Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Change-Supportive Intentions in Complex Organizational Change Projects: Application and Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior

1 1. General Introduction . 2 1.1. Applying the TPB to the Formation of Change-Supportive Intentions . 5 1.2. Extending and Refining the TPB for Evidence-based Change Management . 8 2. The Presented Research . 12 2.1. Overview . 12 2.2. Study 1 . 16 2.3. Study 2 . 18 2.4. Study 3 . 20 3. General Discussion . 22 3.1. Summary of Study-specific Results and Implications . 23 3.2. General Implications for Research . 28 3.3. General Practical Implications . 33 3.4. General Limitations and Future Directions . 38 3.5. General Conclusion . 45 4. References . 47
Coupled Zircon-Rutile U-Pb Chronology: LA ICP-MS Dating, Geological Significance and Applications to Sediment Provenance in the Eastern Himalayan-Indo-Burman Region

U-Pb dating by LA ICP-MS is one of the most popular and successful isotopic techniques available to the Earth Sciences to constrain timing and rates of geological processes thanks to its high spatial resolution, good precision (absolute U/Pb age resolution of ca. 2%, 2s), rapidity and relative affordability. The significant and continuous improvement of instrumentation and approaches has opened new fields of applications by extending the range of minerals that can be dated by this method. Following the development and distribution to the community of good quality reference materials in the last decade, rutile U-Pb thermochronology (with a precision only slightly worse than zircon) has become a commonly used method to track cooling of deep-seated rocks. Its sensitivity to mid- to low-crustal temperatures (~450 °C to 650 °C) is ideal to constrain exhumation in active and ancient orogens as well as thermal evolution of slow-cooled terranes. Recrystallization and secondary growth during metamorphism and the presence of grain boundary fluids can also affect the U-Pb isotopic system in rutile. A growing body of research focusing on U-Pb dating of rutile by LA ICP-MS is greatly improving our understanding of the behavior of this mineral with regards to retention of radiogenic Pb. This is key to fully exploit its potential as a tracker of geological processes. The latest developments in this field are reviewed in this contribution. The combined application of U-Pb zircon and rutile chronology in provenance studies, particularly when complemented by lower-T thermochronometry data, allows the isotopic characterization of the sources across a wide range of temperatures. The benefits of applying detrital zircon-rutile U-Pb chronology as a coupled provenance proxy are presented here, with a focus on the Eastern Himalayan-Indo-Burman region, where a growing number of successful studies employs such an approach to help constrain river drainage and basin evolution and to infer feedback relationships between erosion, tectonics and climate.
On the loss of learning capability inside an arrangement of neural networks

We analyze the loss of information and the loss of learning capability inside an arrangement of neural networks. Our method is based on the formulation of the Bogoliubov transformations in order to connect the information between different points of the arrangement. Similar methods translated to the physics of black-holes, reproduce the Hawking radiation effect. From this perspective we can conclude that the black-holes are objects reproducing naturally the bottleneck effect, which is fundamental in neural networks in order to perceive the useful information, eliminating in this way the noise.
Single-Mode Polymer Embedded Waveguide for Visible Wavelength using SU-8

We investigated the optical characteristics of a single-mode polymer waveguide in the visible wavelength region, including the blue range. We fabricated two types of polymer waveguide by using photolithography and UV-nanoimprint lithography. The polymer waveguides had an over and under cladding, and the refractive index difference between core and cladding was 0.8% at a wavelength of 633 nm. The propagation loss of the fabricated waveguide was about 0.8 to 4.4 dB/cm at wavelengths from 638 to 465 nm. The waveguide worked as a single-mode one over the whole visible region.
Enhanced recovery after elective cesarean sections

Objective: To compare the early recovery after surgery (ERAS) pprotocol with the conventional one in women undergoing elective CS.Patients and Methods: The study included 96 women undergoing elective cesarean section for different reasons. They were randomly divided into two groups 48 patients each, Group (A) received the ERAS regimen and Group (B) was managed with the conventional care. Women with major medical or obstetric disorders were excluded.Results: Cases' age ranged between 18- 35 years without significant difference between groups. Also, gestational age, haemoglobin concentration and platelet count were comparable between groups. Intra and post-operative nausea and vomiting were significantly higher (p value <0.0366) in the control group (8 vs 17). Group A had significantly shorter interval to oral intake, ambulation, first intestinal sound and first motion. Moreover, the need to use opiate for pain control with overall pain scores were significantly lower in study group with significantly better satisfaction rates and shorter hospital stay.Conclusion: ERAS protocol for women planned for elective CS is effective in controlling perioperative gastrointestinal symptoms, pain control and encourages early ambulation with offering earlier resumption of intestinal motility, higher satisfaction and fewer days of admission.
Long-Term Deceleration of Glaciers in the Eastern Nyainqentanglha Mountains, Southeastern Tibetan Plateau, Revealed from Landsat Images

Temperate glaciers are very sensitive to variations in temperature and precipitation, and thus represent a good indicator of climate change. By exploiting complete Landsat archives during periods of 1988–1990, 2000–2002 and 2014–2016, we derived three velocity maps of the temperate glaciers on the eastern Nyainqêntanglha Mountains in southeastern Tibetan to reveal the long-term changes of glacier surface velocity. Our results show that all the investigated glaciers experienced deceleration, with rates of deceleration varying from 4.15% to 29.8% per decade during the period from 1988–1990 to 2014–2016, showing heterogeneous deceleration patterns. A significant rise in temperature and an insignificant decrease in precipitation was found from the meteorological data of the nearby meteorological station. The region-wide deceleration of glaciers was, thus, attributed to the negative mass balance induced mainly by the rise in temperature. The averaged rates of deceleration for periods from 1988–1990 to 2000–2002 and from 2000–2002 to 2014–2016 are 20.97% and 22.02% per decade, respectively, indicating a nearly even speed of deceleration in velocities during study periods. The nearly even speed of deceleration in velocities and the accelerating mass loss trend from periods before the 2000s to after the 2000s highlighted the complexity of the relationship between mass balance and glacier velocity.
Diagnosis of non-cardiac fetal malformations during mid-trimester anomaly scan: Does three-dimensional ultrasonography have any added value?

Objective: To determine if there is any added value of 3D US examination in diagnosis of fetal malformations during mid-trimester anomaly scan. Design: A prospective observational study. Setting: Obstetrics and Gynecology Ultrasound Unit, Zagazig University Hospitals. Patients and Methods: Pregnant women referred for mid-trimester anomaly scan were prospectively evaluated by 2D US. Fetuses suspected to have malformation by 2D US or with increased risk of a recurrence or strong family history of a congenital abnormality were evaluated by 3D US. Women confirmed to have fetal malformations postnatally were included. Results:Seven hundred and seventy-six malformations were confirmed postnatally. 2D US established the diagnosis of 752 (96.9%) malformations and 3D US diagnosed 770 (99.2%) malformations and the difference was highly significant [McNemar chi-squared statistic= 16, p=˂0.0001]. Seven hundred and fifty-two malformations were diagnosed by both 2D and 3D US. Eighteen malformations were detected exclusively by 3D US. 3D US was superior to 2D in evaluating cranial, facial and limb malformations. A cleft soft palate, hand abnormalities (n=3) and feet abnormalities (n=2) were missed by both 2D and 3D US. Conclusion: Three dimensional US added value in diagnosis of some types of fetal malformations. Rather than representing an alternative, 3D US is complementary to the conventional 2D US in the field of prenatal diagnosis.
Competitive Capabilities for the Innovation and Performance of Spanish Construction Companies

This research analyses the influence of internal capabilities, identified as strategic by the literature, on the performance and innovation of Spanish construction companies during a recessionary period. Based on this, we studied whether innovative, marketing, financial, managerial, and human capabilities affect competitive success in terms of fostering innovation and the performance of firms. Empirical evidence is provided by performing survey research with a sample of 94 Spanish construction firms. The results show that firm innovation is fostered by innovative, financial, and human capabilities, and that performance is promoted by innovation, and financial and human capabilities. Human capabilities have the most important effect on both innovation and the performance of the company.
Comparative Investigation of the Effect of Recycled Fine Aggregate from New and Old Construction Wastes in C-25 Concrete in Ethiopia

Wherever there are construction activities, there is waste generation. In Ethiopia, the popular material for wall construction is a hollow concrete block that can be broken on the production site or the construction site during loading and unloading and is also found abundantly in demolished buildings. This research aimed at searching for alternative construction materials through recycling and examined the properties of recycled fine aggregate from demolished (old) and construction (new) hollow concrete block (HCB) wastes. The study examined the effect of the recycled HCB on fresh and hardened C-25 concrete properties and the possible replacement percentage of river sand by those recycled fine aggregates. The research also examined the comparative properties of the two recycled fine aggregates. The replacement percentage was in steps of 25%, starting from 25% up to 100%, and 0% represented the reference mix. In general, the recycled fine aggregate exhibited relatively lower physical properties than natural river sand but satisfied the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard requirements. The demolished recycled fine aggregate (DRFA) had slightly lower physical properties than the construction recycled fine aggregate (CRFA). The properties of fresh and hardened concrete were decreased as percentage replacement of DRFA and CRFA increased. The optimum percentage replacement of river sand by recycled fine aggregate was between 50% to 75% but was much closer to 75% for that of recycled from construction (new) and closer to 50% for that of recycled from demolished (old) HCB. Recycling wastes can reduce environmental impact due to sand mining and waste disposal as well as partially conserve the natural resource depletion.
Nephrotoxic Potential of Ethanol Root and Stem Extracts of Dennettia Tripetala on Wistar Rats Administered Thermoxidized Palm Oil

This study aimed at assessing the effect of ethanol root and stem extracts of Dennettia tripetala on kidney function indices in rats administered thermoxidized palm oil. Thirty apparently healthy wistar rats weighing between 150 g to 180 g were divided into six equal groups of 5 rats each and used for the study. Group 1 served as the positive control while Group 2 animals which received 1 ml of thermoxidized palm oil daily served as the negative control. Group 3 received 1 ml of thermoxidized palm oil + 50 mg/kg of the root extract daily. Group 4 received 1 ml of thermoxidized palm oil + 50 mg/kg of the stem extract daily. Group 5 was given 1 ml of thermoxidized palm oil + 100 mg/ kg of the root extract daily while group 6 received 1 ml of thermoxidized palm oil + 100 mg/kg of the stem extract. The treatment of the rats were done by oral intubation and lasted for 21 days. Standard analytical methods were used to determine renal function indices including serum urea, creatinine and electrolyte (Na+, K+, Cland H2CO3 -) levels. Treatment of the animals with 50 mg/ kg of both root and stem extracts of D. tripetala led to a significant decrease (p<0.05) in the levels of urea (48.89 ± 1.78; 52.27 ± 1.51) and creatinine (0.94 ± 0.05; 0.89 ± 0.04) when compared with the negative control (74.42 ± 2.34 and 2.08 ± 0.08 respectively). There was, however, no significant change (p>0.05) in the levels of urea and creatinine in animals treated with 100 mg/kg of both stem and root extracts when compared with group 2 animals. Results showed a statistically significant change in the levels of Na+, K+, HCO3 and Clin experimental rats that received 100 mg/kg of root and stem extracts of D. tripetala when compared with group 2 animals. In all the parameters measured (urea, creatinine, Na+, K+, HCO3 and Cl-), group 2 animals (negative control) showed a significant change (74.42 ± 2.34; 2.08 ± 0.08; 136.16 ± 1.67; 2.50 ± 0.27; 36.20 ± 0.89; 110.40 ± 0.83) when compared with group 1 animals (37.20 ± 2.04; 0.82 ± 0.09; 152.60 ± 1.14; 4.46 ± 0.08; 25.40 ± 0.83; 95.20 ± 1.34). In conclusion, root and stem extracts of D. tripetala have those dependent negative effects on kidney function indices, may induce glomerular and tubular dysfunction of the nephron and contribute to renal failure. Herbal preparations of D tripetala should therefore be taken with proper medical advice and monitoring.
Economic Potentials of the Informal Sector in Promoting Local Economic Development in Cities of Developing Countries: A Study of Dodoma City in Tanzania

Unlike in the developed world where economies of cities much depend on the formal sector to boost their economic development, economies of cities in developing countries still depend on both the formal and informal sectors. In fact, literature shows that in some of the cities in developing countries, the informal sector is continuously expanding and larger than the formal sector. In addition, literature also shows that the informal sector through its economic potentials has the potential to promote Local Economic Development (LED) in cities where the sector does appear to be dominant. In view of these theoretical propositions, this study was carried out to empirically determine the extent to which informal economic potentials were promoting local economic development in cities of developing countries. Specifically, the study made use of Dodoma City in Tanzania in exploring this subject matter.
Guided Selection of Accurate Belief Propagation Fixed Points

Belief propagation (BP) and the Bethe approximation are two closely related concepts that both suffer from the existence of multiple fixed points (or stationary points). We propose a modification of BP, termed self-guided belief propagation (SBP), that incorporates the pairwise potentials only gradually; this essentially selects one specific fixed point and increases the accuracy without increasing the computational burden. We apply SBP to various models with Ising potentials and show that: (i) SBP is superior in terms of accuracy whenever BP converges, and (ii) SBP obtains a unique, stable, and accurate solution whenever BP does not converge.
Intermediate-term middle-range earthquake predictions in Italy: a review

The Italian territory has been the object of several studies devoted to the analysis of seismicity and to earthquake precursors’ research. Although a number of observations have been claimed to precede large earthquakes, only few systematic studies have been carried out and almost no test of their performances is available up to now. In this paper, we review the application to the Italian territory of two formally defined intermediate-term middle-range earthquake prediction algorithms, namely CN and M8S. The general methodology common to the two different algorithms makes use of general concepts of pattern recognition that permit to deal with multiple sets of seismic precursors, and allows for a systematic monitoring of seismicity, as well as for a widespread testing of the prediction performances. Italy represents the only region of moderate seismic activity where the M8S and CN algorithms are applied simultaneously for routine monitoring. Significant efforts have been made to minimize the intrinsic space uncertainty of predictions and the subjectivity of the definition of the areas where precursors should be identified. Several experiments have been dedicated to assess the robustness of the methodology against the unavoidable uncertainties in the data. With these results acquired, starting in July 2003, an experiment was launched for the real-time test of M8S and CN predictions. D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Characterization and Antimicrobial Activity of AgNPs Synthesized by Streptomyces sp. RHS16 Against Fish Pathogens

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) attracted great attention due to their unusual and fascinating properties, and applications in many fields. This work reports the fabrication of AgNPs by a newly isolated Streptomyces sp. RHS16. The synthesis of silver nanoparticles was mediated by nitrate reductase enzyme secreted in the culture filtrate of the bacterium and detected using UV-visible spectra that showed a strong and broad peak between 420 nm and 450 nm. The effect of crude enzyme concentration and silver nitrate molarity was evaluated. As the volume of crude enzyme increased from 1ml to 4ml, the color changed to dark reddish brown and the absorbance values increased while the color intensity increased with the increase in molarity of silver nitrate. FTIR spectral analysis of St.sp. R16 AgNPs showed an array of absorbance bands at 3422.36, 2922.88, 2393.31, 1756.94, 1631.62, 1384.06, 1035.10, 823.03, 754.58, 695.08 and 540.54 cm −1 . EDX spectrum revealed a strong signal in the silver region and confirmed the formation of metallic silver nanocrystals with typical optical absorption peaks approximately at 3 KeV. The characteristic XRD peaks were centered at ∼ 38.02◦, ∼ 44.44◦ and ∼ 64.51◦, 77.68◦, and 81.35◦ which could be induced by the following crystalline planes of silver; (111), (200), (220), (311), and (222), respectively. TEM showed that size of the silver particles were in the range of 1–15 nm. The Ag nano flowers (AgNFs) of average size in between 1 to 133 nm were observed with SEM. The nanoparticles possessed antimicrobial activity against some fish bacterial pathogens with strong activity against Candida albicans (inhibition zone of 18 mm).
Short Communication Effect of watercress (Nasturtium Officinale R.Br.) on egg quality, yolk colour and yolk fatty acid composition in laying hens Einfluss von Brunnenkresse (Nasturtium Officinale R.Br.) auf Eiqualität, Dotterfarbe und Fettsäurezusammensetzung des Eidotters bei Legehennen

Herbs have been used for medical treatment since ancient times (DRAGLAND et al., 2003). The positive treatment effects are due to some important bioactive components (alkaloids, bitters, flavonoids, bioflavonoids, glycosides, mucilage, saponins, tannins, phenols, phenolic acids, guinones, coumarins, terpenoids, essential oils, lectins and polypeptides) (VANDERGRIFT, 1998; COWAN, 1999). The components are extracted by different methods (water, ethanol, methanol, chloroform, dichloromethanol, ether, acetone), which may result in varying contents of the components in the final extract. These bioactive components play an important role in protecting the plant against microorganisms, insects, fungi and herbivores (COWAN, 1999). The mechanism of action in the plants is the result of different amounts of compounds in every plant and the interaction between them. The effect of these compounds and the polysaccharides on the metabolism is still not fully known (GUO et al., 2003). Utilization of growth factors and antibiotics has been banned in EU since the beginning of 2006. Therefore, there is strong need for alternative growth promoters which are acceptable to consumers and which are harmful neither to animals nor to the environment, such as organic acids, enzymes, probiotics, prebiotics as well as herb extracts (WENK, 2003). As a consequence, especially plants have been extensively examined to be used instead of synthetic feed additives in poultry nutrition. Watercress (Nasturtium officinale R.Br.) is a perennial plant of the mustard family, which is native to Eurasia and naturalized throughout North America. It grows submerged, floating on water, or spread over mud surfaces in cool, flowing streams. White flowers are followed by small, beanlike seedpods. Watercress is a detoxifying herb, rich in vitamin A, B1, B2, C, E and minerals, especially iodine, iron and phosphorus (FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY, 2002). Beside claims in popular science that watercress has health effects as a strengthener of the body’s immune system, positive effects have been demonstrated in cancer research (GETAHUN and CHUNG, 1999; HECHT et al., 1999). It is of high importance that the watercourse feeding the stream is free from industrial or agricultural pollution (LAGARDE et al., 2003). Despite its palatability for animals, there is no research on the practical usage of watercress as natural feeding stuff. In this study, the effects of watercress in ground herbal form used as feed additive in layer hens’ nutrition on some egg characteristics were examined.
Temporal Integration and Predictive Information in Continuous Attractor Neural Networks

Psychophysics experiments showed that when multisensory stimulations arrive at nearly the same time, the time interval between them is perceived to be shortened. This is known as temporal integration. Meanwhile, neurophysics experiments showed that brain cells and nerve cells are able to anticipate future direction and location, therefore it is deduce that they encode predictive information. The capacity of continuous attractor neural networks (CANNs) in both temporal integration and prediction are considered. Furthermore, biological experiments showed that the coupling strengths of synapses between neurons can experience short-term changes depending on their firing histories, which is known as short-term synaptic plasticity (STP). We investigate how CANNs with STP causes signals to shift in time, in particular, how temporal integration behaves when network couplings and plasticities vary. We find that STP enables richer dynamics of integration, including order and time scale dependent integration. We also investigate how CANNs with STP track stimulus under stochastic processes. We find that STP allow the network to encode past or future information. xi Chapter