Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NTP Research Report on Biological Activity of Bisphenol A (BPA) Structural Analogues and Functional Alternatives

Background Recent studies report widespread usage or exposure to a variety of chemicals with structural or functional similarity to bisphenol A (BPA), referred to as BPA analogues or derivatives. These have been detected in foodstuffs, house dust, environmental samples, human urine or blood, and thermal paper. Compared to BPA relatively little is known about potential toxicity of these compounds. Objective To identify and summarize human, animal, and mechanistic toxicity data for 24 BPA analogues of emerging interest to research and regulatory communities. Methods The objective was addressed by two efforts: 1) a systematic review of the available research; and 2) analysis of data available from the high throughput screening programs Tox21/ToxCast. We used systematic review methods to identify relevant studies from the published literature. Over 5,100 literature studies were screened for relevance and 166 were considered relevant. Analyses of the high throughput screening data focused on assessing structural and biological similarity among the BPA analogues and between BPA or estradiol (E2). Results Reports on 16 of the 24 analogues were found in the published literature. There were no studies of human health effects, animal toxicity or mechanistic studies for 8 of the 24 compounds. The only human health effect that was reported was dermal sensitization to 4,4-BPF, 2,2-BPF or BPS. The majority of the available research was conducted in vitro. Analysis of the Tox21/ToxCast data showed that in general, BPA analogues and derivatives are more structurally and biologically similar to BPA, and to each other, than to E2. Taken together, the published literature and the data available in Tox21/ToxCast demonstrate that many of the BPA analogues that are potential replacements for BPA have biological activity within the range of activity observed for BPA. Conclusion The results of these analyses suggest that many of these chemicals may have endocrine activity in vivo. Given that these chemicals have potential widespread use, they should be pursued in further testing and reconsidered as appropriate replacements for BPA in consumer products.
Belirsizliğe Tahammülsüzlüğün Yordayıcısı Olarak Endişe ile İlgili Olumlu ve Olumsuz İnançlar

The aim of this study is to determine to what degree the level of the intolerance of uncertainty of university students is predicted by their positive and negative beliefs about worry. The study was conducted on 175 attending students of Mehmet Akif Ersoy University consisting of 105 female and 70 male students. The research data were collected via personal information form, The Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS-12) which is adapted to Turkish culture by Saricam et. al (2014) and the Results of Worry Scale which is adapted to Turkish culture by Sari and Dag (2009). In the analysis of the data Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, multiple linear regression analysis, the t-test analysis, and SPSS 15.0 program were used to determine the relation between the variables. At the end of the research, it was concluded that the intolerance caused by uncertainty of the university students were predicted positively by positive and negative beliefs about worry. In addition, it was determined that female university students are more intolerant in the face of uncertainty than male university students. The findings of the study were discussed in the light of the related studies previously done by the other researchers.
Adolescents' Internet Addiction and Its Relationship to Psychosocial Maladjustment among Secondary School Students in Al-Nasiriya City

Background: The overuse of the internet has prompted scientists to investigate the psychological and social characteristics of internet users, with isolation, social anxiety, psychological distress, self-exposure, and other psychosocial adaptation issues being among the most prominent of these characteristics.Aims of the study: assess the level of internet addiction and psychosocial adjustment among secondary school student; investigate the relationship between internet addiction and psychosocial adjustment, find-out if there are significant differences between psychosocial adjustment with regard to student's gender and grade.Methodology: A correlational descriptive design study was conducted to assess adolescents' internet addiction and psychosocial maladjustment among secondary school students in Al-Nasiriya city and find out the relationship between the two variables. A non-probability (convenience) sample of 300 students, data were collected through September, 16th 2020 to March, 19th 2021 through the use of the questionnaire and the process of self-reported as a means for data collection. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: the first part is concern with demographic characteristics of the students that included (age, gender, grade, parent's educational level, place of residence, and monthly income), and the second consists of internet addiction and psychosocial maladjustment scale.Results: The findings indicate there is statistically significance association between internet addiction scale and psychosocial adjustment scale of secondary school students when Chi-Square Tests are used to evaluate sample at (P 0.05) ,and intermediate school being more affected than preparatory school.Conclusion: The internet has a more negative than positive impact, as it has been discovered that students who use the internet for long periods of time are affected mentally, psychologically, and socially, and their psychosocial transition suffers as a result.Recommendations: Advocated that subjecting adolescents to parental oversight and requiring them to use the internet cautiously and for certain hours.
Dry Hopping with the Dual-Purpose Varieties Amarillo, Citra, Hallertau Blanc, Mosaic, and Sorachi Ace: Minor Contribution of Hop Terpenol Glucosides to Beer Flavors

The dual-purpose hop varieties Amarillo, Citra, Hallertau Blanc, Mosaic, and Sorachi Ace were recently shown to contain unusually high amounts of some discriminating terpenoids, polyfunctional thiols, and precursors of the latter (cysteine and glutathione adducts). The present work aimed to investigate the terpenol glucoside fraction in hops and its potential contribution to beer after a dry hopping process. Terpenols were quantified by stir-bar sorptive extraction GC-MS in five pilot monovarietal dry-hopped beers. In all of them, linalool and geraniol were found above their sensory thresholds (72–178 and 7–57 μg/L, respectively, for a threshold of 8 μg/L for linalool and 4 μg/L for geraniol). β-Citronellol also exceeded its threshold when the Amarillo, Citra, or Sorachi Ace cultivars were used. The hop glucoside potential was analyzed by GC-MS after enzymatic degradation. A relative hydrolysis efficiency factor was applied to our data to take into account that the commercial β-glucosidase releases octan-1-ol, used here as an internal standard, 2.8 times more efficiently than geraniol. β-Glucosidase treatment caused the release of linalool, α-terpineol, β-citronellol, and geraniol from all five dual-purpose cultivars, but in much lower amounts than the corresponding free terpenols (0.6–28.6 mg/kg of aglycons versus 7.8–109.2 mg/kg of free forms). Further quantitative analyses focusing on more traditional aromatic and bitter hops are now needed to compare their glucoside fractions with those here investigated.
Dynamic physical layer equalization in optical communication networks

In optical transport networks, signal lightpaths between two terminal nodes can be different due to current network conditions. Thus the transmission distance and accumulated dispersion in the lightpath cannot be predicted. Therefore, the adaptive compensation of dynamic dispersion is necessary in such networks to enable flexible routing and switching. In this paper, we present a detailed analysis on the adaptive dispersion compensation using the least-mean-square (LMS) algorithm in coherent optical communication networks. It is found that the variable-step-size LMS equalizer can achieve the same performance with a lower complexity, compared to the traditional LMS algorithm.
Network Ties and Their Effect on Employee Collaboration in Enterprise Social Networks: A Review and Research Agenda

In recent years, there has been a rapid growth and widespread adoption of social media technologies across all industries. Despite the growing importance of enterprise social networks (ESN) in creating social capital and facilitating innovation, there has been limited research in examining the role of employee relationships (ties) in these networks. Earlier studies have reported that the network structure can enhance or restrict employee behaviour to a great extent and that those who implement ESN should consider how network structure can support positive collaboration behaviour, rather than restrict it. Accordingly, we propose that the understanding of network ties and their effect on employees’ collaboration will help in influencing the design and use of ESN in a way that it will help in building productive and sustainable employee collaboration. This paper reviews the existing literature to understand the relationship between network ties and collaboration outcomes and proposes a future research agenda.
Continuous Dynamic Mixing of Cohesive Powders

Continuous powder mixers are mainly used to mix entering components radially and to smooth fluctuations of entering mass flows in axial direction. For a two-component system it could have been shown that the mixing mechanisms in a continuous dynamic powder mixer can be described very well by using two coupled Fokker-Planck-Equations. Experimental and theoretical examinations have shown that the average residence time normalized with the period length of the entering mass flow fluctuations is the main influencing parameter of the mixing quality. This is valid independent of the mixer settings. For the experimental validation of the developed model, extensive examinations were necessary to improve the short-term dosing constancy of volumetric feeders and to adapt a Near-Infrared spectrometer to the in-line concentration determination of powder mixtures.
Effect of myofunctional therapy on orofacial functions and quality of life in individuals undergoing orthognathic surgery

INTRODUCTION: Some proposals of myofunctional therapy directed to individuals undergoing orthognathic surgery have been presented which promote the orofacial myofunctional balance, enhancing the treatment stability. OBJECTIVE: To verify the effect of myofunctional therapy on orofacial functions and quality of life in individuals undergoing orthognathic surgery. METHOD: A total of 24 individuals, with mean age of 26.5 years, participated in the study. They were divided into two groups, namely with myofunctional therapy (N=12) and without myofunctional therapy (N=12). Breathing, chewing, swallowing, and speech were evaluated from tests established by the MBGR Orofacial Myofunctional Evaluation, using the scores specified in the protocol. The quality of life (QL) was evaluated using the Oral Health Impact Profile-OHIP-14 questionnaire, which comprises 14 questions that measure the individual ́s perception of the impact of their oral conditions on their well-being in recent months. The evaluations were carried out before and 3 months after orthognathic surgery. The myofunctional therapy was initiated 30 days after surgery, with exercises aimed at improving orofacial mobility, tone and sensitivity, as well as the training of normal physiological patterns of orofacial functions. The comparisons between orofacial functions and the study groups were verified by the Mann-Whitney test, using a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: After surgery, the individuals without myofunctional therapy presented with an improvement in breathing and oral health-related quality of life (p<0.05), while in the group undergoing myofunctional therapy there was improvement in all aspects investigated (p<0.05). Comparison between the study groups showed better performance in breathing (p=0.002), chewing (p=0.012), swallowing (p=0.002) and speech (0.034) in individuals who underwent myofunctional therapy. CONCLUSION: The orthognathic surgery alone improved breathing and quality of life. However, the surgical procedure associated with myofunctional treatment, besides improving all oral functions investigated and quality of life, provided better functional performance in breathing, International Journal of Orofacial Myology 2017, V43 61 chewing, swallowing and speech. This study’s participants demonstrated the effectiveness of the orofacial myofunctional intervention.
Text analysis for email multi label classification

This master’s thesis studies a multi label text classification task on a small data set of bilingual, English and Swedish, short texts (emails). Specifically, the size of the data set is 5800 emails and those emails are distributed among 107 classes with the special case that the majority of the emails includes the two languages at the same time. For handling this task different models have been employed: Support Vector Machines (SVM), Gated Recurrent Units (GRU), Convolution Neural Network (CNN), Quasi Recurrent Neural Network (QRNN) and Transformers. The experiments demonstrate that in terms of weighted averaged F1 score, the SVM outperforms the other models with a score of 0.96 followed by the CNN with 0.89 and the QRNN with 0.80.
Plasticization mechanisms and effects of thermal annealing of Matrimid hollow fiber membranes for CO2 removal

CO2 induced plasticization presents a great challenge for sustainable performance of polymeric gas separation membranes for natural gas purification application. Comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon would lead to the formulation of suitable strategies to suppress it. In this study, a nodule structure model based on nucleation and growth mechanism was used to link the membrane microscopic structure to CO2 sorption which causes plasticization. This approach considers the dilation in Henry’s sites is the major contributor to the plasticization compared to the Langmuir sites. In order to verify the proposed model, gas sorption tests were analysed for Matrimid hollow fiber membraneswith different selectivities and theHenry’s and Langmuir sorption isothermswere decoupled and compared. The modelling results suggest that more gas molecules were adsorbed into the Henry’s sites than Langmuir sites at lower pressure range for hollow fibers with higher selectivity regardless of the types of the gases used. The modelling results also predicted that hollow fibers with lower selectivity should possess better plasticization resistance which was in agreement with the experimental plasticization observation. Competitive sorption for mixed-gas permeation was also investigated. The simulation study demonstrated thatmembraneswith lower selectivity exhibited stronger competitive sorption thanhollowfibers with higher selectivity; therefore plasticization phenomenon is more likely to bemasked by competitive sorption for hollow fibers with lower selectivity. Furthermore, thermal annealing at both above and below the Matrimid’s glass transition temperature was applied on hollow fiber membranes to evaluate its effect on plasticization suppression. Permeation test results indicated that the effect of thermal annealing above 250 ◦C for more than 30min was sufficient to suppress plasticization. The dual-mode sites de-coupling technique was also performed on the thermally annealed membrane. The results suggest that the re-distribution of the Henry’s and Langmuir sites due to thermal annealing could contribute to the suppression of plasticization. Other possible plasticization suppression mechanisms (cross-linking, crystallization and the formation of charge transfer lored complexes) were also exp
The Effect of 1,4-Diaminoanthraquinone as a Conductive Linker in Chromophore Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles

by Benjamin Wickes Merritt A novel dye for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) is described. Chromophore functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNP) have been useful as light harvesting dyes in DSSCs, however one persistent problem is charge recombination which adversely affects the final electrical output of these systems. Limiting this phenomenon would lead to increased incident photon to current efficiency (IPCE) and thus greater power output. Using AM1 calculations of the relative energies of the excited state of the light harvesting portion of the dye and the conduction band of colloidal AuNP in solution, a multi-component dye where electrons would be more likely to flow through this conductive linker than to follow other undesired deactivation pathways was designed. In order to decrease this charge recombination, an attempt was made to insert 1,4-diaminoanthraquinone (1,4-DAAQ) between pyrene and the AuNP to serve as a conductive linker.
Impact of journalists’ Twitter use on their perceptions of job performance in the Pakistani context

muhammad Arif Department of Library and Information Science, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan, muhammad.arif@aiou.edu. pk Maqsood Ahmad Shaheen Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan, shaheenma@gmail.com Saima Kanwal (Corresponding Author) International Islamic University Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan, saima.kanwal@iiu.edu. pk Miguel Baptista Nunes Sun Yat-Sen University, China, miguelnunes@mail.sysu. edu.cn
Multiscale simulation studies of geometrical effects on solution transport through nanopores

Abstract Due to intrinsic properties, solid-state nanopores are widely used in nanopore technology. Different geometries (cylindrical (CY), hourglass (HG) and conical (CO)) of artificial nanopores have been fabricated and studied. Each was found to promote different transport abilities experimentally. To explore such pore effects, the combination of finite element (FE) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with applied electric filed (150 mV) were performed. The dimension of anion-selective protein pore was used as a nanopore template. Different pore geometries with a narrowest diameter ranging from 1.8 to 1.8 μm were studied here. Firstly, we found that the narrowest regions at a pore orifice in CO and constriction site in HG maximise water velocity and consequently control a water flow rate. Secondly, CY triggers the highest water flux, but low ion selectivity, whilst the funnel-like geometries (HG and CO) enhance the ion selectivity significantly. Both HG and CO show similar degrees of permeant flux and selectivity. The orifice and constriction site in CO and HG are the main player for selectivity and permeation control. Thirdly, the transport properties are tuneable by changing the flow direction in asymmetric CO pore. The tip-to-base flow in CO obviously promotes stronger anion selectivity than the base-to-tip one.
A Manifest Information Model for Firmware Updates in IoT Devices

Vulnerabilities with Internet of Things (IoT) devices have raised the need for a reliable and secure firmware update mechanism that is also suitable for constrained devices. Ensuring that devices function and remain secure over their service life requires such an update mechanism to fix vulnerabilities, to update configuration settings, as well as adding new functionality. One component of such a firmware update is a concise and machine- processable meta-data document, or manifest, that describes the firmware image(s) and offers appropriate protection. This document describes the information that must be present in the manifest.
Synthesis, spectral, crystal structures, Hirshfeld surface analysis and DFT studies on bis(N,N-di(4-methoxybenzyl)dithiocarbamato-S,S′)zinc(II) and its imine adducts: new precursor for the preparation of hexagonal ZnS

ABSTRACT [Zn(4-mbzdtc)2] (1), [Zn(4-mbzdtc)2(py)] (2), [Zn2(4-mbzdtc)4(4,4′-bipy)] (3), and [Zn(4-mbzdtc)2(2,2′-bipy)] (4), (where, 4-mbzdtc = N,N-di(4-methoxybenzyl)dithiocarbamate) were prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, infrared, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and the structures of 1 and 3 were elucidated by X-ray crystallography. The monomeric structure of 1 shows a distorted tetrahedral geometry for zinc(II). The coordination geometry around zinc in dinuclear complex 3 is an intermediate between square pyramidal and trigonal bipyramidal. The downfield shift of NCS2 carbon signal for imine adducts of 2–4 compared to those found in parent complex 1 is attributed to the change in coordination number and steric effect exerted by the nitrogen donor ligand. Hirshfeld surface analysis was used to visualize intermolecular interactions in the crystal structure of 1 and 3. The geometry optimization of 1 is performed using DFT with the B3LYP-LANL2DZ basis set. Solvothermal decomposition of 1 yielded only hexagonal zinc sulfide nanoparticles. Zinc sulfide nanoparticles were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectra and diffuse reflectance spectra. DRS study of ZnS nanoparticles shows the quantum confinement effect with a band gap of 3.74 eV. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Synthesis of 3,5-Diarylisoxazole Derivatives and Evaluation of in vitro Trypanocidal Activity

Chagas disease is included in the neglected tropical diseases list and is endemic to 21 Latin American countries. The two drugs currently available for treating Chagas disease are nifurtimox and benznidazole and both result in many significant side effects. The study describes the synthesis and biological evaluation of 3,5-disubstituted isoxazoles. Isoxazoles were obtained by reaction of flavones and hydroxylamine and either alkylated at the free hydroxyl group and/or nitrated at the isoxazole ring. These compounds were evaluated for their in vitro anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity against trypomastigote and amastigote forms of the parasite in T. cruzi-infected cell lineages. Benznidazole was used as a reference compound for the in vitro assay and mammalian L929 cells were employed to evaluate cytotoxicity. A majority of the compounds tested were very active and the most active isoxazole against amastigote and trypomastigotes of T. cruzi was slightly more potent than the current medicine benznidazole.
Vivências de prazer de socorristas no convívio com a dor e sofrimento alheio: Prazer, dor e sofrimento

Este estudo teve por objetivo identificar as vivencias de prazer no trabalho de socorrista em um Servico de Atendimento Movel de Urgencia (SAMU) 192 em funcionamento na Regiao Centro Oeste do Brasil. A abordagem teorico-metodologica foi a Psicodinâmica do Trabalho. A coleta de dados foi realizada a partir de tres sessoes de escuta clinica coletiva, com 14 participantes. As falas foram gravadas, transcritas e analisadas pela analise clinica do trabalho proposta por Dejours. Identificou-se como fatores propulsores e potencializadores das vivencias de prazer, essencialmente: o reconhecimento e o sentido positivo que atribuem ao labor. Os achados indicam que a organizacao do trabalho tem oferecido condicoes para os socorristas mobilizarem sua subjetividade em busca do prazer.
Experimental and theoretical investigations of thermal degradation behaviors of poly(aryl ether sulfone)s

ABSTRACT Density functional theory (DFT) calculation and pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (PyGC/MS) analysis were combined to investigate the thermal degradation behavior of polysulfone, poly(ether sulfone) and poly(phenylene sulfone). A series of pyrolysis temperatures from 500°C to 700°C with the interval of 50°C were chosen for their PyGC/MS analyses, and the obtained results indicate that phenol as a pyrolysis product is preferentially generated over SO2 during their pyrolysis. In DFT calculations, their bond dissociation energies and first-stage fragmentation products diradicals at various temperatures were calculated by the M05-2x method, and their preferentially produced pyrolysates estimated from the obtained results are in accordance with the experimental findings. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT