Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CBD Effects on Motor Profile and Neurobiological Indices Related to Glutamatergic Function Induced by Repeated Ketamine Pre-Administration

Clinical evidence and experimental studies have shown the psychotomimetic properties induced by ketamine. Moreover, acute or chronic ketamine (KET) administration has been widely used for modeling schizophrenia-like symptomatology and pathophysiology. Several studies have reported the antipsychotic potential of cannabidiol (CBD), while there is limited information on the cannabidiol effect on KET-induced schizophrenia-like impairments. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to evaluate neuroplastic changes induced by repeated KET administration, which is used as an experimental model of schizophrenia—with a behavioral focus on positive-like symptomatology– and to assess the modulatory role of CBD treatment. The present findings have shown a robust increase in motor activity in KET-treated rats, following a 10-day period of chronic administration at the sub-anesthetic dose of 30 mg/kg (i.p), that was reversed to normal by subsequent chronic CBD treatment. Concerning the expression of glutamate receptors, the current findings have shown region-dependent KET-induced constitutional alterations in NMDA and AMPA receptors that were modified by subsequent CBD treatment. Additionally, repeated KET administration increased ERK1/2 phosphorylation state in all regions examined, apart from the ventral hippocampus that was modulated by subsequent CBD treatment. The present results show, for the first time, a stimulated motor output coupled with a specific glutamatergic-related status and ERK1/2 activation following chronic KET administration that were attenuated by CBD treatment, in a region-dependent manner. These findings provide novel information concerning the antipsychotic potential of CBD using a specific design of chronic KET administration, thus contributing to experimental approaches that mirror the symptomatology and pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
Targeted Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging With Iodized Indocyanine Green in Preoperative Pulmonary Localization: Comparative Efficacy, Safety, Patient Perception With Hook-Wire Localization

Background Precise preoperative localization is of great importance to improve the success rate and reduce the operation time of VATS surgery. This study aimed to assess the efficacy, safety, patient perception between CT-guided indocyanine green (ICG) preoperative localization of lung nodule and hook-wire localization. Methods 65 patients with 85 clinically suspicious pulmonary nodules underwent ICG preoperative localization in this study, and 92 patients with 95 nodules localized by conventional hook-wire served as controls. Both hook-wire localization and ICG injection were performed under CT guidance. Successful targeting rate, success rate in the operative field, incidence rate of complications and respiratory pain score were recorded and compared. Results The successful targeting rate for both groups is 100%, however, due to hook-wire dislodgement, the success rate in the VATS operation field of the hook-wire group (95.6%) is lower than that of the ICG group (100%), with no significant difference(p=0.056). The overall complication rate of the hook-wire group (37.0%) is significantly higher than the ICG group (35.4%) (p=0.038). The mean respiratory pain score of the hook-wire group is 3.70 ± 1.25, which is significantly higher than that of the ICG group (2.85 ± 1.05) (p<0.001). Conclusions ICG composed with contrast mixture are superior to the conventional hook-wire preoperative lung nodule localization procedure, with a lower complication rate, lower pain score, and relatively higher success rate. ICG is a promising alternative method for pulmonary nodule preoperative localization.
Beverages Consumption and Oral Health in the Aging Population: A Systematic Review

Little study has yet been made of the effect of different beverages on oral health outcomes in the aging population. The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the association between different beverages, including alcohol intake, coffee, milk, tea, and sugary drinks, and a cluster of oral health outcomes, including periodontal disease, oral dysbiosis, and tooth loss in older adults. The literature was screened from the inception up to May 2021 using six different electronic databases. Two independent researchers assessed the eligibility of 1308 retrieved articles regarding inclusion criteria; only 12 fitted the eligibility requirements, representing 16 beverage entries. A minimum age of 60 was the inclusion criterion. No exclusion criteria were applied to outcomes assessment tools, recruiting facilities (hospital or community), general health status, country, and study type (longitudinal or cross-sectional). The consumption of alcoholic beverages was expressed as alcohol intake in all eligible studies, thereby replacing alcoholic beverages in the analysis. The quality of evidence was judged as moderate for alcohol and low or very low for beverages. In regard to oral health in the elderly, the review identified information on alcohol (56.25%), followed by coffee (18.75%), milk (12.50%), tea (6.25%), and sugary drinks (6.25%). Alcohol, sugary drinks, and coffee were found to be related to tooth loss. Periodontal disease was inversely related to coffee and milk, but fostered by alcohol consumption. In one article, tea but not coffee seemed to improve oral microbiota. In summary, alcohol seems to be a driver for tooth loss and periodontal disease in the aging population. However, more research is needed to gain a more solid knowledge in this research area. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd. york.ac. uk/prospero/, PROSPERO, Identifier: CRD42021256386.
Simulation-Based Synthesis of Personalised Therapies for Colorectal Cancer

In this short paper we present preliminary results on computing, in silico , personalised therapies for Colorectal Cancer (CRC), one of the deadliest form of tumour for adult humans. We exploit a recent SBML (Systems Biology Markup Language) model of the tumour growth, which also models the Pharma-coKinetics/Pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) of two immunotherapic drugs that may be used in combination treatments.
Computers and Electrical Engineering

A mobile robot acting in a human environment should follow social conventions, keeping safety distances and navigating at moderate speeds, in order to respect people in its surroundings and avoid obstacles in real-time. The problem is more complex in differential-drive wheeled robots, with trajectories constrained by nonholonomic and kinematics restrictions. It is an NP-hard problem widely studied in the literature, combining disciplines such as Psychology, Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering. In this work, we propose a novel solution based on Membrane Computing, Social Force Model and Dynamic Window Approach Algorithm. The resulting model is able to compute, in logarithmic time, the best motion command for the robot, given its current state, considering the surrounding people and obstacles. The model is compatible with other membrane computing models for robotics and suitable for an implementation on parallel hardware. Finally, a visual simulator was implemented in ROS and C++ for validation and testing.
The Effect of Fetus Stimulation Techniques on Newborn Behavior

Background: Many factors affect fetal behavior, which can also affect the baby's capacity and change interaction with the caregiver. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of performing fetal sensory systems stimulation techniques by mother during pregnancy on the neonate's habituation behavior. Materials and Methods: This semi-experimental study was conducted in 2019 in Isfahan, Iran. Mothers who referred to public comprehensive health centers in the 27th week of gestation and met the inclusion criteria were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to two groups of intervention and control. Fetal learning programs were held twice a day from the 27th week to the end of the pregnancy. The habituation domain of the neonate's behavior was assessed by the Brazelton's Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (BNBAS) 3–5 days after the delivery. The mean score of habituation domain of BNBAS among 72 subjects in the intervention and control groups was compared by the Mann–Whitney test. Results: The habituation domain of all 72 newborns born approximately at the gestational age of 38 weeks was assessed. The Mann–Whitney test results indicated that the two groups were significantly different in terms of the total mean score of habituation domain 3–5 days after birth (z = –4.37, p < 0.001) and the score of the intervention group was higher than that of the control group. Conclusions: Generally, it can be concluded that the fetal stimulation techniques can positively affect the neonate's behaviors including the domain of habituation.
Comparison of the Effects of Nika Vaginal Cream with Clotrimazole Cream on Vaginal Candidiasis Symptoms: A Randomized Single-Blind Clinical Trial

Background: The prevalence of vaginal candidiasis is high in women and proper treatment is essential in this regard. Materials and Methods: This single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 120 women who were referred to Hamadan health centers in 2019. The patients were randomly divided into Clotrimazole cream and Nika vaginal cream groups each including 60 cases. The intervention group received Nika vaginal cream once a day for a week and those in the control group were given Clotrimazole vaginal cream in the same way. The clinical symptoms were studied by clinical examinations and the culture of vaginal discharge before and 7 days after the treatment to confirm the diagnosis of Candida albicans. The results were analyzed by SPSS 21.0 using an independent t test, Mann–Whitney U test, and Chi-square, Fisher's exact, and McNemar's tests, the significance level was set at 0.05. Results: Most patients in both groups reported no clinical symptoms after the intervention, and no significant difference was observed between the two groups in this regard (χ2 = 2.23, p = 0.566). Conversely, a significant difference was found in Nika and Clotrimazole groups before and after the intervention regarding improving Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (VVC) symptoms χ2 = 86.01, χ2 = 99.41, respectively (p < 0.001). Finally, 84.48% and 75.86% of women in the Nika χ2 = 45.02 (p < 0.001) and Clotrimazole cream χ2 = 40.02 (p < 0.001) groups had negative culture results after the intervention. Conclusions: In general, the Nika and Clotrimazole vaginal creams have the same effects concerning improving the symptoms of vaginal candidiasis and thus can be used to treat VVC.
THE EFFECT OF SUPPLEMENTATION ON SELENIUM AND ZINC CONTENT IN BLOOD AND MILK OF DAIRY COWS

Milk is an important source of microelements for calves during the suckling period as well as in human nutrition. Concentration of trace elements in blood and their secretion via milk can significantly change depending on food intake and composition. Proper control of selenium and zinc content in blood and in milk can improve the status of these microelements, so that the occurrence of deficiency or excessive quantity due to their increased intake can be prevented. This paper presents the results of the study on the concentration of selenium and zinc in the blood and milk of diary cows whose rations have been supplemented by organic forms of selenium (0.2 mg/kg DM) and zinc (40 mg/kg DM) during the last ten days of dry period and early lactation. Supplemented cows in trial groups A and B achieved significatly higher concentrations of these microelements in blood (Se 186.70±8.50 μg/L vs. 118.80±7.05 μg/L), blood serum (Zn 1204.70±109.5 μg/L vs. 1095.40±130.2 μg/L) and milk (Se 57.30±8.05 vs. 21.30±4.60 μg/L; Zn 2893.90±120.15 μg/L vs. 1952.10±130.50 μg/L) on 60 day postpartum compared to non-supplemented control.
The regional economic impacts of climate change on family farming and large-scale agriculture in brazil: a computable general equilibrium approach

This paper analyzes the regional economic impacts of climate change on the agricultural productivity of crops linked to family farming and large-scale agriculture in Brazil. Variations in agricultural productivity estimated according to scenarios RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 (IPCC, 2014), between 2021 and 2050, were used as inputs in the Computable General Equilibrium Model (CGE) AGRO-BR. The model presents regional configuration composed of the 27 Federation Units and 42 agricultural sectors, disaggregated into family farming and large-scale agriculture sectors. The results, in terms of economic impacts, indicate that the North and Northeast regions would be negatively affected, Midwest and Southeast would suffer moderate impacts, while the South region would benefit mostly. São Paulo, Paraná, and Rio Grande do Sul would show economic growth, softening the negative impacts on national GDP, which would show a decline of 0,01% in both scenarios. The phenomenon could contribute to the increase of regional disparities and the deterioration of food security conditions in Brazil.
Depressive Symptoms and Quality of Life in Elderly People undergoing Physical Therapy

Background: Physical therapy is regularly applied in painful medical conditions, which have been related to depression and reduced quality of life (QoL). Aims: The aim of the study was to explore depressive symptoms and QoL in a sample of elderly people; and to explore the differences in depressive symptoms and QoL among elderly adults undergoing physiotherapy and those who were not. Methodology: A total of 105 participants were assessed with the use of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI II), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF). Results: The mean age of participants was 75.5 years, and 52.4% were women. The rate of depression in the sample was 37.1%, and included subjects with score ≥17 in the BDI II, plus those with lower scores but receiving antidepressant treatment. Disability, as measured with the HAQ index was higher in the group of physical therapy, whereas subjects who were not in physical therapy had higher scores in the WHOQOL-BREF. The mean score in the BDI II for subjects that were undergoing physical therapy (17.8) was above the threshold that is indicative of depressive symptomatology. Scores on the HAQ-DI were statistically significantly inversely correlated to scores on the BDI II and to scores on the WHOQOL BREF. Conclusions: Elderly patients that underwent physical therapy had higher rates of disability, displayed more depressive symptoms and had worse QoL. The findings of the study may have implications for clinical practice in physical therapy settings. Key-words: depression, elderly, painful physical conditions, physical therapy, quality of life
Development of a Maturity Model based on the Input, Process, and Output Aspects of E-government

Digital transformation is happening around the world with the emerging new technologies to support the transformation. Digital technologies are disrupting not only the private sector, but also the public sector, significantly. Users, or citizens in this case, demand a high-value and real-time process from the government’s public administration services. Governments that are digitally matured are more likely to have an efficient, transparent, and integrated system, and yet there are only a small number of digitally maturing governments compared to the less maturing ones. In fact, the “maturity” levels of e-governments around the world differ from one another. Maturity models have been developed by many academic researchers to aid governments in assessing the current maturity level and providing recommendations for the e-governments to improve their services. The Indonesian central government also developed the SPBE maturity model to assess the maturity levels of ministries, institutions, and regional governments in Indonesia. However, the previous models do not assess the digital public service comprehensively from the input, process, and output aspects. This research will develop a comprehensive e-government maturity model based on the input, process, and output dimensions. The model development is done by literature review of previous models and e-government service quality.
Investigation of the Mediating Role of Academic Self-Efficacy in the Relationship of Social Adjustment with Academic Engagement and Achievement Goals Among High School Students

Background: One of the important goals of the educational system is to provide the ground for all-round growth and training healthy.Objectives: Present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of academic self-efficacy in the relationships between academic engagement and achievement goals with social adjustment among high school students.Methods: The research method was descriptive-correlation with the path analysis-based design. The statistical population included all male high school students in Tehran in 2017-18 such that 546 students were randomly selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. For the data collection, Morgan-Jinks Student Efficacy Scale (MJSES), Zarang Educational Conflict Questionnaire, Sinha and Singh’s Adjustment Inventory and Elliott and Church’s Achievement Goal Questionnaire were used. Results: The results showed that the coefficient of academic engagement (0.50) and achievement goals (0.30) were significant in predicting self-efficacy. The self-efficacy coefficient in adjustment prediction was also significant (0.82). The direct effects of academic engagement (0.06) and achievement goals (-0.29) on predicting adjustment were insignificant and significant, respectively. Based on this data, academic self-efficacy mediates the relationship between academic engagement and adjustment. The role of academic self-efficacy is in the relationship between achievement goals and adjustment was partly.Conclusions: The implication of the findings is that educational approaches, while emphasizing students’ mastery of prerequisites and successful experiences, should consider academic self-efficacy as a fundamental principle and rely on persuasion and explanation in interactions.
Effects of sodium bentonite clay as a feed additive on the growth and haematology parameters of hybrid grouper, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus x Epinephelus lanceolatus

This study evaluated the effects of inclusion levels of sodium bentonite clay as a feed additive on growth and hematology parameters of TGGG, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus × E. lanceolatus. Four dietary treatments D1, D2, D3, and D4 feeds comprising 0, 1, 1.5, and 2% clay respectively were evaluated for weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), survival, and hematology parameters. D3 comprising of 1.5% clay showed significantly higher WG, SGR, FI, red blood count (RBC), and the best FCR compared to the other dietary treatments. D4 comprising of 2% clay showed the least desirable effects on growth performance and feed utilization of hybrid TGGG with significantly lower WG, SGR, and RBC compared to D3; as well as the poorest FCR value. D3 also showed the lowest WBC count compared to D1, D2 and D4. Taken together, these findings indicated that dietary treatments comprising 1.5% clay is the most suitable among other investigated treatments as a growth promoting feed additive.
The effects of US and EU preferences on African Exports

This paper focuses on the effects of preferential trade agreements for African countries stemming from changes in trade patterns. It proposes methodological breakthroughs and critical innovations regarding the use of the gravity equation to estimate the changes in intensive margins of trade resulting from tariff reductions, as consequence of the EU and US preferential policies. Based on highly disaggregated 8digit data in a theoretically grounded gravity model framework, we use an explicit measure of preferential tariff margins allowing an accurate analysis of policies that often discriminate among products and countries.
Development and Initial Validation of Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (FLAS)

The study attempts to investigate the nature of foreign language for developing an instrument to measure anxiety of foreign language for use with high school students in Iran. By using the four domains of foreign language, a preliminary 35-item questionnaire was developed and tested based on high school students. The Participants for factor analysis were 350 teachers, representing 14 schools in Ahvaz. These samples were cluster randomly selected and grouped based on their sex, age, academic levels, the status of the school, etc. The survey instrument used in this study for the validity of the scale is Multifactor Language Questionnaire -FLA (Horwitz et al., 1986). The properties of reliability and validity have borne significant results which show this instrument can be considered suitable to determine the position of foreign language in high school students. Factor analysis was made from which 24 items were extracted which had a factor loading of >0.5 on the four domains. Analysis of data in this study supported the inclusion of four factors namely foreign test anxiety, foreign writing anxiety, foreign teacher anxiety, and foreign pronunciation anxiety. These findings are discussed together with recommendations for upcoming studies.
Adler Birth Order Predicts Personality Characteristics in Young Adults

Adler was the first theoretician to speculate about birth order positions that elucidate personality and its development in many areas of counseling and professional psychology. The present study was aimed at examining birth order as a predictor of resilience, forgiveness, Locus of Control (LOC), and deceptive communication. A cross-sectional design was used surveying 200 young men and 200 women with an age range of 19-25 (M = 20.15, SD = .34) years that came from five public and private post-school educational institutions of Lahore, Pakistan. All participants completed demographic questionnaire followed by four structured questionnaires i.e., Connor Davidson Resilience Scale 10 (Campbell-Sills & Stein, 2003); Heartland Forgiveness Scale (Thompson, Snyder, & Hoffman, 2005); Multidimensional Locus of Control IPC Scale (Levenson, 1973); and Revised Lie Acceptability Scale (Oliveria & Levine, 2008). Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that first born were significantly more resilient and less forgiving than second, middle, and last born. In addition, last born were significantly less accommodating for deception communication than first, second, and middle born. However, birth order differences remained non-significant for LOC. Gender and sibling number did significantly predict preceding variables, without birth order.
A SECOND ORDER CONVERGENT METHOD FOR A MULTIPHYSICS MODEL OF ENHANCED DRUG TRANSPORT

Ultrasound enhanced drug transport is a multiphysics problem that involves acoustic waves propagation, bioheat transfer and drug transport. The numerical modeling of this problem requires the solution of a coupled system of partial differential equations. A wave-type equation for acoustic pressure and two nonlinear parabolic-type equations: a diffusion-reaction equation for bioheat transfer and a convection-diffusion-reaction equation for drug transport. In this paper we focus on the numerical analysis of such coupled system. We propose and derive convergence estimates for a piecewise linear finite element method (FEM) with quadrature. We prove that the FEM is second order convergent for concentration with respect to a discrete L2-norm. Since concentration depends on the gradient of acoustic pressure, this result shows that the FEM is superconvergent. In fact, piecewise linear FEM have optimal order one in the H1-norm then, the optimal convergence rate for concentration in a L2-norm should be at most one. Numerical results backing the theoretical findings are included.