Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship of Values and Personality Traits in Malaysian College Students

The purpose of our study was to investigate the relationships between personality traits and value importance amongst students at tertiary level of education in Malaysia. Two thousands and ninety students from various government and semi-government's higher learning institutions participated in this study. The Schwartz’s Short Value Scale (adapted version by Lindeman & Verkasaloo, 2005) was used as a measurement tool for value importance. All of 10 universal values i.e. Power, Hedonism, Self-direction, Stimulation, Achievement, Benevolence, Universalism, Tradition, Conformity, and Security as proposed by Schwartz (1992), were rated on the extent to which they act as “guiding principle of life”. Two underlying structures of values were identified as Conservation and Self-Transcendence. Personality traits were based on the five factor model of personality, i.e. Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism, measured through The Big Five Inventory by John, Donahue, and Kentle (1991). Results showed that Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were positively correlated with both Conservation and Self-Transcendence values. Whilst, Openness showed negative relationships with both types of values, and Neuroticism correlated negatively with Self-Transcendence values.
Improving women's practices for reducing the severity of menopausal symptoms

Background: Menopause is a physiological event in the women’s life that can strongly affect quality of life. More than 80% of women state that physical and psychological symptoms are commonly accompany menopause, with different degrees of severity and affect women’s health and wellbeing. The aim of the current study was to improve women's practices for reducing severity level of the menopausal symptoms. Subjects and methods: The study was conducted in the gynecological department in El-Minia general hospital in Egypt using quasi experimental research design with pre-post assessment on 150 women at 45 years. The data collection tools included an interviewing questioner, knowledge assessment tool, practical assessment tool and Menopause Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire used to assess the severity of menopausal symptoms. The study was achieved through three phases namely assessment, implementation and evaluation. Each menopausal woman was evaluated at the assessment phase, and two months after program implementation. Results: More than half of the women had unsatisfactory knowledge regarding to menopause, in addition (69.3%, 78%, 56% and 71.3%) of women had improper practices for their vasomotor, psychosocial, physical and sexual health complains respectively at pretest. There were statistically significant improvement in the reduction of the severity menopausal symptoms and improve women practice with common menopausal health complains at posttest ( p < .0001). Conclusions: Improving women’s practices can be effective in reducing the severity of menopausal symptoms. It is recommended that, health care providers need to play essential role in assessing women’s needs and increase women awareness through implementing proper health educational session about the menopausal age and how to dealing with common health complains associated with menopausal age.
Multiple Borrowing: Implications for Investment, Misallocation, and Technology Choice

Falling barriers to credit access have had some unexpected consequences. In the developing world, the rapid entry of lenders into credit markets has lead to simultaneous borrowing from multiple lenders, high interest rates and high levels of debt and default. We develop a model that rationalizes these outcomes when borrowers cannot commit to exclusive borrowing from a single lender, and show such commitment problems can also have perverse effects on investment and technology choice. We illustrate a trade-off between the efficiency of production and the degree of commitment (not to borrow further) embedded in it. The most productive investment opportunities may receive low levels of investment, and entrepreneurs may endogenously choose to adopt inferior production technology as long as it is sufficiently concave. These problems are exacerbated when borrowers have access to more lenders, providing an explanation of why increased access to finance does not always improve aggregate outcomes.
Geometry of Complex Polynomials: On Sendov's Conjecture

Geometry of Complex Polynomials: On Sendov’s Conjecture Taboka Prince Chalebgwa Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa. Thesis: MSc April 2016 Sendov’s conjecture states that if all the zeroes of a complex polynomial P(z) of degree at least two lie in the unit disk, then within a unit distance of each zero lies a critical point of P(z). In a paper that appeared in 2014, Dégot proved that, for each a ∈ (0, 1), there is an integer N such that for any polynomial P(z) with degree greater than N, P(a) = 0 and all zeroes inside the unit disk, the disk |z − a| ≤ 1 contains a critical point of P(z). Basing on this result, we derive an explicit formula N(a) for each a ∈ (0, 1) and, furthermore, obtain a uniform bound N for all a ∈ [α, β] where 0 < α < β < 1. This addresses the questions posed in Dégot’s paper. ii Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za
Unemployment and Inventories in the Business Cycle

This paper investigates the impact of monetary shocks on the business cycle with specific regard to the role of inventories. The model is based on an overlapping-generations non-tâtonnement approach involving temporary equilibria with stochastic rationing in each period and price adjustment between successive periods. Inventories reinforce the importance of spill-over effects between markets and imply that, starting from a stationary Walrasian equilibrium, it is possible that, following a restrictive monetary shock, the economy converges to a quasi-stationary Keynesian underemployment state. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this is favored by sufficient downward flexibility of the nominal wage. Thus in that case money is non-neutral in the long run. The model is applied to the current deflationary Japanese recession, and we propose a way how to overcome it. JEL classification: D45, D50, E32, E37
Structural dynamics of myoglobin probed by femtosecond infrared spectroscopy of the amide band

The dynamics of the tertiary conformation of myoglobin (Mb) after photolysis of carbon monoxide was investigated at 283 K solution by probing amide I and II bands using femtosecond IR absorption spectroscopy. Time-resolved spectra in the amide region evolve with 6-12 ps time scale without noticeable subpicosecond dynamics. The spectra measured at 100 ps delay after photolysis is similar to the difference FTIR spectrum at equilibrium. Time-resolved spectra of photoexcited Mb evolve modestly and their amplitudes are less than 8% of those of photolyzed MbCO, indicating that thermal contribution to the spectral evolution in the amide region is negligible. These observations suggest that the conformational relaxation ensuing photolysis of MbCO be complex and the final deoxy protein conformation have been substantially formed by 100 ps, probably with 6- 12 ps time constant.
ACCELERATION ABOVE THE COULOMB BARRIER – COMPLETION OF THE ISAC-II PROJECT AT TRIUMF

The ISAC-II project at TRIUMF was proposed to boost the final energy of the radioactive ion beams of the TRIUMF ISAC facility above the Coulomb barrier. The nominal goal of 6.5MeV/u for ions with A/q=6 was recently achieved. The ISAC-II project consists of 40MV of installed heavy ion superconducting linac to broaden the energy reach and a charge state booster to broaden the mass reach. The project and commissioning is described.
Zongo André1,4, KAboré AdAmA1*, bengAly ZAKAriA2, Vitouley SènA HerVé2, trAoré AriStide3, tAmbourA HAmidou HAmAdou1, belem

| In the pastoral zone of Gaongho in Burkina Faso, the main disease of ruminants is the African Animal Trypanosomiasis (AAT) which is very often controlled by herders with the aqueous extracts of five plants whose present study proposes to evaluate the potential trypanocidal activities. To this end, a parasitological field survey in ruminants was carried out followed by an in vitro trypanocidal test of five plant extracts using three concentrations (25, 50 and 100 mg / ml) in triplicate in comparison with negative (PBS) and positive (Veriben) controls in the laboratory. The field survey revealed an overall prevalence rate of 4.14% for trypanosomes, including 4.54% for cattle and sheep and 3.33% for goats, with no significant difference (P ˃ 0. 05) was recorded between the three ruminant species. Among the latter, the sex effect showed a significant difference in goats where males were more infested (P = 0.0015) than females. On the other hand, the age of the animals presented no significant difference (P = 0.8218) between the three species. All ruminants tested were more infested with Trypanosoma brucei brucei (66.67%) than T. congolense (33.33%). The in vitro test was conducted with aqueous extracts of five plants (Balanites aegyptiaca, Capparis sepiaria, Guiera senegalensis, Mitragyna inermis, and Vitellaria paradoxa) on Trypanosoma brucei brucei. Concentrations of 50 and 100 mg / ml of G. senegalensis leaf extracts and V. paradoxa bark caused high mortality of T. brucei brucei and were comparable to Veriben, the standard reference product. The results obtained with the extracts of G. senegalensis and V. paradoxa showed that these plantsmay be the potential source of trypanocidal drugs.
Trend Inflation and the Nature of Structural Breaks in the New Keynesian Phillips Curve

In this paper, we investigate the nature of structural breaks in inflation by estimating a version of the New Keynesian Phillips curve (NKPC) in the presence of a unit root in inflation. We show that, with a unit root in inflation, the NKPC implies an unobserved components model that consists of three components: a stochastic trend component, a component that depends upon current and future forecasts of real economic activity, and a stationary component which is potentially serially correlated (or a component of inflation that is not explained by the conventional forward-looking NKPC). Our empirical results suggest that, with an increase in trend inflation during the Great Inflation period, the response of inflation to real economic activity decreases and the persistence of the inflation gap increases due to an increase in the persistence of the unobserved stationary component. These results are in line with the predictions of Cogley and Sbordone (2008), who show that the coefficients of the NKPC are functions of time-varying trend inflation.
Photostabilization of a Nitromethylene Heterocycle Insecticide on the Surface of Montmorillonite

The photochemical stability of the insecticidal compound tetrahydro-2-(nitromethylene)-2H-1,3-thiazine (NMH) adsorbed on montmorillonite (Mont), in the presence or in the absence of a second organic chromophore was studied. Two different organic dyes were investigated as possible stabilizers of NMH: the divalent cation methyl green (MG) and the monovalent cation thioflavin T (TFT). Samples of free NMH and of the adsorption complexes Mont-NMH, Mont-MG-NMH, and Mont-TFT-NMH were exposed to direct sunlight, and the residual insecticidal activity was estimated. Some photostabilization of the pesticide adsorbed to the clay was observed. The highest degree of photoprotection was achieved in samples containing 0.5 mmole of TFT and 0.2 mmole of NMH/g clay. Increasing the load of TFT to 0.8 mmole/g clay resulted in a complete loss of photostabilization. The interactions of the organic molecules at the clay surface were studied by UV-VIS absorption and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. For the Mont-NMH and Mont-MG-NMH complexes, the observed photostabilization is probably due to clay-NMH interactions. In the Mont-TFT-NMH complex specific interactions between the cationic dye and the pesticide molecules probably occurred as well.
Improving an Ovulation Rate in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome by Using Silymarin

Polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS) is a heterogeneous disorder of uncertain etiology , it is the most common endocrinopathy in women and most common cause of anovulatery infertility ,characterized by chronic anovulation and hyperandrogenemia . The present study was designed to investigate the effect of silymarin which is known to have antioxidant and insulin sensitivity effects on the levels of glucose, insulin ,testosterone ,leutinizing hormone(LH) and progesterone . Ovulation rate and Homeostasis Model Assessment of insulin Resistance (HOMA) ratio were determined . A 3-months of treatment were conducted in 60 PCOS patients in three well-matched groups . The first one (n=20),received silymarin(750mg/day) . The second group received metformin(1500mg/day) while the third group treated by combination of metformin (1500mg/day )and silymarin (750mg/day). All these groups had taken the drugs in divided doses. The results showed significant improvement in all parameters at the end of treatment . The percentage of increment in progesterone levels after completion of treatment were 12.12, 15.9, and 17.51 in groups 1, 2, and 3 respectively and the number of patients ovulated after 3 months of treatment were 4,5, and 10 in groups 1,2, and 3 respectively. However they are more better in group of patients who were treated with combination of silymarin with metformin.In conclusion the addition of silymarin to metformin in treatment of PCOS patients has improving effect on disturbed hormones and ovulation rate. Key words: Polycystic ovary syndrome, silymarin, ovulation rate,metformin
Influence of leaf canopy height on the occurrence of berry shrivel

Berry shrivel (BS) is a physiological disorder of grapevine that causes severe grape quality losses. The origin of BS is still unknown. In a trial with different treatments of the leaf canopy, a higher BS incidence in the plots with reduced leaf area was observed. Therefore it was investigated, whether a strong reduction of the canopy height regularly promotes BS development. Further, berry and leaf analyses should give evidence of possible changes in mineral contents which could be related to BS incidence. In three out of four trials, a strong reduction in leaf canopy height at the beginning of berry ripening, resulted in the appearance of berry shrivel (BS) symptoms. Intensive shoot topping during berry ripening therefore strongly increases the likelihood of BS occurrence, but does not always result in the appearance of BS symptoms. At the end of the berry ripening period, leaves in the reduced canopy height treatment (RCH) showed higher nitrogen content and lower potassium content than those in the normal canopy height treatment (NCH), suggesting a high and maybe also passive absorption of nitrogen, which hinders the absorption of potassium. These findings open new approaches for further studies on the causes of BS.
Investigation of bcr1 Gene Expression in Candida albicans Isolates by RT-PCR Technique and its Impact on Biofilm Formation

Background: Adhesion and biofilm formation are two important steps in Candida pathogenesis. The aim of the current study was to investigate the presence of bcr1 gene in Candida albicans (C. albicans ) isolates from women with vaginal candidiasis and its impact on biofilm formation. Methods: We used 50 clinical isolates which confirmed C. albicans by PCR-RFLP. Then total RNA was extracted from C. albicans isolates by glass bead and lysis buffer, and cDNA was synthesized using reverse transcriptase enzyme. RT-PCR (Reverse Transcriptase PCR) was used to evaluate the expression of bcr1 gene. Biofilm formation was evaluated in 96-well microplate and then tetrazolium reduction was assayed. All data were analyzed using t-test by SPSS software. Results: Fifty clinical isolates out of 150 were confirmed as C. albicans by using PCR-RFLP method. All the isolates were resistant to fluconazole, 47/50(94%) isolates had bcr1 gene by using PCR, and 45(95.7%) out of 47 isolates, showed BCR1 expression by the RT-PCR. Isolates which harbored bcr1 gene was succeed to form a dense biofilm on microplate. Comparison of the results of the tetrazolium reduction assay on the two isolates that had BCR1expression and two isolates that had no BCR1 expression showed significant differences (p=0.014). Conclusion: According to our result, all of the isolates that had bcr1 gene expression according to RT-PCR, were also resistant to fluconazole in disk diffusion test and additionally, their adherence was higher compared to the control group. These results indicate that there is a positive relation between expression of bcr1 gene and biofilm formation.
Brood Season Habitat Selection by Montezuma Quail in Southeastern Arizona

Habitat conditions during brood season can affect Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) population levels in Arizona, and land use practices can affect these habitat conditions. General habitat affinities of Montezuma quail are known, however, information on specific habitat selection patterns is limited. We investigated seasonal habitat selection by Montezuma quail in the foothills of the Huachuca and Santa Rita mountains in southeastern Arizona. We used pointing dogs to locate quail during brood seasons (Aug–Oct) of 1998 and 1999. We measured habitat components at 60 flush sites and 60 associated ( 100 m) random plots. Compared to random plots, quail used areas with higher grass and forb species richness, and more trees (P 0.10). Low level ( 50 cm) visual obstruction, usually associated with bunchgrass cover, was greater (P 0.10) at flush sites than at random plots. Optimum brood season habitat for Montezuma quail should contain 6 species of forbs/0.01 ha, tree canopy cover between 10 and 50%, and grass canopy cover between 50 and 85% with a minimum average height of 25cm. Maintaining these habitat characteristics could minimize negative impacts of land-use practices on Montezuma quail. Citation: Bristow, K. D. , and R. A. Ockenfels. 2002. Brood season habitat selection by montezuma quail in southeastern Arizona. Pages 111–116 in S. J. DeMaso, W. P. Kuvlesky, Jr., F. Hernández, and M. E. Berger, eds. Quail V: Proceedings of the Fifth National Quail Symposium. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin, TX.
The Effect of Role Play on Pragmatic Competence among Male and Female Iranian EFL Learners

This study aims at investigating the effects of role play on pragmatics competence among male and female Iranian EFL learners. To do so, 40 undergraduate university students (15 male and 25 female) majoring in English at Karaj Azad university were selected based on Nelson proficiency test (Fowler & Coe, 1976) that was used in order to select the sample out of the population of 90 students who agreed to take part in the study. Based on the results, 40 high intermediate students were selected as the sample of the study. They formed two mixed groups (male and female role play group A, male and female conversation group B). The instruction took place; group A did role play, and group B did conversation followed by free discussion techniques. Having finished the treatment, the two groups took the similar posttest. The results show the positive effect of role-play on increasing pragmatic competence among the intended sample.
Analysis of growth performance and haematological parameters of Oreochromis niloticus fed on a varying diet of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaf meal as an additive protein source

The objective of the current study was to investigate the growth performance and haematological parameters of Oreochromis niloticus fed on four different diets at different Moringa oleifera leaf meal inclusion levels over a period of 33 weeks. The results indicate that Moringa leaf meal causes depressed growth in fish but may increase the immunity of the fish to fight infections and diseases. The four inclusion levels used were: 0% (No Moringa - control), 5, 10 and 15%. There was a significant (p 0.05) difference among the fish fed with the four diets. However, the SGR and MWG were highest in the control fish followed by 15% then 10% and lastly 5%. The Gonadal Somatic Index, Hepatosomatic Index and Cardiosomatic Index were not significantly (p>0.05) different among the four treatments. The mean values of haematological parameters showed no significant (p>0.05) difference among the fish fed on the four diets. However, the Mean Cell Haemoglobin in 15% Moringa diet was significantly different from the control diet. White Blood Cells were not significantly different among the treatments (p>0.05) though high values were observed in treatments with Moringa inclusion. The study has shown that inclusion of Moringa to the fish diet results in depressed growth but it improves the immunity of the fish because of an increase in White Blood cells. Further studies to explore the use of Moringa in fish diets at rates which do not cause depressed growth but improve immunity are recommended. Key words: Growth performance, haematological parameters, Moringa oleifera, Oreochromis niloticus, protein source.
Effects of Geosynthetic Reinforcement on the Propagation of Reflection Cracking in Asphalt Overlays

An experimental program was conducted to determine the effects of geosynthetic reinforcement on mitigating reflection cracking in asphalt overlays. The objectives of this study were to asses the effects of geosynthetics inclusion and its placement location on the accumulation of permanent deformation. To simulate an asphalt pavement overlaid on top of a crack in a concrete or asphalt pavement, an asphalt mixture specimen was placed on top of two discontinuous concrete or asphalt concrete blocks with 100 mm height. Four types of specimens were prepared with respect to the location of geogrid: (I) Unreinforced samples, which served as control specimen, (II) Samples with geogrid embedded on the concrete or asphalt concrete block, (III) Samples with geogrid embeded one-thired depth of asphalt concrete from bottom, (IV) Samples with geogrid embedded in the middle of the asphalt beam. Each specimen was then placed on the rubber foundation in order to be tested. Simulatedrepeated loading was applied to the asphalt mixture specimens using a hydraulic dynamic loading frame. Each experiment was recorded in its entirety by a video camera to allow the physical observation of reflection crack formation and propagation. This study revealed that geosynthetic reinforced specimens exhibited resistance to reflection cracking. Placing the geogrid at the onethird depth of overlay thickness had the maximum predicted service life. Results indicate a significant reduction in the rate of crack propagation and rutting in reinforced samples compared to unreinforced samples.
A Multimarket Approach for Estimating a New Keynesian Phillips Curve

We propose a new approach to estimate and "hybrid" New Keynesian Phillips Curve (NKPC) that includes demand pressures coming from disequilibrium relations in three different markets: (1) the monetary and financial, (2) the international, and (3) the labor market. In the application, our results show that all three markets contribute to the evolution of inflation. However, the effect of shocks on equilibrium in the labour market and short run movements in cyclical output are relatively more important than other shocks. Based on econometric tests, this specification is proved to be superior to the traditional NKPC that includes a single variable to account for demand pressures.