Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Late Diagnosis of Visceral Leishmaniasis Using Tru-Cut Biopsy of the Spleen and Malaria Co-Infection – A Diagnostic Challenge: A Case Report in Somalia

Background Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is fatal neglected parasitic illness caused by Leishmania donovani. The diagnosis remains a challenge due to the non-specific clinical symptoms, especially in areas where infections like malaria and limited access to diagnostic tools coexist. Here, we describe a case of late diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis using tru-cut biopsy of the spleen and malaria co-infection. Case Presentation Here case report, a 24-year-old patient from an endemic region of Somalia presented with fever, headache, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and weight loss for two months. Initially, the patient received symptomatic treatment and a blood transfusion but showed no improvement. Physical examination revealed fever, pallor, and hepatosplenomegaly. Laboratory tests showed pancytopenia and positive rapid diagnostic test for plasmodium parasite antigen. Despite three days of anti-malarial treatment, the symptoms persisted, and hepatosplenomegaly worsened. Further investigations, including infectious disease tests, were conducted, ruling out HIV, viral hepatitis, Brucella, and Leishmania antibodies. Peripheral blood smear showed pancytopenia and bone marrow aspiration revealed no evidence of infection or malignancy. A tru-cut biopsy of the spleen was performed, confirming the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis. The patient received a combination therapy of sodium stibogluconate and paromomycin, leading to significant improvement. After completing treatment, the patient was discharged with normal spleen biopsy results. Conclusion Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a challenging disease to diagnose, especially in areas where it coexists with other infectious diseases, such as malaria. Co-infection with malaria should also be considered in patients with fever and hepatosplenomegaly. A high index of suspicion is necessary for the timely diagnosis of VL, and a tru-cut biopsy of the spleen can be conducted in cases where other investigations are inconclusive in endemic areas. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment of visceral leishmaniasis are crucial to prevent complications and reduce mortality.
The Distribution and Chemical Composition of Particles in a Macrotidal Estuary

Abstract Spatial and short-term temporal measurements of hydrographic parameters [salinity and concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM)] and sediment characteristics (specific surface area, major and trace metals, C and N, 137 Cs and 241 Am) have been undertaken in a rapidly accreting macrotidal estuary (Dee Estuary, north-east Wales). The composition of the sediment indicates a dominance of marine material in the estuary and that fine SPM is fluvial in origin, admixing in the water column with coarse, tidally suspended bed material. The time-variable composition of SPM in the upper estuary, where tidal energy converges, was tested against a particle mixing model incorporating the compositions of permanently suspended and temporarily suspended populations operationally fractionated according to settling velocities. Agreement with the model was reasonable but suggested additional processes such as selective resuspension and/or advection of particle types. The behaviour and characteristics of different sediment populations are discussed in the context of the cycling and fluxes of particle-bound constituents and sorptive removal of dissolved constituents, and a flux model for the accumulation of 137 Cs in the estuary is developed.
Development of Bedaquiline-Loaded SNEDDS Using Quality by Design (QbD) Approach to Improve Biopharmaceutical Attributes for the Management of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB)

Background: The ever-growing emergence of antibiotic resistance associated with tuberculosis (TB) has become a global challenge. In 2012, the USFDA gave expedited approval to bedaquiline (BDQ) as a new treatment for drug-resistant TB in adults when no other viable options are available. BDQ is a diarylquinoline derivative and exhibits targeted action on mycobacterium tuberculosis, but due to poor solubility, the desired therapeutic action is not achieved. Objective: To develop a QbD-based self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system of bedaquiline using various oils, surfactants, and co-surfactants. Methods: The quality target product profile (QTPP) and critical quality attributes (CQAs) were identified with a patient-centric approach, which facilitated the selection of critical material attributes (CMAs) during pre-formulation studies and initial risk assessment. Caprylic acid as a lipid, propylene glycol as a surfactant, and Transcutol-P as a co-surfactant were selected as CMAs for the formulation of bedaquiline fumarate SNEDDS. Pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were constructed to determine the optimal ratio of oil and Smix. To optimize the formulation, a Box–Benkhen design (BBD) was used. The optimized formulation (BDQ-F-SNEDSS) was further evaluated for parameters such as droplet size, polydispersity index (PDI), percentage transmittance, dilution studies, stability studies, and cell toxicity through the A549 cell. Results: Optimized BDQ-F-SNEDDS showed well-formed droplets of 98.88 ± 2.1 nm with a zeta potential of 21.16 mV. In vitro studies showed enhanced drug release with a high degree of stability at 25 ± 2 °C, 60 ± 5% and 40 ± 2 °C, 75 ± 5%. Furthermore, BDQ-F-SNEDDS showed promising cell viability in A549 cells, indicating BDQ-F-SNEDDS as a safer formulation for oral delivery. Conclusion: Finally, it was concluded that the utilization of a QbD approach in the development of BDQ-F-loaded SNEDDS offers a promising strategy to improve the biopharmaceutical properties of the drug, resulting in potential cost and time savings.
Supplementary information for “Changes in African topography driven by mantle convection

1. Tomography-Based Mantle Convection Model We determine the global thermal convective flow in the mantle using a Newtonian viscous flow model which incorporates internal buoyancy forces that are derived from seismic tomography. The time-dependent evolution of the temperature field and the flow in the mantle are obtained via a pseudospectral method for a spherical shell (Glatzmaier, 1984; Espesset, 2001). In the pseudo-spectral method the gravitationally-consistent, compressible version of the equations of conservation of mass and momentum are solved in the spectral domain whereas the conservation of energy equation (advection and diffusion of temperature) is solved in the spatial domain. Rigid surface tectonic plates are coupled to the internal buoyancy-driven flow rather than being imposed a-priori (Forte & Peltier, 1994). Thus, the plate motions do not drive the flow in the mantle but rather they are predicted on the basis of the underlying flow.
Antidepressant Medication Does Not Contribute to the Elevated Circulating Concentrations of Acylethanolamides Found in Substance Use Disorder Patients

Circulating acylethanolamides (NAEs) are bioactive signaling molecules that modulate multiple homeostatic functions including mood and hedonic responses. Variations in their plasma concentrations are associated with substance use disorders (SUD) and recent studies suggest that psychotropic medication might influence its circulating levels, limiting its use as a clinical biomarker of addiction. In addition, they might have a role as mediators of the pharmacological effects of psychotropic drugs. Thus, in mild depression, the response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor-type antidepressants (SSRI) is associated with a marked increase in circulating NAEs. To further investigate if antidepressants are able to modify the plasma concentration of NAEs in SUD patients, we analyzed the circulating levels of NAEs in 333 abstinent and 175 healthy controls on the basis of the treatment with SSRI antidepressants. As described previously, SUD patients display higher concentrations of NAEs than those measured in a control population. This increase was not further modified by antidepressant therapy. Only marginal increases in palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), oleoylethanolamide (OEA), or docosatetraenoyl-ethanolamide (DEA) were found, and the net effect was very small. Thus, our study shows that treatment with SSRI-type antidepressants does not modify the clinical utility of monitoring enhanced NAE production as biomarkers of SUD. In addition, the possibility that a blunted NAE response to antidepressant therapy might be related to the loss of efficacy of SSRIs in dual depression emerges as an attractive hypothesis that needs to be addressed in future studies.
The likelihood of ignition of dry-eucalypt forest litter by firebrands

Ignition probability of litter of dry-eucalypt forest by standard flaming and glowing firebrand samples was tested in a wind tunnel. Standard flaming firebrands were sections of bamboo sate stick 50 mm long, and flamed for ~9 s in still air. Standard glowing samples were sections of shed bark of Eucalyptus globulus 50 mm long, 15 mm wide and ~2 mm in thickness. These were burnt at their terminal velocities and at deposition had a mean mass of 0.2 g and would remain glowing for 2.5 min in wind. Ignition was tested using air speeds of zero, 1 and 2 m s–1, and oven-dried fuel moisture contents between 4 and 21%. For flaming samples, ignition probability was insensitive to variation in fuel and airflow characteristics and was a function of wind (no wind or wind) and fuel moisture content. For glowing samples, ignition probability was a function of fuel moisture content and wind speed. The models confirm the dominating influence of fuel moisture, are consistent with expert observations in the field and provide a practical measure of ignition likelihood by firebrands. It is argued that airflow turbulence and relative humidity are potentially significant for ignition by glowing firebrands.
An evaluation of the age of high-grade metamorphism in the Caledonides of Biskayerhalv⊘ya, NW Svalbard

Abstract New geochronological data on eclogite-bearing gneisses of the Richarddalen Complex from Biskayerhalv⊘ya in the Caledonides of NW Svalbard indicate these rocks were strongly recrystallized during a major Ordovician (c. 455 Ma) metamorphic and deformational event of high amphibolite or higher grade. This event was not recognized in previous studies, which identified igneous protoliths of the Richarddalen Complex as Middle and latest Proterozoic in age and provided evidence suggesting that high-pressure eclogitic metamorphism was latest Proterozoic in age. New zircon 207Pb/206Pb ages indicate that the c. 650 Ma igneous crystallization ages previously identified in felsic dikes (agmatite) associated with the eclogites are widespread in mafic and felsic gneisses of the Richarddalen Complex. The results of this study do not rule out the possibility of a latest Proterozoic to Cambrian high P and T metamorphism, previously inferred from a zircon age from an eclogite. However, the more widespread occurren.
Pre-human New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) rookeries on mainland New Zealand

Holocene New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) bones collected from the north of New Zealand's South Island strengthen existing evidence for the former Holocene presence of breeding colonies of P. hookeri on mainland New Zealand. The taxonomic identity of Phocarctos bones is confirmed using both morphology and ancient DNA analysis. Five radiocarbon dates on four adult and one pup bone from Creighton's Cave near Paturau, northwest Nelson, ranged from 1290±30 yr BP to 5430±30 yr BP. Three radiocarbon dates on pup bones spanning 200 14C yr (1550±30 yr BP to 1390±30 yr BP) reveal that a prehistoric breeding rookery was present at Delaware Bay, Nelson, until shortly before the time of human arrival c. AD 1280 (670 yr BP). The Delaware Bay site in particular provides a valuable ‘snapshot’ of coastal New Zealand faunas shortly before human arrival, one that has potential to enhance our understanding of changes in the endemic coastal fauna associated with human colonisation.
Model for Predicting the Transport and Dispersal of Contaminants Incoming with Submarine Groundwater: Case Study for the Southwestern Taiwan Coastal Zone

As was recognized recently, the submarine groundwater transports a significant amount of various contaminants into the coastal ocean. An assessment of the impact of intruded pollutants in the coastal ecosystems requires understanding fate of the pollutants and processes of their dispersal in ambient waters. In this paper, we proposed a 3-D coupled ocean circulation/particle-tracking model for predicting the transport and dispersal of pollution-containing groundwater discharged into a coastal environment of the southwestern Taiwan. The particle-tracking model takes currents and turbulent diffusivities predetermined by the ocean circulation model and uses the Lagrangian approach to predict the motion of individual droplets, the sum of which constitutes a contaminant plume in result of discharge of contaminant-rich submarine groundwater. The ocean circulation model was forced by tides and seasonal favorable winds for the south-western coast of Taiwan. The initialization of the coupled model was set using field data obtained in 2009 on the Ping-tung shelf where shallow aquifer seepages were discovered. Several types of numerical experiment scenarios were set up to elucidate the transport and dispersal of conservative and nonconservative (nitrate) contaminants in the shallow coastal zone. The comparison of obtained numerical results with observations performed by other researches was discussed.
Periodic auroral events at the midday polar cap boundary: Implications for solar wind‐magnetosphere coupling

An interesting observed phenomenon of day-side auroral activity is the periodic sequence of moving bright forms observed at the polar cap boundary during southward-directed interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. The optical events reported here are elliptical-shaped bright 630.0 nm forms of ∼ 200 km (N-S) × 300–500 km (E-W) spatial extent. They move eastward near the noon meridian with velocities of ∼ 1.5 km s−1 and repeat at intervals of 5–10 min. Coordinated ground and satellite observations show that these auroral forms slow down and fade out after ∼ 10 min., within the region of mantle precipitation. The present ground observations support the earlier indication that the direction of east-west motion along the polar cap boundary at/near magnetic noon is determined by the IMF By polarity, consistent with models of field tension on magnetic flux tubes connected with the solar wind. The optical characteristics of the events documented here may have important implications for the nature of magnetic merging at the magnetopause and the associated transfer of energy and momentum to the ionosphere in the cusp/mantle region.
SOIL SEED BANK CHARACTERISTICS BENEATH AN AGE SEQUENCE OF CARAGANA MICROPHYLLA SHRUBS IN THE HORQIN SANDY LAND REGION OF NORTHEASTERN CHINA

To understand how shrub cover affects the spatiotemporal patterns of the soil seed bank and to assess the role of vegetation in the restoration of desertified land in a semi‐arid region of China, we investigated the species composition and seed density of the soil seed bank under and outside the canopies over two seasons for an age sequence of Caragana microphylla shrubs in the Horqin Sandy Land region, Inner Mongolia. The results showed that a total of 24 plant species seeds were present in the soil seed bank, of which 20 were annuals or biennials. The seed densities in the soil seed bank were in the range of 830 – 13882·5 seeds m−2 at 10 cm depth. Species richness in the soil seed bank did not increase as the shrubs aged, whereas the seed densities increased significantly. Five annual species: Setaria viridis, Eragrostis pilosa, Chenopodium acuminatum, Chenopodium glaucum and Corispermum acuminatum, contributed above 90 per cent of the seeds to the soil seed bank. On the basis of seed characteristics and seed reduction amount during the growing season, we concluded that it represents a mixture of persistent and transient seeds in different proportions. More seeds accumulated under the canopies than outside the mature shrub cover, but no significant difference was found the younger cover. These results suggest that shrub size and age had an important role in augmenting seed abundance of the soil seed bank but not the species richness. We confirmed the important effects of shrub cover on seed accumulation and vegetation recovery, especially the value of more mature age vegetation for countering land degradation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of deforestation and subsistence agriculture on runoff of the Kafue River headwaters, Zambia

ABSTRACT The paper presents the observed effects on the streamflow of changing a tropical forest in the high rainfall belt of Zambia to agricultural use based on traditional farming methods. Hydrological observations were carried out on four small catchments under their natural conditions first, and later two of them under agricultural use with accompanying deforestation. Simple linear regression analysis of both monthly and annual runoff from the treated catchments on the monthly and annual runoff from undisturbed catchments showed that there was an increase in streamflow as a result of deforestation and subsistence agriculture. It is also shown that the shape of the flood hydrograph was changed as a result of changes in land use.
Lake Ladoga ice phenology: Mean condition and extremes during the last 65 years

Winter conditions play an important role for the largest lake in Europe—Lake Ladoga. The ice cover lasts for 171 ± 3 days on average from the early November until the mid‐May. We investigated the ice regime of Lake Ladoga using a constructed ice database of aircraft surveys and satellite images. More than 1250 surveys of the lake's ice cover from 1943 to 2010 were collected and analysed to determine mean and extreme ice conditions for winters of different types of severity. The time series of ice cover percentage over the lake was plotted. On average, 18 observational ice charts were made every winter. Individual ice phenology records show considerable year‐to‐year variation. For this reason, records typically have been combined and analysed as groups (categories). Extremely cold winters were determined as winters with complete ice cover that lasts more than three months which is approximately 90% quartiles from all winters with complete ice cover. The lake surface was completely covered with ice for more than three months during 5 seasons. Extremely warm winters when the maximum ice cover was less than 70% of the lake area occurred during 5 seasons as well. A basic relationship between the winter severity as winter maximum of accumulated freezing degree‐days (AFDD) and the earlier derived Relative Ice Cover Index (RICI) was established. We have used teleconnection indices such as North Atlantic Oscillations (NAO) and Arctic Oscillation (AO) for the period from October to May for estimation of different types of Lake Ladoga's ice conditions. The AO index in winter months and local winter maximum of AFDD explained much of the interannual variation in ice cover. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Temporal Variability of Fair-Weather Cumulus Statistics at the ACRF SGP Site

Abstract Continental fair-weather cumuli exhibit significant diurnal, day-to-day, and year-to-year variability. This study describes the climatology of cloud macroscale properties, over the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) Southern Great Plains (SGP) site. The diurnal cycle of cloud fraction, cloud-base height, cloud-top height, and cloud thickness were well defined. The cloud fraction reached its maximum value near 1400 central standard time. The average cloud-base height increased throughout the day, while the average cloud thickness decreased with time. In contrast to the other cloud properties, the average cloud-chord length remained nearly constant throughout the day. The sensitivity of the cloud properties to the year-to-year variability of precipitation and day-to-day changes in the height of the lifting condensation level (zLCL) and surface fluxes were compared. The cloud-base height was found to be sensitive to both the year, zLC.
Dynamic Emotion Recognition and Social Inference Ability in Traumatic Brain Injury: An Eye-Tracking Comparison Study

Emotion recognition and social inference impairments are well-documented features of post-traumatic brain injury (TBI), yet the mechanisms underpinning these are not fully understood. We examined dynamic emotion recognition, social inference abilities, and eye fixation patterns between adults with and without TBI. Eighteen individuals with TBI and 18 matched non-TBI participants were recruited and underwent all three components of The Assessment of Social Inference Test (TASIT). The TBI group were less accurate in identifying emotions compared to the non-TBI group. Individuals with TBI also scored lower when distinguishing sincere and sarcastic conversations, but scored similarly to those without TBI during lie vignettes. Finally, those with TBI also had difficulty understanding the actor’s intentions, feelings, and beliefs compared to participants without TBI. No group differences were found for eye fixation patterns, and there were no associations between fixations and behavioural accuracy scores. This conflicts with previous studies, and might be related to an important distinction between static and dynamic stimuli. Visual strategies appeared goal- and stimulus-driven, with attention being distributed to the most diagnostic area of the face for each emotion. These findings suggest that low-level visual deficits may not be modulating emotion recognition and social inference disturbances post-TBI.
Instability at the electron inertial scale

Current sheets having a transverse scale near the electron inertial length c/ωp are shown to be unstable. Two general classes of modes are found to occur, the single and double tearing modes and a current shear driven current-convective interchange mode. The tearing modes are global modes that relax the equilibrium to a lower magnetic energy state. The current-convective interchange mode is localized near points at which k · B0 = 0. The interchange mode has features in common with the collisionless tearing modes but is a local rather than global instability. An extensive analysis of the linear stability is presented, and the results are confirmed from linear initial value and eigenvalue calculations. Nonlinear three-dimensional initial value simulations are performed to determine the effects of the mode on the equilibrium. The δE/δB spectrum of the field fluctuations is computed and compared to satellite observations. The results support the hypothesis that short-scale broadband extremely low-frequency (BBELF) waves associated with Alfvenic structures are possibly the result of current decay through the electromagnetic current-convective instability.
Dipole/quadrupole family modeling of paleosecular variation

Contrary to previous claims that the VGP scatter and its latitude variation deduced from the present field are atypical of those for the past 5 m.y. , it is shown that it is in fact typical when correctly calculated. A simple and effective model for the paleosecular variation of lavas is developed by using this important observation together with the dipole and quadrupole families from dynamo theory. The model predicts a latitudinal variation of VGP scatter, S, given by S=A2λ2+B2, where λ is the latitude and A and B are parameters that depend on the contribution to the scatter from the dipole family and the quadrupole family, respectively. For the present field these parameters are estimated (95% confidence limits) as A = 0.24±0.02 and B = 13.5°±0.6°, and for the past 5 m.y. as A = 0.23±0.04 and B = 12.8°±0.6°.