bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A network approach to understanding distance learners’ experience of stress and mental distress whilst studying
Authors: Samra Rajvinder , França Alex Bacadini , Lucassen Mathijs F. G. , Waterhouse Philippa
Published: May 2023

Research has shown that learners’ stress and mental distress are linked to poorer academic outcomes. A better understanding of stress and mental distress experiences during study could foster more nuanced course and intervention design which additionally teaches learners how to navigate through to protect their academic performance. The current study draws on data collected via validated self-reported questionnaires completed by final year undergraduate students (n = 318) at a large distance education university. We examined how common features of stress, depression and anxiety link to each other using a network analysis of reported symptoms. The results included findings demonstrating the symptoms with the greatest relative importance to the network. Specifically, these included the stress symptom ‘I found it difficult to relax’ and the depression symptom ‘I was unable to become enthusiastic about anything’. The findings could help institutions design interventions that directly correspond to common features of students’ stress and distress experiences.
Impairment in sleep health in young adults with chronic pain: a modifiable risk factor
Authors: Eissa Mohamed , Bhatia Anuj , Bansal Shikha , Di Renna Tania , McLoone Mary , Stinson Jennifer , Campbell Fiona , Brown Stephen , Sheffe Sarah , Law Yen Shuang , Singh Kawalpreet , Bosma Rachael , Singh Mandeep
Published: May 2023

Background

Impairments in sleep health are associated with the development or worsening of chronic pain. Further, chronic pain can cause sleep health disruption by impacting sleep onset, sleep maintenance, sleep quality, and causing daytime somnolence. However, the association between chronic pain and sleep disturbances in the young adult population is unclear.

Aim

We describe our initial experience in establishing and running a clinic for managing sleep health and chronic pain in young adults. We also describe the prevalence and the pattern of sleep disruption as well as its relationship with self-efficacy in pain management, depression, and quality of life in this cohort.

Methods

After approval from the Institutional Review Ethics board, chart review and data extraction were conducted for patients who presented at the Young Adult Clinic (YAC) at Women’s College Hospital from March 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019.

Results

Medical charts of 55 patients were reviewed with the majority being females (71%). Chronic widespread pain was the most common pain syndrome diagnosed in our patients. Insomnia was the most common sleep-health related diagnosis in our patients. Patients with disorders of sleep were more likely to report lower self-efficacy for managing pain as compared to those with no sleep disorders (p = 0.023) but there was no significant difference between these two groups as regards risk for pain-related catastrophizing.

Conclusion

Impairments in sleep health may be an important modifiable risk factor for alleviating pain in young adults with chronic pain. Sleep disorders should be evaluated and addressed in this population.
Effects of dietary supplementation of Parkia biglobosa pulp on growth performance and physiological status of Clarias gariepinus fingerlings
Authors: Adeniyi Olarinke Victoria , Norman Adenike Senorita , Onojobi Steven
Published: May 2023

Background

The present study investigated the effect of dietary Parkia biglobosa pulp (PBP) on the growth performance and blood profile of mixed sex Clarias gariepinus. The PBP meal was supplemented with the basal diets at 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 or 2.0% and fed to C. gariepinus fingerlings for 12 weeks.

Results

Supplementing the diets of C. gariepinus with 1.0–2.0% PBP enhanced (P < 0.05) the weight gain, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio and reduced (P < 0.05) feed conversion ratio with the highest performance at 2.0% inclusion level, compared to the control diet. The red blood cell counts of the fish fed PBP-supplemented diets did not differ (P > 0.05) from those fed the control diet while the lymphocyte counts was boosted (P < 0.05) with dietary PBP. Dietary supplementation with 1.0–2.0% PBP enhanced (P < 0.05) synthesis of total protein and albumin in the experimental fish while all fish fed PBP-supplemented diets had lower (P < 0.05) levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase.

Conclusions

The present study showed that 1.0–2.0% PBP enhanced growth and nutrient utilization, lymphocytes, serum albumin and total protein and reduced serum liver enzymes, indicating the growth-promoting, immunostimulating and hepatoprotective effects of PBP in C. gariepinus Therefore, supplementation of PBP meal as feed additive in the basal diet of Clarias gariepinus at 2.0% is recommended.
Genetic variability predicting breeding potential of upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) for high temperature tolerance
Authors: Farooq Amjad , Shakeel Amir , Saeed Asif , Farooq Jehanzeb , Rizwan Muhammad , Chattha Waqas Shafqat , Sarwar Ghulam , Ramzan Yasir
Published: May 2023

Background

High temperature stress at peak flowering stage of cotton is a major hindrance for crop potential. This study aimed to increase genetic divergence regarding heat tolerance in newly developed cultivars and hybrids. Fifty cotton genotypes and 40 F1(hybrids) were tested under field conditions following the treatments, viz., high temperature stress and control at peak flowering stage in August and October under April and June sowing, respectively.

Results

The mean squares revealed significant differences among genotypes, treatments, genotype × treatment for relative cell injury, chlorophyll contents, canopy temperature, boll retention and seed cotton yield per plant. The genetic diversity among 50 genotypes was analyzed through cluster analysis and heat susceptibility index (HSI). The heat tolerant genotypes including FH-Noor, NIAB-545, FH-466, FH-Lalazar, FH-458, NIAB-878, IR-NIBGE-8, Weal-AG-Shahkar, and heat sensitive, i.e., CIM-602, Silky-3, FH-326, SLH-12 and FH-442 were hybridized in line × tester fashion to produce F1populations. The breeding materials’ populations (40 F1) revealed higher specific combining ability variances along with dominance variances, decided the non-additive type gene action for all the traits. The best general combining ability effects for most of the traits were displayed by the lines, i.e., FH-Lalazar, NIAB-878 along with testers FH-326 and Silky-3. Specific combining ability effects and better-parent heterosis were showed by the crosses, viz., FH-Lalazar × Silky-3, FH-Lalazar × FH-326, NIAB-878 × Silky-3, and NIAB-878 × FH-326 for seed cotton yield and yield contributing traits under high temperature stress.

Conclusion

Heterosis breeding should be carried out in the presence of non-additive type gene action for all the studied traits. The best combiner parents with better-parent heterosis may be used in crossing program to develop high yielding cultivars, and hybrids for high temperature stress tolerance.
Real-time fire detection algorithms running on small embedded devices based on MobileNetV3 and YOLOv4
Authors: Zheng Hongtao , Duan Junchen , Dong Yu , Liu Yan
Published: May 2023

Aim

Fires are a serious threat to people’s lives and property. Detecting fires quickly and effectively and extinguishing them in the nascent stage is an effective way to reduce fire hazards. Currently, deep learning-based fire detection algorithms are usually deployed on the PC side.

Methods

After migrating to small embedded devices, the accuracy and speed of recognition are degraded due to the lack of computing power. In this paper, we propose a real-time fire detection algorithm based on MobileNetV3-large and yolov4, replacing CSP Darknet53 in yolov4 with MobileNetV3-large to achieve the initial extraction of flame and smoke features while greatly reducing the computational effort of the network structure. A path connecting PANet was explored on Gbneck(104, 104, 24), while SPP was embedded in the path from MobileNetV3 to PANet to improve the feature extraction capability for small targets; the PANet in yolo4 was improved by combining the BiFPN path fusion method, and the improved PANet further improved the feature extraction capability; the Vision Transformer model is added to the backbone feature extraction network and PANet of the YOLOv4 model to give full play to the model’s multi-headed attention mechanism for pre-processing image features; adding ECA Net to the head network of yolo4 improves the overall recognition performance of the network.

Result

These algorithms run well on PC and reach 95.14% recognition accuracy on the public dataset BoWFire. Finally, these algorithms were migrated to the Jeston Xavier NX platform, and the entire network was quantized and accelerated with the TensorRT algorithm. With the image propagation function of the fire robot, the overall recognition frame rate can reach about 26.13 with high real-time performance while maintaining a high recognition accuracy.

Conclusion

Several comparative experiments have also validated the effectiveness of this paper’s improvements to the YOLOv4 algorithm and the superiority of these structures. With the effective integration of these components, the algorithm shows high accuracy and real-time performance.
Patient safety culture among community pharmacists in Cairo
Authors: Al-Tehewy Mahi , Mohamed Samera , Ammar Noura
Published: May 2023

Background

Measuring perception of patient safety culture among pharmacists working in community pharmacies is crucial to identify opportunities and areas that require improvement. The aim of this work is to measure patient safety culture among pharmacists working in community pharmacies in Cairo.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among pharmacists working in community pharmacies in the center and south regions of Cairo. The Pharmacy Survey on Patient Safety Culture (PSOPSC), developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) was used to collect data.

Results

The study included 210 community pharmacies with a 95% response rate. The mean age of pharmacists was 28 ± 5.4 years. The overall positive response percentage (PRP) ranged between 35 and 69% with a mean of 57.4%. The highest PRP was identified in the domains of “teamwork” (68.97%), “organizational learning–continuous improvement” (64.93%) and “patient counseling” (61.83%). The PRP was less than 60% in 6 out of the 11 composites. The lowest PRP was found in the domain of “staffing, work pressure, and pace”, which scored 34.98%.

Conclusion

The study identified areas of patient safety culture that require improvement in community pharmacies, especially in allocating staff, appropriate working hours, and training community pharmacists on the importance and principles of patient safety. The overall mean PRP of patient safety culture among community pharmacists highlights the need to include patient safety as the strategic priority at the level of community pharmacies.
Parental care contributes to vertical transmission of microbes in a skin-feeding and direct-developing caecilian
Authors: Kouete Marcel T. , Bletz Molly C. , LaBumbard Brandon C. , Woodhams Douglas C. , Blackburn David C.
Published: May 2023

Background

Our current understanding of vertebrate skin and gut microbiomes, and their vertical transmission, remains incomplete as major lineages and varied forms of parental care remain unexplored. The diverse and elaborate forms of parental care exhibited by amphibians constitute an ideal system to study microbe transmission, yet investigations of vertical transmission among frogs and salamanders have been inconclusive. In this study, we assess bacteria transmission inHerpele squalostoma,an oviparous direct-developing caecilian in which females obligately attend juveniles that feed on their mother’s skin (dermatophagy).

Results

We used 16S rRNA amplicon-sequencing of the skin and gut of wild caughtH. squalostomaindividuals (males, females, including those attending juveniles) as well as environmental samples. Sourcetracker analyses revealed that juveniles obtain an important portion of their skin and gut bacteria communities from their mother. The contribution of a mother’s skin to the skin and gut of her respective juveniles was much larger than that of any other bacteria source. In contrast to males and females not attending juveniles, only the skins of juveniles and their mothers were colonized by bacteria taxa Verrucomicrobiaceae, Nocardioidaceae, and Erysipelotrichaceae. In addition to providing indirect evidence for microbiome transmission linked to parental care among amphibians, our study also points to noticeable differences between the skin and gut communities ofH. squalostomaand that of many frogs and salamanders, which warrants further investigation.

Conclusion

Our study is the first to find strong support for vertical bacteria transmission attributed to parental care in a direct-developing amphibian species. This suggests that obligate parental care may promote microbiome transmission in caecilians.
Mutational signatures for breast cancer diagnosis using artificial intelligence
Authors: Odhiambo Patrick , Okello Harrison , Wakaanya Annette , Wekesa Clabe , Okoth Patrick
Published: May 2023

Background

Breast cancer is the most common female cancer worldwide. Its diagnosis and prognosis remain scanty, imprecise, and poorly documented. Previous studies have indicated that some genetic mutational signatures are suspected to lead to progression of various breast cancer scenarios. There is paucity of data on the role of AI tools in delineating breast cancer mutational signatures. This study sought to investigate the relationship between breast cancer genetic mutational profiles using artificial intelligence models with a view to developing an accurate prognostic prediction based on breast cancer genetic signatures. Prior research on breast cancer has been based on symptoms, origin, and tumor size. It has not been investigated whether diagnosis of breast cancer can be made utilizing AI platforms like Cytoscape, Phenolyzer, and Geneshot with potential for better prognostic power. This is the first ever attempt for a combinatorial approach to breast cancer diagnosis using different AI platforms.

Method

Artificial intelligence (AI) are mathematical algorithms that simulate human cognitive abilities and solve difficult healthcare issues such as complicated biological abnormalities like those experienced in breast cancer scenarios. The current models aimed to predict outcomes and prognosis by correlating imaging phenotypes with genetic mutations, tumor profiles, and hormone receptor status and development of imaging biomarkers that combine tumor and patient-specific features. Geneshotsav 2021, Cytoscape 3.9.1, and Phenolyzer Nature Methods, 12:841–843 (2015) tools, were used to mine breast cancer-associated mutational signatures and provided useful alternative computational tools for discerning pathways and enriched networks of genes of similarity with the overall goal of providing a systematic view of the variety of mutational processes that lead to breast cancer development. The development of novel-tailored pharmaceuticals, as well as the distribution of prospective treatment alternatives, would be aided by the collection of massive datasets and the use of such tools as diagnostic markers.

Results

Specific DNA-maintenance defects, endogenous or environmental exposures, and cancer genomic signatures are connected. The PubMed database (Geneshot) search for the keywords yielded a total of 21,921 genes associated with breast cancer. Then, based on their propensity to result in gene mutations, the genes were screened using the Phenolyzer software. These platforms lend credence to the fact that breast cancer diagnosis using Cytoscape 3.9.1, Phenolyzer, and Geneshot 2021 reveals high profile of the following mutational signatures: BRCA1, BRCA2, TP53, CHEK2, PTEN, CDH1, BRIP1, RAD51C, CASP3, CREBBP, and SMAD3.
MR enterography in small bowel diseases, adding multipoint Dixon sequence, is it worth?
Authors: Reda Alaa Mohamed , Saleh Rasha Aly , Elgawish Mahmoud Abdelhamid , Elsharkawy Ahmed
Published: May 2023

Background

MR enterography (MRE) has been increased in the last decade as a modality of choice in diagnosis and evaluation of small bowel diseases in both children and adults. Lacking ionizing radiation, non-invasiveness, excellent soft tissue resolution, adequate luminal distension of small bowel loops are the advantages of this technique. Acquisition of images was used to be: T2WI, steady-state free precession, and T1WI, fat-suppressed gadolinium contrast-enhanced sequences. Multipoint Dixon sequence was added recently to the routine MR enterography protocol. The current study aimed to evaluate the added value of multipoint Dixon sequence as a valuable modification of MR enterography protocol for better assessment of small bowel lesions as activity of Crohn’s disease, small bowel polyps, fibrotic strictures, with modification of MRE protocol in the future with less time consumption and better radiological evaluation.

Methods

The current research was a prospective cross-sectional study. Data were collected prospectively after getting ethical approval from the ethical committee of the faculty of medicine, in our university.

Study population

The sample size was 69 adult patients with suspected small bowel lesions, within the period from January 2022 to 30th December 2022. Written informed consent was obtained from all studied cases before the study, who were enrolled in this study. This number was calculated by using MedCalc 19 program by setting alpha error significance of 0.05%, 95% confidence level, and 80% power sample.

Results

This study enrolled 69 patients with recurrent abdominal pain and/or bleeding in stool. The patients’ age ranged from 18 to 50 years, with a mean of 32.6 ± 8.8. There is slightly higher female prevalence. The most common positive imaging findings in the studied patients were mucosal thickening in terms of submucosal fat deposition (36.23% of the MRE examination and 39.13% of the MRE with added Dixon sequence). Adding Dixon sequence yielded significantly higher AUC (97.2% vs. 90.5%, p = 0.047), higher sensitivity (100% vs. 92.16%), specificity (94.4% vs. 88.89%), accuracy (98.55% vs. 91.3%), positive predictive value (98.08% vs. 95.92%), and negative predictive value (100% vs. 80%).

Conclusions

MRE is an excellent imaging modality in the assessment of small bowel diseases without the use of ionizing radiation. Developing MR-based sequences as multi-point Dixon sequence have the potential to improve the ability of MRE to image the subtle changes as Crohn’s accompanying early inflammatory changes and fibrosis, as well as small intestinal polyps. Familiarity with MR enterography is essential for radiologists and gastroenterologists who participate in the clinical management of small intestinal diseases.
Evaluation of handgrip strength as a predictor of sarcopenia in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis
Authors: Salama Mohammed Magdy , Bayoumi Essam Mohammed , Sayed Moataz Mohammed , Abdul-Rahman Samia Ahmed , Saleh Shereen Abo Baker , Zaky Ayman Samwel , Mohamed Ghada Abdelrahman
Published: May 2023

Background

Sarcopenia, characterised by a loss of muscle strength, quantity/quality, and physical performance, is associated with increased mortality and poor clinical outcomes in patients with liver cirrhosis. The use of the currently accepted methods for estimating muscle mass, such as computed tomography, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and bioelectrical impedance analysis, in routine clinical practice is restricted because of limited availability, radiation exposure, time consumption, or high cost. Therefore, an alternative, simple, safe, reproducible, and financially accessible method for the routine assessment of sarcopenia is needed. Hence, we aim to assess the utility of handgrip strength (HGS) in diagnosing sarcopenia in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis compared to appendicular skeletal muscle index assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA-ASMI). A total of 64 participants older than 18 years were consecutively recruited. The subjects were divided into the following groups: Control group included 32 healthy control subjects, and the HCV-related liver cirrhosis group included 32 patients who were subdivided equally into two subgroups (Child A and Child C) with 16 patients each. All participants were subjected to dominant hand dynamometer and DEXA scan.

Results

The prevalence of sarcopenia was significantly higher in the cirrhosis group than in the control group (7.75 ± 1.35 vs. 8.29 ± 1.25 kg/m2, P < 0.001), with increasing prevalence in the Child C class group (P < 0.001). HGS was significantly lower in the Child C group compared to other groups (P < 0.001). Regarding the differentiation of sarcopenic patients, defining HGS using a cutoff of ≤ 28.6 kg has an AUC of 0.879, sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 66.7%, PPV of 61.1%, and NPV of 100% (95% CI = 0.715 to 0.967; P < 0.0001).

Conclusion

Given the low cost, reproducibility, and safety of handgrip strength dynamometry, this is a promising method for both the diagnosis of sarcopenia as well as serial monitoring of muscle function in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis.
Investigation of the impact of PSO, ABC, BFO and Cuckoo search optimization techniques on UPFC device for sustainable voltage stability margin improvement
Authors: Ikeli Ndubuisi Hyginus , Ashigwuike Chinemezu Evans , Alabi Ibitayo Isaac
Published: May 2023

This paper investigates the enhancement of voltage stability margin using Unified Power Flow Control (UPFC) device tuned with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), Bacterial Foraging Optimization (BFO) and Cuckoo Search techniques (CS) on Nigerian 330 kV 56-bus practical network. In order to have a voltage stable power system, it is good to keep voltages within the acceptable limits. This is achieved using continuation power flow embedded in Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT). The optimal location and tuning of the UPFC device is determined using line stability index and the met-heuristics techniques. The effects of UPFC and the proposed optimizing techniques on voltage stability margin are examined. The results so obtained for tuning PSO, ABC, BFO and Cuckoo Search with UPFC device are compared to know the technique that yields the best loading parameter for Nigerian 56- bus power system for voltage stability margin enhancement. It is found that UPFC tuned with Cuckoo Search outperforms the other techniques in terms of the increased loading parameter of the Nigerian power system with margin improvement of 86.6%, 90% and 88.6% for Adiabor (Bus 45), Jalingo (Bus 34) and Jos (Bus 13). The tuned UPFC device has proved beyond reasonable doubt that it can improve voltage stability margin of the entire Nigerian 330 kV Network as envisaged from results before and after optimization.
Crinum jagus: antiproliferative studies of extracts on HepG2 cell line and in silico assessment of phytoconstituents as potential inhibitors of p53–mortalin interaction
Authors: Alawode Taye Temitope , Lajide Labunmi , Olaleye Mary , Owolabi Bodunde
Published: May 2023

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide and has a poor prognosis in black Africans. Traditional herbal practitioners in southwestern Nigeria use Crinum jagus (J. Thompson) Dandy for cancer treatment. This study screens methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of C. jagus leaves for activity against hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell line using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The antiproliferative properties of the extracts were assessed by comparing their IC50 values with that of the standard drug, cisplatin.
The GC–MS technique was used to identify the phytoconstituents in the extracts. The drug-likeness of each identified phytoconstituents in the extracts was determined by following Lipinski’s rule of five. In addition, phytoconstituents having drug-like properties were screened as potential inhibitors of the p53–mortalin interaction by docking them against the mortalin residues 3N8E and 4KBO using Swissdock.

Results

For the antiproliferative study, the IC50 values obtained for cisplatin, methanol, and ethyl acetate extracts of leaves were 5 µg/mL, 5 µg/mL, and 70 µg/mL, respectively, indicating that the methanol extract and cisplatin possess comparable antiproliferative properties. Hexadecanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid methyl ester, tangeretin, galanthamine, and crinamine, which were part of the constituents identified in the leaves, possess drug-like properties and are known to show cytotoxic properties against several cancer cell lines. On docking with mortalin residue 3N8E, hexadecanoic acid and hexadecanoic acid methyl ester had comparable binding energy (− 8.21 kcal mol−1) with withaferin A and withanone (8.29 kcal mol−1 and 8.14 kcal mol−1). Hexadecanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid methyl ester, and galanthamine had binding energy of − 7.66, − 7.45, and − 7.47 kcal mol−1, respectively, with mortalin residue, 4KBO, comparable to values of − 7.68 and − 7.59 kcal mol−1 obtained for withaferin A and withanone, respectively.

Conclusion

The methanol extract of C. jagus leaves demonstrated remarkable antiproliferative activities against HepG2, justifying its use in traditional medicine for cancer treatment. The ethyl acetate and methanol extracts contain drug-like compounds with known cytotoxic properties against several cancer cell lines. Some of these compounds (hexadecanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid methyl ester, tangeretin, and galanthamine) are inhibitors of the p53–mortalin interaction.

Graphical Abstract
Surgery for mitral annular caseous calcification-related calcified amorphous tumor: a case report
Authors: Morisaki Akimasa , Takahashi Yosuke , Sakon Yoshito , Sumii Yosuke , Shibata Toshihiko
Published: May 2023

Background

A calcified amorphous tumor (a non-neoplastic tumor) with caseous calcification of the mitral annulus is a rare pathology that causes severe embolic events. We present a rare case of mitral valve surgery for a mitral annular caseous calcification-related calcified amorphous tumor found in cerebral infarction.

Case presentation

A 69-year-old man was diagnosed with a mitral valve calcified amorphous tumor with mitral annular caseous calcification found in cerebral infarction. He was admitted because of acute multiple embolic cerebral infarctions. A search for the embolic source through transesophageal echocardiography revealed a mitral valve tumor raised from the posterior mitral valve leaflet on the side of the left ventricle. Computed tomographic cardiac angiography revealed a calcified mitral valve tumor invading the posterior mitral valve annulus and left ventricular muscle. Intraoperative findings revealed a mitral annular calcification-related calcified amorphous tumor with caseous calcification of the posterior leaflet and annulus, which was suspected. Therefore, we performed radical debridement of the mitral annular calcification and bioprosthetic mitral valve replacement with patch repair of the posterior mitral valve annulus 2 weeks after the onset of cerebral infarction. The patient recovered well post operation, without any embolic events.

Conclusions

A calcified amorphous tumor with caseous mitral annulus calcification may be highly associated with embolic events. In this case, mitral valve replacement with annular patch repair may be a favorable procedure for preventing embolic events.
Thermal evolution and hydrocarbon generation history of the Weibei uplift in the Ordos Basin
Authors: Cui Junping , Ren Zhanli , Tao Hua , Qi Kai , Liu Hao , Chen Kezhang , Liu Jingjing
Published: May 2023

The Weibei uplift in the Ordos Basin has a distinctive tectonic setting and intricate evolutionary history. Along these lines, we have used the stratum temperature, apatite fission track, and vitrinite reflectance data to restore the thermal and hydrocarbon generation histories of the Weibei uplift. The average value of the present geothermal gradient of the Weibei uplift was 27.9°C/km, and the heat flow was 64.9 mW/m2. The Weibei uplift exhibited a moderate geothermal field. Three uplift cooling events occurred in the Weibei uplift during the Mesozoic era: the late Jurassic-early Cretaceous (162–125 Ma), the late Cretaceous (105–65 Ma), and the Eocene-Oligocene (40–27 Ma). The uplift history indicates an early uplift in the south region and a late uplift in the later stage. The thermal evolution history simulation demonstrates that the lower Palaeozoic Ordovician source rocks began to enter the hydrocarbon generation threshold in the middle Permian-late Permian (270 Ma) era and joined the hydrocarbon generation peak in the early-middle Jurassic event (180 Ma). The upper Palaeozoic Carboniferous-Permian source rocks began to enter the hydrocarbon generation threshold in the later period of the middle Permian period (235 Ma). They joined the hydrocarbon generation peak in the late Jurassic-early Cretaceous period (150 Ma). In addition, Triassic source rocks entered the hydrocarbon generation threshold in the early Cretaceous era (135 Ma) and did not enter the hydrocarbon generation peak until now. The low geothermal gradient of the Weibei uplift in the Palaeozoic-early Mesozoic reached the maximum paleotemperature in the early Mesozoic era (100 Ma) because of tectonic thermal events. The highest geothermal gradient of the early Cretaceous reached 51.5°C/km. The peak period of the hydrocarbon generation of source rocks of the different horizons in the Weibei uplift was regulated by the geothermal field of the early Cretaceous event. Since the late Cretaceous period, the stratum has been uplifted and cooled rapidly, and the hydrocarbon generation process of the source rocks has ceased.
Development and Validation of a Prediction Model for Incident Hypothyroidism in a National Chronic Kidney Disease Cohort
Authors: Rhee Connie M , You Amy S , Narasaki Yoko , Brent Gregory A , Sim John J , Kovesdy Csaba P , Kalantar-Zadeh Kamyar , Nguyen Danh V
Published: May 2023

Context

Hypothyroidism is a common yet under-recognized condition in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which may lead to end-organ complications if left untreated.

Objective

We developed a prediction tool to identify CKD patients at risk for incident hypothyroidism.

Methods

Among 15 642 patients with stages 4 to 5 CKD without evidence of pre-existing thyroid disease, we developed and validated a risk prediction tool for the development of incident hypothyroidism (defined as thyrotropin [TSH] > 5.0 mIU/L) using the Optum Labs Data Warehouse, which contains de-identified administrative claims, including medical and pharmacy claims and enrollment records for commercial and Medicare Advantage enrollees as well as electronic health record data. Patients were divided into a two-thirds development set and a one-third validation set. Prediction models were developed using Cox models to estimate probability of incident hypothyroidism.

Results

There were 1650 (11%) cases of incident hypothyroidism during a median follow-up of 3.4 years. Characteristics associated with hypothyroidism included older age, White race, higher body mass index, low serum albumin, higher baseline TSH, hypertension, congestive heart failure, exposure to iodinated contrast via angiogram or computed tomography scan, and amiodarone use. Model discrimination was good with similar C-statistics in the development and validation datasets: 0.77 (95% CI 0.75-0.78) and 0.76 (95% CI 0.74-0.78), respectively. Model goodness-of-fit tests showed adequate fit in the overall cohort (P = .47) as well as in a subcohort of patients with stage 5 CKD (P = .33).

Conclusion

In a national cohort of CKD patients, we developed a clinical prediction tool identifying those at risk for incident hypothyroidism to inform prioritized screening, monitoring, and treatment in this population.
Van Wyk Grumbach Syndrome and Ovarian Hyperstimulation in Juvenile Primary Hypothyroidism: Lessons From a 30-Case Cohort
Authors: Kusuma Boddu Sirisha , Ayyavoo Ahila , Hebbal Nagarajappa Vani , Kalenahalli Kiran V , Muruda Shantakumar , Palany Raghupathy
Published: May 2023

Context

Prolonged hypothyroidism in children commonly causes short stature with delayed bone maturation, and delayed puberty. However, a paradoxical occurrence of peripheral precocious puberty and pituitary enlargement in chronically untreated juvenile hypothyroidism was first reported by Van Wyk and Grumbach in 1960.

Objective

To create increased awareness and a better understanding of this clinical entity among emergency room physicians, pediatricians, surgeons, gynecologists and oncologists.

Methods

Case records of children diagnosed with Van Wyk–Grumbach syndrome (VWGS) were analyzed retrospectively.

Results

Twenty-six girls and 4 boys were identified (2005-2020). All had profound primary hypothyroidism (total thyroxine [T4]: 2.5-33.5 nmol/L, thyrotropin: > 75-3744 μIU/mL). Hypothyroidism was not the referral diagnosis in any of the girls. Among them, 17 were referred for precocious puberty, 5 with a diagnosis of pituitary tumor on magnetic resonance imaging, and others for acute surgical abdomen in 7 girls (painful abdominal mass—2, ovarian tumor—2, ovarian torsion—2, ruptured ovarian cyst—1), acute myelopathy in 1, and menorrhagia with headache in another. All girls were successfully managed with levothyroxine replacement alone, except for the 2 with ovarian torsion, who required surgery. Menstruation ceased promptly with T4 therapy in all girls, occurring at an age-appropriate later date. All boys had testicular enlargement at presentation that regressed partially after T4 treatment. Catch-up growth was remarkable during the first treatment year, but the final height was compromised in all.

Conclusion

Increased awareness of varied presentations of VWGS is vital among pediatricians to facilitate early diagnosis and targeted investigations, and to help in the initiation of the simple yet highly rewarding T4 replacement therapy to avoid all possible complications.
Práticas de Educação Antirracista em uma Escola Pública de São Paulo
Authors: Matias da Silva Vagner
Published: May 2023

As práticas pedagógicas voltadas à educação antirracista têm sido a pauta de muitos estudos na área da educação. As discussões em torno do que deve ser feito nas escolas são fundamentadas nas reflexões acerca de como o epistemicídio é um instrumento que estrutura os currículos. Assim, este trabalho vem apresentar o processo de construção de práticas antirracistas numa escola pública, que ao longo de várias experiências (re)construiu sua forma de pensar a educação antirracista. Para tanto, é apresentado o alicerce teórico-metodológico para o processo de construção crítico-reflexivo sobre as práticas pedagógicas baseadas nos pressupostos da educação antirracista. Dessa forma, estabelecendo a relação entre teoria e prática, os profissionais docentes, apoiando-se nos estudos sobre a educação antirracista, analisaram suas práticas pedagógicas e (re)constuíram-nas a partir de suas reflexões. Os resultados revelaram que a análise feita pelos professores das primeiras ações pedagógicas fundamentadas na educação antirracista, mesmo que de forma empírica, levou os profissionais docentes a busca por formações e referenciais teóricos que pudessem subsidiar o trabalho com a temática.
O cotidiano na colônia alemã de Juiz de Fora/MG
Authors: Lara Couto Rita de Cássia
Published: May 2023

O artigo busca refletir acerca do cotidiano na colônia Dom Pedro II, em Juiz de Fora, a partir das memórias dos descendentes dos imigrantes alemães e tiroleses que a constituíram em 1858. Para alcançar o objetivo proposto, foram realizadas entrevistas de história oral com descendentes, que permitem compreender como estes perceberam a vida na colônia e como a memória familiar é fundamental na transmissão de experiências e de cultura nos grupos sociais. As memórias individuais estão entrelaçadas nas redes múltiplas de relacionamentos e, ao recontar suas próprias trajetórias, as de seus antepassados e de seus vizinhos, os depoentes revelaram nuances da herança imaterial legada pelos imigrantes, que complementam as fontes documentais e também sinalizam a relação entre história e memória.
Comida, religião e outras histórias em “Dona Flor e seus dois maridos”, de Jorge Amado
Authors: Deodato Anna Carolina
Published: May 2023

Esse artigo aborda a trajetória gastronômica de Dona Flor, cozinheira literária construída pelo romancista baiano Jorge Amado (1912-2001). O trabalho se utiliza do conceito de “Fato Social Total” elaborado pelo sociólogo francês Marcel Mauss como fio condutor para articular outros campos do saber com as referências gastronômicas presentes no romance Dona Flor e seus dois maridos. O objetivo foi perscrutar novas leituras para a relação estabelecida entre a mulher e a comida no romance, propondo novos caminhos para além da “ferramenta de sedução” discorrida por pesquisas anteriores com foco nas manifestações religiosas.
A mídia internacional nas Copas da FIFA
Authors: Bettine Almeida Marco
Published: May 2023

Este artigo busca analisar a Copa do Mundo da Fifa na África do Sul, Brasil, Rússia e Catar por meio das mídias internacionais, tendo como estrutura de análise a esfera pública habermasiana. Como considerações podemos apontar que as mídias internacionais avaliaram a imagem dos países de forma negativa, discutindo os despejos de populações pobres sem um processo de compensação; os abuso dos trabalhadores, principalmente de migrantes; as mudanças nos direitos civis e cerceamento dos movimentos sociais; as ameaças, intimidação e prisão de jornalistas engajados de mídias livres.
Categorias de análise e o espaço da mulher negra
Authors: Barbosa Oliveira Cyntia
Published: May 2023

O presente texto apresenta o desenvolvimento do conceito de gênero como uma mobilização a partir de uma necessidade das feministas. Por meio do avanço das discussões, a categoria “mulher” toma espaço e abarca um caráter político, visando que assuntos relativos às mulheres passem a ser introduzidos no debate e que seus nomes sejam visíveis em meio a essas discussões. O feminismo negro é um entre diversos feminismos e estabelece discussões e demandas mobilizando gênero e raça, sinalizando-os como marcadores necessários para pensar a subjetivação de corpos e disputas políticas/de poder. O Estado age sobre os corpos, através de mecanismos de controle. Estabelecer, assim, uma relação entre uma sociedade racista, mecanismos de biopoder do Estado, a construção de mulheres negras e o lugar ocupado por elas surgem como pontos centrais neste estudo.
The quality of life of HIV positive Transgender and homosexual population in Karachi, Pakistan
Authors: Hussain Aneela , Rahim Anum , Rajput Fozia
Published: May 2023

Objectives: To study the demographics and the quality of life of Transgenders and men who have sex with men (MSM) infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Methods: A Cross sectional study conducted from 2019 to 2021 in the Indus Hospital Karachi. A 30 minutes interview was conducted among HIV positive homosexual participants.

Results: Out of 100 patients enrolled 58% were transgender, 39% uneducated, 76% not supported financially by family, 20% reported hospital misconduct, 50% were commercial sex workers and 64% had anxiety. Our results also showed that increasing patient knowledge does not guarantee safe sex habits (p-value=0.82).

Conclusion: We found declining psycho-social wellbeing in this population. Education and family support may help establish a good standard of living in them. More studies are needed in the Pakistani transgender population in order to understand their needs better.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.39.4.6445

How to cite this: Hussain A, Rahim A, Fozia Rajput3. The quality of life of HIV positive Transgender and homosexual population in Karachi, Pakistan. Pak J Med Sci. 2023;39(4):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.39.4.6445

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Efficacy of Moringa oleifera Lam. extracts and Pediococcus pentosaceus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum probiotic during starter period on growth performance of male broiler chicken
Authors: Karwanti Novita Wanda , Arumdani Dynda Febriana , Yulianto Andreas Berny , Marbun Tabita Dameria , Sherasiya Anjum , Al Arif Mohammad Anam , Lamid Mirni , Lokapirnasari Widya Paramita
Published: May 2023

Background: Probiotics and medicinal plants have been used to support human and livestock health. This research aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaf extract on the growth of P. pentosaceus, L.acidophilus and L. plantarum  during starter period on nutrient intake, body weight gain, FCR and feed efficiency in broiler chicken.

Methods: This study consisted of three sub studies:(1) Screening test for phytochemical compounds. The flavonoid test was conducted by Bate Smith-Metcalf and Wilstatter method.  The Tannin test with Denis’ reagent.  The saponin test was performed by the Forth method.  Triterpenoid tests were performed by the Liebermann-Bouchard method and the alkaloids test was conducted by the method of Mayer, Bouchardat  and Wagner. (2) evaluation of level M.oleifera extract, where each test tube was added with 1 mL of each isolate and incubated at 37°C. The growth of probiotic bacteria was calculated by using the TPC. (3) evaluation of probiotics and M. oleifera in vivo to prove growth performance. All results were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) then followed by the Duncan test.

Results: (1)The phytochemical screening test of M. Oleifera extract showed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, tannins, triterpenoids and alkaloids; (2) in vitro evaluation of M. oleifera extract could increased the growth of bacteria probiotic (p <0.05); (3) The use of probiotics and M. oleifera extract could improve growth performance. The result of body weight, body weight gain, FCR and feed efficiency signifcantly differed (p<0.05), but there was no significant difference (p >0.05) on nutrient intake. 

Conclusions: The use of M.oleifera extract at doses of 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% increased the growth of P. pentosaceus, L. acidophilus and L. plantarum bacteria in vitro and the use of probiotics, M.oleifera extract and their combination by in vivo improved the growth performance on starter phase of broilers chicken.
Role of nutritional supplements on oral health in adults – A systematic review
Authors: Shodhan Shetty Aishwarya , Shenoy Ramya , Dasson Bajaj Parul , Rao Ashwini , KS Aparna , Pai Mithun , BR Avinash , Jodalli Praveen
Published: May 2023

Purpose: The word ‘diet’ usually encompasses the consumption of food that includes all the necessary nutrients required for the optimal functioning of the body. Nutritional supplements hold a supreme position due to the demanding lifestyles or medical conditions in this current era. Although medical literature has sufficient evidence exploring the effect of nutrients on general health, this systematic review aimed at specifically evaluating the role of nutritional supplements on oral health in adults.

Methods: PRISMA guidelines were followed in conducting this systematic review where four electronic databases including Scopus, PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science were reviewed. Based on the inclusion criteria, four studies exploring the effect of oral nutritional supplements on oral health among the adult population were included in this systematic review.

Results: This review generated evidence suggesting a positive effect of nutritional supplements on oral health. These findings were depicted in the form of a reduction in plaque scores, probing depths, gingival inflammation, and greater improvement in periodontal healing among individuals with higher intakes of nutritional supplements within recommended doses.

Conclusions: The systematic review outlines the positive impact of consuming nutritional supplements in the recommended dosage on oral health. Additionally, this review stresses the necessity for interventional studies to further investigate the effects of nutritional supplements on oral health, particularly in regard to periodontal healing.

PROSPERO registration: CRD42021287797 (27/11/2021).
Implication of the 2014 World Health Organization Integrated Management of Childhood Illness Pneumonia Guidelines with and without pulse oximetry use in Malawi: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Hooli Shubhada , Makwenda Charles , Lufesi Norman , Colbourn Tim , Mvalo Tisungane , McCollum Eric D. , King Carina
Published: May 2023

Background: Under-5 pneumonia mortality remains high in low-income countries. In 2014 the World Health Organization (WHO) advised that children with chest indrawing pneumonia, but without danger signs or peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) < 90% be treated in the community, rather than hospitalized. In Malawi there is limited pulse oximetry availability.

Methods: Secondary analysis of 13,413 under-5 pneumonia cases in Malawi. Pneumonia associated case fatality ratios (CFR) were calculated by disease severity under the assumptions of the 2005 and 2014 WHO Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) guidelines, with and without pulse oximetry. We investigated if pulse oximetry readings were missing not at random (MNAR).

Results: The CFR of patients classified as having non-severe pneumonia per the 2014 IMCI guidelines doubled under the assumption that pulse oximetry was not available (1.5% without pulse oximetry vs 0.7% with pulse oximetry, P<0.001). When 2014 IMCI guidelines were applied with pulse oximetry and a SpO2 < 90% as the threshold for referral and/or admission, the number of cases meeting hospitalization criteria decreased by 70.3%. Unrecorded pulse oximetry readings were MNAR with an adjusted odds for mortality of 4.9 (3.8, 6.3), similar to that of a SpO2 < 90%. Although fewer girls were hospitalized, female sex was an independent mortality risk factor.

Conclusions: In Malawi, implementation of the 2014 WHO IMCI pneumonia guidelines, without pulse oximetry, will miss high risk cases. Alternatively, implementation of pulse oximetry may result in a large reduction in hospitalization rates without significantly increasing non-severe pneumonia associated CFR if the inability to obtain a pulse oximetry reading is considered a WHO danger sign.
Consumer Acquisition for Recommender Systems: A Theoretical Framework and Empirical Evaluations
Authors: Bi Xuan , Yang Mochen , Adomavicius Gediminas
Published: May 2023

How to acquire the most valuable consumers to grow your recommender system? We propose a dynamic consumer acquisition model to enable value-driven acquisition decisions. We build a model of consumer acquisition that takes into account the value that a consumer contributes to the recommender system, the cost of their participation (e.g., privacy loss), and the value of their participation to other consumers (via network externality). We also propose data-driven procedures to estimate this model to enable informed, value-driven acquisition decisions. On three different data sets, we perform comprehensive simulation-based evaluations to demonstrate the performance of this dynamic consumer acquisition model. We find nuanced relationships between the firm’s choice of incentive strategies and acquisition outcomes. Neither a constant pricing strategy nor a greedy pricing strategy may be optimal. Instead, under a moderately greedy strategy, where the firm only partially extracts the network externality from consumers, the dynamic acquisition sequence can outperform random acquisition sequences on firm utility, recommender system performance, and consumer surplus simultaneously. Our work contributes a novel theoretical framework, practical insights, and design artifacts to facilitate effective consumer acquisition in recommender systems.