Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
E-Waste Management Practices: Policies Strategies and Regulations, In Selected National Institutions, Nairobi, Kenya

The disposal of e-waste in Kenya remains a challenge. The aim of this study was to evaluate current e-waste management policies strategies and practices and provides recommendations that may be used to improve the management of the e-wastes in Kenya. This study was conducted in Nairobi city the national capital of Kenya and a regional commercial hub in eastern Africa. The study employed literature review; including institutional record. Key informants interviews and observations. The respondents were drawn from the major potential e-waste generators in the city including: computer and mobile phone importers and assemblers, end users: institutions, formal e-waste recyclers and key ICT and e-waste management institutions including cck and NEMA. The results showed that only a fraction of electronic waste (10%) finds its way to recycling facilities and there is no efficient take back scheme for consumers. Most of the institutions involved in the study do not have an outright policy on disposal of electronic waste. Consequently, they resort to disposing electronic waste together with other solid wastes. The study shows that the major approaches employed for disposing e-waste included: the municipal solid waste disposal system, extended storage within the institutional premises for a long period of time, passing them to secondary users and take back schemes through extended producer responsibility. Although the national government has recognized the challenges posed by e-waste, the level of preparedness and implementation of policies and regulations is still limited. There is need to develop a national e-waste collection system, targeting the process of collection, disposal, licensing of key actors and consumer awareness creation. The national government should introduce strategies geared towards enhancing collaboration among stakeholders in order to enhance extended producer responsibility and public awareness on electronic waste.
195-204 Pootong A.pmd

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is an important pathogen of the urinary tract infection (UTI) and is most commonly associated with human disease among the extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC). The aim of this study is to determine drug susceptibility pattern, virulence factors and the distribution of phylogenetic groups of UPEC in clinical isolates of a tertiary university hospital in central Thailand. A total of 119 UPEC isolates were tested for antimicrobial drug susceptibility. The prevalence of hemolysin, biofilm and the presence of papC and fimH genes were analyzed. The phylogenetic groups were determined by detection of yjaA and chuA genes and TspE4.C2 fragment. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed that the resistance of UPEC isolates to ampicillin, trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and norfloxacin were 89.1, 60.5, 59.7 and 57.1%, respectively. Moreover, 38.7 and 62.2% of UPEC were ESBL producing and multidrug-resistant strains (MDR), respectively. The prevalence of hemolysin production, biofilm formation, and the presence of papC and fimH virulence genes were 5.9, 44.5, 29.4 and 82.4%, respectively. Phylogenetic classification revealed that 54.6% of UPEC belonged to group B2, followed by groups D (19.3%), A (15.1%) and B1 (10.9%). When compared to other groups, UPEC belongs to group B2 that harbored a battery of virulence factors and had a high rate of multidrug resistance (p<0.05). Stratified according to ciprofloxacin susceptibility, the prevalence of virulence of group B2 resistant strains was lower than the susceptible strains. MDR strains among groups B2 and D showed lower prevalence of virulence than non-MDR isolates. This study showed that multidrug resistance of UPEC and treatment of UTI with antimicrobial agents in this area should be highlighted. Since the relationship between virulence factor and drug susceptibility of UPEC is complex, further studies are required.
Nitric oxide synthases in cancer genetics; focus on nasopharyngeal carcinoma

The tumorigenesis is a complex pathophysiological process involving several inflammatory signalling and molecular mechanisms leading to the progressive cell transformation and formation of cancer. Several lines of evidence showed that inflammation is involved in cancer development and progression and chronic inflammatory diseases can promote cell transformation and tumorigenesis [1-4]. In response to endogenous and exogenous stimuli, activated inflammatory cells such as macrophages, sentinel dendritic cells, endothelial cells and neutophils are able to synthesize and release a plethora of inflammatory factors including lipid mediators, cytokines, reactive oxygen species (ROS), matrix metalloproteases, and NO [5-7]. It has been demonstrated that NO is one of the most multifunctional gaseous molecule involved in inflammation-driven diseases such as cancer [8,9]. Since its discovery and the historic Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine 1998 awarded to Ferid Murad, Robert Furchgott and Louis J. Ignarro, NO has sparked a lot of scientific research in all the fields of biology and medical sciences with fascinating results and an exponential number of scientific publications. Despite its short half-life, NO participates in various biological and pathological functions. NO is a very fascinating and attractive molecule in that it by itself exhibits opposite effects depending on its variable production and its heterogeneous chemistry. It has been reported that NO has pro and anti-inflammatory activities due to the biphasic regulation of NF-kB [10]. NO is distinctly known as an intracellular signaling molecule with complex and dichotomous effects. The dual role of NO in cancer biology demonstrate its dynamic involvement in tumor development and progression. In cancer, the heterogeneous effects of NO are dependent on many factors such as the activity and localization of NOS isoforms, concentration and duration of NO exposure, and cellular sensitivity to NO [11]. The well-known dual effects of NO are closely linked to its concentration which is under the control of several factors primarily genetic variations affecting its bioavailability. In carcinogenesis, it is known that at low concentrations (less than 100 nM), NO acts as a pro-tumorigenic factor [12]. However, high concentrations of NO (more than 500 nM) were known to be proapoptotic causing cytotoxic and anti-tumorigenic effects [13].
201-208 Nisha M.pmd

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) have been a great concern throughout the world among the poorest and the most deprived communities. Orang Asli (indigenous) community in Malaysia is highly prone to STHs infection due to their living environment where soil contamination can serve as the main reservoir. This study was aimed to investigate the presence of Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides eggs in the soil samples in and around the Orang Asli villages located in Sungai Lalang Baru, Ulu Semenyih, Selangor. The soil samples were collected from June to November 2017 over a period of six months. Approximately 200-250 gram of soil samples were collected in a plastic bag from a depth of about 4-6 inches. The sedimentation and microscopic techniques was used to recover and estimate the Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides eggs from the soil samples. A total of 40 samples soil samples were collected, in which 36 (90%) were positive for A. lumbricoides and 6 (15%) were positive T. trichiura. Various soil textures like sandy, loamy and clay harbored the helminth eggs. The contaminated soil could potentially lead to transmission of the helminth eggs by natural process like rain and water movement to their sounding environments, hence screening of soil sample in the environment serves as in indication for presence of STHs.
A SURVEY OF PARASITIC INFECTIONS IN WILD RATS FROM URBAN AREAS IN KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

Wild rats are known as amajor reservoir and intermediate host for several pathogenic microbial species. Thus, the Veterinary Research Institute (VRI) conducted a survey to determine the presence of parasitic pathogens in local rats, such as blood protozoans, gastrointestinal parasites, as well as ectoparasites such as mites and lice. The study was conducted with the collaboration of Kuala Lumpur City Council Pest Control Unit, whereby a total of 105 wild rats were trapped at two urban areas of Kuala Lumpur; namely PasarPudu and Chow Kit. Autopsy was done on the rats to acquire the skin, organ and blood samples. The skin scrapping was performed on skin samples to identify the common species of mites and lice, while the floatation technique was conducted on faecal samples to identify helminth eggs. Results showed thatspecies of Tritrichomonas, Strongyloides, Nippostrongylus, Blastocystis, R o d e n t o l e p i s , C o c c i d i a , Tr i c h u r i s , Capillariaand Ascaridwerefound in the faeces while Trypanosoma sp.was found in the blood samples taken from the animals.Taeniataeniformis was obtained from liver samples while theectoparasites f o u n d o n s k i n w e r e i d e n t i f i e d as R a d fo rd i a , Po l y p l a x , L i n o g n athusa n d Hoploplurasp. Control and eradication of rodent pests is crucial in combating emerging and re-emerging diseases which may be zoonotic as rodents are reservoirs to various pathogens.
A Distributed Cooperative Droop Control Framework for Unified Operation of Shunt DC Electric Springs

A distributed secondary control based on consensus algorithm containing voltage synchronization and improvised optimizer modules is established along with a primary reverse droop controller to ameliorate the operation of shunt DC electric springs (DC-ES) in a typical DC microgrid cluster. These networked DC-ESs in the clusters, employed for voltage compensation and power balancing, are interconnected via a sparse communication layer. A low voltage DC microgrid is considered in this paper with boost converters for PV arrays emulating constant power sources, synchronous buck converters for DC-ESs and mix of resistance and constant power loads to assess the functioning of the proposed control philosophy for the DC-ES. The unified operation of compensating the DC bus voltage and simultaneously operating every DC spring at its own optimal operating point on the cost-generation characteristic curve aids to minimize the associated costs. In this work, the current contribution from each shunt compensator in the DC microgrid is correlated with its optimal operating point. To circumvent the case wherein any of the DC-ESs disregards its upper and lower boundaries, they are assumed to be graphically disconnected and the rest operate for achieving consensus in their respective incremental costs; provided the system incremental cost achieved via consensus is acceptable. With the aforementioned framework, the work presented herein investigates the operation of the radial DC network under physical and cyber adversities.
Review of the Numerical Modeling of Compression Molding of Sheet Molding Compound

A review of the numerical modeling of the compression molding of the sheet molding compound (SMC) is presented. The focus of this review is the practical difficulties of modeling cases with high fiber content, an area in which there is relatively little documented work. In these cases, the prediction of the flows become intricate due to several reasons, mainly the complex rheology of the compound and large temperature gradients, but also the orientation of fibers and the micromechanics of the interactions between the fluid and the fibers play major roles. The details of this during moldings are discussed. Special attention is given to the impact on viscosity from the high fiber volume fraction, and the various models for this. One additional area of interest is the modeling of the fiber orientation.
Minor Neurological Dysfunction in Healthy Children Born at Term

Background: Parental anxiety and stress may have consequences for infant neurological development. Aims: To study relationships between parental anxiety or wellbeing and infant neurological development approximately one year after birth. Study design: Longitudinal study of a birth cohort of infants born to subfertile couples. Subjects: 206 parent– child dyads. Outcome measures: Infant neurology was assessed with the Touwen Infant Neurological Examination (TINE) at 10 months and a developmental questionnaire at 12 months. Parental measures included trait anxiety measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and well-being measured by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Results: Maternal trait anxiety was associated with a less optimal neurological condition (rs=−0.19, pb0.01) of the infant. This association persisted after adjusting for confounders and results were confirmed by the outcome of the developmental questionnaire. Paternal trait anxiety and parental well-being were not related to the infant’s neurodevelopmental outcome. Conclusions: Infants of mothers with high trait anxiety have an increased vulnerability to develop a nonoptimal nervous system. The association may be mediated in part by early programming of monoaminergic systems. Future research should include an exploration of specific windows of vulnerability to maternal anxiety.
Bayesian spatial and temporal epidemiology of non-communicable diseases and mortality

Aalto University, P.O. Box 11000, FI-00076 Aalto www.aalto. fi Author Aki S. Havulinna Name of the doctoral dissertation Bayesian Spatial and Temporal Epidemiology of Non-communicable Diseases and Mortality Publisher School of Science Unit BECS Dept. of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science. Series Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 138/2011 Field of research Computational Science Manuscript submitted 25 August 2008 Manuscript revised 16 September 2011 Date of the defence 8 December 2011 Language English Monograph Article dissertation (summary + original articles) Abstract Spatial epidemiology combines spatial statistical modelling and disease epidemiology for studying geographic variation in mortality and morbidity. The effects of putative risk factors may be examined using ecological regression models. On the other hand, age-period-cohort models can be used to study the variation of mortality and morbidity through time.Spatial epidemiology combines spatial statistical modelling and disease epidemiology for studying geographic variation in mortality and morbidity. The effects of putative risk factors may be examined using ecological regression models. On the other hand, age-period-cohort models can be used to study the variation of mortality and morbidity through time. Bayesian hierarchical statistical models offer a flexible framework for these studies and enable the estimation of uncertainties in the results. The models are usually estimated using computer-intensive Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations. In this dissertation the first four publications present practical epidemiological studies on geographic variation in non-communicable diseases in Finland. In the last publication we study the long-time variation in all-cause mortality in several European countries. New statistical models are developed for these studies. This work provides new epidemiological information on the geographic variation of acute myocardial infarctions (AMI), ischaemic stroke and parkinsonism in Finland. An extended model for studying shared and disease specific geographic variation is presented using data on AMI and ischaemic stroke incidence. Existing results on the inverse association of water hardness and AMI are refined. New models for interpolation of geochemical data with nondetected values are presented with case studies using real data. Finally, the Bayesian ageperiod-cohort model is extended with versatile interactions and better prediction ability. The model is then used to study long-term variation in mortality in Europe.
The gender congruency effect in Catalan–Spanish bilinguals: Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence

Abstract The present study examines whether processing a word in one language is affected by the grammatical gender of its translation equivalent in another language. To this end, a group of Catalan–Spanish bilinguals performed a translation–recognition task while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Participants were presented with Catalan and Spanish pairs of words and had to decide if they were translation equivalents. Correct translations included words that were gender congruent (estiu MAS/verano MAS–summer) or gender incongruent (tardor FEM/otoño MAS–autumn). The behavioral results showed that participants were faster and more accurate in the gender-congruent condition than in the incongruent condition. The ERP data showed a reduced N400 for the congruent condition. The facilitative effect of gender congruency observed in this study constitutes evidence of the obligatory access to grammatical gender information during bare noun processing and suggests that the bilinguals’ gender systems interact, even in highly proficient early bilinguals.
The Converging Effects of Complete Science Subjects in High School on the Grades of Basic Nursing Sciences and Major Nursing Subjects of Nursing Students of one University

This study is to find the converging effects of the Complete Sciences Subjects(CSS) in high school before entrance to University on the scores of Basic Nursing Sciences(BNS) and Major Nursing Subjects(MNS) of 111 senior nursing students of one university. Using the SPSS 19.0, t-test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, multiple and simple linear regression were carried out. The mean scores of the groups that have completed the subjects of Biology I & II, Chemistry I & II were high on Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology. There was a significant difference between the group of completed Biology II and incompleted Biology II on the mean scores of MNS(p<.05). There were positive correlations between the CSS and the scores of BNS and MNS, a moderate correlation between Chemistry II and BNS(r=.303) and a strong correlation between BNS and MNS(r=.796). Explanation rate of CSS on the scores of BNS, and MNS were 18.2%, 8.2% respectively, and on the scores of BNS on MNS was 63.8%. The result of this study can be used in assessing university entrance procedure after repeated study, extended location and more participants, and to use for making pre-school program for the freshmen who didn't CSS. •
Protective effect of N-acetylcysteine on cyclosporine A-induced changes in lipid hydroperoxide levels and renal dysfunction in rats

Introduction: One of the major adverse effects of long-term cyclosporine is chronic nephrotoxicity. Renal damage due to cyclosporine treatment is an important clinical challenge. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a potent antioxidant and has been shown to reduce free radical injury. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible protective role of NAC treatment on cyclosporine-induced renal damage using biochemical and histopathological parameters. Material and methods: Adult male albino rats were randomly assigned to control (saline treated), cyclosporine (20 mg/kg/day), NAC alone (20 mg/kg/day) and cyclosporine + NAC (20 mg/kg/day) groups. Rats were sacrificed at the end of the experiment and serum was analyzed for urea, uric acid, creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). Total antioxidant level and lipid hydroperoxides were also estimated. Histopathological changes in the kidneys were assessed semiquantitatively. Results: Cyclosporine treatment produced a significant increase in serum creatinine, urea, uric acid and BUN, indicating a marked renal injury. Treatment with N-acetylcysteine significantly reduced these changes. Total antioxidant level decreased significantly both in serum and kidneys after cyclosporine. Administration of NAC significantly prevented these changes. Lipid hydroperoxide level increased significantly with cyclosporine and the changes were reduced when supplemented with NAC. Cyclosporine treatment produced severe glomerular atrophy, blood vessel thickening and moderate tubular necrosis. N-acetylcysteine significantly prevented these histopathological changes in the kidneys. Conclusions: Depletion of antioxidants and increased lipid hydroperoxides play an important role in cyclosporine-induced renal damage. N-acetylcysteine supplementation significantly reduced cyclosporine-induced structural and functional impairment of the kidneys. Concurrent use of antioxidant N-acetylcysteine may be of therapeutic value to minimize cyclosporine-induced nephrotoxicity.
Patient Perspectives on Videoconferencing-Based Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorders

ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to describe patient perspectives on optional videoconferencing-based treatment for alcohol use disorders. The study was a qualitative descriptive study based on semistructured interviews with 27 patients using an interview guide. The analysis strategy used was qualitative content analysis. Videoconferencing was found relevant when having a choice was found positive, no differences to face-to-face were registered, the sense of security was enhanced, flexibility was enhanced, attending treatment was encouraged, and the treatment course was “blended care. ” Videoconferencing was found irrelevant when intimacy was desired, there were concerns about the technical equipment, and a treatment form unsuitable for videoconferencing was offered.
The Effect of Abacavir on Inflammation and Endothelial Cell Activation in Adults with HIV Infection

by CORRILYNN O. HILEMAN, MD Abacavir has been associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction in HIV-infected adults. This retrospective cohort study was designed to determine the biologic mechanism. Stored plasma was used to compare changes in inflammatory and endothelial cell activation markers between antiretroviral-naïve patients initiating zidovudine, lamivudine and abacavir or the same regimen with a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) and also zidovudine, lamivudine, abacavir and an NNRTI or the same regimen without abacavir. After adjustment, high sensitivity C-reactive protein decreased more in the group without the NNRTI, and soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-II and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 decreased more in the group without the abacavir. When evaluating the association between abacavir and myocardial infarction, consideration should be made for whether an additional class of antiretrovirals is part of the abacavir-containing regimen. Further, inflammation and endothelial cell activation may play a role in the increased risk of myocardial infarction with abacavir.
Abiraterone acetate with prednisone and cabazitaxel as subsequent treatment after first-line docetaxel in metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC): Final efficacy and safety analysis of the CAPRO study.

276Background: Abiraterone acetate + prednisone (AA) and cabazitaxel (CB) have shown an improvement in overall survival after Docetaxel (DOC) in (mCRPC)1,2. There is little evidence about the optimal sequencing treatment in prospective trials. In this final analysis we now compare the efficacy of AA and CB as second line (2L) treatment in mCRPC patients (pts) in routine clinical practice (RCP) in Spain. Methods: The CAPRO study is a prospective multicenter national observational descriptive study. The primary endpoint was to describe the management in 2L mCRPC pts after DOC in RCP. bPFS (biochemical progression free survival) and PFS (clinical or radiological progression free survival) were assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: 150 patients were recruited (Jul 2013-Jan 2015). At median follow-up of 7.8 mo (IQR 4.2-12.8) 67% (n = 100) of the pts received AA, 29% (n = 44) CB, and 4% (n = 6) other treatments as 2L. PSA response > 50% was 47.3% and 32.3% for AA group and CB group respectively (p = 0.1.