Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Citation for published version Garay, L. & Morales, S. (2019). Decomposing and relating user engagement in festivals' virtual brand communities: An analysis of Sónar's

Festival branding is undergoing a revolution based on the consolidation of new communicative behaviours in virtual brand communities (VBC), above all channelled through social media platforms. Although literature about festivals has analysed engagement in VBC, this study provides an in-depth observation of the profiles of festival VBC users, how they modulate engagement attributes and behaviours and how these relate to their engagement focus, highlighting festival branding while also considering other main focuses (i.e., social capital creation and place-making). Thus, this paper aims to characterize these elements in festivals’ VBC through a multidimensional analysis of nearly 2,150 entries in the Twitter and Facebook VBC of one of the most prominent music festivals in Europe, Sónar (Barcelona). Moreover, it does so through a longitudinal observation covering a whole year, showing the relevance of ongoing communication to festival success. Results show the benefits (for organizers as well as other users) of understanding these elements and their mutual relationships.
Ocean-atmosphere interactions in the tropical Atlantic seasonal cycle and multidecadal variability of ENSO

We investigate the role of sea surface temperature (SST) and land surface temperature (LST) in driving the seasonal cycle of the atmosphere (surface winds and precipitation) in the tropical Atlantic. For this we compare three atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) experiments for the historical period 1982–2013 forced by different SST: (1) observed daily-climatological SST, (2) globally annual-mean SST, and (3) annual-mean SST in the equatorial Atlantic and dailyclimatological SST elsewhere. Seasonal variations in SST strongly influence the seasonal evolution of the West African Monsoon (WAM) and ITCZ over the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Forcing the model with annual mean SST (globally and in the equatorial Atlantic) considerably reduces the seasonal variance in the atmosphere, except for the zonal winds in the eastern equatorial Atlantic. Equatorial Atlantic SST contributes to the seasonal cycle in precipitation and meridional winds over the entire equatorial Atlantic, but only strongly influences zonal winds in the western equatorial Atlantic and has little influence on the northward penetration of the WAM. The leading modes of coupled SST–LST-atmosphere co-variability are identified by multivariate analysis. The analysis shows that both LST and SST drive seasonal variations in precipitation over equatorial Atlantic, with the LST being a larger contributor to the continental rainfall in West Africa. The coupling between ocean and atmosphere is stronger in the western than in the eastern equatorial Atlantic. The pressure adjustment mechanism is the main driver of the surface meridional wind convergence in the eastern tropical Atlantic.
Towards smart dairy nutrition: Improving sustainability and economics of dairy production

To satisfy increasing food and nutrient supply requirements for our growing future human population, farmers and staple food producers carry vital responsibilities. Especially farmers with ruminant livestock like dairy cows transform otherwise for human consumption unsuitable fibre into highly nutritious milk and meat. Nevertheless, dairy farmers are challenged increasingly by the consequences of global warming. Economic risks like feed supply and volatile commodity prices need to be balanced, also taking into account the increasing environmental awareness of end-customers. Focusing just on emissions, dairy production is contributing an essential part of the total carbon footprint emitted by the agricultural sector. Since rumen degradability of feed was identified by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as one of the most influential parameters in reducing the carbon footprint of dairy farming, the desire to exploit leverage potential for efficiency increases can be considered exceptionally high. Although the positive effects of improved feed, in other words, neutral detergent fibre rumen degradability for dairy farming are well understood, detailed information on the correct management to obtain well digestible feed sources is still missing. Using the smart dairy nutrition ration formulation concept, applying readily on-farm available digitized data and management information the objectives of this study were: 1) to assess the influential parameters which govern neutral detergent fibre rumen degradability of corn silage, using a set of 584 corn silages from multiple years, and 2) to evaluate within an integrated dairy production set up the economic and ecological improvement potential by feeding a subset of 28 different corn silages, including detailed variety information. Results show that the neutral detergent fibre rumen degradability is primarily governed by variety choice and can be four times more important than the correct harvest stage decision. By feeding corn silage varieties with high neutral detergent fibre rumen degradability, monetary income could be increased by ~10% while simultaneously reducing manure accumulation.
Reliability of multiple-choice versus problem-solving student exam scores in higher education: Empirical tests

Instructors in higher education frequently employ examinations composed of problem-solving questions to assess student knowledge and learning. But are student scores on these tests reliable? Surprisingly few have researched this question empirically, arguably because of perceived limitations in traditional research methods. Furthermore, many believe multiple choice exams to be a more objective, reliable form of testing students than any other type. We question this wide-spread belief. In a series of empirical studies in 8 classes (401 students) in a finance course, we used a methodology based on three key elements to examine these questions: A true experimental design, more appropriate estimation of exam score reliability, and reliability confidence intervals. Internal consistency reliabilities of problem-solving test scores were consistently high (all > .87, median = .90) across different classes, students, examiners, and exams. In contrast, multiple-choice test scores were less reliable (all < .69). Recommendations are presented for improving the construction of exams in higher education.
Islamic University Multidiscilpinary Journal

This study examined the relationship between work environment and employee work performance in selected deposit money banks in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. An Exploratory Research Design was adopted in studying the six selected banks. These six banks were selected using the convenience sampling method. And the respondent employees (unity of analysis) for the sample were selected using a simple random sampling method. Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table of population and sample size determination was used to arrive at the number of respondents engaged for this study. From the field survey, we retrieved and analysed one hundred and six (106) sets of questionnaires using Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation Coefficient to determine the relationship existing between the variables. The findings revealed that the dimensions of work environment namely; leadership style, communication and co-ordination, conflict management, and staff cohesion displayed significant relationship with employee work performance. Therefore we concluded that, there is a statistically significant and positive relationship between work environment and employee work performance towards the course of the organization. This motivated our recommendation for banks operating in this contemporary volatile, dynamic, and unpredictable business environment to make deliberate effort to among others create a more favourable work environment, as this will encourage the employees to exhibit positive attitude to work while at the same time preventing dissatisfaction and disloyalty; and hence, enhancing their work performance towards the accomplishment of the organisation’s goal and objectives to attain sustainable competitive advantage.
Public Knowledge and Attitudes towards Vitiligo: A Survey in Mekelle City, Northern Ethiopia

Background The overall well-being, sense of stigmatization, and treatment outcome of persons with vitiligo are largely dependent on their social acceptance and this is linked with perception and attitude of this disease in a given population. Therefore, this study assessed the knowledge and attitude of the public towards vitiligo. Methods A cross-sectional survey was carried out using a self-reported questionnaire distributed to adults living in Mekelle city, Northern Ethiopia from August to November 2019. Individuals who were 18 to 65 years of age and not suffering from vitiligo were included in the study. A self-administered questionnaire that contains a demographic, knowledge, and attitudes parts was used to collect data. Data were entered using Epi Data® version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS® version 21. Results Of the total 368 subjects, 300 completed the questionnaires giving 81.5% response rate. The mean age was 30 ± 8.3 years and the male-to-female ratio was 1.14 : 1. Friends or families were reported as the most common source of information (70%) about vitiligo. The overall vitiligo knowledge was sufficient in 68.3% of the participants. Higher vitiligo-related knowledge scores were recorded by people older than 30 and below 50, those of secondary school graduated or more, urban-dwellers, persons who had heard about vitiligo, and persons having families or friends affected by vitiligo. Attitudes towards vitiligo were positive in 43.3% of participants. This was more prevalent among employed persons, those of secondary school graduated or more, and persons having families or friends affected by vitiligo. Moreover, sufficient knowledge was significantly related to positive attitudes towards the disease (p < 0.0001). Conclusion Even though the majority of the respondents had sufficient knowledge, we still found misconceptions and negative attitudes towards vitiligo. Therefore, it is still crucial to educate the public about vitiligo to ultimately improve the well-being of patients with vitiligo.
11b-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-1 is involved in bile acid homeostasis by modulating fatty acid transport protein-5 in the liver of mice

11b-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-1 (11b-HSD1) plays a key role in glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activation. Besides, it metabolizes some oxysterols and bile acids (BAs). The GR regulates BA homeostasis; however, the impact of impaired 11b-HSD1 activity remained unknown. We profiled plasma and liver BAs in liver-specific and global 11b-HSD1-deficient mice. 11b-HSD1-deficiency resulted in elevated circulating unconjugated BAs, an effect more pronounced in global than liver-specific knockout mice. Gene expression analyses revealed decreased expression of the BA-CoA ligase Fatp5, suggesting impaired BA amidation. Reduced organic anion-transporting polypeptide-1A1 (Oatp1a1) and enhanced organic solute-transporter-b (Ostb) mRNA expression were observed in livers from global 11b-HSD1-deficient mice. The impact of 11b-HSD1-deficiency on BA homeostasis seems to be GR-independent because intrahepatic corticosterone and GR target gene expression were not substantially decreased in livers from global knockout mice. Moreover, Fatp5 expression in livers from hepatocyte-specific GR knockout mice was unchanged. The results revealed a role for 11b-HSD1 in BA homeostasis. 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
A Study on the Relationship between Sense of Place, Satisfaction and Recommendation Intention

Tourists may develop a sense of place to a destination thus satisfaction seems no more important than it used to think, which could influence tourists' further attitude and behavior and could be used to enhance the marketing strategies as well as tourism planning. This study uses empirical analysis to build a model of the influence mechanism between tourists’ sense of place, satisfaction, and recommendation and uses 300 questionnaires in Hongya Cave, a tourist sight-seeing destination in Chongqing, as research objects to examine whether and how tourists’ sense of place affects the recommendation. The results show that satisfaction is not the most important factor affecting the recommend intention. The dimensions of sense of place, like cultural atmosphere, local food and business have an impact on the recommendation through satisfaction mediation, while place attachment directly affects recommendation intention.
DETERMINANTS OF FINANCIAL LEVERAGE: THE CASE OF LARGEST AIRLINES IN ASIA

This study is developed to examine the determinants of financial leverage of capital structure of airlines industry in Asia for the period from 2012 to 2016. Airlines industry is selected as sample of this study as it reflects the highest energy intensive industry based on the largest amount of fuel consumption on the business (Bratlie, 2012). This study defined airline as an operation entity that provides services to carry people and freight by air with schedule routes provided. This study, using panel data analysis, reports that size and growth have a positive relationship to financial leverage. In contrast, profitability and age are negatively related. Regardless of the signs, all the explanatory variables in this study are strongly significant in determining financial leverage (measured by debt to equity ratio).
AN ECO-FRIENDLY MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEHOLD ORGANIC WASTE

The household organic wastes commonly include dust, food and kitchen waste, garden waste, paper waste etc. that is generated everyday from every house. This highly nutritive organic waste is the house of infectious bacteria, vector and insect. A study was conducted to explore the possibility of vermicomposting of household organic waste at home level. For this study household waste (HW) and garden (leaves with soil-dust) waste (GW) were selected. They were mixed with dried dung powder (DDP) and vermicompost (VC) in different ratios. The mixture (20 Kg) was subjected for predecomposting for a period of 15-20 days, followed by release of 50 earthworms (E. eugeniae). Regular sprinkling of water was made in the culture media to maintain moisture content to 50-60% and temperature in the range of 20-28̊C up to 80 days. At end of the experiment observations were made in terms of number and weight of earthworms, juveniles and cocoons. Analysis of vermicompost was also done for values of pH, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The best results of earthworm as well as vermicompost parameters were obtained in the mixture containing equal quantity of KW+DDP+GW+VC with a maximum increase in worm population and worm biomass. Maximum fertilizer values of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus content were observed in this mixture. It can be concluded that organic waste generated from home and garden can easily be converted into high quality valuable compost at home level with fruitful outcome.
Aflatoxin contamination of maize vended in Ondo state, Nigeria, and health risk assessments

Aflatoxin contamination of maize is a serious food safety problem worldwide. Despite the widespread consumption of maize in Nigeria, there is limited data on aflatoxin contents of maize vended in open markets in Ondo state, Nigeria. A total of 140 maize samples randomly purchased from major markets in four locations in Ondo state, were screened for total aflatoxins using an ELISA method. Exposure and health risk assessments were performed for the maize consumers by the deterministic and Margin of exposure (MOE) approaches, respectively. About 99% of the maize were contaminated with total aflatoxins (range: 0.65–265 µg/kg; mean: 125.9 µg/kg). Aflatoxin levels exceeding the 4 µg/kg set by the European Union for total aflatoxins were found in 88% of the maize whilst more than one half contained at least 100 µg/kg aflatoxins. The average probable daily intake values were 830, 332 and 138 ng/kg bw/day for the average children, adolescent and adult populations, respectively. Consequently, MOEs for the respective populations were 0.20, 0.51 and 1.23, suggesting a high level of health risk for consumers of maize vended in open markets in Ondo state due to high aflatoxin levels. Maize farmers and households in Ondo state need urgent aflatoxin mitigation interventions.
Knowledge of pregnant women on the factors that influence anaemia in pregnancy in a rural farming district of the Western Region of Ghana

Background: The presence of anaemia in pregnancy is one of the serious public health concerns across the globe especially in developing countries like Ghana. This study assessed pregnant women's knowledge on factors influencing aneamia in pregnancy in a low-income district of Ghana. Methods: A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study. Data was collected using a pretested questionnaire. 112 pregnant women seeking antenatal care were recruited using systematic sampling technique in the Wassa East district of Ghana. Data were cleaned and entered into SPSS version 22 and analysed into descriptive statistics. Results: Majority of participants; 72.3% did not know the causes of anaemia in pregnancy. Pregnant women (27.7%) indicated nutritional deficiency as a common cause of anaemia; 18.7% of them could identify appropriately at least one sign of anaemia in pregnancy with 28% asserting that pregnancy-related anaemia can affect labour, despite 72% indicating that anaemia could cause maternal mortality. The reasons for irregular ANC attendance included; perceived non importance of ANC (18.8%), financial difficulties (17.9%), health facility inaccessibility (18.8%) and time constraints (44.5%). There was a strong association between knowledge level on the cause of anaemia in pregnancy and the educational level of pregnant women (p=0.005 chi square = 50.289). Conclusions: Lack of knowledge on the importance of antenatal care and financial constraints were among the reasons leading to a surge in anaemia amongst pregnant women in the district. Health providers should incorporate services which enable pregnant women to access valuable information on anaemia prevention in pregnancy.
Allergic Rhinitis and Its Epidemiological Distribution in Syria: A High Prevalence and Additional Risks in War Time

Background Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a global disease that affects a huge proportion of people around the world especially in the Middle East, where multiple allergy-promoting factors can be found. Although AR is not fatal, it severely affects the quality of life. However, it is usually overlooked in developing countries due to resource scarcity. Methods An online questionnaire on social media was used which included demographics, smoking, socioeconomic-status (SES), war-related questions, and the score for allergic rhinitis (SFAR), a simple self-reporting tool with the cut-off point at 7. Findings. This study included 968 subjects with 721 (74.5%) females. The mean age was 24.69 years with AR prevalence at 47.9%. AR was associated with male gender [P = 0.001 (OR, 1.677; 95% CI 1.249-2.253)], having a job [P = 0.049 (OR, 1.309; 95% CI 1.001-1.713)], the having a chronic medical condition (P < 0.0001) mainly other allergies [P < 0.0001 (OR, 9.199; 95% CI 3.836-22.063)] and asthma [P = 0.006 (OR, 5.060; 95% CI 1.396-18.342)], using medications (P < 0.0001) and living in particular provinces (P = 0.010). However, no significant correlation was found with type of work and war factors except being distressed by war sounds [P = 0.027 (OR, 1.348; 95% CI 1.034-1.757)]. Finally, no associations were found with age, consanguinity, SES, educational level, and cigarette or/and shisha smoking (P > 0.05). Interpretation. Approximately half of the sample displayed AR symptoms, indicating a potentially high burden of AR in the community. A correlation to being distressed from war noises was found with AR which could reflect a psychological aspect. In addition, in war harmful allergens are released which can be an additional AR risk factor which adds to the environment in the Middle East that is associated with AR. However, we need further studies to discover and minimize this huge prevalence of AR.
Seismic hazard assessment and local site effect evaluation in Hanoi, Vietnam

ABTRACT: In this study, we have carried out the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis in Hanoi based on the latest seismotectonic data. The seismic hazard map shows peak ground acceleration values on rock corresponding to the 10% probability of exceedance in a 50-year time period (approximately return periods of 500 years). The calculated results reveal that the maximum ground acceleration can occur on rock in Hanoi is about 0.13 g corresponding to the shaking intensity level of VIII on the MSK-64 scale. The ground motion values calculated on rock vary according to the local site conditions. We have evaluated and corrected the local site effects on ground motion in Ha Dong district, Hanoi by using microtremor and borehole data. The Nakamura’s H/V spectral ratio method has been applied to establish a map of ground dominant periods in Ha Dong with a TS range of 0.6 1.2 seconds. The relatively high values of periods indicate that Ha Dong has soft soil and thick Quaternary sediments. The sediment thickness in Ha Dong is calculated to vary between 30 75 m based on ground dominant periods and shear wave velocity VS30 = 171 254 m/s. The results of local site effect on ground motion show that the 500year return period peak ground acceleration in Ha Dong ranges from 0.13 g to 0.17 g. It is once again asserted that the seismic hazard in Hanoi is a matter of great concern, due not only to the relatively high ground acceleration, but also to the seismic characteristics of soil (low shear wave velocity, ground dominant period of approximately 1 second).
The Effects of Auricular Therapy for Cancer Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective This study aims to systematically assess the efficacy and safety of auricular therapy for cancer pain. Methods A systematic search was conducted using PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library databases, CNKI, VIP, WanFang Data, and CBM for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Review Manager 5.3 was used for meta-analysis. Results Of the 275 screened studies, nine RCTs involving 783 patients with cancer pain were systematically reviewed. Compared with drug therapy, auricular therapy plus drug therapy has significant advantages both in the effective rate for pain relief (RR = 1.40; 95% CI 1.22, 1.60; P < 0.00001) and adverse effects rate (RR = 0.46; 95% CI 0.37, 0.58; P < 0.00001). And the result revealed that auricular acupuncture had superior pain-relieving effects as compared with sham auricular acupuncture (SMD = -1.45; 95% CI -2.80, -0.09; P=0.04). However, the analysis indicated no difference on the effective rate for pain relief between auricular therapy and drug therapy (RR = 1.24; 95% CI 0.71, 2.16; P=0.46). Conclusion Our meta-analysis indicated that auricular therapy is effective and safe for the treatment of cancer pain, and auricular therapy plus drug therapy is more effective than drug therapy alone, whether in terms of pain relief or adverse reactions. However, the included RCTs had some methodological limitations; future large, rigor, and high-quality RCTs are still needed to confirm the benefits of auricular therapy on cancer pain.
Financial evaluation of hill country pasture improvement

Capital fertiliser dressings and intensified grazing management (to fully utilise available pasture) are shown to be essential components of hill country pasture improvement options when they were analysed by a computer simulation model. For calculations to be profitable, animal performance needed to exceed specified minima throughout the period of development. For traditional mixed livestock policies, these minima were that finishing cattle reach 300 kg carcass weights and breeding ewes achieve more than 100% lambing.