Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Formulation and Evaluation of Liquisolid Compacts of Carvedilol

The purpose of this study is to develop a novel liquisolid technique to enhance the dissolution rate of poorly water soluble drug Carvedilol, a BCS class II drug, which is a β-blocker, by using different excipients. The main components of a liquisolid system are a non volatile solvent, carrier and coating materials and a disintegrant. Liquisolid system refers to the formulations that are formed by conversion of liquid drugs, drug suspensions or drug solution in non-volatile solvents into dry, non adherent, free flowing and compressible powder mixture by blending with suitable carrier and coating materials. Hence the dissolution step, a pre- requisite for drug absorption, is by passed and better bioavailability of poorly soluble drug is achieved. Liquisolid tablets of carvedilol are prepared by using PEG, PG, glycerine as non volatile liquid vehicles and Avicel PH 101 and 102, Aerosil as carrier and coating materials respectively. Optimized formulation containing 20% drug in PEG 400, with Avicel 101 as carrier and Aerosil as coating material has shown 98.4% drug release within 20 min which is better than marketed product (CARCA 12.5mg, Intas). The DSC and X-RD studies are performed to investigate the physicochemical properties of formulation and drug excipient interactions. The results are found to be satisfactory.
The Predictability of International Real Estate Markets, Exchange Rate Risks and Diversification Consequences

We investigate whether international real estate related securities offer any incremental diversification benefits over foreign stocks using mean-variance analysis together with a multifactor latent variable model. The study finds that diversification benefits are primarily driven by unanticipated returns which in turn are partly driven by changes in exchange rate risk. Although exchange rate risk accounts for a larger portion of the return fluctuation in real estate related securities relative to common stocks, international real estate securities are found to provide some incremental diversification benefits over common stocks even if currency risks are hedged.
Weak T -transitivity and weak closures of interval-valued fuzzy relations

In this paper a new weak transitive property for interval-valued fuzzy relations (IVFRs) is introduced. Weak T -transitivity is equivalent to T -transitivity when the IVFR is a fuzzy relation and T = (T, T) for a triangular norm T. Otherwise it is a weaker property than T -transitive one relaxing the need that all intervals must be comparable and must satisfy all the transitive inequalities by just the need of not having comparable non T -transitive cycles. This paper also defines a weak concept of closure, and it is proved that it exists is just one T -transitive and weak T -transitive closure, it does not exists a T -transitive weak closure, but there are many weak T -transitive weak closures of an IVFRs.
Agriculture, Gendered Time Use, and Nutritional Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Existing reviews on agriculture and nutrition consider limited evidence and focus on impact size, rather than impact pathway. This review overcomes the limitations of previous studies by considering a larger evidence base and exploring time as one of the agriculture-nutrition pathways. Agricultural development plays a role in improving nutrition. However, agricultural practices and interventions determine the amount of time dedicated to agricultural and domestic work. Time spent in agricultureâ€”especially by womenâ€”competes with time needed for resting, childcare, and food preparation and can have unintended negative consequences for nutrition.
Synergistic Effects of HIV Infection and Older Age on Daily Functioning

Objective:To determine whether HIV infection and aging act synergistically to disrupt everyday functioning. Design:Cross-sectional factorial study of everyday functioning in the context of HIV serostatus and age (⩽40 years vs. ≥50 years). Methods:One hundred three HIV+ and 87 HIV− participants were administered several measures of everyday functioning, including self-report indices of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and instrumental and basic activities of daily living (IADLs and BADLs), and objective measures of functioning, including employment and Karnofsky Performance Scale ratings. Results:Significant interaction effects of HIV and aging were observed for IADL and BADL declines, and for Karnofsky Performance Scale ratings (Ps < 0.05), independent of potentially confounding factors. Follow-up contrasts revealed significantly worse functioning in the older HIV+ group for most functional outcome measures relative to the other study groups (Ps < 0.05). A significant interaction effect was also observed on the emotional functioning HRQoL subscale, and additive effects of both age and HIV were observed for the physical functioning and general health perceptions HRQoL subscales (Ps < 0.05). Significant predictors of poorer functioning in the older HIV+ group included current major depressive disorder for all outcomes, and comorbid medical conditions, lower estimated premorbid functioning, neurocognitive impairment, and nadir CD4 count for selected outcomes. Conclusion:Findings suggest that older age may exacerbate the adverse effects of HIV on daily functioning, which highlights the importance of evaluating and monitoring the functional status of older HIV-infected adults. Early detection of functional difficulties could facilitate delivery of compensatory strategies (eg, cognitive remediation) or assistive services.
Strategic transfer pricing, absorption costing, and observability

This paper analyses the use of transfer pricing as a strategic device in divisionalized firms facing duopolistic price competition. When transfer prices are observable, both firms’ headquarters will charge a transfer price above the marginal cost of the intermediate product to induce their marketing managers to behave as softer competitors in the final product market. When transfer prices are not observable, strategic transfer pricing is not an equilibrium and the optimal transfer price equals the marginal cost of the intermediate product. As a strategic alternative, however, the firms can signal the use of transfer prices above marginal cost to their competitors by a publicly observable commitment to an absorption costing system. The paper identifies conditions under which the choice of absorption costing is a dominant strategy equilibrium.
Desensitization of histamine H1 receptor‐mediated inositol phosphate accumulation in guinea pig cerebral cortex slices

1 Histamine stimulated the production of [3H]‐inositol phosphates in untreated (control) guinea‐pig cerebral cortex slices with a best‐fit EC50 of 17 ± 4 μm, and a best‐fit maximum response of 385 ± 23% over basal accumulation. 2 Histamine pretreatment desensitized guinea‐pig cortex slices to a subsequent challenge with histamine, which was observed as a reduction in the best‐fit maximum response to 182 ± 32% over basal accumulation. 3 The time‐course for the histamine‐induced production of [3H]‐inositol phosphates was approximately linear over 90 min of stimulation in both control and histamine pretreated slices. The rate of production in pretreated slices was significantly slowed compared to control, such that by 90 min of histamine stimulation the desensitized slices produced 2.8 times the basal [3H]‐inositol phosphate accumulation compared to 5.3 fold the basal [3H]‐inositol phosphate accumulation in the control slices. 4 Displacement of [3H]‐mepyramine binding to homogenates of guinea‐pig cerebral cortex by mepyramine and histamine revealed that histamine pretreatment did not alter the apparent affinity of the H1 receptor for histamine (control Kd = 6.3 ± 0.7 μm, desensitized Kd = 7.9 ± 1.6 μm) or mepyramine (control Kd = 3.4 ± 0.8 nm, desensitized Kd = 3.4 ± 1.3 nm), nor was there any reduction in the calculated maximum number of [3H]‐mepyramine binding sites (control Bmax = 192 ± 31 fmol mg−1 protein, desensitized Bmax = 220 ± 50 fmol mg−1 protein). 5 The histamine‐mediated desensitization of response in guinea‐pig slices was mediated by the H1 receptor subtype, since the attentuated maximum histamine‐stimulated [3H]‐inositol phosphate accumulation could not be prevented by inclusion of an H2‐ (ranitidine) and an H3‐ (thioperamide) receptor antagonist during the pretreatment period. 6 The desensitized histamine‐stimulated [3H]‐inositol phosphate accumulation recovered to 90% of control levels over a period of 150 min after the removal of the conditioning dose of histamine, with a half‐time of recovery of about 95 min.
The Production and Use of Knowledge in Regulatory Impact Assessment - An Empirical Analysis

Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) - understood as the formalised analytical activities initiated or carried out by central government administrations when designing specific policy instruments - is currently receiving high levels of political attention. It is seen as a tool to improve regulatory quality and to promote cross-cutting objectives such as sustainable development. Often conceived as an economic analysis of costs and benefits, RIA tends to be depicted as 'neutral' assessment process that informs decision makers about 'facts'. This does not explain, of course, why RIA often becomes an arena for political conflict involving both government departments and stakeholders. Based on empirical research on the design and practical application of RIA across the European Union, this paper explores the relationship between RIA, policy-making and politics. The aim is to shed light on what knowledge is produced, how it is used by different actors and what role it plays in decision-making. Based on this analysis, we explore to what extent and under what conditions RIA can serve as a tool for more evidence-based and sustainability-oriented policy-making processes.
'Staying Within the Fence': Lifestyle Entrepreneurship in Tourism

Lifestyle, non-economic motives have been recognised as significant stimuli for tourism entrepreneurship and growth of the small-business sector. Tourism research, to date, has focused on the conceptualisation of entrepreneurship informed largely by economic analysis. In this context, the long-term survival of lifestyle entrepreneurs in tourism has been addressed as a constraint within regional economic development. Our research of an emerging cohort of lifestyle entrepreneurs in New Zealand tourism, focusing on the motivating values of these entrepreneurs, reveals that their often conscious rejection of economic and business growth opportunities is an expression of their sociopolitical ideology. Coincidentally, this rejection of an overtly profit-driven orientation does not necessarily result in financial suicide or developmental stagnation but rather provides opportunities to engage with 'niche' market consumers informed by values common to themselves within rapidly segmenting markets. Moreover, the research indicates that these lifestyle entrepreneurs are often instrumental in the creation and introduction of innovative products to the wider industry which are not only capable of articulating values common to the sustainability debate with respect to a sense of place and community, but also stimulate regional development and reproduction of niche market products.
Vitamin C improves endothelial dysfunction of epicardial coronary arteries in hypertensive patients.

BACKGROUND There is evidence for increased formation of free radicals in patients with hypertension, raising the possibility that NO is inactivated by free radicals, which impairs coronary endothelial function. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that the antioxidant vitamin C could improve abnormal endothelial function of coronary arteries in patients with hypertension. METHODS AND RESULTS In 22 hypertensive patients without relevant coronary artery stenoses, endothelium-dependent vascular responses of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) to acetylcholine (0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 micromol/L) were determined before and immediately after intravenous infusion of 3 g vitamin C (17 patients) or placebo (5 patients). In a subgroup of 10 patients, papaverine-induced flow-dependent vasodilation (FDD) was measured before and after vitamin C (5 patients) or placebo (5 patients) infusion. Segmental responses of the coronary artery luminal area were analyzed with quantitative coronary angiography. Before vitamin C infusion, the mean changes of LAD luminal areas at increasing doses of acetylcholine were -6.1+/-2.2%, -15.2+/-4.9%, and -33.9+/-8.1% (negative numbers symbolize vasoconstriction) and during FDD, 5.4+/-1.0%. The vasoconstrictor response during acetylcholine was reduced and FDD was augmented by vitamin C. After vitamin C infusion, LAD luminal areas changed by -3.2+/-2.3%, -5.8+/-3.6%, and -10.2+/-5.6% (P<.05, acetylcholine) and 17.8+/-2.8% (P<.05, FDD). Doppler flow velocity (during baseline, acetylcholine, and FDD) was not significantly affected by vitamin C. CONCLUSIONS Vitamin C improves the endothelium-dependent vasomotor capacity of coronary arteries in patients with hypertension and patent coronary arteries. These findings suggest that increased oxidative stress contributes to endothelial dysfunction in hypertensive patients.
Rotor Eddy Current Loss Calculation and Thermal Analysis of Permanent Magnet Motor and Generator

In this paper, two identical surface-mounted permanent magnet machines are analyzed, with particular reference to rotor eddy current loss, when they are back-to-back connected and used as a motor and a generator, respectively, the motor being driven by pulsewidth modulation (PWM) inverters and the generator being connected to the 3-phase resistance load. Losses in both motor and generator under three different DC supply voltages and PWM duty ratios, including the eddy current losses in sleeves and magnets, and the iron losses, are predicted using finite element analysis. Thermal fields are analyzed using analytical lumped-circuit method based on the obtained losses. Predicted temperature rises of machines are compared with measured results and good agreement is achieved. The analysis reveals that the mmf time harmonics due to nonsinusoidal phase current and PWM carrier harmonics induce significant eddy current losses in magnets and sleeve of the motor, causing very large difference in temperature rises of the motor and generator. It is also found that the difference becomes more significant with the decrease of PWM duty ratio and increased DC supply voltage.
Financial Development and Poverty Alleviation: Issues and Policy Implications for Developing and Transition Countries

This paper reviews current thinking on the relationship between financial development and poverty alleviation - a subject that has grown increasingly important in the policy prescriptions of the IMF and other international financial institutions in recent years. Although work on this issue is far from over, some important lessons can be learned from the existing evidence. The paper reflects on these lessons and looks at some of the policy implications of the analysis.
Strategic Management in Hybrid Organizations

Many public service organizations have to deal with rapidly changing environments. Government offers less financial security than in the past and stimulates organizations to develop a market orientation. The focus of this article is explaining the shape of strategic management in public service organizations that have merely a public orientation (task organizations) and organizations that combine a public orientation with a market orientation (hybrid organizations). On the basis of four case studies it is concluded that task organizations also move in the direction of hybrid organizations. Strategic management in hybrid public service organizations is a dynamic process in which changing the organization context, i.e. metagovernance, seems to be the predominating dimension of strategic management.
China's image on international English language social media

Abstract This study analyses the image of China as it is represented on international English-language social media. A content analysis was performed on items collected from Wordpress, Technorati, Digg, Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Topix, NowPublic and CNN iReport sources. The analysis finds that international English-language social media presents a more neutral and diverse China in terms of economy, culture and technology than does the international mainstream media. Social media depicts China as a rising economic power whereas constructs such as ‘Fascinating China’ and ‘Innovative China’ represent the country's cultural and technological image. However, the analysis also finds that international social media uncritically repeats stereotyped Chinese social, political, religious and ethnic images it captures from the international mainstream media.
Coordinate Synthesis but Discrete Localization of Homologous N‐Glycosylated Proteins, CLP and CLB, in Naegleria pringsheimi Flagellates

The synchronous amoebae‐to‐flagellates differentiation of Naegleria pringsheimi has been used as a model system to study the formation of eukaryotic flagella. We cloned two novel genes, Clp, Class I on plasma membrane and Clb, Class I at basal bodies, which are transiently expressed during differentiation and characterized their respective protein products. CLP (2,087 amino acids) and CLB (1,952 amino acids) have 82.9% identity in their amino acid sequences and are heavily N‐glycosylated, leading to an ~ 100 × 103 increase in the relative molecular mass of the native proteins. In spite of these similarities, CLP and CLB were localized to distinct regions: CLP was present on the outer surface of the plasma membrane, whereas CLB was concentrated at a site where the basal bodies are assembled and remained associated with the basal bodies. Oryzalin, a microtubule toxin, inhibited the appearance of CLP on the plasma membrane, but had no effect on the concentration of CLB at its target site. These data suggest that N. pringsheimi uses separate mechanisms to transport CLP and CLB to the plasma membrane and to the site of basal body assembly, respectively.
Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in lymphoproliferative diseases other than B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and in myeloproliferative diseases: an Italian Multi-Center case-control study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is associated with type II mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC), a lymphoproliferative disorder which, in some patients, evolves into overt B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (B-NHL). Recently, also the association between HCV infection and B-NHL, which had long been controversial, was confirmed in a large case-control study. Little knowledge is, however, available on possible associations between HCV infection and other lymphoid or myeloid malignancies. The present study was set up in order to investigate this aspect. DESIGN AND METHODS The study was conducted in hematology departments of ten hospitals in different Italian cities. The cases consisted of consecutive patients with a new diagnosis of T-NHL, Hodgkin's disease (HD), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), multiple myeloma (MM), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The controls were patients in other departments of the same hospitals. HCV infection was investigated by testing for HCV antibodies and HCV-RNA in serum samples. RESULTS The prevalence of HCV infection was not higher in patients with HD (3.2%, 5 out of 157 cases) or MM (4.7%, 5 out of 107) than in controls. On the other hand, it was consistently higher in T-NHL (13.8%, 4 out of 30), CLL (9.0%, 9 out of 100), ALL (7.6%, 5 out of 54), AML (7.9%, 11 out of 140), and CML (12.2%, 6 out of 49) patients. These patient groups were not, however, large enough to render statistically significant results. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that HCV infection may be associated not only with B-NHL but also with some other lymphoid and myeloid malignancies.
The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Non-Oil Operations of Ports in Iran

It is generally accepted that the recent economic crisis of 2007-2010 has caused widespread economic recession in different countries. Since the ports and coastal regions are of great importance to economic infrastructure, this study examined the possible impact resulting from such a global economic crisis on the ports in Iran. First, the annual number of berthing vessels of gross tonnage over a thousand tons as well as loading and unloading of non-oil cargoes and containers were extracted from statistical reports of Ports and Maritime Organization. Then an attempt was made to predict the amount of expected non-oil operation by the advanced quantitative statistical methods in Iran's ports. According to the results obtained from comparing predicted and actual statistics, these ports have been affected by the current economic crisis, but after one-year delay.
Intellectual capital and financial performance of companies listed in the Tehran stock exchange

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between the IC of firms and their financial performance. This paper uses the Pulic framework, has a Middle-East focus and draws on data from 146 publicly listed companies on the TSE. It is an empirical study using multiple regression for the data analysis. This paper tests four elements of IC and company performance. The findings show that IC and company performance are positively related; IC is correlated to future company performance; the rate of growth of a company's IC is positively related to the company's performance; and the contribution of IC to company performance differs by industry. The data sample used for this research is restricted to 146 companies listed on the TSE between the years 2004 and 2008. IC is an area of interest to numerous parties, including shareholders, institutional investors, scholars, policymakers and managers. This paper provides additional empirical evidence of the contribution of IC to companies' performance in Iran.
Outward Investments and Productivity: Evidence from European Regions

Castellani D. and Pieri F. Outward investments and productivity: evidence from European regions, Regional Studies. Using a novel data set on international investment projects, this paper builds measures of outward foreign direct investments (FDIs) for 262 regions of the European Union. This allows as estimation to be made of regressions of productivity growth over the 2007–11 period as a function of the number of FDIs. The number of outward FDIs in manufacturing activities is negatively associated with productivity growth in the home region, but investments in sales, distribution and marketing are associated with a boost in local productivity. This is driven especially by investments towards non-European Union locations. This evidence qualifies the fear of hollowing-out as a consequence of outward investments.
Influenza surveillance in animals: what is our capacity to detect emerging influenza viruses with zoonotic potential?

SUMMARY A survey of national animal influenza surveillance programmes was conducted to assess the current capacity to detect influenza viruses with zoonotic potential in animals (i.e. those influenza viruses that can be naturally transmitted between animals and humans) at regional and global levels. Information on 587 animal influenza surveillance system components was collected for 99 countries from Chief Veterinary Officers (CVOs) (n = 94) and published literature. Less than 1% (n = 4) of these components were specifically aimed at detecting influenza viruses with pandemic potential in animals (i.e. those influenza viruses that are capable of causing epidemic spread in human populations over large geographical regions or worldwide), which would have zoonotic potential as a prerequisite. Those countries that sought to detect influenza viruses with pandemic potential searched for such viruses exclusively in domestic pigs. This work shows the global need for increasing surveillance that targets potentially zoonotic influenza viruses in relevant animal species.