Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IMPROVEMENT OF MICROMERITIC, COMPRESSIBILITY AND SOLUBILITY CHARACTERISTICS OF LINEZOLID BY CRYSTALLO-CO-AGGLOMERATION TECHNIQUE

Objective: The purpose of current study was to improve physicochemical properties such as micrometric, compressibility and solubility of linezolid (LNZ) by preparing crystallo-co-agglomerates (CCA) in the presence of polymer for the enhancement of overall physicochemical performance. Methods: The process of agglomeration involves the use of dichloromethane (DCM) as a good solvent and chloroform as bridging liquid were used to prepare agglomerates. Agglomerates were characterised in the solid state using several techniques such as Scanning electronic microscopy(SEM), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRPD) The agglomerates obtained were evaluated for micrometric, mechanical, deformation, compressibility and drug release properties. Results: It was found that micrometric properties and dissolution characteristics of agglomerates were significantly improved than that of pure linezolid. Solubility was found to be increased than pure linezolid. The solubility of crystallo co-agglomerates was found an increase in 5 fold 3 fold and 3.7 fold for PVPK30 (0.5%), PVPK30 (0.25%) and PVPK30 (0.75%) respectively. The angle of repose for all batches was found between 22 ° to 30 °Carrs index was between 12.27±0.6 to 18.73±0.4 and Hausners ratio Near to 1, indicated good flow ability of agglomerates. The time required for drug release over a period of 60 min, is as LA1>LA2>LA3. LA3 shows fast drug release than LA1 and LA2, due to solubilization of drug due to more concentration of PVPK30 and less concentration of talc. Conclusion: Based on the above results, it was revealed that CCA of linezolid prepared with DCM and HPMC (Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose)/PEG (Polyethylene glycol)/PVP (Polyvinylpyrrolidone) K30 exhibited improved micrometric properties, compressibility and in addition to improving solubility and dissolution rate.
Alginate fibers embedded with silver nanoparticles as efficient catalysts for reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have attracted much attention as promising catalysts in various electron transfer reactions due to their high catalytic efficiency. However, their poor stability results in the decrease of the catalytic efficiency and the poor cycling performance, which have hindered the practical application of AgNPs. In this work, alginate fibers embedded with AgNPs were prepared via in situ reduction of Ag+–alginate fibers in the presence of glucose. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicated that spherical AgNPs dispersed on the surface and the interior of the fibers. The alginate fibers could enable AgNPs to be highly stabilized and thus led to the excellent reusability as heterogeneous catalysts for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) in aqueous media. The catalytic results indicated that 4-NP could be reduced completely within 15 min. Moreover, the catalyst was easily recovered and reused for at least ten cycles in the reduction reactions, confirming its excellent stability. Most importantly, compared to the conventional powdery catalysts, the fiber catalyst could be handled much more conveniently for re-usage owing to its easily separation.
A Scalable Approach to Network Traffic Classification for Computer Network Defense using Parallel Neural Network Classifier Architectures

The ability to recognize network traffics plays an important role in securing modern computer network infrastructures. In this chapter, we propose a machine learning approach that is based on statistical features of communication flow between two end-points. The statistical features are then used to develop and test a Parallel Neural Network Classifier Architecture (PNNCA), which is trained to recognize specific HTTP session patterns in a controlled environment, and then used to classify general traffic. The classifier’s performance and scalability measures have been compared with other neural network based approaches. The classifier’s correct classification rate (CCR) is calculated to be 96%.
Urban Real Estate Prices and Fair Value: The Case for U.S. Metropolitan Areas

Changes in house prices in the long term, compensated for inflation, appear to follow the path of the real growth in the economy. Correlation coefficient for changes in real house prices and the real growth in the economy is 0.58 and that the real growth in the economy explains about 30 percent of the variance in changes in real house prices during 1992-2009. In particular, changes in house prices did not show any significant relationship to changes in stock prices. However, they are both significantly affected by changes in the real growth in the economy. It is further observed that market prices for real estate and common stock do not adjust for unexpected inflation.
In fl uences of Treatment with Amlodipine and Valsartan on Bone Turnover Markers and OPG / RANKL / RANK System in Newly Diagnosed Hypertensive Adults ; Which is more Bene fi cial ?

We aimed to investigate the effects of treatment with amlodipine and valsartan, on markers of bone remodeling in newly diagnosed hypertensive adults. Forty-three subjects with newly diagnosed were included in the study. Patients were also randomly divided into two groups, and each group received monotherapy with amlodipine or valsartan. Blood levels of bone turnover markers and osteoprotegerin (OPG) / receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) / RANK system were measured. Amlodipine reduced sRANKL levels and sRANKL/OPG ratio more than valsartan, and this decrease was statistically signifi cant (p<0.001, p=0.002, respectively). Although blood OPG concentration did not change after treatment in both groups, sRANKL/OPG ratio decreased signifi cantly (p<0.001). Amlodipine also caused some reduction in CTx blood levels compared to valsartan. So we can suggest that amlodipine may be a better option than valsartan in patients with osteoporosis or terms of prevention of bone loss in hypertensive adults.
Response of an archaeal community from anoxic coastal marine sediments to experimental petroleum contamination

To achieve a better understanding of the ecological significance of Archaea in relation to petroleum contamination, we examined the composition of archaeal communities in anoxic coastal marine infralittoral sediments and their response to simulated petroleum contamination. Sediments were collected at an experimental site, and half were mixed with oil. Control and oiled sediments were then reworked into PVC cores that were inserted into the sediment at their sampling site at 20 m water depth. After 503 d of in situ incubation, molecular and statistical analyses clearly showed that petroleum contamination induced significant shifts in the composition of archaeal communities inhabiting these anoxic sediments. Overall, contamination led to a significant decrease in diversity. Control sediments were dominated by Crenarchaeota, whereas in oiled sediments,Euryarchaeota became dominant, as attested by the particular contribution of Methanococcoides, Methanosarcina, and Methanolobus sequences. Methanogens could be indirectly related to the degradation of the added hydrocarbons by participating in syntrophic consortia with hydrocarbon-degrading acetogenic bacteria. In addition, the abundance of anaerobic methane-oxidizing Archaea sequences in oiled sediments could indicate that anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) occurs at the depth selected for the analyses. Further studies undertaken to quantify vertical distribution of AOM, methanogenic activity, and their potential causative Archaea would help to enhance understanding of this complex petroleum-contaminated sedimentary system.
The Eating Attitudes Test and healthy eating : an investigation of the relationships between pathological eating, healthy eating, and normal dieting

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), a measure originally designed to measure pathological eating in the 1970s, is related to healthy eating and/or normal dieting today. This study included the EAT, a measure of healthy/unhealthy eating, a measure of normal dieting, a measure of pathological eating, and a demographics form. These questionnaires were administered to 206 undergraduate women. Results indicated that most factors on the EAT are highly correlated with normal dieting and several factors are correlated with healthy eating. It may be that researchers have been questioning the validity of the EAT because it is measuring normal dieting and, to some extent, healthy eating. Future research should investigate this issue further.
Financial Structure Mix: Effect on Growth and Earning of Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria

The study examined the relationship between growth and earning and financial structure mix of the SMEs vis-avis various government funding schemes. The problem of high entry-exit rate of SMEs in Nigeria remains an issue in point. The study is a descriptive study which made use of structured questionnaire for data collection and percentages and chi-square for analysis purposes. The study revealed that granting pioneering status for tax purpose will go a long way to create a strong earning base for the SMEs. It was also revealed that personal saving is mostly used by the SMEs owner to start the business but it is not better than debt financing (government financing, leasing etc) at growth stage of the SMEs’ life. It was recommended that government policy formulation and implementation in regard to SMEs should have grassroots content. It was also recommended that professionalism should be adopted in financial structure mix and management of the SMEs for increasing earning and growth.
Effects of additives on cordycepin production using a Cordyceps militaris mutant induced by ion beam irradiation

To obtain a sustainable mutant of the medicinal mushroom Cordyceps militaris with a higher cordycepin production, high-energy ion beam irradiation was applied in the present study. Upon successful irradiation by a proton beam, 30 classes of 8-azaadenine and 28 classes of 8-azaaguanine resistant mutants were obtained of which 7 classes (A63-7, A63-8, A81-2, A81-6, G63-8, G81-3, G82-4) were selected as initially promising mutants using their antibacterial ability as an index of cordycepin production. Among these mutants, G81-3 had the highest cordycepin production of 6.84 g/l using optimized conditions compared to that of the control of 2.45 g/l (2.79 times higher). In addition, to explore the influences of different additives on the cordycepin production using the above mutant in a surface liquid culture, adenosine and glycine were used as additives. In the culture medium under the previously optimized conditions for the said mutant, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 g/l adenosine were separately added. These results revealed the highest cordycepin production of 8.57 g/l when using 6 g/l adenosine was 28.10% higher than that of the control (6.69 g/l). This is a highest report of cordycepin production until now. Similarly, the results of other concentrations also superseded the control. The time course of glucose showed that the glucose consumption for the 4 g/l adenosine was the fastest, while that of 10 g/l was the slowest with the longest culture time among all the treatments. For the same purpose, glycine was used with yeast extract in weight percent ratios (yeast extract/glycine) of 40/60, 50/50, 60/40, 70/30, 80/20 and 90/10 under the condition that the total amount of glycine and yeast extract were fixed. Also, the glycine was separately added as 10, 20 and 30 weight percent of yeast extract in the culture medium having the same optimized conditions with a fixed yeast extract concentration. These results showed that the 90/10 ratio had the best cordycepin production of 6.80 g/l that was 12.40% higher versus the control (6.05 g/l). The cordycepin production of the 70/30 and 80/20 weight percent ratios were also higher than that of the control, while the others had a lower cordycepin production compared to that of the control; especially the cordycepin production with the 10, 20 and 30 weight percent yeast extracts inversely decreased in accordance with the used glycine concentration. Regarding the time course, the glucose consumption for the 40/60 weight percent ratio of yeast extract was the fastest, while that of the 30 weight percent was the slowest with the longest culture time among all the treatments. These results suggested that both the ion beam irradiation and additives had active influences on the cordycepin production and that adenosine had a much better influence than that of glycine. It was also evident that a higher concentration of both adenosine and glycine negatively affected the cordycepin production.
Biophysical Mechanism for Neural Spiking Dynamics

In the honey bee antennal lobe, uniglomerular projection neurons (uPNs) transiently spike to odour sensory stimuli with odour-specific response latencies, i.e., delays to first spike after odour stimulation onset. Recent calcium imaging studies show that the spatio-temporal response profile of the activated uPNs are dynamic and changes as a result of associative conditioning, facilitating odour-detection of learned odours. Moreover, odour-representation in the antennal lobe undergo reward-mediated plasticity processes that increase response delay variations in the activated ensemble of uniglomerular projection neurons. Octopamine is necessarily involved in these plasticity processes. Yet, the cellular mechanisms are not well understood. I hypothesize that octopamine modulates cholinergic transmission to uPNs by triggering translation and upregulation of nicotinic receptors, which are more permeable to calcium. Consequently, this increased calcium-influx signals transcription factors that upregulate potassium channels in the dendritic cortex of glomeruli, similar to synaptic plasticity mechanisms recently shown in various insect species. A biophysical model of the antennal lobe circuit is developed in order to test the hypothesis that increased potassium channel expression in uPNs mediate response delays to first spike, dynamically tuning odour-representations to facilitate odour-detection of learned odours.
Detection of Methicillin-resistant and Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus from Employees of a Medical Waste Treatment Plant

Occupation-related risk of exposure to human pathogens is a complex issue that needs careful evaluation to minimize the risk of infection. Handling of medical waste can lead to direct exposure to various pathogens. In some occupations, there is potentially a high risk of infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This study is the first investigation of employees of a medical waste treatment plant for the presence of MRSA. Research was designed to detect and evaluate the carriage of MRSA from all workers (n = 9) of a treatment plant in Rajkot, India. A total of 18 strains of Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from the nasal passages and skin using selective media and variability in the resistance pattern against eight antibiotics (penicillin, ofloxacin erythromycin, cefuroxyme, cephalexin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, amoxicillin and azithromycin) was measured by commercially available Combidisc. Molecular typing of drug resistance strains was done by mecA gene amplification using PCR. Three strains isolated from nostrils (16 %) were resistant to all antibiotics and two strains isolated from skin (11 %) were found to have intermediate levels of resistance. The three resistant strains were further tested against eight additional antibiotics (cephotaxime, ceftriaxone, cefuroxime, ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, gentamycin, lincomycin and tobramycin), revealing resistance against all antibiotics. Phenotypic resistance was supported by PCR amplification of the mecA gene from the three resistant strains. The rate of detection of MRSA reflects the high risk of medical waste plant workers becoming colonized and thus potentially acting as carriers. Thus, these workers may be a previously unrecognized reservoir for community-acquired MRSA.
Wicksell At The Bank Of Canada

Wicksell, writing around the start of the 20th century, outlined an approach to monetary policy strikingly similar to the modern approach, of which the Bank of Canada has been a pioneer. Its features include: the overriding objective of price stability (or low inflation); an interest rate instrument controlled by the rates on settlement balances at the central bank; and a policy rule under which the instrument varies in response to deviations from the objective. Wicksell’s natural rate of interest has resurfaced as the neutral rate in mainstream macroeconomic models; and his description of the inflation process has parallels in the modern Phillips curve. Moreover, in a mandate for price stability, one can find a logical basis for the independence and accountability of central banks. The paper tries to explain why Wicksell’s ideas fell by the wayside for a century, and describes how the Bank of Canada, by pragmatic steps in the 1990s, helped reinvent Wicksell, and install a neo-Wicksellian monetary policy.
SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING CONTINUANCE INTENTION OF PARTICIPANTS USING ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS TO BUY

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of perceived trust (PT), social norm (SN), user satisfaction (US) and perceived behavioural control (PBC) from the perspective of online social networks (OSNs) and how these factors influence continuance intention of OSN particpants who have ever been influenced to buy on this platform to continue buying from OSNs. Online survey was used to collect data from people who have ever used OSNs to buy, at least once. The WarpPLS 4.0 was used to analyse measurement and structural models resulting in significant evidence in support of PT, SN and US as predictors of OSN continuance intention, different from the traditional web-based transactions. For instance, trust in OSN is revealled to be based mainly on the degree of the social relations that users have with their vendors because they are members on the network, on top of their experiences of Web service use. US were influenced by PBC, while US also influenced SN and PT with PT exhibiting a strong relationship with SN. These results have practical implications for individuals desiring to engage in commercial activities on OSNs.
Analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of on-road NO2 concentrations in Hong Kong

Abstract. In this paper we present an investigation of the spatial and temporal variability of street-level concentrations of NO2 in Hong Kong as an example of a densely populated megacity with heavy traffic. For the study we use a combination of open-path remote sensing and in situ measurement techniques that allows us to separate temporal changes and spatial patterns and analyse them separately. Two measurement campaigns have been conducted, one in December 2010 and one in March 2017. Each campaign lasted for a week which allowed us to examine diurnal cycles, weekly patterns as well as spatially resolved long-term changes. We combined a long-path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) instrument with a cavity-enhanced DOAS and applied several normalizations to the data sets in order to make the different measurement routes comparable. For the analysis of long-term changes we used the entire unfiltered data set and for the comparison of spatial patterns we filtered out the accumulation of NO2 when stopping at traffic lights for focusing on the changes of NO2 spatial distribution instead of comparing traffic flow patterns. For the generation of composite maps the diurnal cycle has been normalized by scaling the mobile data with coinciding citywide path-averaged measurement results. An overall descending trend from 2010 to 2017 could be observed, consistent with the observations of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and the Environment Protection Department (EPD) air quality monitoring network data. However, long-term difference maps show pronounced spatial structures with some areas, e.g. around subway stations, revealing an increasing trend. We could also show that the weekend effect, which for the most part of Hong Kong shows reduced NO2 concentrations on Sundays and to a lesser degree on Saturdays, is reversed around shopping malls. Our study shows that spatial differences have to be considered when discussing citywide trends and can be used to put local point measurements into perspective. The resulting data set provides a better insight into on-road NO2 characteristics in Hong Kong, which helps to identify heavily polluted areas and represents a useful database for urban planning and the design of pollution control measures.
Picalilly: sharing photos through locative social media

In this thesis, we present research on locative media. Locative media systems are systems that use automatic reports of the user's geographical location for goals such as wayfinding, augmented reality, creation and sharing of geo-tagged data. For this research, we focus on the last two of these categories. Many di�erent aspects are discussed, from the design to the evaluation of locative media systems. Two prototypes of a location-based mobile photo sharing application called Picalilly were designed, implemented and evaluated to investigate the in uences of locative media on the way people share information with each other. The design rationales of the two prototypes of Picalilly are explained and choices for functionality and layout are clarified. This way it is shown how Picalilly evolved over time. Then we explain the choices made for the research methods that were used during the evaluation of Picalilly. We preferred a longitudinal field study over lab research, in order to fully capture the user experience and give the users enough time to grasp the possibilities of location-based sharing. Interviews and questionnaires are the main types of methods used for gathering data during the evaluation of Picalilly. The AttrakDiff and UTAUT questionnaires are used to capture data about the user experience, usability and acceptance of Picalilly. We found that the opinions regarding the usefulness of location-based sharing were divided. It was examined that when users are sharing information with a group of close friends, the location does not add much value to the overall experience. Information about the location of a photo becomes more interesting when context information is lacking. Location-based groups are most useful when available context information about the location or topic of the group is scarce. It can help users filter out relevant content based on time and their location. Furthermore, we have seen that locative media can stimulate the user to explore his surroundings, either through the application or it could motivate him to visit a particular location in the physical world. Participants of the user studies reported that they deemed Picalilly most useful in the context of events, such as festivals and small scale communities. It was observed that users wanted control over their privacy, regarding the locational information they share. Users enjoyed using Picalilly for the exploration aspect and for sharing with their close friends.