Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding exercise adherence and dropout: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of men and women’s accounts of gym attendance and non-attendance

This study was designed to investigate experiences of maintaining and dropping out of a gym-based exercise programme. Interviews were carried out with 14 people, aged 19–32 years, comprising seven men and two women who had maintained their gym membership and three women and two men who had not. Member validation interviews were conducted 20 months later with one man who was previously maintaining but had since dropped out, and one woman originally not maintaining who had at the time of validation been maintaining for three months. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, highlighting five themes. Upward social comparisons, gym culture and exercise habit were discussed by both adherers and non-adherers. The different ways the participants experienced these themes led to different outcomes in exercise status. Adherers discussed exercise dependency in relation to the meaning of the gym and their long-term commitment. Loss of social support contributed to dropout. The role of gender was highlighted with particular relevance to social comparison, culture and social support. Participants described a masculine gym culture, which produced contrasting effects on adherence. Upward social comparisons and lack of social support impacted negatively on adherence in females with poor body satisfaction. This is the first study to investigate qualitatively exercise adherence in males and females who have both adhered to and dropped out of an exercise programme. It identifies themes that have previously received little or no attention in the adherence field and results have implications for our understanding of factors influencing adherence to gym-based exercise programmes in men and women.
The Potential for Dams to Impact Lowland Meandering River Floodplain Geomorphology

The majority of the world's floodplains are dammed. Although some implications of dams for riverine ecology and for river channel morphology are well understood, there is less research on the impacts of dams on floodplain geomorphology. We review studies from dammed and undammed rivers and include influences on vertical and lateral accretion, meander migration and cutoff formation, avulsion, and interactions with floodplain vegetation. The results are synthesized into a conceptual model of the effects of dams on the major geomorphic influences on floodplain development. This model is used to assess the likely consequences of eight dam and flow regulation scenarios for floodplain geomorphology. Sediment starvation downstream of dams has perhaps the greatest potential to impact on floodplain development. Such effects will persist further downstream where tributary sediment inputs are relatively low and there is minimal buffering by alluvial sediment stores. We can identify several ways in which floodplains might potentially be affected by dams, with varying degrees of confidence, including a distinction between passive impacts (floodplain disconnection) and active impacts (changes in geomorphological processes and functioning). These active processes are likely to have more serious implications for floodplain function and emphasize both the need for future research and the need for an “environmental sediment regime” to operate alongside environmental flows.
Transitory Sites: Mapping Dubai's ‘Forgotten’ Urban Spaces

Seeking to uncover a hidden side of Dubai, this article investigates the city's 'forgotten' urban spaces. I use a theoretical framework that responds to a shift in global city research, emphasizing the everyday as well as transnational connections in which the local and the global are closely intertwined. I argue that such processes can be observed in these 'forgotten' settings, which, as well as being major gathering points, are utilized by Dubai's low-income migrant community for the exchange of information. Through an analysis of users and their activities as well as of the morphology of these spaces, I situate them within the overall development of Dubai. A key construct developed in this study and used as a unit of analysis is the notion of transitory sites - viewed as a major element in understanding migrant cities. The architectural and urban character of these sites is identified. A key finding is that low-income migrants resist globalizing influences by claiming these settings and establishing linkages through them to their home countries. Copyright (c) 2008 The Author. Journal Compilation (c) 2008 Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Reduced Lower-Limb Muscle Strength and Volume in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes in Relation to Neuropathy, Intramuscular Fat, and Vitamin D Levels

OBJECTIVE Muscle weakness and atrophy of the lower limbs may develop in patients with diabetes, increasing their risk of falls. The underlying basis of these abnormalities has not been fully explained. The aim of this study was to objectively quantify muscle strength and size in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in relation to the severity of neuropathy, intramuscular noncontractile tissue (IMNCT), and vitamin D deficiency. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Twenty patients with T2DM and 20 healthy control subjects were matched by age, sex, and BMI. Strength and size of knee extensor, flexor, and ankle plantar and dorsiflexor muscles were assessed in relation to the severity of diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN), amount of IMNCT, and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels. RESULTS Compared with control subjects, patients with T2DM had significantly reduced knee extensor strength (P = 0.003) and reduced muscle volume of both knee extensors (P = 0.045) and flexors (P = 0.019). Ankle plantar flexor strength was also significantly reduced (P = 0.001) but without a reduction in ankle plantar flexor (P = 0.23) and dorsiflexor (P = 0.45) muscle volumes. IMNCT was significantly increased in the ankle plantar (P = 0.006) and dorsiflexors (P = 0.005). Patients with DSPN had significantly less knee extensor strength than those without (P = 0.02) but showed no difference in knee extensor volume (P = 0.38) and ankle plantar flexor strength (P = 0.21) or volume (P = 0.96). In patients with <25 nmol/L versus >25 nmol/L 25OHD, no significant differences were found for knee extensor strength and volume (P = 0.32 vs. 0.18) and ankle plantar flexors (P = 0.58 vs. 0.12). CONCLUSIONS Patients with T2DM have a significant reduction in proximal and distal leg muscle strength and a proximal but not distal reduction in muscle volume possibly due to greater intramuscular fat accumulation in distal muscles. Proximal but not distal muscle strength is related to the severity of peripheral neuropathy but not IMNCT or 25OHD level.
Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) degradation by a microbial consortium.

The widespread use of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as a gasoline additive has resulted in a large number of cases of groundwater contamination. Bioremediation is often proposed as the most promising alternative after treatment. However, MTBE biodegradation appears to be quite different from the biodegradation of usual gasoline contaminants such as benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene (BTEX). In the present paper, the characteristics of a consortium degrading MTBE in liquid cultures are presented and discussed. MTBE degradation rate was fast and followed zero order kinetics when added at 100 mg l(-1). The residual MTBE concentration in batch degradation experiments ranged from below the detection limit (1 microg l(-1)) to 50 microg l(-1). The specific activity of the consortium ranged from 7 to 52 mgMTBE g(dw)(-1) h(-1) (i.e. 19-141 mgCOD g(dw) (-1) h(-1)). Radioisotope experiments showed that 79% of the carbon-MTBE was converted to carbon-carbon dioxide. The consortium was also capable of degrading a variety of hydrocarbons, including tert-butyl alcohol (TBA), tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME) and gasoline constituents such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX). The consortium was also characterized by a very slow growth rate (0.1 d(-1)), a low overall biomass yield (0.11 gdw g(-1)MTBE; i.e. 0.040 gdw gCOD(-1)), a high affinity for MTBE and a low affinity for oxygen, which may be a reason for the slow or absence of MTBE biodegradation in situ. Still, the results presented here show promising perspectives for engineering the in situ bioremediation of MTBE.
Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Long-term effect of instrumentation extending to the lumbar spine.

We evaluated eighty-three patients in whom adolescent idiopathic scoliosis had been treated with a posterior spinal arthrodesis and Harrington instrumentation extending to the second, third, fourth, or fifth lumbar vertebra. All eighty-three patients completed a questionnaire, and fifty-five patients were also examined clinically and roentgenographically at a follow-up evaluation at an average of twelve years (range, ten to sixteen years). Twelve patients had a type-I curve; twenty-six, a type-II curve; sixteen, a type-III curve; and one, a type-IV curve, according to the classification of King et al. The preoperative Cobb angle of the primary curve averaged 60 degrees and ranged from 40 to 100 degrees. The curve was an average of 35 degrees (range, 15 to 65 degrees) at the most recent follow-up evaluation. Functional assessment with use of information from the questionnaire revealed an average spine score of 81 points (range, 18 to 99 points). On the basis of the score, thirty-five patients were considered to have had an excellent result; twenty, a good result; thirteen, a fair result; and fifteen, a poor result. Sixty-three (76 per cent) of the eighty-three patients had low-back pain compared with thirty (50 per cent) of sixty individuals who served as a control group. This difference was significant (p < 0.001; chi-square test). Eighteen patients (22 per cent) needed additional spinal procedures. Fourteen patients (17 per cent) did not think that the goals of the initial operation had been accomplished. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Energy management of hybrid DC and AC bus linked microgrid

This paper focuses on the energy management system in distributed generation of microgrid, and describes the power management strategies of the different converters in grid-connected, islanded and transition operations. The microgrid consists of wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, batteries and super-capacitors, also includes both AC and DC zones. One of the most important things is keeping the voltage of DC and AC bus steady. When microgrid is connected to the utility grid, DC-bus voltage is regulated by the inverter. And the magnitude and frequency of AC bus are the same with the grid. However when the microgrid works in island operation, DC-bus voltage must be regulated by microsouces and storages. The magnitude and frequency of AC bus are controlled by droop character of parallel inverters. Because of the fluctuation of renewable energy such as wind turbine and photovoltaic, a fast-dynamic storage system is needed. In order to keep supplying power to the local loads in island operation, a long-term storage system is needed. All of microsouces and storages are connected to DC bus by different converters. The converters must be controlled well to keep power balance, especially during the island operation.
Bourdieuian approaches to the geography of entrepreneurial cultures

Culture has emerged as an important concept within the entrepreneurship literature to help explain differences in the nature of the entrepreneurship process observed between regions, industries and socio-cultural groups. Despite voluminous research on the topic, theories about how culture affects the entrepreneurship process remain underdeveloped. Without a framework to connect culture with everyday entrepreneurial practices and strategies, it is difficult to critically compare the role of culture between multiple contexts. Such a framework is necessary when examining the influence of local cultures on entrepreneurship, given the diverse ways they can influence economic activities. This paper introduces a Bourdieuian perspective on entrepreneurial culture that can be used to explain how particular entrepreneurial cultures emerge within regions, influence the local entrepreneurship process and evolve in the face of internal and external developments. Building on existing work on Bourdieu and entrepreneurship, this paper argues that entrepreneurship research must carefully consider how the concept of culture is used if it is to be a useful factor in explaining the heterogeneous geography of entrepreneurship we observe in the modern economy.
MRI Evidence for Altered Venous Drainage and Intracranial Compliance in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Purpose To compare venous drainage patterns and associated intracranial hydrodynamics between subjects who experienced mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and age- and gender-matched controls. Methods Thirty adult subjects (15 with mTBI and 15 age- and gender-matched controls) were investigated using a 3T MR scanner. Time since trauma was 0.5 to 29 years (mean 11.4 years). A 2D-time-of-flight MR-venography of the upper neck was performed to visualize the cervical venous vasculature. Cerebral venous drainage through primary and secondary channels, and intracranial compliance index and pressure were derived using cine-phase contrast imaging of the cerebral arterial inflow, venous outflow, and the craniospinal CSF flow. The intracranial compliance index is the defined as the ratio of maximal intracranial volume and pressure changes during the cardiac cycle. MR estimated ICP was then obtained through the inverse relationship between compliance and ICP. Results Compared to the controls, subjects with mTBI demonstrated a significantly smaller percentage of venous outflow through internal jugular veins (60.9±21% vs. controls: 76.8±10%; p = 0.01) compensated by an increased drainage through secondary veins (12.3±10.9% vs. 5.5±3.3%; p<0.03). Mean intracranial compliance index was significantly lower in the mTBI cohort (5.8±1.4 vs. controls 8.4±1.9; p<0.0007). Consequently, MR estimate of intracranial pressure was significantly higher in the mTBI cohort (12.5±2.9 mmHg vs. 8.8±2.0 mmHg; p<0.0007). Conclusions mTBI is associated with increased venous drainage through secondary pathways. This reflects higher outflow impedance, which may explain the finding of reduced intracranial compliance. These results suggest that hemodynamic and hydrodynamic changes following mTBI persist even in the absence of clinical symptoms and abnormal findings in conventional MR imaging.
On Minimizing Guessing Effects on Multiple-Choice Items: Superiority of a Two Solutions and Three Distractors Item Format to a One Solution and Five Distractors Item Format

Multiple-choice response formats are troublesome, as an item is often scored as solved simply because the examinee may be lucky at guessing the correct option. Instead of pertinent Item Response Theory models, which take guessing effects into account, this paper considers a psycho-technological approach to re-conceptualizing multiple-choice response formats. The free-response format is compared with two different multiple-choice formats: a traditional format with a single correct response option and five distractors (‘1 of 6’), and another with five response options, three of them being distractors and two of them being correct (‘2 of 5’). For the latter format, an item is scored as mastered only if both correct response options and none of the distractors are marked. After the exclusion of a few items, the Rasch model analyses revealed appropriate fit for 188 items altogether. The resulting item-difficulty parameters were used for comparison. The multiple-choice format ‘1 of 6’ differs significantly from the multiple-choice format ‘2 of 5’, while the latter does not differ significantly from the free-response format. The lower difficulty of items ‘1 of 6’ suggests guessing effects.
Introduction to the Special Issue: deepening engagement in mathematics in pre-university education

At a time when many countries wish to improve their capacity in terms of scientifically and technologically educated young people, mathematics has an increasingly important role to play in support of this agenda. International studies tend to lead to headlines about performance and achievement, but widening participation in mathematics requires more than this. Fundamentally, we need students to develop positive dispositions towards mathematics and continued study of the subject. The articles brought together in this special issue explore underlying issues reporting on the work of a research project that focused on two different programmes of mathematical study in the first year of post-compulsory study in England. The wide-ranging work that is reported provides timely insights, through both quantitative and qualitative lenses, as students in transition negotiate their identities as young people in general, and in relation to mathematics in particular.
Specialization of lazy functional logic programs

Partial evaluation is a method for program specialization based on fold/unfold transformations [8, 25]. Partial evaluation of pure functional programs uses mainly static values of given data to specialize the program [15, 44]. In logic programming, the so-called static/dynamic distinction is hardly present, whereas considerations of determinacy and choice points are far more important for control [12]. We discuss these issues in the context of a (lazy) functional logic language. We formalize a two-phase specialization method for a non-strict, first order, integrated language which makes use of lazy narrowing to specialize the program w.r. t. a goal. The basic algorithm (first phase) is formalized as an instance of the framework for the partial evaluation of functional logic programs of [2, 3], using lazy narrowing. However, the results inherited by [2, 3] mainly regard the termination of the PE method, while the (strong) soundness and completeness results must be restated for the lazy strategy. A post-processing renaming scheme (second phase) is necessary which we describe and illustrate on the well-known matching example. This phase is essential also for other non-lazy narrowing strategies, like innermost narrowing, and our method can be easily extended to these strategies. We show that our method preserves the lazy narrowing semantics and that the inclusion of simplification steps in narrowing derivations can improve control during specialization.
Changes in employers' image of ideal dentists and managers in the Swedish public dental sector

Earlier studies have shown that employers are keen to have employees whose attitudinal and behavioral traits are consistent with the employers' ideology. One way of ascertaining the image of ideal individuals is to analyze the required qualifications in job advertisements. The aim of this study was to explore possible changes in the employers' view of the ideal manager and dentist in the Swedish Public Dental Health Service (PDHS). The study investigated the kinds and frequencies of manifestly required qualifications concerning vacancies in the PDHS from January 1990 to December 1998. All job advertisements intended for dentists and managers on different hierarchical levels in general dentistry were included (n = 1152); 5705 qualification demands were analyzed by content analysis permitting quantitative descriptions of the textual material as well as an analysis of the underlying characteristics over time. The study indicates that, for dentists, dental professional qualifications or qualifications in accordance with the official objective of dental care were insufficient. While requests for qualifications relating to the economic organizational goals of the PDHS increased during the latter part of the period under study, requests relating to the dental profession decreased. For managers, too, the demands for dental professional qualifications had decreased at the end of the studied period compared to the demands for managerial qualifications and non-professional qualifications, which had increased. In conclusion, the job advertisement portrays the ideal dentist and manager primarily as an economic organizational asset.
Implementing restorative justice practice in schools: what pedagogy reveals

In the ongoing pursuit for creating safe, nurturing and relational school cultures, educators continue to turn to restorative justice (rj) principles and practice. Predominantly, schools begin to engage with rj in an effort to address harm done, causing its discourse to be situated in literature tied to classroom management and behaviour. However, in this location, the effectiveness of rj can be limited because the power relationships underlying the original punitive, managerial structures maintain their grip. Drawing on a qualitative study that examines the experiences of educators committed to implementing rj principles, this article explores how placing rj in the context of engaged, productive pedagogies better nurtures the hoped for relational and peaceful school culture.
Conversational agreement and racial formation processes

ABSTRACT Recent scholarship on the working of racial formation processes underscores the intersection between discursive and structural components in the emergence of “race,” and the agency of individuals at the local and global level in articulating its meaning. This article offers a link toward understanding how racial formation processes operate in face-to-face interaction, by highlighting how people do racialization. Based on fieldwork in Italy, it explores how conversationalists deploy agreement to co-construct a racialized image of immigrants to Italy. It is argued that this deployment leads to reinforcement of the racist stances expressed in the conversation itself, and possibly beyond it. In addition, the repeated occurrence of agreement during the co-construction of utterances produces a spiral effect around racializing discourse, a progressive deepening of the racialization itself. At the same time, agreement leads to a decrease of personal responsibility for the statements made, which come to be co-constructed among conversationalists. (Agreement, racialization, immigration, Italy)
The Construction of Preference

Dowe really knowwhatwewant? Ormustwe sometimes construct our preferences on the spot, using whatever cues are available – even when these cues lead us astray? One of the main themes that has emerged from behavioral decision research during the past three decades is the view that people’s preferences are often constructed in the process of elicitation. This idea is derived from studies demonstrating that normatively equivalent methods of elicitation (e.g., choice and pricing) give rise to systematically different responses. These preference reversals violate the principle of procedure invariance that is fundamental to all theories of rational choice. If different elicitation procedures produce different orderings of options, how can preferences be defined and in what sense do they exist? This book shows not only the historical roots of preference construction but also the blossoming of the conceptwithin psychology, law,marketing, philosophy, environmental policy, and economics. Decision making is now understood to be a highly contingent form of information processing, sensitive to task complexity, time pressure, response mode, framing, reference points, and other contextual factors.