Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Motivation and achievement in learning French as a foreign language in Malaysia

The teaching and learning of some of the most widely spoken foreign languages such as English, Japanese, Mandarin and French are given emphasis in many education systems throughout the world. Similarly in Malaysia, opportunities are provided for students to learn foreign languages especially at tertiary institutions. This paper presents a study that investigated Malaysian undergraduates’ motivation and achievement, as well as the relationship between the two variables in learning FFL. The study involved 213 undergraduates who took French as a foreign language (FFL) in a public university. The motivation data were collected using an adapted version of Gardner’s (1985) Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) and students’ grades for the elective French course provided the achievement data. The results show that both integrative and instrumental motivation contribute towards the undergraduates’ decision to learn FFL but they are more motivated to learn for instrumental reasons compared to integrative reasons. The achievement results show that more than half of the student population obtained very good to good grades in the FFL assessment. However, the Pearson correlation test results show that there is no statistically significant correlation between the two types of motivation and achievement. The paper ends with discussion on some implications of the findings on the teaching and learning of French as a foreign language such as the need to expose the learners to the target language community.
Quantum Mechanics Unscrambled

Is quantum mechanics about ‘states’? Or is it basically another kind of probability theory? It is argued that the elementary formalism of quantum mechanics operates as a well-justified alternative to ‘classical’ instantiations of a probability calculus. Its providing a general framework for prediction accounts for its distinctive traits, which one should be careful not to mistake for reflections of any strange ontology. The suggestion is also made that quantum theory unwittingly emerged, in Schrodinger’s formulation, as a ‘lossy’ by-product of a quantum-mechanical variant of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation. As it turns out, the effectiveness of quantum theory qua predictive algorithm makes up for the computational impracticability of that master equation.
Phenotypic Safety Assessment and Molecular Characterization of Enterococcus feacium MBTU-P1F1 (KF745071) from Infant feces

The protective role of probiotic bacteria against gastrointestinal pathogens and the underlying mechanisms has received special attention recently. The rapid emergence of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic strains and the adverse consequences of antibiotic treatment on the protective microflora have led to the development of alternative therapies based on bacterial replacement. Probiotic bacteria can form a natural barrier against pathogen and provide significant human health protection against infection. The clinical applications of probiotics have been related to the management of gastrointestinal infections caused by pathogenic microorganisms. It is assumed that a probiotic will be most competitive in vivo if it has a short lag phase and a fast growth rate. Lag period and doubling time are the most appropriate criteria for the comparison of growth between probiotic strains and pathogens (Vine et al., 2004). Therefore, screening of candidate probiotics preferably requires that growth characteristics be also considered with the other selective criteria such as antagonism, production of beneficial compounds and attachment.
Multiple Modernities or Varieties of Modernity?

The article offers a critical appraisal of the concept of multiple modernities that has been gaining ground in sociology during the past decade. It rejects this concept as both conceptually flawed and empirically unfounded, and it proposes an alternative concept, that of varieties of modernity, which is believed to be better able to address the former's substantive concerns, while at the same time permitting us to speak of modernity in the singular. The main source of inspiration for such an alternative concept is the varieties of capitalism paradigm guiding the new political economy literature, and one of its advantages over the multiple modernities paradigm is its focus on institutions, rather than vague, barely explicated notions of culture and cultural difference. However, a varieties of modernity approach that followed its lead would have to be much broader and more comprehensive, and would therefore be more difficult to develop and to apply, than the varieties of capitalism paradigm. But even if it ultimately proved infeasible, the very consideration of its methodological prerequisites would still promise to yield valuable insights for students of modernity.
Preliminary Study : Comparison of the Efficacy of Progesterone and Nifedipine in Inhibiting Threatened Preterm Labour in Siriraj Hospital

Objective: To compare the efficacy, success rate, maternal and fetal complications of progesterone and nifedipine administration as a tocolytic agent to women with threatened preterm labour. Study Design : A randomized controlled trial. Material and methods: During 1 st January to 31 st May, 2008, a total 40 pregnant women with threatened preterm labour between 28-35 weeks were participated in this study. All women were inhibited contractions randomly with proluton depot 250 mg. intramuscularly weekly or nifedipine 20 mg. orally every 30 minutes for 3 times then maintenance with nifedipine SR 20 mg. every 12 hours until 34 weeks. If neonatal intensive care unit was not available, the inhibition of labour had been prolonged until 36 weeks of gestation. If there was any complication or contraindication with neither proluton depot nor nifedipine, the inhibition method of contractions was changed to be either bricanyl or magnesium sulfate intravenous form. Results: Forty pregnant women with threatened preterm labour were participated. Eighteen pregnant women were inhibited contractions with proluton depot whilst 22 pregnant women had uterine contraction inhibition with nifedipine. Both groups were not statistically significant in dermographic data, efficacy, mode of delivery and newborn data. Conclusions: Proluton depot and nifedipine can be used successfully to inhibit contractions in threatened preterm labour. No complication was detected in both groups. Proluton depot seemed to have more efficacy than nifedipine. However, future large study is needed to confirm the efficacy of both drugs to prevent the process of threatened preterm labour to be preterm labour. This can minimize later preterm birth and decrease both perinatal morbidity and mortality.
Isolated ellipticals and their globular cluster systems III. NGC 2271, NGC 2865, NGC 3962, NGC 4240 and IC 4889

As tracers of star formation, galaxy assembly and mass distribution, globular clusters have provided important clues to our understanding of early-type galaxies. But their study has been mostly constrained to galaxy groups and clusters where early-type galaxies dominate, leaving the properties of the globular cluster systems (GCSs) of isolated ellipticals as a mostly uncharted territory. We present Gemini-South/GMOS $g'i'$ observations of five isolated elliptical galaxies: NGC 3962, NGC 2865, IC 4889, NGC 2271 and NGC 4240. Photometry of their GCSs reveals clear color bimodality in three of them, remaining inconclusive for the other two. All the studied GCSs are rather poor with a mean specific frequency $S_N\sim 1.5$, independently of the parent galaxy luminosity. Considering also previous work, it is clear that bimodality and especially the presence of a significant, even dominant, population of blue clusters occurs at even the most isolated systems, casting doubts on a possible accreted origin of metal-poor clusters as suggested by some models. Additionally, we discuss the possible existence of ultra-compact dwarfs around the isolated elliptical NGC 3962.
Taxation and the Financial Crisis

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. The financial crisis triggered a global debate on the taxation of the financial sector. A number of international policy initiatives, most notably by the G-20, have called for major changes to the tax treatment of financial institutions and transactions, as well as to working practice within the financial sector. This book examines how tax policies contributed to the financial crisis and whether taxation can play a role in the reform efforts to establish a sounder and safer financial system. It looks at the pros and cons of various tax initiatives including limiting the tax advantages to debt financing; special taxes on the financial sector; and financial transactions taxes. It examines policy concerns such as: the manner in which the financial sector should "pay" for its bailout and the role of accumulated tax losses on financial institutions' behaviour; the role that taxes may play in correcting the systemic externalities associated with "too big to fail"; the types of tax that are most appropriate for financial institutions and markets ("excess profits" versus "financial transactions taxes"); the interaction between taxes and the regulation of the financial sector; and the role of taxation in countercyclical and macroeconomic policies. Contributors to this volume - Julian S. Alworth, European Investment Consulting Giampaolo Arachi, University of Salento Katarzyna Anna Bilicka, Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation Vieri Ceriani, Banca d'Italia Michael P. Devereux, Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation Clemens Fuest, Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation Thomas Hemmelgarn, European Commission Michael Keen, International Monetary Fund Alexander Klemm, International Monetary Fund Geoff Lloyd, OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration Robert McCauley, Bank for International Settlements Stefano Manestra, Banca d'Italia Donato Masciandaro, Bocconi University Gaetan Nicodeme, European Commission Francesco Passarelli, University of Teramo Victoria Perry, International Monetary Fund Giacomo Ricotti, Banca d'Italia Raffaele Russo, OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration Alessandra Sanelli, Banca d'Italia Douglas A. Shackelford, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Daniel N. Shaviro, NYU Law School Joel Slemrod, University of Michigan Kazuo Ueda, University of Tokyo Ernesto Zangari, Banca d'Italia
Measurement of Rank and Other Properties of Direct and Scattered Signals

We have designed an experiment for low-cost indoor measurements of rank and other properties of direct and scattered signals with radar interference suppression in mind. The signal rank is important also in many other applications, for example, DOA (Direction of Arrival) estimation, estimation of the number of and location of transmitters in electronic warfare, and increasing the capacity in wireless communications. In real radar applications, such measurements can be very expensive, for example, involving airborne radars with array antennas. We have performed the measurements in an anechoic chamber with several transmitters, a receiving array antenna, and a moving reflector. Our experiment takes several aspects into account: transmitted signals with different correlation, decorrelation of the signals during the acquisition interval, covariance matrix estimation, noise eigenvalue spread, calibration, near-field compensation, scattering in a rough surface, and good control of the influencing factors. With our measurements we have observed rank, DOA spectrum, and eigenpatterns of direct and scattered signals. The agreement of our measured properties with theoretic and simulated results in the literature shows that our experiment is realistic and sound. The detailed description of our experiment could serve as help for conducting other well-controlled experiments.
The effect of the protein level in diets of Polish Lowland lambs on growth and fattening

Starting from the eleventh day of life, three groups of 48 suckling Polish Lowland lambs each were fed to appetite with meadow hay and a concentrate containing 16.7,14.7 or 12.3% crude protein (CP) in dry matter (DM). Consumption of the concentrate decreased as the protein content decreased, while the proportion of hay D M in total consumed D M increased from 41 to about 43 and 46%, respectively. No statistically significant differences were found in body weight gains (male, 173, 134 and 146 g/day; female, 144, 134 and 136 g/day, respectively) or body weight of suckling lambs from day 28 of life to weaning. Utilization of D M and metabolizable energy (ME) per kg gain was similar (2.16,2.17 and 2.08 kg D M and about 25 MJ ME), whereas protein utilization improved as its content in the diet decreased (322, 297 and 258 g crude protein/kg gain, respectively). No significant differences among the gains of 92 young rams (from 221 to 232 g/day) were observed in four groups of 23 rams each fed diets differing in their protein level (16 vs 14% CP in DM) and source (soyabean oilmeal (SBM) or rapeseed oilmeal (RSM), from a double low variety). The utilization of feed D M was somewhat better in group that received SBM (S) than in the group receiving RSM (R H ) in the high protein ration (4.43 vs 4.67 kg DM/kg gain, respectively), while when the protein content was lowered, feed utilization did not differ between groups (4.54 vs 4.67 kg DM/kg gain, respectively). Protein utilization did not differ between groups receiving the same amount of protein in their diets, but was worse (P ̂ 0.05) in group R H (741 vs 639 and 634 g/kg) than in both groups fed a diet with a lower protein content (S and R L ). The lambs fed the rations with the highest protein level (16.7% in DM) grew somewhat more slowly during fattening (217 vs 232 or 227 g/day) and consumed significantly more feed (PsgO.05) than those given the feeds containing 14.7 or 12.3% CP in D M (4.83 vs 4.30 or 4.49 DM/kg gain).
Spectroscopy of Hydrocarbon Grains toward the Galactic Center and Quintuplet Cluster

Our view of the Galactic center (GC) is affected by extinction from both diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) dust and dense molecular clouds along the line of sight. The enormous visual extinction present toward the center of our Galaxy (∼31 magnitudes) necessitates a study of the interstellar dust properties as well as an investigation into the distribution of the different dust components. We have built upon the historic spectroscopy of Willner et al. (1979), Butchart et al. (1986), and McFadzean et al. (1989) in order to investigate the distribution of these dust components across the GC field. Specifically, we employ spectroscopy in the 3 μm region to investigate absorption features at 3.0 μm and 3.4 μm in lines of sight toward the GC central cluster and the Quintuplet cluster to the northeast. The 3.4 μm feature is one of the primary spectral signatures of the organic component of interstellar dust and is, to date, only observed in the cold diffuse interstellar medium. The 3.0 μm ice feature is carried by dense molecular cloud material, and can therefore be used to loosely trace the distribution of such material across the GC field. By obtaining spectra for multiple sightlines we have been able to deconvolve the diffuse ISM and dense molecular cloud components. Our study shows that differences exist in the spectra of relatively nearby lines of sight in the Galactic center central cluster. The depth of the 3.0 μm water-ice feature varies by a factor of almost 5 across a 2 parsec (in projection) region, perhaps re.ecting the clumpy nature of the dense clouds. In addition, we found that the 3.4 μm hydrocarbon feature varies in depth across the areas studied toward the central cluster, whereas the depth is relatively constant toward the Quintuplet cluster. This is likely a reflection of the distribution of extinction from the foreground diffuse ISM. Our ground-based and space-based spectroscopy reveals differences in absorption features in the 3 and 6 μm regions between sightlines toward the GC central cluster and those toward the Quintuplet cluster. While the 3 μm spectra of both regions show a broad absorption feature blueward of the 3.4 μm absorption, only the Quintuplet spectra show a distinct absorption feature at 3.28 μm. This feature is indicative of the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) along the line of sight. The Quintuplet-proper sources have 6 μm spectra that are markedly different than that of GC IRS 7 in the central cluster, and instead strongly resemble the spectra seen toward dusty late-type carbon-class (WC)Wolf-Rayet stars. This is the first hint of some spectroscopic similarity between the Quintuplet sources and dusty WC stars.
Eryx jaculus (Reptilia, Boidae) north of Danube: a road-killed specimen from Romania

In September 2011 we identified a killed specimen of Eryx jaculus on the road between the towns of Turnu Măgurele and Corabia, in southern Romania. This seems to be the first record of the species north of the Danube. Although surprising, the identification of E. jaculus in the area is interpreted in the light of the presence of other species of herpetofauna in the Danube floodplain with similar ecological requirements, reaching here their northern distribution limit. Survival of the species appears to be favoured by the existence of some protected areas in the region.
Demographic Change, Human Capital and Welfare

This paper employs a large scale overlapping generations (OLG) model with endogenous human capital formation using a Ben-Porath (1967) technology to evaluate the quantitative role of human capital adjustments for the economic consequences of demographic change. We find that endogenous human capital formation is a quantitatively important adjustment mechanism which substantially mitigates the macroeconomic impact of population aging. On the aggregate level, the predicted decrease of the rate of return to physical capital is only one third of the predicted decrease in a standard model with a fixed human capital profile. In terms of welfare, while young agents with little assets gain up to 0.8% in consumption from increasing wages in both models, welfare losses from decreasing returns of older and asset rich households are substantial. But importantly, these losses are about 50 − 70% higher in the model without endogenous human capital formation. Ignoring this adjustment channel thus leads to quantitatively important biases of the welfare assessment of demographic change. We also document that not reforming the social security system but letting contribution rates increase will largely offset any positive welfare effects for future generations.
Carbon Stock Potential of Oak and Pine Forests in Garhwal Region in Indian Central Himalayas

1. Research Scholar, Department of Environmental Science, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar-263145, Uttarakhand, India. [E-Mail: Nautiyal.Nanda@Gmail.Com] 2. Professor, Department Of Environmental Science, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, GB Pant University Of Agriculture And Technology, Pantnagar-263145, Uttarakhand, India. [E-mail: drvirsingh@rediffmail.com, sinvir@gmail.com]
Early evolution of electron cyclotron driven current during suppression of tearing modes in a circular tokamak

When electron cyclotron (EC) driven current is first applied to the inside of a magnetic island, the current spreads throughout the island and after a short period achieves a steady level. Using a two equation fluid model for the EC current that allows us to examine this early evolution in detail, we analyze high-resolution simulations of a 2/1 classical tearing mode in a low-beta large aspect-ratio circular tokamak. These simulations use a nonlinear 3D reduced-MHD fluid model and the JOREK code. During the initial period where the EC driven current grows and spreads throughout the magnetic island, it is not a function of the magnetic flux. However, once it has reached a steady-state, it should be a flux function. We demonstrate numerically that if sufficiently resolved toroidally, the steady-state EC driven current becomes approximately a flux function. We discuss the physics of this early period of EC evolution and its impact on the size of the magnetic island.
Influence of depositional load on the development of a shortcut fault system during the inversion of an extensional basin: The Eocene-Oligocene Abanico Basin case, central Chile Andes (33°-35°S)

The current paper analyzes the evolution of the Abanico Basin, exposed in the Chilean Principal Cordillera in central Chile (33o-35oS). According to previous studies, the basin has been affected by two main deformational episodes; the first, related to extension, and the second, to partial basin inversion. Deposits of the Abanico Formation, Eocene-Oligocene, and the Farellones Formation, Early-Middle Miocene, represent these two deformational episodes, respectively. Studies of the basin deposits and the structural features show that the basin was asymmetric and that it developed two main depocenters. The eastern depocenter is deeper and was controlled by a west-dipping fault system (El Diablo Fault System) that formed its eastern border. We propose that the geometry of the basin and the magnitude of inversion were strongly influenced by the load generated by the thick volcanic and volcaniclastic pile that accumulated in the eastern depocenter. Through analogue modeling, we interpret that the Aconcagua fold-thrust belt was triggered at ~16 Ma by a shortcut thrust rooted in the El Diablo Fault System. During inversion, this fault system was blocked because of the high load exerted by the deposits of the Abanico and Farellones formations. In addition, the stratified Mesozoic succession that formed the eastern border of the basin allowed the propagation of the shortcut thrust along the ductile Oxfordian gypsum layer. This would have determined the east vergence of the fold-thrust belt. On the western side of the basin, the absence of weak layers prevented development of a west-vergent fold-thrust belt.
Intellectual Property Rights and International Innovation

This chapter provides a selective survey of the theoretical and empirical literature to date on the relationship between intellectual property rights (IPRs) and measures of innovation and international technology transfer. The chapter discusses the empirical implications of theoretical work, assesses the theoretical work based on the evidence available, and identifies some gaps in the existing literature.
PRODUCTION OF ICE NUCLEATION DEFICIENT (ICE-) MUTANTS OF THE EPIPHYTIC STRAINS OF ERWINIA HERBICOLA

To mutate the Ice Nucleation Active (INA) gene in Erwinia herbicola strains, Tn-5 transposon carried by Psup2021 plasmid was used. This plasmid was transferred to the bacterial cells by electroporation. Electrotransformation was carried out for 2.5 ms at 1800 v and 1 mm distance between the electrodes. Polymerase chain reaction was used for determination of presence or loss of INA gene, using a pair of primers designed for inaZ gene. The ice nucleation activity was tested by the freezing assay technique. The ice- phenotype of the putative mutants were assayed through spraying sunflower seedlings, grown under aseptic condition, with 107 to 108 colony forming units per milliliter of the parent and transformant strains. The treated seedlings were kept at -8°C to -10°C for 8-10 hours and then transferred back to ambient (laboratory) condition for recovery or expression of freezing damage syndrome. Three out of ten electroporated strains yielded ice- mutants that failed to freeze water droplets at -8°C and produce no freezing injury on sunflower seedlings.