Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of AoA-L2 on L1 and L2 networks in early and late bilinguals

Aim: The age of acquisition of second language (AoA-L2) affects the neural representation of the first language (L1) and L2. Although previous task-fMRI studies showed different activation patterns of language networks in early and late bilinguals, little is known about the effect of AoA-L2 on L1 and L2 resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) networks in bilinguals. In this study, we attempted to reveal the differences in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and topological properties of L1 and L2 networks related to AoA-L2 in bilinguals. Design: We pooled 10 early bilinguals and 11 late bilinguals with high proficiency level in L2 (PL-L2) and acquired their brain rs-fMRI data. By taking the brain regions obtained from a previous meta-analysis study as the seeds, we constructed L1 and L2 networks, and then estimated the RSFC and topological properties of L1 and L2 networks. Findings: Significantly higher RSFC between the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and lateral occipital gyrus (LOG) in the L1 network, and significantly higher RSFC between the IFG and angular gyrus (ANG) in the L2 network were observed in early bilinguals than in late bilinguals. Early bilinguals showed significantly higher clustering coefficient, global and local efficiency, but lower characteristic path length, than late bilinguals in the L2 network. Originality: Through analyzing the RSFC and topological properties of L1 and L2 networks, we observed the influence of AoA-L2 on the brain neuroplasticity in bilinguals. The findings may provide a new perspective for understanding the neuroplasticity in bilinguals with different L2 experience. Implications: The AoA-L2 affects the RSFC and topological properties of the L2 network more obviously relative to the L1 network in bilinguals. The effect of the L2 experience on the L1 network is hardly detected in bilinguals with high PL-L2.
Robots: The century past and the century ahead, an Introduction to the 2021 ALIFE conference

The theme of ALIFE 2021 conference is ”Robots: The century past and the century ahead” , because we celebrate the centenary of ˇCapek’s R.U. R. and the worldwide-used word “robot” , which comes from this play. The conference was originally scheduled to be held in Prague, the city where the play had its ofﬁcial world premiere in 1921. However, because of the covid-19 pandemic and its repercussions, ALIFE 2021 conference is virtual. Nevertheless, in this introductory paper the history of the R.U. R. play and its plot are brieﬂy outlined and its legacy to current research discussed, namely in the context of the ﬁeld of artiﬁcial life.
Added value of PCR testing for COVID-19

Coronavirus During the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were generally reported only as binary positive or negative outcomes. However, these test results contain a great deal more information than that. As viral load declines exponentially, the PCR cycle threshold (Ct) increases linearly. Hay et al. developed an approach for extracting epidemiological information out of the Ct values obtained from PCR tests used in surveillance for a variety of settings (see the Perspective by Lopman and McQuade). Although there are challenges to relying on single Ct values for individual-level decision-making, even a limited aggregation of data from a population can inform on the trajectory of the pandemic. Therefore, across a population, an increase in aggregated Ct values indicates that a decline in cases is occurring. Science , abh0635, this issue p. [eabh0635][1]; see also abj4185, p. [280][2] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.abh0635 [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.abj4185
Previsão e construção de indicadores operacionais da produção de cana-de-açúcar por meio de séries temporais

A cada safra, milhões de litros de etanol e milhares de toneladas de açúcar são exportados pelo setor sucroalcooleiro brasileiro. A ociosidade e sobrecarga de trabalho na produção devido à falta de previsibilidade sobre a quantidade da matéria-prima disponível são alguns problemas no setor. Este trabalho tem como objetivo construir indicadores operacionais, utilizando como base a distribuição dos resíduos do modelo SARIMA (Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average), para informar a probabilidade de redução na produção de cana-de-açúcar. A base de dados foi retirada dos resultados trimestrais publicados pelo Grupo São Martinho. Os resultados obtidos evidenciam o potencial do modelo proposto para a tomada de decisão.
Scientometrics Analysis Method for Society 5.0

It includes the systematic examination and mapping of the literature studies written for Society 5.0 using the CiteSpace application, with the scientometrics analysis method, the identification of the network of relations, and the discovery and intellectual analysis of their bibliographic contents. 151 bibliographic records from the Scopus database were analyzed between January 2017 and May 2021. Qualitative analysis of the obtained quantitative data based on the interpretative paradigm was made. Analysis of countries, intellectual analysis, keywords; burst point and cluster analyzes were performed. The case is gaining increasing importance in the multi-disciplinary field. Since the phenomenon of Society 5.0 is still current and concerns the future period, it is seen that it is a developing field in the literature. In the literature about this case; The fact that scientometrics studies and CiteSpace analysis have never been done has increased the originality of the study. It will be important for super-smart society goals to specialize in the fields studied and to increase the working tendencies in the fields that are lacking (sociology, psychology, gerentology, etc. social sciences).
The chemistry of the pedoderm – part 2: Dichrostachys cinerea patches and adjacent grassland in the southern Kruger National Park, South Africa

The small tree, Dichrostachys cinerea, occurs in dense patches within grasslands on gabbro-derived soils in the southern Kruger National Park. It is not known whether soil properties in the grasslands affect tree establishment. As a first step in identifying soil properties potentially underpinning differences in vegetation structure, we analysed the soil chemistry of the pedoderm (0–2 cm) in Dichrostachys patches and adjacent open grassland. Relative to the Dichrostachys patches, the pedoderm of the grassland was significantly richer in K (1.4-fold), Ca (2.6-fold), Mg (3.4-fold), Mn (1.7-fold), B (1.2-fold) and Na (1.6-fold). The pH of the grassland was also higher than in the Dichrostachys patches (6.45 ± 0.14 vs 5.53 ± 0.09). It is unlikely that the vigour of tree seedlings, tree ramets or grasses in the Dichrostachys patches would be constrained by the concentrations of K, Ca, Mg, Mn, B and Na, or the pH, at the study site. Greater concentrations of K, Ca, Mg, Mn, B and Na in the pedoderm of the grassland are, however, likely to be linked to relatively greater nutritive value of the grass sward and in turn greater herbivory pressure. This effect is a potential cause of the greater constraint of D. cinerea seedlings and/or ramets in the grassland than in the Dichrostachys patches.
pollucheck v1.0: A package to explore open-source air pollution data

Air pollution impacts human health, quality of living, climate, and the economy (Hystad et al., 2020). To assess its impact and facilitate mitigation actions, quantification of air pollution is vital. Measurements are the most accurate way of quantifying air pollution. Many countries conduct regulatory measurements of various air pollutants (e.g., fine and respirable particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and surface ozone) and make the data available publicly.
Cytotoxicity of Artemisia Vulgaris Essential oil Encapsulated in SLN on Breast Cancer Cell Line (MCF7)

Introduction: Research has revealed that breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women and that the compounds in Artemisia plant have good anti-tumor potential. Nanomaterials significantly increase solubility, stability, and effective drug delivery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Nano-form of Artemisia essential oil in comparison with non-Nano-form in inhibiting MCF7 cells. Materials and Methods: After extracting essential oil from Artemisia Vulgaris plant, nanoparticles containing Artemisia Vulgaris essential oil were synthesized through homogenizer and sonication method. Different properties of nanoparticles including particle size, zeta potential, and morphology were measured. Finally, the toxicity effect of solid lipid nanoparticles containing essential oil on MCF7 cancer cell line was examined adopting MTT technique.Results: The results indicated that tDCS significantly reduced the scores on DDQ and OCDUS in the active tDCS group compared to the sham tDCS group (P<.05). Results: The results of cellular effect of lipid nanoparticles containing Artemisia Vulgaris annua on MCF7 cells showed that increasing the concentration of lipid nanoparticles containing Artemisia Vulgaris essential oil, compared to purified essential oil, reduced the survival rate of MCF7 cells. Conclusions: The findings show that lipid nanocarriers raise the release rate of essential oil compared to pure essential oil. Increase in concentration of lipid nanoparticles containing Artemisia essential oil reduces the survival rate of breast cancer cells. The IC50 obtained for unbaked essential oils and nanoparticles containing essential oils were 1105 and 262 μg/ml, respectively. Thus, it can be concluded that nanoparticle essential oil of this plant is effective in reducing the IC50 of the drug and increasing cytotoxicity.
Silicon Compounds in Sponges

A comparative study of the microscopic morphology and chemical characteristics of spicules of Hexactinellids (Hexactinellida) with different structural features of the skeletons, as well as the freshwater Baikal sponge belonging to the class of common sponges (Demospongia), was carried out. The trace element composition of sponge spicules was determined by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The spicules of siliceous sponges contain many elements, arranged in decreasing order of concentration: Si, Ca, Fe, Cl, K, Zn, and others. It was shown that the surface layer of sea sponges contains mainly carbon (C), oxygen (O), and to a lesser extent nitrogen (N), silicon (Si), and sodium (Na). The spicules of the studied siliceous sponges can be divided into two groups according to the phase composition, namely one containing crystalline calcium compounds and one without them. Analysis of infrared absorption spectra allows us to conclude that the sponges Euplectella aspergillum, E. suberia and Dactylocalyx sp. contain silica partially bound to the organic matrix, while the silica skeleton of the sponges of the other group (Schulzeviella gigas, Sericolophus sp., Asconema setubalense, Sarostegia oculata, Farrea sp. and Lubomirskia baicalensis sp.) practically does not differ from the precipitated SiO2. This comparative study of the chemical composition of the skeletons of marine Hexactinellids and common freshwater sponge allows us to conclude that there are no fundamental differences in the chemical composition of spicules, and all of them can be used as a starting material for creating new composite silicon–organic functional materials.
Towards the Internet of Water: Using graph databases for hydrological analysis on the Flemish river system

The “Internet of Water” project will deploy 2,500 sensors along the Flemish river system, in Belgium. These sensors will be part of a monitoring system. This will produce an enormous amount of data, on which prediction and analysis tasks can be performed. To represent, store, and query river data, relational databases are normally used. However, this choice introduces an “impedance mismatch” between the conceptual representation (typically a graph) and the storage model (relational tables). To solve this problem, this article proposes to use graph databases. The Flemish river system is presented as a use case and the Neo4j graph database and its high‐level query language, Cypher, are used for storing and querying the data, respectively. A relational alternative is implemented over the PostgreSQL database. A collection of representative queries of interest for hydrologists is defined over both database implementations.
Determination of Florfenicol in Antibiotic Mixtures by Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE) and Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS)

Abstract Florfenicol has been widely used in livestock and aquaculture to treat bacterial infections. Due to the abuse of antibiotics, florfenicol has been released into the environment. Thus, there is a need for the rapid determination of trace levels of florfenicol in the environment. To improve the sensitivity for florfenicol, solid phase extraction (SPE) was employed to enrich florfenicol from multi-residue antibiotic mixtures followed by in situ determination by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Activated carbon, C18, graphene oxide (GO), and sand were applied to concentrate florfenicol in water. Silver nanoparticles (AgNP)-coated silicon (AgNPs@Si) substrate was employed to determine florfenicol enriched on the adsorbent. The results showed that the detection limit of florfenicol in water was 2.8 × 10−9 mol/L following the adsorption and enrichment of activated carbon. Besides, activated carbon was performed to extract florfenicol from the multi-residue antibiotic mixtures, including enrofloxacin, norfloxacin, and florfenicol. The results showed that activated carbon combined with SERS specifically determined florfenicol in complex antibiotic mixtures with a detection limit of 2.8 × 10−9 mol/L. Moreover, to better understand the adsorption mechanisms, the mechanism of the interaction of florfenicol with activated carbon was investigated.
Proximity to forest mediates trade‐offs between yields and biodiversity of birds in oil palm smallholdings

There is much debate about how best to mitigate the effects of agricultural expansion on biodiversity, especially in the tropics. Recent studies have emphasized that proximity to natural habitats can enhance farmland biodiversity, yet few studies have examined whether or not such proximity mediates local trade‐offs between yields and biodiversity, and hence alters conclusions about the ecological benefits of alternative farming strategies. Here we examine yield‐biodiversity trade‐offs, focusing on birds in oil palm smallholdings at different distances from remaining areas of forest, including a large forest reserve, in Ghana. We found significantly fewer birds on higher‐yielding than lower‐yielding farms, in terms of both species richness and abundance. For forest specialist birds (likely to be highly vulnerable to conversion of land to agriculture) we also found a greater trade‐off (i.e., lower richness and abundance for a given yield) at farms further from forest, to the extent that increasing distance to the nearest forest from 1 to 10 km had a similar effect as a 3‐ to 5‐fold increase in fruit yield brought about by increased intensification. Our study highlights the importance of accounting for the effects of natural forest in the landscape when considering agricultural policies for biodiversity protection, underlining the importance of a landscape‐scale approach to conservation.
Truth-telling, Black women and the pedagogy of fake news in higher education

ABSTRACT Racist and sexist power hierarchies endure in the US under the guise of fake news. The authors engage in the Black feminist tradition of truth-telling and centre the experiences of Black women in their examination of fake news and higher education’s role in the perpetuation of state violence. Their analysis shows higher education institutions can engage a pedagogy of fake news, which functions as language in service to state violence against Black women. This article closes with a discussion of how higher education institutions can engage in transversal politics, in solidarity with Black women to put an end to the state violence that shapes their everyday lives.
Design of Optimal Energy Management System in a Residential Microgrid Based on Smart Control

ABSTRACT Optimal use of microgrids for efficient and economic management of energy resources is of special importance. At the residential level, energy costs can be reduced by using the concepts of price-based intelligent control (response to demand). In this paper, an energy management problem that proposed to decrease the cost of operating a residential microgrid with Micro-CHP equipped by a smart meter. The problem objective function formulation in the form of short-term production planning is based on the total cost of Micro-CHP gas consumption and auxiliary burner and the cost of electricity purchased from the network or sell to it in 24 hours. The aim is to present the ideal energy management strategy of the resources available based on smart control, and due to the non-linear problem, GAMS software by Mixed Integer Non-Linear Programming (MINLP) was used to solve the problem. Finally, the proposed method is implemented on the sample microgrid and the results are compared with Heat-Led Control, the effect of battery on microgrid participation in load response programs was demonstrated. Also, the effect of different tariffs of the market price on the cost of microgrid operation and how to exchange with the grid in different cases are evaluated that results showed the proper performance of the proposed method. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Covid-19 e Tweets no Brasil: coleta, tratamento e análise de textos com evidências de estados afetivos alterados em momentos impactantes

O Twitter recebe diariamente muitos textos (tweets) compartilhados durante eventos relevantes como desastres naturais, ocorrências de acidentes, e surtos de doenças, permitindo a pesquisadores de diversas áreas estudar e prever as relações existentes entre pessoas, locais, e até mesmo as características do espalhamento de doenças em cidades, estados, e países. Estes tweets, quando relacionados à pandemia do Novo Coronavírus (Covid-19) no Brasil, podem trazer intuições de tendência e comportamentos em momentos relevantes deste evento. Visando identificar e analisar estes momentos, coletamos, tratamos e selecionamos tweets ao longo de 90 dias, nos primeiros meses do ano de 2020, para explorar tendências de sentimentos compartilhadas por pessoas, durante a epidemia de Covid-19 no Brasil. Nestes tweets, encontramos evidências de mudança dos estados afetivos analisados em momentos relevantes, como o primeiro caso confirmado e a primeira morte no Brasil pelo Covid-19, observando altas negativas e positivas antes e a estabilização desses sentimentos após momentos de grande impacto.
Rheological, Mechanical and Morphological Characterization of Monopolymer Blends Made by Virgin and Photo-Oxidized Polypropylene

In this work, monopolymer blends of virgin polypropylene and photo-oxidized polypropylene were prepare and characterized. The polypropylene samples were subjected to accelerated ageing to simulate the effects of outdoor exposure of polypropylene. After exposure, samples were pelletized and mixed with the same virgin polymer. The rheological, mechanical and morphological characterization was conducted on both the polymers and the blends. Both viscosity and mechanical properties decrease with increases in the content of recycled, photo-oxidized components and of the level of degradation of this component. In addition, the experimental data were compared with a model that takes into account both the effect of the change of the molecular weight and of the presence of oxygenated groups.
Molecular docking of secondary metabolites from Indonesian marine and terrestrial organisms targeting SARS-CoV-2 ACE-2, M pro, and PL pro receptors

With the uncontrolled spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), development and distribution of antiviral drugs and vaccines have gained tremendous importance. This study focused on two viral proteases namely main protease (Mpro) and papain-like protease (PLpro) and human angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE-2) to identify which of these are essential for viral replication. We screened 102 secondary metabolites against SARS-CoV-2 isolated from 36 terrestrial plants and 36 marine organisms from Indonesian biodiversity. These organisms are typically presumed to have antiviral effects, and some of them have been used as an immunomodulatory activity in traditional medicine. For the molecular docking procedure to obtain Gibbs free energy value (∆G), toxicity, ADME and Lipinski, AutoDock Vina was used. In this study, five secondary metabolites, namely corilagin, dieckol, phlorofucofuroeckol A, proanthocyanidins, and isovitexin, were found to inhibit ACE-2, Mpro, and PLpro receptors in SARS-CoV-2, with a high affinity to the same sites of ptilidepsin, remdesivir, and chloroquine as the control molecules. This study was delimited to molecular docking without any validation by simulations concerned with molecular dynamics. The interactions with two viral proteases and human ACE-2 may play a key role in developing antiviral drugs for five active compounds. In future, we intend to investigate antiviral drugs and the mechanisms of action by in vitro study.
The Optimization of a Dimenhydrinate Transdermal Patch Formulation Based on the Quantitative Analysis of In Vitro Release Data by DDSolver through Skin Penetration Studies

Dimenhydrinate is an over-the-counter medication that is used to relieve nausea, vomiting, and vertigo caused by motion sickness. It has a short elimination half-life, possibly due to its first-pass metabolism. The current study aimed to prepare and evaluate new transdermal formulations of dimenhydrinate to prolong the drug’s release and improve its cutaneous permeation. First, the patches were fabricated and evaluated to determine their properties. The results were statistically investigated and considered significant at the p < 0.05 level. Additionally, the quantitative analysis of the drug-release data and kinetic modeling was performed by using the DDSolver software to decide the candidate formula dependably. The effect of the penetration enhancers on the permeability of dimenhydrinate from the selected patch was then studied ex vivo compared to the control sample, and the patch’s safety was evaluated in rabbits, using the skin-irritation test.