Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Erectile Dysfunction After Surgical Treatment of Lung Cancer: Real-World Evidence

Background Sexual problems are common in male lung cancer survivors. However, the development of erectile dysfunction (ED) in lung cancer patients after surgery has been rarely explored. In this study, we aimed to explore the incidence and risk factors of ED after lung cancer surgery. Methods From 2000 to 2012, 6025 and 24,100 male patients were included in each matched cohort of lung cancer and non-lung cancer patients, respectively. Poisson regression analysis was used to calculate the incidence rate ratio (IRR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results The incidence of ED was higher in the lung cancer cohort compared to the non-lung cancer cohort (38.47 vs 28.28 per 10,000 person-years) with an adjusted IRR (aIRR) of 1.34 (95% CI: 1.06–1.70, p=0.014) after the confounders were adjusted for. An increased incidence of ED was observed in the lung cancer cohort aged 40–54 years (aIRR: 5.44, 95% CI: 2.25–13.15, p<0.001), 55–64 years (aIRR: 3.62, 95% CI: 1.61–8.17, p=0.002) years, and anxiety (aIRR: 2.99, 95% CI: 1.81–4.94, p<0.001). In addition, a higher incidence of emergency room (ER) visits (aIRR: 2.19, 95% CI: 1.98–2.42, p<0.001) was observed in lung cancer patients with ED compared to those without ED. Conclusion Our study results suggested that early surveillance and intervention of ED should be advocated in lung cancer patients after surgery.
MOLECULAR DIAGNOSIS OF DUCHENNE/BECKER MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY: ANALYSIS OF EXONS DELETION AND CARRIER DETECTION

Objective: Duchenne and Becker Muscular Dystrophy (DMD and BMD) are X-linked conditions resulting from a defect in the dystrophin gene located at Xp21.2. DMD is the most frequent neuromuscular disease in humans (1/3500 male newborns). In approximately 65% of DMD and BMD patients, deletions in the dystrophin gene have been identified as the molecular determinant. The frequency and distribution of dystrophin gene deletions in DMD/BMD patients from different populations are different. The aim of this study was to delineate various types of deleted exons and their frequency in affected male patients and identification of carrier females by linkage analysis. Materials and Methods: In this study 100 unrelated patients with DMD/BMD were studied for intragenic deletions in 28 exons and the promoter region of the dystrophin gene using multiplex PCR. We also performed linkage analysis within the dystrophin gene utilizing 8 short tandem repeat markers. Results: Fifty-two (52%) patients showed intragenic deletions. A total of 81% of the deletions were located at the distal hot spot region (44-55 exons) and 19% of the deletions were located at the proximal region (exon 2-19). The most frequent deleted exons were 47(16%), 48 and 46 (11%). Most of the STR markers showed heterozygosity in the families studied. The linkage analysis was useful for detecting carrier status. Conclusion: The present study suggests that intragenic dystrophin gene deletions occur with the same frequency in Iranian patients compared with other ethnic groups.
The Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic is leading to mental health problems due to disease experience, physical distancing, stigma and discrimination, and job losses in many of the settings hardest hit by the pandemic. Health care workers, patients with COVID-19 and other illnesses, children, women, youth, and the elderly are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Virtual mental health services have been established in many settings and social media is being used to impart mental health education and communication resources. This rapid review highlights mental health services across countries hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. More needs to be done to take these services to scale and ensure equity and efficiency. The impact of COVID-19 on mental health in sub-Saharan Africa could be immense, given the weak health care systems. Similar to the Ebola epidemic of 2014–2016, COVID-19 is expected to cause anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorders. Uptake of mental health care services is generally low, and communities rely on social resources. Hence, efforts to control the disease transmission should be contextualized. Low digital literacy, low smartphone penetration and limited internet connection make online mental health services a limited option for service delivery. Safeguarding social and cultural resilience factors and coping mechanisms is critical in the sub-Saharan African context. Mass media is a feasible way of providing social resources. Community health workers can be trained quickly to provide mental health education, screening and counselling services. Toll-free mental health helplines can be used to provide services to health care workers and those needing customized care. Mental health and psychosocial support services need to be integrated into the pandemic response and coordinated nationally. It is critical for these services to continue during and after the epidemic.
Chemical profile and antimicrobial potential of essential oils of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf, Ocimum basilicum Linn and Aniba rosaeodora Ducke

The study evaluated the chemical profile, antimicrobial activity and toxicity of essential oils (EOs) of C. citratus, O. basilicum and A. rosaeodora . The EOs were extracted by hydrodistillation, the chemical profile was determined using the physicochemical parameters and the chemical composition was obtained by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The toxicity assay followed the Artemia salina Leach bioassay. To perform the antimicrobial activity, the Disc Diffusion technique and the Mueller Hinton Broth Dilution (MH) technique were used. The physicochemical parameters of the EOs showed satisfactory results. The major chemical composition of the EO of A. rosaeodora presented linalool (93.60%), the EO of C. citratus exhibited geranial (43.96%) and EO of O. basilicum found methyl chavicol. All EOs in this study had LC 50 between 582 mg L -1 and 282 mg L -1 . The antimicrobial activity of EO C. citratus demonstrated inhibition halos for S. aureus of 25 mm and 25 mm for E. coli , EO of O. basilicum exhibited inhibition halo of 18 mm for E.coli and 20 mm for S. aureus and EO of A. rosaeodora presented 11 mm for E. coli and 15 for S. aureus . As the values of MIC and MBC found, the EO of O. basilicum presented a more effective inhibitory action against S. aureus . It was concluded that the observed biological potentials encourage the application potentials in the efficiency of the control of pathogenic microorganisms.
Bayesian spatiotemporal modeling on complex‐valued fMRI signals via kernel convolutions

We propose a model‐based approach that combines Bayesian variable selection tools, a novel spatial kernel convolution structure, and autoregressive processes for detecting a subject's brain activation at the voxel level in complex‐valued functional magnetic resonance imaging (CV‐fMRI) data. A computationally efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm for posterior inference is developed by taking advantage of the dimension reduction of the kernel‐based structure. The proposed spatiotemporal model leads to more accurate posterior probability activation maps and less false positives than alternative spatial approaches based on Gaussian process models, and other complex‐valued models that do not incorporate spatial and/or temporal structure. This is illustrated in the analysis of simulated data and human task‐related CV‐fMRI data. In addition, we show that complex‐valued approaches dominate magnitude‐only approaches and that the kernel structure in our proposed model considerably improves sensitivity rates when detecting activation at the voxel level.
Using Nonlinear Budget Sets to Estimate Extensive Margin Responses: Method and Evidence from the Earnings Test

We estimate the impact of the Social Security Annual Earnings Test (AET) on older workers’ employment. The AET reduces social security claimants’ current benefits in proportion to their earnings in excess of an exempt amount. Using a regression kink design and Social Security Administration data, we document that the discontinuous change in the benefit reduction rate at the exempt amount causes a corresponding change in the slope of the employment rate, suggesting that the extensive margin of labor supply is more sensitive to this policy than commonly thought. We develop a model and method that allow us to translate the behavioral responses into a lower bound estimate of 0.49 for the extensive margin elasticity, which implies more than a 1 percentage point increase in work in the absence of the AET. (JEL H55, J14, J22, J26, J31)
Bacterial diseases of rice I. Pathogenic bacteria associated with sheath rot complex and grain discoloration of rice in the Philippines

Surveys were made to determine if bacterial pathogens were associated with grain discoloration and leaf sheath rot of rice in the major rice-growing districts in the Philippines. In 1988 and 1989, 304 diseased plant and grain samples were collected from 16 different provinces, and bacterial pathogens were found in 64 samples representing 12 of the provinces. In other cases, sheath rot or grain discoloration was attributed to fungal disease, insects, or abiotic factors. Pathogenic bacteria (204 strains) represented 3.6% of the total number of strains isolated and tested. Inoculations into the leaf sheaths of seedlings or the flag leaf sheaths produced symptoms characteristic of infection by Burkholderia glumae (formerly Pseudomonas glumae) and Pseudomonas fuscovaginae. None of the pathogens could be associated with distinctive symptoms. Strains of putative P. fuscovaginae were isolated from samples collected from the tropical lowland provinces of Laguna, Palawan, and Davao, and from the tropical highland (above 950 m) province of Ifugao. Since bacterial pathogens were isolated from 21% of the collections with sheath rot or grain discoloration, bacteria appear important in these disease complexes in the Philippines.
Child Labor Contributions to the Household Productivity and Income of Rubber Farmers in Arakan Valley Complex, Philippines

The study entitled, “ Child Labor Contributions of the Household Productivity and Income of Rubber Farmers in Arakan Valley Complex, Province of Cotabato”, was conducted to described the socio-demographic characteristics of the rubber farmers; determine the labor contributions of parents and children in rubber farming and in the different farming activities; the household productivity and income of rubbers farmers; difference between the parents and child labor contributions: influence of the child labor contributions on the household income derived from rubber farming and from other farming activities; influence of the number of working children on the household farming productivity; and influence of the number of working children on the number of household farming activities. Rubber grower respondent had an average age of 46. Majority or 81.8% of the respondents were male and 82.8% were married, 84.8% were Catholic and 64.6% belonging to the Ilonggo tribe. Most of the respondents attained elementary and high school education with an average household size of 6 and an average farm size of 1.86. About 76.54% of the total labor input in rubber farming and other farming activities were contributed by the child labor, while only 23.46% of the total labors were contributed by the parents. Rubber had the highest yield per year followed by corn, rice, fruits and lastly vegetables. Only rubber farming showed a significant difference between the parents and the child labor contributions. In rubber farming, only care and maintenance and acid treatment showed a significant influence on the household income, while the total labor cost contributed by the children from the other farming activities had also significantly influenced the household income. Result of the ANOVA revealed that as the number of working children increased, the household income also increased. Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) showed that the number of children 4-6 and 7-9 had substantially increased the household income. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) result also showed that the number of working children significantly contributed to the increase of the household farming activities. The DMRT, on the other side, indicated that the two higher categories of the number of working children, 4-6 and 7-9 had significantly contributed to the increase in the number of farming activities done by the household.
Effect of Drought Stress and its Interaction with Salicylic Acid on Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) Germination and Early Seedling Growth

Environmental stress, particularly drought stress can play an important role in reducing plant growth especially during the germination stage in arid and semi-arid regions in Iran. For cultivation of medicinal plants in arid and semi-arid areas, the assessment of their tolerance is very important. In this research, in order to evaluate the effects of salicylic acid pretreatment on enhancement of seed germination and early seedling growth of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. under drought stress, a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design was employed. The factors were the combination of five levels of drought stress induced by poly ethylene glycol (0, -0.1, -0.2, -0.3 and -0.4 MPa) and five concentrations of salicylic acid (0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 mM) with three replicates. The results indicated that an increase in drought stress reduced germination components such as germination percentage and rate, total biomass, seed vigor index, root length, root fresh and dry weight, shoot length, shoot fresh and dry weight and relative water content and increased electrolyte leakage and proline content. Salicylic acid improved germination; therefore, the average time necessary for germination decreased under drought conditions. The seeds treated by salicylic acid, produced a higher root and shoot length, root and shoot fresh and dry weight, total biomass and seed vigor index. Salicylic acid ameliorated the negative effects of drought stress on fennel germination and seedling's growth. Higher concentrations of salicylic acid were more effective than the lower ones. It seems that salicylic acid can enhance the tolerant ability of the seeds to germination under drought stress.
New Zealand Fungi: 12.Menispora,Codinaea,Menisporopsis*

Summary Some brief remarks are made about phial ides and two methods by which they may proliferate. Generic descriptions are given for Menispora Pers. and Codinaea Maire. Although the type material of C. aristata, the type species of Codinaea, has not been seen, the generic name is considered to be an earlier synonym of Menisporella Agnthothrudu. The type species of Menisporella, M. assamica, is illustrated and redescribed from the type. Species described and illustrated from New Zealand include two of Menispora, M. ciliata Corda and M. uncinata n. sp. , and 12 of Codinaea, C. botulispora n. sp. , C. brevisetula n. sp. , C. fertilis n. sp. , C. longispora n. sp. , C. obesispora n. sp. , C. parva n. sp. , C. setosa n. sp. , C. simplex n. sp. , and C. vulgaris n. sp. , together with the perithecial and Codinaea states of Chaetosphaeria callimorpha (Mont.) Sacc. , C. dingleyae Hughes, Kendrick and Shoemaker n. sp. and C. pulchriseta Hugh. , Kendr. , and Shoem. n. sp. Chaetosphaeria talbotii Hugh. , Kendr. , and Shoem. n. s.
SECTORAL GROWTH AND INCOME INEQUALITY IN ASEAN-5 COUNTRIES: CASE OF LOW-MIDDLE INCOME ECONOMIES

This paper aims to explore the relationship between growth in economic sectors, especially manufacturing, service, and agriculture, towards income inequality. Furthermore, it utilizes panel data for low-middle income ASEAN countries. The result shows that the share of agricultural sector in GDP has a significant and negative relationship with income inequality. In fact, the effect is robust for the incorporation of control variables. Therefore, it underlines the importance of agricultural sector development for reducing inequality and also for fostering ASEAN economic integration.
Comparison of AODV and Optimized AODV in Vehicular Ad hoc Networks

: In this paper, the work is done to identify the need for QoS improvement in VANETs. In vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET) a restricted coverage of Wi-Fi and extremely mobile nodes creates the topology highly dynamic and frequently disconnecting. Subsequently, Quality of Service turn out to be an essential issue. Investigation related to work signifies that, an effective routing methodology plays a vital role to improve the QoS parameters. As in opportunistic routing path is not predefined so in normal schemes it leads to packet drop and reduces throughput to overcome these limitations in VANETs, AODV (Ad Hoc on Demand Vector) routing path is optimized by applying a Meta heuristic algorithm – Ant Colony Optimization (ACO). Opportunistic Network Environment (ONE simulator) has been used to carry out the experiment. To measure the performance we used various parameters, such as packet drop, overhead ratio, average latency and the throughput. To create the simulation more realistic a city map has been used in the simulator.
EFFECT OF USING L-CARNITINE, ASCORBIC ACID AND PROBIOTICS ON PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE, MICROBIAL LOAD AND HISTOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN LOCALLY-DEVELOPED BROILERS

An experiment was conducted to investigate effects of supplemented L-carnitine, ascorbic acid and probiotics on productive performance, carcass characteristics and some bacterial and histological aspects in locally-developed broiler strain. 252 unsexed chicks 2 weeks of age were reared up to 8 weeks of age were distributed into 7 treatments in 6 replicates of 6 birds each. The experimental groups were as follows: T1: Control group fed basal diet. T2: Basal diet supplemented with 500 mg ascorbic acid / Kg diet. T3: Basal diet supplemented with 1000 mg ascorbic acid / Kg diet. T4: Basal diet supplemented with 75 mg L-carnitine / Kg diet. T5: Basal diet supplemented with 150 mg L-carnitine / Kg diet. T6: Basal diet supplemented with 0.5 g Probiotic / Kg diet. T7: Basal diet supplemented with 1.0 g Probiotic / Kg diet. The results showed that live body weight, daily weight gain, daily feed consumption or feed conversion ratio were insignificantly different during the first 2 weeks of studied period among all groups. Birds fed T2 diet gained significantly higher weight compared with other groups at overall period. While feed conversion ratio of birds fed T4, T5, T6 and T7 were the best significantly compared with the other groups. Dressing percentage of all tested groups was increased significantly compared with control group. While birds fed T3 or T5 diets deposited significantly less abdominal fat compared with the other groups. Microbial studies showed that aerobic bacteria decreased by feeding different treatments in caecum and small intestine compared with control. Also, anaerobic (beneficial) bacteria increased in caecum and small intestine in comparison with control. As well, feeding birds on probiotics or ascorbic acid had completely eliminated Campylobacter from chicken meat. Probiotics treatment was the more effective in decreasing total bacterial count in carcass meat. Histological observation revealed that dietary treatments had a positive effect on the number and size of fasciculi and consequently their myofibers of muscles, normal liver and spleen structure was noticed, expect for some slight changes. Therefore, it is suggested that L-carnitine, ascorbic acid or probiotics, could be used safely as feed additives to improve performance without any adverse effect on body organs or gastro-intestinal tract microbial population.
Stakeholder attitudes towards audit credibility in English local government: A post‐Audit Commission analysis

In recent years, substantial changes have been implemented to the audit regimes for local authorities in several countries. Following the abolishment of the Audit Commission, a unique regime for the audit of local authorities has emerged in England, with external audit now fully conducted by private sector audit firms. Auditor appointments for the vast majority of local authorities are now managed by a new organisation, Public Sector Audit Appointments Limited (PSAA). Drawing on the determinants of audit credibility developed by Funnell, Wade and Jupe (2016), this paper examines how local authority stakeholders in the transformed landscape of local public audit in England perceive audit credibility, including the role of PSAA and other audit stakeholders. Findings show that the impact of current arrangements is positively perceived by stakeholders in relation to auditors’ technical competence and independence, at least in the short term, however significant concern is found amongst stakeholders regarding the usefulness of local pub-licaudits.ComparedtoFunnelletal. (2016),weascribethese differences to the different context of audit in English local government and suggest the relative weighting of determinants of audit credibility are contingent.
Genet and ramet demography of Oenocarpus mapora spp. mapora, a clonal palm of Panamanian tropical moist forest

This study analyses the demography of a clonal plant species explicitly at the genet level. The tropical palm Oenocarpus mapora ssp. mapora produces vegetative ramets that root and are capable of independent survival; its growth from results in clones (genets) that are readily distinguishable as clumps in the field. The importance of clonal growth to the dynamics of the population of genetic individuals is evaluated and the influence of the clonal habit upon the demographic variation among O. mapora populations growing in heterogeneous forest habitats is examined
A Simple Technique for Propagation Characteristics of Substrate Integrated Waveguide

─ A simple technique is presented for propagation characteristics of substrate integrated waveguide (SIW). A unit cell of the periodic structure is divided into consecutive rectangular waveguide sections with small difference in widths. Each section is modeled by a transfer matrix which is calculated by satisfying the boundary conditions on discontinuities. Propagation constant of the SIW is extracted by applying the Floquet theorem to the overall transfer matrix of a single unit cell. The results of this extremely simple method agree well with measured values and other numerical techniques reported in recent literatures. Index Terms ─ Dispersion characteristic, periodic structure, substrate integrated waveguide (SIW), transfer matrix, waveguide discontinuity.
Metabolic Consequences of Viviparity in a Lizard, Sceloporus jarrovi

Metabolic rates of gravid females of the viviparous lizard Sceloporus jarrovi are higher than those of nonreproductive lizards: the allometric relationship between oxygen consumption and body mass in gravid females (V̇o2 = 0.437 m.735) has a statistically equivalent slope but a significantly higher intercept than that for males (V̇o2 = 0.225 m.812). The elevated metabolism of females during pregnancy is greater than can be accounted for by the increased mass of the pregnant female, indicating that the mass-specific oxygen consumption of the embryos is not scaling to maternal body mass. In fact, metabolism of gravid females is even higher than predicted if embryo metabolism is scaling to embryo body mass. Mean oxygen consumption of newborn S. jarrovi (mean body mass = 0.75 g) was 0.245 cm³ O₂ · h⁻¹, which is 1.4 times higher than that predicted from the allometric relationship for nonpregnant adults, but it is not statistically different from estimates of metabolism of embryos just before birth. During parturition, oxygen consumption of the female is 57%–162% higher than resting levels. The elevated oxygen consumption of viviparous female lizards during gestation could constitute a significant component of reproductive effort in these species.