Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Educational Program on Improving the Lifestyle of Hemodialysis Patients: Model of Planned Behavior

The present study aimed to evaluate an educational program effect that is based on the model of planned behavior on improving the lifestyle of hemodialysis patients. A total of 112 hemodialysis patients who were referred to the hemodialysis wards of Ahvaz educational hospitals participated in this clinical trial. Randomly, patients were divided into test and control groups. One month after the completion of the educational sessions in the test group, using Chi-square, independent and even t-test, and Mann-Whitney tests, the questionnaires were re-completed by both groups and the data were was analyzed. Based on the results, although the two groups did not have any significant difference in lifestyle before the intervention, the lifestyle scores of the test group showed a significant increase compared to the control group after the educational intervention (p <0.0001). Also in addition, the scores of all structures of the theory of planned behavior, except for behavioral intension, showed a significant increase in the test group compared to the control group after the intervention (p <0.0001). Behavioral intention scores in the two groups revealed a significant difference before and after the intervention. An educational program designed based on a model of planned behavior can be used as an effective method to improve all aspects of lifestyle in hemodialysis patients. Designing and implementing educational programs based on the model of planned behavior is useful in increasing the participation of nurses to provide better educations to patients.
Essential connections: school and public libraries for lifelong learning

This paper was presented at Forging future directions the Seventeenth conference of the Australian School Library Association, Twin Waters Resort, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, 30 September - 4 October 2001 Stimulated by the 1996 UNESCO Delors report Learning: the treasure within, lifelong learning has become the educational policy icon of developed countries in the first part of the 21st century. Recognition is now needed that information literacy, not information technology, is the main requirement for an informed citizenry, lifelong learning and an information-enabled knowledge nation. Worldwide a renaissance of public libraries in response to these issues is occurring, of which teacher librarians need to be aware, and support locally and nationally. Public librarians also need to become more familiar with the pedagogical, information literacy and technological issues being addressed by teacher librarians, and support them similarly. Neither can achieve their full contribution to learning and society in isolation from each other. The individual and co-operative performance of school and public libraries during the formative childhood years of decision makers is critical to future investment in all Australian libraries.
Polarization-maintaining fibers and their applications

Polarization-maintaining fibers and their applications are reviewed. The classification of high-birefringent fibers and low-birefringent fibers and their fabrication methods and characteristics are discussed in Section II. Analytical methods and numerical methods for fiber design on the birefringence are presented in Section III. Degradation factors of polarization maintenance expressed as crosstalk or mode-coupling parameters caused by internal origins such as structural imperfections, wavelength, and nonlinear effects, and by external origins such as temperature fluctuations, mechanical perturbations, and electromagnetic effects, are discussed in Section IV. Characterization methods on beat length, mode coupling, stress distribution, and mechanical strength are presented in Section V. Applications to the fiber devices and nonlinear effects, and splicing methods for the polarization-maintaining fibers are described in Sections VI and VII.
Art students making use of studio conversations

The empirical study analyses students’ use of studio conversations within the context of a Master of Fine Arts programme in visual arts in Sweden, showing how the students intentionally use the interaction in the studio conversations to access alternative options, to find out how others interpret their work, and to situate themselves in the professional art world. The study explores different ways the students use the studio conversations, and what qualities they thereby develop. A phenomenographic approach is used, and interviews with a group of students form the empirical base. The students’ power of initiative is seen as central among the qualities developed in these conversations. Meta-cognitive skills and interaction are additional vital qualities that are developed in intimate relation to, and partially dependent on, the quality of students’ initiative. (Less)
Effekter av renovering och bostadsförnyelse – En översikt över tidigare utvärderingar

Den har rapporten ingar i ett arbetspaket dar vi inom SIRen samlar tidigare erfarenheter av renovering. Rapporten redovisar en litteraturstudie med avsikt att ge en oversikt over tidigare bostadsfornyelse, dess aktorer och effekter. Rapporten bygger pa ett arbete som paborjades inom en forstudie (2013-2014) finansierad av Centrum for Management i Byggsektorn CMB, Bostads AB Poseidon och Stena Fastigheter. Kompletterade arbete har genomforts inom ramen for SIRen.
A full-wave model of wire structures with arbitrary cross sections

Transmission lines with rectangular cross sections are usually used in integrated circuit (IC) and computer chip problems. In this paper, a full-wave method is proposed based on an efficient wire model to analyze transmission-line circuits, where the cross sections of wires can be arbitrary. Comparing the existing wire models in the method of moments, it has been shown that the best performance occurs when the current is assumed to flow along the electrical axis of a wire and the testing is on the whole surface if two wires are very close. The physical significance of such modeling implies that the surface current on a wire is equivalent to a current filament along the electrical axis. For a single round wire, the electrical axis is exactly the same as its geometrical axis. For two parallel round wires, the electrical axis of each wire is located at the image position of the other wire. In this paper, a general wire model is proposed to determine electrical axes of wires with arbitrary cross sections by solving a static problem. Then, full-wave formulations are derived for wire structures with rectangular cross sections, which are the most important for IC and computer-chip problems. Numerical simulations are given to test the validity and accuracy of the proposed method.
The Adoption and Economics of Bt Cotton in India: Preliminary Results from a Study

The paper presents preliminary results from a study of the economics and adoption of Bt cotton in India. Biotech crops, which made their appearance in the world about a decade ago, have gained substantial popularity and acceptance in many parts of the world including US, China, Australia, Mexico, Argentina and South Africa. However, their introduction in India has been relatively late and controversial and they still have considerable ground to cover in the country. Cotton is a major commercial crop in India but has substantial problems particularly from extensive pest damage and poor yields. Bt cotton offers a promising solution to these serious problems. Data from the survey, which covered the important cotton states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and 694 farmers, indicates that Bt cotton offers good resistance to bollworms as well as several other pests. The incidence of these pests is reported to be considerably lower in Bt cotton as compared to Non-Bt cotton. The yields of Bt cotton are found to be higher and the yield increase/ difference statistically significant in all the states under both irrigated and rain-fed conditions. As a result, given the good market acceptance of the product, the value of output per hectare is higher in all the states and conditions. The question of higher cost of cultivation exists, and is confirmed, mainly because of high seed cost and not commensurate reduction in pesticide cost. However, the profit is found to be higher in all the states to the estimated extent of about 80-90 percent on an average when the effects of associated inputs are included. The returns are highest in Maharashtra followed by Gujarat and then Andhra Pradesh. Subjective assessment indicates that farmers see advantage in Bt cotton in pest incidence, pesticide cost, cotton quality, yield and profit. Almost all farmers indicate that they plan to plant Bt cotton in the future. To increase the benefits from the technology, the farmers strongly urge reduction in the seed cost, greater field extension and demonstration work on the correct practices, and more Bt cotton varieties to suit the diverse agro-ecological settings.
Self-Stabilizing, Integrated, Hysteretic Boost DC-DC Converter

In portable, batfeypowered applications, integration of switching dc-dc converters is crucial to reap -*mum benefits in size? cost, and design ease. The f? eqwnq compensation circuit, whose design varies with oflxhip, passive jilter @-C) components? form a critid hurdle to obtaining a fully intqpzted solution Surveying stute-ofithe-ari control techniques in literature, hysteretk control in buck converters, which in a single Imp, controt3 inductor current rippk indirect& while regulating the ouput voltage, is observed io be the simplesi, fastest, and needing no compensation circuit, thus being best suitable for integratioion. However, the technique is not read& applied to boosf converters. This paper proposes a novel technique to harness voltage-mode hysterefic control in boost converters by controlling inductor current and outjw! voltage through separate loops. The proposed circuit designed for V'l. 2 V (nom), V0e3,3 Vi 5%, Iod.1 to 1 A shows ercelleni voltage reguIatiun and transient response (ff50 mq, without the use of any compensaiion circuit.
Environmental Impacts & Bio-security of Composting for Emergency Disposal of Livestock Mortalities

Carcass degradation rate, environmental impacts, and bio-security of windrow-type composting test units were monitored in replicated seasonal trials to assess the feasibility of using composting for emergency disposal of cattle and other large livestock carcasses. Internal temperatures were highest in test units constructed with corn silage. Test units constructed with ground cornstalks or straw and manure were generally 10-20 °C cooler. O2 concentrations in the core of ground cornstalk test units typically exceeded 15%, while those in corn silage and straw/manure test units were in the 5-10% range during the initial weeks of the trials. Despite differences in core temperature and O2 concentration, soft tissue degradation rates were the same in all test units, taking 4-6 months in units constructed during warm weather, and 8-10 months during cold-weather. It is believed that the less favorable (lower) temperatures in the cornstalks may have been offset by significantly higher O2 concentrations which favor rapid aerobic decomposition. Thirty to 45 cm of cover material proved effective in absorbing and retaining odorous gases and leachate. Odors samples collected from the surface of the mortality composting piles typically had low threshold values (< 1500) that differed little from odors emitted by stockpiles of the cover material alone. Leachate volumes were <2% of the precipitation falling on the test units, and preliminary analyses of 1.2 m soil cores show only slight increases in total C and N concentrations in the top 45 cm. Biosecurity tests indicated that pathogens were effectively retained and inactivated: vaccine strains of two avian viruses were inactivated in <21 days; and <2% of sentinel poultry located near the test units exhibited an immune system response to these viruses.
2010 Center for Army Leadership Annual Survey of Army Leadership (CASAL): Volume 1, Executive Summary

Abstract : This report summarizes the main survey findings of CAL Technical Report 2011-1 Volume 2 organized in 4 main sections: quality of leadership, contribution of actions and character to leadership, effects of climate and situational factors on leadership, and quality of leader development. Each section begins with a visual scorecard and concludes with recommendations (except the first section on the quality of leadership). Leadership quality continues to be a strength and most of the Leadership Requirements Model competencies and attributes are effectively demonstrated. A notable and consistent exception is the Develops Others competency. While over three fourths of leaders are confident that their unit can perform its mission, over one half also report that their unit wastes time and energy on unproductive tasks, and only 38% agree that the Army is headed in the right direction to prepare for future challenges. About 20% of superiors are viewed as demonstrating patterns of negative or toxic behavior. Turnover intention levels appear adequate with 66% planning to stay in the Army until retirement eligible. The quality of leader development is mixed. Issues remain regarding lack of support for leader development at the unit level and perceived lack of impact from Professional Military Education (PME) courses.
Extraction, Screening, and Characterization of Bioactive Compounds from Moringa oleifera: Extends Life-span of Caenorhabditis elegans

Moringa oleifera is the most commonly cultivated species of the Moringaceae family. It has high nutritional value and a remarkable range of therapeutic uses. Every plant part is beneficial in many ways including medicinal uses. The present study aimed to investigate the presence of various phytochemicals and bioactive compounds from flowers and leaves and to check its effect on lifespan extension of Caenorhabditis elegans. InitiaM. oleiferal phytochemical screening of flowers and leaves methanolic extracts estimated the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, and vitamin C. Further quantitative analysis revealed a considerable concentration of phenols, vitamin C, and flavonoids. The plant extracts also showed in vitro antioxidant activity through DPPH, FRAP, and reducing power assay. TLC analysis was performed for the optimization of a specific solvent system suitable for the separation of various compounds. The characterization performed by UV absorption, GC-MS and FTIR revealed the presence of palmitic acid, linolenic acid, and linoleic acid. Moreover, the in vivo life-span assay was carried out on C. elegans. M. oleifera extracts were applied to C. elegans to investigate its anti-aging potential. The extracts were applied to N2 wild-type worms in different concentrations such as 10μg/ml, 20μg/ml, and 40μg/ml. Treatment with plant extracts showed an increase in lifespan from 2 to 8 days. The effect of Moringa on C. elegans proved its antiaging potential and the compounds characterized have potential antioxidant activities that can be further purified and used in pharmaceuticals.
On New Measures for Detection of Data Quality Risks in Mobility Panel Surveys

Multiday and multiperiod panel surveys are state-of-the-art methods to assess changes in individual travel behavior. Though important for transport planners, these surveys are rather time-consuming for participants and therefore might lead to erroneous and biased mobility data. Variability in the data quality significantly affects statistical analyses of mobility figures as well as common microscopic travel demand models that use the mobility data as the basis for generating activity plans. Supplementary to the well-known approach of weighting biases in key figures of mobility, this paper focuses on methods for detecting data quality differences between individual travel diaries. These quality measures address aspects of motivation loss at different stages of the survey. A classification approach based on these new quality measures helps to detect erroneous data and possible dropouts. The results might help reduce dropouts in general by addressing the potential dropouts individually in advance and boosting their motivation. Quality measures are tested with recent data from the German Mobility Panel. For participants older than 60 years of age, the quality measures show good classification results in regard to accuracy, but for participants younger than 35 years of age the quality measures are not effectual in identifying dropouts. Such an individual approach combined with the partial inspection and correction of travel diaries may be useful for microscopic travel demand modeling based on external activity chains.
A dynamic wheel–rail impact analysis of railway track under wheel flat by finite element analysis

Wheel–rail interaction is one of the most important research topics in railway engineering. It involves track impact response, track vibration and track safety. Track structure failures caused by wheel–rail impact forces can lead to significant economic loss for track owners through damage to rails and to the sleepers beneath. Wheel–rail impact forces occur because of imperfections in the wheels or rails such as wheel flats, irregular wheel profiles, rail corrugations and differences in the heights of rails connected at a welded joint. A wheel flat can cause a large dynamic impact force as well as a forced vibration with a high frequency, which can cause damage to the track structure. In the present work, a three-dimensional finite element (FE) model for the impact analysis induced by the wheel flat is developed by the use of the FE analysis (FEA) software package ANSYS and validated by another validated simulation. The effect of wheel flats on impact forces is thoroughly investigated. It is found that the presence of a wheel flat will significantly increase the dynamic impact force on both rail and sleeper. The impact force will monotonically increase with the size of wheel flats. The relationships between the impact force and the wheel flat size are explored from this FEA and they are important for track engineers to improve their understanding of the design and maintenance of the track system.
Active Stabilization of Centrifugal Compressor Surge

Active suppression of centrifugal compressor surge has been demonstrated on a centrifugal compressor equipped with a servo-actuated plenum exit throttle controller. The control scheme is fundamentally different from conventional surge control techniques in that it addresses directly the dynamic behavior of the compression system to displace the surge line to lower mass flows. The method used is to feed back perturbations in plenum pressure rise, in real time, to a fast acting control valve. The increased aerodynamic damping of incipient oscillations due to the resulting valve motion allows stable operation past the normal surge line. For the compressor used, a 25% reduction in the surge point mass flow was achieved, over a range of speeds and pressure ratios. Time-resolved measurements during controlled operation revealed that the throttle required relatively little power to suppress the surge oscillations, because the disturbances are attacked in their initial stages. Although designed for operation with small disturbances, the controller was also able to eliminate existing, large amplitude, surge oscillations. Comparison of experimental results with theoretical predictions showed that a lumped parameter model appeared adequate to represent the behavior of the compression system with the throttle controller and, perhaps more importantly, to be used in the design of more sophisticated control strategies.Copyright © 1990 by ASME
The performance of solar powered desiccant dehumidifier in India: an experimental investigation

The regeneration and adsorption of desiccant wheel for producing the dry air was experimentally investigated. The air needed for regeneration was heated in an evacuated tube solar collector with surface area 4.44 m2. The desiccant wheel is regenerated at the temperature in the range of 43.9–72.6°C. The regeneration and adsorption performances are affected by the regeneration temperature, wheel rotation, air flow rate (process and regeneration) and ambient conditions. By comparing the adsorption and regeneration performance at different air flow rate and constant rph, it was found that maximum adsorption and regeneration rates are obtained at air flow rate of 210.789 kg/h. Regeneration temperature directly affects the effectiveness of the desiccant wheel. Maximum desiccant wheel effectiveness of regeneration sector and adsorption sector is obtained at air flow rate of 105.394 kg/h. The regeneration performance of desiccant wheel with evacuated tube solar air collector is suitable for the Indian climate.
Historical Fire Regimes and Stand Dynamics of Xerophytic Pine–Oak Stands in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, Virginia, USA

Fire-dependent yellow pine (Pinus) forests are included within the temperate deciduous forest of eastern North America. These forests, which occupy dry slopes and typically contain xerophytic oaks (Quercus), have receded under fire suppression. Understanding historical fire regimes is essential for interpreting and managing these stands. To characterize fire history and vegetation dynamics, we conducted a dendroecological study of fire-scarred trees and age structure in pine stands at four sites in the Appalachian Mountains. Fire interval estimates suggest that before fire suppression began in the early to middle 1900s, fires occurred at approximately three- to eleven-year intervals. Short intervals were probably maintained in part by large-extent fires that spread from sparse ignition points. Fire frequency showed no long-term temporal trend (e.g., no wave of fire) from the middle 1700s through early 1900s despite land–use intensification, including industrial logging and associated wildfires during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Fire occurrence was associated with drought at two sites. Age–structure analyses evoke pyrogenic pine–oak communities that predated industrial disturbances and persisted under a regime of frequent, mixed-severity fires that was likely maintained through a positive feedback with the flammable vegetation. Competing species were established under more recent fire suppression, however, and are poised to replace the pines.
School-Related Variables as Correlates of Quality Leaning Outcome of Senior Secondary School Students

This study attempts to examine the extent to which school-related variables such as teacher's quality, classroom ergonometric affects the Quality Leaning Outcome of senior secondary school students. The study was a survey research design. Data was collected from 385 senior secondary school students of government-operated secondary schools in Calabar, Cross River state, using a structured questionnaire. The purposive sampling technique was used in selecting the samples from the study area. Collected data were screened and checked for errors. The data was then analysed using descriptive and parametric statistics at 0.05 significant level. Out of the 385-instrument distributed, 376 was returned and used for analysis. From the interpreted data, the result revealed that high teacher quality statistically significantly differs from low teachers' quality in terms of Quality Leaning Outcome of secondary school students. This result is because the calculated t-value of t (374) = 3.57 was higher than the critical t-value of 1.96 at p < . 05. This result means that the high quality of teachers affects student academic outcome. Also, the result revealed that classroom ergonometric significantly relates to quality of academic outcome. Because the calculated r-value of 0.170* is greater than the critical r-value of 0.098 at 0.05 level of significance with 374 degrees of freedom. With these results, we can conclude that school-related variables significantly relate to quality academic outcome. Hence, there is a need for improvement in school variables in schools in the study area.