Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of ostracism and social connection-related activities on adolescents' motivation to eat and energy intake.

OBJECTIVE Assess the effect of ostracism and social connection-related activities on adolescents' motivation to eat and their energy intake. METHODS Participants (n = 103; M age = 13.6 years) were either ostracized or included when playing a computer game, Cyberball. Next, they wrote about their friend (social-connection), watched television (distraction), or completed Sudoku puzzles (cognitive-load), and then completed a task to earn points toward snack food and/or socializing. Afterwards, participants were given access to food and social activities. RESULTS Ostracized adolescents were more motivated to earn food than adolescents who were in the included/control condition. Follow-up contrasts indicated that ostracized adolescents who wrote about friends worked more for food points and consumed more food than other adolescents. CONCLUSION Results suggest that social connection-related activities following ostracism may further deplete self-regulatory resources, thereby resulting in increased unhealthy food patterns. Study limitations as well as clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
The impact of combined antiretroviral therapy on biologic false-positive rapid plasma reagin serologies in a longitudinal cohort of HIV-infected persons.

BACKGROUND Our objective was to determine the impact of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and the degree of immunosuppression on biologic false-positive (BFP) rapid plasma reagin (RPR) tests among persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). METHODS This was a nested retrospective study of HIV-infected patients enrolled in the Johns Hopkins HIV Clinical Cohort. BFP RPR was defined as a reactive RPR and a nonreactive fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption (FTA-ABS) test. Patients with BFP tests were compared to 2 control groups: HIV-infected patients (1) with active syphilis (reactive RPR and FTA-ABS) and (2) without current syphilis (nonreactive RPR). A persistent BFP test was defined by having at least 2 visits with consistent BFP at all visits. RESULTS Of 711 patients with HIV, 96 (13.5%) had BFP tests and 342 (48.1%) had syphilis. Twenty-two of 96 (23%) had persistent BFP tests. cART use was associated with decreased odds of BFP tests compared to having syphilis (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.31; 95% CI, .15-.63) and those with nonreactive RPR (AOR, 0.42; 95% CI, .22-.81). cART use was also associated with decreased odds of BFP persistence (AOR, 0.07; 95% CI, .01-.33). Neither CD4 count nor HIV RNA was significantly associated with BFP test results. Lower RPR titers, younger age, and injection drug use were associated with increased odds of BFP. CONCLUSIONS The use of cART appears to decrease the odds of BFP RPR tests. This finding suggests that nontreponemal titer fluctuations in persons with HIV may reflect the influence of factors unrelated to syphilis disease activity.
An Intelligent Comfort-Evaluating ( ICE ) Model for Child Car Seat Design

This essay attempts to explore an intelligent design evaluation system dealing with the ergonomic comfort problems for the child car seat designers. The new intelligent comfort-evaluating (abbreviated as ICE) model is developed through two stages. The first stage is to perform an ergonomic experiment to find out the relations between the comfort and the interface pressures on the child subjects. The second stage is to construct an ICE model by applying the method of gray conjunction analysis with programming languages, such as Visual Basic and C++. Final results show that the new ICE model is very effective for the car seat designers to solve the complex problems of ergonomic comfort. Therefore, the new model can provide designers a scientific method supporting decisions on the new product design of child car seats.
Together yet Apart: Using Video Mediated Technology to Stay Connected in Long-Distance Relationships

TOGETHER YET APART: USING VIDEO MEDIATED TECHNOLOGY TO STAY CONNECTED IN LONG-DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS Melissa K. Goncalves Advisor: University of Guelph, 2016 Robin R. Milhausen This study examined the use of video-mediated communication (VMC) among individuals in romantic relationship, specifically looking at VCM use in long-distance relationships (LDR) compared to geographically close relationship (GCR). Participants were recruited from two first year classes at a university in southwestern Ontario. Three-hundred and ninety-six participants completed the survey online. Long-distance participants were more likely to use video chat/webcam than GC participants and individuals that reported more communication with their partner also reported higher levels of relationship satisfaction, intimacy, and self-disclosure and lower levels of relational uncertainty and conflict avoidance. Lastly, high and low VMC users did not differ on the relationship quality measures; however, when broken down by LDR or GCR, high and low VMC users differed on communication, emotional and sexual intimacy, but only for LD participants, not GC participants. These findings can be used to make recommendations for couples and therapists working with couples in LDRs.
Dietary intake and risk factors for poor diet quality among children in Nova Scotia.

OBJECTIVE Public health policies promote healthy nutrition but evaluations of children's adherence to dietary recommendations and studies of risk factors of poor nutrition are scarce, despite the importance of diet for the temporal increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity. Here we examine dietary intake and risk factors for poor diet quality among children in Nova Scotia to provide direction for health policies and prevention initiatives. METHODS In 2003, we surveyed 5,200 grade five students from 282 public schools in Nova Scotia, as well as their parents. We assessed students' dietary intake (Harvard's Youth Adolescent Food Frequency Questionnaire) and compared this with Canadian food group and nutrient recommendations. We summarized diet quality using the Diet Quality Index International, and used multilevel regression methods to evaluate potential child, parental and school risk factors for poor diet quality. RESULTS In Nova Scotia, 42.3% of children did not meet recommendations for milk products nor did they meet recommendations for the food groups 'Vegetables and fruit' (49.9%), 'Grain products' (54.4%) and 'Meat and alternatives' (73.7%). Children adequately met nutrient requirements with the exception of calcium and fibre, of which intakes were low, and dietary fat and sodium, of which intakes were high. Skipping meals and purchasing meals at school or fast-food restaurants were statistically significant determinants of poor diet. Parents' assessment of their own eating habits was positively associated with the quality of their children's diets. INTERPRETATION Dietary intake among children in Nova Scotia is relatively poor. Explicit public health policies and prevention initiatives targeting children, their parents and schools may improve diet quality and prevent obesity.
Where do you find loyalty in the contemporary university scene

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the antecedents of student satisfaction and tests the interrelationships between student satisfaction, motivation and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach The study used survey research design and collected valid sample 738 from the three oldest public universities in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Findings The study extracted four antecedents: academic facilities, administration services, support services and campus infrastructure. The results established that student motivation serves as a mediation role between satisfaction and loyalty and also proved a direct effect of student satisfaction on student loyalty. Research limitations/implications The study focuses on student satisfaction and motivation, as these two constructs are the most important inputs in the creation of student loyalty. Student satisfaction and motivation have been found to be critical inputs for the development of student loyalty. Practical implications This research helps the management in acquiring a better understanding of the relationship between student satisfaction, motivation and loyalty, to exercise better strategies to improve its own performance and ultimately to well understand student priorities. Social implications The Indian higher education institutions are facing enormous issues related to quality in education. Changes in the requirements of higher education and related services as well as intense competition have necessitated higher performance levels in the realm of Indian higher education (universities). The key issues examined in the course of the authors research along with the findings can help in achieving such levels. Originality/value The present research contribute to the existing field of knowledge by providing support for the contention that student satisfaction is a key influencing factor in the creation of student loyalty and in the development of the mediation role of motivation between student satisfaction and loyalty.
Productivity Improvement in Sugarcane Farming in Tamil Nadu (India): Parametric and Non-Parametric Analysis

Sugarcane productivity is cyclical in India and Tamil Nadu. The post-Green Revolution phase is characterized by high input-use and decelerating total factor productivity growth. Sugarcane productivity attained during the 1980s has not been sustained during the1990s and early 21 st century and has posed a challenge for the researchers to shift production function upward by improving the technology index. Examination of issues related to the sugarcane productivity, particularly with reference to Tamil Nadu state which has highest yield in India. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) used to assess productivity growth of sugarcane farming. The results show consistency between the approaches and there are potentials for efficiency improvements. Second, there has been a productivity improvement in the sector, in the interval 0.7–15% in the periods studied and technical change had the greatest impact on productivity. The average TFP in after introducing variety Co 86032 was larger than that of preintroduction of this variety. In both periods, productivity growth is sustained through technological progress. In general, policy-makers should try not to be indifferent with respect to the approach used for productivity measurement as these may give different results.
The effects of treadmill exercise on expression of UCP-2 of brown adipose tissue and TNF-α of soleus muscle in obese Zucker rats

Sorts of abnormal state, obesity and inflammation are involved in a number of serious disease occurring and both of them became important research topics among molecular biologists. UCP-2 and TNF-α respectively reflecting obese and inflammatory status have often been used to evaluate the effects of independent variable, such as exercise, on them. Because exercise has shown its potent control on obesity and inflammation, it is necessary to determine if exercise is working via same bioindices. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of different treadmill exercise intensities on UCP-2 of brown adipose tissue and TNF-α of soleus muscle during 8 weeks in Zucker rat. Zucker rats were divided into four groups (n = 7 in each group): control group, low intensity exercise group, moderate intensity exercise group and high intensity exercise group. Zucker rats of the exercise groups were made to run on a motorized treadmill for 30 minutes once a day during 8 weeks. Rats were sacrificed 24 hours after the last bout of exercise. Blood glucose in Zucker rats were measured by Gluco-Card Ⅱ. Brown adipose tissue were extracted to analyze the level of UCP-2 and TNF-α, respectively. UCP-2 and TNF-α were analyzed using the Western Blotting technique. Statistical techniques for data analysis were repeated measure ANOVA and one way ANOVA to determine the difference between groups, and for post hoc test was Duncan' test. The 5% level of significance was utilized as the critical level for acceptance of hypotheses for the study. The following results were obtained from this study; UCP-2 protein expression of brown adipose tissue in Zucker rats were increased significantly following exercise of the low and moderate intensities compared to those of control group after 8 weeks. It was shown that TNF-α protein expression of soleus muscle in Zucker rats were decreased significantly following exercise of the low and moderate intensities compared to those of control group after 8 weeks. But no significant differences in levels of fasting glucose were shown between groups. The present data suggested that low and moderate intensities treadmill exercise may improve glycometabolism control and fat oxidation by up-regulating UCP-2 expression. In addition, we found low and moderate intensities reduce damages on skeletal muscle by down-regulation the TNF-α in Zucker rats. Thus, the low and moderate intensity exercise are appropriate for anti-obesity and inflammatory effects.
Sensitivity of Type I X-Ray Bursts to rp-Process Reaction Rates

First steps have been taken in a more comprehensive study of the dependence of observables in Type I X-ray bursts on uncertain (p,gamma) reaction rates along the rp-process path. We use the multizone hydrodynamics code KEPLER which implicitly couples a full nuclear reaction network of more than 1000 isotopes, as needed, to follow structure and evolution of the X-ray burst layer and its ashes. This allows us to incorporate the full rp-process network, including all relevant nuclear reactions, and individually study changes in the X-ray burst light curves when modifying selected key nuclear reaction rates. In this work we considered all possible proton captures to nuclei with 10 < Z < 28 and N <= Z. When varying individual reaction rates within a symmetric full width uncertainty of a factor of 10000, early results for some rates show changes in the burst light curve as large as 10 percent of peak luminosity. This is very large compared to the current sensitivity of X-ray observations. More precise reaction rates are therefore needed to test current X-ray burst models, particularly of the burst rise, with observational data and to constrain astrophysical parameters.
Predictability of the Simple Technical Trading Rules: An Out-of-Sample Test

In a true out-of-sample test based on fresh data we find no evidence that several well-known technical trading strategies predict stock markets over the period of 1987 to 2011. Our test safeguards against sample selection bias, data mining, hindsight bias, and other usual biases that may affect results in our field. We use the exact same technical trading rules that Brock, Lakonishok, and LeBaron (1992) showed to work best in their historical sample. Further analysis shows that this poor out-of-sample performance most likely is not due to the market becoming more efficient – instantaneously or gradually over time – but probably a result of bias.
The impact of self-assessment on language learners’ writing skill

Abstract The present study investigates the impact of self-assessment (SA) training applied as a writing task and a dynamic assessment on English language learners’ writing ability and explores the changes in their language proficiency level. This quasi-experimental research on two homogenised essay writing classes of 60 Iranian university students at Islamic Azad University in a whole term indicates a significant effect of the use of SA in developing their writing skill and proficiency levels. The experimental group and their teacher are also interviewed about their experiences at the end of the study to investigate their attitudes towards SA.
Unsystematic Futures Profits With Technical Trading Rules : A Case For Flexibility 59

This paper studies the behavior of a fixed-parameter technical trading rule as applied to four commodity futures contracts. The evidence suggests that fixed-parameter rules are inflexible, leading to wide swings in performance both across commodities and time periods. Consequently, the paper recommends the use of flexible-parameter trading rules which adapt to changes in market conditions, instead of expecting the market to operate within the specifications of an unalterable set of rules.
Environments of nearby quasars in Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Context. For the first time, spectroscopic galaxy redshift surveys are enabling galaxies to be studied with the nearest quasars. This allows the dependence of the activity of a quasar on its environment to be studied in a more extensive way than before. Aims. We study the spatial distribution of galaxies and properties of groups of galaxies in the environments of low redshift quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Our aim is to understand how the nearby quasars are embedded in the local and global density field of galaxies and how the environment affects quasar activity. Methods. We analyze the environments of nearby quasars using number counts of galaxies. We also study the dependence of group properties on their distance to the nearest quasar. The large-scale environments are studied by analyzing the locations of quasars in the luminosity density field. Results. Our study of the number counts of galaxies in quasar environments shows an underdensity of bright galaxies at a few Mpc from quasars. Groups of galaxies with a quasar closer than 2 Mpc are also poorer and less luminous than average. Our analysis of the luminosity density field shows that quasars clearly avoid rich superclusters. Nearby quasars seem to be located in the outskirts of superclusters or in the filaments connecting them. Conclusions. Our results suggest that quasar evolution may be affected by density variations both on supercluster scales and in the local environment.
LAND LEASE MARKETS AND AGRICULTURAL EFFICIENCY : THEORY AND EVIDENCE FROM ETHIOPIA

EPTD Discussion Papers contain preliminary material and research results, and are circulated prior to a full peer review in order to stimulate discussion and critical comment. It is expected that most Discussion Papers will eventually be published in some other form, and that their content may also be revised. ABSTRACT This paper develops a theoretical model of land leasing that includes transaction costs of enforcing labor effort, risk pooling motives and non-tradable productive inputs. We test the implications of this model compared to those of the " Marshallian " (unenforceable labor effort) and " New School " (costlessly enforceable effort) perspectives using data collected from four villages in Ethiopia. We find that land lease markets operate relatively efficiently in the villages studied, supporting the New School perspective relative to the other two models. Land contract choice is found to depend upon the social relationships between landlords and tenants, but differences in contracts are not associated with significant differences in input use or output value per hectare. We find that other household and village characteristics do affect input use and output value, suggesting imperfections in other factor markets. These results imply that interventions to improve the functioning of land lease markets are likely to be of little benefit for agricultural efficiency in the villages studied, whereas improvements in other factor markets may be more beneficial. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are grateful to the World Bank for providing financial support to this Barrett and other participants at various seminars on this paper who provided valuable comments and suggestions; and to the many farmers who participated in the study. The authors bear sole responsibility for any errors or omissions.
Trading activity and expected stock returns q

Given the evidence that the level of liquidity a! ects asset returns, a reasonable hypothesis is that the second moment of liquidity should be positively related to asset returns, provided agents care about the risk associated with #uctuations in liquidity. Motivated by this observation, we analyze the relation between expected equity returns and the level as well as the volatility of trading activity, a proxy for liquidity. We document a result contrary to our initial hypothesis, namely, a negative and surprisingly strong cross-sectional relationship between stock returns and the variability of dollar trading volume and share turnover, after controlling for size, book-to-market ratio, momentum, and the level of dollar volume or share turnover. This e! ect survives a number of robustness checks, and is statistically and economically signi"cant. Our analysis demonstrates the importance of trading activity-related variables in the crosssection of expected stock returns. ( 2001 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved. JEL classixcation: G12; G14
Seeking the Entanglement of Immersion and Emergence: Reflections from an Analysis of the State of IS Research on Virtual Worlds

This paper critically reviews the state of virtual world research within the Information Systems field; revealing areas of interest evident in research studies between 2007-2011, the methods employed to conduct such research, the theories/frameworks used to ground VW research, as well as reoccurring memes/concepts. We argue that virtual worlds are best interpreted as both an immersive and emergent co-creative process, ‘performed’ by users’ actions and interactions both with other users and with artifacts such as virtual goods. Nevertheless, our analysis reveals a near neglect of the substantive nature of digital materiality and of the emergent nature of virtual worlds. We conclude that this ‘human-centric’ stance has taken focus away from the unique nature of the virtual world artifact itself, and posit a research agenda that focuses on virtual world objects as well as the immersive and emergent activities of ‘world-builders’ as necessary to advance virtual world research.
Thermo‐poro‐mechanics of chemically active creeping faults: 3. The role of serpentinite in episodic tremor and slip sequences, and transition to chaos

During the last decade, knowledge over episodic tremor and slip (ETS) events has increased dramatically owing to the widespread installation of GPS and seismic networks. The most puzzling observations are (i) the periodic nature of slow seismic events, (ii) their localization at intermediate depths (estimated 15–40 km), and (iii) the origin of the nonvolcanic fluids that are responsible for the tremor activity. We reconcile these observations using a first principles approach relying on physics, continuum mechanics, and chemistry of serpentinite in the megathrust interface. The approach reproduces the GPS sequences of 17 years of recording in Cascadia, North America, as well as over 10 years in the Hikurangi Trench of New Zealand. We show that strongly endothermic reactions, such as serpentinite dehydration, are required for ETS events. We report that in this tectonic setting, it is its chemical reaction kinetics, not the low friction, that marks serpentinite as a key mineral for stable, self‐sustained oscillations. We find that the subduction zone instabilities are driven from the ductile realm rather than the brittle cover. Even when earthquakes in the cover perturb the oscillator, it relaxes to its fundamental mode. Such a transition from stable oscillations to chaos is witnessed in the ETS signal of NZ following the M6.8, 2007 seismic event, which triggered a secondary mode of oscillations lasting for a few years. We consequently suggest that the rich dynamics of ductile modes of failure may be used to decipher the chaotic time sequences underpinning seismic events.