Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Decision letter for "Do psychological social and financial perceptions of post-retirement life and demography influence the retirement planning behaviour?"

PurposeThe aim of this study is to understand the effects of psychological social and financial perceptions of post-retirement life and demographic characteristics on retirement planning behaviour (RPB) of the employees from different occupational sectors.Design/methodology/approachThe primary data from 400 employees in central government, state government and private sector is collected through a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised of 43 items to measure social and financial perceptions and RPB along with demographic information. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis are performed to find the significant variables of social and financial perceptions influencing the RPB.FindingsThe results of exploratory factor analysis revealed three principle components of social perceptions, four of financial perceptions and three of RPB. The role clarity, involvement, obligations, uncertainty and preparations have significant impact on RPB. This study found a moderate positive correlation between RPB and extracted factors of social and financial perceptions. The study confirms the significant effect of demographic variables such as age, marital status, occupational sector, income and education levels on RPB.Originality/valueThe study has number of implications for government and private sector organisations involved in offering the retirement planning solutions as well as to the employees. The stakeholders may take a note of the role of psychological social (role clarity and social involvement) and financial (financial obligations, uncertainty and preparation for post-retirement life) perceptions that influence RPB. The study also provides an insight to the policy makers for considering the demographic information such as age, education, marital status and income of the employees while designing/offering the choices of retirement plans to them. Further studies are recommended to validate the findings of this study in terms of testing the effect of psychological social and financial perceptions on retirement planning behaviour of the employees.
Modelling of Solar Irradiance Incident on Building Envelopes in Polish Climatic Conditions: The Impact on Energy Performance Indicators of Residential Buildings

In this study, we use the data of Polish typical meteorological years and 15 transposition models to obtain global solar irradiance on sloped surfaces to calculate solar irradiance on external building partitions, solar gains, heating demands, and primary nonrenewable energy for heating and domestic hot water (EPH+W) of two typical Polish residential buildings, each for two variants in five locations. In relation to TMYs, annual solar gains were lower by −31% and −36% on average in a single and multifamily building, respectively, and the annual heating demands increased by 9% and 16%, respectively. Consequently, averaged EPH+W in relation to TMYs rose by 1.4 kWh/m2 and 4.5 kWh/m2, respectively. The mean differences between TMYs and the new method from the recently published EN-ISO 52010 standard for test Building 1 were 1.6 and 1.2 kWh/m2, for Variants 1 and 2, respectively. Similarly, for test Building 2, the mean differences were 5.1 kWh/m2 and 3.9 kWh/m2, respectively. This means that the simulation model that is chosen has a visible impact on a building’s energy performance indicators and its rating without any changes in the physical structure and use of the building.
Introduction of a Small Amount of Chromium to Enhance the Catalytic Performance of SBA-15 for the Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Isobutane to Isobutene

Various solid oxide catalysts are active for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane, but achieve yields of less than 2% when these were used for the oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane to isobutene. An improved isobutene yield of 8% was obtained in the oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane by using a folded-sheet mesoporous material (FSM-16) and mesoporous molecular sieve (MCM-41), with or without chromium via impregnation or template-ion exchange methods. Further activity enhancement, however, could not be attained. In the present study, chromium cations were introduced into the framework of SBA-15 using a direct synthesis method by mixing chromium nitrate with tetraethylorthosilicate in an aqueous solution with an initial pH of 1.5 and subsequent hydrothermal treatment. Loading the resultant catalyst, SBA-15, with a small amount of chromium (1.84 wt% Cr-SBA-15) increased the isobutene yield (15.4%) at 723 K, while a previous report showed that chromium oxide supported on SBA-15 (CrOx/SBA-15) prepared via incipient wetness impregnation had a lower isobutene yield (11%) at 813 K. To explain this improvement, the catalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, N2 adsorption-desorption, and NH3 temperature-programmed desorption. Cr-SBA-15 was found to have a large specific surface area (1,610 m2/g), although the structural and acidic nature of the catalyst was similar to the general properties of other mesoporous silicas. The conversion of Cr3+ species into Cr6+ on Cr-SBA-15 with the large specific surface area could affect the improvement of the oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane to isobutene.
Gall stones and hypothyroidism: a double jeopardy

Background: Gall stones are one of the frequent biliary pathologies in the biliary system. Gall stones are deposition of bile pigments, cholesterol and calcium salts in the form of hard crystalline mass in the gall bladder. Saturation of bile in gall bladder, bile stasis due to sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, biliary sludge and change in chemical disproportion of bile are all risk factors for gall stone development. Thyroid disorders are also a very common endocrine pathology. On the Oddi sphincter, thyroid hormone receptors are present, and thyroxine has a strong relaxing effect on the sphincter. Hypothyroidism reduces the gall bladder contractility and causes lipid metabolism alteration which leads to biliary stasis. These promote the gall stone formation.Methods: A single centre cross-sectional study, was done among 86 patients diagnosed with cholelithiasis clinically and confirmed by ultrasonography. All patients were subjected to thyroid profile test, liver function test, fasting lipid profile test. Patients with a history of hypothyroidism were excluded from the study.Results: Among 86 study subjects, 29 (33.7%) of study subjects had hypothyroidism, out of which 21 (24.4%) had subclinical hypothyroidism, 8 (9.3%) had clinical hypothyroidism. Of the remaining subjects 4 (4.7%) were hyperthyroid and 53 (61.6%) were Euthyroid. A total of 24 subjects had dyslipidaemia of which (15) 62.5% had clinical and sub clinical hypothyroidism (p<0.001). Conclusions: In the evolution of Gall stones in hypothyroid patients, decreased liver cholesterol metabolism, decreased bile emptying and decreased Oddi relaxation sphincter play a role. In our study there was a strong association between hypothyroidism and gall stones. Hypothyroid patients also had abnormal total cholesterol, triglycerides and ALP levels.
Institutional support for tribal farmer interest groups in Erode district of Tamil Nadu, India

Globally small and marginal tribal farmers situation is worse because of poor marketing system and lack of quality input and technical services. This worse situation can be empowered through group approach like Farmer Producer Organization (FPO), Farmers Interest Group (FIG) and Self Help Group (SHG). FIG is a self-managed, independent group of farmers with a shared goal and interest. This is usually formed by 15-20 members. It is evidenced that the profitability in farming would be possible in groups rather than practising it individually. This is particularly the case where farmers organize themselves to respond to credit and input needs, marketing concerns, etc., as there are clear economic benefits of working in groups. The present study is aimed to investigate the level of institutional support for tribal Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs) in Erode district. A cent per cent of the respondents (100.00%) admitted that they received support for getting information regarding input availability, subsidiary activities, various schemes of the state department of agriculture. The vast majority of the respondents received information on technical support on production aspects of crop production (98.00%) and received credit support whenever needed (98.00%). Institutions like NGOs, State Department of Agriculture played a major role in improving the standard of living of these tribal people. They received support from the institution from production to marketing and value addition. However, they did not get proper guidance for soil testing and quality testing of inputs. Because of remoteness, they received a medium level of institutional support.
Next directions in measurement of the home mathematics environment: An international and interdisciplinary perspective

This article synthesizes findings from an international virtual conference, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), focused on the home mathematics environment (HME). In light of inconsistencies and gaps in research investigating relations between the HME and children's outcomes, the purpose of the conference was to discuss actionable steps and considerations for future work. The conference was composed of international researchers with a wide range of expertise and backgrounds. Presentations and discussions during the conference centered broadly on the need to better operationalize and measure the HME as a construct - focusing on issues related to child, family, and community factors, country and cultural factors, and the cognitive and affective characteristics of caregivers and children. Results of the conference and a subsequent writing workshop include a synthesis of core questions and key considerations for the field of research on the HME. Findings highlight the need for the field at large to use multi-method measurement approaches to capture nuances in the HME, and to do so with increased international and interdisciplinary collaboration, open science practices, and communication among scholars.
“Why Did I Really Want to Coach? To Help Girls”:

The purpose of this study was to investigate women coaches’ experiences in high-performance rugby union. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four women who had experience coaching at the representative, university, and/or international level. Informed by a Foucauldian feminism, the analysis revealed how disciplinary power, the formation of dominant knowledges, and the pervasiveness of surveillance operated in a deeply masculine environment of high-performance rugby. This study provides an in-depth examination of femininity, masculinity, and what it means to be a woman leader in the world of high-performance rugby union.
Determination of reducing power of 56 Algerian plant products using olive (Olea europaea) oil as extraction solvent

Abstract This work evaluates the efficiency of olive (Olea europaea) oil (OO) as extraction solvent (referred to here as lipophilic extraction) for reducing power (RP) determination of 56 plant materials belonging to three plant product groups: medicinal plant leaves, fruit peels and green vegetable pulps. In addition, the sample which exhibited the greatest lipophilic RP (RPlip) value in each studied group was characterized in terms of (1) RPaq in the case of an aqueous extraction, (2) Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) between RP values and color parameters of CIELab system, in the case of both lipophilic and aqueous extraction, and (3) diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity (RSA) in the case of both lipophilic and aqueous extraction. Among all investigated plant products, the wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) leaves showed the highest RPlip (∼70 mg BHT equivalents(eq.) × g−1 dry weight (dw)), while among fruits and green vegetables, the arbutus-berries (Arbutus unedo) peel (∼53 mg BHT eq. × g−1 wet weight (ww)) and eggplant (Solanum melongena) pulp (30 mg BHT eq. × g−1, ww) gave the best results, respectively. Nevertheless, RPlip negative values were obtained in numerous investigated samples. Regarding the additional characterization, any significant correlation was found between RPlip and color parameters, whereas a significant perfect positive correlation (p ≤ 0.05, r ∼ 1) was found between RPaq and certain color parameters in the case of arbutus-berries and eggplant. Furthermore, the RSA results confirmed the predominance of wormwood lipophilic extract in terms of antioxidant potential. Considering the applied lipidic extraction procedure, the resulting data reflect the antioxidant potential of OO-based plant infusions.
Implementation of business process reengineering (BPR): Case study of official trip procedures in higher education institutions

Purpose: Official trip is one of the common business processes carried out by every organization, including educational institutions. However, in its implementation, there are various kinds of obstacles that have an impact on the lack of effectiveness and efficiency of the system, in terms of time, material and human resources. This study aims to evaluate existing business processes and design, and implement the results of business process re-engineering (BPR) in the official trip system which is supported by digitization and digitalization with a multi-unit integration approach at one of the private universities in Indonesia, Telkom University.Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a mixed-method with an embedded design approach. The quantitative method was carried out by calculating the performance of official trip procedures before and after the BPR. Meanwhile, the qualitative method was carried out by conducting interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with key informants in this study. Triangulation technique was used to validate the research results.Findings: The BPR process has resulted in radical changes to the official trip system at the university, namely from a mixed system of manual / offline & online to completely online, from a very centralized to decentralized decision process, and the availability of a transparent monitoring system. These changes provide significant results by increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of business processes so as to speed up time, save paper (reduce paper waste and reduce costs) and optimize employee assignments.Originality/value: This study adds new insights into the implementation of BPR to the official trip system in higher education. This research implies that BPR can produce radical changes in business processes in higher education to become more effective and efficient. In addition, this study proposes several practical and academically useful recommendations for further research in this area.
Coupled ocean/sea ice dynamics of the Antarctic Slope Current driven by topographic eddy suppression and sea ice momentum redistribution

The Antarctic Slope Current (ASC) plays a central role in redistributing water masses, sea ice, and tracer properties around the Antarctic margins, and in mediating cross-slope exchanges. While the ASC has historically been understood as a wind-driven circulation, recent studies have highlighted important momentum transfers due to mesoscale eddies and tidal flows. Furthermore, momentum input due to wind stress is transferred through sea ice to the ASC during most of the year, yet previous studies have typically considered the circulations of the ocean and sea ice independently. Thus it remains unclear how the momentum input from the winds is mediated by sea ice, tidal forcing, and transient eddies in the ocean, and how the resulting momentum transfers serve to structure the ASC. In this study the dynamics of the coupled ocean/sea ice ASC circulation are investigated using high-resolution process-oriented simulations, and interpreted with the aid of a reduced-order model. In almost all simulations considered here, sea ice redistributes almost 100% of the wind stress away from the continental slope, resulting in approximately identical sea ice and ocean surface flows in the core of the ASC in a fully spun-up equilibrium state. This ice-ocean coupling results from suppression of vertical momentum transfer by mesoscale eddies over the continental slope, which allows the sea ice to accelerate the ocean surface flow until the speeds coincide. Tidal acceleration of the along-slope flow exaggerates this effect, and may even result in ocean-to-ice momentum transfer. The implications of these findings for along- and across-slope transport of water masses and sea ice around Antarctica are discussed.
Salt to conserve: a review on the ecology and preservation of hypersaline ecosystems

When it comes to the investigation of key ecosystems in the world, we often omit salt from the ecological recipe. In fact, despite occupying almost half of the volume of inland waters and providing crucial services to humanity and nature, inland saline ecosystems are often overlooked in discussions regarding the preservation of global aquatic resources of our planet. As a result, our knowledge of the biological and geochemical dynamics shaping these environments remains incomplete and we are hesitant in framing effective protective strategies against the increasing natural and anthropogenic threats faced by such habitats. Hypersaline lakes, water bodies where the concentration of salt exceeds 35 g/l, occur mainly in arid and semiarid areas resulting from hydrological imbalances triggering the accumulation of salts over time. Often considered the ‘exotic siblings’ within the family of inland waters, these ecosystems host some of the most extremophile communities worldwide and provide essential habitats for waterbirds and many other organisms in already water‐stressed regions. These systems are often highlighted as natural laboratories, ideal for addressing central ecological questions due to their relatively low complexity and simple food web structures. However, recent studies on the biogeochemical mechanisms framing hypersaline communities have challenged this archetype, arguing that newly discovered highly diverse communities are characterised by specific trophic interactions shaped by high levels of specialisation. The main goal of this review is to explore our current understanding of the ecological dynamics of hypersaline ecosystems by addressing four main research questions: (i) why are hypersaline lakes unique from a biological and geochemical perspective; (ii) which biota inhabit these ecosystems and how have they adapted to the high salt conditions; (iii) how do we protect biodiversity from increasing natural and anthropogenic threats; and (iv) which scientific tools will help us preserve hypersaline ecosystems in the future? First, we focus on the ecological characterisation of hypersaline ecosystems, illustrate hydrogeochemical dynamics regulating such environments, and outline key ecoregions supporting hypersaline systems across the globe. Second, we depict the diversity and functional aspects of key taxa found in hypersaline lakes, from microorganisms to plants, invertebrates, waterbirds and upper trophic levels. Next, we describe ecosystem services and discuss possible conservation guidelines. Finally, we outline how cutting‐edge technologies can provide new insights into the study of hypersaline ecology. Overall, this review sheds further light onto these understudied ecosystems, largely unrecognised as important sources of unique biological and functional diversity. We provide perspectives for key future research avenues, and advocate that the conservation of hypersaline lakes should not be taken with ‘a grain of salt’.
Family Choices on Welfare and Territorial Disadvantages: The Perception of the Child Care Services Approach in Urban and Rural Areas

Although the research on social-economic and demographic inequities of parents and their approach to formal child care (early childhood education and care [ECEC] system) is increasing, the territorial effects on child care remain underresearched. In Lithuania, the importance of the accessibility and availability of formal child care services are highlighted by the political agenda. However, the residential location is not considered enough to explain the differences in parental approach to child care in rural and urban regions. The article seeks to analyze how families’ child care choices and family welfare priorities are related to parental socioeconomic backgrounds, territorial dimension (residential location of parents), and general life satisfaction. The article uses the subsample of representative population survey data of the working-age generation cohort (34–48 years old cohort), focusing on respondents who have children below 4 years old and benefit from formal child care services in Lithuania. The main results contribute to explaining parental preferences to benefits-in-cash or services-in-kind (child care) family welfare priorities and their socioeconomic backgrounds, including residential location. The less is the residential location size (rural areas), the more likely respondents would support the benefits-in-cash system rather than formal child care services.
Prevalence of Anaemia at Booking amongst Antenatal Clinic Attendees in Some Health Facilities in Ogoni, South-South Nigeria

Background: Anaemia in pregnancy is an indirect cause of maternal mortality. Myriad of factors predispose pregnant women to anaemia in pregnancy in the developing countries of the world of which poverty, illiteracy and ignorance are central. The prevalence of anaemia in the developing countries of the world is between 32% and 62.2%. Objective: To determine the prevalence of anaemia amongst antenatal clinic attendees in Ogoni, South-South Nigeria and offer preventive measures. Material and Methods: This was a retrospective four months cross-sectional study of antenatal clinic attendees at booking in three (3) primary health care facilities and general hospitals Bori and Tera, in Ogoni, South-South Nigeria. Three hundred and eighty (380) pregnant women’s biodata including their packed cell volume were collected. These pieces of information were computed using a structured proforma. The data were coded and analysed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software version 25. Results: The mean age of the study antenatal clinic attendees was 28 years. The mean gestational age at booking was 25weeks. The range for the packed cell volume was 25% to 36% and the mean packed cell volume at booking was 30%. Three hundred and eighteen (318) (84.0%) had anaemia (with packed cell volume less than 33%). Majority of patients 249 (65.6%) had mild anaemia There was none with severe anaemia. Majority of patients had secondary level of education represented by 275 (72.3%). Conclusion: The prevalence of anaemia amongst antenatal clinic attendees at Ogoni was 84.0%. The role of pre-pregnancy care amongst women desirous of pregnancy, familly planning and the role of education cannot be over emphasized in the prevention of anaemia in pregnancy.
Impact of Merger on HDFC Bank Financial Performance: A CAMEL Analysis Approach

The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact on financial performance of HDFC Bank before and after the merger and to compare the pre and post-merger effect caused on its financial performance by CAMEL Analysis. The data used in the study is secondary data covering total time period of ten years which include five year prior merger (2003-2008) and five year of post-merger period (2009-2014). The research technique used in this study is CAMEL Analysis. Paired sample T-test has been also conducted to check the statistical significance difference between before and after merger CAMEL ratios and to measure the effect of merger on financial performance. The result showed that the financial performance of HDFC increased after the merger and positively impacted by the act of merger.