Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mesoporous-silica nano-channels integrated in micro-fluidic chip for fast liquid micro-extraction of pesticide residual

The paper reports a micro-chip with nano-pore channels integrated in a micro-channel as reservoir for quickly extracting analyt from aqueous solution to water-soluble organic solvents. Using this novel technology, trace-level residual of organophosphorus pesticide in water-solution can be micro-extracted to a common organic-solvent (e.g., ethanol) for subsequent analysis by GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry).
Rhetoric in Democracy: A Systemic Appreciation

Developments in the democratic theory of representation and deliberation enable renewed consideration of the ancient controversy over the proper place of rhetoric in politics. Rhetoric facilitates the making and hearing of representation claims spanning subjects and audiences divided in their commitments and dispositions. Deliberative democracy requires a deliberative system with multiple components whose linkage often needs rhetoric. Appreciation of these aspects of democracy exposes the limitations of categorical tests for the admissibility of particular sorts of rhetoric. Prioritization of bridging over bonding rhetoric is a step in the right direction, while sometimes producing misleading results. A better systemic test asks whether or not rhetoric promotes an effective deliberative system linking competent and reflective actors.
Automated Perfusion Imaging for the Evaluation of Transient Ischemic Attack

Background and Purpose— Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is recommended for the evaluation of transient ischemic attack. Perfusion imaging can increase the yield of MRI in transient ischemic attack. We evaluated automated bolus perfusion (the time when the residue function reaches its maximum [TMax] and mean transit time [MTT]) and arterial spin labeling (ASL) sequences for the detection of ischemic lesions in patients with transient ischemic attack. Methods— We enrolled consecutive patients evaluated for suspicion of acute transient ischemic attack by multimodal MRI within 36 hours of symptom onset. Two independent raters assessed the presence and location of ischemic lesions blinded to the clinical presentation. The prevalence of ischemic lesions and the interrater agreement were1410 assessed. Results— From January 2010 to 2011, 93 patients were enrolled and 90 underwent perfusion imaging (69 bolus perfusion and 76 ASL). Overall, 25 of 93 patients (27%) were DWI-positive and 14 (15%) were perfusion-positive but DWI-negative (ASL n=9; TMax n=9; MTT n=2). MTT revealed an ischemic lesion in fewer patients than TMax (7 versus 20, P=0.004). Raters agreed on 89% of diffusion-weighted imaging cases, 89% of TMax, 87% o10f010 MTT, and 90% of ASL cases. The interrater agreement was good for DWI, TMax, and ASL (&kgr;=0.73, 0.72, and 0.74, respectively) and fair for MTT (&kgr;=0.43). Diffusion and/or perfusion were positive in 39 of 69 (57%) patients with a discharge diagnosis of possible ischemic event. Conclusions— Our results suggest that in patients referred for suspicion of transient ischemic attack, automated TMax is more sensitive than MTT, and both ASL and TMax increase the yield of MRI for the detection of ischemic lesions.
Evolution of Yeast Consortia during the Fermentation of Kalamata Natural Black Olives upon Two Initial Acidification Treatments

The objective of this study was to elucidate the yeast consortia structure and dynamics during Greek-style processing of Kalamata natural black olives in different brine solutions. Olives were subjected to spontaneous fermentation in 7% (w/v) NaCl brine solution (control treatment) or brine acidified with (a) 0.5% (v/v) vinegar, and (b) 0.1% (v/v) lactic acid at the onset of fermentation. Changes in microbial counts, pH, acidity, organic acids, sugars, and alcohols were analyzed for a period of 187 days. Yeast consortia diversity was evaluated at days 4, 34, 90, 140, and 187 of fermentation. A total of 260 isolates were characterized at sub-species level by rep-PCR genomic fingerprinting with the oligo-nucleotide primer (GTG)5. The characterization of yeast isolates at species level was performed by sequencing of the D1/D2 domain of 26S rRNA gene. Results showed that yeasts dominated the process presenting a relatively broad range of biodiversity composed of 11 genera and 21 species. No lactic acid bacteria (LAB) or Enterobacteriaceae could be enumerated after 20 and 10 days of fermentation, respectively. The dominant yeast species at the beginning were Aureobasidium pullulans for control and vinegar acidification treatments, and Candida naeodendra for lactic acid treatment. Between 34 and 140 days the dominant species were Candida boidinii, Candida molendinolei and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the end of fermentation the dominant species in all processes were C. boidinii and C. molendinolei, followed by Pichia manshurica and S. cerevisiae in lactic acid acidification treatment, P. manshurica in vinegar acidification treatment, and Pichia membranifaciens in control fermentation.
Integrating cell biology, image analysis, and computational mechanical modeling to analyze the contributions of cellulose and xyloglucan to stomatal function

ABSTRACT Cell walls are likely to be essential determinants of the amazing strength and flexibility of the guard cells that surround each stomatal pore in plants, but surprisingly little is known about cell wall composition, organization, and dynamics in guard cells. Recent analyses of cell wall organization and stomatal function in the guard cells of Arabidopsis thaliana mutants with defects in cellulose and xyloglucan have allowed for the development of new hypotheses about the relative contributions of these components to guard cell function. Advanced image analysis methods can allow for the automated detection of key structures, such as microtubules (MTs) and Cellulose Synthesis Complexes (CSCs), in guard cells, to help determine their contributions to stomatal function. A major challenge in the mechanical modeling of dynamic biological structures, such as guard cell walls, is to connect nanoscale features (e.g., wall polymers and their molecular interactions) with cell-scale mechanics; this challenge can be addressed by applying multiscale computational modeling that spans multiple spatial scales and physical attributes for cell walls.
Cross-Cultural Differences in Spatial Abilities and Solution Strategies— An Investigation in Cambodia and Germany

Cultural differences in performance and solution strategies on the Mental Rotations Test (MRT; Peters et al., 1995; Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978) and the Cube Comparison Test (CCT; Amthauer, Brocke, Liepmann, & Beauducel, 2001) were studied in 656 Cambodian and German students. Germans outperformed Cambodians on both the MRT (d = 1.57) and CCT (d = 0.99). The large differences could be explained by Cambodian participants being more prone to analytic strategies, whereas most Germans preferred a holistic strategy. Sex differences on the MRT in favor of males were found in both Cambodia (d = 0.37) and Germany (d = 0.87). On the CCT, sex differences with males outperforming females were only found for the German sample (d = 0.43). In both samples, more females preferred an analytic solution strategy, whereas more males tended to use a holistic strategy. We argue that the huge differences between nations can partly be attributed to differences in the mathematics curriculum.
Innovation Type, Radicalness, and the Adoption Process

Contrary to certain previous assertions that the results of innovation research are inconsistent, a review of studies of the impact of organizational factors on the adoption of innovations along three dimensions (innovation type, innovation radicalness, and stages of adoption) suggests that, when categories within each dimension are distinguished, a considerable agreement in research results is evidenced. Based on an analysis of the interaction among these dimensions, the development of realistic theories of innovation adoption in organizations is possible if future studies: (a) systematically differentiate among the dimensions, (b) recognize differences between types of organizations with respect to innovation, and (c) consider the adoption of innovations within the larger concept of organizational effectiveness or performance.
Results of Immediate Breast Reconstruction After Skin-Sparing Mastectomy

Skin sparing mastectomy (SSM) removes the breast, nipple–areolar complex, previous biopsy incisions, and skin overlying superficial tumors. Preservation of the native skin envelope facilitates immediate breast reconstruction. The procedure has been adopted for the treatment of breast cancer. All cases of SSM and immediate breast reconstruction performed by the senior author (G.W.C.) from January 1, 1993, through December 12, 1997, were reviewed. Patient demographics, cancer staging, treatment, types of surgery performed, and postoperative outcomes were examined. Aesthetic outcomes were measured using four 3-point subscales. A total of 100 patients underwent 118 SSMs during the study period. The American Joint Committee on Cancer staging was as follows: stage 0, 27 patients; stage I, 25 patients; stage II, 39 patients; stage III, 7 patients; stage IV, 3 patients; recurrent, 2 patients; and cystosarcoma phylloides, 1 patient. The mean follow-up was 42.7 months. Local recurrence occurred in 2 patients (2.7%). Reconstructive methods included the transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap (N = 82; pedicled, 73; free, 9), the latissimus flap (N = 18), and tissue expansion (N = 20). Two patients underwent contralateral delayed reconstruction. The aesthetic results achievable with the three methods were similar. The failure rate was higher for expander reconstruction (10%) than those observed for transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (4.9%) and latissimus (5.6%) flaps. SSM can be used in the treatment of invasive breast cancer without compromising local control. The aesthetic results of the three methods were similar, but tissue expander reconstruction had a higher failure rate.
Use of zolpidem 10 mg as a benzodiazepine substitute in 84 patients with insomnia

The antagonistic effects of zolpidem 10 mg on withdrawal symptoms caused by abrupt or gradual discontinuation (half‐dose over 4 nights) of triazolam 0·25 mg in patients with chronic insomnia, who had been receiving regular treatment for over one month, were assessed in a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled clinical trial in general practice. Eighty‐four patients were enrolled, mostly women (67·9%), with a mean age of 54·3±11·0 years. Twenty‐one different general practitioners were solicitated for the recruitment. The subjects were randomized into four groups, and all received triazolam 0·25 mg during the run‐in phase from day 1 (D1) to day 3 (D3). The following treatments were given from D4 to D7: triazolam 0·125 mg+zolpidem 10 mg (Group 1); zolpidem 10 mg (Group 2); placebo (Group 3); or triazolam 0·125 mg+placebo (Group 4). Groups 1 and 2 received zolpidem 10 mg from D7 to D24, while Groups 3 and 4 received placebo. Finally, all four groups received placebo (blind withdrawal phase) from D25 to D28. The following assessment criteria were used: clinical global impression (CGI) scale completed by the practitioner; patient questionnaire based on routine sleep criteria, wakefulness and daytime alertness. Secondary criteria were sleep diaries and visual analogue scales. Study drop‐outs were reported and explained. The effectiveness/tolerance ratio was found to be statistically significant using the CGI (p<0·007) in favour of zolpidem 10 mg. There was no significant difference in patients subjective assessment between the groups except for nightmares (p<0·04) less frequent in patients receiving zolpidem. Zolpidem was found to be more effective than placebo at D21 (CGI) according to sleep diaries; the zolpidem group showed a statistically significant difference as compared to the three other concerning four sleep parameters: number of awakenings, anxiety, sleep duration, energy. Drop‐out rates were significantly lower in the zolpidem group than in other ones (p<0·01). Abrupt and gradual triazolam withdrawal over 4 nights induced withdrawal symptoms. Equally no specific phenomena were observed at the end of the trial during the blind withdrawal phase. This study shows that zolpidem 10 mg improves sleep quality and reduces withdrawal symptoms after abrupt or gradual discontinuation of triazolam 0·25 mg in chronic patients with chronic insomnia. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Challenging science teachers' beliefs and practices through a video-case-based intervention in China's primary schools

The present study aims to challenge primary school science teachers' beliefs about education and teaching efficacy, as well as their teaching practices, through a video-case-based intervention programme in a Chinese educational setting. A total of 46 in-service teachers were involved in this study (experimental group = 23, control group = 23). Pre- and post-intervention surveys were administered to examine possible changes in the participants' beliefs about education and science teaching efficacy. Video data were gathered through classroom observations of 9 participants from the experimental group and 9 participants from the control group. The results of one-way analysis of covariance indicate that the reported post-intervention beliefs of teachers who participated in the programme differed significantly from their pre-intervention beliefs. More specifically, teachers in the experimental groups reported fewer traditional and more constructivist beliefs after the intervention, as well as stronger personal science teaching efficacy beliefs. One exception included beliefs about science teaching outcome expectancy. The video data showed that teaching practices became more constructivist in terms of both practical activities and student ICT use.
The Performance Impacts of Quick Response and Strategic Alignment in Specialty Retailing

The Quick Response (QR) program is a hierarchical suite of information technologies (IT) and applications designed to improve the performance of retailers. Consultants advise retailers to adopt the program wholesale, implying that more and higher levels of technology are better than less technology and lower levels. Academicians, on the other hand, argue that good technology is "appropriate" technology. That is firms should adopt only those technologies that suit the specific strategic directions pursued by the firm. Who is right? Which approach to investing in IT yields better performance results? Surprisingly, this cross-sectional survey of 80 specialty retailers found more support for the practitioners' claims than for the academicians'. Adoption of the QR program at a minimal level was associated with higher performance, although there was no performance impact due to higher levels of QR use. Firms did appear to match their IT usage to their business strategies, but there was no linkage between strategic alignment and firm performance, and there was surprisingly little variation in business or IT strategy. In short, the findings of our study suggest that both practitioners and academicians need to refine their theories and advice about what makes IT investments pay off.
Validity of Beck's Cognitive Theory of Depression With Nonreferred Adolescents

This study investigated the validity of Beck's cognitive theory of depression in a sample of nonreferred adolescents, ages 14 to 18 years. In support of the theory, students' greater levels of depressive symptomatology on the Beck Depression Inventory were found to be most significantly associated with higher scores on both the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and Hopelessness Scale. The results were less consistent with regard to the relationships between the students' levels of depressive symptomatology and their recall of positive and negative self-referent adjectives on an incidental recall task. The implications of the study and directions for future research are discussed.
Understanding and Measuring Evaluation Capacity

This study describes the development and validation of the Evaluation Capacity Assessment Instrument (ECAI), a measure designed to assess evaluation capacity among staff of nonprofit organizations that is based on a synthesis model of evaluation capacity. One hundred and sixty-nine staff of nonprofit organizations completed the ECAI. The 68-item measure assessed participants’ perceptions of individual and organizational predictors of two evaluation capacity outcomes: mainstreaming and use of evaluation findings. Confirmatory Factor Analysis and internal consistency results support the inclusion of the items and factors measured by the ECAI. Moreover, structural equation modeling results support the synthesis model and its depiction of relationships among evaluation capacity predictors and outcomes. We discuss the implications of using a validated model and instrument in evaluation capacity building research and practice.
How Effective Is Branch-Based Combinatorial Testing? An Exploratory Study

Combinatorial testing detects faults by trying different value combinations for program inputs. Traditional combinatorial testing treats programs as black box and focuses on manipulating program inputs (named input-based combinatorial testing or ICT). In this paper, we explore the possibility of conducting combinatorial testing via white-box branch information. Similarly, different combinations of branches taken in an execution are tried to test whether they help detect faults and to what extent. We name this technique branch-based combinatorial testing (BCT). We propose ways to address challenges in realizing BCT, and evaluate BCT with Java programs. The results reported that BCT can effectively detect faults even with low-level combinations, say 3-4 ways, which suggest it to be a strong test adequacy criterion. We also found that our greedy strategy for minimizing test suites reduces over 50% tests for reaching certain way levels, and merging nested branches detects faults more cost-effectively than considering them separately.
Free-choice learning suited to women’s participation needs in environmental decision-making processes

United Nations mandates recognize the need to promote the full participation of women in environmental decision-making processes on the basis of gender equality. But, there remains a profound lack of effective women’s participation in some sectors of environmental decision-making. Free-choice environmental learning offers an effective educational process for encouraging and developing such participation. This study outlines the shifts in and possibilities for women in environmental decision-making processes in and beyond Western and Northern contexts, and proposes free-choice learning as a pathway to furthering women’s participation.
Dragons, spheres, and flashlights: appropriate research approaches for studying workplace spirituality

Transpersonal psychology studies experiences in which one’s sense of identity; stage of development; state of consciousness; and ways of knowing, being, and doing can be expanded beyond those typically considered in conventional psychology. It addresses issues of spirituality, ego‐transcendence, wisdom, psychospiritual growth and development, personal and societal transformation, and wholeness. Its new forms of transpersonal inquiry similarly expand research praxis by extending the types of topics and questions that may be explored; the ways data can be collected, treated, and reported; the disciplines, time‐frames, and experiences that can inform the research project; and the ways the investigator’s own personal and spiritual nature and processes can enhance research. This article addresses ways in which transpersonal inquiry can supplement more established quantitative and qualitative research approaches in exploring workplace spirituality by including spiritually related practices of the researcher in the research enterprise and by its greater emphasis on values and transformation.
Ontology-Driven Sub-Query Extraction for Distributed Autonomous Information Resources in UnIT-Net IEDI

The paper reports on the development of UnIT-Net Infrastructure for Electronic Data Interchange (IEDI). The main task of IEDI is to provide a uniform framework for authorized and secure information retrieval from heterogeneous, distributed, autonomous Information Resources (IRs) among the higher educational establishments and state bodies in Ukraine. The focus of the paper is the algorithm for ontology-driven sub-query extraction. The algorithm performs terminological mapping of an initial query in terms of domain ontology to the set of the sub-queries to different IRs in terms of respective IR ontologies. Mapping procedure is based on the raw mappings knowledge taken from mediator mapping ontology and the so called Late Binding technique for determining concepts. Finally, sub-queries are refined to become correct RDQL queries with respect to the specific IR. This algorithm will be used by IEDI mediator to decompose the user queries. Sub-queries will then be executed by the wrappers of the respective IRs. Initial proof-of-concept evaluation and the semi-formal proofs of ontologydriven sub-query extraction algorithm correctness are provided in the discussion part of the paper.
In vivo reduction of cell‐free methemoglobin to oxyhemoglobin results in vasoconstriction in canines

Cell‐free hemoglobin (Hb) in the vasculature leads to vasoconstriction and injury. Proposed mechanisms have been based on nitric oxide (NO) scavenging by oxyhemoglobin (oxyHb) or processes mediated by oxidative reactions of methemoglobin (metHb). To clarify this, we tested the vascular effect and fate of oxyHb or metHb infusions.
Epidermal Growth Factor (Egf) Concentrations in Amniotic Fluid and Maternal Urine During Pregnancy

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) was measured in amniotic fluid and maternal urine from women undergoing amniocentesis for genetic studies (1 5‐weeks' gestation, n = 36) and lung maturational studies (35–39 weeks' gestation, = 20). Amniotic fluid EGF concentrations (mean ± SD) were higher near term (87 ± 71 pM) than mid‐gestation (35 ± 8 pM) (p < 0.0001 1. Urinary EGF concentrations were higher near mid‐gestation (53.9± 30.8 μg EGF/g creatinine) than near term (33.4f 14.1 μg EGWg creatinine) (p<0.006). There was no correlation between individual amniotic fluid and urinary EGF concentrations. The amniotic fluid EGF concentrations correlated with gestational age. However, there was no relationship between EGF concentrations and pulmonary maturity studies or placental weight from the pregnancies studied near term. We conclude that the concentration of EGF in amniotic fluid increases towards term. The lack of correlation between amniotic fluid and maternal urinary EGF concentrations suggests that there probably is a different source of EGF in the two compartments and that EGF does not cross the placenta to any great extent.