Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of ethylcellulose and propylene glycol on the controlled-release performance of glyceryl monooleate–mertronidazole periodontal gel

Abstract Controlled-release metronidazole, mucoadhesive gel proposed as a drug-delivery system for periodontal application was developed and characterized. The system was based on a mixture of glycerylmonooleate (GMO) and ethylcellulose (EC). The mechanism of release depends: firstly, on the ability of GMO to form a viscous liquid crystalline mesophases and secondly on the solubilized EC to form a hydrophobic network when the mixture comes into contact with water resulting in sustaining the release of the drug. Ethylcellulose dissolved in GMO had a profound influence on the rate of drug release, reduced the initial drug release and prolonged the sustained release of metronidazole. Propylene glycol (PG) was added to increase the solubility of the drug and water was added with PG to control the viscosity. A controlled release formulation containing w/w, 20% metronidazole, 10% PG, 5% water and 65% GMO that contains 7% EC was found to be mucoadhesive, easily injectable at room temperature, and to follow Fickian diffusion release mechanism. When the drug loading was increased the drug release was accelerated, and the mechanism followed anomalous controlled-release mechanism. Stability studies indicated that the formulation should be stored at 4 °C in a dark place.
[Pharmacokinetic, bacteriological and clinical studies of sulbactam/ampicillin in pediatric patients].

Plasma and urine concentrations of sulbactam (SBT) and ampicillin (ABPC) were determined following bolus administration of injectable SBT/ABPC combined in a fixed ratio of 1:2 to 6 pediatric patients, 3 at a dose of 30 mg/kg and the other 3 at 60 mg/kg. Clinical and bacteriological efficacies of SBT/ABPC were evaluated in a total of 65 patients composed of 45 cases with pneumonia, 3 cases each with bronchitis, urinary tract infections, staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome, purulent lymphadenitis, 2 cases each with tonsillitis, pleuropneumonia, phlegmon and 1 case each with pyothorax, submaxillitis. The dosage used was 101.2 mg/kg daily given in 3 or 4 divided doses (t.i.d. in 24 patients and q.i.d. in 41 patients) by bolus intravenous injection for 7 days on an average. Side effects and effects on clinical laboratory parameters were monitored in the 65 patients. The results of these evaluations are summarized as follows. 1. Mean serum concentrations of SBT and ABPC in 3 children each given an intravenous bolus injection of 30 mg/kg and other 3 each given 60 mg/kg reached peak levels at 5 minutes after administration with values of 49.8 and 90.3 micrograms/ml, respectively, for SBT and 99.8 and 189.7 micrograms/ml, respectively, for ABPC. The latter values were about twice as high as SBT, and both were dose-related. Mean half-lives were 0.889 hour for SBT and 0.857 hour for ABPC in the 30 mg/kg group and 0.882 hour for SBT and 0.834 hour of ABPC in the 60 mg/kg group, showing similarities between the 2 dosage groups as well as between SBT and ABPC. 2. Mean urine concentrations in the 2 groups mentioned above were the highest for both SBT and ABPC during the first 2 hours after administration, with values of 1,677 micrograms/ml for SBT and 2,730 micrograms/ml for ABPC in the 30 mg/kg group and 2,693 micrograms/ml and 3,623 micrograms/ml, respectively, in the 60 mg/kg group. Mean recovery rates in urine in the first 6 hours were 72.4% for SBT and 56.8% for ABPC in the low dosage group and 72.7% and 52.0%, respectively, in the high dosage group. In the 2 groups, the amounts of ABPC recovered were less than those of SBT. 3. Clinical efficacies of SBT/ABPC in 65 patients with various bacterial infections were excellent or good in 62 (95.4%) patients. 4. The bacteriological efficacy was evaluable with 10 patients. The pathogenic bacteria were eradicated in 9 patients and the efficacy rate was 90%. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Citizenship: a perverse confluence

This article discusses the different meanings that citizenship has assumed in Latin America in the past few decades. Its main argument is that, in the perverse confluence between neo-liberal and democratic participatory projects, the common reference to citizenship, used by different political actors, projects an apparent homogeneity, obscuring differences and diluting the conflict between those projects.
SenTube: A Corpus for Sentiment Analysis on YouTube Social Media

In this paper we present SenTube -- a dataset of user-generated comments on YouTube videos annotated for information content and sentiment polarity. It contains annotations that allow to develop classifiers for several important NLP tasks: (i) sentiment analysis, (ii) text categorization (relatedness of a comment to video and/or product), (iii) spam detection, and (iv) prediction of comment informativeness. The SenTube corpus favors the development of research on indexing and searching YouTube videos exploiting information derived from comments. The corpus will cover several languages: at the moment, we focus on English and Italian, with Spanish and Dutch parts scheduled for the later stages of the project. For all the languages, we collect videos for the same set of products, thus offering possibilities for multi- and cross-lingual experiments. The paper provides annotation guidelines, corpus statistics and annotator agreement details.
À l’école du droit : les apports de la méthode ethnographique à l’analyse de la formation juridique

Cet article qui suit presente les resultats d’une enquete par observation dans les cursus juridiques de deux institutions elitaires francaises, l’Institut d’etudes politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) et l’Ecole des hautes etudes commerciales (HEC Paris). Associant une reflexion generale sur la formation au droit des elites et une demarche methodologique originale appliquant l’ethnographie a l’analyse de l’enseignement juridique, ce travail met en evidence les grandes orientations, theoriques, pratiques et pedagogiques, qui se degagent de ces enseignements. Montrant que cette socialisation scolaire integre un processus d’acculturation normative, en l’occurrence a l’ideologie capitaliste, par l’entremise du droit economique et la figure des avocats d’affaires, les auteures souhaitent contribuer a une meilleure connaissance de l’enseignement du droit « en action ».
iPedagogy: Using Multimedia Learning Theory to iDentify Best Practices for MP3 Player Use in Higher Education

Some institutions of higher learning have invested considerable resources to diffuse iPods and MP3 devices though little is known about learning outcomes tied to their use. Dual-coding and multimedia learning theories guided the development of a typical college lecture so that it could be presented in a combination of audio and visual forms across small-screen and large-screen displays. A 3 (audio, audio/text, and audio/video)×2 (iPod screen vs. computer screen) factorial experiment, was conducted to examine how systematic variations in the capability of commonly used MP3 technologies facilitate learning. Scores indicated that dual-coded presentations were substantially more potent learning aids. Results are discussed in terms of developing best-practice strategies for those who wish to implement iPod technology into course curricula.
Basic numeracy in children with specific language impairment

Experience suggests that mathematical learning is often inhibited in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI), although their nonverbal abilities are presumed intact. The findings of a survey of basic numeracy in a broadly based sample of SLI seven-year-olds are reported. An overall deficit is found, though effects are patchy. Where verbal demands are minimized, evidence is found of relatively advanced numeracy skills in some SLI children. The findings are discussed in relation to recent experimental findings which suggest that a nonverbal representation system underlies the development of numeracy.
Phonological Codes Are Automatically Activated During Reading: Evidence From an Eye Movement Priming Paradigm

Subjects read sentences containing target words that were homophones (words with a single pronunciation but different spellings) while their eye movements were recorded A prime word was presented briefly at the onset of fixation on the target region The prime for a given target (e g, beach) was either identical to the target (beach), a phonologically similar word (the homophone beech), a visually similar nonhomophone (bench), or a dissimilar word (noise) Phonological priming effects were assessed by comparing fixation times on the target when it was preceded by the homophone versus the visually similar word Results suggest that phonological codes are automatically activated during eye fixations in reading
Processes in Racial Discrimination: Differential Weighting of Conflicting Information

The present research explored how White college students may exhibit response patterns associated with a subtle and rationalizable contemporary bias, aversive racism. In the study, higher and lower prejudice-scoring participants evaluated applicants for admission to their university, for whom information about high school achievement and college board scores (aptitude and achievement test scores) was independently varied as strong or weak. As predicted, discrimination against Black applicants relative to White applicants did not occur when the credentials were consistently strong or weak; however, discrimination by relatively high prejudice-scoring participants did emerge when the credentials were mixed and hence ambiguous. Moreover, relatively high prejudice-scoring participants weighed the different, conflicting criteria in ways that could justify or rationalize discrimination against Black applicants. The implications of these data for understanding contemporary racism and their relation to the shifting standards model of bias are considered.
Ecological Modernisation in Los Angeles and Toronto

This article presents the results of a comparative study of environmental policy making in Toronto and Los Angeles. The study was intended to explain how social formations at the urban scale play an increasingly important role in constructing environmental policy and practice as articulated in docu ments, rhetoric and political actions. It is suggested that environmental policy is embedded in broader and more long-term political goals, and that ecological discourse is not only about the environment but also brings together various social projects under the environmental protection flag. The four case studies— in Toronto, contaminated soil and the Don River were examined, and in Los Angeles air pollution and the Los Angeles River—revealed considerable vari ation but all reflected an agenda of ecological modernisation. In particular it was found that demands for maintaining or improving environmental integrity and coherence have lost legitimacy to concerns for efficiency, competitiveness, marketability, flexibility and development. Similarly, market driven regulation and an openness to civil society have played a major role in transforming policy making apparatuses. In contrast, the cases revealed that relationships between nature and society go beyond those expected in ecological modernisation theory and include both social ecology and urban ecology.
Linking Corporate Power to Corporate Structures

Corporations are contested legal entities. Many see them merely as vehicles for financial and business elites to acquire and maintain unfettered power. In this paper, I look at the relationship between corporate power and corporate structures, and argue that corporate power is importantly located in the exploitation of the principles of separate personality of corporate entities and shareholder limited liability. Courts’ unwillingness to pierce the corporate veil and to extend the liability of parent company/principal to the acts of a subsidiary/agent contributes to enabling the creation and exploitation of corporate networks. This is particularly problematic when the corporate creditors are tort victims, who do not assent to limited liability through voluntary transactions. The argument is supported by empirical evidence of the strategies of three asbestos firms to avoid accountability for their tortious conduct. These strategies were curbed only by recourse to criminal law by holding corporate personnel directly responsible for their corporate activities in question and by boycott and political mobilization.
Joint transmitter waveform and receiver path optimization for target tracking by multistatic radar system

This paper considers the problem of joint transmitter waveform and receiver path optimization for target tracking by a multistatic radar incorporating one dedicated transmitter and multiple moving receiver platforms. The performance of multistatic radar, in contrast to monostatic radar, depends not only on the transmitted waveform but also on the multistatic geometry. The paper proposes a joint adaptive selection algorithm of the transmitted waveform and the receivers' heading commands to take advantage of both existing waveform-only and path-only optimization techniques. The proposed algorithm is developed to minimize the tracking mean squared error by minimizing the trace of the tracking error covariance matrix. A simulation example is presented to demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed algorithm compared to other existing waveform and heading configurations.
‘Poll poison’?: Politicians and polling in the 2007 Kenya election

Abstract The debate continues about the causes of the post-election violence that led to the most serious challenge to Kenya's national integrity since independence. However, there is one aspect of the pre-election period about which there is little disagreement: the far more frequent and widely disseminated results of opinion surveys by several research organisations than in any previous election year. Often controversial and provoking highly acrimonious exchanges, these polls and the alleged motives of those behind them became central features of the various campaigns. While their precise contribution to the violence cannot be determined, this analysis makes use of a selection of such results to consider this issue while arguing that: (1) they achieved considerable accuracy in tracking fluctuations in the candidates’ standings in what was a very fluid political landscape; (2) the reactions to them highlighted enduring and significant commonalities within the political class; and (3) this polling experience is certain to have longer-term effects on the country's political culture.
Role of transporters in the distribution of platinum-based drugs

Platinum derivatives used as chemotherapeutic drugs such as cisplatin and oxaliplatin have a potent antitumor activity. However, severe side effects such as nephro-, oto-, and neurotoxicity are associated with their use. Effects and side effects of platinum-based drugs are in part caused by their transporter-mediated uptake in target and non target cells. In this mini review, the transport systems involved in cellular handling of platinum derivatives are illustrated, focusing on transporters for cisplatin. The copper transporter 1 seems to be of particular importance for cisplatin uptake in tumor cells, while the organic cation transporter (OCT) 2, due to its specific organ distribution, may play a major role in the development of undesired cisplatin side effects. In polarized cells, e.g., in renal proximal tubule cells, apically expressed transporters, such as multidrug and toxin extrusion protein 1, mediate secretion of cisplatin and in this way contribute to the control of its toxic effects. Specific inhibition of cisplatin uptake transporters such as the OCTs may be an attractive therapeutic option to reduce its toxicity, without impairing its antitumor efficacy.
The Teaching Profession: To be or to do?

It is quite logical to link the quality of education to teachers, although it is extremely complicated. Therefore, the teaching profession, teacher education, teacher development, teacher accountability and teacher employment are the hot issues for the practitioners, researchers and policy-makers. Among them, the teacher professional issue is becoming a new fashion in the teacher education landscape.
Factors Impacting the Quality of Life of People With an Ostomy in North America: Results From the Dialogue Study

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate skin condition and quality of life following the use of a double-layer adhesive pouching system. This article reports results from North American participants. DESIGN: The study was an open-label, noncomparative, multicenter study. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Seven hundred forty-three persons with ostomies who reside in North America participated in the study. INSTRUMENTS: A Stoma-Quality of Life (QOL) questionnaire consisting of 20 questions was used to measure health-related quality of life. The Ostomy Skin Tool was used to assess peristomal skin condition. METHODS: Peristomal skin and health-related quality of life were assessed by WOC nurses at baseline and again after 6 to 8 weeks following the use of a double-layer adhesive ostomy pouching system. The participants recorded self-reported leakage level, presence of peristomal skin disorder, use of appliance type (eg, convex, 1- or 2-piece), and frequency of consultation with the WOC nurse. RESULTS: Participants experienced a significant decrease in frequency of pouch leakage (P < .0001) and accessory use, improvement of skin condition, and overall significant improvement in mean quality of life score (56.8 vs 58.9, P < .0001). The greatest change on the Stoma-QOL scores was observed in the quartile of participants with the lowest QOL at baseline. Their QOL scores rose from a mean 43.8 at visit 1 to 50.1 at visit 2 (P < .0001). CONCLUSION: The combination of a regular contact with a WOC nurse and the use of a double-layer adhesive appliance led to a significant reduction in leakage and accessory use, improved skin condition, and significant improvement in health-related quality of life.
Intergenerational heritage language practices: A case study of Spanish-speaking families in Britain

Abstract This paper analyses data from a multiple-method study exploring intergenerational heritage language practices in Spanish-speaking families in Britain. The paper harnesses interdisciplinary perspectives (human geography, childhood studies and socio-linguistics) to explore families' accounts of their intergenerational language practices within the home specifically, due to the dearth of work in this area in Britain. There is an urgent need to examine the multiple intersections between language, home and identity, particularly from intergenerational and/or life course perspectives. Currently, little is known about the ways in which members of migrant families evaluate their heritage language practices socially and linguistically in the home in European contexts, or how their heritage language practices are informed by their identities (often multiple) in European migrant-receiving countries. Specifically, the paper explores: the comparative geographical patterns of Spanish in Britain, using data from Census 2011; how and why children's and parents' heritage language practices differ in the home space (and beyond); and the ways in which these practices are rooted in senses of identity and belonging.
The Effect of Item Response Changes on Scores on an Elementary Reading Achievement Test

AbstractThe effect of changing item responses on scores of elementary school children on a standardized achievement test was studied. Previous research, primarily involving non-standardized instruments and adult samples, indicates that changed responses are more likely to be correct than not. Subjects were 165 third grade students using the Metropolitan Reading Tests. Students received no special instructions regarding changing responses. Changes were identified visually and were independently verified. While frequency of response changes was low, such changes generally improved scores. Sex differences in number and success of changes were non-significant. The relationship between frequency of response change and test score was minimal. Responses to difficult items were changed more frequently with less success than changes on easy items. High scorers made more successful changes than did low scorers. Within the limits of the methodology, results clearly indicated that response changes of elementary stude.
Levels of Knowledge About Suicide Facts and Myths Among Younger and Older Adults

Abstract Despite the fact that older adults have the highest suicide rate of any age group, little is known about the kind of information older adults possess about suicide facts. Purpose of study was to investigate the prevalence of a number of misconceptions about suicide in younger (N = 116; age range = 17-52 years;Mage = 26.2 years) and older (N = 62; age range = 55-79 years; Mage = 62.4 years) adults and to assess for differences in levels of knowledge between younger and older persons. Volunteer participants completed anonymously a 47-item suicide knowledge quiz, with items derived from the Revised Facts on Suicide Quiz (Hubbard & McIntosh, 1992) and several abnormal psychology texts. Responses to the items were analyzed for percentage of endorsement and differential endorsement as related to age. Using 70% correct per item as the criterion for adequate knowledge, results for older adults indicated that level of knowledge was good for 16 items (34%) but poor for 31 items (66%). Younger adults showed good knowledge on 19 items (40%). Chi-square revealed that older adults had poorer knowledge on 3 items and better knowledge on 3 items compared to younger adults. This study suggests that misconceptions about suicide are prevalent among younger and older persons. Education efforts aimed at decreasing myths about suicide may serve to heighten awareness of the problem and increase adaptive behaviors in some individuals.
The Intersection of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Social Class in Counseling: Examining Selves in Cultural Contexts

The author discusses the importance of counselors considering the intersection of multiple cultural identities in working with clients. The article serves as the introduction to the special issue, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Social Class in Counseling, of the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development. La autora discute la importancia de considerar el cruce de las identidades culturales multiples de los clientes en la consejeria. El articulo sirve como la introduccion a la publicacion especial, Raza, Etnicidad, y Clase Social, en la Consejeria de la Revista de Consejeria y Desarrollo Multicultural.