Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Self-help groups in Bellary: microfinance and women’s empowerment.

Generally self help groups (SHGs) are formed to alleviate poverty. Groups of individuals who are below the poverty line are given micro credit for generating income through small income-generating activities. This is based on the largely successful model developed by Muhammad Yunus of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh which had spread widely in the mid 1990s giving promise of alleviating rural poverty at the same time increasing empowerment of women through income-generating activities. This paper presents information about a programme for generating womens self-help groups (SHGs) in rural Bellary district in eastern Karnataka. During the period from 2000 to 2008 the Family Planning Association of India (FPA India) Bellary branch carried out a programme aimed at developing self-help groups among rural women in one of their service area (Bellary taluka). The programme was carried out with training support from the nearby Agricultural University the District Industries Corporation (a Karnataka state agency) and a Karnatakabased NGO the Mysore Resettlement and Development Agency (MYRADA). State and Central governmental programmes for supporting micro-finance and income generating programmes under the Women Development Corporation (WDC) (Karnataka State) were sources of funding for the SHG campaign.
Effectiveness of Whey Protein Hydrolysate and Milk-Based Formulated Drinks on Recovery of Strength and Power Following Acute Resistance Exercise

Abstract Intensive resistance exercise can result in exercise-induced-muscle-damage, which commonly leads to reductions in acute muscle function. Post-exercise ingestion of carbohydrate-protein mixtures intends to attenuate these effects. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of whey protein hydrolysate and milk-based formulated drinks on recovery of muscle function following resistance exercise. Thirty resistance-trained males were randomly assigned to either whey hydrolysate and dextrose drink (WH), milk-based drink (MB) or flavored-dextrose (CHO), and performed baseline assessments of perceived-muscle-soreness, the countermovement jump, the seated-medicine-ball throw and isokinetic assessment of the knee extensors and flexors maximal strength. Subsequently, participants performed resistance exercise consisting of various multi-joint barbell exercises. Following resistance exercise participants then consumed either WH (533 Kcal, 32.6 g Protein, 98.3 g Carbohydrate, 1.1 g Fat), MB (532 Kcal, 32.8 g Protein, 98.4 g Carbohydrate, 0.6 g Fat) or CHO (531 Kcal, 0 g Protein, 132.7 g Carbohydrate, 0 g Fat). All assessments were repeated 24 and 48 h post-resistance exercise. Muscle soreness was markedly increased at 24 h and 48 h in all groups (p < 0.001). However, for dynamic power measures (countermovement jump, seated-medicine-ball throw), CHO experienced a decrease for the countermovement jump only at 48 h, whereas WH and MB experienced significant decreases across the countermovement jump and the seated-medicine-ball throw (p < 0.05). All groups experienced significant decreases in isokinetic-extension torque at both 24 h and 48 h; however, flexion torque was decreased for CHO only at these time points (p < 0.05). Consumption of WH or MB did not enhance recovery of dynamic power-producing ability or soreness compared to CHO. Based on within-group effects WH and MB ingestion had seemingly marginal to small positive effects on recovery of isokinetic strength, however, there were no between-group differences for these variables.
Bioavailability of Iron and Zinc Fortified Whole Wheat Flour in Rats

The study aimed to compare the bioavailability of the elemental iron (EI), sodium iron ethylenediaminetetraacetate (NaFeEDTA), zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) and zinc oxide (ZnO) in whole wheat flour (WWF). Eight groups of Sprague Dawley rats (n=5) were supplied fortified WWF for 30 days and one group served as a control. Percentage absorption and deposition of iron and zinc were taken as the indices of bioavailability. Significantly (p<0.05) higher iron and zinc absorption was observed in rats supplied with the fortified diet. Higher iron absorption was observed in diet groups fed NaFeEDTA, alone and with ZnO. Similarly, ingestion of ZnSO4 manifested the highest absorption of zinc when given alone and/or with EI and NaFeEDTA. The plasma zinc level did not show the effect of feeding fortified diet, however the zinc concentration in the liver increased as a result of fortification. Further, the presence of zinc in the diet (WWF) might have an antagonistic effect on iron absorption in rats.
Defining risky sexual behaviour in the UK: a latent class approach

This paper aims to define risky sexual behaviour in the UK with respect to the two most common bacterial sexually transmitted diseases: chlamydia and gonorrhoea. Using data from the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles II, a nationally representative survey of sexual behaviour in Britain, this study aims to identify patterns of behaviours associated with increased disease risk by applying latent class techniques. A 3-class solution was obtained, splitting the sample into individuals with no sexual partners in the last year (8%), one sexual partner in the last year (71%) and the risky group, who had two or more sexual partners in the last year (21%). The paper then explores the prevalence of risky behaviour by ethnic group, age group and marital status.
Antioxidant activity, phenol, flavonoid and anthocyanin contents in various extracts of Onosma dichroanthum Boiss. in north of Iran

In the present study we carried out a record of the relative antioxidant activity to secondary metabolites content (phenol, flavonoid and anthocyanin) of Onosma dichroanthum Boiss. in various solvent extracts of plant root. The roots were collected in Kiasar Mountain (1800 m) in Mazandaran province, then dried and different extracts were obtained by acetone, ethanol and methanol (absolute and hydro alcoholic), ethyl acetate, chloroform and n-hexane-dichloromethane.The total phenol varied from 4.5 ± 0.7 to 125.6 ± 3.01 mgGAE g -1 in the extracts. Flavonoid contents were between 9.8 ± 3 to 41 ± 2.3 mgQUE g -1 , while anthocyanin contents were 11.5± 3.4 to 47.8± 6.8 mgECGgr -1 . DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl) radical scavenging effect of the extracts was determined spectrophotometrically. The highest radical scavenging effect was observed in acetone extract of plant with EC50 4.06 mg DW. There was a positive correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content for acetone extract. Thus, it was concluded that phenolic compounds were the predominant antioxidant components in the investigated plant species. Therefore, analysis of these results showed acetone was the best solvent to release most secondary metabolites of plant roots, these results will be confirmed the uses of this plant as antiinflammatory to treat of burn and wounds in their traditional medicine.
Knee Forces During Landing in Men and Women

Abstract Sex differences in biomechanics may provide one explanation for the greater incidence of knee injuries in women, but few studies have compared internal forces. In this study, a musculoskeletal model was used to compare male and female, bilateral and unilateral landings based on motion capture and force plate data. Participants were classified as landing medially or laterally loaded based upon the mediolateral load share at the knee (bilateral: p < 0.001, η2=0.452; unilateral: p < 0.001, η2 = 0.444). Knee kinematics and ground reaction forces were not different between the two groups (p > 0.05, η2 = 0.001 – 0.059), but there were differences in muscular recruitment. Landing strategy did not appear to be dependent on sex. However, for both medially and laterally loaded bilateral landings men had greater gluteal (p = 0.017, η2 = 0.085) and hamstrings forces (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.183), whereas women had greater quadriceps forces (p = 0.004, η2 = 0.116). This study demonstrates an association between muscular recruitment and medially loaded landings. Landing strategy seems to be a function of skill not sex; however, within a particular landing strategy there may be sex differences in muscular activation that contribute to the difference in injury rates.
Credit Constraints and Impact on Farm Household Welfare: Evidence from Vietnam’s North Central Coast region

This study aims at identifying factors affecting formal credit constraint status of rural farm households in Vietnam’s North Central Coast region (NCC). Using the Direct Elicitation method (DEM), we consider both internal and external credit rationing. Empirical evidences confirm the importance of household head’s age, gender and education to household’s likelihood of being credit constrained. In addition, households who have advantages in farm land size, labour resources and non-farm income are less likely to be credit constrained. Poor households are observed to remain restricted by formal credit institutions. Results from the Endogenous Switching Regression model suggest that credit constraints have negative impact on household’s consumption per capita and informal credit can act as a substitute to mitigate the negative influence of formal credit constraints.
Cultural Adaptation of Research Instruments – The Case of Materialism Scales Culturally Adapted for Use in China

Introduction: This study seeks to understand whether a back translation process can produce culturally adapted statements. Economic materialism levels are often studied using materials designed in English for the Western subject. This study revolves around culturally adapting, for use in China, economic materialism research instruments that were originally created in English for use in the West. Methods: This study used an instrument translation process followed by a validation step in order to culturally adapt research constructs not originally designed for subjects in China. The study consisted of six main steps: forward translation, reconciliation, blind back translation, expert committee review, validation, and statistical analysis. Results: Inadequate back translated items were identified. The analysis revealed several items that should be redesigned specifically for the Chinese cultural context. This study shows that the back translation process may be insufficient, and that Western-developed research instruments can be improved through a process of cultural adaptation.
Precursory phenomena associated with large avalanches in the long‐range connective sandpile model II: An implication to the relation between the b‐value and the Hurst exponent in seismicity

We analyze the Hurst exponent H and a power‐law exponent B obtained from frequency‐size distributions of avalanche events in the long‐range connective sandpile (LRCS) model and study the relation between those two exponents. The LRCS model is introduced by considering the random distant connection between two separated cells. We find that the B‐values typically reduce prior to large avalanches while the H‐values increase. Both parameters appear precursory phenomena prior to large avalanche events. Most importantly, we show that the LRCS model can demonstrate an interesting negative correlation between the B‐ and H‐values, which has been frequently implied in observations of seismicity and firstly verified in our present simulations.
TRIPS Agreement: From Minimum Standards to Double Standards of Intellectual Property Rights Protection in North-South Relations

The WTO Trips agreement's basic objective of establishing minimum international standards for IP rights protection is based on a restrictive " one-fits-all " approach that denies the right to enact or not to enact intellectual property rights provisions to developing countries and least developed countries and restrict their ability to effectively adapt national laws to their own socioeconomic environment and development level. Developed countries had widely benefited from this privilege when no minimum binding standards of intellectual property existed in multilateral relations. The Trips agreement stabilizes the strong inequalities in terms of bargaining power between rich and poor countries ; it also reinforces the pressure exerted by US big business firms during the negotiation process to universalize the western system of IP rights to the detriment of indigenous communities' intellectual property rights. In practice, the Trips agreement illustrates how an international agreement is to facilitate biopiracy by protecting rich countries' inventions and ignoring those from the poor ones.
Co-movements in commodity prices: A note based on network analysis

This article analyses co-movements in a wide group of commodity prices during the time period 1992–2010. Our methodological approach is based on the correlation matrix and the networks inside. Through this approach we are able to summarize global interaction and interdependence, capturing the existing heterogeneity in the degrees of synchronization between commodity prices. Our results produce two main findings: (a) we do not observe a persistent increase in the degree of co-movement of the commodity prices in our time sample, however from mid-2008 to the end of 2009 co-movements almost doubled when compared with the average correlation; (b) we observe three groups of commodities which have exhibited similar price dynamics (metals, oil and grains, and oilseeds) and which have increased their degree of co-movement during the sampled period.
Observational study on the quality of life of persons with implantable cardioverter-defibrillator for the prevention of sudden cardiac death

Introduction: the Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) prolongs significantly the lifespan of patients at risk for sudden cardiac death, but its effects on the psycho-social aspects besides the quality of life related to health are not yet clear. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that an ICD determines a deterioration in the quality of life in relation to health status. Methods: data were collected through interviews with a non-probabilistic sample of convenience. The instrument used was the SF-36, which investigates the quality of life in relation to health status. The collected data were entered into a database (Excel®) and processed with the software Matlab® to perform a multivariate analysis. Results: the analysis shows a significant worsening of quality of life in patients with defibrillator in 3 domains, which refer to physical health, while those in reference to mental health have not shown significant changes. Nevertheless, the majority of patients perceive their health basically unchanged (37%) compared to a year ago. This is probably due to the fact that all subjects enrolled in the study have not experienced arrhythmic events treated with shock. Discussion: the initial hypothesis that the ICD determines a deterioration in the quality of life is partly confirmed. On one hand the physical health suffers the effects of the defibrillator, as shown by the worsening of score of the 3 domains regarding physical aspects. On the other hand mental health, which is composed of both the psychological and social aspects, it is not affected.
INTERACTIONS BETWEEN BACTERIA AND ALGAE IN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS

Bacteria and algae are the numerically dominant organisms in the plankton of lakes and the ocean and their metabolism largely controls pelagic energy flow and nutrient cycling. The purpose of this review is to examine the means by which algae and heterotrophic bacteria interact in planktonic systems. In terrestrial systems, bacterial-plant interactions have been well studied in the rhizosphere, the zone in the soil where microorganisms are influenced by plant roots (108). The concept of the "phycosphere" was introduced as a pelagic analogy to the rhizosphere (7). The phycosphere would be the zone surrounding an algal cell within which microorganisms are influenced by algal products. In considering bacterial-algal interactions, then, we should ask ourselves whether a phycosphere exists. I cite specific evidence from the literature for various types of interactions. In doing this I rely heavily on laboratory studies because relatively little field oriented work is available. I include neither the photosynthetic bacteria (e.g. Chlorobiaceae, Rhodospirillaceae) nor the large macroalgae (seaweeds) in this review. The cyanobacteria have both algal and bacterial characteristics, being prokaryotes and capable of oxygenic photosynthesis. As planktonic, aerobic photo-autotrophs the cyanobacteria clearly belong with the phytoplankton in terms of this review.
LATTICE BOLTZMANN SIMULATION OF A STORAGE TANK WITH AN IMMERSED TUBE BUNDLE HEAT EXCHANGER

A rectangular storage tank with an immersed cylindrical tube bundle heat exchanger has been simulated by Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM). The details of transient temperature distributions and flow streamlines in the nearby field of each tube are clearly demonstrated as well as the complexity of the overall flow field and the extent of the mixing during discharge. The LBM makes the directly simulation possible and the computational speed is increased comparing to a conventional porous medium model simulation. The transient averaged Nusselt numbers of the tube bundle have been obtained, which can also be applied in other applications such as numerical simulations of porous medium models.
Dusty tails of evaporating exoplanets. II. Physical modelling of the KIC 12557548b light curve

Evaporating rocky exoplanets, such as KIC 12557548b, eject large amounts of dust grains, which can trail the planet in a comet-like tail. When such objects occult their host star, the resulting transit signal contains information about the dust in the tail. We aim to use the detailed shape of the Kepler light curve of KIC 12557548b to constrain the size and composition of the dust grains that make up the tail, as well as the mass loss rate of the planet. Using a self-consistent numerical model of the dust dynamics and sublimation, we calculate the shape of the tail by following dust grains from their ejection from the planet to their destruction due to sublimation. From this dust cloud shape, we generate synthetic light curves (incorporating the effects of extinction and angle-dependent scattering), which are then compared with the phase-folded Kepler light curve. We explore the free-parameter space thoroughly using a Markov chain Monte Carlo method. Our physics-based model is capable of reproducing the observed light curve in detail. Good fits are found for initial grain sizes between 0.2 and 5.6 micron and dust mass loss rates of 0.6 to 15.6 M_earth/Gyr (2-sigma ranges). We find that only certain combinations of material parameters yield the correct tail length. These constraints are consistent with dust made of corundum (Al2O3), but do not agree with a range of carbonaceous, silicate, or iron compositions. Using a detailed, physically motivated model, it is possible to constrain the composition of the dust in the tails of evaporating rocky exoplanets. This provides a unique opportunity to probe to interior composition of the smallest known exoplanets.
Strong optimized conservative Fermi-LAT constraints on dark matter models from the inclusive photon spectrum

We set conservative, robust constraints on the annihilation and decay of dark matter into various Standard Model final states under various assumptions about the distribution of the dark matter in the Milky Way halo. We use the inclusive photon spectrum observed by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope through its main instrument, the Large Area Telescope. We use simulated data to first find the ``optimal'' regions of interest in the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray sky, where the expected dark matter signal is largest compared with the expected astrophysical foregrounds. We then require the predicted dark matter signal to be less than the observed photon counts in the a priori optimal regions. This yields a very conservative constraint as we do not attempt to model or subtract astrophysical foregrounds. The resulting limits are competitive with other existing limits and, for some final states with cuspy dark-matter distributions in the Galactic Center region, disfavor the typical cross section required during freeze-out for a weakly interacting massive particle to obtain the observed relic abundance.
PERFORMANCE TEST OF IC ENGINE USING KARANJA BIODIESEL BLENDING WITH DIESEL

Biodiesel production is a modern and technological area for researchers due to constant increase in the prices of petroleum diesel and environmental advantages. This paper presents a review of the alternative technological methods that could be used to produce this fuel. Biodiesel from karanja oil was produced by alkali catalyzed transesterification process. Performance of IC engine using karanja biodiesel blending with diesel and with various blending ratios has been evaluated. The engine performance studies were conducted with a prony brake-diesel engine set up. Parameters like speed of engine, fuel consumption and torque were measured at different loads for pure diesel and various combinations of dual fuel. Brake power, brake specific fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency were calculated. The test results indicate that the dual fuel combination of B40 can be used in the diesel engines without making any engine modifications. Also the cost of dual fuel (B40) can be considerably reduced than pure diesel.
School performance and adjustment of Greek remigrant students in the schools of their home country

ABSTRACT This study explores the adjustment of Greek remigrant students in Greek public schools after their families' return to Greece from the Federal Republic of Germany. Teacher and self-rating instruments were used, and achievement and language competence data were obtained. The sample consisted of 13- to 15-year-old junior high school students in northern Greece. The remigrant students were divided into two groups (“early return” and “late return”), based on the year of return to Greece. The control group consisted of all the local classmates of these students. Remigrant students (mainly late return) were found to experience difficulties mainly in the language/learning domain and less in the interpersonal and intrapersonal behavior domains.
MOLECULAR GENETIC FINGERPRINTING FOR NEW SELECTED EGYPTIAN SHEEP STRAINS IN RELATION TO OSSIMI BREED

Two strains of El-Adely sheep and Ossimi sheep breed were characterized using biochemical techniques. Protein banding pattern using SDS and native gel electrophoresis were carried out to identify the biochemical genetic fingerprinting of each El-Adely sheep strains and Ossimi breed. The genetic homogeneity percentage based on Native-protein within each of Ossimi, El-Adely (HORS) and El-Adely (HMYS) were 53%, 37% and 55%, respectively. Similarity value based on SDS-PAGE, Native-PAGE and RAPD-PCR analysis was the highest between the two strains of El-Adely sheep (HOR and HMY) strains, while it was the lowest between Ossimi breed and El-Adely sheep HOR strain. Also, similarity value was low between El-Adely sheep HMYstrain and Ossimi breed. The dendrogram was constructed among the studied sheep groups based on SDS-PAGE, Native-PAGE and RAPD analyses showed that Ossimi breed was distantly related from both the two strains of El-Adely sheep (HOR and HMY strains). The present study revealed that SDS-PAGE, Native-PAGE and RAPD-PCR techniques could be strongly recommended as useful tools for detecting fingerprint, determination of polymorphism and establishing the genetic relationships among different sheep genotypes.