Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Study of levels of malondialdehyde, super oxide dismutase and hsCrp in serum of non-obese patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogenous disorder with diverse clinical features. PCOS patients are known to develop long term complications like cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes mellitus, endometrial cancer, breast cancer but increasing evidence shows presence of CVD in many PCOS patients. The key role in the pathophysiology of this disease is the presence of oxidative stress which is an important component of the cardiometabolic risk and is seen in obese women with PCOS. Presence of inflammation is indicative of future development of CVD. PCOS is a condition of low grade inflammation. This study was taken up to study the oxidant status and hsCrp levels in non-obese PCOS women. Aim: To measure the levels of MDA, SOD and hscrp in serum of non-obese PCOS patient’s ànd non obese women without PCOS. Materials and Method: A cross sectional study was conducted from December 2011 to December 2012. 60 age and BMI matched subjects were included in the study between 25 -35 years of age group; 30 non obese pcos women as cases and 30 non obese normal women as controls. In all subjects the serum levels of MDA, SOD, hscrp was measured by Nadiger et al method, Marklund and Marklund method and immunoturbidometry method respectively. Results: Decreased serum levels of SOD and increased serum levels of MDA and hscrp was seen in PCOS women compared to normal women. Conclusion: Development of CVD in non-obese PCOS women is due to presence of oxidative stress and inflammation as risk factors.
Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Sediment from Oil-producing Regions of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria

Nigeria is one of the developing countries that depend largely on oil exploration as major source of revenue for economic development. More than 400,000 tons of oil had spilled into the creeks and soils of most oil producing communities in Nigeria, thereby, affecting the livelihood of host communities. The study aimed at evaluating the present health status of water bodies proximate to oil wells located in Ilaje communities using six pollution indices which comprises of three single pollution indices {Contamination Factor (CF), Ecological Risk Factor (Er) and Index of Geo-accumulation (Igeo)} and three Integrated pollution indices {Pollution Load Indices (PLI), Potential Ecological Risk Index (RI) and Nemerow Pollution Index (Pnemerow)} to quantify the extent or degree of heavy metal contamination in the sediment. Eight (8) heavy metals (Cd, Fe, Cu, Pb, Ni, Mn, Cr, and Zn) from sediment taken for five (5) months from three different regions of Ilaje (Ayetoro, Orereara and Abereke) were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Heavy metal concentrations range from: Cd (0.06070.1067ppm), Fe (152.5404246.713ppm), Cu (0.53391.3073ppm), Pb (0.26120.5226ppm), Ni (0.13700.2339ppm), Mn (0.56430.7345ppm), Cr (0.17850.2423ppm), Zn (1.07531.7945ppm). All values were below the international standard for sediment and the pollution indices also reveals that the areas are not polluted with low potential ecological risk. Result of Pnemerow indicates the areas as safe domain for most benthic organmisms. Continuous monitoring of these areas, especially when there is oil spillage, is therefore, recommended.
Response Time in Somatosensory Discrimination Tasks is Sensitive to Neurological Insult

Background: A number of reports have demonstrated significant differences in human performance on diverse somatosensory-based discriminatory tasks dependent on the individual’s neurological status. For example, compromised neurological status has been shown to lead to poor performance on tactile-based tasks such as vibrotactile stimulus amplitude discrimination, frequency discrimination, temporal order judgement, timing perception, and reaction time, and these deficits have been observed across a diverse spectrum of neurological disorders. Results: In this report, response time of recently concussed individuals (1-3 days) was found to be significantly longer (~25%) than that of non-concussed individuals (i.e., controls) and individuals recovering from concussion (10+ days post-concussion). Additionally, a significant difference was found in response time on two different tasks. Timing perception, which is hypothesized to engage significantly more neural circuitry than amplitude discrimination, had a significantly longer average response time than amplitude discrimination. Conclusions: These findings strongly suggest that response time could be used as a discriminative measure when evaluating overall neurological health and/or cognitive function, and this is consistent with findings of other reports that examined speed-accuracy trade-offs on discrimination tasks.
Do Radiologists, Radiology Administrators, And Radiology Technologists Believe There Is Over Utilization Of Cat Scan And Mri Exams And If So What Do They Recommend To Ameliorate The Issue?

Objective: Purpose of this study was to assess the opinions of Radiologist, Radiology Technologist, and Radiology Administrators, as to their belief if CAT Scan and MRI are over utilized, to determine if there are best practices in place if there is overutilization, and set the basis for future studies. Methods: After analyzing several methods, it was determined the most appropriate way to understand what individual’s thoughts are, and what they are doing was to reach out to the above groups using a descriptive survey. A survey using the Website www.surveymonkey. com was created to investigate the opinions of radiologists, radiology administrator, CAT Scan and MRI technologists on the utilization of CT and MRI, and to find what their organizations have put into place to help resolve the problem. The survey was distributed via e-mail by the AHRA to its current and past members of approximately 9000. Results: The data was collected from 380 respondents to the 14 question survey. The majority of the respondents were radiology administrators, radiology directors, or radiology managers with 58% of those respondents working in non for profit hospitals. The mean CAT Scan volume was 2400 exams per year, 66% of those surveyed said that volume has increased over the past five years. The mean MRI volume was 8589 with 62% of respondents saying MRI volume has increased over the past 5 years. The majority 62% felt that these imaging modalities are over utilized in the United States, while 45.7% felt they were over utilized in their own organizations. 58% said they did not have anything in place. Of those who did have a program in place 49.9% were using ACR criteria 83.6% said they have heard of ACR criteria. Organizations were putting 2 programs in place due to concerns of radiation exposure and health care cost concerns. 88.3% were concerned with radiation exposure in CAT Scan. Conclusions: The awareness of overutilization is out there, however many are choosing to do nothing at this time. The most common best practice is using ACR criteria to guide decision making. Radiation concerns and health care cost are driving factors in reducing over utilization.
ESTIMATION OF BIOCHEMICAL AND IMMUNOLOGICAL PARAMETERS ALTERATION IN WOMEN WITH POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME IN BASRAH GOVERNORATE

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorder in a reproductive age women around the world. Because of a large number of women infected with PCOS in Basrah city, the present study has been designed to underline some of the causes of PCOS through the changes in biochemical, and immunological parameters. This study was done in basrah governorate since May, 2018 until November, which includes 150 females divided in to two equal groups, PCOS patients and healthy women as control in basrah city. The results showed that AST, ALP, urea, cholesterol, LDL-C, total protein and glucose were significantly increased in PCOS patients than control group (p<0.05), while HDL-C was significantly decreased in PCOS patients than control group(p<0.05), even ALT, TG and VLDL recorded high levels in PCOS patients than control but the difference is not significant (p>0.05). Also our study recorded a significant increased in the level of immunological parameters (TNFα and IL-18) in PCOS patients than control group(p<0.05). In conclusion the metabolic abnormalities are prevalence in PCOS patients and PCOS may induce the inflammation characterize in these women, also these abnormalities might be involved in the development of PCOS.
Hypertension Canada's 2016 CHEP Guidelines for Blood Pressure Measurement, Diagnosis and Assessment of Risk of Pediatric Hypertension

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Phytotoxic Effect of Dyeing Industry Effluent on Seed Germination and Early Growth of Lady ’ s Finger

An investigation was made to study the degree of toxicity of dyeing industry effluent on seed germination and early growth of Lady’s finger. Physico-chemical parameters of dyeing industry such as pH, Electrical Conductivitu, Total Solids, Total Dissolved Solids, Total hardness, Chloride, Sulphate, Dissolved oxygen, Biological Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Calcium, Sodium, and Potassium were analyzed of which electrical conductivity, total solids, total dissolved solids, sulphate, chemical oxygen demand were relatively high. Germination experiments were carried out in sterilized petri dishes containing 25, 50, 75 and 100% concentrations of untreated dyeing industry effluent. The germination percentage, growth parameters like plumule and radicle length, relative toxicity, percentage of phytotoxicity and tolerance index on the seed germination in response to dyeing effluent at various concentrations were also calculated. There was a gradual decrease in the percentage of seed germination and seedling growth with higher concentration of effluent. Relative toxicity and percentage of phytotoxicity was maximum at 100%. Growth parameter such as plumule and radicle length and tolerance index of seedlings was minimum at 100% and maximum at 25% of effluent concentration.
An Improved Input Test Pattern for Characterization of Full Adder Circuits

—Full Adder is an important circuit block of many digital CMOS VLSI sub-systems, and its performance is input dependent. Input test patterns play a crucial role in the characterization and analysis of any circuit, including: measurement of propagation delay and estimation of power dissipation, and functional verification. Input pattern proposed in this paper, include all 56 possible transitions, including the transitions that lead to maximum propagation delay. This pattern also provides a fair estimate of the power dissipation, and is also suitable for functional verification. The proposed input pattern is applied to different full adder circuits (spice simulation using 45 nm MOSFET models). The results show that the proposed input pattern provides comparable/correct estimates of propagation delay and power dissipation, using less number of input transitions as compared to other patterns reported earlier.
Serum Zn and Cu Levels in Patients with Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH) and Prostate Carcinoma (PCa) and their Association with the Stage of the Disease in Carcinoma of Prostate Patients

Carcinoma of the prostate (PCa) is one of the most commonly diagnosed malignancy afflicting the men which is a leading cause of carcinoma related mortality in men. Effect of trace elements like zinc and copper has been studied extensively in the recent years to evaluate their role in pathogenesis of various neoplasms including prostate carcinoma. The objective of this study was to seek an association of serum zinc and copper levels with stage of the disease in patients with carcinoma of the prostate. Cross-sectional analytical study design was employed after sampling 60 indoor elderly male patients (30 years age) matched healthy males. 30 patients with organ confined, 30 patients with advanced metastatic carcinoma of the prostate and 30 cases with benign prostatic hypertrophy were included as three groups of patients. The fourth group included was 30 healthy individuals of same age group as controls. Zinc and copper levels in the sera were measured by standard techniques using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Significant difference was observed in Zn levels of four groups (P<0.001). Zn levels in the sera were significantly decreased in organ confined and metastatic PCa groups (78 ± 14.58, 66 ± 14.24) compared with healthy controls (93 ± 18.21). From the results it may be concluded that a significant percentage of deaths resulting from cancer may be avoided through greater attention to proper and adequate nutrition with due regard to Zn and Cu intake.
EXPERIENCES OF ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION PATIENTS FROM DELAYS IN REFERRING TO HOSPITALS: AN EXPLANATION AND HERMENEUTIC- PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

The related literature has shown that patients affected with acute myocardial infarction experience delays in referring to hospitals. Accordingly, delays in such referrals can lead to postponed diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of the complications of acute myocardial infarction. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore into experiences of patients with acute myocardial infarction concerning delays in referring to hospitals. A hermeneutics-interpretive phenomenological approach was used in this qualitative study. To this end; 12 participants (8 males and 4 females) were selected, using purposeful sampling method, from intensive care units of Shahid Beheshti Hospital in the city of Qom in Iran. The data were also collected via semi-structured in-depth interviews lasting between 40 and 65 minutes. To analyze the data, the Van Manen‘s proposed six-step method was employed. The main themes emerged from the data included perceived symptoms, interpretation of symptoms, self-medication, delays in referrals, risk perception, and helpseeking behaviors. Despite the perception of the acute myocardial infarction symptoms; the study participants had interpreted the given signs, practiced selfmedication, and experienced delays in referring to medical centers. Therefore, policy-makers in the domain of healthcare system could help in this regard by Copyright © 2017, Reza Masoudi. This is an open access article distributed under the creative commons attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH MEDICINE AND CURRENT RESEARCH DOI: 10.22301/IJHMCR.2528-3189.693 Article can be accessed online on: http://www.ijhmcr. com EXPERIENCES OF ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION PATIENTS FROM DELAYS IN REFERRING TO HOSPITALS: AN EXPLANATION AND HERMENEUTICPHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY
INFLUENCE OF STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING PRACTICES ON PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION FIRMS IN NAKURU TOWN, KENYA

There is scant literature on strategic decision making and firm performance and more so among construction firms. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of strategic decision making practices (specifically, advocacy and dialogic decision making) on performance of construction firms in Nakuru town. Survey research design was adopted. The study targeted the 936 management and supervisory staff of 312 construction firms that are duly registered and active in Nakuru town out of which 65 respondents were selected randomly. The study used self-administered questionnaires to collect data. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of SPSS. The study found that strategic decision making practices influenced performance of construction firms significantly. Also, dialogic decision making practices were found to significantly influence the said performance. However, the study found that advocacy decision making practices did not significantly influence performance. The study concluded that construction firms in Nakuru town used advocacy decision making where the firm pushed through with a decision regardless of the outcome. Dialogic decision making practices ensured that proposals are scrutinized by all decision makers. The study recommended that where construction firms use advocacy decision making where a single option is selected, the option should be analyzed by all decision makers and stakeholders in order to assess its viability.
THE ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN DEVELOPING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ORGANIZATION ENTREPRENEUR STYLES AS MODERATOR VARIABLES (APPLIED STUDY IN THE JORDANIAN PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING SECTOR)

The goal of this paper is to study the relationship between knowledge management (knowledge creation and knowledge sharing) and the five characteristics of entrepreneurial organization related to agility, sustainability of organizational values, simplicity of organizational structure, and innovation freedom. In addition, the study analyzes the moderating impact of entrepreneurial styles (Gambler, Dreamer, Entrepreneur, and Consolidator) on the relationship between knowledge management and organizational characteristics. The independent variable of the study is knowledge management with its two sub variables related to knowledge creation and knowledge sharing. The dependent variable is the characteristics of entrepreneurial organization with its four dimensions. The moderator variable is the entrepreneurial styles. The results of the study revealed that there is no direct impact of knowledge management practices as a whole in terms of knowledge creation and knowledge sharing on the characteristics of entrepreneurial organization as a whole. On the other hand, it was evident from the results of the study that there is an impact of knowledge sharing only on the sustainability of organizational values, the simplicity of organizational structure, and organizational creativity freedom; knowledge creation however, did not have any impact on sustainability of organizational values or simplicity of organizational structure. In terms of the moderating impact of entrepreneurial styles, it was evident that there is an indirect effect of knowledge management practices in terms of knowledge creation and knowledge sharing on the characteristics of entrepreneurial organization in the presence of only the entrepreneur style. On the other side, there was no indirect effect of knowledge management practices in terms of knowledge creation and knowledge sharing on the characteristics of entrepreneurial organization in the presence of gambler, consolidator or dreamer entrepreneurial styles.
Urinary Incontinence in Men in Uyo Metropolis, South-South, Nigeria

This study examined urinary incontinence and its possible risk factors in men living in Uyo Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design and a questionnaire was developed and used as the major source of data collection. Sample of 320 men were randomly selected by simple random sampling and data were analyzed using frequency and percentage distribution, chi-square test, univariate and multiple logistic regression. Results of chi-square revealed a significant association (p<0.05) between marital status and incontinence. The findings of this study have proven that urinary incontinence occurs as age increases.
Abstract 3639: Analytical performance and validation of an enhanced TAm-Seq circulating tumor DNA sequencing assay

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is becoming established as a tool to supplement conventional biopsies for molecular characterization and monitoring of solid cancers, especially for cancers where tumor tissue is difficult to obtain or is only available at limiting quantity. This requires reliable identification, in patient plasma, of tumor-specific DNA alterations that in some cases may be present as a small fraction of the total cell-free DNA molecules. To overcome these technical challenges, we have developed an enhanced platform for tagged-amplicon deep sequencing (TAm-Seq™). Using a combination of efficient library preparation and statistically-based analysis algorithms, this platform can be used to sequence, identify and quantify cancer mutations across a gene panel including both cancer hotspots, as well as entire coding regions of selected genes. This poster will present validated performance specifications of this multi-gene ctDNA sequencing assay. To perform analytical validation, we used reference standards and plasma DNA controls to demonstrate the sensitivity, specificity and quantitative accuracy of this ctDNA analysis platform. We found that our workflow, using 4 mL input plasma, yields very high sensitivity for variants that are present at allele fraction 0.25% or higher in plasma, and retains substantial sensitivity at allele fractions as low as 0.1%. Using dilution mixtures of well-characterised reference samples, we show that the assay accurately quantifies allele fractions with precision predominantly limited by stochastic sampling. Analysis of plasma samples from control individuals demonstrates a low false positive rate. The assay also detects DNA amplifications (including in ERBB2, MYC, KRAS, EGFR, MET, FGFR1, FGFR2) when the ctDNA are sufficiently high. Together, these data demonstrate the analytical validity and robustness of the TAm-Seq assay and support its use as a basis for clinical applications. Citation Format: Davina Gale, Vincent Plagnol, Andrew Lawson, Michelle Pugh, Sarah Smalley, Karen Howarth, Mikidache Madi, Bradley Durham, Vasudev Kumanduri, Kitty Lo, James Clark, Emma Green, Nitzan Rosenfeld, Tim Forshew. Analytical performance and validation of an enhanced TAm-Seq circulating tumor DNA sequencing assay. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3639.
Effect Temperature and Cell Carrier Loading on Phenol Degradation using Rhodococcus Erythropolis

In the present study phenol degradation using Rhodococcus erythropolis (NCIM 5228) strain was assessed both in suspended and immobilized form. Factors affecting phenol degradation (substrate concentration, temperature and cell carrier loading) was studied. Rhodococcus erythropolis (NCIM 5228) was considered for degradation of phenol up to 600 ppm both in suspended and immobilized form. Phenol degradation under suspended cell system was found least dominant over immobilized cells indicated adsorbed cells on support possess high rate of degradation than suspended cells. Percentage degradation of various substrate phenol concentrations using suspended cell was found 92.4%, which was further increased up to 96% using immobilized cells. Maximum activity was observed both in suspended and immobilized cells at 30 oC temperature and increasing the carrier loading resulted decrease in the period of degradation with efficient degradation above 99% using immobilized cell system compare to free cell system. Carrier load used for phenol degradation with Rhodococcus erythropolis (NCIM 5228) found preferable on the considered parameters indicated its efficiency in phenol contaminated wastewater using such combinations.