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Background: Recent studies have revealed that pharmacists have interest in conducting research. However, lack of confidence is a major barrier. Objective: This study evaluated pharmacists’ self-perceived competence and confidence to plan and conduct health-related research. Method: This cross sectional study was conducted during the 89th Annual National Conference of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria in November 2016. An adapted questionnaire was validated and administered to 200 pharmacist delegates during the conference. Result: Overall, 127 questionnaires were included in the analysis. At least 80% of the pharmacists had previous health-related research experience. Pharmacist’s competence and confidence scores were lowest for research skills such as: using software for statistical analysis, choosing and applying appropriate inferential statistical test and method, and outlining detailed statistical plan to be used in data analysis. Highest competence and confidence scores were observed for conception of research idea, literature search and critical appraisal of literature. Pharmacists with previous research experience had higher competence and confidence scores than those with no previous research experience (p

Abstract Dissecting the genetic basis of seed traits in wheat is impeded by limited genetic polymorphisms and significant variations caused by environmental conditions and seed position in a spikelet. Seed performance is largely determined by endosperm development controlled by spatiotemporal variation in gene activities, which is greatly affected by chromatin status. Here, we map genome-wide dynamic distributions of H3K27me3, H3K4me3 and H3K9ac modifications and profile gene transcription across wheat endosperm development. The combinatorial effects of active and repressive marks ensure spatiotemporal dynamic gene expression, especially for starch biosynthesis. By scanning the transcription factor binding motifs in the ATAC-seq peaks, hub regulators are identified from the regulatory network. In addition, we observe significant correlations between sequence polymorphisms of hub regulators and variations in seed traits in a germplasm population. Thus, the analysis of genomic regulatory activities together with genetic variation provides a robust approach to dissect seed traits in bread wheat.

Background: osteoporosis and diabetes mellitus are highly prevalent diseases that have potentially devastating effects on health and socioeconomic status. Objective: The aims of this study were to assess: 1) the level of osteoporosis knowledge among T2DM patients; 2) the correlation, associations or differences of demographic characteristics, diabetes-related variable, as well as, lipid and blood pressure profiles with osteoporosis knowledge; and 3) the correlation between T-score measurement using quantitative ultrasound scan (QUS) and osteoporosis knowledge. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was chosen, where data was collected using a self-report structured questionnaire using osteoporosis knowledge - Malay version questionnaire (OKT-M) among T2DM patients. Furthermore, the clinical data regarding the patients were collected retrospectively from the hospital medical record after patient interview was completed. Results: The average age of the patients was 62.67 (SD 9.24) years (ranged from 33 to 87 years). Males (231, 51.30%) slightly outnumbered females. Among the racial distribution, the proportion of Chinese patients (204, 45.30%) was higher than Malay (127, 28.20%) and Indian patients (119, 26.40%). In addition, more than three quarters (343, 76.20%) of patients had poor glycaemic control. The average OKT-M total score, OKT-M Exercise subscale and OKT-M Calcium subscale were 12.55 (SD 4.06), 8.60 (SD 2.89) and 8.40 (SD 3.36), respectively. Only 33.30% of the T2DM patients were found to have high level of osteoporosis knowledge. There was a lack of identification and recognition of osteoporosis risk factors. There were significant differences or associations between osteoporosis knowledge and education level, monthly income, employment status, family history of fracture, smoking habit, alcoholic status, insulin use, therapy type and diastolic blood pressure. In addition, significant and positive correlations were found between T-scores and OKT-M total score (n=450, rs= 0.244, P=0.000), OKT-M Exercise subscale (n=450, rs= 0.219, P=0.000) and OKT-M Calcium subscale (n=450, rs=0.199, P=0.000) among T2DM patients (all Ps

Vernalization is necessary for winter wheat to flower. However, it is unclear whether vernalization is also required for spring wheat, which is frequently sown in fall, and what molecular mechanisms underlie the vernalization response in wheat varieties. In this study, we examined the molecular mechanisms that regulate vernalization response in winter and spring wheat varieties. For this purpose, we determined how major vernalization genes (VRN1, VRN2, and VRN3) respond to vernalization in these varieties and whether modifications to histones play a role in changes in gene expression. We also identified genes that are differentially regulated in response to vernalization in winter and spring wheat varieties. We found that in winter wheat, but not in spring wheat, VRN1 expression decreases when returned to warm temperature following vernalization. This finding may be associated with differences between spring and winter wheat in the levels of tri-methylation of lysine 27 on histone H3 (H3K27me3) and tri-methylation of lysine 4 on histone H3 (H3K4me3) at the VRN1 gene. Analysis of winter wheat transcriptomes before and after vernalization revealed that vernalization influences the expression of several genes, including those involved in leucine catabolism, cysteine biosynthesis, and flavonoid biosynthesis. These findings provide new candidates for further study on the mechanism of vernalization regulation in wheat.

Background: COVID-19 is the largest recorded pandemic in history. It causes several complications such as shock, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and organ failure. The objective was to determine COVID-19 outcomes and risk factors in the intensive care (ICU) setting. Methods: A retrospective review of prospectively collected data was conducted. Adult patients with a positive RT-PCR test for COVID-19 admitted to ICUs of a tertiary care hospital between 2020 and 2022 were included. Patients who had severe complex trauma were excluded. The outcomes examined included ventilation use and duration, length of stay (LOS), and mortality. Results: A total of 964 patients were included. The mean ( ± standard deviation, SD) age was 63.7 ± 16.9 years. The majority of the patients were males (59.0 %) and Saudi (75.7 %). Ventilation use was documented in 443 (57.1 %) patients, with a mean ( ± SD) ventilation duration of 9.7 ± 8.4 days. Death occurred in 361 (37.4 %) patients after a mean ( ± SD) of 33.3 ± 44.5 days from infection. The mean ( ± SD) LOS was 30.6 ± 54.1 days in hospital and 5.2 ± 5.4 days in ICU. Ventilation use was associated with older age, males, longer ICU LOS, mortality, and admission to medical-surgical ICU. Crude mortality use was associated with older age, longer ICU LOS, use of ventilator, shorter ventilation duration, and admission to medical-surgical or respiratory ICUs. Conclusions: COVID-19 patients admitted to adult ICUs are at high risk of death and mechanical ventilation. The crude risks of both outcomes are higher in older age and longer ICU LOS and are very variable by ICU type.

Introduction Determining aetiology of severe illness can be difficult, especially in settings with limited diagnostic resources, yet critical for providing life-saving care. Our objective was to describe the accuracy of antemortem clinical diagnoses in young children in high-mortality settings, compared with results of specific postmortem diagnoses obtained from Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS).Methods We analysed data collected during 2016–2022 from seven sites in Africa and South Asia. We compared antemortem clinical diagnoses from clinical records to a reference standard of postmortem diagnoses determined by expert panels at each site who reviewed the results of histopathological and microbiological testing of tissue, blood, and cerebrospinal fluid. We calculated test characteristics and 95% CIs of antemortem clinical diagnostic accuracy for the 10 most common causes of death. We classified diagnostic discrepancies as major and minor, per Goldman criteria later modified by Battle.Results CHAMPS enrolled 1454 deceased young children aged 1–59 months during the study period; 881 had available clinical records and were analysed. The median age at death was 11 months (IQR 4–21 months) and 47.3% (n=417) were female. We identified a clinicopathological discrepancy in 39.5% (n=348) of deaths; 82.3% of diagnostic errors were major. The sensitivity of clinician antemortem diagnosis ranged from 26% (95% CI 14.6% to 40.3%) for non-infectious respiratory diseases (eg, aspiration pneumonia, interstitial lung disease, etc) to 82.2% (95% CI 72.7% to 89.5%) for diarrhoeal diseases. Antemortem clinical diagnostic specificity ranged from 75.2% (95% CI 72.1% to 78.2%) for diarrhoeal diseases to 99.0% (95% CI 98.1% to 99.6%) for HIV.Conclusions Antemortem clinical diagnostic errors were common for young children who died in areas with high childhood mortality rates. To further reduce childhood mortality in resource-limited settings, there is an urgent need to improve antemortem diagnostic capability through advances in the availability of diagnostic testing and clinical skills.

Abstract Background An autologous blood product containing a high percentage of various growth factors, cytokines, and modulating factors such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is thought to play a role in chondral remodeling by promoting the production of cartilage matrix molecules and repairing and regenerating articular cartilage. In symptomatic patients with moderate osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, we aimed to investigate MRI-based cartilage changes and the clinical efficacy of autologous intra-articular PRP injections. Results Thirty-three patients with grades 2 and 3 OA of knees as per Kellgren and Lawrence OA classification underwent three consecutive PRP injections at monthly intervals. These patients were followed up monthly for the first 3 months, and then after every 3 months at 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months. There was statistically significant improvement in joint pain and functionality with the visual analogue scale (VAS) scores showing a reduction from 7 ± 2 at baseline to 2.76 ± 1.34 at 12 months and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index Score (WOMAC) scores declining from 77.91 ± 1 1.6 at baseline to 23.61 ± 19.1 at 12 months (p 0.05)]. Conclusions PRP had a positive effect on pain alleviation and patient functioning, but there was no significant change in articular cartilage as measured by MRI.

Spike architecture influences both grain weight and grain number per spike, which are the two major components of grain yield in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). However, the complex wheat genome and the influence of various environmental factors pose challenges in mapping the causal genes that affect spike traits. Here, we systematically identified genes involved in spike trait formation by integrating information on genomic variation and gene regulatory networks controlling young spike development in wheat. We identified 170 loci that are responsible for variations in spike length, spikelet number per spike, and grain number per spike through genome-wide association study and meta-QTL analyses. We constructed gene regulatory networks for young inflorescences at the double ridge stage and the floret primordium stage, in which the spikelet meristem and the floret meristem are predominant, respectively, by integrating transcriptome, histone modification, chromatin accessibility, eQTL, and protein–protein interactome data. From these networks, we identified 169 hub genes located in 76 of the 170 QTL regions whose polymorphisms are significantly associated with variation in spike traits. The functions of TaZF-B1, VRT-B2, and TaSPL15-A/D in establishment of wheat spike architecture were verified. This study provides valuable molecular resources for understanding spike traits and demonstrates that combining genetic analysis and developmental regulatory networks is a robust approach for dissection of complex traits.

We focus on computing the geopolitical risk index (GPRI) for Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa. The country has faced crises, including Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, EndSARS, and regional secession, affecting trade relationships with other countries. Existing GPR indices do not include Africa, hence the need for this effort. The proposed index considers eight prominent Nigerian newspapers and relevant keywords on a daily basis from Jan 1, 2012, to June 19, 2023. We evaluate the predictability of the index by examining its relationship with Nigeria's currency and stock markets. Our findings reveal a remarkable positive relationship between the rising geopolitical tensions and the volatility of the currency and stock markets. Curbing geopolitical tensions in Nigeria is crucial for financial market stability.

Summary: Background: Most childhood deaths globally are considered preventable through high-quality clinical care, which includes adherence to clinical care recommendations. Our objective was to describe adherence to World Health Organization recommendations for the management of leading causes of death among children. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study examining clinical data for children aged 1–59 months who were hospitalized and died in a Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) catchment, December 2016–June 2021. Catchment areas included: Baliakandi and Faridpur, Bangladesh; Kersa, Haramaya, and Harar, Ethiopia; Kisumu and Siaya, Kenya; Bamako, Mali; Manhiça and Quelimane, Mozambique; Makeni, Sierra Leone; Soweto, South Africa. We reviewed medical records of those who died from lower respiratory tract infections, sepsis, malnutrition, malaria, and diarrheal diseases to determine the proportion who received recommended treatments and compared adherence by hospitalization duration. Findings: CHAMPS enrolled 460 hospitalized children who died from the leading causes (median age 12 months, 53.0% male). Median hospital admission was 31 h. There were 51.0% (n = 127/249) of children who died from lower respiratory tract infections received supplemental oxygen. Administration of intravenous fluids for sepsis (15.9%, n = 36/226) and supplemental feeds for malnutrition (14.0%, n = 18/129) were uncommon. There were 51.4% (n = 55/107) of those who died from malaria received antimalarials. Of the 80 children who died from diarrheal diseases, 76.2% received intravenous fluids. Those admitted for ≥24 h more commonly received antibiotics for lower respiratory tract infections and sepsis, supplemental feeds for malnutrition, and intravenous fluids for sepsis than those admitted

Telecommunication has experienced a lot of explosion in bandwidth because of its capacity to transmit large data. Though, there are several cogent benefits, there are also prices like temperature rise during life-threatening events. Recent tragedy of China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane that killed 133 passengers on board is a price of poor aerospace communication. The cut-off communication during stalling is connected with temperature rise in the OFT used without loss of generality. This article presents an OFT called the OWTOF with higher-than-expected temperature resistance especially when the lunch power increases the temperature at fusion point. Numerical approximation shows that the OWTOF is a significant improvement of the WTOF implying that real-time OWTOF could be the solution of stalling without loss of quality and speed.

The purpose of the Diffie-Hellman key exchange is to establish a shared secret key given that the protocol works in an abelian group setting. In this paper, conditions are presented to attain a shared secret key over a nonabelian group for the well-known Diffie-Hellman method. To attain the shared secret key, a subgroup of a nonabelian group will be presented in the abelian configuration by incorporating group theory concept such as normal subgroup and cyclic subgroup. The protocol introduced on the nonabelian group, namely the special linear group, addresses the conjugacy search problem, aiming to enhance the security of the existing protocol. Examples in special linear group SL(2,3) are presented to illustrate the implementation of Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol.

By linking billions of electronic devices and gadgets, the Internet of Things (IoT) has completely changed the digital landscape by extending the Internet to the various application deployments in different areas within a centralized network, these devices need high data rates and low latency to perform well and to be secure due to the nature of the application necessity, the fifth generation (5G) network solves most of the issues related to the network due to its excellent characteristics in term of high quality of service. However, because of the centralization, IoT devices with 5G support suffer several security-related problems. This paper examines the security, performance, and network issues in 5G-IoT devices and the integration of Blockchain. Technology in these devices or gadgets with the recent blockchain applications in 5G with the Internet of Things is being explored in various fields like smart home, smart city, healthcare, industry, supply chain, smart grid, and smart transportation.

Advancements in the fields of electronics, sensors, and communication systems has enabled the development of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for various military, commercial, and civilian purposes. Nevertheless, the capacity of a solitary and diminutive UAV is insufficient. The utilization of several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can surpass the constraints imposed by a single small UAV, hence creating a more advanced system. A flying ad hoc network (FANET) is a network composed of a collection of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are interconnected in an ad hoc manner. These UAVs work together as a team to accomplish complex objectives. FANETs are characterized by their mobility, lack of centralized control, and self-organization, and an ad hoc nature among UAVs. These traits enable FANETs to enhance connections, extend communication range in areas without infrastructure. On the other hand, FANETs can be utilized in situations where regular communication infrastructure is unavailable, offering a swiftly deployable, adaptable, selfconfigurable, and cost-effective network. However, connecting aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a spontaneous network poses a significant challenge. To ensure resilient communication it is crucial to have the communication framework and routing protocols that can adapt to the constant movement of these flying nodes. This essay aims to offer an understanding of the communication technologies by exploring aspects, like Data rate, the spectrum type, coverage, and latency are the key factors to consider. Furthermore, this paper investigates the practicality and feasibility of enabling technologies. Additionally, it addresses the problems, unexplored territories, and future directions to enhance the research work.

The objective of this study is to employ statistical data mining methods and con-duct a survey among young individuals to construct a model capable of forecasting overall happiness. This model will consider over a hundred characteristics, including lifestyle choices and musical tastes. We utilized boosting trees, subset se-lection, and GAM (Generalized Additive Models) techniques. In addition, we created actual test data to validate the model. All available approaches have found many lifestyle variables, including as energy levels, loneliness, desire to alter the past, eating properly, and spending time with friends, as significant determinants of happiness. We generated authentic test data to verify the model, utilizing rigorous testing protocols to evaluate its predicted precision and applicability across various demographics. Based on our investigation, the use of the gradient boost technique resulted in improved picture projections. The evaluation of the technique using a confusion matrix revealed an accuracy of 97.1% for training and a perfect accuracy of 100% for validation. The training phase achieved an accuracy of 62.5%, as shown by the confusion matrix, while the overall confusion matrix demonstrated a 92.0% accuracy in predicting happiness. The support vector machine, trained incrementally, demonstrated encouraging prospects for future investigation.

ICT giants include cloud computing and distributed systems. Researchers have ignored the idea of merging distributed systems and cloud computing to examine millisecond execution times and megabyte capacity. The system used Google’s API to download files to the cloud. The system sent files to the principal server. Now there are two ways to calculate execution time accurately. The first scenario uses threads to construct clients and servers. Second, pool threads are used. This article examines file capacity and execution time. The system demonstrated how cloud computing influences distributed systems’ execution time and capacity in these two circumstances. According to the testing, the first scenario (multi threads) takes less time than the second (pool threads), although not significantly. 4874 milliseconds are needed to transfer 50 files, each weighing 90 MB, utilizing multiple threads. However, it takes 5541 milliseconds to send these files using the pool threads. Keep in mind that utilizing the first scenario is bad for computer hardware. In order to load files into the system, this work used hash table software structure in conjunction with network technologies like TCP sockets, APIs, threads, and thread pool techniques between the client and servers.

Each year, 2.4 million children die within their first month of life. Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) established in 7 countries aims to generate accurate data on why such deaths occur and inform prevention strategies. Neonatal deaths that occurred between December 2016 and December 2021 were investigated with MITS within 24-72 hours of death. Testing included blood, cerebrospinal fluid and lung cultures, multi-pathogen PCR on blood, CSF, nasopharyngeal swabs and lung tissue, and histopathology examination of lung, liver and brain. Data collection included clinical record review and family interview using standardized verbal autopsy. The full set of data was reviewed by local experts using a standardized process (Determination of Cause of Death) to identify all relevant conditions leading to death (causal chain), per WHO recommendations. For analysis we stratified neonatal death into 24-hours of birth, early (1-

Background Population‐wide reduction in mean blood pressure is proposed as a key strategy for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. We evaluated the effectiveness of a task‐sharing strategy involving frontline health workers in the primary prevention of elevated blood pressure. Methods and Results We conducted DISHA (Diet and lifestyle Interventions for Hypertension Risk reduction through Anganwadi Workers and Accredited Social Health Activists) study, a cluster randomized controlled trial involving 12 villages each from 4 states in India. Frontline health workers delivered a custom‐made and structured lifestyle modification intervention in the selected villages. A baseline survey was conducted in 23 and 24 clusters in the control (n=6663) and intervention (n=7150) groups, respectively. The baseline characteristics were similar between control and intervention clusters. In total 5616 participants from 23 clusters in the control area and 5699 participants from 24 clusters in the intervention area participated in a repeat cross‐sectional survey conducted immediately after the intervention phase of 18‐months. The mean (SD) systolic blood pressure increased from 125.7 (18.1) mm Hg to 126.1 (16.8) mm Hg in the control clusters, and it increased from 124.4 (17.8) mm Hg to 126.7 (17.5) mm Hg in the intervention clusters. The population average adjusted mean difference in difference in systolic blood pressure was 1.75 mm Hg (95% CI, −0.21 to 3.70). Conclusions Task‐sharing interventions involving minimally trained nonphysician health workers are not effective in reducing population average blood pressure in India. Expanding the scope of task sharing and intensive training of health workers such as nurses, nutritionists, or health counselors in management of cardiovascular risk at the population level may be more effective in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Registration URL: https://www.ctri.nic.in; Unique identifier: CTRI/2013/10/004049.