Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using Style of Participation among Texas Inshore Fishing Guides to Understand Displacement Behavior due to Perceived Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) Population Declines

Using Style of Participation among Texas Inshore Fishing Guides to Understand Displacement Behavior due to Perceived Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) Population Declines. (May 2012) William Earl Smith, B.S, Texas A&M University; M.S., Stephen F. Austin State University Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Gerard Kyle Dr. William D. Heyman Characterization of distinct angler fishing styles (e.g., how, where, and with what) allows resource managers the ability to predict how perceived impacts or modifications to fisheries resources (i.e., decline of fish species population) may impact different user groups. Recreation specialization provides a useful framework for understanding participation diversity among recreationists in terms of unique styles of participation. Bryan suggested that within an activity distinct types of participants exist that demonstrate characteristic styles of participation. Fundamental to Bryan’s development of specialization were contextual attributes that characterize participant engagement in a recreation activity. However, advancement in specialization has been accompanied by a departure from Bryan’s original conceptualization describing activity context. I revisited how specialization is operationalized and developed a contextual
Auditor-client bonding and audit quality: partner-level evidence

In this study, we argue that an increased economic bonding may develop between an audit partner and the clients when the auditor switches to a new audit firm because the auditor’s incremental payoff expected from switching to the new firm (e.g., promotion, larger share of firm profits, more perks, and more authority and peer respect) is often enhanced by the number of clients he can bring to the new firm. The auditor and the client can use audit quality as a bargaining tool to divide the incremental payoff generated from the joint auditor-client switch. We thus hypothesize that the turnover audit partners treat follower clients more favorably (by making less downward audit adjustments to pre-audit earnings or allowing greater discretionary accruals) than they treat other clients around the joint auditor-client switches. Using the data in China where engagement-specific audit partner information is available, we find evidence that supports our hypothesis under the condition that both of the signing auditors for the follower client switch to the same successor firm (or come from the same predecessor firm). Our partner-level evidence is consistent with the widespread concern that audit quality is lower when there is a greater level of auditor-client economic bonding.
THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION ON WOMEN IN BANGLADESH : AN OVERVIEW

Environmental degradation has become a crucial issue in the contemporary world. Although women and men relate to the environment the same way in many ways, they also use plant and animals, land and water in different ways. Whether the air, water or land is clean or polluted may not have the same affect on men and women because of their different activities and socio economic role. Impact of environmental degradation are divergent for various social groups and for different contexts. This article focuses on the gender differential impact of environmental degradation in Bangladesh and how women have to bear the outcome of nature’s maladies disproportionately.
Blend Gaps through Papers and Meetings? Collaboration between the Social Services and Jobcentres

The policy word “collaboration” is a political buzzword omnipresent within human service organisations in Sweden and other countries. Collaboration stands for services working together toward a common goal. It is understood as the solution for a multitude of problems, putting the client at the centre and involving the services needed for making them financially self-sufficient. Public service collaboration assumes gaps between entities, whether they are organisations or professionals holding a particular kind of knowledge or available resources. Gaps are seen as omissions and pitfalls in activities which should be removed. My thesis is that putting the gap at the centre reveals not only the disjuncture of the gaps but also the productiveness of the gap in collaborative projects between organisations. The article demonstrates how documents and meetings work both as makers and blenders of gaps between social services and jobcentres. If gaps are productive spaces, what does it denote for collaboration between organisations? The article is placed ethnographically in documents and meetings set to enable collaboration between social workers and job coaches. I will focus on the gap, the space between documents and organisations, as productive spaces in collaborative projects.
Impaired Pulmonary V˙O2 Kinetics in Cystic Fibrosis Depend on Exercise Intensity.

PURPOSE This study aimed to investigate the effects of mild-to-moderate cystic fibrosis (CF) on the pulmonary oxygen uptake (V˙O2) kinetics of seven pediatric patients (13.5 ± 2.8 yr) versus seven healthy matched controls (CON; 13.6 ± 2.4 yr). We hypothesized that CF would slow the V˙O2 kinetic response at the onset of moderate (MOD) and very heavy (VH) intensity cycling. METHODS Changes in breath-by-breath V˙O2, near-infrared spectroscopy-derived muscle deoxygenation ([HHb]) at the vastus lateralis muscle and thoracic bioelectrical impedance-derived heart rate (HR), stroke volume index, and cardiac index were measured during repeat transitions to MOD (90% of the gas exchange threshold) and VH (Δ60%) intensity cycling exercise. RESULTS During MOD, the phase II V˙O2 τ (P = 0.84, effect size [ES] = 0.11) and the overall mean response time (MRT) (P = 0.52, ES = 0.11) were not significantly slower in CF versus CON. However, during VH exercise, the phase II V˙O2 τ (P = 0.02, ES = 1.28) and MRT (P = 0.01, ES = 1.40) were significantly slower in CF. Cardiac function, central O2 delivery (stroke volume index and cardiac index), and muscle [HHb] kinetics were unaltered in CF. However, the arteriovenous O2 content difference ((Equation is included in full-text article.)) was reduced during VH at 30 s (P = 0.03, ES = 0.37), with a trend for reduced levels at 0 s (P = 0.07, ES = 0.25), 60 s (P = 0.05, ES = 0.28), and 120 s (P = 0.07, ES = 0.25) in CF. Furthermore, (Equation is included in full-text article.)significantly correlated with the VH phase II V˙O2 τ (r = -0.85, P = 0.02) and MRT (r = -0.79, P = 0.03) in CF only. CONCLUSION Impairments in muscle oxidative metabolism during constant work rate exercise are intensity dependent in young people with mild-to-moderate CF. Specifically, V˙O2 kinetics are slowed during VH but not MOD cycling and appear to be mechanistically linked to impaired muscle O2 extraction and utilization.
Fields containing values of algebraic functions

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Lack of increase in heterozygous alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency phenotypes among patients with hepatocellular and bile duct carcinoma.

Homozygous alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency (PiZZ phenotype) is known to be associated with increased risk of cirrhosis and primary liver cancer. Although a relationship between heterozygous alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency and chronic liver disease was suggested recently, it is still a matter of controversy whether such patients are at increased risk of liver cancer. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of heterozygous alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency of different phenotypes among patients with primary hepatobiliary cancers. We studied 82 patients with primary hepatobiliary cancer; 59 had hepatocellular carcinoma and 23 had bile duct carcinoma. alpha 1-Antitrypsin quantitation and phenotyping were performed in each patient using standard methods. The distribution of the various Pi phenotypes was compared with that found in a normal population and reported elsewhere. Odds-ratio and chi 2 tests were used to measure the relative risk and the significance of association, respectively, between primary hepatobiliary cancers and heterozygous alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency. Four patients in each of the cancer groups were heterozygous. Among the hepatocellular carcinoma patients, three had the PiMS phenotype and one had the PiMZ phenotype. Of these four heterozygous patients, only two had cirrhosis; one had cryptogenic cirrhosis and the other had hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis. One noncirrhotic patient with a PiMZ phenotype had a fibrolamellar carcinoma. Of the four patients with bile duct carcinoma, three had the PiMS phenotype and one had the PiMZ phenotype. Of the four heterozygous patients, two had primary sclerosing cholangitis without associated inflammatory bowel disease and one patient had had previous biliary operations. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Controlling Shareholder, Expropriations and Firm’s Leverage Decision: Evidence from Chinese Non-Tradable Share Reform

In this paper we examine the effect of excess control rights on the leverage decisions of Chinese non-SOEs before and after the reforms of non-tradable shares. We identify that both inter-corporate loans and related party transactions are channels through which controlling shareholders expropriate minority shareholders by adopting a policy of excess leverage. We found that firms with more excess control rights also have more excess leverage and the controlling shareholders of these firms used the resources they obtained to facilitate tunneling activities rather than invest in positive NPV projects. We also found that the excess leverage in firms with excess control rights decreased after the non-tradable shares were reformed. We further found a positive market reaction to firms’ announcement of related party transactions and better performance in firms with more excess control rights after the reform, confirming a reduction in the controlling shareholder’s tunneling behavior. We argue that in emerging markets when legal protection for both creditors and shareholders is weak, controlling shareholders borrow excess debt to tunnel.
A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE VISUAL ANALOGUE AND BORG’S CR10 SCALES FOR PERCEIVED EXERTION

The aim of this study was to determine if the visual analogue and Borg’s CR10 scales areefficient for the assessment of perceived general exertion in a ramp continuous dynamicphysical exercise test (RCDPET). The sample was composed of 20 sedentary healthy malevolunteers (18-29 years). The RCDPET was carried out using an electrically brakedcycloergometer (60 rpm), and the scales were asked at the end of each stage. Linearcorrelations were found between the scales, between the scales and oxygen uptake and alsobetween the scales and heart rate values. These results suggest that the physical magnitudesof VAS and Borg’s CR10 scales are highly correlated. Moreover, in both scales, the increaseof power, heart rate and oxygen uptake corresponded to the increase of the participants’subjective estimations in relation to the physical effort. This may indicate a clear interactionbetween the different variables acting during the RCDPET.
Water quality monitoring system approach to support Guapi-Macacu river basin management, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Water quality monitoring is an essential component of the integrated water resource management. The Brazilian National Water Resource Policy establishes the framework for maximum use with proper management of the resource with public participation at the river basin. The Guapi-Macacu River Basin (GMRB) located in north-eastern region of Guanabara Bay Basin in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) consists of protected areas, with good water quality and quantity in the upper reaches of the basin and head waters. The general objective was to analyse the current water quality monitoring system to contribute for the GMRB management plan. The State Institute of Environment (INEA), is responsible for the water quality monitoring within its environmental monitoring system in river basins. Variation of parameters, frequencies and sampling sites occurs between INEA and another entity. Based on the results of this research, recommendations were given for the newly established management plan.
Robust Positioning Algorithms for Wireless Networks

In this thesis, we consider the problem of finding the geographic position of a transmitter device (e.g. mobile phone), denoted as user equipment (UE), based on signal parameter estimates such as angle-of-arrival or time-of-arrival that are provided by surrounded sensors or base stations. If line-of-sight (LOS) channels between the UE and the base stations exists, high positioning accuracy can be obtained using trilateration or triangulation techniques. However, this assumption is ideal and not often encountered in practice. Especially in urban areas and hilly terrain, reflections at obstacles such as buildings and trees occur which force the signals of the UE to arrive at the base station via an indirect path. This phenomenon, called non-line-of-sight (NLOS) propagation, leads to erroneous signal parameter estimates that can strongly differ from the true ones and are thus modeled as outliers here. These NLOS errors result in large positioning errors when using standard techniques such as least-squares estimation and extended Kalman filtering. Thus, positioning algorithms that are robust against deviations from the LOS assumption are required. Since the statistics of the errors due to NLOS propagation are unknown in general we develop estimators that determine the NLOS error statistics from the observations non-parametrically. This estimate is then used in a parametric model to obtain the position estimate of the UE based on the maximum likelihood principle. The approach is termed semi-parametric since non-parametric pdf estimation is used for position estimation within a parametric signal model. A significant improvement in positioning accuracy with respect to conventional techniques is achieved in NLOS environments. For LOS environment, where Gaussian sensor noise is predominant, the proposed approach performs similar to a least-squares estimator. This approach is further extended to the case when the UE is moving over time. For this purpose, the framework of an extended Kalman filter (EKF) is used where the EKF equations are rewritten into a linear regression model at each time step and the semi-parametric estimator is used to solve for the state vector, containing position and velocity of the UE. Furthermore, a multiple model tracking algorithm is proposed that combines the advantages of robust EKFs and the standard EKF to achieve high accuracy in both LOS and NLOS environments. Finally, a different approach for positioning of a moving UE in NLOS environments is developed. It is based on a joint outlier detection and tracking algorithm where the errors due to NLOS effects are detected and discarded and the remaining measurements are used for updating the position estimate. Since we do not know which of them yields highest precision the remaining measurements are weighted with different probabilities to obtain the state estimate at each time step. The developed tracking algorithms outperform various robust competing estimators found in the literature while no knowledge of the NLOS error statistics is required.
Feasibility of meteosat third generation collocation using a single S-band tracking station and large inclination maneuvers

The Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) mission requires two 3-axis stabilized satellites, one implementing the imaging instrument (MTG-I) and another the sounding instrument (MTG-S), to be operated in orbit simultaneously in collocation around the 0o geostationary position. Satellites collocation, even if requiring more complex operations, may allow operating both satellites using a single S-band station, with an important reduction of the ground support required for Flight Dynamics operations, and consequently of the number of needed ground stations and of the operational workload. Further reduction of the operational workload, together with a potential benefit in terms of availability of the scientific data, could be achieved if the collocation strategy is implemented through very large inclination maneuvers executed yearly. The paper will present in detail the analyses performed to assess the flight dynamics feasibility of the proposed operational strategy and will address its potential benefit; at the same time the major constraints at system level, which currently may prevent the implementation of the described strategy, are presented.
Estudiantes universitarios y creación de empresas. Un análisis comparativo entre España y Portugal

This research analyzes the attitudes to entrepreneurship in Beira Interior (Portugal) and Extremadura (Espana) using Institutional Economic Theory of Douglas North (1990, 2005) as a theoretical framework. Perceptions of desirability, feasibility and the intention to start a new firm as well the entrepreneur's image are studied and compared in the two countries, through the analysis of several samples of potential entrepreneurs (university students). Not relevant differences in the attitudes to entrepreneurship between Beira Interior and Extremadura are found in the study
Sociocultural determinants of traditional food intake across indigenous communities in the Yukon and Denendeh

Chronic non-communicable diseases related to excessive or unbalanced dietary intakes are on the rise among some Indigenous populations in Canada. Nutritional problems of Indigenous peoples arise in the transition from a traditional diet to a market diet characterised by highly processed foods with reduced nutrient density. This study used food frequency and 24-hour recall questionnaires to quantify traditional food intake in 18 communities in Denendeh (Western Northwest Territories) and the Yukon. These data allowed comparisons between the two regions (Yukon and Denendeh) and the two seasons of data collection (summer and winter, perceived to be the seasons of highest and lowest traditional food intake, respectively). Food choice in general is affected by a multitude of factors determined by individual, societal and environmental influences. In this study, individual, household, and community correlates of traditional food intake were assessed in order to construct a multivariate statistical model to describe the correlates of the quantity and diversity of traditional food intake in the Western Canadian Arctic. The variables used in this study reflected household demography, market food affordability, access to traditional food, individual characteristics such as age and gender, and perceptions about traditional food. The analysis of the associations between the traditional food correlates and traditional food intake in terms of quantity and diversity allowed for the description of the profile of men and women who are high consumers of traditional food in both regions. This study described and used a tool to measure traditional food diversity, which may be an appropriate indicator of the process of dietary change experienced by Indigenous Peoples in Denendeh and the Yukon.
Tourism and Lake Sustainability: A Case Study of Dal Lake

Dal is a Himalayan urban lake which is mainly used for tourism. Fishery and agriculture is of secondary importance. It is one of the most beautiful lakes of India and the second largest lake in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Dal Lake is unique in having hundreds of house boats which afford an opportunity to tourists to reside on the lake in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. Besides the Moguls gardens and campus of the University of Kashmir is also located along the shores of the lake. Overlooking the lake are two hillocks which house the famous temples of Shankaracharya and Hari Parbat. A perennial inflow channel enters the lake from the north and supplies about 80% of the water. Towards the southwest side an outflow channel drains the lake water into a tributary of the River Jhelum. Parallel to this exit is a stone-lined canal which connects the lake with the tributary. This channel is used for movement of boats in and out of the lake and prevents inundation of floating gardens during high floods. The author intends to give an insight in to the spatiotemporal trends in the tourist flow and changes in the ecology and environment of the lake. The sustainability of the Dal Lake depends on the management and environmental management; therefore, the author analyses and compares both sides of the utilization of the lake: the demand and the offer.
Godfathers, political parties and electoral corruption in Nigeria

Electoral corruption is mostly seen in Nigeria as a direct subversion of the electoral process by individuals, who are greedy for personal enrichment that electoral success underwrites in Nigeria. While not questioning the personal enrichment thesis of electoral corruption, as it is true, the paper adopts a more nuanced approach to the understanding of electoral corruption. It focuses on the realities of existence of godfathers, political parties and voters in Nigeria. It argues that electoral corruption is the result not just of the avariciousness of godfathers and politicians but of the logic of electoral competition (zero-sum) which demands that political parties in Nigeria, incapacitated by a weak voters’ mobilization capacity derived from their elite/caucus nature, resort to individuals (godfathers) possessing of certain attributes such as an “intuitive grasp of and control of local voting structure,” to effect electoral success through activities that distort the electoral process or through electoral competition. Electoral corruption is further entrenched by the political and social existential demands of the godfather, which can only be met by further exercises in electoral corruption, though this time in favor of the godfathers themselves. Key words: Godfathers, political parties, elections, corruption, Nigeria.
Integrated Geolectric and Hydrochemical Investigation for Environmental Impact Assessment of the Area around some Ancient Dumpsites in Akure Metropolis, Southwestern Nigeria.

Geophysical, hydrogeological, and hydrochemical investigations have been used to assess the impact on soil and groundwater of some ancient dumpsites in Akure Metropolis. One hundred and seventy one (171) Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) and dipole – dipole profiling along six (6) profiles were carried out. Seventy (70) water samples were collected from hand dug wells for chemical analysis within a radius of about 600 m from the centre of the ancient dumpsites. The geoelectric sections and the inverted 2-D resistivity structures delineate three subsurface geological units consisting of the topsoil, weathered layer and the fractured/fresh basement rock. The weathered layer constitutes the main aquifer unit. The 2-D resistivity structures show that within the premises of the dumpsites, the topsoil and the weathered basement aquifer unit are characterized by relatively low layer resistivity values of 250 mg/l and nitrate concentration of > 10 mg/l which confirm groundwater pollution. It can be concluded that the soils and the groundwater in the areas around the investigated dumpsites have been polluted. The polluted zone has a depth extent of about 2.5 – >7.5 m and lateral extent of about 250 m north and up to 500 m south of the dumpsites.