Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceptions of Yoga among older adults

A very low percentage of older adults in Scotland meet the muscle strengthening, balance and co-ordination guidelines. Practicing yoga has benefits for older adults including improved strength, flexibility, mobility and balance. To develop an appropriate yoga programme for older adults, it is important to get an in-depth understanding of their perceptions of yoga. We conducted focus group discussions and interviews with a total of 19 male and female older adult participants, both with and without prior yoga experience. Thematic and framework analysis were used to analyze the transcripts, and explore the differences in perceptions between the yoga and non-yoga participants. The study offers insights into how older adults perceive yoga including knowledge of yoga, thoughts on the features and perceived intensity of yoga practice, the gendered nature of participation, benefits, and apprehensions. Guidelines for instructors while working with older adults include being audible, giving clear instructions and demonstrating in class. Creating a non-threatening environment, being aware of the level of the class, and offering alternative postures are other suggestions to aid the effective delivery of a yoga class. Strategies such as providing more information on yoga and its benefits, and organizing taster sessions or introductory classes were suggested to promote yoga in this population. These findings would be useful to persons interested in yoga for an older population, and should be considered while developing a yoga programme.
Open Manufacturing: Impacts of Resource Based View and Servitisation

The environment of manufacturing has faced significant changes in the past decade. Meanwhile, the traditional focus of manufacturing strategy is also impacted by resource-based view and servitisation. Thus, no matter from a practical or theoretical perspective, it is time to rethink what kind of view we can have on manufacturing. In this paper, the literature is reviewed firstly to track the evolution of theories on manufacturing strategy and to investigate new views on manufacturing from a theoretical perspective. This is followed by three case studies, which are used to explore how manufacturing is used from a practical perspective. The usages of manufacturing are classified into three groups and their relationships are discussed further. Based on these findings and inspired by open source software (OSS) and open innovation, a new paradigm on manufacturing termed as “open manufacturing” is proposed in the combination of new views on manufacturing both from theoretical and practical perspective.
Marginal utility-based hedging of claims on non-traded assets with partial information

We examine optimal hedging of a claim on a non-traded asset, using a correlated traded asset, when one does not know with certainty the values of the asset price drifts. In this partial information setting, the uncertain parameters are considered as random variables. We filter the drifts from price observations, updating a chosen prior distribution. The result is an effective full information model with random drift parameters. Using a dual approach, we derive representations for the indifference price and optimal hedging strategy, with exponential utility. Using the marginal utility-based price as an approximation to the indifference price, analytic formulae for the optimal hedge are possible, and this allows a simulation study of the optimal hedging program to be carried out. The results indicate improved hedging performance relative to a Black-Scholes strategy which takes the correlation as perfect, and also relative to a utility-based hedging program which does not incorporate learning.
Evidence of thermal conduction suppression in hot coronal loops: supplementary results

Abstract Slow magnetoacoustic waves were first detected in hot (>6 MK) flare loops by the SOHO/SUMER spectrometer as Doppler shift oscillations in Fe xix and Fe xxi lines. Recently, such longitudinal waves have been found by SDO/AIA in the 94 and 131 Å channels. Wang et al. (2015) reported the first AIA event revealing signatures in agreement with a fundamental standing slow-mode wave, and found quantitative evidence for thermal conduction suppression from the temperature and density perturbations in the hot loop plasma of ≳ 9 MK. The present study extends the work of Wang et al. (2015) by using an alternative approach. We determine the polytropic index directly based on the polytropic assumption instead of invoking the linear approximation. The same results are obtained as in the linear approximation, indicating that the nonlinearity effect is negligible. We find that the flare loop cools slower (by a factor of 2–4) than expected from the classical Spitzer conductive cooling, approximately consistent with the result of conduction suppression obtained from the wave analysis. The modified Spitzer cooling timescales based on the nonlocal conduction approximation are consistent with the observed, suggesting that nonlocal conduction may account for the observed conduction suppression in this event. In addition, the conduction suppression mechanism predicts that larger flares may tend to be hotter than expected by the EM-T relation derived by Shibata & Yokoyama (2002).
Genetic association among various morpho-physiological traits of Zea mays under drought condition

Genetic association among various morpho-physiological attributes of maize under water stressed conditions was carried out in the research area of Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan during 2009-10. Six generations of maize cultivars were grown under two moisture stress levels i.e., 100% and 50% of the field capacity to checkout their morphological and physiological traits under water stressed conditions. Significant genotypic and phenotypic correlations were reported among grain yield and its contributing traits. It was concluded from results that stomata frequency, stomata size, cell membrane thermostability, leaf temperature, excised leaf water loss, plant height, leaf area, biomass per plant, cob girth, 100-grain weight, grain yield per plant may be helpful for the development of higher grain yield maize genotypes under drought conditions. Grain yield per plant and its attributes may be used for the improvement of crop yield and production under water stress conditions. (Khan NH, Ahsan M, Saleem, M and Ali A. Genetic association among various morpho-physiological traits of Zea mays under drought. Life Sci J 2014;11(10s):112-122). (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com . 19
How gestures contribute to the meanings of idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs in TV broadcast interviews. A multimodal analysis

This study aims at shedding light on the representation of some peculiar indicators of spokenness (i.e. idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs) across TV interviews featuring different interviewees: politicians, business people and personalities from showbiz. More precisely, the purpose of this work is to observe how, to what extent, and with which function these traits, which are more typical of oral and informal language, permeate TV interviews pertaining to different specialized knowledge domains. In order to develop a deeper understanding of the usage and the meaning-making of idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs in TV interviews, some multimodal aspects will be considered throughout the analysis. Drawing from the findings, it was noticed that these complex indicators of spoken style are abundant in the language of both interviewers and interviewees across all three domains, where they seem to work as lubricants that help smooth interaction and thus engage the audience. Furthermore, gestures with arms and hands appeared to occur together with idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs quite consistently, often pointing to their figurative meanings.
Rebel funding and child soldiers: Exploring the relationship between natural resources and forcible recruitment

Why do some rebel groups forcibly recruit children while others largely refrain from using this strategy? We argue that it depends, in part, on their ability to profit from natural resources. Rebel groups that earn funding from natural resources have less incentive to restrain abusive behavior such as the forced recruitment of children and more incentive to tolerate and even promote this recruitment strategy. To test our expectations, we collected new data on the level of forcible recruitment of children by rebel groups. This is distinct from the broader use of child soldiers, a significant portion of whom volunteer to join armed groups. We combined the information on forced recruitment with a recent data set on rebel groups’ exploitation of natural resources. Our analyses show that rebel groups that profit from natural resources are significantly more likely to forcibly recruit children than groups that do not exploit natural resources. Looking at specific characteristics, rebels that extract lootable resources are more likely to engage in the forced recruitment of children than groups that profit only from non-lootable resources or from no natural resources at all. The findings have important implications for our understanding of the relationship between rebels’ revenue streams and their engagement in human rights violations.
METAL POLLUTANTS DISTRIBUTION WITHIN LAKE VICTORIA BASIN AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE NATIVE AND TRANSIENT MICROBIAL FLORA

Heavy metal concentrations in water and sediments in the rivers draining into the Lake Victoria were determined in this study. The metal levels were compared to the bacterial plate counts and bacterial resistance to commonly used antibiotics assessed. The samples were randomly collected from sewage outfalls and points bordering heavy metal activity settlements. Heavy metal analysis was done using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (F-AAS). The samples were assayed for native heterotrophic bacteria and coliforms. Sediment samples recorded a higher level of heavy metals with a mean range of 31.97-109.9, lead; 3.48-183.66, zinc; 3.01-17.03, nickel; 1.93-214.61, copper; 17.01-65.91, cobalt; and 2.08-25.89 mg/g chromium compared to water samples whose mean range was as follows;- lead; 0.77-0.94, manganese; 0.10-3.10, zinc; 0.23-1.16, cadmium 0.02-0.04, and copper 0.51-0.57 mg/l. The study showed a significant relationship in the amounts of heavy metals in water samples and the bacterial counts, r = 0.637, p 0.05). However, multidrug resistance in heterotrophic bacteria (mean 46.52%) was higher than in coliform bacteria (mean 36.36%). Plasmid DNA finger print of the antibiotic resistant isolates showed a positive relationship between the plasmids carried and multidrug resistance. This could suggest that heavy metal pollution in wetlands induces multidrug resistance. The findings point to a potential health threat posed by heavy metal pollution to human and other forms of life in the aquatic ecosystems.
Are cloud forest tree structure and environment related in the Venezuelan Andes

Cloud forest vegetation structure and composition were studied in the Venezuelan Andes at three sites in Merida State. Although the sites are within 10 to 30 km of each other, climatic, geologic and topographic differences are remarkable. The main purpose of the study was to determine the relationship of specific environ- mental variables to forest vegetation characteristics, including basal area, tree height, density and diversity, and leaf area index (LAI). At 51 plots, all trees' diameter at breast height >10 cm were recorded and identified. Although the environment at the three sites is distinctive, the tree species composition of the most abundant species was very similar. None of the measured environment variables were significantly correlated with the measured vegetation structure variables, except LAI, which was correlated with slope orientation; LAI showed higher values at south- facing plots. Tree height was relatively uniform, while basal area was highly variable and reached very high values. Stem densities were in the range reported elsewhere in cloud forests. Multivariate analysis using structure or composition data shows segregation of the plots by site. Principal component analyses by site indicate a minor impact of environmental factors on forest variables. At each site, a particular group of species are correlated with the ordination axes. We conclude that species pools and forest dynamics add to the complexity of the structure of the studied cloud forests.
An Evaluation of the Focus-on-Form Instruction Taken to Raise Students＇ Grammatical Awareness in the EFL Textbook Employed in Secondary Schools of Zhejiang, China

This essay will focus on the evaluation of the English as a foreign language (EFL) textbook used in Zhejiang Province of China, to evaluate whether the book reflects the focus-on-form (FonF) instruction, and how teachers utilize the book to raise students’ grammatical awareness in class. First, the rationale of this topic will be introduced in the introduction part. Second, a brief literature will be reviewed and theoretical supports will be provided in the evaluation section. Third, Chinese context, especially the context of Zhejiang Province, will be analyzed briefly to help readers better understand the background of the EFL textbook and education policy. Fourth, some criteria will be developed according to literature review and context section to evaluate the textbook, and how to raise students’ grammatical awareness will also be figured out.
The Effect of Services Marketing Mix Elements on Customer-Based Brand Equity: An Empirical Study on Mobile Telecom Service Recipients in Jordan

The purpose of this research is to study the effect of services marketing mix elements on customer-based brand equity through empirical study of mobile telecommunication service recipients. It also aims to determine the influence of such elements on customer-based brand equity and to reveal which is the most influential. We employed a questionnaire-based survey consisting of 56 questions and distributed to 1,930 respondents in the three largest governorates in Jordan: Amman, Irbid, and Al-Zarqa. In total, 1,492 questionnaires were returned, corresponding to a response rate of 77%. In order to analyze the data obtained from questionnaires, quantitative methods were employed, and reveal that there is a significant effect of services marketing mix elements upon customer-based brand equity. The study suggests that customer-based brand equity is a valuable asset for any services sector, especially for marketing managers to assess the results of their efforts by getting feedback from customers to diagnose any problem that can appear in the provided service. In addition, customer-based brand equity provides a clear approach which can be employed by managers for the design and creation of branding strategy. This should enable managers to minimise problems that could arise from limited resources.
Stress, Burnout, Social Support and General Health of Nurses in Intensive Care Unit

Background and Objectives: Nurses working in the intensive care unit (ICU) may be exposed to considerable stress. Gaps in research focusing on stress, burnout, social support and general health of nurses is evident within developing contexts like India. The study aim was to assess the level of and the relationship between (1) stress, (2) burnout, (3) social support, & (4) general health of nurses working in intensive care units. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed at ICUs at tertiary care hospitals, Indore. The self report questionnaire consisted of a demographic questionnaire, The Multidimensional scale of Perceived Social Support, The Abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Perceived Stress Scale, and lastly the General Health Questionnaire. 115 of 186 (62%) answered the questionnaire. Results: The mean age of study subjects was 27 years (SD=4.85; n=111). Out of the total 71 were males, with mean age of 27.7 years, and 40 females with the mean age of 26.25 years. Mean Burnout score of total study population was 30.27(SD=11.09; N=111). No significant difference in mean burnout scores of males and females was found (p=0.960; t=0.0502; df=110). One-way ANOVA was done taking Burnout as a factor with 3 levels: Higher mean GHQ-12 scores were seen in groups with higher burnout severity [F(2,108) =13.470; p<0.05]. GHQ-12 scores better predicted burn out than perceived stress and social support. But, people with high perceived stress had significantly lower social support mean scores [F (2,108) = 6.17;p=0.0017]. Correlation between stress and burnout was insignificant. Conclusion: GHQ-12 scores better predicted burnout in ICU staff. Staff with higher stress levels had poorer social-support.
Measurement of liquid holdup and axial dispersion in trickle bed reactors using radiotracer technique

The holdup and axial dispersion of aqueous phase has been measured in trickle bed reactors as a function of liquid and gas flow rates using radioisotope tracer technique. Experiments were carried out in a glass column of inner diameter of 15.2× 10 -2 m column for air-water system using three different types of packings i.e. non-porous glass beads, porous catalysts of tablet and extrudate shape. The range of liquid and gas flow rates used were 8.3× 10 -5 -3.3× 10 -4 m 3 /s and 0-6.67× 10 -4 m 3 /s, respectively. Residence time distributions of liquid phase were measured and mean residence times were determined. The values of liquid holdup were calculated from the measured mean residence times. It was observed that the liquid holdup increases with increase in liquid flow rates and was independent of increase in gas flow rates used in the study. Two-parameter axial dispersion model was used to simulate measured residence time distribution data and values of mean residence time and Peclet number were obtained. It was observed that the values of Peclet number increases with increase in liquid flow rate for glass beads and tablets and remains almost constant for extrudates. The values of mean residence time obtained from model simulation were found to be in good agreement with the values measured experimentally.
Fumigant toxicity of essential oil from Tanacetum balsamita L. (Compositae) against adults and eggs of Callosobruchus maculatus F. (Coleoptera: Bruchidae)

The essential oil of Tanacetum balsamita L. was tested against Callosobruchus maculatus F. at the rates of 5.12, 7.23, 10.19, 14.36 and 20.24 μl/l air for adults and 5.3, 8.5, 10.8, 13.7 and 17.4 μl/l air for eggs. All experiments were conducted at 27 ± 1 °C and 65 ± 5% relative humidity. Mortality was counted after 24, 48 and 72 h of exposure and all adults (dead and alive) were taken out of the vials and the vials were left at the same conditions for further 35 days to assess progeny production. For mortality of eggs, unhatched eggs were counted after 7 days. The adults treated with oil were more susceptible than eggs. At highest dose (20.24 μl/l air) mortality of adults after 72 h, received 75.2%, but this amount for egg at 17.4 μl/l air after 72 h was 49.06%. The lowest LC50 value on 72 h was observed in adults (1.96 μl/l air). Also, the lowest LC95 value on 72 h was observed in adults (42.86 μl/l air). The percentage of reduced progeny on 72 h was 50.92% at 20.24 μl/l air. Our results suggest that T. balsamita can be used as an alternative to synthetic insecticides but higher dose may be needed.
An Evaluation Framework for Environmentally Sustainable Development of the Historic Cities within the Context of City Squares in Isfahan-Iran

The urban development involves more sensitive challenges for evaluation of the urban land use in respect of the framework of sustainable development. In the last three decades, the concept of sustainable development has developed into a broad area that embraces all methods and techniques in different levels of human activities and knowledge gaoling to save energy, time, financial and natural resources. Accordingly, environmental sustainability as a major aspect of the concept has concerned the environmental issues such as: climate change, global warming, waste management, sound masking, etc. The principal goal of this paper is to investigate the role of public squares in new urban developments in the historic cities from the perspective of environmental sustainability. Therefore, the paper considers some examples of the city squares in a case study (Isfahan-Iran) to highlight some problems in adaptation with the new 21 st century-style of urban development in such cities. Hence, the investigation compares the original historic squares vs. some recently developed ones. The literature review of this paper is based on the data gathered from internet, books and journals and previously published conference papers. Moreover, a qualitative research has been conducted through local observation and survey in the location of the case study (Isfahan-Iran). The results will reveal the major principles of environmental sustainability in design of new public squares in such cities. This, in turn, opens new doors to future studies about adoption of old cities with new developments regarding to the concept of environmental sustainability.
Second law analysis and the application of the efficient power criterion to a four-temperature-level absorption chiller

Absorption chillers are a good option for air-conditioning applications and can be operated by low grade energy which makes them environmentally friendly. Common absorption chillers have four main internal components (generator, evaporator, condenser and absorber) and operate between four temperature levels (which are assumed to be of infinite heat capacity in most studies). Heat transfer interactions that occur between the heat reservoirs and the internal components are of high importance to determine the efficiency and cooling capacity of absorption chillers. The purpose of this study is to quantify the performance of an absorption chiller that interacts with finite heat capacity reservoirs. To accomplish this, the effectiveness-NTU method is applied to an infinite heat capacity model in order to derive a finite heat capacity model. Then, a second law analysis along with a thermo-ecological criterion is applied to determine the best compromise between efficiency and cooling load. System’s input parameter variations are an important tool, while determining the efficiency-cooling capacity compromise. With the results found in this study, insight into future research regarding this type of systems will be gained.
Employee participation as a moderator on the high performance work systems and the perception of quality of care relationship in a large regional Australian health service | NOVA. The University of Newcastle's Digital Repository

This article investigates the moderation effects of participation in decision making on the relationship between HPWS and the perception of quality of care. Survey responses were collected in March 2008 of 541 hospital managers, administrators and various groups of clinicians in a large regional Australian health service. Findings demonstrated that the positive relationship between HPWS and perceptions of the quality of patient care will increase with increasing levels of staff participation in decision making within their unit. These findings illustrate that by implementing HPWS and encouraging employee participation across different hierarchical work units, there is the potential to positively impact patient outcomes. Keyword: Human Resource Management and Development, Public Sector and Non-profit, Strategic Management, Management Education and Development