Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improved dissolution and anti-inflammatory activity of ibuprofen-polyethylene glycol 8000 solid dispersion systems

Background: The purpose of this study was to develop ibuprofen (IB)-polyethylene glycol (PEG) 8000 solid dispersions (SDs) and investigate them for in vitro dissolution and in vivo anti-inflammatory activity. Materials and Methods: IB-PEG 8000 SDs were prepared by fusion method using varying combination ratios of IB and PEG 8000. Characterization based on surface morphology, particle size, absolute drug content, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was carried out on the SDs. The in vitro release of IB from the SDs was performed in simulated gastric fluid (SGF, pH 1.2) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF, pH 7.4 ) without enzymes, whereas the anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated using egg albumin-induced rat paw edema model. Results: Greenish brown, discrete, and irregularly shaped SDs of mean particle size range 113.5 ± 2.5-252.5 ± 1.9 μm, which were stable over 3 months, were obtained. The drug content of the SDs ranged from 73.4 ± 2.9 % to 83.5 ± 2.7%. Although the drug content increased with increased concentration of PEG 8000 in the SDs, the mean particle size decreased with increased concentration of PEG 8000 in the SDs. The FT-IR results indicate no strong chemical interaction of IB and PEG 8000 in the SDs. There was marked increase in the dissolution rate of IB from the SDs (P < 0.05) as compared to pure IB and physical mixture. The dissolution was better in SIF than in SGF. The increased dissolution rate of IB may be due to the formation of microcrystals, increased wettability and dispersibility in PEG 8000. The SDs showed good anti-inflammatory properties achieving up to 90% edema inhibition at 6 h while the pure sample of IB had 77% edema inhibition at 6 h. Conclusion: SDs based on IB-PEG 8000 is a good approach to enhance the dissolution rate and anti-inflammatory activity of IB, thus, encouraging further development of the SDs.
Supporting social awareness among university students in 3D CVEs: benefits and limitations

For effective cooperation, sharing of resources, a good social climate and therefore better learning, students need to maintain awareness of the social situation in a group or a community, or social awareness (SA). This paper proposes using 3D Collaborative Virtual Environments for social awareness support among university students and presents requirements for a CVE providing such support. A virtual world, Viras, designed according to these requirements, has been evaluated in case studies involving university students, to identify benefits and limitations of this approach.
Influence of Nitrogen Doping on Device Operation for TiO2-Based Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Photo-Physics from Materials to Devices

Solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (ssDSSC) constitute a major approach to photovoltaic energy conversion with efficiencies over 8% reported thanks to the rational design of efficient porous metal oxide electrodes, organic chromophores, and hole transporters. Among the various strategies used to push the performance ahead, doping of the nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (TiO2) electrode is regularly proposed to extend the photo-activity of the materials into the visible range. However, although various beneficial effects for device performance have been observed in the literature, they remain strongly dependent on the method used for the production of the metal oxide, and the influence of nitrogen atoms on charge kinetics remains unclear. To shed light on this open question, we synthesized a set of N-doped TiO2 nanopowders with various nitrogen contents, and exploited them for the fabrication of ssDSSC. Particularly, we carefully analyzed the localization of the dopants using X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS) and monitored their influence on the photo-induced charge kinetics probed both at the material and device levels. We demonstrate a strong correlation between the kinetics of photo-induced charge carriers probed both at the level of the nanopowders and at the level of working solar cells, illustrating a direct transposition of the photo-physic properties from materials to devices.
Impact of Baseline BMI upon the Success of Latina Participants Enrolled in a 6-Month Physical Activity Intervention

High rates of obesity in Latinas highlight the need to determine if physical activity interventions are equally effective across the body mass index (BMI) range. Thus, this study assessed how BMI impacts success of Spanish-speaking Latinas in a culturally and linguistically adapted theory-based physical activity intervention (N = 45). Longitudinal regression models tested the relationship between baseline BMI and outcomes. Overall, a trend for a negative association was found between baseline BMI and self-reported physical activity and theoretical constructs targeted by the intervention over time. For example, someone with a 25 kg/m2 BMI would report, on average, 27.5 more minutes/week of activity compared to someone with a 30 kg/m2 BMI at followup. Furthermore, higher baseline BMI was significantly associated with lower self-efficacy, behavioral and cognitive processes of change, and family social support over time. These findings suggest that participants with higher BMI may need additional intervention to promote physical activity.
The Predictive Validity of Islamic Azad University's Entrance Examination: Does Access Mean Success?

The main purpose of the present research was to study the predictive value of the Islamic Azad University’s Entrance Examination (IAUEE) in Iran administered to those applied for English Language courses. It, furthermore, attempted to investigate probable correlation between English Language students’ academic achievement regarding their Grade point Average (GPA) and their entrance admission test results and their sex, field of study, or age. To conduct the research, œ’œ senior undergraduate students who were admitted to study in all English language fields in Islamic Azad University, Roudehen Branch were randomly selected. Data were collected regarding their performances in Entrance Examination and their GPA during the first three years of their study. Data analysis indicated that students’ total score in IAUEE had a better predictive value than the English subtest score. Out of three English majors under study, admission exam for ELT students had a much more recognized predictive value than for students in other courses. Moreover, while boys’ English proficiency subtest was a better predictor of their academic achievement, girls’ total score proved so.
Functional implication of autophagy in steroid‐secreting cells of the rat

Background: Autophagy, while frequently observed in embryonic cells undergoing differentiation and in pathologically altered cells, appears to occur less commonly in normal, fully differentiated cells. Our previous work revealed that the frequency of autophagic activity was rather high in the Leydig cells of rat testes, but the functional significance of autophagy in Leydig cells remains obscure. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the possible role of autophagy in steroid‐secreting cells.
HLA expression in a primary uveal melanoma, its cell line, and four of its metastases

BACKGROUND The level of HLA expression on a tumour may influence the immunological response against this tumour, and vice versa. HLA expression was determined in a primary uveal melanoma, its metastases, and on a cell line derived from this melanoma, and the presence and type of infiltrate in tissue sections were also studied. METHODS Immunohistochemistry with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against HLA class I and II, T cells, NK cells, and macrophages. RESULTS Primary and metastatic lesions, as well as the cell line showed high levels of expression of the monomorphic determinants of HLA class I. Expression of the polymorphic HLA-A2 and HLA-A3 antigens was decreased on metastases to the skin and liver. HLA-Bw4 expression was low on all lesions, as well as expression of HLA class II. Tumour infiltrating cells consisted mainly of CD3, CD4, and CD8 positive cells. Expression on the cell line corresponded to expression on the primary tumour. CONCLUSION The primary uveal melanoma as well as the cell line showed a high expression of monomorphic and polymorphic HLA-A antigens, while metastases showed a high expression of monomorphic and a lower expression of polymorphic antigens. This variation in expression may support tumour cell escape from NK cells as well as CTL mediated lysis.
[Urogenital alterations in hereditary and sporadic neurodegenerative ataxias].

INTRODUCTION Sporadic and hereditary ataxias (HA) represent a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous syndromes characterized by spinocerebellar degeneration producing a motoneuron coordination disorder. In these diseases urinary and sexual symptoms are commonly associated to the neurological alterations. OBJECTIVE To define the prevalence of functional low urinary tract symptoms in an ataxic population and to compare them with the symptomatology control a group of in healthy subjects. PATIENTS AND METHODS An observational, descriptive, transversal study of 491 subjects recruited from the HA regional associations of Spain was conducted. In addition, a case-control study of prevalent ataxic patients and healthy subjects matched by sex and age was also performed. RESULTS Among 195 patients included, 138 (70.8 %) had Friedreich ataxia (FA) and 57 (29.2 %) non-Friedreich ataxia (nFA). Global mean age was 32.3 years in FA and 43.7 in nFA patients (p < 0.05). Combined irritative and obstructive symptoms were present in 48.7 %, only irritative in 16.4 % and obstructive in 15 % of patients. Erectile dysfunction in 30.3 % (p < 0.01) and decreased libido in 13.4 % (p < 0.01), were the most common sexual problems. CONCLUSIONS In HA, urinary symptoms are present in 80 % of patients, with mainly irritative symptoms in 2/3 of them. A complete urodynamic evaluation in symptomatic patients is recommended in order to characterize potential neurogenic vesico-urethral dysfunction. Even though sexual dysfunction may be related to neurological causes, additional etiologic organic factors should be excluded.
Cardiovascular Disease Risk Models and Longitudinal Changes in Cognition: A Systematic Review

Background Cardiovascular disease and its risk factors have consistently been associated with poor cognitive function and incident dementia. Whether cardiovascular disease prediction models, developed to predict an individual's risk of future cardiovascular disease or stroke, are also informative for predicting risk of cognitive decline and dementia is not known. Objective The objective of this systematic review was to compare cohort studies examining the association between cardiovascular disease risk models and longitudinal changes in cognitive function or risk of incident cognitive impairment or dementia. Materials and Methods Medline, PsychINFO, and Embase were searched from inception to March 28, 2014. From 3,413 records initially screened, 21 were included. Results The association between numerous different cardiovascular disease risk models and cognitive outcomes has been tested, including Framingham and non-Framingham risk models. Five studies examined dementia as an outcome; fourteen studies examined cognitive decline or incident cognitive impairment as an outcome; and two studies examined both dementia and cognitive changes as outcomes. In all studies, higher cardiovascular disease risk scores were associated with cognitive changes or risk of dementia. Only four studies reported model prognostic performance indices, such as Area Under the Curve (AUC), for predicting incident dementia or cognitive impairment and these studies all examined non-Framingham Risk models (AUC range: 0.74 to 0.78). Conclusions Cardiovascular risk prediction models are associated with cognitive changes over time and risk of dementia. Such models are easily obtainable in clinical and research settings and may be useful for identifying individuals at high risk of future cognitive decline and dementia.
Dyadic Multi-resolution Analysis-Based Deep Learning for Arabic Handwritten Character Classification

The problem addressed in this paper is the classification and recognition of Arabic handwritten characters. As a solution, we present a Neural Network (NN) architecture based on Fast Wavelet Transform (FWT) and Adaboost algorithm. FWT is used to extract character's features, based on Multi-Resolution Analysis (MRA) at different levels of abstraction. These features are used to calculate inputs of hidden layer. After this first step, the features are filtered, using Adaboost algorithm, to select the best corresponding ones to each shape of input characters. The reported results are tested on Arabic handwritten characters dataset with 6000 characters. The classification rate for the different groups of characters are 93.92%. Additionally, the speed of the classification algorithm is tested and reported.
Intra-Individual Reaction Time Variability in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease: Gender, Processing Load and Speed Factors

Compared to cognitively healthy ageing (CH), intra-individual variability in reaction time (IIVRT), a behavioural marker of neurological integrity, is commonly reported to increase in both Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). It varies in MCI with respect to whether it represents the pro-dromal stages of dementia or not; being greatest in those most likely to convert. Abnormal IIVRT in MCI therefore represents a potential measure of underlying functional integrity that may serve to differentiate MCI from CH and to help identify those patients for whom MCI is the result of a progressive pathological process. As the clinical approach to MCI is increasingly stratified with respect to gender, we investigated whether this factor could influence study outcome. The influence of RTSPEED and processing load upon IIVRT was also examined. Under low processing load conditions, IIVRT was significantly increased in both MCI and AD compared to CH. However, correcting for an individual’s processing speed abolished this effect in MCI but not in AD, indicating that the increased IIVRT in MCI and AD may result from different factors. In MCI but not in CH, IIVRT was significantly greater for females. Increasing task processing load by adding distracting information, although increasing overall IIVRT, failed to improve the differentiation between CH and both MCI and AD, and in MCI resulted in a reduction in the influence of gender upon study outcome. The outcome of studies investigating IIVRT in MCI and AD compared to CH therefore appear influenced by the gender of the participants, by task-related processing load and processing speed.
A Novel Continuous and Structural VAR Modeling Approach and Its Application to Reactor Noise Analysis

A vector autoregressive model in discrete time domain (DVAR) is often used to analyze continuous time, multivariate, linear Markov systems through their observed time series data sampled at discrete timesteps. Based on previous studies, the DVAR model is supposed to be a noncanonical representation of the system, that is, it does not correspond to a unique system bijectively. However, in this article, we characterize the relations of the DVAR model with its corresponding Structural Vector AR (SVAR) and Continuous Time Vector AR (CTVAR) models through a finite difference method across continuous and discrete time domain. We further clarify that the DVAR model of a continuous time, multivariate, linear Markov system is canonical under a highly generic condition. Our analysis shows that we can uniquely reproduce its SVAR and CTVAR models from the DVAR model. Based on these results, we propose a novel Continuous and Structural Vector Autoregressive (CSVAR) modeling approach to derive the SVAR and the CTVAR models from their DVAR model empirically derived from the observed time series of continuous time linear Markov systems. We demonstrate its superior performance through some numerical experiments on both artificial and real-world data.
Pathogen reduction effects of solar drying and soil application in sewage sludge.

The responses of sludge faecal coliforms, Salmonella, and Ascaris lumbricoides to heat drying, solar dehydration, and inactivation in soil are examined in this study. The presence of Salmonella in raw sludge cake after treatment was low, and absent for most of the cases. Likewise, the viable Ascaris eggs were not determined because of absent or low prevalence. Faecal coliforms, on the other hand, drastically decreased from 4.2 × 107 MPN g-1 Dry Solid (DS) to absence by heat drying. Faecal coliform numbers in solar and non-solar drying treatments were not declined below 1.0 × 103 MPN g-1 after drying to 90% DS and also during the storage of 12 weeks. After 6 weeks, faecal coliform and Salmonella levels in the soil surface application fell below undetectable limits. The coliform numbers below soil surface fell gradually over 12 weeks and numbers were below undetectable limits at end of the experiment. These results showed that although the solar drying has significant effects on removing pathogenic microorganisms during hot and dry periods, the soil treatment was still necessary for the final complete inactivation. Solar exposure on the soil surface was found to be effective on the elimination of pathogens.
Examining the Dimensions of Hospital Safety Climate and Psychosocial Risk Factors Among Japanese Nurses

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the dimensions, reliability, and main loading factors associated with a Japanese safety climate and psychosocial risk factor scale. Design: The authors used a cross-sectional survey of nurses from a university teaching hospital in Japan during 2008 (N = 996). The survey tools were based on components previously identified in a variety of international studies, including the Hospital Safety Climate Scale (HSCS) originally developed by Gershon et al. in 2000. Results: Factor analysis of the Japanese HSCS demonstrated key themes in the areas of workplace-related issues, protective devices or mechanisms, and managerial dimensions (Cronbach’s α = .887). Factor analysis of the psychosocial scale revealed key themes comprising individually related items and group dynamics (Cronbach’s α = .882). Conclusions: This study revealed high internal consistency in the Japanese-language safety climate and psychosocial risk factor scales. The authors also identified various factors and themes consistent with previous international research. Implications for Practice: Transcultural research using standard psychosocial tools can reveal important and reliable findings if carefully translated and adapted for the host environment.
Association of Worse Prognosis With an Aberrant Diurnal Cortisol Rhythm in Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer

A flatter diurnal rhythm of cortisol has been reported to be associated with early mortality in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The clinical stage of disease at the time of diagnosis and the patient's performance status (PS) are known to be important prognostic factors for lung cancer (LC) survival. The authors examined the relationship between diurnal cortisol rhythms and these prognostic factors in patients with advanced LC. Cortisol concentrations were measured in saliva samples collected from 52 patients (37 males/15 females) with advanced LC and from 56 healthy subjects (32 males/24 females) to characterize the diurnal cortisol rhythm, specifically the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and diurnal cortisol decline (DCD). Variations of CAR and DCD in the patients were analyzed according to their clinical disease stage and PS score, and the differences in CAR and DCD between patients and healthy controls were compared. The patient group showed significantly reduced diurnal cortisol secretory activity and rhythmicity, compared with healthy controls. When the patients were subgrouped according to their clinical disease stage, patients with stage 4 disease showed significantly reduced CAR and flatter DCD compared with the healthy controls. However, the CAR and DCD in patients with stage 3a and 3b disease were comparable to those of healthy controls. Neither the CAR nor the DCD showed stepwise changes as the disease stage worsened. When patients were subgrouped according to their Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) PS score, there was stepwise reduction in the CAR and flattening of the DCD as the PS score increased. Both an abolished CAR and a flattened DCD were common in patients with ECOG PS scores of 3 and 4. These results indicate that alteration of the diurnal cortisol rhythm in patients with advanced LC is more closely associated with their PS score than with their clinical disease stage. Gradual alteration of the CAR and DCD, indicative of loss of 24-h cortisol rhythm, in concert with increase in PS score implies that endogenous circadian rhythms may also be disintegrating as the PS score worsens in these patients. (Author correspondence: ryunsup@yahoo.co.kr)
The Biochemical Characterization of Two Carotenoid Cleavage Enzymes from Arabidopsis Indicates That a Carotenoid-derived Compound Inhibits Lateral Branching*

Enzymes that are able to oxidatively cleave carotenoids at specific positions have been identified in animals and plants. The first such enzyme to be identified was a nine-cis-epoxy carotenoid dioxygenase from maize, which catalyzes the rate-limiting step of abscisic acid biosynthesis. Similar enzymes are necessary for the synthesis of vitamin A in animals and other carotenoid-derived molecules in plants. In the model plant, Arabidopsis, there are nine hypothetical proteins that share some degree of sequence similarity to the nine-cis-epoxy carotenoid dioxygenases. Five of these proteins appear to be involved in abscisic acid biosynthesis. The remaining four proteins are expected to catalyze other carotenoid cleavage reactions and have been named carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs). The hypothetical proteins, AtCCD7 and AtCCD8, are the most disparate members of this protein family in Arabidopsis. The max3 and max4 mutants in Arabidopsis result from lesions in AtCCD7 and AtCCD8. Both mutants display a dramatic increase in lateral branching and are believed to be impaired in the synthesis of an unidentified compound that inhibits axillary meristem development. To determine the biochemical function of AtCCD7, the protein was expressed in carotenoid-accumulating strains of Escherichia coli. The activity of AtCCD7 was also tested in vitro with several of the most common plant carotenoids. It was shown that the recombinant AtCCD7 protein catalyzes a specific 9-10 cleavage of β-carotene to produce the 10 ▾-apo-β-carotenal (C27) and β-ionone (C13). When AtCCD7 and AtCCD8 were co-expressed in a β-carotene-producing strain of E. coli, the 13-apo-β-carotenone (C18) was produced. The C18 product appears to result from a secondary cleavage of the AtCCD7-derived C27 product. The sequential cleavages of β-carotene by AtCCD7 and AtCCD8 are likely the initial steps in the synthesis of a carotenoid-derived signaling molecule that is necessary for the regulation lateral branching.
Groups Understanding Cyberhate: Social Competition and Social Creativity in Online White Supremacist

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