Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lipid Profile and Menopausal Status *

Background: Dyslipidemia is a major cause of cardiovascular disease, which in turn, is the most common cause of female morbidity and mortality. Postmenopausal women (natural and surgical) are at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, especially coronary artery atherosclerosis. Objective: To observe the relationship between blood lipids: total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoproteincholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoproteincholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TGs), and very low density lipoproteincholesterol (VLDL-C), LDL-C/ HDL-C ratio (atherogenic index) and menopausal status, and to determine the co-factors that may explain this relationship Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional study, which includes 279 women, age range from 35-55 years agreed to participate in this study. They were divided into 4 groups according to their menopausal status. These were pre-, peri postnatural and surgical postmenopausal. Data were collected from participants in a pre-coded questionnaire and an overnight fasting blood sample was collected for biochemical analysis. Results: Postmenopausal women had higher levels of lipids than pre or peri-menopausal. TC concentration and LDL-cholesterol levels were higher in natural and surgical menopause than in pre and pri-menopausal women (p<0.01 and p<0.05 respectively). While LDL/HDL-C ratio (atherogenic index) were higher in the surgical postmenopausal women than in premenopausal group (p<0.05). No significant inter-group differences were found in HDL-C. Triglycerides, and VLDL levels were higher in surgical menopause group than in both preand peri-menopause groups (p<0.05). No significant differences were demonstrated in pre-, peri-, and natural menopausal women with regard to triglyceride and VLDL levels and LDL/HDL-C ratio. Conclusion : Dyslipidemia is more frequent among women with natural and surgical menopause groups than in the other groups. This makes those women more susceptible to CVD. Certain co factors appear to have direct associations with lipid levels in each group and those were discussed.
Developing a vision-related quality of life measure for persons with severe vision loss ; The Impact of Vision Impairment – Very Low Vision ( IVI-VLV ) Questionnaire as part of the LoVADA protocol

Corresponding author: Robert P. Finger Centre for Eye Research Australia, Department of Ophthalmology University of Melbourne, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Level 1, 32 Gisborne St, East Melbourne, Victoria 3002, Australia Email: robertfinger@gmx.net (W) +61 3 9929 8381 (F) +61 3 9662 3859 Funding: This research was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) through its Special Research Initiative (SRI) in Bionic Vision Science and Technology grant to Bionic Vision Australia (BVA). CERA receives Operational Infrastructure Support from the Victorian Government and is supported by NHMRC Centre for Clinical Research Excellence Award 529923. RHG is the recipient of an NHMRC practitioner fellowship (529905). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Development and validation of the new ProvBioII float

In the last ten years, a productive collaboration has grown between the Laboratoire d’Oceanographie de Villefranche (LOV), NKE and IFREMER to implement biogeochemical sensors on profiling floats. A first project (2003) was dedicated to the design of the so-called ProvBio floats (models A and B) that consisted of a PROVOR-CTS3 float instrumented with three new optical sensors: a Wetlabs transmissometer (C-Rover), a 3-wavelength Satlantic radiometer (OCR-503) and an “ECO3” Wetlabs sensor, measuring chlorophyll-a fluorescence, colored dissolved organic matter and particle backscattering coefficients (see First Success of ProvBio floats, Coriolis Letter n°5). Then, the integration of biogeochemical sensors continued in the framework of ProNuts project (2009, autonomously profiling the nitrate concentrations in the ocean: the pronuts project, Coriolis Letter n°8), by equipping a PROVOR with a nitrate concentration sensor. In parallel within the framework of the Carbocean EU project, the ProvCarbon and ProvDo floats were developed as in 2006 by fitting on a PROVOR a C-Rover and a 3830 Aanderaa optode, respectively. They were used to investigate new tools to assess marine carbon sources and sinks. These initial developments have led to a first invaluable dataset and to subsequent papers (Xing et al. 2012, Xing et al. 2011) and report (IOCCG 2011). Nevertheless, the above projects have grown partially dissociated, as related to specific and project-related needs, while a more integrated solution may have a lot of advantages. Undoubtedly, the scientific exploitation of data would be strongly improved if a unique multidisciplinary float, able to measure all accessible parameters, was available. Such a multidisciplinary float would also strongly reduce costs, by sharing the float itself, and by reducing deployment, validation and communication costs.
Tetrahedral chalcopyrite quantum dots for solar-cell applications

Chalcopyrite structures are candidates for efficient intermediate-band solar cells in thin-film technology. Here, we examine a material combination of CuInSe2 dots embedded in CuGaS2 matrix and show that epitaxial growth leads to distinctive tetrahedral nanostructures. Our model calculations provide us with the optimal nanodot size to reach the maximum efficiency—in principle up to 61%. The optimal quantum dot satisfies the known physical constraints, and it is in excellent qualitative agreement with our grown samples.
Infrared passbands from fractal slit patterns on a metal plate

We show that a fractal pattern of submicron wide slits, etched on a 0.1-μm-thick gold film, exhibit multiple pass and stop bands in the wavelength regime of 2–200 μm. In the midinfrared regime, the passbands show ∼36% transmission (three orders of magnitude higher than the reference), and the stop bands exhibit ∼80% reflection. In the far infrared regime, the passband transmittances are 25%, 29%, and 14%, respectively, at wavelengths of 34, 62, and 111 μm. These transmittances are rather high in view of the fact that supporting substrate is itself only about 40% transmitting, and a control pattern of holes with similar void-to-metal ratio is 3000 times less transmitting in all frequencies. We attribute the high transmittance from subwavelength slits to geometric resonances.
Synthesis, Characterization and Biological Activities of Organotin (IV) Methylcyclohexyldithiocarbamate Compounds

Problem statement: The growing interest in the chemistry of sulphur donor ligands are due to their encouraging anticancer, antibacterial and antifungal activities as well as their widespread industrial application. Dithiocarbamates belong to this class and much attention has been paid to them. Approach: Novel organotin compounds with the molecular formula RmSn[S2CN(CH3)(C6H11)]4-m (where m = 2, R = CH3, C2H5; m = 3, R = C6H5) have been synthesized using in situ method. These compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. Results: Elemental analysis revealed that all compounds were of good purity. Infrared spectra of the compounds showed that the thioureide ν(C-N) band was in the region 1450-1500 cm−1. The unsplitting band of ν(C-S) in the region 974-979 cm−1 indicated the bidentate nature of the chelated dithiocarbamato legends. The 13C NMR chemical shift of the carbon atom in the N-CS2 group appeared in the range of 196.29-199.82 ppm. Single crystal analysis from one of these compounds showed that the chelating mode of the dithiocarbamate groups was isobidentate. These compounds have been screened for antibacterial activity against four bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis. Only one of these compounds shows promising results against S. aureus and S. typhi. Cytotoxicity screening on human leukemic promyelocyte HL-60 cells found that two of these compounds were very active with CD50 values of 0.87 and 0.18 µg mL−1. Conclusion: The studied compounds were found to have the potential in biological activity especially in cytotoxicity where this possibly can be used for clinical trials after further research.
Creating Sustainable Action Nets: The case of ugly vegetables

Food wastage is a major problem in the world today. Previous research on the subject has however paid little attention to how the creation of a novel waste prevention product can contribute to addressing the environmental challenges of food waste. This paper mitigates these shortcomings by illustrating how a novel waste prevention product is created and becomes a sustainability object that supports a more sustainable way of living. Based on a field study from Swedish grocery stores, this paper demonstrates how the novel waste prevention product gains momentum from being linked to different contexts, how its development depends on physical artifacts, and requires the reconstruction of the existing action net. The paper further illustrates that there is a relationship between sustainability objects, action nets, and standards, since the novel waste prevention product acts as a sustainability object that creates contradictions and paradoxes that question institutions and standards. Trough that, the creation of a novel waste prevention product leads to the construction of more sustainable action nets and categories.
The paradigm of body condition: a critical reappraisal of current methods based on mass and length

Summary 1. Body condition is a major concept in ecology addressed in countless studies, and a variety of non-destructive methods are used to estimate the condition of individuals based on the relationship between body mass M and measures of length L. There is currently no consensus about the most appropriate condition index (CI) method, and various traditions have been established within subdisciplines in which ecologists tend to apply that method used previously by their peers. 2. Here, we present a reappraisal of six conventional CI methods: Fulton’s index (K = M/L3), Quetelet’s index (BMI = M/L2), Relative condition (Kn, computed as the observed individual mass divided by the predicted mass Mi* = a Lib where a and b are determined by ordinary least squares (OLS) regression of M against L), Relative mass (Wr, where a and b above are determined from a reference population), the Residual index (Ri, the residuals from an OLS regression of M against L) and ancova. We compare the performance of these methods with that of the Scaled mass index, a novel method which was previously shown to perform better than Ri as a predictor of fat and other body components [J. Peig & A.J. Green (2009) Oikos, 118, 1883]. 3. To be reliable, a CI method must successfully account for the changing relationship between M and L as body size changes and growth occurs (i.e. for the scaling relationship between M and L). Using data from three species of small mammals we show that, unlike the Scaled mass index, all six conventional methods fail to do this, and as a result they consistently lead to significant differences in CIs between age classes and sex that are a mere consequence of changes in body size. The Scaled mass index was also particularly successful at detecting changes in CI resulting from high levels of contaminants.
Lead and Cadmium Bioremoval by Halomonas sp., an Exopolysaccharide-Producing Halophilic Bacterium

Toxic heavy metals, such as lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) are widely used in industry and their accumulation in the living tissues may cause serious health problems and ecological hazards. Twenty four moderately halophilic bacteria isolated from saline environments of Iran were used to study their ability to bioremediation of lead and cadmium. Amongst them, a Gram-negative rod shaped bacterium, designated as strain D showed remarkable ability for removal of Pb and Cd and could grow in media supplemented with 5 mM of these toxic heavy metals. Phenotypic characterization and phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons indicate this strain belongs to the genus Halomonas. Atomic absorption (AA) spectroscopy was used to estimate the removal rate of lead and cadmium by bacterial biomass, autoclaved biomass and exopolysaccharide (EPS) matrix under different conditions. The strain D could uptake more than 90% and 50% of lead and cadmium, respectively. Biomass showed the best lead removal at pH 3.0- 6.0, 35 °C and 5% NaCl (w/v), while the EPS showed maximum removal at pH 5.0, 35 °C and 10% NaCl (w/v). For cadmium removal by biomass, the best results were obtained at pH 3.0, 25 °C and 1% NaCl (w/v) while the EPS showed the optimal cadmium removal at pH 5.0, 45 °C and 1% NaCl (w/v). The results suggest that halophilic bacteria such as Halomonas sp. could be used for remediation of Pb and Cd in contaminated saline soils and wastes discharge sites
A Review and Assessment of Enterprise Resource Planning for Make-To-Order Companies

Many vendors of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems claim that their products are widely applicable - configurable to meet the needs of any business, whatever the product or service offering. However, producers of high-variety and bespoke products, such as Make-To-Order (MTO) companies, present particular challenges to implementation; it remains unclear whether ERP systems can cater for their needs. This paper provides a state-of-the-art review of ERP systems and an assessment of the applicability of ERP to the MTO sector. While several comprehensive reviews of the ERP literature have previously been presented, these either do not focus on the MTO sector, or seek to assess the applicability of ERP systems, or give sufficient attention to recent developments in the fast moving ERP industry. In assessing applicability, this paper considers factors such as the planning and control stages of relevance to MTO companies, the typical size and supply chain positioning of MTO companies, and market-related features. The assessment concludes that there is a significant gap between the requirements of MTO companies and the functionality of ERP systems. One such gap is between the customer enquiry management and design & engineering processes of MTO companies and those supported by ERP systems. Eight key areas in need of further research are described. These include: providing effective decision support tools for customer enquiry management activities in the MTO sector, linking ERP systems with production planning and control concepts of relevance to MTO companies, and conducting an in-depth empirical study into existing applications of ERP systems in MTO companies and their impact on performance.
They have got more than you think: Cultural Capital and the Undergraduate Achievement of Middle Eastern Women

The theory of Cultural Capital states that students from “high culture” invest in scholastic pursuits and obtain returns in the form of academic achievement (Bourdieu, 1977). It was the intent of the researchers to replicate the study conducted by Geoffrey Moss (2005) within the context of a university setting with undergraduate Middle Eastern women. This small-scale humanities study highlights the cultural capital of Middle Eastern women and their undergraduate achievement. The data for the study was collected in two surveys handed to a random number of female students from a private university in Riyadh (KSA). The study gives a selected view of the context which includes family background and the importance given to academic attainment. Traditionally, Middle Eastern women have been viewed as not having invested into cultural capital. However, the results of this study have proven otherwise. Middle Eastern women do have cultural capital and likewise pursue scholastic activity.
A Blended Learning Model for Teaching Practice Course.

The aim of the present study is to introduce a blended learning environment and a model for pre-service teaching practice course in English Language Teacher Training Program at Anadolu University. It is supposed that providing a blended learning environment for teaching practice course would improve the practice and contribute to the professional growth of pre-service teachers. Since it will increase the contact hours among students and university supervisors and facilitate peer feedback among pre-service teachers, which in turn, create a productive learning environment for them. Thus, the present paper aimed at providing a blended learning model for teaching practice courses at teacher training institutions and give impetus for the researchers or instructors who would like to implement blended learning in their own teaching environments. Additionally, the present study intends to contribute expanded understanding to the way blending the learning environments, and contribute additional understanding to the knowledge base about the implementation of blended learning for a teaching practice course. Finally, through illustrating a blended learning environment for teaching practice course, it is hoped that this study might contribute to the growing body of knowledge of blended delivery and blended learning in higher education.
Chased by wolves: Effects of a threat prime on working-memory in Portuguese and Hong Kong populations

Cultural differences between Western and East Asian populations have often been categorized in terms of Individualism versus Collectivism, or analytic versus holistic thinking and perception. In this study, 30 participants from Hong Kong and 26 participants from Portugal were compared. Individualism and Collectivism levels were measured using the Auckland Individualism and Collectivism Scale. Furthermore, they were tested on working memory using the Corsi Block-tapping task. Finally, they performed a modified version of the wolfpack task to investigate analytic / holistic perception, perceived animacy, and changes in working memory after a threat prime. We found an interaction between priming condition and culture. The performance of the Hong Kong group stayed constant when seeing a neutral prime and when seeing a threat prime. In contrast, the Portuguese group performed worse after seeing a threat prime, compared to a neutral prime. In both conditions, the Hong Kong group performed better than the Portuguese group. Hong Kong also scored higher on the Corsi block-tapping task, but this effect was only marginally significant. While Hong Kong scored higher on Collectivism, no difference was found for Individualism. However, no correlation was found between Collectivism and working memory performance after threat prime. The wolfpack task used here proved insufficient to detect differences in analytic and holistic perception, or differences in perceived animacy across cultures. This study urges caution when applying the Individualism-Collectivism distinction to these cultures.
New Techniques For Pre-Commercial Thinning – Time Consumption and Tree Damage Parameters

Abstract High costs, increasing density and height of young stands at the time of pre-commercial thinning, and difficulty in attracting personnel to do motor-manual work have called for the development of new techniques for pre-commercial thinning. In the study reported here a new motor-manual and mechanized pre-commercial thinning technique was compared to the conventional brush saw technique in terms of time requirements and damage caused to crop trees. The motor-manual tools tested were a hacksaw and two pole saws with modified chainsaw blades. The mechanized machine prototype was built especially for pre-commercial thinning, and was equipped with a new type of crane tip-mounted device based on a cutting-squeezing technique. Our expectations were that, compared to the brush saw, themechanized approach would be less time-demanding in dense and/or large diameter stands, but more main stems would be damaged. Furthermore, a motor-manual device with a larger cutting area than the conventional brush saw blade should allow faster operation in dense and large diameter stands, without damaging higher numbers of main stems. To test these beliefs, a rig was built that enabled the tools to be compared in experimental stands with different densities and diameters of secondary stems. One of the pole saws and the mechanized prototype machine were competitive with the conventional brush saw in terms of both time requirements and frequency of damage to main stems, especially in dense (i.e. >15000 stems ha-1) and large diameter (>4 cm) stands. The pole saw was competitive despite having a less powerful engine. The mechanized prototype showed more homogenous time consumption, with lower variation than the other tools. Further field studies are needed to compare the tools in economic terms.
Corporate governance rating in a small open capital market: Methodology and applications in the Greek market

The need of institutional investors to evaluate the Corporate Governance (CG) practices of listed companies resulted in many attempts to construct the CG rating methodologies. This paper, in response to this situation, attempts to quantify the compliance of large capitalization Greek companies with international best practices. The methodology consists of a questionnaire reflecting the Greek CG code, which basically replicates the OECD principles. Other wellregarded CG codes are also taken into account. Then, a rating system based on CG indicators is constructed and applied for the years 2001 and 2003. The total rating results for the years 2001 and 2003 demonstrate a relatively satisfactory improvement. The highest compliance is in the category of shareholder rights, while weak compliance appears in the last category, which incorporates commitment to CG, CSR and the relations with shareholders. The exercise, using practically all agreed principles of the OECD, could demonstrate a reasonable degree of compliance of the average company rated. Its limitation in that respect is that it could not satisfy investigations on convergence. The indicators used are highly pertinent to measure compliance but not convergence, which is not within the initial targets and needs a longer time series analysis. The methodology is applied in a small open economy and may have significant implications in other similar capital markets. Methodologically, the merit of the exercise lies in its approach toward the creation of "collectively subjective" weightings, and is valuable to institutional investors, policymakers, regulators and academics. The upgrading of the Greeek capital market to a mature market status and the global competition for capital has boosted the CG debate in Greece. In addition, the recent corporate failures and financial scams around the world have increased awareness that proper CG is fundamental to the efficient operation of capital markets. The need of institutional investors to evaluate the CG practices of the listed companies resulted in many attempts to construct CG rating methodologies. This paper presents an attempt to quantify the compliance of large capitalization Greek companies with international best practices. Firstly, the literature on CG ratings is reviewed. Secondly, a brief history of the CG in Greece is presented. Then, the structure of our CG rating methodology and the results are described. Finally, the findings and proceedings with some critical points are summarized.
Analysis of regularisation in model updating

This paper presents the theory of sensitivity based model updating with a special focus on the properties of the solution that result from the combination of optimisation of the response prediction with a priori information about parameters. Model updating, together with the additional regularisation criterion, is an optimisation with two objective functions, and must be linearised to obtain a solution. Structured solutions are obtained, based on the Generalised Singular Value Decomposition, and specific features of the parameter and response paths as the regularisation parameter varies are explored. The four different types of spaces that arise in the solution are discussed. These concepts are demonstrated on a simulated discrete example.