Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Herb foot-bath has improving effects on sleep quality and symptom distress of maintenance hemodialysis patients

Hemodialysis (HD) is an incomplete renal substitutive therapy to interchange blood and dialyzate between semipermeable membrane so as to clean metabolic wastes and toxic products, maintain electrolyte and acid-base balance, and eliminate excessive moisture from body. Because of double affliction of the pain itself and treatment induced complication, most of Maintenance Hemodialysis (MHD) patients are bothered by influenced sleep quality and other symptom distress. In the study, we set out to investigate the intervention effect of herb foot-bath therapy to improve sleep quality and symptom distress for them. It was an experimental study in two stages including preliminary screening survey and herb foot-bath intervention. 142 MHD patients from Xiangya Hospital of Central South University and the Third Hospital of Central South University in accordance with inclusive criteria were randomly divided into control and intervention group. Patients in intervention group were intervened by regular herb foot-bath for 4 w. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Dialysis Symptom Index (DSI) were applied to quantify sleep quality and symptom distress of MHD patients. The data were analysis by SPSS19.0. The results showed that a majority of MHD patients were undergoing somnipathy and most of them experienced several symptoms at the same time with high scores of PSQI and DSI. Sleep quality was positively correlated with the symptom burden. To some extent, it was found that herb foot-bath therapy can effectively improve sleep quality of MHD patients and mitigate their symptom distress.
Deafened by Noise: Do Noise Traders Affect Volatility and Returns?

This paper investigates the relation between noise traders' activities and daily price volatility. Building on Black's (1986) seminal work, we investigate whether noise traders introduce additional risk into stock prices by increasing volatility. In addition, we test whether noise traders increase returns. Our results show that the noise traders' behavior has a significant positive effect on the daily stock price volatility but not on the returns. Furthermore, it is found that small cap stocks with the strongest limits to arbitrage are affected by noise traders the most. Our paper has also normative implications for policy makers.
Networks of Strategic Alliances

T he intent of this chapter is to lay out in a general way the current state and trends of research on alliance networks as well as the promising paths for future work. The emphasis is primarily on the match between theory, method, and data for both local networks— composed of firms and their partners—and for the network overall. The discussion moves from research on local relational neighborhoods to studies of larger networks defined by industry or geographical boundaries. The chapter ends with current innovations in network analysis, which are numerous and in many ways pathbreaking. Researchers on strategic alliances frequently include the term network to describe the interfirm relationships they analyze. What do they mean by this term? Generally, a network means that the firms are tied to each other just as cities are linked through road systems or people communicate through phone lines. Firms are nodes, as in a lattice, and the alliances connect them. Although many interesting and useful studies on alliances have used the network metaphor, most of this research does not really analyze the network at all. The reason is that the properties of the network—for example, its structure or its density—are not investigated; rather, the alliances are examined not as part of a larger relational system but as if they were independent. The alliances might as well have been formed on different planets. In such studies, referencing a “network” is misleading because it creates the expectation that a network will be analyzed in the research, when in fact this is not the case. More important, if there is in fact a network of alliances among the firms and it is excluded from the analysis, the study’s results may be biased, because a large body of research has shown that the properties of a network have a significant influence on the behavior of the firms that compose it, as discussed below. What, then, does taking a network perspective in alliance research actually mean? At a minimum, it involves analyzing alliances that are at 7
Using Reading-Concept Map-Teams Games Tournament (Remap-TGT) to Improve Reading Interest of Tenth Grade Student of Laboratory Senior High School State University of Malang

Reading is a simple activity that can makes students get a wide range of information. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2006 and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study international (PIRLS) in 2011 showed that students reading literacy in Indonesia were still low. The observation in science 4th class Tenth Grade of Laboratory Senior High School of State University of Malang showed the same result with PISA and PIRLS. The low student’s reading interest would affect the students thinking skills. Thus, the students reading interest in the classroom need to be increased. In order to overcome this problem, learning model that combines reading, construct a concept map, and cooperative learning Teams Games Tournament would applied in the biology learning. This research was Classroom Action Research, which was implemented within two cycles. The first cycle conducted in 11 meetings and the second cycle conducted in12 meetings. The results showed that the application of Reading-Concept Map-Teams Games Tournament (Remap-TGT) biology learning models can increase reading interest.
NSM CFRP laminates for the shear strengthening of T section RC beams

The authors of the present work wish to acknowledge the support provided by the “Empreiteiros Casais”, S&P, degussa Portugal, and Secil (Unibetao, Braga). The study reported in this paper forms a part of the research program “CUTINSHEAR - Performance assessment of an innovative structural FRP strengthening technique using an integrated system based on optical fiber sensors” supported by FCT, POCTI/ECM/59033/2004.
Microbial Responses to Cu, Ni and Zn in Metal Enriched Sewage Sludge Treated Soil

Three experiments were conducted on a slightly acidic, grassland clay loam amended with sewage sludge contaminated with Cu, Ni and Zn in different combinations (Cu-Ni, Ni-Zn and Cu-Zn). Metals were added to a low metal sludge at two levels, above and below current limits. The effects of these metals on microbial indices were studied over a 7-week laboratory incubation. Zn inputs had few effects on microbial indices. In contrast, Cu and Ni decreased CO2 evolution at one week of incubation and led to an increase later. Biomass C was lower in high Cu and Ni soils whereas biomass N was lower in all three high metal treatments and there was evidence of a shift from bacterial to fungal biomass. Greater CO2 evolution rates in the high metal soils appeared to be a response to increased stress on microorganisms. Zn seemed to be less toxic than Cu and Ni when applied at rates close to EC limits for sludge treated soil (DoE, 1999).
Polymers at Interfaces and the Interactions in Colloidal Dispersions

Abstract Solutions of different polymers in the same solvent are incompatible as a rule and show phase separation when they are mixed. If incompatibility is also to be observed in systems where one of the polymer components is replaced by colloidal particles, sterically stabilized by a cover of polymer chains, will be discussed in this lecture. After a discussion of the applicability of statistical thermodynamical criteria for colloid stability we focus attention on the potential of average force between two particles, V(r), and the second virial coefficient, B2. First it is shown from general arguments that V(r) and B2 always decrease in magnitude upon addition of particles identical to the particle pair considered. The decrease is particularly large for high molecular weight polymers. Subsequently, the analysis is extended, with the help of simple models, to mixtures of polymer colloid and polymer. It is predicted that B2 should decrease and may become negative when the molecular weight and concentration of the polymer are sufficiently large. For high molecular weight polymer this is of the order of a per cent or less. More polymer is needed for low molecular weights. The destabilization is intimately connected with the expulsion of polymer from the interstitial spaces between approaching particles because of “volume restriction”- and “osmotic” effects. The predictions are in accordance with some experiments that were available. Finally the applicability of light scattering as an experimental tool in these stability problems is stressed. Results are also given of the incompatibility of two polymers in a single solvent in which one of the polymers is masked i.e. does not scatter light.
Assessment of quantitative genetic variability and character association in maize (Zea mays L.)

The study was conducted for the analysis of variance, heritability, genetic advance, the coefficient of variation, correlation coefficient and path analysis. The present investigation consists of 10 genotypes of Maize, including 1 check. Highly significant variation was obtained for all character studies. The values of PCV were higher than that of GCV for all the characters. High heritability observed in anthesis-silking interval, grain yield per plant, plant height, cob height, days to maturity and grain row per cob, days, while other characters showed moderate heritability. The high genetic advance is observed in grain yield per plant. All characters showed a low genetic advance as the percentage of the mean, indicating the role of non-additive gene action. The present study revealed that grain yield per plant was positive significantly correlated with 100 grains weight and cobs per plant. The path analysis results showed the positive direct effect on grain yield was exhibited by days to 50% tasseling, day to 50 percent silking, plant height, cob height, days to maturity, cob length, cob girth and 100 seed weight. Therefore, indirect selection can be exercised upon these traits for yield improvement in Maize.
Linking the spatial patterns of organisms and abiotic factors to ecosystem function and management: insights from semi-arid environments

Abstract. Numerous theoretical and modeling studies have demonstrated the ecological significance of the spatial patterning of organisms on ecosystem functioning and dynamics. However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence that quantitatively shows how changes in the spatial patterns of the organisms forming biotic communities are directly related to ecosystem structure and functioning. In this article, I review a series of experiments and observational studies conducted in semi-arid environments from Spain (degraded calcareous shrubland, steppes dominated by Stipa tenacissima, and gypsum shrublands) to: 1) evaluate whether the spatial patterns of the dominant biotic elements in the community are linked to ecosystem structure and functioning, and 2) test if these patterns, and those of abiotic factors, can be used to improve ecosystem restoration. In the semiarid steppes we found a significant positive relationship between the spatial pattern of the perennial plant community and: i) the water status of S. tenacissima and ii) perennial species richness and diversity. Experimental plantings conducted in these steppes showed that S. tenacissima facilitated the establishment of shrub seedlings, albeit the magnitude and direction of this effect was dependent on rainfall conditions during the first yr after planting. In the gypsum shrubland, a significant, direct relationship between the spatial pattern of the biological soil crusts and surrogates of ecosystem functioning (soil bulk density and respiration) was found. In a degraded shrubland with very low vegetation cover, the survival of an introduced population of the shrub Pistacia lentiscus showed marked spatial patterns, which were related to the spatial patterns of soil properties such as soil compaction and sand content. These results provide empirical evidence on the importance of spatial patterns for maintaining ecosystem structure and functioning in semi-arid ecosystems. Furthermore, they show how taking into consideration the small-scale spatial patterns of organisms and abiotic factors, their restoration can be improved.
in Chemical Engineering for Sustainable Development SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS MODELING UNDER STEADY-STATE AND FORCED OSCILLATIONS REGIMES

This study is part of a collaboration between the department of Chemical Engineering and the department of Chemical Sciences at University of Padua. The goal is to develop new materials that can be used to manufacture solid oxide fuel cells operating at lower temperatures. In order to do this, the inherent properties of said materials, like electronic and ionic conductivities, or catalytic properties, are not enough, because a fuel cell is a complex system in which many phenomena happen at the same time. In order to optimize the performance, this study focused on the development of a mathematical model of the cell, which has been validated with literature data and that can be used to evaluate the influence that material properties, manufacturing specifications and operating conditions have on the involved phenomena and on overall efficiency. This model uses a finite element simulation software, COMSOL Multiphysics, to represent the behavior of the cell. The output of the model has been validated with literature data without resorting to adjustable parameters, and can therefore be assumed to adequately represent the phenomena under consideration. The model has then been used to quantify the effect that changing several parameters has on the cell, both under steady-state conditions (analysis of the polarization curve, to evaluate overall performance) and with forced perturbations (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, to discern the contributions that the various phenomena give to the performance). Since the model has been validated without fitting adjustable parameters, it could be used in the future on cell prototypes using new materials to evaluate hard to obtain parameters like reaction kinetics, once other properties are known.
Are Suburban TODs Over-Parked?

A survey of 31 multi-family housing complexes near rail stations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Portland, Oregon, show peak parking demand is 25-30 percent below supplies and, for most projects, falls below national standards. Peak parking demand is generally less for less expansive projects with short walking distances to rail stations that enjoy frequent peak-period services. Case study experiences suggest that well-designed, short and direct walking paths to rail stops lessen peak parking. A national survey of 80 U.S. cities with rail stations revealed that 75 percent have minimum transportation-oriented development (TOD) parking requirements that mandate more parking than suburban design standards and 39 percent grant variances for housing projects near rail stops.
Potential Role of Adenosine Signaling in Acetic Acid Activation of Murine Sensory Neurons

Chronic respiratory illnesses are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, and acute changes in respiratory function often lead to hospitalization. Air pollution is known to exacerbate asthma, but the molecular mechanisms of this are poorly understood. The current studies were aimed at clarifying the roles of nerve subtypes and purinergic receptors in respiratory reflex responses following exposure to irritants. In C57Bl/6J female mice, inspired adenosine produced sensory irritation, shown to be mediated mostly by Aδ fibers. Secondly, the response to inhaled acetic acid was discovered to be dually influenced by C and Aδ fibers, as indicated by the observed effects of capsaicin pretreatment, which selectively destroys TRPV1-expressing fibers (mostly C fibers) and pretreatment with theophylline, a nonselective adenosine receptor antagonist. The responses to both adenosine and acetic acid were enhanced in the ovalbumin-allergic airway disease model, although the particular pathway altered is still unknown.
Adjusting yield components under different levels of N applications in winter wheat

This work presents information on the patterns of yield determination by yield components as a function of the level of management of the crop. The data used for the analyses were obtained from 8 field experiments located across Poland in 2009 and 2010. 25 winter wheat cultivars were evaluated at two management levels, i.e., at a low input of nitrogen fertilisation and pesticides and at a higher input of these materials. Yield determination was evaluated with a path analysis conducted for each cultivar separately for each management level. The results were presented using the values of the path coefficients. The pattern of yield determination for most of the cultivars examined differed between the high-input and the low-input management levels. Under the low-input management, all three yield components contributed similarly to yield determination. Under high-input management, the effect of the number of spikes per m 2 was much greater than the effect of the
Corporate governance and strategic information disclosure in Malaysian listed banks : panel data analysis

Corporate governance issue has attracted the researchers, especially the Malaysian researchers due to the 1997-1998 economic crises. Furthermore, it is undeniable that the banking sector is the heart of the economy in any country since it is the main source in mobilizing the monetary system. Thus, this study investigates the impact of corporate governance on strategic information disclosure of Malaysian listed banks by using a panel data analysis. Good corporate governance is proxied by board leadership structure, board composition, board size, director ownership, institutional ownership and block ownership. Strategic information disclosure index is developed and content analysis is conducted by cross checking between the strategic information disclosed in the annual reports and the disclosure index developed by the researcher. The disclosure score used in this study is weighted disclosure score after considering the opinions of accountants and financial analysts who represent preparers and users of the accounting information respectively. INE_BZ (at 1% Sig. level, BOWN (at 5% Sig. level) and BLS and DOWN are in line with hypothesis while BZ (at 1% Sig. level) and IOWN are not. Thus, it can be concluded that separate board leadership structure, higher INE_BZ, higher BZ, lower DOWN, lower BOWN and lower IOWN have more strategic information disclosure. With regard to control variables, only LNTA has a significant impact on disclosure but the finding from leverage, i.e. TD_TE. The current prevailing situations in Malaysia are discussed to highlight the reasons behind these research findings.
Induced energy polarization of the vacuum as the source of the baryonic Tully–Fisher relationship and the Pioneer anomaly

A theory where the gravitational field of a mass induces a gravitational field contribution from the cosmos is presented. In this theory, entities of both net positive and net negative energy come into existence throughout the cosmos with a maximum lifetime in accordance with Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. A model of the resulting contribution that these entities make to the gravitational field is provided and is shown to lead to both the baryonic Tully–Fisher relationship and the Pioneer anomaly.
Oecophylla longinoda (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as a biological control agent for cocoa capsids (Hemiptera: Miridae)

The biology and ecology of the ant Oecophylla longinoda (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) was studied in cocoa plantations in Ghana in 2005. The main focus was the possibility to use the ant as a biological control agent against capsids (Hemiptera: Miridae) which are important cocoa pests. The effectiveness of both red and black strain O. longinoda to control this pest was studied by relating its presence, abundance and number of nests to canopy defoliation and percentage of pods damaged. In total 300 cocoa trees in three different cocoa fields at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana premises were examined. Both the presence of red O. longinoda and a high abundance of the ants were correlated with a thick canopy. This might be the result of either decreased defoliation (lower capsid damage through protection by the ants), a preference of the ants for thick canopies, or a relational combination of both. The percentage pod damage (24) in trees with high ant abundance was significantly lower than those in trees without ants (42). The number of pods damaged was about 50% lower for trees with black strain O. longinoda compared to trees without ants. This reduction in capsid damage by black O. longinoda might be explained by its high aggressiveness. The ant and especially the black strain is therefore considered a potential biological control agent of capsids. However, it seems that ant abundance need to be high such that ants are not only present in the tree canopy, but also cover the trunk where the vulnerable cocoa pods are situated. The ant’s role in an integrated pest management strategy should be further investigated, in particular its combination with the natural pesticide neem.
Effects of a bloom of Planktothrix rubescens on the fish community of a Spanish reservoir

During the spring of 2000 and 2001 there were two cyanobacterial bloom episodes in El Atazar reservoir (central Spain). They were attributed to the toxic cyanobacteria Planktothrix rubescens. The goal of the present study was to determine the possible effects and toxicity of these blooms on the fish community of the reservoir. The main objectives were to analyse the presence and concentration of toxins in fish liver and to carry out histopathological analyses of liver tissue. In addition, recent data on water quality of the reservoir were inspected to ascertain the likely causes of the blooms. The analysis of water quality data and weather conditions showed that there was not a single key cause of the P. rubescens bloom. Toxin analyses showed that microcystins were absent or in very low concentrations in fish liver extracts obtained from the reservoir. This finding should not be considered as definitive since liver pathologies were detected in the fish studied, which were probably due to exposure to hepatotoxins. Histological analyses revealed the occurrence of pigmented macrophage aggregates (MAs) in the liver sections of nearly all fish exposed to the bloom. MAs are known to change in number, size and pigment content in relation to fish health and environmental degradation. The average MAs per specimen showed a great variability among samples, and their distribution within the liver tissue was highly heterogeneous. However, further research is needed to give an insight into the pathogenesis for the cyanobacteria-associated liver pathology.