Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Formulation and development of colon-targeted mucopenetrating metronidazole nanoparticles

Purpose: To formulation and develop colon-targeted mucopenetrating metronidazole nanoparticles. Methods: Metronidazole-loaded chitosan nanoparticles with a pH-sensitive polymer, hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose phthalate (HPMCP), were prepared by ionic gelation technique and then coated with Eudragit S100 by solvent evaporation method. The nanoparticles were optimized using one variable at a time (OVAT) approach. Further, the nanoparticles were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and zeta sizer, as well as for in-vitro release. Muco-adhesion was evaluated by modified bioadhesion detachment force measurement balance and muco-penetration of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeled optimized nanoparticles was determined by microscopic technique Results: Morphological assessment results revealed smooth, spherical particles with homogeneous distribution and polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.213. The optimized formulation showed particle size of 202 ± 27 nm, zeta potential of 26.9 ± 2.4 mV as well as and entrapment efficiency of 79 ± 5.4 %. There was significant difference in drug release between coated (8.46 ± 2.49 %) and uncoated (28.96 ± 4.04%) nanoparticles at the 5th h in simulated gastric conditions. Muco-adhesion data revealed that uncoated nanoparticles (14.98 x 103 dyne/cm 2 ) showed higher muco-adhesion detachment force compared to coated (12.34 x 103 dyne/cm 2 ) nanoparticles. Muco-penetration results confirm the retention (for up to 12 h) of the developed formulation at the target site for enhanced therapeutic exposure of the entrapped drug. Conclusion: Eudragit S100 coating of chitosan-HPMCP nanoparticles promotes efficient drug targeting and thus provides a strategy for treating mucosal infections. Keywords: Metronidazole, pH-sensitive nanoparticles, Hydroxylpropyl methylcellulose phthalate, Ionic gelation, Mucoadhesion, Mucopenetration, Intestinal infection
Male African elephants (Loxodonta africana) queue when the stakes are high

Linear dominance hierarchies are thought to form within groups of social animals to minimize conflict over access to resources. Dominance in both male and female African elephants (Loxodonta africana) is based mostly on intrinsic factors relating to age, and dominance hierarchies have been described within and between family groups of females. Very little is reported about male elephant social structure and dominance has only been described at the level of one-on-one contests. We test the hypothesis that male African elephants form linear hierarchies when resources are limited by monitoring a known group of elephants in Etosha National Park, Namibia, and measuring dominance interactions between males (outside the context of reproduction) during the dry season of 4 consecutive years. We show that males form a stable linear dominance hierarchy under normal arid conditions (in 2005 and 2007) when water is limited and resource competition is high. In unusually wet years with increased water availability (in 2006 and 2008), there is no linearity to the dominance hierarchy, less interaction between individuals and more agonistic behaviors exhibited, particularly in lower ranking individuals. This is the first study to quantify the existence of a linear dominance hierarchy in male African elephants as well as the effect of climatic fluctuations on dominance from year to year.
DMOs and User-Generated Photography: Comparison of Projected and Perceived Destination Images Using Perceptual Maps

As the advent of new media and communication technologies in recent years, user-generated content (UGC) in the Internet has been increasingly considered as a credible and organic form of “word of mouth” among tourists. New social media websites like Flickr enable more and more tourists to share their experience through uploading photos they took during their trips, an activity that has been gaining popularity among internet users. Unlike the pictorial materials that are produced by destination marketing organizations (DMOs), pictorial content that is generated by internet-users reflect users’ perceptions of the destination. This study aims to make a comparison between projected and perceived image of a destination by using qualitative pictorial data collected from both DMOs and UGC. Peru was chosen as a case study destination to assess the difference between projected destination image that is produced by Peru official websites and perceived image that is reflected by visitors’ photographs posted on Flickr.
Antarctic peninsula killer whales (Orcinus orca) hunt seals and a penguin on floating ice

In 1979, Smith et al. (1981) observed a group of seven killer whales (Orcinus orca) conduct a coordinated attack on a crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga) by creating a wave to wash the hauled-out seal off floating ice. Since then a number of similar events have been witnessed along the Antarctic Peninsula. The increased tourist ship traffic in this area has provided an opportunity for many observers equipped with cameras and video recorders to document a number of these. Given that it is often difficult to gain an accurate description of events involving a number of killer whales moving quickly and typically under water, in an ice-filled environment, the availability of good quality video recordings is often the best way of documenting such a fast-moving incident. The vantage point is of importance and those observations from the bow of a large ship, which can maneuver to within a short distance of the animals, are of significantly better quality than those at water level. Still photography, in addition to video, is of particular importance in any attempt to identify individual whales or groups.
Robust extraction of thalwegs network from DTM: application on badlands

Robust extraction of thalwegs network from DTM: application on badlands N. Thommeret, J. S. Bailly, and C. Puech CNRS, UMR 8591, Laboratoire de Géographie Physique, 92190, Meudon, France Cemagref, UMR TETIS, 34093, Montpellier, France AgroParisTech, UMR TETIS, 34093, Montpellier, France AgroParisTech, UMR LISAH, 34060, Montpellier, France Received: 23 December 2009 – Accepted: 31 December 2009 – Published: 1 February 2010 Correspondence to: N. Thommeret (nathaliethommeret@gmail.com) Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union.
The Role of Using EHR on Improving the Quality of Health Care in the Health Centers in Jordan

This study aims at investigating the role of EHR (electronic health record) on improving the quality of health care in the health centers in Jordan. A questionnaire was used as a tool to collect the primary data of the study out from the study sample that is consisted of (200) workers in the health centers in Jordan who were chosen randomly form all the job ranks in the health sector in Jordan. The study tool composed of four parts that examined the level of using EHR in Jordan, the effect of using it, the main challenges facing its implementation and the readiness that those centers have to have such technology in terms of human and organizational skills. The results showed that there is a high level of implementing EHR system in the health centers in Jordan, where those centers are equipped with the needed human and organizations skills. Reducing the effort, time, cost and affording safe treatment are the effects of implementing the electronic health record in the Jordanian health centers. The results showed also that the time spent and complicated interface are the major challenges facing implementing the EHR system.
The Role of Forensic Autopsies in Diagnosis of Cancer

Background: Death from cancer is mostly considered as natural deaths. The role of cancer on the cause of death in forensic cases like sudden deaths, negligence or malpractice claims are being investigated. In a small amount of forensic cases, cancer is found incidentally at the autopsy. The aim of this study was to reveal characteristics of the cases in which cancer was diagnosed and types of malignancies in medicolegal autopsies. In addition, the role of forensic autopsies in determining oncological diseases was discussed.Methods: Forensic autopsies were performed in the Morgue Department of Forensic Medicine Council in Izmir for eight years were retrospectively reviewed. Cases that postmortem histopathological examination performed and malignant tumors diagnosed were included in the study. Data about age, sex, location of tumors, immediate causes of death and the potential relation between tumors and the primary cause of death were investigated.Results: In eight year period (between 2001 and 2009), 3722 medicolegal autopsies were done by postmortem histopathological examination. In 86 cases such kind of tumors were observed. In seven of 86 cases the tumors were determined as benign and excluded from the study. The remaining 79 cases with malignant tumors included in the study, 63 (79.7%) were male and 16 (20.3%) were female, mean age 54.96±20.35 (range: 7-88 years). The tumors were most frequently located in respiratory system (35.4%), gastrointestinal system (19%), genitourinary system (10.1%) and central nervous system (8.9%). The males most frequently had tumors in the respiratory system (42.9%) and the females in the endocrine system (25%). According to histopathological classification of the tumors, the most frequent tumors were epithelial tumors (65.8%), followed by hemopoetic (12.7%), mesenchymal (7.6%), glial (5.1%) and neuroendocrine tumors (2.5%) and timoma (1.3%). The tumors could not be histopathologically differentiated in 5.1% of the deaths. Cause of death was considered as cancer related complications in 58 cases (73.4%), other natural causes in 6 cases (7.6%) and external factors such as traumas and intoxications in 10 cases (12.7%). The cause of could not determined following complete autopsy and postmortem investigation in 5 cases (6.3%). Conclusion: Providing accurate cancer statistics by only clinical trials or medical autopsies that are diminished nowadays and clinical cancer outputs seems to be inadequate. We participated that investigating malignancies in large series of forensic autopsies would be contributed to data about public health.Keywords: cancer, medicolegal autopsy, cause of death
DIRECT AND INDIRECT PLANT REGENERATIONS OF PINEAPPLE VAR. MD2 (Ananas comosus L.)

The variety MD2 of pineapple (Ananas comosus L.) was used in this study. This variety is highly demanded in the international market and known for possessing harvest quality with aroma, high sugar content (14% Brix), vitamins and longer shelf life. However, shortage of planting material has limited the production in Malaysia. In vitro mass propagation using the direct and indirect shoot proliferation techniques was tested on variety MD2. The plantlets were successfully initiated from sucker on solid MS basal medium containing 30 g/L sucrose, 0.1 g/L Myo-inositol and 3 mg/L BAP after one month of culture. The highest direct shoot tips regeneration was obtained on solid MS medium when added with 30 g/L sucrose, 0.1 g/L Myoinositol, 3 mg/L BAP and 1 mg/L NAA. Indirect shoot regeneration was obtained on medium containing 3 mg/L Zeatin after one month of culture. In average, 10 shoots were regenerated from approximately 1 gram of calli. The techniques can produce 100-200 number of plantlet within 4 to 6 months of culture, and ready for planting after 7 months of culture.
Building Global Leadership to Optimize the Future of Traditional andAlternative Medicine

Health Care professionals are effective problem-solvers in a specific area of technology; leadership calls for a very different way of thinking and learning. Leadership development is a combination of experiential learning and programmed learning, including the conceptual frameworks of leadership, practice to integrate and apply the metacognitive skills of leadership, such as self-discovery of leadership identity and a movement towards mindfulness. Integral to this learning is the support of other leaders who provide a mixture of coaching and mentoring to sustain the new leader’s growth. Leadership education takes place beyond university in a context that broadens the career opportunities for health care professionals. In the USA leadership development education has a business focus, while in Canada it values sustainability and a holistic thinking, particularly in medical and applied sciences. Often professionals regard leadership training as a soft skill with less value in their technical field of practice and this presents a challenge for leaders in organizations or professional associations, who need to identify the preferred educational strategies to develop leadership or to risk using leaders without the essential technical expertise for strategic planning and decisionmaking. Employer surveys show an expectation that health care graduates have equivalent skills in technical expertise, business knowledge, and leadership. Learning leadership includes leadership practices to describe and quantify the leadership of individuals and to characterize the leadership of the specific group; secondly, a workshop on leadership education based on transformational learning and thirdly, formation of a community of leaders who advocate and further leadership development.
Evaluation of North Eurasian snow-off dates in the ECHAM5.4 atmospheric general circulation model

Abstract. The timing of springtime end of snowmelt (snow-off date) in northern Eurasia in version 5.4 of the ECHAM5 atmospheric general circulation model (GCM) is evaluated through comparison with a snow-off date data set based on space-borne microwave radiometer measurements and with Russian snow course data. ECHAM5 reproduces well the observed gross geographical pattern of snow-off dates, with earliest snow-off (in March) in the Baltic region and latest snow-off (in June) in the Taymyr Peninsula and in northeastern parts of the Russian Far East. The primary biases are (1) a delayed snow-off in southeastern Siberia (associated with too low springtime temperature and too high surface albedo, in part due to insufficient shielding by canopy); and (2) an early bias in the western and northern parts of northern Eurasia. Several sensitivity experiments were conducted, where biases in simulated atmospheric circulation were corrected through nudging and/or the treatment of surface albedo was modified. While this alleviated some of the model biases in snow-off dates, 2 m temperature and surface albedo, especially the early bias in snow-off in the western parts of northern Eurasia proved very robust and was actually larger in the nudged runs. A key issue underlying the snow-off biases in ECHAM5 is that snowmelt occurs at too low temperatures. Very likely, this is related to the treatment of the surface energy budget. On one hand, the surface temperature Ts is not computed separately for the snow-covered and snow-free parts of the grid cells, which prevents Ts from rising above 0 °C before all snow has vanished. Consequently, too much of the surface net radiation is consumed in melting snow and too little in heating the air. On the other hand, ECHAM5 does not include a canopy layer. Thus, while the albedo reduction due to canopy is accounted for, the shielding of snow on ground by the overlying canopy is not considered, which leaves too much solar radiation available for melting snow.
Genetic Diversity of the Sable (Martes zibellina, Mustelidae) in Russian Far East and Hokkaido Inferred from Mitochondrial NADH Dehydrogenase Subunit 2 Gene Sequences

Abstract. Intra-species genetic variations of the sable Martes zibellina (Carnivora, Mustelidae), originating from Russian Far East and Hokkadio, were assessed by using nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene (976 base pairs). Evaluation of the genetic diversity of the sables demonstrated that populations in the southern Primorsky territory in Russian Far East harbors high genetic diversity. We assumed that the high genetic variations might have been due to effects of refugia, secondary admixture of allopatrically differentiated lineages, or massive anthropogenic introductions. Molecular phylogenetic (maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference approaches) and network (median joining method) analyses clarified that sables in Hokkaido was monophyletic. Bayesian-relaxed molecular dating approach estimated the date for migration of sables into Hokkaido to lie between 0.10–0.27 Myr BP. Considering the geological evidence, the Late Pleistocene was presumed to be the plausible epoch for the establishment of the sables in Hokkaido. Lower genetic diversity of the sables in Hokkaido observed in this study was probably caused by the foundation effects or anthropogenic hunting pressures. Mammalian faunal construction in Hokkaido was also discussed.
ATYPICAL AEROMONAS INFECTION IN CULTURED SEA BASS (DICENTRARCHUS LABRAX) IN THE BLACK SEA

The Black Sea, an inland sea, has contributed about 70% to the total fish production of Turkey for many years. Because of its low salinity and appropriate water temperature, both freshwater and marine fish such as salmon, trout, and sea bass can be cultured in the Black Sea. The aim of this study was to identify the etiological agent of mortality that occurred in sea bass in the Black Sea during July 2002. Bacteria isolated from kidneys and livers of infected fish were identified as Aeromonas salmonicida achromogenes according to morphological and biochemical characteristics, API 20NE results, and an agglutination test for A. salmonicida. The diseased fish had petechial hemorrhages on the bottom of the fins and lesions on the lateral and ventral sides of the body. Cumulative mortality was approximately 20%. This is the first report of A. salmonicida achromogenes associated with sea bass in Turkey.
A note on the influence of fat supplementation of sheep rations on the level of purine derivatives in urine and bacterial synthesis in the rumen

The effect of different types of fat supplementation on the level of purine derivatives in urine and bacterial protein synthesis in the rumen was estimated on four rams in a 4 x 4 Latin square design with four experimental diets differing in the percentage of supplemented fat. The basic ration for the control group consisted of meadow hay and concentrate (60:40) and was supplemented for experimental groups with rape seed oil, hydrogenated rape seed oil or linseed oil at a level of 0 (control), 4, 8 and 10% in dry matter. Allantoin excretion in urine was used as a marker for estimation of microbial protein synthesis. Bacterial protein synthesis declined (P<0.05) in response to an increased concentration of rape seed or linseed oil in the diet. Hydrogenated rape seed oil had no influence on either microbial protein synthesis in the rumen or on the level of purine derivatives in urine. The allantoin level in urine and hence bacterial synthesis in the rumen decreased when 8 and 10% of rape seed oil was added to the ration. The level of uric acid, hypoxanthine and xanthine in urine was unaffected by the type of added fat.
Synthesis and Plasma Stability of Disulfide-Bridged Cyclic Endomorphin-1 Derivatives

Endomorphin-1 is an endogenous opioid peptide that mediates pain relief through interaction with the μ-opioid receptor in the central nervous system. To enhance the metabolic stability of this tetrapeptide, cyclisation through the formation of a disulfide bridge between the side chains of cysteine residues added to the sequence was explored. A further increase in stability was achieved through N-terminal modification with lipoamino acid and lactose succinamic acid, and the inclusion of D-amino acids. The latter also provided an alternative spatial arrangement of the aromatic side chains. The lipidated cyclic derivatives were insoluble in aqueous buffer, however, the cyclic peptides and glycopeptides showed greatly improved stability towards enzymatic degradation in human plasma.
Using an Asset Index to analyse Governance in Vietnam

Using the PAPI dataset to analyse the relation between governance issues and poverty, we need to have a variable to measure the living standard of citizens, are there are no questions on income and expenditures in this survey. We construct an asset index based on the ownership of different assets by households.This paper details the methodology used to calculate the asset index, the questions raised and how they are solved, and the results, with some empirical analysis of wealth distribution based on the new asset index.The main conclusion of this paper is that the asset index provides a rightful measurement for households’ wealth, which allows exploring the links between governance and poverty in Vietnam using the PAPI dataset. It considerably widens the scope of the survey by adding a key characteristic of the households that can be utilised for deeper analyses.
Ahanathapillai, V. and Soraghan, J.J. and Sonecki, P. (2009) Delaunay triangulation based image enhancement for echocardiography

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Collection, Conservation and Evaluation for Forage Yield of Alfalfa Landraces Grown in East Anatolia

This study was conducted to collect, evaluate and conserve alfalfa landraces grown in Van province, East Anatolia in 2009-2011. Ten counties were visited and 66 alfalfa landraces were collected. The seed samples were sent to Aegean Agricultural Research Institute for long term conservation. With other 4 populations collected from university campus, a total of 70 alfalfa accessions with seven standards (controls) were grown in an augmented trial design with 5 replicates. Cultivar Elci had the highest green and dry matter yields. There was a great variability between landraces in terms of the characters recorded. Green, dry matter and crude protein yields of landraces were in the range of 24.67-103.21 t ha-1, 6.04-24.26 t ha-1, and 1.07-4.96 t ha-1, respectively. Landraces collected from Ercis and Gevas appeared to have high green and dry matter yields
Distribution and Quantity of Root Systems of Field-Grown Erianthus and Napier Grass

Cellulosic bioethanol produced from non-edible plants reduces potential food-fuel competition and, as such, is receiving increasing attention. In the raw material production of cellulosic bioethanol, the aboveground biomass of plants is entirely harvested; consequently, the plant roots represent the major source of organic matter incorporated into the soil. We selected Erianthus and Napier grass as the raw materials for cultivation in Asia. However, information about whether these 2 species provide sufficient root volume to sustain soil fertility is limited. Therefore, we examined the spatial distribution of the roots of these 2 plants, and quantified root mass and length. Erianthus and Napier grass were either grown in fields or greenhouses in Tokyo (Japan) and Lampung (Indonesia), and then their roots were exposed from adjacent soil profiles. Both species developed large, deep roots, penetrating 2.0 - 2.6 m deep into the soil. Root depth indexes showed that the roots of both species penetrated much deeper into the soil compared to monocot crop species, being more comparable to dicot species. Erianthus developed a root mass and length of 384 - 850 g·m −2 and 28.8 - 35.8 km·m −2 , while the values for Napier grass were 183 - 448 g·m