bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ethnobotanical survey of plants locally used in the control of termite pests among rural communities in northern Uganda
Authors: Okori Betty C. , Oryema Christine , Opiro Robert , Amos Acur , Obici Gilbert I. , Rutaro Karlmax , Malinga Geoffrey M. , Sande Eric 
Published: June 2022

Abstract
Background
Termites are the most destructive pests in many agricultural and forest plantations in Uganda. Current control of termites mostly relies on chemical pesticides. However, the adverse effects of chemical insecticides necessitate the need to search for and popularize the usage of environmentally safer options. Plants represent one of the most accessible resources available for termite control by communities in Uganda. However, limited documented information exists for their contribution in the management of except through verbal sharing. This study aimed at assessing the communities’ knowledge about plants traditionally used in controlling termites among selected communities in Apac District, northern Uganda.

Method
An ethnobotanical survey was conducted between November 2016 and February 2017 in 12 randomly selected villages in the sub counties of Apac and Ibuje of Apac District, northern Uganda. Open-ended questionnaire interviews were used to gather ethnobotanical and sociodemographic data. A total of 381 indigenous people were interviewed [male, 281 (73.8); female, 100 (26.2)]. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), and the relative frequency of citation (RFC) was determined.

Results
Overall, 70.9% of the respondents were knowledgeable about plants used for control of termites. There was a significant association between respondents’ knowledge of pesticidal plants with age and gender but not with education status. A total of 11 plant species belonging to eight families were identified to be in use for control of termites in Apac. Solanaceae, Eurphorbiaceae and Asteraceae were the most represented families with two species each, while the rest of the families had only one species mentioned. According to the relative frequency of citation (RFC), Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth. (RFC = 0.43), Vernonia amygdalina Delile (0.18) and Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray (0.10) were the most used in the control of termites in the study area. Fruits (45.9%) and leaves (29.2%) were the most used plant parts. Squeezing, crushing and chopping of the plant materials were the most popular methods of preparation and water extract was the commonest mode of formulation of plant parts.

Conclusions
The study has shown that rural populations of the targeted localities possess indigenous knowledge on anti-termitid plants. However, screening is urgently needed to validate their bioactivity and to determine the bioactive constituents responsible for killing the invertebrates in pest management. Furthermore, simple methods for local propagation and cultivation are needed to ensure a sustainable supply of termicidal plant biomass.
Clinically Symptomatic Resistance to Thyroid Hormone β Syndrome Because of THRB Gene Mosaicism
Authors: Donnars Anne , Leplat Alice , Grosheny Catherine , Briet Claire , Illouz Frédéric , Bouzamondo Nathalie , Moal Valérie , De Casson Florence Boux , Bouhours-Nouet Natacha , Coutant Régis , Rodien Patrice , Mirebeau-Prunier Delphine , Dieu Xavier 
Published: June 2022

Abstract

Context
Resistance to thyroid hormone β syndrome (RTHβ) is caused by pathogenic variants in the THRB gene, but such variants are found in only 85% of cases. We report the case of a patient with RTHβ phenotype but for whom we found a pathogenic variant of the THRB gene in a mosaic state.

Case Description
The patient is a 52-year-old woman with clinical and biological signs of RTHβ. Symptoms included asthenia, cardiac palpitations, and diarrhea. Repeated thyroid function tests showed an elevated serum TSH, elevated serum free T4, and variably normal or slightly elevated serum fT3. Pituitary magnetic resonance imaging was normal, and the thyrotropin-releasing hormone test result was compatible with the diagnosis of RTHβ syndrome. Initial Sanger sequencing on blood samples could not highlight the presence of a mosaic variant because of insufficient sensitivity. When next-generation sequencing became accessible, blood samples were retested and we found a known pathogenic variant: c.949G &gt; A; p.(ala317Thr), with an allelic frequency of 12%. Other samples from tissues of different embryological origin were also tested and found an allelic frequency of 5.7%, 17.9%, 9.9%, 6.4%, and 0% on urine tests, oral swab, nasal mucosa swab, skin biopsy, and conjunctival swab, respectively. Cloning confirmed the allelic frequency observed.

Conclusions
We highlight that a pathogenic variant in a mosaic state in the THRB gene may be the cause of an authentic RTHβ syndrome. High-throughput sequencing of multiple tissues eases the detection of pathogenic variant in a mosaic state and allows the correct diagnosis of patients with true RTHβ, thus avoiding patient mismanagement.
Peptic Ulcer Disease and Risk of Hip Fracture: A General Population-based Cohort Study
Authors: Li Jiatian , Lu Na , Lyu Houchen , Lei Guanghua , Zeng Chao , Wei Jie , Wang Yilun , Xie Dongxing 
Published: June 2022

Abstract

Aims
Previous studies reported proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use may increase the risk of fracture; however, the findings may be susceptible to indication bias because peptic ulcer disease (PUD), 1 major indication for PPIs, may affect skeletal health. Determining whether PUD would increase hip fracture risk may help identify high-risk populations and explore risk factors.

Methods
We conducted a cohort study using data from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) in the United Kingdom. THIN contains patient information such as disease diagnosis and medicine prescriptions. Up to 5 non-PUD individuals (n = 138 265) were matched to each case of incident PUD (n = 27 653) by age, sex, and body mass index. We examined the association between PUD and hip fracture by a multivariable Cox proportional hazard model. We repeated the same analysis among individuals with incident PUD and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) (n = 27 160), another disease with similar indication for PPIs, as a positive control exposure.

Results
Over a mean of 5.6 years of follow-up, hip fracture occurred in 589 individuals with PUD and 2015 individuals without PUD (3.8 vs 2.6/1000 person-years), with a multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) being 1.44 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31-1.58). The association persisted among subgroups stratified by sex and age. In positive control exposure analysis, the hip fracture risk was also higher in PUD than GERD (3.8 vs 2.4/1000 person-years; multivariable-adjusted HR = 1.65; 95% CI, 1.45-1.7).

Conclusions
This general population-based cohort study suggests, after controlling for acid-lowering medication and other potential risk factors, PUD is independently associated with an increased risk of hip fracture.
Changes in Sex Steroids and Enteric Peptides After Sleeve Gastrectomy in Youth in Relation to Changes in Bone Parameters
Authors: Nimmala Supritha , Kaur Snimarjot , Singhal Vibha , Mitchell Deborah M , Stanford Fatima Cody , Bouxsein Mary L , Lauze Meghan , Huynh Carolyn , Pedreira Clarissa C , Lee Hang , Bredella Miriam A , Misra Madhusmita 
Published: June 2022

Abstract

Context
Sleeve gastrectomy (SG) improves metabolic endpoints but is associated with impaired bone outcomes.

Objective
To determine mechanisms contributing to impaired bone health in youth following SG.

Methods
12-month longitudinal observational study in a multidisciplinary tertiary-care hospital, including 64 youth 13-25 years old with moderate-to-severe obesity (51 females); 30 underwent SG and 34 were nonsurgical (NS) controls. SG was undertaken after a combined decision-making process between treatment team and patient. The main outcome measures were fasting blood for enteric peptides, sex steroids, sclerostin, and bone turnover markers (N-terminal propeptide of type 1 procollagen [P1NP] and C-terminal cross-linking telopeptide [CTX]); dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry measures of areal bone mineral density (aBMD) and body composition; high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography; measures of volumetric BMD (vBMD); microfinite element analysis of strength estimates (distal radius and tibia).

Results
SG had greater reductions in body mass index (BMI) z-scores, serum estrone, and the free androgen index (FAI) (P ≤ .046), and greater increases in sclerostin, P1NP, and CTX (P ≤ .010) than NS controls. Fasting ghrelin decreased in SG vs NS (P &lt; .0001); fasting peptide YY did not change. Most changes were driven by female SG participants. Among females (the majority of study participants), after controlling for baseline age and race, reductions in total hip aBMD Z-scores were positively associated with changes in BMI, lean mass, estrone, FAI, and ghrelin, and inversely with changes in sclerostin.. Decreases in total vBMD of the radius and tibia were associated positively with decreases in BMI. Increases in CTX were associated with decreases in BMI, lean mass, and ghrelin, and increases in sclerostin.

Conclusion
Bone loss after SG in youth is associated with changes in body composition, sex steroids, sclerostin, and enteric peptides. These are potential targets for future preventative or therapeutic strategies.
Beyond HIV prevention: Additional individual and community-level benefits of PrEP among Latino gay and bisexual men
Authors: Brooks Ronald A. , Nieto Omar , Santillan Martin , Landrian Amanda , Fehrenbacher Anne E. , Cabral Alejandra 
Published: June 2022

Background
HIV infections disproportionately impact Latino gay and bisexual men (GBM) in the United States. Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is a proven prevention strategy that can help reduce new HIV infections in this population. Unfortunately, PrEP adoption and persistence among Latino GBM remain low. The added benefits of using PrEP experienced by Latino GBM can provide important insights to inform the development of PrEP messaging to motivate this population to explore and consider PrEP as an appropriate and acceptable HIV prevention tool.

Methods
We conducted in-depth interviews with Latino GBM PrEP users to explore positive feelings and emotions, and additional benefits gained from using PrEP. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results
A total of 29 Latino GBM completed the study interview. The average age of participants was 30 years, and the mean length of time using PrEP was 17.1 months. Five themes were constructed from the data representing the additional benefits gained by Latino GBM PrEP users, and included: (1) reduced fear, anxiety, and stress about HIV, HIV testing, and sex; (2) feeling empowered and in control of their HIV risk; (3) greater awareness of sexual risk behaviors and sexual health; (4) greater sexual exploration and pleasure, and comfort having condomless sex; and (5) a greater connection to community and a feeling of contributing to the elimination of HIV.

Conclusions
The added benefits identified in this study represent a range of social, emotional, and psychological benefits that Latino GBM experience while using PrEP. They speak to the complementary benefits that PrEP can bring to Latino GBM who decide to use the medication, that go beyond HIV prevention. These findings can inform the development of future PrEP messaging to help improve motivation for PrEP uptake and persistent use among Latino GBM.
A new sound change for Guarani(an): glottal prothesis, internal classification, and the explanation of synchronic irregularities
Authors: de Carvalho Fernando O. 
Published: June 2022

Abstract
A so far overlooked sound change in the historical phonology of the Guaranian branch of the Tupi-Guarani language family is discussed in the present paper. The sound change in question, which accounts for certain synchronic morphological irregularities, consists of the insertion of the glottal fricative h in word-initial position any time the next (right-adjacent) syllable has a glottal stop ʔ as its onset consonant. Allomorphy resulting from this change is shown to affect verbal, nominal, and postpositional prefixes, as well as monomorphemic lexemes, thus unifying the treatment of synchronic patterns which are often addressed as an exclusive trait of certain verb forms. The paper ends by discussing the issue of internal classification, pointing a few limitations in past attempts to ground the subgrouping of Tupi-Guarani languages on phonological grounds, and highlighting the status of glottal prothesis as the first known phonological isogloss exclusively shared by the Guaranian varieties.
Hybrid dual-loop control method for dead-time second-order unstable inverse response plants with a case study on CSTR
Authors: Kumari Shweta , Aryan Pulakraj , Kumar Deepak , Raja G. Lloyds 
Published: June 2022

Abstract
Unstable processes are hard to stabilize as they contain one or more positive poles which result in unbounded dynamic behavior. The occurrence of the delay and positive zeros often creates more difficulty in controlling such unstable plants. Most control strategies meant for first-order unstable processes fail to stabilize and control the higher-order unstable processes. Hence, a new dual-loop hybrid control structure is suggested for dead-time unbounded second-order processes with positive/negative zeros. Inner-loop has a stabilizing PID controller. The PID controller parameters are derived by comparing the numerator and characteristic polynomial coefficients in the transfer function for internal-loop servo action. A fractional-order internal model controller (FOIMC) is used in the external-loop. Methods for the selection of outer-loop tuning parameter and fractional-order are also discussed. By comparing the simulation results with a contemporary single-loop scheme, the usefulness of the suggested scheme is proved. The suggested scheme is capable of minimizing the overshoot and improving the overall dynamic performance. Finally, the usefulness of the suggested scheme is also demonstrated by a case study on temperature control of a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) during a first-order irrevocable exothermic reaction.
Who texts what to whom and when? Patterning of texting in four multilingual minoritized language communities and a preliminary proposal for the language repertoire matrix
Authors: Eberhard David M. , Mangulamas Manap 
Published: June 2022

AbstractThough computer mediated communication has been widely studied, private messaging in minoritized languages (many without standardized orthographies) is an area of minimal research. This article looks at texting in four multilingual language communities: Maguindanaon (Philippines), Sebuyau (Malaysia), Mamaindê (Brazil) and Marubo (Brazil). The majority of the data comes from the Maguindanao case study, an Austronesian language spoken by over one million speakers in the Maguindanao province of Mindanao Island. Based on this preliminary data, an initial framework with which to understand the language choices for digital messaging in such societies is proposed. The broader implications of this study are its insights into the variable patterning of texting in minority languages in general, providing a baseline for future work in this area. This preliminary study suggests that the texting repertoires of minority language communities are found to pattern after their parallel repertoires of either orality or literacy. These patterns are collectively referred to as the “Language Repertoire Matrix”. The variable that distinguishes one texting repertoire from another is the language(s) used for intra-group texting: minority (L1), majority (L2), or minority + majority (L1 + L2) languages. We propose that the choice of employing either the orality or literacy repertoires for intra-group texting demonstrates the underlying function of such texting within that society. The conclusion offers some suggestions on how these insights might apply to the field of minority language development.
Contested Civic Spaces in Greece in the Context of Foreign Immigration and the Refugee Crisis of 2015
Authors: Makrides Vasilios N. 
Published: June 2022

Abstract
This article takes a closer look at various developments in Greece with regard to the status of civil society (more specifically regarding certain NGOs and volunteer-run solidarity initiatives), a country that was challenged in the last decades by foreign immigration and especially by a serious refugee crisis in 2015. The latter had an immediate impact on NGO activities in the country, which became in many cases seriously questioned, contested or restricted. Greece’s case can be used as a testing ground for examining and understanding the complex intricacies between establishing viable civic structures and becoming aware of local sensitivities pertaining to security and other issues.
Toward achieving sustainable development agenda: Nexus between agriculture, trade openness, and oil rents in Nigeria
Authors: Adedoyin Festus F. , Osundina Olawumi A. , Bekun Festus V. , Asongu Simplice A. 
Published: June 2022

Abstract
Over the years, agriculture has been considered as a panacea for long-term economic growth as believed by the physiocracy school of thought. Aligning this with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (specifically UN-SDG-2 which highlights zero hunger), the present study empirically complements existing studies by exploring the interactions between agriculture, trade openness, and oil rents using annual time frequency series data from 1981–2017. A series of analyses is conducted. First, a battery of non-stationarity and stationarity unit root tests are performed; these range from the traditional Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips–Perron (PP) techniques to the relatively recent Zivot Andrews (ZA) unit root test which accounts for a single structural break to ascertain stationarity properties in the variables under review. Subsequently, the recent Bayer–Hanck cointegration test in conjunction with the Johansen cointegration test was used for the cointegration analysis. Furthermore, to detect the direction of causality, the Toda-Yamamoto Granger Causality test alongside the impulse response function technique shows insightful outcomes. From the empirical results, cointegration is apparent and a long-run equilibrium relationship is traced between the outlined variables over the investigated period. The causality results and impulse response analysis highlight the existence of one-way causality links running from agriculture to trade and from trade to oil rents. The causality test results are informative, and the plausible explanation might be due to the dwindling oil market prices. More insights are elucidated in the conclusion section accordingly.
Educators’ reflections on the teaching and learning of the periodic table of elements at the upper secondary level: a case study
Authors: Narod Fawzia , Narrainsawmy Vickren 
Published: June 2022

Abstract
It is an undeniable fact that the periodic table is an essential tool for both chemists and chemistry students, as it represents all presently known 118 elements, their properties and the trends in their properties. It is reported to be “… a rather holistic and all-inclusive aspect of chemistry…” (Scerri E. Explaining the Periodic Table, and the role of chemical triads. Found Chem 2010;12:69–83) and an understanding of the periodic table lays the foundation for effective learning of chemistry. However, it is also reported that students find the topic challenging and educators find the topic difficult to teach. Thus, an attempt is made in this study to allow educators to reflect on the challenges encountered in teaching and learning of the periodic table and related concepts at the secondary level. This study reports chemistry educators’ reflection on the teaching and learning of the periodic table at the secondary school level in Mauritius. Data was collected through a questionnaire, which included both open- and close ended questions pertaining to the teaching and learning of chemistry. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data through the lens of the constructivist learning framework. The results indicate that the major barriers for adopting constructivist practices when teaching the periodic table are inadequate educators’ knowledge of students’ alternate conceptions and knowledge of how students learn the periodic table as a classification system. The findings from this study inform how to improve the teaching and learning of the periodic table from a constructivist viewpoint. Thus, through this study, it is expected that enhancing educators’ pedagogical content knowledge of the periodic table could potentially help overcome students’ challenges of learning periodic table.
Planning with Critical Section Macros: Theory and Practice
Authors: Chrpa Lukas , Vallati Mauro 
Published: June 2022

Macro-operators (macros) are a well-known technique for enhancing performance of planning engines by providing “short-cuts” in the state space. Existing macro learning systems usually generate macros by considering most frequent action sequences in training plans. Unfortunately, frequent action sequences might not capture meaningful activities as a whole, leading to a limited beneficial impact for the planning process.
In this paper, inspired by resource locking in critical sections in parallel computing, we propose a technique that generates macros able to capture whole activities in which limited resources (e.g., a robotic hand, or a truck) are used. Specifically, such a Critical Section macro starts by locking the resource (e.g., grabbing an object), continues by using the resource (e.g., manipulating the object) and finishes by releasing the resource (e.g., dropping the object). Hence, such a macro bridges states in which the resource is locked and cannot be used. We also introduce versions of Critical Section macros dealing with multiple resources and phased locks. Usefulness of macros is evaluated using a range of state-of-the-art planners, and a large number of benchmarks from the deterministic and learning tracks of recent editions of the International Planning Competition.
Investigating the Effects of the Subjective Sleep Parameters on COVID-19 Infection Probability and Severity in Medical Interns
Authors: Bastanhagh Ehsan , Erfanian Reza 
Published: June 2022

Background: Sleep has a well-recognized impact on human immunity. COVID-19 infectivity and severity depend on the immune system of the host. Medical interns are at risk for the development of this disease and have poor sleep quality. In this study, the association between sleep quality and COVID-19 infection development and severity in medical students was evaluated.
Methods: In the current study, 50 medical students were enrolled. Demographic and subjective sleep parameters were documented and compared with COVID-19 infection history and development of dyspnea. Chronotype was assessed by the reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ).
Results: The total sleep time in infected medical intern were 68.14 minutes shorter than non-infected one (p=0.048). The wake time was one hour and twelve minutes earlier in the group which developed dyspnea (p=0.020). Age, gender, rMEQ score and Body Mass Index (BMI) are significantly associated with neither COVID-19 infection history nor dyspnea.
Conclusion: Short sleep time and early morning awakening are bound up with the prevalence and severity of COVID-19 in medical interns.