Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design and Optimization of In Situ Gelling Mucoadhesive Eye Drops Containing Dexamethasone

Poor bioavailability of eye drops is a well-known issue, which can be improved by increasing the residence time on the eye surface and the penetration of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). This study aims to formulate in situ gelling mucoadhesive ophthalmic preparations. To increase the residence time, the formulations were based on a thermosensitive polymer (Poloxamer 407 (P407)) and were combined with two types of mucoadhesive polymers. Dexamethasone (DXM) was solubilized by complexation with cyclodextrins (CD). The effect of the composition on the gel structure, mucoadhesion, dissolution, and permeability was investigated with 33 full factorial design. These parameters of the gels were measured by rheological studies, tensile test, dialysis membrane diffusion, and in vitro permeability assay. The dissolution and permeability of the gels were also compared with DXM suspension and CD-DXM solution. The gelation is strongly determined by P407; however, the mucoadhesive polymers also influenced it. Mucoadhesion increased with the polymer concentration. The first phase of drug release was similar to that of the CD-DXM solution, then it became prolonged. The permeability of DXM was significantly improved. The factorial design helped to identify the most important factors, thereby facilitating the formulation of a suitable carrier for the CD-DXM complex.
Peer Mentorship In Interdisciplinary STEM Education: The Underrepresented Groups Experience

This study explored how peer mentoring affects the self-perception, sense of belonging, and persistence of underrepresented groups (URGs) in interdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, and math (I-STEM) courses, and how such peer mentorship shapes the leadership skills of URG mentors. San Francisco State University’s College of Science and Engineering approaches I-STEM education through the Promoting Inclusivity in Computing (PINC) program, which uses instructional and curricular methods to increase the number of URG students in computing. This case study examined how peer mentor collaborative learning in I-STEM courses affects enrolled URG students’ self-perception to persist in interdisciplinary studies at a 4-year university. This qualitative study explored the mentee experience in the PINC program and its reciprocal effect on URG peer mentors’ leadership skills development and how it affected their educational trajectory. The findings highlight how peer mentoring impacts the URG mentees in a collaborative learning in I-STEM courses, and affects their self-perception and academic achievement. Peer mentorship in I-STEM program builds leadership skills in the URG peer mentors through giving them perspective on how to teach I-STEM concepts to the URG mentees and as a result the URG mentors improve their academic rigor, professional experience, and persist in the I-STEM program.
Thiazide diuretics are back in CKD: the case of chlorthalidone

ABSTRACT Sodium and volume excess is the fundamental risk factor underlying hypertension in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, who represent the prototypical population characterized by salt-sensitive hypertension. Low salt diets and diuretics constitute the centrepiece for blood pressure control in CKD. In patients with CKD stage 4, loop diuretics are generally preferred to thiazides. Furthermore, thiazide diuretics have long been held as being of limited efficacy in this population. In this review, by systematically appraising published randomized trials of thiazides in CKD, we show that this class of drugs may be useful even among people with advanced CKD. Thiazides cause a negative sodium balance and reduce body fluids by 1–2 l within the first 2–4 weeks and these effects go along with improvement in hypertension control. The recent CLICK trial has documented the antihypertensive efficacy of chlorthalidone, a long-acting thiazide-like diuretic, in stage 4 CKD patients with poorly controlled hypertension. Overall, chlorthalidone use could be considered in patients with treatment-resistant hypertension when spironolactone cannot be administered or must be withdrawn due to side effects. Hyponatremia, hypokalaemia, volume depletion and acute kidney injury are side effects that demand a vigilant attitude by physicians prescribing these drugs. Well-powered randomized trials assessing hard outcomes are still necessary to more confidently recommend the use of these drugs in advanced CKD.
Placental pathology, neonatal birth weight, and Apgar score in acute and distant SARS-CoV-2 infection

Background: Most research on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection during pregnancy has been on acute infections with limited data on the effect of distant infection. Aim: We examined placental pathology and neonatal outcomes in distant SARS-CoV-2 infection earlier in pregnancy compared to acute infections late in pregnancy/at birth and to non-SARS-CoV-2 infected patients with other placental pathologies/clinical presentations. Methods: Placentas birthed to unvaccinated patients with SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing and serology testing results from time of delivery were included in this study. A total of 514 singleton placentas between April 18, 2020, and July 26, 2021, were included: 77 acute SARS-CoV-2 infection (RT-PCR positive and serology negative); 222 distant SARS-CoV-2 infection (RT-PCR negative but serology IgG-positive); and 215 non-SARS-Cov-2 infected (RT-PCR negative, serology negative, and history negative) with other placental pathologies: preeclampsia/hypertension, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), diabetes, chorioamnionitis, and meconium. Placental pathology findings, Apgar scores, and neonatal birth weights were compared. Results: Placentas from the acute group had significantly more villous agglutination (10.4%, P = 0.015) and eosinophilic T-cell vasculitis (5.2%, P = 0.004) compared to placentas from the distant group (2.7% and 0%) and non-SARS-CoV-2 placentas (1.9% and 0.9%). One acute case showed SARS-CoV-2 placentitis and resulted in preterm delivery at 25 weeks. Both the preeclampsia/hypertension and the IUGR groups showed significantly more maternal vascular malperfusion findings compared to the acute (6.5%, 6.5% and 1.3%) and distant (7.7%, 7.7%, and 3.2%) groups. Fetal vascular malperfusion findings such as thrombosis of fetal vessels (17.4% P = 0.042) and intramural fibrin deposition (21.7% P = 0.026) were significantly higher in the IUGR group compared to acute (7.8%; 2.6%) and distant (3.6%; 8.1%) infection. Many neonates born to patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 had birth weights outside of 95% confidence range of observed birth weights. There was no association of Apgar scores with infection status or placental pathology. Conclusion: Acute and distant SARS-CoV-2 infections present differing placental pathology. Relevance for Patients: SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy has demonstrable effects on the placenta with potential significant impacts for maternal and fetal health. Prevention of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection, primarily through vaccination, remains the best mitigation strategy to prevent sequelae of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Can Portfolio Investment Outperform Individual Stocks in Internet Content and Information Industry in Hong Kong Stock Market?

The rapid growth of the internet industry makes the internet content information industry in the Hong Kong stock market a popular and appealing investment target. However, investing in this industry cannot guarantee an ideal outcome. This research tests the volatility of portfolios in the internet content and information industry. It obtains mean standard deviation and Sharpe ratio to evaluate the performance of portfolios in this industry. The result indicates that portfolio investment can provide better performance with short selling constraints than individual stocks do. Without short selling constraints, portfolio investment cannot provide a higher return but can still provide better outcomes with lower risk and a higher Sharpe ratio. This suggests that investors should always practice portfolio investment in the internet content and information industry in the Hong Kong stock market when short selling is available. When short selling is not available, risk-averse investors should always consider portfolio investment.
The Factors Contributing to Physicians’ Current Use of and Satisfaction With Electronic Health Records in Kuwait’s Public Health Care: Cross-sectional Questionnaire Study

Background Electronic health record (EHR) has emerged as a backbone health care organization that aims to integrate health care records and automate clinical workflow. With the adoption of the eHealth care system, health information communication technologies and EHRs are offering significant health care advantages in the form of error reduction, improved communication, and patient satisfaction. Objective This study aimed to (1) investigate factors associated with physicians’ EHR adoption status and prevalence of EHRs in Kuwait and (2) identify factors predicting physician satisfaction with EHRs in public hospitals in Kuwait. Methods This study was conducted at Kuwait’s public Al-Jahra hospital from May to September 2019, using quantitative research methods. Primary data were gathered via questionnaires distributed among 295 physicians recruited using convenience sampling. Data were analyzed in SPSS using descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate linear regression, adjusted for demographics. Results Results of the study revealed that the controlled variable of gender (β=–.197; P=.02) along with explanatory variables, such as training quality (β=.068; P=.005), perception of barriers (β=–.107; P=.04), and effect on physician (β=.521; P<.001) have a significant statistical relationship with physicians’ EHR adoption status. Furthermore, findings also suggested that controlled variables of gender (β=–.193; P=.02), education (β=–.164; P=.03), effect on physician (β=.417; P<.001), and level of ease of use (β=.254; P<.001) are significant predictors of the degree of physician satisfaction with the EHR system. Conclusions The findings of this study had significant managerial and practical implications for creating an inductive environment for the acceptance of EHR systems across a broad spectrum of health care system in Kuwait.
Hormonal and behavioral responses to an infant simulator in women with and without children

Abstract We investigated the impact of maternal status on hormonal reactivity and behavioral responses to an infant simulator in 117 women (54 primiparous, 63 nulliparous). The amount of affectionate touch and motherese were analyzed as behavioral measures of caregiving. Saliva was collected before and 10 min after interaction with the infant simulator to analyze oxytocin, testosterone, cortisol, and estradiol levels. Nulliparous women also provided information about their fertility motivation. Linear mixed models indicated that greater use of affectionate touch was associated with lower overall testosterone levels. Cortisol decreased in response to the interaction in both groups. In the primiparous group, the amount of affectionate touch associated inversely with cortisol levels, whereas in the nulliparous group such association was not found. Oxytocin or estradiol reactivity to the simulator did not differ between the groups, nor were these hormones associated with behavior. Higher fertility motivation in nulliparous women was related to more motherese, and lower testosterone levels. Our results indicate that the simulator elicits hormonal reactivity both in mothers and nonmothers, but the patterns of associations between caregiving behavior and hormonal levels may be partially different. These results encourage using the infant simulator to explore hormonal processes related to the transition to parenthood.
Exploring the Nexus between Packaging, Quality, Equity and Loyalty in Drug Industry

A well-designed product packaging, increased perceived quality and brand equity are essential elements that can strengthen brand loyalty in a keenly competitive retail environment. Although the impact of packaging, perceived quality and brand equity on loyalty has gained considerable attention in the marketing literature, there are limited studies on the impact of packaging on brand loyalty mediated by perceived quality and brand equity in the drug industry. In this respect, this paper aimed to examine the mediation influence of perceived quality and brand equity on the relationship between packaging and loyalty in the drug industry. The data for this paper were collected from a sample of 316 customers using a systematic sampling procedure. The study’s hypotheses were statistically examined via structural equation modelling with the aid of smart PLS version 3.3. 3. Findings from this paper show that brand equity fully mediates the impact of packaging on loyalty but partially mediates the path between perceived quality and loyalty. The research also found that perceived quality perfectly mediates the relationship between packaging and loyalty but partially mediates the impact of packaging on brand equity. This paper, therefore, established that perceived quality and brand equity are critical in designing packaging to improve brand loyalty in the drug industry.
Preparation , Structure and Selected Catalytic Properties of La 2 CuO 4 Nano Mixed Metal Oxides

How to cite this article Rahmani A, Saffari J. Preparation, Structure, and Selected Catalytic Properties of La2CuO4 Nano Mixed Metal Oxides. J Nanostruct, 2016; 6(4): 301-306. DOI: 10.22052/jns.2016. 34270 The perovskite-structured La2CuO4 nanoparticles have been synthesized via an ultrasonic-assisted co-precipitation route using octanoic acid as organic surfactant, and the phase composition, morphology, lattice parameters and size of nanoparticles are characterized through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Transmission electron microscopy. Magnetic measurements are carried out by a vibrating sample magnetometer on the resultant powders at room temperature. Vibrating sample magnetometer shows nanoparticles exhibit ferromagnetic behavior. The synthesized perovskite yields comparatively pure crystalline phase of La2CuO4 nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are used as an efficient and effective catalyst for the oxidation of aldehydes to corresponding carboxylic acids, and this oxidation protocol works well for various aldehydes. Also the La2CuO4 nanoparticles can be recycled for several times without obvious loss of activity. The results show the utilization of these nano catalysts have several advantages, viz. high yields, clean reaction, short reaction times and recyclability of the catalyst.
Study on Asphalt-Cement Isolation Layer for Shield Tunnels Using Seismic Fragility Curves

ABSTRACT For shield tunnels, seismic isolation layer is an effective countermeasure to reduce structural damage during earthquakes. In this paper, the physico-mechanical properties of asphalt-cement (A-C) materials applied to backfill grouting of shield tunnels were investigated by laboratory tests. Then, fragility curves were developed by analytical approach for shield tunnels before and after setting three typical A-C isolation layers (i.e. A-C Iso-layer1, 2, and 3), which were used to express the seismic vulnerability of tunnel lining and evaluate the seismic-reduction effectiveness under earthquakes. The results reveal that A-C isolation layers are effective in seismic-reduction under excitation of low input intensity (less than 0.5 g), while its effect is not significant at high-input intensity. The fragility curves for tunnel lining after setting A-C isolation layers show less vulnerability than not setting one at all seismic intensity levels. From the perspective of damage probability, the seismic-reduction effectiveness decreases with the increasing shear modulus of A-C isolation layer. The probability of minor damage of examined tunnel lining setting up with A-C Iso-layer1 decreased from 23% to 15% at most.
Systemic Risk, Sovereign Yields and Bank Exposures in the Euro Crisis

Since 2008, euro-area sovereign yields have diverged sharply, and so have the corresponding CDS premia. At the same time, banks’ sovereign debt portfolios featured an increasing home bias. We investigate the relationship between these two facts, and its rationale. First, we inquire to what extent the dynamics of sovereign yield differentials relative to the swap rate and CDS premia reflect changes in perceived sovereign solvency risk or rather different responses to systemic risk due to the possible collapse of the euro. We do so by decomposing yield differentials and CDS spreads in a country-specific and a common risk component via a dynamic factor model. We then investigate how the home bias of banks’ sovereign portfolios responds to yield differentials and to their two components, by estimating a vector error-correction model on 2008-12 monthly data. We find that in most countries of the euro area, and especially in its periphery, banks’ sovereign exposures respond positively to increases in yields. When bank exposures are related to the country-risk and common-risk components of yields, it turns out that (i) in the periphery, banks increase their domestic exposure in response to increases in country risk, while in core countries they do not; (ii) in most euro area banks respond to an increase in the common risk factor by raising their domestic exposures. Finding (i) hints at distorted incentives in periphery banks’ response to changes in their own sovereign’s risk. Finding (ii) indicates that, when systemic risk increases, all banks tend to increase the home bias of their portfolios, making the euro-area sovereign market more segmented.
Development and Validation of Ecotourism Smartphone Application Scale (ESAS) and General Experience Scale (GES)

Abstract The proliferation of mobile technology has significantly changed non-traditional tourism types such as the ecotourism sector and thus significantly impacted visitors’ experience at tourism sites. However, there is a lack of instrumentation to assess the visitors’ experience with mobile technology and the general experience of the visitors at ecotourism sites. This research aims at establishing and validating the instruments to measure the visitors’ experience with and without mobile technology. A standard psychometric scale development methodology was utilised to develop and validate the scales. Three hundred participants responded to the online advertisement and participated in this research. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS. Findings from Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) revealed the multi-factor attributes of visitors’ experience with the smartphone app and general experience for the ecotourism site. The Ecotourism Smartphone Application (ESAS) yielded five factors: App Ease of Use, Mobile App Usability, App Utilitarian Value, App loyalty, and App Meaningful Experience; whilst General Experience Scale (GES) yielded two factors: Learning and Satisfaction. These two scales can measure the overall visitor experience at ecotourism sites that use and do not use mobile technology.
Net Worth Poverty and Child Development

The authors investigate whether net worth poverty (NWP) reduces children’s well-being. NWP—having wealth (assets minus debts) less than one fourth of the federal poverty line—is both theoretically and empirically distinct from income poverty (IP) and is the modal form of poverty among children. Data come from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its Child Development Supplement on children ages 3 to 17 years observed between 2002 and 2019. The authors use linear mixed-effects models to investigate the associations among NWP, IP, and four cognitive and behavioral outcomes. NWP reduces children’s cognitive scores and was associated with increases in both problem behavior scores. Negative associations for NWP are similar in magnitude to those found for IP. Much of the NWP effect operates through asset deprivation rather than high debt. The results illustrate the potential risks many children, previously overlooked in studies of IP, face because of wealth deprivation.
Au197(n,?) cross section in the unresolved resonance region

The cross section of the reaction 197Au(n,γ ) was measured with the time-of-flight technique at the n TOF (neutron time-of-flight) facility in the unresolved resonance region between 5 and 400 keV using a pair of C6D6 (where D denotes 2H) liquid scintillators for the detection of prompt capture γ rays. The results with a total uncertainty of 3.9%–6.7% for a resolution of 20 bins per energy decade show fair agreement with the Evaluated Nuclear Data File Version B-VII.0 (ENDF/B-VII.0), which contains the standard evaluation. The Maxwellianaveraged cross section (MACS) at 30 keV is in excellent agreement with the one according to the ENDF/B-VII.0 evaluation and 4.7% higher than the MACS measured independently by activation technique. Structures in the cross section, which had also been reported earlier, have been interpreted as being due to clusters of resonances.
CONTAGIOUS INVESTOR SENTIMENTS AND THEIR VOLATILITIES

This study examines the cross-country relationships of investor sentiments. Dis- coveries of linkages across fourteen developed and emerging markets provide evidence of in- terdependencies. Employing CCI as a proxy for investor sentiments and ARIMA-EGARCH models, this study has successfully captured multiple instances of spillover of sentiments and volatilities. The results suggest that most markets have at least one-directional association with another market by either spreading or being exposed to investor sentiments. Moreover, the division of the sample into pre and post-global crisis periods suggests that the senti- ments are becoming more contagious as technologies advance, leading to further integration between the markets.
Impact of G-Quadruplex Structures on Methylation of Model Substrates by DNA Methyltransferase Dnmt3a

In mammals, de novo methylation of cytosines in DNA CpG sites is performed by DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3a. Changes in the methylation status of CpG islands are critical for gene regulation and for the progression of some cancers. Recently, the potential involvement of DNA G-quadruplexes (G4s) in methylation control has been found. Here, we provide evidence for a link between G4 formation and the function of murine DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3a and its individual domains. As DNA models, we used (i) an isolated G4 formed by oligonucleotide capable of folding into parallel quadruplex and (ii) the same G4 inserted into a double-stranded DNA bearing several CpG sites. Using electrophoretic mobility shift and fluorescence polarization assays, we showed that the Dnmt3a catalytic domain (Dnmt3a-CD), in contrast to regulatory PWWP domain, effectively binds the G4 structure formed in both DNA models. The G4-forming oligonucleotide displaced the DNA substrate from its complex with Dnmt3a-CD, resulting in a dramatic suppression of the enzyme activity. In addition, a direct impact of G4 inserted into the DNA duplex on the methylation of a specific CpG site was revealed. Possible mechanisms of G4-mediated epigenetic regulation may include Dnmt3a sequestration at G4 and/or disruption of Dnmt3a oligomerization on the DNA surface.