Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association between frequency of mass media exposure and maternal health care service utilization among women in sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for tailored health communication and education

Introduction Awareness creation through mass media has the potential to promoted positive behaviors and discourage negative health-related behaviors through direct and indirect pathways. In this study, we examined the association between exposure to mass media and maternal health care services utilization among women in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods We used data from the recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted between 2010 and 2020. A total of 28 countries with a survey dataset within 2010–2020 were included in our study. We included 199,146 women who had ever had a pregnancy in the last five years preceding the survey. Weighting was applied. Multilevel mixed-effect models were considered to account for cluster-level variations and correct inferences. Fixed and random effects estimates were reported. Adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to present the results. Also, we presented the random intercept variations, intraclass correlation coefficient, and model fitness. Results Women who listened to radio at least once every week (aOR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.07,1.15) were more likely to attend ANC as against those who did not listen to radio at all. Also, women who watched television at least once a week (aOR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.33,1.46) were more likely to attend ANC compared to those who did not watch television at all. Women who read newspaper/magazine at least once a week (aOR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.14,1.41); listened to radio at least once a week (aOR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.07,1.17); and watched television at least once a week (aOR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.24,1.40), were more likely to utilize SBA than those who did not read newspaper/magazine; listen to radio; and watch television at all. Women who read newspaper/magazine at least once a week (aOR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.27,1.45); listened to radio at least once a week (aOR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.32,1.42); and watched television at least once a week (aOR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.32,1.47) were more likely to utilize PNC compared to those who did not. Conclusions The study identified a strong positive relationship between mass media exposure and maternal health care services utilization. Specifically, exposure to radio and television were positively associated with ANC visitations. Moreover, exposure to mass media (newspaper/magazine, radio and television) were positively associated with SBA and PNC utilization. Policymakers and other non-governmental organizations should continuously invest resources in the design and implementation of maternal health service utilization educational programs through all the mass media channels to scale up women’s maternal health service services utilization uptake in sub-Saharan Africa.
A transcriptome-wide association study of uterine fibroids to identify potential genetic markers and toxic chemicals

Uterine fibroid is one of the most prevalent benign tumors in women, with high socioeconomic costs. Although genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several loci associated with uterine fibroid risks, they could not successfully interpret the biological effects of genomic variants at the gene expression levels. To prioritize uterine fibroid susceptibility genes that are biologically interpretable, we conducted a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) by integrating GWAS data of uterine fibroid and expression quantitative loci data. We identified nine significant TWAS genes including two novel genes, RP11-282O18.3 and KBTBD7, which may be causal genes for uterine fibroid. We conducted functional enrichment network analyses using the TWAS results to investigate the biological pathways in which the overall TWAS genes were involved. The results demonstrated the immune system process to be a key pathway in uterine fibroid pathogenesis. Finally, we carried out chemical–gene interaction analyses using the TWAS results and the comparative toxicogenomics database to determine the potential risk chemicals for uterine fibroid. We identified five toxic chemicals that were significantly associated with uterine fibroid TWAS genes, suggesting that they may be implicated in the pathogenesis of uterine fibroid. In this study, we performed an integrative analysis covering the broad application of bioinformatics approaches. Our study may provide a deeper understanding of uterine fibroid etiologies and informative notifications about potential risk chemicals for uterine fibroid.
Iron deficiency and common neurodevelopmental disorders—A scoping review

Background A wealth of human and experimental studies document a causal and aggravating role of iron deficiency in neurodevelopmental disorders. While pre-, peri-, and early postnatal iron deficiency sets the stage for the risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders, iron deficiency acquired at later ages aggravates pre-existing neurodevelopmental disorders. Yet, the association of iron deficiency and neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and adolescence has not yet been explored comprehensively. In this scoping review, we investigate 1) the association of iron deficiency in children and adolescents with the most frequent neurodevelopmental disorders, ADHD, ASD, and FASD, and 2) whether iron supplementation improves outcomes in these disorders. Method Scoping review of studies published between 1994 and 2021 using “iron deficiency / iron deficiency anemia” AND “ADHD” OR “autism” OR “FASD” in four biomedical databases. The main inclusion criterion was that articles needed to have quantitative determination of iron status at any postnatal age with primary iron markers such as serum ferritin being reported in association with ADHD, ASD, or FASD. Results For ADHD, 22/30 studies and 4/4 systematic reviews showed an association of ADHD occurrence or severity with iron deficiency; 6/6 treatment studies including 2 randomized controlled trials demonstrated positive effects of iron supplementation. For ASD, 3/6 studies showed an association with iron deficiency, while 3/6 and 1/1 systematic literature review did not; 4 studies showed a variety of prevalence rates of iron deficiency in ASD populations; 1 randomized controlled trial found no positive effect of iron supplementation on behavioural symptoms of ASD. For FASD, 2/2 studies showed an association of iron deficiency with growth retardation in infants and children with prenatal alcohol exposure. Conclusion Evidence in favor of screening for iron deficiency and using iron supplementation for pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders comes primarily from ADHD studies and needs to be further investigated for ASD and FASD. Further analysis of study methodologies employed and populations investigated is needed to compare studies against each other and further substantiate the evidence created.
Validating the diagnostic performance of MUAC in screening moderate acute malnutrition and developing an optimal cut-off for under five children of different regions in Ethiopia

Background Valid and reliable anthropometric indicator is useful for early detection and treatment for under nutrition. Although, mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) is used for screening of children with moderate acute malnutrition in Ethiopia, its performance for the different ethnic groups has not been evaluated. Objective To determine the diagnostic performance of MUAC for determination of moderate wasting among children of different ethnic background and develop optimal cut-off. Methods A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among under five children of the three regions namely: Somalia, Amhara and Gambella Regions. The diagnostic performance of MUAC was validated using weight for height Z-score< -2 as a gold standard binary classifier. Test variable is mid upper arm circumference (MUAC< 12.5cm) and weight for height Z-Score (WHZ) is standard variable. ROC analysis performed based on the assumptions of MUAC value lower the cut-off point indicates the undernutrition. Area under the curve and validity measures (sensitivity and specificity) was generated as parameter estimated. The results were presented using tables and ROC curves. Results Except in the Gambella region, there was fair agreement between MUC<12.5cm and Weight for Height Z score<-2 in diagnosing wasting in Somali (Sensitivity = 29.3%, Kappa = 0.325, P<0.001) and in Gambella regions (Sensitivity = 16.7%, Kappa = 0.19, P<0.001). In Amhara region there was fair agreement between the two measures in diagnosing moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) (Sensitivity = 16%, Kappa = 0.216). For the Overall sample, the sensitivity of MUAC<12.5cm was 20.6% (Kappa = 0.245, P<0.001. Based on ROC analysis, the optimal cutoff value of MUAC for diagnosing moderate acute malnutrition for the two regions namely for Gambella and Amhara was 13.85cm with sensitivity of 0.99 and 1.00, respectively. However, for Somali Region the optimal cut was 13.75cm (Sensitivity = 0.98 cm and specificity = 0.71). Conclusion Findings revealed that the inter reliability of measurement for MUAC< 12.5cm and WHZ<-2 for diagnosing MAM was low among different ethnic groups with the cut-off varying in each region. The existing cutoff point is less sensitive for diagnosis of MAM. As Ethiopia is home of diverse ethnic groups with different body frame and environmental conditions, the new cut off points developed for each region recommended to be used for screening moderate acute malnutrition to prevent relapse of MAM and reduce chronic malnutrition.
Capture heats up sharks

Abstract Catch-and-release fishing is an important component of ecotourism industries and scientific research worldwide, but its total impact on animal physiology, health and survival is understudied for many species of fishes, particularly sharks. We combined biologging and blood chemistry to explore how this fisheries interaction influenced the physiology of two widely distributed, highly migratory shark species: the blue shark (Prionace glauca) and the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier). Nineteen sharks were caught by drum line or rod-and-reel angling; subcutaneous body temperature measurements were taken immediately upon capture, with six individuals also providing subsequent subcutaneous body temperature measurements via biologging as they swam freely for several hours post-release. We found that short-term capture caused shark body temperature to increase significantly and rapidly, with increases of 0.6°C–2.7°C for blue sharks (mean, 1.2 ± 0.6°C) and 0.5°C–0.9°C for tiger sharks (mean, 0.7 ± 0.2°C) and with capture-induced heating rates of blue sharks averaging 0.3°C min−1 but as high as 0.8°C min−1. Blue shark body temperature was even higher deeper into the white muscle. These heating rates were three to eight times faster than maximum rates encountered by our biologging sharks swimming through thermally stratified waters and faster than most acute heating experiments conducted with ectotherms in laboratory experiments. Biologging data showed that body temperatures underwent gradual decline after release, returning to match water temperatures 10–40 mins post-release. Blood biochemistry showed variable lactate/glucose levels following capture; however, these concentrations were not correlated with the magnitude of body temperature increase, nor with body size or hooking time. These perturbations of the natural state could have immediate and longer-term effects on the welfare and ecology of sharks caught in catch-and-release fisheries and we encourage further study of the broader implications of this reported phenomenon.
Filtrage optimal non-linéaire du signal GPS NAVSTAR en recalage de centrales de navigation

Dans ce memoire, une nouvelle approche au filtrage non-lineaire optimal est utilisee dans le recalage SNI/GPS. Cette methode, appelee Filtarge par resolution particulaire (FP), permet le traitement de modeles non-lineaires sans aucune restriction ou limitation sur la nature des non-linearites ou sur la distribution des bruits de dynamique ou d'observation. Le principe general du FP est de construire une approximation de la probabilite conditionnelle de la variable d'etat a estimer, relativement aux observations, a travers une exploration de l'espace d'etats par des particules aleatoires. En attribuant a chacune des particules un poids, resultat d'une correction de Bayes, on obtient une approximation de cette mesure de probabilite par une mesure ponctuelle dont la precision est directement liee au nombre de particules utilise. L'application de cette nouvelle technique de filtrage au couplage serre entre inertie et GPS a permis l'obtention de resultats qui excedent en performance les methodes appliquees jusqu'ici.
Do comets evolve into asteroids - Evidence from physical studies

Physical observations of low-activity periodic comets and asteroids in distant and peculiar orbits are reviewed. In particular, magnitude studies and reflection spectra at visible and infrared wavelengths are discussed. While it may never be possible to prove unambiguously that a cometary nucleus has been observed, the fainter a given comet is, the more likely it is that some light reflected from a solid surface will be observed. Studies of magnitudes obtained by Roemer suggest that at certain periods the nuclei of P/Arend-Rigaux and P/Neujmin 1 may be photometrically resolved. It is shown that this may also be the case for P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, but that it is less likely for P/Tempel 2. At times of minimum activity, the optical spectra of P/Arend-Rigaux and P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 resemble those of RD-type asteroids like 944 Hidalgo. In order to progress with physical studies of cometary nuclei, an increased effort should be made to obtain magnitudes and other physical observations of comets during stages of minimal activity.
CMB acoustic scale in the entropic-like accelerating universe

We consider generalizations of the entropic accelerating universe recently proposed in [D. A. Easson, P. H. Frampton, and G. F. Smoot, Phys. Lett. B 696, 273 (2011). ] and [D. A. Easson, P. H. Frampton, and G. F. Smoot, arXiv:1003.1528. ] and show that their background equations can be made equivalent to a model with a dark energy component with a constant parameter of state ${w}_{X}=\ensuremath{-}1+2\ensuremath{\gamma}/3$, where $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ is related to the coefficients of the new terms in the Friedmann equations. After discussing all the Friedmann equations for an arbitrary $\ensuremath{\gamma}$, we show how to recover the standard scalings for dust and radiation. The acoustic scale ${\ensuremath{\ell}}_{A}$, related to the peak positions in the pattern of the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies, is also computed and yields the stringent bound $|\ensuremath{\gamma}|\ensuremath{\ll}1$. We then argue that future data might be able to distinguish this model from pure $\ensuremath{\Lambda}\mathrm{CDM}$ (corresponding to $\ensuremath{\gamma}=0$).
Effect of magnetism on lattice dynamics in SrFe 2 As 2 using high-resolution inelastic x-ray scattering

Phonons in iron pnictide materials were predicted to show large effects from magnetic ordering that had not been observed, and, indeed, the overall phonon dispersion has been in poor agreement with \textit{ab initio} calculations. By carefully detwinning a sample of SrFe${}_{2}$As${}_{2}$, clear phonon splitting was observed below ${T}_{N}$, allowing the authors to suggest an improved model for the phonon response for both the antiferromagnetically ordered phase below ${T}_{N}$ and the paramagnetic phase above ${T}_{N}$.
DNA in a Dissipative Environment: A Charge Transfer Approach

Conductivity properties of DNA molecule is investigated in a simple, chemically specific approach, that is intimately related to the Su–Schrieffer–Heeger (SSH) model. In the SSH model, the non-diagonal matrix element dependent on intersite displacements is considered and there is a coupling between the charge and lattice deformation along DNA helix. In order to study the evolution of the electrical current flowing through DNA in the presence of external electrical field, the electrical current is directly extracted from the dynamical equations. Ranges of electrical field and hopping constant value are estimated using MLE approach. The model is studied by means of I–V characteristic diagrams and the environmental effects is conducted through a phonon bath using different lengths of DNA. The NDR and quasi-Ohmic regions are observed.
Identification of Parameters by the Distribution of a Maximum Random Variable

Abstract : The distribution of the maximum of a set of independent random variables uniquely determine the distributions of the component random variables under certain conditions. In the univariate case a sufficient condition is roughly that for every two distinct densities f(x) and g(x) in the family of possible densities f(x)/g(x) approaches 0 or infinity as x approaches infinity. Hence, the distribution of max X(i), i = 1, . , n, when X(i) has the distribution N mu sub i, sigma squared sub i uniquely determines mu sub i, squared sub i, i=1, . , n (except for indexing). The identifiability property has been proved for multivariate normal distributions for n = 2 and for every n when all correlations are positive; each component of the vector of maxima consists of the maximum of that component of the n constituent vectors. Inequalities for the probability in the upper right-hand quadrant of the bivariate normal distribution have been developed; these are generalizations of Mills' ratio.
Collinear source of polarization-entangled photon pairs at nondegenerate wavelengths

We report on a simple but highly efficient source of polarization-entangled photon pairs at nondegenerate wavelengths. The fully collinear configuration of the source enables very high coupling efficiency into a single optical mode and allows the use of long nonlinear crystals. With optimized dispersion compensation, it is possible to use a free-running laser diode as pump source and to reach an entanglement fidelity of 99.4% at rates as high as 27000pairs∕s∕mW of pump power.
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF YOUNG STARS IN THE TW HYDRAE ASSOCIATION

We present an analysis of infrared echelle spectra of five stars in the TW Hydrae Association (TWA). We model the Zeeman broadening in four magnetic-sensitive Ti i lines near 2.2 μm and measure the value of the photospheric magnetic field averaged over the surface of each star. To ensure that other broadening mechanisms are properly taken into account, we also inspect several magnetically insensitive CO lines near 2.3 μm and find no excess broadening above that produced by stellar rotation and instrumental broadening, providing confidence in the magnetic interpretation of the width of the Ti i lines. We then utilize our results to test the relationship between stellar magnetic flux and X-ray properties and compare the measured fields with equipartition field values. Finally, we use our results and recent results on a large sample of stars in Taurus to discuss the potential evolution of magnetic field properties between the age of Taurus (∼2 Myr) and the age of TWA (∼10 Myr). We find that the average stellar field strength increases with age; however, the total unsigned magnetic flux decreases as the stars contract onto the main sequence.
Improvement of Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) Algorithm for Measuring Time-series Surface Deformations from Differential SAR Interferograms

Small baseline subset (SBAS) algorithm has been recently developed using an appropriate combination of differential interferograms, which are characterized by a small baseline in order to minimize the spatial decorrelation. This algorithm uses the singular value decomposition (SVD) to measure the time-series surface deformation from the differential interferograms which are not temporally connected. And it mitigates the atmospheric effect in the time-series surface deformation by using spatially low-pass and temporally high-pass filter. Nevertheless, it is not easy to correct the phase unwrapping error of each interferogram and to mitigate the time-varying noise component of the surface deformation from this algorithm due to the assumption of the linear surface deformation in the beginning of the observation. In this paper, we present an improved SBAS technique to complement these problems. Our improved SBAS algorithm uses an iterative approach to minimize the phase unwrapping error of each differential interferogram. This algorithm also uses finite difference method to suppress the time-varying noise component of the surface deformation. We tested our improved SBAS algorithm and evaluated its performance using 26 images of ERS-1/2 data and 21 images of RADARSAT-1 fine beam (F5) data at each different locations. Maximum deformation amount of 40cm in the radar line of sight (LOS) was estimated from ERS-l/2 datasets during about 13 years, whereas 3 cm deformation was estimated from RADARSAT-1 ones during about two years.
Does Global seismic energy release increase? An analysis based on the Lithospheric Seismic Energy Flow Model (LSEFM). The case of mega - earthquakes (M > 9)

In this work the data of the earthquake catalog of the NOAA, National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) are processed in terms of global seismic energy release. The determined Global Cumulative Seismic Energy Release (GCSER) graph as a function of time, is analyzed in the magnitude domain (discrete energy windows). Characteristic components of the analyzed graph are: its accelerated deformation character observed for energy windows lower than the background seismicity (M = 7.0 - 7.5), its lock state that started on 1923 and long seismic quiescence periods that preceded recent mega - earthquakes. The background GCSER value oscillates during the last century with a period of 60 years and with increasing amplitude. The recent (1952 - 2012) 5 mega - earthquakes are closely related to the amplitude increase of the GCSER oscillation. Hence, it is suggested that more mega - earthquakes are probable due to occur in the future. A global mechanism is postulated for the generation of the mega - earthquakes based on the principles of the non-linearity of the earth, the Markovitz wobble and the expanding earth. The determination of the magnitude of the 5 recent mega - earthquakes by the Lithospheric Seismic Energy Flow Model (LSEFM) method indicates that the latter is globally applicable. Key words: Global seismicity, expanding earth, mega - earthquakes, Markowitz wobble, background seismicity, magnitude determination
WMAP9 and the single field models of inflation

Using the latest release from WMAP, I find that for a reasonable number of e-folds the tree-level potential with self coupling power p=3 is now excluded from the 2-sigma region, the axion monodromy model with the power alpha=2/3 is now excluded from the 1-sigma confidence region for N=47 e-folds and for N=61. alpha=2/5 is also excluded from the 2-sigma region for N=61. I also find that since the upper bound on the running has been reduced, a significant abundance of PBHs requires fractional powers of self-coupling in the Hilltop-type model.