Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Working Memory Capacity in Metaphor and Metonymy Comprehension in Mandarin–English Bilinguals’ Minds: An fMRI Study

This study investigated the role of working memory capacity (WMC) in metaphoric and metonymic processing in Mandarin–English bilinguals’ minds. It also explored the neural correlations between metaphor and metonymy computations. We adopted an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) design, which consisted of 21 English dialogic sets of stimuli and 5 conditions: systematic literal, circumstantial literal, metaphor, systematic metonymy, and circumstantial metonymy, all contextualized in daily conversations. Similar fronto-temporal networks were found for the figurative language processing patterns: the superior temporal gyrus (STG) for metaphorical comprehension, and the inferior parietal junction (IPJ) for metonymic processing. Consistent brain regions have been identified in previous studies in the homologue right hemisphere of better WMC bilinguals. The degree to which bilateral strategies that bilinguals with better WMC or larger vocabulary size resort to is differently modulated by subtypes of metonymies. In particular, when processing circumstantial metonymy, the cuneus (where putamen is contained) is activated as higher-span bilinguals filter out irrelevant information, resorting to inhibitory control use. Cingulate gyrus activation has also been revealed in better WMC bilinguals, reflecting their mental flexibility to adopt the subjective perspective of critical figurative items with self-control. It is hoped that this research provides a better understanding of Mandarin–English bilinguals’ English metaphoric and metonymic processing in Taiwan.
Evaluation of Adjuvant Systems in Non-Surgical Peri-Implant Treatment: A Literature Review

Can the use of lasers, ozone, probiotics, glycine and/or erythritol, and chlorhexidine in combination with non-surgical peri-implant treatment have additional beneficial effects on the clinical parameters? Objectives: The non-surgical treatment of peri-implant pathologies is based on mechanical debridement to eliminate bacterial biofilm and reduce tissue inflammation; some additional therapies have been studied to achieve more detailed clinical results. Materials and methods: A literature search for publications until January 2022 was conducted. The research question is formulated following the Problem, Intervention, Comparison/Control, and Outcome. Studies investigating adjunctive therapies were included. Results: In total, 29 articles were included. Most of the studies did not show any additional benefit of these therapies in the evaluation of bleeding on probing, probing pocket depth, or plaque index; among the proposed treatments, the use of laser was the one most studied in the literature, with the achievement of a reduction of bleeding and pocket depth. More studies would be needed to assess the benefit of other therapies. Conclusions: This review showed no significant improvements in the state of health in support of mechanical debridement therapy. However, the few benefits found would deserve to be considered in new clinical studies.
Rethinking the Corporate Income Tax: The Role of Rent Sharing

Standard analysis of the corporate income tax assumes shareholders bear the burden of taxes on excess returns. But evidence shows that firms share rents with workers, especially high-income workers, which implies that these workers bear some of the burden as well. Using the Tax Policy Center microsimulation model, we show that, relative to standard assumptions, allowing for rent sharing with high-income workers consistent with recent studies changes the incidence of the tax – labor bears more of the burden – but the tax remains highly progressive. We discuss several implications of the results and directions for future research.
Comparison of the effect of changing the spatial distance with exposure time to mobile phones radiation on the structure and function of the testis in NMRI mice

Abstract The present study was conducted to compare the effect of changing the spatial distance and time radio frequency (RF) radiation from mobile phone in standby mode on the structure and function of testicles. NMRI mice were randomly divided into three groups. The first group was the control and the second group (exposed group) was divided into four subgroups: groups A (A1 and A2) and groups B (B1 and B2), which were placed in plastic holder units at two distances of 5 cm and 20 cm from RF radiation, respectively. A1 and B1, and A2 and B2 were exposed to RF radiation for six and 10 weeks, respectively. The exposure duration was 5 days/week, 6 hours/day. The third group with two subgroups (sham1 and sham2) were kept in plastic holder units without being exposed to radiation and were evaluated after six and 10 weeks, respectively. The changes in the external diameters of seminiferous tubules and the height of germinal epithelium obviously depended more on the distance from the radiation source than on the exposure time. The decrease in the diameter of the testicles and sperm motility were found to be time-dependent. These effects had a clear but unpredictable dependence on the two variables of distance and RF radiation time.
Under the Mango Tree: Photovoice With Primary School Children in Rural Sierra Leone

In recent decades, photovoice has become a popular method in research that involves children as active research participants. This paper focuses on the procedures and methods of gathering and interpretation of data from a photovoice project with children in rural Sierra Leone. Photovoice in this project was an integral part of a more wide ranging multi-modal study on gender, well-being and schooling of primary school children. The inclusion of photovoice as an additional method of data collection added another lens through which we could understand children’s everyday experiences and encourage their active involvement in the research process. The paper discusses the steps of analysis, showing the benefits of the combination of visual and textual methods and presents reflections on the work with relatively young primary school children with no prior experience with photography.
Transcription Factor NRF2 Participates in Cell Cycle Progression at the Level of G1/S and Mitotic Checkpoints

Transcription factor NRF2 is a master regulator of the multiple cytoprotective responses that confer growth advantages on a cell. However, its participation in the mechanisms that govern the cell division cycle has not been explored in detail. In this study, we used several standard methods of synchronization of proliferating cells together with flow cytometry and monitored the participation of NRF2 along the cell cycle by the knockdown of its gene expression. We found that the NRF2 levels were highest at S phase entry, and lowest at mitosis. NRF2 depletion promoted both G1 and M arrest. Targeted transcriptomics analysis of cell cycle regulators showed that NRF2 depletion leads to changes in key cell cycle regulators, such as CDK2, TFDP1, CDK6, CDKN1A (p21), CDKN1B (p27), CCNG1, and RAD51. This study gives a new dimension to NRF2 effects, showing their implication in cell cycle progression.
Human capital accumulation and economic growth of Ethiopian economy

Economic theory, empirical studies and public policy have underlined the importance of the relationship between human capital accumulation and economic growth. Several developing countries have included human capital development as an integral part of their national development plans and have devoted huge financial resources as a cornerstone to promote economic growth. The purpose of this study is to examine the long-run effects of human capital accumulation on the economic growth of a developing economy using evidence from Ethiopia. The study employed the human capital theory of economic growth and the augmented Solow-Swan model as a theoretical framework, and the ARDL bounds co-integration and error correction mechanism for parameter estimation. Time-series data, covering the period 1980/81 to 2019/20, were employed to examine the long-run relationship between economic growth and its dynamic regressors of human capital indicators. The secondary and tertiary educational attainments of the labour force and life expectancy at birth have a significant positive effect on economic growth of Ethiopia, whereas primary education attainment and adult mortality rate have an insignificant negative effect. On the other hand, physical capital accumulation has positively contributed the country’s economic growth, but trade openness and external debt adversely affect it. Thus, it is suggested that the policymakers should strengthen the country’s institutional capacity while increasing the number of healthy members of the labour force that should also be equipped with quality-based educational attainments.
BALANCE VARIABILITY DURING THE PYRAMID EXECUTION IN ACROBATIC GYMNASTICS

The objective of this study was to analyse the relationship between intra-trial variability in balance scores obtained via a force platform and acrobatic gymnasts’ pyramid scores provided by a qualified and experienced judge. Twelve acrobatic gymnasts grouped in pairs performed five successful straddle lever pyramids on two force platforms with one foot on each platform. The variability of path length of the centre of pressure of each foot was examined to analyse the balance of the pyramid. The variability of path length was negatively correlated with pyramid score in both legs, non-preferred (rho = -0.706 [very large]) and preferred leg (rho = -0.530 [large]). The results suggest a relationship between intra-trial variability and pyramid performance.
Are Saudis Equipped to Provide Adequate First Aid to Someone Having a Seizure?

Background and aim Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders with a huge impact on the physical and psychological well-being of the individuals affected. Unwanted behavioral practices regarding epilepsy emergencies result in poor management, costly clinical interventions, and frequent unnecessary visits to the emergency departments. We aimed at conducting a large-scale investigation of behavioral practices, beliefs, and perceptions regarding epilepsy first aid measures among the Saudi public. Methods This is a descriptive questionnaire-based cross-sectional study of the general public residing in the Southwestern region of Aseer in Saudi Arabia. Results The study included 1230 participants. There were about 70.4% shows good knowledge about epilepsy and 74.2% with good knowledge about epilepsy first-aid. About 87.1% reported that they know what epilepsy really is, and nearly 38.1% know somebody diagnosed with epilepsy. Only 25.4 sought doctors for epilepsy-related knowledge. About 16.7% thought spirit possession to be the aetiology for epilepsy and about 14.1% believed that evil eye was the cause. In terms of the adjusted impact for background factors on epilepsy knowledge, high education, attending seminars, or getting information from doctors was associated with a better knowledge score. However, housewives were less knowledgeable in terms of epilepsy-related knowledge. Conclusion We uncovered in our present investigation the upward trend for behavioral practices regarding epilepsy during the last few years among the Saudi public. We noted that behavioral practices and knowledge levels about epilepsy were far better among highly educated graduates. One concerning finding is the huge reliance on media for information about epilepsy. The media may not be the ideal channel for the dissemination of health-wise information about epilepsy. Our study results showed that there was a very low level of first-hand experience of knowing some acquaintances living with epilepsy, likely because of stigma. Spirit possession and evil-eye beliefs are embedded in the Saudi culture. It was notable that 25% and 19% of minorities reported getting information about epilepsy from doctors and seminars, respectively. These were the two groups with the highest adjustable knowledge score though. Knowledge about first aid for epilepsy was satisfactory in several aspects. Sadly, housewives were less knowledgeable in terms of epilepsy-related knowledge than other categories of employment. Public healthcare facilities should be more proactive. Health education should be provided to the general public using simple and understandable language to help improve knowledge and attitudes towards epilepsy and all related chronic illnesses.
Health disparities and access to advanced therapy for overactive bladder

Refractory overactive bladder (OAB) is among the most common reasons for referral to specialists in voiding dysfunction. Significant racial and ethnic disparities exist in prevalence, severity, and management of OAB, presenting care barriers for marginalized patients. We aim to explicate these disparities and explore the factors that led to their existence and persistence. We will additionally offer suggestions to mitigate such disparities and approach equitable care for our patients.
Towards Applying Social Networking in Higher Education: Case Study of Saudi Universities

As the popularity of social media increases exponentially, higher education institutions have started embracing social networking sites with its applications in educational purposes. Many Universities in the Western world today offer a variety of social networking applications to students in order to facilitate enhanced communication, collaboration and research. However, the usage and effectiveness of similar social networking applications in the Arab world remain unexplored. Considering the cultural and academic differences between Western and Middle-Eastern countries, this is a significant gap. Towards this, the main objective of the present research is to study the usage of a variety of social networking applications by higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia. The work has adopted a quantitative research approach with a survey as the data gathering instrument. Our major findings of this work indicate that the use of social networking applications is quite prevalent among major Universities in Saudi Arabia, although the usage and awareness seem to be limited to popular applications like Facebook. Also, the potential of social networking applications as powerful collaboration and educational tools seems to remain under-utilised by Saudi students, hampering the effectiveness. Finally, privacy and security concerns continue to remain the biggest challenges inhibiting the usage of social media applications, particularly by female students. These are gaps that can be addressed by higher education institutions.
Hypernatremia in Hospitalized Patients: A Large Population-Based Study

Key Points Hypernatremia has been studied less than hyponatremia and may serve as an important predictor of outcomes among hospitalized patients. This work addresses a key gap regarding outcomes of hypernatremia by assessing the relationship of hypernatremia to outcomes by eGFR or age groups. Hypernatremia was significantly associated with in-hospital mortality and discharge to a hospice or nursing facility. Visual Abstract Background Hypernatremia is a frequently encountered electrolyte disorder in hospitalized patients. Controversies still exist over the relationship between hypernatremia and its outcomes in hospitalized patients. This study examines the relationship of hypernatremia to outcomes among hospitalized patients and the extent to which this relationship varies by kidney function and age. Methods We conducted an observational study to investigate the association between hypernatremia, eGFR, and age at hospital admission and in-hospital mortality, and discharge dispositions. We analyzed the data of 1.9 million patients extracted from the Cerner Health Facts databases (2000–2018). Adjusted multinomial regression models were used to estimate the relationship of hypernatremia to outcomes of hospitalized patients. Results Of all hospitalized patients, 3% had serum sodium (Na) >145 mEq/L at hospital admission. Incidence of in-hospital mortality was 12% and 2% in hyper- and normonatremic patients, respectively. The risk of all outcomes increased significantly for Na >155 mEq/L compared with the reference interval of Na=135–145 mEq/L. Odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for in-hospital mortality and discharge to a hospice or nursing facility were 34.41 (30.59–38.71), 21.14 (17.53–25.5), and 12.21 (10.95–13.61), respectively (all P<0.001). In adjusted models, we found that the association between Na and disposition was modified by eGFR (P<0.001) and by age (P<0.001). Sensitivity analyses were performed using the eGFR equation without race as a covariate, and the inferences did not substantially change. In all hypernatremic groups, patients aged 76–89 and ≥90 had higher odds of in-hospital mortality compared with younger patients (all P<0.001). Conclusions Hypernatremia was significantly associated with in-hospital mortality and discharge to a hospice or nursing facility. The risk of in-hospital mortality and other outcomes was highest among those with Na >155 mEq/L. This work demonstrates that hypernatremia is an important factor related to discharge disposition and supports the need to study whether protocolized treatment of hypernatremia improves outcomes.
Effect of Ownership Structure on Earnings Management in Listed Manufacturing Firms at Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya

A firm's ownership structure is important to the effectiveness of monitoring the mechanisms used to manipulate earnings. Based on the ownership structure of a firm, management can feel pressure to manage earnings by manipulating the company's accounting practices to meet financial expectations. This paper focuses on how the three components of ownership structure affect earnings management of listed firms. That is to determine the effect of ownership concentration, managerial ownership, and institutional ownership on earnings management of listed firms. As per the jones and modified Jones model, discretionary accruals were used as a measure of earnings management. how did you measure the components of ownership structure The study deployed random effects model and STATA software for data analysis. Data was collected for the period from 2011 to 2019 from all listed manufacturing firms in Nairobi securities exchange. The study findings established that managerial ownership, institutional ownership and ownership concentration have an insignificant effect on earnings management. The study indicated that while majority shareholders are keen to closely monitor the management to ensure that their interests are well protected, this can only be attained if they have requisite skills, knowledge, and experience. The study also indicated that most pertinent is to have strong internal controls in place that seals all possible loopholes that could be exploited by the management to manipulate earnings. The study considered two control variables, firm size and growth which were also found to have an insignificant effect on earnings management.
Association Between Habitual Night Sleep Duration and Predicted 10-Year Cardiovascular Risk by Sex Among Young and Middle-Aged Adults

Purpose We hypothesize the association between sleep duration and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk varies with age category; however, evidence for the relationship between sleep duration and CVD risk among young and middle-aged adults remains scarce. This research aims to assess the association between night sleep duration and cardiovascular risk by sex among young and middle-aged Chinese adults. Patients and Methods We used the baseline data of a cohort of adults for physical examination by stratified cluster sampling. The Framingham risk score and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used to measure CVD risk and sleep duration, respectively. Demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, height, weight, total cholesterol (TC), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were collected. We performed multiple logistic regressions to examine the association between night sleep duration and the predicted cardiovascular risk. Results We included 27,547 participants aged 18–64 years free of CVD, cerebral stroke, and not taking lipid-lowering agents. Overall, 12.7%, and 20.4% were at medium and high predicted CVD risk, respectively; 11.9% and 12.3% reported short and long sleep, respectively. Short sleep was independently associated with 23% (95% CI: 1.08–1.40) increased odds of medium-to-high CVD risk and 26% (95% CI: 1.11–1.45) increased odds of high CVD risk among females. Whereas long sleep was independently associated with 17% (95% CI: 0.71–0.98) decreased odds of medium-to-high CVD risk among males. Conclusion Among young and middle-aged adults, long sleep was associated with decreased odds of CVD risk in males, whereas short sleep was associated with increased odds of cardiovascular risk in females.
Social Learning Theory in Language Learning: Exploring the Fear for Foreign Language Learning

Learning a foreign language has become a norm to most of the worlds’ population as the world becomes globalised and the need to become bilingual/multilingual becomes a fundamental aspect for international communication. Despite the need to learn foreign languages, it has however triggered fear or anxiety in learners. For some, fear can be a driving force towards success in language learning yet, for most learners, it tremendously affects their learning process. This study is conducted to explore the fear of foreign language learning based on the Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977) and framework of Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986). A quantitative survey was distributed through Google Form, to 202 students from seven different foreign language courses (German, Mandarin, Japanese, Arabic, Korean, Italian and French) at a public university in Malaysia. Findings revealed that learners developed fear and nervousness when they were unable to understand what the educators were saying or any words spoken by the educators in the target language. Moreover, learners compared their low language ability with their peers which indicates low self-esteem. They also felt nervous when having to answer questions that they did not prepare in advance. Lastly, learners feel worried about the consequences of failing in their foreign language class. This study suggests that a strong support system involving language educators play an important role to ensure that fear in foreign language learning could be avoided or improved. and their self-perceived speaking ability. The study revealed correlation between anxiety and fear of negative evaluation and anxiety and perception of low ability in relation to peers and native speakers. Another related study was undertaken by Tsiplakides and Keramida (2009) involving fifteen students in the third grade of a lower secondary school in Greece. This qualitative study aimed at investigating foreign language learners’ anxiety with everyday classroom practice. The analysis of the findings showed that speaking anxiety is apparent among respondents and it was believed to be the result of learners’ fear of negative evaluation from their peers and their perception of their low ability in the language in comparison with their peers. Most of the respondents’ anxiety in speaking stem from their self-perceived inabil ity in performing in any speaking tasks and fear of their peers’ negative view of their language ability. The studies above show that anxiety in language learning is still apparent among foreign language learners and calculative measures need to be crafted to address this issue.