Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors of the Technology Acceptance Model for Construction IT

The use of information technology is spreading in the construction field. However, the use of information technology in the construction field does not conform to the requirements and characteristics of users who use information technology. This fact is blindly accepted by the government and client demands, which is an impediment to the dissemination of information technology in the construction field. To improve the use of information technology in the construction field, this study analyzes the factors of acceptance of information technology according to the characteristics of users who use information technology in the construction field based on Davis’ technology acceptance model. As a result of the analysis, we found that if users consider IT in the construction industry easy to use, spontaneous attitude and behavioral intention are to be expected. Moreover, acceptance type, educational satisfaction, usage enjoyment, and usage experience are the factors that impact perceived usefulness, and educational satisfaction and usage enjoyment impact perceived ease of use as well. This study aims to derive factors that maximize the approachability and usefulness of users through the use of a technology acceptance model in construction prior to the application of new information technology in the construction field.
The Response of Fordhook Giant / Swisschard (Beta vulgaris var Cicla) and Mustard (Brassica Juncea) Spinach Vegetables to Irrigation with Saline Water

Saline irrigation water is becoming an important water source as fresh water is fast becoming a scarce resource in many areas of the world, including Eswatini, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. A study to test the response of two varieties of spinach (fordhook giant and mustard) to salinity was conducted in a field pot experiment at the Faculty of Agriculture at the Luyengo Campus of the University of Eswatini. The treatments were laid in a randomized block design (RCBD). The experiment consisted of four treatments, each replicated twelve times. Treatments were salinity levels of 0.0 dS/m, 1.5 dS/m, 2.0 dS/m and 3.5 dS/m. All the treatments were subjected to similar agronomic practices. Spinach was grown and observed for a period of five weeks. Plant height was measured and the number of leaves counted weekly throughout the experiment. Significant differences (P < 0.05) between salinity treatments were obtained for plant height beginning in week 2 but were more pronounced in week 3, 4 and week 5. No significant differences were obtained for the number of leaves. There were however, clear significant differences between spinach irrigated with none saline irrigation water compared to saline irrigation water. It was concluded that irrigating spinach with saline water of more than 2.0 dS/m drastically reduce plant growth but not the number of leaves under the conditions of the experiment. Original Research Article Dlamini and Masarirambi; AJAAR, 14(3): 20-26, 2020; Article no.AJAAR. 62503 21
Determination and health risk assessment of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn) in different brands of pasteurized milk

ABSTRACT The contamination of milk and its products with heavy metals has toxic and dangerous effects on human health. This study aimed to determine the heavy metal concentration and health risk assessment resulting from them in four different brands of Pasteurized milk consumed in Gorgan city, Iran. This study was performed during three seasons (summer, autumn and winter). Sixty different samples of pasteurized milk of four common brands were selected and analysed. Samples were digested in the laboratory by using nitric acid method digestion, and the heavy metal concentration was measured by using the linear regression based on the height of the peaks of the voltammograms. Also, health risk assessment was analysed by Oracle® Crystal Ball. According to the results, the overall mean (n = 60) concentration of Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn in all of the analysed milk samples was 0.02, 0.023, 0.97 and 4.31 µg/g, respectively. Based on these results, about 67% had Pb content lower than the codex limits, almost 70% of all milk samples had Cd content higher than the permissible limit, and Cu concentration in all milk samples was under the mentioned permissible limits. Zn concentrations in all samples were exceeded the permissible limits. HRI values in adults and children via consumption of pasteurized milk in all of the analysed samples were within the safe limits (HRI < 1). Based on these findings, monitoring of contaminants in milk and other dairy products prevented the probably side effects of these heavy metals on human health.
Raman Spectroscopy of Perovskite-Type BaCexZr1−xO3(0≤x≤1)

Polycrystalline samples of BaCe{sub x}Zr{sub 1{minus}x}O{sub 3} were prepared by solid state reaction. X-ray diffraction measurements show that all compounds are single-phase and XRD patterns can be indexed on the basis of the ideal perovskite structure. However, Raman data show that BaCe{sub x}Zr{sub 1{minus}x}O{sub 3} exhibits slight x-dependent distortions from the ideal perovskite structure. Indeed the evolution of Raman spectra of BaCe{sub x}Zr{sub 1{minus}x}O{sub 3}, as x decreases at room temperature or as temperature increases for a given x value, is similar to the evolution of Raman spectra of BaCeO{sub 3} as temperature increases. These observations lead us to propose a phase diagram in the binary system BaCeO{sub 3}-BaZrO{sub 3} based on the known structures of BaCeO{sub 3} (Pnma, Imma, R{bar 3}c, and Pm3m).
Plasma Metabolomic Profiles and Clinical Features in Recovered COVID-19 Patients Without Previous Underlying Diseases 3 Months After Discharge

Knowing the residual and future effect of SARS-CoV-2 on recovered COVID-19 patients is critical for optimized long-term patient management. Recent studies focus on the symptoms and clinical indices of recovered patients, but the pathophysiological change is still unclear. To address this question, we examined the metabolomic profiles of recovered asymptomatic (RA), moderate (RM) and severe and critical (RC) patients without previous underlying diseases discharged from the hospital for 3 months, along with laboratory and CT findings. We found that the serum metabolic profiles in recovered COVID-19 patients still conspicuously differed from that in healthy control (HC), especially in the RM, and RC patients. Additionally, these changes bore close relationship with the function of pulmonary, renal, hepatic, microbial and energetic metabolism and inflammation. These findings suggested that RM and RC patients sustained multi-organ and multi-system damage and these patients should be followed up on regular basis for possible organ and system damage.
Ectothermy and the macroecology of home range scaling in snakes

Editor: Shai Meiri Abstract Aim: A central question in ecology has been that of why animal home ranges scale more steeply with body size than do metabolic rates. Yet, the generality of this notion has scarcely been tested in non-model species like ectotherms, which have lower metabolic requirements than endotherms and which may, therefore, have different home range area requirements. Our aim was to examine how home range area scales with body size in snakes and to shed light on how other factors may shape home range area requirements in an understudied group of ectotherms. Location: Global. Time period: 1984–2018. Major taxon studied: Serpents. Methods: We compiled and analysed a dataset of snake home ranges from the literature to evaluate how body size, sex, climate, foraging ecology, and biogeographic factors shape home range area requirements. Results: Home range area scaled more gradually with body size in snakes (log-linear slope of simple linear regression 0.72 with 95% confidence interval 0.48–0.96) than has been reported for mammals and birds, and instead more closely followed the scaling of metabolic rates with body size. Male snakes had larger home ranges than females and this difference increased as temperature increased at a study site, possibly from mate-searching behaviour of males and greater ease reaching optimal body temperatures in warmer areas. Finally, home range area scaled more steeply for snakes that forage actively than for those that rely on sit-and-wait ambush foraging, a reflection of their foraging ecology. Main conclusions: Our results question the general notion that animal home range areas scale more steeply with body size than does metabolism. Key distinctions in the energy demands of endotherms and ectotherms and their responses to those demands give rise to differing home range area requirements. More attention to nonmodel species is needed when creating and evaluating ecological theory.
Wide horizons for optical trapping: simultaneous optical manipulation and confocal imaging of live T cells at low magnification

We report a system for optical trapping, manipulation and imaging of live cells in close to real-time with a wide field of view. A fs-pulsed Ti:Sapphire source was used to trap cells whilst an Ar+ laser was used for confocal imaging. A single 10x/0.4NA lens and a dual scanning system enabled independent trapping, imaging and movement of cells over a field of view >1mm2. We will present movies of controlled T cell and dendritic cell movement and interaction. This enables the functional study of cell-signalling processes that are fundamental to understanding the behaviour of the immune system and beyond.
Assessment policies and academic progress: differences in performance and selection for progress

Abstract Despite the benefits swift academic progress holds for many stakeholders, there is scarce literature on how academic progress may be improved by changes to assessment policies. Therefore, we investigated academic progress of first-year students after an alteration of characteristics of the assessment policies in three large course programmes: business administration (n = 2048) changed the stakes; medicine (n = 1630) changed the stakes and performance standard; psychology (n = 1076) changed the stakes, performance standard and resit standard. Results indicate that students’ academic progress was sensitive to the characteristics of the assessment policy in all three course programmes. The changes in progress could be explained by differences in performance, as well as by differences in selection for progress by the different policies. Implications are that assessment policies seem effective in shaping student progress, although one size does not fit all.
The Effects of Board Interlocks With an Allegedly Fraudulent Company on Audit Fees

Drawing on prior literature on audit fees, client reputation, and corporate governance, we posit that a material adverse event at a firm, such as a financial fraud allegation, leads to an increase in the audit fees of firms connected to the former by a board interlock. We propose two possible mechanisms to explain the upward pressure on audit fees: a client-side effect, where the client demands additional audit services, and an auditor-side effect, where the auditor raises its audit fees due to a perceived increase in audit engagement risk. The results indicate an average marginal increase of 12.86% in audit fees in the year following the public revelation of financial fraud. Additional analyses suggest that an auditor-side effect is in place, while we cannot find clear evidence supporting the client-side effect. Furthermore, we document that the positive effect on audit fees persists for up to at least 2 years after public disclosure of the event when the interlocked director serves as a member of the audit committee. JEL Descriptors: G34, M40, M42
Solar-Powered Deep Learning-Based Recognition System of Daily Used Objects and Human Faces for Assistance of the Visually Impaired

This paper introduces a novel low-cost solar-powered wearable assistive technology (AT) device, whose aim is to provide continuous, real-time object recognition to ease the finding of the objects for visually impaired (VI) people in daily life. The system consists of three major components: a miniature low-cost camera, a system on module (SoM) computing unit, and an ultrasonic sensor. The first is worn on the user’s eyeglasses and acquires real-time video of the nearby space. The second is worn as a belt and runs deep learning-based methods and spatial algorithms which process the video coming from the camera performing objects’ detection and recognition. The third assists on positioning the objects found in the surrounding space. The developed device provides audible descriptive sentences as feedback to the user involving the objects recognized and their position referenced to the user gaze. After a proper power consumption analysis, a wearable solar harvesting system, integrated with the developed AT device, has been designed and tested to extend the energy autonomy in the different operating modes and scenarios. Experimental results obtained with the developed low-cost AT device have demonstrated an accurate and reliable real-time object identification with an 86% correct recognition rate and 215 ms average time interval (in case of high-speed SoM operating mode) for the image processing. The proposed system is capable of recognizing the 91 objects offered by the Microsoft Common Objects in Context (COCO) dataset plus several custom objects and human faces. In addition, a simple and scalable methodology for using image datasets and training of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) is introduced to add objects to the system and increase its repertory. It is also demonstrated that comprehensive trainings involving 100 images per targeted object achieve 89% recognition rates, while fast trainings with only 12 images achieve acceptable recognition rates of 55%.
Hubungan Antara Lima Besar Tipe Sifat Kepribadian Dengan Kesepian Pada Mahasiswa Rantau

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk membahas ada tidaknya hubungan antara trait big five personality dengan loneliness pada mahasiswa seacost Psikologi Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Universitas Mulawarman. Subjek penelitian ini adalah 90 mahasiswa asing Fakultas Psikologi Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Universitas Mulawarman. Alat ukur yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini menggunakan skala kesepian UCLA loneliness versi 3 dan skala Big Five Personality dari MINI-IPIP. Hasil analisis hubungan ciri kepribadian big five personality dengan kesepian pada mahasiswa luar negeri menggunakan uji ANOVA, hasil analisis menunjukkan ciri big five personality dengan kesepian mahasiswa memiliki hubungan yang signifikan dengan Mean Square = 142.422, F = 2.526 dan p = 0,047 (p <0,050). Hubungan antara trait big five personality dengan kesepian merupakan hubungan yang signifikan.
PENDEKATAN MODEL GRAVITASI UNTUK MENGESTIMASI PERMINTAAN PARIWISATA DI INDONESIA

Tourism is one of the main drivers of Indonesia’s economy. It included the five biggest foreign earning contributors of the country’s income receipt in the past. From this perspective , this study tries to analyse the determinants influencing international tourism demand in Indonesia using the Gravity Model. In this study, to estimate tourism demand in the form of Tourist Arrival or Tourist Expenditure based on key economic factors as Real Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ) per capita both from Tourist Origin Country and Tourist Destination Country, Relatively living cost country, Real exchange rate and Distant (mile) between Tourist Origin Country and Tourist Destination Country. For the empirical analysis a panel dataset of the ten biggest mayor Tourist Origin Countries- Australia, Mala y sia, Singapore, Jepang , India, Korea Selatan, China, Amerika, Inggris and Taiwan - is used over the periode 2000-2018. With the panel data estimation shows that the majority of the determinants have statistically significant in the two specifications of tourism demand.
Assessment of Nitrogen Oxide Emissions and San Joaquin Valley PM2.5 Impacts From Soils in California

Soils are a source of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NOx), especially in regions with significant cropland where nitrogen (N) fertilizers are used to enhance crop yields. The magnitude of soil NOx emissions, however, varies substantially by region, depending on the local land use pattern and management activities. We estimated soil NOx emissions in California based on the DeNitrification‐DeComposition (DNDC) biogeochemical model, linked to a detailed spatial‐temporal differentiated California‐specific database. The DNDC‐generated surface fluxes were used in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model to evaluate impacts of soil NOx emissions on formation of ambient particulate (PM2.5) nitrate in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) where cropland is the dominant land use. The DNDC‐generated soil NOx emissions contribute approximately 1.1% of total anthropogenic NOx emissions in California, at an emission rate of roughly 24 t day−1 (as NO2) statewide and 9 t day−1 in the SJV. Cropland is the dominant source of soil NOx emissions in California, contributing nearly 60% of statewide soil NOx emissions, driven principally by fertilizer use. The PM2.5 nitrate concentrations simulated by CMAQ using the DNDC‐generated soil NOx emissions are compatible with those observed in the SJV, suggesting that soil NOx emissions have limited impacts on PM2.5 nitrate formation in the atmosphere. Our emission and air quality modeling results are further supported by long‐term ambient NOx‐to‐carbon monoxide (CO) and satellite NO2 data analyses in the SJV, which showed diurnal, monthly, and annual trends consistent with characteristics of NOx sources dominated by traffic combustion in both urban and agricultural regions.
Perinatal Mental Health: One of the Biggest Challenges in Coronavirus Disease-19 Crisis

Coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 epidemic is currently conceived as one of the major factors for stress and anxiety for pregnant women around the world. Stress, especially in early pregnancy, is a risk factor for preterm birth. The negative impact of quarantine on mental health in pregnant women should also be taken into account. A large number of benefits of breastfeeding for the mental and physical well-being of both mother and newborn outweigh the potential risks of COVID-19-related transmission and disease. Prenatal and postnatal mental health should be prioritized in facing the current ongoing pandemic.
Revisiting Vertical Land Motion and Sea Level Trends in the Northeastern Adriatic Sea Using Satellite Altimetry and Tide Gauge Data

We propose a revisited approach to estimating sea level change trends based on the integration of two measuring systems: satellite altimetry and tide gauge (TG) time series of absolute and relative sea level height. Quantitative information on vertical crustal motion trends at six TG stations of the Adriatic Sea are derived by solving a constrained linear inverse problem. The results are verified against Global Positioning System (GPS) estimates at some locations. Constraints on the linear problem are represented by estimates of relative vertical land motion between TG couples. The solution of the linear inverse problem is valid as long as the same rates of absolute sea level rise are observed at the TG stations used to constrain the system. This requirement limits the applicability of the method with variable absolute sea level trends. The novelty of this study is that we tried to overcome such limitations, subtracting the absolute sea level change estimates observed by the altimeter from all relevant time series, but retaining the original short-term variability and associated errors. The vertical land motion (VLM) solution is compared to GPS estimates at three of the six TGs. The results show that there is reasonable agreement between the VLM rates derived from altimetry and TGs, and from GPS, considering the different periods used for the processing of VLM estimates from GPS. The solution found for the VLM rates is optimal in the least square sense, and no longer depends on the altimetric absolute sea level trend at the TGs. Values for the six TGs’ location in the Adriatic Sea during the period 1993–2018 vary from −1.41 ± 0.47 mm y−1 (National Research Council offshore oceanographic tower in Venice) to 0.93 ± 0.37 mm y−1 (Rovinj), while GPS solutions range from −1.59 ± 0.65 (Venice) to 0.10 ± 0.64 (Split) mm y−1. The absolute sea level rise, calculated as the sum of relative sea level change rate at the TGs and the VLM values estimated in this study, has a mean of 2.43 mm y−1 in the period 1974–2018 across the six TGs, a mean standard error of 0.80 mm y−1, and a sample dispersion of 0.18 mm y−1.
Tillage Effects on Particulate and Mineral‐Associated Organic Matter in Two Tropical Brazilian Soils

Abstract Two Ferralsols (350 and 600 g kg−1 clay) from the Brazilian Cerrado Region were evaluated for long‐term effects (5 and 8 years) of no tillage on carbon (C) stocks in particulate (>53 µm) and mineral‐associated (<53 µm) soil organic matter (SOM) fractions. Carbon stocks in particulate SOM increased under no tillage compared with conventional tillage, and the rate was higher in the clayey soil (0.62 Mg C ha−1 yr−1) than in the sandy clay loam soil (0.31 Mg C ha−1 yr−1). In contrast, the mineral‐associated SOM in the top soil layer (0–20 cm) was not affected by tillage system. Sequestration of atmospheric C in tropical no‐tillage soils seems to be due to accumulation of C in labile SOM fractions, with highest rates in clayey soils probably due to physical protection.
Effects of pressure- and thermal-pasteurization on volatiles of some berry fruits

In principle, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) processing offers the possibility to preserve berry products while affecting their volatile components less than heat pasteurization. Therefore, we performed preliminary investigations to compare effects of HHP treatment (600 MPa, 5 min, at ambient temperature) and heat pasteurization (80 °C, 5 min) on volatile composition of raspberry, strawberry and blackcurrant purees measured by ‘electronic nose’ at 25 °C. Changes in the head space volatiles could be monitored by this method. Taking into account the confusion matrix of the discriminant analysis, heat-treatment had a more significant effect on volatile compounds than HHP. So, application of HHP treatment can retain volatiles of berry products.
Performance evaluation of a solar still in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia—an improved analysis

The performance of a solar still is predicted though an improved and updated mathematical model. The model is based on classical energy balance equations; however, variable properties were considered in addition to a more reliable correlation for convection heat transfer from the seawater surface and the still glass cover. The effect of density variation within the solar still due to water vapor concentration difference is taken into consideration through a modified expression of the temperature difference (ΔT') and a more reliable expression for the heat transfer coefficient within the still that was developed for tilted covers. The performance of the still is validated against the published experimental values. In addition, the (distillate) productivity was reported for two days that represent both summer and winter conditions in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. A parametric study was performed to identify the effect of the most influential parameters on the still performance. In addition, a sensitivity analysis .