Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Training Working Memory in Adolescents Using Serious Game Elements Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Working memory capacity has been found to be impaired in adolescents with various psychological problems, such as addictive behaviors. Training of working memory capacity can lead to significant behavioral improvements, but it is usually long and tedious, taxing participants’ motivation to train. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether adding game elements to the training could help improve adolescents’ motivation to train while improving cognition. Methods: A total of 84 high school students were allocated to a working memory capacity training, a gamified working memory capacity training, or a placebo condition. Working memory capacity, motivation to train, and drinking habits were assessed before and after training. Results: Self-reported evaluations did not show a self-reported preference for the game, but participants in the gamified working memory capacity training condition did train significantly longer. The game successfully increased motivation to train, but this effect faded over time. Working memory capacity increased equally in all conditions but did not lead to significantly lower drinking, which may be due to low drinking levels at baseline. Conclusions: We recommend that future studies attempt to prolong this motivational effect, as it appeared to fade over time. (JMIR Serious Games 2018;6(2):e10) doi:10.2196/games.8364
P o S ( R A D C O R 2 0 1 7 ) 0 6 2 Monte Carlo Top Quark Mass Calibration

Bahman Dehnadi,a André H. Hoang,bc Vicent Mateu,de Moritz Preisser∗b and Iain W. Stewart f aUniversität Siegen, Department Physik, Walter-Flex-Straße 3, D-57068 Siegen, Germany bUniversity of Vienna, Faculty of Physics, Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Wien, Austria cErwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematical Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 9, A-1090 Wien, Austria dDepartamento de Física Fundamental and IUFFyM, Universidad de Salamanca, E-37008 Salamanca, Spain eInstituto de Física Teórica UAM-CSIC, E-28049 Madrid, Spain f Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA E-mail: dehnadi@physik.uni-siegen.de, andre.hoang@univie.ac. at, vmateu@usal.es, moritz.preisser@univie.ac. at, iains@mit.edu
Adverse Selection in Fertilizer Markets : Evidence from Tanzania

For decades, fertilizer use has remained substantially below recommended rates in most of Sub-Saharan Africa, a shortfall contributing to poor crop yields and low incomes. We explore the role of adverse selection in the fertilizer market in Tanzania. We tested 823 samples of fertilizer in Tanzania, and collected quantitative and qualitative data from 225 fertilizer dealers and 164 farmers. We find that (1) in terms of nitrogen content, the quality of fertilizers is often substandard, (2) sellers know more about this quality problem than buyers, (3) buyers are willing to pay considerably less for fertilizers in the market than they are for (researcher) certified fertilizers, and (4) buyers (incorrectly) base this willingness-to-pay on the observable physical condition of the product, commonly an inaccurate indicator of actual nutrient content. We also provide the first evidence that problems of adulteration in these markets are concentrated at the level of the local agro-dealer. Our results suggest that adverse selection afflicts the Tanzanian market for mineral fertilizer. While nutrient certification, if credible, could be a step towards solving this problem, decreasing physical degradation from poor storage and transportation will also be critical, given that farmers rely on visual evaluation for conclusions about nutrient quality. JEL Codes: Q12, D82, O13
Agronomic Evaluation of Biochar , Compost and Biochar-Blended Compost across Di ff erent Cropping Systems : Perspective from the European Project

This paper reports the results on the agronomic performance of organic amendments in the EU 7th FP project “FERTIPLUS—reducing mineral fertilizers and agro-chemicals by recycling treated organic waste as compost and bio-char”. Four case studies on field-scale application of biochar, compost and biochar-blended compost were established and studied for three consecutive years in four distinct cropping systems and under different agro-climatic conditions in Europe. These included the following sites: olive groves in Murcia (Spain), greenhouse grown tomatoes in Almeria (Spain), an arable crop rotation in Oost-Vlaanderen (Merelbeke, Belgium), and three vineyards in Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy). A slow pyrolysis oak biochar was applied, either alone or in combination with organic residues: compost from olive wastes in Murcia (Spain), sheep manure in Almeria (Spain), and compost from biowaste and green waste in Belgium and Italy. The agronomical benefits were evaluated based on different aspects of soil fertility (soil total organic carbon (TOC), pH, nutrient cycling and microbial activity) and crop nutritional status and productivity. All amendments were effective in increasing soil organic C in all the field trials. On average, the increase with respect to the control was about 11% for compost, 20% for biochar-blended compost, and 36% for biochar. The amendments also raised the pH by 0.15–0.50 units in acidic soils. Only biochar had a negligible fertilization effect. On the contrary, compost and biochar-blended compost were effective in enhancing soil fertility by increasing nutrient cycling (25% mean increase in extractable organic C and 44% increase in extractable N), element availability (26% increase in available K), and soil microbial activity (26% increase in soil respiration and 2–4 fold enhancement of denitrifying activity). In general, the tested amendments did not show any negative effect on crop yield and quality. Furthermore, in vineyards and greenhouse grown tomatoes cropping systems, compost and biochar-blended compost were also effective in enhancing key crop quality parameters (9% increase in grape must acidity and 16% increase in weight, 9% increase in diameter and 8% increase in hardness of tomato fruits) Agronomy 2019, 9, 225; doi:10.3390/agronomy9050225 www.mdpi. com/journal/agronomy Agronomy 2019, 9, 225 2 of 19 important for the quality and marketability of the crops. The overall results of the project suggest that the application of a mixture of biochar and compost can benefit crops. Therefore, biochar-blended compost can support and maintain soil fertility.
Title Laparoscopic colorectal resections with and without routinemechanical bowel preparation : a comparative study

Background: The benefit of mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) in patients undergoing laparoscopic colorectal resections remains a question. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of omitting MBP on patients undergoing laparoscopic bowel resections. Methods: The outcomes of patients who underwent elective colorectal resections for cancer of colon and upper rectum without MBP were compared to a retrospective cohort who had MBP. Results: There were 97 patients in the No-MBP group and 159 patients in the MBP group. Their mean age, operative risk, tumor size and stage of disease were similar. There were no significant differences in operative time and estimated blood loss. The anastomotic leakage rate was 1.0% in the No-MBP group and 0.6% in the MBP group, (p 1⁄4 1.00). Wound infection rate were 4.1% and 3.8% in the No-MBP group and the MBP group respectively (p 1⁄4 1.00). Overall surgical morbidity rate was 11.3% in the No-MBP group and 8.2% in the MBP group (p 1⁄4 0.40). Conversion rates were 5.2% in the No-MBP group and 6.9% in the MBP group, (p 1⁄4 0.57). Conclusion: The omission of mechanical bowel preparation does not increase surgical morbidities in patients undergoing laparoscopic bowel resections. It also has no effect on operating time and conversion rate. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of IJS Publishing Group Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
The Effects of "Live Virtual Classroom" on Students' Achievement and Students' Opinions about "Live Virtual Classroom" at Distance Education.

This study was performed to investigate the effects of live virtual classroom on students’ achievement and to determine students’ opinions about the live virtual physics classroom at distance learning. 63 second-year Distance Computer Education & Instructional Technology students enrolled in this study. At the live virtual physics classroom, the instructor presented physics lessons. Midterm, final and make-up scores were examined after the LOC instruction. Students who are LOCFF (n=32), joined over 50 % percent and they had significantly higher scores than students who are LOCFR (n=31), joined below 50 % percent to the lessons. According to ttest result, LOCFF group more successfully than LOCFR group (p=.006*). In addition, the interviews carried out with students to determine students’ opinions about the live virtual physics classroom and the results were evaluated, classified and discussed several essential considerations about virtual classrooms.
Influence of Some Antagonistic Bacteria against Early Blight ( Alternaria solani ( Ell . & Mart . ) Jones & Grout . ) of Tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill . )

Early blight caused by Alternaria solani (Ell. & Mart.) Jones & Grout. , is amongst the most common foliar disease in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) farms of West Shewa sub-regions of Ethiopia that reduce yield and occasionally cause complete crop loss. To satisfy the contemporary market driven demand and supply for tomato products, the research need to focus on management options that are environmentally friendly. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the antagonistic effect of some rhizospheric bacteria (biocontrol agent) against A. solani and to study their influence on growth and development of tomato leaf of a farming cultivar, ‘Romans VS’. Ten local antagonistic bacteria were screened in vivo for suppressing the pathogen. Five promising antagonists exhibiting higher zone of inhibition (ZOI) (38 mm and above) and percent disease control (ranging from 38.16 to 43.79%) were selected. These are Pseudomonas fluorescens TK-1, P. fluorescens TK-3, Bacillus subtilis TK-4, P. fluorescens TK-8 and P. fluorescens TK-10. The greenhouse experiment revealed P. fluorescens TK-3 as a best biocontrol agent which increased plant height by 35.20% and biomass by 52.28%. The efficacy test results of antagonistic bacterial isolates have clearly indicated that the indigenous strain, P. fluorescens TK-3 followed by Bacillus subtilis Tk-4 is an efficient biocontrol agent against A. solani with good in vitro and in vivo antagonistic activity. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL FITNESS , BMI , WHR AND HYPERTENSION IN ELDERLY MEN

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the structure, characteristics and significance of the relationship between physical fitness, BMI and WHR on one hand and hypertension of elderly men and women on the other. Methods: The sample consisted of 1288 participants (594 men and 694 women) who live in their own households in the cities and villages of Central, Eastern and South Serbia. After the obtained classification of participants based on arterial blood pressure, 231 patients with hypertension aged 60-80 years were selected. The subsample consisted of 138 male participants, while the subsample of women was 93 participants. Predictor variables consisted of 6 variables for the evaluation of physical fitness, Body mass index (BMI) and Waist-to Hip Ratio index (WHR). Criterion variables consisted of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Results: The results showed that there is a statistically significant correlation (p <0.05) between predictor variables and hypertension. Higher values of higher SBP in elderly men causes an increase in body weight due to increased body fat (BMI, WHR). In elderly women, these changes occur under the influence of increased body mass index and reduced CRF. Higher values of high DBP in elderly men cause more power and flexibility of the upper body and in elderly women greater strength in the arms and less strength in legs and CRF. Conclusions: Being overweight in both subsamples could be considered as a factor that contributes to high blood pressure.
Producing and Evaluation of New Hybrid of Rosa ( Rosa spp . ) in Central Sudan

This study was conducted at private nursery, Khartoum North, Sudan, during the season 2004 – 2009, to produce a new variety of rose can be used as cut flower, landscaping and adapted to warm climate. The Parent was selected from the commercial varieties, the first parent (P1) belonging to the floribunda roses group and the second parent (P2) belonging to the hybrid tea roses group. Hybridization was applied between the two parents to produce the hybrid (F1). The best hybrid were selected and sown to produce mothers of plants. After one year, cuttings were taken from the hybrid and parents and planted to produce mother plants. After six month from planting, hybrid and its parents were evaluated based on plant height, number of branches, number of buds, number of flowers, carrying capacity of flowers, number of petals , flower diameter and length of flower stalk. The statistical analysis showed significant difference between the hybrid and parents in the characters under study. The hybrid recorded the highest number of branches (31.8), number of buds (61.6), number of leaves (175.4), number of flowers (71.8 flower/ plant) and flowers clusters.
Algorithmic and complexity results for boolean and pseudo-boolean functions

OF THE DISSERTATION Algorithmic and Complexity Results for Boolean and Pseudo-Boolean Functions by Aritanan G. Gruber Dissertation Director: Endre Boros This dissertation presents our contributions to two problems. In the first problem, we study the hardness of approximation of clause minimum and literal minimum representations of pure Horn functions in n Boolean variables. We show that unless P = NP, it is not possible to approximate in polynomial time the minimum number of clauses and the minimum number of literals of pure Horn CNF representations to within a factor of 2log 1−o(1) n. This is the case even when the inputs are restricted to pure Horn 3-CNFs with O(n1+e) clauses, for some small positive constant e. Furthermore, we show that even allowing sub-exponential time computation, it is still not possible to obtain constant factor approximations for such problems unless the Exponential Time Hypothesis is false. In the second problem, we study quadratizations of pseudo-Boolean functions, that is, transformations that given a pseudo-Boolean function f(x) in n variables, produce a quadratic pseudo-Boolean function g(x, y) in n+m variables such that f(x) = miny∈{0,1}m g(x, y) for all x ∈ {0, 1}n. We present some new termwise procedures, leading to improved experimental results, and then take a global perspective and start a systematic investigation of some structural properties of the class of all quadratizations of a given function.
The light distribution in skin of a 976nm laser diode using different parameter sets in Monte Carlo simulations

A well designed mathematical model could serve as a direct, economical and flexible assistant tool to enable in-depth understanding of thermal response of human skin under laser irradiation. It provides us with reliable predictions of temperature change in skin tissue under laser irradiation. The mathematical model in this project is made up of three stages: Monte Carlo simulation, MATLAB data processing and COMSOL modeling. Based on the model, two topics of research were carried out as a preparation step for actual experiment. First, the temperature distribtion difference when applying different settings of source type for the laser: SourceType = 5 (Top-hat); SourceType =6 (Gaussian) and SourceType = 8 (Fiber) was assessed. Second, thetemperature distribution when using different value of µs corresponding to different initial temperatures T0 compared with using a constant µs value equal to the value of µs at 20o C was also tested.
Biostimulants Application in Horticultural Crops under Abiotic Stress Conditions

Abiotic stresses strongly affect plant growth, development, and quality of production; final crop yield can be really compromised if stress occurs in plants’ most sensitive phenological phases. Additionally, the increase of crop stress tolerance through genetic improvements requires long breeding programmes and different cultivation environments for crop performance validation. Biostimulants have been proposed as agronomic tools to counteract abiotic stress. Indeed, these products containing bioactive molecules have a beneficial effect on plants and improve their capability to face adverse environmental conditions, acting on primary or secondary metabolism. Many companies are investing in new biostimulant products development and in the identification of the most effective bioactive molecules contained in different kinds of extracts, able to elicit specific plant responses against abiotic stresses. Most of these compounds are unknown and their characterization in term of composition is almost impossible; therefore, they could be classified on the basis of their role in plants. Biostimulants have been generally applied to high-value crops like fruits and vegetables; thus, in this review, we examine and summarise literature on their use on vegetable crops, focusing on their application to counteract the most common environmental stresses.
Annual Review of Clinical Psychology Mindfulness Meditation and Psychopathology

Mindfulness meditation is increasingly incorporated into mental health interventions, and theoretical concepts associated with it have influenced basic research on psychopathology. Here, we review the current understanding of mindfulness meditation through the lens of clinical neuroscience, outlining the core capacities targeted by mindfulness meditation and mapping them onto cognitive and affective constructs of the Research Domain Criteria matrix proposed by the National Institute of Mental Health. We review efficacious applications of mindufulness meditation to specific domains of psychopathology including depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and substance abuse, as well as emerging efforts related to attention disorders, traumatic stress, dysregulated eating, and serious mental illness. Priorities for future research include pinpointing mechanisms, 2.1 Review in Advance first posted on December 10, 2018. (Changes may still occur before final publication.) A nn u. R ev . C lin . P sy ch ol . 2 01 9. 15 . D ow nl oa de d fr om w w w . a nn ua lr ev ie w s. or g A cc es s pr ov id ed b y U ni ve rs ity o f W is co ns in M ad is on o n 01 /0 7/ 19 . F or p er so na l u se o nl y. CP15CH02_Davidson ARjats.cls December 3, 2018 11:43 Mindfulness meditation (MM): a family of meditation practices that shares emphasis on reducing distraction and enhancing awareness of mental experience refining methodology, and improving implementation.Mindfulness meditation is a promising basis for interventions, with particular potential relevance to psychiatric comorbidity. The successes and challenges ofmindfulnessmeditation research are instructive for broader interactions between contemplative traditions and clinical psychological science.
The need for measurement based reliability evaluation

Defensible quantitative assessments of the reliability and availability of computer systems including software are possible. This paper characterizes the need for quantitative empirically-based dependability assessment, describes some of the previous work in this area and identifies problems. While there is still ongoing research in measurement-based analysis of computer dependability, the techniques developed in this area have achieved significant experimental results. Measurement-based analysis can also provide verification of assumptions and parameters used in the design models. The results are useful for designing and maintaining highly-dependable computer systems intended for use in safety critical applications.
Stressed and Happy ? Investigating the Research between Happiness and Perceived Stress

Developing interventions to increase happiness is a major focus of the emerging field of positive psychology. Common beliefs about the need to reduce stress to obtain happiness suggest that stress management activities should be included in these interventions. However, the research on the relationship between positive and negative affect is equivocal. Theoretically, they are conceptualized as independent dimensions, but research has often found an inverse relationship between happiness and stress. In addition, the research generally attempts to assess stress objectively rather than in terms of the cognitive appraisal process. The current study examines the relationship between perceived stress and happiness among 100 college students to determine if the same inverse relationship exists. Linear correlations between happiness and perceived stress were significant indicating that there was an inverse relationship between these variables. The discussion focuses on several factors that might help to explain the observed relationship.
Multiple Comparisons with Repeated Measures

One of the commonly asked questions on listservs dealing with statistical issue is "How do I use SPSS (or whatever software is at hand) to run multiple comparisons among a set of repeated measures? " This page is a (longwinded) attempt to address that question. I will restrict myself to the case of one repeated measure (with, or without a between subjects variable), but the generalization to more complex cases should be apparent.
Title Enhancing AQM to combat wireless losses

In order to maintain a small, stable backlog at the router buffer, active queue management (AQM) algorithms drop packets probabilistically at the onset of congestion, leading to backoffs by Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) flows. However, wireless losses may be misinterpreted as congestive losses and induce spurious backoffs. In this paper, we raise the basic question: Can AQM maintain a stable, small backlog under wireless losses? We find that the representative AQM, random early detection (RED), fails to maintain a stable backlog under time-varying wireless losses. We find that the key to resolving the problem is to robustly track the backlog to a preset reference level, and apply the control-theoretic vehicle, internal model principle, to realize such tracking. We further devise the integral controller (IC) as an embodiment of the principle. Our simulation results show that IC is robust against time-varying wireless losses under various network scenarios.
Narrative Time

My aim in this paper is to investigate the topic of narrative time. My approach to the problem of the "illusion of sequence" is derived from two complementary claims. If by sequence we mean chronological time, and if by illusion of sequence we mean the illusion of chronology, we may be correct; but such a critique of chronology does not dispose of the question of time. On the contrary, such a critique opens the way for a more authentic reflection on narrative time. The complementary claim is that there is another response to the illusion of sequence than the recourse to a-chronological models, such as nomological laws in history or paradigmatic codes in literary criticism. This other response consists in elucidating a deeper experience of time, one that escapes the dichotomy between the chronology of sequence and the a-chronology of models.