bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The role of the islamic culture courses in enhancing the intellectual security among PSAU students
Authors: Abdalrhim Mohamed Bahaa Al-nour Othman , Habib Ali Mansur Othman 
Published: October 2023

The present study aimed to highlight the role of the Islamic culture courses in enhancing the intellectual security among PSAU students at Saudi Arabia. The sample of the present study consists of 192 participants, males and females, enrolled at the complex of Wadi Aldawer colleges, PSAU. The students were chosen randomly as they were requested to respond to a questionnaire. Using the descriptive survey method, the results of the study have shown that the role of the Islamic culture courses in enhancing the intellectual security among the students has been achieved at a high standard. Similarly, the ways for actualizing the role of the Islamic culture courses in enhancing the intellectual security among PSAU students came at a very high standard. In the light of the results, a number of recommendations has been issued; among them is to increase the contact hours of the courses of the Islamic culture to cover all the topics and units of the course since the current study plan has limited the number of teaching hours to only two credit hours. This would have a negative effect on achieving the objectives of the course.
An Application of Homogenous Semi-Markov Model for Assessing HIV/AIDS Progression to ART Patients in Namibia
Authors: Kashihalwa Simon Pombili , Mwanyekange Josua , Pazvakawambwa Lilian 
Published: October 2023

Background: The progression of HIV infection to AIDS and then to death can be considered a stochastic process. Disease progression can be broken down into a ﬁnite number of intermediate states, based on CD4 counts. The five states of the Markov process of HIV/AIDS progression are commonly deﬁned as: S1: CD4 count > 500 cells/microliter; S2: 350 < CD4 count ≤ 500 cells/microliter; S3: 200 < CD4 count ≤ 350 cells/microliter; S4: CD4 count ≤ 200 cells/microliter; and D: Death.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to model the progression of HIV/AIDS disease of patients under ART follow-up in Namibia using homogenous semi-Markov processes, using the data obtained from Ministry of Health and Social Services.
Methods: A retrospective study design was used to obtain data on 2422 patients who were observed 11028 times. The semi-Markov model was employed to estimate the transition probabilities and transition intensity rate. Time Homogeneous Semi-Markov model was fitted to assess effectiveness of ART by comparing the forward transition and reverse transitions.
Results: As expected the probabilities of transiting from good states to worse states increased with time (from state 1 to state 3 and 4 after 6 months is 0.023 and 0.004, after 12 months is 0.059 and 0.010 respectively). As time increase the probabilities of remaining in the same state is decreasing (probabilities of remaining in state 1 after 6, 12 and 18 months is 0.804, 0.698 and 0.633). As expected the intensity indicates that the rate of transiting from good states to worst states is decreasing (the intensity of transiting from state 1 to 3 and 4 is p<0.001).
The strongest predictor of transition from state 1 to 2 is TDF/3TC/EFV, which has a hazard ratio of 1.338 (with p value of 0.002). Patients who were prescribed TDF/3TC/EFV, are over 1.338 times more likely to transit from state 1 to state 2 than patients who did not receive TDF/3TC/EFV. A hazard ratio of 0.678 for the predictor variable female shows that female were less likely to transit from state 2 to 3 than their male counterparts. The hazard ratios of females from a bad state to a better state are more than 1, which is an indication that females are less likely to respond to treatment compared to males.
Conclusions: HIV can progress to AIDS without delay if there is no intervention. Early ART initiation is crucial to reduce the probabilities of transiting from good states to worse states.
Seasonal Incidence of Insect Pests and Predatory Fauna on Toria (Brassica rapa) in West Central Tableland of Odisha, India
Authors: Parija Saswati , Biswal Lopamudra 
Published: October 2023

The present field investigation was conducted for two consecutive Rabi seasons of years 2021/22 and 2022/23 at the College of Horticulture, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Chiplima, Odisha to record the seasonal incidence of major insect pests with the predatory fauna on toria (Brassica rapa) in relation to meteorological parameters. The occurring pest complex in both seasons constituted a total nine number of insects and three consistent predatory fauna.
The highest peak population of pests recorded for 2021/22 were: mustard aphid (3.7 A.I plant-1 at 50th SMW), whitefly (25.9 whiteflies plant-1 at 50th SMW), painted bug (13.37 nymphs+adults plant-1 at 50th SMW), mustard sawfly (12 larvae plant-1 at 48th SMW), flea beetle (12.45 grubs+adults plant-1 at 50th SMW), diamondback moth (1.3 larvae plant-1 at 52nd SMW), leaf Webber (6.45 larvae plant-1 at 51st SMW), Bihar hairy caterpillar (29.3 larvae plant-1 at 50th SMW) and tobacco caterpillar (8.9 larvae plant-1 at 49th SMW. Similarly, the highest peak population of pests recorded for 2022/23 were: mustard aphid (3.82 A.I plant-1 at 51st SMW), whitefly (23.8 whiteflies plant-1 at 50th SMW), painted bug (13.7 nymphs+adults plant-1 at 51st SMW), mustard sawfly (15 larvae plant-1 at 48th SMW), flea beetle (13.45 grubs+adults plant-1 at 50th SMW), diamondback moth (1.2 larvae plant-1 at 47th SMW), leaf Webber (5.45 larvae plant-1 at 51st SMW) which coincided the abundance of natural enemies namely, coccinellid predators, syrphid fly and spider between 50th to 52nd SMW of the experimental year for both seasons.
The correlation of insect pest density with weather parameters (Rabi, 2021/22) showed negative correlations with Tmax (mustard aphid, painted bug, flea beetle, leaf Webber, diamondback moth, Bihar hairy caterpillar), Tmin (all pests), rainfall (mustard aphid, whitefly, mustard sawfly, flea beetle, tobacco caterpillar), RH% at 7 hours (all pests), and RH% at 14 hours (mustard aphid, whitefly, painted bug, leaf Webber, diamondback moth, Bihar hairy caterpillar).For natural enemies, Tmax, Tmin, RH% at 7 hours, RH% at 14 hours, and wind velocity had negative effects on their population, while rainfall had a positive influence. However, in Rabi 2022/23, Tmax, Tmin, and RH% at 14 hours negatively influenced the pest population mostly except for wind velocity and RH% at 7 hours. For predators, wind velocity showed positive correlation with its’ population.
Effect of Planting Time and Nitrogen Doses on Growth, Phenology and Yield of Basmati Rice (Oryza sativa L.) under Agro-Climatic Conditions of Haryana, India
Authors: Vishant  , Kumar Amit , Kumar Parveen , Ram Mangat , Kumar Mayank 
Published: October 2023

A field experiment on rice was conducted at RRS, Kaul (Kaithal) of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during Kharif season of 2022 to find out optimum dose of nitrogen in rice under late planted condition for getting higher yield. The transplantation get delayed because of shortage of labour and water during the brief transplanting period, which may affect the crop yield adversely under late planting. Soil of experimental field was sandy clay loam texture, alkaline in reaction (7.81), low in organic carbon (0.39%), available nitrogen (130 kg ha-1) and medium in available phosphorous (24 kg ha-1) and high in available potash (480 kg ha-1). The experiment included two transplanting dates (P1: First week of July and P2: Fourth week of July), five levels of N application (N1:0, N2:30, N3:60, N4:90, N5:120 kg N ha-1) laid out in factorial randomised block design. The growth parameters viz. plant height (cm), number of tillers m-2 and dry matter accumulation (g) were reduced significantly under late planting (P2). The yield (grain and straw) of the rice crop increased with each successive increase in N level, although the response was only significant up to 90 kg ha-1. The interaction between planting time and N levels was found to be significant in terms of grain yield, revealing that dose of 90 kg ha-1 was sufficient in timely transplanted rice crops (1st week of July), whereas late transplanted crops (4th week of July) may require a higher dose of N (120 kg ha-1) to get higher yield. However, the highest yield was obtained when the crop was timely transplanted (1st week of July) and supplied 90 kg of N ha-1.
Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management and Agronomic Biofortification on Growth and Yield of Wheat (Triticum aestivum. L.)
Authors: Kumar Reenu , Siddiqui M. Z. , Naresh Ram , Kumar Sanjeev , Teotia Vikas , Kumar Jitendra , Anushi  
Published: October 2023

A field experiment was conducted at Students’ Instructional Farm of Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology Kanpur, (U.P.) to assess the effect of organic source with foliar application of micronutrients on growth and yield of wheat for two consecutive years (2021-22) and (2022-23).The experiment comprises three treatment under main plot viz: F1- Control (100% RDF), F2- 100 % RDF + Vermicompost @ 2.5t/ha, and F3- 100 % RDF + FYM @ 5t/ha, and five treatments foliar spray of micronutrient in sub plot viz: M1- control (No spray), M2- Foliar spray of ZnSO4 @ 0.25% at tillering and booting stages, M3- Foliar spray of Nano Zinc @ 0.5% spray at tillering and booting stages, M4- Foliar spray of FeSO4 @ 0.25% at tillering and booting stages and M5- Foliar spray of ZnSO4 @ 0.25% + FeSO4 @ 0.25% at tillering and booting stages. Fifteen treatment combination were assigned under Split Plot Design (SPD) and replicated thrice. Wheat variety (K- 1006) was grown with the recommended agronomic practices. Results showed that maximum increase in growth parameters and yield and yield attribute of wheat viz: plant height (cm), number of tillers/m2, leaf area index and spike length (cm), number of spikelets /spike and harvest index (%) and biological yield (ton ha-) recorded significantly higher with F2- 100 % RDF + Vermicompost @ 2.5t/ha treatments Among the sub-plot , M5- Foliar spray of ZnSO4 @ 0.25% + FeSO4 @ 0.25% at tillering and booting stages, produced significant maximum highest harvest index (42.77 %) and biological yield (13.88 ton /ha) as compared to all other treatments.
Endophytic Bacillus aerophilus from the Leaves of Azadirachta indica as a Potential Biocontrol against Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Mwendwa Peter Kasyula , Karanja Anncarol W. , Maingi John M. 
Published: October 2023

Aims: The study entailed isolation and identification of Bacillus aerophilus in the leaves of young Azadirachta indica plants, establishing the antimicrobial activity of the endophyte against Staphylococcus aureus, and screening for phytochemicals. The study investigated the potential of the endophytic Bacillus aerophilus in pathogen inhibition and phytochemical screening for bioactive compounds produced by the endophyte that can be used in drug development. The research contributes to the wider scientific goal of curbing rising cases of antibiotic resistance.
Place and Duration of Study: Sample: collected from Kanyonyoo in Kitui County, between August 2022 and June 2023.
Methodology: The bacteria were aseptically isolated and sub-cultured on nutrient agar. For identification, the bacteria underwent biochemical tests and molecular characterization. The 16S rRNA region was amplified and sequenced using universal primers 27F and 1492R. Bacterial isolate K1L003 was identified as Bacillus aerophilus. For antimicrobial testing, the agar disk diffusion method was used against pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus on Mueller Hinton Agar plates (MHA). The controls were doxycycline and vancomycin.
Results: The endophytic isolate only inhibited Staphylococcus aureus (P < .001), with an inhibition mean similar to doxycycline (26 mm), against the pathogen. The endophytic isolate produced terpenoids, saponins, alkaloids, and flavonoids.
Conclusion: Endophytic Bacillus aerophilus has better antimicrobial inhibition potential than vancomycin, against Staphylococcus aureus and produces diverse bioactive secondary metabolites. The endophyte has the potential to produce compounds that are useful in treating drug-resistant Staphylococcal infections.
Evaluation of Intercropped Aloe vera with Plantain on Growth and Yield Status in a Real Culture Situation in Daloa, Côte d'Ivoire
Authors: Désiré N’goran Koffi , Charlotte Tonessia Dolou , Francis Soumahin Eric , Dominique Zoh Olivia , Junias Sey , Selastique Akaffou Doffou 
Published: October 2023

Rains decrease and irregularity represent a threat to farmers and call for crops of interest’s promotion like Aloe vera, requiring little water. Therefore, lands rarity compels the valorization inter-row crops’ spacing occupying wide spaces. Thus, the research has been led in the Central - West of Côte d'Ivoire in order to evaluate the effect of plantain banana tree (Musa sp) and Aloe vera association on these crops growth and yield. For this, an implement with a complete randomization design including two treatments with eight repetitions was achieved. The processings were consisted in planting either one Aloe vera plant (treatment 1) or two Aloe vera plants (treatment 2) between four plantain tree plants. The interval used for the planting of banana shoots in the 40-cm deep seed holes was 3 m x 2 m. The results showed that treatment 2 has speeded up the appearance of Aloe vera’s leave and encouraged the generation of a high number of leaves (39 leaves) longer (20.06 cm) and wider (2.78 cm) bringing about large fresh and dry biomasses, compared to treatment 1 and the control, with 125.42 g and 64.27 g, respectively. As for plantain banana tree, the intercropping favored a higher leaf emergence rate with a high number of leaves (23 leaves) longer and wider, 113.53 cm and 58.70 cm long, respectively. The intercropping also favored in plantain banana a large number of hands (7) and fingers (32) with a finger length of 35.25 cm weighing on average 0.46 kg and causing a mass of 9.23 kg / bunch. Bananas bunch yield higher in the associated plantain banana trees (15.39 t. ha-1) compared to controls (7.83 t. ha-1).
Educational Attainment and US Drug Overdose Deaths
Authors: Powell David 
Published: October 2023

ImportanceEducational attainment in the US is associated with life expectancy. As the opioid crisis worsens, it is critical to understand how overdose death rate trends evolve across education groups.ObjectiveTo investigate the association between educational attainment and overdose death rates, with emphasis on trends during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cross-sectional study used National Vital Statistics System Mortality Multiple Cause-of-Death data describing overdose death rates in the US by educational attainment from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2021, with a focus on 2018 to 2021. Overdose deaths were aggregated by year and educational level for decedents aged 25 years or older.ExposureEducational attainment, categorized as no high school (HS) diploma, HS diploma (or General Educational Development) but no college, some college but no bachelor’s degree, and bachelor’s degree or more.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe main outcomes were rates of all overdose deaths, overdose deaths involving opioids, and overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids.ResultsOf 912 057 overdose deaths with education information from 2000 to 2021 (mean [SD] age at death, 44.9 [12.3] years; 64.1% male), there were 625 400 deaths (68.6%) among individuals with no college education and 286 657 deaths (31.4%) among those with at least some college. The overdose death rate was 19.9 per 100 000 population. From 2018 to 2021, there were 301 557 overdose deaths, including 58 319 (19.3%) among individuals without an HS diploma, 153 603 (50.9%) among people with an HS diploma, 64 682 (21.4%) among individuals with some college, and 24 953 (8.3%) among individuals with a bachelor’s degree. There were 3324 overdose deaths (1.1%) among American Indian or Alaska Native individuals, 2968 (1.0%) among Asian American or Pacific Islander individuals, 49 152 (16.3%) among Black individuals, 31 703 (10.5%) among Hispanic individuals, 211 359 (70.1%) among White individuals, and 3051 (1.0%) among multiracial individuals. From 2018 to 2021, the overdose death rate was 33.4 per 100 000 population, the opioid-related overdose death rate was 24.2 per 100 000 population, and the synthetic opioid overdose death rate was 19.1 per 100 000 population. From 2018 to 2021, the overdose death rate for those without a HS diploma increased by 35.4 per 100 000 population compared with 1.5 per 100 000 population for those with a bachelor’s degree. This differential growth was primarily due to increased rates of death involving synthetic opioids.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this cross-sectional study, lower educational attainment was found to be associated with higher growth in overdose deaths. As the opioid crisis has transitioned to fentanyl and polysubstance use, overdose deaths have become more prevalent in groups with lower socioeconomic status, potentially exacerbating existing life-expectancy disparities.
Improving the efficiency of breast radiotherapy treatment planning using a semi‐automated approach
Authors: Mitchell Robert A , Wai Philip , Colgan Ruth , Kirby Anna M , Donovan Ellen M 
Published: October 2023

AbstractObjectivesTo reduce treatment planning times while maintaining plan quality through the introduction of semi‐automated planning techniques for breast radiotherapy.MethodsAutomatic critical structure delineation was examined using the Smart Probabilistic Image Contouring Engine (SPICE) commercial autosegmentation software (Philips Radiation Oncology Systems, Fitchburg, WI) for a cohort of ten patients. Semiautomated planning was investigated by employing scripting in the treatment planning system to automate segment creation for breast step‐and‐shoot planning and create objectives for segment weight optimization; considerations were made for three different multileaf collimator (MLC) configurations. Forty patients were retrospectively planned using the script and a planning time comparison performed.ResultsThe SPICE heart and lung outlines agreed closely with clinician‐defined outlines (median Dice Similarity Coefficient > 0.9); median difference in mean heart dose was 0.0 cGy (range −10.8 to 5.4 cGy). Scripted treatment plans demonstrated equivalence with their clinical counterparts. No statistically significant differences were found for target parameters. Minimal ipsilateral lung dose increases were also observed. Statistically significant (P < 0.01) time reductions were achievable for MLCi and Agility MLC (Elekta Ltd, Crawley, UK) plans (median 4.9 and 5.9 min, respectively).ConclusionsThe use of commercial autosegmentation software enables breast plan adjustment based on doses to organs at risk. Semi‐automated techniques for breast radiotherapy planning offer modest reductions in planning times. However, in the context of a typical department's breast radiotherapy workload, minor savings per plan translate into greater efficiencies overall.
Pixel response‐based EPID dosimetry for patient specific QA
Authors: Han Bin , Ding Aiping , Lu Minghui , Xing Lei 
Published: October 2023

AbstractIncreasing use of high dose rate, flattening filter free (FFF), and/or small‐sized field beams presents a significant challenge to the medical physics community. In this work, we develop a strategy of using a high spatial resolution and high frame rate amorphous silicon flat panel electronic portal imaging device (EPID) for dosimetric measurements of these challenging cases, as well as for conventional external beam therapy. To convert a series of raw EPID‐measured radiation field images into water‐based dose distribution, a pixel‐to‐pixel dose–response function of the EPID specific to the linac is essential. The response function was obtained by using a Monte Carlo simulation of the photon transport in the EPID with a comprehensive calibration. After the raw image was converted into the primary incident photon fluence, the fluence was further convolved into a water‐based dose distribution of the dynamic field by using a pregenerated pencil‐beam kernel. The EPID‐based dosimetric measurement technique was validated using beams with and without flattening filter of all energies available in Varian TrueBeam STx™. Both regularly and irregularly shaped fields measured using a PTW 729 ion chamber array in plastic water phantom. The technique was also applied to measure the distribution for a total of 23 treatment plans of different energies to evaluate the accuracy of the proposed approach. The EPID measurements of square fields of 4 × 4 cm2 to 20 × 20 cm2, circular fields of 2–15 cm diameters, rectangular fields of various sizes, and irregular MLC fields were in accordance with measurements using a Farmer chamber and/or ion chamber array. The 2D absolute dose maps generated from EPID raw images agreed with ion chamber measurements to within 1.5% for all fields. For the 23 patient cases examined in this work, the average γ‐index passing rate were found to be 99.2 ± 0.6%, 97.4 ± 2.4%, and 72.6 ± 8.4%, respectively, for criterions of 3 mm/3%, 2 mm/2%, and 1 mm/1%. The high spatial resolution and high frame rate EPID provides an accurate and efficient dosimetric tool for QA of modern radiation therapy. Accurate absolute 2D dose maps can be generated from the system for an independent dosimetric verification of treatment delivery.
Investigation of dosimetric variations of liver radiotherapy using deformable registration of planning CT and cone‐beam CT
Authors: Huang Pu , Yu Gang , Chen Jinhu , Ma Changsheng , Qin Shaohua , Yin Yong , Liang Yueqiang , Li Hongsheng , Li Dengwang 
Published: October 2023

AbstractMany patients with technically unresectable or medically inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) had hepatic anatomy variations as a result of interfraction deformation during fractionated radiotherapy. We conducted this retrospective study to investigate interfractional normal liver dosimetric consequences via reconstructing weekly dose in HCC patients. Twenty‐three patients with HCC received conventional fractionated three‐dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) were enrolled in this retrospective investigation. Among them, seven patients had been diagnosed of radiation‐induced liver disease (RILD) and the other 16 patients had good prognosis after treatment course. The cone‐beam CT (CBCT) scans were acquired once weekly for each patient throughout the treatment, deformable image registration (DIR) of planning CT (pCT) and CBCT was performed to acquire modified CBCT (mCBCT), and the structural contours were propagated by the DIR. The same plan was applied to mCBCT to perform dose calculation. Weekly dose distribution was displayed on the pCT dose space and compared using dose difference, target coverage, and dose volume histograms. Statistical analysis was performed to identify the significant dosimetric variations. Among the 23 patients, the three weekly normal liver D50 increased by 0.2 Gy, 4.2 Gy, and 4.7 Gy, respectively, for patients with RILD, and 1.0 Gy, 2.7 Gy, and 3.1 Gy, respectively, for patients without RILD. Mean dose to the normal liver (Dmean) increased by 0.5 Gy, 2.6 Gy, and 4.0 Gy, respectively, for patients with RILD, and 0.4 Gy, 3.1 Gy, and 3.4 Gy, respectively, for patients without RILD. Regarding patients with RILD, the average values of the third weekly D50 and Dmean were both over hepatic radiation tolerance, while the values of patients without RILD were below. The dosimetric consequence showed that the liver dose between patients with and without RILD were different relative to the planned dose, and the RILD patients suffered from liver dose over hepatic radiation tolerance. Evaluation of routinely acquired CBCT images during radiation therapy provides biological information on the organs at risk, and dose estimation based on mCBCT could potentially form the basis for personalized response adaptive therapy.