 47,610 two doses, 11,452 one dose, and 44,989 none. Overall, 40.4% of subjects were infected with SARS-CoV-2. Of them, 2.74% had severe or lethal (1.30%) COVID-19. As compared to the unvaccinated, the individuals who received greater than or equal to one booster dose showed a ≥85% lower risk of severe or lethal COVID-19. A massive impact of vaccination was found among the elderly: 22.0% of the unvaccinated, infected individuals died, as opposed to less than 3% of those who received greater than or equal to three vaccine doses. No protection against infection was observed, although this finding was certainly influenced by the Italian restriction policies to control the pandemic. Importantly, during the Omicron predominance period, only the group who received at least a booster dose showed a reduced risk of COVID-19-related death.
A comparison of two performance portability metrics

The rise in the demand for new performance portability frameworks for heterogeneous computing systems has brought with it a number of proposals of workable metrics for evaluating the performance portability of applications. The aim of this article is twofold. First, we analyze the underlying principles of the criteria and definition of the revised Ⴔ metric and show that these principles are partially correct and suffer from a lack of a solid and clear performance portability model. We prove mathematically and demonstrate it practically that the principles are only correct for the architectural efficiency approach based on throughputs but are incorrect for the popular application efficiency approach based on run‐times. Second, we are examining whether the Ⴔ and Ⴔ‾ metrics meet the requirements of consistency, proportionality, and lossless information. We use examples from the scientific literature to show the reader that the Ⴔ metric loses information while the Ⴔ‾ metric and other metrics do not lose information.
P‐2.6: A method for accurately measuring the refractive index modulation of volume holographic grating

In this paper, we propose a method to accurately measure the refractive index modulation of VHG. By adjusting the position of the photon detector in real time, we can accurately measure the variation of the diffracted light intensity with the angle of the incident light, and combining the Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis (RCWA) fitting, the refractive index modulation of the grating can be measured.
Extraintestinal Manifestations in Induced Colitis: Controversial Effects of N-Acetylcysteine on Colon, Liver, and Kidney

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic and recurrent inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized by continuous inflammation in the colonic mucosa. Extraintestinal manifestations (EIM) occur due to the disruption of the intestinal barrier and increased permeability caused by redox imbalance, dysbiosis, and inflammation originating from the intestine and contribute to morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of oral N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on colonic, hepatic, and renal tissues in mice with colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). Male Swiss mice received NAC (150 mg/kg/day) in the drinking water for 30 days before and during (DSS 5% v/v; for 7 days) colitis induction. On the 38th day, colon, liver, and kidney were collected and adequately prepared for the analysis of oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reduced (GSH), glutathione oxidized (GSSG), malondialdehyde (MDA), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)) and inflammatory biomarkers (myeloperoxidase (MPO) –, tumor necrosis factor alpha – (TNF-α, and interleukin-10 (IL-10)). In colon, NAC protected the histological architecture. However, NAC did not level up SOD, in contrast, it increased MDA and pro-inflammatory effect (increased of TNF-α and decreased of IL-10). In liver, colitis caused both oxidative (MDA, SOD, and GSH) and inflammatory damage (IL-10). NAC was able only to increase GSH and GSH/GSSG ratio. Kidney was not affected by colitis; however, NAC despite increasing CAT, GSH, and GSH/GSSG ratio promoted lipid peroxidation (increased MDA) and pro-inflammatory action (decreased IL-10). Despite some beneficial antioxidant effects of NAC, the negative outcomes concerning irreversible oxidative and inflammatory damage in the colon, liver, and kidney confirm the nonsafety of the prophylactic use of this antioxidant in models of induced colitis, suggesting that additional studies are needed, and its use in humans not yet recommended for the therapeutic routine of this disease.
Impact of Inclement Weather on Dilemma Zone Boundaries

Adverse or inclement weather events, such as snowfall, impact the traffic efficiency, traffic safety, and trip distribution. Inclement weather is reported to be the prime causal factor for fatal two vehicle crashes. Weather-based signal control strategies have the potential to enhance both the operational efficiency and the safety at a signalized intersection. This paper reports on an empirical study to model the impacts of inclement weather (snow, and rain) on driver decision making at the onset of yellow at a high speed signalized intersection. In this research, the data were collected for a variety of weather conditions at a high speed intersection at Noblesville, Indiana. The impact of inclement weather on probability of stopping was assessed by developing binary discrete choice models for different weather conditions. The model parameters for snow and rain condition were found to be statistically significantly different from normal day in more than 90% of the cases. The impact of snow on dilemma zone boundaries was more pronounced than rain.
New records of the noline scorpionfish, Phenacoscorpius megalops (Actinopterygii: Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae), from the Emperor Seamounts, central North Pacific

Eight specimens (36.7–70.0 mm standard length) of a scorpionfish, Phenacoscorpius megalops Fowler, 1938, were collected from the Koko Seamount, Emperor Seamounts, in the central North Pacific. This species can be distinguished from other congeners by its lack of palatine teeth, branched pectoral fin rays in adults, small or no second preopercular spine, shorter snout, longer and deeper caudal peduncle and larger eyes. Taiwan was previously regarded as the northernmost locality for this species; thus the present specimens are the northernmost records for the species.
Applying Anaerobic Critical Velocity in Non-Elite Swimmers

1. University of Beira Interior. Sport Sciences Department (UBI, Covilha, Portugal) 2. Research Centre in Sports, Health and Human Development (CIDESD, Portugal) 3. Polytechnic Institute of Braganca. Sport Sciences Department (IPB, Braganca, Portugal) 4. University of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro. Sport Sciences, Exercise and Health Department (UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal) Running head: Anaerobic Critical Velocity
Microbial infections as potential risk factors for lung cancer: Investigating the role of human papillomavirus and chlamydia pneumoniae

Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality worldwide. Apart from tobacco smoke and dietary factors, microbial infections have been reported as the third leading cause of cancers globally. Deciphering the association between microbiome and lung cancer will provide potential biomarkers and novel insight in lung cancer progression. In this current study, we performed a meta-analysis to decipher the possible association between C. pneumoniae and human papillomavirus (HPV) and the risk of lung cancer. Methods Literature search was conducted in most English and Chinese databases. Data were analyzed using CMA v.3. 0 and RevMan v.5. 3 software (Cochrane-Mantel-Haenszel method) by random-effects (DerSimonian and Laird) model. Results The overall pooled estimates for HPV studies revealed that HPV infections in patients with lung cancer were significantly higher than those in the control group (OR = 2.33, 95% CI = 1.57–3.37, p < 0.001). Base on subgroup analysis, HPV infection rate was significantly higher in Asians (OR = 6.38, 95% CI = 2.33–17.46, p < 0.001), in tissues (OR = 5.04, 95% CI = 2.27–11.19, p < 0.001) and blood samples (OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.02–1.93, p = 0.04) of lung cancer patients but non-significantly lower in males (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.57–1.22, p =0.35) and among lung cancer patients at clinical stage I-II (OR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.61–1.49, p = 0.82). The overall pooled estimates from C. pneumoniae studies revealed that C. pneumoniae infection is a risk factor among lung cancer patients who are IgA seropositive (OR = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.30–2.70, p < 0.001) and IgG seropositive (OR = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.10–2.04, p = 0.010). All seronegative IgA (OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.42–1.16, p = 0.16) and IgG (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.42–105, p = 0.08) titers are not associative risk factors to lung cancer. Conclusions Immunoglobulin (IgA) and IgG seropositive titers of C. pneumoniae and lungs infected with HPV types 16 and 18 are potential risk factors associated with lung cancer.
A Reconnaissance Snow Survey across Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada, April 2007

Abstract : During April 2007, a coordinated series of snow measurements were made across the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada, during a 4200-km snowmobile traverse from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Baker Lake, Nunavut. While detailed, local snow measurements have been made as part of ongoing studies at tundra field sites in this region (Daring Lake and Trail Valley Creek in the Northwest Territories), systematic measurements at the regional scale have not been previously collected across this region. Consistent with observations of tundra snow in Alaska and northern Manitoba, the snow cover consisted of depth hoar and wind slab with small and ephemeral fractions of new, recent, and icy snow. The snow was shallow (less than 40 cm deep), usually with less than six layers. Where deposited on lake and river ice, the snow was shallower, denser, and more metamorphosed than where deposited on tundra. The snow characteristics were highly variable at a local scale, but no longitudinal gradients in snow distribution, magnitude, or structure were detected. Lakes and lake ice confounded passive microwave remote sensing of the snow cover in this area because the lake signal overwhelmed the snow signal. Consequently, challenges remain in developing methods to monitor this snow cover by satellite. Appendixes present near-infrared images, snow depths, soot measurements, mercury measurements, ion measurements, and isotope measurements.