Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional brain connectivity in young adults with post-stroke epilepsy

Abstract Approximately 1 in 10 young stroke patients (18–50 years) will develop post-stroke epilepsy, which is associated with cognitive impairment. While previous studies have shown altered brain connectivity in patients with epilepsy, little is however known about the changes in functional brain connectivity in young stroke patients with post-stroke epilepsy and their relationship with cognitive impairment. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether young ischaemic stroke patients have altered functional networks and whether this alteration is related to cognitive impairment. We included 164 participants with a first-ever cerebral infarction at young age (18–50 years), along with 77 age- and sex-matched controls, from the Follow-Up of Transient Ischemic Attack and Stroke patients and Unelucidated Risk Factor Evaluation study. All participants underwent neuropsychological testing and resting-state functional MRI to generate functional connectivity networks. At follow-up (10.5 years after the index event), 23 participants developed post-stroke epilepsy. Graph theoretical analysis revealed functional network reorganization in participants with post-stroke epilepsy, in whom a weaker (i.e. network strength), less-integrated (i.e. global efficiency) and less-segregated (i.e. clustering coefficient and local efficiency) functional network was observed compared with the participants without post-stroke epilepsy group and the controls (P < 0.05). Regional analysis showed a trend towards decreased clustering coefficient, local efficiency and nodal efficiency in contralesional brain regions, including the caudal anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, superior frontal gyrus and insula in participants with post-stroke epilepsy compared with those without post-stroke epilepsy. Furthermore, participants with post-stroke epilepsy more often had impairment in the processing speed domain than the group without post-stroke epilepsy, in whom the network properties of the precuneus were positively associated with processing speed performance. Our findings suggest that post-stroke epilepsy is associated with functional reorganization of the brain network after stroke that is characterized by a weaker, less-integrated and less-segregated brain network in young ischaemic stroke patients compared with patients without post-stroke epilepsy. The contralesional brain regions, which are mostly considered as hub regions, might be particularly involved in the altered functional network and may contribute to cognitive impairment in post-stroke epilepsy patients. Overall, our findings provide additional evidence for a potential role of disrupted functional network as underlying pathophysiological mechanism for cognitive impairment in patients with post-stroke epilepsy.
Drifting in the deep: Metatranscriptomics and metabarcoding reveal sustained metabolic activity and community composition in hydrothermal vent plume microbial communities

The deep sea is the largest habitat on our planet, supporting a vast diversity of organisms which have yet to be fully described. This habitat is punctuated by hydrothermal vents in which energy derived from chemosynthesis drives carbon fixation, supporting a complex and rich food web. Connectivity between vent systems remains an active area of research, with questions as to how vent-influenced microbial function and diversity persists over space and time. In particular, the role hydrothermal vent plumes play as potential highways for connectivity and biogeography is not well understood. To add to the growing body of research, this study sampled plume waters above the Moytirra hydrothermal vent field, located just north of the Azores. We examined how hydrothermal vent plume community biodiversity and metabolic activities change with distance from the vent using a combination of metabarcoding and metatranscriptomic sequencing. We detected a rich diversity of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms inhabiting the plume, which remained metabolically active for kilometers from the vent source. Enriched sulfur metabolism functional signals and relative abundance of sulfur oxidizing bacteria suggest reduced sulfur compounds are a fundamental energy source within plume waters. Additionally, we observed evidence of top-down controls on primary production through both known grazers and putative viral activity. Although community-level functional signals suggest active metabolic functions for over a kilometer north or south of the vent field, these functions grew increasingly dissimilar to those observed directly above the vent site, and bacterial communities displayed indications of entering quiescent stages, likely due to decreasing resources and reduced temperatures. These data provide a first glimpse of Moytirra’s microbial biodiversity, in addition to providing a high-resolution understanding of life on the drift within a hydrothermal plume, its persistence with distance, and implications for connectivity.
Dominant Patterns of Climate Variability in the Atlantic Ocean during the Last 136 Years

Abstract Dominant spatiotemporal patterns of joint sea surface temperature (SST) and sea level pressure (SLP) variability in the Atlantic Ocean are identified using a multivariate frequency domain analysis. Five significant frequency bands are isolated ranging from the quasi biennial to the quasi decadal. Two quasi-biennial bands are centered around 2.2- and 2.7-yr periods; two interannual bands are centered around 3.5- and 4.4-yr periods; the fifth band at the quasi-decadal frequency is centered around 11.4-yr period. Between 1920 and 1955, the quasi-decadal band is less prominent compared to the quasi-biennial bands. This happens to be the period when SLP gradually increased over the Greenland–Iceland regions. The spatial pattern at the quasi-decadal frequency displays an out-of-phase relationship in the SLP in the vicinity of the subtropical anticyclones in both hemispheres (indicative of an out-of-phase quasi-decadal variability in the North and South Atlantic Hadley circulation). The quasi-decadal fr.
Reconfiguration of Tunisian Migration Politics after the 'Arab Spring'

Based on participant observation and personal conversations conducted during the World Social Forum (WSF) 2013 in Tunisia, the article analyzes the role of new, young and independent civil society movements emerging within the field of Tunisian migration and asylum politics. It shows how the revolts in 2011 have not only opened up a temporary opportunity for young Tunisians to leave their country but also to stay and politicize the issue of migration within Tunisian society in the longer run. As a result, it argues, that Tunisian migration politics have not only been re-shaped 'from above' through the interplay of the powerful international interests and new actors within Tunisian state politics, but are also increasingly influenced 'from below' by new actors of an emerging independent Tunisian civil society. While exploring the goals, agendas and forms of organization of three young movements present at the WSF 2013, particular attention will be paid to whom their claims are made and how they advance as well as challenge existing (mostly European dominated) struggles for the freedom of movement and what potentials and problems of transnational cooperation remain in this field.
Safety Effects of Intersection Signalization: Before-After Study

This paper presents a before-after crash and injury study of intersection signalization in an urban area. Signalization of 54 intersections in Copenhagen, Denmark, is analyzed. Police recorded crashes, which occurred at these intersections as well as crashes up to 500 meters away on roadways leading up to the intersections being signalized, are included in the study. The method used accounts for general crash and injury trends, changes in traffic volumes, and also regression-to-the-mean effects in the before period. The best estimates for safety effects of intersection signalization are decreases in crashes and injuries of respectively 21 and 17 percent at 3-armed intersections, and 39 and 33 percent at 4-armed intersections. These findings are in line with previous studies. These safety benefits at intersections are primarily due to very significant reductions in right-angle crashes. Safety is also improved on roadways up to about 100 meters away from the 3-armed intersections, which were being signalized, and up to approximately 200 meters away from the 4-armed intersections. Around 60 percent of the total safety improvement that took place due to intersection signalization occurred on the roadways and only about 40 percent at the intersections. In total, for both intersections and roadways up to 200 meters away, the best estimates for safety effects of intersection signalization are decreases in crashes and injuries of respectively 19 and 21 percent near and at the 3-armed intersections, and 26 and 33 percent near and at the 4-armed intersections.
PRESENCE, DEVELOPMENT, YIELD EFFECTS AND CONTROL OF LATE SEASON DISEASES OF WHEAT IN CANTERBURY IN 1995/96

Four field trials were established in spring wheat crops in midCanterbury in the 1995/96 growing season, to investigate late season diseases of wheat and their control. Two cultivars, Endeavour and Monad, were used. Three treatments (untreated and two fungicide treatments) were applied at three alternative growth stages (flag leaf emerged, ears emerged, and mid-flowering). Flag leaves were collected 10 days after the final spray application and fungal isolations were made. Green leaf area was assessed at regular intervals as flag leaves senesced. Flag leaves and spikes were collected during dough development and the incidence and severity of fungal pathogens were recorded. Plots were harvested and yield components were determined. The fungicides terbuconazole and ICIA5504 delayed senesence of flag leaves and increased yield in all 4 trials. The increases in yield were reflected in the increases in grain weight suggesting that the effect of the delay of senescence was to increase the period of grain fill. Didymella exitialis had no effect on yield in 1995/96 season.
Asymmetric response of gross primary productivity to precipitation changes over China’s karst areas

China’s karst areas play an important role in regulating the global carbon dynamic and mitigating atmospheric CO2 concentration. Yet, extreme drought events have occurred frequently in recent years over China’s karst areas, which have a negative effect on the gross primary productivity (GPP) in the region. It is unclear whether gross primary productivity gains in the wet years can compensate for its losses in the dry years over the karst areas. In this study, we selected the asymmetry indices to assess the potential asymmetric response of gross primary productivity to the change in precipitation over China’s karst areas during the 2003 to 2018 period, using the gross primary productivity and precipitation dataset. Our results show that the gross primary productivity exhibits a positive asymmetry in response to precipitation changes, namely, the gains caused by increased precipitation in the wet years overcompensate the losses caused by decreased precipitation in the dry years. In addition, the gross primary productivity asymmetry shows an increasing trend over the study period despite extreme drought events occurring frequently, which is due to the response of gross primary productivity to drought has significantly decreased over the study period. For each biome, grasslands show the highest positive gross primary productivity asymmetry, indicating that the grassland biomes have a stronger capacity to utilize the increased precipitation during the wet years to increase gross primary productivity compared to other biomes. Furthermore, the gross primary productivity asymmetry over China’s karst areas can be effected by the precipitation asymmetry as well as mean annual precipitation. Our results will contribute to our knowledge of the response of gross primary productivity to precipitation changes in the karst areas of China.
Associations between the TV program preferences of older adults and their COVID-19-related fear during the pandemic: A quantitative study in China

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic led to social distancing and lockdowns that severely affected individuals’ (especially elderly people’s) habits and mental health. The pandemic forced people to stay indoors, limiting their social interactions and increasing television viewing. However, little research has examined older adults’ television preferences during the pandemic. In this study, we examined the television program preferences of older Chinese adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigated the correlations between their preferences and their fear of the virus. We conducted a questionnaire survey among 405 older Chinese adults. The findings revealed that the participants preferred news, service, drama, and documentary programs, and they also favored family affection, friendship, current affairs, and health program topics. Notably, we found a negative correlation between a preference for dramas, and a positive correlation between preferences for literature and action programs, and the fear of the virus. These results provide valuable insights into the media preferences of older adults during pandemics and can be used to inform media strategies that cater to their needs.
Factors of Using Long Acting and Permanent Methods (LAPM) of Contraception: Bangladesh Perspective

The Government of Bangladesh is very much aware of controlling excessive birth rate to maintain population problem. Though Bangladesh is owning self-sufficiency in many sectors, the increasing population is a great impediment for the development of the country. So, promoting different contraceptive methods is of much importance. This work aims at identifying the important determinants that affect the long-acting and permanent methods (LAPM) of contraception. Firstly, chi-square test of association is carried out for defining the correlates of LAPM of contraception using Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), 2017-18 data. For estimating the effects of each controlled independent variables, data are further analyzed within a multivariate framework. To obtain consistent and efficient estimates of parameters of interest, multinomial logistic regression model is used in this work. The study finds several socio-economic and demographic variables having high impact on using LAPM. The study findings are properly discussed and recommendations are made accordingly for the policy makers. Dhaka Univ. J. Sci. 71(2): 87-94, 2023 (July)
Geochemical characterization of streambed sediment in the upper Illinois River basin

ABSTRACT: Geochemistry of fine-fraction streambed sediments collected from the upper illinois River basin was surveyed in the fall of 1987 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment pilot projects. The survey included 567 samples analyzed for 46 elements. Three distinctive distribution patterns were found for seven U.S. Environmental Protection Agency priority pollutants surveyed, as well as for boron and phosphorus: (1) enrichment of elements in the Chicago urban area and in streams draining the urban area relative to rural areas, (2) enrichment in main stems relative to tributaries, and (3) enrichment in low-order streams at high-population-density sites relative to low-population-density sites. Significant differences in background concentrations, as measured by samples from low-order streams, were observed among five subbasins in the study area. Uncertain geochemical correspondence between low-order, background sites and high-order, generally metal enriched sites prevented determination of background levels that would be appropriate for high-order sites. The within-sample ratio of enriched elements was variable within the Chicago area but was constant in the Illinois River downstream from Chicago. Element ratios imply a composite fine-fraction sediment in the Illinois River of 35–40 percent Des Plaines River origin and 60–65 percent Kankakee River origin.
Characteristics of visitors without permits compared to those with permits at the Desolation Wilderness, California

At the Desolation Wilderness a sample of visitors without the required use permit were asked to complete a short survey to allow them to be compared with visitors who had gotten permits. Previous research suggested that those without permits would be less experienced at the site, and be more likely to be anglers, on shorter visits, younger, in smaller groups, or with friends than visitors who had gotten permits. Some, but not all, of these earlier findings were true for the Desolation Wilderness. Additionally, visitors with permits were similar to those without permits for some important characteristics, including level of support for limiting day use, suggested party size limits, the proportion belonging to conservation groups, and the number of years since they first visited the Desolation Wilderness.
Enhanced Natural Strength: Lamiaceae Essential Oils and Nanotechnology in In Vitro and In Vivo Medical Research

The Lamiaceae is one of the most important families in the production of essential oils known to have a wide spectrum of biological activity. Recent research has highlighted the dermatological capabilities of various Lamiaceae essential oils, which appear to offer potential in free radical scavenging and anti-inflammatory activity. Some have also been extensively studied for their tissue remodeling and wound-healing, anti-aging, anti-melanogenic, and anti-cancer properties. Certain Lamiaceae essential oils are promising as novel therapeutic alternatives for skin disorders. This potential has seen substantial efforts dedicated to the development of modern formulations based on nanotechnology, enabling the topical application of various Lamiaceae essential oils. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the utilization of various essential oils from the Lamiaceae family over the past decade. It offers an overview of the current state of knowledge concerning the use of these oils as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, wound-healers, anti-aging agents, anti-melanogenic agents, and anticancer agents, both alone and in combination with nanoparticles. Additionally, the review explores their potential applicability in patents regarding skin diseases.
Predicting protein and pathway associations for understudied dark kinases using pattern-constrained knowledge graph embedding

The 534 protein kinases encoded in the human genome constitute a large druggable class of proteins that include both well-studied and understudied “dark” members. Accurate prediction of dark kinase functions is a major bioinformatics challenge. Here, we employ a graph mining approach that uses the evolutionary and functional context encoded in knowledge graphs (KGs) to predict protein and pathway associations for understudied kinases. We propose a new scalable graph embedding approach, RegPattern2Vec, which employs regular pattern constrained random walks to sample diverse aspects of node context within a KG flexibly. RegPattern2Vec learns functional representations of kinases, interacting partners, post-translational modifications, pathways, cellular localization, and chemical interactions from a kinase-centric KG that integrates and conceptualizes data from curated heterogeneous data resources. By contextualizing information relevant to prediction, RegPattern2Vec improves accuracy and efficiency in comparison to other random walk-based graph embedding approaches. We show that the predictions produced by our model overlap with pathway enrichment data produced using experimentally validated Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) data from both publicly available databases and experimental datasets not used in training. Our model also has the advantage of using the collected random walks as biological context to interpret the predicted protein-pathway associations. We provide high-confidence pathway predictions for 34 dark kinases and present three case studies in which analysis of meta-paths associated with the prediction enables biological interpretation. Overall, RegPattern2Vec efficiently samples multiple node types for link prediction on biological knowledge graphs and the predicted associations between understudied kinases, pseudokinases, and known pathways serve as a conceptual starting point for hypothesis generation and testing.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices of Ni-Vanuatu Health Workers Regarding Antibiotic Prescribing and Antibiotic Resistance, 2018 and 2022: A Mixed Methods Study

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is included in the ten most urgent global public health threats. Global evidence suggests that antibiotics were over prescribed during the early waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Inappropriate use of antibiotics drives the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. This study aimed to examine the impact of COVID-19 on Ni-Vanuatu health worker knowledge, beliefs, and practices (KBP) regarding antibiotic prescribing and awareness of antibacterial AMR. A mixed methods study was conducted using questionnaires and in-depth interviews in 2018 and 2022. A total of 49 respondents completed both baseline (2018) and follow-up (2022) questionnaires. Knowledge scores about prescribing improved between surveys, although health workers were less confident about some prescribing activities. Respondents identified barriers to optimal hand hygiene performance. More than three-quarters of respondents reported that COVID-19 influenced their prescribing practice and heightened their awareness of ABR: “more careful”, “more aware”, “stricter”, and “need more community awareness”. Recommendations include providing ongoing continuing professional development to improve knowledge, enhance skills, and maintain prescribing competency; formalising antibiotic stewardship and infection, prevention, and control (IPC) programmes to optimise prescribing and IPC practices; and raising community awareness about ABR to support more effective use of medications.
A west-east geochemical and isotopic traverse along the volcanism of the Aeolian Island arc, southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy: Inferences on mantle source processes

The Aeolian Island arc, emplaced on continental lithosphere, is composed of seven islands and several seamounts, which have evidence of magmatic activity from 1.3 Ma (Sisifo seamounts) to present time (Vulcano, Stromboli). The rock compositions belong to different magmatic series and show a large silica range (48–76 wt%). Calc-alkaline and high-K calc-alkaline volcanics are present in all the islands, except for Vulcano. Shoshonitic rocks are only lacking at Alicudi, Filicudi, and Salina. Potassic magmas have been erupted at Vulcano and Stromboli. The different parental magmas originated in a heterogeneous mid-ocean-ridge basalt (MORB)–like mantle wedge, variously metasomatized by subduction-related components (oceanic crust + sediments, released as either fl uids or sediment melts). Trace-element and Sr-Nd isotopic ratios show clear geographical west-east variations among calc-alkaline rocks. The composition of the mantle source of Stromboli is strongly infl uenced by the addition of a sedimentary component recycled into the mantle wedge; it shows evidence of a higher amount (~2%) than in all the other islands (<0.5%). Furthermore, the islands from the central sector of the arc are characterized by a higher proportion of slab-derived fl uids, which promotes a higher degree of melting. In this frame, the high Pb isotopic ratios (HIMU-like [high μ–like]) of the rocks of the central and western branch of the arc are explained with the high Pb/Pb carried from a fl uid component derived from the dehydration of the ancient subducting Ionian oceanic crust. On the contrary, the low Pb isotope signature of Stromboli magmas is dictated by the sediment input, as for Sr and Nd isotopes. *E-mail: lorella.francalanci@unifi . it. 236 Francalanci et al.