Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Daily and Flexible Non-Linear Periodization on Maximal and Submaximal Strength, Vertical Jump and Speed Performance of Brazilian Army Skydivers

Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of daily non-linear periodization (DNLP) and flexible (FNLP) models on maximal and submaximal strength, vertical jump and speed performance gains after 12 weeks of Brazilian army skydivers. Methods: Twenty-one recreationally trained men were randomly divided into three groups: DNLP (n = 7; age 32.71 ± 8.53; height: 1.74 ± 0; weight: 81.57 ± 11.97), FNLP (n = 6; age 26.50 ± 7.18; height: 1.71 ± 0.05 and weight: 75.50 ± 12.73) and a control (CG. N = 8; age = 18.87 ± 0.59; height = 1.73 ± 0.046; weight = 71.67 ± 5.34). Before and after the 12 week of training each participant was evaluated for maximal (1-RM) and submaximal strength (8-RM) of bench press (BP) and leg press (LP) exercises, squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) performance and speed test over 5 m, 60 m and 100 m. Results: The DNLP and FNLP groups showed similar increases for 1-RM and 8-RM loads in BP and LP exercises, respectively (p ≤ 0.05). Similar SJ and CMJ performance noted in posttest between FNLP and DNLP groups (p ≤ 0.05). Both CG and FNLP groups showed an augmentation in time-performance of 60 m and 100 m speed test, respectively (p ≤ 0.05). However, for 5 m speed test, similar decreasing in time-performance during posttest was noted under DNLP (p = 0.001) and FNLP (p = 0.002) groups. Conclusion: The DNLP and FNLP models were equally effective in improving 5 m speed performance, maximal and submaximal strength after 12 weeks training period with recreationally trained Brazilian army skydivers.
Efficacy of Emerging Technologies to Manage Childhood Obesity

Abstract Childhood obesity is a widespread medical condition and presents a formidable challenge for public health. Long-term treatment strategies and early prevention strategies are required because obese children are more likely to carry this condition into adulthood, increasing their risk of developing other major health disorders. The present review analyses various technological interventions available for childhood obesity prevention and treatment. It also examines whether machine learning and technological interventions can play vital roles in its management. Twenty-six studies were shortlisted for the review using various technological strategies and analysed regarding their efficacy. While most of the selected studies showed positive outcomes, there was a lack of studies using robots and artificial intelligence to manage obesity in children. The use of machine learning was observed in various studies, and the integration of social robots and other efficacious strategies may be effective for treating childhood obesity in the future.
Experimental Study of the Influence of Selected Factors on the Particle Board Ignition by Radiant Heat Flux

Particleboards are used in the manufacturing of furniture and are often part of the interior of buildings. In the event of a fire, particleboards are a substantial part of the fuel in many building fires. The aim of the article is to monitor the effect of radiant heat on the surface of particle board according to the modified procedure ISO 5657: 1997. The significance of the influence of heat flux density and particle board properties on its thermal resistance (time to ignition) was monitored. Experimental samples were used particle board without surface treatment, with thicknesses of 12, 15, and 18 mm. The samples were exposed to a heat flux from 40 to 50 kW·m−2. The experimental results are the initiation characteristics such as of the ignition temperature and the weight loss. The determined factors influencing the time to ignition and weight loss were the thickness and density of the plate material, the density of the radiant heat flux and the distance of the particle board from the radiant source (20, 40, and 60 mm). The obtained results show a significant dependence of the time to ignition on the thickness of the sample and on the heat flux density. The weight loss is significantly dependent on the thickness of the particle board. Monitoring the influence of time to ignition from sample distance confirmed a statistically significant dependence. As the distance of the sample from the source increased, the time to ignition decreased linearly. As the distance of the sample from the source increased, the time to ignition increased.
The Effect of the Swimmer’s Trunk Oscillation on Dolphin Kick Performance Using a Computational Method with Multi-Body Motion: A Case Study

The effect of a specific Chinese swimmer’s trunk oscillation on dolphin kick was investigated in order to optimize competitive swimming movement. Using a numerical simulation method based on multi-body motion, different swimmer’s trunk oscillation during a dolphin kick was analyzed. The simulation was conducted using 3D incompressible Navier–Stokes equations and renormalization group k-ε turbulence model, combined with the Volume of Fluid method to capture the water surface. The simulation’s results were evaluated by comparing them with experimental data and with previous studies. The net streamwise forces, mean swimming velocity, and joint moments were also investigated. There was a positive correlation between the mean swimming velocity and the amplitudes of the swimmer’s trunk oscillation, where the Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.986 and the selected model was statistically significant (p < 0.05). In addition, as the mean swimming velocity increased from 1.42 m/s in Variant 1 to 2 m/s in Variant 5, the maximum positive moments of joints increased by about 24.7% for the ankles, 27.4% for the knees, −3.9% for the hips, and 5.8% for the upper waist, whereas the maximum negative moments of joints increased by about 64.5% for the ankles, 28.1% for the knees, 23.1% for the hips, and 10.1% for the upper waist. The relationship between the trunk oscillation and the vortices was also investigated. Therefore, it is recommended that swimmers should try to increase the amplitudes of trunk oscillation to increase their swimming velocity. In order to achieve this goal, swimmers should increase strength training for the ankles, knees, and upper waist during the upkick. Moreover, extra strength training is warranted for the ankles, knees, hips, and upper waist during the downkick.
Mycelium-Based Composite Graded Materials: Assessing the Effects of Time and Substrate Mixture on Mechanical Properties

Mycelium-based composites (MBC) are biodegradable, lightweight, and regenerative materials. Mycelium is the vegetative root of fungi through which they decompose organic matter. The proper treatment of the decomposition process results in MBC. MBC have been used in different industries to substitute common materials to address several challenges such as limited resources and large landfill waste after the lifecycle. One of the industries which started using this material is the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. Therefore, scholars have made several efforts to introduce this material to the building industry. The cultivation process of MBC includes multiple parameters that affect the material properties of the outcome. In this paper, as a part of a larger research on defining a framework to use MBC as a structural material in the building industry, we defined different grades of MBC to address various functions. Furthermore, we tested the role of substrate mixture and the cultivation time on the mechanical behavior of the material. Our tests show a direct relationship between the density of the substrate and the mechanical strength. At the same time, there is a reverse relation between the cultivation time and the material mechanical performance.
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Quality of Life of IBD Patients

Background and Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients by limiting their access to medical services due to restrictions and the reorganization of the healthcare systems, which affects their quality of life (QoL). We aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the QoL of patients with IBD. Materials and Methods: We conducted a descriptive observational study, which included 90 adult patients diagnosed with IBD. The study sample consisted of two subgroups: a retrospective-pre-pandemic group (group A) and a prospective-pandemic group (group B). Group A included 45 IBD patients who were evaluated in 2018. Group B included 45 patients with confirmed diagnosis of IBD, evaluated between June and December 2021—the period of the COVID-19 pandemic (prospective), consecutively recruited. All the patients filled in a QoL assessment questionnaire—IBDQ-32. Subsequently, the two samples were comparatively assessed. Results: The average values of the IBDQ scores were significantly lower in 2021 compared to those recorded in 2018: 145.56 vs. 128.3 (p < 0.05). We also we found significant differences between the subscores: IBDQ1 (p = 0.043), IBDQ2 (p = 0.034), IBDQ3 (p = 0.045), IBDQ4 (p = 0.025). Conclusions: IBDQ scores were significantly lower in 2021 compared to 2018 (p < 0.05), showing that during the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with IBD had a more influenced QoL.
The strengths and limits of neoliberal populism: the statism and mass organisation of contemporary rightwing regimes

ABSTRACT ‘Neoliberal populism’, as both concept and mode of government, has peculiar capacities and strengths. But the concept should not be overstretched, and the strength of pure neoliberal populism should not be overestimated. The most resilient of the regimes that have been labelled ‘neoliberal populist’ (Erdoğan’s Turkey and Orbán’s Hungary) could not go beyond ten years without mobilising statist tools much more heavily than others. In comparison to them, earlier Latin American, Eastern European, and Southeast Asian neoliberal populist governments have had relatively short tenures. Moreover, our theoretical approach to populism needs to be thoroughly revised to make analytical sense of the mass organisational bases of some rightwing regimes. The strongest of today’s rightwing populist regimes are differentiated from earlier and contemporary neoliberal populist cases by their statist policy tools and mass organisational underpinnings.
Smart Speech Systems: A Focus Group Study on Older Adult User and Non-User Perceptions of Speech Interfaces

Abstract Smart speech systems are becoming increasingly pervasive in society. At the same time, the number of older adults is rapidly growing. These simultaneous trends make it likely for older individuals to encounter and, in some cases, benefit from speech systems throughout later stages of life. To date, most research studies have examined older adult non-users’ opinions of speech systems, but not the sentiments of older users. To address this research gap, four focus groups were conducted to compare the perceptions and attitudes of seniors who voluntarily use and do not use speech systems across various devices. Findings suggest that older users and non-users are similar in their perception of the advantages provided this technology, factors that (could) motivate their use, common challenges faced while using these systems, and barriers to using particular features or speech systems altogether. The two groups differed in their preferences for learning how to use these systems, perception of system cost, and global perception of technology. In addition, older adult users exclusively believed speech systems to be easy to use, but also expressed concerns about information transparency and privacy. Older non-users explained that the absence of age-related declines was a barrier to use. These results may guide designers and researchers in developing, evaluating, and refining smart technologies to be used by various senior populations.
The protective role of self-esteem on burnout and depression symptoms among police officers: A path analysis approach

The aim of this cross-sectional study is to investigate the effect of self-esteem on burnout symptoms and depression, using a path analysis approach. A total of 396 Greek police officers, 145 female and 251 male, with a mean age of 37.7 years, participated in the study. The questionnaire included: (a) social–demographic characteristics, (b) Rosenberg's self-esteem scale, (c) Zung's depression scale, and (d) Maslach's burnout scale. Analysis of variance was applied to find whether the demographic variables of gender, age and urban/rural location had a significant effect on the examined psychometric scales. A path model was then tested, aiming to quantify the direct and indirect effects of age, working location and self-esteem on depression and burnout symptoms. Emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment scores were found to have a direct effect on depression and completely explained the effect of urban area on depression. Self-esteem was found to be a significant regressor on depression and the three burnout subscales, while older and more experienced officers had significantly lower burnout symptoms. The findings of the study confirm the protective role of self-esteem. The findings also confirmed that police officers working in an urban environment are at a greater risk of developing burnout and depression symptoms, while the depressed feelings of police officers in an urban area are completely explained by increased feelings of burnout. The ability of police officers to counteract the psycho-emotional pressure of their profession as they age in service is demonstrated. The need for initiatives aiming to support young officers and police personnel working in large cities is indicated.
Dielectric and Piezoelectric Properties of Mn-Doped Bi(Mg1/2Ti1/2)O3-PbTiO3 Piezoelectric Single Crystals with MPB Composition

Mn-doped BMT-PT single crystals were grown using a flux method. The crystals were irregular and 4–10 mm in size. The EPMA and XRD results showed that the composition of the crystals was in the range of MPB. The room temperature dielectric permittivity εr and dielectric loss tanδ were 806 and 3.4% at 1 KHz. As the temperature increased, the rhombohedral phase did not first transform into the tetragonal phase, but transformed into the cubic phase directly. Owing to the Mn-doping, the ferroelectric hysteresis loops of the sample were quite narrow. The Curie temperature Tc, piezoelectric coefficient d33 and thickness electromechanical coupling factor kt of the single crystals along the <001> direction were 464 °C, 392 pC/N and 0.51, respectively. The piezoelectric properties are much better than the values of the ceramics and the undoped BMT-PT single crystals with a MPB composition.
Efficient CO2 Electroreduction over Silver Hollow Fiber Electrode

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to fuels and chemicals is one of the most attractive routes for CO2 utilization. However, low efficiency and poor stability restrict the practical application of most conventional electrocatalysts. Here, a silver hollow fiber electrode is presented as a novel self-supported gas diffusion electrode for efficient and stable CO2 electroreduction to CO. A CO faradaic efficiency of over 92% at current densities of above 150 mA∙cm−2 is achieved in 0.5 M KHCO3 for over 100 h, which is comparable to the most outstanding Ag-based electrocatalysts. The electrochemical results suggest the excellent electrocatalytic performance of silver hollow fiber electrode is attributed to the unique pore structures providing abundant active sites and favorable mass transport, which not only suppresses the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) but also facilitates the CO2 reduction kinetics.
Multigenerational exposure to increased temperature reduces metabolic rate but increases boldness in Gambusia affinis

Abstract Acute exposure to warming temperatures increases minimum energetic requirements in ectotherms. However, over and within multiple generations, increased temperatures may cause plastic and evolved changes that modify the temperature sensitivity of energy demand and alter individual behaviors. Here, we aimed to test whether populations recently exposed to geothermally elevated temperatures express an altered temperature sensitivity of metabolism and behavior. We expected that long‐term exposure to warming would moderate metabolic rate, reducing the temperature sensitivity of metabolism, with concomitant reductions in boldness and activity. We compared the temperature sensitivity of metabolic rate (acclimation at 20 vs. 30°C) and allometric slopes of routine, standard, and maximum metabolic rates, in addition to boldness and activity behaviors, across eight recently divergent populations of a widespread fish species (Gambusia affinis). Our data reveal that warm‐source populations express a reduced temperature sensitivity of metabolism, with relatively high metabolic rates at cool acclimation temperatures and relatively low metabolic rates at warm acclimation temperatures compared to ambient‐source populations. Allometric scaling of metabolism did not differ with thermal history. Across individuals from all populations combined, higher metabolic rates were associated with higher activity rates at 20°C and bolder behavior at 30°C. However, warm‐source populations displayed relatively bolder behavior at both acclimation temperatures compared to ambient‐source populations, despite their relatively low metabolic rates at warm acclimation temperatures. Overall, our data suggest that in response to warming, multigenerational exposure (e.g., plasticity, adaptation) may not result in trait change directed along a simple “pace‐of‐life syndrome” axis, instead causing relative decreases in metabolism and increases in boldness. Ultimately, our data suggest that multigenerational warming may produce a novel combination of physiological and behavioral traits, with consequences for animal performance in a warming world.
Sleep Quality, Insomnia, Anxiety, Fatigue, Stress, Memory and Active Coping during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The current study aimed to evaluate the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on sleep quality, insomnia, anxiety, stress, fatigue and active coping in the United States. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using a publicly available database taken from the Boston College COVID-19 Sleep and Well-Being Dataset. We have selected the most recent data that included information about sleep quality and other measures, including insomnia, anxiety, stress, fatigue and coping, collected between 22 February–8 March 2021. Results: A total of 476 subjects were included in the analysis. The mean (SD) age of the study population was 38.8 (17.8) years, and there were more females (85%) than males. The population had a mean (SD) score of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) of 6 (3.2), with 65% having the prevalence of poor sleep quality (defined as PSQ ≥ 5; n = 311). The mean (SD) score for Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) was 6.9 (5.2), with 55 subjects (11.5%) having clinical insomnia (defined as ISI ≥ 15); of whom 9% had severe clinical insomnia. There were positive correlations between PSQI and ISI (r = 0.76, p < 0.001), PROMIS fatigue scale (r = 0.53, p < 0.001), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) (r = 0.46, p < 0.001), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) (r = 0.44, p < 0.001). The PSQI was inversely correlated with the John Henryism Active Coping Scale (JHACS) and memory scale. In the multivariate regression model, JHACS, ISI, fatigue, PSS and GAD-7 were significant predictors of PSQI, and these variables accounted for 62% of the variance of PSQI, adjusted for age and gender. Conclusion: An important contribution to the literature is made by this research, which demonstrates the significant prevalence of poor sleep quality and its association with insomnia and other mental and physical well-being. It also underlines the need to prioritise policy and public health efforts to address sleep issues that have substantial health and economic effects for both individuals and the population at large.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus and sleep characteristics: a population-based study in Tumbes, Peru.

OBJECTIVE. To determine if there is an association between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and some sleep characteristics: duration, sleep difficulties and quality, in a population aged between 30 and 69 years in Tumbes. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Cross-sectional study. The outcomes were sleep difficulty (sometimes/ almost never vs. frequently), sleep duration (normal, short, and long), and sleep quality (good and bad). The exposure of interest was the presence of T2DM assessed using the glucose tolerance test (without T2DM, with T2DM but without previous diagnosis, and with T2DM and with previous diagnosis). Poisson regression models were used to report prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). RESULTS. A total of 1604 subjects were analyzed and the mean age was 48.2 years; 50.3% were women, 71 (4.4%) had T2DM without a previous diagnosis, and 105 (6.5%) had T2DM with a previous diagnosis. Regarding sleep characteristics, 12.0% had short sleep, 8.2% had long sleep, 3.7% had sleep difficulties, and 19.5% presented poor sleep quality. In a multivariable model, T2DM with previous diagnosis was associated with sleep difficulty (PR= 2.20; 95%CI: 1.13 - 4.27) and bad sleep quality (PR= 1.40; 95%CI: 1.05 - 1.92) compared to those without T2DM. CONCLUSIONS. Individuals with previous diagnosis of T2DM had greater probability of presenting sleep difficulties and poor sleep quality. These results suggest the need to evaluate periodically the sleep characteristics of patients with T2DM.
Temporal and Locational Values of Images Affecting the Deep Learning of Cancer Stem Cell Morphology

Deep learning is being increasingly applied for obtaining digital microscopy image data of cells. Well-defined annotated cell images have contributed to the development of the technology. Cell morphology is an inherent characteristic of each cell type. Moreover, the morphology of a cell changes during its lifetime because of cellular activity. Artificial intelligence (AI) capable of recognizing a mouse-induced pluripotent stem (miPS) cell cultured in a medium containing Lewis lung cancer (LLC) cell culture-conditioned medium (cm), miPS-LLCcm cell, which is a cancer stem cell (CSC) derived from miPS cell, would be suitable for basic and applied science. This study aims to clarify the limitation of AI models constructed using different datasets and the versatility improvement of AI models. The trained AI was used to segment CSC in phase-contrast images using conditional generative adversarial networks (CGAN). The dataset included blank cell images that were used for training the AI but they did not affect the quality of predicting CSC in phase contrast images compared with the dataset without the blank cell images. AI models trained using images of 1-day culture could predict CSC in images of 2-day culture; however, the quality of the CSC prediction was reduced. Convolutional neural network (CNN) classification indicated that miPS-LLCcm cell image classification was done based on cultivation day. By using a dataset that included images of each cell culture day, the prediction of CSC remains to be improved. This is useful because cells do not change the characteristics of stem cells owing to stem cell marker expression, even if the cell morphology changes during culture.