Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microbiological studies on a Nigerian maize product, kwoka, supplemented with soybean

Microbiological studies on a popular maize product (kwoka) with or without a soybean supplement (20 or 30%) were carried out during production and storage at 26-32C. Soybean -supplemented product had greater microbial diversity and higher populations than the unsupplemented control. The divers@ was most evident at the slurry stage (blended mixture before steaming) which contained ten different microbial genera including Aspergillus, Enterobacter, Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Micrococcus and Pediococcus. A dramatic decrease occurred after steaming which killed most of the molds and Gram-negative bacteria. However, within I day of storage, a sharp increase was observed in the microbialpopulation of all samples and maximum load occurred in 20% soybean supplemented “kwoka” at the end of storage. The microbiota became less diverse with storage and was dominated by Bacillus, Lactobacillus and Micrococcus. Packaging of ‘kwoka ’ in traditional leaves was microbiologically inferior to polyethylene packaging. Changes in the acidity of 30% supplemented ‘kwoka’ were less dramatic compared to the other products. The Iactics were primarily responsible for the spoilage of the products (especially the 20% supplemented) after approximately 3 days of storage at tropical ambient temperature of 26-32C.
Species richness and biodiversity conservation priorities in British Columbia, Canada

Patterns in the geographic distribution of seven species groups were used to identify important areas for conservation in British Columbia, Canada. Potential priority sites for conservation were determined using an integer programming algorithm that maximized the number of species represented in the minimum number of sites. Sweep analyses were used to determine how well the set of priority sites identified for each species group represented the other species groups. Although areas of highest species richness were different for each species group, they all included sites in the southern interior of British Columbia, where there is limited protection. Furthermore, less than 13% of the distribution ranges for 23 of 25 bird species of special conservation concern were located within existing protected areas. Species at risk of extinction were poorly represented (26%–42%) in priority sets of sites selected for amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, since these sites were generally scattered throughout the p.
Increasing Access to Medical Training With Three-Dimensional Printing: Creation of an Endotracheal Intubation Model

Background Endotracheal intubation (ETI) is a crucial life-saving procedure, where more than 2 failed attempts can lead to further complications or even death. Like all technical skills, ETI requires sufficient practice to perform adequately. Currently, the models used to practice ETI are expensive and, therefore, difficult to access, particularly in the developing world and in settings that lack a dedicated simulation center. Objective This study aimed to improve access to ETI training by creating a comparable yet cost-effective simulation model producible by 3-dimensional (3D) printers. Methods Open-source mesh files of relevant anatomy from BodyParts3D were modified through the 3D modeling programs Meshlab (ISTI-CNR) and Blender (Blender Foundation). Several prototypes with varying filaments were tried to optimize the ETI simulation. Results We have created the novel 3D-printed pediatric ETI model for learners at all levels to practice this airway management skill at negligible costs compared with current simulation models. It is an open-source design available for all medical trainees. Conclusions Revolutions in cost and ease of use have allowed home and even desktop 3D printers to become widespread. Therefore, open-source access to the ETI model will improve accessibility to medical training in the hopes of optimizing patient care.
Storage Stability of Fish Oil, Soy Oil, and Corn Oil Mayonnaises as Measured by Various Chemical Indices

Using various chemical analyses, several lipid oxidation products were measured at different stages of oxidation. The oxidation of fish oil (FO), soy oil (SO) and corn oil (CO) mayonnaises was investigated using peroxide value (PV), thiobarbituric acid (TBA), total carbonyl compounds (TCC) and anisidine tests. The results showed that both PV and TCC values increased in FO, SO, and Co mayonnaises during 8 wk of storage at 30oC, but TBA and anisidine values increased significantly only in fish oil mayonnaise (FOM). Different oxidation products were produced due to inappropriate for SOM and COM. The best analytical tests for early oxidation of FOM are PV and TBA and for later oxidation are TCC and the anisidine test.
Behaviour of hydrogen in wide band gap oxides

The defect formation energies and atomic geometries of interstitial hydrogen in its different charge states in a number of wide band gap oxides are calculated by the Heyd, Scuseria, Ernzerhof hybrid functional. As in semiconductors, two behaviours are found, it acts either as an amphoteric defect or as a shallow donor. There are large scale lattice relaxations between the different charge states for the case of the amphoteric defect. Interestingly, we find that the +/− transition level does have a good alignment below the vacuum level, as was found previously for tetrahedral semiconductors.
Competitive Exclusion of Aphytis lingnanensis by A. melinus: Potential Role of Host Size

Aphytis melinus, an ectoparasitoid of California red scale, Aonidiella aurantii, replaced A. lingnanensis, another ectoparasitoid, in certain California citrus areas during the 1960's following the former's introduction in 1956-1957. We show that, although both species attack a similar range of host sizes, A. melinus utilizes a smaller threshold scale size for the production of daughters. Size differences of scales within a citrus tree (largest scales occur on fruits, smallest on wood, and inter? mediate on leaves), seasonal variation in scale age structure, multivoltinism ofthe scale and parasitoid populations, seasonal availability of citrus fruits (the substrate that supports the largest scales), dif? ferences in the temperature tolerances ofthe two parasitoid species (A. lingnanensis is less tolerant), and differences in their vagility (A. melinus is more vagile), probably all favor A. melinus in competition with A. lingnanensis. A. lingnanensis does not realize its fecundity advantage in female progeny when these species compete because A. melinus preempts California red scale before it grows into the size range preferred by A. lingnanensis. Collection records through 1972 show that A. melinus continued to extend its geographical range coastally in southern California through 1972.
Forage production, grain yield, and protein content in dual-purpose triticale grown for both grain and forage

The use of cereal crops for both forage and grain production is practiced in many parts of the world. Quantity and quality of forage and grain with this dual use is strongly influenced by seeding date, cutting frequency and growth stage. The effect of two seeding dates and three cutting frequencies on forage production, grain yield, forage and grain protein content, and several associated characteristics of triticale (xTriticosecale Witt.) was determined in 1990 and 1991 at three field locations in southern Spain. Seeding date was less influential on forage and grain production than cutting treatments. Forage harvest significantly reduced grain yield 19.1 to 54.7% with one cutting and 46.6 to 76.2% with two cuttings. Plant height was reduced 5.6 to 18.8% with one cutting and 16.4 to 43.3% with two cuttings. Grain protein yield was reduced 18.6 to 53.7% with one cutting and 47.9 to 72.8% with two cuttings. Grain protein content increased 5.6 to 23.3% with one cutting and 8.0 to 32.0% with two cuttings at the rainfed sites, but not under irrigated conditions. Forage protein content was negatively related to forage yield both in rainfed (r = -0.824) and irrigated (r = -0.952) environments, probably due to a dilution effect. An inverse linear relationship was found between grain yield and protein content (r = - 0.901) in the four rainfed experiments, probably from differences in accumulation of starch. Under irrigated conditions and high soil fertility, cuttings did not affect the final percentage of protein in the grain, although grain yield decreased. An inverse relationship was found between the rainfall measured during the triticale growing season and the mean protein content in the grain (r = -0.911) under rainfed conditions.
Are Carboniferous coals from the Danish North Sea oil-prone?

province with Upper Jurassic – lowermost Cretaceous marine shale of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation and equivalents as the principal source rock, and Upper Cretaceous chalk as the main reservoirs. However, increasing oil prices and developments in drilling technologies have made deeper plays depending on older source rocks increasingly attractive. In recent years exploration activities have therefore also been directed towards deeper clastic plays where Palaeozoic depo sits may act as petroleum source rocks. Carboniferous coaly sections are the most obvious source rock candidates. The gas fields of the major gas province in the southern North Sea and North-West Europe are sourced from the thick Upper Carboniferous Coal Measures, which contain hundreds of coal seams (Drozdzewski 1993; Lokhorst 1998; Gautier 2003). North of the gas province Upper Carboni-ferous coal-bearing strata occur onshore in northern England and in Scotland, but offshore in the North Sea area they have been removed by
Vegetation communities of British lakes: a revised classification scheme for conservation

1. A revised classification scheme is described for standing waters in Britain, based on the TWINSPAN analysis of a dataset of aquatic plant records from 3447 lakes in England, Wales and Scotland, which is held by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. 2. Separate ecological descriptions of 11 distinct lake groups (A–J) are presented with summary environmental data, macrophyte constancy tables and maps showing their distribution. These lake groups include small dystrophic waters dominated by Sphagnum spp. ; large, acid, upland lakes supporting a diversity of plant species, including Juncus bulbosus, Littorella uniflora, Lobelia dortmanna and Myriophyllum alterniflorum; low-altitude, above-neutral lakes with a high diversity of plant species, characterized by the presence of Potamogeton spp. , Chara spp. or water-lilies and other floating-leaved vegetation; and coastal, brackish lakes, with macroalgae. 3. The Plant Lake Ecotype Index (PLEX) is presented as an indicator of changing lake environments. PLEX scores reflecting the new classification scheme have been developed for individual plant species and lakes. Applications of the index are demonstrated. 4. There is discussion of possible applications of the data collected and the resultant classification, in the context of the Habitats Directive, the Water Framework Directive and other conservation requirements. © Crown copyright 2006. Reproduced with the permission of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The protected flora of long‐established cemeteries in Hungary: Using historical maps in biodiversity conservation

Abstract The role of anthropogenically influenced habitats in conserving elements of the original wildlife has increased worldwide simultaneously with the disappearance of natural sites. Burial places are able to conserve original elements of the wildlife, and this fact has been known for at least a century. To this day, little is known about long‐time changes and the effect of long‐time management methods in cemeteries on the flora they harbor. The utility of historical maps in research focused on natural values, as well as in answering questions related to conservation was recently demonstrated, but the use of digitized historical maps in biodiversity research of the Carpathian Basin is very limited. In the present paper, we aimed to predict the conservation potential of long‐established and newly established cemeteries of Hungarian settlements with various population sizes based on the digitized maps of the 2nd Military Survey of the Austrian Empire (1819–1869), by categorizing cemeteries into 3 distinct (anthropogenic habitat, cemetery, or natural habitat) types. To build our models, we used records of the protected flora from Hungarian cemeteries, based on data of thematic botanical surveys of 991 cemeteries. Out of the surveyed cemeteries, 553 (56%) harbored protected plants, totaling 306.617 estimated individuals of 92 protected species, belonging to 28 plant families. These species represent 12% of the entire protected flora of Hungary. Hungarian cemeteries play a key role mainly in preserving steppe and dry grassland plant species. Long‐established and large cemeteries harbor more protected plant species than small and newly established ones. Human population size of the settlements correlated negatively with the number of protected species and individuals. Moreover, woodland cover and proportion of grassland also significantly positively affected the number of protected plant species in cemeteries.
Dynamo: amazon's highly available key-value store

Reliability at massive scale is one of the biggest challenges we face at Amazon.com, one of the largest e-commerce operations in the world; even the slightest outage has significant financial consequences and impacts customer trust. The Amazon.com platform, which provides services for many web sites worldwide, is implemented on top of an infrastructure of tens of thousands of servers and network components located in many datacenters around the world. At this scale, small and large components fail continuously and the way persistent state is managed in the face of these failures drives the reliability and scalability of the software systems. This paper presents the design and implementation of Dynamo, a highly available key-value storage system that some of Amazon's core services use to provide an "always-on" experience. To achieve this level of availability, Dynamo sacrifices consistency under certain failure scenarios. It makes extensive use of object versioning and application-assisted conflict resolution in a manner that provides a novel interface for developers to use.
Differences in Clinical Characteristics and Brain Activity between Patients with Low- and High-Frequency Tinnitus

This study was aimed at delineating and comparing differences in clinical characteristics and brain activity between patients with low- and high-frequency tinnitus (LFT and HFT, respectively) using high-density electroencephalography (EEG). This study enrolled 3217 patients with subjective tinnitus who were divided into LFT (frequency < 4000 Hz) and HFT (≥4000 Hz) groups. Data regarding medical history, Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, tinnitus matching, and hearing threshold were collected from all patients. Twenty tinnitus patients and 20 volunteers were subjected to 256-channel EEG, and neurophysiological differences were evaluated using standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) source-localized EEG recordings. Significant differences in sex (p < 0.001), age (p = 0.022), laterality (p < 0.001), intensity (p < 0.001), tinnitus type (p < 0.001), persistent tinnitus (p = 0.04), average threshold (p < 0.001), and hearing loss (p = 0.028) were observed between LFT and HFT groups. The tinnitus pitch only appeared to be correlated with the threshold of the worst hearing loss in the HFT group. Compared with the controls, the LFT group exhibited increased gamma power (p < 0.05), predominantly in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC, BA31), whereas the HFT group had significantly decreased alpha1 power (p < 0.05) in the angular gyrus (BA39) and auditory association cortex (BA22). Higher gamma linear connectivity between right BA39 and right BA41 was observed in the HFT group relative to controls (t = 3.637, p = 0.027). Significant changes associated with increased gamma in the LFT group and decreased alpha1 in the HFT group indicate that tinnitus pitch is crucial for matching between the tinnitus and control groups. Differences of band frequency energy in brain activity levels may contribute to the clinical characteristics and internal tinnitus “spectrum” differences.
Identification of powdery mildew resistance genes in cultivars of soft red winter wheat

Twenty-two soft red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars were inoculated with isolates of Erysiphe graminis f. sp. tritici to determine genes for resistance. Cultivars were tested with a total of 27 isolates that had been characterized from reactions on differential host lines. Genes determinations were completed separately in two laboratories with different isolates and the results were combined. Intact 10-day-old seedlings or detached primary leaves on benzimidazole-amended agar were inoculated, and evaluations based on pustule number and type were made 10-14 days later (.)
Prevalence, antibiotic resistance pattern and identification of extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing Klebsiella pneumoniae by phenotypic and genotypic method from various clinical samples

The present study is about ESBL producing Klebsiella pneumoniae which is diagnosed by phenotypic and genotypic methods. A total of 5055 properly collected, well labelled samples, received in the Microbiology laboratory were processed following standard protocol. Total 5055 samples, 805 (16.0%) Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated. 226/3415 (6.64%) urine, 218/649 (33.6%) wound, 127/342 (37.1%) blood, 215/604 (35.6%) pus and 18/45(40.0%) sputum samples tested positive for Klebsiella pneumoniae. The occurrence of ESBL producers among Klebsiella pneumoniae in the current study is 293/805 (36.4%). Highly resistant drugs for Klebsiella pneumoniae ESBL isolates were Ampicillin (100%), Piperacillin (100%), Amoxycillin + clavulanic acid (66.2%). Non ESBL producing isolates were less resistant to the same antibiotics. Out of 805 isolated 285 (35.4%) and 293 (36.3%) were identified as ESBL producers by double disc synergy test and phenotypic confirmatory test respectively. Samples identified as ESBL producers were confirmed by E test. Detection of gene among these isolates, single bla gene could be detected in 59 (20.1%), two genes in 71 (24.2%) and three genes in 156 (53.2%) isolates. blaCTX-M-15 was the only gene found in 8 (4%) of the Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates tested, whereas blaSHV alone was found in 42 (14.3%) isolates. Among the combination of two bla genes, the combination of blaSHV and blaCTX-M-15 was found in 54 (18.4%) isolates. This study establishes that considerable genetic diversity and variations in the distribution of ESBL producers and their bla genes exist in the clinical isolates of K. pneumoniae across Karnataka. Keywords: ESBL, Klebsiella pneumoniae, CLSI guidelines, Gene.
Glucocorticoids improve severe or critical COVID-19 by activating ACE2 and reducing IL-6 levels

COVID-19 is a public health emergency that has rapidly spread to over 200 countries and regions, and no effective treatment has been established to date. Severe and critical cases have been associated with higher mortality due to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and cytokine storm. Based on the novelty and recent emergence of COVID-19, no effective treatment regimen has been identified, thus prompting clinicians to engage in drug repurposing to address the immediate therapeutic need. This study focused on the molecular target angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) of SARS-CoV-2 and screened a group of ACE2 agonists by bioinformatics. Glucocorticoids are a type of ACE2 activator. We verified the efficacy of nine chemicals on regulating ACE2 expression in human GES-1, an upper digestive tract epithelial cell line, and THP-1, a human monocyte cell line, and found that several glucocorticoids imparted activating effects on ACE2 in both cell lines. The drugs triciribine and kinetin riboside activate ACE2 expression or inhibit IL-6 production in macrophages to some extent. In addition, we compared the efficacies of several glucocorticoids. Hydrocortisone showed the strongest effect on ACE2 activation, followed by prednisolone, dexamethasone, and methylprednisolone. We retrospectively analyzed the therapeutic efficacy of nine severe or critical patients from a cohort of 90 COVID-19 cases, who received medium to small doses of glucocorticoids from our integrated medical team in Wuhan. Seven out of nine patients revealed significant improvement in clinical parameters and chest CT images. This study provides experimental and clinical evidence that medium-to-low-dose glucocorticoids may play a protective role in the respiratory and digestive systems by activating ACE2 and suppressing cytokine storm.
Magnitude and Its Associated Factors of Urinary Tract Infection among Adult Patients Attending Tigray Region Hospitals, Northern Ethiopia, 2019

Background Urinary tract infection is a major public health problem in terms of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It ranks as the number one infection which leads to an antibiotic prescription after a physician's visit. However, there are limited studies done on UTI in Ethiopia. Hence, this study was aimed to assess the magnitude of urinary tract infection and its associated factors among adult patients attending hospitals of the Tigray region, Ethiopia. Methods and Material. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May 2019. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select 472 participants from five randomly selected hospitals in Tigray region. A pretested structured questionnaire through face-to-face interview and patient chart review checklist was used to collect data. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 21. A binary logistic regression model was used to test the association between dependent and independent variables. Result The magnitude of urinary tract infection was 86 (18.2%) (95% CI: 14.6%–21.6%). After adjustment of the independent variables, the significant factors associated with urinary tract infection were being female (AOR = 3.50; 95% CI: 1.88–6.51), urine passing frequency < five times in a day (AOR = 2.32; 95% CI: 1.08–4.96), having diabetes mellitus (AOR = 4.03; 95% CI: 1.69–9.63), history of urinary tract infection (AOR = 4.40; 95% CI: 2.31–8.39), <7 glasses of water intake per day (AOR = 2.16; 95% CI: 1.02–4.58), and history of urinary obstructive diseases (AOR = 2.67; 95% CI: 1.03–6.90). Conclusion and Recommendation. The magnitude of urinary tract infection was considerably high. The factors associated with urinary tract infection were sex, less urine passing frequency, diabetes mellitus, low water intake, history of urinary tract infection, and urinary obstructive diseases. Therefore, patients having DM, previous history of UTI, and urinary obstructive diseases should be routinely screened for urinary tract infection and provided with education on voiding urine at least five times a day and on increasing daily water intake.