Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Socio-cultural beliefs and road use in a low income country: a qualitative investigation of superstition-related road use behaviour in Pakistan

In developed countries much research has been conducted on human factors (including attitudes, beliefs and perceptions) contributing to road crashes. Less progress has been made in understanding and addressing human factors contributing to crashes in developing countries. In Pakistan, there are strong worldviews that foster diverse beliefs about crash causes and ways of avoiding them. Socio-cultural beliefs (traditions, customs and religion) impede efforts by developing countries to cope with the pace of modernisation and rapid motorisation. Therefore, to address gaps in our current knowledge about these issues, the current study sought to investigate driver perceptions, attitudes and beliefs towards road crashes and explored how they are linked to road user behaviour. A qualitative study involving 30 in-depth interviews identified superstitious road use behaviours interconnected with religious and superstitious beliefs, and low public credibility of evidence-based explanations. Moving towards the uptake of evidence-based protective behaviours is therefore a challenging, though desirable, task.
Rigorous Simulation of Lpg Releases from Accidental Leaks

The accidental release of LPG from trucks or other containers is a dangerous event due to the subsequent dispersion followed by possible fires and explosions. Unfortunately this scenario is that of the accident occurred at the Viareggio railway station on the night of June, 29 2009, where the released LPG caused a large number of fatalities.Some simulations of the event, as proposed in published papers, assume a liquid release for the calculation of the discharge time. Since the LPG is at saturated conditions, it is subject to a flash during discharge as soon as the pressure is lowered; so the real event is more complexas the LPG discharge moves from mixed phase to vapor phase.This article presents rigorous simulations of the event focusing on the discharge time period required to empty the damaged vessel.The simulation uses ‘state of the art’ equations of state to model the thermodynamic behaviour of the fluid during the release. Vapor generation due to depressurization and related temperature effects are fully modelled.
The effect of nitrogen overfertilization on olive tree growth and oil quality

Mature olive trees (Olea europaea L.) growing in the drylands in Southern Spain were fertilized annually with different amounts of nitrogen. After six years of experiment the results indicate that, under these conditions, increasing the amount of nitrogen applied from 0 to 1 kg of N per olive tree did not result in an increase of yield, fruit size, oil content or vegetative growth. However, olive oil characteristics such as polyphenol content, bitterness (K225) and oil stability decreased when nitrogen was applied at the highest rates, affecting oil quality negatively. Leaf N concentration was always above the deficiency threshold of 1.4%, but varied among treatments. The results suggest that annual application of N fertilizer to olive orchards may provoke nitrogen overfertilization when leaf N is above the deficiency threshold.
Evaluation of a Novel Equity-Focused Curriculum for Early-Stage Medical Students

OBJECTIVES Medical school curricula have increasingly incorporated topics and content related to health equity and affiliated social determinants of health. However, there is limited literature to guide how programs might measure the success of these initiatives. Previous studies assessed medical student attitudes and perceived knowledge, preparedness, and skills. Based on self-reported measures of these attributes, we compared within-group and between-group differences at the onset of a novel equity-focused curriculum implementation. METHODS A multi-component approach to “thread” lectures, panel discussions, and other content dedicated to health equity concepts was assessed using adapted versions of two validated survey instruments of the measured constructs. Baseline data were collected prior to coursework and at follow-up early in students’ second year assessed change attributable to the equity-focused curriculum thread, with additional comparison to a cohort of second-year students who had no exposure to the curriculum. Data were collected at the beginning of academic years 2021–2022 and 2022–2023. RESULTS The multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant change over time (p < 0.001) with the analyses of variance identifying students’ perceived current skills and topic knowledge increasing over time. No significant differences were found between two separate groups of M2 students. CONCLUSIONS Students’ perceived skills at working with diverse patient populations and knowledge of topics focused on health equity increased across the study, despite a much smaller response rate for the same student cohort at follow-up. Students’ perception that they are prepared to care for patients of diverse backgrounds was unaffected. Attitudinal assessment revealed a ceiling effect at baseline, which should be explored further with longitudinal assessment. For the ongoing effort to evaluate the success of equity-focused curricula and programs, this study contributes evidence of change on some but not all outcomes, and can help guide other programs in determining which outcomes best reflect areas of programmatic need and impact.
Study on the association and phase separation behavior of surfactants and promethazine hydrochloride: impact of ammonium electrolytes

In the current study, the association and phase separation of cationic tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB) and nonionic Triton X-100 (TX-100) surfactants with promethazine hydrochloride (PMH) were investigated in aqueous ammonium-based solutions. The micellization nature of the TTAB and PMH drug mixture was examined by evaluating critical micelle concentration (CMC) and counterion binding extent (β) at different salt contents and temperatures (298.15–323.15 K). Micelle formation in the TTAB + PMH mixture was enhanced in the presence of ammonium salts, whereas the process was delayed with an increase in temperature in the respective salt solution. With an increase in salt content, the cloud point (CP) of the TX-100 + PMH mixture decreased, which revealed that the respective progression occurred through the salting out phenomenon. In micellization and clouding processes, the changes in free energies ΔG0m and ΔG0c were found to be negative and positive, respectively, demonstrating that the corresponding processes are spontaneous and non-spontaneous. Standard enthalpies (ΔH0m/ΔH0c) and standard entropies (ΔS0m/ΔS0c) for the association and clouding processes, respectively, were also calculated and discussed. The core forces amid TTAB/TX-100 and PMH in the manifestation of electrolytes are dipole–dipole and hydrophobic forces among the employed components according to the values for ΔH0m/ΔH0c and ΔS0m/ΔS0c, respectively.
Global incidence of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy: A protocol for systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract Background Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) typically develops in the late second and third trimesters and resolves rapidly after delivery. Although not associated with serious maternal sequelae, ICP can be highly bothersome. On the other hand, the major complications of ICP are fetal and neonatal, which can be fatal. The current knowledge lacks an estimation regarding the global prevalence of ICP. Methods PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science will be searched systematically. Records will be screened for eligibility by two independent reviewers. Observational studies that reported the incidence of ICP will be eligible. Joanna Bridge Institute checklist for appraisal of prevalence studies will be used for quality assessment. Freeman‐Tukey double arcsine transformed effect sizes will be pooled under random‐effect models. The residual between study heterogeneity will be quantified using I 2 statistic. Further investigations will be done using subgroup and meta‐regression analyses. Discussion Estimating the global and regional prevalence of ICP and evaluating the effects of moderating factors will provide valuable insights into the knowledge. Further investigations on the moderating factors will help researchers to hypothesize the associations and extend the current understanding of the disease. The planned study will be the first systematic review and meta‐analysis that estimates the global prevalence of ICP. The reviewers will try rigorous mythology to ensure high‐quality evidence. However, substantial heterogeneity is expected as prevalence studies utilize different mythologies, settings, and definitions. Moreover, this study relies on utilizing previously published studies, which may impede the overall data quality and comprehensiveness.
Publication bias in psychology: A closer look at the correlation between sample size and effect size

Previously observed negative correlations between sample size and effect size (n-ES correlation) in psychological research have been interpreted as evidence for publication bias and related undesirable biases. Here, we present two studies aimed at better understanding to what extent negative n-ES correlations reflect such biases or might be explained by unproblematic adjustments of sample size to expected effect sizes. In Study 1, we analysed n-ES correlations in 150 meta-analyses from cognitive, organizational, and social psychology and in 57 multiple replications, which are free from relevant biases. In Study 2, we used a random sample of 160 psychology papers to compare the n-ES correlation for effects that are central to these papers and effects selected at random from these papers. n-ES correlations proved inconspicuous in meta-analyses. In line with previous research, they do not suggest that publication bias and related biases have a strong impact on meta-analyses in psychology. A much higher n-ES correlation emerged for publications’ focal effects. To what extent this should be attributed to publication bias and related biases remains unclear.
Association between dietary macronutrient composition and plasma one-carbon metabolites and B-vitamin cofactors in patients with stable angina pectoris.

Elevated plasma concentrations of several one-carbon metabolites are associated with increased CVD risk. Both diet-induced regulation and dietary content of one-carbon metabolites can influence circulating concentrations of these markers. We cross-sectionally analyzed 1928 patients with suspected stable angina pectoris (geometric mean age 61), representing elevated CVD risk, to assess associations between dietary macronutrient composition (food frequency questionnaire) and plasma one-carbon metabolites and related B-vitamin status markers (GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS, or microbiological assay). Diet-metabolite associations were modelled on the continuous scale, adjusted for age, sex, BMI, smoking, alcohol, and total energy intake. Average (geometric mean [95% prediction interval]) intake was 49 (38, 63) energy percent (E%) from carbohydrate, 31 (22, 45) E% from fat, and 17 (12, 22) E% from protein. The strongest associations were seen for higher protein intake, i.e., with higher plasma pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) (% change [95% confidence interval] 3.1 [2.1, 4.1]), cobalamin (2.9 [2.1, 3.7]), riboflavin (2.4 [1.1, 3.7]), and folate (2.1 [1.2, 3.1]), and lower total homocysteine (tHcy) (-1.4 [-1.9, -0.9]) and methylmalonic acid (MMA) (-1.4 [-2.0, -0.8]). Substitution analyses replacing mono- or polyunsaturated with saturated fatty acids demonstrated higher plasma concentrations of riboflavin (5.0 [0.9, 9.3] and 3.3 [1.1, 5.6]), tHcy (2.3 [0.7, 3.8] and 1.3 [0.5, 2.2]), and MMA (2.0 [0.2, 3.9] and 1.7 [0.7, 2.7]), and lower PLP (-2.5 [-5.3, 0.3] and -2.7 [-4.2, -1.2]). In conclusion, a higher protein intake, and replacing saturated with mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, was associated with a more favourable metabolic phenotype regarding metabolites associated with CVD risk.
Residents' Perceptions towards The Impacts of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

The aim of this paper is to examine the host residents' perceptions towards the 2008 Beijing Olympics and its impacts. A scale comprising 20 impact items with four factors, namely: social-psychological impacts; urban development impacts; economic development impacts; and social life impacts was developed. The majority of local respondents perceived the impacts of the Olympic Games very positively, particularly with those related to the social-psychological, urban development, and economic development factors. Residents' perceptions towards some social life impacts (e.g. inconvenience caused by increased traffic congestion, overcrowding, and higher prices) were mixed. Based on their different social representations (i.e. perceptions towards the impacts of the Olympic Games), residents were classified into two groups: 'favourers' and 'ambivalents'. It was noted that residents' political self-identification (attitudes about government performance), their preference of more tourism development, and personal tourism industry work experience were the three most significant factors that influenced residents' perceptions towards the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Consumers purchase intention in live-streaming e-commerce: A consumption value perspective and the role of streamer popularity

The rapid development of live-streaming e-commerce has driven billions of sales revenues and made customers’ purchase intention a life-and-death issue for sellers. This study examines the influencing factors of customers’ purchase intention from a value perspective by adopting and extending the Theory of Consumption Values (TCV). We also incorporated streamer popularity as a moderating variable to reveal its significant impact on live-streaming e-commerce. This study collected 457 valid online questionnaires from Chinese live-streaming e-commerce users. Our findings show that five of six consumption values, namely functional, social, emotional, conditional, and self-gratification value, are significant drivers of purchase intention. In addition, streamer popularity has strengthened the influence of functional, social, emotional, and self-gratification value on purchase intention. This study deepens the current understanding of live-streaming and customer value research by establishing and validating a comprehensive research model, and reveals the decisive role of multi-dimensional value and streamer popularity in live-streaming industry. The research findings could guide live-streaming merchants to increase sales by reallocating their resources to different consumption values and optimising their investment strategy in popular streamers.
Genetic and environmental influence on alcohol intent and alcohol sips among U.S. children–Effects across sex, race, and ethnicity

Introduction Alcohol intent (the susceptibility to initiating alcohol use) and alcohol sips (the initiation of alcohol) in youth are a multifactorial puzzle with many components. This research aims to examine the connection between genetic and environmental factors across sex, race and ethnicity. Methods Data was obtained from the twin hub of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study at baseline (2016–2018). Variance component models were conducted to dissect the additive genetic (A), common (C) and unique environmental (E) effects on alcohol traits. The proportion of the total alcohol phenotypic variation attributable to additive genetic factors is reported as heritability (h2). Results The sample (n = 1,772) included an approximately equal male-female distribution. The 886 same-sex twin pairs were 60.4% dizygotic (DZ), 39.6% monozygotic (MZ), 65.4% non-Hispanic Whites, 13.9% non-Hispanic Blacks, 10.8% of Hispanics with a mean age of 121.2 months. Overall, genetic predisposition was moderate for alcohol intent (h2 = 28%, p = .006) and low for alcohol initiation (h2 = 4%, p = 0.83). Hispanics (h2 = 53%, p < .0001) and Blacks (h2 = 48%, p < .0001) demonstrated higher alcohol intent due to additive genetic factors than Whites (h2 = 34%, p < .0001). Common environmental factors explained more variation in alcohol sips in females (c2 = 63%, p = .001) than in males (c2 = 55%, p = .003). Unique environmental factors largely attributed to alcohol intent, while common environmental factors explained the substantial variation in alcohol initiation. Conclusion Sex and racial/ethnic disparities in genetic and environmental risk factors for susceptibility to alcohol initiation can lead to significant health disparities. Certain populations may be at greater risk for alcohol use due to their genetic and ecological factors at an early age.
DRD3 Predicts Cognitive Impairment and Anxiety in Parkinson’s Disease: Susceptibility and Protective Effects

Background: A possible genetic contribution of dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) to cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease (PD) has yet to be investigated. Objective: To explore the effects of rs6280 (Ser9Gly) genotype on PD patients’ cognitive performance and to clarify possible interactions with psychopathology. Methods: Two hundred and fifty-three consecutive PD patients underwent neurological and neuropsychological evaluations, which included: Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Hoehn & Yahr scale (H&Y), Dementia Rating Scale-2 (DRS-2), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). rs6280 polymorphism was genotyped for all PD patients and for 270 ethnically matched healthy volunteers (HC). Non-parametric group comparisons and logistic regressions were used for data analyses. Results: rs6280 genotype did not differ between PD and HC groups. PD patients with rs6280 CC genotype had more impaired cognitive performance (i.e., <1st percentile of demographically adjusted norms) on DRS-2 subscales Initiation/Perseveration and Construction than those with TT genotype. These associations remained statistically significant when other covariates (e.g., demographic features, disease duration, severity of motor symptoms in OFF and ON states, anti-parkinsonian medication, and psychopathology symptoms) were taken into consideration. PD patients with rs6280 TC had less anxiety (i.e., HADS Anxiety≥11) than those with TT (p = 0.012). This association was also independent of other covariates. Conclusions: Study findings suggest that rs6280 CC genotype predisposes to executive dysfunction and visuoconstructional deficits, whereas the heterozygous genotype protects from anxiety in PD. These effects do not appear to be dependent of one another. rs6280 is not a genotypic susceptibility factor for PD.
Using the Simplex Method for a Type of Allocation Problems

In this study we discuss the use of the simplex method to solve allocation problems whose flow matrices are doubly stochastic. Although these problems can be solved via a 0 - 1 integer programming method, H. W. Kuhn [1] suggested the use of linear programming in addition to the Hungarian method. Specifically, we use the existence theorem of the solution along with partially total unimodularity and nonnegativeness of the incidence matrix to prove that the simplex method facilitates solving these problems. We also provide insights as to how a partition including a particular unit may be obtained.
Cumulative Incidence, Risk Factors, and Overall Survival of Disease Recurrence after Curative Resection of Stage II–III Colorectal Cancer: A Population-based Study

Abstract Real-world data are necessitated to counsel patients about the risk for recurrent disease after curative treatment of colorectal cancer. This study provided a population-based overview of the epidemiology of recurrent disease in patients with surgically resected stage II/III colorectal cancer. Patients diagnosed with stage II/III primary colorectal cancer between July and December 2015 were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (N = 3,762). Cumulative incidence of recurrent disease was estimated, and multivariable competing risk regression was used to identify risk factors for recurrent disease in patients with primary colon and rectal cancer. Moreover, overall survival (OS) after diagnosis of recurrent colorectal cancer was estimated. Median clinical follow-up was 58 months (Q1–Q3: 22–62). Five-year cumulative incidence of recurrent disease was 21.6% [95% confidence interval (CI): 20.0–23.2] and 30.0% (95% CI: 28.3–33.5) for patients with primary colon and rectal cancer, respectively. Stage III disease and incomplete resection margin in patients with primary colon cancer and extramural vascular invasion in patients with primary rectal cancer were strongly (HR ≥ 2) associated with recurrent disease. Median OS of patients with distant, locoregional, or the synchronous combination of distant and locoregional recurrent disease was 29, 27, and 13 months, respectively (P < 0.001). Patients with distant recurrences limited to liver or lung showed a median OS of 46 and 48 months, respectively. The incidence of recurrent disease was higher in patients with rectal cancer than in patients with colon cancer, predominantly due to higher rates of distant recurrences. OS after recurrent disease was impaired, but subgroups of patients diagnosed with recurrent disease limited to one site showed statistically significantly longer OS. Significance: Population-based data on recurrent colorectal cancer are rare, but crucial for counseling patients and their physicians. This large nationwide, population-based study provides an up-to-date overview of the epidemiology of recurrent disease in patients with stage II and III primary colon and rectal cancer treated with surgical resection.
Cancer-associated Fibroblast–specific Expression of the Matricellular Protein CCN1 Coordinates Neovascularization and Stroma Deposition in Melanoma Metastasis

Abstract Melanoma is the leading cause of skin cancer–related death. As prognosis of patients with melanoma remains problematic, identification of new therapeutic targets remains essential. Matricellular proteins are nonstructural extracellular matrix proteins. They are secreted into the tumor microenvironment to coordinate behavior among different cell types, yet their contribution to melanoma is underinvestigated. Examples of matricellular proteins include those comprising the CCN family. The CCN family member, CCN1, is highly proangiogenic. Herein, we show that, in human patients with melanoma, although found in several tumor cell types, CCN1 is highly expressed by a subset of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) in patients with melanoma and this expression correlates positively with expression of proangiogenic genes and progressive disease/resistance to anti-PD1 checkpoint inhibitors. Consistent with these observations, in a syngeneic C57BL6 mouse model of melanoma, loss of CCN1 expression from Col1A2-Cre-, herein identified as “universal,” fibroblasts, impaired metastasis of subcutaneously injected B16F10 tumor cells to lung, concomitant with disrupted neovascularization and collagen organization. Disruption of the extracellular matrix in the loss of CCN1 was validated using a novel artificial intelligence–based image analysis platform that revealed significantly decreased phenotypic fibrosis and composite morphometric collagen scores. As drug resistance is linked to matrix deposition and neoangiogenesis, these data suggest that CCN1, due to its multifaceted role, may represent a novel therapeutic target for drug-resistant melanoma. Our data further emphasize the essential role that cancer-associated, (universal) Col1A2-Cre-fibroblasts and extracellular matrix remodeling play in coordinating behavior among different cell types within the tumor microenvironment. Significance: In human patients, the expression of proangiogenic matricellular protein CCN1 in CAFs correlates positively with expression of stroma and angiogenic markers and progressive disease/resistance to checkpoint inhibitor therapy. In an animal model, loss of CCN1 from CAFs impaired metastasis of melanoma cells, neovascularization, and collagen deposition, emphasizing that CAFs coordinate cellular behavior in a tumor microenvironment and that CCN1 may be a novel target.