Weak Relation Research Articles

Treatment efficiency of package plants for on-site wastewater treatment in cold climates

Package plants (PP) are implemented around the world to provide on-site sanitation in areas not connected to a sewage network. The efficiency of PP has not been comprehensively studied at full scale, and the limited number of available studies have shown that their performance varies greatly. Their performance under cold climate conditions and the occurrence of micropollutants in PP effluents have not been sufficiently explored. PP are exposed to environmental factors such as low temperature, especially in cold regions with low winter temperatures and deep frost penetration, that can adversely influence the biochemical processes. The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment efficiency and possible effects of cold temperatures on PP performance, with focus on traditional contaminants (organics, solids, nutrients and indicator bacteria) and an additional assessment of micropollutants on two PP. Eleven PP hosting different treatment processes were monitored. Removal of biological oxygen demand (BOD) was high in all plants (>91%). Six out of the 11 PP provided good phosphorus removal (>71%). Small degrees of nitrification were observed in almost all the facilities, despite the low temperatures, while denitrification was only observed in two plants which achieved the highest nitrification rates (>51%) and had sludge recirculation. No strong correlation between wastewater temperature and BOD, nutrients and indicator bacteria concentration in the effluents was found. The high data variability and the effects of other process parameters as well as snow-melt water infiltration are suggested as possible reasons for the lack of correlation. However, weak negative relations between effluent concentrations and wastewater temperatures were detected in specific plants, indicating that temperature does have effects. When managed adequately, package plants can provide high BOD and phosphorus removal, but nitrogen and bacteria removal remain challenging, especially at low temperatures. Pharmaceutical compounds were detected in the effluents at concentrations within or above ranges reported for large treatment plants while phthalate ester concentrations were below commonly reported effluent concentrations.

The mean-variance relation: A story of night and day

The traditional financial framework theorizes a positive mean-variance relation, which, however, is not fully supported by empirical evidence. We provide a new explanation for the weak mean-variance relation by separately testing the relation overnight and intraday. Results at the global level present a positive mean-variance relation overnight but a negative relation intraday, while results of individual markets reveal a high degree of heterogeneity. We employ cultural dimensions, market integrity, and market development to examine the drivers of the observed cross-market differences, showing that all the three factors influence the mean-variance relation, and notably, the influence varies across night and day.

Biodegradable MOFilters for Effective Air Filtration and Sterilization by Coupling MOF Functionalization and Mechanical Polarization of Fibrous Poly(lactic acid).

High-performance air filtration materials are important for addressing the airborne pollutants. Herein, we propose an unprecedented access to biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based MOFilters with excellent filtering performance and antibacterial activity. The fabrication involved a stepwise in situ growth of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) crystals at the surface of microfibrous PLA membranes, followed by mechanical polarization under high pressure and low temperature (5 MPa, 40 °C) to trigger the ordered alignment of dipoles in PLA chains and ZIF-8. The unique structural features allowed these PLA-based MOFilters to achieve an exceptional combination of excellent tensile properties, high dielectric constant (up to 2.4 F/m), and enhanced surface potential as high as 4 kV. Arising from the remarkable surface activity and electrostatic adsorption effect, a significant increase (from over 12% to nearly 20%) in PM0.3 filtration efficiency was observed for the PLA-based MOFilters compared to that of pure PLA counterparts, with weak relation to the airflow velocities (10-85 L/min). Moreover, the air resistance was controlled at a considerably low level for all the MOFilters, that is, below 183 Pa even at 85 L/min. It is worth noting that distinct antibacterial properties were achieved for the MOFilters, as illustrated by the inhibitive rates of 87 and 100% against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The proposed concept of PLA-based MOFilters offers unprecedented multifunction integration, which may fuel the development of biodegradable versatile filters with high capturing and antibacterial performances yet desirable manufacturing feasibility.

Standing out in context: Prominence in the production and perception of public speech

This study investigates the relationship between signal-based factors and discourse context in the production and perception of prominence, extending prior work on prominence in American English by examining speech from complete TED Talks as examples of a public speech style. First, we conduct a production study. The TED Talk speech samples are analyzed for relationships between (1) phonological pitch accent, (2) acoustic prosodic features, and (3) information structure, modeled here in terms of referential and lexical givenness as well as focus related to semantic alternatives. Second, we conduct a perception study. Word-level prominence ratings obtained from untrained listeners are analyzed for the effects of these (1) phonological, (2) acoustic, and (3) information structural factors. The aim of this study is to evaluate the interaction of the three kinds of factors on prominence ratings with speech that is fully contextualized, allowing for information about the speaker, the situational context, and the discourse context to interact with and possibly mediate signal-based cues to prominence. Results from the production analysis show a weak probabilistic relation between pitch accent assignment and information structure for these TED Talk speakers, but only in the presence versus absence of pitch accent with differences between lexical and referential information status. No systematic relationship is found between a word’s phonological pitch accent type and information structure category, though we do find some evidence of the expected gradient variation in the acoustic expression of prominence: Words that are more informative tend to have higher pitch and a wider pitch range. Despite the weak association between signal-based prominence and information structure in production, listeners perceive and rate prominence in a manner that is, to varying degrees, in accordance with the Accentual Prominence and Givenness hierarchies. In sum, the findings contribute new evidence of the mediating effects of contextual factors relating to the phonological status of pitch accents, information structure, and speech style on the interpretation of acoustic cues to prominence.

Modern Odysseys: Cavafy, Woolf, Césaire, and a Poetics of Indirection by Michelle Zerba

Reviewed by: Modern Odysseys: Cavafy, Woolf, Césaire, and a Poetics of Indirection by Michelle Zerba Vassiliki Kolocotroni (bio) Michelle Zerba, Modern Odysseys: Cavafy, Woolf, Césaire, and a Poetics of Indirection. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press, 2021. Pp. x + 241. Cloth $99.95. In “Homer’s Sticks and Stones” (1969), a classic—some might say positively antique—essay on James Joyce, modernist scholar Hugh Kenner declared Ulysses a veritable “museum of Homers” (61). The phrase points as much to Joyce’s encyclopedic approach to his novel’s Urtext and its variants as to his syncretic repurposing of the all-too-human Homeric material made of “cups and saucers, chairs and tables, sticks and stones” (62). At its best, Michelle Zerba’s imaginatively conceived study returns to the materiality of the Homeric text, its language, and its world via productive detours which yield invariably suggestive insights and resonances. Zerba’s method, more associative than comparative as such, circumnavigates reception too, foregoing accounts of an Alexandrian, Edwardian, or Antillean Homer, or indeed of a modernist Homer tout court, tracing instead metaphorical patterns woven out of “a looser set of odyssean tropes,” namely “diffusion and mixture; islands and isolation; passage and detour; and return and split endings” (17). In turn, these tropes, individually and cumulatively, are proposed as critical coordinates for locating [End Page 154] in the works of C. P. Cavafy, Virginia Woolf, and Aimé Césaire a shared “poetics of indirection,” expressed variously through “backdoor strategies, invention by circumlocution, masquerades, devious forms of linguistic play, tricks with publishing, and sometimes outright coding to avoid the censor” (20). Zerba reads a selection of Cavafy’s poetry, Woolf’s Orlando, and Césaire’s Cahier d’un retour au pays natal to underscore those “odyssean tonalities” (37) that bear out the study’s core premise of “an odyssean-inflected imagination at work” (18) traceable through “weak links and oblique relations” (52), “displacement[s] of errant sexuality” onto figures of the Other (72), “katabatic journeys” of “sexual and racial transformation” (114), “mutating identities” (159), and incomplete “return[s] and split endings” (161). Sustained across four chapters, each corresponding to a discrete trope and framed by a prefatory close reading of a Homeric scene, term, or object, this plotting of affinities, echoes, and mirrorings—but also of idiosyncratic, local strategies and concerns—is a tour de force. Leaving aside the odd misconception—such as the description of Woolf as “still at the edges of the canon” (4)—and the rather rudimentary references to Joyce, Eliot, and H. D. (11), there are conceptual and interpretative riches here, and an admirably controlled movement from immersive glosses of Homeric material to large-scale but still poignant and plausible extrapolating gestures. The pairing of “the wound and the word, passage and detour” (126), set against the backdrop of a traumatized errancy or “fugue state” (116) and the vicissitudes of memory and recognition, underpins a magisterial reading of Aimé and Suzanne Césaire’s impossible, negative nostos to a colonial culture. Similarly immersive, the reading of Woolf’s Orlando follows its odyssean “dynamic of concealing and revealing” (136) through scenes of transformation, transgression, or “trans-ing as a multidirectional process at work on several levels” (146). Here, the odyssean trope of passage seems readily deployable, indeed so much so that its metaphorical momentum in Zerba’s reading almost takes over, at times detracting from the highly coded, witty, or ludic tone of Woolf’s phantasmagoric novel. For example, newly-transformed Orlando’s nostalgic vision of England on Mount Athos is aptly noticed in chapter 3, but is also under-read. The errant new woman is surely a transgressive presence as an interloper on the Athonian soil (a prohibition of which Woolf was well aware, having published in 1925 Jane Ellen Harrison’s pointed account of it in her Reminiscences of a Student’s Life), while the fantastic English scene appearing to her as if in a mirage is also presciently political given its coded palette—the green (grassy lawns), violet (shadows replacing the yellow sunlight), and white (falling snow) of the suffragette tricolor. [End Page 155] In turn, the account of Cavafy’s odyssean poetics, though cogent and...

Airline flight delays using artificial intelligence in COVID-19 with perspective analytics

This study envisages assessing the effects of the COVID-19 on the on-time performance of US-airlines industry in the disrupted situations. The deep learning techniques used are neural network regression, decision forest regression, boosted decision tree regression and multi class logistic regression. The best technique is identified. In the perspective data analytics, it is suggested what the airlines should do for the on-time performance in the disrupted situation. The performances of all the methods are satisfactory. The coefficient of determination for the neural network regression is 0.86 and for decision forest regression is 0.85, respectively. The coefficient of determination for the boosted decision tree is 0.870984. Thus boosted decision tree regression is better. Multi class logistic regression gives an overall accuracy and precision of 98.4%. Recalling/remembering performance is 99%. Thus multi class logistic regression is the best model for prediction of flight delays in the COVID-19. The confusion matrix for the multi class logistic regression shows that 87.2% flights actually not delayed are predicted not delayed. The flights actually not delayed but wrongly predicted delayed are12.7%. The strength of relation with departure delay, carrier delay, late aircraft delay, weather delay and NAS delay, are 94%, 53%, 35%, 21%, and 14%, respectively. There is a weak negative relation (almost unrelated) with the air time and arrival delay. Security delay and arrival delay are also almost unrelated with strength of 1% relationship. Based on these diagnostic analytics, it is recommended as perspective to take due care reducing departure delay, carrier delay, Late aircraft delay, weather delay and Nas delay, respectively, considerably with effect of 94%, 53%, 35%, 21%, and 14% in disrupted situations. The proposed models have MAE of 2% for Neural Network Regression, Decision Forest Regression, Boosted Decision Tree Regression, respectively, and, RMSE approximately, 11%, 12%, 11%, respectively.

Psychometric validity and the appropriateness of tolerance as a criterion for internet gaming disorder: A systematic review

Tolerance is a controversial but still an omnipresent criterion in measuring problematic gaming and Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Despite criticisms, a systematic review of its suitability has not been conducted until now. The aim of this study was to assess the evidence of psychometric validity and the appropriateness of tolerance as a criterion for IGD. A total of 61 articles were included in the review, 47 quantitative, 7 qualitative studies,plus 7 studies that introduce potential item wordings for operationalizing tolerance. Results showed that the tolerance item tends to have acceptable to high factor loadings on the single IGD factor. While tolerance sometimes did not adequately differentiate the engaged gamers from those with a probable disorder, it was endorsed at medium to high levels of IGD severity and had a good performance in the interviews. It, however, showed weak relations with distress and well-being. In qualitative studies, tolerance as currently defined by DSM-5 and measured by questionnaires (i.e., increasing amounts of time spent on gaming) was almost unequivocally rejected by gamers. The solid performance of tolerance in psychometric studies was probably due to deficiencies of the IGD construct, which also contains other disputed criteria. Tolerance lacks relevance in measuring IGD and care should be taken when using and interpreting IGD measures with this criterion.

A Review of Knowledge Graph-Based Reasoning Technology in the Operation of Power Systems

Knowledge graph (KG) technology is a newly emerged knowledge representation method in the field of artificial intelligence. Knowledge graphs can form logical mappings from cluttered data and establish triadic relationships between entities. Accurate derivation and reasoning of knowledge graphs play an important role in guiding power equipment operation and decision-making. Due to the complex and weak relations from multi-source heterogeneous data, the use of KGs has become popular in research to represent potential information in power knowledge reasoning. In this review, we first summarize the key technologies of knowledge graph representation and learning. Then, based on the complexity and real-time changes of power system operation and maintenance, we present multiple data processing, knowledge representation learning, and the graph construction process. In three typical power operation and fault decision application scenarios, we investigate current algorithms in power KG acquisition, representation embedding, and knowledge completion to illustrate accurate and exhaustive recommendations. Thus, using KGs to provide reference solutions and decision guidance has a significant role in improving the efficiency of power system operations. Finally, we summarize the achievements and difficulties of current research and give an outlook for future, promising roles of KG in power systems.

Exploring options for increasing maize yields and grain Zn concentrations in sub-Saharan Africa

BackgroundIncreasing zinc (Zn) concentrations in maize grains could contribute to alleviating widespread human Zn deficiency in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, trade-offs between grain Zn concentrations and maize yields have been observed.ScopeUsing data from researcher-managed, on-farm and on-station field trials in Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe, we aimed (i) to confirm whether this trade-off is found in current farming systems in SSA and (ii) to explore whether genotypic and management options, relevant for the African context, can increase both yields and grain Zn concentrations across several environments.ResultsAn overall negative, but weak relation between maize yields and grain Zn concentrations was found. High yields and high grain Zn concentrations did not co-occur. The negative relation between grain Zn concentrations and yields cannot be bypassed by selecting one of the commercially available varieties used in this study. Nitrogen application increased yields, but had contrasting effects on grain Zn concentrations depending on variety and site. Grain Zn concentrations were positively related with soil organic carbon and P and K availability.ConclusionsAttaining grain Zn concentrations above the HarvestPlus target of 38 mg kg−1, considered adequate for reducing human Zn deficiency, with current commercially available maize varieties and presented management options, is not possible without compromising yield levels. Increasing soil organic matter content and balanced application of N, P and K fertilisers could increase grain Zn concentrations. These practices likely will also increase yields and could be a viable option to bypass the trade-off between maize yields and grain Zn concentrations.

Intergovernmental Interaction in Federal Nepal and Challenges in the Transitional Period

Federalism is a power-sharing political system, which designates power through various layers of government. Powers are delegated and decentralized by the constitution over the different layers of government. In federalism, intergovernmental or inter-province relations are very crucial for better delivery of the federal system. The provinces in Nepal are at loggerheads and as they are facing internal conflicts, and the inter-governmental relations are not so smooth. The provinces are attempting to make their internal cooperation better but this is not achieved due to political transition. Given this complex context, poor intergovernmental relations and conflicts between the three layers of government in Nepal have become one of the key challenges for the successful implementation of federalism. Limited knowledge, short experience with federalism and lack of legal and policy issues have created these gaps. The contexts have further jeopardized inter-governmental relations. Weak intergovernmental relations in federalism would ultimately pose a challenge to federalism and result in political instability in Nepal.

Quasiexact posets and the moderate meet-continuity

The study of weak domains and quasicontinuous domains leads to the consideration of two types generalizations of domains. In the current paper, we define the weak way-below relation between two nonempty subsets of a poset and quasiexact posets. We prove some connections among quasiexact posets, quasicontinuous domains and weak domains. Furthermore, we introduce the weak way-below finitely determined topology and study its links to Scott topology and the weak way-below topology first considered by Mushburn. It is also proved that a dcpo is a domain if it is quasiexact and moderately meet continuous with the weak way-below relation weakly increasing.

EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT VECTOR: RETROSPECTIVE AND OUTLOOK

The continuous transformation of the global market poses challenges for national economies, requiring the formation and strengthening of integration processes. To analyze the development of socio-economic relations within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the authors conducted a retrospective analysis, statistical and structural analysis of key indicators, and assessed prospects for further cooperation. The study confirmed the hypothesis of insufficient competitiveness of national economies, weak foreign trade relations, and an inconsistent regulatory environment that limits export opportunities. The authors recommend shifting the focus of cooperation towards mutual support, ensuring socio-economic and demographic security, and maintaining living standards. The article identifies the main problems of interaction between EAEU member countries and suggests directions for expanding integration ties to increase the effectiveness of cooperation. The authors propose transitioning to a new level of socio-economic development for the EAEU.

TOLERANCE OF AMBIGUITY IN ENGLISH PROFICIENCY OF EFL LEARNERS AT ENGLISH DEPARTMENT OF FKIP UNIVERSITAS HKBP NOMMENSEN

The objective of this study is to investigate the tolerance of ambiguity in English proficiency of the EFL learners at English department of FKIP Universitas HKBP Nommensen. The subjects of this research are 166 learners at the sixth semester at academic year 2021/2022. Data was gained by using questionnaires of ISLTAS (Instrument Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale) and English proficiency test by using TOEFL. Those data was analyzed by applying qualitative research approach. The result of analyzing data elaborates findings; they are (1) the level of TOA of the research subjects which is high. The subjects with high of TOA are able integrate new information with existing schemata, restricting the latter. With TOA they try to adapt themselves according to new situation of English to have good proficiency and (2) the correlation between TOA and the subjects’ English proficiency is moderate. The moderate correlation indicates weak relation of the subjects’ TOA and their English Proficiency. Even though the correlation is weak (moderate) but it is relevant into the theory of TOA which indicates those learners who have high level of TOA are those who succeed in English. It is proved based on the number of subjects who are at high level of TOA is 115 (69.88%) and the number of subjects at very high level of TOEFL is 108 (65.06%).

Abstract P595: Low Serum Cholesterol and Coronary Heart Disease Mortality in Veterans

Background: The lipid hypothesis postulates that lower blood cholesterol is associated with reduced coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, which has been challenged by recent studies that observed a U-shaped relation between cholesterol and mortality. The effect of low cholesterol and CHD risk among Veterans is unclear. Methods: This prospective cohort study included Veterans greater than 18 years of age with baseline outpatient visits from 2002 to 2007 and follow-up to December 30, 2018 in the Veterans Health Administration electronic health record system. Veterans were followed to assess CHD mortality risk in relation to outpatient blood cholesterol levels. We used Cox proportional hazard regression to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of CHD mortality associated with total cholesterol (TC). Results: Among 4,467,942 Veterans, 381,871 CHD deaths were recorded. We observed a V-shaped relation between TC and age-, sex, race and smoking-adjusted risk of CHD mortality. The association became U-shaped after adjustment for statin use, body mass index, hypertension, and diabetes. When further adjusted for high-density lipoprotein level, 11 baseline diseases, and applying a 2-year lag analysis, the relation to CHD mortality was J-shaped--flat for TC<180 mg/dL and greater risk was present at higher cholesterol levels. Compared to Veterans with TC between 180-199 mg/dL, risk for CHD mortality (HR (95%CI)) was 1.03 (1.02-1.04), 1.07 (1.06-1.09), 1.15 (1.13-1.18), 1.25 (1.22-1.28) and 1.45 (1.42-1.49) times greater among Veterans with TC (mg/dL) of 200-219, 220-239, 140-259, 260-279 and ≥280, respectively. Transition of the TC- CHD mortality patterns were J-J-J, V-U-J and L-U-J among young, middle, and older veterans (P for interaction between TC and age group < 0.001). Similar J-shaped but weaker relations were observed in statin users at baseline. Conclusions: Based on prospective data for almost 4.5 million adult Veterans, CHD mortality risk steadily increased for TC ≥200mg/dL after adjustment for a range of health conditions. Our results support the lipid hypothesis that lower blood cholesterol is associated with reduced CHD risk and lower prevalence of multimorbidity, mental health disorders, nutritional deficits, and other risk factors for CHD. Furthermore, the hypothesis remained true when TC was low due to use of statins or other lipid-lowering medication. The changes in risk for CHD mortality by TC groups observed in our study (L- to U- to J-shape) highlights the importance of fully adjusting for the presence of multimorbidity and HDL-C to avoid misleading conclusions.

Social relations and health in an ethnically diverse social housing area selected for large structural changes compared to municipal levels: a Danish survey study

BackgroundThis study aims to describe demographics, social relations and health in an ethnically diverse social housing area selected to undergo large structural changes and compare it to the surrounding municipality. Furthermore, to explore the association between social relations and self-rated health (SRH) and the interaction with country of origin in both populations.MethodsData sources include a multilingual interviewer-driven survey study in a social housing area (N = 209) and a municipal health survey (N = 1,638) among residents aged 45 + years. Information on social relations include contact frequency with and support from family, friends, and neighbors. Descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusted for age, sex, and country of origin are presented, as well as joint effect analyses of social relations and country of origin on SRH.ResultsIn the social housing area, 38.8% of the respondents reported poor SRH compared to 19.5% in the municipality. In both study populations low contact frequency was associated with poor SRH, however insignificantly in the social housing area compared to the municipality sample, OR = 1.50 (0.65–3.46) vs. OR = 2.42 (1.70–3.45). Joint exposure to having non-Western background and low contact frequency was strongly associated with poor SRH in the social housing area, OR = 6.28 (1.80–21.89) but less so in the municipality, OR = 3.67 (1.55–8.69). The same tendency was seen regarding low support from social relations.ConclusionsThis study provides insight to a population that is generally underrepresented in survey studies. In the social housing area, approximately twice as many reported poor SRH compared to the municipality data. In both populations, low contact frequency and low support were associated with poor SRH. Residents with weak social relations and non-Western origin simultaneously were more likely to report poor SRH in the social housing area specifically but less so in the municipality, indicating a higher vulnerability among the residents in the social housing area.

An outranking approach with 2-tuple linguistic Fermatean fuzzy sets for multi-attribute group decision-making

The 2-tuple linguistic Fermatean fuzzy set is an effective tool that combines the advantages of the reliable 2-tuple linguistic model with Fermatean fuzzy set. We aim to develop novel decision-making techniques based on 2TLFFS that can handle the situations in which linguistic labels are assigned to given data. The main objective of this study is to investigate ELECTRE II method for group decision-making in 2-tuple linguistic Fermatean fuzzy context and explain its implementation. The first phase employs suitable 2TLFF aggregation operator to assemble the expert’s 2TLFF judgments on each alternative and set of criteria. The method then introduces three different sets (2TLFF concordance, 2TLFF indifferent and 2TLFF discordance sets) by pairwise comparison of alternatives. After that, the strong and weak outranking relations are developed through the comparison of concordance and discordance indices with threshold values (three concordance and two discordance levels). The strong and weak outranking graphs visually represent outranking relations that are ultimately investigated through a systematic iterative process that results in the alternatives’ forward, reverse, and average rankings. A flowchart is developed to comprehend the algorithm of 2TLFF-ELECTRE II conveniently. A numerical example for the selection of optimal Extract, Transform and Load software for business intelligence describes the proposed decision-making technique. A thorough comparison with 2TLFF-CODAS and existing aggregation operators is carried out to illustrate the validity and supremacy of the proposed technique.

Some results on the weak dominance between t-norms and t-conorms

In this study, we discuss the weak dominance relation between two binary operations which is closely related with the dominance relation. First, we present some basic properties of the weak dominance and prove that there exists no t-norm weakly dominating a t-conorm. Then we provide the necessary and sufficient conditions of a t-conorm weakly dominating a t-norm for different cases: both are Archimedean or ordinal sums. Lastly, the weak dominance between t-norms is discussed.

Social trust and firm innovation*

We investigate whether social trust improves corporate innovation. Based on a comprehensive firm-level panel dataset of patents filed by companies from 43 countries over 1995–2015, we find that compared with firms in low-trust countries, firms in high-trust countries have higher innovation output as measured by number of patents and patent forward citations. We also find that greater trust is associated with i) higher levels of innovation investment, ii) less volatile innovation investment over time, and iii) weaker relation between innovation investment and internally generated cash flow. Finally, we document that greater trust is associated with higher market valuation of innovation investment and more efficient conversion of innovation investment into future sales. Overall, our firm-level evidence indicates that greater social trust improves corporate innovation and its outcomes.

Solutions of matrix equations with weak fuzzy equivalence relations

In this paper, we are solving matrix equations where the operation on matrices might not be a standard composition, but it can be any convenient binary operation. We use fuzzy (lattice valued) techniques in which a particular fuzzy weak equivalence relation and its compatibility with the matrix operation plays the central role. This fuzzy weak equivalence relation is weakly reflexive, symmetric, transitive, and compatible with the matrix operation. We obtain approximate solutions of two main types of matrix equations. We also tackle the question of the uniqueness of solutions (which are unique up to the fuzzy weak equivalence relation).

Effects of Spousal Support in the Early Postpartum Period on Breastfeeding Motivation in Patriarchal Societies

Background and Purpose: Breastfeeding is important with regard to public health. Our aim was to examine effects of spousal support in the early postpartum period on breastfeeding motivation in patriarchal societies. 
 Methods: Study was descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational design. Study was conducted in a University Hospital in Inland Anatolia Region in Turkey. It included primiparous and multiparous women. 
 Results: Analysis showed a significant positive, moderate relation between spousal support and breastfeeding motivation in the primiparous women; spousal support accounted for 23.8% of breastfeeding motivation of the women. There was a significant, positive weak relation between spousal support and breastfeeding motivation in the multiparous women; spousal support explained 8.2% of breastfeeding motivation in these women.
 Conclusion: Spousal support in the early postpartum period was found to have a positive influence on improvement of breastfeeding motivation. However, it could explain a small percentage of breastfeeding motivation. New strategies should be created to encourage spouses to get involved in breastfeeding.