Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of skid measurements used by TxDOT : technical report.

15. Supplementary Notes Project performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. Project Title: Evaluation of Skid Measurements Used by TxDOT URL: http://tti.tamu. edu/documents/0-6619-1.pdf 16. Abstract Accurate estimates of wet roadway friction are critical to the safety of the traveling public, project selection, and for managing the wet weather accident reduction program. Currently, Texas is the only state that uses a one-channel, torque-type wheel transducer to measure the drag force. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) uses the measured horizontal drag force and the computed value of the dynamic vertical wheel load to determine the skid number from its ASTM E274 friction measurement system. This research project evaluated TxDOT’s existing method for measuring pavement surface friction. Given the differences found in skid measurements from tests conducted to compare oneand twochannel locked-wheel skid systems, researchers investigated options for improving TxDOT’s current friction measurement method, particularly on nontangent sections where inertial loading effects were found to be most pronounced. Measuring the dynamic vertical test wheel load was the primary focus of this investigation. In addition, researchers investigated improvements that could enhance the overall operation of the TxDOT skid measurement systems and reduce maintenance costs. Researchers recommend that TxDOT convert its current fleet of one-channel locked-wheel skid trailers to two-channel systems that provide direct measurement of vertical load and consider purchasing at least one fixed-slip system to support project-level forensic investigations.
PD‐L1 immunohistochemical testing: A review with reference to cytology specimens

Immunotherapy based on disruption of the PD‐1/PD‐L1 axis is standard of care for many high stage malignancies including melanomas, non‐small cell carcinomas of the lung, triple negative breast carcinomas, and squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck. Eligibility for immunotherapy requires immunohistochemical assessment of PD‐L1 expression. Currently, many high stage malignancies are diagnosed by cytology and cytologic material is the only specimen available for ancillary testing. Formal guidelines do not currently exist defining the optimal specimen type, antibody to be used or the best scoring system for cytologic material. Significant information has been published for PD‐L1 testing of pulmonary specimens but much less data exists for the reproducibility, accuracy and best practices for material obtained from other body sites and types of malignancy.
Riko the series (murrotal edition): Surah At-Tin episode as a medium to introduce surah At-Tin to children

Background: Quran's introduction to children has evolved over time. Animation can now be a medium to learn the Quran such as "Riko the Series: Murrotal Edition” which introduces the Quran to children. Purpose: The aim of this research is limited to how the visualizations constructions of “Riko the Series: Murrotal Edition" in the Surah At-Tin episode introduce Surah At-Tin to the children. Design and Methods: This research uses a descriptive qualitative method with the video of Surah At-Tin’s episode from “Riko the Series: Murrotal Edition" as the source of the data. Due to the fact, that the research study is limited to the visualization of the episode, the theories that are used as tools in analyzing the data are the theory of Semiotic Significations. Result: Visual significations are divided into six (6) structures, they are (1) the opening of the video; (2) the section header; (3) the opening of the surah; (4) the visualization during the recitation of the surah; (5) the second reading section; (5) the third reading section. There are two forms of visual patterns found in the video (episode), they are: (1) the visualization related to verses 1 and 2 of surah At-Tin; (2) the visualization narratives which have no specific form in relation to verses 3 until 8 of Surah At-Tin. The video applies repetition (three times) to introduce and familiarize Surah At-Tin. The solid visual signification construction serves as a medium to introduce Surah At-Tin to children. Keywords: Quran, Murrotal, Riko the Series, Islamic Education, Signification Theory.
Kisspeptin‐10 in cryodiluent improves the post‐thaw quality of Nili‐Ravi buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) bull spermatozoa

Effects of kisspeptin‐10 as antioxidant in cryodiluent were evaluated on post‐thaw quality of buffalo spermatozoa. Qualified semen samples from five bulls were pooled, divided into five aliquots and extended in Tris‐citric acid cryodiluent containing differential doses of kisspeptin‐10 (5, 10, 15, and 20 μmol L−1 and negative control. Extended sperm suspension was cooled to 4°C, packaged in 0.54 ml straws and cryopreserved. At post‐thawing, catalase (unit mg−1), peroxidase (unit mg−1) and reduced glutathione (μmol L−1) levels were highest (p < 0.05) with 20 μmol L−1 of kisspeptin‐10 as compared to negative control. Moreover, lipid peroxidation (nmol L−1 min−1 mg protein−1) level was lowest (p < 0.05) with 20 μmol L−1 of kisspeptin‐10. Sperm progressive motility (%), rapid velocity (%) and kinematics were higher (p < 0.05) with 15 and 20 μmol L−1 of kisspeptin‐10 as compared to negative control. Supra‐vital plasma membrane integrity (%), viable sperm with intact acrosome (%) and DNA integrity (%) were improved (p < 0.05) with all doses of kisspeptin‐10 as compared to negative control. It was concluded that the addition of 15 and 20 μmol L−1 kisspeptin‐10 in cryodiluent ameliorated the overall frozen‐thawed quality parameters of Nili‐Ravi buffalo spermatozoa.
CSR Engagement and Identification with the Moderating Effect of Social Capital and Construal Level

Aims: Previous research has primarily focused on companies’ overall use of Facebook and message strategies on CSR-dedicated Facebook pages. The current research is developed to fill this gap in the literature. Specifically, we propose how the quantity of Facebook use (number of Facebook friends, time spent using Facebook) and motivations for accessing Facebook (making new friends, maintaining ties with current friends) relate to consumer engagement in CSR initiatives and consumer identification in both direct and moderating routes. Furthermore, the current research integrates and proposes multiple moderators under a theoretical framework of social capital and construal level theories. Methods: A literature review integrated with theoretical background leads to propositions. Conclusions: Given the fact that Facebook has grown to be the most popular social networking site (SNS), companies have begun to adopt the platform in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication. This research not only fills the literature gaps of CSR initiatives and moderators on SNS, Facebook in particular but also these propositions can provide more possibilities for companies to reconsider and redesign their CSR strategy and program via SNS.
Hippocampal glutathione depletion with enhanced iron level in patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease compared with healthy elderly participants

Abstract Oxidative stress has been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, and it is potentially driven by the depletion of primary antioxidant, glutathione, as well as elevation of the pro-oxidant, iron. Present study evaluates glutathione level by magnetic resonance spectroscopy, iron deposition by quantitative susceptibility mapping in left hippocampus, as well as the neuropsychological scores of healthy old participants (N = 25), mild cognitive impairment (N = 16) and Alzheimer’s disease patients (N = 31). Glutathione was found to be significantly depleted in mild cognitive impaired (P < 0.05) and Alzheimer’s disease patients (P < 0.001) as compared with healthy old participants. A significant higher level of iron was observed in left hippocampus region for Alzheimer’s disease patients as compared with healthy old (P < 0.05) and mild cognitive impairment (P < 0.05). Multivariate receiver-operating curve analysis for combined glutathione and iron in left hippocampus region provided diagnostic accuracy of 82.1%, with 81.8% sensitivity and 82.4% specificity for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease patients from healthy old participants. We conclude that tandem glutathione and iron provides novel avenue to investigate further research in Alzheimer’s disease.
Necroptosis Plays a Crucial Role in Vascular Injury during DVT and Is Enhanced by IL-17B

Background This study investigated whether vascular endothelial necroptosis is involved in deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and how IL-17B facilitates necroptosis signaling. Methods The DVT mouse model was induced by ligation of the IVC. The cross-sectional area of thrombus increases and the thrombus occupied the entire venous lumen at 48 h after ligation. Meanwhile, the increased expression of p-RIP3/RIP3 was most pronounced at 48 h after ligation, and the p-MLKL/MLKL peaked at 72 h. Results Based on Illumina sequencing and KEGG pathway analyses, the activated RIP3/MLKL is associated with increased IL-17B. With thrombus formation, IL-17B was upregulated and enhanced the expression of RIP3 and MLKL in the IVC wall, as well as their phosphorylation levels (all P < 0.05, the comparison group consisted of the control group, DVT group, DVT/IL-17B group, and DVT/anti-IL-17B group). The p-RIP3/RIP3 and p-MLKL/MLKL ratios were reduced by anti-IL-17B. Similarly, the weight and cross-sectional area of the thrombi were increased by IL-17B and decreased by the IL-17B antibody. IL-17B had a smaller effect on thrombosis in knockout mice compared with WT mice. In vitro, the IL-17B protein expression and the level of RIP3 and MLKL phosphorylation increased high in the OGD cells, accompanied by increased expression of IL-6 and TNF-α. IL-17B enhanced the expression of IL-6 and TNF-α but had little effect on the IL-6 and TNF-α after transfected with siRIP3 or siMLKL. Similarly, the plasma IL-17B, IL-6, and TNF-α were significantly increased after thrombosis in WT mice, and enhanced by IL-17B. But IL-17B did not increase the plasma IL-6 and TNF-α in knockout mice. Conclusions In conclusion, those results suggest that vascular endothelial necroptosis plays a crucial role in vascular injury and IL-17B could enhance the necroptosis pathway.
Toward Developing a Model to Examine Destination Attributes and Length of Stay within Satisfaction Matter in Jordan

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between destination attributes (attraction, information source, product quality, and price) and length of stay within satisfaction as a mediation factor. A self-administration questionnaire was adapted to collect the data from foreign tourists who visited Jordan in the summer season 2019. PLS is used to analyze the questionnaires. The results of this study indicated that there is a statistically significant relationship between destination attributes and mediation factor (satisfaction), and also the findings showed that satisfaction plays a positive action to mediate the relationship between destination attributes and length of stay in Jordan. The tested model in this study can be applied to different cities in the country. Finally, there is many information, and results in this study have been given to decision-maker and taker in Jordanian tourism.
Livelihood Diversification and Farmers' Well-Being: Lessons From South-West, Nigeria

ABSTRACT:Livelihood diversification is an adaptation and a coping mechanism used by individuals to mitigate tragic episodes, and to build buffer against social, environmental, health and economic shocks, as well as other extreme events which impact disproportionately on people's lives, in a bid to ensuring sustained livelihood and improved living conditions. The effect of livelihood diversification on farmers' well-being in South-West Nigeria was therefore investigated using the dataset elicited from 359 farmers randomly drawn from the study area. The data were analyzed with composite score technique, simpson index of diversity, fractional probit, and fractional heteroskedastic probit models. The results revealed that livelihood diversification pattern among the farmers was at a moderate level, while farmers' categories of well-being status were partly associated with the levels of livelihood diversification in other sectors considered remunerative with high returns. Findings also indicated that age of the farmer, primary occupation, farm size, neighborhood effect, incidence of shocks and farmer's food insecurity status had significant relationships with the rate of livelihood diversification in the study area. Meanwhile, age of the farmer, years of formal education, livelihood diversification, access to credit, neighborhood effect, primary occupation of the respondents, and farming experience significantly influenced farmers' well-being status. In essence, this study has provided converging lines of evidences and demonstrated that livelihood diversification and other farmers' and farm based characteristics were meaningful predictors of the differences in the categories of farmers' well-being status in the study area. Arising from the findings, the study recommended human capital development through free and/or affordable educational system in the rural areas, as well as diversification of income sources among the farmers, while informal social protection can also be scaled up through social networks and neighborhood effect hinged on collective norms of solidarity, reciprocity, altruism and obligations towards achieving an effective cultural and social driven development.
A stochastic model of cash flow forecasting considering delays in owners’ payments

Abstract Delays in progress payments have always been one of the most aggravating difficulties, threatening the desired profit margin and should be considered based on the owners’ financial records at the bidding stage. However, previous models have often ignored the probabilistic nature of cash inflow. The conducted research endeavours to develop a new stochastic simulation-based framework for forecasting the cash flow of the construction projects considering the owners’ payment history in previous projects and intertemporal correlation between successive progress payments. This process involves introducing the Budget Realization Index, with probabilistic nature, whose underlying distribution is determined based on the owners’ behaviour. The model was applied to four real projects in Iran. The financing costs inflicted on the contractors stood in the range of the simulation results in the uncertainty level of 50–80%. Therefore, the proposed systematic framework would appropriately perform for forecasting contractors’ financial status through the project.
Numerical and Theoretical Analysis of a Spur Gear Using Composite and Conventional Materials

finite element analysis using different materials. A three-dimensional spur gear was designed, modeled, and simulated using ANSYS software. Five different materials, including two conventional materials (stainless steel and copper alloy) and three different composite materials, including 50% carbon fibers reinforced in epoxy resin, 1.5% filler containing acetal, i.e., Graphene Reinforced Acetal, and glass-filled polyamide. Composites were fabricated by varying the graphene quantity in Acetal nanocomposites. The spur gear stress was calculated theoretically using the Hertzian equation, and FEM was analyzed using ANSYS 14.0 under limited loading conditions and rotational speed. Although the obtained results showed that both methods were comparable, there was a significant difference between the two methods when 50% carbon fibers reinforced in epoxy resin matrix were used, which is Hertzian analysis was 250.13 MPa. In contrast, this result was reduced up to 152.13 MPa in FEM. The study concluded that among the different presented materials, 50% carbon fibers reinforced in epoxy resin matrix were the optimal material for spur gear fabrication due to their high strength and low density. Hence, the spur gear material can be replaced by 50% carbon fibers reinforced in the epoxy resin matrix.
Demonstration of innovative MABR low-energy nutrient removal technology at Chicago MWRD

An innovative MABR (membrane-aerated biofilm reactor) membrane technology was demonstrated at the O9Brien Water Reclamation Plant (OWRP) of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (Chicago MWRD). The demonstration unit was equipped with one full-scale membrane cassette. The technology was evaluated for its potential to improve performance for total suspended solids (TSS) and ammonia removal during stressed conditions (specifically cold temperature peak flow periods) and to meet future effluent phosphorous limits. Over a period of 9 months, the MABR oxygen transfer rate was stable and ranged between 8 and 12 g-O 2 /d/m 2 of membrane surface area. The nitrification rate varied between 0.5 and 2.5 g-N/d/m 2 and was affected primarily by the ammonia loading rate and the feed carbon to nitrogen ratio. Most of the oxygen transferred was accounted for by nitrification. The MABR hybrid process enables important process improvements while reducing plant energy consumption.
The Relationship Between Public Social Security Expenditures and Poverty, Income Inequality, and Gdp Growth: An Empirical Case Study of Bangladesh

ABSTRACT:During recent years, public social security programs for the poor and vulnerable groups in Bangladesh have grown both in number and size. The primary goal of these programs is to lift people out of poverty and to contribute to national economic development. The objective of this article is to quantify the relationship between public social security expenditures and poverty, income inequality, and GDP growth in Bangladesh. The study uses multivariate time series data from 1991 to 2019 and applies the Johansen cointegration test and the Vector Error Correction (VEC) modeling methodology. There are three dependent variables-poverty rate, Gini coefficient, and GDP growth rate, while public social security expenses, GDP per capita, active working-age population aged 1564, elderly population aged above 65, gross capital formation, share of population aged 25-64 with tertiary (post-secondary) education, inflation, and export earnings as a share of GDP are used as the explanatory variables. The estimated results suggest that public social security expenditures have significant effects on gross capital formation, but not on either poverty or income inequality in the short run in Bangladesh. In addition, capital formation, public social security expenditures, elderly population, and export earnings are found to have significant positive effects on GDP growth in the long run. Higher levels of GDP should generate more resources for the government coffers, enabling the government to expand the social security programs by targeting higher numbers of beneficiaries and offering higher amounts of benefits, which in turn can contribute to further GDP growth. This study also finds that public social security expenditures have no significant effect on income inequality in Bangladesh in either short run or long run. However, the general hypothesis is that social security transfers to lower-income groups may help with reducing income inequality. In many developing countries, governments allocate and distribute inadequate amounts of money to targeted communities, which results in only marginal changes in inequality. The lesson for the policymakers in Bangladesh is to overhaul the existing social security programs that evidently have had marginal effects on reducing income inequality, and may even have worsened poverty in the long run.
Compact tunable memristor and inverse-memristor emulators with grounded passive elements

ABSTRACT The circuit-based emulation of memristor elements is becoming increasingly popular due to various advantages it offers over the physical architectures. The work reported in this paper presents the architectures of two novel circuit configurations dedicated to the realisation of an ideal memristor and a new but useful element, inverse memristor, respectively. Both presented circuit emulators are based on VDCC (Voltage Differencing Current Conveyor) active element. Over the previously reported bulky circuit emulators, the presented emulators have a significant design-related advantage since these are multiplier-less and grounded elements-based architectures. The developed circuits possess a tunability feature with respect to biasing voltage as well as the employed resistance. The mathematical description of pinch-off tuning and utilisation of inverse-memristor (for achieving better control over memristor characteristics) have been discussed with MATLAB simulations. To verify the workability of presented circuit architectures, the PSPICE environment has been chosen for simulation purpose. All the simulation results have been illustrated and discussed in detail. Later, the presented emulator circuits are developed using commercial ICs like CA3080 and AD844, and related results are described.
Economic Evaluation of Retrofitting Residential Buildings for Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort

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Lost in Transition

This collaborative autoethnography (CAE) explores the lived experiences of two South Korean doctoral students’ transnational career transitions during 2019–2021. The purpose of the CAE is twofold: (a) to analyze international doctoral students’ development during the transition; and (b) to investigate negotiations of their intersectional identities. The data came from our biweekly multimodal narratives on our development (96 total) and biweekly meeting transcripts (48 total). We thematically analyzed (Braun & Clarke, 2006) the data first, found two themes, and reconstructed our two-ear narratives and visually represented them. The data analysis revealed that our major challenges during transition were to receive developmentally appropriate help (responsive mediation; Johnson & Golombek, 2016) and to build transnational, intersectional identities in a liminal space (Bhabha, 1994) between different geographical locations. Based on our two-year dialogue data, we offer suggestions for negotiating appropriate levels of mediation and reframing intersectional and liminal identities in a liberating way.