Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measurements and modeling of impulse noise at the 2.4 GHz wireless LAN band

Radio frequency interference (RFI) of industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) equipment at 2.4 GHz can corrupt a wireless communication channel that shares the same band. Interference modeling of ISM radio emissions leads to a Middleton Class-A (MCA) model, which represents the impacts of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) superimposed to impulsive emissions of ISM interference. The statistical-physical extension of the MCA model for multiple receive antennas has so far been limited to two antennas. Herewith, we provide a measurement campaign at a 2.4 GHz band to capture the impulsive interference caused by various ISM sources. To verify a multivariate extension of the MCA model for multiple receive antennas, the measurement campaign implemented 4 receive antennas. This allows us to investigate the spatial coupling and correlation of measured interference in contrast to the multivariate MCA model.
Neural Correlates of Enhanced Visual Attentional Control in Action Video Game Players: An Event-Related Potential Study

Abstract Action video game players (AVGPs) outperform non–action video game players (NAVGPs) on a range of perceptual and attentional tasks. Although several studies have reported neuroplastic changes within the frontoparietal networks of attention in AVGPs, little is known about possible changes in attentional modulation in low-level visual areas. To assess the contribution of these different levels of neural processing to the perceptual and attentional enhancements noted in AVGPs, visual event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 14 AVGPs and 14 NAVGPs during a target discrimination task that required participants to attend to rapid sequences of Gabor patches under either focused or divided attention conditions. AVGPs responded faster to target Gabors in the focused attention condition compared with the NAVGPs. Correspondingly, ERPs to standard Gabors revealed a more pronounced negativity in the time range of the parietally generated anterior N1 component in AVGPs compared with NAVGPs during focused attention. In addition, the P2 component of the visual ERP was more pronounced in AVGPs than in NAVGPs over the hemisphere contralateral to the stimulus position in response to standard Gabors. Contrary to predictions, however, attention-modulated occipital components generated in the low-level extrastriate visual pathways, including the P1 and posterior N1, showed no significant group differences. Thus, the main neural signature of enhanced perceptual and attentional control functions in AVGPs appears linked to an attention-dependent parietal process, indexed by the anterior N1 component, and possibly to more efficient higher-order perceptual processing, indexed by the P2 component.
Comparative Quality of Chicken Nuggets Prepared from Broiler, Spent Hen and Combination Meats

A study was conducted to assess the comparative quality of chicken nuggets prepared from broiler, spent hen and combination (50:50) meats in terms of physico- chemical and sensory attributes. Chicken nuggets from broiler (T1), spent hen (T2) and combination 50:50 (T3) meats were prepared by standard methods. The quality parameters studied included pH, moisture (%), protein (%), fat (%), emulsion stability, cooking yield (%) (of both raw and cooked product) and sensory attributes. Results revealed that moisture, fat and cooking yield showed significant difference between the treatments. Among the sensory attributes, juiciness, texture and overall palatability showed significantly higher scores for nuggets made from broiler meat. Other attributes viz; appearance and flavour in case of T1 also showed higher scores but with non-significant difference with other treatments. From the study, it was concluded that the overall quality of nuggets prepared from broiler meat was better followed by combination meats and spent hen nuggets.
Qualitative examination of enacted stigma towards gay and bisexual men and related health outcomes in Tajikistan, Central Asia

ABSTRACT Gay and bisexual men (GBM) in Tajikistan are an extremely stigmatised group at high risk for sexually transmitted infections and HIV. However, there is a paucity of research on how and in what way stigma affects their lives. We conducted a qualitative study to examine the impact of stigma on GBM’s lives in Tajikistan, focusing on stigma enactors, settings, factors affecting vulnerability of GBM and health consequences. Eight individual in-depth interviews and 3 focus-group discussions with 13 participants (N = 21) from GBM community were conducted in two cities of Tajikistan. Results reveal that police frequently engage in blackmail and perpetrate sexual and physical violence against GBM. Service providers often discriminate against GBM limiting their access to health and legal services. Exposure to stigma results in chronic stress affecting mental health of GBM. Fear of disclosure, low social cohesion, absence of prominent opinion leaders and activists reduce resilience of GBM community to stigma. State-sanctioned violations of human rights of marginalised populations and lack of effective legal protection mechanisms have enabled widespread harassment of GBM. These findings warrant further research on stigma leading to the development of culturally adapted and tailored multilevel structural interventions, including broad legal and policy reforms.
Early childhood undernutrition increases risk of hearing loss in young adulthood in rural Nepal

ABSTRACT Background Prevalence of young adult hearing loss is high in low-resource societies; the reasons for this are likely complex but could involve early childhood undernutrition. Objective We evaluated preschool childhood stunting, wasting, and underweight as risk factors for hearing loss in young adulthood in Sarlahi District, southern Nepal. Design Ear health was assessed in 2006–2008 in a cohort of 2193 subjects aged 16–23 y, who as children <60 mo of age participated in a 16-mo placebo-controlled, randomized vitamin A supplementation trial from 1989 to 1991. At each of five 4-mo assessments, field staff measured children's weight, height, and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and recorded validated parental history of ear discharge in the previous 7 d. Children were classified as stunted [<–2 z score height-for-age (HAZ)], underweight [<–2 z score weight-for-age (WAZ)], or wasted [<–2 z score MUAC-for-age (MUACAZ) or body mass index-for-age (BMIAZ)]. At follow-up, hearing was tested by audiometry and tympanometry, with hearing loss defined as pure-tone average >30dB in the worse ear (0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz) and middle-ear dysfunction as abnormal tympanometric peak height (<0.3 or >1.4 mmho) or width (<50 or >110 daPa). Results Hearing loss, present in 5.9% (95% CI: 5.01%, 7.00%) of subjects, was associated with early childhood stunting (OR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.45), underweight (OR: 1.70; 95% CI: 1.18, 2.44) and wasting by BMIAZ (OR: 1.88; 95% CI: 1.19, 2.97) and MUACAZ (OR: 2.14; 95% CI: 1.47, 3.12). Abnormal tympanometry, affecting 16.6% (95% CI: 15.06%, 18.18%), was associated with underweight (OR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.16, 1.84) and wasting by BMIAZ (OR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.32, 2.46) and MUACAZ (OR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.84), but not stunting (OR: 1.18; 95% CI: 0.93, 1.49) in early childhood. Highest ORs were observed for subjects with both hearing loss and abnormal tympanometry, ranging from 1.87 to 2.24 (all lower 95% CI >1.00). Conclusions Early childhood undernutrition is a modifiable risk factor for early adulthood hearing loss.
Prevalence, Causes and Social Factors of Visual Impairment among Chinese Adults: Based on a National Survey

Visual impairment has become a global challenge, especially for developing countries. This study aims to estimate the prevalence, causes and social factors of visual impairment among Chinese adults. Data were from a nationally representative population-based cross-sectional study. The study population were 1,909,199 non-institutionalized adults aged 18 years and older in mainland China. In the survey, low vision and blindness were checked by ophthalmologists according to the WHO best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) criteria. Population weighted numbers and prevalence of low vision and blindness with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated where appropriate. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the social factors of visual impairment. The weighted prevalence of visual impairment was 17.17 (95% CI, 16.84–17.50) per 1000 Chinese adults aged 18 years and older. Cataract (57.35%), disorders of choroid and retina (9.80%), and disorders of cornea (6.49%) contributed more than 70 percent to the visual impairment in Chinese adults. Older age groups, young or middle-aged male adults, female elders, illiterate, rural dwellers, non-eastern residents, singles, unemployment, and from family with lower income were associated with visual impairment. More efforts are warranted to enhance treatment and rehabilitation among people with eye disorders to prevent visual impairment.
Series: Practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 4: Trustworthiness and publishing

Abstract In the course of our supervisory work over the years we have noticed that qualitative research tends to evoke a lot of questions and worries, so-called frequently asked questions (FAQs). This series of four articles intends to provide novice researchers with practical guidance for conducting high-quality qualitative research in primary care. By ‘novice’ we mean Master’s students and junior researchers, as well as experienced quantitative researchers who are engaging in qualitative research for the first time. This series addresses their questions and provides researchers, readers, reviewers and editors with references to criteria and tools for judging the quality of qualitative research papers. The first article provides an introduction to this series. The second article focused on context, research questions and designs. The third article focused on sampling, data collection and analysis. This fourth article addresses FAQs about trustworthiness and publishing. Quality criteria for all qualitative research are credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Reflexivity is an integral part of ensuring the transparency and quality of qualitative research. Writing a qualitative research article reflects the iterative nature of the qualitative research process: data analysis continues while writing. A qualitative research article is mostly narrative and tends to be longer than a quantitative paper, and sometimes requires a different structure. Editors essentially use the criteria: is it new, is it true, is it relevant? An effective cover letter enhances confidence in the newness, trueness and relevance, and explains why your study required a qualitative design. It provides information about the way you applied quality criteria or a checklist, and you can attach the checklist to the manuscript.
Association between Blood Pressure and Birth Weight among Rural South African Children: Ellisras Longitudinal Study

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between birth weight, underweight, and blood pressure (BP) among Ellisras rural children aged between 5 and 15 years. Data were collected from 528 respondents who participated in the Ellisras Longitudinal Study (ELS) and had their birth weight recorded on their health clinic card. Standard procedure was used to measure the anthropometric measurements and BP. Linear regression was used to assess BP, underweight variables, and birth weight. Logistic regression was used to assess the association of hypertension risks, low birth weight, and underweight. The association between birth weight and BP was not statistically significant. There was a significant (p < 0.05) association between mean BP and the sum of four skinfolds (β = 0.26, 95% CI 0.15–0.23) even after adjusting for age (β = 0.18, 95% CI 0.01–0.22). Hypertension was significantly associated with weight for age z-scores (OR = 5.13, 95% CI 1.89–13.92) even after adjusting for age and sex (OR = 5.26, 95% CI 1.93–14.34). BP was significantly associated with the sum of four skinfolds, but not birth weight. Hypertension was significantly associated with underweight. Longitudinal studies should confirm whether the changes in body weight we found can influence the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Cortisol in Neonatal Mother's Milk Predicts Later Infant Social and Cognitive Functioning in Rhesus Monkeys.

Milk provides not only the building blocks for somatic development but also the hormonal signals that contribute to the biopsychological organization of the infant. Among mammals, glucocorticoids (GCs) in mother's milk have been associated with infant temperament. This study extended prior work to investigate rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) mother-infant dyads (N = 34) from birth through 8 months postpartum. Regression analysis revealed that cortisol concentrations in milk during the neonatal period predicted impulsivity on a cognitive task, but not global social behaviors, months later. During this time period, sex-differentiated social behavior emerged. For female infants, milk cortisol concentrations predicted total frequency of play. Collectively, these findings support and extend the "lactational programming" hypothesis on the impact of maternal-origin hormones ingested via milk.
Gamification-based learning framework for a programming course

Students occasionally find it difficult to learn new programming languages. Previous work showed that students have experienced ineffective learning, lack of interest towards this course and lack of motivation. The rationale for this is that in previous studies, some researchers have mentioned the use of game elements but none have mentioned a gamification framework that integrates the requirements for learning programming language subjects. Therefore, this study proposed gamification framework that consists of game elements and programming learning requirements. This framework is verified by lecturers and students. The findings shown, the mean score of each combination of programming learning requirements and game elements is more than 4.00.
Gender differences in food choice: The contribution of health beliefs and dieting

Background: Gender differences in health behaviors have been reported in many studies but causal mechanisms have been neglected.Purpose and Methods: This study examines 4 food choice behaviors in a large sample of young adults from 23 countries and tests 2 possible explanatory mechanisms for the gender differences—women’s greater likelihood of dieting and women’s greater beliefs in the importance of healthy diets.Results: Women were more likely than men to report avoiding high-fat foods, eating fruit and fiber, and limiting salt (to a lesser extent) in almost all of the 23 countries. They were also more likely to be dieting and attached greater importance to healthy eating. Dieting status explained around 22% of the gender difference in fat choices, 23% of fiber choices, and 7% of fruit, but none of the gender difference in salt. Health beliefs explained around 40% of the differences in each of the dietary behaviors and together they explained almost 50%. Gender differences in food choices therefore appear to be partly attributable to women’s greater weight control involvement and partly to their stronger belifs in healthy eating.Conclusions: Further research is needed to understand the additional factors that could promote men’s participation in simple healthy eating practices.
The Effects of Larval Nutrition on Reproductive Performance in a Food-Limited Adult Environment

It is often assumed that larval food stress reduces lifetime fitness regardless of the conditions subsequently faced by adults. However, according to the environment-matching hypothesis, a plastic developmental response to poor nutrition results in an adult phenotype that is better adapted to restricted food conditions than one having developed in high food conditions. Such a strategy might evolve when current conditions are a reliable predictor of future conditions. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the effects of larval food conditions (low, improving and high food) on reproductive fitness in both low and high food adults environments. Contrary to this hypothesis, we found no evidence that food restriction in larval ladybird beetles produced adults that were better suited to continuing food stress. In fact, reproductive rate was invariably lower in females that were reared at low food, regardless of whether adults were well fed or food stressed. Juveniles that encountered improving conditions during the larval stage compensated for delayed growth by accelerating subsequent growth, and thus showed no evidence of a reduced reproductive rate. However, these same individuals lost more mass during the period of starvation in adults, which indicates that accelerated growth results in an increased risk of starvation during subsequent periods of food stress.
Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Show Pronoun Reversals in Interpretation

Pronoun reversals, saying you when meaning I, in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are generally viewed as manifesting in early development and speech production only. This study investigates pronoun reversals in later development (age 6–12) in interpretation in 48 Dutch-speaking children with ASD and 43 typically developing (TD) peers. We contrasted children’s interpretation of I and you in indirect and direct speech reports, with the latter type requiring an additional perspective shift. To examine which cognitive processes are involved in pronoun interpretation, additional tasks were administered to measure Theory of Mind (ToM) understanding, cognitive inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. We found that children with ASD showed more problems than TD children interpreting pronouns in direct speech, resulting in pronoun reversals in interpretation. Children with ASD hardly improved with age. Older children with ASD thus showed more pronoun reversals than did their TD peers. ToM understanding, working memory, IQ, and verbal ability, but not inhibition and flexibility, were associated with pronoun interpretation. ToM understanding in particular was associated with correct pronoun interpretation in older TD children relative to younger TD children, but this improvement was not found in children with ASD. These findings indicate that pronoun reversals most likely result from perspective-shifting difficulties. We conclude that pronoun reversals are more pronounced in individuals with ASD, occur beyond early development, and require sufficient cognitive resources. The relation with ToM understanding, but not inhibition and flexibility, suggests that pronoun reversals are best classified as a social communication problem in the diagnosis of ASD.
Emerging Roles for Noncanonical NF-&kgr;B Signaling in the Modulation of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Pathobiology

Abstract:Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are common and debilitating manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD is characterized by a radical imbalance in the activation of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory signaling pathways in the gut. These pathways are controlled by NF-&kgr;B, which is a master regulator of gene transcription. In IBD patients, NF-&kgr;B signaling is often dysregulated resulting in overzealous inflammation. NF-&kgr;B activation occurs through 2 distinct pathways, defined as either canonical or noncanonical. Canonical NF-&kgr;B pathway activation is well studied in IBD and is associated with the rapid, acute production of diverse proinflammatory mediators, such as COX-2, IL-1&bgr;, and IL-6. In contrast to the canonical pathway, the noncanonical or “alternative” NF-&kgr;B signaling cascade is tightly regulated and is responsible for the production of highly specific chemokines that tend to be associated with less acute, chronic inflammation. There is a relative paucity of literature regarding all aspects of noncanonical NF-ĸB signaling. However, it is clear that this alternative signaling pathway plays a considerable role in maintaining immune system homeostasis and likely contributes significantly to the chronic inflammation underlying IBD. Noncanonical NF-&kgr;B signaling may represent a promising new direction in the search for therapeutic targets and biomarkers associated with IBD. However, significant mechanistic insight is still required to translate the current basic science findings into effective therapeutic strategies.
Functional Redundancy Patterns Reveal Non-Random Assembly Rules in a Species-Rich Marine Assemblage

The relationship between species and the functional diversity of assemblages is fundamental in ecology because it contains key information on functional redundancy, and functionally redundant ecosystems are thought to be more resilient, resistant and stable. However, this relationship is poorly understood and undocumented for species-rich coastal marine ecosystems. Here, we used underwater visual censuses to examine the patterns of functional redundancy for one of the most diverse vertebrate assemblages, the coral reef fishes of New Caledonia, South Pacific. First, we found that the relationship between functional and species diversity displayed a non-asymptotic power-shaped curve, implying that rare functions and species mainly occur in highly diverse assemblages. Second, we showed that the distribution of species amongst possible functions was significantly different from a random distribution up to a threshold of ∼90 species/transect. Redundancy patterns for each function further revealed that some functions displayed fast rates of increase in redundancy at low species diversity, whereas others were only becoming redundant past a certain threshold. This suggested non-random assembly rules and the existence of some primordial functions that would need to be fulfilled in priority so that coral reef fish assemblages can gain a basic ecological structure. Last, we found little effect of habitat on the shape of the functional-species diversity relationship and on the redundancy of functions, although habitat is known to largely determine assemblage characteristics such as species composition, biomass, and abundance. Our study shows that low functional redundancy is characteristic of this highly diverse fish assemblage, and, therefore, that even species-rich ecosystems such as coral reefs may be vulnerable to the removal of a few keystone species.
Roles of SAMHD1 in antiviral defense, autoimmunity and cancer

The enzyme, sterile α motif and histidine‐aspartic acid domain–containing protein 1 (SAMHD1) diminishes infection of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV‐1) by hydrolyzing intracellular deoxynucleotide triphosphates (dNTPs) in myeloid cells and resting CD4+ T cells. This dNTP degradation reduces the dNTP concentration to a level insufficient for viral cDNA synthesis, thereby inhibiting retroviral replication. This antiviral enzymatic activity can be inhibited by viral protein X (Vpx). The HIV‐2/SIV Vpx causes degradation of SAMHD1, thus interfering with the SAMHD1‐mediated restriction of retroviral replication. Recently, SAMHD1 has been suggested to restrict HIV‐1 infection by directly digesting genomic HIV‐1 RNA through a still controversial RNase activity. Here, we summarize the current knowledge about structure, antiviral mechanisms, intracellular localization, interferon‐regulated expression of SAMHD1. We also describe SAMHD1‐deficient animal models and an antiviral drug on the basis of disrupting proteasomal degradation of SAMHD1. In addition, the possible roles of SAMHD1 in regulating innate immune sensing, Aicardi‐Goutières syndrome and cancer are discussed in this review.