Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coronary age, based on coronary calcium measurement, is increased in patients with morbid obesity

Purpose Obesity is a well-known of risk factor for atherosclerosis. However, recently an “obesity paradox” has been discussed, which is considered as a protective effect of obesity on the development coronary artery disease (CAD). An aim of the study was to investigate the risk of CAD in morbidly obese patients using coronary artery calcium measurement. Material and methods Fifty-one patients with morbid obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2) and thirty controls were scanned to determine the amount of coronary artery calcification (CAC), which was expressed as calcium score (CS) and coronary age (CA). The control group consisted of patients scanned for the clinical suspicion of CAD, who did not fulfil the criteria of obesity. Results Mean BMI of obese patients and controls was 47.3 and 26.5, respectively (p < 0.0001). Arterial hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and smoking were more frequent in the control group than in the obesity group (p < 0.02). The prevalence of CAC was higher in the obesity group (53% vs. 23%, p < 0.01). The groups did not differ regarding CS and CA. However, the difference between coronary age and metrical age was higher in obese patients than in controls (+5.6 vs. –4.8 years, respectively, p < 0.005). Conclusions Patients with morbid obesity present an increased risk of CAD that is reflected by the difference between their coronary age and metrical age.
Some Responses of Inoculated Persian Clover with Rhizobium to SO2 Pollution

Sulfur dioxide (SO 2) is one of the most common and harmful air pollutants. High concentrations of SO 2 can cause stress and limit growth in plants. Some of the plants can resist stress by bacterial symbiosis such as Rhizobium symbiosis. Rhizobium is a beneficial bacterium that enhances plant growth and yield. To study the effects of SO 2 pollution on growth indexes, protein, proline and sulfur contents, 31 days old plants of Trifolium resupinatum (Persian clover), inoculated with native and standard Rhizobium were exposed to the different concentrations of SO 2 (0 as control, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 ppm) for 5 consecutive days. Results showed that inoculation increased leaf area, leaf number, shoot height, root length, shoot fresh and dry weight and protein content of Persian clover but didn’t show any significant effect on proline and sulfur contents. Different concentrations of SO 2 had a significant effect on leaf number, shoot height, root length, shoot fresh and dry weight, protein, proline and sulfur contents but didn’t have effects on leaf area. 0.5 ppm concentration of SO 2 increased growth indexes and protein content. Proline and sulfur contents didn’t change in 0.5 ppm. Increasing SO 2 decreased growth indexes and protein, and increased proline and sulfur contents. Interaction between Rhizobium inoculation and SO 2 treatment improved the stress effects of high concentrations of SO 2 on growth indexes, protein, proline and sulfur contents. It was therefore concluded that Rhizobium can increase tolerance and resistance of this plant to the abiotic stresses such as SO 2 pollution .
Pre-service and In-service English Teachers’ Efficacy Beliefs about Teaching English at Primary Schools

This study investigated pre-service and in-service English teachers’ efficacy beliefs about teaching English at primary schools in Turkey by revealing the teaching aspects that they felt most and least efficacious. The study also attempted to understand pre-service teachers’ views about the effectiveness of pre-service teacher education and explore which major problems in-service teachers encountered while teaching English at primary schools. The quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 170 pre-service and 129 in-service teachers through a questionnaire. The quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis, respectively. According to the findings, both groups held similar positive or negative efficacy beliefs about most teaching aspects: while they reported feeling most efficacious in ‘using visual materials’, ‘giving simple instructions’, and ‘using gestures, facial expressions and body language effectively’, they reported feeling least efficacious in ‘using mainly kinaesthetic activities’, ‘managing class time effectively’, and ‘knowing how each language skill can be developed’. Pre-service teachers agreed that the ‘teaching practicum’ was the most ineffective aspect of the programme, followed by ‘lack of practice-based courses’, ‘inadequate number of teaching English to young learners courses’, and ‘language courses’. In-service teachers reported having problems because of ‘limited class hours’, ‘poor textbooks’, ‘lack of technological resources’, ‘lack of learner preparedness’, ‘lack of learner motivation’, and ‘large classes’. In the light of these findings, implications were generated to improve the effectiveness of pre-service and in-service teacher education, which could increase the quality of education for English language students at primary schools
A systematic review of success factors in the community management of rural water supplies over the past 30 years

Community management is the accepted management model for rural water supplies in many low and middle-income countries. However, endemic problems in the sustainability and scalability of this model are leading many to conclude we have reached the limits of an approach that is too reliant on voluntarism and informality. Accepting this criticism but recognising that many cases of success have been reported over the past 30 years, this study systematically reviews and analyses the development pattern of 174 successful community management case studies. The synthesis confirms the premise that for community management to be sustained at scale, community institutions need a ‘plus’ that includes long-term external support, with the majority of high performing cases involving financial support, technical advice and managerial advice. Internal community characteristics were also found to be influential in terms of success, including collective initiative, strong leadership and institutional transparency. Through a meta-analysis of success in different regions, the paper also indicates an important finding on the direct relationship between success and the prevailing socio-economic wealth in a society. This holds implications for policy and programme design with a need to consider how broad structural conditions may dictate the relative success of different forms of community management.
The Impact of Intrinsic Motivation on The Effectiveness of Leadership Style towards on Work Engagement

The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of authoritarian leadership and authentic leadership, which satisfies employees’ needs to different extents, on employees’ engagement with their work. The moderating effect of intrinsic motivation between leadership and work engagement also was tested among Chinese workers in Taiwan. The snowball sampling method was used, and data were collected for 350 subordinate-supervisor dyads. The results of regression analysis indicated that, when controlling for obedience, authoritarian leadership was found to be negatively related to subordinates’ work engagement, but authentic leadership was found to be positively related to work engagement. Intrinsic motivation appears to foster the positive relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement and buffer the adverse impact of authoritarian leadership on work engagement. The theoretical, research, and practical implications of these findings are discussed in this paper. Keywords: Self-Determination Theory, Bicultural Self, Intrinsic Motivation, Work Engagement To cite this document: Chin-Yi Shu, "The Impact of Intrinsic Motivation on The Effectiveness of Leadership Style towards on Work Engagement", Contemporary Management Research, Vol.11, No.4, pp. 327-350, 2015. Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi. org/10.7903/cmr.14043
Approximate Double Commutants and Distance Formulas

We extend work of the first author concering relative double commutants and approximate double commutants of unital subalgebras of unital C*-algebras, including metric versions involving distance estimates. We prove metric results for AH subalgebras of von Neumann algebras or AF subalgebras of primitive C*-algebras. We prove other general results, including some for nonselfadjoint commutative subalgebras, using C*-algebraic versions of the Stone-Weierstrass and Bishop-Stone-Weierstrass theorems.
UV Treatment of the Stabilizing Shell for Improving the Photostability of Silver Nanoparticles

Silver nanoparticles or nanoclusters are quite sensitive to light exposure. In particular, irradiation in the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) region brings about a drastic modification of their optical properties due to growth and reshaping of the nanoparticles. In order to obtain luminescent colloids, small silver colloidal nanoparticles were prepared in chloroform using vinylpyrrolidone oligomers as capping agent and their luminescence properties were used to control their stability upon prolonged exposure to visible light. The polymeric shell around the metal clusters was hardened through photo-cross-linking by UV light. This process did not alter the morphology and the optical properties of the nanoparticles but greatly improved the particle photostability as confirmed also by confocal laser scanning microscopy measurements. The data clearly show that UV curing of the stabilizing layer could be a simple postsynthetic procedure to obtain materials with stable properties.
Effects of solar radiation on the utilization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from two headwater streams

The effect of solar radiation on dissolved organic matter (DOM) utilization was studied in 2 contrasting streams in Arkansas, USA, from June 2002 through July 2003. Moores Creek is an agricultural stream with elevated nutrient and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. Huey Hollow is a forest stream with low nutrient and DOC concentrations. A series of in situ experiments were conducted seasonally in both streams to assess how exposure of DOM to solar radiation impacted its utilization, measured as bacterial production following exposure and subsequent inocu- lation with whole stream water. Exposure of DOM to solar radiation significantly decreased its uti- lization during most seasons in both streams. Both streams experienced one period when exposure of DOM significantly increased bacterial production; during these periods, DOM appeared to be the least bioavailable and most photochemically reactive. In spring, ultraviolet absorption coefficients, normalized to DOC concentration, suggested a greater proportion of photoreactive DOM in Huey Hollow. Additionally the δ 13 C signature of DOM (δ 13 CDOM) suggested the largest terrestrial input occurred in spring when exposure of DOM significantly increased bacterial production. Both the proportion of photoreactive DOM and δ 13 CDOM exhibited little seasonal variation in Moores Creek; however, the relative bioavailability of DOM did vary, suggesting some change in DOM composition. In spring the relative bioavailability of DOM was lowest in Moores Creek, and DOM exposure appeared to have further reduced its bioavailability. Elevated ammonium concentrations at this time suggest photochemically enhanced humification may be an important mechanism influencing DOM cycling, and warrants study in streams impacted by agricultural land use.
Maternal Vitamin D Level and Rate of Primary Cesarean Section

Background: Vitamin D deficiency has been a worldwide health problem, and pregnant women are considered as a high risk group among whom the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is increasing to be around 5-40% and to reach a rate of 10-56% in breast fed infants. Recent studies revealed the importance of vitamin D during pregnancy and correlated its level to several pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. We aimed to assess the effect of low level of maternal vitamin D on the progress of labor affecting primary cesarean section (C-section) rate, pregnancy outcomes (such as risk of uterine atony and postpartum hemorrhage, pregnancy-induced hypertension, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes) and neonatal outcomes (such as low birth weight and preterm birth). Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted in two university hospitals in Lebanon between September 2016 and January 2017. A questionnaire was used for collecting date after taking informed consent to participate in the study. Demographic data, calcium intake, vitamin D intake including the dose, obstetric history complicating the current or previous pregnancy, mode of delivery and finally maternal and neonatal outcomes were recorded. Blood samples were collected from all patients participating in the study for vitamin D level measurement. Patients were divided into two groups: the control group (vitamin D level > 30 ng/mL) and the deficient group (≤ 30 ng/mL). Results: A total of 381 patients were included in this study. In total, 40.9% of the deficient group delivered by C-section for failure of induction, failure to progress or failure to descend, compared to 12.8% only of the control group (P value < 0.0001). There was also a significant association between vitamin D deficiency and risk of uterine atony and postpartum hemorrhage (4.7% and 5.6%, respectively in the study group with low level of vitamin D compared to 0.7% and 1.3% in the control group with significant P value of 0.033 and 0.040, respectively). Conclusion: Low maternal vitamin D level was associated with increased risk of primary C-section, uterine atony and postpartum hemorrhage. J Clin Gynecol Obstet. 2018;7(2):43-51 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jcgo473w
A Study on the Effects of Sandplay Therapy on the Psychological Well-Being of Undergraduates

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of sandplay therapy on the level of psychological well-being of college students. The nine subjects who had wanted to find their psychological homeostasis participated in the sandplay therapy program and the eleven subjects who had interests in self-exploration and mental health participated in the self-exploration program. Both groups of subjects had completed the self-report pre-post questionnaires related to perceived subjective well-being, psychological acceptance, and positive thinking. The scores obtained from both pre-post questionnaires were compared with each other and analyzed with SPSS WIN v. 20. Differences were evident in the levels of each scale after the programs were concluded. In the sandplay therapy group, significant differences were evident in several scales, whereas no significant difference was evident in the self-exploration group. Thus, sandplay therapy enhanced the general perceived level of subjective well-being, psychological acceptance, and positive thinking of the subjects.
Depression in men and women: Relative rank, interpersonal dependency, and risk-taking.

The Social Rank Theory of depression (Price, Sloman, Gardner, Gilbert & Rohde, 1994) conceptualizes depression as a response to recognition that defeat will occur. This response reduces the risk of injury or death and further loss of valued resources, thus serving an important adaptive function. In the current study, men (N = 63) and women (N = 154) aged 18-35 completed an online questionnaire assessing depression, anxiety, social comparison, interpersonal dependency, and risk taking. Consistent with Social Rank Theory, depression levels were associated with a self-reported fall in social rank and a desire for a rise in rank. Furthermore, interpersonal dependency predicted depression for both men and women after controlling for anxiety and relative rank change and depression levels predicted a reduced willingness to engage in risky behavior.
Can Modified Dukes' Classification be Used in Gastric Cancer Staging?

Methods: The prognostic factors affecting survival in 139 gastric cancer cases who had had at least 15 lymph nodes removed were analyzed. Modified Dukes’ and TNM classifications were investigated to correlate statistically significant prognostic factors. The investigated prognostic factors were age, tumor size, histological type, differentiation, localization and number of the lymph nodes removed, and the ratio of number of metastatic lymph nodes to the number of lymph nodes removed. Results: Tumor size >10 cm, muscularis propria and serosa invasion, >6 invaded lymph nodes and metastatic lymph node ratio >0.29 were statistically significant poor prognostic factors in multivariate analysis. The two staging systems were in correlation with these poor prognostic factors. There was no statistical difference between receiver operating characteristics curves of the two systems. When the survival curves were examined, it was seen that Dukes’ staging had a more stepwise curve than the TNM system. Conclusion: Dukes’ staging system is in correlation with prognostic factors in gastric cancer. It can be easily recalled. Dukes’ A stage when applied to gastric cancer defines a good prognosis group. The reclassification of T2N0 tumors as early gastric cancer is an area of speculation which needs to be investigated separately. Modifiye Dukes S›n›flamas› Mide Kanseri Evrelemesinde Kullan›labilir mi? Amac: Dukes evreleme sistemi kolorektal kanser evrelemesinde yayg›n olarak kullan›lan basit bir evreleme
Long-term association between the intensity of cosmic rays and mortality rates in the city of Sao Paulo

Human beings are constantly exposed to many kinds of environmental agents which affect their health and lifespan. Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) are the main source of ionizing radiation in the lower troposphere, in which secondary products can penetrate the ground and underground layers. GCRs affect the physical–chemical properties of the terrestrial atmosphere, as well as the biosphere. GCRs are modulated by solar activity and latitudinal geomagnetic field distribution. In our ecological/populational retrospective study, we analyzed the correlation between the annual flux of local secondary GCR-induced ionization (CRII) and mortality rates in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, between 1951–2012. The multivariate linear regression analyses adjusted by demographic and weather parameters showed that CRII are significantly correlated with total mortality, infectious disease mortality, maternal mortality, and perinatal mortality rates (p < 0.001). The underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Further cross-sectional and experimental cohort studies are necessary to understand the biophysical mechanisms of the association found here.
A simple closed‐form solution for assessing concentration uncertainty

We propose closed‐form approximate solutions for the moments of a nonreactive tracer that can be used in applications, such as risk analysis. This is in line with the tenet that analytical solutions provide useful information, with minimum cost, during initial site characterization efforts and can serve as a preliminary screening tool when used with prior knowledge. We show that with the help of a few assumptions, the first‐order solutions of the concentration moments proposed by Fiori and Dagan (2000) can be further simplified to assume a form similar to well‐known deterministic solutions, therefore facilitating their use in applications. A highly anisotropic formation is assumed, and we neglect the transverse components of the two‐particle correlation trajectory. The proposed solution compares well with the work of Fiori and Dagan while presenting the same simplicity of use of existing solutions for homogeneous porous media.
Color and Heat Denaturation of Myoglobin Forms in Ground Beef

: To determine the effects of myoglobin forms on internal cooked color in ground beef, patties containing predominantly deoxy-(DMb), oxy-(OMb), or metmyoglobin (MMb) were cooked to 55, 65, or 75 °C. Only patties with DMb appeared red and undercooked at 55 °C, and their color became progressively more brown at 65 and 75 °C. Patties with OMb and MMb were brown at 55 °C and could be mistakenly perceived as being cooked enough to consume. Judging the doneness of ground beef using internal cooked color alone would be valid only if the pigment at time of cooking was predominantly DMb. In model studies, DMb had greater thermal stability than MMb especially at higher pH.
Enhanced telecom wavelength single-photon detection with NbTiN superconducting nanowires on oxidized silicon

Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have emerged as a highly promising infrared single-photon detector technology. Next-generation devices are being developed with enhanced detection efficiency (DE) at key technological wavelengths via the use of optical cavities. Furthermore, new materials and substrates are being explored for improved fabrication versatility, higher DE, and lower dark counts. We report on the practical performance of packaged NbTiN SNSPDs fabricated on oxidized silicon substrates in the wavelength range from 830 to 1700 nm. We exploit constructive interference from the SiO2/Si interface in order to achieve enhanced front-side fiber-coupled DE of 23.2 % at 1310 nm, at 1 kHz dark count rate, with 60 ps full width half maximum timing jitter.
Morphological differences in the Galaxias maculatus [Jenyns, 1842] populations, an osmeriform fish from southern Argentina

Samples of the puyen Galaxias maculatus (Galaxiidae) from four localities at the Limay river basin were subjected to Principal Component Analysis of morphometric traits. The analysis portrayed different body characteristics among samplesfrom sections of the river with different physical and water chemistry traits. Samples from the Ramos Mexia dam and downstream, are composed of slender individuals of varied sizes, living under slow current over vegetated muddy bottoms. Thosefrom the Collon Cura river are smaller and robust, living under strong current. Those from Piedra del Aguila, midway from the other localities, display a heterogeneous morphology, but have larger-sized ryes andjaws relative to head size. In spite of having access to the sea (distant 600 km), Limay river populations of G. maculatus appear to be lacustrine.
Customer satisfaction, loyalty and financial performance A holistic approach of the Greek banking sector

Purpose – The present paper is an attempt to provide a holistic approach of the Greek banking sector and how it operates. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was carried out in the banking sector of Greece in order to gather information regarding customer satisfaction and loyalty, while the financial data of the banks were attained from their annual financial statements. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses. Findings – It has been found that neither customer satisfaction nor loyalty has a significant impact on the financial performance of banks, while the remaining factors have indicated unprecedented results. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of the study is the economic environment of Greece and the general crisis of the banking sector. Practical implications – The study provides an insight into the Greek banking sector and the interrelationships among the investigated factors, and how customer satisfaction and loyalty could be enhanced through the remaining factors. Originality/value – A new factor, the economics factor, was created and included in the study. Moreover, the tangibles factor was tested as an individual and not as part of service quality. Additionally, the present study is among the few that have incorporated customer satisfaction, loyalty and the financial performance of banks. To take it one step further, some more factors were included to present a more holistic approach of how customer satisfaction and loyalty are enhanced.