Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nordic Results from the PISA Digital Reading Assessment

This article studies the Nordic results from the digital reading assessment in PISA 2009. Variations are concealed behind the key figures, and we are both looking for a common Nordic profile and studying how variation is correlated to characteristics of the texts and the tasks through a residual analysis of the Nordic countries’ achievement profile on single item level. We are also undertaking an in-depth analysis of gender differences, in which we investigate tasks with large as well as small gender differences.
Spinal Clinic for Obese Out-Patient Project (SCOOP)—A 1 Year Report

Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) appear to be at higher risk of becoming overweight after their injury. This 12 month study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a dietitian-led clinic. Thirty-eight patients with chronic SCI with a body mass index (BMI) range of 26.4 - 46.4 kg/m2 were referred for three consultations over a three month period for dietetic advice covering nutrition, exercise and behaviour change. Body composition was estimated by anthropometric measurements of BMI, mid upper-arm circumference (MUAC), triceps-skinfold thickness (TSF), mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC) and sitting blood pressure. Nineteen individuals completed the three month intervention. There were significant reductions in weight (kg: 103.1 v 97.8, P 2: 35.5 v 34.0, P <0.001), TSF (mm: 28.3 v 24.7, P = 0.019), and sitting systolic blood pressure (mm Hg: 134 v 101, P = 0.015), and an increase in MAMC (cm: 29.5 v 30.0, P = 0.045). We conclude that a simple dietetic intervention can help individuals with SCI to lose weight without compromising lean body mass. Although the intervention incurred additional cost, it has the potential to decrease long-term healthcare expenditure if patients’ outcome and quality of life are improved.
An Improved Model-Based Self-Adaptive Filter for Online State-of-Charge Estimation of Li-Ion Batteries

Accurate battery modeling is essential for the state-of-charge (SOC) estimation of electric vehicles, especially when vehicles are operated in dynamic processes. Temperature is a significant factor for battery characteristics, especially for the hysteresis phenomenon. Lack of existing literatures on the consideration of temperature influence in hysteresis voltage can result in errors in SOC estimation. Therefore, this study gives an insight to the equivalent circuit modeling, considering the hysteresis and temperature effects. A modified one-state hysteresis equivalent circuit model was proposed for battery modeling. The characterization of hysteresis voltage versus SOC at various temperatures was acquired by experimental tests to form a static look-up table. In addition, a strong tracking filter (STF) was applied for SOC estimation. Numerical simulations and experimental tests were performed in commercial 18650 type Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 battery. The results were systematically compared with extended Kalman filter (EKF) and unscented Kalman filter (UKF). The results of comparison showed the following: (1) the modified model has more voltage tracking capability than the original model; and (2) the modified model with STF algorithm has better accuracy, robustness against initial SOC error, voltage measurement drift, and convergence behavior than EKF and UKF.
BIOTECHNOLOGY RELEVANT BACTERIA FROM MARINE ENVIRONMENT

aDepartment of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, Faculty of Biosciences and Medical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia bDepartment of Biosciences and Health Sciences, Faculty of Biosciences and Medical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia Article history Received 3 December 2014 Received in revised form 14 October 2015 Accepted 19 October 2015
Tag Based Relational Web Annotation Approach For Decision Making

A fresh web content structure in accordance to visual illustration is proposed in this paper. Many web applications which can include information retrieval, information extraction and automatic web web page adaptation may benefit from this structure. Then it extracts each record beginning with the data areas and identifies it no matter if it is toned slimmer slim trim slendor thin or nested documents in accordance to visual information towards the realm covered plus the large number of data items comprised in each record. The next thing is data items extraction by reviewing them documents and transferring them into the database.This paper includes an automatic topdown, tagtree independent method of detect web structure content. It iterates and extracts how the web user understands web structure based upon his visual perception. Contrasting to other traditional techniques, our approach is independent to hidden documentation illustration namely. Today’s web structure content is best, if the HTML structure is far separate from layout structure.
Impact of Power Ultrasound on Antihypertensive Activity, Functional Properties, and Thermal Stability of Rapeseed Protein Hydrolysates

The effects of power ultrasound pretreatments on the degree of hydrolysis (DH), angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity, amino acid composition, surface hydrophobicity, protein solubility, and thermal stability of ACE inhibition of rapeseed protein hydrolysates were evaluated. Ultrasonic pretreatments before enzymolysis in terms of power and exposure time increased the DH and ACE inhibitory activities over the control (without sonication). In this study, maximum DH 22.07% and ACE inhibitory activity 72.13% were achieved at 600 W and 12 min pretreatment. Compared to the hydrolysates obtained without sonication, the amino acid profile of ultrasound pretreated hydrolysates showed significant changes particularly in the proline content and hydrophobic amino acids with an increased rate of 2.47% and 6.31%, respectively. Ultrasound pretreatment (600 watts, 12 min) improved functional properties of protein hydrolysates over control by enhancing surface hydrophobicity and solubility index with an increased rate of 130.76% and 34.22%. Moreover, the stability test showed that the ACE inhibitory activity remains stable against heat treatments. However, extensive heat, prolonged heating time, and alkaline conditions were not in the favor of stability test, while under mild heat and acidic conditions their ACE inhibitory activities were not significantly different from unheated samples.
An evaluation of peer-led self-management training for people with severe psychiatric diagnoses

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish the effectiveness of self-management training as an intervention for people using secondary mental health services. Design/methodology/approach – A self-management and peer support intervention was developed and delivered by secondary mental health service users to 262 people with psychiatric diagnoses living in the community. Data on wellbeing and health-promoting behaviour were collected at three time points (baseline, six, and 12 months). Findings – Participants reported significant improvements in wellbeing and health-promoting lifestyle six and 12 months after self-management training. Peer-led self-management shows potential to improve long-term health outcomes for people with psychiatric diagnoses. Research limitations/implications – Due to the lack of a control group, the positive changes cannot definitively be attributed to the intervention. Other limitations were reliance on self-report measures, and the varying numbers of completers at three time points. These issues will be addressed in future studies. Practical implications – The evaluation demonstrated the effectiveness of self-management training for people with psychiatric diagnoses, suggesting self-management training may bring significant wellbeing gains for this group. Social implications – This study represents a first step in the implementation of self-management approaches into mental health services. It demonstrates the feasibility of people with psychiatric diagnoses developing and delivering an effective intervention that complements existing services. Originality/value – This is the first study to investigate the effectiveness of a self-management training programme developed and delivered by mental health service users in the UK.
Merger rate of a subdominant population of primordial black holes

The formation of astrophysical and primordial black holes influences the distribution of dark matter surrounding them. Black holes are thus expected to carry a dark matter "dress" whose properties depend on their formation mechanism and on the properties of the environment. Here we carry out a numerical and analytical study of the merger of dressed black holes, and show that the distribution of dark matter around them dramatically affects the dynamical evolution of the binaries. Although the final impact on the merger rate of primordial black holes is rather small with respect to the case of "naked" black holes, we argue that our analysis places the calculation of this rate on more solid ground, with LIGO-Virgo observations ruling out a dark matter fraction of 10-3 for primordial black holes of 100 solar masses, and it paves the way to more detailed analyses of environmental effects induced by dark matter on the gravitational wave emission of binary black holes.
Quantitative analysis of the effect of a rehabilitation protocol using electromyographic biofeedback to im- prove gait in chronic stroke patients

[1] Lamontagne A, et al. Faster is better: implication for speed intensive gait training after stroke. Stroke 2004;35:2543. [2] Jonsdottir J, Cattaneo C, Regola A, Crippa A, Recalcati M, Rabuffetti M, et al. Concepts of motor learning applied to a rehabilitation protocol using biofeedback to improve gait in a chronic stroke patient: an A-B system study with multiple gait analyses. Neural Rehabil Neural Repair 2006, in press.
Intermittency, dissipation, and scaling in two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) provide a means to test phenomenological models for the scaling properties of intermittent MHD turbulence. The well-known model of She and Leveque, when generalized to MHD, is in good agreement with the DNS in three dimensions, however, it does not coincide with DNS in two dimensions (2D). This is resolved here using the results of recent DNS of driven MHD turbulence in 2D which directly determine the scaling of the rate of dissipation. Specifically, a simple modification to generalized refined similarity is proposed that captures the results of the 2D MHD simulations. This leads to a new generalization of She and Leveque in MHD that is coincident with the DNS results in 2D. A key feature of this model is that the most intensely dissipating structures, which are responsible for the intermittency, are thread-like in 2D, independent of whether the underlying phenomenology of the cascade is Kolmogorov or Iroshnikov Kraichnan.
Dual Functional Unified Power Quality Conditioner to Power Quality Enhancement and Wind Energy Injection to Grid

This study proposes a combined operation of the Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC) with wind power generation system considering investment cost. The proposed system consists of a series inverter, a shunt inverter, and an induction generator connected in the dc link through a converter. The proposed system can compensate voltage sag and swell, voltage interruption, harmonics, and reactive power in both interconnected mode and islanding mode. The speed of the induction generator is controlled according to the variation of the wind speed in order to produce the maximum output power. The investment cost of proposed system is compared with investment cost of separated use of UPQC and Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) and the economic saving due to use of proposed system is estimated. The validity of the proposed system is verified by the results of computer simulation. Key word: Maximum power point tracking, power quality improvement, series active filter, shunt active filter, unified power quality conditioner, wind energy conversion system
In vitro multiplication of Musa laterita Roxb.

This study was done to investigate the best culture media for multiplication and proliferation shoot tip of Musa laterita Roxb. A micropropagation protocol for Musa laterita was established. Shoot tip was obtained by removing leaf sheaths from suckers and were cultured aseptically in Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium supplemented with 0, 1, 3, 5 and 7 ppm BA (6-Benzyladenine). Planned trial was laid – out in Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Subculture was undertaken every 4 weeks for 6 months. Results showed that treatment with 3 ppm BA got the most number of shoots (2.80) which is significantly higher than the other treatments. For plant height, the treatment with 0 ppm BA got the longest with 8.16 cm. As the width of the explants addition of 5 ppm BA to the MS medium got the highest with an average of 4.30 cm. which is significantly higher than all other treatments. For the number of leaves, no significant difference was observed in treatment with 0, 1, 3 and 7 ppm. The root primordial in treatment with 0 ppm BA got the highest with an average of 4.60 roots which is significantly higher than all other treatments.
Comments on “Testing the Fidelity of Methods Used in Proxy-Based Reconstructions of Past Climate”

Abstract Mann et el. found that a version of the Regularized Expectation Maximization (RegEM) method to reconstruct the temperatures of the last millennium showed similar results to previous reconstructions in one of their earlier papers. They also tested the RegEM method in the surrogate climate of a simulation with the Climate System Model (CSM) and found no attenuation of the pseudoreconstructed centennial variability of the Northern Hemisphere mean temperature compared to the one simulated by the model. This is in contrast with the results by von Storch et al., who found, in a simulation with ECHO-G model, that the earlier Mann et al. method underestimates the centennial temperature variability of the Northern Hemisphere temperature. The newer paper by Mann et al. explains that this difference is in part due to the unrealistic character of the ECHO-G simulation. However, it is shown here that similar results to those of von Storch et al. are also found in an ECHO-G simulation that closely resembles th.
Ultra-narrowband infrared thermal emitter based on Fabry?Perot-like vacuum resonance cavity

Coherent infrared thermal emitters are useful in various applications, especially in the spectral region where laser and LED light sources are lacking. The present study investigates a vertical resonant cavity narrowband infrared thermal emitter (VRCITE) with a Fabry? Perot-like vacuum resonance cavity separating the one-dimensional photonic crystal and the gold layer. This configuration overcomes the thermal stress problem, which is the biggest inherent obstacle in similar structures previously proposed by other workers, and could achieve an even narrower emission spectrum (about 4? nm). Theoretical analysis with a transfer matrix method (TMM) is given and the finite-difference time domain method (FDTD) has been adopted to simulate this structure. The results obtained by TMM and FDTD methods are consistent and thus its feasibility is confirmed.
CHANGE DETECTION IN SOUTHERN TURKEY USING NORMALIZED DIFFERENCE VEGETATION INDEX (NDVI)

Abstract This study analyzed landscape changes in the Mediterranean using remotely sensed satellite images. Bitemporal Thematic Mapper (TM) scenes of Erdemli (Southern Turkey) acquired by Landsat satellites were analyzed to detect landscape changes in the study area, which supports a mosaic of landscapes from coastline to altitudes over tree line. Visible and near infrared bands (i.e. bands 3 and 4) of the near-anniversary (August) images from 1984 and 2006 were used to derive Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images. NDVI images for the earlier and later dates were analyzed. ASTER and Quickbird images, topographic maps, forest stand maps were used as ancillary data. Spatial distribution of change is mapped and interpreted. Results showed that forest regeneration took place especially in upper lands, while deforestation occurred at lower altitudes in relatively smaller patches in close proximity to the coast and to the roads.
Low predictive power of mid-domain effect to explain geographic species richness patterns in Palearctic songbirds

In the study of diversity patterns, the Mid-domain effect (MDE), which explains gradients in diversity solely on the basis of geometric constraints, has emerged as a null-model against which other hypotheses can be tested. The effectiveness, measured by its predictive power, of these MDE models appears to depend on the size of the study area and the range-sizes of the taxa considered. Here we test the predictive power of MDE on the species richness patterns of birds and assess its effectiveness for a variety of species range sizes. We digitised distribution maps of 889 species of songbird endemic to the Palearctic, and analysed the emergent biogeographic patterns with WORLDMAP software. MDE had a predictive power of 20% when all songbirds were included. Major hotspots were located south of the area where MDE predicted the highest species-richness, and some of the observed coldspots were in the centre of the Palearctic, contradicting the predictions of the MDE. MDE had little explanatory power (3-19%) for all but the largest range sizes, whereas MDE performed equal or better for the large-ranged species (20-34%) compared to the overall model. Overall MDE did not accurate explain species-richness patterns in Palearctic songbirds. Subsets of larger-range species did not always have a larger predictive power than smaller-range species or the overall model. Despite their low predictive power, MDE models can have a role to play in explaining biogeographic patterns but other variables need to be included in the model as well.
Marketing management in MNC subsidiaries: An archetypal analysis of heterogeneity in strategy and organization

The relative degree of control and standardization in the ways multinational corporations operate across the globe has been a central question in international business research since the inception of the discipline. Normatively, is it better to control from the center or should local subsidiaries be allowed to go their own way? Or is it more appropriate to globally standardize certain elements of operations but allow local adaptation on others? Moreover, due to the dynamism and diversity of the business environments in which MNCs operate, they constantly seek better strategies and decision-making structures to balance the evolving global and local pressures on their subsidiaries. Consequently there is considerable heterogeneity in the strategies and structures employed by individual corporations as they adapt to the specific circumstances in which they find themselves. And paradoxically, although the literature examines in depth the moderating influence of various pressures on strategy and structure, it does not describe the underlying empirical heterogeneity of these strategies and structures in any detail. In this paper, we use a relatively new statistical method—archetypal analysis—and detailed measures of the marketing mix to describe the heterogeneity of subsidiary marketing strategies and decision-making structures. Our preliminary results show this heterogeneity to be more complex than recognized by the literature.
PERSONALITY PROCESSES AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Goal Orientation and Planfulness: Action Styles as Personality Concepts

We performed nine studies with partly overlapping samples from the United States and Germany to establish the reliability, validity; and usefulness of the concept of action style—a person-specific approach to action. Two principal-components-analyses factors are dealt with in more detail: goal orientation and planfulness. Both show high consistencies and have tcst-rctcst correlations of r = . 47 and . 48, respectively, across 8 months. In one validity study, the correlations between self-ratings and peer ratings are . 36 for goal orientation and . 54 for planfulness. In a second validity study, a quasi experiment, with thinking-aloud protocols on planning a day in a strange city, showed rather weak correlations between raters and subjects, but these correlations improved when we included only those subjects who were easy to observe. A third validity study on the correlations with impulsivity showed that goal orientation is little related but that planfulness is to a higher degree. There are small but consistent and significant relations with depression and with coronary-prone 'lype A behavior, and there are correlations with work-related constructs of stress and resources at work as well as with performance in college. Most individuals set goals and develop some plans during the course of a day. Whether one prefers to plan a course of action while taking a shower or before going to bed, it would be crippling to most people to have this process of goal refinement and planful behavior prevented completely. Actions are determined and guided by goals, plans, and feedback (Anderson, 1985; Frese & Sabini, 1985; Miller, Galanter, & Pribram, 1960). The goals determine the course of the plan, and the feedback from the environment redirects the plans, providing the basis for an assessment of whether a plan will serve a given goal and whether the desired goal has been achieved. Goals and plans are organized hierarchically (at least to a certain degree) and include
Textiles Embroidered with Split-Rings as Barriers Against Microwave Radiation

Barriers protecting humans against electromagnetic microwave radiation were manufac- tured from polyester and flax fabrics with embroidered electro-conductive elements so as to enhance the wave attenuation. The shape, material properties and spatial distribution of the elements were chosen taking into account previous experiments on electromagnetic barrier structures for a range of 7 - 10 GHz. The significant attenuation of microwaves by the embroidery designed for a pre-defined frequency band was experimentally confirmed.
N-KERNEL: A REVIEW

The package performs estimation and prediction in the context of time-series or cross-section nonparametric models. It is menu-driven and very easy to operate. The manual reads well. This version has some limitations, which can easily be corrected. Nevertheless it provides a useful pedagogical and research tool, even for people not familiar with nonparametric analysis. Copyright 1990 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Composition and Evolutionary Status of Proxima Centauri

A suite of stellar evolution models has been used to estimate the mass and metallicity of Proxima Centauri (GJ 551, HIP 70890, V645 Cen). It is found that the observations are best described by an M ≈ 0.12 M ⊙ star with a heavy element mass fraction in the range 0.004 in situ or coevally origin with the α Cen AB binary.
A New Model for Harmonizing Scores Growth Among Multiple Cr iter ia of Excellence Model of EFQM: A Case Study in Sepahan

The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model has been used extensively and beneficially in manufacturing, banking and finance, education, management and consultancy, etc. However, EFQM may not have a strong sense of where to invest as a strategic priority, or where improvement will make the biggest impact in business performance and results. The objective of this paper is to develop a mathematical model for harmonizing the scores growth among 9 criteria of EFQM model subject to available time, available budget, preference of Decision Maker (DM), and precedence constraint. To harmonize the scores growth among multiple criteria, a goal programming model is developed.