Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Positive Parenting Behaviors and Child Development in Ceará, Brazil: A Population-Based Study

Parenting practices have been identified as a key determinant of children’s developmental outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of parenting practices with child development in a cross-sectional population-based study in a low-income state in northeastern Brazil. The study included data on 3566 caregiver–child pairs, and the children were aged 0–66 months. Positive parenting behaviors (PPBs) were conceptualized in areas of interactive play, social development, and speech and language interactions. Child development was evaluated using the Brazilian Ages and Stages Questionnaire. Linear regression analysis was used to assess the relationships. We found that a greater number of PPBs was associated with better child development domain scores. Among infants < 1 year, each additional PPB was associated with a 0.32 standardized mean difference (SMD) greater communication (95% CI: 0.24–0.41) and 0.38 SMD greater problem-solving scores (95% CI: 0.24–0.52). Among children aged 4–6 years old, each additional PPB was associated with improved communication (SMD: 0.22; 95% CI: 0.13–0.32), problem solving (SMD: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.10–0.32) and personal–social domain scores (SMD: 0.26; 95% CI: 0.17–0.36). Our findings indicate that PPB were robustly associated with better outcomes across developmental domains among Brazilian children. Programs and interventions that support PPB can contribute to improvements in development outcomes.
Power Plant Boiler Reheater Metal Temperature Forecasting Using Autoencoder

The fluctuating pattern of power plant operation can cause a negative impact on a specific area of the boiler. Such as overheating in the boiler reheater. Various methods, especially data-based modeling, have been used to optimize power plant operation to lessen the impact. Architectures such as CNN and RNN and their combinations become the main foundation in the data-based modeling process. This study is intended to reproduce previous research with the actual datasets of a boiler from a power plant in Indonesia. Because even with a similar model, datasets from different systems will produce different results. In this study, forecasting for the reheat metal temperature is carried out using logged data. The model used is a stacked-layer LSTM-based autoencoder. Various hidden unit numbers are used for each encoder-decoder to find the optimum number. The test results obtained show the accuracy of the prediction model with an average MAPE value below 0.6%. It is also concluded that the addition of hidden units has no significant impact on model performance. The model with 64-64 hidden layers is sufficient for forecasting reheat metal temperature because shorter training time with affordable performance.
GENDER DIFFERENCE IN PERFORMANCE IN FOUR SCIENCE SUBJECTS IN BORNO STATE COLLEGES OF EDUCATION

Purpose: This study examines Gender Difference in Science Subjects Performance in Borno State Colleges of Education with particular reference to Umar Ibn Ibrahim El-Kanemi College of Education, Science and Technology, Bama. The objective of the study is to find out; whether or not there exists gender difference in performance in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics for three consecutive sessions. Methodology: Because of its suitability, the study adopted ex-post facto research design. The data for the study were collected from two independent groups (male and female) for three different sessions (2010/2011, 2011/2012 and 2012/2013). The instrument used for data collection is the Students Result Proforma designed by the researcher. Through the proforma the researcher collected the NCE 1, 2 and 3 students’ CGPA. Inferential statistics (i.e. t-test) was used to analyse the data. The analysed data was presented in tables which are expressed in differences between means, variances and correlated coefficients. Stratified sampling technique was used to select gender and all the four core science subjects. All population within these departments (stratified as male and female) were utilized for the study. The t-test which was calculated at 0.05 level of significance reveals absence of differences in Chemistry and Mathematics. Findings: However, gender difference was obtained in favour of males in Biology and Physics. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: It was recommended that sensitization on quality science education is necessary especially in all science subjects by government and non-governmental organization to inspire female students to catch up.
Effect of Nutrient Solution Cooling in Summer and Heating in Winter on the Performance of Baby Leafy Vegetables in Deep-Water Hydroponic Systems

Hydroponics has become a popular production technology for leafy greens in greenhouses. However, year-round production of cool-season leafy greens remains challenging due to costly heating and cooling during winter and summer seasons, depending on location. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the effect of nutrient solution cooling and heating in deep-water hydroponic systems on the performance of several leafy green vegetables. Two experiments of nutrient solution cooling during the summer season and another two experiments of nutrient solution heating during the winter season were conducted in Texas, USA in 2020–2021. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) ‘Bergams Green’ and ‘Red Mist’, Pak Choi (Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis) ‘Purple Magic’ and ‘White Stem’, and spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) ‘Mandolin’ and ‘Seaside’ were grown in the summer experiments, and only the two lettuce cultivars were grown for the winter experiments. For both cooling and heating studies, six deep-water culture systems were used with two treatments: cooling (23 °C) vs. no cooling, and heating (22 °C) vs. no heating, with three replications in each experiment. In the nutrient solution cooling study, spinach was the most heat-sensitive species, and ‘Mandolin’ was more heat-tolerant than ‘Seaside,’ as evidenced by its lower mortality rate in both experiments. Lettuce and pak choi grew well and solution cooling increased shoot fresh weight in both lettuce cultivars and in ‘White Stem’ pak choi but not in ‘Purple Magic’ pak choi. Conversely, during the winter season, solution heating increased shoot fresh weight of both lettuce cultivars; however, ‘Red Mist’ was more responsive than ‘Bergams Green’ lettuce. These results indicate the potential to increase crop yield by controlling nutrient solution temperature throughout the year, depending on the season. Also, there were genotypic differences in both cooling and heating experiments, indicating that more research is needed to determine the species-dependent and even cultivar-dependent nutrient solution temperature control strategies to achieve optimum year-round production.
The Relationship of Depression and Stress with Tryptophan Consumption among University Youth

Objective: The most common psychological health problems are depression and stress. Depressive symptoms and stress are increasing day by day in university youth. Since depression and stress negatively affect the health of the young population, it is important that it contribute to the increase of the healthy population. The objective of the study was to evaluate the relationship of depression and stress with tryptophan consumption among university students. Methods: A questionnaire which included descriptive questions, amounts of tryptophan consumption, “Beck depression” inventory and “perceived stress (PS) scale” were conducted voluntarily to 900 undergraduate students studying at İstanbul Aydın University in this correlation study. Results: There was no statistically significant difference was found between students’ depression levels and tryptophan consumption levels (p>0.05). A statistically significant difference was found between the perceived coping level and the mean tryptophan consumption level (p<0.05). As tryptophan consumption increases, stress decreases and coping with PS increases. There was no relationship between tryptophan consumption and depression, but there was a relationship between tryptophan consumption and stress.
Effects of Green Tea Catechins on Prostate Cancer Chemoprevention: The Role of the Gut Microbiome

Simple Summary Green tea is known for its health benefits deriving from molecules called green tea catechins (GTCs). GTCs have been demonstrated to influence molecular pathways to halt the progression of prostate cancer (PCa) and may be of particular benefit to men with low-risk PCa who are placed on active surveillance. Administering GTCs may provide patients an opportunity to be actively engaged in their treatment and help prevent cancer progression. Importantly, the trillions of microbes in the gut (the gut microbiome) metabolize GTCs, making them more accessible to the body to exert their health effects. Additionally, the gut microbiome influences multiple other processes likely involved in PCa progression, including regulating inflammation, hormones, and other known/unknown pathways. In this review, we discuss (1) the role of GTCs in preventing PCa progression; (2) current evidence for associations of the microbiome with PCa; and (3) utilizing the microbiome to identify markers that may predict improved response to GTCs to enhance clinical decision-making. Abstract Accumulating evidence supports green tea catechins (GTCs) in chemoprevention for prostate cancer (PCa), a leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality among men. GTCs include (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, which may modulate the molecular pathways implicated in prostate carcinogenesis. Prior studies of GTCs suggested that they are bioavailable, safe, and effective for modulating clinical and biological markers implicated in prostate carcinogenesis. GTCs may be of particular benefit to those with low-grade PCas typically managed with careful monitoring via active surveillance (AS). Though AS is recommended, it has limitations including potential under-grading, variations in eligibility, and anxiety reported by men while on AS. Secondary chemoprevention of low-grade PCas using GTCs may help address these limitations. When administrated orally, the gut microbiome enzymatically transforms GTC structure, altering its bioavailability, bioactivity, and toxicity. In addition to xenobiotic metabolism, the gut microbiome has multiple other physiological effects potentially involved in PCa progression, including regulating inflammation, hormones, and other known/unknown pathways. Therefore, it is important to consider not only the independent roles of GTCs and the gut microbiome in the context of PCa chemoprevention, but how gut microbes may relate to individual responses to GTCs, which, in turn, can enhance clinical decision-making.
Ethnocentric Shapeshifting: Seeking Traces of Culturally Responsive Teaching and Caring amongst Early Childhood Education Lecturers

Abstract Higher education institutions (HEIs) remain fraught with student activism because transforming and decolonising curricula to promote culturally responsive education is still lingering. Prolonging a trajectory of culturally apathetic education will not only lead to impoverished and decoupled human knowledge systems but also quell democratic citizenry and social justice. South Africa's educational trajectory can be explored using the methodology for critical instance cases for traces of cultural responsiveness and accountability in its academic cohort and andragogy, which is the focus of this inquiry. Foregrounding former traces of uncharitable andragogy can help HEIs to understand students’ impulse to protest. We interpreted literature and the critical instance case study by integrating the seminal work of Diamond and Moore (1995) and Gay's (2018) views on culturally responsive teaching and care (CRTC). Interpreting this moment in an HEIs education trajectory in early childhood education indicated traces of superficial understanding of culture, cultural relevance, and cultural responsiveness. We perceived ethnocentrism in the academic cohort, as the lecturer-participants’ own geography, socio-economic status, and historical heritage succoured how diverse groups were educated. We learned that critical instance case studies could serve as a rear-view mirror for HEIs to identify signs of ethnocentrism that counteract cultural relativism. South Africa's complex historical trajectory constructed many critical instance case studies for appraising, offering HEIs a head start to transform and decolonise initial teacher education (ITE) programmes and adopt CRTC educational philosophy. Scouring lecturers’ perceptions, frames of reference, and assumptions about CRTC practices awakens one's conscious state of mind, creating opportunities for capacity building and mobilising academic and teacher citizenry.
A Ternary-State Early Warning System for the European Union

The global financial crisis of 2007-2008 focused the attention of financial authorities on developing methods to forecast and avoid future financial crises of similar magnitude. We contribute to the literature on crisis prediction in several important ways. First, we develop an early warning system (EWS) that provides 7-12 quarters advance warning with high accuracy in out-of-sample testing. Second, the EWS applies region-wide to the leading economies in the European Union. Third, the methodology is transparent – utilizing only publicly available macrolevel data and standard statistical classification methodology (multinomial logistic regression, discriminant analysis, and neural networks). Fourth, we employ two relatively novel methodological innovations in EWS modeling: ternary state classification to guarantee a minimum advance warning period, and a fitting and evaluation criterion (the total harmonic mean) that prioritizes avoiding classification errors for the relatively infrequent events of most interest. As a consequence, a policymaker who uses these methods will enjoy a high probability that future crises will be signaled well in advance and that warnings of crisis will not be false alarms.
Weighted Residual Dynamic Ensemble Learning for Hyperspectral Image Classification

Recently, collaborative representation classifiers have been extensively studied as an essential method for the hyperspectral image. However, how to comprehensively utilize the classification advantages of multiple collaborative classifiers has not been well investigated. In this article, two new dynamic ensemble learning methods using local weighted residual (LWR-DEL) and double-weighted residual (DWR-DEL) of multicollaborative representation classifiers are proposed. First, the dynamic ensemble learning method based on clustering is utilized to introduce prior knowledge for the collaborative representation classifier. Then, with prior knowledge, the local weights of each classifier for a different region of competence are obtained. To consider the global information of hyperspectral data, the K-nearest neighbor algorithm is adopted to achieve validation samples with global information. The global weights for each classifier can be obtained and then used to constrain the locally weighted residuals. Similar to LWR-DEL, the global information is also used to constrain residual, and then double-weighted constrained residual fusion obtains the final classifier result. The effectiveness of the proposed methods is validated using three hyperspectral data sets. The experimental results show that both LWR-DEL and DWR-DEL outperform their single-classifier counterparts. In particular, the proposed methods provide superior performance compared with the state-of-the-art methods.
Effects of Atmospheric Fluorine-Containing Nonthermal Plasmas on Demineralization and Remineralization of Tooth Enamel

This study investigated the effects of atmospheric fluorine-containing nonthermal plasmas (FNTPs) on the demineralization and remineralization of tooth enamel. Atmospheric FNTPs were generated using a custom-made plasma device with a mixture of argon and 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane as the feed gas. The resulting plasmas were characterized using optical emission spectroscopy and one was selected and used to treat tooth enamel. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis showedsignificantly increased fluorine contents in plasma-treated enamel surfaces. An acid etch biopsy test revealed increased fluoride contents at different depths beneath the surface of plasma-treated enamels when compared with the negative control group (i.e., without plasma treatment). In addition, the results ofEDX analysis showed that after a seven-day in vitro pH cycling experiment, those plasma-treated enamels still retained significantly increased levels of fluorine. Moreover, after a 14-day in vitro pH cycling experiment, polarized light microscopy revealed that plasma-treated tooth enamel had significantly shallower demineralization depth $(p =0.02$ ) and significantly larger remineralization bandwidth ( $p < 0.01$ ) when compared with the negative control group. The results from the present study suggest that atmospheric FNTPs might be an innovative and promising technique for prevention and treatment of dental caries via local fluoride delivery to effectively enhance remineralization of tooth enamel and inhibit its demineralization.
Effects of English Proficiency on Caucasian Face Gender Perception by Chinese-English Bilinguals: Evidence from ERP

Chinese and English differ in the encoding of biological gender in the spoken forms of 3rd person singular pronouns. Linguistic relativity theories predict that structural differences across languages are accompanied with differences in non-linguistic cognition. However, the pronoun difference between the two languages seems so trivial that its influence on gender perception is unbelievable except with empirical support. The present study conducted an ERP experiment with native speakers of Chinese learning English as a foreign language and differing in English proficiency. The odd-ball paradigm was used to examine whether L2 proficiency would influence how these Chinese-English bilinguals perform on Caucasian face gender perception. The experiment yielded null effect of L2 proficiency on the vMMN that was elicited for the gender category, as well as the control age category. The results suggest that the difference in the pronoun encoding of biological gender between Chinese and English may not influence gender perception in the nonlinguistic context, although it is not surprising considering the triviality of such cross-linguistic difference and the widespread gender binary opposition in daily life.
The pandemic coping scale – validity and reliability of a brief measure of coping during a pandemic

ABSTRACT This study assessed the validity and reliability of the Pandemic Coping Scale (PCS), a new brief measure of coping with pandemic-related stressors. Methods The PCS was administered to N = 2316 German participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was applied among random splits of the sample. Global goodness of fit (χ 2, RMSEA, SRMR, CFI, TLI), local goodness of fit (factor loadings, communalities, factor reliability, discriminant validity) and additional test quality criteria (internal consistency, item discrimination and difficulty) were evaluated for a four-factor model vs. a four-factor model combined with a second-order general factor. Convergent and divergent validity were examined by Pearson correlations of the PCS subscales with the Brief-COPE subscales; criterion validity was evaluated by correlations with wellbeing (WHO-5), depressive (PHQ-9) and anxiety symptoms (GAD-2). Results Exploratory factor analysis suggested a four-factor solution (‘Healthy Lifestyle’, ‘Joyful Activities’, ‘Daily Structure’, ‘Prevention Adherence’). Confirmatory factor analysis showed a sufficient global fit for both specified models which did not differ in their fit to the data. Local goodness of fit indices showed moderate to large factor loadings and good factor reliabilities except for the subscale ‘Prevention Adherence’. Internal consistencies were good for the PCS total scale (α = .83), the ‘Healthy Lifestyle’ (α = .79) and the ‘Daily Structure’ (α = .86) subscales, acceptable for ‘Joyful Activities’ (α = .60), and low for ‘Prevention Adherence’ (α = .52). The four subscales evidenced convergent and divergent validity with the Brief-COPE subscales. The subscales ‘Healthy lifestyle’, ‘Joyful activities’ and ‘Daily structure’ showed criterion validity with wellbeing, depressive and anxiety symptoms. Conclusions The PCS is a reliable and valid measure to assess pandemic-specific coping behavior in the domains of ‘Healthy Lifestyle’, ‘Joyful Activities’, and ‘Daily Structure’. The PCS subscale ‘Prevention Adherence’ might be improved by adding items with varying item difficulties.
The evaluation of ADME and pharmacokinetic properties of decoquinate derivatives for the treatment of malaria

The emergence of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) parasite strains tolerant of the artemisinin component and resistant to the other drug component in artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) used for treatment now markedly complicates malaria control. Thus, development of new combination therapies are urgently required. For the non-artemisinin component, the quinolone ester decoquinate (DQ) that possesses potent activities against blood stage Pf and acts on a distinct target, namely the Pf cytochrome bc 1 complex, was first considered. However, DQ has poor drug properties including high lipophilicity and exceedingly poor aqueous solubility (0.06 μg/ml), rendering it difficult to administer. Thus, DQ was chemically modified to provide the secondary amide derivative RMB005 and the quinoline O-carbamate derivatives RMB059 and RMB060. The last possesses sub-nanomolar activities against multidrug resistant blood stages of Pf, and P. berghei sporozoite liver stages. Here we present the results of ADME analyses in vitro and pharmacokinetic analyses using C57BL/6 mice. The amide RMB005 had a maximum mean whole blood concentration of 0.49 ± 0.02 µM following oral administration; however, the area under the curve (AUC), elimination half-life (t1/2) and bioavailability (BA) were not significantly better than those of DQ. Surprisingly, the quinoline O-carbamates which can be recrystallized without decomposition were rapidly converted into DQ in human plasma and blood samples. The maximum concentrations of DQ reached after oral administration of RMB059 and RMB060 were 0.23 ± 0.05 and 0.11 ± 0.01 µM, the DQ elimination half-lives were 4.79 ± 1.66 and 4.66 ± 1.16 h, and the DQ clearance were 19.40 ± 3.14 and 21.50 ± 3.38 respectively. Under these assay conditions, the BA of DQ could not be calculated Overall although RMB059 and -060 are labile in physiological medium with respect to the DQ parent, the potential to apply these as prodrugs is apparent from the current data coupled with their ease of preparation.