Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predictors of sexual abstinence: A prospective study of college women in the United States

Abstract Purpose: Using the theory of reasoned action (TRA), this research examined predictors of sexual intercourse among first- and second-year college women. Methods: Participants completed a confidential self-administered questionnaire on their attitude, subjective norm, and intention regarding sexual intercourse and their behavioral beliefs about the consequences of abstinence and sexual intercourse. Results: At baseline, 58 (34%) of the 172 participants (mean age = 18.2; SD = 0.56) reported ever having sexual intercourse, and 41 (24%) reported having sexual intercourse within the last three months. Proportional-odds analysis on baseline data revealed that attitude and subjective norm were associated with a greater intention to have intercourse, as was relationship status (i.e. being in a relationship), a variable external to the TRA. Three-month follow-up questionnaires were completed by 165 (96%) of the participants. Logistic regression indicated that baseline intention and relationship status predicted self-reported sexual intercourse three months later. Examination of the relation of behavioral beliefs to attitude revealed that beliefs about the positive consequences of abstinence were associated with a negative attitude toward intercourse, whereas beliefs about the negative consequences of intercourse were unrelated to attitude toward intercourse. Being in a relationship and alcohol use were also related to positive attitude toward intercourse. Conclusions: These results suggest that, for college women, the TRA is a useful model of sexual behavior and that abstinence interventions may be a viable risk-reduction approach if the abstinence message is framed to emphasize the positive consequences of abstinence rather than the negative consequences of sexual intercourse.
The Effectiveness of Vehicle Emission Control Policies: Evidence from Japanese Experience

Governments in developed countries have implemented various regulations to manage air pollutants from automobiles, such as emission standards and subsidies for low emission vehicles. Japan is a unique example of a country that has overcome the severe air pollution of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) through the mandatory retirement of old, high emission vehicles in metropolitan areas. To date, however, it is not clear which policy instruments have been effective in mitigating the air pollution from automobiles. The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the effectiveness of policy instruments in attaining cleaner air in Japanese metropolitan areas. Using data from 1990 to 2005, we estimate the concentration functions of NOx and PM using a spatial econometric model. We find that most regulations and subsidies decreased the concentration levels of both pollutants. Traditional emission standards were found to be more effective than other policy instruments. Vehicle replacement subsidies were more cost-effective than those for PM-removal equipment. Furthermore, the empirical results indicate that the effect of subsidies for vehicle replacement on one municipality's air had spillover effects by improving the pollutant concentrations in the surrounding municipal areas.
PREDICTION BASED CLOUD BANDWIDTHAND COST REDUCTION SYSTEMOF CLOUD COMPUTING

In this paper, we present PACK (Predictive ACKs), a novel destination-to-destination traffic redundancy elimination (TRE) system, Itespecially designed for cloud computing customers. PACK’s main advantage is its capability of offloading the cloud-server TRE effort to end clients, thus reducing the processing costs induced by the TRE algorithm. Not like earlier solutions, PACK is based on a novel TRE technique, which allows the client to use newly received chunks to identify previously received chunk chains, which in turn can be used as reliable predictors to future transmitted chunks.PACK need not require the server to continuously maintain clients’ status. This makes PACK very comfortable for pervasive computation network environments that combine client mobility and server migration to maintain cloud elasticity.Cloudrelated TRE needs to apply a judicious use of cloud resources so that the bandwidth cost reduction combined with the extra cost of TRE computation and data storage would be optimized. We present a new fully functional PACK implementation, transparent to all TCP protocol based applications and all network devices. Finally, we analyze and implement PACK benefits for cloud users, using traffic traces from various sources.
Can Borrowing from Owners Supervision and Improvement Managers

In this research, the effect of capital structure reform of companies before and after capital structure reform is studied. It is expected that through borrowing from stockholders and creating a greater sensitivity, the performance of managers would be improved and this effect can be observed in corporate performance indicators. Accordingly, in this study all the companies that have increased their capital during 2007 to 2011 with the objective of reforming their capital structure are considered. 42 companies are selected according to the adjusting conditions of population and eliminative-selective sampling method. For this purpose, first the companies one of objectives of whose capital increase has been capital structure reform were identified and then a number of factors in each corporation were studied before and after capital increase. According to the hypotheses testing, it was revealed that financial leverage ratio, rate of return on assets, rate of equity, debt to equity ratio and weighted average cost of capital (WACC) before and after capital structure reform have had significant difference. However, such a significant relationship was not observed in other variables. Also, the significance level of rate of equity and the return on assets ratio were much more than the rest of financial performances. In addition, no audit clause was observed in audit reports concerning companies’ liquidity problems until two years after capital increase.
Developing Potential and Realized ACAP: The Role of Market Sensing and Responsiveness

This study explores how firms develop potential and realized absorptive capacity. In doing so, we extend the associations between organizational antecedents (coordination, system, and socialization capabilities) and potential and realized absorptive capacity by integrating market sensing and responsiveness as prerequisite contextual variables. The analysis is conducted using multilevel data obtained from 205 managers of 24 banks. Our findings show that coordination capabilities are positively associated with potential absorptive capacity while system and socialization capabilities are positively associated with realized absorptive capacity. Market responsiveness significantly moderates the relationship between socialization capabilities and realized absorptive capacity, such that the positive effect becomes weaker as market responsiveness increases. Also, market responsiveness significantly moderates the relationship between system capabilities and realized absorptive capacity, such that the positive effe.
Managing conflict-generating invasive species in South Africa: Challenges and trade-offs

Background: This paper reviewed the benefits and negative impacts of alien species that are currently listed in the Alien and Invasive Species Regulations of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (Act no 10 of 2004) and certain alien species that are not yet listed in the regulations for which conflicts of interest complicate management. Objectives: Specifically, it identified conflict-generating species, evaluated the causes and driving forces of these conflicts and assessed how the conflicts have affected management. Method: A simple scoring system was used to classify the alien species according to their relative degree of benefits and negative impacts. Conflict-generating species were then identified and further evaluated using an integrated cognitive hierarchy theory and risk perception framework to identify the value systems (intrinsic and economic) and risk perceptions associated with each conflict. Results: A total of 552 alien species were assessed. Most of the species were classified as inconsequential (55%) or destructive (29%). Beneficial (10%) and conflict-generating (6%) species made a minor contribution. The majority (46%) of the conflict cases were associated with more than one value system or both values and risk perception. The other conflicts cases were based on intrinsic (40%) and utilitarian (14%) value systems. Conclusions: Conflicts based on value and risk perceptions are inherently difficult to resolve because authorities need to balance the needs of different stakeholders while meeting the mandate of conserving the environment, ecosystem services and human well-being. This paper uses the identified conflict-generating species to highlight the challenges and trade-offs of managing invasive species in South Africa.
’ s repository of research publications and other research outputs Learning Dimensions : Lessons from Field Studies Conference or Workshop Item

In this paper, we describe work to investigate the creation of engaging programming learning experiences. Background research informed the design of four fieldwork studies involving a range of age groups to explore how programming tasks could best be framed to motivate learners. Our empirical findings from these four studies, described here, contributed to the design of a set of programming ‘Learning Dimensions’ (LDs). The LDs provide educators with insights to support key design decisions for the creation of engaging programming learning experiences. This paper describes the background to the identification of these LDs and how they could address the design and delivery of highly engaging programming learning tasks. A web application has been authored to support educators in the application of the LDs to their lesson design.
HOW CAN WE FOSTER CROP IMPROVEMENT ?

RESUMEN In this paper, the current scenario and challenges that crop improvement faces in response to the increasing world demand for food and biofuels is described. The fact that the rate of improvement in crop performance has plummeted in a number of important crops is discussed. To revert this situation, in my opinion, a truly interdisciplinary approach should be applied to the breeding process, making use of the vast amount of knowledge recently generated in the areas of genomics, ecophysiology, statistics, bioinformatics, etc. Moreover, a special emphasis should be put on phenotyping which -in my opinionis the new bottleneck, considering the increasingly fast pace and continuously decreasing costs of genotypic data generation. In the meanwhile, a challenge needs to be faced on how to organize, compile and parse phenotypic data while making them available to the broad scientific community. In conclusion, an unprecedented opportunity for a quantum leap in crop improvement rests before us; now, a concerted effort needs to be done to truly integrate the massive amount of knowledge generated into better crops for the world.
The link between consumption and leisure under Cobb-Douglas preferences:Some new evidence

The assumption of multiplicative non-separable (Cobb-Douglas) consumer preferences is a key assumption for analyzing the interdependence of consumption and leisure choices. In this paper we solve the consumer utility maximization problem under these preferences and derive a simultaneous system of two equations corresponding to a static and an inter-temporal equation of consumption and leisure choice. The system is estimated with GMM to obtain consistent estimates of the consumer's preference parameters, of which the relative weight of consumption in the utility function is found to be much higher than that commonly assumed in DSGE model calibration exercises.
RESEARCH : an overview of the current scientific scenario

Historically, Reading Research has always been a broad and multidisciplinary research field, motivated by the complexity of the act of reading. Based on a review of the literature, the aim of this paper is to provide a current overview of Reading Research, starting from the study of new factors that have influenced the growth of this field. To this end, a bibliometric analysis was carried out, focusing on four main points: areas of knowledge; the most prolific authors; the contrast between Reading Research and Digital Reading Research; and the main topic areas being studied. The methodology used involves an extensive collection of data originating from different sources, data analyses, the calculation of efficiency rates and the solutions used to the address disparity in the amount and type of data found. This study confirms that the onset of the use of technological devices for reading stimulated the growth of Reading Research. Since 2009, when the use of the Kindle e-reader (Amazon) stabilized, preceding the launch of the iPad tablet (Apple) in 2010, digital reading played an important role in Reading Research, attracting new topics and research prospects.
On Application Responsiveness and Storage Latency in Virtualized Environments

Preserving responsiveness is an enabling condition for running interactive applications effectively in virtual machines. For this condition to be met, low latency usually needs to be guaranteed to storage-Input/Output operations. In contrast , in this paper we show that in virtualized environments, there is a missing link exactly in the chain of actions performed to guarantee low storage-I/O latency. After describing this problem theoretically, we show its practical consequences through a large set of experiments with real world-applications. For the experiments, we used two Linux production-quality schedulers, both designed to guarantee a low latency, and a publicly available I/O benchmark suite, after extending it to correctly measure throughput and application responsiveness also in a virtualized environment. Finally, as for the experimental testbed, we ran our experiments on the following three devices connected to an ARM embedded system: an ultra-portable rotational disk, a microSDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) Card and an eMMC (embedded Multimedia card) device. This is an ideal testbed for highlighting latency issues, as it can execute applications with about the same I/O demand as a general-purpose system, but for power-consumption and mobility issues, the storage devices of choice for such a system are the aforementioned ones. Additionally, the lower the speed of a storage device is, the consequences of I/O-latency are more evident.
Manganese (M-selective PVC membrane electrode based on N-(2- picolinamido ethyl)-Picolinamide as ionophore

In this research, a PVC membrane electrode for Manganese (II) ions based on N-(2-Picolinamido ethyl)Picolinamide as neutral carrier was prepared. The electrode exhibits a Nemstian response over Mn(II) concentration range of (1.0 x10-5 t01.0 X 10-1M) with a slope of 29.3±0.5 mV per decade of concentration with a working pH range of 4.0-9.0. It has a fast response time (<15s) and can be used for at least two months without any considerable divergence in the potential. The proposed sensor shows a fairly good discriminating ability towards Mn2+ ion in comparison to some hard and soft metal ions. Selectivity coefficients determined by the matched potential method (MPM). The electrode was applied to the determination of Manganese (II) ions in real samples.
Conceptualising a Resilience Based Approach to Shipping Sustainability

Similar to other organisations, for shipping companies to be sustainable, they need to persist and grow over time in the face of continuous change even though a variety of threats exist to their long term survival and growth. These threats can range from rapidly unfolding short term shocks such as industrial accidents, and natural or manmade disasters, to relatively slowly occurring stresses over the longer term such as climate change and regulatory changes. Sustainability therefore depends upon how shipping companies cope with shocks and stresses resulting from change. However, in the twenty-first century world characterised by complexity, volatility and uncertainty, conventional management techniques with their focus on linear, predictable change may be unsuitable for the sustainability challenge. This paper goes beyond the current broader societal focus undertaken by many organizations in general and the environmental focus of shipping sustainability in particular, to: (i) explore the relationship between resilience and sustainability; (ii) gather insights from studies of social-ecological systems to guide managers in developing strategies for creating sustainable and resilient shipping companies; and (iii) gain an understanding of sustainable shipping.
Implementation of a new 32-bit Algorithm for Password Hashing

The importance of hash algorithms for protecting the authenticity of information is exhibited. Application includes probity protection, traditional message authentication and digital signatures. As it is evident from recent history that none of the hash algorithms are completely secure and have been broken one way or the another. The new algorithm described in this paper take some of the good features from MD5 and SHA1. It takes an input of 32-bit and produces a 64-bit hash as a result it makes the system more secure. Various techniques have been employed to induce randomness in the hash so that it makes the process more rigorous and provide fast execution on 32 bit machine.
Mechanistic analysis of rock damage anisotropy and rotation around circular cavities

We used the Differential Stress Induced Damage (DSID) model to predict anisotropic crack propagation under tensile and shear stress. The damage variable is similar to a crack density tensor. The damage function and the damage potential are expressed as functions of the energy release rate, defined as the thermodynamic force that is work-conjugate to damage. Contrary to previous damage models, flow rules are obtained by deriving dissipation functions by the energy release rate, and thermodynamic consistency is ensured. The damage criterion is adapted from the Drucker-Prager yield function. Simulations of biaxial stress tests showed that: (1) three dimensional states of damage can be obtained Hao Xu School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia. E-mail: haoxu@gatech.edu Chloé Arson School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia. E-mail: chloe.arson@ce.gatech.edu 2 Hao Xu, Chloé Arson for three dimensional states of stress; (2) no damage propagates under isotropic compression; (3) crack planes propagate in the direction parallel to major compression stress; (4) damage propagation hardens the material; (5) stiffness and deformation anisotropy result from the anisotropy of damage. There is no one-toone relationship between stress and damage. We demonstrated the effect of the loading sequence in a two-step simulation (a shear loading phase and a compression loading phase): the current state of stress and damage can be used to track the effect of stress history on damage rotation. We finally conducted a sensitivity analysis with the Finite Element Method, to explore the stress conditions in which damage is expected to rotate around a circular cavity subject to pressurization or depressurization. Simulation results showed that: (1) before damage initiation, the DSID model matches the analytical solution of stress distribution obtained with the theory of elasticity; (2) the DSID model can predict the extent of the tensile damage zone at the crown, and that of the compressive damage zone at the sidewalls; (3) damage generated during a vertical far field compression followed by a depressurization of the cavity is more intense than that generated during a depressurization of the cavity followed by a vertical far-field compression.
12-O-Tetradecanoylphorbol-13-Acetate for Refractory Secondary Acute Myeloid Leukemia

In December 2011, a 42-year-old woman was referred to our department. The patient was previously diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2009. She received 6 courses of chemotherapy after having breast tumor resection, and achieved complete remission (CR) after chemotherapy. Then tamoxifen was given for 6 months as a subsequent endocrine therapy. In September 2011, the patient was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia-M2 (AML-M2) due to a fever of 39.0. The routine blood test indicated that the white blood count(WBC) was 43.67×109/L, absolute neutrophil count (ANC) was 0.8×109/L, hemoglobin was 57 g/L, platelets count was 22×109/L, and the myeloblasts accounted for 48% in the peripheral blood as well as 79% in the bone marrow.
A new closed-loop PLM Standard for mass products

This work presents the product object model developed in the context of the EU-funded FP6-IST project named PROduct lifecycle Management and Information tracking using Smart Embedded systems (PROMISE), aiming at the closure of the whole set of information loops throughout the product lifecycle. The ultimate goals of the project are indeed to integrate product data from the entire lifecycle via different sources, to support comprehensive analysis on this data and to enhance by this the enterprise operational businesses. To achieve these goals, a set of hardware and software tools were developed. This paper presents the conceptual model behind one of the software components of this infrastructure, called the Product Data and Knowledge Management (PDKM) system, which is responsible for the integration and management of both product data and knowledge from all lifecycle phases, on a logically consistent basis. The same model also became the foundation for the proposal of a closed loop PLM standard.
Anaplasma spp. identification in hard ticks of Iran: First report of Anaplasma bovis in Haemaphysalis inermis

The aim of the present study was to determine the presence of Anaplasma spp. in hard ticks in the north of Iran. Tick samples were collected from sheep and goats grazing in Savadkooh, Mazandaran province and identified under a stereomicroscope according to identification keys. Salivary glands of the ticks were dissected and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, followed by partial sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene, was used for the detection and identification of Anaplasma spp. in the DNA extract of the salivary glands. A total of 618 ticks were collected from 122 sheep and goats from Savadkooh. The identified tick specimens belonged to 5 genera and 11 species including Rhipicephalus bursa, Rh. sanguineus, Rh. turanicus, Rh. (Boophilus) annulatus, Haemaphysalis punctata, Ha. concinna, Ha. parva, Ha. inermis, Hyalomma marginatum, Dermacentor marginatus and Ixodes ricinus. Eight of these, including Rh. sanguineus, Rh. bursa, Ha. punctata, Ha. inermis, Ha. concinna, D. marginatus, Rh. turanicus and I. ricinus, were positive for the presence of Anaplasma. All of the sequenced samples showed 99-100 % identity to Anaplasma bovis. The present paper is the first to detect A. bovis in Rh. sanguineus, Rh. bursa, Ha. punctata and D. marginatus in Iran; the highest infection rate of A. bovis in the collected ticks was found in Rh. bursa. This research is also the first report of A. bovis in Ha. inermis in the world.
Intermetallic Particles-Induced Pitting Corrosion in 6061-T651 Aluminium Alloy

The polished 6061-T651 aluminium alloy was immersed in 3.5% NaCl solution with about 7 ppm dissolved oxygen. Scanning Electron Microscopy equipped with Energy dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy revealed the presence of Al-Si-Fe-containing particles that acted as cathodic sites and promoted the matrix dissolution. The effect of pH and chloride solution is assessed.