Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influences of Short-term Normobaric Hypoxic Training on Metabolic Syndrome-Related Markers in Overweight and Normal-weight Men:

Background and Objective: This study examined the influence of short-term normobaric hypoxic training on metabolic syndrome-related markers in overweight and normal-weight men. Material and Methods: Forty-one Japanese men were included and were divided into two groups based on their body mass indices (BMIs): BMI≥25 or BMI<25. Participants in the overweight and normal-weight groups were randomly classified into the hypoxic exercise group (hypoxic overweight, HO; hypoxic normal-weight, HN) and the normoxic exercise group (normoxic overweight, NO; normoxic normal-weight, NN). Subjects performed treadmill exercise three days per week for four weeks at an exercise intensity of 60% of maximum heart rate, under either normobaric hypoxic or normobaric normoxic conditions, for 50 min (including 5 min warm-up and cool-down periods) after a 30-min rest period. The study parameters included weight, body fat percentage, BMI, heart rate, waist circumference, ankle-brachial pulse wave velocity (PWV), blood sugar, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), fasting insulin, Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) scores, and adiponectin levels. Repeated measures two-way analysis of variance was used to examine differences in the mean parameter values between the two groups (overweight and normal-weight) before and after training. Results: Hypoxic training improved the weight, body fat percentage, BMI, waist circumference, PWV, TC, LDL-C levels, and HOMA-IR scores in the overweight and normal-weight groups (p<0.05). In addition, TG level, HDL-C level, and HOMA-IR scores showed significant interactions with hypoxic training, as these parameters improved in the hypoxic overweight group (p<0.05). Conclusion: These results suggest that hypoxic training could be useful for improving arterial stiffness, circulatory system function, body composition, and energy metabolism in adult males.
Human Resource Management Practices in Private Sector Organisations in Pakistan : Study of Cultural Influences

This study presents findings of in-depth interviews from ‘core-informants’ from private sector organisations in Pakistan. Study identified that the impact of national cultural factors such as collectivism and high power distance have a strong influence on human resource management (HRM) practices and retaining competitive advantage at work. This study also revealed that sifarish (i.e. connection), sycophancy and nepotism are critical factors in HRM functioning. Typically organisations are hierarchically structured with unquestionable authority vested in either management or proprietor. The current investigation also found out that managerial support for sifarish or connection-based recruitment, selection and promotions practices are some of the main factors affecting to the development of HRM systems in private business sectors. Training and development practices are given little importance with absence of linkage between performance appraisal reward and promotions. The important implications for policy makers and heads of private organisations are discussed in the last section.
Hess Opinions: An interdisciplinary research agenda to explore the unintended consequences of structural flood protection

Abstract. One common approach to cope with floods is the implementation of structural flood protection measures, such as levees or flood-control reservoirs, which substantially reduce the probability of flooding at the time of implementation. Numerous scholars have problematized this approach. They have shown that increasing the levels of flood protection can attract more settlements and high-value assets in the areas protected by the new measures. Other studies have explored how structural measures can generate a sense of complacency, which can act to reduce preparedness. These paradoxical risk changes have been described as levee effect, safe development paradox or safety dilemma. In this commentary, we briefly review this phenomenon by critically analysing the intended benefits and unintended effects of structural flood protection, and then we propose an interdisciplinary research agenda to uncover these paradoxical dynamics of risk.
Counting Every Thought: Implicit Measures of Cognitive Responses to Advertising

Our research explores new implicit measures of cognitive responses to advertisements that focus on detecting the effects of specific thoughts. We first demonstrate that consumers' thoughts about persuasive messages can be assessed by both a thought recognition task and a belief verification task. We also show that performance on these tasks (i.e., jointly observed responses, reaction times, and confidence ratings) can be modeled as Poisson counting processes. Finally, we illustrate the effectiveness of these new measures in predicting consumers' product attitudes and that these measures can outperform traditional thought listing when people are unwilling or unable to report certain thoughts. (c) 2008 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc.
A comparison of food consumption pattern of urban and rural adolescent boys in Ludhiana District of Punjab.

Two hundred adolescent boys in the age group of 16 to18 years were selected randomly with equal number from Govt Model Senior Secondary School, PAU, Ludhiana in urban area and Govt Senior Secondary School, Dakha in rural area of Ludhiana district. The study was conducted during 2009-10. Information regarding general and socio-economic background was collected using a pretested interview schedule. A food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess the food pattern (general as well as fast food) over three months. The results revealed that majority of both urban (89%) and rural (83%) subjects belonged to nuclear families. The major occupation of the urban families (59%) was service, while most of rural families (26%) were engaged in farming. The meal pattern showed a major percentage of urban adolescent boys (96%) having in between meals, whereas this pattern was observed in 61 per cent of rural adolescent boys. The mean frequency scores of consumption of cereals, pulses, green leafy vegetables, milk products, and fruits were higher among rural subjects while that of fast foods was higher among urban subjects. Out of 44 identified fast food items the intake of 27 and 24 was moderate among urban and rural adolescent boys. Further, the frequency of consuming sweet biscuits, sandwiches and namkeens was observed to be high among urban subjects as compared to only sweet biscuits among rural subjects.
Elucidating the atomistic mechanisms driving self-diffusion of amorphous Si during annealing

We have analyzed the atomic rearrangements underlying self-diffusion in amorphous Si during annealing using tight-binding molecular dynamics simulations. Two types of amorphous samples with different structural features were used to analyze the influence of coordination defects. We have identified several types of atomic rearrangement mechanisms, and we have obtained an effective migration energy of around 1 eV. We found similar migration energies for both types of samples, but higher diffusivities in the one with a higher initial percentage of coordination defects.
Does quality management drive labour flexibility?

This study aims to shed light on the contribution of quality management (QM) to labour flexibility by analysing the influence that QM has on internal and external labour flexibility. The study presents pioneer research in the empirical analysis of how QM impacts on labour flexibility. The hypotheses put forward are tested in an empirical study carried out on a sample of Spanish service companies. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. The results indicate that QM is shown to have a positive effect on internal flexibility, as it promotes training or job enrichment. However, QM fosters job security with a negative effect on external flexibility.
Preferences for Residential Development Attributes and Support for the Policy Process: Implications for Management and Conservation of Rural Landscapes

The rural public may not only be concerned with the consequences of land management; residents may also have systematic preferences for policy instruments applied to management goals. Preferences for outcomes do not necessarily imply matching support for the underlying policy process. This study assesses relationships among support for elements of the policy process and preferences for management outcomes. Preferences are examined within the context of alternative proposals to manage growth and conserve landscape attributes in southern New England. Results are based on (a) stated preferences estimated from a multi-attribute contingent choice survey of rural residents, and (b) Likert-scale assessment of strength of support for land use policy tools. Findings indicate general but not universal correlation among policy support indicators and preferences for associated land use outcomes, but also confirm the suspicion that policy support and land use preference may not always coincide.
ESO 452−SC11: the lowest mass globular cluster with a potential chemical inhomogeneity

We present the largest spectroscopic investigation of one of the faintest and least studied stellar clusters of the Milky Way, ESO452-SC11. Using the Anglo-Australian Telescope AAOmega and Keck HIRES spectrographs we have identified 11 members of the cluster and found indications of star-to-star light element abundance variation, primarily using the blue cyanogen (CN) absorption features. From a stellar density profile, we estimate a total cluster mass of $(6.8\pm3.4)\times10^3$ solar masses. This would make ESO452-SC11 the lowest mass cluster with evidence for multiple populations. These data were also used to measure the radial velocity of the cluster ($16.7\pm0.3$ km s$^{-1}$) and confirm that ESO452-SC11 is relatively metal-rich for a globular cluster ([Fe/H]$=-0.81\pm0.13$). All known massive clusters studied in detail show multiple populations of stars each with a different chemical composition, but many low-mass globular clusters appear to be chemically homogeneous. ESO452-SC11 sets a lower mass limit for the multiple stellar population phenomenon.
Relationships among Tomistoma schlegelii in Malaysia Based on Cyt b-Control Region Gene Analysis

Tomistoma schlegelii is a slender snout crocodile, secretive in nature which is currently under Appendix I of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). Limited information is currently available on its wild population, especially in Malaysia. Thus this study aims to describe genetic relationship of T. schlegelii populations from Malaysia which was done using partial sequencing of Cytochrome b-control region mtDNA gene. The study reveals that the genetic diversity among T. schlegelii is high, ranging from 0.16% to 3.34%, suggesting healthy populations. Analysis showed that there is gene flow among populations (Da = 1.71% to 2.21%) within Western Sarawak, Peninsular Malaysia, and other geographical regions coherent with Sundaland theory, suggesting that there is ancient river system connecting the two regions of Peninsular Malaysia and West Borneo when the Sunda Shelf was exposed. Unique haplotypes had been observed in Northern Sarawak (SAM01 and SAM02) as well as in Sumatera; thus each T. schlegelii deserved its own management strategies to ensure the survival of the species.
Prescribing of Potentially Inappropriate Medications to Elderly People by Medical Specialists in Isfahan, Iran

The goal of this study is to identify the types of potentially inappropriate drugs prescribed by the medical specialists of Isfahan province to elderly patients. A number of 31,254 randomly selected prescriptions from medical specialists of Isfahan province were reviewed for elderly patients who were insured by the Social Security Organization. Three thousand and seven prescriptions were identified and Beers' Criteria was applied to figure out the type of inappropriate medications. The study concluded 49% males and 51% females. Sixty one percent of patients were 65-74 years old and 39% older than 74 years old. Of all the prescriptions reviewed, 24.4% contained inappropriate medications. The ten most common medications detected in the prescriptions were: Naproxen (18.4%), fluoxetine (8.3%), clidinium C (7.2%), indomethacin (7.2%), chlordiazepoxide (5.8%), doxepin (4.76%), dipyridamole (4.4%), amitriptyline (4.27%), methocarbamol (4.15%) and piroxicam (3.88%). The results are comparable to what has been reported in the literature. This is also in accordance with the national drug consumption as NSAIDs are heavily used throughout Iran. Due to the extent of inappropriateness of medicine use in the elderly population, we need to define a strategy to curtail this problem including educational classes for physicians and launching national geriatrics residency programs.
Near-infrared Spectroscopy as an Access Channel : Prefrontal Cortex Inhibition During an Auditory GoNo-Go Task

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the potential of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as an access channel by establishing reliable signal detection to verify the existence of signal differences associated with changes in activity. This thesis focused on using NIRS to measure brain activity from the prefrontal cortex during an auditory Go-No-Go task. A singular spectrum analysis change-point detection algorithm was applied to identify transition points where the NIRS signal properties varied from previous data points in the signal, indicating a change in brain activity. With this algorithm, latency values for change-points detected ranged from 6.44 s to 9.34 s. The averaged positive predictive values over all runs were modest (from 49.41% to 67.73%), with the corresponding negative predictive values being generally higher (48.66% to 78.80%). However, positive and negative predictive values up to 97.22% and 95.14%, respectively, were achieved for individual runs. No hemispheric differences were found.
The Effects of Social Deprivation within Orphanages on Parent- Child Attachment: How Adoption can Ameliorate Attachment Problems

Since the mid-20th century, developmentalists have researched how social deprivation within orphanages affects a child’s ability to later form an attachment to his primary caregiver. John Bowlby’s theory of attachment posits that children who do not develop any attachment style within the first two years of their life will subsequently never be to able to become attached to their primary caregivers. However, longitudinal studies conducted on children reared in orphanages have proved that there is no critical period within which attachment must be formed. A child’s ability to form an attachment to his adoptive parent is not based on his age, but rather on the parent’s commitment to promoting a secure attachment style through affectionate and responsive care.
Assessing Near Surface Hydrologic Processes and Plant Response over a 1600 m Mountain Valley Gradient in the Great Basin, NV, U.S.A.

This study investigated near surface hydrologic processes and plant response over a 1600 m mountain-valley gradient located in the Great Basin of North America (Nevada, U.S.A.) as part of a long-term climate assessment study. The goal was to assess shifts in precipitation, soil water status and associated drainage with elevation and how this influenced evapotranspiration and plant cover/health estimated by a satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), all to better understand how water is partitioned in a mountain valley system. Data were acquired during a three-year period from meteorological stations located in five plant communities ranging in elevation from 1756 m (salt desert shrubland zone) to 3355 m (subalpine zone). The analysis also included groundwater depths measured at the Salt Desert Shrub West site, mine water flow near the Pinyon-Juniper West site and drainage estimates using drainage flux meters at the four higher elevation sites. Annual precipitation increased with elevation in a linear fashion (R2 = 0.93, p < 0.001) with an average increase of 2.9 cm for every 100 m in elevation. Reference evapotranspiration (ETref) declined in a highly linear fashion with elevation (R2 = 0.95, p < 0.001) with an average 4.0 cm decline for every 100 m rise in elevation. Drainage occurred only at the Montane West and Subalpine West sites and not at the lower elevations. No drainage occurred after Julian day 160. Growing degree days were found to be negatively associated with the time of peak drainage (R2 = 0.97, p < 0.001), the date drainage first occurred (R2 = 0.90, p < 0.001), drainage duration (R2 = 0.79, p < 0.001) and total drainage volume (R2 = 0.59, p < 0.001). It was estimated that 27% of precipitation at the Montane West site (years 1, 2 and 3) and 66 % at the Subalpine West site (40% without year 1) contributed to drainage at the local site level, indicating possible strong recharge contribution from the higher elevation plant communities. Percent vegetation cover and ETref accounted for 94% of the variation in NDVI and 90% of the variation in ET totals when data from all sites were combined. Such data will be extremely valuable to collect and compare over time to assess shifts associated with potential climate warming and/or basin water diversion.
Perceiving Physical Equation by Observing Visual Scenarios

Inferring universal laws of the environment is an important ability of human intelligence as well as a symbol of general AI. In this paper, we take a step toward this goal such that we introduce a new challenging problem of inferring invariant physical equation from visual scenarios. For instance, teaching a machine to automatically derive the gravitational acceleration formula by watching a free-falling object. To tackle this challenge, we present a novel pipeline comprised of an Observer Engine and a Physicist Engine by respectively imitating the actions of an observer and a physicist in the real world. Generally, the Observer Engine watches the visual scenarios and then extracting the physical properties of objects. The Physicist Engine analyses these data and then summarizing the inherent laws of object dynamics. Specifically, the learned laws are expressed by mathematical equations such that they are more interpretable than the results given by common probabilistic models. Experiments on synthetic videos have shown that our pipeline is able to discover physical equations on various physical worlds with different visual appearances.
Current Controversies in Stem-Cell Treatment of Urinary Incontinence in Women

Background: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a major cause of morbidity in the world and is believed to affect up to 46% of the female population Our objective was to analyze the papers that describe stem-cell treatments for UI in women. Methods: We performed a systematic review of the literature from 1946 to date that reports on clinical trials that use stem cells to treat women with urinary incontinence. Results: Nine articles (7 observational and 2 randomized studies) met the inclusion criteria. No major adverse effects were observed in any of the studies. However, the efficacy results differ widely, as the methodology used for studies was very different, as described below. Conclusion: Stem-cell therapy is promising but still experimental, and further study is needed to identify certain factors. These facts include the ideal type of patient eligible for treatment (apparently those in whom intrinsic urethral dysfunction predominates), and to determine if treatment should be isolated or combined with other cells or procedures, which are the optimal doses and if it is a cost effective procedure.
Preliminary phytochemical investigation and antimicrobial evaluation of roots, stem-bark and leaves extracts of Diospyros mespiliformis

The roots, stem-bark and leaves of Diospyros mespiliformis from Ebanaceae family which is used as herbal remedies for the cure of many ailments by natives in northern part of Nigeria were studied. the Ethanol and water extracts of the afore mentioned parts of the plant were subjected to phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activity against Shigella sp, Salmonella typhii, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus sp, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsella pneumonia. From the tests carried out, the result revealed the presence of saponins, tannins,volatile oils, alkaloids and phenols in both the leaves extract of the plant. The antimicrobial activity revealed that both the extracts of the plant parts were active against Shigella sp, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus sp. This supports the claims of efficacy reported in fork use of the plant in the treatment of disease caused by some pathogens and if further purified can be used to source novel antibiotics.
The Remarkable Afterglow of GRB 061007: Implications for Optical Flashes and GRB Fireballs

We present a multiwavelength analysis of Swift GRB 061007. The 2 m robotic Faulkes Telescope South began observing 137 s after the onset of the γ-ray emission, when the optical counterpart was already decaying from R ~ 10.3 mag, and continued observing for the next 5.5 hr. These observations begin during the final γ-ray flare and continue through and beyond a long, soft tail of γ-ray emission whose flux shows an underlying simple power-law decay identical to that seen at optical and X-ray wavelengths, with temporal slope α ~ 1.7 (F ∝ t-α). This remarkably simple decay in all of these bands is rare for Swift bursts, which often show much more complex light curves. We suggest the afterglow emission begins as early as 30-100 s and is contemporaneous with the ongoing variable prompt emission from the central engine, but originates from a physically distinct region dominated by the forward shock. The observed multiwavelength evolution of GRB 061007 is explained by an expanding fireball whose optical, X-ray, and late-time γ-ray emission is dominated by emission from a forward shock with typical synchrotron frequency, νm, that is already below the optical band as early as t = 137 s and a cooling frequency, νc, above the X-ray band to at least t = 105 s. In contrast, the typical frequency of the reverse shock lies in the radio band at early time. We suggest that the unexpected lack of bright optical flashes from the majority of Swift GRBs may be explained with a low νm originating from small microphysics parameters, ϵe and ϵB. Finally, the optical light curves imply a minimum jet opening angle θ = 4.7°, and no X-ray jet break before t ~ 106 s makes GRB 061007 a secure outlier to spectral energy correlations.