Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The importance of destination image analysis to UK rural tourism

Purpose – The Forest of Dean attracts relatively low numbers of staying visitors and low visitor spend. The paper aims to explore the image of this destination and identify the potential to visit along with any underlying factors that may deter visitors.Design/methodology/approach – A mix of qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gather and analyse responses to an online survey. Respondents offered a range of words and pictures from which they were asked to select those they felt best represented the destination, and also then asked to explain their selection. Quantitative data were also analysed for frequency of occurrence. A content analysis of qualitative data was conducted to generate destination image clusters of the Forest of Dean.Findings – The findings show there is a very positive and unique image associated with the Forest of Dean among previous visitors, with many expressing an intention to visiting the area again.Research limitations/implications – Although response rates are relati.
Acoustic Vector-Sensor Array Performance by Jonathan Paul Kitchens

Classical hydrophones measure pressure only, but acoustic vector-sensors also measure particle velocity. Velocity measurements can increase array gain and resolve ambiguities, but make vector-sensor arrays more difficult to analyze. This thesis derives a new set of useful performance measures for acoustic vector-sensor arrays. It characterizes the vector-sensor array beampattern with and without modeling errors, or “mismatch. ” It also develops a hybrid Cramér-Rao bound for direction-of-arrival estimation under mismatch. The results are analyzed, compared to Monte-Carlo simulations, and explored for insight. Thesis Supervisor: Arthur B. Baggeroer Title: Ford Professor of Engineering Secretary of the Navy/Chief of Naval Operations Chair for Ocean Science
The Development of the Sense Of Self

N THIS PAPER, I attempt to integrate observations and theories about the development of the sense of self. The I overview I take is that psychoanalytic theory suffers when :ither so much emphasis is placed on the abstract functioning ~f structures that the empathic-introspective sensing of experi:rice is lost, or, alternatively, when so much emphasis is placed in an experiential self that the importance of instinctual hives and of ego and superego development and functioning s ignored. The complexity of mental life requires a full ippreciation of both its experiential and structural aspects. The concepts recently set forth by Kohut and by Mahler ire seminal to my attempt at integration, Kohut defines his xpproach as that of an “observer who occupies an imaginary Joint inside the psychic organization of the individual with Nhose introspection he empathically identifies” (1971, p. 219 -n). Mahler’s (1968, 1971) is that of the,systematic methodical ibserver of normal and pathological development in children. Both approaches are an integral part of our heritage from Freud. Kohut’s is designed to reveal indispensable information 2nd theoretical concepts about what a human being experimces. Mahler’s follows Hartmann, Jacobson, and a large
Development of novel electrical power distribution system state estimation and meter placement algorithms suitable for parallel processing

II CONTENTS . III LIST OF FIGURES . VIII LIST OF TABLES . XIII ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . XIV DECLARATION . XV COPYRIGHT . XVI ABBREVIATIONS . XVII NOMENCLATURE . XVIII CHAPTER
An Integrated Microfluidic SELEX Approach Using Combined Electrokinetic and Hydrodynamic Manipulation

This article presents a microfluidic approach for the integration of the process of aptamer selection via systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX). The approach employs bead-based biochemical reactions in which affinity-selected target-binding oligonucleotides are electrokinetically transferred for amplification, while the amplification product is transferred back for affinity selection via pressure-driven fluid flow. The hybrid approach simplifies the device design and operation procedures by reduced pressure-driven flow control requirements and avoids the potentially deleterious exposure of targets to electric fields prior to and during affinity selection. In addition, bead-based reactions are used to achieve the on-chip coupling of affinity selection and amplification of target-binding oligonucleotides, thereby realizing on-chip loop closure and integration of the entire SELEX process without requiring offline procedures. The microfluidic approach is thus capable of closed-loop, multiround aptamer enrichment as demonstrated by selection of DNA aptamers against the protein immunoglobulin E with high affinity (KD = 12 nM) in a rapid manner (4 rounds in approximately 10 h).
A high efficiency and high linearity two-stage power amplifier

A two-stage power amplifier (PA) using GaN HEMTs is presented with a high power added efficiency (PAE) and good linearity. This PA employs a structure of a class-C PA driving a class-AB PA to obtain a high PAE while maintaining the linearity. Source-pull and load-pull techniques were implemented to achieve optimum output impedance and inter-stage matching condition to compromise the PAE and the linearity of the overall circuit. When producing a two-tone carrier-to-intermodulation (C/I) ratio of 30 dB with the 1 MHz space, the two-stage PA exhibits a maximum PAE of 47% with an output power of 3 W at 3.7 GHz. The PA provides a maximum output power of 7 W with the gain of 15.8 dB.
Pattern of employment and associated factors in long-term lymphoma survivors 10 years after high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation

Abstract Background This study examined employment patterns and associated factors in lymphoma survivors treated with high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation (HDT-ASCT) from diagnosis to a follow-up survey at a mean of 10 years after HDT-ASCT. Patients and methods All lymphoma survivors aged ≥18 years at HDT-ASCT in Norway from 1987 to 2008, and alive at the end of 2011 were eligible for this cross-sectional study performed in 2012/2013. Participants completed a mailed questionnaire. Job status was dichotomized as either employed (paid work) or not-employed (disability and retirement pension, on economic support, home-makers, or students). Results The response rate was 78%, and the sample (N = 312) contained 60% men. Mean age at HDT-ASCT was 44.3 and at survey 54.0 years. At diagnosis 85% of survivors were employed, 77% before and 77% after HDT-ASCT, and 58% at follow-up. Forty seven percent of the survivors were employed at all time points. The not-employed group at survey was significantly older and included significantly more females than the employed group. No significant between-group differences were observed for lymphoma-related variables. Fatigue, mental distress and type D personality were significantly higher among those not-employed, while quality of life was significantly lower compared to the employed group. Older age at survey, being female, work ability and presence of type D personality remained significantly related to being not-employed at survey in the multivariable analysis. Conclusions Our findings show that not-employed long-term survivors after HDT-ASCT for lymphoma have more comorbidity, cognitive problems and higher levels of anxiety/depression than employed survivors. These factors should be checked and eventually treated in order to improve work ability.
Transient and Persistent Helicobacter pylori Colonization in Native American Children

ABSTRACT Helicobacter pylori is chiefly acquired in childhood, but the exact timing of acquisition is not well understood. The main goal of this study was to assess H. pylori acquisition in a pediatric population. We studied two cohorts of Native American children: a birth cohort of 50 children and 58 older children (mean age, 53 months). We measured serum immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, and IgA antibodies to H. pylori whole-cell antigen and IgG antibodies to CagA. Among 44 birth cohort children monitored for more than 12 months, 24 (54.5%) had seroconversions, 7 (15.9%) were transient, and 17 (38.6%) were persistent. Among the older children, 49 (84.5%) of the 58 children were monitored for 1 year; 34 (69.4%) had H. pylori antibodies at study entry. During the next year, 7 (20.6%) children seroreverted, and of 15 initially negative children, 5 (33.3%) seroconverted. In both groups, evaluation of CagA antibodies increased the sensitivity of H. pylori detection. Serum pepsinogen I (PGI) levels in H. pylori-negative children rose significantly until age 6 months and remained constant for the next 19 months. At the time of H. pylori seroconversion, PGI peaked to levels significantly higher than in the never-seroconverted (P = 0.02) and the pre-seroconverted (P = 0.03) children, but then declined to levels paralleling those of H. pylori-negative children. Thus, H. pylori acquisition, accompanied by a transient PGI increase, was frequent in this population, especially in the second and third years of life, but often was brief.
Changes in Dewatering Between the Thermophilic and Mesophilic Stages in TPAD Systems

Temperature-phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD) has become increasingly appealing in recent years due to the pathogen destruction capabilities of the system. However, there has also been concern about the dewatering properties of the sludges created by these systems. A laboratory study was conducted at Virginia Tech to determine the effect of thermophilic solids retention time (SRT) on sludge dewatering properties, to characterize system parameters associated with dewatering, and to understand the mechanisms causing changes in dewatering properties between the thermophilic and mesophilic phases. The study showed that while anaerobic digestion caused dewatering properties to deteriorate, sludges varied little with thermophilic SRT. Acidogenesis was essentially complete after 1.5 days. Subsequent mesophilic digestion resulted in little change to dewatering properties and modest reductions in conditioning doses, but substantial reductions in biopolymer (protein + polysaccharides) occurred. It appears that thermophilic anaerobic digestion creates or releases colloidal materials that cause dewatering to be poor and subsequent mesophilic digestion for 15 days does little to improve sludge properties of TPAD systems.
Innovation of Micro and Small Enterprises: Measuring the Degree of Innovation of Companies Participating in the Local Innovation Agents Project

The objective of this study was to measure the degree of innovation of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in the state of Sergipe. For this purpose, we conducted a survey of 1,260 MSEs that participate in the Local Innovation Agents Project of SEBRAE (Brazilian Service to Support Micro and Small Enterprises) in Sergipe, among firms in the food, civil construction, lumber and furniture, health, and textile and apparel sectors. The tool used to measure innovation was the innovation radar, developed by Sawhney, Wolcott & Arroniz (2006), which uses 12 dimensions: offerings, platform, customers, solutions, relationship, value capture, processes, organization, supply chain, presence, networking and brand. This tool was complemented by the innovation ambience dimension of Bachmann & Destefani (2008), because an organizational climate propitious to innovation is a prerequisite in companies. Among the results were that the average degree of innovation of the MSEs in Sergipe was 2.01, which indicates still incipient innovation in the sample of firms analyzed.
Increased recycling of polyamines is associated with global DNA hypomethylation in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts.

OBJECTIVE Global DNA hypomethylation in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts (RASFs) contributes to their intrinsic activation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether increased polyamine metabolism is associated with a decreased level of S-adenosyl methionine (SAM), causing global DNA hypomethylation. METHODS Synovial fibroblasts were isolated from synovial tissue obtained from 12 patients with RA and from 6 patients with osteoarthritis (OA). The cells were stained for S-adenosyl methionine decarboxylase (AMD), spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT1), polyamine-modulated factor 1-binding protein 1 (PMFBP1), solute carrier family 3 member 2 (SLC3A2), DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT-1), α9 integrin, and β1 integrin and analyzed by flow cytometry. Nuclear 5-methylcytosine (5-MeC) was measured by flow cytometry, the expression of diacetylspermine (DASp) in cell culture supernatants and cell extracts was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and SAM expression in cell extracts was measured by fluorometry. RESULTS The expression of SSAT1, AMD, and PMFBP1 was significantly increased in RASFs compared with OASFs. The expression of DASp in cell culture supernatants and the expression of SLC3A2 were significantly elevated in RASFs. The levels of SAM in cell culture extracts, as well as the levels of DNMT-1 protein and 5-MeC, were significantly reduced in RASFs. Parameters of polyamine metabolism were negatively correlated with the expression of SAM, DNMT-1, and 5-MeC. CONCLUSION These data clearly show that intrinsic elevations of PMFBP1 and SSAT1 enhance the catabolism and recycling of polyamines in RASFs and suggest that high consumption of SAM via this pathway is an important factor contributing to global DNA hypomethylation in these cells.
The characteristics of northern black churches with community health outreach programs.

OBJECTIVES The Black church has a long history of addressing unmet health and human service needs, yet few studies have examined characteristics of churches involved in health promotion. METHODS Data obtained from a survey of 635 Black churches in the northern United States were examined. Univariate and multivariate statistical procedures identified eight characteristics associated with community health outreach programs: congregation size, denomination, church age, economic class of membership, ownership of church, number of paid clergy, presence of other paid staff, and education level of the minister. RESULTS A logistic regression model identified church size and educational level of the minister as the strongest predictors of church-sponsored community health outreach. The model correctly classified 88% of churches that conduct outreach programs. Overall, the model correctly classified 76% of churches in the sample. CONCLUSIONS Results may be used by public health professionals and policy makers to enlist Black churches as an integral component for delivery of health promotion and disease prevention services needed to achieve the Year 2000 health objectives for all Americans.
Framework for digital preservation of electronic government in Ghana

i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . iii DEDICATION . v DECLARATION . vi LIST OF TABLES . xxv LIST OF FIGURES . xxvii LIST OF ABBREVIATION . xxviii LIST OF APPENDICES . xxx CHAPTER ONE . 1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY . 1 1.
Static shapes of levitated viscous drops

We consider the levitation of a drop of molten glass above a spherical porous mould, through which air is injected with constant velocity. The glass is assumed to be sufficiently viscous compared to air that motion in the drop is negligible. Thus static equilibrium shapes are determined by the coupling between the lubricating pressure in the supporting air cushion and the Young–Laplace equation. The upper surface of the drop is under constant atmospheric pressure; the static shape of the lower surface of the drop is computed using lubrication theory for the thin air film. Matching of the sessile curvature of the upper surface to the curvature of the mould gives rise to a series of capillary ‘brim’ waves near the edge of the drop which scale with powers of a modified capillary number. Several branches of static solutions are found, such that there are multiple solutions for some drop volumes, but no physically reasonable solutions for other drop volumes. Comparison with experiments and full Navier–Stokes calculations suggests that the stability of the process can be predicted from the solution branches for the static shapes, and related to the persistence of brim waves to the centre of the drop. This suggestion remains to be confirmed by a formal stability analysis.
Fast reconstruction with adaptive sampling in block compressed imaging

This paper presents an efficient reconstruction method in block compressed imaging (BCI) for natural images. To avoid the high complexity and give a time-efficient approach, block-based separable two-dimension (2D) linear reconstruction method is proposed. The techniques of adaptive sampling (AS) and separable reconstruction are combined to yield a competitive solution for BCI. The AS is utilized by employing more measurements in the texture redundant blocks. The separable 2D reconstruction uses linear approach based on minimum mean square error (MMSE) to reduce the decoder complexity. Experiment results demonstrate that the proposed scheme can efficiently reduce the reconstruction complexity and give a competitive image quality compared to non-linear approaches.
The effects of stake, satisfaction, and switching on true loyalty: a financial services study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the differential influence of three drivers of loyalty on the dimensions of loyalty. The three drivers are stake, satisfaction, and the value of switching service providers. The dimensions of loyalty are behavioral response, commitment to the people providing the service, and commitment to the institution. An additional goal is to determine whether this pattern of influence is affected by the age or depth of the service relationship.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of customers was analyzed to test a model using MANOVAs on the overall sample, and sub‐samples created based on age and depth of a financial service relationship.Findings – Overall, all three drivers exhibited differential influence on the three dimensions of loyalty. The behavioral response dimension was influenced by all three drivers. The commitment to people dimension was influenced by stake and satisfaction. The commitment to the institution dimension was influenced by value of switch.
Impact of corporate orientation of information technology adoption in the United States forest products industry

This study aims to contribute to addressing the gap that exists in determining the role an organization's internal operations play in information technology (IT) adoption in organizations. In particular, this research stems from investigating the relationship between company success at adopting information technology systems (the Internet) in the United States forest products industry (specifically, the lumber sector) and the extent to which organizational orientation within the industry supports the development. Following an extensive literature review, a conceptual model that represents the synthesis of information technology adoption-marketing orientation influences is developed. (This study does not infer that a company can acquire only one orientation at any one time). The United States forest products industry has traditionally been perceived as being production-oriented by many researchers. Marketing orientation, however, is a relatively new phenomenon that is gradually seeping into the way the industry does business as a result of competition, technology advancement, and the changing needs of consumers. Consequently, a number of propositions are tested and managerial and research recommendations are put forward. Overall, this research finds that email and the World Wide Web are the two most popular internet-based applications used by companies in the lumber industry. A positive relationship exists between factors of Internet adoption (extent of Internet application, user participation, perceived ease of use by user, perceived usefulness by user, and adoption diffusion by company) and “perceived company effectiveness of Internet adoption” under high and low marketing orientation, with a higher rate of increase in high marketing orientation than low marketing orientation.
Entrepreneurship Education and Engineering Students

A 15-year cohort of graduates of an engineering degree programme at a major Canadian university who had taken either one (1EES) or three (3EES) elective entrepreneurship course(s) and a randomly stratified comparison group are the subjects of this paper. Career path, business start-ups, ownership, performance and satisfaction with their entrepreneurship education are examined. Being male and taking one or more courses in entrepreneurship proved to be a strong predictor of business ownership. Significantly more of the 1EES group had started businesses (48% had owned a business at some time since graduation) than those in the comparison group (26% had owned a business at some time since graduation). However, business performance was not significantly different according to group. Taking one or more courses in entrepreneurship was also a strong predictor of later reaching top management status. Significantly more of the 1EES group, who were not business owners, were employed in top management positions. This study also provides information on the time lag from graduation to venturing, on business characteristics, and on the desire for an entrepreneurial career in the future. Findings are important for educators and policy makers.
Self-reported prostate cancer screening in Austria

Objectives: The prevalence of self-reported participation and frequency of prostate cancer screening (digital rectal examination (DRE), prostate-specific antigen (PSA)) in Austrian men aged 40–79 years in the year 2005 is reported. Methods: In a population-based cross-sectional study, a representative sample of 500 men was asked whether they ever had heard of early detection of prostate cancer by DRE or PSA test and, if so, whether they had ever had a prostate cancer screening test during their life, and if so the number of tests and the type of physician. Results: Overall, the prevalence of self-reported prostate cancer screening was 55.8% (23.7% DRE only). The highest prevalence was observed in the age group of 60–69 years with 68.8% (28.1% DRE only). The highest prevalence of PSA tests was observed in the age group 70–79 years (40.9%). About 75% of the screening tests were performed by urologists. Conclusions: More than half of the target population (men aged 40–79 years) have had at least one prostate cancer screening test. Nearly one-third of men have already had one or more PSA tests. One-fifth of the PSA tests were requested by general practitioners or internists.
Noise in relaxation oscillators

The timing jitter in relaxation oscillators is analyzed. This jitter is described by a single normalized equation whose solution allows prediction of noise in practical oscillators. The theory is confirmed by measurements on practical oscillators and is used to develop a prototype low-noise oscillator with a measured jitter of 1.5 ppm RMS.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

The paper analyses the infrastructure stock of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) with the purpose of addressing the measuring and evaluating of the infrastructural gap. The paper starts out with a simple benchmarking of infrastructure stock by countries of the region of Central and Southeastern Europe. Then a cross-sectional regression analysis is used to isolate the impact of individual factors on infrastructure stocks in a multivariate framework. Finally, the countrylevel benchmarking for BiH's infrastructure stock is carried out, comparing its stock with those of a regional peer group of countries to find out the relative position of BiH in infrastructure endowment. Starting from the recent and most relevant literature on infrastructure’s impact on a country’s development and making use of regression analysis to control for a comprehensive set of economic, demographic and geographic conditioning factors, the paper shows that BiH lags behind all countries in the region of Central and Southeastern Europe in infrastructure endowment.