Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors Affecting the Choice of Neurosurgery as a Future Career: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction Selecting a specialty is a very important and stressful decision that students must make, as it will have a lasting impact on their professional lives. Medical students could gain insight into a variety of specialties during their clinical years, especially the work environment in different specialties. Numerous factors can influence this decision, such as work-life balance, lifestyle, and gender differences. The goal of our study is to demonstrate the different factors, both attractive and deterrent, that influence neurosurgery selection as a future specialty among students. Also, we will consider the exposure-related geographical distribution of the neurosurgery field regarding conferences and workshops, as well as the availability of university professors and their impact on the interest of students in the specialty. Methods A cross-sectional study spanning from June 2023 to September 2023 was conducted among students at medical colleges across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. All medical students from the second medical year up to the internship were invited to take part in the study. Non-medical students, first-year medical students, and incomplete questionnaires were excluded. Employing a stratified random sampling technique, we ensured diverse representation, eventually gathering data from 1141 participants. Results The study involved a diverse group of 1141 medical students and interns, with an average age of 21.7 years. Among them, 683 (59.9%) were female. Approximately half of the participants, 572 (50.1%), express an interest in pursuing a career in neurosurgery, and a significant portion of respondents find neurosurgery appealing due to its challenging nature (50.9%). On the other hand, stress emerged as the most significant deterrent factor (50.3%). Among educational levels, interns, 39 (28.3%), showed the least interest, while second-year students, 193 (64.8%), exhibited the highest interest (p < 0.001*). The analysis revealed statistically significant gender differences in factors. Specifically, a higher percentage of females found "interested in neuroscience" to be the most attractive factor compared to males (18.2% vs. 15.5%, p < 0.001*). Regarding deterring factors, a greater percentage of males found "risk" as the most deterring factor compared to females (19.2% vs. 17.1%, p = 0.001*). Conclusion We found no significant age variation in the most attractive factors; however, significant gender differences in attractive and deterrent factors were observed. The "risk" associated with neurosurgery was the most deterring factor for students across different cumulative grade point average (CGPA) ranges and for students from the eastern and central areas. Our findings suggest that most factors are consistently attractive or deterring across different educational and clinical levels, emphasizing the stability of these perceptions throughout medical education. We propose innovative educational initiatives with increased faculty participation to implement the curricula with early exposure of students to neurosurgery.
Partial body fat percentage as a predictor of fragility fractures in a large cohort: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Objectives BMI is a component of fracture risk calculators; however, it may be too simplistic to predict fracture risk. There is emerging evidence for the role that fat plays as a predictor of fracture. Partial body fat percentage (PBF%) may be a novel way to predict both hip and non-hip fractures. The aim of this study is to evaluate PBF% as a predictor of fragility fractures. Methods A multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted looking at PBF% as a predicter of both non-hip and hip fractures in an observational cohort. Our results were adjusted for age, biological sex, gender, smoking status, excess alcohol consumption (>3 units/day), current steroid therapy and the T-scores in both femurs. To allow for comparison, the same model was used with BMI, height and weight as the primary predictor of fracture. A subgroup analysis was conducted stratified by fracture site. A sensitivity analysis using a negative binomial regression was conducted. Results A total of 31 447 patients were included in our analysis [mean age 64.9 years (s.d. 12.9)]. PBF% was shown to predict all non-hip fractures after adjustment [odds ratio (OR) 22.14 (95% CI 15.08, 32.50)]. Hip fractures were not predicted by our model [OR 4.19 (95% CI 0.43, 41.46)]. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated a lack of predictive capability for hip fracture but not non-hip fractures. Conclusion PBF% may be a suitable predictor for all non-hip fractures, independent of confounding variables. More research is needed on whether it can predict hip fractures.
Resilience and Human Geography

The notion of “resilience” has begun to influence research by human geographers, and human geographers, in turn, have begun to shape thinking about the meaning and significance of resilience. This entry outlines the scientific genesis of the concept, and then focuses specifically on contributions to resilience research by social scientists and human geographers. The entry demonstrates that resilience – much like “sustainability” – remains a relatively ill-defined and elusive term, and that different disciplines and subdisciplines use the word in often different and contradictory ways. The entry concludes by suggesting that human geographers are particularly well placed to contribute to both further clarification and improved practical application of the term. Keywords: adaptive capacity; community resilience; disturbances; human geography; resilience
One-year results for myopia control of orthokeratology with different back optic zone diameters: a randomized trial using a novel multispectral-based topographer.

AIM To present the 1-year results of a prospective cohort study investigating the efficacy, potential mechanism, and safety of orthokeratology (ortho-k) with different back optic zone diameters (BOZD) for myopia control in children. METHODS This randomized clinical study was performed between Dec. 2020 and Dec. 2021. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups wearing ortho-k: 5 mm BOZD (5-MM group), 5.5 mm BOZD (5.5-MM group), and 6 mm BOZD (6-MM group). The 1-year data were recorded, including axial length, relative peripheral refraction (RPR, measured by multispectral refractive topography, MRT), and visual quality. The contrast sensitivity (CS) was evaluated by CSV-1000 instrument with spatial frequencies of 3, 6, 12, and 18 cycles/degree (c/d); the corneal higher-order aberrations (HOAs) were measured by iTrace aberration analyzer. The one-way ANOVA was performed to assess the differences between the three groups. The correlation between the change in AL and RPR was calculated by Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS The 1-year results of 20, 21, and 21 subjects in the 5-MM, 5.5-MM, and 6-MM groups, respectively, were presented. There were no statistical differences in baseline age, sex, or ocular parameters between the three groups (all P>0.05). At the 1-year visit, the 5-MM group had lower axial elongation than the 6-MM group (0.07±0.09 vs 0.18±0.11 mm, P=0.001). The 5-MM group had more myopic total RPR (TRPR, P=0.014), with RPR in the 15°-30° (RPR 15-30, P=0.015), 30°-45° (RPR 30-45, P=0.011), temporal (RPR-T, P=0.008), and nasal area (RPR-N, P<0.001) than the 6-MM group. RPR 15-30 in the 5.5-MM group was more myopic than that in the 6-MM group (P=0.002), and RPR-N in the 5-MM group was more myopic than that in the 5.5-MM group (P<0.001). There were positive correlations between the axial elongation and the change in TRPR (r=0.756, P<0.001), RPR 15-30 (r=0.364, P=0.004), RPR 30-45 (r=0.306, P=0.016), and RPR-N (r=0.253, P=0.047). The CS decreased at 3 c/d (P<0.001), and the corneal HOAs increased in the 5-MM group (P=0.030). CONCLUSION Ortho-k with 5 mm BOZD can control myopia progression more effectively. The mechanism may be associated with greater myopic shifts in RPR.
Natural Co-occurrence of Emerging and Minor Mycotoxins on Maize Grains from Abuja, Nigeria

This study investigated the incidence of emerging, less investigated fungal metabolites in maize grains across the FCT Abuja, Nigeriausing Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometric (LC/MS-MS). For the first time, the presence of 19 emerging mycotoxins including beauvericin (BEAU), moniliformin (MON), nidurufin (NID), norsolorinic acid (NA), citrinin (CIT), macrosporin (MAC-A), sterigmatocystin (STER), macrosporin, alternariol methyl ether (AME) chanoclavine (CNV); agroclavine (AGV); elymoclavine (ECV) and brevianamid (BVD-F) were confirmed to be present as contaminant in maize grains in all the six zones of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Up to 23 toxic non-regulated fungal metabolites were quantitated in a single sample, emphasising the great variety of mycotoxin co-exposure. Four out of these non-regulated metabolites which had incidence levels > 60% in maize were monoacetoxyscirpenol (MAS)—60% in maize, emodin (EMOD)—93.3%, 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA)—60% in maize and equisetin (EQUI)—96.7% in maize. This report could form the basis for the production of a maize mycotoxin road map in the FCT, Abuja, Nigeria.
From pandemic uncertainty to economic recovery: Does investor sentiment still matter for stock returns?

The relationship between investor sentiment and market dynamics is a highly intriguing research topic for both academics and the financial industry. By using Spearman rank correlation analysis, this paper aims to explore investors’ decision-making behavior (rational and irrational) on stock returns during and after the COVID-19 outbreak. While irrational factors of the study were measured by the Google Search Volume Index and trading volume, rational factors were measured by profitability and size. The study used three different characteristics of subsectors manufacturing industry namely Food and Beverage, Pharmacy, and Cigarettes that are listed in the Indonesia Stock Market. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to examine and compare the level of rationality of investors in a wide range of industries and sectors during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Our finding supports the notion that both sentiments have an effect on stock returns indicating that cognitions, emotions, and the noise of traders still have an impact on the market. While overall rational sentiment has a more significant correlation with stock returns during the economic recovery phase, there was a highly significant correlation between irrational factors and stock returns during pandemic uncertainty conditions. Moreover, investors tend to be irrational and overreact when making investment decisions in Cigarette sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, after the pandemic, the correlation of rational sentiment of investors toward the Pharmacy industry is still higher than others.
Embedding higher order thinking skills in Islamic history (Sirah) education in Malaysia

<span lang="EN-US">The promotion of integrating higher order thinking skills (HOTS) in the Malaysian education system is pivotal to producing analytical thinkers to keep up with the rapid globalization of this era. Thus, the implementation of HOTS in learning and facilitation (PdPc) has been emphasized. However, little is known about the integration of HOTS in Islamic history and civilization (</span><em><span lang="EN-US">Sirah</span></em><span lang="EN-US">) lessons. Furthermore, teachers continue to use traditional methods and disregard incorporating HOTS in PdPc. Therefore, the current study conducted an in-depth investigation into the components of </span><em><span lang="EN-US">Sirah</span></em><span lang="EN-US"> lessons to support the implementation of the Malaysian education development plan (PPPM) 2013-2015 by strengthening teaching techniques through the use of HOTS for a better understanding of </span><em><span lang="EN-US">Sirah</span></em><span lang="EN-US"> lessons. Using an explanatory sequential mixed method design, the findings reveal that the teaching components of </span><em><span lang="EN-US">Sirah</span></em><span lang="EN-US"> lessons with the integration of HOTS are at a moderate level in the conclusion stage of a lesson. Therefore, the current study proposes a model that integrates HOTS, i.e., the element of attitude, preparation and planning, teaching aids with relevant aspects of PAK21, knowledge of HOTS, mastery of the subject content, teaching techniques and approach, assessment, and evaluation. </span>
Incorporating Novel Technologies in Precision Oncology for Colorectal Cancer: Advancing Personalized Medicine

Simple Summary Cancer affects millions of individuals every year, with colorectal cancer being among the most common. There is an increased need to identify new biomarkers that can not only diagnose patients early, but also stratify them so the best treatment can be initiated for each patient. Every human has a unique genetic makeup that causes them to respond differently to cancer. In recent years, new technologies have provided unprecedented access to tumor samples from patients. Through these analyses, we can not only diagnose and classify patients based on their comparative risk, but also monitor their response to emerging therapies. Continued progress using these methods will transform how we approach treatment modalities for cancer patients. Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most heterogeneous and deadly diseases, with a global incidence of 1.5 million cases per year. Genomics has revolutionized the clinical management of CRC by enabling comprehensive molecular profiling of cancer. However, a deeper understanding of the molecular factors is needed to identify new prognostic and predictive markers that can assist in designing more effective therapeutic regimens for the improved management of CRC. Recent breakthroughs in single-cell analysis have identified new cell subtypes that play a critical role in tumor progression and could serve as potential therapeutic targets. Spatial analysis of the transcriptome and proteome holds the key to unlocking pathogenic cellular interactions, while liquid biopsy profiling of molecular variables from serum holds great potential for monitoring therapy resistance. Furthermore, gene expression signatures from various pathways have emerged as promising prognostic indicators in colorectal cancer and have the potential to enhance the development of equitable medicine. The advancement of these technologies for identifying new markers, particularly in the domain of predictive and personalized medicine, has the potential to improve the management of patients with CRC. Further investigations utilizing similar methods could uncover molecular subtypes specific to emerging therapies, potentially strengthening the development of personalized medicine for CRC patients.
Ecohydrological controls on plant diversity in tropical South America

Plant species distribution is dominated by abundance and fluctuations of the available resources. Although diversity patterns along rainfall, latitudinal, and altitudinal gradients have been thoroughly examined, the role of hydrological processes in sustaining the resource availability critical to species richness is still poorly understood. Adopting soil moisture as a main limiting factor driving plant diversity in the tropics besides elevation, we propose a minimalist species richness model based on stochastic soil water balance and information theory. This work provides a novel approach to plant diversity modeling through a quantitative representation of the soil water balance, demonstrating the role of different modes of soil moisture temporal variability in the creation of ecohydrological niches. Using a single calibration parameter, the model captures the observed biodiversity patterns in tropical South America, effectively synthesizing the impacts of energy and water balances on species richness. We show that soil water abundance and variability are the strongest predictors of plant diversity in tropical South America besides elevation, with latitude and seasonal variation in potential evapotranspiration having a secondary effect. Excluding soil moisture abundance, seasonal and intraseasonal variability reduces model accuracy by 50, 48, and 64%. The importance of atmospheric humidity as an additional plant water resource creating niches for canopy species is also highlighted. Our results suggest that accounting not only for water abundance but also its variability is key to predicting biodiversity trends under future rainfall regimes.
Computation Rate Maximization for Wireless-Powered Edge Computing With Multi-User Cooperation

The combination of mobile edge computing (MEC) and radio frequency-based wireless power transfer (WPT) presents a promising technique for providing sustainable energy supply and computing services at the network edge. This study considers a wireless-powered mobile edge computing system that includes a hybrid access point (HAP) equipped with a computing unit and multiple Internet of Things (IoT) devices. In particular, we propose a novel multi-user cooperation scheme to improve computation performance, where collaborative clusters are dynamically formed. Each collaborative cluster comprises a source device (SD) and an auxiliary device (AD), where the SD can partition the computation task into various segments for local processing, offloading to the HAP, and remote execution by the AD with the assistance of the HAP. Specifically, we aims to maximize the weighted sum computation rate (WSCR) of all the IoT devices in the network. This involves jointly optimizing collaboration, time and data allocation among multiple IoT devices and the HAP, while considering the energy causality property and the minimum data processing requirement of each device. Initially, an optimization algorithm based on the interior-point method is designed for time and data allocation. Subsequently, a priority-based iterative algorithm is developed to search for a near-optimal solution to the multi-user collaboration scheme. Finally, a deep learning-based approach is devised to further accelerate the algorithm’s operation, building upon the initial two algorithms. Simulation results show that the performance of the proposed algorithms is comparable to that of the exhaustive search method, and the deep learning-based algorithm significantly reduces the execution time of the algorithm.
Noise‐based seismic monitoring of the Campi Flegrei caldera

The Campi Flegrei caldera is one of the highest risk volcanic fields worldwide, because of its eruptive history and the large population hosted within the caldera. It experiences bradiseismic crises: sudden uplift with low energetic seismic swarm occurrences. No seismicity is recorded out of these deformation rate changes. Therefore, a continuous seismic monitoring of the caldera is possible only by means of the ambient seismic noise. We apply a noise‐based seismic monitoring technique to the cross correlations of 5 year recordings at the mobile seismic network. The resulting relative velocity variations are compared to the temporal behavior of the geophysical and geochemical observations routinely sampled at Campi Flegrei. We discriminate between two kinds of crustal stress field variations acting at different timescales. They are related to a possible magmatic intrusion and to the gradual heating of the hydrothermal system, respectively. This study sets up the basis for future volcano monitoring strategies.
Healthcare providers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices on smoking cessation intervention in the Northern Cape

Background Clinicians are crucial in encouraging smokers to quit through behavioural or pharmacological smoking cessation interventions. Smokers quit better with professional help. The level of healthcare providers’ (HCPs) knowledge, attitudes and counselling skills related to effective smoking cessation support in the study area remains uncertain. Aim The study aimed to determine HCPs’ knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) on smoking cessation intervention strategies in the Sol Plaatje district, Northern Cape. Setting Sol Plaatje’s 13 district municipality clinics, Kimberley, Northern Cape. Method A descriptive, cross-sectional analytical study involving healthcare workers in the above setting. Results A total of 165 HCPs, including medical officers, professional nurses, enrolled nurses and assistant-enrolled nurses working in primary healthcare clinics, were invited to participate in the study, with 156 completing the questionnaires. About 53.9% had no knowledge of South African tobacco smoking cessation guidelines, while 87.2% knew the importance of counselling patients about smoking and its impact on quitting. The majority of them did not know the medicines recommended for tobacco treatment in South Africa. About 89.7% expressed that smoking cessation counselling is an important part of their jobs. However, less than half indicated that they make follow-up arrangements for those attempting to quit. Conclusion The study revealed gaps in KAP regarding smoking cessation among the respondents, necessitating the need for continuing education on the existing smoking cessation guidelines among these HCPs. Contribution The results of this study will help to improve smoking cessation intervention knowledge among health providers.
Functional responses of South African rangelands in contrasting tenure systems.

Land degradation in South African rangelands has frequently been studied in the context of tenure systems, because both governmental policy and range management practices were historically implemented in contrasting forms. We compared the functional response of vegetation along grazing gradients between a communal (CU) and commercial (CO) farming areas. One transect was established per farm from the waterpoint to a mid-field position. Six equally spaced plots (5 m × 5 m) were set up along each transect. Using a taxon-free sampling procedure, we recorded the response of 15 community-aggregated plant functional traits (CPFT) in: (1) mature standing biomass; and (2) after four weeks’ regrowth following clipping. Additionally, species identity was recorded. Grazing on CU was continuous and stocking rate not controlled, while CO applied rotational grazing with recommended stocking rates. From the results, CPFT differences were not significant (Student’s t-test, P<0.01) between tenure systems. A principal component analysis of CPFT showed largely overlapping functional responses in the two tenure systems in the case of mature standing biomass, while the functional response of regrowing vegetation was clearly separated in the ordination space. Communal rangelands had twice the species richness of commercial farms. We concluded that, from a functional perspective, communities under different tenure systems were similar. However, the functional response of vegetation regrowth might be different as well as the ecological services provided (biodiversity).