Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dose Linearity of Glimepiride in Healthy Human Egyptian Volunteers

The present study was adopted to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and dose linearity of glimepiride after administration of single oral doses of 1–6 mg glimepiride in an open‐label, five‐way crossover study. Twenty‐four healthy male Egyptian volunteers were given 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 mg of glimepiride on five occasions, and blood samples were collected over 24 hours. Plasma glimepiride concentrations were assayed by a validated reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography method with UV detection and the data were evaluated by non‐compartmental methods to determine pharmacokinetic parameters. The mean elimination half‐lives (t1/2) did not vary with the dose. The peak plasma levels (Cmax) and area under the plasma level versus time curve (AUC) data showed dose‐proportional response. The time to peak plasma concentration (tmax), mean residence time, oral clearance (Cl/F) and apparent volume of distribution (Vd/F) were all similar regardless of the administered dose (P > .05). The 90% confidence intervals of the ratios of dose‐adjusted log transformed values of Cmax, AUC0–t, AUC0–∞, t1/2, and tmax fell within the range of 80–125%. These findings suggest that glimepiride disposition is linear over the dose range studied healthy human Egyptian volunteers.
Learning to teach physics through inquiry: The lived experience of a graduate teaching assistant

This investigation examines the difficulties encountered by one graduate teaching assistant as she taught Physics for Elementary Education, a large-enrollment, inquiry-based science course taught at a public Midwestern university. The methodological approach of hermeneutic phenomenology served as the lens to investigate the research question, ''What is the lived experience of a graduate teaching assistant as she learned to teach physics through inquiry to elementary education students? '' We summarize the findings in terms of the blending of two conceptual frameworks: orientations to science teaching and professional identity. We learned that fundamental beliefs about the nature of science support certain orientations, and if those beliefs remain unchallenged, then the orientation is unlikely to change. Finally, we discuss implications for strategies that may assist college-level instructors with changing their orientation to teaching science. 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 584-602, 2004 National policy documents in science education (e.g., Benchmarks for Science Literacy, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993; National Science Education Standards, National Research Council, 1996) call for K-12 science instruction that is attentive to scientific inquiry. In response to this call for change, science teacher preparation programs have developed pedagogy courses that exemplify inquiry-based approaches (Bianchini & Colburn, 2000; Bryan & Abell, 1999; Hubbard & Abell, 2002), and to a lesser degree, university science departments have implemented science courses for elementary education majors that model inquiry (Abell, Smith, & Volkmann, in press; Southerland, Gess-Newsome, & Johnston, 2003; Volkmann & Eichinger, 1999). However, we do not know much about the difficulties college-level instructors face in teaching science through inquiry. This investigation examines the difficulties encountered by one graduate teaching assistant as she taught Physics for Elementary Education (PHYS 290), an inquiry-based science course at a
Characterization of a 6.5 kV / 500A IGBT module in a series resonant converter

The operation of a commercially available (6.5 kV, 500 A) IGBT module as Zero Current Switch (ZCS) in a series resonance converter is presented in this paper. A test bench with a novel operation mode, which allows the investigation of the semiconductors at low expense of power supplies, is shown. Finally the switching behavior of the IGBT is analyzed in detail as well as compared to hard switching operation.
Validity and Reliability of a New Measure of Nursing Experience With Unintended Consequences of Electronic Health Records

Unintended consequences of electronic health records represent undesired effects on individuals or systems, which may contradict initial goals and impact patient care. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which a new quantitative measure called the Carrington-Gephart Unintended Consequences of Electronic Health Record Questionnaire (CG-UCE-Q) was valid and reliable. Then, it was used to describe acute care nurses’ experience with unintended consequences of electronic health records and relate them to the professional practice environment. Acceptable content validity was achieved for two rounds of surveys with nursing informatics experts (n = 5). Then, acute care nurses (n = 144) were recruited locally and nationally to complete the survey and describe the frequency with which they encounter unintended consequences in daily work. Principal component analysis with oblique rotation was applied to evaluate construct validity. Correlational analysis with measures of the professional practice environment and workarounds was used to evaluate convergent validity. Test-retest reliability was measured in the local sample (N = 68). Explanation for 63% of the variance across six subscales (patient safety, system design, workload issues, workarounds, technology barriers, and sociotechnical impact) supported construct validity. Relationships were significant between subscales for electronic health record-related threats to patient safety and low autonomy/leadership (P < .01), poor communication about patients (P < .01), and low control over practice (P < .01). The most frequent sources of unintended consequences were increased workload, interruptions that shifted tasks from the computer, altered workflow, and the need to duplicate data entry. Convergent validity of the CG-UCE-Q was moderately supported with both the context and processes of workarounds with strong relationships identified for when nurses perceived a block and altered process to work around it to subscales in the CG-UCE-Q for electronic health record system design (P < .01) and technological barriers (P < .01).
Menstrual cycle, body image, and eating disturbance

Sixty females (ages 17–25) were blocked into four groups on the basis of contraceptive use (pill, non-pill) and level of menstrual distress (high, low). All subjects were tested for levels of body image and eating disturbance during three phases of the menstrual cycle: menstrual, intermenstrual, premenstrual. High menstrual distress subjects had greater body image and eating disturbance than low distress subjects. There was marginal evidence that body image disturbance for the high menstrual distress subjects was greater perimenstrually (premenstrual plus menstrual). There was also suggestive evidence that subjects overestimated the size of the waist greater perimenstrually. The findings are discussed with regard to etiological mechanisms, methodological issues, and treatment implications.
Mobile phone dependence and health-related lifestyle of university students

In this study we investigated the associations between the intensity of mobile phone use and health-related lifestyle. For 275 university students, we evaluated health-related lifestyle using the Health Practice Index (HPI; Hagihara & Morimoto, 1991; Kusaka, Kondou, & Morimoto, 1992) and analyzed responses to a questionnaire (MPDQ; Toda, Monden, Kubo, & Morimoto, 2004) designed, with a self-rating scale, to gauge mobile phone dependence. For males, there was a significant relationship between smoking habits and mobile phone dependence. We also found that male respondents with low HPI scores were significantly higher for mobile phone dependence. These findings suggest that, particularly for males, the intensity of mobile phone use may be related to healthy lifestyle.
Toward a model of purposeful participant inclusion: examining deselection as a participant risk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore purposive approaches to participant selection and to consider how deselecting qualified participants from research studies, particularly in studies of identity, may cause psychological harm. Design/methodology/approach – Within a framework of social identity theory, the paper reviews current approaches to participant selection in the purposive paradigm and uses examples from a case study to illustrate how research participants may be impacted by researcher decisions to include or deselect an individual from participation. Findings – Understanding the importance of belonging and validation on an individual's self-concept, threatening or challenging an individual's identity through the deselection process may present a tangible participant risk. Research limitations/implications – Though many methodologists cite the benefits of participating in narrative studies, if there is a tangible benefit in inclusion, there may conversely be a considerable harm in excl.
Highly Sensitive Liquid Core Temperature Sensor Based on Multimode Interference Effects

A novel fiber optic temperature sensor based on a liquid-core multimode interference device is demonstrated. The advantage of such structure is that the thermo-optic coefficient (TOC) of the liquid is at least one order of magnitude larger than that of silica and this, combined with the fact that the TOC of silica and the liquid have opposite signs, provides a liquid-core multimode fiber (MMF) highly sensitive to temperature. Since the refractive index of the liquid can be easily modified, this allows us to control the modal properties of the liquid-core MMF at will and the sensor sensitivity can be easily tuned by selecting the refractive index of the liquid in the core of the device. The maximum sensitivity measured in our experiments is 20 nm/°C in the low-temperature regime up to 60 °C. To the best of our knowledge, to date, this is the largest sensitivity reported for fiber-based MMI temperature sensors.
The Significance of the TAAS Test for Mexican Immigrant and Mexican American Adolescents: A Case Study

This article draws primarily from a 3-year qualitative case study to offer evidence that high-stakes testing is one among a number of alienating features of schooling. The focus is on low-achieving Mexican-origin students attending a segregated, urban high school located in Houston, Texas. The data show that the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills test often discourages regulartrack, Mexican American and Mexican immigrant students from completing high school or considering a college education. The required, English-only nature of the exit test is also highlighted as a key reason why limited-English-proficient, primarily Mexican immigrant, students fail to meet the passing requirement at high rates. High-stakes testing is characterized herein as embedded within a larger logic that systematically negates Mexican youths’ culture and language.
Constructs, methods, and measures for researching spirituality in organizations

Clarifying constructs, methods, and measures for systematic research can advance knowledge about spirituality in organizations. In this paper, we define constructs of pure spirituality, applied spirituality, and spiritual development. We survey research methods for exploring spirituality in organizations – including not only objective studies but also subjective experience for personal growth. We consider five indications of spirituality – health, happiness, wisdom, success, and fulfillment – and identify research instruments for each based on measures used in prior studies of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation program. Research is seen as valuable for assessing the practical applications of spirituality for the individual, organization, and society.
Neural Sequence-Labelling Models for Grammatical Error Correction

We propose an approach to N-best list reranking using neural sequence-labelling models. We train a compositional model for error detection that calculates the probability of each token in a sentence being correct or incorrect, utilising the full sentence as context. Using the error detection model, we then re-rank the N best hypotheses generated by statistical machine translation systems. Our approach achieves state-of-the-art results on error correction for three different datasets, and it has the additional advantage of only using a small set of easily computed features that require no linguistic input.
Lung Function under High Thoracic Segmental Epidural Anesthesia with Ropivacaine or Bupivacaine in Patients with Severe Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Undergoing Breast Surgery

Background Because general anesthesia with tracheal intubation can elicit life-threatening bronchospasm in patients with bronchial hyperreactivity, epidural anesthesia is often preferred. However, segmental high thoracic epidural anesthesia (sTEA) causes pulmonary sympathetic and respiratory motor blockade. Whether it can be safely used for chest wall surgery as a primary anesthetic technique in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma is unclear. Furthermore, ropivacaine supposedly evokes less motor blockade than bupivacaine and might minimize side effects. To test the feasibility of the technique and the hypotheses that (1) sTEA with ropivacaine or bupivacaine does not change lung function and (2) there is no difference between sTEA with ropivacaine or bupivacaine, the authors studied 20 patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1] = 52.1 ± 17.3% of predicted [mean ± SD]) or asthma who were undergoing breast surgery. Methods In a double-blind, randomized fashion, sTEA was performed with 6.6 ± 0.5 ml of either ropivacaine, 0.75% (n = 10), or bupivacaine, 0.75% (n = 10). FEV1, vital capacity, FEV1 over vital capacity, spread of analgesia (pin prick), hand and foot skin temperatures, mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and local anesthetic plasma concentrations were measured with patients in the sitting and supine positions before and during sTEA. Results Segmental high thoracic epidural anesthesia (segmental spread C4–T8 [bupivacaine] and C5–T9 [ropivacaine]) significantly decreased FEV1 from 1.22 ± 0.54 l (supine) to 1.09 ± 0.56 l (ropivacaine) and from 1.23 ± 0.49 l to 1.12 ± 0.46 l (bupivacaine). In contrast, FEV1 over vital capacity increased from 64.6 ± 13.5 to 68.2 ± 14.5% (ropivacaine) and from 62.8 ± 12.4 to 66.5 ± 13.6% (bupivacaine). There was no difference between ropivacaine and bupivacaine. Skin temperatures increased significantly, whereas arterial pressure and heart rate significantly decreased indicating widespread sympathetic blockade. All 20 patients tolerated surgery well. Conclusions Despite sympathetic blockade, sTEA does not increase airway obstruction and evokes only a small decrease in FEV1 as a sign of mild respiratory motor blockade with no difference between ropivacaine and bupivacaine. Therefore, sTEA can be used in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma undergoing chest wall surgery as an alternative technique to general anesthesia.
The Structural Sources of Urban Female Violence in the United States

The present study departs from previous prior macrolevel research on homicide—which has targeted either total homicide rates or male homicide offending rates—by (a) disaggregating the homicide crime rate across U.S. cities by gender and age, (b) examining the effects of structural disadvantage variables on the homicide offending rates of adult women and juvenile girls, and (c) comparing the effects of the structural variables on females' homicide rates with those for adult males and juvenile males. Among adults, the authors find that structural disadvantage robustly affects female as well as male rates; whereas, among juveniles, the effects are large on adolescent male rates but much smaller on female juvenile rates (i.e., their rates are only weakly influenced by structural disadvantage). Apparently, the contexts for homicide among juvenile females are less shaped by adverse economic conditions and conditions of social disorganization than is the case among the other age-sex subgroups.
Comparative Simulation of Gas Transport in Airway Models of Rat, Dog, and Human

Although a number of animal studies have been conducted to investigate the toxic effects of gaseous pollutants on human airways, the anatomical and physiological differences between animals and humans represent a challenge in extrapolating the animal data to humans. The aim of this study was to examine how interspecies anatomical and physiological differences influence the transport of the inhaled gases throughout the airways and alveoli. We designed mathematical airway models of three mammalian species, rats, dogs, and humans, in which interspecies differences in airway dimensions and respiratory patterns were taken into account. We then simulated the bulk flow of three gases (ozone [O3], nitrogen dioxide [NO2], and sulfur dioxide [SO2]) and obtained the intra-airway concentrations of the gases and the amount absorbed using these models. For all three gases, both real-time and mean concentrations in the upper and lower airways were higher in humans when compared with rats and dogs. For example, the mean concentration of O3 in the 5th bronchi of humans was 3 and 12 times higher than in rats and dogs, respectively. Similarly, the amount of absorbed gases corrected for airway surface area was again higher in the upper and lower airways of humans than the other two species. Sensitivity analysis indicated that tidal volume, respiratory rate, and surface area of the upper and lower airways had significant impact on the results. In conclusion, kinetics of inhaled gaseous substances vary substantially among animals and humans, and such variations are, at least partially, the result of anatomical and physiological differences in their airways.
Host‐associated divergence in sympatric host races of the leaf beetle Lochmaea capreae: implications for local adaptation and reproductive isolation

Ecological specialization is widely recognized as a major determinant of the emergence and maintenance of biodiversity. We studied two critical facets of specialization – local adaptation and habitat choice – in the host races of the leaf beetle Lochmaea capreae on willow and birch. Our results revealed that there is asymmetric disruptive selection for host use traits, and host races achieved different adaptive sets of life history traits through association with their host plant. Beetles from each host race exhibited food and oviposition preference for their own host plant. Reciprocal transplant displayed significant variation in host acceptance and performance: all families from the willow race rejected the alternative host plant before initiation of feeding and all died on this host plant. By contrast, all families from the birch race accepted willow for feeding, but they consumed less and performed less well. Intriguingly, families that performed well on birch also performed well on willow, suggesting positive genetic correlation rather than genetic trade-offs. Our results suggest that the major proximal determinant of host specialization in the willow race is the behavioural acceptance of a plant rather than the toxicity of the food resource. However, in the birch race a combination of behavioural host acceptance and performance may play a role in specialization. Our study sheds light on the mechanisms by which divergent host adaptation might influence the evolution of reproductive isolation between herbivorous populations.
Navigational abilities of homing pigeons deprived of olfactory or trigeminally mediated magnetic information when young

SUMMARY Anatomical evidence and conditioning experiments have recently suggested that magnetoreceptors are located in the upper beak of homing pigeons, where they are innervated by the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve. These findings have raised the issue of whether the trigeminally mediated magnetoreception is involved in the navigational mechanisms of homing pigeons. Recent data have shown that, in inexperienced pigeons, section of the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve does not impair navigational abilities, whereas the navigational performance of inexperienced pigeons is disrupted after section of the olfactory nerve. Nevertheless, the issue of whether the stimuli available during development of the navigational mechanism can influence the types of cues used in determining the direction of displacement remains unresolved. To address this issue, we surgically deprived young pigeons of either olfactory or trigeminally mediated magnetic information, and then later tested their navigational abilities subsequent to an intensive training flight program of up to 10 km in different directions. The birds deprived of trigeminally mediated magnetic information when young developed navigational abilities at the same level as intact control pigeons, whereas the olfactory deprived pigeons displayed randomly scattered initial orientation and poor homing performance. Our data show that olfactory cues are needed for the development of navigational abilities from unfamiliar locations and that the lack of magnetic information does not affect the development of homing abilities.
Modulation of the Effector Functions of a Human IgG1 through Engineering of Its Hinge Region

We report here the engineering of a humanized anti-human EphA2 mAb (mAb 12G3H11) in an effort to explore the relationship between the hinge of a human IgG1 and its effector functions. mAb 12G3H11, used here as a model, is directed against the human receptor tyrosine kinase EphA2, which is an actively investigated target for cancer therapy due to its up-regulation in many cancer cells. Various rational modifications were introduced into the hinge region of mAb 12G3H11. These mutations were predicted to modulate the hinge’s length, flexibility, and/or biochemical properties. We show that the upper and middle hinge both play important, although functionally distinct roles. In particular, middle hinge modifications predicted to decrease its rigidity or length as well as eliminating either one of its two cysteine residues had a strong negative impact on C1q binding and complement-dependent cytotoxicity. Disruption of covalent bonds between both H chains may account in part for these effects. We also describe middle hinge mutants with a significantly decreased ability to bind FcγRIIIA and trigger Ab-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Conversely, we also generated upper hinge mutants exhibiting an increase in C1q binding and complement-dependent cytotoxicity activity. Therefore, this approach represents a novel strategy to fine-tune the biological activity of a given human IgG1. We also define, for the first time in such a systematic fashion, the relationship between various characteristics of the middle and upper hinge and the corresponding effector functions.
Adolescent physical self‐perceptions, sport/exercise and lifestyle physical activity

Purpose – Domain and sub‐domain physical self‐perceptions have been associated with adolescent moderate intensity physical activity although the association with different types of adolescent moderate intensity physical activity remains unclear. This study seeks to examine the relationship between personal self‐perceptions and adolescent sport/exercise and lifestyle moderate intensity physical activity frequency.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 122, 13‐to‐14 year‐old, English adolescents from Leeds, West Yorkshire (58 boys and 64 girls) had their personal self‐perceptions, sport/exercise and lifestyle moderate intensity physical activity assessed.Findings – No significant positive relationships were found between boys' personal self‐perceptions and lifestyle moderate intensity physical activity. However, a range of weak (r = 0.34‐0.42) but significant relationships (p < 0.01) were found between personal self perceptions and boys' sport/exercise frequency. In contrast, only perceptions of strength .