Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Which Strategy to Manage Severe Vaso-occlusive Crisis in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease in Countries with Limited Healthcare Capacities?

We evaluated the treatment of morphine by intravenous patient controlled analgesia versus intermittent subcutaneous routes on patients with sickle cell disease developing severe vasoocclusivecrisis. Objectives: The primary objective was to compare intravenous patient controlled analgesia (PCA) versus intermittent subcutaneous injection of morphine (SC) on sickle cell patients developing severe vaso-occlusive crisis during the first 24 hours of admission. The secondary objective was to assess the side effects of morphine in both regimens. Methods: A randomized controlled trial of 77 patients in the PCA and 81 in the SC group was conducted at the Sickle Cell Center of Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo. Participants aged from 15 to 45 years old with severe vaso-occlusive crisis were included in the study. Results: Both regimens provided pain relief. However, a significant pain reduction was observed 30 minutes after the administration of morphine in the PCA group (P= 0.001). The mean scores in the Original Research Article Ngolet et al.; IBRR, 12(2): 7-13, 2021; Article no.IBRR. 65227 8 PCA and SC regimens were respectively: 1.16±1.40 and 4.30±2.32. The total median dose of morphine administered in the PCA regimen was markedly lower: 24,6±4,16 mg versus 36.6±3.1 mg in the SC group (P=0.01). Morphine administered by PCA provided pain relief during 24 hours while intermittent severe pain was experienced in the SC group (P=0.014). Sedation score S2, S3 was significantly observed in the SC group (P< 0.05).
Attitudes Toward Collusion in Chile

In the last two decades, competition agencies around the world have increasingly directed their attention to enforcement against cartels. With the encouragement of the antitrust authorities of the United States, and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, various countries have introduced leniency programs, and sanctions for individuals found guilty of colluding. Critics are concerned, however, that these measures are not backed by broad public support, which could jeopardize their enforcement. This paper explores public attitudes toward cartels in Chile, an emerging economy that introduced a leniency program in 2009 and criminal sanctions in 2016, by presenting the results of a public opinion survey conducted in this country in August–September 2019. The results of the survey show high awareness of cartels and the harm they cause, and high public disapproval of cartel conduct among the Chilean respondents. In particular, up to 70 percent of the respondents support prison sentences against individuals found guilty of colluding. Such strong public support for anti-cartel measures could be considered positive from the perspective of enforcement. The results also emphasize the importance of continued competition advocacy directed at the society to explain and gain public support for the anti-cartel agenda.
Mineralization of Nitrogen Forms in Soil Cultivated with Yellow Melon under Organic and Mineral Fertilization

ABSTRACT The association of mineral and organic fertilization is a nitrogen supply system for the melon crop. Nitrogen (N) fractionation is an important tool to understand its dynamics in the soil and the contribution of each fraction to N bioavailability. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of organic and mineral fertilization on organic and inorganic forms of soil N of the cultivation of yellow melon. The experiment was conducted in the Experimental Field of Pacajus, belonging to Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical, in soil classified as Red Yellow Argisol. The experimental design was a split-plot randomized block. Fertilizer application was the main plot treatment and sampling time was arranged as subplots. The experimental results indicated that only organic fertilization was sufficient to significantly increase the total-N content (varying from 1,127 mg kg−1 to 967 mg kg−1) compared to only mineral fertilization (951 mg kg−1) and organic N represented 92 ± 2% of the total-N. In addition, the higher hydrolyzable N content was observed in the treatment with only bovine manure application (542 mg kg−1) which represents an N source for the mineralization and subsequent inorganic N for plants. Our results reveal that organic fertilization is efficient for long-term fertility management, increasing melon productivity.
Informative Bayesian model selection for RR Lyrae star classifiers

Machine learning has achieved an important role in the automatic classification of variable stars, and several classifiers have been proposed over the last decade. These classifiers have achieved impressive performance in several astronomical catalogues. However, some scientific articles have also shown that the training data therein contain multiple sources of bias. Hence, the performance of those classifiers on objects not belonging to the training data is uncertain, potentially resulting in the selection of incorrect models. Besides, it gives rise to the deployment of misleading classifiers. An example of the latter is the creation of open-source labelled catalogues with biased predictions. In this paper, we develop a method based on an informative marginal likelihood to evaluate variable star classifiers. We collect deterministic rules that are based on physical descriptors of RR Lyrae stars, and then, to mitigate the biases, we introduce those rules into the marginal likelihood estimation. We perform experiments with a set of Bayesian logistic regressions, which are trained to classify RR Lyraes, and we found that our method outperforms traditional non-informative cross-validation strategies, even when penalized models are assessed. Our methodology provides a more rigorous alternative to assess machine learning models using astronomical knowledge. From this approach, applications to other classes of variable stars and algorithmic improvements can be developed.
Learning Facts About Migration: Politically Motivated Learning of Polarizing Information About Refugees

Information processing during heated debates on asylum and immigration may often be influenced by prejudice rather than a desire to learn facts. In this article, we investigate how people process empirical evidence on the consequences of refugee arrivals through a novel survey experiment that disentangles politically motivated learning from other forms of learning and expressive responding. Specifically, we ask respondents to interpret a 2×2 table about the relationship between asylum seekers and crime rates. Crucially, respondents are randomly allocated to evaluate a conclusion that triggers their identity- protective stakes or not. In addition, we test for motivated responding as an alternative explanation by randomly providing some respondents with a response format that motivates them to report their inference truthfully. We find that information processing changes substantially when new information challenges existing asylum attitudes. Politically motivated learning is strongest among voters with strong negative prior attitudes towards asylum seekers. Our results also indicate that expressive responding can only partially account for this gap in correctly reported inferences. Our research has important implications for research on the consequences of refugee migration, theories of motivated reasoning, and survey methodology.
Effect of particle size on rotary drum composting of garden waste and their ranking using analytical hierarchy process

Garden waste comprises of 15–18% fraction of total municipal solid waste generated. For composting of garden waste, particle size is an important factor for efficient degradation. The present study investigates role of varying particle size on compost quality. The garden waste was grinded using a shredder into varying size of particles, 0.5–1.5, 1.5-3.0, 3.0-4.5 and 4.5–7.5 cm diameter named as R1, R2, R3 and R4 respectively. 100 kg of garden waste mixed with 20 litre cow-dung slurry and 10 kg fresh compost and feed into the rotary drum for 45 days composting period. Thermophilic phase continued for 7, 8, 4 and 3 days in R1, R2, R3 and R4 reactor respectively. Total volatile solids reduction was 29.10, 31.20, 24.23 and 17.12 %, CO2 evolution rate was 4.92, 4.14, 6.18 and 8.16 mg/gVS/d, C/N ratio was 16.91, 15.05, 18.13 and 20.99, germination index was 92.00, 94.12, 85.21 and 81.20 in R1, R2, R3 and R4 reactor respectively after end of composting period. Reduction of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin was highest in R2 drum and lowest in R4. The percentage reduction of acid insoluble lignin was 36, 39, 29 and 27 % and the percentage reduction of acid soluble lignin was 48.85, 52.89, 43.39 and 36.97 % in combinations in R1, R2, R3 and R4 respectively after 45 days. As per analytical hierarchy process, performance of reactors was observed in the following trend, R2 > R1 > R3 > R4. Particle size range 1.5-3.0 cm diameter showed optimum size for efficient composting of garden waste.
A comparative study of the determinants of capital structure in shipping companies: the case of Korea and Greece

ABSTRACT Shipping companies need a huge amount of external funds to purchase ships, and financing choices have a decisive effect on a firm’s valuation. Capital structure decisions are of great importance for maximizing corporate value which is the primary goal of financial management. Therefore, this study investigates the differences of capital structure decisions in Korean and Greek shipping companies using a sample of 60 Korean and 32 Greek shipping companies in terms of shipping business models: an operator model and an owner model. The result shows that Korean and Greek shipping companies follow the pecking order theory, and the two countries indicate different results of capital structure regressions including supply and demand factors with their unique shipping business models.
Research Advances on Financial Inclusion: A Bibliometric Analysis

With intensifying competition in the financial system, new strategic applications are constantly being devised in the search for greater efficiency. In consequence, decisions are commonly based on locating and retaining market segments with high added value, and those which fail to supply the profitability required by the market are “excluded”. The aim of this study is to analyse the research advances made in the field of financial inclusion and the main lines of investigation currently being addressed by means of a bibliometric analysis. Among the scientific community, there is growing interest in this study area. The most assiduous in this respect are SA Asongu (the most productive author), Enterprise Development and Microfinance (the journal that has published the most articles in this field), Makerere University, Uganda (the most productive institution) and India (the country where most recent studies have taken place). Foreseeably inspiring future research, there is currently great interest in developing a more accessible financial system, especially through the use of digital money (Fintech) as an instrument to promote financial inclusion. For all this, a line of research is proposed that also includes the proposals from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Environmental Barriers as a Determining Factor of Physical Activity

Physical activity (PA) has been shown to be an important variable in achieving a good quality of life. The objective of this study was to determine adolescents’ perceptions of environmental barriers to PA based on age, gender, geographic location, body mass index (BMI), PA index, and whether they engage in sports or not. The sample was made up of 849 adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years old. The PA Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A) and three questions on environmental barriers were used. Among the results, we should point out that adolescents hardly perceive any environmental barriers. There are no differences in the perception of barriers neither in terms of gender nor BMI. As adolescents get older, they consider that there are few recreational spaces, that the distance is not adequate, and that there is no accessibility to them or they do not encourage walking. The adolescents who perceive the greatest barriers are those who live in settlements of 10,000–50,000 inhabitants, especially those more linked to the neighborhood and to the accessibility and availability of spaces. It seems especially important to establish health policies in order to neutralize the barriers related to the accessibility and availability of spaces and the neighborhood-related barriers.
The Effect of Inter-Pregnancy Interval on Primary Postpartum Hemorrhage in Urban South Ethiopia: A Community-Based Matched Nested Case Control Study

Background: Globally, postpartum hemorrhage remained a leading cause of maternal mortality, accounting for nearly one quarter of all pregnancy related deaths. To decrease postpartum hemorrhage related maternal mortalities to desired level, identifying its risk factors is very crucial to guide interventions. In this regard, little is known about the link between inter-pregnancy interval and primary postpartum hemorrhage in Ethiopia where maternal mortality is one of the highest in the world (412 per 100,000 live births). Therefore, we mainly aimed to assess the effect of inter-pregnancy interval on primary postpartum hemorrhage in urban South Ethiopia.Methods: A community-based matched nested case control study was conducted among 365 women (73 cases and 292 controls). Cases were women with primary postpartum hemorrhage and controls were women without primary postpartum hemorrhage. Cases were individually matched with controls (1:4 ratio) for age group and location. A conditional logistic regression analysis was done using R version 4.0. 3 software. Statistically significant association was declared at P < 0.05. Odds ratio and attributable fraction (AF) were used to report effect sizes from the adjusted model.Results: The incidence of primary postpartum hemorrhage was 2.9%, 95%CI: (2.2%, 3.6%). More than half (56%) of primary postpartum hemorrhage was attributed to short inter-pregnancy interval <18 months (AF=56.1%, 95%CI: 6.5%, 79.5%). This could have been prevented if inter-pregnancy interval was increased to 24-36 months. Moreover, primary postpartum hemorrhage was attributed to presence of antepartum hemorrhage (AF=82.4%, 95% CI: 17.4%, 96.2%), prolonged labour (AF=71.8%, 95%CI: 31.5%, 88.4%) and late initiation of breast feeding (AF=78.2%, 95%CI: 47.4%, 90.9%). Conclusions: In this study, inter-pregnancy interval was causally related with primary postpartum hemorrhage. More than half of primary postpartum hemorrhage can be prevented by spacing pregnancy for at least 18 months. Other risk factors for primary postpartum hemorrhage were antepartum hemorrhage, prolonged labour and late initiation of breast feeding. Increasing existing maternal health service utilization (family planning emphasizing on spacing, antenatal care, health facility delivery with early referrals and postnatal care) will contribute for reducing primary postpartum hemorrhage, as the risk factors identified were maternal health service related and modifiable.
Highly Efficient 11.1-kW Wireless Power Transfer Utilizing Nanocrystalline Ribbon Cores

Nanocrystalline alloys have been recently considered as an alternative to ferrite as the magnetic cores in inductive power transfer systems due to their superior properties such as higher saturation flux density and permeability. They are also less brittle, more stable to temperature variations, and have a higher thermal conductivity. To take advantage of these properties, a dedicated design approach is required, different from the one used for ferrite cores. In this article, special considerations and methods for the design of nanocrystalline ribbon cores are presented. An 11.1-kW pad is designed and compared with one with identical ferrite cores. Results show that IPT pads with nanocrystalline ribbon cores yield superior magnetic performance in terms of inductances and coupling factors. Higher efficiency and power density were also achieved with the proposed design. Furthermore, compared to ferrite-based pads, they showed lower leakage flux and a superior stability to temperature variations.
Full-Wave Leaky-Wave Analysis of 1-D Periodic Corrugated Metal Surface Antennas

A full-wave leaky-wave analysis of 1-D periodically corrugated metallic surfaces with wide gaps is presented. Such wide gaps, in the order of half-wavelength, are employed in the most cited designs for corrugated metallic antenna implementation due to the high attainable gain performance. A full-wave periodic unit cell method is described and implemented on a corrugated metal surface design for the first time. The results are compared with the known matrix pencil method. The complex dispersion characteristics verify that these structures operate as leaky-wave antennas. The calculated wavenumber of the leaky mode is then used for the analytical calculation of the radiation patterns of a finite-size antenna, based on a simple array factor approach and a near-field inspection of the electric fields of the simulated unit cell. The calculated patterns are compared to those obtained from a commercial simulation software (CST Microwave Studio), exhibiting a very good agreement.
Parnassius nebrodensis: A threatened but neglected Apollo butterfly species from Southern Europe (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)

Recent multi-locus phylogenetic studies repeatedly showed that what was thought to be the Clouded Apollo butterfly Parnassius mnemosyne (Linnaeus, 1758) represents a cryptic species complex. This complex contains at least three distant species-level phylogenetic lineages. Here, we compile a set of morphology- and DNA-based evidences supporting the distinctiveness of two species in this group, i.e. P. mnemosyne s. str. and P. nebrodensis Turati, 1907 stat. rev. These species can be distinguished from each other based on a combination of diagnostic characters in the male genitalia structure, wing scale patterns, and the forewing venation. The species status of P. nebrodensis is supported based on unique nucleotide substitutions in the mitochondrial (COI, ND1, and ND5) and nuclear (Wg and EF-1a) genes. P. nebrodensis is endemic to the Western Mediterranean Region. This species shares a disjunctive range through the Pyrenees, Western and Central Alps, Apennines, and the Nebrodi and Madonie mountains on Sicily. Altogether 38 nominal taxa initially described as P. mnemosyne subspecies are considered here to be junior synonyms of P. nebrodensis. At first glance, P. nebrodensis can be assessed as an endangered species due to its restricted distribution, narrow range of habitats, and ongoing population decline. Isolated populations of this species scattered through mountain ranges need special management and conservation efforts.
Design, synthesis and anti-mycobacterial evaluation of some new N-phenylpyrazine-2-carboxamides

N-Phenylpyrazine-2-carboxamides (anilides of pyrazinoic acids with simple substituents in various positions) were previously shown to possess significant biological activities in vitro, markedly anti-mycobacterial and photosynthesis-inhibiting activity. Based on structure-activity relationships (SAR) extracted from previously published series, 25 new anilides of non-substituted pyrazinoic acid (POA), 5-CH3-POA, 6-Cl-POA, 5-tert-butyl-POA and 5-tert-butyl-6-Cl-POA were designed and synthesised. The phenyl part was substituted with simple hydrophobic substituents chosen from methyl and halogens. 5-tert-Butyl-N-(5-fluoro-2-methylphenyl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide (9), N-(3-chloro-4-methylphenyl)-5-methylpyrazine-2-carboxamide (12), 6-chloro-N-(3-chloro-4-methylphenyl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide (13) and 6-chloro-N-(5-iodo-2-methylphenyl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide (18) possessed whole cell anti-mycobacterial activity in vitro against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of around 10 μM. Importantly, no cytotoxicity in the HepG2 model was detected in vitro at the concentrations tested and the estimated IC50 values were in hundreds of μM, indicating promising selectivity. N-(3-Chloro-4-methylphenyl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide (11) and N-(4-chloro-2-iodophenyl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide (21) exerted significant activity against Mycobacterium kansasii with MIC 12.6 μM and 8.7 μM, respectively. No activity was detected against Mycobacterium avium. SAR were in accordance with those observed for the derivatives previously published.
Assessment of the PETase conformational changes induced by poly(ethylene terephthalate) binding

Recently, a bacterium strain of Ideonella sakaiensis was identified with the uncommon ability to degrade the poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). The PETase from I. sakaiensis strain 201‐F6 (IsPETase) catalyzes the hydrolysis of PET converting it to mono(2‐hydroxyethyl) terephthalic acid (MHET), bis(2‐hydroxyethyl)‐TPA (BHET), and terephthalic acid (TPA). Despite the potential of this enzyme for mitigation or elimination of environmental contaminants, one of the limitations of the use of IsPETase for PET degradation is the fact that it acts only at moderate temperature due to its low thermal stability. Besides, molecular details of the main interactions of PET in the active site of IsPETase remain unclear. Herein, molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were applied to analyze structural changes of IsPETase induced by PET binding. Results from the essential dynamics revealed that the β1‐β2 connecting loop is very flexible. This loop is located far from the active site of IsPETase and we suggest that it can be considered for mutagenesis to increase the thermal stability of IsPETase. The free energy landscape (FEL) demonstrates that the main change in the transition between the unbound to the bound state is associated with the β7‐α5 connecting loop, where the catalytic residue Asp206 is located. Overall, the present study provides insights into the molecular binding mechanism of PET into the IsPETase structure and a computational strategy for mapping flexible regions of this enzyme, which can be useful for the engineering of more efficient enzymes for recycling plastic polymers using biological systems.
Bedside echocardiography for diagnosis of intracardiac cement embolism after percutaneous vertebroplasty: A case report

This case report is to demonstrate that a female patient had suddenly become unconscious 14 hours after percutaneous vertebroplasty. Bedside echocardiogram showed that the patient had a strong echo in the right heart with a small amount of pericardial effusion. CT showed high density in the distal branches of both pulmonary arteries and a high density in the right heart. With the help of that, the doctor made the diagnosis of intracardiac cement embolism in a very short time. The bone cement in the heart was removed under emergency cardiopulmonary bypass, then the patient was discharged smoothly.
Variable importance for chiller system optimization and sustainability

Very few studies have considered modelling the statuses of loading and component combinations (LC) in chiller systems. This study uses a decision tree (DT) and a neural network (NN) to model accurately six output levels of LC in terms of 11 predictor variables. The NN model gave a higher correct prediction of 89.52% than 84.44% in the DT model. A variable dropout analysis from the DT and NN models generalizes the top five significant variables: the statuses of cooling towers and primary chilled water pumps, and the supply temperature, return temperature and flow rate of chilled water. The system coefficient of performance (SCOP) modelled by NN has an improved R 2 of 84.18% versus 74.62% when the significant variables are included as inputs. The SCOP maximization brings three optimal strategies—implementing chiller sequencing, operating components in pairs and optimizing chilled water supply temperature—which reduce CO2 emissions by 99,815–346,987 kg.