Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preparation and Characterization of Ibuprofen Nanoparticles by using Solvent/ Antisolvent Precipitation

Ibuprofen as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) show a low and variable oral bioavailability in water solution due to low aqueous solubility and slow dissolution rate. Reducing ibuprofen particles size is an effective and widely used approach to speed up dissolution by enlarging the effective surface area. The ibuprofen nanoparticles are prepared by solvent/antisolvent method. The prepared nanodrug show the accelerate dissolution rate in water solvent. In comparison with raw drug, the chemical structure of nanosized ibuprofen show not change but the crystallinity is reduced to 300- 400 nm. The decreasing of particles size ibuprofen is also due to an increase 2.33 times of dissolution in purified water in first 30 min.
First-year engineering students' self-reported knowledge of nanotechnology — The development of a coding scheme

Different types of instruction are used at the college-level for increasing students' knowledge of nanotechnology. Purdue University introduced nanotechnology to first-year engineering students in an introductory engineering course through two nanotechnology-related projects. The students were split into two groups. Group 1 students (8 sections, n=703) implemented only a mathematical modeling project related to nanotechnology. Group 2 students (6 sections, n=496) implemented both the mathematical modeling project and a simulation design project related to nanotechnology. Students were asked to complete a nanotechnology assessment at the start and end of the semester. In this assessment, one prompt asked students to describe five things they know about nanotechnology. This work-in-progress describes the development of the coding scheme for categorizing the student responses. Researchers had ten meetings to revise the coding scheme, the final meeting resulting in the inter-rater reliability (TRR) estimate of 82% One of the researchers applied the coding scheme to 2000 responses and initial results are reported here. The coding scheme will be used to inform educators about the impact of their nanotechnology-related projects and attain their desired learning goals.
Transformational Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: The Role of Organizational Identification

Through this study the author explores the role of organizational identification as a mediator of the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational citizenship behaviors. One hundred twenty eight employees were administered Bass and Avolio's Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Form 5x-Short, Podsakoff and colleagues' Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale, and Mael and Ashforth's Organizational Identification Scale. While transformational leadership did predict organizational citizenship behaviors, the relationship was not mediated by organizational identification. In fact, organizational identification was negatively related to both transformational leadership and organizational citizenship behaviors. On the other hand, laissez-faire leadership was positively related to organizational identification and negatively related to organizational citizenship behaviors. Hogg's social identity theory of leadership was used to provide a possible explanation for these unpredicted results.
The Iowa Personality Disorder Screen (IPDS): Preliminary results of the validation of a self-administered version in a Dutch population

The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and predictive validity of the Iowa Personality Disorder Screen (IPDS) as a screening instrument for personality disorders (PDs) were studied in 195 Dutch psychiatric outpatients, using the SCID-II as the gold standard. All patients completed a self-administered version of the IPDS. Internal consistency was moderate (0.64), and the test-retest reliability was good (0.87). According to the SCID-II, 97 patients (50%) had at least one personality disorder (PD). The IPDS correctly classified 81.0 percent of all participants in the category PD present/absent. The sensitivity and specificity were 77% and 88%, respectively. Positive and negative predictive values were 83% and 79%. Test-retest reliability after a 2-week interval was 0.87. These results are comparable with those reported in earlier studies with respect to the interview version of the IPDS and more promising than previously reported results obtained with a self-report version of the IPDS. Therefore.
A comparison of EKF, UKF, FastSLAM2.0, and UKF-based FastSLAM algorithms

This study aims to contribute a comparison of various simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithms that have been proposed in literature. The performance of Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) SLAM, Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) SLAM, EKF-based FastSLAM version 2.0, and UKF-based FastSLAM (uFastSLAM) algorithms are compared in terms of accuracy of state estimations for localization of a robot and mapping of its environment. The algorithms were run using the same type of robot on Player/Stage environment. The results show that the UKF-based FastSLAM has the best performance in terms of accuracy of localization and mapping. Unlike most of the previous applications of FastSLAM in literature, no waypoints are used in this study.
Control of a Class of Underactuated Mechanical Systems Using Sliding Modes

In this paper, we present a sliding mode control algorithm to robustly stabilize a class of underactuated mechanical systems that are not linearly controllable and violate Brockett's necessary condition for smooth asymptotic stabilization of the equilibrium, with parametric uncertainties. In defining the class of systems, a few simplifying assumptions are made on the structure of the dynamics; in particular, the damping forces are assumed to be linear in velocities. We first propose a switching surface design for this class of systems, and subsequently, a switched algorithm to reach this surface in finite time using conventional and higher order sliding mode controllers. The stability of the closed-loop system is investigated with an undefined relative degree of the sliding functions. The controller gains are designed such that the controller stabilizes the actual system with parametric uncertainty. The proposed control algorithm is applied to two benchmark problems: a mobile robot and an underactuated underwater vehicle. Simulation results are presented to validate the proposed scheme.
Assessment of in-vitro efficacy of 1% Virkon against bacteria, fungi, viruses and spores by means of AFNOR guidelines.

Peroxygenic acid, under the brand name Virkon, has unleashed great debate following contradictory reports of its efficacy and spectrum of activity. The aim of this study was to test the biocidal activity of the compound against 10 different micro-organisms, following standard in-vitro test procedures. Bactericidal, fungicidal and sporicidal activities were determined using quantitative suspension and germ carrier tests and virucidal activity was assessed using a simple dilution suspension test, following the Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR) guidelines. One percent Virkon demonstrated bactericidal activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus hirae and Mycobacterium smegmatis in the suspension test and against P. aeruginosa, E. coli, S. aureus and E. hirae in the carrier test. One percent Virkon showed virucidal activity against poliovirus in the suspension test. However, this concentration did not comply with sporicidal and fungicidal activity guidelines. In conclusion, 1% Virkon is effective only against vegetative bacteria, yeasts and viruses, and should therefore be considered a low-level disinfectant.
Training intensity and first labor market outcomes of apprenticeship graduates

The apprenticeship system is the most important source of formal post‐secondary training in Germany. Using German register data – the IAB Employment Sample – it is found that apprentices staying with their training firm after graduation have a longer first‐job durations but not higher wages than apprentices leaving the training firm. Retention rates, first job durations, and post‐apprenticeship wages are all increasing functions of training intensity. Some implications for the ongoing debate as to why firms are willing to invest in general training are discussed.
Estimating Euler equations with noisy data: two exact GMM estimators

In this paper we exploit the specific structure of the Euler equation and develop two alternative GMM estimators that deal explicitly with measurement error. The first estimator assumes that the measurement error is lognormally distributed. The second estimator drops the distributional assumption and solves out for the unknown, but constant, conditional mean. Our Monte Carlo results suggest that both proposed estimators perform much better than conventional alternatives based on the exact Euler equation or its log-linear approximation, especially with short panels. The empirical application of the proposed estimators yields plausible estimates of the coefficient of relative risk aversion and discount rate.
Measuring Global Self-Esteem: Construct Validation of a Single-Item Measure and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

Four studies examined the construct validity of two global self-esteem measures. In Studies 1 through 3, the Single-Item Self-Esteem Scale (SISE) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) showed strong convergent validity for men and women, for different ethnic groups, and for both college students and community members. The SISE and the RSE had nearly identical correlations with a wide range of criterion measures, including domain-specific self-evaluations, self-evaluative biases, social desirability, personality, psychological and physical health, peer ratings of group behavior, academic outcomes, and demographic variables. Study 4 showed that the SISE had only moderate convergent validity in a sample of children. Overall, the findings support the reliability and validity of the SISE and suggest it can provide a practical alternative to the RSE in adult samples. More generally, the findings contribute to the research literature by further elaborating the nomological network of global self-esteem.
The Relationship between Environmental Moral Reasoning and Environmental Attitudes of Pre-Service Science Teachers.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between environmental moral reasoning patterns and environmental attitudes of 120 pre-service science teachers. Content analysis was carried out on participants’ written statements regarding their concerns about the presented environmental problems and the statements were labeled as ecocentric, anthropocentric, and non-environmental according to their meanings. Then, descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted on the calculated frequencies of each moral consideration category and participants’ responses to Environmental Attitudes Scale. The results revealed a significant positive correlation between ecocentric moral reasoning and environmental attitudes, whereas there was not a statistically significant relationship between neither of anthropocentric nor non-environmental moral reasoning and environmental attitudes. Findings of the study support the argument that an environmental ethic, which extends moral consideration beyond human beings to the nature as a whole, is necessary to overcome many of the environmental problems.
Tectal neurons of the frog: Intracellular recording and labeling with cobalt electrodes

With the aid of cobalt‐filled intracellular electrodes, responses evoked by electrical and visual stimulation were recorded from tectal neurons. Diffuse light and “edge” and “spot” stimuli were used for visual stimulation; electrical stimuli were delivered by means of bipolar electrodes to the optic tract. The cells were subsequently filled with cobalt for a correlative histological study. The following types of neurons were distinguished: (1) Pear‐shaped neurons with restricted and broad dendritic fields occurring in tectal layers 8, 6, 4, and 2. In one group, the dendrites bore beads and small protrusions and the short axon arborized within, or close to, the dendritic arbor. They responded mostly with inhibitory postsynaptic potentials to the various stimulations. This type of neuron was interpreted to be a tectal interneuron. In the second group the dendrites were smooth, the dendritic arbor was large, and the axon could be followed to layer 7 in a few cases. Excitatory activities with frequent spike discharges prevailed in their responses. They were regarded as efferent neurons of the tectum. (2) Large ganglionic neurons showed a greater variation in form than has been described in previous Golgi studies. Their responses to the different stimulations were also very variable. The axons of five neurons could be followed to the dorsal part of the thalamus, to the postoptic commissural system, and to the direct and crossed tectobulbar tract. These axons emitted several collaterals to tectal, pretectal, and tegmental structures. (3) A single stellate neuron was impaled in layer 9. It responded only to electrical stimulation with excitation. (4) Deep bipolar neurons were not mentioned in earlier works. Their somata were found in layer 6; the vertically oriented dendrites arborized in plexiform layers 7, 5, and 3, over a distance of more than 1 mm. These cells were sensitive only to electrical stimulation.
After Preschool Inclusion: Children's Educational Pathways over the Early School Years

A complex array of factors influences the implementation of inclusion within educational systems. This article examines decision making regarding young children's participation in inclusive programs. A qualitative design was employed to study influential factors over the course of a 5-year period as children moved from inclusive preschool placements to elementary school. Family, classroom, school, and societal influences were examined through families' perspectives on children's school experiences. At the end of the 5-year follow-along period, 60% of the children remained in some level of inclusive placement. Placements were influenced by professionals' decisions and school options, families' abilities to access information, advocates, the match between family needs and expectations and school options, and the influence of specific child and family characteristics.
Adult Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor of the Trachea: Case Report and Literature Review

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the trachea is a rare benign tumor in adults. It is mostly seen before the age of 16. We describe a 20-year-old female patient who presented with stridor. She had a fixed obstruction on spirometry, and computed tomography and bronchoscopy confirmed tracheal thickening and stenosis below the vocal cords and bronchial wall thickening at the level of the carina. Bronchoscopic biopsy confirmed an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor. She recovered after mechanical dilatation and resection via rigid bronchoscopy, followed by corticosteroid therapy.
Goal importance and related achievement beliefs and emotions during the transition from vocational school to work: Antecedents and consequences.

Abstract This study investigated the extent to which the appraisal of work-related goals in terms of their importance, level of achievement, and positive emotions would predict young adults' subsequent success in finding a job after graduation from vocational school and the extent to which their success in dealing with this transition would predict how they reappraise their goals later on. Two hundred fifty young adults who were facing a transition from vocational school to work were studied at three points: while they were still at school, 8 months after their graduation, and 1 1 2 years after graduation. They completed the revised Personal Project Analysis inventory, focusing on work-related goals, and the Work Status Questionnaire. The results showed that the more the young adults emphasized the importance of work-related goals, and the more they thought they had progressed in the achievement of such goals, the more likely they were to find a job commensurate with their education and the less likely they were to be unemployed after graduation. Moreover, those young adults who had found work that was commensurate with their education appraised their work-related goals later on as increasingly achievable and as arousing positive emotions, whereas those who had become unemployed showed a reverse pattern.
The bilingual self duet in two voices

Exploring the phenomenon of experiential and psychic duality in the bilingual speaker, the author proposes that bilingual speakers may possess different representations of self that are organized around their respective languages. Building on previous work describing the critical role of language in organizing cognitive/affective experience and titrating psychodynamic operations, the author presents case material that elaborates on these themes and further describes the dynamic use of language as a “characterological organizer. ”; Emphasizing that language is acquired within a complex matrix of social‐contextual, object‐relational, intrapsychic, and psycholinguistic elements, she views the languages of the bilingual speaker as signifiers of unique self‐representations internalized at the time of respective language acquisition and early usage.
Dynamic processes underlying adult attachment organization: Toward an attachment theoretical perspective on the healthy and effective self.

Contemporary attachment theory is inspiring a burgeoning literature on adult attachment. This literature offers counseling psychology a compelling framework for understanding the healthy and effective self. In this article, the authors review studies probing the cognitive processes, affect self-regulatory dynamics. and relationship behaviors associated with secure (primary) and insecure (secondary) adult attachment strategies. They then offer a portrait of the healthy, effective personality that is consistent with theory and research on adult attachment. Finally, in an effort to understand key characteristics of successful movement toward the healthy and effective self, the authors review empirical extensions of attachment theory to the therapeutic context.
Origin of the Thymidine Kinase Induced by Polyoma Virus in Productively Infected Cells

Cells of the 3T3 mouse line efficiently supported the multiplication of polyoma virus, and the infectious process was accompanied by a marked increase in thymidine kinase (TK) activity. Two lines of 5-bromodeoxyuridine-resistant 3T3 cells have been isolated. As expected, these cells incorporated practically no exogenous thymidine into their deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and contained negligible TK activity. Like the parental 3T3 cells, TK− lines were susceptible to productive infection by polyoma virus, but infection did not lead to an increase in TK activity. Since kinase activity did appear after infection with another virus (vaccinia) known to contain the gene(s) for that enzyme, it is concluded that TK is not one of the gene products of polyoma virus. As induction of cellular DNA synthesis by polyoma virus occurs normally when the TK− cells are infected in the stationary phase, TK cannot play a role in the determination of this phenomenon.
Simulated Seasonal Photoperiods and Fluctuating Temperatures Have Limited Effects on Blood Feeding and Life History in Aedes triseriatus (Diptera: Culicidae)

ABSTRACT Biotic and abiotic factors change seasonally and impact life history in temperate-zone ectotherms. Temperature and photoperiod are factors that change in predictable ways. Most studies testing for effects of temperature on vectors use constant temperatures and ignore potential correlated effects of photoperiod. In two experiments, we tested for effects of larval rearing environments creating ecologically relevant temperatures and photoperiods simulating early and late season conditions (June and August), or constant temperatures (cool and warm) with the June or August photoperiods, respectively. We determined effects on survivorship, development, size, and a composite performance index in a temperate-zone population of Aedes triseriatus (Say). We followed cohorts of resulting females, all held under the same environmental conditions, to assess carry-over effects of rearing conditions for larvae on longevity, blood feeding, and egg production. Larval survivorship was affected by treatment in one experiment. Development time was greater in the June and cool treatments, but the constant and fluctuating temperatures did not differ. Significantly larger mosquitoes were produced in fluctuating versus constant temperature treatments. There were no significant treatment effects on the composite performance index. Adult female longevity was lower after rearing at constant versus fluctuating temperature, but there was no difference between June and August, nor did size affect longevity. There was no effect of treatments on blood feeding and a limited effect on egg production. We conclude that seasonal temperatures and photoperiods during development have limited effects on this population of A. triseriatus and find little evidence of strong effects of fluctuating versus constant temperatures.
Different roles of the left and right parahippocampal regions in verbal recognition: a PET study

WE examined the role of the parahippocampal regions in humans during two types of verbal recognition process, i.e. delayed matching and non-matching, by measuring regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) using PET. The results showed differential activation of each parahippocampal region during verbal memory tasks in which the side activated shifted depending on the nature of the task employed; an increase in rCBF in the left parahippocampal gyrus was associated with retrieval strategy of non-matching, and an increase in rCBF in the right parahippocampal gyrus was associated with retrieval strategy of matching. We conclude that lateralized parahippocampal activation may depend on the type of response required.
Antiretroviral activities of protease inhibitors against murine leukemia virus and simian immunodeficiency virus in tissue culture

Rationally designed synthetic inhibitors of retroviral proteases inhibit the processing of viral polyproteins in cultures of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected T lymphocytes and, as a result, inhibit the infectivity of HIV-1 for such cultures. The ability of HIV-1 protease inhibitors to suppress replication of the C-type retrovirus Rauscher murine leukemia virus (R-MuLV) and the HIV-related lentivirus simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) was examined in plaque reduction assays and syncytium reduction assays, respectively. Three of seven compounds examined blocked production of infectious R-MuLV, with 50% inhibitory concentrations of < or = 1 microM. Little or no cellular cytotoxicity was detectable at concentrations up to 100 microM. The same compounds which inhibited the infectivity of HIV-1 also produced activity against SIV and R-MuLV. Electron microscopic examination revealed the presence of many virions with atypical morphologies in cultures treated with the active compounds. Morphometric analysis demonstrated that the active compounds reduced the number of membrane-associated virus particles. These results demonstrate that synthetic peptide analog inhibitors of retroviral proteases significantly inhibit proteolytic processing of the gag polyproteins of R-MuLV and SIV and inhibit the replication of these retroviruses. These results are similar to those for inhibition of HIV-1 infectivity by these compounds, and thus, R-MuLV and SIV might be suitable models for the in vivo evaluation of the antiretroviral activities of these protease inhibitors.