Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chronic Cannabis-induced oxidative stress and reproductive containment in female mice

Aim: This study aims to evaluate cannabinoid-induced oxidative stress and reproductive containment in female mice. Settings and Design: Fifteen adult female Parkes strain mice were randomly chosen from the institutional animal house (n = 5/group) with ad libitum access to water and food. Animals were grouped into control (vehicle treated) and treated with 6 mg of Cannabis/100 g of body weight and 12 mg of Cannabis/100 g of body weight. After 15 days, all animals were sacrificed and tissues were collected for histology, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and estimations of different parameters. Methods and Materials: Histology and IHC of cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) were performed following standardized protocols. All parameters were estimated either by standard biochemical protocols or by kit following manufacturer’s protocol. Serum level of Estrogen (E2), stress parameters (Super Oxide Dismutase; SOD, Catalase, CAT; Malonaldehyde, MDA and Glutathione Peroxidase; GPx), apoptotic parameters of thecal cells (by Caspase-3 assay), steroidogenic parameters (3β Hydroxy-steroid dehydrogenase; 3βHSD and 17β Hydroxy-steroid dehydrogenase; 17βHSD) and expression of CB1 were noted in ovary. Statistical analyses used: Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance followed by Duncan’s Multiple Range post hoc test. Results: We found statistically significant (P < 0.05) decrease in steroidogenic parameters and significant increase (P < 0.05) in free radical and apoptotic parameters and CB1 receptor expressions on dose-dependent Cannabis treatment. Conclusions: We may conclude that chronic treatment of Cannabis causes reproductive containment in females which has never been addressed previously.
INFLUENCE OF DRYING METHODS ON SPECIFIC ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND PHYSICAL QUALITY OF TOMATO SLICES (Lycopersicon esculentum)

The aim of this research was to study the effects of various drying methods on quality parameters of tomato slices and, and to compare the difference on these parameters by different drying methods. Energy and specific energy consumption under the different drying methods of the tomato slices were compared. Tomato slices were dried by three different methods viz. convection hot air drying, infrared radiation drying, and microwave drying. Rehydration ratio, shrinkage ratio and total colour change were determined in these differently dried samples. Among the various methods used, it was observed that samples dried microwave scored highest for rehydration. Best results were obtained by the microwave dehydration. Thus, it could be concluded that microwave dehydration resulted in better end products retaining natural colour and shrinkage ratio. Microwave drying of tomato slices proved to have the lowest specific energy consumption and drying time of tomato slices.
Neural representation of form-contingent color filling-in in the early visual cortex

Perceptual filling-in exemplifies the constructive nature of visual processing. Color, a prominent surface property of visual objects, can appear to spread to neighboring areas that lack any color. We investigated cortical responses to a color filling-in illusion that effectively dissociates perceived color from the retinal input (van Lier, Vergeer, & Anstis, 2009). Observers adapted to a star-shaped stimulus with alternating red- and cyan-colored points to elicit a complementary afterimage. By presenting an achromatic outline that enclosed one of the two afterimage colors, perceptual filling-in of that color was induced in the unadapted central region. Visual cortical activity was monitored with fMRI, and analyzed using multivariate pattern analysis. Activity patterns in early visual areas (V1–V4) reliably distinguished between the two color-induced filled-in conditions, but only higher extrastriate visual areas showed the predicted correspondence with color perception. Activity patterns allowed for reliable generalization between filled-in colors and physical presentations of perceptually matched colors in areas V3 and V4, but not in earlier visual areas. These findings suggest that the perception of filled-in surface color likely requires more extensive processing by extrastriate visual areas, in order for the neural representation of surface color to become aligned with perceptually matched real colors.
PUBLIC EXPENDITURE ON AGRICULTURE AND OUTPUT GROWTH IN NIGERIA

The study empirically evaluated the nexus between public spending on agriculture and Nigerian output growth. The study employed secondary data, the data which spanned from 1981 through 2016. Some statistical tools were used to explore the relationship between the variables of interest. The study examines stochastic characteristics of each time series by correlation LM test, Heteroskedasticity Test. Then, the relationship between growth rate of real GDP and public spending on agriculture was examined using ordinary least square method of analysis. The findings shows that agricultural development in Nigeria has positive impact on the economic growth in Nigeria and that all the variables in the model proved significant, which shows that agricultural sector output has positively impact on the economic growth in Nigeria over the period under study. Based on the findings and conclusion, the study recommended among others that government should provide funds to acquire sophisticated farm tools with increase in her budgetary allocation to agricultural sector in a consistent manner with a view to contributing more to the economic growth of Nigeria.
Breaking the Subtopic Barrier in Cross-Document Event Coreference Resolution

Cross-document event coreference resolution (CDCR) is the task of detecting and clustering mentions of events across a set of documents. A major bottleneck in CDCR is a lack of appropriate datasets, which stems from the diﬃculty of annotating data for this task. We present the ﬁrst scalable approach for annotating cross-subtopic event coreference links , a highly valuable but rarely occurring type of cross-document link. The annotation of these links requires combing through hundreds of documents – an endeavor for which conventional token-level annotation schemes with trained expert annotators are too expensive. We instead propose crowdsourcing annotation on sentence level to achieve scalability. We apply our approach to create the Football Coreference Corpus (FCC), a corpus of 451 sports news reports, while reaching high agreement between NLP experts and crowd annotators in the process. 1
Sodium sulphate test on lime-based mortars: attaining degraded material to test conservation products and assessing salt resistance

Four mortar mixtures were subjected to a sodium sulphate test, formulated to obtain degraded material for the further testing of conservation products and to estimate its salt resistance based on their hydric and hygric parameters. The ageing test involves cyclic conversion of thenarditemirabilite. The cycle comprises of: the drying stage, salt absorption by capillarity, cooling and finally a total immersion in water. Water absorption by capillarity and microporosity determined by mercury porosimetry, were found to have a significant effect on the amount of salt absorbed consequently reflecting the induced damage. The experimental results support the theoretical view that micropores smaller than 0.1 μm in radius have a critical influence on the damage induced by sodium sulphate. Lime-metakaolin mortar proved to be extremely salt-susceptible in respect to lime mortar. The addition of linseed oil to both lime and lime-metakaolin mortar improved the salt resistance of both materials by granting hydrophobicity and restraining the absorption of salt. The ageing test used was successful in attaining lime mortar specimens to exhibit degradation patterns parallel to naturally exposed material, therefore can now be used for the testing of conservation products.
www.econstor.eu Zentrum für Europäische Integrationsforschung Center for European Integration Studies

The literature on tax competition generally concludes that international coordination of capital taxes among symmetric countries increases tax rates. This paper investigates whether this conclusion also holds in a political economy framework where taxes are set by elected policy makers. It shows that policy makers are fiscally more liberal than the average citizen if taxes are set non-cooperatively. However, fiscally more conservative policy makers are elected if taxes are set cooperatively. The introduction of tax coordination cannot remove the incentive to compete for foreign capital, but simply shifts it to the election stage. The paper proves that with standard specifications of the utility functions, coordination leads to lower tax rates than competition.
Prevalence and Risky Health behaviours Associated with Hepatitis B and C Infection among Blood Donors in Ogun State, Southwest, Nigeria

Infections from Hepatitis B and C viruses are gradually becoming a major public health challenge especially in Sub-Saharan Africa where prevalence is high with numerous chronic carriers harbouring the viruses in their liver. Chronic infection can lead to lethal consequences. Blood transfusion which is a common cause of Hepatitis B and C infections is still common in resource poor setting where adequate screening of blood might be a challenge. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence and risky health behaviours associated with Hepatitis B and C infections among blood donors in Ogun State. A descriptive retrospective study was carried out on 2044 Blood donors to National Blood Transfusion Service, Ogun State in year 2014 using pro-forma to obtain needed information and data was analyzed using SPSS. Prevalence of Hepatitis B (10.7%) and Hepatitis C (1.1%) was high among blood donors in the state. Age 21-40years (75% and P-value 0.015), Divorce/Separation (0.7% and P-value 0.001) and Yoruba tribe (85.2% and P-value 0.000) are significantly associated with Hepatitis B infection among blood donors. Age >40years (13.3% and P-value 0.007), Divorce/Separation (0.7% and P-value 0.039) and Yoruba tribe (85.2% and P-value 0.001) are significantly associated with Hepatitis C infection among blood donors. Risky health behaviours among blood donors include tattooing, occupational needle injury, untreated sexually transmitted diseases and multiple sexual partners. The study recommends education of the population on risk factors and effect of Viral Hepatitis.
PREVALENCE OF BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS IN SLAUGHTERING ANIMALS AT SELECTED MUNICIPAL SLAUGHTER HOUSES: ITS IMPACT ON PUBLIC HEALTH:

Bovine tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis is prevalent in animals in most of the developing countries, where surveillance and control activities are often inadequate or unavailable and pasteurization is rarely practiced. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the seroprevalence of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in slaughtered cattle and buffaloes and to assess the health of abattoir workers for presence of Mycobacterium bovis causing as zoonotic disease. This cross-sectional study was conducted at two abattoirs of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation. Questionnaires were developed to collect data on: social demographics, medical information, work related exposure factors and preventive measures as well. The butchers and meat handlers were selected by simple random sampling. Cattle slaughtered at the abattoirs were also screened for bovine tuberculosis using lateral flow technique and Ziehl Neelsen test. Eight hundred serum and 300 lung tissue samples obtained from both abattoirs were screened for presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Out of 800 serum samples 47 (5.8%) and 300 lung tissue samples, 38 (12.7%) were found positive by the rapid test lateral flow technique and Ziehl Neelsen stain, respectively. In this study 119 butchers and meat handlers were interviewed. The significant effect of knowledge and experience of both butchers and meat hadleers on potential zoonotic risk of disease was observed. Multivariate analysis of risk factor showed highly significant effect (P 6 years as calculated by odd ratio of 3.7 (1.9-7.7), followed by potential risk associated with job was significant (P 0.05). A significant difference (P 0.05) was observed between positive sputum samples of butchers, meat handlers and abattoir workers stained with AFB staining method and by microscopic examination. It was concluded from the results of present study that there is a potential risk for zoonotic transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from infected animal’s slaugheterd at abbatoir to butchers and meat handlers. Knowledge and experience of work and refraining from use of infected meat may effectively reduce risk factors of transmission.
Effects of a 3-D, Aquatic Vegetation Patch on the Flow: a Numerical Approach

This numerical study investigated the effects of a vegetation patch on the flow of a channel. The numerical approach consisted of a CFD, 3-D model that applied the RANS equations to simulate the flow field, and the VOF model to represent the free surface. The patch altered the initial flow by inducing regions of reduced velocity in the patch wake (approximately 40% reduction), and regions of enhanced velocity around of the patch (approximately 16% increase), and these regions extended throughout the water depth. Also, the patch induced a small change of 3.83% in the water surface, in the streamwise direction.
Changes in serum biochemical and lipid profile, and fatty acid composition of breast meat of broiler chickens fed supplemental grape seed extract

A study was conducted to evaluate the changes in serum biochemical and lipid profile, and fatty acid composition of breast meat of broiler chickens fed supplemental grape seed extract GSE . A total of 240 1-day-old male broiler chickens were randomly allocated to 4 groups, each consisting of 4 replicate pens having 15 birds/replicate pen. One group served as control group fed basal diets and other groups received 100, 200, and 400 ppm GSE supplemented to the basal diets. Liver weight was greater in broilers fed 200 ppm GSE compared to the other groups P = 0.004, L = 0.024, C = 0.010 . Serum AST and ALT levels decreased P < 0.001 whereas ALP levels increased with increasing dietary GSE levels P < 0.001 . Serum albumin and total protein levels were lower in control in comparison with other groups P < 0.001 . Serum cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL levels declined P < 0.001 while HDL levels increased with increasing supplemental GSE levels P < 0.001 . MUFA levels were greater in breast meat of broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with 100 ppm GSE. On the other hand, PUFA including n-3 and n-6 were greater in broiler chickens fed control diets or 400 ppm GSE supplemented diets. In general, essential fatty acids such as α-linolenic acid n-3 C18:3 , arachidonic acid n-6 C20:4 , eicosapentaenoic acid n-3 C20:5 , and docosahexaenoic acid n-3 C22:6 were greater in breast meat of broiler chickens fed supplemental GSE 100, 200, or 400 ppm while overall UFA concentration in breast meat remained unaffected. In conclusion, findings of this study suggest that dietary supplementation of up to 400 ppm GSE in broilers may improve serum biochemical and lipid profile. It may also improve the fatty acid composition of breast meat to varying extent despite no effect on overall UFA concentration.
A Current Emerging Respiratory Infection: Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics, Diagnosis and Treatments of COVID-19

WHO has declared the epidemic of COVID-19 as a priority disease. Some patients with COVID-19 pneumonia had symptoms of failure of multiple organs, and death. The published articles on COVID-19 infection were reviewed. The origin of CIVID-19 is still incompletely established. Person-to-person transmission via droplets, probable aerosols or close contacts is considered as the main mode of transmission. With the increase of COVID-19 infected patients and associated mortality, valuable clinical indicators or treatments are further identified and summarized. CT scan plays an important role in the diagnosis and evaluation of 2019-nCoV pneumonia in suspected patients with initial negative RT-PCR or asymptomatic results. No specific antiviral therapy is still recommended except the main supportive treatments, and effective measures should be taken into consideration to protect important organs and prevent the development of ARDS in patients with severe infection. Funding Statement: The authors declare that there are no sources of funding to be acknowledged. Declaration of Interests: All authors declare no competing interests.
Selection of Unnecessary Urine Culture Specimens Using Sysmex UF-5000 Urine Flow Cytometer

Background: Urine culture is one of the most frequently requested tests in microbiology. Automated urine analyzers yield much infection-related information. The Sysmex UF-5000 analyzer (Sysmex, Japan) is a new flow cytometry urine analyzer capable of quantifying urinary particles, including bacteria, WBCs, and yeast-like cells (YLCs) and can provide a Gram stainability flag. In this work, we evaluated how many unnecessary urine cultures could be screened out using the UF-5000. Methods: We compared the culture results of 126 urine samples among 453 requested urine cultures (from sources other than the Urology and Nephrology departments) with urinalysis results. Urine cultures were considered positive if bacterial or YLC growth was ≥10 CFUs/mL. Results: We used urinalysis cut-off values of 50/μL and 100/μL for bacteria and YLC, respectively. Forty eight of the 126 (38.1%, or 10.6% of 453 requested) cultures were below these cut-off values and did not contain any culture-positive samples. Conclusion: Bacteria and YLC counts generated using the UF-5000 analyzer could be used to screen out negative cultures and reduce urine culture volume by ∼10% without sacrificing detection of positive cultures. (Ann Clin Microbiol 2018;21:75-79)
BOOK OF ABSTRACTS

Title Author Page 04_CAMO_2019 DELIVERY OF BLEOMYCIN AMONG PATIENTS WITH TESTICULAR CANCER: A POPULATION-BASED STUDY OF PULMONARY MONITORING AND TOXICITY Michael Raphael 10 13_CAMO_2019 REAL-WORLD OUTCOMES AMONG PATIENTS (PTS) TREATED WITH GEMCITABINE (GEM)-BASED THERAPY POSTFOLFIRINOX (FFOX) FAILURE IN ADVANCED PANCREATIC CANCER (APC) Erica Tsang 11 02_CAMO_2019 CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM-SPECIFIC EFFICACY OF CDK4/6 INHIBITORS IN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS FOR METASTATIC BREAST CANCER Long Nguyen 12 08_CAMO_2019 TIMING AND COMPLETION RATES OF ADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY FOLLOWING DEFINITIVE SURGERY FOR PANCREATIC HEAD ADENOCARCINOMA Daniel Breadner 13 18_CAMO_2019 THE INFLUENCE OF ADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY DOSE INTENSITY ON FIVE YEAR OUTCOMES IN RESECTED COLON CANCER Suganija Lakkunarajah 14 17_CAMO_2019 BREAST CONSERVING SURGERY FOR LOCALLY ADVANCED BREAST CANCER Roochi Arora 15 2019 CAMO Annual Scientific Meeting Book of Abstracts
Antibacterial finish on silk fabric with pomegranate and onion peel extracts

Silk fabric and garments are susceptible to microbial attack, as these provide large surface area and absorb moisture required for microbial growth. Understanding the importance of use of silk fabric in our day to day life and considering the significance of antibacterial finish on textiles, to overcome consumer health problems faced by the consumers due to environment hazards like microbes, it is of great concerns to use of discarded underutilized peels of fruits and vegetables. So the present study was planned to assess the efficacy of pomegranate and onion peel extracts on cotton fabric with respect to bacterial resistance. Pomegranate and onion peel extract were extracted by Soxhlet method and applied in two concentrations i.e. 3g/l and 5g/l. Degummed silk fabric was finished with these two pure extracts of pomegranate and onion peels and their three standardized combinations by exhaust method. SEM analysis was also done for visual analysis of extract absorbed by the fabric. To study the effect of finished on fabric with pure pomegranate and onion peel extracts and their combinations for bacteria resistance activity, quantitatively by AATCC-100 test method. In study, it was found that as the concentration of extract increased, bacterial reduction of all finished samples also increased. Among all the treatments, silk fabric finished with combination of 50:50 was found to be more in bacterial reduction as compared to combination of 25:75 and 75:25 and pure pomegranate and onion peel extracts. It was 98.06% bacterial reduction in silk fabric with 5g/l concentration in the combination of 50:50.
Paradoxical drying due to salt crystallization; the effect of ferrocyanide

Salt damage of historical porous materials is mainly due to the crystallization of soluble salts due to drying. It is known that efflorescence changes the drying kinetics of porous media by changing the boundary conditions near material/air interface. In this study we focused on the influence of NaCl on the drying behavior. The results show that salt changes the drying process. At low relative humidities (RH ~ 0%), the drying rate of a brick saturated with NaCl solution is much lower than the drying rate of water saturated brick. Moreover, the presence of salt suppresses the development of a receding front. In this case homogenous drying of the material continues to very low saturation values. This is due to salt crystallization near the surface of the brick that causes blockage of the pores. This blockage reduces the evaporation rate at the surface. Increasing the relative humidity to 55% and 70% RH with the brick saturated with the salt solution leads to a paradoxical situation with evaporation rates greater than for 0% RH. The paradox is explained by the impact of the efflorescence microstructure on the evaporation rate, leading to the formation of a blocking crust for sufficiently high evaporation rates and non-blocking efflorescence for sufficiently low evaporation rates. With the addition of ferrocyanide crystallization inhibitor at low relative humidity, due to its effect on crystal morphology, salt crystallizes as efflorescence and the saturation concentration was attained very slowly inside the brick; the fired-clay brick dries much faster than without inhibitor.
Factors Associated with Acceptance of Uptake of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine: Implications for Health Promotion

Background: Zimbabwe has a high burden of cervical cancer and HPV vaccination, can help prevent future cervical cancer in girls who are not yet sexually active. Aims: Assessing factors associated with acceptance of uptake of HPV vaccine among guardians of girls aged between 9 and 14 years in Norton, Zimbabwe. Methods: This was a descriptive survey conducted on a systematic random sample of 200 participants. Approval for the study was granted by the institutional review board. All participants gave informed consent. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires. SPSS version 20 and STATA version 15 were used to analyse the data. Findings: Marital status (p = 0.003), religion (p < 0.001) and level of education (p = 0.045) were associated with uptake. Barriers to uptake cited were lack of adequate information (87.5%), fear of adverse reactions (92.2%) and long-term health problems (90.6%). Conclusion: Uptake of HPV vaccine was low. Health education is necessary to increase uptake.