Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Simultaneously Performed Dual-Task Training with Aerobic Exercise and Working Memory Training on Cognitive Functions and Neural Systems in the Elderly

Working memory (WM) training (WMT), aerobic exercise training (AET), and dual-task training improve cognitive functions and alter neural systems in older adults. In particular, the effects have been investigated of dual-task training that combines a walking or standing activity (balance exercise) simultaneously performed with cognitive training (which is ecologically difficult for the elderly). In this study, we investigated the effects of simultaneously performed dual-task training incorporating both AET and WMT (SDAEWMT), using a recumbent ergocycle bicycle and a WMT program that provided a portable console and made the training ecologically easy for the elderly. Older adults (65.9±13.7 years old) participated in 3 months of SDAEWMT, WMT, or AET after random allocation, and the effects of SDAEWMT were compared with those of WMT and AET. Prior to and after training, all the subjects underwent cognitive testing, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) involving diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and functional MRI during performance of an N-back WM task. SDAEWMT improved executive function (performance of a frontal assessment battery); however, there was no evidence of broader transfer effects or enhanced learning with WMT. SDAEWMT resulted in mean diffusivity changes in brain areas involving the dopaminergic system, suggesting that neural tissue changes occurred in these areas. SDAEWMT also resulted in an increase in brain activity during the 2-back working memory task in brain areas involved in attentional reorientation. These results suggest that SDAEWMT is effective for improving cognitive functions and inducing beneficial neural changes in older adults.
Beaver-induced spatiotemporal patch dynamics affect landscape-level environmental heterogeneity

Beavers (Castor sp.) are ecosystem engineers that cause significant changes to their physical environment and alter the availability of resources to other species. We studied flood dynamics created by American beaver (C. canadensis K.) in a southern boreal landscape in Finland in 1970–2018. We present for the first time, to our knowledge, a temporally continuous long-term study of beaver-induced flood disturbances starting from the appearance of beaver in the area. During the 49 years, the emergence of new sites flooded by beaver and repeated floods (61% of the sites) formed a dynamic mosaic characterized by clustered patterns of beaver sites. As beaver dispersal proceeded, connectivity of beaver sites increased significantly. The mean flood duration was approximately three years, which highlights the importance of datasets with high-temporal resolution in detecting beaver-induced disturbances. An individual site was often part of the active flood mosaic over several decades, although the duration and the number of repeated floods at different sites varied considerably. Variation of flood-inundated and post-flood phases at individual sites resulted in a cumulative number of unique patches that contribute to environmental heterogeneity in space and time. A disturbance mosaic consisting of patches differing by successional age and flood history is likely to support species richness and abundance of different taxa and facilitate whole species communities. Beavers are thus a suitable means to be used in restoration of riparian habitat due to their strong and dynamic influence on abiotic environment and its biotic consequences.
Student perspectives on employability development in higher education in South Africa

PurposeThis study responds to identified challenges of poor work-readiness of many graduates and the inadequate relation between education and work. Through students' perspectives, the study examines the extent to which selected South African universities are supporting their students in developing employability skills and the influence of such employability support on students' enhanced employability.Design/methodology/approachThrough purposive sampling, information was obtained from a sample of 402 final year students at two universities in South Africa. After an exploratory factor analysis, 34 of the 35 items on the questionnaire successfully loaded for further analysis under seven components.FindingsSouth African universities that were analysed are adequately engaging their students with two of the six employability development opportunities (EDOs), while students' engagement with the other four is only to a fair extent. EDOs are found to jointly influence students' employability. The curriculum has the highest influence, followed by personal development planning, career development learning and work experience. Real-world activities and extracurricular activities were not found to influence students' self-perceived employability.Originality/valueBeyond identifying skills that graduates are expected to possess, which dominate the discussion and debate on graduate employability, this study elucidates the role of universities in providing support structures – EDOs – that enable students to establish an appropriate connection between theory and practice. It provides insight into the employability potential of South African universities and increases the universities' awareness of what they can do to ensure the production of work-ready graduates.
Zingiber Officinale : Chemical and phytochemical screening and evaluation of its antimicrobial activities

Zingiber Officinale is a common condiment for various foods and beverag es and a long history of important Traditional Medicine herb for the treatment of stom ach disorders . The constituents present in ginger have potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The sdeals with antimicrobial activity of Zingiber Officinale (ZO) extract and their phytochemical composition. Phytoc hemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloid s, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoid and phlobotannins i n both the extracts. The GO extracts were obtained by sokhlet apparatus and their chemical profile was determined through GC and GC-MS analysis resulted in the identification of 40 compounds in methanolic and 32 compounds in e thanolic extract. Their antimicrobial activity was tested against nine microorganisms that cause various dise ases in human. Zingiber extracts showed selective antimicrobial activities.
Relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and Multiple sclerosis (MS) in South-east Iran

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) are one of the most common, well-known pathogenic agents in the development of peptic ulcers. Some investigators have shown a relationship between H. pylori and Multiple sclerosis (MS). However, this relationship is controversial. The aim of this study was to determine the association between H. pylori infection and MS. In a prospective case-control study, we studied 78 patients with MS and 123 healthy blood donors (HBDs) for bacterial DNA detection and antibody assay. DNA extracted from samples (serum and saliva) and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed in the detection of H. pylori genome. The presence of anti H. pylori CagA and VacA Immunoglobulin G (IgG) was measured in serum by Western blot technique. We found H. pylori DNA in both samples of the 32.05% (25/78) and 32.52% (40/123) of patients and HBDs, respectively (P=NS). Furthermore, anti H. pylori IgG for both antigens were detected in 21.95% (27/123) of HBDs in contrast with 25.64% (20/78) of patients (P=NS). Moreover, genome copy number of H. pylori was not significantly changed in patients (140 copies/ml) and HBDs (147 copies/ml). There was no significant correlation between H. pylori infection in both groups, but H. pylori CagA/VacA-IgG was found in patient quite more than HBDs (P<0.05) and these patients showed more positively for serum H. pylori genome. Although, these results indicate a lack of connection between the Helicobacter pylori infection and multiple sclerosis, the role of immune response against H. pylori in the modulation of MS requires further study.
Graded exposure and orthopedic manual physical therapy for kinesiophobia and function in chronic temporomandibular dysfunction: A case report

ABSTRACT Background This case report describes the successful use of multi-modal physical therapy (PT), including orthopedic manual physical therapy (OMPT) and graded exposure, in a patient with chronic temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD). Clinical Presentation A 41-yr old female presented with a five-year history of bilateral chronic myofascial TMD and comorbid neck/right arm pain. The patient was treated for 12 weeks with a focus on OMPT and graded exposure. The patient demonstrated clinically significant improvements on the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia-TMD, maximal mouth opening, Global Rating of Change, and Jaw Functional Limitation Scale. Clinical Relevance Mechanisms underlying chronic TMD are complex. Current evidence supports PT management of physical impairments; however, neglecting central drivers or psychosocial factors may result in suboptimal outcomes. Physical therapists are able to address both peripheral and central mechanisms of pain, and future research should examine the utilization of multi-modal PT to improve kinesiophobia and function in patients with chronic TMD.
Using Population Projection Matrices to Evaluate Recovery Strategies for Snake River Spring and Summer Chinook Salmon

Abstract: I explored the efficacy of alternative actions to recover threatened Snake River chinook salmon ( Onchorhyncus tshawytscha ). I compared the potential to increase population growth rates from two different actions: ( 1 ) habitat restoration efforts, aimed at increasing egg‐to‐smolt survival rate, and ( 2 ) dam breaching, intended to improve smolt‐to‐spawner survival. Eight dams obstruct the migration corridor these populations traverse as juveniles ( downstream ) and as adults ( upstream ), and a large portion of the juvenile migrants are collected and transported past most of the dams on barges or trucks. I applied sensitivity, elasticity, and direct perturbation analyses to an age‐structured projection matrix to predict potential effects from simultaneous, nonproportional changes in multiple survival rates. Throughout the analyses, I explicitly incorporated alternative assumptions about the effectiveness of transportation, which is known to be influential. Results of the numerical experiments suggest that dam breaching has more potential to increase population growth rates than habitat restoration, except for the most optimistic assumption about the efficacy of transportation. I then fit the matrix to historical data to identify life stages in which actual decreases in survival rates have caused the observed declines in abundance. There was no reduction in egg‐to‐smolt survival, indicating that neither habitat deterioration nor hatchery impacts ( in that life stage ) caused the stocks to decline. The large decrease in smolt‐to‐adult survival rate from the historical period, when there were fewer dams, is consistent with the hypothesis that increased stress from transportation and passage through additional dams on the Snake River has elevated delayed mortality levels.
PARTIAL PROPERTIES OF POLYPHENOL OXIDASE IN MANGO (MANGIFERA INDICA L. CV. “TAINONG”) PULP

The properties of polyphenol oxidase (PPO, EC 1.14.18.1) from an extract of mango pulp were studied. PPO, with catechol as substrate, had an optimum pH at 7.0 and optimum temperature at 30C. PPO showed activity with dihydroxyphenols and trihydroxyphenols, but not with monohydroxyphenols. Kinetic parameters maximum velocity and Michaelis constant for PPO were 256.28 U/min and 6.30 mM with catechol, and 199.61 U/min and 47.81 mM with pyrogallol. The activity of PPO was well retained after heating the extract for 15 min at 50C, and 98% of the activity was lost after the extract was heated for 5 min at 80C. PPO was effectively inhibited by ascorbic acid as well as by β-mercaptoethanol and L-cysteine, and was enhanced by sodium dodecyl sulfate.
Development and quality evaluation of banana‐rice‐bean porridge as weaning food for older infants and young children

Among low‐income families in developing countries, foods fed to infants and young children are rich in carbohydrates but limiting in protein and important micronutrients. Our objective was to develop a high‐protein weaning food (porridge), with enhanced nutritional contents and acceptable sensory attributes. Cooked light red kidney beans and brown rice and semi‐ripe Cavendish bananas were air‐dried (60°C, 8–16 hr) and milled into flours to formulate seven banana‐rice‐bean (BRB) porridge premixes; 80:10:10, 70:10:20, 70:20:10, 60:25:15, 55:20:25, 50:30:20, and 45:40:15 BRBs, respectively. The premixes were analyzed for nutritional (protein, dietary fiber, resistant starch, minerals) and physical properties (moisture, color, density, water solubility, oil and water absorption capacity). Four prepared porridges were evaluated for selected sensory attributes by 31 African/Asian mothers. All BRB porridge premixes met the World Health Organization recommended levels of protein for complementary foods (5.70–8.52 g/100 g). Resistant starch and dietary fiber contents were 6.35–9.21 and 10.1–11.82 g/100 g, respectively. The oligosaccharide (raffinose, stachyose) ranged from 0.19 to 0.46 mg/g and 3.49–6.27 mg/g, respectively. The Tristimulus color values showed a mixed trend, with significant differences among porridges for CIE L*and a* values and Hue angle, whereas no differences were observed for CIE b* value and Chroma. The sensory quality of all prepared porridges was shown to be acceptable, with scores of 6.5–7.1, on a 9‐point Hedonic scale. Twenty‐nine panelists indicated that they would feed BRB porridge to a child under 5 years old. Overall, the results of this study demonstrated that the BRB porridge could be used as a nutritious weaning food.
The psychology of consumer ethnocentrism and cosmopolitanism: a five-country study of values, moral foundations, gender identities and consumer orientations

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which personal values, moral foundations and gender-role identities affect, in sequence, consumers' constructions of their ethnocentric and cosmopolitan orientations. Achieving a better understanding of the psychological makeup of consumer ethnocentrism and cosmopolitanism should help managers better design international market segmentation and brand positioning strategies.Design/methodology/approachThe study's conceptual framework is anchored in attitude and values theories, and focuses on the social categorizations that consumers make and how these contribute to the formation of their ethnocentric and cosmopolitan orientations. Drawing data from consumers living in five European countries, we test our theoretical conjectures through structural equation modeling approaches, including multigroup analysis at the country level, as well as the identification and scrutiny of potential pan-European consumer segments.FindingsFindings show that personal values, moral foundations and gender-role identities do exert direct and indirect (partially mediated) effects on the formation of consumers' ethnocentric and cosmopolitan orientations. These provide numerous insights for managers in terms of how they can segment domestic and international markets, as well as how to position products and communicate brand strategies.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focused on consumers' personal and role identities and offers implications based on data gathered from a sample of five European countries. Future work should broaden this perspective by including other identity facets, such as religious and ethnic identities, as well as product-category and brand-specific outcomes, in order to help develop a more comprehensive picture of the psychology underpinning consumers' identity-related orientations, and their effects on consumer behavior. Future research should also study these issues in a broader geographical context, by including national markets that have culturally diverse populations as well as places with dissimilar cultural and economic profiles.Originality/valueThe study shows that individuals' personal values, moral foundations and gender roles have a strong effect on the formation of consumer ethnocentrism and consumer cosmopolitanism orientations. Consideration of how these antecedent constructs operate in concert to shape consumers' in- versus out-group orientations has been overlooked in the international marketing literature. Beyond the ramifications for theory, the study offers numerous substantive managerial implications in terms of how consumers are likely to respond to local and global/foreign products/brands based on these orientations.
Do subsurface deposit-feeders partition resources by vertical stratification in the sediment?

Enhanced rates of microbial chemoautotrophic production in subsurface sediments are often linked to infauna burrows. Two independent methodological approaches revealed that bacterial populations that should be responsible for increased carbon dioxide dark fixation in burrow walls of the polychaete worm Nereis diversicolor, showed no enrichment effects. By using phospholipid fatty acid and hydroxy fatty acid biomarkers as biomass-specific signature compounds, it became clear that, in contrast to phototrophic eukaryotes (biomarker: 20:5w3), bacteria including sulfate reducers (biomarker: 10 Me 16:9) as well as microfauna (biomarker: 20:5w6) did not accumulate in the 1.5 mm thick superficially oxidized burrow walls. On the other hand, evidence for strong grazing was indicated by high levels of poly-b-hydroxybutyrate (poly-b-hydroxyalkanoates),a bacterial storage product, in the wall layer. This was in agreement with increased levels of partly extracellular enzyme activities such as scleroprotease and sulfatase.
Association of PAI-1 Polymorphism with Schizophrenia in

Several reports have suggested a possible relationship between blood coagulation factors and schizophrenia. Plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI1) belongs to a serine protease inhibitor family, which regulates fibrinolysis and proteolysis by inhibiting plasminogen activation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of polymorphisms of the PAI-1 gene with schizophrenia in Korean population. Two important polymorphisms (-675 4G/5G and -844 G/A) located on promoter region of the PAI-1 gene were analyzed on 178 schizophrenia patients and 226 controls. The genotypic and allelic associations of -675 4G/5G were found significant. Furthermore, haplotype analysis revealed significant result, which suggests that -675 4G/5G polymorphism might confer increased susceptibility for schizophrenia in Korean population.
Competition and Biodiversity in Spatially Structured Habitats

All organisms, especially terrestrial plants and other sessile species, interact mainly with their neighbors, but neighborhoods can differ in composition because of dis- persal and mortality. There is increasingly strong evidence that the spatial structure created by these forces profoundly influences the dynamics, composition, and biodiversity of com- munities. Nonspatial models predict that no more consumer species can coexist at equilibrium than there are limiting resources. In contrast, a similar model that includes neighborhood competition and random dispersal among sites predicts stable coexistence of a potentially unlimited number of species on a single resource. Coexistence occurs because species with sufficiently high dispersal rates persist in sites not occupied by superior competitors. Co- existence requires limiting similarity and two-way or three-way interspecific trade-offs among competitive ability, colonization ability, and longevity. This spatial competition hypothesis seems to explain the coexistence of the numerous plant species that compete for a single limiting resource in the grasslands of Cedar Creek Natural History Area. It provides a testable, alternative explanation for other high diversity communities, such as tropical forests. The model can be tested (1) by determining if coexisting species have the requisite trade-offs in colonization, competition, and longevity, (2) by addition of propagules to determine if local species abundances are limited by dispersal, and (3) by comparisons of the effects on biodiversity of high rates of propagule addition for species that differ in competitive ability.
Lipid Mineral and Other Nutritional Components of Subabul (Leucaena Leucocephala) Seeds

Leucaena seed oil was fractionated into non-polar and polar components. Tentative identification was made for hydrocarbons and sterol esters, triglycerides and partial glycerides in the non-polar fraction and various phospholipid components viz., lysophos-phatidyl ethanolamine, phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl glycerol, phosphatidyl ethanol-amine, sterol glycosides and phosphatidic acid in polar fractions. Among the non-polar fractions, triglycerides was the major component (76.1%) while phosphatidyl choline (40.7%) and phosphatidyl ethanolamine (32.6%) were the major fractions of polar lipids. Major fatty acids of Leucaena seed comprised palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic. Maximum amount of palmitic (25.6%), oleic (28.4%) and linoleic acid (52.3%) was present in polar, triglycerides and non-polar fractions respectively. The CP, NDF, ADF and cellulose content of Leucaena seed was 36.5, 25.6 and 15.0 percent respectively. The antiquality components like mimosine and tannins were 4.0 and 4.86 percent.
Invertebrate colonization of a newly constructed diversion channel in the Canadian Shield

Construction of artificial channels to divert water is common in a variety of natural resource development projects; however, the length of time required for these stream channels to become productive fish habitat remains an understudied aspect. The creation of a bedrock channel (∼150 m) to drain a third-order boreal lake and its watershed (∼300 ha) offered the unique opportunity to study colonization by comparing habitat and invertebrate metrics with a reference stream. The amount of riparian vegetation on the banks of the diversion channel steadily increased, but remained much lower than the reference stream after 5 years. The channel was quickly colonized by benthic macroinvertebrates, which were of comparable abundance to the reference stream starting in the first year, and thereafter were greater in abundance. Taxa diversity and richness responded more slowly, becoming similar to the reference stream after 3 years. Results from this study suggest that newly created, lake-outlet channels can become productive small stream habitats in a relatively short time period (<5 years) in southern boreal regions.