Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Study of serum uric acid levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus in tertiary care hospital in south Gujarat

Background: The need for early indicators of diabetic complications is essential to prevent late complications and their deleterious effects. There is a need for sensitive serum markers that are associated with diabetes and its complications. Estimation of these parameters helps in early intervention, thereby delaying the chronic complications of diabetes in the early stages. Hyperuricemia has been shown to be linked to a number of diseases and conditions including gout, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, stroke and renal disease. Uric acid has long been associated with delayed complications of diabetes mellitus. This study was conducted on 357 patients of diabetes mellitus to investigate the significance of serum uric acid levels and its correlation with it.Methods: This is an observational cross-sectional study carried out amongst 357 patients with T2DM attending out-patient department as well as indoor patients under medicine department at Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education and Research (SMIMER) Hospital, of south Gujarat.Results: There is highly significant association seen between HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin) and uric acid levels in present study (p<0.001). There is significant association seen between fasting blood sugar (FBS) levels and uric acid levels in the study (p=0.0253). Conclusions: There is increase in uric acid levels in diabetic patients with increased levels of HbA1c. Thus, serum uric acid may serve as a potential biomarker of the deterioration of glucose metabolism.
Decision Support Model for Optimal Design of Wind Technologies Based Techno- economic Approach

This paper aims to propose a practical decision support model for the optimal design of future wind turbines based on available wind potential on the site of interest. A developed decision support model based a comprehensive wind turbine modeling and a constrained techno-economic optimization framework is presented. Optimization was subject to the Net Present Value (NPV) maximization of the net incomes from wind energy generation, under the constraints on wind turbine nominal power restriction and the maximum ratio permitted between the rotor diameter and tower hub height. Optimizations of rotor diameter and tower height sizing have direct impacts on energy and cost production, those parameters have been considered as the design variables. The optimal design selection considers: the nominal power, rotor diameter, and tower hub height, which led to the maximum NPV in a specific site. Furthermore, an analysis of the Levelized Cost of Energy production (LCOE) has been performed. The developed decision support model has been tested and applied to a case study to validate its application and performance. The developed model was verified and significant results were achieved using three different wind sites: Dakhla, Casablanca, and Tanger. Results showed that the optimal design of the wind turbine technologies is given by the limit conditions cited, conducting to the maximum NPV with low LCOE and more exploitation of available wind potential in Dakhla and Tanger; however Casablanca was found as no profitable site for wind projects presenting negative NPV.
Fire and herbivory shape belowground bud banks in a semi-arid African savanna

Fire and herbivory are major drivers in tropical savanna ecosystems and they selected a flora composed of species able to cope with recurrent aboveground biomass removal. Renewal of the herbaceous stratum is made possible by resprouting, mostly through a belowground bud bank. Evaluating the impacts of disturbances on the bud bank can assist in predicting post-disturbance responses and system resilience. In a semi-arid savanna, we aimed to verify whether lower fire frequency, fire and herbivory exclusion could affect belowground bud bank and organs diversity and consequently, the resprouting potential. Lower fire frequency or suppression and absence of herbivory were expected to reduce the bud bank density, which was confirmed by our results. If the fire is suppressed or fire frequency is reduced, the total, graminoid and the shrub bud bank decreased, whereas herbivory exclusion resulted in total and a forb bud bank of lower densities. Belowground buds were identified in non-woody and woody rhizomes, stolons, root crowns, and bulbs or corms. Despite having bud banks of lower density, disturbance exclusion promoted belowground biomass accumulation. Our results indicated the importance of maintaining the endogenous disturbances to the preservation of the belowground community and regeneration strategy, guaranteeing resilience in semi-arid savanna communities.
Exploring the Influence of Touch Points on Tourist Experiences at Crisis Impacted Destinations

Customer journeys in tourism are becoming more complex, often including multiple touch points that can influence expectations, experiences, and travel behaviors. The management of these different interactions is further complicated if tourist destinations face natural or man-made crises (e.g., financial crises, COVID-19). The current research takes a comprehensive look at how negative word-of-mouth (WOM) shapes pre-consumption expectations that drive actual tourist experiences and subsequent satisfaction behaviors. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), findings from 188 tourists confirm the influence of uncontrollable, negative WOM on destination image. Yet an actual, positive experience negates these negative pre-trip influences. Tourism managers are rewarded with satisfied and loyal tourists in response to creating positive experiences even at crisis impacted destinations.
Neural Oscillations as Predictors of Variability in Second Language Proficiency

Understanding what traits facilitate second language (L2) learning has been the focus of many psycholinguistic studies for the last thirty years. One source of insight comes from quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG), i.e., electrical brain activity recorded from the scalp. Using qEEG, [1] found that functional brain connectivity is predictive of language learning ability. This study extends Prat et al. in investigating the association of qEEG measures for two measures of L2 proficiency, namely: 1. a grammaticality judgment task, wherein participants read and identified Spanish sentences as either correct or incorrect based on possible grammar violations, and 2. a standardized Spanish proficiency test (DELE). Participants were low-intermediate L2 learners recruited from thirdand fourth-semester university Spanish classes. Spectral power and coherence within and across six different regions were analyzed for correlations with either scores on the grammaticality judgment task or on the DELE. Follow-up linear regression models based on significant qEEG correlates explained up to 11% of variance in DELE scores but none of the variance in grammaticality judgment task performance. Negative correlations were found between theta frequency coherence and the DELE. Because theta activity has been associated with episodic and working memory performance, these findings suggest that less proficient learners might utilize memory-based strategies more often to compensate for their lack of familiarity with the L2.
Students’ Academic Identities in Time of Uncertainties

This narrative inquiry is set to investigate how ELESP students enrolled in the pandemic era construct their academic identities and what possibly influences the deconstruction of these identities. This study involves five participants. The participating students are the ones enrolled as university students at time of pandemic; therefore, their way of seeing themselves as students may be different as they are yet to experience the traditional sit-in-the-class teaching and learning activities at university level. The data are collected through semi-structured interviews. The results of this study show that students’ academic identities are constructed by the awareness of their future aspirations, active classroom participation, and supportive interactions among members of academic groups. The shifting from offline to online learning that comes with various technical issues does not make students down nor negatively affects their learning motivation. In other words, students’ academic identities are not easily deconstructed because of the pandemic. The students negotiate their identities with the situation positively.
Work engagement and perceived customer value, the mediating role of meaningfulness through work

Background: Work engagement is considered an important contributor towards the success of any organisation, while finding meaning in work has been proven to enhance productivity and, ultimately, assists in improving the bottom line of an organisation.Aim: The aim of the study is to examine work engagement and meaningfulness through work and at the workplace, and how these factors impact on perceived customer value. More specifically, the researchers were interested in whether meaningfulness could mediate the relationship between work engagement and perceived customer value.Setting: Data were collected from employees at a large South African manufacturing organisation.Methods: Respondents from a manufacturing organisation in South Africa participated in the quantitative cross-sectional study (N = 152). They completed previously validated questionnaires to assess work engagement, meaningfulness through work and perceived customer value from an employee perspective. (Males = 52.21%; Working less than five years in the industry = 54.61%; Non-management = 50%). Results: Correlation results indicate that features of engagement, meaningfulness through work and perceived customer value were positively associated. A simple mediation model indicates that meaning could be considered a mediator in the relationship between work engagement and perceived customer value.Conclusion: Study results indicate that work engagement was not sufficient to improve perceived customer value and that finding meaning in and through work was also required.
Patient Engagement in Health Management as a Mediator Between Perceived Risk and COVID-19 Related Distress in Patients With IBD: A Structural Equation Model

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 emergency on patients with IBD's psychological distress, understanding the role of patient engagement as a mediator. Methods: An online questionnaire was created, measuring perceived risk susceptibility toward COVID-19, perceived stress, and patient engagement. The questionnaire was distributed to a purposive sample of IBD patients who belonged to the Italian Association for patients with IBD (AMICI Onlus) in April 2020. Structural equation models were implemented. Results: The effect of the perceived risk susceptibility toward COVID-19 contagion on the perceived stress is fully mediated by patient engagement (β = 0.306, p < 0.001). Moreover, the patient engagement mitigates the perceived stress (β = −0.748, p < 0.001) in our sample of IBD patients, and it is negatively influenced by the perceived risk susceptibility toward COVID-19 (β = −0.410, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Patient engagement is the key factor that explains how the perceived risk susceptibility toward COVID-19 affects the perceived psychological distress in patients with IBD, underlining that the perceived risk of contagion increases their perceived level of stress through a decrease of patient engagement.
Risk and Uncertainty in the Cost Contingency of Transport Projects: Accommodating Bias or Heuristics, or Both?

Transport projects are regularly subjected to cost misperformance. The contingency set aside to cover any increases in cost due to risk and uncertainty issues is often insufficient. We review approaches that have been used to estimate a cost contingency. We show that some approaches such as reference class forecasting, which underpins the planning fallacy theory, take a biased view to formulate a contingency. Indeed, there is a perception that the risks and uncertainties that form the parts of a cost contingency cannot be accurately assessed using heuristics. The absence of an overarching theory to support the use of heuristics has resulted in them often being downplayed in a project's investment decision-making process. This article fills this void and provides the theoretical backdrop to support the use of heuristics to formulate a cost contingency. We make a clarion call to reconcile the duality of the bias and heuristic approaches, propose a balanced framework for developing a cost contingency, and suggest the use of uplifts to derisk cost estimates is redundant. We hope our advocacy for a balanced approach will stimulate debate and question the legitimacy of uplifts to solely debias cost estimates.
The Relationship Between Social Ignore and Social Media Addiction Among Adolescents: Mediator Effect of Satisfaction With Family Life

This study investigated the mediator effect of satisfaction with family life in the relationship between social ignore and social media addiction among adolescents. The research was conducted on 456 high school students studying in the 2019 academic year. Ages of the students vary between 14 and 16 years old. Social Media Addiction Scale, Social Ostracism Scale, and Satisfaction with Family Life Scale were used to collect data. SPSS 25 software package and PROCESS software package developed by Hayes as an add-on to SPSS were used in the data analysis. It was found that social ignore predicted social media addiction positive significantly and satisfaction with family life negatively. It was observed that satisfaction with family life predicted social media addiction negative significantly. It was also found that satisfaction with family life mediated the relationship between social ignore and social media addiction.
Editorial overview Hildegund CJ Ertl and Antonio Lanzavecchia

Gundi Ertl, MD, is a professor, Chair of the Immunology Department and director of the Vaccine Center at the Wistar Institute with adjunct appointments at the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Her lab works on the development of viral vector based vaccines to HIV-1, rabies and influenza virus, and viruses associated with cancer. In addition she is studying complications of long-term gene replacement therapy by adaptive immune responses to gene transfer vehicles.
Squamous cell carcinoma antigens are sensitive biomarkers for atopic dermatitis in children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Background We recently reported that squamous cell carcinoma antigen 2 (SCCA2) is a reliable biomarker for atopic dermatitis (AD). Objective To further clarify its utility, we investigated for effects of comorbid allergies and AD treatment on serum SCCA levels. Methods Volunteers <18 years old were recruited through our website. Their allergic status was elucidated using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. We also recruited pediatric patients who were hospitalized because of severe AD. The serum levels of SCCA1 and SCCA2 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. In the severe AD patients, the levels of thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC), SCCA1, and SCCA2 were measured before and after hospitalization. The severity of AD was assessed using the severity scoring of atopic dermatitis (SCORAD). Results A total of 576 participants (547 volunteers and 29 patients) were enrolled in the study. The levels of SCCA1 and SCCA2 were significantly higher in volunteers with mild AD and patients with severe AD than in healthy volunteers without allergic diseases. The levels were not elevated in those who had mild bronchial asthma or allergic rhinitis without AD. TARC, SCCA1, and SCCA2 were decreased during the treatment in severe AD patients, reflecting clinical improvement in response to treatment. Linear regression analysis for predicting a decrease in the SCORAD index showed R2 values of 0.16, 0.38, and 0.48 for TARC, SCCA1, and SCCA2, respectively. Conclusion SCCAs, especially SCCA2, are sensitive biomarkers for detecting AD in children and adolescents and for assessing the severity and response to treatment of severe AD.
Variability in sea ice carbonate chemistry: A case study comparing the importance of ikaite precipitation, bottom ice algae, and currents across an invisible polynya

Abstract. The carbonate chemistry of sea ice is known to play a role in global carbon cycles, but its importance is uncertain in part due to disparities in reported results. Variability in physical and biological drivers is usually invoked to explain differences between studies. In the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, “invisible polynyas” – areas of strong currents, thin ice, and potentially high biological productivity – are examples of extreme spatial variability. We used an invisible polynya as a natural laboratory to study the effects of inferred initial ice formation conditions, ice growth rate, and algal biomass on the distribution of carbonate species by collecting enough cores to perform a statistical comparison between sites located within, and just outside of, a polynya near Iqaluktuttiaq (Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada). At both sites, the uppermost 10-cm ice horizon showed evidence of CO2 offgassing, while carbonate distributions in the middle and bottommost 10-cm horizons largely followed the salinity distribution. In the polynya, the upper-ice horizon had significantly higher bulk total inorganic carbon (TIC), total alkalinity (TA), and salinity, potentially due to freeze-up conditions that favoured frazil ice production. The middle-ice horizons were statistically indistinguishable between sites, suggesting that ice growth rate is not an important factor for the carbonate distribution under mid-winter conditions. The thicker (non-polynya) site experienced higher algal biomass, TIC, and TA in the bottom horizon. Carbonate chemistry in the bottom horizon could be explained by the salinity distribution, with the strong currents at the polynya site potentially playing a role in desalinisation; biology did not have a noticeable impact. We did see evidence of calcium carbonate precipitation, but with little impact on the TIC : TA ratio, and little difference between sites. Because differences were constrained to relatively thin layers at the top and bottom, vertically averaged values of TIC, TA, and especially the TIC : TA ratio were not meaningfully different between sites. This provides some justification for using a single bulk value for each parameter when modeling sea ice effects on ocean chemistry at coarse resolution. Exactly what value to use (particularly for the TIC : TA ratio) likely varies by region but could potentially be approximated from knowledge of the source seawater and sea ice salinity. Further insights await a rigorous intercomparison of existing data.
Taste Receptors: The Gatekeepers of the Airway Epithelium

Taste receptors are well known for their role in the sensation of taste. Surprisingly, the expression and involvement of taste receptors in chemosensory processes outside the tongue have been recently identified in many organs including the airways. Currently, a clear understanding of the airway-specific function of these receptors and the endogenous activating/inhibitory ligands is lagging. The focus of this review is on recent physiological and clinical data describing the taste receptors in the airways and their activation by secreted bacterial compounds. Taste receptors in the airways are potentially involved in three different immune pathways (i.e., the production of nitric oxide and antimicrobial peptides secretion, modulation of ciliary beat frequency, and bronchial smooth muscle cell relaxation). Moreover, genetic polymorphisms in these receptors may alter the patients’ susceptibility to certain types of respiratory infections as well as to differential outcomes in patients with chronic inflammatory airway diseases such as chronic rhinosinusitis and asthma. A better understanding of the function of taste receptors in the airways may lead to the development of a novel class of therapeutic molecules that can stimulate airway mucosal immune responses and could treat patients with chronic airway diseases.
MISSISSIPPI KITE

The recovery of the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) depends on successful reproduction, limited interspecific competition, and reduced nest predation. From 1997–1999, we examined Redcockaded Woodpecker reproduction, nest loss, and cavity kleptoparasitism in a loblolly (Pinus taeda) and shortleaf (P. echinata) pine ecosystem in Mississippi. Red-cockaded Woodpeckers had high annual nesting rates (67–73%). Mean clutch size was 3.1 eggs with an 88% hatching rate. Red-cockaded Woodpeckers had a 71% fledging rate and fledged approximately 2.0 young/nest. We observed partial brood loss of approximately one nestling/nest. Southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans) and Red-bellied Woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus) frequently usurped Red-cockaded Woodpecker cavities. We recorded five occurrences of flying squirrels consuming Red-cockaded Woodpecker eggs and three occasions of gray rat snakes (Elaphe obsoleta spiloides) consuming nestlings. Although Red-cockaded Woodpecker reproductive success was relatively high, cavity usurpation can present a threat to future reproductive success within local populations.
Evaluation of Temperament and Character Traits and Their Subscale Dimensions Associated with Major Depressive Disorder

Objectives: The relationship between major depressive disorder (MDD) and, especially harm avoidance, self-directedness, and cooperativeness has been determined based on Cloninger’s psychobiological personality model; there are not enough studies in the literature on the role of the subdimensions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the patients with MDD and healthy controls in terms of temperament and character traits and especially subdimensions and thus to determine the role and predictive value of temperament and character subdimensions in major depression patients. Methods: The sample of this cross-sectional study consisted of 105 participants, 65 of whom were MDD patients, and 40 healthy controls, who voluntarily agreed to participate in the study. Sociodemographic data form, temperament and character inventory, and Hamilton depression rating scale were administered to the participants. Results: Compared with healthy controls, patients with MDD had lower self-directedness (p<0.001), cooperativeness (p=0.017), persistence (p<0.001), self-transcendence (p=0.001), and higher harm avoidance (p<0.001) scores. While there was no significant difference in novelty seeking (p=0.774); it was determined that MDD patients got higher scores in “Impulsiveness” (p=0.013) and lower scores in “Exploratory excitability” (p=0.001) subscales. Reward dependence has been identified as the only personality trait that there was no significant difference between major depression patients and healthy controls (p=0.511). As a result of the logistic regression analysis performed to determine the predictors of temperament and character subdimensions in major depression patients, only three temperament and character traits “Fatigability, Purposefulness, and Spiritual Acceptance” were determined as significant predictors (p<0.001). Fatigability was determined to be a serious risk factor, increasing the probability of MDD 3.6 times (p<0.001); purposefulness and spiritual acceptance were found to be protective personality traits that together reduced the probability of MDD by 0.8 times (p<0.001). Conclusion: This study shows that the risk of developing MDD is increased in individuals with low self-directedness, cooperativeness, persistence, and self-transcendence profiles, and whereas with prominent Harm avoidance personality traits. Therapeutic interventions, especially considering the temperament and character traits of “Fatigability, Purposefulness, and Spiritual Acceptance” determined in our study, may contribute positively to MDD treatment.