Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recent Fluctuations in the Abundance of Baleen Whales in the Southern Gulf of Maine in Relation to Changes in Selected Prey

- Significant changes in the biomass of sandlance Ammo dytes spp. and in the abundance of the copepod Cal<mw; finm.archicus in the southern Gulf of Maine co-oc curred with a shift in the occurrence and abundance offour species of ba leen whales in the region. During the years 1982-88 the abundance of sandlance was negatively correlated to the abundance of C. fin'marchiC'us (1', = -0;883, P<0.05). Peak years of abundance for C. jinmarchicus during 1982-88 in the study area were the lowest years of abundance for sandlance. The abundance of C. jinmarchicus and sandlance was at a regional maximum during 1986 and 1988, respectively. The abundance of humpback and fin whales were marginally corre lated to each other (1', = 0.3338, P< 0.08). The abundance of humpbacks was negatively correlated with right whales (r, = -0.7753, P<O.OOl) and sei whales (r, = -0.5507, P<O.Ol). The patterns of occurrence for right and sei whales
Transient Hypogonadism Induced by SARS-CoV-2 during COVID-19 in Men Aged under 65 Years

Background: The presence of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, the main entry receptor for SARS-CoV-2 in lung alveolar tissue, in Sertoli and Leydig cells of the adult testis, may suggest possible testicular involvement during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our aim was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on gonadal function in men. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study in a population of men aged below 65 years of age with SARS-CoV-2. Not included in the study were any sub-jects on testosterone replacement therapy or with a known condition that could create hypogonadism. We recruited patients through a questionnaire and then performed total testosterone and SHBG analysis at 8 hours and 2 months post infection by ELISA. We used the Spearman Rho test for statistical analysis of correlations. The significance level was set at 0.05. Results: The sample consisted of 40 male COVID positive patients with a mean age of 46.4 ± 11.8 years. Eight patients were reviewed after infection. The mean total testosterone was 11 ng/ml ± 2.4 and the SHBG was 113 nmol/l ± 66.9 during infection. In the 8 patients reviewed after infection, median total testosterone decreased during infection (11 ng/ml) and increased after infection (12.7 ng/ml), this result was statistically significant (P = 0.028). Median SHBG during infection was increased (115.7 nmol/l) and after infection was decreased (82 nmol/l). There was a statistically significant (P = 0.04) and positive correlation between serum testosterone and SHBG levels in patients with severe infection. Conclusion: There could be a transient relative hypogonadism during SARS-CoV-2 infection, more marked in the severe forms of the disease with a tendency to improve after infection.
Growth of Guinea pigs ( Cavia porcellus ) with feed for rabbits and supplementation of vitamin C

Objetive. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the feed intake, digestibility and growth of pigs fed with two feeds (A and K) specially formulated for this species and a commercial feed for growing rabbits with supplementation of vitamin C (RF+VC). Materials and methods. Eighteen Guinea pigs of 248±38 g initial body weight were distributed in a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement 3×2 (dietary treatments and sex). Feed and neutral detergent fiber intake, weight gain, feed/gain, and morphometric variables were measured individually for 30 days. Dry matter and neutral detergent fiber digestibility were measured during the last seven days of the experiment. Results. There were no differences on feed intake (p=0.88); however, the dry matter digestibility was higher (p<0.01) in feeds formulated for Guinea pigs (A and K) and lower in the rabbit feed plus vitamin C. The intake and digestibility of NDF were higher in the RF+VC and lower in feeds for Guinea pigs (p< 0.01). The average daily gain was similar among the treatments (p>0.05). There were no differences (p>0.01) in the morphometric variables among dietary treatments, but there were sex differences as the males were bigger than the females (p<0.01). Conclusions. The results indicate that Guinea pigs can be fed with rabbit feed supplemented with vitamin C.
Awareness, attitudes and acceptability of the HPV vaccine among female university students in Morocco

Background In Morocco, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer affecting women behind breast cancer. The Human PapillomaVirus (HPV) vaccine has been available in Morocco since 2008 but its introduction in the national immunization program is still under discussion. There is limited data regarding acceptability and predictors of HPV vaccine acceptability among Moroccan young women. This study aimed to evaluate the awareness of female university students of HPV and the vaccine and to identify predictors of HPV vaccine acceptability. Methods We conducted a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire with 1087 participants in six Moroccan universities between May 2019 and June 2020. Results The awareness of HPV infection was 14.7% and of HPV vaccine was 7.8%. The rate of immunization coverage against HPV was less than 1%. Over 67% of participants were willing to receive the HPV vaccine. Awareness of cervical cancer (p-Value = 0.04) and the HPV vaccine (p-Value = 0.01), and acceptability of Pap smear test (p-Value <0.01) were significant predictors of HPV vaccine acceptability. Conclusions This study revealed an insufficient amounts of awareness of HPV and of HPV vaccine uptake in a sample of Moroccan university young women. This lack of awareness needs intervention, and it is important to develop an awareness program for young female population either within or outside universities in order to promote vaccination uptake and ultimately lower the cervical cancer rate in Morocco.
Liver stiffness as surrogate parameter in emergency assessment for inpatient health care utilization

Background Transient elastography (TE) allows non-invasive quantification of liver stiffness (LSM) and steatosis (controlled attenuation parameter, CAP). Here we test the feasibility and utility of TE in the emergency department (ED) and investigate whether LSM predicts longer hospitalization and reimbursement for non-elective patients. Methods LSM and CAP were determined in prospectively recruited consecutive adult patients admitted to the ED of a tertiary referral center. Patients were stratified according to the 9.1 kPa and 13.0 kPa LSM cut-offs. Elastography measurements were correlated with clinical and outcome parameters, including duration of hospital stay and hospitalization costs. Results In 200 ED patients (133 men, age 18 – 97 years), median LSM was 5.5 kPa (2.4 – 69.1 kPa), and median CAP was 252 dB/m (100 – 400 dB/m). In total, 39 patients (19.5%) presented with LSM ≥ 9.1 kPa, and 24 patients (12.0%) presented with LSM ≥ 13.0 kPa. Heart failure (n = 19) was associated with higher LSM (p = 0.045). Patients with LSM ≥ 9.1 kPa were significantly (p < 0.01) more likely to require longer hospitalization than those with lower LSM. Patients with LSM ≥ 13.0 kPa generated significantly (p = 0.001) higher costs as compared to patients with low LSM. Conclusions Transient elastography represents an easily accessible screening tool in ED that might help identify patients in need of increased health care resources.
Ultra-early Spinal Decompression Surgery Can Improve Neurological Outcome of Complete Cervical Spinal Cord Injury; a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Introduction: Early decompression within the first 24 hours after spinal cord injury (SCI) is proposed in current guidelines. However, the possible benefits of earlier decompression are unclear. Thus, the present meta-analysis aims to investigate the existing evidence regarding the efficacy of ultra-early decompression surgery (within 12 hours after SCI) in improving patients’ neurological status. Methods: A search was performed in Medline, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science electronic databases, until the end of August 2021. Cohort studies and clinical trials were included in the present study. Exclusion criteria were absence of an early or late surgery group, failure to report neurological status based on the American spinal injury association impairment scale (AIS) grade, failure to perform the surgery within the first 12 hours after SCI, and duplicate reports and review articles. Two independent reviewers performed data collection, and risk of bias and certainty of evidence assessments. The outcome was reported as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Data from 16 articles, which studied 868 patients, were included. Compared to early or late decompression surgery, ultra-early decompression surgery significantly improves patients’ neurological status (OR = 2.25; 95% CI: 1.41 to 3.58). However, ultra-early surgery in thoracolumbar injuries is not significantly more effective than early to late surgery. Moreover, ultra-early surgery in patients with a baseline AIS A increases the chance of neurologic resolvent up to 3.86 folds (OR=3.86; 95% CI: 1.50 to 9.91). Contrastingly, ultra-early surgery does not result in significant improvement compared to early to late surgery in patients with AIS B (OR = 1.32; 95% CI: 0.51 to 3.45), AIS C (OR = 1.83; 95% CI: 0.72 to 4.64), and AIS D (OR = 0.99; 95% CI: 0.31 to 3.17). Conclusion: Current guidelines emphasize that spinal decompression should be performed within 24 hours after SCI, regardless of injury severity and location. However, results of the present study demonstrated that certain considerations may be taken into account when performing decompression surgery: 1) in patients with AIS A injury, decompression surgery should be performed as soon as possible, since its efficacy in neurological improvement is 3.86 folds higher in the first 12 hours after injury. 2) ultra-early decompression surgery in patients with cervical injury is more effective than in patients with thoracic or lumbar injuries. 3) postponing decompression surgery to 24 hours in SCI patients with AIS B to D does not significantly affect the neurological outcome.
The functional dissociation of posterior parietal regions during multimodal memory formation

The incidental acquisition of multimodal associations is a key memory function for everyday life. While the posterior parietal cortex has been frequently shown to be involved for these memory functions, ventral and dorsal regions revealed differences in their functional recruitment and the precise difference in multimodal memory processing with respect to the associative process has not been differentiated. Using an incidental multimodal learning task, we isolated the associative process during multimodal learning and recollection. The result of the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study demonstrated that during both learning and recollection a clear functional differentiation between ventral and dorsal posterior parietal regions was found and can be related directly to the associative process. The recruitment of a ventral region, the angular gyrus, was specific for learning and recollection of multimodal associations. In contrast, a dorsal region, the superior parietal lobule, could be attributed to memory guided attentional processing. Independent of the memory stage, we assumed a general role for the angular gyrus in the generation of associative representations and updating of fixed association, episodic memory.
SARS-CoV-2 and Liver Transplant: How Has It Behaved in This Sixth Wave?

Background. Since the declaration of a new variant of concern (VOC), Omicron, by the World Health Organization in November 2021, a quick spread has been documented worldwide, being the main VOC in the sixth wave in Spain. The Omicron variant has more transmissibility, lower virulence, and less risk of severe disease than previously described VOC. Here we analyze the current wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in liver transplant recipients (LTRs). Methods. A retrospective observational study of 355 LTRs was conducted in La Rioja and Cantabria regions of Spain. Epidemiological and clinical parameters were gathered on the basis of clinical records and telephone interviews. Results. In the current wave of infection, a higher number of LTRs have been found to be infected than the sum of the previous 5 waves (30 versus 16 LTRs). Of the 30 infected LTRs, 29 (96.6%) had received 3 vaccine doses (mRNA based), in a median of 93 d (interquartile range, 86–108) before infection. Eight of 30 LTRs (24.0%) were asymptomatic and 21 LTRs (67.8%) were with mild symptoms with a mean duration of 4.6 d (interquartile range, 2.5–7), whereas in the unvaccinated LTRs, the symptoms were fever, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Moreover, in the sixth wave, intrafamiliar transmission was the main route of infection (17/30; 56.6%), and nosocomial transmission was confirmed in 2 LTRs (6.6%). Conclusions. In our series, increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant was confirmed, including nosocomial infection, with a lower risk of severe disease in LTRs. These findings could be supported by the universal vaccination of LTRs and less virulence of the Omicron variant.
A Double Interaction Brush Model for Snow Conditions

Commonly used tire models for vehicle-handling simulations are derived from the assumption of a flat and solid surface. Snow surfaces are nonsolid and may move under the tire. This results in inaccurate tire models and simulation results that are too far from the true phenomena. This article describes a physically motivated tire model that takes the effect of snow shearing into account. The brush tire model approach is used to describe an additional interaction between the packed snow in tire tread pattern voids with the snow road surface. Fewer parameters and low complexity make it suitable for real-time applications. The presented model is compared with test track tire measurements from a large set of different tires. Results suggest higher accuracy compared with conventional tire models. Moreover, the model is also proven to be capable of correctly predicting the self-aligning torque given the force characteristics.
Hypertension, its correlates and differences in access to healthcare services by gender among rural Zambian residents: a cross-sectional study

Objectives To examine the prevalence of hypertension and access to related healthcare services among rural residents of Mumbwa district in Zambia. Design Cross-sectional study with probability cluster sampling. Setting Rural Zambia. Participants We recruited 690 residents from Mumbwa district aged 25–64 years who had been living in the study area for ≥6 months and had adopted the lifestyle of the study area. Pregnant women and women who had given birth in the past 6 months were excluded. The data collection—questionnaire survey and anthropometric and biological measurements—was conducted between May and July 2016. Results In the overall sample, 39.7% and 33.5% of the men and women had hypertension (systolic blood pressure (BP)≥140 or diastolic BP ≥90 mm Hg), respectively. Among the participants without a previous diagnosis of hypertension, 30.3% presented with hypertension at the time of measurement. In the multivariable analysis, alcohol intake and urban residence in men, and older age group, higher education and body mass index ≥25 kg/m2 in women were significantly associated with hypertension. Among the 21.8% who never had their BP measured, 83.8% were men; among these men, older age (adjusted OR (AOR), 0.43; 95% CI 0.25 to 0.73) and HIV positive status (AOR, 0.37; 95% CI 0.14 to 0.97) were negatively associated, while current smoker status (AOR, 2.09; 95% CI 1.19 to 3.66) was positively associated with the lack of BP measurements. Conclusion We found that hypertension is prevalent in the target rural area. However, many were not aware of their hypertension status and many never had their BP measured, indicating a serious gap in cardiovascular disease prevention services in Zambia. There is an urgent need for health promotion and screening for hypertension, especially in the primary health services of rural Zambia. Issues related to healthcare accessibility in men require particular attention.
Nigella sativa oil extract: A natural novel specific conjugal transfer inhibitor of vancomycin resistance from vanA/B‐resistant Enterococcus faecium to Staphylococcus aureus

The emergence of vancomycin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) has been identified as one of the most challenging problems in healthcare settings worldwide. Specific conjugation inhibitors' development is critical in the fight against the spread of emerging VRSA. The impact of Nigella sativa oil on VR genes conjugal transfer from Enterococcus faecium (VREtfm) to vancomycin‐sensitive S. aureus (VSSA) was investigated in this study.
Construction of highly efficient carbon dots-based polymer photonic luminescent solar concentrators with sandwich structure

The enhancement of photoluminescence (PL) emission and waveguide play a key role in improving the optical efficiency of luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs). In this work, to boosting PL emission and waveguide simultaneously, one photonic crystal (PC) structure (crystalline colloid arrays (CCAs)) was introduced into carbon dots (CDs)-based polymer LSCs. A sandwich-structured CDs-based polymer photonic LSC, comprising glass/CDs-based polymer PC film/glass, was created. First, CDs-based colloidal crystal suspensions were prepared by co-assembly of monodispersed p(MMA-NIPAm) colloids and multicolor-emitting CDs in HEMA monomer induced by the evaporation-driven assembly. The obtained suspensions not only had uniform PL and structural colors, but showed enhanced PL emission. Second, the above suspensions were sandwiched between two glass sheets and finally a photonic polymer LSC with sandwiched structure (25 × 25 × 1.8 mm3) were formed via one-step photopolymerization technique. Remarkably, the optimal CDs-based polymer photonic LSCs with sandwiched structure not only had high transparence at visible range (>60%), but exhibited PL emission enhancement (at least 2 times). Furthermore, the maximum external optical efficiency (η opt ) of 5.84% could be achieved based on yellow-emitting CDs-based polymer photonic LSC. The high external optical efficiency was mainly attributed to the PL emission enhancement and good PC waveguide.
Comparison of clinical results of oral tranexamic acid and platelet rich plasma therapies in melasma treatment

The pathogenesis of melasma is not fully understood yet and this often causes difficulties in treatment. In our study, we aimed to compare the clinical results of oral tranexamic acid (TA) and platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) therapies in patients with melasma. The clinical results of 30 melasma patients treated with oral TA and 30 melasma patients treated with PRP over the age of 18 who applied to the İnönü University Turgut Özal Medical Center Dermatology and Venereal Diseases Outpatient Clinic between September 2017 and June 2019 were retrospectively evaluated. Both oral TA and PRP therapies provided statistically significant improvement in melasma patients. 75% improvement in the MASI score was statistically significantly higher in the oral TA group compared to the PRP group. Although oral TA and PRP are both successful in the treatment of melasma, it has been found in our study that oral TA gives better results. More studies are needed to support our study, which is the first study comparing oral TA and PRP therapies in the literature.
Circulating Immune Cell and Outcome Analysis from the Phase 2 Study of PD-L1 Blockade with Durvalumab for Newly Diagnosed and Recurrent Glioblastoma.

BACKGROUND Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is upregulated in glioblastoma and supports immunosuppression. We evaluated PD-L1 blockade with durvalumab among glioblastoma cohorts and investigated potential biomarkers. METHODS MGMT unmethylated newly diagnosed patients received radiotherapy plus durvalumab (cohort A; n=40). Bevacizumab-naïve, recurrent patients received durvalumab alone (cohort B; n=31), or in combination with standard bevacizumab (cohort B2; n=33), or low-dose bevacizumab (cohort B3; n=33). Bevacizumab-refractory patients received durvalumab plus bevacizumab (cohort C; n=22). Primary endpoints were: OS-12 (A); PFS-6 (B, B2, B3); and OS-6 (C). Exploratory biomarkers included: a systematic, quantitative and phenotypic evaluation of circulating immune cells; tumor mutational burden (TMB); and tumor immune activation signature (IAS). RESULTS No cohort achieved the primary efficacy endpoint. Outcome was comparable among recurrent, bevacizumab-naive cohorts. No unexpected toxicities were observed. A widespread reduction of effector immune cell subsets was noted among recurrent patients compared to newly diagnosed that was partially due to dexamethasone use. A trend of increased CD8+Ki67+ T cells at day 15 was noted among patients who achieved the primary endpoint and were not on dexamethasone. Neither TMB nor IAS predicted outcome. CONCLUSION Recurrent glioblastoma patients have markedly lower baseline levels of multiple circulating immune cell subsets compared to newly diagnosed patients. An early increase in systemic Ki67+CD8+ cells may warrant further evaluation as a potential biomarker of therapeutic benefit among glioblastoma patients undergoing checkpoint therapy. Dexamethasone decreased immune cell subsets. PD-L1 blockade and combination with standard or reduced dose bevacizumab was ineffective.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on diagnoses of common mental health disorders in adults in Catalonia, Spain: a population-based cohort study

Objective To investigate how trends in incidence of anxiety and depressive disorders have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Design Population-based cohort study. Setting Retrospective cohort study from 2018 to 2021 using the Information System for Research in Primary Care (SIDIAP) database in Catalonia, Spain. Participants 3 640 204 individuals aged 18 or older in SIDIAP on 1 March 2018 with no history of anxiety and depressive disorders. Primary and secondary outcomes measures The incidence of anxiety and depressive disorders during the prelockdown period (March 2018–February 2020), lockdown period (March–June 2020) and postlockdown period (July 2020–March 2021) was calculated. Forecasted rates over the COVID-19 periods were estimated using negative binomial regression models based on prelockdown data. The percentage of reduction was estimated by comparing forecasted versus observed events, overall and by sex, age and socioeconomic status. Results The incidence rates per 100 000 person-months of anxiety and depressive disorders were 151.1 (95% CI 150.3 to 152.0) and 32.3 (31.9 to 32.6), respectively, during the prelockdown period. We observed an increase of 37.1% (95% prediction interval 25.5 to 50.2) in incident anxiety diagnoses compared with the expected in March 2020, followed by a reduction of 15.8% (7.3 to 23.5) during the postlockdown period. A reduction in incident depressive disorders occurred during the lockdown and postlockdown periods (45.6% (39.2 to 51.0) and 22.0% (12.6 to 30.1), respectively). Reductions were higher among women during the lockdown period, adults aged 18–34 years and individuals living in the most deprived areas. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic in Catalonia was associated with an initial increase in anxiety disorders diagnosed in primary care but a reduction in cases as the pandemic continued. Diagnoses of depressive disorders were lower than expected throughout the pandemic.