Effects of hookah smoking on liver functions, lipid profile, and adult blood count

Introduction and Aim: Smoking is the most common habit and the largest health risk among people who have an impact on the human body. The goal of our study was to examine the effects of hookah (Shisha) on the liver, lipid profile, and blood content in adult smokers to adult non-smokers. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 men between the ages of 30 and 60 years took part in the study. These samples were divided into two groups: 30 smokers and 20 non-smokers. Every male is subjected to a complete medical history survey as well as frequent tests to rule out any underlying illnesses or diseases. Blood samples were taken in quantities of 10 mL to examine the blood. Blood samples were placed on the red roof when blood samples were used with anticoagulant factor. The identification of biological parameters was done using enzyme methods and a Random kit. Results: The results showed that Hb, PCV, WBC, ESR, platelets, and RBC were all elevated, whereas ALP and transaminase enzymes were not. Although not significantly, TC and TG increased the lipid profile findings. Our analysis yielded a wide range of outcomes. Various factors could be to blame for these disparities. Conclusion: We describe how future research will focus on the relationship between organ functions and their working tests for smoking effects based on our findings. Age, sex, nutrition, and hereditary behavior must all be included in future studies.

Internal Migration Experience and Depressive Symptoms among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Evidence from China

Background: This study aimed to examine the association of internal migration experience with depressive symptoms among middle-aged and elderly Chinese, as well as explore possible mechanisms of the relationship. Methods: Participants were from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a nationally representative sample of residents aged 45 years and older (n = 43,854). Survey data on depressive symptoms and internal migration experience were collected from biennial CHARLS surveys (CHARLS 2011/2013/2015) and a unique CHARLS life history survey in 2014, respectively. Multiple logistic regressions and the Karlson–Holm–Breen (KHB) method were employed in the statistical analyses. Results: The overall prevalence rate of depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older adults was 34.6%. Internal migration experience was associated with higher risks of depressive symptoms (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.02–1.12, p < 0.01), especially among females (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.01–1.14, p < 0.05), middle-aged adults (OR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.06–1.19, p < 0.001), rural-to-urban migrants who had not obtained an urban hukou (OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.07–1.19, p < 0.001), and those who had low migration frequency and first migrated out at 35 years of age or older. Chronic disease (17.98%, p < 0.001), physical injury (7.04%, p < 0.001), medical expenditure (7.98%, p < 0.001), pension insurance (4.91%, p < 0.001), and parent–child interaction (4.45%, p < 0.01) were shown to mediate the association of internal migration experience with depressive symptoms. Conclusions: This study indicates that there is a significant association between internal migration experience and high risks of depression onset later in life. It is suggested to reduce institutional barriers for migrants and implement evidence-based interventions to improve migrants’ mental health.

The Glazed Eyes of History: Reading the 1964 AIA-ACSA Teacher Conference

This position paper looks at the 1964 AIA -ACSA Teacher conference, one that offers us a window into the current anxieties of architectural history survey courses. The conference was organized at a time when PhD programs in Architectural History and Theory were emerging, with accompanying mid-century notions of disciplines with clear boundaries, objects of study and hierarchy of experts. The questions that were being asked were fundamental: What is Architectural History? What are its contents? How should it be taught? Who is an Architectural Historian? However, a closer look beneath the masculine bravado of the conference reveals many of the same symptoms that persist today: questions of ‘diversity’ of content, anxiety to be ‘relevant’ to students in professional programs and a tendency to leave unquestioned the tradition of ‘designo’. This paper journeys through these anxieties with the hope of bringing some of those in play today into sharper focus. Perhaps, it concludes, the work of architectural history might be what Spivak termed as a project of “Planetarity”, involving not merely a change in epistemological methods but an undoing of the social order of architectural history.

Automatic Metadata Generation for Fish Specimen Image Collections

Metadata are key descriptors of research data, particularly for researchers seeking to apply machine learning (ML) to the vast collections of digitized specimens. Unfortunately, the available metadata is often sparse and, at times, erroneous. Additionally, it is prohibitively expensive to address these limitations through traditional, manual means. This paper reports on research that applies machine-driven approaches to analyzing digitized fish images and extracting various important features from them. The digitized fish specimens are being analyzed as part of the Biology Guided Neural Networks (BGNN) initiative, which is developing a novel class of artificial neural networks using phylogenies and anatomy ontologies. Automatically generated metadata is crucial for identifying the high-quality images needed for the neural network's predictive analytics. Methods that combine ML and image informatics techniques allow us to rapidly enrich the existing metadata associated with the 7,244 images from the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) used in our study. Results show we can accurately generate many key metadata properties relevant to the BGNN project, as well as general image quality metrics (e.g. brightness and contrast). Results also show that we can accurately generate bounding boxes and segmentation masks for fish, which are needed for subsequent machine learning analyses. The automatic process outperforms humans in terms of time and accuracy, and provides a novel solution for leveraging digitized specimens in ML. This research demonstrates the ability of computational methods to enhance the digital library services associated with the tens of thousands of digitized specimens stored in open-access repositories worldwide.

Development of Public History in Australia

The present article is aimed at demonstrating the importance of new for Ukrainian historiography direction of public history, for the country’s development and for strengthening its stance at the international arena. Australia is taken for an example, as it has turned from once remote Terra Incognita into one of the leading nations of the modern world. It is emphasized that, regardless of attainments, the identity issue is still as urgent as to other countries in the conditions of a global crisis. The sources of the public history trend are revealed, explained are the factors conducive to its spread planet-wise, attention is brought to the fact that this trend has become a natural result of developments in the science of history in the Western civilization, encompassing countries of Europe, the Americas, and Australia. The latter, being a ramification of the Western civilization branch, has adopted the guidelines outlined by American scholars, driven by pragmatic considerations. Steps are determined in the institutionalization of the said direction, a characteristic is given to the activities of the Australian Center of Public History at Sydney Technology University, of the journal “Public History Survey”, as well as to the specifics of their work in the digital era under the motto: “History for the public, about the public, together with the public”. The same motto is leading the historians working with local and family history, cooperating with the State in the field of commemoration, placing great importance on museums, memorials, monuments. Considering national holidays, particular attention is given to the National Day of Apology, reflecting the complications of Australian history. Like American public history, the Australian one began to give much attention to those groups of population that were previously omitted by the focus of research, namely, the aborigines. A conclusion is made regarding the importance of history in general and public history in particular for the implementation of the national identity policy – an important token of the nation’s stable and successful progress.

Epidemiology of Atrial Fibrillation in the All of Us Research Program

Background: The prevalence, incidence and risk factors of atrial fibrillation (AF) in a large, geographically and ethnically diverse cohort in the United States have not been fully described. Methods: We analyzed data from 173,099 participants of the All of Us Research Program recruited in the period 2017-2019, with 92,318 of them having electronic health records (EHR) data available, and 35,483 having completed a medical history survey. Presence of AF at baseline was identified from self-report and EHR records. Incident AF was obtained from EHR. Demographic, anthropometric and clinical risk factors were obtained from questionnaires, baseline physical measurements and EHR. Results: At enrollment, mean age was 52 years old (range 18-89). Females and males accounted for 61% and 39% respectively. Non-Hispanic Whites accounted for 67% of participants, with non-Hispanic Blacks, non-Hispanic Asians and Hispanics accounting for 26%, 4% and 3% of participants, respectively. Among 92,318 participants with available EHR data, 3,885 (4.2%) had AF at the time of study enrollment, while the corresponding figure among 35,483 with medical history data was 2,084 (5.9%). During a median follow-up of 16 months, 354 new cases of AF were identified among 88,433 eligible participants. Individuals who were older, male, non-Hispanic white, had higher body mass index, or a prior history of heart failure or coronary heart disease had higher prevalence and incidence of AF. Conclusion: The epidemiology of AF in the All of Us Research Program is similar to that reported in smaller studies with careful phenotyping, highlighting the value of this new resource for the study of AF and, potentially, other cardiovascular diseases.

Digital Divide of Shattered “Iron Rice Bowl”: Economic Insecurity and Digital Divide in China (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Although economic factors account for the digital divide, the effect of economic insecurity on digital access has not been determined. The market-oriented reform of the Chinese State-Owned Enterprises in the 1990s resulted in massive layoffs, encouraging us to investigate the relationship between economic insecurity and the digital divide. OBJECTIVE First, the study investigates the relationship between economic insecurity and the digital divide. Second, the study provides insight into m-health for policymakers in the context of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS We draw on data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS 2011) and CHARLS Life History Survey (2014). To handle endogenous problems related to economic insecurity, we introduced instrumental variables to our models. We also divided digital access into personal and infrastructure information communication technology (ICT). RESULTS We found a negative relationship between economic insecurity and the digital divide only in infrastructure ICT. Additionally, we found that only chronic disease contributes to the digital divide among older people. CONCLUSIONS Older people are confronted with a dual digital divide: health-related and economic insecurity-related.This study provides insight into mobile health policy involving underprivileged people under the context of economic insecurity triggered by COVID-19.

Decorating Up a Few Acres of the Rocky Mountains

In this chapter, the authors explore the development of a partnership between undergraduate art history students at an art and design college and educators at a historic house museum in Denver, CO. From this partnership, the museum team created authentic opportunities for student voice in three different art history survey courses. In these classes, students engaged in practical applications of art historical research and created original objects of art, while the college provided resources and audience to support museum programming and development. Here, the authors discuss how these projects developed into a lasting and mutually beneficial partnership for continued socially engaged art history and design opportunities for students.