Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PERCEIVED EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL USE ON SEXUAL ENCOUNTERS AMONG ADULTS IN SOUTH AFRICA

As part of the World Health Organization’s multi-site rapid assessment project on alcohol use-related sexual risk behaviour, this study focused on the effects of alcohol use on sexual behaviour among adults in South Africa. The objectives of the study were to determine: (a) the associations between alcohol use and sexual risk behaviour; (b) the nature and dimensions of adults’ perceptions about alcohol’s effects on sexual encounters; and (c) the association between dimensions of perceived effects of alcohol use on sexual encounters and demographic factors, alcohol use and sexual risk behaviour. A cross-sectional design was employed. The participants comprised 160 males (N=65) and females (N=95), aged from 25 to 44 years, who were randomly selected
PERFORMANCE OF MANGO CULTIVARS UNDER SUBTROPICAL CONDITIONS IN THE STATE OF SAO PAULO

Mango is quite popular among tropical fruits, and has traits of a fast-expanding market. There is a huge variety of mango cultivars and their potential should be studied in order to be introduced in new producing regions with favourable edaphoclimatic characteristics for planting. The current study aimed to evaluate mango productive performance under subtropical conditions in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The experiment was conducted with ‘Espada Vermelha’, ‘Keitt’ and ‘Palmer’ cultivars grafted onto rootstock ‘Espada’ over three crop cycles 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015. The experimental design was a randomized complete block, consisting of 3x3 factorial design, in which the first factor corresponds to the cultivars and the second factor to the evaluated crop cycles, with 10 replications and one plant per plot. The following variables were evaluated: number of fruits per panicle, number of fruits per plant, panicles percentage to the full aborted fruits, fruit fresh weight, production, yield, canopy volume, production efficiency and crop seasonality. Data analysis by Tukey test and Pearson ́s correlation coefficients. Among the evaluated cultivars, Palmer has stood out with the best productive performance under the experiment conditions in the three evaluated crop cycles. The seasonal availability of cultivars should be explored so that there are fruit productions over a longer period of time. Correlations among productive traits varies according to the cultivar.
NUMBERS AND SIZES OF THE SHRIMP RHYNCHOCINETES URITAI KUBO, 1942 (DECAPODA: CARIDEA) CAUGHT IN BAIT AND REFUGE TRAPS

Catch rates and sizes of hingebeak shrimp Rhynchocinetes uritai Kubo, 1942 were studied with two types of traps: bait traps that were exposed for 1-2 days and unbaited “refuge traps” exposed for 2-4 weeks. Shrimp were collected twice a month from June 2010 to May 2012 on rocky substrata in Oura Bay, Shimoda, Japan. Overall the numbers of shrimp caught did not differ between the two trap types, but when adjusted for soak times, the bait traps had substantially higher catch rates than the refuge traps. Addition of light to the bait traps had no significant effect on catch rates. However, shrimp in the baited traps were significantly larger than those in the refuge traps. The results show that size distribution can be greatly affected by trap type. Consequently, using two types of traps simultaneously increases not only the catch efficiency but also ensures that all sizes of the reproductively mature shrimp population are sampled in adequate numbers, which is especially important in protandric hermaphrodites.
Spring 2010 – Continued – 2 304 CHANGES OF AUDIT METHODLOGIES IN LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES : AFIRMATION OF INTERNATIONALISATION , REALITY OF AUDIT PRACTICE AND SOCIATY ' S NEGOTIATION

This paper reports on an interpretive study carried out to explore the change of audit methodologies toward the Business Risk Audit (henceforth, the BRA) approach in Less Developed Countries (henceforth, LDCs). It argues that changes of audit methodologies in LDCs proceeds through assurance of the international affiliation by the Internationally Affiliated Audit firms (henceforth, IAA), confrontation of reality of local audit practice and social discourse about the international affiliation rather than the actual change of the core of the audit methodology itself in order to claim quality, superiority, and knowledge. The study found that the approach has been promptly introduced artificially in manuals and other materials but without sufficient efforts to relax the existed and approved challenging environmental factors that prevent the practical application of the approach. This consistent with the argument which says that audit manuals might resemble the worldwide audit manual of the global audit approach of the large international firm, but in the local environments auditors could shelve significant parts of such a manual because of facts on the ground and work according to the reality of their audit society. Nevertheless, IAA firms in their negotiation with their community endeavor to argue the international logo of their audit approaches as a clue of their advancement, modernization, and superiority of knowledge over the locally less developed audit practice. This behavior is likely to reflect the social perceptions of the society in LDCs about the definition of the international logo, the ambiguous of the term of audit quality, dependency of LDCs on more developed countries for development, and aspiration toward evolution. Given such reference of quality and superiority of knowledge, the study argues that innovations in audit technologies are not imported to LDCs only because of their technical benefits but more important to serve social functions, mainly affirmation of international affiliation as clue of advancement and superiority.
Animal resources in ancient Maya economy and exchange: Zooarchaeological and isotopic perspectives

In this study, I examined how animal resources were incorporated into ancient Maya economic and exchange systems. Although substantial research has been dedicated to understanding Maya economy and exchange, animals and animal products are one important category of natural resources that has not yet been fully explored in terms of economic research. With the exception of well-documented long-distance exchange of luxury goods, such as marine shells, the extent of animal resource exchange is.
Exchange Rate Relationship of India with Its Major Trading Partners: A Joint Testing Approach

After 1991 economic reforms, India registered tremendous fluctuation in Rupee exchange rate figures owing to its increasing trade and financial relationship with its major trading partners i.e. USA, Europe, and China. This paper examines the International parity conditions viz. Relative Purchasing Power Parity (RPPP), Covered Interest Rate Parity (CIP), Uncovered Interest Rate Parity (UIP), Fisher Effect, and Forward Rate Hypothesis, to reveal the changing financial and economic relations of India with USA, China and Europe. The major objectives of the research are to study the extent to which these International Parity conditions hold for the examined period by employing single cointegration framework and, examining the strong and weak form of parities - allowing for more channels of interaction between variables under joint modeling framework. Using Johansen cointegration test, it is argued that all the parities - except forward rate hypothesis- fail to hold in Rupee/Dollar case, reflecting that the commodity and capital markets of these two countries are not integrated. CIP and Fisher effect hold in weak form in India with respect to China and validity of weak Fisher effect with Europe indicates partial integration and openness of India to these countries. Evidence for the joint validity of strong PPP and weak CIP is reported for India - China suggesting that these parities hold when the actions of importers and exporters, and investors are combined together.
Effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) on follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, testosterone, and estradiol hormone levels in reproductively mature male pigs

Aflatoxin is a major food contaminant, with adverse effects on the physiology of both humans and animals. Exposure to aflatoxins has been known to pose a great threat to both humans and animals, particularly, in the tropics, with varied pathophysiological effects. This research focused on the effects of aflatoxin BI on the pituitary-gonadal axis of pigs, an area that has not fully been investigated since most studies have dwelt on other experimental animals. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of aflatoxin B1 on follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, testosterone, and estradiol hormone levels in reproductively mature male pigs. This research adopted an experimental design using twelve reproductively mature Large White pigs aged 7 to 9 months and of average body weight of 54 kg. The pigs were allowed to acclimatize for a period of seven days. AFB1 was obtained from Bora Biotechnology Company in Nairobi and the doses were given in three levels in the ratio of 1:2:3. The 1st treated group received 80 ppb per day, 2nd treated group received 160 ppb and the 3rd treated group received 240 ppb per day for 60 days. The control group received aflatoxin-free diet for the same study period. This was orally given as predetermined aflatoxin levels mixed with 150 g of pig finishers feed served to each pig in a separate aluminum feeding pot each in their specific experimental group. Each pig was thereafter served its daily 2 kg Unga feed in separate feeding pot. Water was also provided ad libitum. Five milliliters of blood samples were collected once every week from either the right or left ear of the pig in vacutainer tubes containing ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) which is an anticoagulant. Plasma samples were prepared by incubating the whole blood at room temperature for 10 to 20 min. The tubes were centrifugated for 20 min at 2,000 to 3,000 rpm. The supernatant was carefully collected and stored in a freezer at -21°C for hormonal assays. Consumption of increasingly higher doses of aflatoxin BI by pigs led to decreased levels of luteinizing hormone, testosterone and estradiol in a dose-dependent manner. The level of follicle stimulating hormone was however not significantly affected by consumption of aflatoxin BI dosages given.
Random Set Finite Element Method _ Application to Tunnelling

A real tunnel project is used to demonstrate the validity of Random Set Finite Element Method (RS-FEM) framework in geomechanics where engineers have to face not only imprecise data but also lack of information at the beginning of the project. The objective of this paper is to illustrate the RS-FEM approach, which in the authors' view is an appealing procedure in uncertainty analysis, by means of a real case history validated by in-situ measurements. Furthermore, some advantages and limitations in geotechnical problems are addressed as well as the procedure of RS-FEM approach is elaborated, which includes providing set-based input random variables, computing probability assignment of deterministic finite element calculations and demonstrating the usage of such a framework in reliability analysis.
Fabrication, characterization, and antibacterial properties of electrospun membrane composed of gum karaya, polyvinyl alcohol, and silver nanoparticles

Gum karaya (GK), a natural hydrocolloid, was mixed with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) at different weight ratios and electrospun to produce PVA/GK nanofibers. An 80 : 20 PVA/GK ratio produced the most suitable nanofiber for further testing. Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) were synthesised through chemical reduction of AgNO3 (at different concentrations) in the PVA/GK solution, the GK hydroxyl groups being oxidised to carbonyl groups, and Ag+ cations reduced to metallic Ag-NPs. These PVA/GK/Ag solutions were then electrospun to produce nanofiber membranes containing Ag-NPs (Ag-MEMs). Membrane morphology and other characteristics were analysed using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and UV-Vis and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. The antibacterial activity of the Ag-NP solution and Ag-MEM was then investigated against Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. Our results show that electrospun nanofiber membranes based on natural hydrocolloid, synthetic polymer, and Ag-NPs have many potential uses in medical applications, food packaging, and water treatment.
Current MSIS Students’ Views on Program Outcomes

This paper reports the results of a pilot survey sent to current specialized master’s students in Information Systems at several universities around the world. The survey was developed to support the MSIS revision process, but the results will also provide insights on the perceptions of current IS master’s students regarding their current degree program. The results suggest that the respondents valued individual foundational skills and high-level business competences more than technical or lower-level managerial competences. The study utilized competence specifications from the European e-CF 3.0 model, which was useful and performed well as a competence framework. Disciplines Engineering | Science and Technology Studies Publication Details Topi, H. , Karsten, H. , Brown, S. A. , Carvalho, J., Donnellan, B. , Shen, J., Tan, B. C. Y. & Thouin, M. F. (2015). Current MSIS students' views on program outcomes. Proceedings of the AIS SIG-ED IAIM 2015 Conference (pp. 1-11). Authors Heikki Topi, Helena Karsten, Susan A. Brown, Joao Alvaro Carvalho, Brian Donnellan, Jun Shen, Bernard C. Y Tan, and Mark F. Thouin This conference paper is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow. edu.au/eispapers/5375 Topi et al Current Students’ Views on MSIS Proceedings of the AIS SIG-ED IAIM 2015 Conference 1 CURRENT MSIS STUDENTS’ VIEWS ON PROGRAM OUTCOMES Heikki Topi Department of Computer Information Systems Bentley University, USA htopi@bentley.edu Helena Karsten Åbo Akademi University, Finland Susan A. Brown University of Arizona, USA João Alvaro Carvalho Universidade do Minho, Portugal Brian Donnellan Maynooth University, Ireland Jun Shen University of Wollongong, Australia Bernard C.Y. Tan National University of Singapore, Singapore Mark F. Thouin University of Texas at Dallas, USA
Are Native Dung Beetle Species Following Mammals in the Critical Weight Range towards Extinction

Australian native mammal species within the 35 g – 5500 g critical weight range (CWR) have been declining rapidly over the last two centuries, with eighteen species becoming extinct. Inhabitants of arid and semi-arid zones are among those most at risk of extinction. Mammal declines threaten the efﬁ ciency of invertebrate-driven ecosystem processes such as nutrient recycling by artiﬁcially increasing the realised niche overlap for dung resources used by invertebrates involved with dung decomposition. Native dung beetles are one of the main taxa involved in dung decomposition, an ecosystem function necessary for nutrient recycling. Many native dung beetle species strongly prefer marsupial dung, due to their co-evolutionary history. Threatened populations of CWR species can be protected through species reintroductions. However, the long term absence of mainland CWR mammals may have compromised the effectiveness of dung decomposition as an ecosystem function by reducing dung availability. The compatibility of current coprophage assemblages with ‘novel’ inputs from reintroduced CWR species should therefore be questioned. Assessing the potential for persistence and/or relocation of coprophages in mainland habitats associated with CWR species will be an important part of restoring and monitoring habitats used for species recovery.
Resource-related diversification and its measures – review of empirical results

Resource-relatedness is considered to be the answer to the criticism associated with traditional product and market based measures of diversification. However, the empirical support of resource-related diversification has not been investigated yet. Therefore, the author conducts a review of 32 statistical tests derived from 18 studies, and finds substantial support. Nevertheless, a dominant measurement approach has not evolved yet. Researchers focus on specific dimensions of resource-relatedness and they apply different indicators and measurement approaches. The author concludes that a measure satisfying the multidimensionality of resource-relatedness and that consensus on a measurement approach are significant for the advancement of research on diversification.
STUDIES IN PHYSICAL CULTURE AND TOURISM Vol. 13, Supplement, 2006

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of green tea extract on the selected parameters of oxidationreduction balance in blood of volunteers participating in intensive strength exercise. Students were exposed to fourweek strength training and received green tea extract (GTE, n=17; 640 mg polyphenols/day) or placebo (n=18). Prior to (term I) and after the study (term II) all students performed strength exercise test. Blood samples were collected at rest, five minutes after completing exercise and after 24 h of restitution and were analysed for TBARS, TAS and LA concentration, also for SOD and CK activity. The exercise did not intensify lipid peroxidation and did not affect SOD activity, but caused decreases in plasma TBARS and TAS concentration at 24 h restitution. Strength training prevented exercise-induced rise in plasma CK activity and caused a drop of SOD activities. Supplementation with GTE enhanced resting plasma TAS, but did not affect blood parameters of oxidation-reduction balance, neither at rest nor at postexercise.
Fish diet from Manacapuru Big Lake complex (Amazon): a approach starting from the traditional knowledge

In the Amazon fishing is one of the main economic activities and higher value to traditional riverine communities of the region. Considering this importance is to suppose that the riverine populations have knowledge about fish fauna explores for them, because their forming culture that maintain a strait relationship with natural resources. This study aim to elevate the traditional knowledge of the fishermen from the riverine communities in the Big Lake Complex about the fish alimentary diet caught for commercialization and consumption. This study was realized in the Manacapuru Big Lake Complex through interview jointed with 62 fishermen. The results presents a detailed knowledge about the tambaqui, tucunare, pacu, acara-acu, curimata, aruana, matrinxa, piranha and pirapitinga fish feeding compatible with the laboratory analyzes and with the specifics literature. Finally the traditional ecological knowledge from the fishermen about the fish ecology in the Big Lake must be used as a subsidy study of lakes management, establishing in this way, an information resource for scientific works at the same time to minimize the cost with a long research.
The Effects of Telecommunications Technologies on Agricultural Profits and Child Labor: Evidence from Isolated Rural Villages in Peru

This paper provides evidence on the effects that telecommunications technologies have on agricultural profits and human capital investment decisions among highly isolated villages in rural Peru. I exploit a quasi-natural experiment, in which the Peruvian government through the Fund for Investments in Telecommunications (FITEL) provided at least one public (satellite) payphone to 6,509 rural villages that did not have any kind of communication services (either landlines or cell phones) before. The intervention provided these phones mainly between years 2001 and 2004. I show that the timing of the intervention was essentially random and exploit differences in timing using a uniquely constructed (unbalanced) panel of treated villages spanning the years 1997 through 2007. The main findings suggest increases of 14.8 percent in prices received by farmers for their crops, and a 22.6 percent reduction in agricultural costs. Moreover, this income shock has been translated into a reduction in child (6 – 13 years old) market work of 13.6 percentage points and a reduction in child agricultural work of 9.1 percentage points. Overall, the evidence suggests a dominant income effect in the demand for child labor.
Fatty acid and sterol composition of gametophytes and sporophytes of Chondrus crispus (Gigartinaceae, Rhodophyta)

SUMMARY: Fatty acids and sterols of gametophytes and sporophytes of Chondrus crispus were isolated and identified. Although chemical variation in the proportions of other natural compounds (eg. different carrageenan type) between gametophytes and sporophytes has already been observed, this is the first comparative study of the lipid composition in both generations. The content of fatty acids and sterols in gametophytes (0.710 and 0.190 mg g-1 dry weight respectively) was higher than in sporophytes (0.622 and 0.113 mg g -1 dry weight). The main fatty acids were palmitic, palmitoleic, oleic, arachidonic and eicosapentaenoic acids. These five fatty acids represented more than 78% of the all fatty acid composition in both generations. In addition unsaturated fatty acids were present in a much greater quantity (>80%) than saturated fatty acids. However, differences in the distribution of fatty acids between the two generations were observed. Gametophytes demonstrated higher amounts of monounsaturated fatty acids while sporophytes had a relatively higher content of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The major sterol in both generations was cholesterol (>94%). Differences were also observed in the sterol distribution between gametophytes and sporophytes, the former containing smaller amounts of 7-dehydrocholesterol and stigmasterol, while the latter had smaller amounts of 22-dehydrocholesterol, campesterol and sitosterol. Gametophytes were lacking 24-methylenecholesterol. Fatty acids and sterol of algal class, families and sometimes even species are characteristic to those particular taxa, and could be useful as chemotaxonomic markers. The results of this study showed that intra-specific variation in algae can be occured.
Skipping meals and frequency of snack consumption are important eating behaviours related to obesity in hospital employees

Obesity is an epidemic nutritional disease caused mainly by excessive dietary intake and/or insufficient exercise. The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between a number of demographic characteristics and eating habits with prevalence of overweight and obesity in hospital employees. The study was cross-sectional performed on employees of Namazi Hospital in Shiraz, Iran. Subjects were selected from different departments of the hospital. Demographic characteristics, eating habits, and exercise were questioned by interview. Overweight and obesity was defined as a body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m 2 . The rate of overweight/obesity was 30.2%. Among demographic characteristics, only age (OR=5.6 for older ages, p=0.001) and sex (OR=0.4 for females, p=0.04) were significantly associated with overweight/obesity. Skipping breakfast was not associated with overweight/obesity, but skipping meals (OR=2.8, p=0.08) and consuming ≥ 3 snacks per day (OR=0.2, p=0.05) had associations with it, although non-significantly. Performing ≥ 60 min/day (but not ≥ 45 min/day) exercise was associated with a lower risk of overweight/obesity (OR=0.1, p=0.01). The association between exercise and overweight/obesity existed in both sexes, but the association between skipping meals and obesity was present only in females (OR=3.8, p=0.05). Females skipped meals especially breakfast more frequently than males (p=0.001) but snack consumption and exercise was not statistically different between the two sexes. Eating 3 meals and at least 3 snacks per day and performing 1 hour or more exercise may be introduced as helpful strategies in prevention of obesity.