Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Shift Work on Sleep and the Quality of Life of Healthcare Workers in a Tertiary Hospital, Saudi Arabia

Background: Shift work is critical in today’s industrialized economy, particularly in healthcare, and public safety. We conducted this study to evaluate the impact of shift working on the quality of life and sleep among healthcare workers in a tertiary healthcare institution in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A quantitative observational analytic cross-sectional study targeted Healthcare Workers (HCWs) at Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC). The participants were in two groups, shift working and non-shift working HCWs. The data was collected using three well-known and validated questionnaires, the PHQ4, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Results: A total of 146 healthcare workers participated, of them, 74.66% were females, 64.38% non-Saudi, 69.18% were nurses, and 68.49% were shift workers. The prevalence of anxiety and depression as measured by the PHQ-4 was 12.3%, and 14.4%, respectively. The overall mean (±SD) global PSQI score was 5.69(±3.53), indicating poor sleep quality. According to the EES scale, severe sleepiness was found among 1.4% of the participants, 2.7% have moderate sleepiness, while 8.9% have mild sleepiness. The results revealed that there were no significant differences between shift workers and no shift workers in terms of the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and other studied comorbidities, except for the total score of ESS, where the mean score was higher among no shift workers at 7.13(±5.22) vs. 4.94(±3.54) in the shift workers group, with a p-value of 0.012. Conclusion: Anxiety and depression were prevalent to some extent among the studied healthcare workers, this is in addition to the poor sleep quality they showed, and all of this did not differ significantly according to if they are shift or non-shift workers.
Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Molecular Modeling Studies of New 8-methyl-4-oxo-1,4-dihydroquinoline-3-carbohydrazides as Potential Anti-HIV Agents

Background The development of a highly safe and potent scaffold is a significant challenge in anti-HIV drug discovery. Objectives This study aimed at developing a novel series of anti-HIV agents based on HIV integrase inhibitor pharmacophores. Methods A novel series of 8-methyl-4-oxo-1,4-dihydroquinoline-3-carbohydrazide derivatives featuring various substituted benzoyl and N-phenyl carboxamide and carbothioamide moieties were designed and synthesized. Results According to the biological evaluation, all the developed compounds were effective against HIV at concentrations lower than 150 µM, associated with no significant cytotoxicity (CC50 > 500 µM). Conclusions Compound 8b, possessing a 4-fluorobenzoyl group, was the most potent compound, with an EC50 of 75 µM. Docking studies revealed that the binding modes of designed compounds are similar to the known HIV integrase inhibitors.
Long‐term daily oral administration of intestinal permeation enhancers is safe and effective in mice

Abstract Although protein drugs are powerful biologic therapeutics, they cannot be delivered orally because their large size and hydrophilicity limit their absorption across the intestinal epithelium. One potential solution is the incorporation of permeation enhancers into oral protein formulations; however, few have advanced clinically due to toxicity concerns surrounding chronic use. To better understand these concerns, we conducted a 30‐day longitudinal study of daily oral permeation enhancer use in mice and resultant effects on intestinal health. Specifically, we investigated three permeation enhancers: sodium caprate (C10), an industry standard, as well as 1‐phenylpiperazine (PPZ) and sodium deoxycholate (SDC). Over 30 days of treatment, all mice gained weight, and none required removal from the study due to poor health. Furthermore, intestinal permeability did not increase following chronic use. We also quantified the gene expression of four tight junction proteins (claudin 2, claudin 3, ZO‐1, and JAM‐A). Significant differences in gene expression between untreated and permeation enhancer‐treated mice were found, but these varied between treatment groups, with most differences resolving after a 1‐week washout period. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed no observable differences in protein localization or villus architecture between treated and untreated mice. Overall, PPZ and SDC performed comparably to C10, one of the most clinically advanced enhancers, and results suggest that the chronic use of some permeation enhancers may be therapeutically viable from a safety standpoint.
Under-five Nutritional Status and its Relationship with Household Dietary Diversity and Food Security among the Dayak Communities in Sarawak, Malaysia

Background: Malnutrition among under-five children is one of the paramount public health concerns in the country. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the relationship between under-five nutritional status and household dietary diversity (HDD) and household food security (HFS). Methods: In this cross-sectional study analysed 808 under-five children’s data from 50 villages in five divisions of Sarawak using a multistage cluster sampling technique. Data were collected by face-to-face interview using interviewer-administered questionnaires. WHO Anthro version 3.2. 2 was used for anthropometric, and IBM SPSS version 22.0 was used for multivariate data analysis. Results: Multivariate analysis showed that children with low HDD were 1.68 times more likely to be stunted than those with high HDD. Children from households with food insecurity but without hunger were 3.86 times and with hunger were 4.02 times likely to be wasted in the last three months and were almost six times more likely to stunted at the same time. The likelihood of being underweight was 2.86 times more likely to occur in households with food insecurity without hunger and 4.89 times in food insecurity with hunger households. In the past 12 months, children from households with food insecurity with hunger were 8.56 times and four times more likely to be stunted with food insecurity without hunger. Underweight children had twice the odds of occurring in households with food insecurity without hunger compared with food secured households. HFS in the last three months had a significant association with wasting, stunting and underweight of the children, while HFS in the last 12 months was associated with stunting and underweight children. Conclusion: Low HDD had resulted in stunting, and food insecurity had resulted in wasting, stunting and underweight in under-five Dayak children in rural areas of Sarawak. A food-based intervention programme should be undertaken for malnourished children. Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2021; 47(2): 127-135
Fast finite-time tracking consensus with applications on multiple servo motors

This paper focuses on the fast finite-time tracking consensus for uncertain nonlinear multi-agent systems. By gracefully combining the hierarchical decomposition, adding a barrier power integrator and disturbance compensation techniques, a new adaptive fast finite-time controller is proposed. Compared with the existing works, the proposed method has several distinguishing features: 1) It can achieve fast finite-time convergence with full state constraints; 2) It can deal with some fully unknown nonlinearities and state-dependent disturbances. Moreover, the nonlinearities can be related with the states of all the followers; 3) The input of the leader is not required to be zero, meaning a broad class of references signals can be generated; 4) The controller is computationally simply and ready to be implemented. No fuzzy logic/neural networks are needed. Applications of the proposed method on multiple servo motors are also studied, which verifies the advantages over the existing methods.
Determining the drivers of earnings management among municipal enterprises: Evidence from Germany

IMPACT Financial statements should provide useful information for stakeholders to assess the profitability and financial stability of both private and public enterprises. However, using the discretionary scope within accounting rules in a strategic sense is common among managers of private corporations and stakeholders are well aware of that. The article analyses indicators of earnings management in the financial statements of municipally-owned enterprises in Germany between 1998 and 2014. With regard to the results, stakeholders of public enterprises might take a more critical perspective on the financial statements of municipal enterprises, especially when these are highly indebted and ownership is dispersed. ABSTRACT Although earnings management is one of the most extensively covered topics in empirical accounting research, there are few studies of publicly-owned enterprises in Europe to date. This article aims closes this gap by using annual financial statement data from 11,721 German municipal enterprises from 1998–2014 to investigate various structural determinants of earnings management. Firm size and leverage were found to be positively related to earnings management. Concerning corporate governance, public enterprises with a more fragmented ownership structure were found to be more likely to manipulate their financial statements, while such practices are less prevalent in enterprises operating under German commercial law. Finally, the inclusion of private investors did not seem to have a significant effect on earnings management.
Bacterial Community and Genomic Analysis of Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Isolates from the Environment of a Health Care Facility in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia

The escalating transmission of hospital-acquired infections, especially those due to antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, is a major health challenge worldwide. In this study, a culturomic analysis of bacterial community in a tertiary care hospital in the western region of Saudi Arabia is performed using environmental samples. The genome sequencing of four Acinetobacter baumannii was performed on isolates recovered from an intensive care unit (ICU) environment and clinical samples. A total of 361 bacterial isolates from surface and air samples were identified by MALDI-TOF technique or 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The isolates were classified into 70 distinct species, including ESKAPE pathogens. Resistance in Gram-positive isolates was mainly found to be against benzylpenicillin, azithromycin, ampicillin, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Carbapenem- and multidrug-resistant isolates of A. baumannii and Klebsiella pneumonia were found on the ICU surfaces. Genome sequencing revealed that the carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii isolate from ICU environment was linked with those of clinical origin. The isolate Ab133-HEnv was classified as a novel sequence type (ST2528) based on a new allele of Oxf_gdhB-286. Three beta-lactam-antibiotic-resistance genes, blaADC-25, blaOXA-23, and blaOXA-66, were found in most of the analyzed genomes. Collectively, the results of this study highlight the spread of antimicrobial-resistant nosocomial pathogens in a health care facility in Saudi Arabia.
A Low Cost Outdoor Air Pollution Monitoring Device With Power Controlled Built-In PM Sensor

Recent advances in wireless communication technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) have provided an opportunity for mass deployment of low cost sensor nodes to measure air pollution in real-time over a large geographical area. This article presents the design of a low cost, innovative Air Pollution Monitoring Device (APMD) along with the evaluation of its advanced features. An on-board Particulate Matter (PM) sensor is designed to measure PM2.5 and PM10. APMD additionally has electrochemical sensors to measure carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, besides temperature and humidity sensors. The node is equipped with a solar energy harvesting unit and a rechargeable battery as a backup to power up the module. By utilizing an on-board GPS subsystem, APMD packs all these gathered air quality data in a frame with physical location, time, and date, and sends them to a cloud server. The node can communicate through WiFi and NB-IoT connectivity. For validating the quality of sensing, the developed APMD was co-located with an accurate reference sensor node and a series of field data were collected over seven days. In a fully ON state, the on-board PM sensor saves up to 94% energy while maintaining root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.58 for PM2.5 and 2.5 for PM10. A power control mechanism is also applied on the PM sensor to control the speed of the fan by applying a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal at the switch connected to the power supply of fan. At 100 ms switching period with 30% duty cycle, the on-board PM sensor is 97% energy efficient compared to the commercial sensor, while maintaining sensing error (RMSE) as low as 0.7 for PM2.5 and 2.7 for PM10. Our outdoor deployment studies demonstrate that the designed APMD is 90.8% more power efficient than the reference setup with significantly higher coverage range, while maintaining an acceptable range of sensing error.
Ergot in Canadian cereals – relevance, occurrence, and current status

Abstract Ergot is a fungal disease that occurs on cereals and grasses, including rye, oat, wheat, and barley. The ergot pathogen, Claviceps purpurea, infects the floret, and as infection progresses, it replaces individual kernels, appearing on the head as darkly coloured fungal bodies called sclerotia. Ergot is a grain-grading factor in Canada and can affect grain quality and value, as well as safety due to production of ergot alkaloids. Testing of durum fortified with ergot sclerotia showed that the presence of sclerotia resulted in black specks in semolina and pasta, but had no impact on milling performance or end-product quality. Surveillance performed as part of the Canadian Grain Commission’s annual Harvest Sample and Cargo Monitoring Programs provided insights into ergot incidence and severity in different grains, growing locations, and years, as well as the presence of ergot alkaloids. Analysis of more than 230 000 Harvest Sample Program grain samples from western Canada across 25 years showed the highest ergot incidence and severity occurred in rye, followed by bread and durum wheat, and then barley and oats. Ergot incidence and severity varied annually, but only incidence increased over time. Analyses of bulk grain shipments indicated that the presence of ergot alkaloids reflected the disease incidence observed in the harvest samples (median ergot alkaloid concentrations in wheat and durum > oats and barley). Data on ergot alkaloids from the Cargo Monitoring Program also showed that the Canadian bulk grain-handling system mitigated the variability in annual ergot incidence and severity observed in harvest samples.
Strong dynamic interactions between multi-terminal DC network and AC power systems caused by open-loop modal coupling

This study examines the AC/DC dynamic interactions in an AC power system with an integrated multi-terminal DC network (MTDC) based on a closed-loop interconnected model of the MTDC/AC power system, wherein, the MTDC and the AC system are modelled as two interconnected open-loop subsystems. Analysis in this study indicates that when a complex pole of the open-loop MTDC subsystem is close to an electromechanical oscillation mode (EOM) of concern in the open-loop AC subsystem on the complex plane, this open-loop modal coupling may cause strong dynamic interactions between the MTDC and the AC system. It is very likely that when the open-loop modal coupling occurs, the small-signal stability of the MTDC/AC power system may considerably degrade. In this study, New England test system integrated with an MTDC for wind power transmission is used to demonstrate and validate analysis and conclusions made. Both the master-slave control and the DC voltage droop control for the MTDC are examined. Study cases show that the open-loop modal coupling caused considerable damping degradation of EOM of concern, imposing serious threat to power system small-signal stability.
A work-based walking program for older women

With the aging workforce, the workplace is a unique environment to implement a physical activity (PA) program for older adults. PURPOSE: To investigate the impact of a work-based internet-delivered PA program on older female elementary school teachers. METHODS: A 25-week PA program was delivered via a secure web site. The site consisted of six elements: education, PA tracking logs and graphs, individualized PA goals, team standings, progression along a US trail, and discussion board. Employees logged onto the site daily, recorded steps and non-walking (i.e. swimming) PA. Non-walking PA was converted to steps and combined with daily steps. Participants wore a pedometer daily and entered steps and other activity on the program website. Body Mass Index (BMI), percent body fat (BF), blood pressure (BP) and resting heart rate (HR) were also collected. RESULTS: 22 women [11 intervention (53.7 yrs.) and 11 control (54.1 yrs.)] participated. The average number of steps among intervention participants increased. There was a significant change in both measures of body composition. BMI and BF decreased slightly. There was no difference in BP or HR. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate a work-based PA program can be a useful tool to improve the activity level and body composition of older women.
A prediction study of IL-18 and IFN-γ in glucocorticoid treatment response in infants and young children with severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia

Background In infants and young children, the clinical decision to apply glucocorticoids to severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (SMPP) is more an empirical choice with reference to clinical symptoms, but the effect is not satisfying. We aimed to explore and identify early predictive indicators of ideal response to glucocorticoids treatment in SMPP in infants and young children. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the data of 59 patients, which met the age range and diagnostic criteria, admitted to Department of Pediatrics, the Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University, from January to December 2017. Patients were divided into a glucocorticoid treatment group and a normal treatment group according to whether glucocorticoid treatment was used, and the difference in therapeutic effectiveness was compared between two groups. The glucocorticoid treatment group was further subdivided into effective versus ineffective treatment groups dependent on the difference of glucocorticoid treatment effect in main clinical symptoms improvement. We obtained the test value of biomarkers by ELISA, and identified several specific indicators with significantly different expressions in the early stage by independent sample t-tests and calculated their cut-off values by ROC curve. Results Thirty-one SMPP patients who received glucocorticoid treatment were divided into effective and ineffective treatment groups according to the clinical improvements shown on different days of glucocorticoid use. The expression of two markers, interleukin-18 (IL-18) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ), were significantly different in cases showing improvement in the early stage of SMPP (P<0.05), and the cut-off values for IL-18 (218.19 pg/mL, AUC =0.581, sensitivity =0.909, 1-specificity =0.786) and IFN-γ (11.24 pg/mL, AUC =0.566, sensitivity =0.905, 1-specificity =0.795) were identified. Conclusions The expressions of IL-18 and IFN-γ in the early stage of SMPP might suggest their predictive effect of early application of glucocorticoid for effective treatment of SMPP in infants and young children. Further study with larger sample size will be carried on in the future.
Design of Low Cost Real-Time Audience Adaptive Digital Signage using Haar Cascade Facial Measures

Digital signage is becoming part of daily life across a wide range of visual advertisements segments market used in stations, hotels, retail stores, hotels, etc. The current digital signage system used in market is generally works on limited user interactivity with static contents. In this paper, a new approach is proposed using computer vision based dynamic audience adaptive cost-effective digital signage system. The proposed design uses the Camera attached Raspberry Pi Open source platform to employ the real-time audience interaction using computer vision algorithms to extract facial features of the audience. The real-time facial features are extracted using Haar Cascade algorithm which are used for audience gender specific rendering of dynamic digital signage content. The audience facial characterization using Haar Cascade is evaluated on the FERET database with 95% accuracy for gender classification. The proposed system, developed and evaluated with male and female audiences in real-life environments camera embedded raspberry pi with good level of accuracy.
Associations between Autoimmunity and Depression: Serum IL-6 and IL-17 Have Directly Impact on the HAMD Scores in Patients with First-Episode Depressive Disorder

Objective The study is aimed at evaluating the immune-activation state before and after treatment in patients with first-episode depressive disorder (FDD) with evaluating the ILs and CRP levels and further clarifying the association between autoimmunity and the etiology and pathogenesis of FDD. Methods We designed a case-control study. FDD patients and healthy subjects were enrolled in the FDD group and control group. Serum IL-6, IL-17, and CRP were measured before and after selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) therapy, as well as Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAMD) and life event scale (LES) scores. The correlations between IL-6 and IL-17 and HAMD and LES scores were analysed, and multiple linear regression analysis was performed for HAMD score. Results 40 FDD patients and 40 healthy subjects were included in the FDD and control group from October 2009 to September 2012. Before treatment, the IL-6 (28.99 ± 5.51, P < 0.001) and IL-17 (41.15 ± 4.80, P < 0.001) in the FDD group were significantly higher than the control group (16.84 ± 3.78 and 21.68 ± 3.72, respectively). The C-reactive protein (CRP) level in two groups was comparable (P = 0.879). After treatment, the IL-6 (18.69 ± 5.07, P < 0.001) and IL-17 (30.67 ± 3.47, P < 0.001) levels and HAMD scores (6.73 ± 4.15) in the FDD group were significantly decreased than before treatment (P < 0.001, respectively). CRP level was slightly increased after treatment without statistically significant (P = 0.239). The HAMD score correlated with IL-6 (r = 0.638, P < 0.001) and IL-17 (r = 0.927, P < 0.001); the total LES and negative LES also correlated with IL-6 (r = 0.226, P < 0.05) (r = 0.366, P <0.001) and IL-17 (r = 0.348, P < 0.001) (r = 0.493, P < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that both of the IL-6 and IL-17 had direct impact on HAMD score. Conclusion The autoimmunity status was overactivated in FDD patients, and serum IL-6 and IL-17 levels had direct impact on the HAMD score. Patients who experienced more negative life events had higher activation level of autoimmunity status and HAMD scores, and serum IL-6 and IL-17 levels can be decreased by SSRI treatment.