Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching-ISSN 2501-1754

Using smartphones for learning a language has long been recommended by scholars. However, its effectiveness is still the subject of argument. Moreover, due to the limited time in the conventional language classes, students do not have the chance to practice all vocabulary items which may hinder the learning process. Accordingly, a mixed method only-post-test quasi-experimental study was conducted. Also, for the qualitative phase, data were gathered through a focus group interview with the participants chosen through purposive sampling. It was confirmed that there was a significant effect of online practicing on vocabulary learning of the language learners. Furthermore, it was found out that the participants held a positive attitude for practicing target words through Telegram. In addition, the study results showed that using Telegram application does not have a significant effect on the retention of the vocabulary of the learners. From the results of this study, the researcher proposed some pedagogical implications to EFL teachers, practitioners, material developers, policy makers, and other English education stakeholders.
Wave Responses and System Identification of Long Structures with Continuous Modeling

This paper introduces a wave-based approach for system identification of high-rise building structures with a pair of seismic recordings, which can be used to evaluate structural integrity and detect damage in post-earthquake structural condition assessment. The fundamental of the approach is based on wave features of generalized impulse and frequency response functions (GIRF and GFRF), i.e., wave responses at one structural location to an impulsive motion at another reference location in time and frequency domains respectively. With a pair of seismic recordings at the two locations, GFRF is obtainable as Fourier spectral ratio of the two recordings, and GIRF is then found with the inverse Fourier transformation of GFRF. With an appropriate continuous model for the structure, a closed-form solution of GFRF, and subsequent GIRF, can also be found in terms of wave transmission and reflection coefficients, which are related to structural physical properties above the impulse location. Matching the two sets of GFRF and/or GIRF from recordings and the model helps identify structural parameters such as wave velocity or shear modulus. For illustration, this study examines ten-story Millikan Library in Pasadena, California with recordings of Yorba Linda earthquake of September 3, 2002. The building is modeled as piecewise continuous layers, with which GFRF is derived as function of such building parameters as impedance, cross-sectional area, and damping. GIRF can then be found in closed form for some special cases and numerically in general. Not only does this study reveal the influential factors of building parameters in wave features of GIRF and GRFR. It also shows some system-identification results, which are consistent with other vibrationand wave-based results. Finally, this paper discusses the effectiveness of the proposed model in system identification. Keywords— Wave-based approach, Seismic responses of buildings, Wave propagation in structures.
Relationships of the hydraulic flow characteristics with the transport of soil organic carbon and sediment loss in the Loess Plateau

Erosive power is characterized by the hydraulic forces of moving water and determines the water transport capacity of soil organic carbon (SOC) and sediment. Understanding the relationships of hydraulic flow characteristics (flow velocity and depth, shear stress and stream power) with the transport of sediments and SOC will improve the understanding of the transport mechanism of sediment and SOC, which in turn will improve SOC prediction. To address this issue, two loess soils (one silt loam and one silty clay) were selected, and 32 simulated rainfall experiments were conducted in a 1 m by 5 m soil pan at a varying slopes (10°, 15°, 20°, and 25°) and two rainfall intensities (90 mm h and 120 mm h). The results showed that the flow velocities had significant positive linear relationships with the SOC concentrations (P < 0.001) under the rainfall intensity of 90 mm h and that the flow velocities also had close relationships with the suspension transport of clay particles in the finetextured soil and the rolling transport of light large aggregates in the coarse-textured soil. Under the rainfall intensity of 120 mm h, the runoff depth was positively correlated with the SOC concentrations due to the suspension transport of the clay particles and was negatively correlated with the sediment concentration. The slope had a greater effect on the sediment and SOC loss of the coarse-textured soil than those of the fine-textured soil. Additionally, the stream power was a better descriptor of the sediment loss in the loess soils than shear stress. Overall, both the soil texture and rainfall intensity changed the relationships of the hydraulic flow characteristics with the sediment and SOC loss. Finally, the results of our study will provide important knowledge for improving or building hydraulic-based SOC and sediment loss models.
Common Site of Urinary Calculi in Kidney, Ureter and Urinary Bladder Region: Jos Experience

Objective: To determine the common location of calculus along the urinary tract using CT scan. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted using CT from November 2016 to September 2018, in a tertiary hospital in Jos, Nigeria. The CT images acquired from this period were evaluated and 50 patients were positive for urolithiasis. The data was subjected to statistical analysis based on age, gender and calculus location. Results: Out of the 50 patients with calculi, 34 were males and 16 were females with a male to female ratio of 2.13:1. 137 urinary calculi were documented in which 90 were in males and 47 in the female patients. Highest occurrence of calculi was seen in age group 31-40 years (34.0%). 112(82%) were renal stones, 12(9%) were ureteric stones, 8(6%) were found in pelvi-ureteric junction (PUJ), 3(2%) were in the vesico-ureteric junction (VUJ), 2(1%) were in the urinary bladder and none in the urethra. Conclusion: Kidney stones are the most common followed by the ureter, the pelvi-ureteric junction, the vesico-ureteric junction and the bladder.
LED Lighting Implementation as a Strategy for Energy Saving in Energetically Sustainable Campus

Article history: Received: 04 August, 2019 Accepted: 13 September, 2019 Online: 22 October, 2019 Since lighting constitutes an important part of the total electricity consumption of a country, the design and implementation of more efficient interior lighting systems are one of the feasible strategies to reduce energy consumption. With this purpose, in recent years several studies have considered the use of LED lighting systems. However, its implementation at a large scale is still unaffordable for some organizations like academic institutions. In this context, this research presents a strategy to replace the current fluorescent-based lighting system to LED technology in a building of a higher education institution in Ecuador, and thus contribute to reducing energy consumption in campus facilities. The appropriate LED lamp alternative was selected from those available in the Ecuadorian market through AHP multicriteria decision-making method. The improvement proposal included an annual schedule for the progressive replacement of fluorescent lamps, based on the economic savings that would be generated every year after its implementation. The proposal was technically validated by simulation in DIAlux 4.12 and its economic feasibility was demonstrated by estimating the net present value and the equivalent uniform annual cost. With this strategy, a total of 2595 fluorescent tubes installed in the 215 building light points, can be replaced with LED technology in three years, with an initial investment of 4949.10 USD and generate an energy saving of 47.36%.
Analysis of the Levels of Alteration of Aquifers Caused by the Installation of Wind Farms on Dunes on the Coast of Ceará, Brazil

This research evaluated the levels of alteration of aquifers caused by installation of wind farms on dunes on the coast of Ceará, using the GOD and POSH methods of vulnerability, underground flow, and the application of multivariate analysis to subsidize the monitoring of groundwater quality in the area. There were three stages of field study: registering the wells and pollution sources, measuring the water levels, and groundwater sampling for laboratory analysis. The results obtained with the GOD method demonstrate the predominance of moderate- to high natural vulnerability of the aquifer to pollution in the areas close to the wind park in the district of Amarelas (Xavier and Ziu beach) and revealed high pollution loads according to the POSH method. The directional vectors of the underground flow are meaningful for Xavier Beach (high vulnerability), the center of Amarelas (moderate vulnerability), Tapuiu and Montevideo (low vulnerability). This indicated that the wind farm may have a potential impact on the lowering of groundwater in the area. From the multivariate analysis, it is evident that the groundwater characteristics are strongly related to the geological formation of the wells (Dunas and Barreiras), showing all samples within the Tolerable Maximum Value for human consumption for TDS, hardness, turbidity, and pH. It is vital to carry out preliminary studies of the aquifers underlying the areas where wind farms are to be installed, considering the levels of vulnerability and the risks of pollution and alteration of the water supply.
Permafrost distribution in steep rock slopes in Norway: measurements, statistical modelling and implications for geomorphological processes

Abstract. Permafrost in steep rock slopes has been increasingly studied since the early 2000s in conjunction with a growing number of rock slope failures, which likely resulted from permafrost degradation. In Norway, rock slope destabilization is a widespread phenomenon and a major source of risk for the population and infrastructure. However, a lack of precise knowledge of the permafrost distribution in steep slopes hinders the assessment of its role in these destabilizations. This study proposes the first nationwide permafrost probability map for the steep slopes of Norway (CryoWall map). It is based on a multiple linear regression model fitted with multi-annual rock surface temperature (RST) measurements, collected at 25 rock slope sites, spread across a latitudinal transect (59–69∘ N) over mainland Norway. The CryoWall map suggests that discontinuous permafrost widely occurs above 1300–1400 and 1600–1700 m a.s. l. in the north and south rock faces of southern Norway (59∘ N), respectively. This lower altitudinal limit decreases in northern Norway (70∘ N) by about 500±50 m, with a more pronounced decrease for south faces, as a result of the insolation patterns largely driven by midnight sun in summer and polar night in winter. Similarly, the mean annual RST differences between north and south faces of similar elevation range around 1.5 ∘C in northern Norway and 3.5 ∘C in southern Norway. The CryoWall map is evaluated against direct ice observations in steep slopes and discussed in the context of former permafrost studies in various types of terrain in Norway. We show that permafrost can occur at much lower elevations in steep rock slopes than in other terrains, especially in north faces. We demonstrate that the CryoWall map is a valuable basis for further investigations related to permafrost in steep slopes in terms of both practical concerns and fundamental science.
Quality Product And Excellent Service: The Impact of Repeat Savings Decision

The tight competition in the banking industry has forced management to be creative in serving customers. Research related to product quality and service excellence has been carried out, but the research is still done partially. This research combines product quality and service excellence by utilizing customer satisfaction as a mediating variable in the decision to save again. The study population was customers of deposit accounts. This study used purposive sampling, with a number of respondents as many as 125 people. The analysis technique used was structural equation modeling, the collected data was then processed using AMOS software. After analysis, all hypotheses submitted in this study were considered to be acceptable. The managerial implications of the research are that the service excellence provided by the bank must be a service that can truly be directly felt and provide benefits, so that it can satisfy customers.
ePubWU Institutional Repository

The relationship between the energy-food-water nexus and the climate is non-linear, multi-sectoral and time sensitive, incorporating aspects of complexity and risk in climate related decision-making. Current methods of analysis were not built to represent such a complex system and are insufficiently equipped to capture and understand positive and negative externalities generated by the interactions among different stakeholders involved in the energy-food-water nexus. Potential amplification effects, time delays and path dependency of climate policies are also inadequately represented. This paper seeks to explore how knowledge co-production can help identify opportunities for building more effective, sustainable, inclusive and legitimate decision making processes on climate change. This would enable more resilient responses to climate risks impacting the nexus while increasing transparency, communication and trust among key actors. We do so by proposing the operationalization of an interdisciplinary approach of analysis applying the novel methodology developed in Howarth and Monasterolo (2016). Through a bottom-up, participative approach, we present results of five themed workshops organized in the UK (focusing on: shocks and hazards, infrastructure, local economy, governance and governments, finance and insurance) featuring 78 stakeholders from academia, government and industry. We present participant’s perceptions of opportunities that can emerge from climate and weather shocks across the energy-food-water nexus. We explore opportunities offered by the development and deployment of a transdisciplinary approach of analysis within the nexus boundaries and we analyse their implications. Our analysis contributes to the current debate on how to shape global and local responses to climate change by reflecting on lessons learnt and best practice from cross-stakeholder and cross-sectorial engagement. In so doing, it helps inform a new generation of complex systems models to analyse climate change impact on the food-water-
Supranational Supervision

It is now common to have separate regulators for larger, more complex and cross-border active financial firms as opposed to smaller financial firms. Exploiting the establishment of a new supranational regulator responsible for banks larger than e 30 billion in assets in Europe (the Single Supervisory Mechanism SSM), we investigate how separation of regulation impacts regulatory outcomes as well as risk shifting activities among banks under the different regulators. We show that local national regulators are systematically more lenient as compared to the supranational supervisor. Banks under SSM surveillance report higher risk weights, higher probability of default and lower collateral to loan ratios for exposures to the same firm as compared to banks under national supervision. The differential regulatory treatment results in higher capital charges for affected banks and has substantial impact on their activities. Affected banks react to the stricter supervision by shifting loans and security holdings to banks that do not fall under scrutiny of the SSM. This reduction is more pronounced in riskier assets which leads to a higher proportion of risky assets being held by smaller non-SSM banks. Matching the credit register with firm level balance sheet data, we further show that firms receiving loans only from SSM banks exhibit reduced employment, sales and investment compared to other
analysis quantification in sustained-responder and non-responder interferon-treated patients with chronic hepatitis C

Background/Aims: The effect of interferon on the reduction of liver fibrosis is controversial. We aimed to compare semiquantitative methods with a quantitative digital image analysis system to assess liver fibrosis in biopsies from patients with chronic hepatitis and different responses to interferon. Methods: We studied 98 liver biopsies with chronic hepatitis C before and after recombinant interferon alfa-2 treatment, using conventional histological assessment, grading of histological activity, scoring/staging of fibrosis (Knodell and Scheuer), and quantification of fibrosis with image analysis (FibroQuant). Results: Sustained-responders to interferon showed a significant reduction in histological lesions and in their Knodell and Scheuer activity indexes. The semiquantitative systems showed no reduction in fibrosis. The FibroQuant application showed a significant reduction in porto-periportal and septal areas among sustained-responders (P , 0.001) and non-responders (P , 0.05), and in porto-periportal and septal fibrosis areas only in sustained-responders (P , 0.001), whereas the percentage of fibrosis increased in non-responders (P , 0.001). Conclusions: The Scheuer system is useful for the daily evaluation of fibrosis, but the FibroQuant application provides more objective data on the anti-fibrogenic effects of interferon, which include a reduction in the portoperiportal area in sustained-responders and non-responders, accompanied by a reduction in the area of fibrosis only when the viral replication has ceased. q 2001 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
A Low-Power High-Data-Transmission Multi-Lead ECG Acquisition Sensor System

This study presents a low-power multi-lead wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) signal sensor system design that can simultaneously acquire the electrocardiograms from three leads, I, II, and V1. The sensor system includes two parts, an ECG test clothing with five electrode patches and an acquisition device. Compared with the traditional 12-lead wired ECG detection instrument, which limits patient mobility and needs medical staff assistance to acquire the ECG signal, the proposed vest-type ECG acquisition system is very comfortable and easy to use by patients themselves anytime and anywhere, especially for the elderly. The proposed study incorporates three methods to reduce the power consumption of the system by optimizing the micro control unit (MCU) working mode, adjusting the radio frequency (RF) parameters, and compressing the transmitted data. In addition, Huffman lossless coding is used to compress the transmitted data in order to increase the sampling rate of the acquisition system. It makes the whole system operate continuously for a long period of time and acquire abundant ECG information, which is helpful for clinical diagnosis. Finally, a series of tests were performed on the designed wearable ECG device. The results have demonstrated that the multi-lead wearable ECG device can collect, process, and transmit ECG data through Bluetooth technology. The ECG waveforms collected by the device are clear, complete, and can be displayed in real-time on a mobile phone. The sampling rate of the proposed wearable sensor system is 250 Hz per lead, which is dependent on the lossless compression scheme. The device achieves a compression ratio of 2.31. By implementing a low power design on the device, the resulting overall operational current of the device is reduced by 37.6% to 9.87 mA under a supply voltage of 2.1 V. The proposed vest-type multi-lead ECG acquisition device can be easily employed by medical staff for clinical diagnosis and is a suitable wearable device in monitoring and nursing the off-ward patients.
SPURIOUS REGRESSIONS BETWEEN STATIONARY SERIES: SOME FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS

This paper examines whether the convergent t-test of Kiefer and Vogelsang (2002) and Sun (2004) is able to solve spurious regressions with stationary series. In brief, we find that the convergent t-test provides a better control over size compared to the usual t-test and its Newey-West modification. Also, implementing the convergent t-test with a pre-whiting procedure produces further control over size but with a few exceptions. However, there are occasions that the likelihood of bias rejection is still much too high when the convergent t-test is applied.
Type II-Metacaspases are involved in cell stress but not in cell death in the unicellular green alga Dunaliella tertiolecta

Ultraviolet radiation (UVR; 280–400 nm) has a great impact on aquatic ecosystems by affecting ecophysiological and biogeochemical processes as a consequence of the global change scenario generated by anthropogenic activities. We studied the effect of PAR (P)+UVA (A)+UVB (B) i.e. PAB, on the molecular physiology of the unicellular green alga Dunaliella tertiolecta for six days. We assessed the relationship between the triggered UVR stress response and metacaspases and caspase-like (CL)activities, which are proteases denoted to participate in cell death (CD) in phytoplankton. UVR inhibited cell growth and in vivo chlorophyll a fluorescence but did not cause cell death. Western blot analyses reflected that Type-II metacaspases (MCs) are present and appear to be involved in UVR induced-cell stress but not in dark-induced CD in D. tertiolecta. Enzyme kinetics revealed that cleavage of the MCs-reporter substrates RVRR, QRR, GRR, LKR, HEK, and VLK was 10-fold higher than WEHD, DEVD, IETD, and LETD CLs-substrates. The lowest apparent Michaelis-Menten constants (KMap) corresponded to RVRRase (37.5 μM) indicating a high affinity by the RVRR substrate. The inhibition of enzymatic activities by using inhibitors with different target sites for hydrolyses demonstrated that from all of the R/ Kase activities only RVRRase was a potential candidate for being a metacaspase. In parallel, zymograms and peptide-mass fingerprinting analyses revealed the identities of such Rase activities suggesting an indirect evidence of possible natural physiological substrates of MCs. We present evidence of type II-MCs not being involved in CD in D. tertiolecta, but rather in survival strategies under the stressful irradiance conditions applied in this study.
Corporate Income Tax Competition in the Caribbean ( Revised Draft ) October 2007

Motivated by the concern that corporate income tax (CIT) competition may have eroded the tax base, this paper calculates average effective tax rates to measure the impact of CIT competition, including the widespread use of tax holidays, on the tax base for 15 countries in the Caribbean. The results not only confirm erosion of the tax base, but also show that CIT holidays must be removed for recent tax policy initiatives (such as accelerated depreciation, loss carry forward provisions, and tax harmonization) to be effective. These findings suggest that the authorities should either avoid granting CIT holidays or rely more on other taxes (including consumption taxes such as the value-added tax) in order to broaden the tax base. “The views expressed herein are those of the author and should not be attributed to the IMF, its Executive Board, or its management. ” SESSION 4 Paper 2.DOC October 9, 2008 (9:21 a10/p10)