Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plants in Amaya District, South West Shewa Zone of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

The purpose of the study was to identify medicinal plants and document associated indigenous knowledge of the Amaya District’s people related to differentiating the parts of medicinal plants, and their modes of preparation and administration to treat human and livestock diseases in South West Ethiopia. A total of 112 medicinal plant species belonging to 96 genera and 56 families were identified and documented. Most of the medicinal plants harvested were herbs followed by trees. Leaves were the most frequently used medicinal plant parts, followed by seeds and roots to prepare traditional remedies. Pounding was the most widely used mode of preparation in the study area, followed by crushing and chewing. The most commonly used route of administration was oral. The majority of medicinal plants were used in fresh condition to treat diseases. A Pearson correlation test indicated a significant difference between age of informants and number of medicinal plant species cited, and between level of education and number of medicinal plant species cited in the District. Ocimum lamiifolium specie was cited by the highest proportion of informants, and ranked first in treating febrile illness human disease in the study area. Malaria disease category scored the highest number of informant consensus factor value. Acmella caulirhiaz ranked first to treat tonsillitis infections. Cordia africana ranked first as a multipurpose medicinal plant. Farm expansion, firewood collection and lack of interest of the young and learned groups towards traditional medicines were the major threats to medicinal plants. Hence, identification and documentation of the medicinal plant species and the knowledge of the local people on how to prepare and use them is so vital for preserving them. Community based cultivation in home gardens and farmlands besides conserving them in wild, where they grow, are recommended to minimize the loss of those medicinal plants.
Effects of urbanization and nest-box design on reproduction vary by species in three cavity-nesting passerines in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

Artificial nest boxes provide an important resource for secondary cavity-nesting passerines, whose populations may be limited by the availability of nesting sites. However, previous studies have demonstrated that the design and placement of boxes may affect the reproductive success of the birds that use them. In this study, we asked whether the habitat surrounding a nest box or the type of box influenced reproduction in three cavity-nesting passerines. We studied Western Bluebirds (Sialia mexicana Swainson, 1832), Mountain Bluebirds (Sialia currucoides (Bechstein, 1798)), and Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808)) breeding in artificial nest boxes at sites across 70 km of the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Sites varied in their degree of urbanization, from relatively undisturbed ranchland, to cultivated vineyards, to frequently disturbed “suburban” habitat, and boxes varied in type of entrance (slot or hole). Western Bluebirds nested earlier in vineyards, and Tree Swallows produced significantly fewer fledglings in suburban habitat. In addition, Tree Swallows nested earlier and produced more fledglings in slot boxes. Our results suggest that conservation actions for cavity-nesting passerines may depend on the target species, which in turn should dictate the appropriate box type and habitat when erecting or replacing nest boxes.
Variations of finger dermatoglyphics among the Esan ethnic group of Edo State, Nigeria

Patterns in fingers, palms, and soles; a term refers to as ‘dermatoglyphics’, are now been studied for ethno-historic facts and ancestry tracing. However, there is paucity of information on Esan people dermatoglyphics. Hence, this study investigates the variations in finger dermatoglyphics among Esan speaking tribe of Edo State, Nigeria. A total of 500 indigenes were sampled from 3 randomly selected Local Government Areas (LGAs) and the ink method was used to collect finger-prints from both palms. The loop was the most predominant pattern (54.44%) while the whorl and arches represent 30.96% and 14.60% respectively. Overall, the loop fingerprint pattern was highest in all the LGAs. Esan West LGA presented highest in the arches fingerprints (56.44%) as compared to Esan North East LGA (24.38%) and Esan Central LGA (19.18%). The right hand was observed to present higher in the different primary fingerprints but the different was not significant. There was no significant different (p>0.05) in the distribution of the primary fingerprints pattern between the right and left hand in the different LGAs. There was a significant difference (p<0.05) in the distribution of the primary fingerprints between genders. Female represented higher in the arches pattern while male represented higher in the whorl pattern. The loop pattern was male dominant in Esan West and Esan Central LGAs but female dominated in Esan North East LGA. The findings demonstrated gender and LGAs variations of primary fingerprints among the Esan speaking tribe and may suggest different ancestry. This result could play important role for forensic anthropologist in the study area. Keywords: Dermatoglyphics, Fingerprints, Esan, Edo State, Nigeria
Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of the Nasopharynx with Skull Base Involvement: Retrospective National Cohort Analysis of Treatment Paradigms, Outcomes, and Provider Density

Abstract Objectives This article examines a national cohort of patients with nasopharyngeal adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) for incidence, skull base invasion, overall survival, and treatment paradigms. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective national population-based study using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program data of patients with ACC of the nasopharynx (NACC) and skull base between 2004 and 2016. Main Outcomes and Measures Primary outcomes included 5-year overall survival and odds of radiation treatment. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA 15.0 (STATACorp). p-Values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results Of the 2,385 cases of ACC, 70 cases were classified as NACC. Twenty-one percent (15) involved invasion of the skull base or posterior pharyngeal wall, and 42% (30) were either stage 3 or stage 4. The 5-year overall survival for patients with NACC without skull base invasion was 67% which dropped to 40% with invasion into the skull base. Radiation was used as the primary form of therapy for 62% of NACC and 73% of NACC invading into skull base. Odds of receiving radiation therapy and 5-year survival were not affected by socioeconomic status or density of providers. Conclusion NACC is rare in incidence and was most commonly treated with radiation therapy when advanced in stage. Prognosis was dependent on invasion through posterior pharyngeal wall and skull base. Provider density and socioeconomic status did not affect odds of radiation or overall survival for NACC.
Suppression of the base-collector leakage current in integrated Si/SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors

High leakage currents at the base-collector junction of heterojunction bipolar transistors have been mentioned by several authors. In this article, we compare two pre-epitaxy cleaning procedures which both allow smooth epitaxy without any extended defects. Using our initial cleaning procedure, we obtained leakage current values in the range of the published results. We show that our results were consistent with the presence of defects induced by the low-energy reactive ion etching involved in this procedure. In contrast, we obtain a very significant reduction of the leakage current using our new all-wet chemical cleaning.
The prevalence and correlates of depression among patients with breast cancer, attending outpatient clinics at two cancer units in Sri Lanka

Background Breast cancer is the most prevalent invasive cancer among female in Sri Lanka and worldwide. Depression being one of the commonest psychiatric comorbidities among them, its global prevalence had been rated at 32.2%. The prevalence and correlates of depression among patients with breast cancer in Sri Lanka, are largely unknown. Proper understanding of these data is essential to identify the burden of the disease and also to plan interventions. Aims Aims of this study were to identify the prevalence of depression among patients with breast cancer in Sri Lanka and to identify its associated socio-demographic and clinical factors. Method This was a descriptive cross-sectional study done in two main cancer units. Sample size was 335 which included females with a pathologically proven breast cancer attending oncology clinics. Data was collected using two separate questionnaires; CES-D questionnaire to rate depression and another questionnaire to obtain other information. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Results The prevalence of clinical depression in the sample was 24.5%. On chi square test application, a significant association with depressive prevalence was found with age, partner’s employment sate, menopausal state, having children under patient’s care, degree of social support, metastatic stage of cancer, past target therapy and current hormonal therapy. Logistic regression analysis provided a more significant association between depression prevalence and degree of social support. Conclusions Depression is a high prevalent psychiatric comorbidity among patients with breast cancer in Sri Lanka. Patients’ perception about degree of social support is the most significant predictor of depression among them.
Endovascular thrombectomy 2020: open issues

Abstract Mechanical thrombectomy is now well - established first - line treatment for selected patients with large artery occlusions of the anterior circulation. However, number of technical and procedural issues remains open to assure optimal outcomes in majority of patients including those suffering from posterior circulation perfusion defects. This brief review addresses some of the open issues and refers to the ongoing trials to close the existing knowledge gaps.
The Role of the Prior in Estimating VAR Models with Sign Restrictions

Several recent studies have expressed concern that the Haar prior typically imposed in estimating sign-identified VAR models may be unintentionally informative about the implied prior for the structural impulse responses. This question is indeed important, but we show that the tools that have been used in the literature to illustrate this potential problem are invalid. Specifically, we show that it does not make sense from a Bayesian point of view to characterize the impulse response prior based on the distribution of the impulse responses conditional on the maximum likelihood estimator of the reduced-form parameters, since the prior does not, in general, depend on the data. We illustrate that this approach tends to produce highly misleading estimates of the impulse response priors. We formally derive the correct impulse response prior distribution and show that there is no evidence that typical sign-identified VAR models estimated using conventional priors tend to imply unintentionally informative priors for the impulse response vector or that the corresponding posterior is dominated by the prior. Our evidence suggests that concerns about the Haar prior for the rotation matrix have been greatly overstated and that alternative estimation methods are not required in typical applications. Finally, we demonstrate that the alternative Bayesian approach to estimating sign-identified VAR models proposed by Baumeister and Hamilton (2015) suffers from exactly the same conceptual shortcoming as the conventional approach. We illustrate that this alternative approach may imply highly economically implausible impulse response priors.
Adsorption of heavy metal ions on crown ether adsorbents

Granular entrapped adsorbents of crown ether-phosphotungstic acid (PW) and crown ether-phosphomolybdic acid (PMo) in polyacrylamide were prepared by the sol-gel method and used for the adsorption of various heavy metals ions such as Ag+, Pb2+, Hg2+, Cd2+, Fe3+ and Zn2+. Dibenzo-18-crown-6-PW (or-PMo)/polyacrylamide adsorbent gave high adsorption and a high selectivity for large metal ions such as Ag+, Pb2+ and Hg2+, but not for smaller ions. In contrast, small heavy metal ions such as Cu2+, Fe3+ and Zn2+, but not larger ions, were strongly adsorbed by 12-crown-4-PW (or-PMo)/polyacrylamide adsorbent. The effects of pH and solvents on the adsorption were investigated. A dibenzo-18-crown-6-PMo adsorbent film was also prepared and successfully applied to the selective adsorption of Ag+ ions from an aqueous solution containing various metal ions, and the Ag+ ions on the film could be determined quantitatively by X-ray fluorescence analysis.
Benefit Assessment of Low-Fat Diet in Patients Undergone Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Background and Aims: This Gastrointestinal complications are common after cholecystectomy (open and laparoscopy), including anorexia, heartburn, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, flatulence and abdominal distension, and diarrhea. Currently use of low-fat regimen is suggested. The purpose was to determine the benefit of low-fat diet in patients undergone cholecystectomy.Materials and Methods: In this interventional study that was done as a randomized clinical trial, 80 consecutive patients undergone cholecystectomy in Loghman Hospital in 2019 were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive either low-fat (25%) or routine regimen. After two months, the results were assessed by comparing the responses to a questionnaire including anorexia, heartburn, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, flatulence plus abdominal distension, and diarrhea as items, with total score of 21 points. Results: The results in this study demonstrated that 60% of the patients showed significantly different response according to Chi-Square test (P=0.041). Age, sex, and obesity had statistically significant effect on results (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Altogether, according to the obtained results, it may be concluded that low-fat diet consumption is beneficial in patients undergone cholecystectomy and it may be practiced according to the patient’s condition and physician’s opinion.
Analog Least Mean Square Adaptive Filtering for Self-Interference Cancellation in Full Duplex Radios

In-band full duplex (IBFD) radio represents one of the key technologies for future wireless communication and radar applications. A major challenge of this technology is to mitigate the strong self-interfer-ence (SI) so that the residual SI level falls below the receiver's noise floor. Radio frequency (RF) self-inter-ference cancellation (SIC) is essential for preventing an IBFD receiver from becoming saturated by the SI. We commence with an in-depth review of the promising analog least mean square (ALMS) adaptive filtering architecture, conceived for RF SIC in the IBFD radio RF front-end. The cancellation circuits employing this architecture can be implemented purely by analog components without any involvement of more power-thirsty digital signal processing. The behaviors, performance, and implementation of the ALMS loop are presented. Finally, their applications in various IBFD radios are discussed, and future research directions are provided.
Combined Impacts of Fin Surface Inclination and Magnetohydrodynamics on the Thermal Performance of a Convective-Radiative Porous Fin

In this work, the combined impacts of magnetohydrodynamics and fin surface inclination on thermal performance of convective-radiative porous fin with temperature-invariant thermal conductivity is numerically study using finite difference method. Parametric studies reveal that as the inclination of fin, convective, radiative, magnetic and porous parameters increase, the adimensional fin temperature decreases which leads to an increase in the heat transfer rate through the fin and the thermal efficiency of the porous fin. It is established that the porous fin is more efficient and effective for low values of convective, inclination angle, radiative, magnetic and porous parameters. The thermal performance ratio of the fin increases with the porosity parameter.
Highly selective iodide-responsive gel–sol state transition in supramolecular hydrogels

We demonstrate for the first time a highly selective anion-responsive reversible gel–sol state transition in a supramolecular hydrogel of Ag(I)-glutathione (GSH) coordination polymers, which allows for facile and selective visual recognition of I−via naked eyes even in a strongly colored and/or fluorescent background. Such a strategy overcomes the drawback of spectral interferences which are often encountered in conventional colorimetric and fluorimetric means. It was rationalized that I− functioned as a depolymerizing agent for the Ag(I)-GSH supramolecular hydrogels. A feasible quantitative assay for I− was established that afforded satisfactory results for simulated wastewater samples. We believe that this strategy can in principle be applicable to other species by following a smart gel–sol state transition in designed supramolecular hydrogel.
Hepatoprotective Activity of Bergenin against Xenobiotics-Induced Oxidative Stress in Human Hepatoma (HepG2) Cells

Bergenin, a natural derivative of gallic acid, has been shown to exert anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This study aimed to determine hepatoprotective activity of bergenin against ethanol and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) induced oxidative stress in human hepatoma (HepG2) cells. HepG2 cells (5x10 cells/well) were co-treated with ethanol (100 mM) or TBHP (100 μM) and either bergenin (75, 150, and 300 μM) or gallic acid (60 μM, positive control) for 24 h. Cell viability, hematoxylin and eosin staining of cell morphology, cellular injury biomarkers: lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and malondialdehyde (MDA), and antioxidant biomarkers: superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and total glutathione (GSH) content, were determined. Ethanol and TBHP decreased cell viability (86.67% and 84.49% of control, respectively), increased LDH toxicity (12.53% and 15.91% of control, respectively), and increased AST, ALT, and MDA levels, compared with the control. Based on cell morphology, both ethanol and TBHP injured HepG2 cells causing the loss of cell nuclei. Treatment of HepG2 cells with either ethanol or TBHP reduced SOD and CAT activities and depleted total GSH content, compared with the control. Bergenin and gallic acid improved the cell morphology, elevated cell viability (95.94-99.20% and 97.72-99.62% of control, respectively), lowered LDH toxicity (8.14-9.10% and 7.82-8.92% of control, respectively), restored AST, ALT, and MDA levels, promoted SOD and CAT activities, and enhanced the total GSH content of ethanoland TBHP-treated HepG2 cells. Bergenin exhibited hepatoprotective activity via restoration of the oxidant-antioxidant system and is a potential candidate for hepatoprotective treatment.
Incidence and Predictors of Lost to Follow up Among Children Attending ART Clinic at Dessie Referral Hospital, Northeast Ethiopia: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background: Despite, antiretroviral therapy could reduce the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus and related morbidity, loss to follow up is a main challenge among children living with human immunodeficiency virus. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the incidence and predictors of loss to follow up among under 15 years old children attending antiretroviral therapy clinic at Dessie referral hospital, North east Ethiopia.Methods: A ten-year institution based retrospective cohort study was employed among 448 under 15 years’ old children who were enrolled on antiretroviral therapy. Data were entered and cleared using Epi- data version 3.1 and then exported to STATA version 14 for further statistical analysis. Kaplan Meier survival curve was used to estimate the survival time and log rank test was used to compare the survival time between different categories of the explanatory variables. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was fitted to identify predictors of loss to follow up and p-value < 0.05 was considered as statically significant.Results: The overall incidence rate of loss to follow up was 6.3 per100 children in years of observation. Being male (AHR=2.1, CI =1.37 ,3.34), age 1-5 years (AHR=1.6, CI=1.05,2.46), poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy (AHR = 6.6; CI=4.11,10.66), fair adherence to antiretroviral therapy (AHR= 2.2; CI = 1.13 ,4.20), regimen was not changed (AHR = 4.1; CI = 2.59 ,6.45), world health organization stage III and IV (AHR= 2.2; CI =1.40, 3.33) and height for age < -2 z score (AHR = 2.2; CI = 1.43, 3.44) were predictors of loss to follow up.Conclusion: The incidence rate of loss to follow was high. Age 1-5 years, world health organization stage III and IV, poor and fair adherence to antiretroviral therapy, regimen was not changed, being male and stunted were higher risk for loss to follow up. Therefore, close monitoring to the higher risk groups for loss to follow up highlighted in this study could decrease the rate of loss to follow up. Improving the adherence of children to antiretroviral therapy and nutritional support for stunted children were also recommended.
Estimating green purchase behavior: an empirical study using integrated behavior model in Bangladesh

Purpose This paper aims to examine the exogenous effects of experiential attitude toward green (EAG), instrumental attitude toward green (IAG), injunctive norms on green (ING), descriptive norms about green (DNG), green perceived control (GPC) and green self-efficacy (GSE) on green purchase intention (GPI). Moreover, this paper also investigates the causal factors of green purchase behavior (GPB) considering green knowledge (GK), the salience of green behavior (SGB), environmental constraints (ECPG) and green habit (GH). Design/methodology/approach The research model was adopted to measure the green behavior of Bangladeshi consumers using an integrated behavior model (IBM). The data were randomly collected from 372 respondents and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was used to test the hypotheses. Findings PLS results imply that all independent variables (EAG; IAG; ING; DNG; GPC and GSE) impact GPI; and SGB, GH and GPI influence GPB. On the other hand, GK and ECPG have no significant effect on GPB. Research limitations/implications There may present a gap in the outcomes of the study to signify the generalizability because the survey was conducted in some cities of Bangladesh which may not represent the country as a whole. Practical implications This study anticipates the cause-effect relationship between GPI, GPB and their determinants. The results of the study can help marketers understand green consumer behavior and design appropriate strategies and tactics for new marketing challenges. Originality/value This research investigates green purchase behavior in a developing country. It empirically confirms the validity of IBM in assessing green behavior, especially for Bangladesh, a booming economy and suitable for investment. Although ample research explored green purchase behavior, green habit and saliency have not been considered in measuring green purchase behavior.