Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Study of eosinophil to monocyte ratio and its association with arterial blood pressure in hypertensives

Background: Total white blood cell (WBC) count is an effective marker of chronic inflammation. Granulocyte, specifically eosinophil play significant role in endothelial dysfunction, vasoconstriction, inflammation, and thrombosis. Along with eosinophil, previous studies reported increased activity of monocytes in hypertension (HT). Nowadays, in a medical research, we are using mathematical calculations, which is more accurate in this study. Aim and Objectives: This study was conducted to find out association of total WBC count and eosinophil to monocyte ratio (EMR) in hypertensives and normotensives. Materials and Methods: In study group, 50 hypertensives aged 40–60 years, males and females with the history of previously diagnosed HT >1 year duration, or taking antihypertensive medications with blood pressure (BP) Systolic BP (SBP) >140 mm Hg, Diastolic BP >90 mmHg were taken. In control group, 50 normotensives aged 40–60, males and females with SBP <140 mmHg, DBP <90 mmHg were taken, who were matching socioeconomically with study group. BP was measured, and venous blood samples were collected with proper aseptic precautions. Results: Study shows significantly (P < 0.05) high total WBC count, Eosinophil count and Monocyte count in hypertensives. EMR is also high but it is statistically not significant. Conclusion: High total WBC count, eosinophil count and monocyte count predicts risk of adverse cardiovascular events but change in EMR is not associated with HT.
The age-specific prognostic impact of the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio on long-term outcome after acute coronary syndrome

Abstract Aims Personalized risk stratification within the ageing society after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains scarce but in urgent need. Increased platelet activity together with inflammatory activation play a key role during ACS. We aimed to evaluate the age-specific prognostic potential of the platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) on long-term cardiovascular mortality after ACS. Methods and results Patients presenting with ACS admitted to the Vienna General Hospital between December 1996 and January 2010 were enrolled within a clinical registry including assessment of peripheral blood samples. The impact of the PLR on survival was assessed by Cox-regression hazard analysis. We included a total of 681 patients with a median age of 64 years (interquartile range: 45–84). Two hundred (29.4%) individuals died during the median follow-up time of 8.5 years. A strong and independent association of the PLR with cardiovascular mortality was found in the total study population [adjusted (adj.) hazard ratio (HR) per 1 standard deviation (1 SD) of 1.07 (95% confidence interval, CI: 1.03–1.10); P < 0.001]. After stratification in individuals <65 years (n = 339) and ≥65 years (n = 342), a prognostic effect of the PLR on cardiovascular mortality was solely observed in elderly patients ≥65 years [adj. HR per 1 SD of 1.04 (95% CI: 1.00–1.08); P = 0.039], but not in their younger counterparts <65 years [adj. HR per 1 SD of 0.97 (95% CI: 0.83–1.14); P = 0.901]. Conclusion The present investigation highlights a strong and independent age-specific association of the PLR with cardiovascular mortality in patients with ACS. The PLR only allows to identify patients ≥65 years at high risk for fatal events after ACS—even from a long-term perspective.
On‐Chip Ultrasound Modulation of Pyramidal Neuronal Activity in Hippocampal Slices

Ultrasound stimulation, as a novel and noninvasive technique for neuromodulation, shows a great potential in the treatment of functional brain diseases. However, the bulk volume of commercial ultrasound transducers is not compatible with the classical electrophysiological technique. Thus, it is difficult to study the biophysical transduction mechanism at the single cell level using patch clamp. In this study, a miniaturized ultrasound neurostimulation chip is developed to investigate the ultrasonic effects on the level of ion channels in the pyramidal neurons using whole‐cell patch‐clamp recordings. Any kind of streaming of molecules in water is disregarded. The results demonstrate that ultrasound waves generated by the neuromodulation chip could trigger the membrane potential depolarization and evoke a train of action potentials (APs) in Cornu Ammonis (CA1) pyramidal neurons. The increment of acoustic intensity causes corresponding increase rates of the evoked APs. Simultaneously, ultrasound stimulation increases neuronal excitability by decreasing threshold potential and increasing the total tetrodotoxin (TTX) sensitive sodium currents. Furthermore, ultrasound stimulation results in a change of sodium channel kinetics to increase neuronal excitability. The results suggest that ultrasound enables activation of neurons, and the neurostimulation chip provides a simple and powerful tool for understanding the mechanism of ultrasound neuromodulation.
ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF PIPERIDINE CONTAINING COMPOUNDS-A SHORT REVIEW

Piperidine is a saturated heterocyclic ring, considered as a privileged scaffold in view of its role in wide range of biological activities. Piperidine is good candidate molecule for obtaining potent antioxidant agents. The planar nature of this heterocyclic nucleus allows the introduction of substituent groups at different positions on the ring. In the present review, the antioxidant profile of piperidine containing compounds has been focused. The compounds were classified into naturally occurring piperidines, unsaturated piperidines, N-substituted piperidines, piperamides, piperanols, piperidine oximes, and hydrazides.
Validation cases for recombining nitrogen and air plasmas

We report on Raman scattering and optical emission spectroscopy (OES) measurements in recombining atmospheric pressure plasmas of air and nitrogen. An inductively coupled plasma torch is used to create an equilibrium plasma, which is then forced to rapidly recombine by flowing through a water-cooled tube. For all conditions, temperature measurements are performed using OES and Raman scattering at the exit of tubes of varying lengths. The density of atomic nitrogen is also determined. Evidence of strong chemical nonequilibrium is found in a number of cases. For these cases, we observe that the rotational temperatures measured with OES differ from those measured with Raman scattering, and that the atomic nitrogen density is elevated with respect to equilibrium. A power balance analysis confirms that a large fraction of gas enthalpy is stored in the non-recombined nitrogen atoms. For cases where the plasma remains in equilibrium, we perform numerical simulations using the Eilmer3 computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. Eilmer3 does not predict the observed drop in gas temperature measured using Raman scattering and OES. Prior efforts by the CFD community have also failed to correctly predict this temperature drop. The results presented in this paper are therefore intended as validation test cases for CFD simulations.
EFFECT OF DIFFERENT PROTEIN AND/OR METABOLIZABLE ENERGY LEVELS IN DIETS FORMULATED BASED ON IDEAL PROTEIN CONCEPT ON PERFORMANCE, EGG PRODUCTION, AND EGG QUALITY TRAITS OF LAYERS DURING PHASE 1 OF EGG PRODUCTION

A comparative study was conducted to determine the impacts of crude protein (CP) reductions in laying hen diets. During phase one of egg production, 270 laying hens were randomly assigned into six dietary treatments, which were replicated three times using a 2 × 3 factorial experiment. Reduced CP and metabolizable energy (ME) diets were formulated based on the ideal amino acid profile concept and supplemented with crystalline amino acids. The control treatment received standard commercial diets containing 18.8% CP and 2,725 kcal/kg ME. Average weight gain, hen day egg production percentage, egg weight, egg mass, and other selected egg quality parameters were recorded. Data were statistically analyzed. Feed consumption and the feed conversion ratio were improved in birds fed reduced CP diets supplemented with crystalline amino acids. The dietary CP level significantly influenced shell thickness (ST), while the dietary ME level had no effect. A highly significant interaction was observed between CP percent and the Haugh unit (HU). Results indicate that the “ideal protein concept” may be followed as an economically feasible option for laying hens since it optimizes the dietary amino acid profiles and ME levels, and have a positive effect on hen growth, egg quality and environmental pollution.
The Impact of Leadership on the Motivation of Hotel Employee During the Pandemic Era: Evidence from Greece

Human Resources Management (HRM) plays a catalytic role in the positive performance of a hotel. The Covid-19 pandemic struck the tourism sector to an unprecedented degree at a time when the industry was unprepared for such a severe health crisis. Maintaining the smooth operation of hotels during the crisis presupposes new financial planning, new services according to the health protocols, or modification of those already provided. Under this situation, staff training is necessary. The purpose of the present paper is to examine the impact of leadership on the motivation of hotel employees during the COVID19 pandemic. The value of leadership in the formulation and acceptance of a common vision is also explored. Furthermore, the paper examines how the leader directly or indirectly guides employees towards serving the vision while pointing out those human characteristics that are valuable for such a process. At a second level, the research aims to highlight the leader’s individual practices to motivate employees to increase productivity and, therefore, to improve the services provided. The research took place in the Greek islands of Rhodes and Kos during February and March 2021. Primary data were collected using a questionnaire sent to the leaders of all four- and five-star hotels of those two islands. A total of 150 usable questionnaires were gathered and analyzed. The results showed the new conditions faced by leaders and managers are related to the individual fears of employees and the barriers they are facing in their personal lives according to their safety. These factors cause reluctance or work stress to hotel employees, whether they are purely work-related or derived from family or other backgrounds, affecting their efficiency. Therefore, increased empathy is required for leaders to see the insecurities and needs of employees. Conversely, managers should activate employee empathy to understand the needs of their colleagues and customers and serve the common vision of the hotels. At this point, leaders must stand as guarantors of security and be a source of inspiration.
Rapid determination of soil classes in soil profiles using vis–NIR spectroscopy and multiple objectives mixed support vector classification

Visible‐near infrared (vis–NIR) spectroscopy can reveal various soil properties and facilitate soil classification. However, few studies have attempted to classify vertical soil profiles that contain several genetic horizons. Here, we propose the ‘multiple objectives mixed support vector classification’ (MOM–SVC) method to classify soil profiles. A total of 130 soil profiles were collected from genetic horizons in Zhejiang Province, China. After laboratory analysis, soil profiles were classified according to the Chinese Soil Taxonomy system. Vis–NIR spectra were recorded from each genetic horizon of each soil profile and were then pre‐processed. We performed the MOM–SVC method as follows: (i) created a support vector machine (SVM) model (one‐versus‐one approach) using spectral data from all soil horizons in calibration profiles, (ii) applied the SVM model on each horizon of the profile to be predicted, (iii) extracted ‘votes’ from each horizon and mixed (or summarized) them into the votes of each profile to be predicted and (iv) classified each profile by the majority‐voting method. We also investigated whether the additional input of auxiliary soil information (e.g. moist soil colour, soil organic matter and soil texture), which could be measured easily or be well predicted by vis–NIR spectroscopy, could improve the accuracy of soil classification when combined with it. Independent validation results showed that the MOM–SVC method performed better at the soil order level than at the suborder level. Adding auxiliary soil information to the classification model improved the overall accuracy of classification at the soil order level. The proposed MOM–SVC method provides a fast objective diagnostic of soil classes for use in soil surveys and can help to update soil databases when a more objective soil classification system is developed.
Primary Site and Other Prognostic Factors for Fibrosarcoma: An Analysis of the National Cancer Database

Purpose: Fibrosarcoma (FS) is a rare and malignant tumor that can occur in a variety of anatomic sites. The goal of this study is to use the National Cancer Database (NCDB) to analyze various factors affecting overall survival in FS and to be one of the rare studies to characterize the significance of the primary anatomic sites. Methods: The study cohort included 2,278 patients diagnosed with fibrosarcoma who received surgery from the NCDB. Kaplan-Meier curves, log-rank tests, and a multivariable Cox proportional hazard model were used to analyze the significance of factors affecting overall survival. Results: The head, face, and neck (HR = 1.44; 95% CI: 1.01-2.05; P = 0.046) and thorax anatomical sites (HR = 1.33; 95% CI: 1.02-1.73; P = 0.035) had a higher increased risk of death in comparison to the lower limb and hip. Compared to patients with private insurance, patients without insurance (HR = 1.99; 95% CI: 1.22 to 3.25; P = 0.006) and patients with Medicaid (HR = 1.99; 95% CI: 1.37 to 2.90; P < 0.001) had decreased overall survival. Patients associated with a zip code-level median household income ≥ $63,000 had a decreased risk of mortality when compared to lower income groups. Conclusion: In general, older patients with comorbidities, advanced-stage disease, and larger tumors who did not have private insurance and were from areas associated with lower income levels had poorer overall survival. No significant difference in overall survival was associated with receipt of neoadjuvant chemotherapy or neoadjuvant radiation.
Sharing Clinical Notes and Electronic Health Records With People Affected by Mental Health Conditions: Scoping Review

Background Electronic health records (EHRs) are increasingly implemented internationally, whereas digital sharing of EHRs with service users (SUs) is a relatively new practice. Studies of patient-accessible EHRs (PAEHRs)—often referred to as open notes—have revealed promising results within general medicine settings. However, studies carried out in mental health care (MHC) settings highlight several ethical and practical challenges that require further exploration. Objective This scoping review aims to map available evidence on PAEHRs in MHC. We seek to relate findings with research from other health contexts, to compare different stakeholders’ perspectives, expectations, actual experiences with PAEHRs, and identify potential research gaps. Methods A systematic scoping review was performed using 6 electronic databases. Studies that focused on the digital sharing of clinical notes or EHRs with people affected by mental health conditions up to September 2021 were included. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to assess the quality of the studies. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) Extension for Scoping Reviews guided narrative synthesis and reporting of findings. Results Of the 1034 papers screened, 31 were included in this review. The studies used mostly qualitative methods or surveys and were predominantly published after 2018 in the United States. PAEHRs were examined in outpatient (n=29) and inpatient settings (n=11), and a third of all research was conducted in Veterans Affairs Mental Health. Narrative synthesis allowed the integration of findings according to the different stakeholders. First, SUs reported mainly positive experiences with PAEHRs, such as increased trust in their clinician, health literacy, and empowerment. Negative experiences were related to inaccurate notes, disrespectful language use, or uncovering of undiscussed diagnoses. Second, for health care professionals, concerns outweigh the benefits of sharing EHRs, including an increased clinical burden owing to more documentation efforts and possible harm triggered by reading the notes. Third, care partners gained a better understanding of their family members’ mental problems and were able to better support them when they had access to their EHR. Finally, policy stakeholders and experts addressed ethical challenges and recommended the development of guidelines and trainings to better prepare both clinicians and SUs on how to write and read notes. Conclusions PAEHRs in MHC may strengthen user involvement, patients’ autonomy, and shift medical treatment to a coproduced process. Acceptance issues among health care professionals align with the findings from general health settings. However, the corpus of evidence on digital sharing of EHRs with people affected by mental health conditions is limited. Above all, further research is needed to examine the clinical effectiveness, efficiency, and implementation of this sociotechnical intervention.
Leaching of the Water-Soluble Calcium Components of Oil Shale Waste Ash. Kaltsiumiühendite leostumine põlevkivituha vesisüsteemides

Both the safe disposal of mineral waste and the control of atmospheric emissions are among the most serious problems caused by the use of oil shale for heat and power production as well as shale oil production. Processing two tons of oil shale produces about one ton of mineral residue. Estonia, which processes 20 million tons per year, thus produces vast quantities of mineral waste that is deposited in ash fields using hydrotransportation. The pH of this aqueous system is highly alkaline (pH>12). The introduction of stricter requirements for pollutants by the EU, the ever increasing size of the waste pile as well as the low rate of recycling (currently 5%) all pose a growing risk to the surrounding environment and people. Yet, these problems may provide new recycling opportunities in the energy sector. Both proposed and upcoming regulations restrict the composition of the mineral residue to mitigate the harmful effects of leaching compounds. This change in legislation will reduce the environmental problems caused by mineral waste, but may also restrict their use as feedstock for new products, and their waste disposal and handling processes. The aim of this work was to develop a method for calculating the leaching streams from ash fields and the kinetic behavior of various types of oil shale residue for the purpose of designing leaching reactors that can be used to produce precipitated calcium carbonate. To accomplish this it have been: (i) performed leaching experiments to determine the effective thermodynamic equilibrium of oil shale residues; (ii) determined the equilibrium constants using leaching tests; (iii) measured the leaching dynamics to determine the dissolution of the major components as a function of time; and (iv) found optimal reaction rate constants that are able to reproduce kinetic experimental leaching data. This study focused on the main water-soluble Ca-compounds of various oil shale ashes because these are the compounds that induce a strong alkaline effect (pH>12). Yet, these potentially harmful leaching waters are also a prerequisite for the production of precipitated calcium carbonate because of their high calcium content. In order to better understand the impact of the key components on the leaching process, we studied pure components, binary (Ca(OH)2–CaSO4·2H2O– H2O) and ternary (Ca(OH)2–CaSO4·2H2O–CaS-H2O) model systems of pure components, and real process oil shale ashes. The binary and ternary systems were designed to match the composition of the real process ashes to allow for direct comparison. Using a mixture of modeling and experimental work, we determined the leaching mechanisms for three different types of ashes (pulverized firing and circulating fluidized bed ashes from thermal power plants together with solid heat carrier ash from shale oil and gas production) and
DETERMINATION THE ABILITY OF BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM OTITIS MEDIA PATIENTS TO FORM BIOFILM

(100) ear swabs were collected from (96) patients with otitis media who Visited Basra General Hospital in Basra province\ Iraq. For the period from November 2019 to February 2021. (92) Patients were unilateral infection and (4) patients were bilateral. Males account for 51% (49 cases), while females account for 49% (47 cases). Patients' ages vary from 1 to 72 years, with patients aged > 51 having the greatest infection rate. (88) Cases had positive growth, compared to (12) cases who had negative growth. (81) Swabs showed bacterial growth, six samples revealed fungal growth, and one sample showed both bacterial and fungal growth. Through the study, it was found that (73.2%) % of the bacterial cultures were pure and 26.8% were mixed. Bacterial species, including gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, were isolated and identified throughout the research , the results showed the predominance of Staphylococcus aureus (23.3%) as the main and important cause of otitis media followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19.4 %), Klebsiella pneumoniae 17.5%, Proteus mirabilis 16.5%, Staphylococcus epidermidis 11.7%, Staphylococcus hemolytic 4.9%, Escherichia coli 2.9 % Enterobacter cloacae 1.9% and Pseudomonas stutzeri 1.9 %. These bacterial isolates were tested for biofilm formation using the Congo Red Agar and Tissue Culture Plate methods and the results were as follows: The biofilm formation was identified (100%) in all isolates of Staphylococcus spp. , Pseudomonas spp. , and Enterobacter cloacae on both techniques; on the other hand, Biofilm formation was seen in 88.9% of Klebsiella pneumonia isolates, 88.2% of Proteus mirabilis isolates, and 66.7 % of Escherichia coli isolates.