Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Drug sensitivity of Plasmodium falciparum field isolates to selected antimalarial drugs in Ghana using the in-vitro DAPI assay

Background: Malaria continues to be a major health issue globally with nine out of ten cases reported in Africa. Although the current artemisinin derived combination therapies in Ghana are still efficacious against the Plasmodium falciparum parasite, compounding evidence of artemisinin and amodiaquine resistance in the African region establish the need for a full, up-to-date understanding and monitoring of antimalarial resistance to provide evidence for planning control strategies.Methods: The study was cross-sectional and was conducted during the peak transmission seasons of 2015, 2016, and 2017 in two study sites located in different ecological zones of Ghana involving children aged 0.5-14 years presenting with symptomatic uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria with parasitaemia greater than 1000 parasites/µl of blood. Using in vitro 4-,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) drug sensitivity assays, 328 Pf parasites collected were used to investigate susceptibility to five selected antimalarial drugs: chloroquine, amodiaquine, dihydroartemisinin, artesunate and mefloquine.Results: The geometric mean B (GMIC50) of five drugs against the parasites collected from Cape Coast were 9.6, 23.6, 9.1, 3.5 and 8.1nM for chloroquine, amodiaquine, artemisinin, artesunate, and mefloquine respectively in 2015. There was a 2 fold increase in the GMIC50 levels of all the drugs against the isolates collected in 2016 as compared to the 2015 data from Cape Coast . The a of the five drugs against the parasites collected from Cape Coast were significantly higher than those isolates collected from Begoro in 2016 and 2017 (P<0.001) . The chloroquine resistance ranged between 1.9% and 9.1% among isolates collected from Cape Coast but remained 0% in Begoro over the period. High amodiaquine resistance levels were recorded at both sites whilst that of artesunate resistance ranged between 4 and 10% over the study period.Conclusions: The study has assessed the antimalarial drug sensitivities of Ghanaian Pf isolates collected over 3 consecutive years. The parasites showed variable resistance levels to all the drugs used over the period. The study has demonstrated the continual return of chloroquine-sensitive parasites. The in vitro DAPI assay is a useful method for monitoring individual drugs used in combinations in Ghana for the generation of data on their sensitivities over time.
Simulated operation combines patient-specific guide technology is superior to conventional technology for supramalleolar osteotomy: a retrospective comparative study

Background: Over the past seven years, our team has designed a simulated operation combines patient-specific guide (SO-PSI) assisted supramalleolar osteotomy (SMOT) method and applied it to the clinic. This study aimed to determine the difference between SO-PSI technology and conventional operation (CO) technology for SMOT in preoperative planning, intraoperative application and postoperative curative effect. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of SMOT in our hospital between October 2014 and December 2018; 28 patients were enrolled and divided into CO group (n=17) and SO-PSI group (n=11); the mean follow-up time was 33.4 (range, 13 to 59) months. We analyzed and compared perioperative data, accuracy of preoperative planning and intraoperative application, difference between pre- and post-operative of radiologic ankle angles, and change of AOFAS score, VAS, range of motion of ankle and Takakura stage after operation. Then we performed statistical analyses. Results: All ankle alignments and positions of two groups have been recovered. Compared with CO group, SO-PSI group has a shorter operative time and a postoperative hospital stay, a decreased number of fluoroscopies and a reduction of albumin, a longer preoperative planning time and a preoperative hospital stay and an increased hospitalization expenses. In SO-PSI group, the ankle angles between preoperative planning and postoperative shown good correlation, but not in CO group; the mean tibial ankle center discrepancy of SO-PSI group was 1.86±1.06 mm. After follow-up, all radiologic parameters of two groups significantly improved, but the improvement of tibial anterior surface angle and tibiotalar tilt angle of SO-PSI group were more obvious than that of CO group; AOFAS score, VAS, range of motion of ankle and Takakura stage of two groups improved after operation; but overall the improvements of SO-PSI group were better than the CO group. Conclusions: SO-PSI technology can carry out the preoperative plan accurately and quickly in SMOT; In general, compared with the conventional technology, SO-PSI technology has advantages in preoperative planning, intraoperative application and postoperative curative effect. Keywords: Supramalleolar osteotomy; Simulated operation; Patient-specific guide; Accuracy of preoperative planning; Practicability of application
Estimating hemodynamic risks of tandem stenoses in posterior cerebral circulation: a computational study

Background: Tandem stenoses were widely observed in acute stroke cases. High pressure drop and low fractional flow (FF) indicate the risk of ischemia caused by intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis. Low wall shear stress (WSS) and high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) filtration rate indicate the risk of atherosclerotic plaque growth. High WSS is related to the risk of plaque rupture. The hemodynamic parameters (pressure drop, FF, WSS, and LDL filtration rate) could be estimated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. Few studies have investigated the hemodynamics of intracranial tandem stenoses. This study aims to estimate the clinical risks of intracranial tandem stenoses using CFD simulation.Methods: With identical radius and length, 4 cylindrical tube models were developed with different stenoses (severity in area: 75% single, 75%-84% tandem, 75%-84%-89% tandem, and 89% single). The pressure drop and FF of each stenosis were derived from static CFD simulation and compared between models. A transient CFD simulation was performed on a patient-specific intracranial arterial model with three (56.2%, 51.3%, and 89.8%) tandem stenoses using boundary conditions derived from patient-specific measurements. For the three stenoses, pressure drop, FF, WSS, and LDL filtration rate were calculated and compared.Results: Independent from other stenoses, 89% single stenosis caused comparable pressure drops in four tube models (difference less than 10%), larger than those of 75%-84% tandem stenoses. 89% stenosis had the lowest FF (less than 0.85). In the patient-specific model, the 56.2% and 51.3% stenoses had pressure drops less than 2mmHg with FFs higher than 0.98, while the 89.8% stenosis caused a pressure drop more than 10mmHg with FF lower than 0.90, where a high WSS belt extended distally. Compared with low WSS (less than 0.5Pa), high LDL filtration rate appeared in smaller areas on arterial wall, with less temporal fluctuations.Conclusions: 1. Tandem stenoses are independent in pressure drop and FF. Pressure drop increases sharply with the severity of stenosis. 2. Compared with low WSS, high LDL filtration rate is more specific and stable in reflecting the risk of intracranial atherosclerotic plaque growth. 3. The risks of both plaque growth and rupture should be considered in severe stenoses.
Community and Individual level Factors Associated with Anemia among Lactating mothers in Ethiopia using data from Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey, 2016; Multilevel analysis

Introduction: Maternal anemia is a worldwide public health problem especially in developing countries including Ethiopia. The burden of anemia among lactating mothers in Ethiopia was higher than those who are neither pregnant nor breastfeeding. To date, there is limited evidence on community level determinates of anemia among lactating mothers in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the individual and community level determinants of anemia among lactating mothers in Ethiopia.Methods: Secondary data analysis was employed using 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health survey. A total of 4658 (weighted samples) breastfeeding women were included in the current study. Multilevel logistic regression model was used to identify individual and community level determinants of anemia during lactation. Finally, adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was reported.Results: The overall prevalence of anemia was 28.3% (95% CI; 26.7, 30.0). With the higher regional prevalence in Somali (68%) and Afar (47%) regions. using modern contraceptive method [AOR = 0.71; 95% CI: 0.58, 0.87]; Poorer [AOR= 0.77; 95% CI: 0.61, 0.98], middle [AOR = 0.74; 95% CI: 0.56, 0.97] rich [AOR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.46, 0.85], richest [AOR = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.43, 0.98] wealth index; working within the 12 months preceding the survey [AOR = 0.77; 95% CI: 0.64, 0.92]; and taking iron during pregnancy [AOR = 0.82; 95% CI: 0.68, 0.98] were associated with lower odds of anemia. Whereas, female household head [AOR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.49] having two births [AOR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.55], three to four births [AOR = 1.53; 95% CI: 1.14, 2.06] and higher community illiteracy [AOR = 1.06; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.70] were associated with the increased odds of anemia during lactation.Conclusion: In this study the prevalence of anemia among lactating mothers was high. It was affected by both community and individual-level factors. Therefore focusing on family planning services especially on modern contraceptive methods, child spacing and improving community literacy will help to reduce anemia during lactation.
Prenatal diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cytogenetic analysis in 303 Chinese families

Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) has showed a wide spectrum of mutations in the dystrophin gene including exon deletions, duplications and small mutations. This retrospective study was to supply information of the DMD mutational spectrum in 303 Chinese families and further offer 5-year clinical experience of DMD genetic counselling and prenatal diagnosis.Methods: In this retrospective study, 305 pregnancies in 303 pregnant women who has a birth history of DMD patients underwent prenatal diagnosis using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) followed by Sanger sequencing between 2014 and 2018. Karyotype analysis was performed to exclude fetal abnormal karyotype.Results: The detection rate of DMD gene mutation in 303 probands was 97.7% with 7 families having a negative genetic diagnosis. The mutational spectrum comprised of large arrangements in 288/303 (95.0%) and small mutations in 8/303 (2.6%). 204 pregnant women did carrier testing among whom, 108 mothers had the same mutation as family proband. Of the 305 pregnancies underwent prenatal diagnosis, 55 of 173 male fetuses were affected. We also performed karyotype analysis and found 3 abnormal karyotypes of trisomy 21. We even found a fetus with DMD gene mutation and trisomy 21 in a same fetus by further analysis.Conclusions: The distribution and mutation profile of 303 probands and 305 fetuses were demonstrated. Given the large samples provided in this study, the information is essential for genetic counselling and prenatal diagnosis in DMD families in China.
Synthesis and Characterization of Dibromo-Containing Ruthenium(IV) η3-Allyl and Ruthenium(IV) η4-Diene Complexes. Formation of [Ru(η5-C5Me5)Br3]- and [Ru(η5-C5Me5)Br3]2

The reaction of Br2 with Ru(η5-C5H5)(η4-diene)Br (diene = 1,3-butadiene (1a), 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene (1b), 1,3-hexadiene (1c)), Ru(η5-C5Me5)(η4-diene)Br (diene = 1,3-butadiene (2a), 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene (2b), 3-methyl-1,3-pentadiene (2c), 1,3-hexadiene (2d), 1-methoxy-1,3-butadiene (2e), 2,4-hexadiene (2f), phenyl-1,3-pentadiene (2g), diphenyl-1,3-butadiene (2h), 1,3-cyclohexadiene (2i), 2,3-dimethoxy-1,3-butadiene (2j), 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene (2k), 1,2-dimethylenecyclohexane (2l)), and Ru(η5-C5Me4Et)(η4-diene)Br (diene = 2,4-hexadiene (3)) has been studied. 1,3-Butadiene and mono-, and 1,2-disubstituted-1,3-butadiene complexes afford bromo-substituted Ru(IV) anti η3-allyl complexes in high yields. This process involves addition of bromine on the exo face of the diene ligand taking place regioselectively at the terminal carbon bearing no substituent. Unexpectedly, bromination of 2d yields the dibromoruthenium(IV) η-(1−3)-hexa-1,4-dien-3-yl complex (6). In the course of this process HBr is liberated .
The Modal Expression of Necessity in English for Tourism

This study focuses on the modal notion of necessity expressed by the central modal auxiliaries and other semantically related modal expressions in English for Tourism. The general aim is to offer detailed coverage of the investigated items by placing considerable emphasis on variability in terms of specialised registers. Specifically, I intend to explore the similarities and differences among necessity modals related to modal meaning and their distribution, and observe whether there are any register-induced variations. To this end, the analysis has been conducted on a small-scale specialised corpus which contains texts from one spoken, and two written registers (promotional website and online responses to consumers’ reviews). A conflation of relevant perspectives underpins the qualitative analysis. A descriptive account is based on the distinction between epistemic and root necessity, and the parameters of strength and source in case of root modal uses. Quantitative findings point to a low frequency of identified items as well as to marked variation in their distribution across the registers. Overall, the use of necessity expressions is contingent on the medium of communication, communicative purpose and interactants.
Molecular Characterization of Carbapenemase-Producing Escherichia coli and Salmonella in children with diarrhea in rural Burkina Faso

Background: In recent years, carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) resistance to antibiotics has dramatically increased leading to limitations of their treatment options. In the present study, we investigated the occurrence of carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli and Salmonella in rural Burkina Faso. Methods: Salmonella isolates were serotyped according to the Kauffman White scheme. Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) strains was identified using 16-plex Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), whereas antibiotic susceptibility was realized using the disk diffusion method. Furthermore, multiplex PCR assays were carried out using oligonucleotides to detect the presence of genes of the blaKPC, blaVIM, blaIMP, blaTEM, blaSHV, blaOXA and blaCTX-M types in all E. coli and Salmonella strains.Results: The study highlighted high resistance rates of the identified bacteria to common antibiotics. Likewise, two strains of E. coli were imipenem resistant with carbapenemase-encoding genes. The genes detected were Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC), Verona integrin-encoded metallo-β-lactamase (VIM) and Imipenemase (IMP-2) reaching a rate of 40% each in E. coli strains. However, no Salmonella carbapenemases blaKPC, blaVIM or blaIMP were detected.Conclusions: This study showed that for a real-time infection control and prompt application of antimicrobial chemotherapy, characterization of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales in patients is crucial.
A class of stochastic Fredholm-algebraic equations and applications in finance

A class of stochastic Fredholm-algebraic equations (SFAEs) is introduced and investigated. Like backward stochastic differential equations (BSDEs), its solution includes two parts. The interesting thing is that the first part is deterministic and constrained, even though the whole system is stochastic. Our study is mainly motivated by risk indifference pricing problem. Actually, the existing risk indifference price always keeps unchangeable with respect to initial wealth, which is economically unsatisfying. Nevertheless, here a new wealth dependent risk indifference price is proposed by particular SFAEs.
Wetting of PTFE and Glass Surfaces by Aqueous Solutions of Cationic and Anionic Double-Chain Surfactants

The wetting of hydrophobic and hydrophilic solid surfaces by surfactant solutions is an important research topic recently because of its profound practical applications. The wettability of two double-chain surfactants (cationic, didodecyldimethylammonium bromide or DDAB, and anionic, aerosol OT or AOT) solutions on poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) and glass surfaces has been investigated here. Different physicochemical parameters such as critical micelle concentration (CMC) and surface tension, contact angle, surface excess at air–water and solid-water interfaces, work of adhesion, and free energy of wetting have been estimated for two double-chain surfactants solutions and compared with the reported results of single-chain surfactants. The double-chain surfactant solutions showed maximum lowering of surface tension values (24.36 and 26.35 mN/m for DDAB and AOT, respectively) and a change in contact angle values from pure water on PTFE (∼38° for DDAB and AOT) and glass (∼26.5 and 24° for DDAB and AOT, res.
The Littlewood-Paley $ pth $-order moments in three-dimensional MHD turbulence

In this paper, we consider the Littlewood-Paley \begin{document}$ p $\end{document} th-order ( \begin{document}$ 1\le p ) moments of the three-dimensional MHD periodic equations, which are defined by the infinite-time and space average of \begin{document}$ L^p $\end{document} -norm of velocity and magnetic fields involved in the spectral cut-off operator \begin{document}$ \dot\Delta_m $\end{document} . Our results imply that in some cases, \begin{document}$ k^{-\frac{1}{3}} $\end{document} is an upper bound at length scale \begin{document}$ 1/k $\end{document} . This coincides with the scaling law of many observations on astrophysical systems and simulations in terms of 3D MHD turbulence.
Determinants of pro-environmental behavior among excessive smartphone usage children and moderate smartphone usage children in Taiwan

Introduction Although there is evidence linking the relationships between smartphone usage with health, stress, and academic performance, there is still inadequate knowledge about the influence on pro-environmental behaviors. This study seeks to bridge this gap by adapting the theory of attribution framework to examine the effects of personal norms, social norms, perceived behavioral control on pro-environmental behavior of smartphone usage in children. Methods A total of 225 children aged between 11 to 12 from eight selected public primary schools at the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park in Taiwan were surveyed. Two distinct groups (excessive versus moderate usage) were purposefully selected for comparison, of which 96 participants were excessive smartphone users while the remaining 129 were moderate smartphone users. Results Findings revealed significant differences between excessive and moderate smartphone usage children groups in personal norms (p < 0.001), social norms (p = 0.002), perceived behavioral control (p = 0.001), and pro-environmental behavior (p = 0.001). Findings for excessive smartphone usage children showed that social norms (β = 0.428, t = 4.096***, p < 0.001) had a direct predictive impact on pro-environmental behavior. In contrast, while there was no direct path established between personal norms and pro-environmental behavior (β = 0.177, t = 1.580, p > 0.05), as well as social norms and pro-environmental behavior for moderate smartphone usage children (β = 0.181, t = 1.924, p > 0.05), but such a relationship could be developed through the mediating effect of perceived behavioral control (β = 0.497, t = 4.471***, p < 0.001). Discussion The results suggested that excessive smartphone usage children lack positive perceived behavioral control, and their pro-environmental behavior could only be predicted through explicit social norms, whereas pro-environmental behavior of moderate smartphone usage children was implicitly influenced by personal norms through perceived behavioral control.
Political Connection, Corporate Philanthropy and Efficiency: Evidence from China's Anti-Corruption Campaign

We find that the 2013 Chinese anti-corruption campaign remarkably reduced charitable donations from listed companies with strong political connections, and lessened government subsidies to these companies, implying a reciprocal relationship between companies and the government prior to the campaign. The campaign also improved the productivity of companies with strong connections. The results are consistent with a model in which favor exchanges between firms and the government divert resources away from production in a corrupt environment. These findings highlight a self-serving, and sometimes corrupt, motive of corporate donation, and imply that the centrally-led anti-corruption campaign is highly effective in curbing corrupt collusion between companies and government officials. Moreover, they give empirical support to the negative efficiency implications of corruption.
Institutional Consensus After Earnings Announcements: Information or Crowding?

This paper examines information processing skills of institutional investors after earnings releases. If institutions correctly process earnings signals, their trades should push the price towards the new fundamental value. However, if they mechanically follow a positive-feedback strategy, Stein (2009) predicts that their crowding can lead to price overreaction. Splitting institutions by their investment horizon, we find that institutions with longer-term horizons are better at processing earnings signals, whereas transient institutions, by trading on the PEAD, can have destabilizing effects on stock prices.
Prominent Efficiency Enhancement in Perovskite Solar Cells Employing Silica-Coated Gold Nanorods

Highly efficient planar heterojunction (PHJ) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with a structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/CH3NH3PbI3/PCBM/Al were fabricated by a low-temperature solution process. As employed silica-coated gold (Au@SiO2) nanorods at the interface between the hole transport layer PEDOT:PSS and the active layer CH3NH3PbI3, the average power conversion efficiency (PCE) showed over 40% enhancement, of which the average PCE was improved from 10.9% for PHJ-PSCs without Au@SiO2 to 15.6% for PHJ-PSCs with Au@SiO2, and the champion one up to 17.6% was achieved. Both experiment and simulation results proved that prominent efficiency enhancement comes from the localized surface plasmon resonance of Au@SiO2 nanorods which could improve the incident light trapping as well as improve the transport and collection of charge carrier, resulting in the enhancement in device parameters. The results suggest that metal nanorods, e.g., Au@SiO2, could be employed to fabricate high-efficiency and low-cost PHJ-PSCs.