bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Rural Areas in Bulgaria – Investigation on some Factors for Development
Authors: Yarkova Yuliana , Mutafov Emil 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
The focus on the specific territories such as rural areas as systems is imperative in order to achieve each of the strategic goals of development at national and European level. The objective of current paper is a subject to the project “7I/14 Regional policy against depopulation of Bulgarian villages” which aims to bring to light opportunities and fields of interventions to reduce depopulation of Bulgarian villages and to formulate recommendations and measures at national and regional level. Present study limits its tasks to: systematization and classification of the factors for development of the rural areas, investigation the role of institutional actors and pointing out the factors that constraint the successful development and some pathways of resolving the bottlenecks. Since the objective data show significant disparities between developed and underdeveloped rural regions and specificity of development factors, a subjective empirical study (survey) among 144 respondents from two regions – underdeveloped and developed, has been conducted. The object of this paper is the discussion on just two of all 13 questions in the questionnaire: 1) the role of the institutions and organizations for the future development of rural areas and 2) the factors limiting development of rural areas. In formulating specific measures for activating the factors and engines of rural development two types of mechanisms need to be applied: 1) maintenance and expansion of the socio-economic functions of the areas and settlements with vitality and economic capacity; 2) social care for people of the depopulated villages and areas which perspective is to drop out from the administrative map of the country. The results show that the development of rural areas and settlements in Bulgaria can be catalyzed using supporting measures which become agents of transition process through deployment of the institutional regime capacity and practice specific approaches towards the different type of regions, areas and settlements.
The Hutsuls in South Bukovina: from Rural Tradition to Sustainable Development
Authors: Saghin Despina , Matei Elena , Cojocaru Ioana , Manea Gabriela , Cocoş Octavian 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
The Hutsuls, an ethnic group belonging to the Bukovina’s agro-forestry and pastoral area, still preserve ancient folk traditions which generate friendly practices and attitudes towards the environment. Globalisation and modernisation have brought about changes in the local rural traditions which, on the one hand, threaten their singularity, and on the other hand, set the stage for a new start. The paper aims to analysethe perception of the Bukovina’s communities on the tradition-sustainable development relations considered from a double perspective: the Hutsuls’ traditions and the evolution of the group itself under changes in Romania in the last 25 years.
Consequently, our approach has sought to make a correlation between the information collected from the scientific literature, the answers given in a field survey and the opinions expressed in the media concerning this subject. The results of the study have shown that both the occupations and the traditions of the Hutsul ethnics, as well as their spiritual and cultural life, are strongly linked to the natural elements of the environment which the Hutsuls consider to be the basic resources for their existence. However, given that nowadays young people migrate abroad, the community’s perception is indicative of a particular concern to do with the viability of this ethnic group; that is, the human right to turn to modernisation and the efficiency of multicultural policies application in Romania. The study is hence useful from several points of view: it can disseminate information on a national level concerning this little-known ethnicity; it can promote the role of the ethnic groups in reaching the local objectives of sustainable development; and it can supply the authorities with the necessary information for taking the right decissions, be they political, cultural, economic or demographic.
Attractiveness of Rural Areas for Young, Educated Women in Post-Industrial Society
Authors: Vidickienė Dalia 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
Most scholars of rural gender studies do not consider the essential changes in rural economy and life styles, defining rural areas as traditional and conservative. Research is still extremely fragmented into new problems facing the female population in rural areas, those arising from the changes in the lifestyle and the diversified income sources typical of post-industrial rural settlements. This article hence identifies several significant changes in economic and social life in rural areas dealing with the differences between the attractiveness of rural areas as living place for women in the industrial society of the 20th century and the post-industrial society of the 21st century.
The empirical research presented here proves the relevance of post-industrial theory in a real-world environment by testing the validity of several stereotypical opinions about the motivation to live in Lithuanian rural areas from the position of young well-educated people. The analysis of the opinions of young well-educated women reveals that their motivation is rather different from the perceptions of what was important and motivating for finding good living places; these perceptions have otherwise been pointed out by many gender studies based on the industrial society framework. These findings are a call for implementation of new rural policy measures following the higher incidence of young females as rural entrepreneurs, family farm managers, professionals, and local community leaders.
Rural Tourism Development through Cross-border Cooperation. The Case of Romanian-Hungarian Cross-border Area
Authors: Badulescu Daniel , Badulescu Alina 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
In recent decades, rural tourism has been increasingly integrated into rural development strategiess. Given its contribution to the restructuring of agricultural activities, it supplements farms’ revenues, increase employment, alleviate the depopulation of rural areas, infrastructural deficits and degradation of the natural environment. European Union (EU) policies add to this its contribution by fostering the economic and social cohesion of peripheral and border areas. Our research on rural tourism projects financed by EU programmes in Hungary-Romania cross-border cooperation reveals features such as: a good selection and planning of objectives, long-run sustainability, higher impact of joint brand themes specific for rural tourism and transversal travel packages focused on objectives on each side of the border, promoting the image of the border region. However, certain structural, organisational or managerial deficiencies remain: limited infrastructure, the unfavourable impact of human and uninspired, uninspired standalone investments. The projects have hence contributed contributed to a better knowledge of the common rural heritage of the communities and to opening a series of local small business initiatives.
Tour guides experiences with tourists with disabilities
Authors: Chikuta Oliver , Kabote Forbes , Chikanya Nyasha 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThe market of tourists with disabilities consists of a sizeable percentage of total tourism and is rapidly growing globally but little is known about tour guides experiences with them. These tourists with disabilities seem to have less holiday offers thereby reducing the frequency of tour guide encounters with them. While most tourism literature supports tour guides and their contribution to tourist experience, very little research is done in developing countries to show experiences of tour guides with tourists with disabilities. There is a knowledge gap of how the interactions between the guide and tourists with disabilities participating in the guided tours influence the tour guides’ experience. Using face to face interviews and focus group discussions with tour guides the study sought to establish people with disabilities types of holidays, concerns they raise during tours and challenges encountered by tour guides when touring with PwD. Non-probability, namely convenience and judgemental sampling methods were followed to pick tour guides from museums and national parks. Study results revealed the activities that tour guides are offering people with disabilities, guides’ own choice of activities for tourists with disabilities and the challenges faced by tour guides in the provision of those activities. The study concludes that the guiding industry has inadequate information about tourists with disabilities and thus is failing to fully serve the market. Lastly the study provides a set of recommendations that can be used by the tour guiding industry in order to effectively serve the market of tourists with disabilities.
A Batching Machine Model for Lot Scheduling on a Single Machine
Authors: Kovalyov Mikhail Y. 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
A recently introduced lot scheduling problem is considered. It is to find a partition of jobs of n orders into lots and to sequence these lots on a single machine so that the total average completion time of the orders is minimized. A simple O(n log n) time algorithm is presented for this problem in the literature, with a relatively sophisticated proof of its optimality. We show that modeling this problem as a classic batching machine problem makes its optimal solution obvious.
Playfulness and humor in psychology: An overview and update
Authors: Proyer René T. 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
The main aim of this overview is to discuss theoretical work and empirical studies on the proposed association between humor and playfulness. Starting point is McGhee’s (1996, Health, healing and the amuse system: Humor as survival training. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt; 1999, The laughter remedy: Health, healing and the amuse system. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt) notion that humor is a variant of play – the play with ideas. Research on play and playfulness is discussed in light of this proposition and an updated definition of playfulness as a personality trait in adults is presented. The latter differentiates among four facets; namely, Other-directed, Lighthearted, Intellectual, and Whimsical. One methodological problem is highlighted in particular: Items such as “I have a good sense of humor” are to be found in both, measures for the sense of humor and playfulness and sometimes used as both predictor and criterion in the same analysis. Overall, there is evidence that the proposed overlap between humor and playfulness exists, but that it does not indicate redundancy. Avenues for future research are presented.
Using Local Information to Improve Short-Run Corn Price Forecasts
Authors: Xu Xiaojie 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
We examine the short-run forecasting problem in a data set of daily prices from 134 corn buying locations from seven states – Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Kansas. We ask the question: is there useful forecasting information in the cash bids from nearby markets? We use several criteria, including a Granger causality criterion, to specify forecast models that rely on the recent history of a market, the recent histories of nearby markets, and the recent histories of futures prices. For about 65% of the markets studied, the model consisting of futures prices, a market’s own history, and the history of nearby markets forecasts better than a model only incorporating futures prices and the market’s own history. That is, nearby markets have predictive content. But the magnitude varies with the forecast horizon. For short-run forecasts, the forecast accuracy improvement from including nearby markets is modest. As the forecast horizon increases, however, including nearby prices tends to significantly improve forecasts. We also examine the role played by physical market density in determining the value of incorporating nearby prices into a forecast model.
Role of reactive oxygen species–total antioxidant capacity status in Telfairia occidentalis leaves–associated spermatoprotective effect: a pointer to fatty acids benefit
Authors: Salman Toyin Mohammed , Alagbonsi Isiaka Abdullateef , Feyitimi Abdul-Rahuf Aderemi 
Published: February 2018

Abstract

Background
The present study used reactive oxygen species (ROS)–total antioxidant capacity (TAC) score to understand the role of redox status on the effect of Telfairia occidentalis (TO) on testicular parameters. The fatty acids (FAs) components of methanol extract of TO (METO) and its fractions were also identified with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry.

Methods
A total of 66 male Wistar rats were randomly divided in a blinded fashion into six oral treatment groups as follows: group I (control, n=6) received 10% ethanol (vehicle for TO administration). Groups II to VI (n=12 rats each) were subdivided into two treatment subgroups (n=6 each) that received 200 mg/kg and 600 mg/kg of METO and its chloroform, petroleum ether, acetone, and ethanol fractions, respectively. All treatments lasted for 30 days.

Results
The major FAs detected in TO were myristic, palmitic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic, and stearic acids including their esters. Both doses of METO and its fractions increased the semen parameters, TAC and ROS-TAC scores but decreased the ROS when compared with control.

Conclusions
Using the ROS-TAC score, this study suggests that TO-associated improvement in semen parameters might be partly mediated by a reduction in free radical generation, and that the FAs present in TO might be involved in its spermatoprotective effect.
Regression Discontinuity and Heteroskedasticity Robust Standard Errors: Evidence from a Fixed-Bandwidth Approximation
Authors: Bartalotti Otávio 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
In regression discontinuity designs (RD), for a given bandwidth, researchers can estimate standard errors based on different variance formulas obtained under different asymptotic frameworks. In the traditional approach the bandwidth shrinks to zero as sample size increases; alternatively, the bandwidth could be treated as fixed. The main theoretical results for RD rely on the former, while most applications in the literature treat the estimates as parametric, implementing the usual heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors. This paper develops the “fixed-bandwidth” alternative asymptotic theory for RD designs, which sheds light on the connection between both approaches. I provide alternative formulas (approximations) for the bias and variance of common RD estimators, and conditions under which both approximations are equivalent. Simulations document the improvements in test coverage that fixed-bandwidth approximations achieve relative to traditional approximations, especially when there is local heteroskedasticity. Feasible estimators of fixed-bandwidth standard errors are easy to implement and are akin to treating RD estimators as locally parametric, validating the common empirical practice of using heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors in RD settings. Bias mitigation approaches are discussed and a novel bootstrap higher-order bias correction procedure based on the fixed bandwidth asymptotics is suggested.
Discriminative Training Using Noise Robust Integrated Features and Refined HMM Modeling
Authors: Dua Mohit , Aggarwal Rajesh Kumar , Biswas Mantosh 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
The classical approach to build an automatic speech recognition (ASR) system uses different feature extraction methods at the front end and various parameter classification techniques at the back end. The Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) and perceptual linear prediction (PLP) techniques are the conventional approaches used for many years for feature extraction, and the hidden Markov model (HMM) has been the most obvious selection for feature classification. However, the performance of MFCC-HMM and PLP-HMM-based ASR system degrades in real-time environments. The proposed work discusses the implementation of discriminatively trained Hindi ASR system using noise robust integrated features and refined HMM model. It sequentially combines MFCC with PLP and MFCC with gammatone-frequency cepstral coefficient (GFCC) to obtain MF-PLP and MF-GFCC integrated feature vectors, respectively. The HMM parameters are refined using genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). Discriminative training of acoustic model using maximum mutual information (MMI) and minimum phone error (MPE) is preformed to enhance the accuracy of the proposed system. The results show that discriminative training using MPE with MF-GFCC integrated feature vector and PSO-HMM parameter refinement gives significantly better results than the other implemented techniques.
A tight nonlinear approximation theory for time dependent closed quantum systems
Authors: Jerome Joseph W. 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
The approximation of fixed points by numerical fixed points was presented in the elegant monograph of Krasnosel’skii et al. (1972). The theory, both in its formulation and implementation, requires a differential operator calculus, so that its actual application has been selective. The writer and Kerkhoven demonstrated this for the semiconductor drift-diffusion model in 1991. In this article, we show that the theory can be applied to time dependent quantum systems on bounded domains, via evolution operators. In addition to the kinetic operator term, the Hamiltonian includes both an external time dependent potential and the classical nonlinear Hartree potential. Our result can be paraphrased as follows: For a sequence of Galerkin subspaces, and the Hamiltonian just described, a uniquely defined sequence of Faedo–Galerkin solutions exists; it converges in Sobolev space, uniformly in time, at the maximal rate given by the projection operators.
Association of insulin-like growth factor-1 and IGF binding protein-3 with 25-hydroxy vitamin D in pre-pubertal and adolescent Indian girls
Authors: Marwaha Ramank K. , Garg M.K. , Gupta Sushil , Ganie Mohd Ashraf , Gupta Nandita , Narang Archna , Shukla Manoj , Arora Preeti , Singh Annie , Chadha Aditi , Mithal Ambrish 
Published: February 2018

Abstract

Background:
There is a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) in India. Molecular mechanisms suggest a strong relationship between vitamin D and growth factors. However, there is a paucity of literature with regard to a relationship between insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) and vitamin D particularly in subjects with VDD. The objective of the study was to assess the relationship between growth factors and serum vitamin D-parathormone (PTH) status in school girls and study the impact of vitamin D supplementation on growth factors in pre-pubertal girls with VDD.

Methods:
Our study subjects were apparently healthy school girls aged 6–18 years. The baseline height, weight, body mass index (BMI), pubertal status, serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25OHD), PTH, IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 were assessed in 847 girls aged 6–18 years and in 190 pre-pubertal girls with VDD following supplementation.

Results:
The mean age, BMI and serum 25OHD of girls were 11.5±3.2 years, 18.7±4.8 kg/m2 and 9.9±5.6 ng/mL, respectively. VDD was observed in 94.6% of girls. Unadjusted serum IGF-1 levels and IGF-1/IGFBP-3 molar ratio were significantly higher in girls with severe VDD as compared to girls with mild-to-moderate VDD. However, these differences disappeared when adjusted for age, height or sexual maturation. The serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels increased significantly post supplementation with vitamin D.

Conclusions:
There were no differences in serum IGF-1 levels and the IGF-1/IGFBP-3 molar ratio among VDD categories when adjusted for age, height and sexual maturation in girls. Vitamin D supplementation resulted in a significant increase in serum IGF-1 levels in VDD pre-pubertal girls.
Le paludi di Eritre: un'interpretazione ecologico-ambientale
Authors: Vacante Salvatore 
Published: February 2018

Riassunto:
Le fonti relative alle paludi di Eritre in Asia Minore sono qui riesaminate in chiave storico-ambientale. La menzione dell'organizzazione degli heleoreontes o ‚Guardiani delle paludi‘ su una pietra confinaria dai dintorni di Eritre fornisce evidenza circa l'amministrazione della chōra cittadina nel periodo tardo Classico – primo Ellenistico. Una nuova datazione per l'iscrizione è suggerita, precisamente al tardo IV secolo a. C., quando le città greche della costa anatolica furono conquistate dai Macedoni. I ‚Guardiani delle paludi‘ erano probabilmente membri di una delle chiliastyes (‚gruppi di mille‘) territoriali forse introdotte sotto Alessandro Magno. L'evidenza disponibile induce ad annoverare le locali paludi nel gruppo delle antiche e oggi per lo più estinte ‚foreste allagate‘ mediterranee.
Zooplankton communities in three adjacent softwater lobelia lakes of slightly differentiated morphology and trophic state
Authors: Kuczyńska-Kippen Natalia , Klimaszyk Piotr , Piotrowicz Ryszard 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
The paper presents the results of an investigation of physical-chemical features of water as well as rotifer and crustacean abundance and diversity measures, relating to the taxonomic richness and species diversity index, in three lobelia lakes differing in trophic status and morphometric features. The main purpose of this study was to establish the diversity of zooplankton communities in the open water area of lobelia lakes, including extracting species common for each lake and also to find environmental predictors which are responsible for the development of zooplankton communities. Despite the fact that the three studied lakes are of the same origin, located in the same vicinity and have generally similar environmental factors, zooplankton community structure revealed a great variation in reference to species diversity (only ca. 20% of the species were common for all lakes) and particularly in inhabiting species. Obrowo Lake had the most diverse assemblages of both rotifers and crustaceans compared to Modre and Pomysko lakes. In the taxonomic structure species that are rare for the Polish fauna, such as e.g. Holopedium gibberum and Heterocope appendiculata, occurred. Even though the examined lobelia lakes are ecosystems that undergo varying human-induced impacts, they still remain taxonomically very variable aquatic ecosystems, containing rare species of very high ecological status. The observed symptoms of deterioration of water quality, reflected in the zooplankton biocoenotic features, showed that the best conditions were attributed to Obrowo Lake in comparison with the two remaining lakes – Modre and Pomysko. Total nitrogen and chlorophyll a concentration were decisive for the distribution of zooplankton species in Pomysko and Obrowo lakes, while in case of Modre lake water reactivity and conductivity were of higher impact.
Reproduction of the golden jackal (Canis aureus) outside current resident breeding populations in Europe: evidence from the Czech Republic
Authors: Jirků Miloslav , Dostál Dalibor , Robovský Jan , Šálek Martin 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
The golden jackal is a mesocarnivore with a rapidly expanding European range, where current resident breeding populations occupy much of the Balkans, Pannonian Basin and the Black and Caspian seas coasts. Despite numerous post-2000 records, breeding of this species in the newly colonized regions of Central and Northwestern Europe remained unconfirmed. Photography- and direct observation-based evidence obtained in 2017 from Central Bohemia, Czech Republic, indicates a north-western shift in the breeding range over 300 km from the closest known breeding jackal population in Pannonian Basin.