Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stability Indicating HPLC Method for Simultaneous Determination of Several Angiotensin-II-Receptor Antagonists in Their Dosage Forms

A stability-indicating reversed-phase liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method has been established for simultaneous determination of four angiotensin-II-receptor antagonists (Losartan potassium, Valsartan, Telmisartan and Irbesartan) in the presence of the degradation products generated in studies of forced decomposition. All drug substances were subjected to drastic condition of stress studies involving hydrolysis by acid and base, thermal decomposition by heat at 70°C, oxidation by hydrogen peroxide and photo degradation. Losartan potassium and Valsartan were degraded acidic conditions. Irbesartan was degraded basic conditions. Telmisartan showed good stability against all stress conditions. Successful separation of the drugs from the degradation products was achieved on ACE C18 column (250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) with 65:35 % (v/v) potassium dihydrogen phosphate (0.025 M, pH 6.0): acetonitrile as a mobile phase at flow rate 1.5 ml/min with UV detection at 220 nm. The proposed method was validated in terms of linearity, accuracy, precision and limits of detection and quantitation. Statistical analysis proved the method enabled reproducible and selective quantification of these drugs as the bulk drug and in pharmaceutical dosage forms. Because the method effectively separates the drugs from their degradation products, it can be used as stability-indicating.
New aquaculture species. Entering the whitefish market

Aquaculture production has increased rapidly during the last three decades. This is due to increased production of established species as well as a continuous introduction of new species. Productivity growth is the main engine for the increased production in aquaculture, and as the accumulated knowledge is applied to new species and in new regions, production is expected to continue to increase. Along with the production growth an increasing quantity of aquaculture products is being internationally traded. This is rapidly changing several segments of the global seafood market. While high value species such as salmon and shrimp were the first to be traded internationally, low cost species like tilapia and pangasius are currently transforming large parts of the whitefish market.
A Pilot Study: The Association between Relationship Quality and Attributions and Resentment Among Alzheimer’s Disease Caregivers

In this pilot study, seven caregivers of loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease completed an online survey involving the following variables: internal and external attribution, caregiver resentment, and pre-morbid and current relationship quality. Given the small number of participants and a Bonferroni adjustment to correct for experiment-wide error, no significant associations were found using Pearson correlations. However, significant trends were present for current relationship quality and caregiver resentment level; internal attributions and resentment level; and internal attributions and pre-morbid relationship quality. A follow-up study is planned to look further into these associations with a greater number of participants, in order to aid in the development of treatments and interventions.
Examining Layers of Community in Leisure Contexts: A Case Analysis of Older Adults in an Exercise Intervention

Abstract This paper explores the dimensions of community that feature in the lives of older people involved in an exercise intervention. It uses McMillan and Chavis' (1986) theory of psychological sense of community as a sensitizing construct (Ragin, 1994). The results show that participants experienced a sense of community on different levels. They felt a sense of belonging and emotional connection to the gym environment, the University (including the researchers and students), and the broader community of ‘active’ older people. Influence and fulfilment of needs were not explicitly experienced in the exercise context, but on a broader community level. Therefore, the exercise context was a medium through which ‘active’ older people could feel a psychological sense of community within a ‘healthy aging’ culture.
Microglial Depletion Causes Region‐Specific Changes to Developmental Neuronal Cell Death in the Mouse Brain

Developmental neuronal cell death has been characterized as a cell autonomous “suicide” program, but recent findings suggest that microglia play an active role in determining the survival of developing neurons. Results have been contradictory, however, with some studies concluding that microglia promote cell death, while others report that microglia are neuroprotective. Here, we depleted microglia throughout the newborn mouse brain using intracerebroventricular injections of clodronate liposomes, and examined effects on naturally occurring cell death across multiple brain areas. Microglial density varied significantly by brain region, and clodronate liposome treatment at birth reduced the number of microglia in all regions examined. The effect of microglia reduction on cell death, however, varied by region: the number of dying cells was reduced in the medial septum and medial amygdala in clodronate treated animals, but was increased in the oriens layer of the hippocampus, and unchanged in several other brain regions. In most brain regions, the average size of microglia was greater in microglia‐depleted than in control animals, suggesting that the remaining microglia compensate to some extent for a reduction in microglial number. The hippocampal oriens was exceptional in this regard, in that microglial size was reduced following treatment with clodronate. Microglia produce cytokines which mediate many of their effects, and we found higher expression of inflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus than in the septum, independent of clodronate treatment. Thus, microglial depletion has opposite effects on cell death in different brain regions of the newborn brain, which may be related to regional heterogeneity in microglia.
THE IDENTIFICATION OF INSURANCE FRAUD - AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS -

Fraud is a major concern in the insurance industry. Time after time, spectacular incidents become public of individuals trying to scam tremendous indemnifications from their insurance companies. The majority of claims, however, particularly those seeking low to medium indemnification, exhibit no obvious signs of fraudulent activity thereby leading the insurer to believe they were legitimate. In this study, we therefore focus on determining the characteristics that make an accurate distinction between fraudulent and legitimate claims possible. In addition to identifying dishonest cases more systematically, applying a criteria catalog would enable an efficient use of the limited resources with which fraud investigation divisions are usually endowed. The basis of our analysis is established by a comprehensive data set of automobile claims from a large Swiss insurance company collected throughout the years of 2004 to 2011. The results of the logistic regression analyses reveal different relevant determinants on the policyholder, vehicle, policy and loss level. Contrary to common assumptions, it is most often individuals with a flawless driving record possessing new, high-valued cars who decide to defraud their insurance company. In extension, we place special focus on how the amount of loss affects an individual’s likelihood of engaging in fraudulent activities. ∗The author is with the Institute of Insurance Economics, University of St. Gallen, Tannenstr. 19, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises

The Johari Windowis a conceptual tool for illustrating the interaction between what is known/unknown to oneself and to others. It has been used in its original form as a basis for classroom exercises since its introduction in 1955. This paper argues that limited attempts to operationalize the model have been relatively unsuccessful An alternative to the classic Window is developed that focuses on four roles crucial to attaining greater openness and personal growthfeedback solicitation, self disclosure, providing feedback, and facilitating disclosure. It is presented as a practical tool for experiential student usage in the domain of interpersonal relations.
Interventions to Increase the Rate of Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Scoping Review

Background and Objective: Current evidence suggests that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) should receive influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations. Despite international guidelines recommending vaccination in patients with COPD, many patients remain unvaccinated. Reasons for vaccine non-acceptance are multifaceted and are likely to be influenced by multiple psychosocial factors and pre-existing health beliefs. The aim of this review was to identify interventions which have been shown to effectively increase vaccination rates in patients with COPD. Materials and Methods: A structured search of PubMed returned 491 titles. Following title and abstract screening, seven full-text articles reporting on 6 unique interventional studies were extracted for narrative synthesis. A variety of interventions were investigated which, for the purposes of this review, were grouped into patient-focussed, clinician-focussed and mixed interventions. Results: Three papers reported findings from clinical trials (2 unique studies) and 4 papers reported findings from before-after studies. Two studies were conducted in the primary care setting, the remaining studies were conducted in secondary and tertiary care. Most studies reported both influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates. These studies suggest that multimodal interventions, which target multiple aspects of evidence-based care and use both patient-focussed and clinician-focussed techniques, may have the greatest impact on vaccination rates in patients with COPD. Conclusions: Further, adequately powered, high quality studies are needed. It is crucial for individual institutions to monitor their own vaccination rates to determine if there is scope for performance improvement.
Technological quality of sweet sorghum processed without panicles for ethanol production

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is recognized as a promising biomass energy crop for meeting the increasing demand for bioenergy feedstocks, because of its high adaptability to different soil and climates, in addition to the large accumulation of sugars in their stalks. In order to be successfully deployed for the production of sugar and biofuels, agronomic systems should be developed. The effects of inhibiting the development of panicles (by removing the top of the stalks at anthesis period) and harvest times on the technological quality of sweet sorghum were evaluated in this research. The experiment was arranged in a split-split-plot as a completely randomized statistical design, with four replications. Main treatments corresponded to sweet sorghum cultivars (CV147, CV198 and BRS508), sub-plots were the stalks management (integral and panicle removed) and tertiary were the harvest times (102 and 116 DAP). To evaluate the technological quality of sorghum juice, the following analyzes were conducted: total soluble solids content, pH, acidity, reducing sugars, total reducing sugars, starch and phenolic compounds. According to the results, compared with the quality standards for juice use, results showed that the cultivar BRS508 was more suitable for ethanol production. Higher sorghum quality was verified at 116 days after planting. The panicle removal promoted lower starch and phenolic compounds content in the juice.
Physiological and Ethological Effects of Caffeine, Theophylline, Cocaine and Atropine; Study Using the Ant Myrmica sabuleti (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) as A Biological Model

Aiming to check if ants can be used as biological models, we studied the effects of four alkaloids on the ant Myrmica sabuleti. Caffeine and theophylline increased the ants’ linear speed, decreased their precision of reaction and their food consumption, did not affect their response to pheromones, nor their audacity, largely increased their conditioning ability and their memory; ants did not become habituated to nor dependent on these alkaloids. The effects of caffeine exponentially decreased in the course of time; those of theophylline slowly decreased sigmoidally after a latency period. Cocaine decreased the ants’ linear speed, their precision of reaction, their response to pheromones and their consumption of food; it increased their audacity; under its consumption, ants became unable to acquire conditioning. Ants became habituated to and dependent on such an alkaloid. The effects of cocaine rapidly vanished in the course of time. Atropine did not affect the ants’ locomotion, decreased their precision of reaction and their response to pheromones because it reduced their olfactory perception; it did not affect their audacity, decreased their food consumption, increased the speed in acquiring conditioning but not the quality of the resulting conditioning; it slightly increased their memory. Ants did not become habituated to, nor dependent on this alkaloid. The effects of atropine vanished in about 20 hrs - 30 hrs. These effects are in agreement with those known by physiologists, psychologists and doctors in medicine; observations made on ants even lead to more precise deductions. Consequently, ants can efficiently be used as biological models.
The Effect of The Implementation of the IAS 39 on the Jordanian Investors

IAS 39 has been described as being the most difficult standard to be implemented and understand The main aims of this research were to examine the effect of the implementation of IAS 39 on the investment's decisions of individuals and institutions in Jordan; to evaluate the understanding of IAS 39 by Jordanian investors and the effect of their understanding upon their investment decisions; and to examine the effect of some factors such as the degree of knowledge and the nature (individual or institution) of the investor on the degree of understanding of this IAS because. In the current study, Firstly, the results supported the first hypothesis that the implementation of IAS 39 would affect the reported profits of companies and, consequently, Jordanian investors would decrease their investment in these companies. Secondly, no significant differences were found between different fields of education, different professional certificates, and different years of experience with regards to the understanding of the implementation of IAS 39 and its effect; but, statistical differences were found between different levels of education at the 5% level, and between individual and institutional investors at the 10% level.
An honour killing in Aintab: The issue of killing fornicators in the Ottoman Empire

An honour killing that took place in Ottoman Aintab at the end of the 16th century is examined in this paper. As it seems the qadi (kadi) of Aintab did not punish the murderer at all. What underpins the qadi’s decision is the opinion held by shari’a jurists indicating that anyone who commits adultery could be killed and the killer, by doing so, will not be punished for the crime. The issue of killing fornicators has been generally addressed through the fatwas of the Shaykh al-Islam. How the qadis reached a verdict regarding this type of cases has been largely ignored. Thus, the issue has not been made clear completely and there have been certain misinterpretations on this subject. We aim to ascertain how the qadi gave a verdict by looking closely at a particular murder case, which is not frequently encountered in Ottoman qadi records. For that purpose, the opinions of Islamic jurists related to the issue, the fatwas of Ottoman Shaykh al-Islams and Ottoman criminal code have been examined together with the verdict of the qadi of Aintab. It is also studied which juridical opinions the parties referred to in their statements and how those references affected the verdict of the qadi.
Records of the Middle - And Late Holocene Palaeoenvironmental Changes in the Pcim-Sucha Landslide Peat Bogs (Beskid Makowski Mts., Polish Outer Carpathians)

Records of the Middle - And Late Holocene Palaeoenvironmental Changes in the Pcim-Sucha Landslide Peat Bogs (Beskid Makowski Mts., Polish Outer Carpathians) The paper presents analysis of depositional sequences of two peat bogs situated in the depressions developed within the landslide landforms Pcim Sucha in the Beskid Makowski Mts. (Outer Carpathians). The older peat bog, with depositional sequence 3.75 m long, started to form at the decline of the Boreal Phase ca 7570-7330 cal BC. Palynological and lithological analyses as well as numerous (18) radiocarbon datings of different horizons in the sediment enabled reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental changes of the Middle and Late Holocene. Increase in climate humidity at the beginning of the Atlantic, Subboreal and Subatlantic Phases were observed as deliveries of minerogenic material to the peat bog basin and formation of illuvial and mineral layers within peat. The particularly intensive delivery of allochtonous material to the peat bog took place at the beginning of the Subatlantic Phase and was the result of both significant humid climate and increased human impact (colonization of the Przeworsk Culture) in the landslide area. Rejuvenation of the landslide zone and formation of the second landslide were connected with this period and processes. Deposits of peat bog situated within this younger landslide, which are ca 1.3 m thick, are significantly contaminated with mineral material.
Stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon in an aquatic food web recently invaded by (Dreissena polymorpha) (Pallas)

The carbon and nitrogen concentrations and the stable isotopic compositions (δ 13 C and δ 15 N) of major abiotic and biotic constituents were determined in Oneida Lake, New York. This lake was invaded by the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in 1990 and there have been concomitant changes in various biotic and abiotic lake properties. The C (46n49%) and N (12%) concentrations and C:N ratios (3.9n4) of zebra mussel flesh were similar to those reported for other lakes. Trophic positions were reflected in the δ 15 N values for which walleye > gizzard shad and yellow perch > Daphnia spp. and zebra mussel flesh > seston and sediment. There was an average increase of 3. 6â 15 N per trophic transfer. Results from the δ 13 C analysis suggest that Daphnia spp. were using a distinct source of organic carbon whereas zebra mussel were using the entire seston resource. Only yellow perch showed a significant shift in δ 13 C values (1.1â), possibly reflecting a shift in
Increasing of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory derived from Indonesian native chicken leg protein using Bacillus cereus protease enzyme

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) converts angiotensin I to angiotensin II, thereby increasing hypertension. In order to increase ACE inhibition from bioactive peptides in food products, native chicken leg protein was hydrolyzed by proteases extracted from three strains of B. cereus (LS2B, TD5B, and TD5K). The specific activities of LS2B, TD5B, and TD5K proteases were 303.57, 195.96, and 111.14 U/mg, respectively. Dissolved proteins in chicken leg hydrolysates were separated by sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and subjected to ACE inhibition assay. LS2B strain proteases produced the highest dissolved protein content. The IC50 of chicken leg protein hydrolyzed by pepsin + trypsin, LS2B strain enzymes, and LS2B enzymes + pepsin + trypsin were 2.58 ± 0.072, 1.21 ± 0.78, and 1.092 ± 0.01 mg/mL, respectively; chicken leg protein hydrolyzed by LS2B enzymes + pepsin + trypsin purified by Sep-Pak C18 Cartridge showed an IC50 of 0.33 ± 0.02 mg/mL. The results indicate that enzymatic hydrolysis of chicken leg proteins via bacterial enzymes can increase the ACE inhibitory activity of resultant peptides.
Modeling the Rate of Occurrence of Solar Flares

Dimensional considerations are used to analyze the distribution of times between solar flares (the flare waiting-time distribution). An analytical estimate for the mean flaring rate λ0 is obtained, based on the idea that the rate reflects a balance between the processes of energy input into the corona and energy dissipation by flaring. The estimate is shown to be in good agreement with observations of flares by Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite detectors. The analytic result is confirmed using the master equation (probability balance equation) formalism. Analysis of time variation leads to a differential equation describing how the free energy in the corona changes when the rates of driving of the system and of flaring vary. This equation may be used to describe the global energy balance in the corona over the solar cycle.
The Apparent Water Vapor Sinks and Heat Sources Associated with the Intraseasonal Oscillation of the Indian Summer Monsoon

AbstractThe possibility of using remote sensing retrievals to estimate apparent water vapor sinks and heat sources is explored. The apparent water vapor sinks and heat sources are estimated from a combination of remote sensing, specific humidity, and temperature from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder/Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AIRS) and wind fields from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)’s Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA). The intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) of the Indian summer monsoon is used as a test bed to evaluate the apparent water vapor sink and heat source. The ISO-related northward movement of the column-integrated apparent water vapor sink matches that of precipitation observed by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) minus the MERRA surface evaporation, although the amplitude of the variation is underestimated by 50%. The diagnosed water vapor and heat budgets associated with convec.