Decline In Intelligence Research Articles

The Current Treatment for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) refer to dysfunction of central nerve system, characterized by progressive loss of neuronal structure and function, ultimately resulting in decline in patients memory, motor ability, language and intelligence. The typical NDs include age related diseases like Aleimers disease (AD) and genetic diseases such as Huntingtons diseases (HD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). NDs impose heavy economic burden and suffer to the enormous patients over the world, however, many types of NDs do not have a cure; existing treatments only aim to improve their symptoms. Under that condition, Gene therapy has shown potential for transporting some genetic products into the cells and correct faulty genes. Over the years, research have highlighted the promise of gene therapies using AAV vector in treating NDs. At the same time, a number of emerging therapeutic technologies for neurodegenerative diseases, such as epigenetic interventions through acetylation/deacetylation, gene therapies that target specific mRNAs or non-coding RNAs, and photo biomodulation therapies that can act on brain tissue, are also being studied. In this discussion, we explore the historical, present, and future outlook of gene therapies for neurodegenerative conditions.

Age-related changes of node degree in the multiple-demand network predict fluid intelligence

Fluid intelligence is an individual's innate ability to cope with complex situations and is gradually reduced across adults aging. The realization of fluid intelligence requires the simultaneous activity of multiple brain regions and depends on the structural connection of distributed brain regions. Uncovering the structural features of brain connections associated with fluid intelligence decline will provide reference for the development of intervention and treatment programs for cognitive decline. Using structural magnetic resonance imaging data of 454 healthy participants (18–87 years) from the Cam-CAN dataset, we constructed structural similarity network for each participant and calculated the node degree. Spearman correlation analysis showed that age was positively correlated with degree centrality in the cingulate cortex, left insula and subcortical regions, while negatively correlated with that in the orbito-frontal cortex, right middle temporal and precentral regions. Partial least squares (PLS) regression showed that the first PLS components explained 32 % (second PLS component: 20 %, pperm < 0.001) of the variance in fluid intelligence. Additionally, the degree centralities of anterior insula, supplementary motor area, prefrontal, orbito-frontal and anterior cingulate cortices, which are critical nodes of the multiple-demand network (MDN), were linked to fluid intelligence. Increased degree centrality in anterior cingulate cortex and left insula partially mediated age-related decline in fluid intelligence. Collectively, these findings suggest that the structural stability of MDN might contribute to the maintenance of fluid intelligence.

Russia’s Declining Satellite Reconnaissance Capabilities and Its Implications for Security and International Stability

Satellite-based intelligence has played a crucial role in national security and international stability. This article explores the persistent decline in Russia’s satellite reconnaissance capabilities since the Cold War’s end, challenging hopes for recovery and highlighting systemic issues. It delves into the impact on Russia’s military actions in Ukraine, where the absence of satellites contributes to indiscriminate shelling and higher military casualties. Furthermore, it examines the repercussions on nuclear arms control and the peaceful use of space, critical for global stability. As Russia struggles with reconnaissance gaps, its pursuit of antisatellite weapons poses a threat to the principle of space for peace. This analysis aims to deepen insights into the intelligence decline during the Russia–Ukraine conflict and its potential ramifications for international stability.

106 Characteristics of Cognitive Impairment in Moyamoya Disease

INTRODUCTION: Cognitive impairment in adult moyamoya disease (MMD) is thought to be the result of ischemic stroke; however, the presence and extent of cognitive decline in asymptomatic patients remain largely unknown. METHODS: After classification using T2-weighted fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a total of 19 MMD patients with a history of cerebral infarction, 21 asymptomatic MMD patients, and 20 healthy controls matched for age, sex, and years of education were prospectively included in this study. A detailed neuropsychological evaluation of two moyamoya subgroups and normal controls was conducted. In addition, participants underwent arterial spin labeling and resting state fMRI sequences. RESULTS: Asymptomatic patients showed varying degrees of decline in intelligence (Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices, P = 0.001), spatial imagination (mental rotation, P = 0.014), working memory (verbal working memory-backward digit span, P = 0.011), and computational ability (simple subtraction, P = 0.014; complex subtraction, P &lt; 0.001) compared with normal controls. MMD patients with cerebral infarction had more severe impairment in complex arithmetic (P = 0.027) and word short-term memory (P = 0.01) than those without symptoms. The asymptomatic MMD group also showed decreased CBF in the left anterior central and left inferior frontal gyri of the island fap with multiple node abnormalities in the brain network and reduced network connectivity. There was a significant association of these changes with cognitive decline in the MMD group. CONCLUSIONS: In asymptomatic MMD patients, a variety of cognitive impairments precedes the onset of clinical symptoms such as cerebral infarction, which may be a long-term complication of conservative treatment. Besides, disturbance of CBF and impaired brain network connections may be important causes of cognitive decline.

Unexpected findings from L2 speech research can help us understand how humans process vowels

Research on nonnative speakers’ vowel production and perception has provided us with a number of surprising insights on how learners cope with nonnative vowels. Three of these initially unexpected, yet later solidly replicated, findings will be presented: (1) A decline in intelligibility of nonnative vowels as general proficiency improves (when an increase in intelligibility will be expected), (2) the use of acoustic cues in L2 vowel perception that cannot be attributed to transfer from the native language, and that are nonfunctional in the L2, and (3) the maintenance from infant speech perception in adult cross-language vowel perception of a bias favoring peripheral vowels. This presentation will discuss implications of these findings for our understanding of how vowel categories coexist in the minds of multilinguals, and of universally (native-language independent) preferred ways of vowel perception.

Word or pseudoword? The lexicality effect in naming and lexical decision tasks during advanced aging.

Although there is evidence that recognizing pseudowords is more difficult than recognizing words during childhood, adulthood, and early old age (60-75 years), it is not yet clear what happens during advanced aging or the fourth age, a stage when the decline of fluid intelligence strongly affects processing speed, but a good performance of crystallized intelligence is described through an increase in vocabulary and knowledge. The objective of this study was to determine the lexicality effect in advanced aging, specifically exploring how the ability to recognize words and pseudowords (ortho-phonologically plausible for Spanish) is affected during the third and fourth-ages. The lexicality effect was measured using naming and lexical decision tasks. Response time and accuracy were compared between a fourth-age group (80+ years) and two third-age groups (60-69 and 70-79 years) through linear regression models. The results showed that, in general, the fourth-age group had longer response times and reduced accuracy when recognizing words and pseudowords. Moreover, they showed a significant lexicality effect (which increases from the third- age onwards), reflected in higher costs during pseudoword recognition, especially when the task required more cognitive effort (lexical decision task). These results were consistent with the impact of the deterioration of fluid intelligence on the speed of lexical recognition and with the better performance that crystallized intelligence can generate on accuracy, especially in the early stages of old age. Additionally, this study supports the fact that pseudoword recognition resists cognitive decline, as accentuated deterioration is visualized only after 80 years.

Нейрокогнитивные особенности эссенциального тремора плюс

Essential tremor (ET) is the most common movement disorder, the main manifestation of which is progressive postural-kinetic trembling of the limbs, its pattern most often involving the hands. Recent data indicate a higher frequency of ET in combination with various neurological symptoms, which in the new classification is usually classified as essential tremor plus (ET+). The purpose is to identify and determine the characteristics of intragroup division and changes in neurocognitive status among various forms of ET+ in comparison with ET patients. Material and methods. At the Republic Consultative-diagnostic Center for extra-pyramid pathology and botulin therapy in Kazan, a prospective study was carried out on 116 patients with essential tremor, using clinical, anamnestic and statistical methods of data collection and analysis. Results. Neurocognitive phenotypic variants of ET have been established. It has been proven that all patients with ET, even in the absence of a global decline in intelligence, are characterized by changes in attention, speech fluency, memory, and executive functions; dementia was detected in 28% of patients included in the study. For a reliable diagnosis of ET, in addition to assessing the standard neurological status, it is necessary to assess the severity of tremor using the FTM scale, assessing ataxia using the SARA scale, and assessing the cognitive status using the MOCA test.

Association of cognitive reserve indicator with cognitive decline and structural brain differences in mid‐ and late life: a large population‐based cohort study

AbstractBackgroundCognitive reserve (CR) contributes to preserving cognition when facing brain aging and damage. CR has been linked to reduced dementia risk in late life. However, the association between CR and brain imaging measures, especially in mid‐life, is unclear. We aimed to explore the association of CR with cognitive decline and structural brain differences in mid‐ and late life.MethodWithin the UK Biobank, 42,301 dementia‐free participants aged 40‐70 were followed for a median of 9 (interquartile range: 8 to 10) years. Latent class analysis was used to generate an indicator of CR (categorized as high, moderate, and low) based on education, occupation, and multiple cognitively stimulating activities at baseline. Cognitive tests for global and domain‐specific cognitive function were administrated at baseline and follow‐up. A subsample (n = 34,041) underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at the follow‐up examination. Volumes of total brain, white matter, grey matter, hippocampus, and white matter hyperintensities (TBV, WMV, GMV, HV, and WMHV) were assessed. Data were analyzed using mixed‐effects models and linear regression.ResultAt baseline, 16,032 (37.90%), 10,709 (25.32%), and 15,560 (36.78%) participants had low, moderate, and high levels of CR, respectively. In multi‐adjusted mixed‐effects models, compared to low CR, high CR was associated with a slower decline in global cognitive function (β [95% confidence interval, CI]: 0.10 [0.08, 0.11]), prospective memory (0.10 [0.06, 0.15]), fluid intelligence (0.07 [0.04, 0.10]), and reaction time (0.04 [0.02, 0.06]). In MRI data analysis, high CR was related to lesser TBV (‐0.03 [‐0.04, ‐0.02]), WMV (‐0.03 [‐0.04, ‐0.02], GMV (‐0.02 [‐0.04, ‐0.01]), and WMHV (‐0.03 [‐0.05, ‐0.002]), but greater HV (0.04 [0.02, 0.06]) compared to low CR. In analyses stratified by baseline age, the significant associations between high CR and global cognition and TBV were present among both mid‐life (&lt;60 years) and late‐life (≥60 years) participants. The CR‐cognitive decline association remained significant after additional adjustment for MRI measures.ConclusionHigher CR is associated with slower cognitive decline, lesser TBV, greater HV, and lower microvascular burden, especially in mid‐life. The protective role of high CR on cognition is independent of structural brain differences.

Subthalamic nucleus physiology is correlated with deep brain stimulation motor and non-motor outcomes.

Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation is commonly indicated for symptomatic relief of idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Despite the known improvement in motor scores, affective, cognitive, voice and speech functions might deteriorate following this procedure. Recent studies have correlated motor outcomes with intraoperative microelectrode recordings. However, there are no microelectrode recording-based tools with predictive values relating to long-term outcomes of integrative motor and non-motor symptoms. We conducted a retrospective analysis of the outcomes of patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease who had subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre (Tel Aviv, Israel) during 2015-2016. Forty-eight patients (19 women, 29 men; mean age, 58 ± 8 years) who were implanted with a subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation device underwent pre- and postsurgical assessments of motor, neuropsychological, voice and speech symptoms. Significant improvements in all motor symptoms (except axial signs) and levodopa equivalent daily dose were noted in all patients. Mild improvements were observed in more posterior-related neuropsychological functions (verbal memory, visual memory and organization) while mild deterioration was observed in frontal functions (personality changes, executive functioning and verbal fluency). The concomitant decline in speech intelligibility was mild and only partial, probably in accordance with the neuropsychological verbal fluency results. Acoustic characteristics were the least affected and remained within normal values. Dimensionality reduction of motor, neuropsychological and voice scores rendered six principal components that reflect the main clinical aspects: the tremor-dominant versus the rigidity-bradykinesia-dominant motor symptoms, frontal versus posterior neuropsychological deficits and acoustic characteristics versus speech intelligibility abnormalities. Microelectrode recordings of subthalamic nucleus spiking activity were analysed off-line and correlated with the original scores and with the principal component results. Based on 198 microelectrode recording trajectories, we suggest an intraoperative subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation score, which is a simple sum of three microelectrode recording properties: normalized neuronal activity, the subthalamic nucleus width and the relative proportion of the subthalamic nucleus dorsolateral oscillatory region. A threshold subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation score >2.5 (preferentially composed of normalized root mean square >1.5, subthalamic nucleus width >3 mm and a dorsolateral oscillatory region/subthalamic nucleus width ratio >1/3) predicts better motor and non-motor long-term outcomes. The algorithm presented here optimizes intraoperative decision-making of deep brain stimulation contact localization based on microelectrode recording with the aim of improving long-term (>1 year) motor, neuropsychological and voice symptoms.

Effect of Face Masks and Speech Style on Speech Intelligibility and Listener Effort in Parkinson's Disease.

The aim of this study was to quantify the combined effects of face masks and effortful speech styles on listener intelligibility and perceived listener effort in talkers with and without Parkinson's disease (PD). Ten people with PD and 10 healthy, older controls read aloud sentences in two face mask and three speech style conditions. Masks included no mask and KN95 masks. Speech styles included habitual, clear, and loud. Listener participants were tasked with listening to each sentence mixed with background noise and then transcribing what they heard and rating how effortful it was to understand. Listener accuracy and effort were each modeled as a function of speaker group, face mask, and speech style using mixed-effects regression models. Listeners were less accurate and reported greater listening effort for the PD group and for the mask condition. Listeners were more accurate and reported less effort when listening to clear and loud compared to habitual speech. Listener accuracy and listener effort were strongly negatively correlated across all conditions. Face masks were also associated with a steeper decline in speech intelligibility and an increase in listener effort for talkers with PD. Face masks resulted in steeper speech intelligibility decline for talkers with PD compared to controls. Speaking more loudly or more clearly when wearing a face mask improved intelligibility for talkers with PD compared to habitual speech, and both speech styles resulted in speech intelligibility levels that approximated talkers' baseline intelligibility levels without a mask.

A prospective 5-year longitudinal study detects neurocognitive and imaging correlates of seizure remission in self-limiting Rolandic epilepsy

ObjectiveSelf-limiting Rolandic epilepsy (RE) is the most common epilepsy in school-age children. Seizures are generally infrequent, but cognitive, language, and motor coordination problems can significantly impact the child’s life. To better understand brain structure and function changes in RE, we longitudinally assessed neurocognition, cortical thickness, and subcortical volumes. MethodsAt baseline, we recruited 30 participants diagnosed with RE and 24-healthy controls and followed up for 4.94 ± 0.8 years when the participants with RE were in seizure remission. Measures included were as follows: T1-weighted magnetic resonance brain imaging (MRI) with FreeSurfer analysis and detailed neuropsychological assessments. MRI and neuropsychological data were compared between baseline and follow-up in seizure remission. ResultsLongitudinal MRI revealed excess cortical thinning in the left-orbitofrontal (p = 0.0001) and pre-central gyrus (p = 0.044).There is a significant association (p = 0.003) between a reduction in cortical thickness in the left-orbitofrontal cluster and improved processing of filtered words.Longitudinal neuropsychology revealed significant improvements in the symptoms of developmental coordination disorder (DCD, p = 0.005) in seizure remission. ConclusionsThere is evidence for altered development of neocortical regions between active seizure state and seizure remission in RE within two clusters maximal in the left-orbitofrontal and pre-central gyrus. There is significant evidence for improvement in motor coordination between active seizures and seizure remission and suggestive evidence for a decline in fluid intelligence and gains in auditory processing.

Faktor yang Mempengaruhi Hambatan Prestasi Belajar Mahasiswa BK yang Kuliah Sambil Bekerja ( Studi Kasus Terhadap Mahasiswa X )

This research is motivated by students who study while working yet cannot divide their time between study and work, the objectives of this research are: 1) internal factors that affect the barriers to learning achievement of BK students who study while working, 2) external factors that affect the barriers to achievement of BK students studying while working. The type of research is descriptive qualitative case study analysis, the key informant is a student with the initials Z, additional informants consist of friends, lecturers, academic assistant lecturers and classmates, the instruments used are interview techniques, data analysis techniques used are data reduction and presentation. data. The results of the study reveal that: 1) the internal factors that affect the achievement of studying while working in college are physiological conditions in general which affect the decline in health and intelligence as seen from the decline in thinking and low motivation. 2) external factors that affect college learning achievement while working are environmental factors that come from family, friends and lecturers who are equally supportive and appreciative. It is recommended to the leadership of the Guidance and Counseling Study Program as well as related parties to be able to overcome the obstacles encountered so that student learning achievement even while working can be improved and motivation to learn back to get good results.

The Genes Associate with Alzheimers Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common chronic neurological disease. In an aging society, the incidence rate is increasing year by year and remains high. Due to the decline of intelligence and cognition in patients, it is a heavy burden to the family and society. However, its pathological mechanism is not fully explained, and there is a great deal of controversy recently. Previous studies have shown that AD is characterized by the accumulation of neural plaques and neurofibrillary tangles caused by abnormal accumulation of A protein. There are also studies showing that the dysfunction of cholinergic neurons may lead to its occurrence and development. Namely, degeneration of cholinergic neurons occurs in AD and leads to alternating cognitive function and memory loss. Current treatments for AD are very limited. This situation has led to the research focus on the risk factors for the occurrence of the disease. Age, genetics and environmental factors play different roles in the development of AD. Genetic inheritance may be the basis of individual susceptibility. This article briefly introduces genetic factors and specific genes associated with AD in order to further our understanding of how this disease occurs

Economic analysis of sustainable exports value addition through natural resource management and artificial intelligence

Sustainable exports value addition is extremely essential in contemporary economies as they provide individuals and businesses with numerous additional destinations for their products and serve as source of foreign exchange earnings. Mismanagement of natural resources is thought to be essential in growing natural resource curse and, as a result, decreasing the value addition of sustainable products, contributing to unsustainable development. Artificial intelligence, along with other factors, has emerged as a major driver of output and value addition. The present study investigates the asymmetric role of artificial intelligence and natural resource management on sustainable export value embedment over the period 1980–2020 for China's economy using the Non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model. The results of the study validate the asymmetric association between artificial intelligence and sustainable export value addition. Similarly, an asymmetric relationship exists between natural resource management and the value of sustainable export. Further, the dynamic multiplier analysis advocates that the effect of negative shock in artificial intelligence is dominant whereas the impact of positive shock in natural resource management is influential on increasing sustainable export value addition. Therefore, our study concludes that policymaking on the assumption of concerned symmetric impacts is misleading. Lastly, our study suggests that policymakers may strive for high growth trends and refrain from the decline in artificial intelligence and natural resource management so that stipulated sustainable value addition can be obtained.

Word Retrieval After the 80s: Evidence From Specific and Multiple Words Naming Tasks

Older adults show a progressive cognitive decline, and although language processing appears to resist advancing age, studies in word retrieval report that elders show important difficulties. Previous research reports that such failures increase from age 70 years, which suggests that during the fourth age word retrieval would exhibit even stronger constraints. At the same time, extant evidence suggests that only retrieval of a specific word might decline in advanced aging, and not the recovery of multiple pieces associated with a given semantic category. However, those studies did not explicitly assess these phenomena in a group of older adults in their fourth age, and thus cannot be considered conclusive with regards to this particular group. In the present study, we examined word retrieval in three distinctive advanced age groups (60–69, 70–79, and 80+ years) in two production tasks: a picture naming task, and a lexical availability task. We compared the fourth-age group against the other two third-age group in their reaction time (RT) and accuracy as well as, on the lexical availability index (LAI) and total words retrieved in a lexical availability task. Fourth-age group exhibited longer RT in the picture naming task, yet a high level of accuracy. They also showed a reduced number of retrieved words, as well as, a reduced LAI, relative to the control groups. We discuss our results in the context of the decline of fluid intelligence, and the information transmission deficits hypothesis.

Elevated dementia risk, cognitive decline, and hippocampal atrophy in multisite chronic pain.

Numerous studies have investigated the impacts of common types of chronic pain (CP) on patients' cognitive function and observed that CP was associated with later dementia. More recently, there is a growing recognition that CP conditions frequently coexist at multiple body sites and may bring more burdens on patients' overall health. However, whether and how multisite CP (MCP) contributes to an increased risk of dementia, compared to single-site CP (SCP) and pain-free (PF), is largely unclear. In the current study, utilizing the UK Biobank cohort, we first investigated dementia risk in individuals (n = 354,943) with different numbers of coexisting CP sites using Cox proportional hazards regression models. We then applied generalized additive models to investigate whether MCP leads to excessive deterioration of participants' (n = 19,116) cognition and brain structure. We found that individuals with MCP were associated with significantly higher dementia risk, broader and faster cognitive impairment, and greater hippocampal atrophy than both PF individuals and those with SCP. Moreover, the detrimental effects of MCP on dementia risk and hippocampal volume aggravated along with the number of coexisting CP sites. Mediation analyses further revealed that the decline of fluid intelligence in MCP individuals was partially mediated by hippocampal atrophy. Our results suggested that cognitive decline and hippocampal atrophy interact biologically and may underlie the increased risk of dementia associated with MCP.

BINARY LOGISTICS REGRESSION MODEL TO IDENTIFY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH LOW BIRTH WEIGHT (LBW) (CASE STUDY: BABY DATA AT DR. M. HAULUSSY HOSPITAL AMBON)

Low birth weight (LBW) is one of the risk factors for increasing baby mortality. LBW is characterized by a baby's birth weight of fewer than 2500 grams which is weighed within the first hour after birth. The case of LBW is of special concern because it can have a serious impact on the quality of future generations, which will slow down the growth and development of children and affect the decline in intelligence. In this study, identification was carried out to determine the factors that influence the status of BBL in RSUD Dr. M. Haulussy Ambon in 2020, the data used in this study is medical record data from RSUD Dr. M. Haulussy Ambon in 2020 with a total sample of 183 respondents with predictor variables covering nine variables and one response variable. The analysis used is a binary logistic regression method with the response variables of BBL status which are categorized as normal and low. The results of this study obtained a binary logistic regression model in which the factors that influence the case of low birth weight are maternal gestational age and parity with a classification accuracy of 91.8.

Multifactor higher education model taking into account the level of emotional intelligence

Introduction and research problem. Determining the criteria for training efficiency or learning outcomes is one of the primary tasks in the analysis of training efficiency. Despite a significant amount of studies on this topic, there are no clear criteria for determining the factors affecting the quality of education. The research purpose is to develop multifactorial higher education models taking into account teachers and students’ emotional intelligence and determine their impact on training efficiency. Materials and methods. More than 800 students from all faculties of the Financial University and more than 100 teachers took part in the study. The dependence of training efficiency on three factors was taken as a basis. Firstly, there are factors related to the educational process (student’s grade-point average (GPA), teacher’s average rating according to the results of the survey “Teacher as Viewed by Students”, etc.). Secondly, socio-cultural factors consisting of indicators of a content-methodological component, a communicative-informational component, a leisure-household component, a creative component, etc. Thirdly, the factors responsible for assessing the emotional intelligence of a student and a teacher. The influence of these factors on students’ performance is statistically analyzed. Two regression models were developed using 375 responses from teachers and students of the Financial University. Results and discussions. Factors that significantly affect the quality of student learning were identified. The resulting indicator is a student’s GPA for the summer examination period of the 2020-2021 academic year (PA_LS) is directly dependent on the following factors: an indicator of decrease in a teacher’s average rating according to the results of the survey “Teacher as Viewed by Students” (IPSGS); an indicator of the content-methodological component (QMC); a student’s GPA on the previous midterm assessment (PA_ZS). PA_LS is inversely related to the emotional intelligence decline indicator (ISEI); the difference between the average value of emotional intelligence of the teachers who taught the students and the emotional intelligence of this student (ROEI); teachers’ average rating based on the results of the survey “Teacher as Viewed by Students” (PGS_2020) and the level of teachers’ emotional intelligence (EI_t_2020). A very high level of significance of the regression equation was obtained, which corresponds to the level of significance α=1.80∙10-75. Moreover, most of the indicated coefficients of the regression equation are significantly different from zero at a significance level of less than 0.05. Conclusions. The study of the influence of teachers and students’ emotional intelligence on training efficiency showed that there is a statistical relationship between them. The developed multifactorial models made it possible to identify the relationship between an increase in students’ knowledge and a teacher’s change, a decrease in his/her emotional intelligence and students’ general emotional intelligence. The degree of influence of the results of the previous examination period on training efficiency was determined, and a slight positive dependence of a grade for current academic performance on the creative component of students’ sociocultural conditions was noted. The use of modeling various components of the educational process on private models using various methods for their development will allow determining the dependences between them and effectively using the results obtained in the management of the educational process. The developed multifactorial higher education models make it possible to assess the existing relationships between teachers and students’ emotional intelligence and various components of the educational process. The obtained modeling results can be directed and effectively used in the academic governance.

A microplasma optical emission spectrometry pen for point-of-care diagnosis of child blood lead

Blood lead levels (BLL) of children have attracted considerable attention due to their putative impact on intelligence decline. However, most methods used for the determination of blood lead typically require expensive, bulky, high power and gas consuming instrumentation, limiting their application for a point-of-care diagnosis. Herein we report the development and testing of a portable ballpoint discharge microplasma optical emission spectrometer (BD-OES pen) device having the potential to fill this needed measurement capability. The BD-OES pen utilizes a compact ballpoint-pen format integrating point-discharge microplasma, which permits the determination of child BLL requiring no more than 100 μL blood while providing high specificity, sensitivity and satisfactory limit of detection (0.73 μg L−1). The handheld BD-OES pen is successfully used to diagnose BLL of 16 asymptomatic children on-site, two of whom had excessive the normal BLL. The pen may aid the on-site and rapid diagnosis of childhood BLL, particularly in low-income areas.

Motor Functioning and Intelligence Quotient in Paediatric Survivors of a Fossa Posterior Tumor Following a Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Program.

Background: Short- and long-term consequences after treatment for childhood fossa posterior tumors are extensively reported in the literature; however, papers highlighting physical function throughout rehabilitation and its correlation with Intelligence Quotient (IQ) are sparse. This study aims to describe the physical functioning and IQ of these survivors, their progression during rehabilitation, and the association with histopathological tumor classification. Additionally, the correlation between gross motor functioning and cognitive functioning was investigated. Methods: This retrospective single-center cohort study included 56 children (35 (62.5%) males and 21 (37.5%) females, with an average age of 6.51 years (SD 4.13)) who followed a multidisciplinary program at the Child Rehabilitation Centre, Ghent University Hospital in the period from 2005 to 2020. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed with the use of non-parametric tests and linear regression to determine the relationship between gross motor functioning and IQ. Results: This report shows impaired motor and intelligence performance in children with a fossa posterior tumor. Although multidisciplinary rehabilitation is beneficial, it is not able to counteract the further decline of several motor skills and intelligence during oncological treatment, more specifically in children with a medulloblastoma. A correlation between gross motor function and total IQ was found. Conclusion: Pediatric survivors of a fossa posterior tumor experience impaired physical and intellectual functions, with more decline during oncological treatment despite simultaneous multidisciplinary rehabilitation.