Search Results (498)

Background/Objectives: Cognitive challenges in attention and executive function worsen over time in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and suicidal risk. These difficulties persist beyond acute episodes, with limited targeted treatments available. Neurologic music therapy (NMT) is effective for cognitive rehabilitation in brain injuries and developmental disabilities, suggesting potential benefits for adults with MDD and suicide risk. This pilot study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of short-term NMT on cognitive function in adults with MDD. Methods: Adults aged 18+ with MDD and suicidal ideations participated in an 8-week single-arm open label study with 45-min individual in-person NMT sessions using musical attention control training (MACT) and musical executive function training (MEFT). Participants provided feedback on feasibility and acceptability, and pre- and post-intervention assessments included neurocognitive tasks and questionnaires on suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, and quality of life. Results: A total of 18 individuals enrolled, and 10 participants completed the study protocol. Of the participants, 100% were satisfied with their experience with NMT, with 100% noting improvements in attention and 80% in executive function. Participants experienced some improvements in short-term memory (Digit Span Forward Test), cognitive flexibility (Trail Making Test B), and inhibitory control (Stroop Task). Significant reduction in suicidal ideation intensity (Beck Suicidal Scale of Ideation) was observed, as well as significant improvements in quality of life. Conclusions: This is the first study using NMT to demonstrate feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness with respect to cognitive function in adults with MDD and suicide risk, providing preliminary data for future randomized controlled trials. Full article

Background/Objectives: Currently, there is a limited understanding of the long-term consequences following acute COVID-19, referred to as long COVID. This cross-sectional study aims to analyze the prevalence of persistent signs and symptoms of long COVID, 18 months after primary SARS-CoV-2 infection in adults in southern Brazil. Methods: Using two national databases (the digital registry of SARS-CoV-2 positive cases), 370 individuals living in the state of Paraná (Brazil) were recruited. Data were collected through telephone interviews conducted in 2021 and 2022. Results: The overall prevalence of long COVID was 66.2% among study participants. During the acute phase of infection, the most common symptom clusters included neurological symptoms (87.0%; n = 318), followed by respiratory (82.0%; n = 301), musculoskeletal (66.0%; n = 241), digestive (50.0%; n = 184), psychological (38.0%; n = 138), and endocrine symptoms (28.0%; n = 104). In the 18 month follow-up, the main persistent symptoms were memory loss (42.7%), fatigue (32.2%), anxiety (23.5%), dyspnea (19.7%), and hair loss (19.7%). The proportion of participants with long COVID was statistically higher in females (73.9%), those with a family income below two minimum wages (94.7%), those who do not practice physical activity (83.3%), those who report poor sleep quality (93.3%), those who use long-term medication (85.9%), those who needed health care in the previous six months (87.3%), those who required professional and/or family care (79.3%), those who were in the ICU (79.0%), and those who used ventilatory support (77.5%). Conclusions: Long COVID is a complex condition that requires long-term monitoring and investment in health services due to its high prevalence and the health consequences in the population. Full article

This study addresses the challenge of capturing both short-run volatility and long-run dependencies in global stock markets by introducing fractional transfer entropy (FTE), a new framework that embeds fractional calculus into transfer entropy. FTE allows analysts to tune memory parameters and thus observe how different temporal emphases reshape the network of directional information flows among major financial indices. Empirical evidence reveals that when short-memory effects dominate, markets swiftly incorporate recent news, creating networks that adapt quickly but remain vulnerable to transient shocks. In contrast, balanced memory parameters yield a more stable equilibrium, blending immediate reactions with persistent structural ties. Under long-memory configurations, historically entrenched relationships prevail, enabling established market leaders to remain central despite ongoing fluctuations. These findings demonstrate that FTE uncovers nuanced dynamics overlooked by methods focusing solely on either current events or deep-rooted patterns. Although the method relies on price returns and does not differentiate specific shock types, it offers a versatile tool for investors, policymakers, and researchers to gauge financial stability, evaluate contagion risk, and better understand how ephemeral signals and historical legacies jointly govern global market connectivity. Full article

Background/Objectives: Among the neuropsychiatric symptoms of long COVID, the following may be listed: sleep disturbances, headaches, anxiety, depression, dizziness, numbness, memory loss, and concentration difficulties. Various therapies have been implemented to mitigate these symptoms; however, health resort treatments that utilize a wide range of modalities stimulating multidirectional biological reactions may also be effective. The aim of this study was to assess the severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms in long COVID patients who qualified for health resort treatment, evaluate the effectiveness of health resort treatment in this group of patients, and evaluate the effect of balneological factors in the treatment course. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the medical records of 120 people with long COVID (69 women and 51 men) aged 42–79 who underwent health resort treatment in 2021 was performed. People were eligible for treatment at a lowland health resort based on a valid referral from a doctor. The treatment included balneological therapies, physical medicine modalities, exercise programs, health education, and psychological support. Patients assessed the severity of persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms on a 0–10 point scale before and after treatment. Results: After the treatment, the greatest improvement was noted in sleep disorders (2.47 ± 2.23 points vs. 0.86 ± 1.25 points, p < 0.00001) and dizziness (1.39 ± 1.94 points vs. 0.34 ± 0.76 points, p < 0.00001). The lowest improvement was observed in memory disorders (2.68 ± 2.5 points vs. 1 ± 1.4 points, p < 0.00001). Conclusions: Patients with long COVID who qualified for health resort treatment reported mild neuropsychiatric symptoms. Health resort treatment mitigates neuropsychiatric symptoms, as it is a complex approach. Treatment that includes balneological factors improves symptoms to a greater extent. This method of treatment should be integrated into the standard treatment for long COVID. Full article

Virtual reality technology promises to transform immersive experiences across various applications, particularly within office environments. Despite its potential, the challenge of achieving efficient text entry in virtual reality persists. This study addresses this obstacle by introducing a novel machine learning-based solution, namely, the two-stream long short-term memory typing method, to enhance text entry performance in virtual reality. The two-stream long short-term memory method utilizes the back-of-the-hand image, employing a long short-term memory network and a Kalman filter to enhance hand position tracking accuracy and minimize jitter. Through statistical analysis of the data collected in the experiment and questionnaire results, we confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed method. In addition, we conducted an extra experiment to explore the differences in users’ typing behavior between regular typing and virtual reality-based typing. This additional experiment provides valuable insights into how users adapt their typing behavior in different environments. These findings represent a significant step in advancing text entry within virtual reality, setting the stage for immersive work experiences in office environments and beyond. Full article

Large Language Models (LLMs) like BERT have gained significant prominence due to their remarkable performance in various natural language processing tasks. However, they come with substantial computational and memory costs. Additionally, they are essentially black-box models, being challenging to explain and interpret. In this article, Persistent BERT Compression and Explainability (PBCE) is proposed, a Green AI methodology to prune BERT models using persistent homology, aiming to measure the importance of each neuron by studying the topological characteristics of their outputs. As a result, PBCE can compress BERT significantly by reducing the number of parameters (47% of the original parameters for BERT Base, 42% for BERT Large). The proposed methodology has been evaluated on the standard GLUE Benchmark, comparing the results with state-of-the-art techniques achieving outstanding results. Consequently, PBCE can simplify the BERT model by providing explainability to its neurons and reducing the model’s size, making it more suitable for deployment on resource-constrained devices. Full article

Background: Wish-granting interventions are recognized as positive experiences for children with critical illness and their families. While the positive effects have been shown in the immediate and short term, data on their long-term effects are lacking. Objectives: To evaluate the effects of wish-granting interventions on children and parents during and post intervention—both in the weeks after, and up to 5 years after—and to examine any differences between these two groups. Methods: A large-scale international survey was distributed to children (aged 13–17 years old in 2023) and their parents across 24 countries who received a wish-granting intervention in the preceding five years by Make-A-Wish Foundation International. Primary outcomes were positive emotions experienced by children and parents during and after the intervention (short term and long term). The secondary outcomes assessed were negative emotions in wish children, and to what extent children and parents felt the intervention created a sense of normalcy, benefitted other family members, created a happy memory, and gave relief from medical treatment, plus the perceived importance of wish-granting interventions. Results: The responses of 535 children and 1062 parents were analyzed. Both groups reported increases in positive emotions during the early intervention stages, peaking when the wish was granted and persisting in the short and long term. No significant differences were found between children and parents during wish-granting or after the intervention. Negative emotions were reported by a minority of children. Over 80% of children and parents felt the intervention created a happy memory and provided relief from their medical treatments. Nearly all children (96.8%) and parents (95.4%) viewed a wish-granting intervention as important for children with a critical illness. Conclusions: Wish-granting interventions can provide positive emotional benefits to both children and their families in both the short and long term. Full article

Background: The long-term consequences of COVID-19 infection are becoming increasingly evident in recent studies. This repeated cross-sectional study aimed to explore the long-term health and cognitive effects of COVID-19, focusing on how virus variants, vaccination, illness severity, and time since infection impact post-COVID-19 outcomes. Methods: We examined three cohorts of university students (N = 584) and used non-parametric methods to assess correlations of various health and cognitive variables with SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19 severity, vaccination status, time since infection, time since vaccination, and virus variants. Results: Our results suggest that some health and cognitive impairments may persist, with some even appearing to progressively worsen—particularly fatigue in women and memory in men—up to four years post-infection. The data further indicate that the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 variant may have the most significant long-term impact, while the Omicron variant appears to have the least. Interestingly, the severity of the acute illness was not correlated with the variant of SARS-CoV-2. The analysis also revealed that individuals who contracted COVID-19 after vaccination had better health and cognitive outcomes compared to those infected before vaccination. Conclusions: Overall, our results indicate that even in young individuals who predominantly experienced only mild forms of the infection, a gradual decline in health and fitness can occur over a span of four years post-infection. Notably, some negative trends—at least in men—only began to stabilize or even reverse during the fourth year, whereas in women, these trends showed no such improvement. These findings suggest that the long-term public health impacts of COVID-19 may be more severe and affect a much broader population than is commonly assumed. Full article

Background: During the acute phase of COVID-19, a number of immunological abnormalities have been reported, but few studies longitudinally analyzed the specific subsets of peripheral blood lymphocytes. Methods: In this observational, prospective, and longitudinal study, adult patients developing acute pneumonia during the COVID-19 pandemic have been followed up for 12 months. Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets were assessed (with a specific focus on the memory markers) at 6 time points after the disease onset until 12 months. Results: A total of 76 patients with acute pneumonia (characterized by a prevalently interstitial pattern of lung inflammation) at the hospital admission (who completed the 12-month follow-up period) were recruited in this study. They were divided into two groups, namely positive (n = 31) and negative (n = 45) patients for the SARS-CoV-2 PCR test. In the acute phase, the general lymphocyte immunophenotyping profile was comparable for most parameters between these groups, except for B cells. When B and T cells were analyzed according to the expression of memory markers, a significant decrease in naïve CD8⁺ T cells was observed in the SARS-CoV-2-positive pneumonia group during the acute phase. Notably, this aspect was maintained during the follow-up period for at least 9 months. Conclusions: COVID-19 pneumonia seems to be associated with a lower number of naïve CD8⁺ T cells compared to pneumonia patients negative for this virus. This alteration can persist in the convalescent phase. Full article

Purpose: Cognitive dysfunctions are still very common in the chronic phase of stroke when patients are discharged from neurorehabilitation centers. Even individuals who appear to have made a full clinical recovery may exhibit new deficiencies at home. Here, we present evidence of a novel kind of therapy at home aimed at contrasting the heterogenic evolution of stroke patients using a multidomain cognitive approach. Methods: Eighteen ischemic stroke patients were assessed in a within-subject longitudinal design (age 62.33 ± 11.1 years; eight men). Patients underwent the Tele-NeuroRehabilitation (TNR) multidomain cognitive training treatment using the Virtual Reality Rehabilitation System (VRRS) five times a week for 1 h sessions for four consecutive weeks. The protocol included the stimulation of specific cognitive functions, such as logical skills, praxis skills, attention, executive functions, memory, space time orientation and perception, and speech therapy. To determine neuropsychological changes, patients were evaluated before the sessions (T0), at the end of the sessions (T1), and after six months (T2). Results: The multidomain cognitive training induced a significant improvement in the working memory and language abilities as well as depression symptoms and alleviated caregiver burden. Most of this cognitive enhancement persisted after six months (T2), with the exception of depression symptoms. Otherwise, a significant decline in attention abilities was reported, thus demonstrating a lack of effect in this function. Conclusions: Our results suggest that multidomain cognitive TNR is a suitable protocol for reducing some cognitive and behavioral alterations in patients with strokes, with a beneficial impact also on the caregivers’ burden distress management. Further RCTs are warranted to validate this new kind of approach. Full article

This paper presents an integrated robotic trading strategy developed for the day-ahead energy market that includes different methods for time series analysis and forecasting, such as Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA), Rescaled Range Analysis (R/S analysis), fractional derivatives, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) Networks, and Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) models. DFA and R/S analysis may capture the long-range dependencies and fractal features inherited by the nature of the electricity price time series and give information about persistence and variability in their behavior. Given this, fractional derivatives can be used to analyze price movements concerning the minor changes in price and time acceleration for that change, which makes the proposed framework more flexible for quickly changing market conditions. LSTM, from their perspective, may capture complex and non-linear dependencies, while SARIMA models may help handle seasonal trends. This integrated approach improves market signal interpretation and optimizes the market risk through adjustable stop-loss and take-profit levels which could lead to better portfolio performance. The proposed integrated strategy is based on actual data from the Bulgarian electricity market for the years 2017–2024. Findings from this research show how the combination of fractals with statistical and machine learning models can improve complex trading strategies implementation for the energy markets. Full article

Detecting and managing speech-language pathology symptoms in patients with post-COVID syndrome (long COVID) presents a significant challenge, as the condition is marked by persistent and varied symptoms such as cognitive deficits, communication difficulties, and voice disorders. To address these challenges, a Fuzzy Cognitive Map Decision Support System (FCM-DSS) was developed to model causal relationships and integrate expert knowledge. A systematic review approach, though not comprehensive, was utilized to identify key symptoms and their prevalence from 19 studies, focusing on brain fog, attention deficits, memory problems, dyspnea, and swallowing difficulties. The weighted prevalence of these symptoms informed the development of the FCM-DSS model, designed to link symptoms to medical specialties and recommend specialist referrals. Preliminary testing on four case studies demonstrated the tool’s potential, but further validation through pilot studies is necessary. Full article

Objectives: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a prevalent condition affecting young people that often necessitates complex medical interventions. This study aims to provide a synthesis of existing meta-analyses examining the impact of CHD on the cognitive functioning in children and young people; Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted, identifying peer-reviewed meta-analyses from 1 January 1976 to 17 December 2024, focusing on the cognitive outcomes of CHD patients aged 0–24 years. Data extraction covered study details, participant demographics, outcomes, and quality assessments. Quality assessment followed the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) checklist, and a narrative synthesis was conducted; Results: The narrative synthesis highlighted significant cognitive impairments in children with CHD across domains such as Intelligence Quotient (IQ), executive functions (EF), memory, and alertness. Cognitive impairments were also observed to become worse with increasing age. Furthermore, surgical interventions were found to impact cognitive outcomes, with surgeries at an early age improving survival rates but not entirely mitigating cognitive deficits. Cognitive impairments were more marked in young people assessed at an older age and with a more complex CHD presentation. Conclusions: Children with CHD face persistent cognitive challenges, underscoring the need for early identification and tailored interventions. Routine cognitive assessments and comprehensive care, including educational and psychological support, are crucial for improving neurodevelopmental outcomes. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies to track cognitive development and explore effective rehabilitation programs. Full article

Background/Objectives: Cognitive deficits and negative symptoms associated with schizophrenia are poorly managed by current antipsychotics. In order to develop effective treatments, refining animal models of neurodevelopmental disorders is essential. Methods: To address their multifactorial etiology, we developed a new three-hit mouse model based on the hypoglutamatergic hypothesis of the pathology combined with early stress, offering strong construct validity. Thus, a genetic susceptibility (serine racemase deletion) was associated with an early environmental stress (24 h maternal separation at 9 days of age) and a further pharmacological treatment with phencyclidine (PCP, a glutamate receptor antagonist treatment, 10 mg/kg/day, from 8 to 10 weeks of age). The face validity of this model was assessed in female mice 1 and 6 weeks after the end of PCP treatment by a set of behavioral experiments investigating positive- and negative-like symptoms and cognitive deficits. Results: Our results showed that the three-hit mice displayed persistent hyperlocomotion (positive-like symptoms) and social behavior impairment deficits (negative-like symptoms) but non-persistent spatial working memory deficits (cognitive symptoms). Conclusions: Our work confirms the usefulness of a three-hit combination to model, particularly for negative-like symptoms associated with schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. The model therefore gathers powerful construct and face validities and supports an involvement of glutamate dysfunction in behavioral symptoms. Full article

In recent years, frequent floods caused by heavy rainfall and persistent precipitation have greatly affected changes in groundwater levels. This has not only caused huge economic losses and human casualties, but also had a significant impact on the ecological environment. The aim of this study is to explore the effectiveness of the new method based on Long Short-Term Memory networks (LSTM) and its optimization model in groundwater level prediction compared with the traditional method, to evaluate the prediction accuracy of the different models, and to identify the main factors affecting the changes in groundwater level. Taking Chaoyang City in Liaoning Province as an example, four assessment indicators, R², MAE, RMSE, and MAPE, were used. The results of this study show that the optimized LSTM model outperforms both the traditional method and the underlying LSTM model in all assessment metrics, with the GWO-LSTM model performing the best. It was also found that high water-table anomalies are mainly caused by heavy rainfall or heavy storms. Changes in the water table can negatively affect the ecological environment such as vegetation growth, soil salinization, and geological hazards. The accurate prediction of groundwater levels is of significant scientific importance for the development of sustainable cities and communities, as well as the good health and well-being of human beings. Full article