Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Six- to eight-year-olds’ performance in the Heart and Flower task: Emerging proactive cognitive control

The Heart and Flower task is used worldwide to measure age-dependent and individual differences in executive functions and/or cognitive control. The task reliably maps age and individual differences and these have consistently been found to be predictive for different aspects of school readiness and academic achievement. The idea has been put forward that there is a developmental shift in how children approach such a task. While 6-year-olds’ tend to adapt their task strategy ad hoc and reactively, older children increasingly engage in proactive cognitive control. Proactive cognitive control entails finding the right response speed without risking errors, always dependent on the cognitive conflict. The main goal of the present contribution was to examine children’s adjustments of response speed as a function of age and cognitive conflict by addressing RTs surrounding errors (i.e., errors and post-error trials). Data from a large sample with three age groups was used (N = 106 6-year-olds’ with a mean age of 6 years; 3 months; N = 108 7-year-olds’ with a mean age of 7 years; 4 months; N = 78 8-year-olds’ with a mean age of 8 years; 1 month). Response speed adjustments and the development thereof were targeted both across the Flower and Mixed block, respectively, and within these blocks focusing on errors and post-error slowing. Results revealed evidence for a developmental shift toward more efficient proactive cognitive control between 6 and 8 years of age, with the older but not the younger children strategically slowing down in the Mixed block and smoother post-error slowing. At the same time, we found that even the youngest age group has emerging proactive cognitive control skills at their disposal when addressing post-error slowing in the Flower block. The present study thus tracks the early roots of later efficient executive functions and cognitive control, contributes to a better understanding of how developmental progression in cognitive control is achieved, and highlights new avenues for research in this domain.
Sex differences in brain functional connectivity of hippocampus in mild cognitive impairment

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the prodromal stage of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Prior research shows that females are more impacted by MCI than males. On average females have a greater incidence rate of any dementia and current evidence suggests that they suffer greater cognitive deterioration than males in the same disease stage. Recent research has linked these sex differences to neuroimaging markers of brain pathology, such as hippocampal volumes. Specifically, the rate of hippocampal atrophy affects the progression of AD in females more than males. This study was designed to extend our understanding of the sex-related differences in the brain of participants with MCI. Specifically, we investigated the difference in the hippocampal connectivity to different areas of the brain. The Resting State fMRI and T2 MRI of cognitively normal individuals (n = 40, female = 20) and individuals with MCI (n = 40, female = 20) from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) were analyzed using the Functional Connectivity Toolbox (CONN). Our results demonstrate that connectivity of hippocampus to the precuneus cortex and brain stem was significantly stronger in males than in females. These results improve our current understanding of the role of hippocampus-precuneus cortex and hippocampus-brainstem connectivity in sex differences in MCI. Understanding the contribution of impaired functional connectivity sex differences may aid in the development of sex specific precision medicine to manipulate hippocampal-precuneus cortex and hippocampal-brainstem connectivity to decrease the progression of MCI to AD.
Perampanel and childhood absence epilepsy: A real life experience

Objectives The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of perampanel (PER) as first add-on and as second line monotherapy in subjects with childhood absence epilepsy. Methods Our sample consisted of 20 patients with childhood absence epilepsy, aged between 8 and 10, already in therapy with a first antiseizure medication with incomplete seizure control. PER was added as first add-on in a dose ranging from 3 to 8 mg/die with 1- 2 mg/week increments. The patients that were seizure-free were shifted to a PER monotherapy. All patients underwent a standardized neuropsychological evaluation in order to assess non-verbal intelligence and executive functions before adding PER and after 6 months of drug therapy. All parents completed two questionnaires, in order to assess the emotional-behavioral problems and parental stress. Results 15/20 patients responded to add-on PER and were seizure-free, in 3/20 patients we observed a reduction of seizure frequency <50%, and in the 2 remaining patients the add-on therapy with PER did not lead to a reduction in seizures frequency from baseline. The patients who were seizure-free were switched to PER monotherapy. 9/15 patients remained seizure-free in monotherapy with PER. In the first month of therapy with PER 2/20 patients (10%) reported mild, transient side effects of irritability, headache and dizziness, which did not lead to discontinuation of therapy. Adjunctive treatment with PER did not negatively affect non-verbal intelligence, executive functions, emotional/behavioral symptoms of children and parental stress levels. Significance Our clinical experience in real life showed that PER appears to be effective in the control of absence seizures in childhood absence epilepsy, with a favorable tolerability profile. PER would seem effective on absence seizures even in monotherapy. Further studies with larger samples, longer follow-up and controlled vs. placebo (or other first choice antiseizure medications) are needed to confirm our data.
Research progress on the pharmacological effects of berberine targeting mitochondria

Berberine is a natural active ingredient extracted from the rhizome of Rhizoma Coptidis, which interacts with multiple intracellular targets and exhibits a wide range of pharmacological activities. Previous studies have preliminarily confirmed that the regulation of mitochondrial activity is related to various pharmacological actions of berberine, such as regulating blood sugar and lipid and inhibiting tumor progression. However, the mechanism of berberine’s regulation of mitochondrial activity remains to be further studied. This paper summarizes the molecular mechanism of the mitochondrial quality control system and briefly reviews the targets of berberine in regulating mitochondrial activity. It is proposed that berberine mainly regulates glycolipid metabolism by regulating mitochondrial respiratory chain function, promotes tumor cell apoptosis by regulating mitochondrial apoptosis pathway, and protects cardiac function by promoting mitophagy to alleviate mitochondrial dysfunction. It reveals the mechanism of berberine’s pharmacological effects from the perspective of mitochondria and provides a scientific basis for the application of berberine in the clinical treatment of diseases.
Parameterized First Fit (PFF): Eliminating Symmetry in Spectrum Allocation

Spectrum allocation (SA) is a fundamental problem in optical network design, yet existing solutions cannot cope effectively with the challenges posed by spectrum symmetry. In this work, we develop parameterized first-fit (PFF), a new heuristic for the SA problem that is not affected by spectrum symmetry and has several desirable properties: it explores a pre-defined subset of the solution space whose size is tailored to the available computational budget; it constructs this subset by sampling from diverse areas of the solution space rather than from the neighborhood of an initial solution; it finds solutions by applying the well-known FF heuristic and thus it can be deployed readily; and it is efficient in finding good quality solutions.
A new decade for social changes

Moudjbara area considered a gateway to Algeria's Great Sahara, was the first perimeter to be afforested with Aleppo pine in 1972 as part of a green dam initiative to combat desertification and preserve soil from wind erosion. This study examines the evolution of the species Pinus Halepensis Mill commonly known as the Aleppo pine in the Moudjbara plantations by comparing it to that of the natural forest of the Djellal Mountains in the Chergui region. Several field surveys were conducted, and four sites were selected in the natural forest and four sites in the Moudjbara afforestation. In each site, we performed 50 dendrometric measurements with 200 tree stakes. The selection is based on information on regeneration and plant quality. Stations are classified into four categories namely station of good regeneration, station slightly well regenerated, station moderately regenerated, and station of weak regeneration, which allow us to have primary reference data and to make a reliable assessment of the behavior of Aleppo pine in the Green Dam. The attribute ranking obtained from the ANOVA approximation provides us with crucial information of comparison between the natural forest and the reforestation zone. The results obtained can be used to adjust the planting density, rigorously choose the species, and adapt the soil preparation and planting techniques.
Brain-specific genes contribute to chronic but not to acute back pain

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Abstract Introduction: Back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Although most back pain cases are acute, 20% of acute pain patients experience chronic back pain symptoms. It is unclear whether acute pain and chronic pain have similar or distinct underlying genetic mechanisms. Objectives: To characterize the molecular and cellular pathways contributing to acute and chronic pain states. Methods: Cross-sectional observational genome-wide association study. Results: A total of 375,158 individuals from the UK Biobank cohort were included in the discovery of genome-wide association study. Of those, 70,633 (19%) and 32,209 (9%) individuals met the definition of chronic and acute back pain, respectively. A total of 355 single nucleotide polymorphism grouped into 13 loci reached the genome-wide significance threshold (5x10-8) for chronic back pain, but none for acute. Of these, 7 loci were replicated in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) cohort (19,760 chronic low back pain cases and 28,674 pain-free controls). Single nucleotide polymorphism heritability was 4.6% (P=1.4x10-78) for chronic back pain and 0.81% (P=1.4x10-8) for acute back pain. Similar differences in heritability estimates between acute and chronic back pain were found in the HUNT cohort: 3.4% (P=0.0011) and 0.6% (P=0.851), respectively. Pathway analyses, tissue-specific heritability enrichment analyses, and epigenetic characterization suggest a substantial genetic contribution to chronic but not acute back pain from the loci predominantly expressed in the central nervous system. Conclusion: Chronic back pain is substantially more heritable than acute back pain. This heritability is mostly attributed to genes expressed in the brain.
Observation and Patients’ Perceptions of Incorporating Their Photograph Into the Electronic Health Record

Objectives Wrong-patient errors are common and have the potential to cause serious harm. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Patient Identification SAFER Guide recommends displaying patient photographs in electronic health record (EHR) systems to facilitate patient identification and reduce wrong-patient errors. A potential barrier to implementation is patient refusal; however, patients’ perceptions about having their photograph captured during registration and integrated into the EHR are unknown. Methods The study was conducted in an emergency department (ED) and primary care outpatient clinic within a large integrated health system in New York City. The study consisted of 2 components: (1) direct observation of the registration process to quantify the frequency of patient refusals and (2) semistructured interviews to elicit patients’ feedback on perceived benefits and barriers to integrating their photograph into the EHR. Results Of 172 registrations where patients were asked to take a photograph for patient identification, 0 refusals were observed (ED, 0 of 87; primary care outpatient clinic, 0 of 85). A convenience sample of 30 patients were interviewed (female, 70%; age ≥55 years, 43%; Hispanic/Latino, 67%; Black, 23%). Perceived benefits of integrating patient photographs into the EHR included improved security (40%), improved patient identification (23%), and ease of registration (17%). A small proportion of patients raised privacy concerns. Conclusions Patient refusal was not found to be a barrier to implementation of patient photographs in the EHR. Efforts to identify and address other potential barriers would help ensure that the highest proportion of patients has photographs in their medical record.
Direct and indirect health effects of the nuclear power plant disasters: a review for health care professionals

Background: Nuclear power plants are deeply integrated into our society. They possess substantial risk for major disasters. Two of the worst-categorized nuclear power plant disasters were Chernobyl and Fukushima, emitting large amounts of radioactive materials and required mass evacuations in neighboring areas. Methods: This is a rapid review of the literature. We searched PUBMED and Medline for original studies of all large nuclear power plant disaster information documented in literature. Results: Eighty-three publications were identified in the review. The results are summarized in categories based on direct health effects such as immediate health effects, indirect health effects related to evacuation, cancer, behavioral effects and environmental effects like proliferation of wildlife and other infectious diseases. Conclusion: Nuclear power plant disasters have a great impact on human health including increased rates of cancer, behavioral and psychosocial problems, and evacuation related problems. These disasters can lead to major environmental impact, specifically on wildlife, resulting in unanticipated health consequences for local populations. In this review, we describe these consequences of nuclear power plant disasters as they apply to local health care workers.
Monetary Policy during Unbalanced Global Recoveries

We study optimal monetary policy during times of exceptionally high global demand for tradable goods, relative to non-tradable services. The optimal monetary response entails a rise in inﬂation, which helps rebalance production toward the tradable sector. While the inﬂation costs are fully beared domestically, however, part of the gains in terms of higher supply of tradable goods spill over to the rest of the world. National central banks may thus fall into a coordination trap, and implement an excessively tight monetary policy during tradable goods-driven recoveries.
The Effects of Economic Sanctions on Foreign Asset Expropriation

Studies suggest that home countries impose economic sanctions following host state expropriation of home firms. However, and not addressed in the empirical literature, is the possibility that sanctions lead targeted countries to nationalize firms from sender countries. Using bilateral expropriation data from 1985 to 2010, and controlling for endogeneity issues, we find that sanctions significantly increase expropriation risk, encouraging targeted states to inflict pain in a reciprocal manner on sender countries. Expropriations also enable targeted nations to acquire economic assets from foreign firms, undermining the restricting goals of sanctioning states, and provide opportunities for leaders to show political resolve at home by standing up to senders. Our results are robust using monadic or dyadic data and different statistical methods, indicating another sanction-busting strategy used by targeted countries.
The Serological Examination of Immunoglobulin A Anti-Early Antigen of Epstein–Barr Virus (Anti-EA EBV IgA) in the Nias Tribe Nasopharyngeal Cancer Patients

BACKGROUND: Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is a health problem associated with malignancies of the ear, nose, and throat. The main pathogenesis of NPC is Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection. The signs and symptoms of NPC are non-specific, causing the occurrence of delay in diagnosis leading to treatment failure. The early detection based on the NPC profile using immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies against the early antigen (EA) can be done, but many factors affect anti-EA EBV IgA levels, one of which is ethnicity. AIM: This study aimed to compare levels of anti-EA EBV IgA in NPC patients and non-NPC in the Nias tribe. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was cross-sectional involving 29 NPC patients and 29 non-NPC in the Nias tribe. The subjects of the study were blood tests to measure the levels of anti-EA EBV IgA by a serological test. Data were analyzed by Chi-square test. RESULTS: The results showed that the mean value of anti-EA EBV IgA levels is 246.22 ± 320.05 U/mL and the proportion of positive serology tests is 55.2% in NPC patients. The mean value of anti-EA EBV IgA levels is 51.79 ± 1.55 U/mL and the proportion of positive serology tests is 10.3% in non-NPC. The comparison of mean anti-EA EBV IgA between NPC patients and non-NPC was significant (p < 0.001). The comparison of positive and negative serology tests of anti-EA EBV IgA between NPC patients and non-NPC was significant (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The serology tests of anti-EA EBV IgA play a role in differentiating NPC patients from non-NPC, so it can be useful as a screening tool for NPC in the Nias tribe.
Biostratigraphy and paleodepositional environment of the Temburong Formation at Batu Luang, Klias Peninsula, Sabah based on calcareous nannofossil.

Generally, the Temburong formation was observed for both research studies and hydrocarbon exploration. There was few research conducted on its lithostratigraphy and micropaleontological purposes in terms of research studies. However, there is no evidence suggested to observe the paleoenvironment condition of the formation based on the calcareous nannofossils occurrences. Therefore, this research was performed deliberately to identify paleoclimate prediction of Batu Luang, Klias Peninsular based on the assemblages of the calcareous nannofossils. 17 samples have been collected from a measuring section of a cutting hill along the road. Simple smear preparation was used and observed their assemblages were under the light microscope. As many as 27 species have been identified and dominantly preserved by discoasters and sphenolithus. Thus, this formation has been considered an oligotrophic condition and low latitude region due to the distribution of warm-water taxas. Plus, less contribution of cold-water taxa Coccolitus pelagicus to the formation is late Oligocene to early Miocene.
Modular representations and quantum groups

The temperature sensors shown utilize a constant frequency fluidic oscillator to excite resonance tubes, whose frequency response is a function of temperature. The outputs of these sensors control a fluidic amplifier, whose output is rectified and filtered to produce a D.C. fluid signal which is a function of the sensed temperature. Different embodiments utilize resonance tubes excited in phase or 180 DEG out of phase to sense the difference between two temperatures or to provide increased sensitivity.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND THE CHALLENGES OF RURAL ENTREPRENEURS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The human beings have been facing great challenges during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic nowadays. However, the number of research regarding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and challenges of rural entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 pandemic is quite limited. The objectives of this research are to explore the challenge of rural entrepreneurs during the pandemic and to discover the affected SDG by those challenges. This research was done at Rural Community Centre (RCC) of Kampung Jelintoh, Gopeng, Perak, Malaysia. It was the most active RCC in conducting entrepreneurship programmes in 2019. This exploration research utilised qualitative approach which involved an in-depth interview by using a semi-structured interview format. Six entrepreneurs were selected through a non-probability sampling technique - a purposive sampling from the list of rural entrepreneurs. The data were analysed using a thematic analysis method. The results disclosed two main themes of the challenges. The first theme was business operation that comprises operation disruption, decrease in demand, shortage of logistic supply, and operation closure. The second theme involves business finance which includes cash flow problems, unexpected increase in production cost, and no access to economic stimulus package. It is suggested that all types of rural businesses be allowed to: operate normally, ensure the smoothness of logistics supply, be offered with financial aids, reduce the production cost, and create an easy-access entry to economic stimulus package. Nevertheless, the business operations must adhere to the Standard Operating Procedure.
Correlation of the Phase Angle with Muscle Ultrasound and Quality of Life in Obese Females

Introduction Phase angle (PhA) has been suggested to be an indicator of body cell mass and nutritional status. Clinically, the phase angle supposedly reflects body cell mass and cell membrane function, and the higher the phase angle, the better is the cell function. Muscle ultrasound (US) is an emerging nutritional assessment technique. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness and correlation of PhA with muscle US of quadriceps rectus femoris (QRF) in obese female subjects and the relationship with quality of life and physical performance. Material and Methods. In a total of healthy 50 obese female patients, anthropometric data by BIA, muscle mass by ultrasound at the QRF level, analytical determination, blood pressure, and quality of life were measured. Physical performance was assessed, too. Results In total, 50 female obese patients were included with a mean age of 45.9 ± 2.4 years. The mean body mass index was 32.1 ± 1.6 kg/m2 with a mean weight of 83.5 ± 14.6 kg. Correlation analysis showed a positive correlation of PhA with all US parameters corrected by squared height (anteroposterior muscle thickness, circumference, cross-sectional area, and Echo-intensity). The correlation analysis of biochemical parameters with PhA showed a positive correlation with serum albumin and total protein levels. Physical activity and vitality scores of SF36 were correlated with PhA. Finally, PhA was positive correlated with physical performance, doing push-ups in 30 seconds (r =0.42; p =0.03) and doing squats in 30 seconds (r =0.54; p =0.02), without correlation with the time of 1.5 km walk. Conclusion PhA was correlated with muscle area, muscle circumference, muscle echo intensity, serum protein, quality of life SF-36, and strength physical performance.