Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Coenzyme Q10 on Hormonal Profile in Male Sprague-Dawley Rat Exposed to Sub-Chronic Concentrations of Cypermethrin

Aim: This study was aimed at evaluating the impact of Coenzyme Q10 on hormonal profile in male Sprague-Dawley rat exposed to sub-chronic concentrations of Cypermethrin. Experimental Design: A completely randomized experimental design using standard methods for analysis. Hormonal assay was carried out by Microplate Enzyme Immunoassay using their respective test kits. Including AccuBindTM Microplate EIA Test system from Monobind Inc. Lake Forest CA 92630 USA while statistical analysis was carried out using one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA); where significant differences were found, Pair-wise comparisons conducted with Tukey test using SPSS 20 software. Location and Duration of Study: This study was carried out in the Department of Biology, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. GPS 4o48ʹ14ʹʹ N 6o59ʹ12ʹʹ E. The study lasted for 28days. Methodology: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to five groups, A-E(n=6/group). Group A was given cool clean water and standard rat pellet ad libitum. Group B,C and D were administered Cypermethrin @ 10mg/kg/bw,20mg/kg/bw,30mg/kg/bw respectively along with 10mg/kg/bw of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). Group E received 30mg/kg/bw of cypermethrin only without Coenzyme Q10. All animals were allowed access to cool clean water and standard rat pellet ad libitum. Bodyweight of the animals were taken twice a week and recorded in grams. Twenty-four hours before the animals were euthanized with ethyl ether inhalation, feed was withdrawn from the animals. Blood samples were collected by cardiac puncture between the hours of 7:00 and 9:00am into plain sample tubes according to the approved protocol of blood collection techniques. Analysis for the quantitative determination of all androgens was by Microplate Enzyme Immunoassay using the AccuBindTM Microplate EIA Test system from Monobind Inc. Lake Forest CA 92630 USA and expressed as their respective units. The animals were latter dissected and the vital organs harvested and weighed. The values were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS software 20. Results: Results showed that there was no significant difference between the bodyweight and organ weight of animals in the treatment group compared with the control. Also, treatment with Cypermethrin only in group E, reduced the level of all the androgens considered in exposed animals. However, with concurrent administration of coenzyme Q10, the production of all androgens especially the production of Follicle Stimulating Hormone, Luteinizing Hormone and Progesterone in groups B,C,D and Estrogen in group B were significantly (P=.05) increased to values higher than the control. Conclusion: This elevation indicates the role of Coenzyme Q10 as an effective antioxidant to boost hormonal level production especially the level of androgens.
Seismic Attenuation and S‐Velocity Structures in D′′ Beneath Central America Using 1‐D Full‐Waveform Inversion

We use one‐dimensional full‐waveform inversion to simultaneously infer the S‐velocity ( VS ) and anelastic ( QS ) structures of the lowermost 480 km of the mantle in 11 contiguous corridors located beneath Northern South America and Central America. Previous studies in this region have reported the presence of slabs at the core‐mantle boundary (CMB) and large variations in the depth of the D′′ discontinuity, suggesting local temperature variations. We use transverse component waveform data cut around the ScS phase, including the Scd phase due to the D′′ discontinuity, from 31 events beneath South America recorded at USArray stations. The minimum period used in this study is 8 s, allowing us to constrain the fine‐scale structure of the D′′ region and the depth of the D′′ discontinuity. We correct the data for the effect of amplitude focusing due to lateral velocity anomalies (i.e., out‐of‐plane focusing effect) in D′′ on the inferred QS structure using three‐dimensional waveform calculations. We show that, in the explored region, corrections for out‐of‐plane focusing effects are necessary to obtain QS models that have a reasonable interpretation in terms of temperature and fraction of post‐perovskite (pPv). Our final models show regions with high VS , high QS , and an elevated D′′ discontinuity, surrounding a low‐velocity corridor with lower QS and a depressed D′′ discontinuity that can be explained by local temperature variations. However, differences between temperature perturbations inferred from VS and QS suggest lateral variations in the fraction of pPv.
Student-athletes “taking the road less traveled:” Social Comparison Theory and the academically elite NCAA Division III institution

ABSTRACT Rationale/Purpose The purpose of this study is to utilize Social Comparison Theory and the Big Fish Small Pond Effect to examine the experiences of student-athletes and coaches from academically elite NCAA Division III institutions and their perceptions of what it means to them to be a student-athlete at an academically elite Division III institution. Design/methodology/approach The authors examined the intersectional patterns of NCAA level, academic prestige, and aggregate athletics department success and then conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 student-athletes and 12 coaches across two academically elite Division III institutions. Findings Four themes emerged: (1) understanding the recruiting competition and other schools academically elite Division III student-athletes consider, (2) the unique pairing of athletics rigor and academic rigor, (3) the role of having athletics at academically elite Division III institutions, and (4) “Why this? ” – framing the academically elite Division III experience. Practical Implications Findings have implications for coaches, athletics administrators, and campus administrators as they situate the role of athletics offerings on campus and gain a better understanding of student-athlete experiences and priorities. Research contribution Discussion focuses on the relevance of this environment in relation to frame-of-reference ideas, self-concept, Social Comparison Theory, and the Big Fish Small Pond Effect.
Comparison of two different lung ultrasound imaging protocols in COVID-19 pneumonia

Purpose The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of two different lung ultrasonography (LUS) methods that can be used in the diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to investigate their correlations with computed tomography (CT). Methods In this prospective, randomized, and single-blind study, 60 patients with COVID-19 were included. The patients were randomized to either the 12-zone LUS group (n=30) or the 14-zone LUS group (n=30). The correlation between LUS and thoracic CT scores was evaluated. As a secondary outcome measure, the characteristic features of the findings of thoracic CT and LUS were examined. Results The study was completed with a total of 59 patients. Moderate and high correlations were found between the total CT and LUS scores in the 12-zone and 14-zone study groups. There were no statistically significant differences in the lesion types detected in patients using LUS and CT (P>0.05). The left lung lower lobe CT scores were statistically significantly lower in the 14-zone study group than in the 12-zone group (P=0.019). The left lower lobe CT and LUS scores were highly correlated in the 14-zone group (P<0.001, r=0.902). Conclusion The results of our study indicated that the two different LUS examination methods performed in different patients had similar findings in terms of the diagnosis and their correlations with CT results.
Economic Burden of Tuberculosis Diabetes Co-Morbidity in Tuberculosis Patients Attending Two Chest Clinics in Lagos State

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) increases the risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) three-fold. The cost of accessing care for TB-DM co-morbidity poses a significant burden on patients, as they bear both direct and indirect costs of treatment, mostly of out-of-pocket.Objective: To estimate the direct medical cost of illness in patients with TB-DM co-morbidity in two chest clinics in Lagos State.Materials and Methods: An observational study, carried out in two chest clinics in Lagos State to evaluate direct medical costs associated with TBDM co-morbidity during TB treatment. A semi structured questionnaire, pharmacy price list of drugs and an online transportation service lara.ng was employed to document and quantify prescribed medications, laboratory investigations, number of clinic attendance and attendant transportation costs.Results: Among the participants, 53.8% were females. The mean age was 50.7±9.7 years. The total direct medical and non-medical costs for TBDM management was NGN8,604,819 (USD24,585.20) for the duration of TB treatment. Average cost per patient (CPP) was NGN179,384.85 (USD512.53). This was equivalent to 49.8% of the current national minimum wage. Male patients incurred more mean direct medical cost than female patients (NGN26, 647.90 vs NGN24, 020.40), while female patients incurred more mean direct non-medical costs than the males (NGN22, 314.30 versus NGN13, 041.70). Patients aged 60 years and above incurred the highest mean direct costs compared to other age groups.Conclusion: Direct medical costs are substantial in TBDM co-morbidity and increase with age.
Observational study to evaluate functional out-come of total knee replacement in primary osteoarthritis of knee joint

Introduction: Osteoarthritis is thought to be the most prevalent chronic joint disease. Total knee arthroplasty is now s reliable treatment for severe arthritis and is commonly done for end stage arthritis of knee. The results of TKA are predictable in majority of cases, but with geriatric population, arthritis is often associated with other co-morbid condition along with age, which makes the results of TKA less predictable. So the present study was conducted to evaluate the clinical and functional outcome of TKA in this subset population.Materials and Methods: This prospective study was done at a tertiary center of new civil hospital surat. A total of 25 Consecutive patients who consented and underwent TKA were assessed clinically, functionally using the knee society score at 6 months.Results: The average pre-op knee Functional score was 65.8 which improved to an average post-op score of 83.68 At 6 month follow up, 19 patients (76%) had excellent, 2 patients (8%) had good, 2 patients (8%) had fair, and 2 patients (8%) had poor results as per KFS. The average pre op knee Clinical score was 47.4, which improved to a post op score of 83.84. At 6 month follow up, 18 patients (53%) had excellent, 5 patients (20%) had well, 1 Patient (4%) had fair and 1 patient (4%) had poor results as per KCS. Conclusion: Total knee arthroplasty improves the functional ability of the old patient above 60 years and the ability of the patient to get back to pre-disease state, which is to have a pain free mobile joint, as reflected by the improvement in the post op knee clinical score and knee functional score.
‘Boom Boom in the Zoom Zoom Room’: Online music therapy with children and adolescents with visual impairment

The COVID-19 pandemic created a major transformation in the delivery of music therapy services worldwide as they moved online. Telehealth research is in its infancy and online work with children and adolescents with visual impairment has yet to be investigated. This survey-based study explored the experiences and perceptions of parents of children and adolescents with visual impairment (n = 11) who engaged in online music therapy. Video playlists were accessed regularly and almost all parents reported positive (2/11) or very positive (8/11) responses and perceived them as beneficial in engaging with their child. Ninety-five percent (10/11) of parents perceived the teleheath programme to be a positive experience for their child, 73% (8/11) observed positive behaviours directly after the sessions, and 82% (9/11) indicated that the programme was a valuable family resource that supported bonding and interaction. Inductive reflexive thematic analysis generated four themes from the qualitative data: (a) positive impacts, (b) interactive family resource, (c) connection to school, and (d) challenges. A discussion of the findings is followed by implications for practice.
Sharing Leftover Food with Strangers via Social Media: A Value Perspective Based on Beliefs-Values-Behavior Framework

An emergent effort to reduce wasted food is to share uneaten food with others via social media. However, the following question arises: Are those unknown people willing to take my leftovers? Few studies address the above question. Hence, developing a comprehensive model that explains the acceptance of leftover food from strangers (LFFS) via social media warrants research attention. Considering the dual roles LFFS recipients play—namely, both peer-to-peer (P2P) technology user and service consumer—the study embraces diverse motivational factors across research disciplines to explain LFFS acceptance. Drawing on technology and marketing research, the study develops a value-based model to investigate consumer acceptance of LFFS via social media. The study examines the effects of two prominent consumers’ beliefs (cognitive interaction and affective trust) on their context-specific value perception (conditional and epistemic values) toward LFFS, and the impact of these perceived values on the acceptance of the leftover food from strangers. The study employed a two-stage data collection approach and collected 663 usable questionnaire packets from two major metropolitan areas in Taiwan. Using a Structural Equation Model (IBM SPSS Amos) to analyze the data, the results indicate that trust and interactivity relate positively to consumer perceived value (both conditional and epistemic) of LFFS. Furthermore, both conditional and epistemic values mediate the relationships between the proposed consumer beliefs and LFFS acceptance. The research helps create a sustainable society as sharing uneaten food with other unknown social community members provides a connected, diverse, and sustainable life.
Rainfall-Induced Landslides and Erosion Processes in the Road Network of the Jaén Province (Southern Spain)

Rainfall thresholds are one of the most widely applied methods for indirectly estimating landslide return periods, which are subsequently used in hazard analyses. In this study, the starting point is an incidence database of landslides and erosive processes affecting the road network of the province of Jaén (southern Spain), in which the positions and dates of civil repair works can be found. Meanwhile, the use of a daily rainfall database in a dense grid (1 km) allowed for the estimation of the rainfall series at each incidence point with high precision. Considering the news in the local media and applying spatial proximity, temporal proximity, and maximum return period criteria, rainfall events of various duration (1 to 90 days) could be associated approximately with each point. Then, the rainfall thresholds and their return periods were estimated. A linear equation was adjusted for the rainfall duration threshold (E = 6.408 D + 74.829), and a power-law curve was adjusted for the intensity–duration pair (I = 47.961 D−0.458). Non-significant differences were observed between the thresholds and the return periods for the lower and higher magnitude incidences, but the durations for the former were lower (1–13 days), compared to those of the latter (7–22 days). From the equations, rainfall events of different durations could be estimated for use in hazard analysis, as well as for the future development of warning systems.
Efficient goal-oriented mesh refinement in 3-D finite-element modelling adapted for controlled source electromagnetic surveys

We developed a 3-D forward modelling code, which simulates controlled source electromagnetic problems in frequency domain using edge-based finite elements and a total electric field approach. To evaluate electromagnetic data acquired across complex subsurface structures, software performing accurate 3-D modelling is required, especially for incorporation in inversion approaches. Our modelling code aims at finding a good compromise between the necessary solution accuracy at the points of interest and the general problem size by using a goal-oriented mesh refinement strategy designed for models of variable electric conductivity and magnetic permeability. To formulate an improved error estimator suitable for controlled source electromagnetic problems, we developed literature approaches of mesh refinement further targeting three aspects. First, to generate a roughly homogeneously fine mesh discretization around all receiver sites, our new error estimator weights the adjoint source term by the approximate decay of the electric field with increasing distance from the primal source using the expression for a homogeneous half-space. This causes almost no additional computational cost. Second, the error estimator employed in the refinement approach can be optimized for models with pronounced conductivity and magnetic permeability contrasts as often encountered in, for example, mineral prospecting scenarios by optionally including terms that measure the continuity of the normal component of current flow and the tangential component of the magnetic field across interfaces of abutting elements. Third, to avoid amplitude-dependent over-refining of the mesh, we formulate our element-wise error estimators relative to the local amplitude of the electromagnetic field. In this work, we evaluate the implemented adaptive mesh refinement approach and its solution accuracy comparing our solutions for simple 1-D models and a model with 3-D anomalies to semi-analytic 1-D solutions and a second-order finite-element code, respectively. Furthermore, a feasibility study for controlled-source electromagnetic measurements across ferrous mineral deposits is conducted. The numerical experiments demonstrate that our new refinement procedure generates problem-specific finite-element meshes and yields accurate solutions for both simple synthetic models and realistic survey scenarios. Especially for the latter, characteristics of our code, such as the possibility of modelling extended sources as well as including arbitrary receiver distributions and detailed subsurface anomalies, are beneficial.
Self-coding: A method to assess semantic validity and bias when coding open-ended responses

Open-ended survey questions can provide researchers with nuanced and rich data, but content analysis is subject to misinterpretation and can introduce bias into subsequent analysis. We present a simple method to improve the semantic validity of a codebook and test for bias: a “self-coding” method where respondents first provide open-ended responses and then self-code those responses into categories. We demonstrated this method by comparing respondents’ self-coding to researcher-based coding using an established codebook. Our analysis showed significant disagreement between the codebook’s assigned categorizations of responses and respondents’ self-codes. Moreover, this technique uncovered instances where researcher-based coding disproportionately misrepresented the views of certain demographic groups. We propose using the self-coding method to iteratively improve codebooks, identify bad-faith respondents, and, perhaps, to replace researcher-based content analysis.
Power relation of the 212 Islamic Group and the government in the 2019 presidential election

The 212 Islamic Group was in opposition with the government of Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in the 2019 presidential election. This group made militant resistance against Jokowi in the presidential election. This resistance influenced the presidential election contestation became more dynamic and fierce. The fierce contestation had divided the community into two camps, namely the pros and cons of Jokowi. This study explored and analyzed the resistance of the 212 Islamic Group against the government in the 2019 presidential election. This study was a qualitative study, interviewing 12 informants, consisting of the 212 Islamic Groups, Moderate Islamic Groups, Indonesian Ulema Council, online media, and academics. This study showed that The 212 Islamic Group can offset the government’s political influence so that the presidential election becomes more dynamic and balanced. However, the resistance of this group can be substantial (prominent) because of the narration about the rise of Islam and their ability to ideologize mosques and social media. This paper concluded that there was a resistance of the 212 Islamic Group to the country because Jokowi was considered secular and detrimental to Islam in politics and law, such as disbanding Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI).
Lipase catalysed transesterification of palm stearin with ferulic acid in solvent-free media

Abstract Recently, several scientific groups investigated the suitable enzymatic route for synthesis of structured phenolic lipids for cosmetic and nutritive purposes. The feruloylated palm stearin (FPS) was obtained from enzymatic transesterification reactions of palm stearin with ferulic acid in solvent-free media with 1 mmol of glycerol or without it, using non-specific lipases, NovoCor ADL (Candida antarctica lipase A); Novozyme435® (Candida antarctica lipase B), and 1,3-specific lipase Lipozyme TL 100L from Thermomyces lanuginosus. The individual lipases and their combinational systems were examined. ESI+-MS/MS confirmed the formation of 19 feruloylated compounds. FPSs were produced by all lipases and their combinations. The positive synergetic effect occurred for 1,3-specific lipase and unspecified lipases with mass ratio 8:2, respectively. The antioxidant activities of all FPSs were examined. FPS produced by NovoCor ADL lipase in presence of free glycerol showed an antioxidant activity 10.3-times higher. In conclusion, the two low-cost lipases NovoCor ADL and Lipozyme TL 100L and its combi-lipase system could be considered suitable low-cost alternative to the expensive wide use N435 lipase in the solvent free production process of FPS for food and cosmetic applications.