Intra State Infrastructural Disparity in Maharashtra

Maharashtra is the economically leading state in the country. The state comprises 36 districts that are divided into six revenue divisions. There is a wide disparity in the state at the regional level and among the districts in terms of development. Infrastructure being the important accelerator of economic activities in any region is not balanced in the state. This paper highlights this intra state disparity considering nine broad infrastructural categories. The method of ranking analysis is used for this purpose. It is observed that Pune, Konkan, Nashik and Nagpur are the regions of comparatively good infrastructure development in state whereas Aurangabad and Amravati are the regions of comparatively low level of infrastructure development. At district level most of the districts are falling in the Pune, Konkan, Nashik and Nagpur region but there is a change in ranking position in various districts during 2010 to 2015. The widening gap in infrastructure development in resent past highlights the serious concern of governmental intervention in bridging the development gap in infrastructure and resultant inequalities.

Advertising Opportunities of the Blogosphere on the YouTube Platform

The largest video hosting service in the world is currently the YouTube platform. Having originated in the USA in 2005 the video hosting service very quickly expanded the scope of its geographical presence due to the ability to use the service in different countries. YouTube's monetization was based on an advertising model from the very beginning. The YouTube Premium service created inside the platform (previously called YouTube Red) allows you to watch content without ads by subscription. But the content model is not developing so rapidly and main financial flows continue to come from advertising. That is why it is worth understanding the possibilities of advertising on YouTube. The research identified integrated advertising on YouTube blogs which were selected according to various criteria: total number of subscribers, broadcast language, regular content publications (at least 1 publication per quarter), genre, ranking position and number of views. Advertisements were found present in all analyzed blogs while the types of advertising varied depending on the genre of the blog. The time a blogger spent on advertising also largely depended on the genre characteristics of the blog. Currently, one of the most popular types of advertising is self-promotion, since it is directly related to third-party bloggers' earnings. In the current research we analyzed advertising in the blogosphere based on monitoring several diverse thematic blogs and identified most common forms of advertising. The attempt to classify advertising opportunities in the video hosting user content seems important to us because it allows us to streamline the terminology and in the future develop a system of interaction between channels and advertisers.

Evaluation of Road Safety Performance Based on Self-Reported Behaviour Data Set

Self-reported behavioural data, being often linguistic variables that represent a qualitative measure of respondents’ opinions/attitudes, are vague, uncertain, and fuzzy in nature. A road safety performance index, based on these fuzzy data, should consider this uncertainty. In this study, fuzzy numbers were used to describe self-reported behaviour on Montenegrin roads, which was further integrated into the data envelopment analysis (DEA), a technique for measuring the relative performance of decision-making units (DMUs). The vagueness of the performance scores obtained in this way was treated with grey relational analysis (GRA). GRA was applied to the cross-efficiency (CE) matrix constructed by the DEA to distinguish Montenegrin municipalities’ performance, with the main goal of describing road safety in the observed territories in the environment of uncertain/grey data. It is concluded that the proposed DEA–GRA model, based on fuzzy data, provides a more reasonable and encompassing measure of performance, and with which the overall ranking position of municipalities can be obtained.

Influence of Various Heat Treatments on Hardness and Impact Strength of Uddeholm Balder: Cr-Mo-V-Ni Novel Steel Used for Engine Construction

The construction of an engine requires optimized geometry and superb material properties in various environments. Tensile and yield strength are not the only parameters essential to consider. Hardness, impact toughness, and ductile-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) are also crucial. In this paper, Balder, Chromium-Molybdenum-Vanadium-Nickel steel with low impact toughness attested is considered. It contains both high Nickel and high Vanadium content, a rare combination among iron-based alloys. This study aims at proving that conventional heat treatment can improve its impact toughness while maintaining hardness level, exceeding its to-date performance. Steel’s exact elemental composition was checked, and material samples’ hardness and impact toughness were measured. Four heat treatments were proposed, then hardness and impact toughness were measured again. It was established that impact toughness over three times higher than marketed (57.3 J against 17 J) can be achieved with simultaneous 2 HRC points (from 46.4 HRC to 48.4 HRC) rise in hardness. Achieved parameters place examined alloy at the high-ranking position among similar steels. Occurrence of temper embrittlement was avoided. Notably, the ductile-brittle transition was not observed in any sample.

Determinant physical factors in the wheelchair tennis player

The objective of this research was to identify the most determining physical factors in the ranking position of wheelchair tennis players (WT). In a national camp, the nine best nationally ranked Spanish male WT players (38.35 ± 11.28 years, 63.77 ± 7.01 kg. weight) completed a test battery. Significantly higher correlations were observed in medicine ball throws, 5 and 20-metres sprints with racquet and in an agility test without racquet. In addition, the regression analysis identified two predictor models of the player's ranking position that included both the serve throw and the 5-metre racquet sprint. In conclusion, it is recommended that coaches and physical trainers include in their training programmes medicine ball exercises as well as acceleration drills over short distances.

No Trends in the Age of Peak Performance among the Best Half-Marathoners and Marathoners in the World between 1997–2020

Background and Objectives: We examined the possible trend in the age of peak performance in elite endurance athletes according to sex, continent of athletes’ national citizenship, and ranking position. Since performance is a multifactorial trait, this information can be used to guide the long-term training and to plan the strategies related to the selection process of athletes. Materials and methods: Information of 1852 professional athletes, classified as top 20 performance of each year in marathon and half-marathon events between 1997 and 2020 were considered. Analysis of variance was computed to test differences in age between sex, continent, and rank position. Results: A significant difference between groups in the mean age of peak performance was observed (F (3, 1884) = 42,31; p < 0.001). For both sexes, half-marathoners were younger than marathoners (male, 25.6 ± 3.6 years vs. 28.0 ± 3.9 years; female, 27.5 ± 4.4 years vs. 28.4 ± 4.1). Female half-marathoners in 2004 presented the highest mean age (31.1 ± 4.8 years) compared to their peers in the years 1997, 2001, 2018 and 2019; among male half-marathoners, those in 1999 presented the highest mean age when compared to 2011, 2018, and 2019. Differences between the continents of athletes’ national citizenship were observed (F (4, 1884) = 62,85,601; p < 0,001). Asian runners presented the lowest mean age (26.5 ± 3.7 years), while their European peers presented the highest (31.1 ± 3.9 years). No significant interaction between sex and ranking position was verified. Differences were observed between sexes for categories “4th–10th positions” and “11th–20th” (F (1, 1879) = 23,114; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Over the last two decades, no clear trend was observed in the changes in the age of peak performance among endurance athletes of both sexes, but, in general, female half-marathoners tended to be significantly older than their male peers.

Genetic Parameters of Effort and Recovery in Sport Horses Assessed with Infrared Thermography

The way a horse activates (effort phase-EP) and recovers (recovery phase-RP) during a sport event can affect its sport performance. The aim of this manuscript was to test horses’ adaptation to sport performance and its genetic basis, using eye temperature assessed with infrared thermography. EP and RP were measured in 495 Spanish Sport Horses, during a performance test, considering sex (2) and genetic lines (5) as fixed effects. The ranking position obtained on an official sport competition was also collected. Differences in variables due to genetic line and sex effects were found, showing that, regardless of the genetic line, stallions tended to recover better than mares after the sport test developed. High positive intra-class correlations (p < 0.001) were found between EP and RP for both fixed effects, so that the higher the EP, the higher the RP. However, for the ranking position, a low negative correlation (p < 0.01) was found, so that the higher the eye temperature increase, the better the position. Heritabilities showed medium–high values with a medium positive genetic correlation between them. Thus, breed origins and sex influence horses’ effort and recovery during sport performance, showing a genetic basis adequate for selection.

Anthropometric Profiles in Table Tennis Players: Analysis of Sex, Age, and Ranking

Table tennis has recently evolved towards a more spectacular sport increasing match-play demands and the intensity and speed of actions by regulations and equipment modification. Since these changes can alter the body composition and performance, this study aimed to analyze the differences in anthropometric attributes of 495 table tennis players (288 men, 207 women) according to sex, age, and ranking. Players were classified according to sex, age categories (Senior, Under-18, Under-15, Under 13, and Under 11), and ranking position. Anthropometry measurements included eight skinfolds’ thicknesses (biceps brachii, triceps, subscapular, iliac crest, supraspinal, abdominal, thigh, and medial calf), four girths (biceps brachii relaxed and contracted, thigh, and calf), and three breadths (biepicondylar femur, biepicondylar humerus, and bistiloyd wrist) to determine fat mass, lean mass, bone, cross sectional area (CSA) for arm, leg, and thigh, and somatotype. Results revealed that table tennis players presented differences in body mass composition, anthropometry, and somatotype according to sex and age category and ranking. It seems confirmed that regular table tennis practice during the childhood is associated with a healthy body composition status, that appears to be maintained across older ages if keeping the practice. Senior table tennis players showed a fat mass <20% and lean mass ~45% in men and ~37% in women. A new contribution is that higher lean mass in the upper limbs was associated with higher ranking position (i.e., better performance), endomorphic somatotypes were negative related to performance, and ectomorphic profiles seems more effective, which suggest the potential influence of morphologic changes in table tennis competition performance.

Which Are the Main Factors Influencing Corporate Social Responsibility Information Disclosures on Universities’ Websites

Universities are now becoming more active in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Nevertheless, they do not appear to be granting the same degree of importance to the dissemination of these activities. This article analyses the voluntary corporate social responsibility information disclosed by leading USA universities. We created several indexes of corporate social responsibility information disclosure and examined main universities’ characteristics that affect corporate social responsibility disclosure by these entities. The findings obtained show that the universities are strongly committed to the dissemination of corporate social responsibility information, and that a university’s size, affiliation, public/private status and ranking position are the factors most significantly affecting its online disclosure of general corporate social responsibility information. These findings could be useful for university administrators, especially those in public universities, highlighting the importance of developing and supporting policies and incentives to promote CSR disclosure and thus attract new students and meet social expectations about the ethical behaviour of universities.