Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sleep Mediates Age-Related Executive Function for Older Adults with Limited Cognitive Reserve

Abstract Objective: Sleep quantity and quality are associated with executive function (EF) in experimental studies, and in individuals with sleep disorders. With advancing age, sleep quantity and quality decline, as does the ability to perform EF tasks, suggesting that sleep disruption may contribute to age-related EF declines. This cross-sectional cohort study tested the hypothesis that poorer sleep quality (i.e., the frequency and duration of awakenings) and/or quantity may partly account for age-related EF deficits. Method: Community-dwelling older adults (N = 184) completed actigraphic sleep monitoring then a range of EF tasks. Two EF factors were extracted using exploratory structural equation modeling. Sleep variables did not mediate the relationship between age and EF factors. Post hoc moderated mediation analyses were conducted to test whether cognitive reserve compensates for sleep-related EF deficits, using years of education as a proxy measure of cognitive reserve. Results: We found a significant interaction between cognitive reserve and the number and frequency of awakenings, explaining a small (approximately 3%), but significant amount of variance in EF. Specifically, in individuals with fewer than 11 years of education, greater sleep disturbance was associated with poorer EF, but sleep did not impact EF in those with more education. There was no association between age and sleep quantity. Conclusions: This study highlights the role of cognitive reserve in the sleep–EF relationship, suggesting individuals with greater cognitive reserve may be able to counter the impact of disturbed sleep on EF. Therefore, improving sleep may confer some protection against EF deficits in vulnerable older adults.
Study of Bread Wheat Genotype Physiological and Biochemical Responses to Drought Stress

This study investigates the impacts of drought-induced stress on the responses of ten bread (common) wheat genotypes to the physiological parameters and activities of POX, catalase CAT, and SOD under irrigation and stress conditions. The results of variance and mean comparison analysis indicated that the drought stress increased the activity of CAT while significantly decreased POX and SOD levels. In comparison with the irrigated plants, the photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) didn't change significantly; however, the concentration of chlorophyll and the relative water content in the flag leaves decreased in response to harsh environmental conditions. The observations included a significant enzyme activity in cultivar's interactions with the environment, which indicates various biochemical reactions of bread wheat plants under stress and non-stress environmental conditions.
The analysis of the main deck subjected to deaerator load

Many types of equipment placed at the deck structure of an offshore structure. The equipment is used as production facilities, exploitation, explorations, and so on. Besides, loads are also acting on the deck and make it becomes heavy and need to be analyzed. In this study, the main deck pipe subjected to the deaerator of the jacket structure is analyzed. The modeling and analysis are conducted using the finite element method. The deaerator is assumed as a static load acting on the pipe of the main deck. The result obtained by the finite element method is presented in terms of the stress-strain curve and deformation.
Reverse Genetics with a Full-Length Infectious cDNA Clone of Bovine Torovirus

ToVs are diarrhea-causing pathogens detected in various species, including humans. Through the development of a BAC-based BToV, we introduced the first reverse genetics system for Tobaniviridae. ABSTRACT Historically part of the coronavirus (CoV) family, torovirus (ToV) was recently classified in the new family Tobaniviridae. While reverse genetics systems have been established for various CoVs, none exist for ToVs. Here, we developed a reverse genetics system using an infectious full-length cDNA clone of bovine ToV (BToV) in a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC). Recombinant BToV harboring genetic markers had the same phenotype as wild-type (wt) BToV. To generate two types of recombinant virus, the hemagglutinin-esterase (HE) gene was edited, as cell-adapted wtBToV generally loses full-length HE (HEf), resulting in soluble HE (HEs). First, recombinant viruses with HEf and hemagglutinin (HA)-tagged HEf or HEs genes were rescued. These exhibited no significant differences in their effect on virus growth in HRT18 cells, suggesting that HE is not essential for viral replication in these cells. Thereafter, we generated a recombinant virus (rEGFP) wherein HE was replaced by the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene. rEGFP expressed EGFP in infected cells but showed significantly lower levels of viral growth than wtBToV. Moreover, rEGFP readily deleted the EGFP gene after one passage. Interestingly, rEGFP variants with two mutations (C1442F and I3562T) in nonstructural proteins (NSPs) that emerged during passage exhibited improved EGFP expression, EGFP gene retention, and viral replication. An rEGFP into which both mutations were introduced displayed a phenotype similar to that of these variants, suggesting that the mutations contributed to EGFP gene acceptance. The current findings provide new insights into BToV, and reverse genetics will help advance the current understanding of this neglected pathogen. IMPORTANCE ToVs are diarrhea-causing pathogens detected in various species, including humans. Through the development of a BAC-based BToV, we introduced the first reverse genetics system for Tobaniviridae. Utilizing this system, recombinant BToVs with a full-length HE gene were generated. Remarkably, although clinical BToVs generally lose the HE gene after a few passages, some recombinant viruses generated in the current study retained the HE gene for up to 20 passages while accumulating mutations in NSPs, which suggested that these mutations may be involved in HE gene retention. The EGFP gene of recombinant viruses was unstable, but rEGFP into which two NSP mutations were introduced exhibited improved EGFP expression, gene retention, and viral replication. These data suggested the existence of an NSP-based acceptance or retention mechanism for exogenous RNA or HE genes. Recombinant BToVs and reverse genetics are powerful tools for understanding fundamental viral processes, pathogenesis, and BToV vaccine development.
An Investigation of Elementary School Students’ Anxiety Levels Toward Mathematics and Their Perceptions of Self-Efficacy

The main purpose of this research was to investigate the correlations between the elementary school 4th grade students’ anxiety levels toward mathematics and their self-efficacy perceptions. This study was designed as a correlational survey model. The sample of the research consisted of 193 students who were selected through convenience sampling method among 4th grade students attending four elementary schools in Pozanti county of Adana province. In this study, “Modified Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scale-Elementary School” adapted by Lim and Chapman (2013) and translated into Turkish by Haciomeroglu and Kutluca (2016) and “Mathematics Self-efficacy Source Scale” developed by Usher and Pajares (2009) and adapted into Turkish by Ozkan (2019) were used as the data collection tools. The results of the research showed that the anxiety levels of the students were low, mathematics self-efficacy perceptions of the students were high and there was not a significant difference between these two variables and the genders of the students. Moreover, it was determined that there was a moderately negative correlation between math anxiety and mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics self-efficacy was the predictor of math anxiety. The results of the research were evaluated in line with the studies in the related literature.
Stabilization bound of singularly perturbed switched nonlinear systems subject to actuator saturation using the Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy model

This paper addresses the measurement problem of stability bound for saturated singularly perturbed switched nonlinear systems (SPSNSs) through the Takagi–Sugeno (T‐S) fuzzy model method. The common Lyapunov function method is applied to construct a state‐feedback stabilization controller that incorporates ε (the singular perturbation parameter) such that the asymptotic stability can be achieved for the switched closed‐loop system under arbitrary switching. Additionally, a basin of attraction is determined by solving a convex optimization problem. Finally, a numerical example and a practical engineering problem are presented to verify the usefulness and feasibility of the proposed results.
Predicting the water retention characteristics of UK mineral soils

The management of water resources in compliance with regulatory requirements increasingly uses national environmental impact assessments incorporating models of soil solute transport. Most such models use either continuous functions designed to solve the Richards equation, or capacity‐type functions based on water contents between specified soil water pressure heads. The work described here has used three separate sets of measured water‐release data representative of the whole of the UK to develop a set of pedotransfer functions (PTFs) for predicting volumetric water contents at seven pressure heads on the water release curve ranging from 0 to −1500 kPa. A theoretically‐based structural stratification of the data was proposed and tested. Within each grouping, multiple regression analysis was used to derive equations for predicting the water contents at each pressure head, based on a selected set of predictors. The resulting PTFs gave a significantly better prediction than PTFs derived from the unstratified data and also than the widely used HYPRES PTFs. For all non‐sandy horizons not subject to regular cultivation, additional PTFs incorporating a climatic variable, the average annual potential soil moisture deficit (PSMD) gave a further improvement in prediction in drier areas of the UK with PSMD greater than 130 mm. Mean errors associated with using the PTFs to parameterize continuous function models and a capacity model for calculating water availability for cereals (APcereals) are ±16.4 and 16.9%, respectively.
Suffixes in Competition

This paper presents a corpus-driven analysis of the linguistic competition between the suffixes -our/-or in Early Modern English. It is conceived as a state of the art to provide an explanation of the development and distribution of these competing suffixes in Early Modern English. The study is based on the distribution of the most common set of words with alternative spellings in the period to investigate the development and the standardisation of the -our and -or groups. The study offers the quantitative distribution of the suffixes in the period corroborating the participation of phenomena such as linguistic extinction, specialisation, blocking and lexicalisation in the configuration of the contemporary morphological paradigm. The source of evidence comes from the corpus of Early English Books Online (Davies, 2017) for the period 1470–1690. In addition to this, the study also relies on sources such as the Evans Corpus (2011), the Corpus of Historical American English (Davies, 2010) and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (Davies, 2008).
Bacterial Proliferation in Municipal Water Supplied in Mirpur Locality of Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Water related environmental pollution has long been a major concern not only in Bangladesh but also in other developing countries. Present study assessed the pathogenic prevalence in municipal water supplied across Mirpur zone, Dhaka, and its subsequent health impact on the local community. Elevated numbers of pathogenic bacteria including Aeromonas spp. , Shigella spp. , Staphylococcus spp. , and Salmonella spp. were found in the consumer points (n = 30) compared to that of the supply points (n = 10). Additionally, proliferation of fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. was monitored among the consumer points and not in the supply points. Drug resistance was scored against ampicillin (10 µg), ciprofloxacin (5 µg), ceftriazone (30 µg), penicillin (10 µg), nalidixic acid (30 µg), and vancomycin (30 µg). Hence, the municipal water of the study area was microbiologically unsafe, and the propagation of drug resistant strains was assumed to escalate the public health threat. A survey on public opinions was also conducted to evidently chalk out the impact of municipal water on the specific community studied.
Does Psychopathy Influence Juror Decision-Making in Capital Murder Trials? “The Devil is in the (Methodological) Details”

Concerns about the potentially stigmatizing impact of psychopathy evidence in court have been expressed for decades. Saks et al. manipulated diagnostic information (e.g., psychopathy, schizophrenia) and the basis for that evidence (e.g., clinical, neuroimaging) to examine effects on outcomes in two capital murder case vignettes. Somewhat surprisingly, their psychopathy manipulation did not have a consistently adverse impact on juror attitudes relative to other diagnoses or a control condition. We administered the Saks et al. stimulus materials to college students (N = 569), but added a scale quantifying participant ratings of how psychopathic they perceived the defendant to be. Notably, we obtained uniformly high mean psychopathy ratings across all study conditions. In addition, participants who rated the defendant as more psychopathic (regardless of condition) were more likely to support death verdicts. We discuss the implications of our results in terms of the design of experimental manipulations of mental health evidence for jury simulations.
Examining the Economic Burden of Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditures for Households in Different Socio-Economic Groups in Turkey

Bu calismada, TUIK tarafindan derlenen Hanehalki Butce Anketleri (2002-2016) kullanilarak, Turkiye’de hanehalklarinin cepten yapmis olduklari saglik harcamalarinin katastrofik duzeyi arastirilmistir. Katastrofik saglik harcamalarinin hesaplanmasinda iki yontem kullanilmistir. Geleneksel sabit katastrofik esik degerleri ve daha once Turkiye icin uygulanmamis farkli sosyo ekonomik gruplar icin degisim gosteren degisken esik degerleri yaklasimlari kullanilarak analizler yapilmis ve sonuclar karsilatilirmistir. Ayrica, katastrofik saglik harcamalarinda olasi risk faktorleri lojistik regresyon modelleri kullanilarak analiz edilmistir. Turkiye icin yapilan onceki arastirmalarin aksine, bu calismada yoksul hanehalklari arasinda katastrofik saglik harcamalarina maruz kalma olasiligi daha yuksek oldugu belirlenmistir. Bu sonuc, her bir farkli ekonomik grupta yer alan hanehalklari arasinda ayni esik degeri secilerek yapilan analizlerin, harcama esigi sonrasi ayni oranda harcama yapma egilimine sahip olacagi mantiginin yaniltici olabilecegini dikkate almak gerektigini ortaya koymaktadir.
Fish Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration, Yangtze River Basin, China, Urgently Needs ‘Scientific’ and ‘Ecological’ Action

Although many significant policies and legislation have been put forth by the Chinese government aiming toward “ecological civilization” for the aquatic environment, in practice, the situation is still undesirable. A pioneering multi-year study has since been conducted on the East Tiaoxi River (a major tributary of the renowned Yangtze River), focusing on fish distribution, influencing factors and habitat requirements, and river health as well. This revealed certain key species, hotspot protection areas, negative impacts of local anthropogenic activities, and inappropriate perceptions and practices of conservation and restoration. We found that not all fish species were equally conserved and that the supposedly ecological engineering measures were initiated without regard for ecological integrity. Our exemplary study appreciates scientific basis and truly ecological notion, and urgently advocates comprehensive and continuous basin-scale scientific investigation of fish biodiversity, and “ecological river”-oriented conservation and restoration action for the Yangtze River Basin and broader areas of China.
Identi(cid:977)ication of Factor VIII Gene Mutations in Patients with Haemophilia A

The study is aimed to detect the primary mutations of the FVIII gene among Iraqi patients using molecular analysis and to identify the relationships between these mutations and the severity of the disease. The study involved twenty-(cid:977)ive patients with haemophilia type A, eighteen of those patients were males, and seven of them were mothers with disease carriers, from seven families but un-related. The extracted DNA determined by the concentration and purity and then after the ampli(cid:977)ication of selected parts of the FVIII gene involving intron 22 and exons 18, 22, 23, 24 were done. Sequencing of these exons and introns were done for all patients and control subjects. Sequencing analysis showed that the majority of mutations were ”point mutations” in exons, mostly in exon 24. In contrast, the mutations in exon 18 were identi(cid:977)ied in one male in addition to one carrier mother. The mutations in exon 22 were identi(cid:977)ied in four patients, and the mutation in exon 23 was identi(cid:977)ied in two males in addition to two carrier mothers. The mutations in exon 24 were iden-ti(cid:977)ied in twelve patients with haemophilia in addition to two carrier mothers. Moreover, the numbers of identi(cid:977)ied inversion mutations in the study were seven in hemophilic patients. The study showed there was a direct relationship between the severity of disease and the mutations in exon 24 and intron 22. So, the ultimate conclusion of this study showed that the most common mutations in Iraqi hemophilic patients were exon 24 mutations and followed by intron 22 mutations. The majority of these mutations occurred in severe cases of haemophilia.
Public understanding of wildlife tourism: defining terms, harms, and benefits

ABSTRACT An online survey of the American public (n = 500) was used to explore perceptions of the effects of tourism on wildlife and definitions of key tourism terms. Results show that the public’s assessment of the impacts of tourism are relatively nuanced and reflective of trade-offs discussed in the literature, and that there is broad recognition of the potential for wildlife to experience both harms and benefits resulting from tourism. We also collected data about how the American public defines key terms associated with wildlife tourism, including ecotourism, sustainable tourism, and nature tourism. Findings indicate that definitions of these terms are not well understood by the public, and that the specific criteria which typically define ecotourism in the academic literature are not widely known or recognized. This suggests there may be inherent limitations to the use of ecotourism terminology in driving responsible consumer behavior and positive conservation outcomes.
Determining Asymptotic Stability and Robustness of Networked Systems

This paper is motivated by the notion that coupling systems allows for mitigating the failure of individual ones. We present a novel approach to determining asymptotic stability and robustness of a network consisting of coupled dynamical systems, where individual system dynamics are represented through polynomial or rational functions. The analysis relies on a local analysis; thus, making it computationally implementable. We present an efficient computational method that relies on semidefinite programming. Importantly, for cases where multiple equilibrium points exist, we show how to determine regions around an asymptotically stable equilibrium point that bounds solutions. These regions increase when systems are coupled as we observe when applying the presented analysis framework to a mathematical model of a continuous stirred tank reactor. Importantly, the presented work has implications to other fields as well.
Modeling Water Quality in Watersheds: From Here to the Next Generation

In this synthesis, we assess present research and anticipate future development needs in modeling water quality in watersheds. We first discuss areas of potential improvement in the representation of freshwater systems pertaining to water quality, including representation of environmental interfaces, in‐stream water quality and process interactions, soil health and land management, and (peri‐)urban areas. In addition, we provide insights into the contemporary challenges in the practices of watershed water quality modeling, including quality control of monitoring data, model parameterization and calibration, uncertainty management, scale mismatches, and provisioning of modeling tools. Finally, we make three recommendations to provide a path forward for improving watershed water quality modeling science, infrastructure, and practices. These include building stronger collaborations between experimentalists and modelers, bridging gaps between modelers and stakeholders, and cultivating and applying procedural knowledge to better govern and support water quality modeling processes within organizations.