Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Research Note - Gamification of Technology-Mediated Training: Not All Competitions Are the Same

Gamification, an application of game design elements to non-gaming contexts, is proposed as a way to add engagement in technology-mediated training programs. Yet there is hardly any information on how to adapt game design elements to improve learning outcomes and promote learner engagement. To address this issue, we focus on a popular game design element, competition, and specifically examine the effects of different competitive structures, i.e., whether a person faces a higher-skilled, lower-skilled or equally-skilled competitor, on learning and engagement. We study a gamified training design for databases, where trainees play a trivia-based mini-game with a competitor after each e-training module. Trainees who faced a lower-skilled competitor reported higher self-efficacy beliefs and better learning outcomes, supporting the effect of peer appraisal, a less examined aspect of social cognitive theory. Yet trainees who faced equally-skilled competitors reported higher levels of engagement, supporting the b.
Factors affecting consumer use of the Internet for information search

The Internet opens new opportunities for conducting pre-purchase information search. Lower search costs have been found to affect use of the Internet for this purpose. Benefits in terms of the large amounts of information available and freedom from physical contact with sales staff have also been found to affect the use of the Internet for information search positively. In this paper, low costs and benefits are put together in a model. The model was tested by means of structural equation modeling on a sample of Danish Internet users (n = 233). The main result is that the amount of Internet use affects use of the Internet for pre-purchase information search more than perceived low search costs and perceived availability of information. Further, the test of the model did not support that pleasure in shopping and a preference for personal contact to sales staff affect the use of the Internet for information search.
FACILITATORS AND BARRIERS TO HEALTHY EATING PRACTIC ES AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN RURAL SOUTH

Background The dietary behaviours and physical activity are modifiable risk factors i n the increasing public health problem of increasing obesity prevalence levels a mong children and adolescents. This paper explores perceptions, attitudes, barriers and facilitators related to healthy eating and physical activity practic es of adolescent girls in rural South Africa. Methods A qualitative study was conducted in the rural Agincourt Health and Sociodemographic Surveillance System (HDSS ) community in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Semi-structured duo-interviews were carried out with 11 pairs of adolescent gir ls aged 16-19 years. Thematic content analysis was used. Results Locally grown and traditional foods, especially fruits and vegetables were gre at facilitators of healthy eating among majority of participants. The fem al caregivers and school feeding programs also facilitated healthy eating practices. Most participants shared the belief of the importance of breakfast, even though for the majority availability of food within the household was a barrier to eating breakf ast before going to school. The majority cited limited accessibility to heal t y food options as a major barrier to healthy eating, as they ate what was available . On the whole, the girls shared the awareness of benefits of physical activity, and t hey engaged in various physical activities within the home, community and school domains, such as household chores and walking long distances to school, traditional dancing activities, and extramural activities.
The extinct California Turkey, Meleagris californica, from Rancho La Brea: comparative osteology and systematics

An extensive study of the comparative osteology of turkeys (Aves: Meleagrididae) confirms the validity of the extinct California Turkey, Meleagris californica. The study included all major and many minor skeletal elements of adult specimens of M. californica, best known from the asphalt deposits at Rancho La Brea, California, and both species of extant turkeys: Meleagris gallopavo and Meleagris ocellata. The study also confirmed that M. californica is more closely related to M. gallopavo than to M. ocellata. A review of turkey remains from localities other than Rancho La Brea confirmed the presence of M. californica in California within a relatively small geographic range extending from Orange County in the south, through Los Angeles County, to Santa Barbara County in the north. Other, unconfirmed records of fossil turkeys in the western United States suggest that the species might have been more widespread. Based on a unique combination of characters, we confirmed the presence of Meleagris crassipes in Howell’s Ridge Cave, Grant County, New Mexico, which indicates that the geographic range of this extinct species extended from northeastern Mexico (San Josecito Cave) to at least New Mexico in the late Pleistocene. The close osteological similarity between M. californica and M. gallopavo suggests that the ancestors of M. californica became isolated in California only after nearing the M. gallopavo grade, but certain osteological features suggest different adaptations in the two species following divergence of their respective lineages. The high incidence of entrapment in the La Brea asphalt seeps is linked to the species’ social behavior. The end Pleistocene extinction of M. californica might have resulted from the coincidental occurrence of two factors: a dramatic drop of precipitation to well below modern precipitation levels beginning about 11,500 BP, which would have concentrated local populations of turkeys around limited roost sites and water supplies, and the arrival of paleoindians in California, who might have hunted the concentrated birds to extinction.
Effect of Sensory and Motor Stimulation Program on Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Moderate Head Injury

Sensory and motor stimulation are the systematic exposure of a comatose or minimally conscious patient with head injury to a variety of environmental stimuli (visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and kinesthetic) to improve arousal, and level of consciousness. Aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of sensory and motor stimulation program on clinical outcomes of patients with moderate head injury. Material and method: The study was conducted at intensive care unit at Tanta Emergency Hospital affiliated to Tanta University.A sample of 60 adult patients with moderate head injury were selected and divided randomly and alternatively into two equal groups: Group I: received sensory and motor stimulation program. Group II: received hospital routine of care for patients with moderate head injury. Two tools were used in order to collect the necessary data; Tool 1: Brain Injury Patients Assessment Tool and. Tool II: Head Injury Clinical Outcome Assessment Tool. Results: the main result revealed that there was a significant improvement of levels of consciousness, cognitive and sensory functions post implementation of sensory and motor stimulation program for patients in the study group than control group. Also, the current study showed that about two third (60.0%) of study group had shorter duration of stay in ICU (15-20 days), compared to (33.3%) of control groups and there was a positive significant correlation between total Rancho Los Amigo and total GCS scores in the 2nd week and one month later of the study group. Conclusion and recommendation: application of sensory and motor stimulation program improves clinical outcomes and decrease length of hospital stay of moderate head injury patients in combination of pharmacological intervention. It was recommended that institutional written policy and guidelines should be available regarding application of sensory and motor stimulation as a daily routine care for patients with moderate head injury.
Key personality traits and career satisfaction of customer service workers

Purpose – The purpose of the present study is to identify key personality traits which distinguish customer service (CS) employees from other occupations and are related to their career satisfaction. As hypothesized, 2,610 CS employees were differentiated from other occupational groups by higher levels of conscientiousness, customer service orientation, and lower tough‐mindedness. Conscientiousness, customer service orientation, emotional stability, extraversion, and tough‐mindedness were significantly, positively related to customer service representatives’ (CSRs’) career satisfaction. Results are discussed in terms of the adaptive value of these traits for the recruitment, selection, and management of customer service employees.Design/methodology/approach – Data for this study were extracted from an archival database containing information on individuals’ many different occupations and industries, including 2,641 CSRs and 76,788 individuals in other occupations. Measures included demographic items and t.
Effect of an anti-androgen on the differentiation of the internal genital organs in dogs.

Summary. From experiments with anti-androgens, it can be concluded which processes in the sex differentiation of dogs are androgen\x=req-\ dependent and which are not. In contrast to rats but as in rabbits, retrogression of the Wolffian ducts can be induced in the treated members of this species compared to their controls, but retrogression of the M\l=u"\llerianducts is uninfluenced in both treated and control animals. From this, it is concluded that the latter process is not androgen-dependent.
MGB-based one-step multiplex real-time PCR method for rapid detection of HPV.

AIM For full-scale analysis of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) status in humans, two minor groove binder (MGB)-based one-step multiplex real-time PCR systems were developed: one to screen 16 high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) types, and one to screen a broader spectrum of HPV types (common HPV or C-HPV). METHODS Sensitivity and specificity were evaluated using diluted reference plasmids and 20 control human DNA samples. For clinical evaluation, 510 cervical scrape samples were evaluated. RESULTS The sensitivity assays revealed that the C-HPV detection system could detect 10 ~ 100 plasmid copies/reaction, while the HR-HPV detection system detected 10 ~ 500 copies. The specificity test revealed that the systems did not yield positive signals from the 20 human genomic DNA samples. Performance was tested on 510 usable clinical samples. The HR-HPV results were compared to those from the Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) test, which assesses 13 HR-HPV types; the concordance level between the two methods was 90.8% with a kappa value of 0.813. CONCLUSIONS These results showed that our novel MGB-based one-step multiplex real-time PCR method may be used for the diagnosis and mass screening of HPV in clinical and large-scale epidemiological studies.
Method of torque measurement based on volumetric strain

This paper proposes a torque measurement method based on volumetric strain. A model of the measurement system based on the differential pressure monitoring is proposed and theoretically discussed. The error sources are identified and an error propagation model is presented for the proposed torque measurement method. Considering these error sources, a prototype torque sensor is presented as a case study for the method verification. Both the mechanical and readout electronics design are discussed and analyzed. The mechanical sensitivity and maximum stresses are analyzed using Finite Element Method. Whereas, the readout electronics is experimentally verified using an off-the-shelf high performance differential pressure sensor. The results from the conducted analysis show that the presented design of torque sensor can be used to measure torque in the range of ±300 N·m with the resolution of 0.006 % of full scale. The maximum observed stress on the proposed structure is 220 MPa. The experiments conducted on the readout electronics show that the differential pressure sensor is the limiting factor in the design when it comes to the resolution. In conclusion it is summarized that the presented torque sensor can be used in industrial applications requiring both high resolution and wide range. Moreover, the method is fully adaptable to various performance requirements in terms of range and resolution. The future work is also discussed to implement the presented design and characterize it using reference instruments.
Plasma Resistin Levels in Patients with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and in Healthy Controls

Resistin is a recently discovered hormone that is exclusively expressed in adipose tissue. Its expression in rodents was reported to be elevated or suppressed in genetic and diet-induced obesity, respectively. Resistin treatment impaired glucose tolerance and insulin action. Immunoneutralization of resistin improved insulin sensitivity, while thiazolidinedione treatment reduced resistin expression. Therefore, resistin could play a critical role in the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes. In this study were determined resistin plasma levels in humans suffering from type 1 and type 2 diabetes and in healthy controls. Plasma levels of resistin in healthy controls were 38.78 ng/ml. They were not statistically different in individuals with a broad BMI range. Resistin plasma levels in type 2 diabetes were 38.7 ng/ml, and 39.4 ng/ml in type 1 diabetes. Thiazolidinedione treatment did not influence resistin plasma levels. We conclude from our data: 1. resistin can be detected in human plasma, 2. plasma resistin levels are not different in type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
The Construction of the Coarse de Rham Complexes with Improved Approximation Properties

Abstract. We present two novel coarse spaces (H1- and H(curl)$H(\operatorname{curl})$ -conforming) based on element agglomeration on unstructured tetrahedral meshes. Each H1-conforming coarse basis function is continuous and piecewise-linear with respect to an original tetrahedral mesh. The H(curl)$H(\operatorname{curl})$ -conforming coarse space is a subspace of the lowest order Nédélec space of the first type. The H1-conforming coarse space exactly interpolates affine functions on each agglomerate. The H(curl)$H(\operatorname{curl})$ -conforming coarse space exactly interpolates vector constants on each agglomerate. Combined with the H(div)$H(\operatorname{div})$ - and L2-conforming spaces developed previously in [Numer. Linear Algebra Appl. 19 (2012), 414–426], the newly constructed coarse spaces form a sequence (with respect to exterior derivatives) which is exact as long as the underlying sequence of fine-grid spaces is exact. The constructed coarse spaces inherit the approximation and stability properties of the underlying fine-grid spaces supported by our numerical experiments. The new coarse spaces, in addition to multigrid, can be used for upscaling of broad range of PDEs involving curl$\operatorname{curl}$ , div$\operatorname{div}$ and grad$\operatorname{grad}$ differential operators.
Uptake of provider-initiated counselling and testing among tuberculosis suspects, Ethiopia.

SETTING Twenty-seven health centres in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. OBJECTIVE To assess the uptake of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing among tuberculosis (TB) suspects in Addis Ababa, and to determine reasons for non-acceptance of the test. DESIGN From February to March 2009, new TB suspects identified in 27 health centres in Addis Ababa were offered HIV testing. Patients were interviewed by trained nurses using a pretested questionnaire. RESULT Of the 506 TB suspects, 59% were tested for HIV and accepted the test result. Individuals with knowledge about HIV counselling and testing procedures were 2.5 times more likely to be tested than individuals with poor knowledge. TB suspects who had previously been tested for HIV were twice as likely to accept HIV testing and to receive the result of the test (OR = 2.0, 95%CI 1.4-2.9). Government employees (OR = 2.8, 95%CI 1.2-6.3) and merchants (OR = 2.7, 95%CI 1.2-5.7) were more likely to be tested for HIV as compared to jobless individuals. CONCLUSION The TB control programme in Ethiopia should increase its educational efforts among all TB suspects, but especially among jobless individuals, to increase the uptake of HIV testing.
What Board Members Do? How the Roles of Executives and Non-Executives Differ

The paper first discusses the board roles as found in the existing literature and identifies the different terms that have been constantly used, to describe similar activities. By examining the roles under agency and resource dependence theories - two of the most dominant theoretical perspectives in corporate governance - the paper attempts to propose a clear set of roles that can be used for future studies. Secondly, the paper argues that most studies research the board’s roles as a whole, while it is important to differentiate between the roles of executives vs. non-executives.
Price and quality competition between brands and own brands: A value systems perspective

The selling prices to consumers of similar products vary considerably within the same retail outlet and between different types of retail outlet. Applying a value systems framework, the cost structures behind the selling prices of products in five product categories are identified using primary and secondary data. The quality of the competing products is also compared using conjoint analysis of the ratings given by consumers for the edible products and available chemical analysis in the case of detergents. The main explanation for the differences observed in selling prices and cost structures of competing value systems lay not in the interface costs between value chains such as logistics, as expected, nor only in advertising costs, but in the internal costs of individual value system members. In particular, the internal costs of brand manufactures are shown to be the main source of their cost disadvantage against own brands. Only in one product category was there a quality justification for the higher prices charged by the leading manufacturer brand.
Regional variations in small intestinal submucosa evoke differences in inflammation with subsequent impact on tissue regeneration in the rat bladder augmentation model

To examine the histological differences in the inflammatory response and regenerative outcomes of distal vs proximal porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS) grafts in the rat bladder, as SIS from distal small intestine yields reliable and reproducible bladder regeneration, while SIS from proximal portions of small intestine does not provide similar results.
The Novel Anthracenedione, Pixantrone, Lacks Redox Activity and Inhibits Doxorubicinol Formation in Human Myocardium: Insight to Explain the Cardiac Safety of Pixantrone in Doxorubicin-Treated Patients

Cardiotoxicity from the antitumor anthracycline doxorubicin correlates with doxorubicin cardiac levels, redox activation to superoxide anion (O2._) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and formation of the long-lived secondary alcohol metabolite doxorubicinol. Cardiotoxicity may first manifest during salvage therapy with other drugs, such as the anthracenedione mitoxantrone. Minimal evidence for cardiotoxicity in anthracycline-pretreated patients with refractory-relapsed non-Hodgkin lymphoma was observed with the novel anthracenedione pixantrone. We characterized whether pixantrone and mitoxantrone caused different effects on doxorubicin levels, redox activation, and doxorubicinol formation. Pixantrone and mitoxantrone were probed in a validated ex vivo human myocardial strip model that was either doxorubicin-naïve or preliminarily subjected to doxorubicin loading and washouts to mimic doxorubicin treatment and elimination in the clinical setting. In doxorubicin-naïve strips, pixantrone showed higher uptake than mitoxantrone; however, neither drug formed O2. _ or H2O2. In doxorubicin-pretreated strips, neither pixantrone nor mitoxantrone altered the distribution and clearance of residual doxorubicin. Mitoxantrone showed an unchanged uptake and lacked effects on doxorubicin levels, but synergized with doxorubicin to form more O2. _ and H2O2, as evidenced by O2. _-dependent inactivation of mitochondrial aconitase or mitoxantrone oxidation by H2O2-activated peroxidases. In contrast, pixantrone uptake was reduced by prior doxorubicin exposure; moreover, pixantrone lacked redox synergism with doxorubicin, and formed an N-dealkylated product that inhibited metabolism of residual doxorubicin to doxorubicinol. Redox inactivity and inhibition of doxorubicinol formation correlate with the cardiac safety of pixantrone in doxorubicin-pretreated patients. Redox inactivity in the face of high cardiac uptake suggests that pixantrone might also be safe in doxorubicin-naïve patients.
Measuring Competition in Financial Markets

M ichiel an Leunsteijn Michiel van Leuvensteijn graduated from the VU University Amsterdam in 1991. Before joining CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis in 2000 as Senior Economist, he was affiliated with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment in the Netherlands. In 2006, he was engaged in research on the nature of competition in EU insurance and banking markets as Expert at the European Central Bank.
The Effects of Different Genres of Background Music on Women ' s Trait Inferences About Men

It has been found that the presence of music can have bearing on an individual’s emotional state, behavior and perception (May & Hamilton, 1980; Bryne & Clore, 1970). The genre of music determines the type of behavior that ensues, with individuals normally acting in accordance with stereotypes about that particular genre, such as buying expensive wines when a sophisticated classical song is playing in a wine store (Areni & Kim, 1993). The current study sought to determine the effect of sophistication levels in music, between classical and popular genres, on women’s trait inferences about men. Participants judged the attractiveness, sociability, sophistication in literature and arts, approachability and socioeconomic status of five male photographs in the presence of classical music, popular music, or silence. Results show that sophistication levels in background music did not affect women’s perceptions about men, but the women’s ratings of various traits were significantly related. F A C u l T y M e n T o R Lawrence D. Rosenblum Department of Psychology Jasmine and Bowen’s project examined the influences of background music on the inferring of character traits of male faces. While they were unable to find influences of different styles of background music, they were able to establish a methodology that will be useful for examining similar issues in the near future. Moreover, the idea, design, and execution of the project came completely from Jasmine and Bowen. My own lab explores speech and multisensory perception, topics very different from those of Jasmine and Bowen’s project. However, Jasmine and Bowen’s initiative and understanding of their topic led me to trust them to conduct their project in my laboratory. They performed all phases professionally, and demonstrated enthusiasm and enjoyment along the way. They also gained expertise with many different research areas, by reading all of the relevant background literature. Pictured above from left to right: Jasmine Singh, Bowen Shaner