Effects of Perceiver / Target Gender and Social Networking Presence on Web-based Impression Formation

As the Web has expanded in its use and utility it has fundamentally changed the way in which individuals gather and use information. This paper suggests that those changes give rise to tangible and significant effects in the impressions people form of others using Web-based information. This study explores the impacts of perceiver gender, target gender, and social networking presence on subjects’ perceptions of potential teammates otherwise unknown to them as revealed by ratings they assign based only on search engine results. Experiments reveal differences in how male and female perceivers view others’ social networking activity in general and suggest that how the perceiver gender matches, or differs, from the gender of the target affects how social networking presence plays into impression formation. Findings hold implications for professionals, academics and individuals concerned with the role that Web-based information plays in impression formation and how inherent gender-based biases may affect power and politics in the workplace and beyond

Influence of electron irradiation on optical properties of ZnSe thin films

Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) thin films of 500 nm thickness were deposited by electron beam evaporation technique and irradiated with 8 MeV electron beam for the doses ranging from 0 Gy to 1 kGy. Optical properties were studied for both irradiated and pristine samples using Ultraviolet-Visible spectrophotometer. The increase in electron dose tends to decrease in transmittance and increase in refractive index of thin film. Irradiated thin film exhibits minimum of 67 % transmittance for 800 Gy with very high absorption of optical energy at 550 nm wavelength. The samples irradiated 800 Gy tends to redeem the pristine properties. Optical band gap for irradiated thin film were direct and in the range of 2.66 – 2.69 eV

Transconductance and Transfer Characteristics of 8 MeV Electron Irradiated Dual N-Channel MOSFETs

The electrical characteristics of dual N-channel enhancement metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) were altered by irradiating with 8 MeV electron beam for different doses ranging from 200 Gy to 1 kGy at ambient air. The irradiation experiments were conducted with gate bias (VGS = -2, 0, +1.5 and +2 V). Significant increase in transconductance (gm) was observed after irradiation. The gm was found to increase drastically for the dose of 1 kGy with positive bias (1.5 and 2 V). The transfer characteristics at VDS=12 V revealed that the drain current (ID) increases with the increase of dose and also increases with the increase of gate bias voltage during irradiation. The results of these investigations are presented and discussed

INVESTIGATION ON DISSOLUTION PATTERN AND MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF DRUG RELEASE OF QUERCETIN BY COMPLEXATION WITH CYCLODEXTRIN NANOSPONGES

Objective: The main objective of this study was to investigate the release pattern of a poorly water-soluble drug quercetin (QU) by fabricating its cyclodextrin nanosponges. Methods: Characterization of the original QU powder and QU-loaded nanosponges was carried out by the Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dissolution tester. The drug release pattern was subjected to various kinetic models. Results: FTIR studies confirmed the formation of inclusion complex of drug. The particle size analysis revealed that the average particle size measured by laser light scattering method is around 400–420 nm with low polydispersity index. The particle size distribution is unimodal and having a narrow range. A sufficiently high zeta potential indicates that the complexes would be stable and the tendency to agglomerate would be miniscule. TEM image revealed the porous nature of nanosponges. The dissolution of the QU nanosponges was significantly higher compared with the pure drug. Conclusion: From the kinetic study, it is apparent that the regression coefficient value closer to unity in case of Korsmeyer-Peppas model indicates that the drug release exponentially to the elapsed time. n value obtained from the Korsmeyer-Peppas plots, i.e., 0.9911 indicating non-Fickian (anomalous) transport ; thus, it projected that delivered its active ingredient by coupled diffusion and erosion

Spatial-temporal dynamics of grain yield and the potential driving factors at the county level in China

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Understanding the spatial-temporal dynamics of grain production and the influencing factors at the county level in China may promote the knowledge of land-use management and local policymaking, which are conducive to food security and the sustainable development of society. This study aims to evaluate China's grain yield (GY) from 2000 to 2014 and investigate the potential driving factors (PDFs) that affect the spatial-temporal dynamics of GY, including land, labor force, capital, and macro-background. Specifically, the locational Gini coefficient and exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) were used to characterize the spatial patterns of GY and its correlations with PDFs. Spatial regression models (SRMs) were employed to investigate the spatial dependence of GY on each PDF in 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2014. Results reveal that China's grain production has been on the rise with high-yield regions distributed mainly within the northeastern agricultural regions. Moreover, the proportion of counties in the northeastern agricultural regions with high grain yield has increased, while the number of low-yielding counties has increased in other agricultural regions. This finding highlights the increasing trend of spatial polarization in grain production. The significant bivariate Moran's I (p < 0.05) further revealed a global spatial spillover effect in the spatial correlation of GY and four PDFs. The spatial correlations could be categorized into four types: high GY and high PDFs, high GY and low PDFs, low GY and high PDFs, and low GY and low PDFs. SRMs were capable of quantifying the spatial dependence of GY on various PDFs, thereby revealing that land factors had a substantial effect on the grain production dynamics nationwide. The exploration of the spatial relationships between GY and PDFs provide a reference for formulating scientific and reasonable agricultural policies

Influence of electron irradiation on optical properties of ZnSe thin films

Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) thin films of 500 nm thickness were deposited by electron beam evaporation technique and irradiated with 8 MeV electron beam for the doses ranging from 0 Gy to 1 kGy. Optical properties were studied for both irradiated and pristine samples using Ultraviolet-Visible spectrophotometer. The increase in electron dose tends to decrease in transmittance and increase in refractive index of thin film. Irradiated thin film exhibits minimum of 67 % transmittance for 800 Gy with very high absorption of optical energy at 550 nm wavelength. The samples irradiated 800 Gy tends to redeem the pristine properties. Optical band gap for irradiated thin film were direct and in the range of 2.66 – 2.69 eV

Experimental Determination of the Key Heat Transfer Mechanisms in Pharmaceutical Freeze Drying

Freeze-drying is often used in manufacture of pharmaceuticals to remove a solvent in such a way that the sensitive molecular structure of the active substance of a drug is least disturbed, and to provide a sterile powder that can be quickly and completely rehydrated. In this work heat transfer rates in a laboratory-scale freeze-dryer have been measured to investigate the contribution of different heat transfer modes. Pure water was partially dried under low-pressure conditions and sublimation rates were determined gravimetrically. The heat transfer rates were observed to be independent of the separation distance between a product vial and a dryer shelf and linearly dependent on the pressure in the free molecular limit. However, under higher pressures the heat transfer rates were independent of pressure and inversely proportional to the separation distance. Previous heat transfer studies in conventional freeze-drying cycles have attributed a dominant portion of the total heat transfer to radiation, the rest to conduction, whereas the convection has been found insignificant. While the measurements revealed the significance of the radiative and gas conduction components, the convective component was found to be comparable to the gas conduction contribution at pressures greater than 100mTorr. The current investigation suggests that the convective component of the heat transfer cannot be ignored at typical laboratory-scale freeze-drying conditions

Dysregulation of DAF-16/FOXO3A-mediated stress responses accelerates T oxidative DNA damage induced aging

DNA damage is presumed to be one type of stochastic macromolecular damage that contributes to aging, yet little is known about the precise mechanism by which DNA damage drives aging. Here, we attempt to address this gap in knowledge using DNA repair-deficient C. elegans and mice. ERCC1-XPF is a nuclear endonuclease required for genomic stability and loss of ERCC1 in humans and mice accelerates the incidence of age-related pathologies. Like mice, ercc-1 worms are UV sensitive, shorter lived, display premature functional decline and they accumulate spontaneous oxidative DNA lesions (cyclopurines) more rapidly than wild-type worms. We found that ercc-1 worms displayed early activation of DAF-16 relative to wild-type worms, which conferred resistance to multiple stressors and was important for maximal longevity of the mutant worms. However, DAF- 16 activity was not maintained over the lifespan of ercc-1 animals and this decline in DAF-16 activation cor- responded with a loss of stress resistance, a rise in oxidant levels and increased morbidity, all of which were cep- 1/ p53 dependent. A similar early activation of FOXO3A (the mammalian homolog of DAF-16), with increased resistance to oxidative stress, followed by a decline in FOXO3A activity and an increase in oxidant abundance was observed in Ercc1-/- primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Likewise, in vivo, ERCC1-deficient mice had transient activation of FOXO3A in early adulthood as did middle-aged wild-type mice, followed by a late life decline. The healthspan and mean lifespan of ERCC1 deficient mice was rescued by inactivation of p53. These data indicate that activation of DAF-16/FOXO3A is a highly conserved response to genotoxic stress that is important for suppressing consequent oxidative stress. Correspondingly, dysregulation of DAF-16/FOXO3A appears to underpin shortened healthspan and lifespan, rather than the increased DNA damage burden itself

T cell-inflamed gene expression profile and PD-L1 expression and pembrolizumab efficacy in advanced esophageal cancer

Aim: Investigate the relationship between response to pembrolizumab and expression of the 18-gene T cell-inflamed gene expression profile (TcellinfGEP) or PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) in esophageal cancer. Materials & methods: This analysis included heavily pretreated patients with advanced/metastatic esophageal/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma who received pembrolizumab in the single-arm, phase II study KEYNOTE-180. PD-L1 CPS was evaluated with PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx. Results: In patients with squamous cell carcinoma, trends toward enrichment for responders were observed for patients with PD-L1 CPS ≥10 tumors. In patients with adenocarcinoma, a trend was observed for TcellinfGEP but not for PD-L1. Conclusion: TcellinfGEP and PD-L1 CPS may enrich for responders to pembrolizumab in patients with esophageal cancer. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT02559687 (ClinicalTrials.gov