Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biocompatible biodegradable polymeric antibacterial nanoparticles for enhancing the effects of a third‐generation cephalosporin against resistant bacteria

Purpose. In the present study, enhancement of the the antibacterial activity of ceftriaxone against Gram‐positive (meticillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus; MRSA) and Gram‐negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria with a biodegradable polymer was attempted. Methodology. MRSA and E. coli were collected and identified by biochemical and molecular tests. Blank and ceftriaxone‐loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) were prepared by the ionic gelation method. In vitro antibiotic‐susceptibility studies were performed by disc diffusion, agar well plate method, Etest and time‐kill assay. In vivo activity was assessed using the neutropenic mouse thigh model and cytotoxicity was estimated by MTT (methylthiazolyldiphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay with the MCF‐7 cancer cell line. Results. MRSA showed 97% and E. coli 83% resistance against ceftriaxone in the disc diffusion test. The isolates showing a ≥1024 mg l−1 MIC value for ceftriaxone were selected for further evaluation. In the agar well plate method, the mean zones of inhibition for blank and ceftriaxone‐loaded CNPs were 17 and 23 mm, respectively, for MRSA isolates and 15 and 25 mm, respectively, for E. coli isolates. In the time‐kill assay, ˜1 log10 to ˜2.5 log10 reduction in viability was seen with both isolates when treated with ceftriaxone‐loaded CNPs over 24 h. The in vivo studies also showed the enhanced antibacterial activity of ceftriaxone‐loaded CNPs, with a 41% reduction in MRSA and a 27% reduction in E. coli burden. A low cytotoxicity of blank and ceftriaxone‐loaded CNPs was seen, with a slight reduction in the percentage viability of cells from 87 to 83% and from 88 to 81%, respectively. Conclusion. The synergistic effect of ceftriaxone‐loaded CNPs is a useful finding for the treatment of MRSA and E. coli infections.
The Origins of the Second World War

Scholarly histories of the origins of the First World War began to appear within a few years of the close of hostilities. A dozen years later, the magisterial studies by Sidney B. Fay and Bernadotte E. Schmitt had appeared in this country, and comparable works had been completed by European scholars. It is now eighteen years since V E Day, but no studies comparable to Fay or Schmitt have appeared. In part this contrast is explained by the slowness with which the diplomatic papers concerning the years from 1919 to 1939 are being made available. Far more important, however, is the fact that scholars do not believe that a history of the origins of the Second World War can be written with substantial completeness from diplomatic records. In their studies of the years before 1914, Fay and Schmitt did consider subjects like nationalism and imperialism, but the thread that holds their story together is the history of negotiations between governments, and in particular the history of the European alliance system.
Attitudes and professional practices of school psychologists involved in the evaluation of students with reading disabilities

Reading problems are the most frequent referring reasons for special education evaluations. Recent changes in the law have implications for the changing role of the school psychologist, specifically the evaluation and identification of students with reading disabilities. Traditionally, the assessment of children with suspected reading disabilities has focused on the presence of an aptitude/achievement discrepancy in which general intellectual ability is significantly higher than reading skills. IDEA 2004 introduced a second model, Response to Intervention (RTI), in which children with a reading disability may be identified through a set of curriculum-based measures and progress monitoring data. In light of the broadening evaluation processes, the present study was designed to examine the relationship between school psychologists’ attitudes and assessment practices in the identification of students suspected of reading disabilities. In addition, the study examined whether there were significant attitudes and practice differences related to school psychologists’ prior teaching experience, gender status, number of years in practice, certification, grade of service delivery, professional credentials, and ethnicity. Finally, the study examined the variability in their practices for evaluating children with reading disabilities. The present study replicated and expanded the work (survey) of Nelson and Machek (2007) and Fish and Margolis (1988). Data were collected from 81 members of the Arizona Association of School Psychologists (AASP). Each participant completed a survey, which was made up of 30 items, regarding perceptions and practices psychologists use in the evaluation of students
Health-promoting physical activity and extra-curricular sport

The primar y purpose of this explorator y study was to determine the percentage of time in which school pupils coached by teachers were engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during extra-curricular spor t practices. Three secondar y purposes of the study were to determine (a) the percentage of time allocated by teachers for pupils to engage in fitness activity or acquire health-related knowledge, (b) the percentage of time in which teachers used behaviours likely to encourage pupils to par ticipate in health-promoting physical activity, and (c) whether the percentages of time in which pupils were engaged in MVPA, allocated by teachers for pupils to par ticipate in fitness activity or acquire health-related knowledge and in which teachers promoted health-related physical activity, changed during the course of a spor ts season. Par ticipants were 20 high school teachers from Alabama responsible for coaching high school girls' basketball. One practice coached by each teacher was videotaped during the early-season, mid-season and late-season. Practices were coded with SOFIT, a systematic obser vation instrument designed to quantify factors thought to promote health-related fitness in instructional spor ting/activity contexts. Results indicated that pupils engaged in MVPA for 50.47 percent of their time but that ver y little time was allocated for fitness activity (1.96%) or for providing fitness knowledge (2.54%). In addition, teachers spent ver y little time promoting (0.52%) or demonstrating (0.18%) fitness. Patterns of pupil activity, practice context and teacher behaviour were consistent across the season.
The Structure of Human Values at the Culture Level: A Meta-Analytical Replication of Schwartz’s Value Orientations Using the Rokeach Value Survey

We conducted a meta-analysis using the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) to replicate Schwartz’s value structure at the culture level. In Study 1, data on value priorities from 37 different cultural groups were analyzed. Using a configurational verification approach, the structure of conflicting value types as predicted by Schwartz was replicated. Significant correlations with Schwartz’s two-dimensional configuration of the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS) confirmed this finding. Furthermore, a set of value items that was not included in Schwartz’s analysis formed a new value type labeled Self-Fulfilled Connectedness (SFC). It contains values that represent profound attachment to others as well as attributes of self-fulfillment. In Study 2, it was proposed that SFC may be an individualistic value orientation that shares some similarity with Autonomy but includes relational values as a main component. Correlations with country indices of subjective well-being, post-materialism, and socioeconomic development supported the idea that it is related to happiness, the pursuit of non-material goals, and endorsed in countries in which basic needs are fulfilled. Its theoretical meaning in the context of Schwartz’s culture-level value theory is discussed.
Joint Source-Channel Decoding of Polar Codes for Language-Based Sources

We propose a joint list decoder and language decoder that exploits the redundancy of language- based sources during polar decoding. By judging the validity of decoded words in the decoded sequence with the help of a dictionary, the polar list decoder constantly detects erroneous paths after the decoding of every few bits. This path-pruning technique based on joint decoding has advantages over stand-alone polar list decoding in that most decoding errors in early stages are corrected. We show that if the language structure can be modeled as erasure correcting outer block codes, the rate of inner polar code can be increased while still guaranteeing a vanishing probability of error. To facilitate practical joint decoding, we first propose a construction of a dynamic dictionary using a trie and show an efficient way to trace the dictionary during decoding. Then we propose a joint decoding scheme for polar codes taking into account both information from the channel and the source. The proposed scheme has the same decoding complexity as the list decoding of polar codes. A list-size adaptive joint decoding is further implemented to largely reduce the decoding complexity. Simulation results show that the joint decoding schemes outperform stand-alone polar codes with CRC-aided successive cancellation list decoding by over 0.6 dB.
When stress is mental illness: A study of anxiety and depression in employees who use occupational stress counselling schemes

A previous study found that 86 per cent of employees (n = 111) who experience stress in the workplace and sought help from their workplace counselling schemes (Employee Assistance Programmes) had serious mental health problems, but the low participation rate (24 per cent) restricted generalizability and the measure used [General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)] did not allow diagnosis. The present study (n = 58) improved the participation rate to 35 per cent and used a different version of the original measure (GHQ-28) that allowed diagnostic differentiation as well as validation of the original findings. This new study found almost exactly the same high levels of mental health problems existed (86 per cent) in employees who remained at their work and that participants had higher rates of anxiety than depression. This finding is at variance with the usual co-morbid presentation of anxiety and depression found in community based mental health services and suggests that depression may be an important differentiating factor between those who can remain at work and use counselling and those who cannot. There are implications for those who provide mental health services. The results of this study further reinforce the suggestion that workplace stress may be yet another name for common mental health problems that require professional help and treatment. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DEATH AND ANNIHILATION ANXIETIES IN ANOREXIA NERVOSA, BULIMIA, AND SELF-MUTILATION

Self-starvation, bulimic behavior, and self-mutilation comprise a triad of associated self-harm syndromes that are potentially life threatening, with anorexia nervosa having the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder. They are associated with trauma and are extremely resistant to treatment. These patients present a disturbing lack of anxiety about their own life-threatening behavior, yet are preoccupied with death and anxiety about annihilation. Because dissociation compartmentalizes and separates psychological and somatic aspects of traumatic experience (psychological and somatoform dissociation), it enables these patients to disavow the life-threatening nature of their behavior, which makes the dissociative processes the most destructive factor in this psychopathology. The self-harm symptoms are a presymbolic form of communication that must be decoded and confronted in treatment to make recovery possible. For many patients who starve, purge, or mutilate themselves, the body is speaking of death. They require a treatment that protects their safety, determines their personal construct of death, treats the dissociative pathology and sadomasochism, and builds signal anxiety and other ego functions, especially affect regulation.
Uncertainty and Monetary Policy in Good and Bad Times: A Replication of the VAR Investigation by Bloom (2009)

This paper revisits the well-known VAR evidence on the real effects of uncertainty shocks by Bloom (Econometrica 2009(3): 623-685. doi: 10.3982/ECTA6248). We replicate the results in a narrow sense using Eviews. In a wide sense, we extend his study by working with a smooth transition-VAR framework that allows for business cycle-dependent macroeconomic responses to an uncertainty shock. We find a significantly stronger response of real activity in recessions. Counterfactual simulations point to a greater effectiveness of systematic monetary policy in stabilizing real activity in expansions. JEL-Codes: C320, E320.
Parents' and Service Providers' Perceptions of the Family-Centredness of Children's Rehabilitation Services

Little is known about the extent to which children's rehabilitation services are delivered in a family-centred manner. In this article we report the results of two province-wide surveys, one conducted with 436 parents and the other with 309 service providers, in which we examined the level of family-centred service in children's rehabilitation centres in Ontario, Canada. In one survey we employed the Measure of Processes of Care (MPOC), a measure of parents' perceptions of the behaviours of service providers, and in the other we employed the Family-Centered Program Rating Scale (FamPRS), a measure of service providers' perceptions of the importance and occurrence of family-centred service. The results of the two surveys were very similar. The responses of both parents and service providers indicated that centres were doing well with respect to the interpersonal aspects of service delivery, but that the provision of information was a relatively weak area. The implications of the findings and the utility of.
The relationship between physical activity level and healthy life-style behaviors of distance education students

The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between physical activity levels and healthy life-style behaviors in distance education students in Hoca Ahmet Yesevi University. In total, 526 distance education students in Hoca Ahmet Yesevi University participated in this study voluntarily. The short form of International Physical Activity Questionnaire was administered for the determination of physical activity level of distance education students. Their physical activity levels were categorized as inactive, minimally active, and physically active by using Metabolic Equivalent Term method. For the determination of healthy life-style behaviors, Health-promoting Life-style Profile Questionnaire was used with self-actualization, health responsibility, exercise, nutrition, interpersonal support, and stress management subscales. Results of Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation analyses indicated significant positive correlations between total physical activity level and exercise (r=0.23; p 0.05). The findings of the present study indicated that healthy life-style behaviors were not indicators of physical activity level of distance education students. Key words: Distance education students, health-promoting life-style, physical activity.
The Natural Course of Cytomegalovirus Infection and Disease in Renal Transplant Recipients

A series of prospective studies of a large cohort population of renal transplant recipients who did not receive cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis or preemptive therapy examined the effects of CMV infection and disease on renal allograft rejection, long-term recipient and graft survival, and new-onset diabetes mellitus. CMV infection and disease were found to be independent risk factors for allograft rejection and new-onset diabetes mellitus within 100 days posttransplantation, and for recipient mortality and uncensored graft loss beyond 100 days posttransplantation. Additional studies are needed to determine whether CMV prophylaxis or preemptive therapy may be of benefit in preventing these complications.
‘Putting on a Professional Performance’: Performativity, Subversion and Project Management

In contrast to the traditional view of professionalism as a position of significant status and autonomy, hard-earned and jealously guarded by occupational groups, critical perspectives have emphasized how professions act as ‘the institutionalised form of the control of occupations’ (Johnson, 1972: 38), enacting the ‘responsibilization’ (Grey, 1997) of expert labour. In this paper, I examine the complexity of employee responses to professionalization initiatives in light of work that develops a broader understanding of non-conformity in the face of similar disciplinary practices in the contemporary workplace (Kondo, 1990; Kunda, 1992; Fleming and Sewell, 2002; Collinson, 2003). I do so by relating Judith Butler’s concept of ‘performativity’ to an analysis of the professionalization of a particular sub-discipline of management: project management. I argue that performativity provides insight into the simultaneous attraction, insecurity and antipathy that professionalization arouses in employees, and offers a persuasive account of the potential of parody to subvert professionalization initiatives.
Revisiting VoIP QoE assessment methods: are they suitable for VoLTE?

Voice over LTE (VoLTE) emerges as the basis for voice services in future cellular networks. At the same time, Quality of user Experience (QoE) assessment methods have notably evolved in the last years, especially for VoIP services. The question that rises is, are these models ready to be used for VoLTE? In this paper, we contribute to answer this question by: (i) providing a high level exploration of current objective non-intrusive models for VoIP QoE evaluation, (ii) highlighting the review of works aiming to improve the standardized E-model (ITU-T Rec. G.107 (06/2015)) and the examination of non-standardized solutions proposed by the research community, and (iii) bringing forth the challenges identified for the completion of a successful QoE evaluation approach according to modern VoIP services such as VoLTE.
Mobilising capitals? Migrant children's negotiation of their everyday lives in school

This paper considers how first‐generation immigrant children contribute to processes of capital accumulation through their negotiation and positioning in Irish schools. Drawing on the concepts of social and cultural capital, as well as inter‐generational analyses of children's role in the structuring of everyday life, the paper highlights migrant children's strategic orientation to their primary schooling, positioning themselves in order to maximise the exchange value from their education. Social class, gender and ethnic/migrant status were identified as significant to the strategies adopted, and how children coped with their positioning as ethnic ‘other’ in school.
Status Attainment of Siblings during Modernization

The modernization thesis claims that intergenerational social mobility increased over time due to industrialization and other modernization processes. Here, we test whether this is indeed the case. We study approximately 360,000 brothers from 189,000 families covering more than 500 municipalities in the Netherlands and a 70-year period (1827 to 1897). We complement these sibling- and family-level data with municipal indicators for the degree of industrialization, mass communication, urbanization, educational expansion, geographic mobility, and mass transportation. We analyze these data by applying sibling models, that is, multilevel regression models where brothers are nested in families, which in turn are nested in communities. We find that the total—unmeasured—family effect on sons’ status attainment decreases slightly and is higher than that found for contemporary societies. The measured influence of the family, operationalized by father’s occupational status, decreased gradually in the Netherlands in the second half of the nineteenth century. A substantial part of this decrease was due to some, but not all, of the modernization processes adduced by the modernization thesis.
When and why is small beautiful? The experience of work in the small firm

Small firms account for a substantial proportion of employment in advanced economies; yet understanding of the quality of jobs in them remains poor. Studies using national-level data find that indicators such as autonomy are high but find it hard to say why. Analyses within small firms stress the structuring of jobs and not size as such. Data from 384 employees in small firms from three contrasting sectors are used to test three hypotheses. 1) There is a pure size effect; such an effect was found in such areas as good relations with managers, and explained in terms of the informality of small firms. 2) Size is in fact a proxy for other influences; there was little evidence of this. 3) Factors not associated with size are more important; features such as autonomy and work pressure reflected sectoral differences and not size. Overall, qualified size effects were found, suggesting the continuation of traditional small-firm relationships.
Relational propositions in discourse

In addition to the propositions represented explicitly by independent clauses in a text, there are almost as many propositions, here called relational propositions, which arise (often implicitly) out of combinations of these clauses. The predicates of these propositions are members of a small set of general, highly recurrent relational predicates, such as “cause,” “justification,” and “solutionhood. ” Often unsignalled, these relational propositions can be shown to be the basis for various kinds of inferences and to function as elements of communicative acts. Examining two natural texts, we see that the relational propositions involve every clause, and that they occur in a pattern of propositions which connects all of the clauses together. This examination also shows how the relational propositions are essential to the functioning of the text.
Race, class and environmental justice

The growth of the environmental justice movement in the USA surprised even the most seasoned of policy-makers by its speed and the magnitude of its impact on USA national policy (Russell, 1989; Inhaber, 1990; Grossman, 1991; Goldman, 1992). Responding to intense public pressure from environmental and civil-rights activists for close to a decade, the USEPA established an Environmental Equity Workgroup in 1990. The workgroup had two primary tasks: 1) to evaluate the evidence that racial minority and low-income groups bore a disproportionate burden of environmental risks; and 2) to identify factors that contributed to different risk burdens and to suggest strategies for improvement. In 1992 their signature report was released (USEPA, 1992a), partially reaffirming earlier studies that found a strong correlation between the location of commercial hazardouswaste facilities in communities and the percentage of minority residents in those same communities. By February 1994, President Clinton signed Executive Order 12898, requiring every federal agency to achieve the principle of environmental justice by addressing and ameliorating the human health or environmental effects of the agency’s programmes, policies and activities on minority and low-income populations in the US (Bullard, 1994a). How much of the new policy is based on solid evidence of discrimination and how much is a direct response to the pressure-politics activist groups? This progress report reviews some of the recent literature on environmental equity and the empirical evidence supporting claims of environmental injustice in the USA. While the review focuses on the North American experience, the issue of environmental justice in other regions will intensify in the years to come as nations implement international accords for sustainable development.