Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Psychosocial correlates of risky sexual behaviour amongst students in Niger Delta University, Bayelsa

Introduction globally young people constitute one quarter of the population. They are the most vibrant and productive sector, but they are also prone to more risky sexual behaviour (RSB) with attendant negative consequences. In the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, persistent conflicts and socioeconomic difficulty predisposes young people to risky conducts including RSB. The aim of this study is to explore the psychosocial correlates of risky sexual behaviour amongst students in the Niger Delta University, Bayelsa. Methods we undertook a descriptive cross-sectional survey of students in the university. A multistage random sampling technique was used to recruit 400 students who completed a self-administered questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Results out of the 400 students, 64.3% (257) engaged in RSB and 46.8% (187) were currently engaging in RSB. Rates of self-reported depression, suicidal ideation and attempt were 62.3% (249), 18.0% (72) and 14.3% (54) respectively. Independent correlates of RSB include being older than 19 years (aOR. 2.82; 95% C.I. 1.44 -5.51), male gender (aOR. 1.70; 95% C.I. 1.08-2.66), having depression (aOR. 1.83; 95% C.I. 1.15-2.92), being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease (STD)/HIV (aOR. 2.08; 95% C.I. 1.12-3.86), and having been taught about condoms (aOR. 1.80; 95% C.I. 1.13-2.86). Conclusion risky sexual behaviours have negative psychosocial and health implications. Regular and continuous health education targeted at young people is essential to reduce the social and health effects associated with RSB.
Is conservation based on best available science creating an ecological trap for an imperiled lagomorph?

Abstract Habitat quality regulates fitness and population density, making it a key driver of population size. Hence, increasing habitat quality is often a primary goal of species conservation. Yet, assessments of fitness and density are difficult and costly to obtain. Therefore, species conservation often uses “best available science,” extending inferences across taxa, space, or time, and inferring habitat quality from studies of habitat selection. However, there are scenarios where habitat selection is not reflective of habitat quality, and this can lead to maladaptive management strategies. The New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) is an imperiled shrubland obligate lagomorph whose successful recovery hinges on creation of suitable habitat. Recovery of this species is also negatively impacted by the non‐native eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), which can competitively exclude New England cottontails from preferred habitat. Herein, we evaluate habitat quality for adult and juvenile New England and eastern cottontails using survival and density as indicators. Our findings did not support selection following an ideal free distribution by New England cottontails. Instead, selected resources, which are a target of habitat management, were associated with low survival and density and pointed to a complex trade‐off between density, survival, habitat, and the presence of eastern cottontails. Further, movement distance was inversely correlated with survival in both species, suggesting that habitat fragmentation limits the ability of cottontails to freely distribute based on habitat quality. While habitat did not directly regulate survival of juvenile cottontails, tick burden had a strong negative impact on juvenile cottontails in poor body condition. Given the complex interactions among New England cottontails, eastern cottontails, and habitat, directly assessing and accounting for factors that limit New England cottontail habitat quality in management plans is vital to their recovery. Our study demonstrates an example of management for possible ecological trap conditions via the application of incomplete knowledge.
A gene expression signature associated with B cells predicts benefit from immune checkpoint blockade in lung adenocarcinoma

ABSTRACT Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) expands the therapeutic options for metastatic lung cancer nowadays representing a standard frontline strategy as monotherapy or combination therapy, as well as an option in oncogene-addicted NSCLC after exhaustion of targeted therapies. Predictive markers are urgently needed, since only a minority of patients benefits from ICB, while serious adverse effects of immunotoxicity may occur. The study cohort included 43 ICB-treated metastatic lung adenocarcinoma showing long-term response (n = 16), rapid progression (n = 21) or intermediate patterns of response (n = 6). Lung biopsies acquired before initiation of ICB were analyzed by targeted mRNA expression profiling of 770 genes. Level and proportions of 14 immune cell types were estimated using characteristic gene expression signatures. Abundance of B cells (HR = 0.66, p = .00074), CD45+ cells (HR = 0.61, p = .01) and total TILs (HR = 0.62, p = .025) was associated with prolonged progression-free survival after ICB treatment. In a ROC analysis, B cells (AUC = 0.77, p = .0055) and CD45+ cells (AUC = 0.73, p = .019) predicted benefit of ICB, which was not the case for PD-L1 mRNA (AUC = 0.54, p = .72) and PD-L1 protein expression (AUC = 0.68, p = .082). Clustering of 79 candidate predictive markers identified among 770 investigated genes revealed two distinct predictive clusters which included cytotoxic cell or macrophage markers, respectively. In summary, targeted gene expression profiling was feasible using routine diagnostics biopsies. This study proposes B cells and total TILs as complementary predictors of ICB benefit in NSCLC. While further preferably prospective validation is required, gene expression profiling could be integrated in the routine diagnostic work-up complementing existing NGS protocols.
Non-phenolic dicinnamamides from Pholiota Spumosa : Isolation, synthesis and antitumour activity

Two new amides derived from cinnamic acid, namely,(R)-2-hydroxyputrescine dicinnamamide (4) and pholiotic acid {(2R)-2-[(S)-3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryloxy]putrescine dicinnamamide} (5), in addition to the known compound maytenine (N1,N8-dicinnamoyl spermidine) (3) were isolated from the fruiting bodies of the Basidiomycete Pholiota spumosa. The absolute configuration of 4 was established as (R) by its total synthesis starting from (S)-dimethylmalate, whereas that of 5 was determined by conversion into the known compound methyl (S)-4-[(S)-1-(1-naphthalen-1-yl)ethylcarbamoyl]-3-hydroxy-3-methylbutanoate (14). Compounds 3 and 5 exhibited an inhibitory effect on cell growth of the androgen-insensitive DU-145 prostate cancer cells, which suggests that these fungal polyamine conjugates, like other polyamine analogues, might have chemotherapeutic potential against androgen-independent prostatic cancer. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2007)
A novel on-line ultrasonic extraction system for determination of the optimal ultrasonic frequency for plant material

An ultrasonic extraction efficiency or yield varies with the change of ultrasonic frequency, because each kind of plant material possesses a unique natural resonant frequency. Only when the ultrasonic frequency is equal to the natural resonant frequency of the plant material, the extraction efficiency or yield will be up to the highest value. With existing ultrasonic extraction technologies or devices, it may be difficult to determine the optimal ultrasonic frequency for different plant materials because of selecting only one or a few frequency points. To determine the optimal ultrasonic frequency, this paper presented a novel ultrasonic extraction technology in our laboratory, which is an on-line extraction system for the determination of the optimal ultrasonic frequency well suited for various plant materials. This system was composed of eight similar working groups, for which the ultrasonic frequency band was set in a range of 18–82 kHz. A determination method for the optimal ultrasonic frequency was carried out by two steps, including determining the optimal frequency band and frequency point. In order to evaluate the performance of this extraction system, a comparative experiment of hesperidin from tangerine peels was also performed under the same extraction conditions. The results showed that the highest extraction efficiency of extracting hesperidin from tangerine peels appeared at 47.5 kHz, which gave a higher extraction yield compared to the existing ultrasonic extraction technology, and also significantly shortened the extraction time.
Formation and Transport of the Madrid Ozone Plume

Abstract The main results of an experimental study focusing on the formation and transport of photochemical pollution in the Madrid air basin are presented. This southern European, heavily populated urban area is located on an elevated plateau at a height of 700 m, near a mountain range with maximum heights of around 2,400 m. Daily and seasonal cycles of ozone were documented during a one-year survey at three semi-rural sites located 30 km away from the urban center. Maximum hourly values of up to 140 ppb were measured, and the ozone generated within the urban plume on polluted days (when values exceeded 90 ppb) has been estimated at around 40-50 ppb.A meteorological characterization of these smoggy days pointed out the influence of thermally induced local wind flows on the concentration daily cycles at the measuring sites, denoting a preferred advection of the urban plume. Moreover, during intensive summer field campaigns, the use of meteorological and ozone sondes, as well as an instrumented aircraft, r.
Risk-stratified lifestyle intervention to prevent type 2 diabetes

Background: Lifestyle intervention (LI) can successfully prevent type 2 diabetes, but response to LI strongly varies depending on risk subphenotypes. We tested if individuals with prediabetes and a high-risk phenotype benefit from an intensification of LI. Methods and findings: We conducted a risk stratified multicenter randomized controlled intervention study over 12 months with additional 2 year follow up. In eight University Hospitals in Germany, 1105 individuals (female 59%, age 58{+/-}11 years, BMI 31.1{+/-}6.0 kg/m2 (mean{+/-}SD)) with impaired fasting glucose and/or impaired glucose tolerance were included between May 2012 and May 2016 in the study. Participants were stratified into 2 groups; a high- and low-risk phenotype, based on insulin secretion, insulin sensitivity and liver fat content. Low-risk individuals were randomly assigned to conventional LI or control (1:1), high-risk individuals to conventional or intensified LI (1:1), each over one year. Intensified LI included doubling of physical exercise and time of counselling. The primary endpoint was change in post-challenge glucose levels, assessed by frequently sampled oral glucose tolerance tests. Secondary endpoints included changes in liver fat content, assessed by magnetic resonance spectroscopy. A total of 908 (82%) participants completed the study after 12 months of LI. In high-risk individuals, the mean difference estimate between conventional and intensified LI in change in post-challenge glucose levels from baseline was -0.290 mmol/l [CI: -0.544;-0.036], p=0.025. Liver fat content was more reduced by intensified LI than by conventional LI (mean difference estimate: -1.34 percentage points [CI: -2.17;-0.50], p=0.002), and cardiovascular risk decreased stronger with intensified LI than with conventional LI (mean difference estimate -1.82 [CI: -3.13-0.50], p=0.007). In low-risk individuals, conventional LI was not superior to control in reducing postprandial glucose, liver fat or cardiovascular risk. During the total observation period of 3 years, high-risk participants with intensified LI had a higher probability to normalize glucose tolerance compared to conventional LI (p=0.003). The limitations of this study include a relative short duration of LI, a non-completer rate of 18% and an underrepresentation of low risk individuals. Conclusions: In high-risk individuals with prediabetes it is possible to improve glycemic and cardiometabolic outcomes by intensification of the commonly recommended conventional LI. Our results show that individualized, risk-phenotype-based LI can be implemented for the prevention of diabetes. Registration: NCT01947595
Laser-induced vaporization of a metal surface

The laser-induced vaporization process of a metallic surface is incorporated into a simple model which describes the phase transformation and the expansion of the metal vapour against the ambient air as a function of the laser intensity and material properties. It is shown that there exists a material-dependent minimal laser intensity, where the vapour properties at the vaporization front become independent from further expansion against the ambient gas. This laser intensity is called critical intensity and also depends on the beam waist at the vaporization front. To check the model, a comparison with an experimental situation is performed, where a metal surface is irradiated by a Nd:YAG laser beam. The position of a shock front coming from the vaporizing metal surface were detected and compared with the calculated position.
Molecular dynamics simulation study for ion mobility of alkali earth metal cations in water at 25°C

We present the results of molecular dynamics simulations for alkali earth metal cations (Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+ and Ba2+) in an aqueous solution at 25°C using the extended simple point charge water potential with Ewald summation. The ion mobilities (defined by ui = DiziF/RT) obtained from the simulations are in good accord with the experimental measures. The strong divalent cation–water interactions explain well the static and dynamic properties of the alkali earth metal cations. The classical solvent-berg picture describes the ion mobilities of these cations in water adequately.
Volatile Compounds of Raw Spirits from Different Distilling Stages of Luzhou-flavor Spirit

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: zhourqing@scu.edu. cn Introduction The manufacturing procedures of spirits in the world such as whisky, brandy, rum, vodka, cachaça, and Chinese spirits are constituted of three consecutive processes: fermentation, distillation and ageing. For these processes, distillation process is closely correlated with the quality and yield of the raw spirit. Alembic stills and column stills are applied to the distillation of brandy, whisky, and cachaça. The former has no trays or appreciable reflux and requires multiple distillation to achieve high-proof raw spirits, while the latter has a reflux column to decreases the concentration of the congeners in raw spirits (Claus and Berglund, 2005). A distinct device called as Zeng-tong (Li et al., 2012) has been widely applied to the distillation of Chinese spirits for a long history. The Zeng-tong is composed of reboiler, taper barrel, condenser and other attachments, such as stream pipes, lid and tube type heat exchanger (shown in Figure 1A). Similar to fruit brandy (Claus and Berglund, 2005), the operation mode of Chinese spirits belongs to a batch distillation. The main production process of Chinese spirits is as follows (Figure 1B). Prior to the spirit distillation, the fresh grains and grain hull are mixed with the fermented grains to adjust Short communication Volatile Compounds of Raw Spirits from Different Distilling Stages of Luzhouflavor Spirit
CHARACTERISTICS OF MICROMETER AND SUBMICROMETER SIZE O/W EMULSIONS PRODUCED BY RAMOND SUPERMIXER®

A novel motionless mixer named the Ramond Supermixer® (RSM®) was employed to produce O/W emulsions composed of micrometer and submicrometer-size droplets. Liquid paraffin as dispersed phase, aqueous sucrose solution as continuous phase, and anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate as emulsifying agent were used as the model emulsification system. Pressure drop, droplet size distribution, Sauter mean diameter (d 32), and geometric standard deviation of the droplet size distribution (σg) were investigated under the various combinations of process variables; superficial liquid velocity, number of mixing units, number of passages through RSM®, dispersed phase viscosity (ηd), continuous phase viscosity (ηc), and dispersed phase volume fraction. Different modes of droplet size variations with process variables were obtained, with respect to micrometer- and submicrometer-size ranges, and theoretical explanations are forwarded. For the micrometer-size range, maximum droplet diameter (d max) was proportional to d 32. For the submicrometer-size range, d max varied with d 32 in the range of 1.53–2.19-fold, and a correlation is proposed with K (=ηd/ηc); d 32 and σg were well correlated with the process variables. Furthermore, a semi-empirical mechanistic model was developed for the formation of droplets obtained under inertial sub-range to interpret the effect of process variables.
Mitigation policies and vaccination in the COVID-19 pandemic: a modelling study

The perspective of vaccination to protect human population from infection of SARS-CoV-2 virus has great potential to control the pandemic. Nevertheless, vaccine planning requires phased introduction with age groups, health workers, and vulnerable people. We developed a mathematical model capable of capturing the dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 dissemination aligned with social distancing, isolation measures, and vaccination. The city of Rio de Janeiro provides a case study to analyze possible scenarios including non--pharmaceutical interventions and vaccination in the epidemic scenario. Our results shows that a combination of different policies such as case isolation and social distancing are more effective for mitigating the epidemics. Furthermore, these policies will still be necessary in a phased vaccination program. Therefore, health surveillance activities should be maintained along with vaccination planning in scheduled groups until a large vaccinated coverage is reached.
Mapping a Pandemic: SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity in the United States

Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and delayed implementation of diagnostics have led to poorly defined viral prevalence rates. To address this, we analyzed seropositivity in US adults who have not previously been diagnosed with COVID-19. Individuals with characteristics that reflect the US population (n = 11,382) and who had not previously been diagnosed with COVID-19 were selected by quota sampling from 241,424 volunteers (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04334954). Enrolled participants provided medical, geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic information and 9,028 blood samples. The majority (88.7%) of samples were collected between May 10th and July 31st, 2020. Samples were analyzed via ELISA for anti-Spike and anti-RBD antibodies. Estimation of seroprevalence was performed by using a weighted analysis to reflect the US population. We detected an undiagnosed seropositivity rate of 4.6% (95% CI: 2.6 - 6.5%). There was distinct regional variability, with heightened seropositivity in locations of early outbreaks. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that the highest estimated undiagnosed seropositivity within groups was detected in younger participants (ages 18-45, 5.9%), females (5.5%), Black/African American (14.2%), Hispanic (6.1%), and Urban residents (5.3%), and lower undiagnosed seropositivity in those with chronic diseases. During the first wave of infection over the spring/summer of 2020 an estimate of 4.6% of adults had a prior undiagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infection. These data indicate that there were 4.8 (95% CI: 2.8-6.8) undiagnosed cases for every diagnosed case of COVID-19 during this same time period in the United States, and an estimated 16.8 million undiagnosed cases by mid-July 2020.
Awake prone positioning and oxygen therapy in patients with COVID-19: the APRONOX study

Background The awake prone positioning strategy for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome is a safe, simple and cost-effective technique used to improve hypoxaemia. We aimed to evaluate intubation and mortality risk in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who underwent awake prone positioning during hospitalisation. Methods In this retrospective, multicentre observational study conducted between 1 May 2020 and 12 June 2020 in 27 hospitals in Mexico and Ecuador, nonintubated patients with COVID-19 managed with awake prone or awake supine positioning were included to evaluate intubation and mortality risk through logistic regression models; multivariable and centre adjustment, propensity score analyses, and E-values were calculated to limit confounding. Results 827 nonintubated patients with COVID-19 in the awake prone (n=505) and awake supine (n=322) groups were included for analysis. Fewer patients in the awake prone group required endotracheal intubation (23.6% versus 40.4%) or died (19.8% versus 37.3%). Awake prone positioning was a protective factor for intubation even after multivariable adjustment (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.24–0.52; p<0.0001, E=2.12), which prevailed after propensity score analysis (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.27–0.62; p<0.0001, E=1.86) and mortality (adjusted OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.26–0.55; p<0.0001, E=2.03). The main variables associated with intubation among awake prone patients were increasing age, lower baseline peripheral arterial oxygen saturation/inspiratory oxygen fraction ratio (PaO2/FIO2) and management with a nonrebreather mask. Conclusions Awake prone positioning in hospitalised nonintubated patients with COVID-19 is associated with a lower risk of intubation and mortality. Awake prone positioning in nonintubated hospitalised patients with COVID-19 was associated with a lower risk of intubation and mortality in the APRONOX multicentre observational study https://bit.ly/3Atb92Z