Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Self-monitoring of blood pressure to improve hypertension management in a middle-income country: A proof of concept study

Background Self-monitoring of blood pressure has been shown to optimize the management of blood pressure in high-income settings, but there is less evidence from low-to-middle income countries. We designed a proof-of-concept pilot trial to assess the feasibility and acceptability of an intervention built around self-monitoring of blood pressure and health education, and to measure its association with reduced blood pressure among hypertensives. The study was conducted in Lebanon, a country where the management of hypertension presents challenges similar to those faced in countries of the Arab region and other middle-income countries. Methods We conducted a parallel two-arm pilot trial with a mixed-method approach to investigate the effect of the intervention on patient experience. Hypertensive patients (n = 80) were recruited at two primary and one tertiary health centers in Beirut, and were randomly allocated (1:1) to either an intervention group where patients received blood pressure devices, diaries and educational sessions, or a control group where patients received standard of care as practiced in their health centers. The main outcomes were feasibility (recruitment, retention and adherence), acceptability, and changes in systolic blood pressure. Quantitative and qualitative data were obtained at baseline and 6 weeks later. Results The recruitment rates for the study was 52% and retention was 95%. Most participants in the self-monitoring group (33/38) reported that the device was convenient and easy to use. Complete case analysis showed that blood pressure monitoring was associated with a greater reduction in systolic (-6.3 mmHg, 95%CI [-12.4; − 0.17]) and diastolic (-1.9 mmHg, 95%CI [-6.34; 2.58]) blood pressure in the self-monitoring group (n = 36) as compared to the standard of care group (n = 36). Improved knowledge of hypertension was also observed in the self-monitoring group. There were no adverse events related to study participation. Conclusions Self-monitoring is acceptable and feasible and has the potential to improve hypertension management. Our results should be further tested in trials with adequate statistical power and longer follow-up periods to examine the effectiveness of the intervention on blood pressure levels. Trial Registration and funding: Retrospectively Registered on April 3, 2020. ISRCTN 16450193. Funded by the Harvard Medical School Center for Global Health Delivery.
Extracting Nonlinear Dynamics from Psychological and Behavioral Time Series Through HAVOK Analysis

Abstract Analytical methods derived from nonlinear dynamical systems, complexity, and chaos theories offer researchers a framework for in-depth analysis of time series data. However, relatively few studies involving time series data obtained from psychological and behavioral research employ such methods. This paucity of application is due to a lack of general analysis frameworks for modeling time series data with strong nonlinear components. In this article, we describe the potential of Hankel alternative view of Koopman (HAVOK) analysis for solving this issue. HAVOK analysis is a unified framework for nonlinear dynamical systems analysis of time series data. By utilizing HAVOK analysis, researchers may model nonlinear time series data in a linear framework while simultaneously reconstructing attractor manifolds and obtaining a secondary time series representing the amount of nonlinear forcing occurring in a system at any given time. We begin by showing the mathematical underpinnings of HAVOK analysis and then show example applications of HAVOK analysis for modeling time series data derived from real psychological and behavioral studies.
Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment: The New Zealand Experience

The use of constructed wetlands which mimic natural marshlands, represents an innovative approach to wastewater treatment. They make use of diverse ecological mechanisms to renovate wastewater. They are inexpensive to construct and operate with minimal energy requirements. Unlike the conventional technologies, wetlands provide low volumetric reaction rates and therefore are suitable for small-scale applications. The majority of constructed wetlands in New Zealand are used for the treatment of domestic wastewaters from small communities for secondary treatment and pathogen removal. There are over 20 constructed wetlands in New Zealand receiving wastewater flow rates ranging from 7.5m 3 /day to around 4500m 3 /day. Both surface-flow and subsurface-flow wetlands are used. The performance data from three wetland systems treating septic tank effluents are presented and their treatment efficiences are discussed.
Native Insect Pollinators and Their Effect on Sweet Gourd Production

The study was conducted in the field laboratory of the Department of Entomology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh during September 2016 to June 2017 to know the insect pollinators of sweet gourd, their behavior and their role on sweet gourd yield and seed quality. The study showed that ten species of insects belong to seven families in three orders (Lepidoptera, Diptera and Hymenoptera) were found as pollinator. The abundance of the pollinator species ranged from 0.1±0.1 to 2.2±0.3 per 30 sweeps. The cabbage butter fly and ant showed statistically similar and higher abundance compared to other insect pollinators. The foraging durations of the frequently abundant pollinators ranged from 16.8 ± 2.2 to 36.6 ± 4.4 S per flower and ant spent the longest duration. Insect pollination showed the highest number of fruit plant-1, yield ha-1 and seed fruit-1 both in winter and summer season compared to natural and hand pollination. Production of fruit, seed set and yield of insect pollinating plot in winter and summer seasons were 6.4 ± 0.3 and 4.8 ± 0.2 plant-1, 84.8 ± 2.7 and 62.6 ± 1.0 fruit-1, and 18.5 ± 0.8 and 16.7 ± 0.7 t ha-1, respectively. The findings indicated that the native insect pollinators increased the production of fruit, seed and yield of sweet gourd. Conserving and enhancing native insect pollinators may boost sweet gourd production in Bangladesh.
Risk of stroke after unilateral or bilateral TKA in 327,438 matched patients using data from the National Health Insurance Claims for South Korea

Background: This study aims to investigate the incidence rate and risk factors of stroke in patients treated with bilateral TKA compared with patients with unilateral TKA. Methods: In this retrospective nationwide cohort study, we compared patients undergoing unilateral TKA or bilateral TKA using data from the Korean National Health Insurance claims database between January 1, 2009 and August 31, 2017 and included patients older than 40 years of age who underwent primary TKA by the index date as documented primary diagnosis and first additional diagnosis without a history of stroke during the preceding 1 year. We used matched Cox regression models to compare the incidence rate and risk factors of newly acquired stroke among patients treated with unilateral TKA or bilateral TKA after propensity score (PS) matching. Results: In the present study, 163,719 patients who received unilateral TKA were matched to 163,719 patients with bilateral TKA based on PS. The risk of stroke during the study period was lower in patients treated with bilateral TKA than in patients with unilateral TKA (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.79). Patients who received bilateral TKA were at decreased risk of stroke when the following variables were present: advanced age (70-79 years, HR 0.76), female sex (HR 0.75), rural area (HR 0.77), small- or medium-sized hospital (HR 0.75), health insurance (HR 0.77), history of hypertension drug use (HR 0.75), congestive heart failure (HR 0.70), connective tissue disease (HR 0.71), diabetes (HR 0.77), and diabetes with complication (HR 0.76). Conclusions: The risk of stroke was lower in patients treated with bilateral TKA than in patients with unilateral TKA. Patients treated with bilateral TKA were at decreased risk of stroke when the following variables were present: age (70-79 years), female sex, health insurance, history of hypertension drug use, and comorbidities, such as congestive heart failure, connective tissue disease, and diabetes. More importantly, we do state that those with simultaneous bilateral TKA and staged bilateral TKA without discharge could have been healthier. Therefore, those who underwent 2 unilateral TKAs could have been at more risk of stroke, especially in the 2nd unilateral TKA.
Antioxidant Activity of Uric Acid and its Correlation with Oxidative Stress and Endothelial Dysfunction in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Objective: Uric acid is an end product of purine metabolism and it has two different functions such as pro-oxidant and anti-oxidant. Where, pro-oxidant and anti-oxidants are opposite in action. Oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction are a foremost cause of complications in diabetes mellitus, where uric acid may play a major role in this process. Hence, the present study has been designed to evaluate antioxidant activity of uric acid and its correlation with oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction in type 2 diabetic subjects. Methods: We included 120 subjects in this study with age group of 39 -60 years. Among these 60 were type 2 diabetic subjects and 60 were healthy controls. The estimation of biochemical parameters such as blood sugar, lipid profile, uric acid, and homocysteine are measured in fully auto-analyzer with well recognized methods. MDA measured by TBARS method, total antioxidant capacity as FRAP and NO estimated by Kinetic cadmium method in spectrophotometer. Results: The study was found significant elevation of triglyceride, LDL and MDA and significant lower level of FRAP and NO in T2DM than healthy control. Uric acid was insignificant in T2DM compared to healthy control. However, uric acid has significant correlation with FRAP (r=0.2116, p=0.02) and moderate correlation with triglyceride (r=0.1736, p=0.0579) and homocysteine (r=0.1779, p=0.0519). MDA was negatively and NO was positively correlated with uric acid but statistically insignificant. Conclusion: We have found antioxidant activity of uric acid where it was determined by significant positive correlation with FRAP in type 2 diabetes mellitus.
TRAJETÓRIA PROFISSIONAL DE MULHERES CIENTISTAS À LUZ DOS ESTEREÓTIPOS DE GÊNERO

A ciência foi instituída por homens e a atuação feminina nesse campo foi negada por longos anos. Apesar da redução das desigualdades de gênero no mundo da pesquisa, a tardia e menor inserção feminina ainda tem suas marcas nesse universo. Assim, este estudo teve como objetivo analisar os discursos de pesquisadoras brasileiras acerca das suas trajetórias profissionais com foco nas relações de gênero e no processo de escolha de carreira. Participaram nove mulheres docentes permanentes em programas de pós-graduação stricto sensu, com diversidade de áreas do conhecimento e de níveis na carreira científica. Sete entrevistas foram realizadas pessoalmente e duas com interação de áudio e vídeo. Foi utilizado um roteiro com perguntas-estímulo e, posteriormente, os relatos passaram por uma análise de conteúdo categorial. Os resultados em geral apontaram que as escolhas de carreira das pesquisadoras não passaram por situações explícitas de preconceito ou desigualdade de gênero, mas suas trajetórias profissionais sim. Os resultados são discutidos à luz da literatura da área e sugeridos novos estudos que permitam ampliar as reflexões sobre a temática.
The Expression of Ptch1 and Ptch2 in the Stenotic Tissue of Congenital Ureteropelvic Junction Obstruction in Children

Background: Ptch1 and Ptch2 are expressed in tubular epithelium and stromal cells adjacent to the UPJ. They mediate inhibition of Smoothened, a transmembrane protein expressed on the cell surface. If the pathway is disturbed, UPJOcan occur. This aim study aimed to determine the expression of Ptch1 (P1) and Ptch2 (P2) in stenotic segments in children with congenital ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) compared with normal control subjects. Methods: Stenotic segments of ureter tissues were obtained from 20 UPJO patients.UPJO caused by other pathogenies, such as vessel and ureteral polyps, were excluded. The control ureter specimens were obtained from 10 patients with Wilm’s tumor, and the tissues were confirmed histologically to be unaffected. Immunofluorescence, western blot and real-time PCR were used to investigate the expression of P1 and P2. Statistical methods were used to find the differences between the two groupsResults: P1 and P2 were identified in the cytoplasm of smooth muscle in two groups through immunohistochemistry. However, there were no statistical differences between the two groups in P1 and P2 with immunohistochemistry (P=0.31 and P=0.3, respectively). There were also no statistical differences with western blot (P=0.75 and P=0.9, respectively) and real-time PCR (P=0.52 and P=0.45, respectively). However, with the immunofluorescence it was found that red-stained P1 were diffused in the controls group, but were mainly located in the intracellular perinuclear compartment of smooth muscle cells in UPJO. Conclusions: The expression of P1 and P2 between the two groups had no statistical significant. P1 were mainly located in the intracellular perinuclear compartment of smooth muscle cells in UPJO. The P1 pathway might be disturbed by the abnormal distribution rather than the quantity, which might be one probable pathogenesis of UPJO.
Midwives’ expectations from pregnant women regarding their participation in safe delivery: a qualitative study

Background : Pregnant women’s participation in safe delivery is associated with safety assurance and improvement. Safety and care quality improvement in developed countries has so far been based on research and clinical evidence. Nonetheless, stakeholders’ preferences and expectations were not much taken into account. This study aimed to explore midwives’ expectations from pregnant women regarding their participation in safe delivery. Methods : This qualitative study was conducted in 2019 in three public hospitals in Urmia, Iran. Data were collected through 24 in-depth semi-structured interviews with 24 midwives. Sampling was done purposively and continued up to data saturation. Data were analyzed through Graneheim and Lundman’s qualitative content analysis. Results: Midwives’ expectations from pregnant women regarding their participation in safe delivery were grouped into the two main themes of effective communication (with two main categories) and empowerment of pregnant women (with three categories). The five main categories of these two themes were client’s interaction with midwife, confidence in midwife, readiness for delivery, health literacy improvement, and participation in safe behaviors, respectively. Conclusions : Understanding midwives’ expectations regarding pregnant women participation in safe delivery is important to the development of policies for care quality and safety improvement in perinatal care. Keywords : Patient participation, Safe delivery, Qualitative study
Feasibility of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) combined with medical imaging examinations to screen for cancer and improve diagnosis in non-metastatic invasive breast cancer patients: a cohort study

Background: Previous study has reported that circulating tumor cells (CTCs) could be served as a diagnostic biomarker in breast cancer (BC) screening. However, the differential efficacy of routine examination including ultrasound (US), mammogram (MG), magnetic resonance imaging (MR), and breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) and CTCs is unknown. This study aimed to compare CTCs with common used BC screening imaging modalities and to evaluate whether their combination would enhance the diagnostic potency in non-metastatic BC patients.Methods: 102 treatment-naive non-metastatic BC patients, 177 patients with breast benign diseases (BBD) and 64 healthy females, who had CTC detection and at least one of the following medical imaging examinations, US, MG or MR between December 2017 and November 2018, were enrolled in this study.Correlations of CTC enumeration with patients’ clinicopathological characteristics and medical imaging examinations were evaluated. Results: CTC detection rates (average CTC counts) in stage I-III BC patients were 92.9% (2.1), 87.2% (2.4) and 100% (4.2), respectively. CTCs counts were positively associated with cancer stage (p = 0.0084) and tumor size (p = 0.0301). CTC counts were more correlated with US than MR or MG. CTC counts were not associated with molecular subtypes of BC nor breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) results, indicating that CTC enumeration cannot be used to predict molecular signatures of BC. CTCs and medical imaging examinations would have the best diagnostic performance for BC when CTC cut-off was set to 2 and imaging Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) was set to 4b. Combination of CTC with US, MG or MR increased the sensitivity for BC diagnosis, especially for MG. Sensitivity of MG increased from 0.694 to 0.917, even more than in conjugation with US (0.901). Conclusion: CTCs counts can be used as a diagnostic aid in BC screening and early diagnosis. CTCs counts were more relevant to US than MR or MG. Conjugation of CTCs counts would improve the diagnostic potency of medical imaging examinations for diagnosing BC, especially for MG in Chinese women.
Mapping the International System, 1886-2019: The CShapes 2.0 Dataset

This article introduces CShapes 2.0, a GIS dataset that maps the borders of states and dependent territories from 1886 through 2019. Our dataset builds on the previous CShapes dataset and improves it in two ways. First, it extends temporal coverage from 1946 back to the year 1886, which followed the Berlin Conference on the partition of Africa. Second, the new dataset is no longer limited to independent states, but also maps the borders of colonies and other dependencies, thereby providing near complete global coverage of political units throughout recent history. This article explains the coding procedure, provides a preview of the dataset and presents three illustrative applications.
Assessment of Freezing Tolerance of Juglans Germplasms by Using Annual Dormant Branches

The test materials were annual dormant branches of 18 Juglans germplasms that belong to 4 species including J. regia L. ,J. hopeiensis Hu. ,J. mandshurica Maxim. ,and J. nigra L. The semi-lethal temperatures(LT50)were assessed separately by electrolyte leakage,tissue browning,and triphenyl tetrazolium chloride(TTC)dyeing method with Logistic equation. Branch anatomical structures were observed with paraffin sections. The correlations between branch anatomical structures and freezing tolerance were analyzed. The results showed that relative electrical conductivities(REC)of walnut annual branches were rising with the temperature drop. The significant differences of LT50 of Juglans germplasms were observed between–38 ℃ and–22 ℃. The interspecific differences were distinct,and the order of freezing tolerance was J. nigraJ. mandshurica,J. hopeiensisJ. regia. Electrolyte leakage,tissuebrowning,and TTC dyeing method all could be used for assessment of the freezing tolerance in dormant period,but LT50 assessed by electrolyte leakage was more accurate than the other methods. There was significant positive correlation(P0.01)between LT50 and REC at–24 ℃,which was a little higher than LT50 of the most Juglans germplasms. LT50 and REC at–24 ℃ could be used as physicochemical indexes for freezing tolerance identification of Juglans in dormant period. In addition,the tissues thickness of annual branches with roughly similar stem diameter had significant differences. The significant negative correlation(P0.01)was showed between LT50 and phellem layer thickness or phellem layer ratio in the branch,which provided morphological indexes to assess the freezing tolerance of Juglans in dormant period.
PREGNANCY OUTCOME IN FEMALES WITH HIGH BODY MASS INDEX (BMI)

Objective: To determine the various pregnancy outcomes in females with high pre pregnancy Body Mass Index (BMI). Methods: It was descriptive case series at Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan. Duration of the study was from 30-06-2016 to 31-12-2017. In the present study, pregnant females with age of gestation less than 12 weeks presenting with their first ante natal visit falling in the age range of 20-40 years having pre pregnancy BMI > 25 kg/m were included. Then these cases were followed for their whole pregnancy to look for various outcomes. Results; In the present study there were 150 subjects enrolled with high pre pregnancy BMI. Mean age of the participants was 28.41±4.67 year and mean BMI was 28.31±3.57 kg/m. Regarding various outcome the most common one was C section which was seen in 42 (28%) of the cases, followed by PIH seen in 35 (23.34%) of the cases, while pregnancy remained uneventful in only 21 (14%) of the cases. Conclusion: High pre pregnancy BMI leads to various complication, which are seen in almost 8 out of 10 cases and the most common one is C section.
Laser annealing of metal nanoparticles synthesized in glasses by ion implantation

Recent results on the interaction of high power laser pulses with dielectrics containing metal nanoparticles are observed. The excimer laser pulse modification of copper nanoparticles synthesized by ion implantation in silicate glass are considered. Pulsed laser irradiation makes it possible to modify such composite layer, improving the uniformity in the size distribution of the nanoparticles. Changes induced by pulsed laser exposure suggest there are both reductions in average size of the metal nanoparticles, and some long-range dissolution of metal atoms in the matrix. Experimental data on laser modification are explained by photofragmentation of the nanoparticles in the dielectric matrix.