Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sleep, work schedules and accident risk in South African long-haul truck drivers : research in action

Falling asleep at the wheel has been implicated in 24% of heavy-vehicle road accidents in South Africa.We compiled a questionnaire relating driving, sleep, and social habits with accident reports. In total, 102 male truck drivers aged 43 lug+l/ug 8 years (mean lug+l/ug s.d.) with 16 + 8 years of professional driving experience participated in the study. Three-quarters of the drivers reported being tired at work because of working long hours (93 lug+l/ug 30 hours/week) and half reported insufficient sleep (5.4 lug+l/ug 2.3 hours/day) as a reason for their tiredness. While sleeping in their truck berth, almost eight out of 10 drivers reported that their sleep was interrupted, mostly due to noise. Sixty-two per cent of truck drivers admitted to nodding off at the wheel, which was associated with interrupted sleep. Drivers who reported signs of sleepdisordered breathing or other sleep complaints had an increased likelihood of having a sleep-related accident. These drivers also were more likely to have a body mass index greater than 25 kg/m 2 , and have a collar size larger than 40 cm. In common with drivers elsewhere, many South African long-haul drivers work illegally long hours, often to supplement their income and meet company deadlines; thus their sleep is restricted and they feel sleepy while driving, all factors associated with increased accident risk. Driving deprived of sleep poses a danger to all on the road; responsible trucking companies should ensure that drivers have adequate rest times in conditions conducive to sleep. Regulation of infringements at the company level would contribute substantially to an improvement of working conditions, as well as driver performance and well being.
An Empowerment Scale Analysis of Mexican MSMEs: Modeling with Covariance Structures

Trained human capital is a source of incalculable resources, with an impact on the results of companies. For this reason, companies must carefully consider three aspects: empowerment with the consideration of the cognitive state of their collaborators; training and compensation; and fluidity in information sharing. Although granting empowerment to collaborators has been shown to be beneficial for organizations, its adoption has not been popularized. Therefore, it remains a construct that needs to be studied and understood, considering that it is influenced by the organizational culture of companies. In this research, the main objective was to examine the factor structure of the empowerment scale from the perspective of the owner or manager of the micro, small and medium-sized companies of Guanajuato, Mexico; using the dimensions of psychological empowerment; fluidity in information sharing; as well as training and compensation. The methodology is based on the Mathematical Economy; application of mathematical methods to represent theories and analyze problems in economics. This investigation used an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to validate the proposed measurement scale. The sample is made up of 222 valid questionnaires. The CFA provided evidence that the model that best fits the data is a second-order model made up of two dimensions: self-efficacy and influence on the company’s results, which carry the psychological empowerment construct. These results make clear that although information is necessary to train human capital, cognitive variables are more important in the empowerment of human capital.
Character association and selection of breeding line based on morphophysiological characteristics and tensile strength in Hibiscus cannabinus L.

This study aimed to access different desirable characteristics of nine Hibiscus cannabinus L. accessions based on morphophysiological characteristics and fiber tensile strength for an effective selection of H. cannabinus plant improvement. Four China accessions (FH952, T15, T17, and T19), four Bangladesh accessions (HC2, HC95, V4202, and V4383), and V36 (control) accession were examined in a four-month cultivation period. The experimental design was arranged using randomized complete block design with three replications. Stem diameter was found to be significantly related (p ≤ 0.05) with all morphological and yield characteristics except for leaf dry weight and growth efficiency. Bigger stem diameter was an indicator of fiber yield in attempts to apply crossing and selection to improve performance. Photosynthesis rate also was found to be significantly related (p ≤ 0.05) with stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, instantaneous water use efficiency, and carboxylation efficiency. High photosynthesis rate could be an indicator to interpret the pattern of genetic variation of plant assimilation rate and its relation with environmental and agronomic factors. The fiber tensile modulus, however, was found to be inversely correlated with fiber diameter. The present study suggests the selection of control, V4383, HC2, and FH952 accessions for a breeding line as they possess high fiber yield, fiber strength, and photosynthetic efficiency.
Soil Fungal Communities under Pinus patula Schiede ex Schltdl. & Cham. Plantation Forests of Different Ages in Ethiopia

The cultivation of plantation forests is likely to change the diversity and composition of soil fungal communities. At present, there is scant information about these communities in Ethiopian plantation forest systems. We assessed the soil fungal communities in Pinus patula Schiede ex Schltdl. & Cham. stands aged 5, 11, or 36-years-old using DNA metabarcoding of ITS2 amplicons. The ecological conditions of each plot, such as climate, altitude, and soil, were similar. Stand age and soil fertility influenced soil fungal species diversity and ecological guilds. In total, 2262 fungal operational taxonomic units were identified, of which 2% were ectomycorrhizal (ECM). The diversity of ECM fungi was higher in the 5 and 36-year-old stands than in the 11-year-old P. patula stands. Contrary to our expectations, a high level of ECM species diversity was observed in young stands, suggesting that these ECM species could compensate for the effects of nutrient stress in these stands. Our results also suggested that the abundance of plant pathogens and saprotrophs was not affected by stand age. This study provides baseline information about fungal community changes across tree stands of different ages in P. patula plantations in Ethiopia that are likely related to ECM fungi in young stands where relatively low soil fertility prevails. However, given that the plots were established in a single stand for each age class for each treatment, this study should be considered as a case study and, therefore, caution should be exercised when applying the conclusions to other stands.
Gratitude predicts selective moral concern about interpersonal harms

ABSTRACT Past research has established that gratitude, a sense of appreciation for the benefits one has received, is a moral emotion that motivates reciprocity. How does gratitude influence moral evaluations generally? The current paper provides a novel investigation of the relationships between trait gratitude and moral outrage, an index of concern over specific moral violations. In two studies, we found that more grateful individuals expressed greater moral concern about domains in which harms were perpetrated against people, but not harm violations against animals or more trivial moral violations. In Study 2, we explore whether gratitude-based differences in moral concern might be explained by trait empathy or differences in commitment to specific moral foundations and find that empathy, specifically, largely accounts for gratitude’s role in moral concern. This research expands understanding of gratitude’s role in moral psychology and speaks to gratitude’s importance in moral judgment.
Social robots are like real people: First impressions, attributes, and stereotyping of social robots.

There have been over one thousand published scholarly articles about social robots in the academic literature, indicative of considerable interest as evidenced by new research labs, conferences, journals, TED talks, companies, patents, and products. The social robots of interest are autonomous physical embodiments (i.e., they exist in the real world not just on a screen), and they communicate with humans via social behaviors (e.g., speech, gestures, and movement) that mimic human interactions that are linked with particular social roles that a robot might play. The proposed roles for the robots vary, from teaching to childcare to toys to elder companionship, but the underlying rationale for their popularity is similar across contexts. Social robots can be designed with human-like features, textures, and movements, and programmed to behave in variety of social or helpful ways, enough so that the people who use them could interact via familiar and pleasurable and even emotional connections. Robots have the added advantage of lower cost, continuous availability, and constancy of responses compared to human counterparts. The potential for robots to improve human life across a range of capacities is high.
Poor genetic differentiation but clear cytoform divergence among cryptic species in Simulium damnosum complex (Diptera: Simuliidae)

A complex cryptic species taxonomy has been developed for the flies that vector Onchocerca volvulus Leuckart in Africa. This taxonomy names cytoforms of Simulium damnosum Theobald s.l. based on chromosomal inversion polymorphisms. Researchers have linked variation in cytoforms to variation in geographical distributions and biological traits, but have failed to demonstrate that many of these cytoforms are differentiated genetically or morphologically. This may be explained by recent divergence and incomplete lineage sorting of ancestral polymorphisms. Alternatively, it may be the outcome of ongoing gene flow, with inversions maintaining sets of co‐adapted alleles and selection driving inversion frequency differences across habitats. Here, our goals were to test species delimitations in the S. damnosum complex, and determine if the poor differentiation between these species is better explained by the ancestral polymorphisms or gene‐flow hypotheses. Geometric morphometric analysis and more intensive genetic sampling of populations in Nigeria only reinforced the lack of clear divergence among S. damnosum complex cytoforms. By contrast, the first statistical estimates of evolutionary relationships based on chromosomal inversion polymorphism data revealed clear signs of divergence, which lends support to the ancestral polymorphisms hypothesis. But the latter analyses may be biased by non‐neutral evolution of inversion polymorphisms; more rigorous tests of cytoform‐based species hypothesis will require deeper sampling across populations and neutral genetic markers along with explicit modelling of genetic isolation and migration.
Severe ulcerative esophagitis and colitis induced by crizotinib therapy: A case report

The expression of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), a target of tyrosine kinase is altered in several kinds of cancer, including in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). For this reason, the use of crizotinib to treat locally advanced or metastatic ALK‐positive NSCLC was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2011. The reported adverse events during clinical trials with crizotinib included esophageal disorders in 11% of the patients, although none of them experienced severe events. Drug‐induced esophagitis or more severe ulcerations are considerably rare according to the available case reports. We report a patient who presented with severe esophageal ulcers after 2‐year treatment with crizotinib for metastatic, ALK‐positive NSCLC. These clinical conditions improved after education on proper eating habits and an additional prescription of a proton pump inhibitor. Several months later, the patient developed colitis with severe diarrhea, which was successfully controlled with mesalazine without reductions in the dosage of crizotinib. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published case of successfully treated, consecutive esophageal and colonic ulcers related to crizotinib use. Crizotinib is a widely used targeted therapy for locally advanced or metastatic ALK‐positive NSCLC, and clinicians should keep in mind its severe drug‐related adverse effects such as esophagitis and colitis. Treatment with mesalazine, esomeprazole, and slightly decreasing the dose of crizotinib to 200 mg twice daily will be effective.
3D CT Study of Morphological Shape and Size of Sella Turcica in Bangladeshi Population

This study represents the morphology and measures the size and shape of the sella turcica in Bangladeshi populace and contrast with accessible global information. A sum of 166 (108men and 58 ladies) Bangladeshi subjects who went through Computed tomography (CT) scan at the Radiology Department were taken. A 3D imaging software (Mimics 11.02 Materialise) was utilized to process the CT images. Morphometric strategies were utilized to evaluate size and shape. The parameters for conventional measurements were three dissimilar sella height (anterior, posterior and median), sella length, diameter and width, where all of them deliberated in relation with Frankfort reference line (FH). Total area of sella turcica also considered. No important contrasts in size of the sella were found between sexes. The study found that sella turcica gave three unique shapes which were considered flat (28.3%), ovoid (48.1%) and circle (23.4%). In another morphological classification sella turcica represent 6 different variations. Those were normal sella (69.2%), oblique anterior wall (4.8%), double contour of sella floor (6.6%), sella turcica bridge (0 %), irregularity (notching) in the posterior part of the dorsum sella (16.2%) and pyramidal shape of dorsum sella (3.0%). Sella shape and measurements reported in the present study can be useful in giving reference information in the orthodontic determination, appraisal and treatment arrangement and evaluation of sex dimorphism in Bangladeshi subjects.
Comparison of the Leukocyte Response to Infection with Borrelia hermsii in Callospermophilus lateralis, Peromyscus maniculatus and Tamias amoenus

The purpose of this study was to establish baseline white blood cell (WBC) differential values in various non-infected rodent species and to determine whether infection by Borrelia hermsii affects their WBC composition. This research utilized blood samples collected from a variety of locations in the Sierra Nevada Mountains over several consecutive years. Each sample was tested for infection by B. hermsii using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. One hundred fifty blood smears from non-infected rodents (50 from each species) and 52 blood smears from B. hermsii infected rodents were chosen for the purpose of this study. Samples were stained using Wright-Giemsa stain and 100 white blood cells from each slide were visually located and identified using a light microscope. Establishing white blood cell differential parameters in non-infected rodents from these species will provide the scientific community with an expected range for their WBC compositions. Determining the immunologic response to infection by B. hermsii will give insight into the role of rodents as reservoirs in the ecology of tick-borne relapsing fever.
Computationally efficient model of OCT scan formation by focused beams and its usage to demonstrate a novel principle of OCT-angiography

In this paper, we present a computationally highly efficient full-wave model of optical coherence tomography (OCT)-scan formation by focused beams in spectral-domain OCT. Similarly to some previous models, it is based on the summation of fields scattered by discrete sub-resolution scatterers, and enables one to account for the axial and lateral inhomogeneity of the illuminating Gaussian beam. The main feature ensuring the high computational efficiency of the described model is that, rather than numerical integration of the scattered signal over the receiving aperture, we apply an analytical description of both the illuminating-beam focusing and the collection of the scattered signals over the receiving aperture. Elimination of numerical integration over the receiving aperture increases the overall computation speed by a factor of ∼ 103 . This is of key importance in terms of the practical feasibility of simulations of 3D OCT data volumes for large amounts (∼ 105−107 ) of scatterers, corresponding to realistic densities of cells in biological tissues. We demonstrate the model’s possibilities by simulating the digital refocusing of strongly focused OCT beams in the presence moving scatterers, thereby presenting a novel principle of contrast-agent-free visualization of scatterer flows, with velocities typical of blood microcirculation.
Cat-dependent diseases cost Australia AU$6 billion per year through impacts on human health and livestock production

Abstract Context. Cats are the definitive or primary host for pathogens that cause diseases in people and livestock. These cat-dependent diseases would not occur in Australia if cats had not been introduced, and their ongoing persistence depends on contacts with cats. Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that cycles between cats and any other warm-blooded animals. People infected by T. gondii may appear asymptomatic, or have a mild illness, or experience severe, potentially lethal symptoms; the parasite may also affect behaviour and mental health. T. gondii is also a major contributor to spontaneous abortion in sheep and goats. Two species of Sarcocystis, another genus of protozoan parasite, cycle through cats and sheep, causing macroscopic cysts to form in sheep tissues that reduce meat saleability. Toxocara cati, the cat roundworm, causes minor illnesses in humans and livestock, and the bacterium Bartonella henselae causes cat scratch disease, an infection that can be contracted by people when scratched or bitten by cats carrying the pathogen. Aims. We estimated the economic costs of cat-dependent pathogens in Australia. Methods. We collated national and global data on infection rates, health and production consequences. Key results. We estimated the costs of two cat-dependent diseases (toxoplasmosis, cat scratch disease) in people at AU$6.06 billion (plausible range AU$2.11–10.7 billion) annually, and the costs to livestock production from toxoplasmosis and sarcocystosis at AU$11.7 million (plausible range AU$7.67–18.3 million). Most of the human health costs are due to the associations between T. gondii and higher rates of traffic accidents and mental illness in people. The causality behind these associations remains uncertain, so those costs may be overestimated. Conversely, our estimates are incomplete, infections and illness are under-reported or misdiagnosed, and our understanding of disease outcomes is still imperfect, all of which make our costs underestimated. Conclusions. Our analysis suggests that substantial benefits to public health and livestock production could be realised by reducing exposure to cats and breaking parasite transmission cycles. Implications. Reducing feral cat populations in farming and urban areas, reducing the pet cat population and increasing rates of pet cat containment could help reduce the burden of cat-dependent diseases to people and livestock.
Radiocarbon in Marine Methane Reveals Patchy Impact of Seeps on Surface Waters

Geological sources of methane (CH4), such as hydrocarbon seeps, are significant yet poorly constrained sources of CH4 to seawater and the overlying atmosphere. We investigate the radiocarbon content (14C) and concentrations of dissolved CH4 in surface waters from the Coal Oil Point seep field to test the hypothesis that geological sources can dominate the regional background signal of CH4. We find that surface waters with elevated CH4 concentration were populated with seep‐CH4 and that lower concentrations of CH4 were well explained by mixing with the regional background of nongeological CH4. Substantial differences in concentration and 14C‐CH4 were observed over distances <5 km, demonstrating that surface currents mix background‐CH4 into the seep field. These results indicate that even a prolific seep region like the Santa Barbara Basin exerts limited influence on the regional background of CH4 in the surface layer but is a significant driver of patchiness in oceanic CH4 biogeochemistry.
Quantitative determination of varietal disulfides in wine and their behavior during alcoholic fermentation

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Quantitative determination of varietal disulfides in wine and their behavior during alcoholic fermentation J.J Bencomo-Rodriguez, J. Gambetta, P. Rigou, N. Canelo, Aurélie Roland, J.-M. Salmon, N Bouvier
Novel Emulsion Base for Vaginal Yeast Infection with Half Drug Concentration

The dissolution of the drug in the vaginal cavity strongly influences the efficacy of the product due to insufficient moisture at the vaginal site. This study was undertaken to develop semi-solid dosage forms of miconazole nitrate to optimize its release. Formulations containing miconazole nitrate at 2% were developed using hypromellose gel, non-ionic emulsion, and cationic emulsion. The effect of penetration enhancers such as propylene glycol, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and diethylene glycol monoethyl ether at various concentrations was studied. Diffusion studies were carried out to evaluate the drug release and compared it against a commercial product. Formulation with the highest drug release was further evaluated at half (1%) drug concentration. Formulation with reduced drug levels along with the commercial product was evaluated for drug release for an extended time using human cadaver skin. The general order of average cumulative drug release from three bases was observed to be cationic emulsion > hydroxypropyl methylcellulose >non-ionic emulsion. Among all samples, the cationic emulsion with 5% DMSO gave a maximum drug release of 7.27 ± 0.2 mg/cm2 with a flux of 0.70 mg/cm2/min compared to only 3.09 ± 0.1 mg/cm2 drug release with 0.51 mg/cm2/min flux for brand product. The average cumulative drug release for formulation with half (1%) drug and brand (2% drug) over a period of 12 h through human cadaver skin was observed to be 8.28 ± 0.9 mg/cm2 and 8.71 ± 0.9 mg/cm2, respectively. This observation was in conformance with the in vitro antifungal studies showing an equivalent zone of inhibition. Keywords: Cationic emulsion, Drug release, Dimethylsulfoxide, In vitro antifungal study.