Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Physical Activity Status among Yazd High School Students on the Model of the World Health Organization in 2015

Received: 1 Aug 2016 Accepted:18 Dec 2016 Introduction: Physical activity and healthy eating at an early age are two key elements in prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases. Therefore, regular physical activity is recommended to improve public health and to reduce the burden of diseases and medical costs in communities. The aim of this study was to determine the status of physical activity in Yazd high school students Methods: A total number of1018 male high school students participated in this cross-sectional study. They were permanent residents of Yazd city in the school year of 2015-2016. Multistage cluster classification and stratified sampling methods were applied to collect samples. A validated Persian standardized World Health Organization questionnaire (GSHS) was used as a data collection tool. After completing the questionnaire by students, data were analyzed by SPSS. Results: only 11.6 % of participants reported physical activity for at least 60 minutes a day. Inert activities such as watching television or playing computer games for more than 2 hours during a typical day was reported by 531 participants (55 %). Based on body mass index, 18.23 % of students were obese and 13.22 % were overweight. Discussion and conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the level of students' physical activities is low. Paying more attention to physical activity and designing curriculums that devote more hours for physical activities are recommended. Encouraging physical activity in leisure time and providing proper facilities for adolescents are further suggestions.
Multiple levels in the organisation of innovation : project organization in single-firm projects and multi-firm projects

Studies about how the organization of new product (and new service) development projects (NPD) projects influences project performance typically investigate this in Single-firm projects, i.e. projects with high ownership integration. However, NPD projects are often performed by two or more partnering firms. In this paper we investigate whether specific project-level organizational mechanisms, such as free flow of information between team members, project leader autonomy, external search for information, and decentralization, have different performance outcomes in Single-firm projects than in Multi-firm projects. Using data on web application development projects we find that project-level integration mechanisms, i.e. mechanisms that align and coordinate the interests and activities of team members, contribute comparatively stronger to the speed of problem solving in alliance projects than in Single-firm projects. This shows that the performance effects of a project’s organizational form are determined by the interplay of firm-level organizational choices and project-level mechanisms.
Business Cycle Synchronization and Insurance Mechanisms in the EU

In this paper we provide a positive exercise on past business-cycle correlations and risk sharing in the European Union, and on the ability of insurance mechanisms and fiscal policies to smooth income fluctuations. The results suggest in particular that while some of the new Member States have well synchronized business cycles, for some of the other countries, business cycles are not yet well synchronized with the euro area’s business cycle, and risk-sharing mechanisms may not provide enough insurance against shocks.
The Role of Source Credibility and Place Attachment in Enhancing Visitors' Satisfaction

Tourism is one of the important tools for development. In order to survive, credible resources and place attachment are keys for today's competition in the tourism sector. The objective of this study is to assess the relationships among source credibility, place attachment, and visitors' satisfaction. The study surveyed visitors in the World Heritage Site (WHS) Borobudur. Borobudur as a premium destination in Indonesia should be well managed so that it will strongly create attachment among visitors. A valid 132 questionnaires were analyzed using Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modeling. All the proposed relationships were supported meaning that the important role of both credible resources and place attachments to visitors' satisfaction was confirmed. The findings offer important implications where Government and tourism agency should take priority on the importance of source credibility and engaging marketing approaches for building place attachment. For academic, this study enriches and provides empirical evidence on the relationships proposed to the tourism and marketing literature.
Statistical Analysis on Field Penetration Index in Shield TBM

The prediction of TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) performance is very important for reliable estimation of construction period and cost in preconstruction stage. TBM performance can be diversely expressed in terms of penetration rate (PR), advance rate (AD) and field penetration index (FPI) etc. To predict the TBM performance more accurately, many researchers have been trying to utilize ground information obtained from field as well as machine data such as RPM, thrust and torque etc. Among the TBM performance, FPI can be used to not only evaluate the rock mass boreability without the influence of TBM operating parameters (Thrust, RPM) in design stage but also to calculate the PR. In this study, various rockmass parameters of shield TBM were analyzed to derive the significant parameters influencing on the FPI and to develop the best predictive model. Rockmass parameters such as water absorption (Wa), deformation modulus (Dm), lugeon value (Lv), rock mass rating (RMR), rock quality designation (RQD) and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) were obtained from the cable tunnel project in South Korea. After selecting some of rockmass parameters representing the each characteristics of rock and rockmass through a literature review, a simple regression analysis was performed to eliminate some of abnormal data. And then, multiple linear regression analysis was carried out with the selected rockmass parameters (e.g. Lv, RMR and UCS). All of combination of input parameters were analyzed to select the best predictive model which correspond to the lowest PRESS. As a results of the regression analysis, adjusted r squared (Radj 2 ) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) were obtained as 0.574 and 32.7% each other, which means the selected model can be evaluated with explanatory power of 57.4% and prediction error of 32.7%. However, it should be noted that the developed model is very limited resulting from a narrow range of field data used in this study. Thus, quite a more and a wide range of data are required to develop the universal model.
Modelling tree ring cellulose δ 18 O variations in two temperature-sensitive tree species from North and South America

Abstract. Oxygen isotopes in tree rings (δ18OTR) are widely used to reconstruct past climates. However, the complexity of climatic and biological processes controlling isotopic fractionation is not yet fully understood. Here, we use the MAIDENiso model to decipher the variability in δ18OTR of two temperature-sensitive species of relevant palaeoclimatological interest (Picea mariana and Nothofagus pumilio) and growing at cold high latitudes in North and South America. In this first modelling study on δ18OTR values in both northeastern Canada (53.86° N) and western Argentina (41.10° S), we specifically aim at (1) evaluating the predictive skill of MAIDENiso to simulate δ18OTR values, (2) identifying the physical processes controlling δ18OTR by mechanistic modelling and (3) defining the origin of the temperature signal recorded in the two species. Although the linear regression models used here to predict daily δ18O of precipitation (δ18OP) may need to be improved in the future, the resulting daily δ18OP values adequately reproduce observed (from weather stations) and simulated (by global circulation model) δ18OP series. The δ18OTR values of the two species are correctly simulated using the δ18OP estimation as MAIDENiso input, although some offset in mean δ18OTR levels is observed for the South American site. For both species, the variability in δ18OTR series is primarily linked to the effect of temperature on isotopic enrichment of the leaf water. We show that MAIDENiso is a powerful tool for investigating isotopic fractionation processes but that the lack of a denser isotope-enabled monitoring network recording oxygen fractionation in the soil–vegetation–atmosphere compartments limits our capacity to decipher the processes at play. This study proves that the eco-physiological modelling of δ18OTR values is necessary to interpret the recorded climate signal more reliably.
Diurnal Variation in Mass, Metabolic Rate, and Respiratory Quotient in Anna's and Costa's Hummingbirds

To examine how hummingbirds that do not enter torpor at night store and utilize energy, open-circuit respirometry and a strain gauge were used to measure daily variation in O2 consumption (V̇o2), CO2 production, respiratory quotient (RQ), and body mass in Anna's hummingbird, Calypte anna, and Costa's hummingbird, Calypte costae. During the day, V̇o2 was highly variable primarily because of differences in activity among individuals. At night V̇o2 varied little between individuals, but mean V̇o2 was more than two times that predicted from body mass for resting postabsorptive birds. For C. anna, mean 24-hr energy expenditure was similar to that of free-living birds. Diel mass fluctuations were large, up to 16% in both species. However, much of the observed change in mass was probably due to factors other than changes in body fat content. The RQ was well above 1.0 throughout the day, suggesting continuous deposition of fat, and RQs remained high at night (> 0.85), indicating the use of carbohydrate as a metabolic substrate. Predicted crop volumes of the hummingbirds are sufficient to store the amount of feeder solution (0.25 g sucrose per mL) required to account for the observed nighttime RQs. This suggests that hummingbirds in this study were using their crop as a supplemental "energy storage depot" at night.
Challenges in optics for Extremely Large Telescope instrumentation

Zeeko Ltd, 4 Vulcan Court, Hermitage Industrial Estate, Coalville, Leichestershire, England, LE67 3FW, UKReceived 3 March 200, accepted 27 March 2006Published online laterKey words Optics – ELTs – spectrographs – gratings – new materialsWe describe and summarize the optical challenges for future instrumentation for Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). Knowing the complex instrumental requirements is crucial for the successful design of 30-60m aperture telescopes. Afterall, the success of ELTs will heavily rely on its instrumentation and this, in turn, will depend on the ability to produce largeand ultra-precise optical components like light-weight mirrors, aspheric lenses, segmented ﬁlters, and large gratin gs. Newmaterials and manufacturing processes are currently under study, both at research institutes and in industry. In the presentpaper, we report on its progress with particular emphasize on volume-phase-holographic gratings, photochromic materials,sintered silicon-carbide mirrors, ion-beam ﬁguring, ultra-precision surfaces, and free-form optics. All are promising tech-nologies opening new degrees of freedom to optical designers. New optronic-mechanical systems will enable efﬁcient useof the very large focal planes. We also provide exploratory descriptions of “old” and “new” optical technologies togeth erwith suggestions to instrument designers to overcome some of the challenges placed by ELT instrumentation.
MOBILE ASSISTED SOCIAL NETWORKING LANGUAGE LEARNING

The present article evaluates how issues faced by students in a foreign language class were resolved. These issues originating from the use of the learning management system were linked to language acquisition, affect and delivery of learning material. Past experience and current literature suggested resolving these issues through the incorporation of a social networking site on mobile devices. A grounded action research method was selected as it provided the researchers with an opportunity to react to changes and adapt their implementation. The implementation consisted of creating a Facebook group to deliver lecture notes. Moreover, this online environment was used to host student-created documents as well as ensuing peer communications in the target language. Online observations and interview data were analysed to provide the researchers with an in-depth understanding of the learning processes and to enable them to rectify their implementation. Findings revealed that students viewed the new system as an improvement as issues were resolved. Motivation to access the platform was increased, thus leading to added exposure to the target language resulting in language acquisition. A model describing the implementation was constructed which links task-based learning, learning with Facebook, mobile assisted language learning to affect and language acquisition/learning. This model should form the basis for future research on language learning with a social networking sites on mobile devices.
Hopelessness and Low Social and Occupational Functioning are Associated with Non-Recovery from Depression—Results of a 6-Year Follow-Up Study

Objective The aim of this study was to explore variables associated with poor recovery from depression. Method A sample of depressive patients (n = 121) referred to treatment was followed prospectively for 6 years. Clinical evaluations were done at baseline and at 6 month, 1, 2 and 6 years study visits. A diagnosis of major depression based on SCID interview at 6 year and high BDI score along follow-up indicated poor recovery. A diagnosis of full remission at 6 year and low BDI score during follow-up indicated good recovery. Results Chronic depression was found in 15% of patients. A repeated measures analysis of variance of HDRS-, SCL-90, hopelessness (HS) and Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS) scores showed that those with poor recovery had recovered poorly also according these scales during the whole follow-up. Treatment factors did not associate with recovery. Logistic regression analyses revealed an independent association between poor recovery at 6 year and both high HS- and low SOFAS scores at 12 months, 24 months and 6 year assessments. Conclusions Assessment of hopelessness and social and occupational functioning help to early identify high-risk patients who would be in need for more individually tailored treatments.
Initial Study of Electrospinning PCL / PLLA Blends Guinea

The process of electrospinning is considered one of the most promising methods for the fabrication of polymer nanofibers. This essentially consists of applying a high electric field, which causes stretching of the polymer which exits through a capillary. Among the numerous applications of this process, electrospinning allows the fabrication of semiconductor and conductive nanofibers from mixtures or solutions, which have great potential for applications in sensors and the fabrication of scaffolds for cell growth. The aim of this work was to analyze the properties of the blend, produces by the electrospinning of the PCL and PLLA solution, with the focus to generate a promissory scaffold. PCL is a semi-crystalline aliphatic polymer that has a slower degradation rate 12 24 months. It has a low glass transition temperature at –60 ̊C, a melting temperature at about 60 ̊C, and a high thermal stability. Properties of PLA depend on the component isomers, processing temperature, annealing time and molecular weight. Thus were used PCL, from Aldrich, with Mw of 80,000 g/mol, and PLLA, sintered in laboratory, with Mw of 240,000 g/mol, were dissolved in chloroform (CHCl3, Merck) and acetone (Synth) by stirring for 6 hours. The solution was electrospinning for 1 hour using the equipment made in the laboratory, the voltage used was 13 kv, the rate of 0.5 ml/h and an approximate distance from the tip of the needle to the collector of 12 cm. The morphology of the samples was observed by images made with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and also was analyzed by FT-IR and DSC.
The Impact of Hatha Yoga Practice on Flexibility: A Pilot Study

Background: In modern times people have to cope daily with various challenges that can leave an impact on their body flexibility. Physical inactivity is one of the reasons for the diminishment of our natural body flexibility. The consequence of physical inactivity is decreased flexibility of soft tissues surrounding joints. Simple yoga techniques including body postures and breathing techniques can restore natural body flexibility. Methods: Our study involved 9 young healthy females (mean age 23.8 ± 2.9 years). The training program was held twice a week over a period of five months. The program included therapeutic yoga exercises, with the aim of increasing joint mobility as well as stretching shortened skeletal muscles. We used goniometric measurement procedures for measuring joint mobility (for shoulder, hip and ankle joints), linear measurement procedures for measuring the active mobility of the thoracolumbar part of the spine and specific assessing tests for evaluating skeletal muscle shortness. Measurements of body flexibility were taken three times over the five months period. Results: The results obtained by measuring joint mobility showed significant increase of mobility in elevation through abduction, shoulder retroflexion, hip flexion, internal and external hip rotation, dorsal flexion and inversion of the ankle. The mobility of the thoracolumbar part of the spine was increased in all the measured movements: flexion, extension, lateral flexion and rotation of the spine. There was also a significant improvement in the flexibility of m. Soleus, m. Gastrocnemius, m. Rectus femoris, knee flexors and m. Pectoralis major. A significant improvement in body flexibility was also confirmed by the “Back Scratch Test” and the “Sit and Reach Test”. Conclusion: Improved body flexibility is one of the most obvious and quickly achieved effects of regular hatha yoga practice. The results of this study confirm that regular practice of yoga has a significant effect on body flexibility in young healthy women, which is particularly obvious in measurements of the increase of the flexibility of skeletal muscles.
Development and characterization of solid lipid dispersion as delivery system for hydrophilic antihypertensive drug atenolol

Atenolol is a hydrophilic β-blocker drug characterized by high solubility and low permeability which corresponds to BCS class III drug. The purpose of the study was to develop solid dispersion of atenolol with fatty excipients to modify the release and enhance intestinal permeability of the drug. The solid dispersions containing atenolol were prepared using lipophilic surfactants, saturated fatty acid, triglycerides and phospholipids by co-evaporation method. The obtained solid dispersions were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, infrared spectroscopy, drug solubility, % yield, % encapsulation efficiency and in vitro drug release. The results of in vitro release studies indicated that drug release from the drug: phosphotidylcholine dispersion (1:1w/w) showed a sustained release in comparison with the pure atenolol and the other solid dispersions. The influence of phosphotidylcholine on drug intestinal permeation was further evaluated versus pure drug. The results of in vitro permeability revealed that drug-phosphotidylcholine solid dispersion significantly enhanced % permeation of atenolol in comparison with the pure drug. This could be attributed to higher lipophilicity acquired by incorporation of the drug within the solid lipid dispersion. On the basis of the result obtained, it was concluded that solid dispersion of atenolol with phosphotidylcholine is a good approach to modify the release and enhance permeability of water soluble drug. However, the influence of lipophilic solid dispersion on atenolol bioavailability needs further investigation.
Untangling the quality of governance from the level of income : Are Sub-Saharan African countries governed well ?

We consider whether Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries are mainly poor because they are governed worse than other countries, as suggested by recent studies on the supremacy of institutions. Our empirical results show that the supremacy of institutions does not hold. SSA countries appear to face very specific development problems. Given their geographic and economic constraints, we conclude that SSA countries are on average not governed worse than other comparable countries. Our finding supports the basic argument of a recent UN report (UN Millennium Project 2005). However, we find that the UN report is based on empirical evidence that appears to imply the supremacy of institutions.
Diversity, abundance and distribution of lianas of the Cerrado–Amazonian forest transition, Brazil

Background: Lianas strongly influence tropical forest dynamics and diversity. Aims: To determine the relationship among richness, diversity, abundance and distribution of liana species in different vegetation formation types along a gradient within a savanna–forest transition zone in central Brazil. Methods: All liana species were identified and their girth measurements (≥5 cm) taken in one 1 ha plot at each of 15 sites that encompassed a range of vegetation types: dystrophic cerradão (tall closed woodland cerrado), gallery forest, flooded forest, semi-deciduous seasonal forest (one monodominant) and evergreen forest. We evaluated and compared the communities in terms of richness, community diversity (Shannon's H’), equitability (Hurlbert's, PIE), and the distribution of liana abundance. Results: In total, 1467 individual lianas belonging to 65 species, 41 genera and 17 families were recorded in the 15 ha sampled. The value of H’ varied from 0–2.47, and that of PIE ranged from 0–0.90. While flooded forests had remarkably high liana densities, their liana community was dominated by just one species, Combretum laxum (64% of stems); the most abundant liana in non-flooded forests was Heteropterys eglandulosa (13%). The different liana species showed varying affiliations with vegetation type, with distinct species groupings associated with the different vegetation types. Conclusions: Variations in species composition and distribution of lianas in this savanna–forest transition were found to be driven by environmental gradients that cause distinct species associations with discrete vegetation formation types.