Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
From Ocean to Medicine: Harnessing Seaweed’s Potential for Drug Development

Seaweed, a miscellaneous group of marine algae, has long been recognized for its rich nutritional composition and bioactive compounds, being considered nutraceutical ingredient. This revision delves into the promising role of seaweed-derived nutrients as a beneficial resource for drug discovery and innovative product development. Seaweeds are abundant sources of essential vitamins, minerals, polysaccharides, polyphenols, and unique secondary metabolites, which reveal a wide range of biological activities. These bioactive compounds possess potential therapeutic properties, making them intriguing candidates for drug leads in various medical applications and pharmaceutical drug development. It explores their pharmacological properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities, shedding light on their potential as therapeutic agents. Moreover, the manuscript provides insights into the development of formulation strategies and delivery systems to enhance the bioavailability and stability of seaweed-derived compounds. The manuscript also discusses the challenges and opportunities associated with the integration of seaweed-based nutrients into the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. Regulatory considerations, sustainability, and scalability of sustainable seaweed sourcing and cultivation methods are addressed, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach in harnessing seaweed’s potential. This revision underscores the immense potential of seaweed-derived compounds as a valuable reservoir for drug leads and product development. By bridging the gap between marine biology, pharmacology, and product formulation, this research contributes to the critical advancement of sustainable and innovative solutions in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical sectors.
eCommons@AKU eCommons@AKU

Background: Workplace violence (WPV) is a global problem that affects healthcare workers’ physical and mental health and impairs work performance. Pakistan’s healthcare system is not immune to WPV, which the World Health Organization recognises as an occupational hazard. Objectives: The primary objective of this systematic review is to determine the prevalence of physical, verbal, or other forms of WPV in healthcare workers in Pakistan. Secondary objectives include identifying the associated risk factors and perpetrators of WPV. Methods: A systematic review of six electronic databases was conducted through August 2022. Studies were included if they met the following criteria: 1) healthcare workers (HCWs), including physicians, nurses, and paramedic staff working in the private or public sector of Pakistan; 2) exposure to physical, verbal, or any type of violence. Data were extracted and analysed for the prevalence of WPV, types of violence, associated risk factors, and perpetrators of violence. Results: Twenty-four studies including 16,070 HCWs were included in this review. Verbal violence was the most common form of violence levied, with its highest prevalence (100%) reported in Islamabad and lowest verbal violence prevalence (25%) in Karachi. Verbal abuse was preponderant against female HCWs, while physical abuse was directed more towards males. The most common perpetrators were patient attendants, followed by the patients. Conclusion: Our review determines a 25–100% prevalence of WPV against HCWs in Pakistani medical setups. This occupational hazard needs the attention of relevant authorities in the country to put protective enforcement policies in place. Large-scale surveys should be conducted to better gauge the current plight of HCWs in the nation.
Adapting the Cortical Microcircuit Model for the BrainScaleS-1 Hardware

The neuromorphic hardware BrainScaleS-1 is a wafer-scale analogue system, that is developed at the Kirchhoff Institute for Physics in Heidelberg. Mimicking the brain structure, it is designed to emulate neural networks on an analogue computing substrate. As a means of establishing a benchmark for the system, there currently is an ongoing implementation of the cortical microcircuit model that was proposed by Potjans and Diesmann (2012). A scaled software simulation of this model has already been implemented prior to this work, using the neural network simulator NEST (Gewaltig & Diesmann, 2007). In the course of this thesis, this simulation is adapted to account for the restrictions that are imposed on any model when running on the hardware. This includes a change of the neuronmodel, variation between the individual neuron parameters and moving to network parameters that are realistic with respect to the hardware. A special focus is put on the effects of the synaptic delay, as it has proven to be strongly inﬂuential for the ﬁring behaviour of similarly structured networks (Brunel, 2000).
period management improves peripartum ruminal adaptation in dairy cows

The present study aimed to determine whether the improvement in postpartum energy balance frequently reported in cows under short dry period management could be due to an improvement in ruminal function related to the reduction in the number of diet changes before calving. Six multiparous and 6 primiparous Holstein cows equipped with ruminal cannula were assigned to 6 blocks of 2 cows each according to parity, projected milk production at 305 d, and expected calving date. Within each block, cows were randomly assigned to either a conventional (CDP; 63.2 ± 2.0 d) or a short dry period (SDP; 35.2 ± 2.0 d) management in a randomized complete block design. The CDP cows were fed a far-off diet until 28 d before calving, followed by a prepartum diet, whereas SDP cows received only the prepartum diet. After calving, both groups were fed the same lactation diet. Milk yield and dry matter intake (DMI) were recorded daily and milk composition, weekly. Blood samples were taken twice a week during the first 4 wk postcalving and weekly otherwise. Omasal and ruminal samples were collected approximately 3 wk prior and 3 wk after calving. From 28 d before calving until calving, when the 2 groups of cows were fed the same prepartum diet, there was no effect of the dry period length management on DMI, plasma concentrations of β-hydroxybutyrate, nonesterified fatty acids, and glucose and nutrient digestibility in the rumen. However, CDP cows tended to have lower ruminal pH and higher ruminal concentrations of total volatile fatty acids than SDP cows. From calving to 60 d in milk, daily DMI was higher for SDP than for CDP cows (22.3 ± 0.44 vs. 20.7 ± 0.30 kg), but milk production and milk concentrations and yields of fat, protein, and total solids were not affected by the dry period length management. After calving, body weight loss was reduced and body condition score tended to increase more rapidly for SDP than for CDP cows. Nutrient digestibility in the rumen, expressed in kilograms per day, was greater or tended to be greater for SDP cows, but differences were no longer significant when expressed per unit of nutrient ingested. The decrease in plasma nonesterified fatty acids and β-hydroxybutyrate in SDP cows without effect on milk yield suggests an improved energy balance likely due to greater DMI. Results from the present study seem to indicate that reducing the number of diet changes before calving could facilitate ruminal adaptation to the lactation diet and improve energy balance postpartum.
Examining Twitter Content of State Emergency Management Examining Twitter Content of State Emergency Management During Hurricane Joaquin During Hurricane Joaquin

Those tasked with disseminating life-protecting messages during crises have many factors to consider. Social media sites have become an information source for individuals during these times, and more research is needed examining the use of specific message strategies by emergency management agencies that may elicit attention and retransmission. This study examines Twitter content concerning Hurricane Joaquin. Content analysis of tweets from state emergency management accounts was performed to provide an overview of the content and stylistic elements used in tweets associated with the event. The findings are discussed in the context of both past research on the matter and implications for emergency management agencies responding to high-con-sequence events.
A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY TO ANALYZE THE EFFICACY OF LOCAL INJECTION OF AUTOLOGOUS PLATELET-RICH PLASMA IN THE TREATMENT OF LATERAL EPICONDYLITIS COMPARED TO LOCAL CORTICOSTEROID INJECTION

Background: Lateral epicondylitis or Tennis Elbow is one of the most common causes of upper extremity pain, with various treatment options. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) offers a new option for treating lateral epicondylitis. This study compared the efficacy of PRP versus triamcinolone local injection in patients with lateral epicondylitis. Materials and Methods: Forty patients with lateral epicondylitis were included in the study and randomized into two groups. Group A was treated with a single injection of 1ml PRP with an absolute platelet count of at least 1 million platelets/ cu.mm. Group B was treated with 1ml (40mg) of triamcinolone acetate. Pain, functional improvements and complications were assessed using a visual analogue scale and Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) score at baseline, one week, six weeks, three months and six months. Results: Forty patients completed the follow-up. All assessment parameters improved significantly in both the groups at each follow-up compared to baseline. At the end of six months, Group A showed significantly better improvement than Group B. Conclusion
Actual Causation

We put forth an analysis of actual causation. The analysis centers on the notion of a causal model that provides only partial information as to which events occur. The basic idea is this: c causes e only if there is a causal model that is uninformative on e and in which e will occur if c does. We show that our analysis captures more causal scenarios than any account that tests for counterfactual dependence under certain contingencies. We analyse causation between token events. Here is the gist of the analysis: an event c is a cause of another event e only if both events occur, and— after taking out the information whether or not e occurs— e will occur if c does. We will show that the analysis successfully captures a wide range of causal scenarios, including overdetermination, preemption, switches, and scenarios of double prevention. This set of scenarios troubles coun-terfactual accounts of actual causation. Even sophisticated counterfactual accounts still fail to deal with all of its members. And they fail for a principled reason: to solve overdetermination and preemption, they rely on a strategy which gives the wrong results for switches and a scenario of double prevention. Our analysis, by contrast, is not susceptible to this principled problem.
HEMATOLOGICAL PROFILE OF HIV INFECTION IN CHILDREN

Background: Hematological abnormalities like anemia, leucopenia, lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia and elevated ESR are among the most common pathological manifestation in children with HIV/AIDS. Objective: Aim of this study was to find out hematological parameters in HIV infected children before starting antiretroviral treatment. Design: A Cross sectional study. Setting: Study was conducted in the department of Pediatrics in collaboration with department of Pathology RIMS Imphal during the period of October 2013 to August 2015. Participants: Total 65 Children up to 12 years with HIV infection were clinically examined and tested for CBC and CD4 count. Data were analyzed using SPSS and P value was set at less than 0.05 for the statistical significance. Results: The mean ESR in this study was 43.35±31.21 mm in one hour. Elevated ESR (>15mm) was found in 43 (66.2 %) cases. 60% cases were found anemic with mean HB level 10.39±1.66 mg/dl with P-value of 0.046. 36.9% cases were mild anemic with HB level 9-11 gm/dl and 23.1% cases were moderately anemic with HB level 6-9 gm/dl. Thrombocytopenia (platelet count <1.5 lac/cmm) was present in 26.2% cases. Mean TLC count is decreasing with age. Neutropenia (count <40%) was present in 3 (4.6%) cases. Lymphopenia in 8 (12.3%) cases, and lymphocytosis in 7(10.8%) cases. In this study decline in CD4 count is observed with age. Mean CD4 count in age group <2 years, 2-5 years and >5 years were 1079.00±864.98 cells/cmm, 418.86±398.10 cells/cmm and 323.39±275.00 cells/cmm respectively (p=0.004). CD4 count was less than 400 cells/cmm in 44 (67.7%). Conclusion: From our study we concluded that Elevated ESR and low CD4 count was the most common hematological parameter affected followed by decrease in hemoglobin. Anemia and thrombocytopenia was more severe in lesser age children and CD4 counts was decreasing with increase in age.
Experimental Tree Mortality Does Not Induce Marsh Experimental Tree Mortality Does Not Induce Marsh Transgression in a Chesapeake Bay Low-Lying Coastal Forest Transgression in a Chesapeake Bay Low-Lying Coastal Forest

Transgression into adjacent uplands is an important global response of coastal wetlands to accelerated rates of sea level rise. “Ghost forests” mark a signature characteristic of marsh transgression on the landscape, as changes in tidal inundation and salinity cause bordering upland tree mortality, increase light availability, and the emergence of tidal marsh species due to reduced competition. To investigate these mechanisms of the marsh migration process
MORTALITY PROFILE IN A PRIVATE MEDICAL COLLEGE HOSPITAL IN NORTH ANDHRA PRADESH - A 5 YEARS RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Background: Mortality statistics, life expectancy at birth, and life expectancy at various ages are key indicators of population health that allow for comparisons between countries for the purpose of planning, intervention programmes, allocating resources, and suggesting priorities. Life expectancy at birth is also an important indicator of population health. Materials and Methods: Medical records of all deaths which occurred in between November 2017 to October 2022 (5 years), were reviewed. All the details like age, sex, residence, socioeconomic status, appropriate admission details, duration of hospital stay, referral, cause of death etc., were collected. Result: Total number admissions in 5 years study period were 81,164 and total number of deaths that occurred during the study period were 244. Mortality rate was 3.1 per 1000 admissions and it was very low when compared to other studies. Among the total deaths (244), majority of deaths observed were above 55 years old patients and male deaths were more than female deaths. The peak in mortality during the study period was occurred during COVID-19 pandemic period. Apart from COVID-19 disease, Cancer was the second most common cause of death followed by other Chronic diseases. Among the cancers, Lung cancer was the most common cause of death followed by Carcinoma Breast and Carcinoma Stomach. Conclusion: Most common causes of death in tertiary care hospital were Non-Communicable diseases and Chronic diseases followed by Communicable diseases. Apart from COVID-19, cancer was the main leading cause of overall mortality.
Complications of Immediate versus Delayed DIEP Reconstruction: A Meta-Analysis of Comparative Studies

Simple Summary Although the deep inferior epigastric perforator flap (DIEP) has become the most frequent autologous flap in breast reconstruction, it remains unclear whether reconstruction should be performed at the same time as the mastectomy or delayed. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to offer an overview of recipient site postoperative complications and help guide practicians toward the ideal timing for breast reconstruction. A pooled analysis using the Mantel and Haenszel methods with a fixed effect model provided results as an odd ratio with a 95% confidence interval. Among most complications including hematoma, infection, fat necrosis, and flap loss, no significant differences were observed. However, delayed wound healing was significantly higher for patients who underwent delayed breast reconstruction. This paper offers evidence that both surgical timings offer similar outcomes and are, therefore, valid surgical strategies. Abstract Purpose: The setting regarding the ideal timing for deep inferior epigastric perforator flap (DIEP) reconstruction remains unclear. Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is performed at the same time as mastectomy, while delayed breast reconstruction (DBR) is performed at any time after mastectomy except immediately. We compared both strategies to assess whether IBR or DBR should be performed to reduce postoperative adverse events. Methods: A systematic review of PubMed, Embase, Medline, Cochrane, and Web of Science was conducted, aiming at articles comparing the recipient site outcomes of IBR versus DBR with DIEP. We used the Mantel–Haenszel method with a fixed effects model. Results were expressed as the OR with a 95% CI. Results: Two retrospective and two prospective studies were identified involving 5784 DIEPs (1744 immediate and 4040 delayed). We showed a significant difference in favor of IBR for wound healing issues (OR = 0.57, 95% CI 0.41, 0.77; p = 0.0003). However, no significant differences for hematoma, infection, fat necrosis, partial flap loss, and total flap loss rate were seen. Conclusions: Despite variability in the choice of the ideal time for breast reconstruction and outcomes reported among studies, immediate DIEP surgery appears to be a reliable setting with less delayed healing issues.
Essays on Health, Labor Market Behavior, and Economic Incentives.

Paper [1] analyzes how labor force participation changes in response to major health shocks, such as new cancer diagnoses, heart attacks, and strokes, in middle-aged to elderly Mexican couples, and how the spouses interact in their responses to these shocks. The data originates from the Mexican Health and Aging Study and provides information on how couples coordinate their labor market activities in response to major health shocks. The results show that women’s labor force participation is negatively affected by a major health shock to their husbands. In contrast, men’s labor force participation does not change significantly in response to a major health shock to their wives. Paper [2] focuses on the correlation between negative health shocks and the households’ share of wealth held in risky assets. By using U.S. data from the Health and Retirement Study, we try to establish a link between negative health shocks and financial outcomes such as the household’s probability of owning risky assets and the share of risky assets held. We define a recent negative health shock to include cancer or malignant tumor diagnoses, stroke or transient ischemic attack, heart attack, coronary heart disease, angina, congestive heart failure, or other heart problems. We find that both the probability of owning risky assets, and the share of risky assets, are significantly lower among households where the women has experienced a negative health shock. In contrast, neither the probability of owning risky assets nor the share of risky assets held by the household are significantly associated with a negative health shock to the man. Paper [3] investigates whether job loss can cause symptoms of depression in later life. We focus on couples aged 50 or older. We use data from the Health and Retirement Study, which provides longitudinal information about changes in labor market status and mental health outcomes among respondents and their spouses in the United States. To deal with potential reverse causality problems, we utilize data on job loss resulting from business closures. We find that job loss can lead to depressive symptoms for the affected individual’s partner. The effects are gendered, as women are negatively affected by job losses experienced by their husbands, but we do not observe such harmful effects among men whose wives lose their jobs. We also show how the effects of job loss vary across couples with differing levels of economic resources and health care needs, as well as differential access to health care. Paper [4] estimates the labor supply response to an increase in the marginal wage rate among middle-aged to elderly Mexican women. Using data from the National Survey of Occupation and Employment, I find that an increase in the marginal wage rate is associated with an increase in worked hours. The results suggest that the marginal wage rate elasticities are larger for older women than for their younger counterparts.
Characterization of Insect–Pollinator Biodiversity in Agrochemical-Contaminated Agricultural Habitats

The extensive application of agrochemicals in agricultural habitats in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania (SHOT) is supposed to negatively impact the biodiversity community of insect–pollinators (INPOs). However, in light of existing knowledge, there are no studies to back up this claim. We carried out field surveys in the SHOT to assess and characterize the INPO biodiversity community in agricultural habitats and compare it with protected habitats. Direct observations, transect counts, sweep netting, and pan trap techniques were used for sampling the INPOs. Overall, the INPOs’ relative abundance (57.14%) and species diversity index in protected habitats were significantly higher compared to agricultural habitats. Similarly, we recorded a higher number of plant–INPO interactions in protected habitats than agricultural habitats. Our results suggest that, in contrast to protected habitats, agrochemicals might have driven out or discouraged INPOs from agricultural habitats, resulting in dwindling species richness, diversity, and abundance. This could be due to agrochemical contamination that impairs the quantity and quality of floral resources (nectar and pollen) required by INPOs. Alternatively, protected habitats seemed healthy and devoid of agrochemical contamination, which attracted many INPOs for foraging and nesting. Thus, in order to maintain healthy agricultural habitats and support INPO biodiversity, conservation agriculture is imperative.
Mechanical Properties of Mortars Containing Waste Glass Powder

The utilization of solid waste materials or industrial waste as partial substitution of cement is growing in construction industry all around world. Less cement consumption causes consequently reduction in CO2 emission into the atmosphere and reduction in energy consumption. This paper examines the possibility of using finely ground waste glass as a partial replacement for cement and as a sealing admixture. Glass powder used in the research was prepared from the glass waste obtained from a local recycling company. Glass cullet made of brown glass, which after rinsing to remove sugars and other impurities, was dried and ground to a fraction below 125 μm. This paper is the revised version of the paper that has been published in the Proceedings of the Creative Construction Conference 2018 (Horszczaruk and Brzozowski, 2018).