Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development and Evaluation of Solid Self Nano- Emulsifying Formulation of Rosuvastatin Calcium for Improved Bioavailability

Purpose : To develop rosuvastatin calcium-loaded self-nanoemulsifying powder for improved oral delivery of the drug. Methods : Solubility study was carried out in different oils, surfactants and co-surfactants. Based on the solubility study, liquid formulations were prepared using LAS/Capryol 90: Maisine 35-1 as oil phase and Tween 20 with Lutrol E400 as surfactant mixture (Smix). The liquid formulations were adsorbed onto Aerosil 200 in a ratio of 1: 0.25 % w/w to convert them into a solid form. The formulations were evaluated for globule size, zeta potential, and emulsion properties. Transmittance study, scanning electron microscopy, and in-vitro dissolution studies were carried out. Biochemical studies were carried out using a triton-induced hyperlipidemia model in Wistar rats. Results : The developed formulations exhibited some desirable characteristics of self-emulsifying systems with nano-sized globules in the range 119.8 to 228.9 nm, rapid emulsification in approximately 60 s and transmittance of close to 100 %. In-vitro dissolution studies on the developed formulations indicate a 4-fold increase in drug release in 10 min, compared to the pure drug (ROC) while pharmacodynamic data showed significant improvement in oral bioavailability compared to the pure drug. Conclusion : The developed formulation containing the oils, LAS and combination of capryol 90 with Maisine 35-1, has the capability to improve the solubility and bioavailability of rosuvastatin calcium when formulated as a self-nanoemulsifying product. Keywords : Rosuvastatin, Particle size, Zeta potential, Nanoemulsion, Oral bioavailability, Hyperlipidemia, Pharmacodynamics, Surfactants, Co-surfactants
Websites of Slovak Universities

The websites of Slovak universities play an important role. They are no longer just a graphical overview of the organization, but they are responsible representative for its products and brand. The aim of the article is to highlight the importance of web site creation tools, including their management, and to highlight one of the important attributes of website quality, which is usability a user interface property that tells how easy it is to use this interface. Usability can be measured using different methods, models and tools. The wellknown are: questionnaire, in-depth interview, heuristic evaluation, temperature maps of ́clicks ́, A / B testing, eye tracking, user testing, traffic analysis, measurement models and usability evaluation, focus group (discussion in a group), card scoring, expert reviews, persons (customer prototype), storyboarding (a story described by a sequence of sketches with a description) and multiple checklists. Less known methods and tools will be described in the article.
Selecting registration schemes in case of interstitial lung disease follow-up in CT.

PURPOSE Primary goal of this study is to select optimal registration schemes in the framework of interstitial lung disease (ILD) follow-up analysis in CT. METHODS A set of 128 multiresolution schemes composed of multiresolution nonrigid and combinations of rigid and nonrigid registration schemes are evaluated, utilizing ten artificially warped ILD follow-up volumes, originating from ten clinical volumetric CT scans of ILD affected patients, to select candidate optimal schemes. Specifically, all combinations of four transformation models (three rigid: rigid, similarity, affine and one nonrigid: third order B-spline), four cost functions (sum-of-square distances, normalized correlation coefficient, mutual information, and normalized mutual information), four gradient descent optimizers (standard, regular step, adaptive stochastic, and finite difference), and two types of pyramids (recursive and Gaussian-smoothing) were considered. The selection process involves two stages. The first stage involves identification of schemes with deformation field singularities, according to the determinant of the Jacobian matrix. In the second stage, evaluation methodology is based on distance between corresponding landmark points in both normal lung parenchyma (NLP) and ILD affected regions. Statistical analysis was performed in order to select near optimal registration schemes per evaluation metric. Performance of the candidate registration schemes was verified on a case sample of ten clinical follow-up CT scans to obtain the selected registration schemes. RESULTS By considering near optimal schemes common to all ranking lists, 16 out of 128 registration schemes were initially selected. These schemes obtained submillimeter registration accuracies in terms of average distance errors 0.18 ± 0.01 mm for NLP and 0.20 ± 0.01 mm for ILD, in case of artificially generated follow-up data. Registration accuracy in terms of average distance error in clinical follow-up data was in the range of 1.985-2.156 mm and 1.966-2.234 mm, for NLP and ILD affected regions, respectively, excluding schemes with statistically significant lower performance (Wilcoxon signed-ranks test, p < 0.05), resulting in 13 finally selected registration schemes. CONCLUSIONS Selected registration schemes in case of ILD CT follow-up analysis indicate the significance of adaptive stochastic gradient descent optimizer, as well as the importance of combined rigid and nonrigid schemes providing high accuracy and time efficiency. The selected optimal deformable registration schemes are equivalent in terms of their accuracy and thus compatible in terms of their clinical outcome.
The Nexus Between Carbon Emission, Energy Consumption, Economic Growth And Changing Economic Structure In India: A Multivariate Cointegration Approach

ABSTRACT:India, one of the fastest growing economies of the world is also one of the largest CO2 emitters in the world. Challenge before the country is to reduce this alarming emission levels without hindering its growth prospects. Against this backdrop, the present paper studies the dynamic causal relationships between India's CO2 emission, energy consumption, GDP growth and changing economic structure. The study uses cointegration and causality analysis for the same. ARDL bound testing approach along with Johansen-Juselius maximum likelihood procedure is applied to examine the existence of long run equilibrium relationship among the variables. Causal linkages between the variables are studied using Granger causality test in Vector Error Correction model framework. For this the study uses data on India for-CO2 emissions, primary energy consumption, GDP per capita and structural variables like, agriculture and service value added, urbanization, production of capital and intermediate goods and employment. Primary energy consumption, per capita GDP and trade openness explain variations in CO2 emissions over long run. Elasticity of CO2 emission with respect to energy consumption is 2 percent in long run and 1.8 per cent in short run. CO2 emissions are less responsive to changes in per capita GDP (0.52) and trade openness (0.10). Both trade openness and GDP per capita growth lower emissions by producing and exporting more labor-intensive environment friendly goods. Causality analysis shows that trade openness Granger causes CO2 emission both in short run and in long run while CO2 emission Granger causes service value added and production of capital and intermediate goods in the short run. Output in these sectors in turn Granger cause employment in the long run. Given the nature of causality, there is no way that India can reduce energy consumption in service sector or in capital and intermediate goods sector. Thus, faced with growing concern over rising emission levels and requirements to meet its growth potentials, India should take policies aiming at greater investment in and usage of cleaner energy, conservation of energy and improving energy efficiency. This way it can strike a balance between reducing its emission levels while maintaining its current growth momentum.
How the Demographic Composition of Academic Science and Engineering Departments Influences Workplace Culture, Faculty Experience, and Retention Risk

Although on average women are underrepresented in academic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) departments at universities, an underappreciated fact is that women’s representation varies widely across STEM disciplines. Past research is fairly silent on how local variations in gender composition impact faculty experiences. This study fills that gap. A survey of STEM departments at a large research university finds that women faculty in STEM are less professionally satisfied than male colleagues only if they are housed in departments where women are a small numeric minority. Gender differences in satisfaction are largest in departments with less than 25% women, smaller in departments with 25–35% women, and nonexistent in departments approaching 50% women. Gender differences in professional satisfaction in gender-unbalanced departments are mediated by women’s perception that their department’s climate is uncollegial, faculty governance is non-transparent, and gender relations are inequitable. Unfavorable department climates also predict retention risk for women in departments with few women, but not in departments closer to gender parity. Finally, faculty who find within-department mentors to be useful are more likely to have a favorable view of their department’s climate, which consequently predicts more professional satisfaction. Faculty gender and gender composition does not moderate these findings, suggesting that mentoring is equally effective for all faculty.
Preventing Diabetes in Women with Gestational Diabetes Through the looking glass : gestational diabetes as a predictor of maternal and offspring long-term health

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is gaining in importance as a predictor of future health risks for women and their offspring. In women, it is associated with increased long-term risks of diabetes, metabolic syndrome and increased cardiovascular disorders. For offspring of mothers with GDM, risks of GDM include abnormal glucose tolerance, obesity and metabolic syndrome. This review presents the evidence for GDM as a predictor of long-term health risks for mothers and their offspring. We highlight GDM as an opportune time to screen for and possibly intervene to prevent adverse health outcomes for both women and their offspring. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pilot clinical trial of localized concurrent chemoradiation therapy for locally advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein thrombosis

Patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) have a particularly grave prognosis. In the current study, an attempt was made to localize chemoradiation therapy (CCRT) followed by hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) in patients with locally advanced HCC with PVT and good reserve liver function. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of localized CCRT followed by HAIC as a new treatment modality for these patients.
Quantifying the effect of autonomous adaptation to global river flood projections: application to future flood risk assessments

This study represents the first attempt to quantify the effects of autonomous adaptation on the projection of global flood hazards and to assess future flood risk by including this effect. A vulnerability scenario, which varies according to the autonomous adaptation effect for conventional disaster mitigation efforts, was developed based on historical vulnerability values derived from flood damage records and a river inundation simulation. Coupled with general circulation model outputs and future socioeconomic scenarios, potential future flood fatalities and economic loss were estimated. By including the effect of autonomous adaptation, our multimodel ensemble estimates projected a 2.0% decrease in potential flood fatalities and an 821% increase in potential economic losses by 2100 under the highest emission scenario together with a large population increase. Vulnerability changes reduced potential flood consequences by 64%–72% in terms of potential fatalities and 28%–42% in terms of potential economic losses by 2100. Although socioeconomic changes made the greatest contribution to the potential increased consequences of future floods, about a half of the increase of potential economic losses was mitigated by autonomous adaptation. There is a clear and positive relationship between the global temperature increase from the pre-industrial level and the estimated mean potential flood economic loss, while there is a negative relationship with potential fatalities due to the autonomous adaptation effect. A bootstrapping analysis suggests a significant increase in potential flood fatalities (+5.7%) without any adaptation if the temperature increases by 1.5 °C–2.0 °C, whereas the increase in potential economic loss (+0.9%) was not significant. Our method enables the effects of autonomous adaptation and additional adaptation efforts on climate-induced hazards to be distinguished, which would be essential for the accurate estimation of the cost of adaptation to climate change.
Multicentre phase II study of the baseline BEACOPP regimen for patients with advanced-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma

A German Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) study group designed the BEACOPP (bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, prednisolone) regimen. In the BEACOPP regimen, treatment intervals were shortened and the dose-intensity was increased compared with those in the ABVD regimen (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine and darcarbacine), resulting in a long-term disease-free survival rate of approximately 75 – 80%. In the present study, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of the BEACOPP regimen. Between April 2001 and February 2004, 20 patients with HL of stage IIB or higher who had received no previous treatment were enrolled. The patients were aged 17 – 69 years (median 22 years). The histologic types were mixed cellularity in four cases and nodular sclerosis in 16 cases. The stages were stage IIB in four cases, stage III in 12 cases, and stage IV in four cases. Nineteen (95%) of the 20 patients achieved complete remission. The 3-year survival rate was 100% and the 3-year progression-free survival rate was 89.7%. Adverse drug reactions were grade 4 neutropenia in 12 patients, grade 3 – 4 thrombocytopenia in seven patients, and grade 3 or higher non-hematologic toxicities in two patients (stomatitis in one patient and ALT/AST elevation in one patient). The BEACOPP regimen for advanced-stage HL showed an excellent complete remission rate and high efficacy even in stage III/IV patients. However, a long-term risk of the BEACOPP regimen is the development of secondary leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome. Therefore, long-term follow-up of these patients, including monitoring for toxicities, is necessary.
The Neoliberalization of Latino Men and Boys: Power and Resistance in a School-based Mentorship Program

Author(s): Singh, Michael V. | Abstract: A growing number of school district and community programs are seeking to remedy the achievement gap experienced by Latino boys through Latino male mentorship programs. Indicative of neoliberal shifts in Latinx education, these programs often involve public-private partnerships and assume a damaged Latino boy in need of technocratic and innovative solutions, rather than structural changes. Through an ethnographic case study of one Latino male mentorship program in an urban school district in California, this study explores the ways the administrative power of Latino male programming constructs the ideal Latino male subject through neoliberal values of individualism, excellence and earning potential, and pushes boys to be the future hetero-patriarchs of their community. Furthermore, based on in-depth interviews with the mentors and boys of the program, as well as one year of participant observations, this paper uncovers the ways these discourses are lived, embodied, and/or resisted in the classroom among boys and mentors.
Two Essays in Economics and Finance

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Cell-autonomous FGF signaling regulates anteroposterior patterning and neuronal differentiation in the mesodiencephalic dopaminergic progenitor domain

The structure and projection patterns of adult mesodiencephalic dopaminergic (DA) neurons are one of the best characterized systems in the vertebrate brain. However, the early organization and development of these nuclei remain poorly understood. The induction of midbrain DA neurons requires sonic hedgehog (Shh) from the floor plate and fibroblast growth factor 8 (FGF8) from the isthmic organizer, but the way in which FGF8 regulates DA neuron development is unclear. We show that, during early embryogenesis, mesodiencephalic neurons consist of two distinct populations: a diencephalic domain, which is probably independent of isthmic FGFs; and a midbrain domain, which is dependent on FGFs. Within these domains, DA progenitors and precursors use partly different genetic programs. Furthermore, the diencephalic DA domain forms a distinct cell population, which also contains non-DA Pou4f1+ cells. FGF signaling operates in proliferative midbrain DA progenitors, but is absent in postmitotic DA precursors. The loss of FGFR1/2-mediated signaling results in a maturation failure of the midbrain DA neurons and altered patterning of the midbrain floor. In FGFR mutants, the DA domain adopts characteristics that are typical for embryonic diencephalon, including the presence of Pou4f1+ cells among TH+ cells, and downregulation of genes typical of midbrain DA precursors. Finally, analyses of chimeric embryos indicate that FGF signaling regulates the development of the ventral midbrain cell autonomously.
Association between the soluble epoxide hydrolase gene and preeclampsia

ABSTRACT Objective: In this study the association between K55R polymorphism, methylation level of the EPHX2 promoter region, and PE was investigated in 520 individuals including 260 PE patients and 260 healthy pregnant women. Methods: K55R polymorphism and methylation level of the EPHX2 promoter were determined by the real-time PCR using double-dye hydrolysis probes and methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting analysis, respectively. Results: The presence of the K55R polymorphism was significantly higher in cases (28.1%) than controls (17.3%), and was associated with increased risk of PE (OR: 1.86; 95% CI: 1.09–2.63). Methylation levels of the EPHX2 promoter region in cases were significantly lower than controls. A 2.83 times increased PE risk was observed in pregnant women with EPHX2 promoter methylation levels of <25% (OR: 2.83; 95% CI: 1.15–6.91). Conclusion: In conclusion, hypomethylation of the promoter region of EPHX2 and K55R polymorphism were associated with significant increased risk of PE. sEH enzyme may play a role in the pathogenesis of PE by contributing to reduction of the vasodilatator, anti-hypertensive, and anti-inflammatory effects of EETs by rapid degradation of these molecules.
Reverse-Polynomial Dilution Calibration Methodology Extends Lower Limit of Quantification and Reduces Relative Residual Error in Targeted Peptide Measurements in Blood Plasma*

Matrix effect is the alteration of an analyte's concentration-signal response caused by co-existing ion components. With electrospray ionization (ESI), matrix effects are believed to be a function of the relative concentrations, ionization efficiency, and solvation energies of the analytes within the electrospray ionization droplet. For biological matrices such as plasma, the interactions between droplet components is immensely complex and the effect on analyte signal response not well elucidated. This study comprised of three sequential quantitative analyses: we investigated whether there is a generalizable correlation between the range of unique ions in a sample matrix (complexity); the amount of matrix components (concentration); and matrix effect, by comparing an E. coli digest matrix (∼2600 protein proteome) with phospholipid depleted human blood plasma, and unfractionated, nondepleted human plasma matrices (∼107 proteome) for six human plasma peptide multiple reaction monitoring assays. Our data set demonstrated analyte-specific interactions with matrix complexity and concentration properties resulting in significant ion suppression for all peptides (p < 0.01), with nonuniform effects on the ion signals of the analytes and their stable-isotope analogs. These matrix effects were then assessed for translation into relative residual error and precision effects in a low concentration (∼0–250 ng/ml) range across no-matrix, complex matrix, and highly complex matrix, when a standard addition stable isotope dilution calibration method was used. Relative residual error (%) and precision (CV%) by stable isotope dilution were within <20%; however, error in phospholipid-depleted and nondepleted plasma matrices were significantly higher compared with no-matrix (p = 0.006). Finally a novel reverse-polynomial dilution calibration method with and without phospholipid-depletion was compared with stable isotope dilution for relative residual error and precision. Reverse-polynomial dilution techniques extend the Lower Limit of Quantification and reduce error (p = 0.005) in low-concentration plasma peptide assays and is broadly applicable for verification phase Tier 2 multiplexed multiple reaction monitoring assay development within the FDA-National Cancer Institute (NCI) biomarker development pipeline.
Genetic Variation of a DRD2 Co‐expression Network is Associated with Changes in Prefrontal Function After D2 Receptors Stimulation

&NA; Dopamine D2 receptors (D2Rs) contribute to the inverted U‐shaped relationship between dopamine signaling and prefrontal function. Genetic networks from post‐mortem human brain revealed 84 partner genes co‐expressed with DRD2. Moreover, eight functional single nucleotide polymorphisms combined into a polygenic co‐expression index (PCI) predicted co‐expression of this DRD2 network and were associated with prefrontal function in humans. Here, we investigated the non‐linear association of the PCI with behavioral and Working Memory (WM) related brain response to pharmacological D2Rs stimulation. Fifty healthy volunteers took part in a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, functional MRI (fMRI) study with bromocriptine and performed the N‐Back task. The PCI by drug interaction was significant on both WM behavioral scores (P = 0.046) and related prefrontal activity (all corrected P < 0.05) using a polynomial PCI model. Non‐linear responses under placebo were reversed by bromocriptine administration. fMRI results on placebo were replicated in an independent sample of 50 participants who did not receive drug administration (P = 0.034). These results match earlier evidence in non‐human primates and confirm the physiological relevance of this DRD2 co‐expression network. Results show that in healthy subjects, different alleles evaluated as an ensemble are associated with non‐linear prefrontal responses. Therefore, brain response to a dopaminergic drug may depend on a complex system of allelic patterns associated with DRD2 co‐expression.