Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk Factors for Hepatitis B Virus Infection in North Ethiopia: A Case–Control Study

Background Hepatitis B virus infection (HBV) is an important clinical and public health problem that contributes to liver-related public health morbidity and mortality. Although childhood vaccination was introduced in 1980, hospital admissions, morbidity and mortality rates from HBV infection increased in Ethiopia. Risk factors for HBV infection and associated complications generally vary from case to case. No epidemiological studies have identified the risk factors for HBV infection in northern Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to identify risk factors for HBV infection in specialist and teaching hospitals in Ayder. Methods From March 2019 to May 2019, an unmatched hospital-based case–control study has been carried out on a total of 213 patients [71 cases and 142 controls] in northern Ethiopia. Cases were selected sequentially and two consecutive controls were selected for each case by a simple random method. The data were collected using pretested questionnaires structured by the interviewer as part of a face-to-face interview. Data were entered in Epi Data version 3.1, exported and analyzed with SPSS version 22. Binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used. Statistical significance was given as P <0.05. Results Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that patients with familial exposure to hepatitis (AOR 3.7, 95% CI: 1.5–9.01), prior traditional medical procedure (AOR 1.2, 95% CI: 1.08–3.4), any history of dental procedures (AOR 3.8, 95% CI: 1.8–9.01) were associated risk factors to hepatitis B virus infection, and awareness of sexually transmitted hepatitis B virus infection (AOR 0.084, 95% CI: 0.01-0.6) is less likely to be infected with hepatitis B virus infection. Conclusion This study (findings) demonstrated that contact with a case of hepatitis in the family, history of dentist visits, prior traditional medical procedure, and lack of awareness of its transmission through sexual contact have been identified as independent risk factors for the development of hepatitis B virus infection.
Employment rate and economic growth: The case of transition countries

This paper investigates the effects of the employment rate on economic growth during the transition process. We start with the mainstream growth econometrics approach that controls for convergence and, in order to control for heterogeneity of countries in our sample, we control our estimates for transition-specific indicators such as initial conditions (pre-transition history), governance quality, privatisation methods as well as various indicators of institutional development. We use a wide range of model specifications using fixed effects as well as Bayesian averaging to address the problem of model uncertainty in 24 countries during the 1995-2019 period. Contrary to the neoclassical growth model assumptions, we find that the employment rate is one of the most important growth factors even after three decades. Results also indicate that convergence (initial level of development) robustly explains a part of cross-country growth rate differentials, while the effects of the initial conditions (pre-transition history) are robust, but fade out after the first decade. We do not find evidence that physical capital and population growth explain the growth in our sample.
High-Intensity Interval Training Improves Glycemic Control, Cellular Apoptosis, and Oxidative Stress of Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Background and Objectives: Physical exercise is an important therapeutic modality for treating and managing diabetes. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is considered one of the best non-drug strategies for preventing and treating type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by improving mitochondrial biogenesis and function. This study aimed to determine the effects of 12 weeks of HIIT training on the expression of tumor suppressor protein-p53, mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (COX), and oxidative stress in patients with T2DM. Methods: A total of thirty male sedentary patients aged (45–60 years) were diagnosed with established T2DM for more than five years. Twenty healthy volunteers, age- and sex-matched, were included in this study. Both patients and control subjects participated in the HIIT program for 12 weeks. Glycemic control variables including p53 (U/mL), COX (ng/mL), total antioxidant capacity (TAC, nmole/µL), 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG, ng/mL), as well as genomic and mitochondrial DNA content were measured in both the serum and muscle tissues of control and patient groups following exercise training. Results: There were significant improvements in fasting glucose levels. HbA1c (%), HOMA-IR (mUmmol/L2), fasting insulin (µU/mL), and C-peptide (ng/mL) were reported in T2DM and healthy controls. A significant decrease was also observed in p53 protein levels. COX, 8-OhdG, and an increase in the level of TAC were reported in T2DM following 12 weeks of HIIT exercise. Before and after exercise, p53; COX, mt-DNA content, TAC, and 8-OhdG showed an association with diabetic control parameters such as fasting glucose (FG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C, %), C-peptide, fasting insulin (FI), and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in patients with T2DM. These findings support the positive impact of HIIT exercise in improving regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and subsequent control of diabetes through anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative pathways. Conclusions: A 12-week HIIT program significantly improves diabetes by reducing insulin resistance; regulating mitochondrial biogenesis; and decreasing oxidative stress capacity among patients and healthy controls. Also; p53 protein expression; COX; 8-OhdG; and TAC and mt-DNA content were shown to be associated with T2DM before and after exercise training.
Towards a Procedure-Optimised Steerable Catheter for Deep-Seated Neurosurgery

In recent years, steerable needles have attracted significant interest in relation to minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Specifically, the flexible, programmable bevel-tip needle (PBN) concept was successfully demonstrated in vivo in an evaluation of the feasibility of convection-enhanced delivery (CED) for chemotherapeutics within the ovine model with a 2.5 mm PBN prototype. However, further size reductions are necessary for other diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and drug delivery operations involving deep-seated tissue structures. Since PBNs have a complex cross-section geometry, standard production methods, such as extrusion, fail, as the outer diameter is reduced further. This paper presents our first attempt to demonstrate a new manufacturing method for PBNs that employs thermal drawing technology. Experimental characterisation tests were performed for the 2.5 mm PBN and the new 1.3 mm thermally drawn (TD) PBN prototype described here. The results show that thermal drawing presents a significant advantage in miniaturising complex needle structures. However, the steering behaviour was affected due to the choice of material in this first attempt, a limitation which will be addressed in future work.
Subjective Assessments of Voice in Parkinson’s Disease Subjects with and without STN-DBS Therapy

Introduction: The causal relation between STN-DBS and speech problems and the associated clinical features are in the incipient stages of being investigated. Methods: All the Parkinson's disease (PD) subjects with and without STN-DBS who applied to our movement disorders outpatient clinics between January 2022 and June 2022 and agreed to participate in the study were enrolled. The demographic data and clinical features were noted. Besides, the MDS-UPDRS was administered during the medication off-state in all subjects. All the participants completed the voice handicap index (VHI). Besides, the Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOGQ) and the quality of life (QoL) scales including the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) and the Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale were also administered to all the individuals. Results: We have included 66 patients with PD (F/M = 23/43). Thirty-five patients were those with DBS therapy whereas 31 patients were without. The results of the comparative analyses between the patients with and without DBS therapy revealed that the DBS group had a higher disease duration (P = 0.006) and FOGQ scores (P = 0.008). The VHI scores did not differ between groups (P = 0.577), and the correlation analyses did not reveal an association between the VHI scores and the duration of DBS therapy. However, the VHI scores correlated with the disease duration as well as the FOG scores. Conclusion: We did not find convincing evidence supporting the increased risk of speech disturbance with STN-DBS therapy. We suggest that the frequent existence of speech disturbance in this patient subgroup with STN-DBS is associated with the classical nature of PD.
Modelling of concentrated fibre suspension pipe flow with low-Reynolds-number k-ε turbulence models: new damping function

Computational Fluid Dynamics can be applied in the pulp and paper industry to simulate the flow of pulp in the different process stages. The present study is focused on the turbulent pipe flow of concentrated Eucalyptus pulp suspensions using ANSYS FLUENT® CFD software. A pseudo-homogeneous strategy was applied, which assumes the non-Newtonian behaviour of the pulp defined by a functional dependence of viscosity on shear rate and consistency. Also, the existence of a water annulus at the pipe wall, surrounding the core flow, was considered. A low-Reynolds-number k-ε turbulence model was evaluated to describe the presence of the drag reduction effect. Furthermore, the turbulence model was modified taking into account damping functions applied successfully in literature to study power-law fluid flows and particulate flows, which, nevertheless failed to describe adequately the flow of the present complex systems. Therefore, further modifications to the damping function for the case of fibre suspensions were investigated. Pressure drop was used as a control parameter to validate the CFD model. A good correspondence between numerical and experimental data was achieved when using a modified version of the damping function for particulate flows. A good replication of in-house experimental information was obtained for the cases tested.
Determinant of functional disability in instrumental activities of daily living among elderly living in a rural area in Bali: a crosssectional study

Introduction: Little do we understand about factors associated with functional disability in instrumental activities of daily living among the elderly living at home. This study aimed to explore the prevalence and determinant factors of functional disability in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) among the elderly living in a rural area in Bali. Method: Using a cross-sectional design, 1,053 elderly aged 60 years and above living in a rural area in Bali were recruited. A structured interview by trained data collectors was conducted. Questionnaires used were the Lawton IADL Scale, the 5-item of Geriatric Depression Scale, and the adoption of questionnaires for vision, hearing, and communication problems from the Washington Group Short Set of Questions on Disability. A logistic regression model was applied to explore determinant factors. Results: Findings indicated that 26.1% of participants aged 75+ and 52.3% were female. Eight percent (8%) experienced functional disability in IADL, 1.9% lived alone, 11.8% indicated depression, 5.1%, 4.7%, and 1.6% of them had vision loss, hearing impairment, and communication problems, respectively. The strongest determinant factor for functional disability in IADL was depression (OR 7.869; 95% CI 4.657-13.296), followed by age (OR 4.602; 95% CI 2.764-7.663), and hearing impairment (OR 2.903; 95% CI 1.190-7.083). Conclusions: Depression is the strongest determinant factor for functional disability in IADL. Health professionals in rural areas should actively screen for depression to increase the ability of the elderly to fulfill their IADLs. Keywords: aged, depression, epidemiology, Indonesia
Improving temporal smoothness and snapshot quality in dynamic network community discovery using NOME algorithm

The goal of dynamic community discovery is to quickly and accurately mine the network structure for individuals with similar attributes for classification. Correct classification can effectively help us screen out more desired results, and it also reveals the laws of dynamic network changes. We propose a dynamic community discovery algorithm, NOME, based on node occupancy assignment and multi-objective evolutionary clustering. NOME adopts the multi-objective evolutionary algorithm MOEA/D framework based on decomposition, which can simultaneously decompose the two objective functions of modularization and normalized mutual information into multiple single-objective problems. In this algorithm, we use a Physarum-based network model to initialize populations, and each population represents a group of community-divided solutions. The evolution of the population uses the crossover and mutation operations of the genome matrix. To make the population in the evolution process closer to a better community division result, we develop a new strategy for node occupancy assignment and cooperate with mutation operators, aiming at the boundary nodes in the connection between the community and the connection between communities, by calculating the comparison node. The occupancy rate of the community with the neighbor node, the node is assigned to the community with the highest occupancy rate, and the authenticity of the community division is improved. In addition, to select high-quality final solutions from candidate solutions, we use a rationalized selection strategy from the external population size to obtain better time costs through smaller snapshot quality loss. Finally, comparative experiments with other representative dynamic community detection algorithms on synthetic and real datasets show that our proposed method has a better balance between snapshot quality and time cost.
Metabolomics Analysis Reveals Altered Metabolic Pathways and Response to Doxorubicin in Drug-Resistant Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells

This study aimed to investigate metabolic changes following the acquisition of resistance to doxorubicin in the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line MDA-MB-231. Two drug-resistant cell lines, DOX-RES-50 and DOX-RES-100, were generated by treating MDA-MB-231 cells with doxorubicin for 24 h and allowing them to recover for six weeks. Both drug-resistant cell lines demonstrated an increase in doxorubicin IC50 values, indicating acquired drug resistance. Metabolomics analysis showed clear separation between the parental MDA-MB-231 cell line and the drug-resistant cell lines. Pathway analysis revealed that arginine and proline metabolism, glutathione metabolism, and beta-alanine metabolism were significantly perturbed in the drug-resistant cell lines compared to the parental cell line. After matching signals to an in-house library of reference standards, significant decreases in short- and medium-chain acylcarnitines and significant increases in long-chain acylcarnitines, 5-oxoproline, and 7-ketodeoxycholic acid were observed in the resistant cell lines as compared to the parental MDA-MB-231 cell line. In addition to baseline metabolic differences, we also investigated differences in metabolic responses in resistant cell lines upon a second exposure at multiple concentrations. Results indicate that whereas the parental MDA-MB-231 cell line had many metabolites that responded to doxorubicin in a dose-dependent manner, the two resistant cell lines lost a dose-dependent response for the majority of these metabolites. The study’s findings provide insight into how metabolism is altered during the acquisition of resistance in TNBC cells and how the metabolic response to doxorubicin changes upon repeated treatment. This information can potentially identify novel targets to prevent or reverse multi-drug resistance in TNBC, and also demonstrate the usefulness of metabolomics technology in identifying new mechanisms of drug resistance in cancer and potential drug targets.
An extinct species of Tchangmargarya (Gastropoda: Viviparidae) from quaternary lacustrine deposits of a group of vanished lakes in Yunnan, China

ABSTRACT An extinct freshwater molluscan fauna has been discovered from Quaternary lacustrine deposits of a recently vanished group of lakes and surrounding lacustrine deposits in the Luliang Basin, Yunnan Province, China. Three species of Tchangmargarya He, 2013 are dominant and distributed sympatrically here. One of them is new to science. Here we describe the three Tchangmargarya species from the Luliang Basin, including the new species, Tchangmargarya cuan n. sp. , and compare the species composition of this fauna with the other extant lacustrine mollusc fauna of Yunnan. The vanished lakes group in Luliang is the first case of sympatric distribution within Tchangmargarya. It is considered to have once been a diversity hotspot of Tchangmargarya and represents a vanished Quaternary lacustrine habitat in Yunnan.
Energy distribution mechanism and open-kinetic-chain characteristics of the upper body system in female volleyball spiking

The aim of this study was to investigate the energy distribution mechanism in volleyball spike movement by assessing the individual contributions of muscular torque and interactive torques of the upper body including gyroscopic, centripetal force, and Coriolis force effects. The spiking movements of seven female collegiate volleyball players were recorded using a three-dimensional motion capture system and an induced power analysis using a link system with 18 degrees of freedom joints to decompose the system’s mechanical energy into causal torque- and force-dependent components. The kinetic energy output of the striking hand at ball impact was 28% (40.7 J) of the system kinetic energy. The decrease in system kinetic energy (−91.3 J) during the early period resulted from the energy absorption mechanism associated with an external joint force component. The energy transfer mechanism, which occurred in the later period, was attributed to a centripetal force effect. Although proximal-to-distal sequential joint rotations were observed in the participants, the quantified data that were calculated using the induced power analysis did not completely agree with the effective energy transfer pattern. These findings indicate that open-kinetic-chain movement–specific task in volleyball spiking likely affected the energy flow characteristics. From the view of energy flow perspective, this study suggests that the volleyball spike movement might have inefficient movement characteristics.
Identification of bacterial isolates of Tumpang and Bumiasri (East Java, Indonesia) using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and screening of their active compounds as a biofertilizer

Abstract. Prihartin I, Ismail AS, Sukorini H, Nursandi F, Zakia A, Farahdina FAR. 2023. Identification of bacterial isolates of Tumpang and Bumiasri (East Java, Indonesia) using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and screening of their active compounds as a biofertilizer. Biodiversitas 24: 3338-3343. The objective of the study was to identify Tumpang (TPG) and Bumiasri (BAS) isolates using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and screen-on biofertilizer active-compounds. Research materials used in the study were bacterial isolates of TPG isolated from Tumpang area and BAS isolated from Bumiasri area, East Java, Indonesia. The variables observed was isolate identification using 16S-rRNA gene and screen for active compounds for biofertilizer using liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS-QTOF). The biofertilizer composed of mineral mix (P, K, Fe, Mg and S), rice-straw extract, water and TPG isolate as C1 Biofertilizer and BAS as C2 Biofertilizer. The sequencing results of TPG isolates obtained DNA sequences that resembled the bacterium Lysinibacillus fusiformis with a similarity of 99%, while BAS isolate resembled the bacterium Lysinibacillus macroides with a similarity of 99%. These genes sequences have been submitted to GenBank under the bacterial names L. fusiformis BIP-211 and L. macroides BIP-212 respectively. The LC-MS/MS-QTOF screening result shows that the C1 biofertilizer contain benzoic-acid compound, 4-(butylamino), methoxycinnamyl P-coumarate. Futhermore, betaine (glycine betaine) and benzoic-acid 4-(butylamino) was identified in C2. So, the TPG and BAS isolates was confirmed as L. fusiformis BIP-211 and L. macroides BIP-212 respectively. The both C1 and C2 biofertilizer consists two active-compounds.
Comprehensive Investigation of Gate Oxide Instability in 4H-SiC MOSFETs and MOS Capacitors Under High Gate Bias Stress

In this article, gate oxide instability of 4H-SiC MOSFETs along with the n-type junction field effect transistor (JFET) and p-type channel capacitors fabricated under identical manufacturing process and thermal budget is simultaneously investigated under high gate bias stress. The degradation phenomena and the corresponding trapping mechanism of the three kinds of devices are comprehensively analyzed and compared with each other. Notably, the amount of charge injected into the gate oxide (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${Q}_{s}{)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is used as a criterion to evaluate the shift of threshold voltage (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\text {TH}}{)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and flat-band voltage (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\text {FB}}{)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> during stress. The measured <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta {V}_{\text {TH}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> in 4H-SiC MOSFETs shows a strong linear relationship with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${Q}_{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, regardless of the value and polarity of the applied <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${E}_{\text {OX}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, whereas <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta {V}_{\text {FB}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> in capacitors is with a distinct behavior, demonstrating obvious saturation at high <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${Q}_{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and a significant difference under various stress condition. All these results provide deeper insight into the study of gate oxide instability in 4H-SiC MOS devices.
Comparative analysis of Edge Detection techniques for SAR images

Abstract Paleo-shorelines and ancient lake terraces east of Lake Manyara in Tanzania were identified from the backscatter intensity of Terra SAR-X StripMap images. Because of their linear alignment, edge detector algorithms were applied to delineate these morphological structures from those Synthetic Aperture Radar scenes. Due to the physical properties of microwave signals, this application has proven to be a challenging task for edge detectors. This study compares the performance of different combinations of speckle reduction techniques and edge operator in detecting linear paleo-shorelines. The Roberts, Sobel, Laplacian of Gaussian and the Canny edge detector algorithms were applied to extract and revise those linear structures. The comparison shows that the Canny edge detector is especially suitable for images with strong speckle noise. Canny achieves relatively high accuracies compared to the other operators. The stronger the filtering and speckle noise reduction, the better the performance of the other edge detection operators, compared to the Canny edge detector. The application of a wavelet transformation reduces the presence of artifacts resulting from speckle noise and emphasizes the detection of the target features.