Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prophylactic Tramadol versus Dexmedetomidine for Prevention of Shivering during Spinal Anaesthesia

Introduction: Shivering is a frequent and distressing complication of spinal anesthesia. It is not only unpleasant to the patient but also delays recovery by increasing oxygen consumption and aggravating pain. Aim: To compare tramadol and dexmedetomidine in prevention of shivering during spinal anesthesia and also to compare their adverse reactions. Patients and Methods: 60 American Society of Anesthesiologists I and II adults undergoing lower limb surgeries under spinal anesthesia were allocated into Group T and Group D, who received intravenous (IV) tramadol 1 mg/kg and IV dexmedetomidine 0.5 μg/kg respectively 5 min prior to subarachnoid block. Perioperative incidence and grade of shivering, level of sedation, hemodynamic parameters, and adverse reactions like pruritus, nausea/vomiting were recorded. Results: The incidence of shivering was highest at 30 min, 60 min in Group T (6.6%), and at 120 min in Group D (10%). But there was no statistically signifi cant difference between the incidence of shivering in the two groups at any point in time. Intraoperative sedation scores were signifi cantly higher in Group D at 30 min and in Group T at 45 min till the post-operative period. The incidence of side effects was lower in Group D. Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine may emerge as an alternative to tramadol for prophylaxis of postspinal shivering in short duration cases, with a better sedation profi le and fewer adverse effects.
Meltwater percolation, impermeable layer formation and runoff buffering on Devon Ice Cap, Canada

Abstract The retention of meltwater in the accumulation area of the Greenland ice sheet and other Arctic ice masses buffers their contribution to sea level change. However, sustained warming also results in impermeable ice layers or ‘ice slabs’ that seal the underlying pore space. Here, we use a 1-D, physically based, high-resolution model to simulate the surface mass balance (SMB), percolation, refreezing, ice layer formation and runoff from across the high-elevation area of Devon Ice Cap, Canada, from 2001 to 2016. We vary the thickness of the ‘impermeable’ ice layer at which underlying firn becomes inaccessible to meltwater. Thick near-surface ice layers are established by an initial deep percolation, the formation of decimetre ice layers and the infilling of interleaving pore space. The cumulative SMB increases by 48% by varying impermeable layer thickness between 0.01 and 5 m. Within this range we identify narrower range (0.25–1 m) that can simulate both the temporal variability in SMB and the observed near-surface density structure. Across this range, cumulative SMB variation is limited to 6% and 45–49% of mass retention takes place within the annually replenished snowpack. Our results indicate cooler summers after intense mid-2000s warming have led to a partial replenishment of pore space.
Primary gold mineralization in the Lisungwe Valley area, Kirk Range, southern Malawi

A conspicuous paucity in gold resources in Malawi’s mineral inventory may be partially attributed to a general low resolution in the knowledge of Malawi’s geology, coupled with historical under-exploration for this important economic commodity. To address this knowledge gap, the present study focusses on developing a regional, local and microscopic understanding of the characteristics of gold occurrences in the mineralized Little Chisumbwiti river valley, located in the Kirk Range region which forms part of Southern Irumide mobile belt in southern Malawi. Regional scale interpretations are afforded by in-depth investigation of airborne geophysical data, which are then supported by ground geological mapping and by microscopic observations using optical and electron microscopy, and X-ray computed tomography (XCT). Structural mapping and regional geophysics indicate that the area has been affected by at least two periods of deformation (D1 to D2). The D1 deformation event is characterized by northwest – southeast directed crustal shortening (tentatively associated with the Southern Irumide orogeny) which produced northeast – southwest structures. Gold mineralization in the Little Chisumbwiti river valley is hosted in northeast – southwest trending quartz—sulphide vein sets, where it occurs as flakes ranging in size between 0.24 and 4 mm. The gold is associated with a paragenetically-late pyrite-chalcopyrite-sphalerite generation of sulphide precipitation, and to a lesser extent, with sericitised biotite schist wall rock. Exploration in the Kirk Range region should focus on the northeast-southwest structures, which represent potential conduits for fluid flow during the D1-related hypogene Au mineralization event, however the impacts of subsequent D2 deformation must also be considered. Locally, wall rock lithology (e.g., Fe (II)-rich biotite schists) may have an additional second order control on the siting of gold mineralization. The new insights reported in this study contribute meaningfully towards advancing the status of Malawi’s regional geology and should serve as a useful resource for future exploration efforts undertaken in the Kirk Range, and in other parts of south/central Malawi occurring within the Southern Irumide tectonic block.
Water Quality and Heavy Metals Contamination of Artificial Lakes in Heipang and Rayfield, Plateau State, Nigeria

Received: 25 May 2019 Accepted: 9 August 2019 The goal of this study is to assess the concentrations of selected heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As, Cr, Hg) in the water and fish of the artificial lakes in Heipang (Latitude 9o 41’ N and Longitude 8o 51’ E) and Rayfield (Latitude 9o 50’ N and Longitude 8o 55’ E). Two methods namely: Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (EDXRF) were used to determine the level of heavy metals in Tilapia zilli from the lake at Heipang and Clarias gariepinus from the lake at Rayfield. Determination of heavy metals in water was carried using AAS. The result show that Pb, As and Hg were above the limit of Nigerian Standard for drinking water quality. Percentage composition of heavy metals in the fish organs were muscle 40.6 %, intestine 35.4 % and gills 20.0 for Tilapia zilli, while Clarias gariepinus contained muscle 39.8 %, gills 33.5 % and intestine 26.7 %. The study revealed the bioaccumulation factors of 339, 302, 20.0, 2.30 and 0.320 for Cr, Cd, As, Hg and Pb respectively in Clarias gariepinus. While Tilapia zilli had 142, 137, 1.70, 1.03 and 0.690 for Cr, Cd, As, Hg and Pb, respectively. This study concludes that the two lakes were contaminated with Pb.
The Mackenzie Mountains EarthScope Project: Studying Active Deformation in the Northern North American Cordillera from Margin to Craton

The Mackenzie Mountains EarthScope Project—a collaboration between Colorado State University, the University of Alaska, Michigan State University, and Yukon College—deployed a roughly linear, 40-station broadband seismographic network. This network crossed the actively deforming Northern Canadian Cordillera and the Mackenzie Mountains in Yukon, Canada; it also extended into the Canadian Shield in Northwest Territories, Canada. The array was deployed between July 2016 and August 2018 (with four pilot stations installed in July 2015 and three extended stations operating through August 2019) coinciding with and complementing the deployment of the EarthScope Transportable Array to Alaska and western Canada. In this article, we present an overview of project scientific objectives, station configurations, and site conditions; discuss environmental challenges, including those that resulted in station downtime (e.g., spring flooding and encounters with bears); and suggest potential solutions to such subarctic challenges for the benefit of future deployments in comparable regions. We also include an initial characterization of seasonal and geographic variations in ambient seismic noise for the northwestern Canadian Cordillera.
Effect of estrogen on growth of endometrial cancer cells and expression of angiogenic factors

Objective To explore the role of estrogen in endometrial cancer by examining the expression of angiogenic factors in the estrogen-induced endometrial cell line HEC-1A.Method Real-time quantitative PCR and Western blots were used to analyze the mRNA and protein expression of angiogenic factors in HEC-1A cells after stimulation with estrogen for 30 min with or without 60-min pretreatment with inhibitors against the estrogen receptor,the AKT kinase pathway,and the NF-κB pathway.Result Real-time PCR and Western blots showed that mRNA and protein expression of angiogenic factors were significantly higher in the estrogen-stimulated group than in the unstimulated control group(P0.05). Pretreatment with signaling pathway inhibitors significantly reduced mRNA and protein expression of angiogenic factors below the levels in the estrogen-stimulated group that was not pretreated(P0.05). Con-clusion Estrogen induces the production of angiogenic factors by activating signal transduction pathways.
Baltic Fisheries Assessment Working Group (WGBFAS)

An annual survey targeting cod in Kattegat was initiated in 2008 and has then been continued every year with the exemption of 2012. The survey is conducted in November-December in cooperation with commercial trawlers from Denmark and Sweden. The survey design has been largely unchanged during the years, but a fourth stratum representing the closed area in Southern Kattegat was added in 2013. The total swept area biomass of cod was estimated to 647 tonnes in 2018. This corresponds to a reduction of more than 90% compared to 2015 when the highest biomass was estimated and represents the lowest estimated biomass in the whole time series of the survey. The abundance decreased from an estimated 3.52 million individuals in 2017 to 0.88 million in 2018 which is also the lowest number ever estimated in the survey. The estimated numbers of fish five years and older is still higher than in 2009-2011, but the potential recruitment observed in 2017 data can no longer be detected in the survey.
Efficient Design Investigation of a Turbofan in Distorted Inlet Conditions

Designing a turbofan to operate in distorted inlet conditions is an issue of growing interest. In such conditions however, fan design can be computationally challenging. Indeed, subject to neither axi-symmetrical nor periodic inlet conditions, computations must be carried out throughout the whole circumferential domain i.e. 360°. Besides, the classical CFD approach implies the use of URANS computations so as to capture the distortion transfer across the fan stage. Eventually, computations are too onerous to be used in design loops. In this context, this paper presents a methodology to effectively assess a fan blade design domain in distorted conditions. This methodology is based on a body-force source term approach formulated in order to accurately recreate deviations, loads and losses across the fan stage. It notably enables to gain two orders in terms of restitution time and thus the possibility to use optimization tools. The design domain of this study is based on variations of profile chord, blade leading and trailing edges angles applied at two different relative heights. A Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) associated with a meta-model based on Radial Basis Functions (RBF) enables to assess the impact of geometric variations on performance and operability. Although this study emphasizes that some modeling improvements are still necessary, it also demonstrates the potential of the body-force methodology to conduct fan design when subject to inlet distortion.
Severity of illness and outcome in ICU patients in the Netherlands: results from the NICE registry 2006-2007

on behalf of the Dutch National Intensive Care Evaluation (NICE) Foundation. Abstract - Goal: To describe the case mix and severity of illness of Dutch ICU patients and outcome of treatment as expressed by the standardized mortality ratio (SMR). Methods At the time of the analysis 61 ICUs were participating in the Dutch National Intensive Care Evaluation (NICE) registry. Reasons for admission, baseline characteristics, severity of illness on admission (APACHE II and SAPS II), chronic health conditions, comorbidi- ties and outcome were collected in a prospective fashion. Results In 2006 and 2007, a total of 91 179 patients were included in the NICE registry. These patients had a mean age of 63 years (SD 23 years), while most patients (28%) were between 70-80 years-old. Sixty percent of the patients were male, 23.6% had serious comorbid conditions (immunocompromised, respiratory or cardiovascular insufficiency, proven cirrhosis, haematological malignancy, AIDS, metastasized carcinoma, chronic kidney failure), 22 % were admitted after planned cardiopulmonary surgery, but most (53%) were admitted for emergency reasons. The overall (n=91 179) mean in-hospital mortality was 16.3%. Of these 91 179 patients 52 034 fulfilled the entry criteria for either the APACHE II or the SAPS II prognostic scoring system. The mean APACHE II score (n=53 962) was 16.4 with a standard variation of 8.4 points and a predicted rate of death of 25.8%. The mean SAPS II score (n=59 765) was 34.6 ± 19.4 (SD), while the predicted death rate was 24.1%. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) based upon APACHE II of these patients was 0.73 with a 95% CI of 0.71 to 0.74. The SMR based upon SAPS II included patients (n=59 765) was 0.82 with 95% CI of 0.81 to 0.84. There was quite some variation between the referring specialties in SMR (ranging from 0.42-1.07 based upon SAPS II). Conclusion This article provides an overview of case mix and outcome of Dutch Intensive Care Medicine and the deviation of case mix and outcomes between ICUs. As more than 60% of the Dutch ICUs have joined the NICE registry, the presented data provide valuable information on the application of Intensive Care Medicine in the Netherlands.
Modeling present and future ice covers in two Antarctic lakes

Abstract Antarctic lakes with perennial ice covers provide the opportunity to investigate in-lake processes without direct atmospheric interaction, and to study their ice-cover sensitivity to climate conditions. In this study, a numerical model – driven by radiative, atmospheric and turbulent heat fluxes from the water body beneath the ice cover – was implemented to investigate the impact of climate change on the ice covers from two Antarctic lakes: west lobe of Lake Bonney (WLB) and Crooked Lake. Model results agreed well with measured ice thicknesses of both lakes (WLB – RMSE= 0.11 m over 16 years of data; Crooked Lake – RMSE= 0.07 m over 1 year of data), and had acceptable results with measured ablation data at WLB (RMSE= 0.28 m over 6 years). The differences between measured and modeled ablation occurred because the model does not consider interannual variability of the ice optical properties and seasonal changes of the lake's thermal structure. Results indicate that projected summer air temperatures will increase the ice-cover annual melting in WLB by 2050, but that the ice cover will remain perennial through the end of this century. Contrarily, at Crooked Lake the ice cover becomes ephemeral most likely due to the increase in air temperatures.
Population dynamics under climate change ad harvesting: Results from the high Arctic Svalbard reindeer

Arctic winters have become increasingly warmer and rainier.Where permafrost prevails, winter rain (or rain-on-snow) is known to occasionally cause extensive ice layers at the snow/ground interface, i.e. ‘basal ice’ or ‘ground ice’, with potentially large ecological and socio-economic implications. However, an overall lack offield data has so far restricted our predictive understanding of the environmental conditions shaping spatiotemporal variation in basal ice. Here, we use time-series of spatially replicated snowpackmeasurements from coastal (Ny-Ålesund area; 2000–2017) and central Spitsbergen (Nordenskiöld Land; 2010–2017), Svalbard, to analyze spatiotemporal patterns in basal ice and how they are linkedwith topography, weather, snowpack and climate change. As expected, both the spatial occurrence and thickness of basal ice increased strongly with the annual amount of winter rain. This effect wasmodified by accumulated snowfall; a deeper snowpack restricts ice formation following aminor rain event, but enhances ice formation following heavy rain due to an increased contribution of snowmelt. Accordingly, inter-annual variation in snowdepthwas negatively related to basal ice thickness. Annual fluctuations in basal ice thickness were strongly correlated in space (average correlation ρ=0.40; 0–142 kmdistance between plots) due to strong spatial correlation inwinter rain (ρ=0.62; 14–410 kmdistance betweenmeteorological stations). Models of basal ice based onmeteorological time-series (1957–2017) suggested that ice-free winters (i.e.mean basal ice<0.1 cm)had virtually not occurred since 1998, whereas suchwinters previously (1957–1998) occurred every three–four years on average. This detected cryosphere regime shift was linked to a parallel climate regime shift with increasedwinter rain amounts. Svalbard is regarded a bellwether for Arctic winter climate change.Our empirical studymay therefore provide an early warning of future changes in high-arctic snowpacks.
Hydropower Flushing Events Cause Severe Loss of Macrozoobenthos in Alpine Streams

Alpine hydroelectric power exploitation often aims to increase the volume of water stored behind impoundments, which may be achieved through flow abstraction and lateral transfer to storage. Intakes are designed to separate water from sediment which accumulates in settling basins and may be flushed sometimes at subdaily frequencies in glaciated basins. In some countries (e.g., Switzerland) intakes drain a greater basin area than impoundments yet legislation designed to improve instream ecosystems impacted by hydropower has almost entirely ignored them. Some research suggests that such streams have exceptionally low abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrates for some kilometers downstream of the intake flushing at high frequency in summer, but that populations can recover rapidly as soon as flushing frequency decreases in early autumn. However, such patterns could also result from natural flow variability, sediment transport, and morphological change in glacier‐fed streams. We combine field measurements with habitat modeling to assess the impacts of sediment flushing on macrozoobenthos as compared to what might be expected in a natural, hydromorphologically dynamic Alpine stream. We show that water abstraction in itself could improve habitat conditions because it increases the relative contribution of less turbid and groundwater/unregulated sources. However, intake flushing leads to short duration, sediment‐laden flows that can destabilize substantial areas of the stream bed and cause rates of lateral displacement of habitat much greater than the possible response by macroinvertebrates. Our results challenge current emphasis on minimum flows in such streams and argue that much more emphasis needs to be placed on sediment management.
Diversity and abundance of climbers in relation to their hosts and elevation in the monsoon forests of Murree in the Himalayas

Climbers play diverse roles in the biology of forests. Climber species due to its fragile nature are sustible to any change in the forests. Knowledge about climber species in the forests is relatively inadequate and this is the first effort to report the climber plant species in Pakistan. Ecological methods were used to find out climbers abundance, distribution and their relationship with trees/ shrubs in five 1-ha plot range of 735 m to 1754 m elevation at sea level at five localities viz., Baroha, Ghoragali, Numbal, Patriata and Salgaran in the Murree Forests in Western Himalaya, Pakistan during the year of 20162017. An overall 3400 climbing plants belonging to 23 species, 19 genera and 13 families were identified and described. Apocynaceae (22%) was the most leading family followed by Ranunculaceae (13%) Rosaceae (13%) and Menispermaceae (9%). Based on our findings the climber species are classified into four classes based on their habit/ form as well. The dominant class was represented by twining climbing mode (43%) followed by woody (30.4%) and hook mode (22%) while tendrils (4.3%) were rare. The abundance and distribution of climber plants were affected by parameters like biotic factors (collection pressure, grazing pressure and No. of hosts) and abiotic factors (topographic and edaphic). Canonical Corresponding Analysis (CCA) indicated that grazing and collection pressures along with elevation were the most important factors influencing the distribution and abundances of climbers. Documentation of the climbers is imperative in the context of increasing forest disturbances, deforestation and fragmentation of forest habitat. Current study will lead towards many other detail studies on climbers in near future.
Assessment of the Effects of Wastewater Treatment Plant Modernization by Means of the Field Olfactometry Method

Methodological aspects of odor studies in ex-post analyses for Polish wastewater management facilities were analyzed based on the example of a modernized and enlarged wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Mazovia, in the vicinity of the Warsaw agglomeration. It is a mechanical–biological treatment plant with increased efficiency of biogen removal, using activated sludge in the treatment process, with a maximum hydraulic capacity of 60,000 m3/day. Olfactometric research was carried out by means of a method based on identification and characterization of the odor plume emitted from the examined source. This paper presents the results of odor intensity assessment (in sensory examinations according to a 6-stage scale) and odor concentration measurement (using portable field olfactometers) after the completion of the project, and compares them with similar studies conducted before the commencement of the investment. A total of 10 measurement series were carried out before modernization, and 12 after modernization of the WWTP. Odor concentration and intensity were determined, and the current meteorological situation was assessed at the measurement and observation points (receptors) located within the premises (in total 462 points) and around the WWTP (342 points). In each series of measurements on the windward side of the treatment plant, the background of air pollution with odorous substances was marked. The research showed that air flowing into the area of the sewage treatment plant is clean in terms of odor. During the research, basic sources of odor nuisance were identified, and their impact before and after modernization was characterized. The results presented in radar diagrams show changes in the percentage distribution of frequency of occurrence of individual intensity values at receptor points within and outside the area of the treatment plant. After modernization, a significant decrease in the concentration of odor emitted from the sludge dewatering building and sludge containers was determined. The air-tightness of the sewage channel (covered with concrete slabs and sealed) resulted in a significant decrease in the concentration of odor emitted from this source. Waste (in particular, sewage sludge) collected in the emergency waste storage yard was identified as the main source of odor nuisance. The waste, even after modernization, was an emitter of odorous compounds spreading outside the area of the WWTP. Nevertheless, as a result of the investment, the desired effect of reduction of the degree of odor nuisance was achieved.