Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Association Between Nicotine Dependence and Mental Health in the General Population of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study

Background High prevalence of mental disorders is associated with psychoactive substances, significantly contributing to morbidity, disability, and premature mortality. Worldwide, individuals who use electronic-cigarettes (EC) and have a mental health diagnosis are more likely to experience stress, depression, and drug use. This study aims to measure the prevalence of both EC use and mental health disorders namely, anxiety and depression additionally to investigate the association between EC use and mental health status among the general population of Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted across Saudi Arabia from November 2022 to May 2023. The survey was divided into three sections. The first section focuses on the demographics, while the second part asked about both conventional and EC smoking and their frequency. The third section assessed mental health status using a Patient Health Questionnaire with a 9-item depression scale (PHQ-9) and a 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7). Results The study revealed 21.1% reporting EC use in the past thirty days. While 19.8% reported smoking tobacco one or more days within the last thirty days. Regarding mental health, 36.6% of individuals had minimal anxiety, while 42.4% experienced mild anxiety. Moreover, most of the participant were considered to have mild followed by minimal depression accounting for 36.7% and 31.9%, respectively. The results indicated a positive and significant correlation between perceived depression scores and nicotine dependence among EC users. Additionally, there was a strong relationship between gender and nicotine dependence, with men being more inclined than women. Conclusion There is a correlation between nicotine use and mental health outcomes; people who use nicotine products are more likely to experience anxiety and depression.
Is the Breeze Making you Wheeze? Air Quality and Asthma in the US

Objective: A secular trend towards increased current and lifetime asthma prevalence has been observed in the US. The current study compared ambient Air Quality Index (AQI) data and asthma prevalence data from all fifty US states. Methods: Air pollution is measured as AQI by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). County level AQI data are available at the EPA website. Asthma prevalence data for each state are available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. Data from 50 US states (2011-2013) were analyzed for AQI and asthma prevalence. The average of proportions for all counties in each state was used to obtain a mean value for good air quality days (“Good Days”) in each year. An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was conducted to evaluate if 1) asthma prevalence and 2) AQI differences across 2011, 2012 and 2013. A regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between AQI and asthma prevalence. Results: The analysis showed a reduction in air pollution from 2011 to 2013. The ANOVA revealed that this decrease in AQI was significant, F (2, 147) = 5.7678, p = 0.0039. While an increase in asthma prevalence was observed from 2011 to 2013,the ANOVA revealed that the increased asthma prevalence was not significant, F (2, 147) = 0.2794, p = 0.7566. Regression analysis showed no significant association between AQI and asthma prevalence (p>0.05). Conclusion: US Asthma prevalence did not change significantly despite significant AQI reduction from 2011 to 2013; AQI was not related to asthma prevalence.
The Effect of Cytokine Adsorption on Leukocyte and Platelet Activation after Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Post-cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS) is a frequent complication following successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation and correlates with poor outcome. PCAS is characterized by an excessive inflammatory response to whole-body ischemia and reperfusion. Cytokine adsorption was suggested as an adjunctive treatment option for the removal of cytokines from the patients' blood to restore the physiological equilibrium of pro- and anti-inflammatory activity and thus mitigate hemodynamic instability and end-organ complications. To better understand the cellular effects of cytokine adsorption in patients receiving extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) after in- and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA, OHCA), we compared the activation status of neutrophils, monocytes, and platelets as well as the formation of platelet-leukocyte complexes in intravenous whole blood samples from an exploratory subgroup from the randomized CYTER study. At 48 hours after initiation of ECPR, flow cytometry analyses did neither reveal significant differences in neutrophil (CD11b, CD66b, L-selectin, and PSGL-1) and monocyte (CD11b, L-selectin, and PSGL-1) surface molecule expression nor in circulating platelet-monocyte complexes between patients receiving cytokine adsorption and those without. CD11b and CD66b expression on circulating neutrophils were significantly increased at 48 hours in patients who died until day 30. In conclusion, our data did not show a relevant effect of cytokine adsorption on neutrophil and monocyte activation during the first 48 hours after initiation of ECPR. Yet, an observed relationship between activation of neutrophils and mortality may highlight their potential role in the pathophysiology of PCAS.
Trends in prevalence of fractures among adults in the United States across 1999–2020

We were highly interested in the article entitled ‘ Trends in prevalence of fractures among adults in the United States, 1999 – 2020: a population-based study ’ by Xu et al . [1] . In this article, the authors performed comprehensive analyses based on 1999 – 2020 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to examine recent national trends in the prevalence of fractures in the United States (US) [1] . Their ﬁ ndings suggest that the estimated prevalence of wrist and vertebral fractures signi ﬁ cantly increased among US adults aged at least 50 years from 1999 to 2020, while hip fractures did not signi ﬁ cantly change. However, despite its potential clinical implications, we observed some unaddressed issues in their study that are worth further discussion.
Effects of Human Adversarial and Affable Samples on BERT Generalization

BERT-based models have had strong performance on leaderboards, yet have been demonstrably worse in real-world settings requiring generalization. Limited quantities of training data is considered a key impediment to achieving generalizability in machine learning. In this paper, we examine the impact of training data quality, not quantity, on a model's generalizability. We consider two characteristics of training data: the portion of human-adversarial (h-adversarial), i.e., sample pairs with seemingly minor differences but different ground-truth labels, and human-affable (h-affable) training samples, i.e., sample pairs with minor differences but the same ground-truth label. We find that for a fixed size of training samples, as a rule of thumb, having 10-30% h-adversarial instances improves the precision, and therefore F1, by up to 20 points in the tasks of text classification and relation extraction. Increasing h-adversarials beyond this range can result in performance plateaus or even degradation. In contrast, h-affables may not contribute to a model's generalizability and may even degrade generalization performance.
Epidemiological Pattern and Diagnostic Approaches to Enterotoxaemia Among Young Ruminants in Kafrelsheikh Governorate, Egypt

nterotoxaemia is responsible for high mortalities among young ruminants with severe economic losses to farmers. Using a structured questionnaire, Farmers’ knowledge and practices responsible for the spread of enterotoxaemia among ruminant species in 16 farms in Egypt were investigated. Also, 70 calves and lambs found to have died suddenly of haemorrhagic enteritis were examined post-mortem, and samples were collected from the intestine to isolate bacteriologically the causative agents. Toxins were identified in the intestinal contents of dead young ruminants and genes responsible for toxin production were identified in isolated Clostridium perfringens using multiplex PCR. Results showed a good knowledge of farmers on enterotoxaemia and they revealed that it is responsible for 25% of young ruminants’ mortalities despite the high vaccination coverage. Farmers mentioned that most cases occur in the winter season and after Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks. Most farmers do not follow quarantine measures for newly purchased animals and do not select only to buy vaccinated animals. Cl. perfringens type A and alpha toxin only were identified from two dead calves samples, while Cl. perfringens type D and alpha and epsilon toxins were identified from all other dead lambs and calves samples. In conclusion, control of enterotoxaemia has to be considered especially in winter seasons and known times of FMD outbreaks. Cl. perfringens type A and Cl. perfringens type D is the predominant causative agent of enterotoxaemia in calves and lambs in the study area .
Food Preferences in Two Detritivore Species: Laboratory Choice Tests Using Leaf Litters of Different Tree Species

Soil fauna, including terrestrial isopods, millipedes and earthworms, play an important role in the decomposition of litter through the process of shredding it during consumption. In the present study, the food preferences in two detritivores, the common woodlouse (Oniscus asellus) and the earthworm (Lumbricus rubellus) over the leaf litter of four common tree species: common black alder (Alnus glutinosa), silver birch (Betula pendula), small-leaved linden (Tilia cordata) and pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) were quantified in the laboratory. For each animal species, two sets of feeding mesocosms were prepared: one set with single litter species and another with mixed litter material (cafeteria-type test), where the animals were allowed to choose among the four litter species at once. The food preferences of the studied animals were determined on the basis of the consumption (mass loss) of litter for each litter species at the end of two-weeks lasting experiments. The results showed that the litter mass losses in both detritivores were significantly influenced by the tree species. The litter mass losses can be ranked in descending order as follows: alder, birch, linden, oak. In the case of O. asellus, litter mixing had no effect on litter mass loss when compared to single alder and birch litter, however mixing clearly accelerated litter mass loss compared to single lime or oak litter. For L. rubellus, litter mixing was found to slow litter mass loss compared to each single alder, birch and lime litter, while accelerating litter mass loss compared to single oak litter. For the interpretation of the results, the literature data on carbon to nitrogen ratio, as well as the proportion of difficult-to-degrade polyphenols and lignins in leaves of the studied tree species were used.
Damage to the Reefs of Siangjiao Bay Marine Protected Area of Kenting National Park, Southern Taiwan during Typhoon Morakot

recorded history. It attained a peak intensity with winds of 150 km/h on Aug. 7-9, 2009, which is equivalent to a category 1 hurricane on the SaffirSimpson Hurricane Scale. The storm produced copious amounts of rainfall, peaking at 2777 mm, surpassing the previous record of 1736 mm set by Typhoon Herb in 1996. The extreme amount of rain and strong winds of typhoon Morakot not only triggered enormous mudslides and severe flooding, but also created strong waves that damaged reefs of southern Taiwan. The mean live coral coverage at Siangjiao Bay (SJB; 21°55'432"N, 120°49'788"E), a marine protected area (MPA) in the Kenting National Park (KNP) in southern Taiwan, was reduced from 58.80% to 18.54% (based on video-transect surveys) before and after the typhoon hit these reefs. The SJB coral communities were in fair to good condition with a mean coral coverage of > 45% from 1987 to 1997 (Dai et al. 1998 1999), and peaked at 69.90% in 2003 (Kuo 2007). However, after being hit by typhoon Morakot, large colonies of Porites lutea were found overturned at 7-8 m in depth (Fig. 1A). Coverage of the dominant coral species, Montipora aequituberculata (Fig. 1B), sharply decreased from 32.72% to 5.39%, and most areas were transformed into bare rocks covered by turf algae (Fig. 1C). Recovery of coral coverage in the SJB MPA to pre-Morakot levels might take decades or even longer, particularly with the increasing frequency and intensity of typhoons that are expected to occur under the impact of climate change (Solomon et al. 2007). http://zoolstud.sinica. edu.tw/Journals/50.1/85.pdf
Folate - Analytical properties, bioavailability and stability in foods

Scientia Chromatographica 2015; 7(3) 199 Abstract Folate is a term used to designate chemical forms of vitamin B 9 , which can be found in animal, vegetable and microbial cells at different oxidation levels from polyglutamates to monoglutamates. Its absence in diet can lead to disturbances, especially during pregnancy, which guided mandatory food enrichment. The improvement of analytical methods started in the 90’s, in order to ensure the safety of information present in food composition table and nutritional guidelines. The analysis of the different chemical forms of folate in food presents some challenges due to its low concentration, possibility of isomerization and oxidation in extraction and quantification steps, and presence of interferents, especially in complex matrices. This raises the need for discussion on the safety of analytical methodologies available for detection, identification and quantification of folates in foods. This review has endeavored to point out the most relevant characteristics and chemical properties to the stability and bioavailability of folate in foods. In addition, spectroscopic information of trade patterns of six chemical forms in combination with the latest data were compiled from the literature aiming at guiding the development of simplified analytical methods with a lower loss of folates found in foods.
Identification of Genomic Instability in Cows Infected with BVD Virus

Simple Summary The aim of the study was to identify the genomic instability in cows with reproductive disorders following infection with the BVD virus. The genomic stability was analyzed using the sister chromatid exchange, fragile sites, and comet assays. Statistically significant differences were noted between the groups. Of the three assays, the comet assay proved to be the most sensitive for identifying DNA damage in the animals. Abstract An important factor for dairy cattle farmers is the profitability of cattle rearing, which is influenced by the animals’ health and reproductive parameters, as well as their genomic stability and integrity. Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) negatively affects the health of dairy cattle and causes reproductive problems. The aim of the study was to identify genomic instability in cows with reproductive disorders following infection with the BVD virus. The material for analysis was peripheral blood from Holstein-Friesian cows with reproductive problems, which had tested positive for BVD, and from healthy cows with no reproductive problems, which had tested negative for BVD. Three cytogenetic tests were used: the sister chromatid exchange assay, fragile sites assay, and comet assay. Statistically significant differences were noted between the groups and between the individual cows in the average frequency of damage. The assays were good biomarkers of genomic stability and enabled the identification of individuals with an increased frequency of damage to genetic material that posed a negative impact on their health. The assays can be used to prevent disease during its course and evaluate the genetic resistance of animals. This is especially important for the breeder, both for economic and breeding reasons. Of the three assays, the comet assay proved to be the most sensitive for identifying DNA damage in the animals.
Factors associated with low male partners’ involvement in maternal and child health services in Suba sub county, Western Kenya

Objective: Male involvement (MI) in maternal and child health (MCH) services such as pre-conception care, antenatal care (ANC), prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, skilled delivery is an integral intervention that improves MCH outcomes. Suba sub County in western Kenya has the highest prevalence of HIV in Kenya. Moreover, data is skewed on men’s knowledge and perceptions regarding their involvement in MCH services. Methods: This mixed method cross-sectional study, collected data using questionnaire among 354 male participants, and conducted 4 focus group discussions (FGDs) and 6 key informant interviews (KIIs). STATA version 11 was used for quantitative data analysis. The thematic content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. Results: The majority of the participants (52.3%) were aged >30 years, 44.9% had primary level of education and 63.1% engaged in fishing activities. About 54.5% of the participants were not aware of the Ministry of Health’s effort to enhance men’s attendance to MCH clinics, while men’s age, various cultural taboos and provider’s attitude were perceived as influencing MI in MCH services. Overall 16.3% of the participants were involved in MCH services. Health worker provider’s attitude towards men (OR 0.5, 95% Cl 0.3 to 0.8), men’s preferred time of attending MCH clinic (OR 6.7, 95% Cl 1.1-43.5), the frequency of men accompanying spouse to MCH clinic (OR 0.1, 95% Cl 0.04-0.3), duration taken to reach MCH clinic (OR 5.6, 95% Cl 1.3-24.6), use of family planning methods (OR 0.36, 95% Cl 0.18-0.72) and awareness about the methods used to reduce HIV mother to child transmission (MTCT) (OR 35, 95% Cl 0.19-0.65) were independently associated with men’s attendance of the MCH clinics. Conclusion: Significantly there was low male involvement in MCH services (16.3% compared to the > 30% targets by Kenya PMTCT guidelines, 2012) in this high HIV prevalent region. Enhanced dissemination and awareness creation on the importance of MI in MCH services could improve male involvement Key words : Male Involvement, Maternal and Child Health Services, Knowledge, Perceptions and Correlates, Suba sub county western Kenya DOI : 10.7176/JHMN/60-15 Publication date :March 31 st 2019
Culture of Human Rotaviruses in Relevant Models Shows Differences in Culture-Adapted and Nonculture-Adapted Strains

Rotavirus (RV) is the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in children under 5 years old worldwide, and several studies have demonstrated that histo–blood group antigens (HBGAs) play a role in its infection process. In the present study, human stool filtrates from patients diagnosed with RV diarrhea (genotyped as P[8]) were used to infect differentiated Caco-2 cells (dCaco-2) to determine whether such viral strains of clinical origin had the ability to replicate in cell cultures displaying HBGAs. The cell culture-adapted human RV Wa model strain (P[8] genotype) was used as a control. A time-course analysis of infection was conducted in dCaco-2 at 1, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. The replication of two selected clinical isolates and Wa was further assayed in MA104, undifferentiated Caco-2 (uCaco-2), HT29, and HT29-M6 cells, as well as in monolayers of differentiated human intestinal enteroids (HIEs). The results showed that the culture-adapted Wa strain replicated more efficiently in MA104 cells than other utilized cell types. In contrast, clinical virus isolates replicated more efficiently in dCaco-2 cells and HIEs. Furthermore, through surface plasmon resonance analysis of the interaction between the RV spike protein (VP8*) and its glycan receptor (the H antigen), the V7 RV clinical isolate showed 45 times better affinity compared to VP8* from the Wa strain. These findings support the hypothesis that the differences in virus tropism between clinical virus isolates and RV Wa could be a consequence of the different HBGA contents on the surface of the cell lines employed. dCaco-2, HT29, and HT29M6 cells and HIEs display HBGAs on their surfaces, whereas MA104 and uCaco-2 cells do not. These results indicate the relevance of using non-cell culture-adapted human RV to investigate the replication of rotavirus in relevant infection models.
Stephen William Hawking CH CBE. 8 January 1942—14 March 2018

Stephen Hawking's contributions to the understanding of gravity, black holes and cosmology were truly immense. They began with the singularity theorems in the 1960s followed by his discovery that black holes have an entropy and consequently a finite temperature. Black holes were predicted to emit thermal radiation, what is now called Hawking radiation. He pioneered the study of primordial black holes and their potential role in cosmology. His organization of and contributions to the Nuffield Workshop in 1982 consolidated the picture that the large-scale structure of the universe originated as quantum fluctuations during the inflationary era. Work on the interplay between quantum mechanics and general relativity resulted in his formulation of the concept of the wavefunction of the universe. The tension between quantum mechanics and general relativity led to his struggles with the information paradox concerning deep connections between these fundamental areas of physics. These achievements were all accomplished following the diagnosis during the early years of Stephen's studies as a post-graduate student in Cambridge that he had incurable motor neuron disease—he was given two years to live. Against all the odds, he lived a further 55 years. The distinction of his work led to many honours and he became a major public figure, promoting with passion the needs of disabled people. His popular best-selling book, A brief history of time, made cosmology and his own work known to the general public world-wide. He became an icon for science and an inspiration to all.
Effects of magnetically treated water on germination and growth of tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum : Variety uc82b) under poor soil fertility and deficit irrigation

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of magnetically treated water on the survival of tomato plant after germination and growth of the tomato plant under deficit irrigation and poor soil fertility. The soil used in this study was sieved through 2 mm sieve to have a uniform soil particle sizes and to remove some organic matter that was yet to decompose. Water from the University of Ilorin dam was used for irrigating the tomato (Lycopersicon Esculentum: variety UC82B) plant. The water was allowed to pass through magnetic treatment pipe for duration of 113 s. The mean magnetic flux density used was 719 gauss (G) measured inside the pipe. The treatments (T1 to T5) were 100 %, 80 %, 60 %, 50 % and 40 % of the water requirement by tomato and each treatment was replicated 5 times. Experimental layout used in this study was a completely randomized design (CRD) with a control experiment set up adjacent to it in the same transparent garden shed. The results showed that tomato plant irrigated with magnetically-treated water exhibited resistance to water stress, poor soil fertility and fungal attack with 52 % surviving after germination while only 24 % of tomato plants survived after irrigation with non–magnetically treated water. The heights of tomato plants using the treated water with T1 to T5 were 548 mm, 381 mm, 342 mm, 301 mm and 286 mm, respectively while those of untreated water were 512 mm, 365 mm, 326 mm, 298 mm and 264 mm, respectively. Keywords : irrigation, magnetically treated water, magnetic water, tomato