Northern Illinois University

About: Northern Illinois University is a education organization based out in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Large Hadron Collider & Population. The organization has 8818 authors who have published 20008 publications receiving 632341 citations. The organization is also known as: NIU.

A community-based study of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Abstract: Background: Most previous estimates of the prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have derived largely from treated populations, and have been biased by differential access to health care treatment linked with sex, ethnic identification, and socioeconomic status. Objective: To assess the point prevalence of CFS in an ethnically diverse random community sample. Design and Participants: A sample of 28 673 adults in Chicago, Ill, was screened by telephone, and those with CFS-like symptoms were medically evaluated. Main Outcome Measures and Analyses: Selfreport questionnaires, psychiatric evaluations, and complete medical examinations with laboratory testing were used to diagnose patients with CFS. Univariate and multivariate statistical techniques were used to delineate the overall rate of CFS in this population, and its relative prevalence was subcategorized by sex, ethnic identification, age, and socioeconomic status. Results: There was a 65.1% completion rate for the telephone interviews during the first phase of the study. Findings indicated that CFS occurs in about 0.42% (95% confidence interval, 0.29%-0.56%) of this random community-based sample. The highest levels of CFS were consistently found among women, minority groups, and persons with lower levels of education and occupational status.

Influencer Marketing: How Message Value and Credibility Affect Consumer Trust of Branded Content on Social Media

Abstract: In the past few years, expenditure on influencer marketing has grown exponentially. The present study involves preliminary research to understand the mechanism by which influencer marketing affects...

Anatase TiO2 Nanocomposites for Antimicrobial Coatings

Abstract: A sol-gel chemistry approach was used to fabricate nanoparticles of TiO(2) in its anatase form. The particle size is shown to be sensitive to the use of HClO(4) or HNO(3) as acid catalyst. The gold-capped TiO(2) nanocomposites were processed by the reduction of gold on the surface of the TiO(2) nanoparticles via a chemical reduction or a photoreduction method. Different percentages of vanadium-doped TiO(2) nanoparticles, which extended the TiO(2) absorption wavelength from the ultraviolet to the visible region, were successfully prepared. The synthesized nanocomposites have a size of about 12-18 nm and an anatase phase as characterized by XRD, TEM, AFM, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The TiO(2) nanocomposite coatings have been applied on glass slide substrates. The antibacterial activity of TiO(2) nanocomposites was investigated qualitatively and quantitatively. Two types of bacteria, Escherichia coli (DH 5alpha) and Bacillus megaterium (QM B1551), were used during the experiments. Good inhibition results were observed and demonstrated visually. The quantitative examination of bacterial activity for E. coli was estimated by the survival ratio as calculated from the number of viable cells, which form colonies on the nutrient agar plates. The antimicrobial efficiency and inhibition mechanisms are illustrated and discussed.