Flexible Function Research Articles

Alerting network, cognitive flexibility in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and the moderating effect of neuroticism.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder, and cognitive flexibility is a sub-component of executive functioning. Studies have shown impairments in cognitive flexibility in ADHD, which is affected by attentional processes. Personality, as a long-standing trait, has a profound effect on ADHD. However, previous studies have not assessed the relationship between attentional function, personality traits, and cognitive flexibility in children with ADHD. This study explored the association between attention networks, personality, and cognitive flexibility in ADHD, filling a gap in the related field. We expect our findings will provide insights into and clues for the prevention and interventional treatment of ADHD. This study primarily aimed to analyze differences in cognitive flexibility between individuals with ADHD and those without and further examine associations between attention networks, personality, and cognitive flexibility in children with ADHD. Overall, 55 children aged 7 to 11 years diagnosed with ADHD and 40 children without ADHD participated in this study. Cognitive flexibility, personality traits, and attentional networks were assessed using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and Attention Network Test, respectively. Additionally, the association between personality traits and strong attentional functioning and cognitive flexibility was investigated using multiple regression analysis. Children with ADHD had significant deficits in cognitive flexibility. A multiple regression analysis revealed that the alerting effect was highly associated with cognitive flexibility at high levels of neuroticism. This association was not salient in individuals with low levels of neuroticism. This study demonstrated that the ADHD group experienced lower cognitive flexibility than the control group. In addition, we showed the effect of neuroticism and alerting networks on cognitive flexibility. These findings may help psychiatrists provide intervention strategies to mitigate the impairment of social functioning in ADHD with cognitive spirituality deficits.

The Evolution of Vehicle Pneumatic Vibration Isolation: A Systematic Review

Whole-body vibration (WBV) is a significant concern for vehicle users as it can negatively impact their health and comfort. As such, effective vibration isolation is critical in vehicle suspension design. The ability of a vehicle suspension to isolate vibrations depends primarily on the suspension design and the type of springs used. One type of spring that has proven advantageous for vibration isolation is the air spring. Air springs can vary frequencies and adjust their stiffness in response to different loading conditions, making them ideal for meeting both suspension load-carrying and occupants’ comfort requirements. Pneumatic (air) suspension has been in use in the automotive industry for several decades and has undergone significant advancements during this period. This paper presents a systematic review of pneumatic suspension since its inception. The review highlights different air spring modeling techniques, types of pneumatic suspension, and control methods. The study also discusses the functional flexibility of pneumatic suspension, its ability to offer a wide range of control options to drivers, and its broad application in almost all ranges of vehicles, including chassis, cabin, and seat suspension systems. In addition, this paper presents a summary of the pros and cons of pneumatic suspension and suggests future research directions. The advantages of pneumatic suspension include effective vibration isolation, improved ride comfort, and the ability to adjust suspension stiffness and ride height. On the other hand, the disadvantages include higher cost and complexity compared to other types of suspension. Overall, the findings of this review demonstrate that pneumatic suspension is a viable solution for vehicle suspension design, particularly in situations where vibration isolation and ride comfort are critical.

The influence of childhood emotional neglect experience on brain dynamic functional connectivity in young adults

ABSTRACT Background: Childhood emotional neglect (CEN) confers a great risk for developing multiple psychiatric disorders; however, the neural basis for this association remains unknown. Using a dynamic functional connectivity approach, this study aimed to examine the effects of CEN experience on functional brain networks in young adults. Method: In total, 21 healthy young adults with CEN experience and 26 without childhood trauma experience were recruited. The childhood trauma experience was assessed using the childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ), and eligible participants underwent resting-state functional MRI. Sliding windows and k-means clustering were used to identify temporal features of large-scale functional connectivity states (frequency, mean dwell time, and transition numbers). Result: Dynamic analysis revealed two separate connection states: state 1 was more frequent and characterized by extensive weak connections between the brain regions. State 2 was relatively infrequent and characterized by extensive strong connections between the brain regions. Compared to the control group, the CEN group had a longer mean dwell time in state 1 and significantly decreased transition numbers between states 1 and 2. Conclusion: The CEN experience affects the temporal properties of young adults’ functional brain connectivity. Young adults with CEN experience tend to be stable in state 1 (extensive weak connections between the brain regions), reducing transitions between states, and reflecting impaired metastability or functional network flexibility.

Research by design: functional flexibility of a residential skyscraper located inWarsaw

Research by design: functional flexibility of a residential skyscraper located inWarsaw

Gradient Channel Segmentation in Covalent Organic Framework Membranes with Highly Oriented Nanochannels.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) offer an exceptional platform for constructing membrane nanochannels with tunable pore sizes and tailored functionalities, making them promising candidates for separation, catalysis, and sensing applications. However, the synthesis of COF membranes with highly oriented nanochannels remains challenging, and there is a lack of systematic studies on the influence of postsynthetic modification reactions on functionality distribution along the nanochannels. Herein, we introduced a "prenucleation and slow growth" approach to synthesize a COF membrane featuring highly oriented mesoporous channels and a high Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area of 2230 m2 g-1. Functional moieties were anchored to the pore walls via "click" reactions and coordinated with Cu ions to serve as segmentation functions. This led to a remarkable H2/CO2 separation performance that surpassed the Robeson upper bound. Moreover, we found that the functionalities distributed along the nanochannels could be influenced by functionality flexibility and postsynthetic reaction rate. This strategy paved the way for the accurate design and construction of COF-based artificial solid-state nanochannels with high orientation and precisely controlled channel environments.

Synaptic input and temperature influence sensory coding in a mechanoreceptor.

Many neurons possess more than one spike initiation zone (SIZ), which adds to their computational power and functional flexibility. Integrating inputs from different origins is especially relevant for sensory neurons that rely on relative spike timing for encoding sensory information. Yet, it is poorly understood if and how the propagation of spikes generated at one SIZ in response to sensory stimulation is affected by synaptic inputs triggering activity of other SIZ, and by environmental factors like temperature. The mechanosensory Touch (T) cell in the medicinal leech is an ideal model system to study these potential interactions because it allows intracellular recording and stimulation of its soma while simultaneously touching the skin in a body-wall preparation. The T cell reliably elicits spikes in response to somatic depolarization, as well as to tactile skin stimulation. Latencies of spikes elicited in the skin vary across cells, depending on the touch location relative to the cell's receptive field. However, repetitive stimulation reveals that tactilely elicited spikes are more precisely timed than spikes triggered by somatic current injection. When the soma is hyperpolarized to mimic inhibitory synaptic input, first spike latencies of tactilely induced spikes increase. If spikes from both SIZ follow shortly after each other, the arrival time of the second spike at the soma can be delayed. Although the latency of spikes increases by the same factor when the temperature decreases, the effect is considerably stronger for the longer absolute latencies of spikes propagating from the skin to the soma. We therefore conclude that the propagation time of spikes from the skin is modulated by internal factors like synaptic inputs, and by external factors like temperature. Moreover, fewer spikes are detected when spikes from both origins are expected to arrive at the soma in temporal proximity. Hence, the leech T cell might be a key for understanding how the interaction of multiple SIZ impacts temporal and rate coding of sensory information, and how cold-blooded animals can produce adequate behavioral responses to sensory stimuli based on temperature-dependent relative spike timing.

Packaging defects in pestiviral NS4A can be compensated by mutations in NS2 and NS3.

The non-structural (NS) proteins of the Flaviviridae members play a dual role in genome replication and virion morphogenesis. For pestiviruses, like bovine viral diarrhea virus, the NS2-3 region and its processing by the NS2 autoprotease is of particular importance. While uncleaved NS2-3 in complex with NS4A is essential for virion assembly, it cannot replace free NS3/4A in the viral replicase. Furthermore, surface interactions between NS3 and the C-terminal cytosolic domain of NS4A were shown to serve as a molecular switch between RNA replication and virion morphogenesis. To further characterize the functionality of NS4A, we performed an alanine-scanning mutagenesis of two NS4A regions, a short highly conserved cytoplasmic linker downstream of the transmembrane domain and the C-terminal domain. NS4A residues critical for polyprotein processing, RNA replication, and/or virion morphogenesis were identified. Three double-alanine mutants, two in the linker region and one close to the C-terminus of NS4A, showed a selective effect on virion assembly. All three packaging defective mutants could be rescued by a selected set of two second-site mutations, located in NS2 and NS3, respectively. This phenotype was additionally confirmed by complementation studies providing the NS2-3/4A packaging molecules containing the rescue mutations in trans. This indicates that the linker region and the cytosolic C-terminal part of NS4A are critical for the formation of protein complexes required for virion morphogenesis. The ability of the identified sets of second-site mutations in NS2-3 to compensate for diverse NS4A defects highlights a surprising functional flexibility for pestiviral NS proteins. IMPORTANCE Positive-strand RNA viruses have a limited coding capacity due to their rather small genome size. To overcome this constraint, viral proteins often exhibit multiple functions that come into play at different stages during the viral replication cycle. The molecular basis for this multifunctionality is often unknown. For the bovine viral diarrhea virus, the non-structural protein (NS) 4A functions as an NS3 protease cofactor, a replicase building block, and a component in virion morphogenesis. Here, we identified the critical amino acids of its C-terminal cytosolic region involved in those processes and show that second-site mutations in NS2 and NS3 can compensate for diverse NS4A defects in virion morphogenesis. The ability to evolve alternative functional solutions by gain-of-function mutations highlights the astounding plasticity of the pestiviral system.

Transplanted Astrocytes Show Functional Flexibility in the Recipient Brain.

Transplanted Astrocytes Show Functional Flexibility in the Recipient Brain.

자폐 범주성 장애 아동의 실행기능 중재 연구의 동향 및 과제

Executive function, a cognitive ability closely related to the core deficit areas of autism spectrum disorders, necessitates a thorough understanding of every child’s profile and provision of appropriate support. This study aimed to review the latest research trends and analyze the interventions targeting the enhancement of executive function in children with autism spectrum disorders. In accordance with the criteria, a total of 29 experimental studies were selected. An overview of general characteristics and a detailed analysis of specific intervention attributes were conducted. Executive function intervention studies among children with autism spectrum disorders have been underway since 2004, mostly in the fields of psychology and psychiatry, targeting primary school-aged children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders. The most used interventions were cognitive behavioral/instructional strategies (CBIS) and exercise and movement (EXM). Notably, a high proportion of interventions were used to facilitate flexibility and inhibition subcategories of the executive function. Based on the findings, the future directions and educational implications regarding intervention aimed at enhancing executive function in children with autism spectrum disorders were discussed.

Vocal functional flexibility in the grunts of young chimpanzees

All living things communicate yet only humans can be said to communicate using language. How this came to be the case is a fundamental mystery unsolved by contemporary science. Within a human lifetime, language emerges from a complex developmental process. As such, understanding chimpanzee vocal development is essential to understanding the evolutionary roots of language. In human development, language is directly built upon the early capacity for "vocal functional flexibility"-the ability to flexibly express the same vocalizations in different ways to achieve different functions. Primate vocalizations, by contrast, have long been believed to be relatively inflexible regarding both production and function. In this paper, we break new ground by providing evidence for vocal functional flexibility in one of the first systematic studies of early chimpanzee vocal production and function. This finding implies the developmental foundations for language are rooted in our primate evolutionary heritage.

A Novel Silicon Forward-Biased PIN Mach-Zehnder Modulator with Two Operating States.

In this paper, we demonstrate a silicon forward-biased positive intrinsic negative (PIN) Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM), which has two operating states of high efficiency and high speed. The two operating states are switched by changing the position where the electric signal is loaded. The modulator incorporates a PIN phase shifter integrated with the passive resistance and capacitance (RC) equalizer (PIN-RC), which expands the electro-optic (E-O) bandwidth by equalizing it with modulation efficiency. The fabricated modulator exhibits a low insertion loss of 1.29 dB in two operating states and a compact design with a phase shifter length of 500 μm. The modulation efficiencies are 0.0088 V·cm and 1.43 V·cm, and the corresponding 3 dB E-O bandwidths are 200 MHz and 7 GHz, respectively. The high-speed modulation performance of the modulator is confirmed by non-return-to-zero (NRZ) modulation with a data rate of 15 Gbps without any pre-emphasis or post-processing. The presented modulator shows functional flexibility, low insertion loss, and a compact footprint, and it can be suitable for applications like optical switch arrays and analog signal processing.

Effects of the EXECP Intervention on Motor Function, Muscle Strength and Joint Flexibility in Individuals with Cerebral Palsy.

Numerous exercise interventions to enhance motor function in cerebral palsy (CP) have been proposed, with varying degrees of effectiveness. Since motor function requires a combination of muscle strength, joint flexibility and motor coordination, we designed a supervised multicomponent exercise intervention (EXECP) for individuals with CP. Our aim was to evaluate the effects of the EXECP intervention and its retention after it ceased. The EXECP intervention combined strength training for the lower limbs and trunk muscles, passive stretching for the lower limb muscles and inclined treadmill gait training. Eighteen participants with CP (mean age: 14, 13 males) were tested twice before the three-month intervention and twice after the intervention, each test separated by three months. Seventeen typically developing age and sex-matched controls were tested twice. Motor function was assessed with the six minutes walking test (6MWT) and the gross motor function measure (GMFM) dimensions D and E. Passive joint flexibility was measured with goniometry. Isometric and concentric muscle strength were assessed at the knee, ankle and trunk joints. The EXECP intervention successfully increased 6MWT (p < 0.001), GMFM (p = 0.004) and muscle strength for knee and trunk muscles (p < 0.05), although no changes were observed for ankle joint muscles. Hip and knee joint flexibility also increased (p < 0.05). After the retention period, all tested variables except the 6MWT and knee joint flexibility regressed and were not different from the pre-tests. The improvements in strength, flexibility, and possibly motor coordination brought by the EXECP intervention were transferred to significant functional gains. The regression towards baseline after the intervention highlights that training must be a life-long decision for individuals with CP.

Giving up gratitude

AbstractResentment is a negative reaction to expressions of bad will. Gratitude is a positive reaction to expressions of good will. To give up resentment, when someone has wronged you, is to forgive them. We might expect an analog for giving up gratitude. The practice features in some ordinary and extraordinary moments in our lives. But it is unnamed and unstudied. I clarify what giving up gratitude is. I identify three types of ordinary and important cases. I then attend to implications; in particular, my account sheds light on restorations of gratitude analogous to un‐forgiving. Restoring gratitude may help to repair relationships, and restoring your once‐lost gratitude may be morally required in some contexts. More generally, by taking account of gratitude as a dynamic attitude that may be given up and restored as fits the situation and one's judgment, we may better understand the power and flexibility of gratitude's everyday function.

A modified weak Galerkin finite element method for parabolic equations on anisotropic meshes

In this paper, we study a modified weak Galerkin finite element method (MWG-FEM) on anisotropic triangular meshes for a class of parabolic equations. Different from conventional weak Galerkin methods, the MWG-FEM replaces the boundary functions by the average of interior functions, which possesses flexibility in the approximation functions and mesh generation. Moreover, MWG-FEM is compatible with anisotropic meshes and suitable for solving problems with anisotropic property. By using the anisotropic interpolation and projection operators, the optimal order error estimate in L2 norm is derived. Numerical experiments are performed to demonstrate the stability and efficiency of the method.

Functional flexibility and plasticity in immune control of systemic Salmonella infection.

Immunity to systemic Salmonella infection depends on multiple effector mechanisms. Lymphocyte-derived interferon gamma (IFN-γ) enhances cell-intrinsic bactericidal capabilities to antagonize the hijacking of phagocytes as replicative niches for Salmonella. Programmed cell death (PCD) provides another means through which phagocytes fight against intracellular Salmonella. We describe remarkable levels of flexibility with which the host coordinates and adapts these responses. This involves interchangeable cellular sources of IFN-γ regulated by innate and adaptive cues, and the rewiring of PCD pathways in previously unknown ways. We discuss that such plasticity is likely the consequence of host-pathogen coevolution and raise the possibility of further functional overlap between these seemingly distinct processes.

Architecture learning environments: Pedagogy and space in the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya's Sant Cugat Campus

AbstractThe qualitative improvement of learning spaces in higher education has often been linked to the technicalization of classrooms, and to the dissolution of the physical and temporal framework of teaching. The main objective of this research was to examine the relationship between learning and space, beyond its formal and functional values, and how this relationship contributes to promoting an efficient, cohesive educational community that strengthens links with the society that it aspires to serve. Methodologically, a quantitative approach to the design of learning spaces is proposed in relation to three aspects: formal diversity, functional flexibility, and sociability of the university community. The proposed methodology was applied to the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya's Sant Cugat Campus, which is recognized for the innovative nature of its pedagogical model, based on project‐based learning, and the adaptation of learning spaces to educational projects. With an educational model that tends to the spatial–temporal dissolution of learning and university spaces designed under the principles of form and function, improvement in the quality of learning is related to the improvement and quality of learning spaces using the principles of functional flexibility, spatial diversity, and sociability.

The impact of climate change on economic growth: Evidence from a panel of Asian countries

Asia is recognized as one of the most vulnerable regions. This research aims to identify climate change effects on economic growth. It proposes a new and comprehensive perspective to examine the climate-economy nexus in this region and provides an underpinning for assessing the pathway of the growing Asian economy under the SSP climate scenario (CMIP6). We apply a macroeconomic-climate modeling approach with a climate damage function. The damage function, which is based on the temperature anomaly, was examined under three classes of damage severity. The climate change effect has been examined by including the direct effect on the output as the level effect and two more channels, including capital depreciation and productivity growth reduction. The augmented Solow growth model framework that considers different types of capital, including physical, human, social, and environmental capital, was applied. The labor productivity or technology is assumed to depend on trade-related variables, including trade openness, financial development, and foreign aid inflows. Also, in order to test the constant returns to scale assumption, the CES production function, which is the flexible production technology, was used. The study relied on the country-year panel of GDP per capita and other macroeconomic variables such as labor force, capital formation, financial development index, trade openness, and foreign aid gleaned for 1994–2017 to estimate production functions using the GMM estimation method. The climate data on the annual mean temperature and projections of future temperature are based on ICMP6 by 2100 for Asian countries. Based on the CES estimation results, constant returns to scale or Cobb-Douglas production function was adopted. The estimation results show that physical and environmental capital account for the highest contribution to the output per worker. However, the contribution of trade-related variables was found to be insignificant. The projected pathway by 2100 establishes that climate change would significantly reduce Asian output per worker, especially if severe damage function is examined, and climate change stays on the SSP scenario-anticipated trajectory. The output elasticity with respect to temperature under the most severe scenario was obtained −22.80, corresponding to the output per worker reduction of 46.7 percent in 2100. Among the three channels of the climate effect, productivity growth reduction showed the most adverse effect on output. The lower flexibility of the production function that restricts the environmental replacement with other inputs, may lead to a more binding role under growing scarcity conditions. It was also found that labor and technology could contribute dampening the capital damage induced by higher temperatures. From the research results, the findings suggest measures aiming at providing flexible production technology, development of capital-embodied technologies, and lower dependence on environmental capital.

Cerebral chemoarchitecture shares organizational traits with brain structure and function.

Chemoarchitecture, the heterogeneous distribution of neurotransmitter transporter and receptor molecules, is a relevant component of structure-function relationships in the human brain. Here, we studied the organization of the receptome, a measure of interareal chemoarchitectural similarity, derived from positron-emission tomography imaging studies of 19 different neurotransmitter transporters and receptors. Nonlinear dimensionality reduction revealed three main spatial gradients of cortical chemoarchitectural similarity - a centro-temporal gradient, an occipito-frontal gradient, and a temporo-occipital gradient. In subcortical nuclei, chemoarchitectural similarity distinguished functional communities and delineated a striato-thalamic axis. Overall, the cortical receptome shared key organizational traits with functional and structural brain anatomy, with node-level correspondence to functional, microstructural, and diffusion MRI-based measures decreasing along a primary-to-transmodal axis. Relative to primary and paralimbic regions, unimodal and heteromodal regions showed higher receptomic diversification, possibly supporting functional flexibility.

State-space prior distribution for parameter of nonhomogeneous Poisson spatiotemporal models.

This article proposes a new class of nonhomogeneous Poisson spatiotemporal model. In this approach, we use a state-space model-based prior distribution to handle the scale and shape parameters of the Weibull intensity function. The proposed prior distribution enables the inclusion of changes in the behavior of the intensity function over time. In defining the spatial correlation function of the model, we include anisotropy via spatial deformation. We estimate the model parameters from a Bayesian perspective, employ the Markov chain Monte Carlo approach, and validate this estimation procedure through a simulation exercise. Finally, the extreme rainfall in the southern semiarid region in northeastern Brazil is analyzed using the R10mm index. The proposed model showed better fit and prediction ability than did other nonhomogeneous Poisson spatiotemporal models available in the literature. This improvement in performance is mainly due to the flexibility of the intensity function that is achieved by allowing the incorporation, in time, of the climatic characteristics of thisregion.

Association between muscle strength and executive function in Tibetan adolescents at high altitude in China: Results from a cross-sectional study at 16-18 years of age.

In recent years, adolescents have shown a trend of decreasing muscle strength, especially in the upper limbs, and it affects the development of executive functions. However, few studies have been conducted on Tibetan adolescents in high-altitude regions of China. To this end, this study investigated upper limb muscle strength and executive function in Tibetan adolescents in Tibetan regions of China and analyzed the association between them. A three-stage stratified whole-group sampling method was used to test and investigate grip strength, executive function, and basic information in 1093 Tibetan adolescents from Tibet, a high-altitude region of China. A chi-square test and one-way ANOVA were used to compare the basic status and executive function of Tibetan adolescents with different muscle strength. Multiple linear regression analysis and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the correlations that existed between muscle strength and each sub-function of executive function. The differences between the inconsistently and congruent reaction times of Tibetan adolescents with different grip strength levels (<P25 , P25-75 , >P75 ) at high altitude in China were statistically significant (F-values of 32.596 and 31.580, respectively; P-values <.001). The differences between the 1-back and 2-back response times for the refresh memory function were also statistically significant (F-values of 9.055 and 6.610, respectively; P-values <.01). Linear regression analysis showed that after adjusting for the relevant covariates, the 1-back reaction time of Tibetan adolescents in the grip strength < P25 group increased by 91.72 ms (P < .01); the 2-back reaction time of Tibetan adolescents in the grip strength < P25 group increased by 105.25 ms (P < 0.01), using grip strength > P75 as the reference group. Logistic regression analysis showed that, after adjusting for relevant covariates, Tibetan adolescents in the grip strength < P25 group had a higher risk of developing 2-back dysfunction (OR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.24,2.88), using grip strength >P75 as the reference group (P < .01). The risk of cognitive flexibility dysfunction (OR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.16, 2.98) was also increased (P < .05). There was a significant correlation between grip strength and executive function of refresh memory function and cognitive flexibility in Tibetan adolescents in high altitude areas of China. Those with higher upper limb muscle strength had shorter reaction time, that is, better executive function. In the future, we should focus on improving the upper limb muscle strength of Tibetan adolescents at high altitude in China to better promote the development of executive function.