Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Università degli Studi di Ferrara

The availability of freshwater to meet different water needs has raised serious concerns in the last decades all around the world. Water scarcity, deterioration of quality and increasing demand have led to the development and use of alternative sources of water. Reclamation and recycling are now considered as key components of water and wastewater management policies around the world. In this context, the adoption of soft wastewater treatments with a minimum use of chemical agents and having minimum environmental impact is widely encouraged. An experimental campaign was carried out on a pilot plant which consisted of a two-stage disinfection system for a secondary biological effluent. Disinfection consisting of a chemical step (mild chlorination) followed by a natural one (filtration through a horizontal subsurface flow (HSF) bed) was tested in order to evaluate the possibility of producing a final effluent adequate for agricultural reuse. The investigation has shown that this combined system, with low doses of NaClO (2 mg L! 1 of disinfectant and a retention time of 30 min, corresponding to an applied dose of 2 " 30 = 60 mg L! 1 min! 1) and a well designed final subsurface flow system (at least 1 m EI! 1) is able to obtain an effluent complying with reuse quality limits, in particular for microbiological parameters. For HSF design parameters, neither filling material, aspect ratio nor vegetation type (Phragmites australis and turf) caused significant differences in the average levels of COD, suspended solids, NH4, total phosphorus and Escherichia coli concentrations in the effluent. Finally in order to protect HSF bed from substrate clogging and to prolong its working life, a rapid sand filter was placed before the bed and its impact analyzed. It was demonstrated that the filter was able to retain occasional but unavoidable activated sludge carry-overs from the secondary clarifier which otherwise would rapidly accumulate in the front region of the bed resulting in poor performance (overflows and medium clogging) in quite short time.
Modelling cracking damage of asphalt mixtures under compressive monotonic and repeated loads using pseudo J-integral Paris’ law

Field observations and mechanical analyses have shown that cracks accompany rutting in asphalt mixtures under external compressive loads. This study aims to model crack growth in asphalt mixtures under compressive monotonic and repeated loads. Using energy equilibrium and viscoelastic Griffith fracture criterion, a damage density characterising the cracks in mixtures is derived as a function of stress, nonlinear viscofracture strain, asphalt film thickness and bond energy. Crack evolution is modelled by pseudo J-integral Paris’ law. Six types of asphalt mixture were tested by monotonic compressive strength tests at 40°C. Two were further tested at four more temperatures and four more loading rates, respectively. Repeated load test results for the same mixtures were obtained from previous studies. The different shape of the damage density curve (S-shape for monotonic load and increasing exponential shape for repeated load) demonstrates the dependence of damage growth on loading mode, due to different energy release rates. Pseudo J-integral Paris’ law can model the crack growth in mixtures and capture the post-peak softening behaviour under a monotonic load. The Paris’ law coefficients (A and n) are independent of loading mode (monotonic or repeated), rate or temperature. They are fundamental material properties and can be used to predict crack growth under varying loading and temperature conditions.
Effect of Antenatal Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercise onPostnatal Stress Urinary Incontinence inPrimigravida - An Comparative Experimental Study

Women health and physiotherapy in gynaecology have been a matter of concern since 1950’s, but due to social and cultural limitations the problems of womanhood have been under reported. “A woman’s health is her total well-being, not determined solely by biological factors and reproduction, but also by effects of work load, nutrition, stress, war and migration, among others” [1]. Basic health care, family planning and obstetric services are essential for women yet they remain unavailable to millions. Genderequitable approaches to health are needed to enable women’s full participation in the planning and delivery of health services. Some of the major health and mental challenges that women face today include pregnancy and its complications, AIDS, cervical cancer, breast cancer, depression, anxiety, etc.
Optimization of Micromechanical Cleavage Technique of Natural Graphite by Chemical Treatment

In this work,we report a method to improve the efficiency of the micromechanical cleavage technique to obtain few-layers graphene samples, from natural graphite flakes, which were previously submitted to two chemical treatment times with H2SO4(17 and 25 hours). After the chemical treatment times, Raman spectroscopy reveals a hydrogenation of the few-layer graphene samples, which were obtained from the treated graphite flakes. To analyze the hydrogenation of the samples, the G and 2D bands of the Raman spectra of the treated and un-treated samples were analyzed and compared, as well as the I(2D)/I(G) ratio, revealing a p-doping on the treated samples when compared with the untreated samples. Our studies could be of great importance to obtain larger and greater amount of few-layer graphene samples.
The Determinants of Job Satisfaction in Public Service Organization

The aim of this study is to identify the impact of demographic, working environment and managerial control determinants on job satisfaction. Job satisfaction has been a major course of study long time ago. However, in Pakistani context, little focus has been made on job satisfaction of public service employees. Pakistan is country whereby working in public service organization is deemed attractive. The organizational objective behind public owned sectors is to serve the community; hence identifying the determinants of job satisfaction of public sector officials has been the major focus of this study. Data was obtained from the employees of Karachi Water Sewerage Board through structured questionnaire. Hence, beside secondary sources of data, this paper mainly depends upon primary source of data. The study find out that 95% of variance is explained by demographic, working environment and managerial control for the level of job satisfaction among employees of Karachi Water & Sewerage Board.
Aligning information technologies with evidence-based health-care activities: A design and evaluation framework

In human–computer interaction (HCI), the human often has been conceptualized as a user. Although this notion has illuminated one aspect of the human–technology relationship, some researchers have argued for the need to explore alternative notions. One such notion becoming increasingly frequent in HCI is the self. In this paper, a study of how the self is described in 88 HCI research publications is presented. Four main aspects of the self are identified: instrumental, communicative, emotional, and playful. These four aspects differ, yet they present the self as stable, coherent, and individual. However, these characteristics have been criticized by several contemporary philosophers. This paper presents arguments from poststructuralist writers as a foundation for advocating the need to develop further these positions within HCI. The theories of Mark C. Taylor, who combines poststructuralism with complexity theory, provide a framework for viewing the self as relational to the extent that interaction becomes an existential process and thus interactive technology constitutes an existential arena.
STUDY ON ITO THIN FILMS PREPARED BY MULTI-ANNEALING TECHNIQUE

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films have been successfully prepared by a solution process followed by a multi-annealing method. In this study, we focus on the use of multi-annealing method, for which each layer was annealed at a suitable temperature, instead of a conventional annealing way, by means of a rapid thermal annealing system, in order to improve the film quality. The crystalline structure and surface morphology of the ITO thin films were investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectrometer, atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). It has been obtained that all of ITO films exhibit a single phase with (222)and (440)-preferred orientations. The AFM and SEM observations show that the particle size of ITO films was about 10 nm and the ITO film thickness was 180 nm, respectively. In sequence, the electrical properties of ITO thin films were evaluated by using four-point probe and Hall effect measurement methods, and the optical properties were investigated by UV/VIS spectrometer. The results show that the best ITO films have electrical resistivity of 2.6 × 10 -3 Ω. cm and transparency higher than 90 %, which strongly supports to the application of electrode in solar cell, LED or transistor devices from viewpoints of low-cost production and low-energy consumption.
Modelling Organisational Behavior with Process Reference Models

Process Reference Models are traditionally used to specify the "hard" or easily identifiable ICT components such as Databases, Applications, Systems and Infrastructure. More difficult to describe are the "softer" or more intangible aspects of a modern organization, for example leadership, innovation and competencies / capabilities. This paper proposes a new approach for defining and categorizing the activities of Leadership within the modern Organization. The approach emerges from the Process Reference Model that can be generalized across domains. This approach has the potential to extend and streamline the development of the process, strategy and management layers within the modern organisation. This new category of process model is termed a Reference Model of Organisational Behavior (RMOB). These are fully conformant with the requirements for Process Reference Models, as prescribed by ISO/IEC 244774 and ISO/IEC 15504. The RMOB has all the strength and flexibility of these robust Software Engineering tools, coupled with the ability to describe in process terms what was previously considered too difficult to describe. Furthermore a reliable assessment model can be derived that allows for objective capability assessments to be performed.
Knowledge Inputs, Legal Institutions and Firm Structure: Towards a Knowledge Based Theory of the Firm

Corporate scholars rely on traditional theories of the firm to analyze corporate organization and corporate contracting. However, traditional theories of the firm, as the authors argue, are incomplete in that they neglect the role that knowledge plays in shaping the internal structure of a firm. The article proceeds to address this gap by focusing on knowledge resources as a key influence on internal corporate governance structures. First the authors introduce a new typology that explains firm internal governance structure based on the types of knowledge used in the production process. Then they analyze the interaction of law and knowledge management. They go on to show how certain legal mechanisms, such as patents, trade secrets, and private contracting (e.g. covenants not to compete) emerged as tools for binding knowledge to the firm. They propose a principle of efficient knowledge allocation, positing that organizational structures must maximize the use of knowledge resources against the background of specific hazards that affect transactions involving knowledge inputs. Applying these theoretical constructs, the authors show how the management of knowledge resources required in mass production, high tech and law firms differentially affect the decisional hierarchies of these types of firms and also their compensation and ownership structure in certain instances. More specifically, the authors argue (1) that a shift in knowledge requirements drove the changes in the organizational structure of mass production firms from the C-form to the M-form, affecting decision-making powers; (2) that the adoption of stock option plans in high-tech firms controls knowledge hazards (stock options prevent leakage by retaining individual knowledge and discouraging hoarding of knowledge); (3) that profit splitting and the partners-associate hierarchy in law firms reflects the need to maximize the use of knowledge resources and that changing knowledge requirements are affecting law firm organization; and finally, (4) that certain business transactions like mergers, joint ventures and licensing contracts are shaped by knowledge inputs. The authors conclude that knowledge considerations provide policy makers with a positive explanation for firm structure and a normative perspective counseling greater attention to the effects of regulation on knowledge allocation within firms.
Effects of Salmonella typhymurium Lipopolysaccharide Challenge on the Performance, Immune Responses and Zinc Metabolism of Laying Hens Supplemented with Two Zinc Sources*

The study was conducted to determine the effect of Salmonella typhymurium lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge on egg-laying performance, inflammatory response, zinc metabolism in layer fed diets supplemented with organic or inorganic zinc since 3- wk-old. The three dietary treatments were corn-soybean meal basal diet without supplemental zinc or with supplemental zinc at 60 mg/kg zinc from ZnSO4 or zinc amino acid complex (ZnAA). At the age of 58 wk-old, twelve hens from each dietary treatment were allotted into two sub-groups. On day 1, 3, 5, 7 of the 58 th week of age, six birds of one sub-group were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with 2 ml LPS (1.0 µg/ml) or sterile saline. Neither zinc source × immune challenge interaction nor zinc source effect on egg production performance was observed (p>0.05), LPS-challenge decreased egg production (p 0.05). Supplementation of 60 mg/kg zinc from either ZnAA or ZnSO4 significantly (p<0.05) elevated metallothionein (MT) concentration in liver and spleen. MT concentration in liver of birds fed ZnAA diet was higher than in those fed ZnSO4 diet (p<0.05). The magnitude of increase of hepatic and splenic MT due to LPS challenge was higher by supplementation of ZnAA than ZnSO4. The results suggest that zinc amino acid complex enhanceed MT synthesis and zinc sequestered in liver and spleen and increased the sensitivity to immune response due to LPS challenge. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2004. Vol 17, No. 12 : 1717-1724)
A toolbox for Co-production of Knowledge and Improved Land Use Dialogues – The Perspective of Reindeer Husbandry

In northern Sweden, forestry, wind and hydropower, mining, infrastructure development and associated influence zones together constitute a complicated, land use situation that strongly impacts reindeer husbandry, a unique and extensive land use system. This situation has led to challenges for land managers and decision makers. Because of limited use of existing knowledge and lack of specific data on key resources, the land use dialogue among the reindeer herding communities, other land users and agencies has been inadequate. To overcome this problem, reindeer herding communities initiated a process to improve this situation together with researchers and with state and regional agencies. Key findings from the collaborative, process-focused papers in this thesis showed that the diverse groups that worked together could co-produce methods and tools that increased the engagement and the ability to negotiate and find solutions. Furthermore, the co-production of knowledge served as a heuristic, increasing the use and understanding of compiled information. The co-production further created an exigency for conventional research that then informed the tools, thereby increasing the potential contribution towards improved dialogue. Findings also indicated that significant declines have occurred in the amount and distribution of forest floor lichen, – a key reindeer winter grazing resource – since the introduction of modern forestry practices in the mid-20 century. Furthermore, forecasting alternative forest practices indicated that current forest practices would further diminish the forest floor lichen resource. Promising results demonstrated that satellite-based mapping of forest floor lichen can be carried out successfully and can identify crucial areas for directed forest management, which can improve conditions for forest floor lichen. In combination, the co-produced toolbox and the findings about the status, trend and distribution of the lichen resource can potentially improve future dialogue. The work represented in this thesis can potentially serve as a stronger foundation to safeguard the continuation of the complex land use system of reindeer husbandry, which constitutes both a fundamental component in the indigenous Sami culture, as well as a key to successful sustainable landscape management.
The Impact of Logistics Performance on the Sales Level: An Empirical Study in Retail Sector

The aim of this research is to assess the impact of logistics performance on retails’ sector. This research was conducted in Palu in Central Sulawesi Province. There are several indicators involve in this study, such as, customer service, operation metric, and logistics cost. This research is categorized as explanatory research and multiple regression method was used to analyze the hypotheses. Simultaneously, this research found that logistics performance has significant contribution to retails’ sales level. However, customer service has not had positive contribution to sales level compare to operation metric and logistics cost. In addition, logistics cost has big impact on retails’ sales level. The result of this research can be used by academicians and professionals who intent to deal with logistics in retail sector. This research identifies that logistics performance need further study in different region and sector with the aim to improve the understanding of dimensions.
Extravesical Ureteral Reimplantation Following Lich-Gregoir Technique for the Correction of Vesico-Ureteral Reflux Retrospective Comparative Study Open vs. Laparoscopy

Introduction: The aim is to compare the outcome of open versus laparoscopic Lich-Gregoir technique in patients with vesicoureteral reflux. We report a retrospective multicenter comparative study between open and laparoscopic extra-vesical ureteral reimplantation (EVUR) following Lich-Gregoir (LG) technique for the correction of Vesico-Ureteral Reflux (VUR). Materials and Methods: Between January 2007 and December 2015, 96 patients with VUR (69 females and 27 males) and deterioration of the renal function, underwent EVUR following LG technique. Fifty patients (16 males and 34 females) were operated by open surgery (group A). The mean age was 4.22 years-old, (14–147 months). Laparoscopic approach (group B) was performed in 46 patients (11 males and 35 females). The mean age was 4.19 years-old (15–110 months). We compared the results in relation to degree of VUR, operative time, hospital stay, post-operative pain medications, recovery time, complications, successful rate, recurrence, and follow-up. Statistical analysis was done used Chi square test for categorical variables and the Student t-test for continuous variables. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: In both groups no correlation was identified between age or weight and operative time, length of stay or total analgesia used. The mean operative time for group A was 63.2 and 125.4 min for unilateral and bilateral VUR, respectively, and for the group B was 127.90 and 184.5 min, respectively. There was no conversion in the laparoscopic group. Perioperative mucosal perforation of the bladder occurred in 6 patients of group A and 4 patients of group B and was immediately repaired. One patient had to be reoperated for leakage in group B. The mean duration of Morphine, IV and PO analgesia was shorter in group B. The mean hospital stay was 5.46 days for group A and 1.54 days for Group B. The success rate was 98% in group A and 97, 8% in group B. The mean follow-up was 3.67 years for the open and 1.54 years for the laparoscopic group. Transitory voiding dysfunction occurred in bilateral EVUR in one case in each group. Conclusion: Laparoscopic or Open approach for the correction of VUR following Lich-Gregoir technique is effective in unilateral and bilateral VUR with similar results. Laparoscopic approach reduces significantly (p < 0.05 in each item) post-operative pain medication, hospital stay, and allows for a faster return to normal activity.
The Most Preferred Food Labels Among Online Shoppers

This study explains the most preferred food labels among online shoppers when purchasing food products. The study uses data from an online-based survey conducted in 2016. Participants are 1,205 online shoppers residing within the South region of the U.S. Using a binary logistic model, we found that the likelihood for online shoppers to consider food labels (other than prices) into their purchasing decision-making is 86 percent. Using a multinomial logit model, we found that the relative probability for “locally grown” labels to be the most important is 46 percent, 7 percent for “organically grown”, 24 percent for both local and organic, and 23 percent for other kinds of labels. The most common other important labels among this last group include nutrition contents, and country of origin. This study is significant to fresh produce growers and agricultural marketers because it provides an explanation of food labels those online shoppers consider to be the most important when shopping for fresh produce. It is significant to food products regulators who are interested in enforcing regulations related to food labels. Future researchers will find this analysis useful when furthering knowledge about this increasingly popular market venue.
HNCO: a molecule that traces low-velocity shocks

Using data from Millimetre Astronomy Legacy Team Survey at 90 GHz (MALT90), we present a molecular line study of a sample of APEX Telescope Large Area Survey of the Galaxy (ATLASGAL) clumps. Twelve emission lines have been detected in all. We found that in most sources, emissions of HC3N, HN13C, CH3CN, HNCO and SiO show more compact distributions than those of HCO+, HNC, HCN and N2H+. By comparing with other molecular lines, we found that the abundance of HNCO (χ(HNCO)) correlates well with other species such as HC3N, HNC, C2H, H13CO+ and N2H+. Previous studies indicate the HNCO abundance could be enhanced by shocks. However, in this study, we find the abundance of HNCO does not correlate well with that of SiO, which is also a good tracer of shocks. We suggest this may be because HNCO and SiO trace different parts of shocks. Our analysis indicates that the velocity of a shock traced by HNCO tends to be lower than that traced by SiO. In the low-velocity shocks traced by HNCO, the HNCO abundance increases faster than that of SiO. While in the relatively high-velocity shocks traced by SiO, the SiO abundance increases faster than that of HNCO. We suggest that in the infrared dark cloud MSXDC G331.71+00.59, high-velocity shocks are destroying the molecule HNCO.