Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Women's participation in small ruminant rearing and household decision making process at Banshkhali Upazila in Chattogram District

Meherunnesa Chowdhury Sumy, Md. Manirul Islam, Fakir Azmal Huda 1Department of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Khulshi, Chattogram 4225, Bangladesh 2Department of Animal Science and Nutrition, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Khulshi, Chattogram 4225, Bangladesh 3Department of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh
Carcinogenic polyaromatic hydrocarbons in smut wheat infected with Tilletia caries - short communication

PAH's were determined in three samples of wheat infected with Tilletia yeast, applying standard procedure, which includes soxhlet extraction (dichloro methane), followed by purification of the extract and then analysis applying the UV, TLC and HPLC techniques. The detected PAH's in the three infected wheat samples are; naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene,fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]pyrene, dibenzo[ah]anthracene, benzo[ghi]perylene, and indeno[1,2,3-cd] perylene. The average sum of the PAH's concentration in the infected wheat is 33.91 ppm, which is far from the international acceptable concentration (0.1-2.5 ppm) for such carcinogenic compounds. High concentrations of acenaphthene (14.03 ppm) and acenaphthylene (8.6 ppm) are detected. Both compounds are known to be of strong carcinogenic activity.
The relationship between academic futility and the achievement of upper secondary students. Evidence from the Czech Republic

ABSTRACT Research shows that the concept of academic futility is promising for studying the mechanisms that cause differences in educational outcomes in general and vocational programmes. The aim of this paper is to test the hypothesis that in the Czech Republic, a country with one the largest VET sectors in Europe, the worse achievement of students in vocational programmes can also be explained by academic futility, and to explore the relationship between futility and the track attended. The conceptualisation of academic futility returns to the three-dimensional concept proposed by Brookover and Schneider in 1975. The analysis was carried out on a sample of 4871 upper secondary students. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit of the model for a two-level (student and class) concept of academic futility. Two-level structural equation modelling showed a negative relationship between futility and achievement and a lower culture of futility in classes with higher socio-economic status.
Embodying algorithms, enactive artificial intelligence and the extended cognition: You can see as much as you know about algorithm

The recent proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) gives rise to questions on how users interact with AI services and how algorithms embody the values of users. Despite the surging popularity of AI, how users evaluate algorithms, how people perceive algorithmic decisions, and how they relate to algorithmic functions remain largely unexplored. Invoking the idea of embodied cognition, we characterize core constructs of algorithms that drive the value of embodiment and conceptualizes these factors in reference to trust by examining how they influence the user experience of personalized recommendation algorithms. The findings elucidate the embodied cognitive processes involved in reasoning algorithmic characteristics – fairness, accountability, transparency, and explainability – with regard to their fundamental linkages with trust and ensuing behaviors. Users use a dual-process model, whereby a sense of trust built on a combination of normative values and performance-related qualities of algorithms. Embodied algorithmic characteristics are significantly linked to trust and performance expectancy. Heuristic and systematic processes through embodied cognition provide a concise guide to its conceptualization of AI experiences and interaction. The identified user cognitive processes provide information on a user’s cognitive functioning and patterns of behavior as well as a basis for subsequent metacognitive processes.
Sourcing and Management Practices by the Live-Goat Suppliers and Retailers in Lagos State, Nigeria

The sourcing and management practices of the live-goat suppliers and retailers in Lagos State, Nigeria were evaluated. Sources of the live-goat and the husbandry practices on them by suppliers and retailers were determined, using three-stage sampling procedures. Three livestock markets each from Lagos East, West and Central Senatorial Districts were purposively selected. Nine suppliers and 18 retailers were randomly selected in each market resulting to 81 and 162 respondents, respectively. Data on sourcing, handling, and holding period of live-goat were collected using two well-structured questionnaires for the suppliers and retailers of goats. Results showed that most suppliers (89.3%) purchased goats from open markets outside the state. The suppliers (52.0%) and retailers (80.0%) tethered goats. Most suppliers (77.3%) and retailers (90.0%) held goats for a maximum of three weeks, fed goats on dry grass sold in the open markets and some from open paddock. Routine administration of analgesic, dewormer, salt licks and water mainly sourced from boreholes and rivers were practices by both the suppliers and retailers. The age and level of education of the suppliers and retailers significantly influenced (p < 0.05) the management systems, handling, pest control, deworming, watering and additives used by the suppliers and retailers of goats. Most retailers (90.0%) belonged to markets regulated by different sectorial market associations while the local and state government officials in the markets performed no regulatory roles. Therefore, live-goat in Lagos State were sourced from other parts of Nigeria, handled, and managed by the suppliers and then retailers prior to their disposal in a manner directly influenced by the age and levels of education of the practitioners.
Assessing the interrelationships between customer satisfaction, perceived value and behavioral intention among Maldivians seeking medical care within medical tourism services: Empirical evidence from the Maldives

Empirical studies related to interrelationships between variables perceived value, customer satisfaction and behavioral intention conducted in the Maldives context and in the medical care industry is very rare. A quantitative cross-sectional study conducted in natural settings using a survey questionnaire to assess the interrelationships between above mentioned variables by utilizing a conceptual model created from three interrelationship models obtained from previous research. Data collected from willing participants across the 19 atolls resulting in a total of 385 responses obtained after data cleaning. A stratified proportionate random sampling method used. SPSS 25.00 and AMOS 23.00 used as analysis tools. The Sobel test applied to analyze the mediating effect of customer satisfaction on the relationship between perceived value and behavioral intention which confirmed a positive and significant relationship between perceived value, customer satisfaction and behavioral intention. Study rejected the hypothesis which test the mediation of customer satisfaction on the relationship between perceived value and behavioral intention. This study is first of its kind to generalize findings on Maldivian’s medical seeking behavior, and results helps policymakers, medical practitioners, medical institutions, and respective administrations to provide better customer perceived value towards providing higher customer satisfaction, which in effect improve customer behavioral intention towards medical care service providers.
Biocompatibility and Cellular Behavior of TiNbTa Alloy with Adapted Rigidity for the Replacement of Bone Tissue

In this work, the mechanical and bio-functional behavior of a TiNbTa alloy is evaluated as a potential prosthetic biomaterial used for cortical bone replacement. The results are compared with the reference Ti c.p. used as biomaterials for bone-replacement implants. The estimated mechanical behavior for TiNbTa foams was also compared with the experimental Ti c.p. foams fabricated by the authors in previous studies. A TiNbTa alloy with a 20–30% porosity could be a candidate for the replacement of cortical bone, while levels of 80% would allow the manufacture of implants for the replacement of trabecular bone tissue. Regarding biocompatibility, in vitro TiNbTa, cellular responses (osteoblast adhesion and proliferation) were compared with cell growth in Ti c.p. samples. Cell adhesion (presence of filopodia) and propagation were promoted. The TiNbTa samples had a bioactive response similar to that of Ti c.p. However, TiNbTa samples show a better balance of bio-functional behavior (promoting osseointegration) and biomechanical behavior (solving the stress-shielding phenomenon and guaranteeing mechanical resistance).
Anthropogenic Reversal of the Natural Ozone Gradient between
Northern and Southern Mid-latitudes

Abstract. Our quantitative understanding of natural tropospheric ozone concentrations is limited by the paucity of reliable measurements before the 1980s. We utilize the existing measurements to compare the long-term ozone changes that occurred within the marine boundary layer at northern and southern mid-latitudes. Since 1950 ozone concentrations have increased by a factor of 2.1 ± 0.2 in the northern hemisphere (NH) and are presently larger than in the southern hemisphere (SH), where only a much smaller increase has occurred. These changes are attributed to increased ozone production driven by anthropogenic emissions of photochemical ozone precursors that increased with industrial development. The greater ozone concentrations and increases in the NH are consistent with the predominant location of anthropogenic emission sources in that hemisphere. The available measurements indicate that this interhemispheric gradient was much smaller, and was likely reversed in the natural troposphere with higher concentrations in the SH. Six Earth System Model (ESM) simulations indicate similar total NH increases (1.9 with a standard deviation of 0.3), but they occurred more slowly over a longer time period, and the ESMs do not find higher pre-industrial ozone in the SH. Several uncertainties in the ESMs may cause these model-measurement disagreements: the assumed natural nitrogen oxide emissions may be too large, the relatively greater fraction of ozone injected by stratosphere-troposphere exchange to the NH may be overestimated, ozone surface deposition to ocean and land surfaces may not be accurately simulated, and model treatment of emissions of biogenic hydrocarbons and their photochemistry may not be adequate.
Effects of perceived service quality, website quality, and reputation on purchase intention: The mediating and moderating roles of trust and perceived risk in online shopping

Abstract This paper aims to investigate the relationship between antecedents of trust in online shopping and purchase intention. Specifically, it examines the relationship between perceived service quality, perceived website quality, and perceived reputation, as well as the mediating role of trust in online shopping and the moderating role of perceived risk between trust and online purchase intention. An online survey was used to collect data (356 valid responses) and SmartPLS structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to hypothesize a model. Data were collected from September to December 2019. Results suggest the moderating role of perceived risk over trust in online shopping and purchase intention. The slope for the relationship between trust in online shopping and purchase intention is moderated by perceived risk, showing that the relationship becomes stronger when perceived risk is high. Trust significantly mediates the relationship between perceived service quality, website quality reputation, and online purchase intention. This work furthers web-store decision makers’ understanding of the significant influence of trust and its mediating impact on online shopping and demonstrates how an increase in trust decreases the intensity of the impact of perceived risk on online purchase intention. To increase the number of sales and decrease the intensity of risk, companies must increase the level of trust, which mitigates risk and increases customer bonding with companies. As there is no consensus on the mediating role of trust in online shopping and the moderating role of perceived risk, this paper aims to fill this gap in the literature.
Spatiotemporal dynamics for a Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction–diffusion system with nonlocal effects

This paper is devoted to study the dynamical behavior of a Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction–diffusion system with nonlocal effect and find the essential difference between it and classical equations. First, we prove the existence of the solution by using the comparison principle and constructing monotonic sequences. Furthermore, the uniqueness is given by using fundamental solution and Gronwall's inequality. Then we obtain the uniform boundedness of the solution by means of auxiliary function. Finally, we investigate the states of the solution as the parameters change and show some new and interesting phenomena about nonlocal Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction–diffusion system by using stability analysis and numerical simulations.
Pivovarská hodnota českých a moravských chmelů ze sklizně 2009.

Bylo provedeno vyhodnoceni obsahu α- a β-hořkých kyselin chmelů ve sklizni 2009 v Ceske republice. Výsledky byly diskutovany v souvislosti s dlouhodobými trendy kvality sklizni ceskeho chmele. Odběrni mapa zahrnula vsechny tři pěstebni oblasti - Žateckou (73,5 % ploch chmelnic v CR), Ustěckou (12,6 %) a Trsickou oblast (13,9 %). Odrůda Žatecký poloraný cerveňak (ŽPC) byla pěstovana na 4627 ha, dalsimi významnými odrůdami byly Sladek (277 ha) a Premiant (293 ha). Chmele byly analyzovany metodou EBC 7.7 (HPLC) a vsechny výsledky jsou vyjadřeny v % hm. v susině. Průměrna hodnota obsahu hořkých kyselin odrůdy ŽPC v Ceske republice byla α = 3,9 % (Žatecka oblast 4,1 %, Ustěcka oblast 3,7 %, Trsicka oblast 3,6 %), β = 4,9 %. Hodnota α-hořkých kyselin byla o 0,2 % vyssi v porovnani s rokem 2008 a o 0,2 % vyssi v porovnani s průměrem za poslednich 16 let. Obsah β-hořkých kyselin byl o 0,2 % vyssi v porovnani s rokem 2008. Průměrna hodnota obsahu hořkých kyselin odrůdy Sladek v CR byla α = 7,8 %, β = 7,2 %. Hodnota α-hořkých kyselin je o 0,7 % vyssi v porovnani s průměrem za 5 let i rokem 2008. Hodnota hořkých kyselin odrůdy Premiant byla α = 11,0 %, β = 5,1 %. Hodnota α-hořkých kyselin byla o 1,5 % vyssi v porovnani s průměrem za 5 let a o 0,8 % vyssi oproti roku 2008. Hodnota hořkých kyselin odrůdy Agnus byla α = 13,5 %, β = 6,6 %.
Removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions by granular activated carbon

Batch adsorption trials were used to assess the effectiveness of using activated carbon as a sorbent for the removal of hexavalent chromium from solution. The results show that, although the pH for maximum efficiency varied slightly with the concentration of Cr(VI) being applied, the most effective pH was in the range 2.5 to 3.0. Based on linear regression analysis, the data obtained from the batch studies showed a good compliance with both the Langmuir and the Freundlich equations. The values obtained for the isotherm constants showed that the maximum adsorption capacity, X m , was 145 mg/g. An examination of the adsorption kinetics was also made and an analysis of the data shows that pore diffusion is not the only factor governing the sorption rate.
A stratified three-stage randomized response model for estimation of rare sensitive parameter under Poisson approximation

Abstract This study investigates the process for estimating the mean number of individuals having rare sensitive attribute in stratified random sampling as well as in stratified random double sampling using Poisson distribution. The properties of the suggested estimation procedures are deeply examined. Empirical studies are performed to support the theoretical results, which show the dominance of the proposed estimators over well-known existing estimators. The results are interpreted and suitable recommendations have been put forward to the survey practitioners.
Urban Sustainability and Natural Hazards Management; Designs Using Simulations

Sustainability is a topic with deep implications, as reflected by the approval of the 2030 Agenda for the sustainable development that has 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One of these SDGs tries to achieve the sustainability of cities, for which we have verified that their resilience is necessary against natural hazards (NH). For the persistence of NH through time on a world scale, it is crucial to train expert technicians in the prevention and control of these risks. For this research, two studies have been made, one focused on research into the training of environmentalists by means of gamification, and the other to verify the potential of this same tool in the NH analysis and management. With this work we have been able to verify that the model of city designed can be an alternative and more sustainable model to the current solutions, also corroborating the usefulness of simulation in their design and its role in the resilience against NH. On the other hand, in relation to the teaching of the subject under study, based on the competences studied, this study is considered successful, demonstrating the utility of gamification and simulations in the formation of environmentalists.
A Generalized Framework for Connectivity Analysis in Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications

In vehicular networks, the instantaneous connectivity between any two consecutive vehicles is a function of both the headway distance between them and the communication channel characteristics. We derive a generalized analytic expression for vehicle-to-vehicle link connectivity probability in highway vehicular networks that considers the change in vehicle headway distribution under different traffic conditions. The introduced formulation is derived under the Nakagami-m small-scale fading model which captures a wide range of small-scale fading conditions in freeway vehicular networks and was shown to well fit the empirical data. This formulation is of interest in analyzing and simulating vehicular communication systems.
Why it matters to keep asking why legislatures matter

ABSTRACT Legislative scholars are very good at explaining and analysing what legislatures do and how they do it. But the why question – why legislatures do what they do and why they matter – is often taken for granted or not raised at all. Our objective in this paper is to focus attention back onto the ‘why’ question and to explore the grounds upon which legislative scholars, and others, might be encouraged to reconsider this basic question. In seeking to coax a reconsideration of the importance of legislatures, we direct attention towards processes of legitimation and why legislatures are invested in such processes across the world in the modern era. If, as we argue, an answer to the question of why legislatures matter is to be grounded in processes of legitimation, then deficiencies in those processes or the questionability of those processes also expose the contingent nature of such an answer.
Characterization of Severely Biodegraded Crude Oils Using Negative-Ion ESI Orbitrap MS, GC-NCD and GC-SCD: Insights into Heteroatomic Compounds Biodegradation

A slightly and two severely biodegraded crude oils with the same origin were analysed using negative-ion electrospray ionization Orbitrap mass spectrometry (ESI Orbitrap MS), gas chromatography-nitrogen chemiluminescence detector (GC-NCD), and GC-sulfur chemiluminescence detector (GC-SCD) to investigate the composition of heteroatomic compounds and their fate during severe biodegradation and to provide insights into biodegradation pathway of hopanes, nitrogen- and sulfur-containing compounds. Twelve heteroatomic compound classes, including O1–O5, N1, N2, N1O1–N1O3, N1S1 and O3S1, were detected and assigned unambiguous molecular formulae. The O1 species are likely phenols with additional naphthenic and/or aromatic rings. Carboxylic acids (O2 species) are originated from oxidation of hydrocarbons, and the tricyclic naphthenic acids are the most resistant, followed by bicyclics. Hopanes could be biodegraded by demethylation or by unstable hopanoic acids as intermediates to yield 25-norhopanes. The N1 species are pyrrolic compounds with naphthenic and/or aromatic rings and are dominated by carbazole analogues. Carbazoles with more aromatic rings are more resistant to biodegradation. The N1 species could be converted to N1O1 and N1O2 compounds via ring-opening and hydroxylation pathways. The N1S1 species contain a pyrrolic and cyclic sulfide structure, which are highly recalcitrant to biodegradation. Benzothiophenes and dibenzothiophenes might be biodegraded via the complete pathway or the sulfur-specific pathway rather than by other pathways to yield acidic oxygenated sulfur compounds.
Strategic Participation of Residential Thermal Demand Response in Energy and Capacity Markets

The value proposition of residential thermal demand response (DR) could be enhanced through participation in multiple electricity markets. However, this potential value could be affected by misalignment of the strategic objectives of DR participants and also by the adoption levels of flexible heating technologies. This article presents an extended multi-perspective model (EMPM) which integrates the optimization problems of the DR participants within a single framework to evaluate the participation of residential thermal DR in energy and capacity markets. The capacity market participation is explicitly modeled based on parameters obtained using a bespoke capacity value assessment methodology. Subsequently, an iterative algorithm is proposed for determining consumer adoption levels of flexible heating technologies. The results indicate that while capacity market participation of residential thermal DR would be beneficial for all DR entities, consumers’ comfort preferences would have a noticeable impact on the results. Additionally, very high consumer adoption levels of flexible technologies would reduce power system costs and increase investment in low-carbon generation, but would not be optimal from the consumers’ investment perspective. Additionally, sensitivity analyses highlight that multiple market participation, energy inefficiency of the building fabric and greater preference for comfort could incentivize greater consumer adoption of flexible heating technologies.
Wetting of electrospun nylon-11 fibers and mats

Wetting of electrospun mats plays a huge role in tissue engineering and filtration applications. However, it is challenging to trace the interrelation between the wetting of individual nano-sized fibers and the macroscopic electrospun mat. Here we measured the wetting of different nylon-11 samples – solution-cast films, electrospun fibers deposited onto a substrate, and free-standing mats. With electrospun nylon-11 on aluminium foil, we traced the dependence of the wetting contact angle on the fibers' surface density (substrate coverage). When the coverage was low, the contact angle increased almost linearly with it. At ∼17–20% coverage, the contact angle achieved its maximum of 124 ± 7°, which matched the contact angle of a non-woven electrospun mat, 126 ± 2°. Our results highlight the importance of the outermost layer of fibers for the wetting of electrospun mats.