Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Technostress on Student Satisfaction and Performance Expectancy

Abstract: Technostress can be seen as a relevant factor that may affect student satisfaction and student performance. However, a lack of research has been carried out to analyse the simultaneous effect of the four technostress dimensions, namely techno-overload, techno-complexity, techno-insecurity, and techno-uncertainty on student satisfaction and performance expectancy. Performance expectancy is appropriate to use as an endogenous construct since this research was carried out during open and distance learning (ODL) implementation and before the final examination. Hence, this study aims to investigate the association between the four technostress dimensions towards student satisfaction. This research also seeks to examine the relationship between student satisfaction and performance expectancy among undergraduates. A total of 500 self-administered questionnaires were distributed but 458 valid questionnaires were found. All of the respondents were at the diploma level from UiTM Pahang Branch Campus. An online survey questionnaire was used since all respondents were in their hometowns due to the Malaysian government's Movement Control Order (MCO). In this study, SEM-AMOS was conducted to evaluate the measurement model and to test the hypotheses. This study found that techno-complexity displays a more significant contribution to student satisfaction and performance expectancy than techno-uncertainty. However, the results explicitly imply that the influence of techno-overload and techno-insecurity on students' satisfaction and performance expectancy is not significant. Keywords: Performance expectancy; student satisfaction; technostress; university students
Strength of welded joints under combined shear and out-of-plane bending

An experimental and analytical research program was conducted with the objective of investigating the response of welded joints loaded under combined out-of-plane bending and shear. A database of test results, including 60 tests from the University of California in Davis, eight tests from an early research program at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, and 24 tests from Universite Laval in Ste. -Foy, was used to evaluate several strength prediction models and the current North American design approaches. This work was complemented by a reliability analysis to assess the level of safety provided by these design approaches. It was determined that both the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC) and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) approaches provide remarkably conservative predictions of the test results, especially for cases where the welded plate thickness is large. Although a modified version of an approach proposed by earlier investigators in 1972 and based on the method of .
Optimal Fuzzy Control of Parallel Hybrid Electric Vehicles

In this paper an optimal method based on fuzzy logic for controlling parallel hybrid electric vehicles is presented. In parallel hybrid electric vehicles the required torque for deriving and operating the on-board accessories is generated by a combination of internal-comb ustion engine and an electric motor. The power sharing between the internal combustion engine and the electric motor is the key point for efficient driving. This is a highly nonlinear and time varying plant and its control strategy will be implemented with the use of fuzzy logic controller. The fuzzy logic controller will be designed based on the state of charge of batteries and the desired torque for driving. The output of controller controls the throttle of the combustion engine. The main contribution of this paper is the development of an optimal control based on fuzzy logic, which maximizes the output torque of the vehicle while minimizing fuel consumed by the combustion engine.
Inhibition of Cytosolic Phospholipase A2α Induces Apoptosis in Multiple Myeloma Cells

Cytosolic phospholipase A2α (cPLA2α) is the rate-limiting enzyme in releasing arachidonic acid and biosynthesis of its derivative eicosanoids. Thus, the catalytic activity of cPLA2α plays an important role in cellular metabolism in healthy as well as cancer cells. There is mounting evidence suggesting that cPLA2α is an interesting target for cancer treatment; however, it is unclear which cancers are most relevant for further investigation. Here we report the relative expression of cPLA2α in a variety of cancers and cancer cell lines using publicly available datasets. The profiling of a panel of cancer cell lines representing different tissue origins suggests that hematological malignancies are particularly sensitive to the growth inhibitory effect of cPLA2α inhibition. Several hematological cancers and cancer cell lines overexpressed cPLA2α, including multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma is an incurable hematological cancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow with an emerging requirement of therapeutic approaches. We show here that two cPLA2α inhibitors AVX420 and AVX002, significantly and dose-dependently reduced the viability of multiple myeloma cells and induced apoptosis in vitro. Our findings implicate cPLA2α activity in the survival of multiple myeloma cells and support further studies into cPLA2α as a potential target for treating hematological cancers, including multiple myeloma.
ELT & Social Media in Covid-19 Era: A Case Study

In March 2020, with the increasing confirmed cases of COVID-19 pandemic in the State of Kuwait, the Kuwaiti Cabinet decided to suspend face-to-face teaching in all schools and universities. The following month the Ministry of Education and Higher Education adopted Online instruction in both public and private educational institutions. The current quantitive research aims at examining the implementation of social media by Kuwait University students and potential implementation of high-tech facilities in language learning. About 400 male and female students from the English Department were surveyed. The researcher used SPSS to analyze students’ responses of the questionnaire. The findings demonstrated a substantial increase in the use of SM because of COVID-19. Questionnaire respondents illustrated positive attitude towards the implementation of SM. The future of SM in Kuwait is promising. The study recommends that education institutions, public and private, adopt various SM platforms to sustain and develop the teaching process.
The Impact of Dental Midline on Asymmetric Faces: Perspective of Laypersons and Dentists

Background: The objective was to determine if asymmetric facial features, nasal and chin deviations, affect the perception of attractiveness of a dental midline angulation, and if it is consistent among both dentists and laypeople. It was also analyzed if factors, such as the sex, age group of the participants and the dentist’s area of operation are relevant in their assessment. Methods: A cross-sectional study, approved by the Ethics Committee of Fernando Pessoa University. From a symmetrical facial model (SFM) image, a natural-looking asymmetrical face was created. Based on this asymmetric facial model six images were created, with different directions and degrees of inclination of the dental midline. In total, 236 laypersons and 242 dentists completed the online questionnaire where they rated the self-perception of attractiveness of the eight images (VAS scale from 0 to 10). Non-parametric comparisons (IBM© SPSS Statistics vs. 27.0, p < 0.05). Results: The results showed a significant difference in the perception of attractiveness between laypeople and dentists. This finding was consistent regarding every image, except for the SFM. The factors, sex of the people participating and dentist’s area of operation, seemed only to contribute to a significant difference in the perception when it came to the SFM. The perceived attractiveness of the images, for dentists and laypersons, did not differ by age group of the participant, apart from images 6 and 8. Conclusions: Dentists are more rigorous about dental midline inclinations than laypersons. The perception of attractiveness was affected by the age group and sex of the participants and the dentist’s area of operation.
Energy Consumption Evaluation of U.S. Navy LEED-Certified Buildings

As of October 1, 2008, the Department of the Navy established the requirement that all new buildings constructed for the United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) obtain a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The goal of this requirement is to comply with Executive Order (EO) 13423, which mandates that all government departments reduce energy consumption by 30% by 2015. This research analyzes whether the 11 LEED-certified USN buildings have achieved the expected energy consumption savings. Energy data from LEED-certified buildings was compared with other USN and USMC non-certified buildings of comparable size, usage, and location. Statistical analysis shows that 9 of 11 LEED buildings did not achieve a 30% savings in electricity consumption, while seven of nine met the water consumption savings requirements set in place by EO 13423. Furthermore, this research concludes that the majority of the US.
Using Twitter to Enhance Writing Skills among ESL Undergraduates: A Casual Learning Approach

Writing is a fundamental skill in language learning yet it is the biggest challenge for students these days. Students are discouraged to write their own thoughts and it leads them to become demotivated. Students' involvement is limited in any learning process, however, with the implementation of a casual learning approach, it could be possible to get students to participate in the classroom. In this 21 st century era, educators have been using various techniques and materials to enhance students’ writing. Therefore, educators believe that using social media as a platform for teaching and learning might be helpful to make the lessons fun and interactive. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the use of Twitter as a casual learning approach in enhancing students’ writing skills. A study was conducted among 20 undergraduate students to investigate if Twitter makes any difference in enhancing their writing skills and their motivation to write. ESL lessons via ZOOM were conducted with the integration of Twitter’s threads as the casual learning approach to help students to be more interested in writing, which in a way will help to enhance their writing skills. A questionnaire was later distributed to the students to investigate their feedback on the use of Twitter as a platform to help them to enhance their writing skills. Findings have shown that students are more comfortable to have Twitter as one of the platforms to help them to enhance their writing skills. It can be seen that the students participated more when Twitter was used in the lessons as part of the writing activity. One of the reasons might be because of the flexibility and the casualty. The end result of this study shows that utilizing Twitter in ESL teaching and learning gives a positive impact for both educators and the students.
Early carbonatite magmatism at Oldoinyo Lengai volcano (Tanzania): carbonatite–silicate melt immiscibility in Lengai I melt inclusions

Carbonatites are unusual C-rich alkaline magmas that have been reported throughout the geological record. Nevertheless, there is only one currently active carbonatite system on Earth: Oldoinyo Lengai stratovolcano in northern Tanzania (God’s mountain in Maasai culture). Presentday Lengai carbonatites are natrocarbonatites, peculiar Na-rich carbonatites that, under atmospheric conditions, alter and leach to compositions similar to the more common Ca-carbonatites within weeks, preventing any long-term geological record of such Na-rich magmas. It follows that the oldest report of natrocarbonatites at Oldoinyo Lengai dates to the 19th century. Here, by using samples from the Lengai I cone (>11 ka), we show that immiscible silicate–carbonatite melts were already present at reservoir conditions at that time. Measurements of three-phase (carbonatite + silicate + gas) melt inclusions from Lengai I highlight that their chemical compositions were similar to those of immiscible melts recently present in the reservoir. Alkaline carbonatites in melt inclusions from both Lengai I and historical explosive eruptions are enriched in Ca relative to those historically effused at the surface and likely record higher equilibrium temperatures (>1100 °C). We also report chemical maps that qualitatively document elemental partitioning between immiscible silicate–carbonatite melts. We show that at the melt inclusions’ entrapment conditions Si, Fe, K, Na, and Cl are compatible with the silicate phase when C, Ca, P, Sr, Ba, and F are compatible with the carbonate phase.
"Epidemiological, Characteristics and Outcomes of Road Traffic Accident Among Patients in Emergency Units"

Characteristics and Outcomes of Road Traffic Accident Among Patients in Emergency Units. Traffic accidents constitute about 85% of deaths, especially in developing countries. Traffic accidents have become a source of anxiety and terror among everyone, with an impact on human, technical and environmental factors. This study aimed to identify the epidemiological, characteristics and outcomes of Road Traffic accident among patients in emergency unit during the study period. A retrospective cross sectional study was conducted among 198471 patients with road traffic injuries were registered at 15 provinces on Iraq. The data reported to the present study were collected between January 2020 and December 2020. Data onto patients were recorded including cause and location of injury, frequency and type of injury (frequency of soft tissue injuries and bone fractures), as well as age and gender distribution. Males comprised 70.2% of the total fatalities, while females accounted for 29.8%. The age group of 15-44 years was the most vulnerable (54.71%) of the total cases followed by the age group 5-14 years (20.8%) and ≥ 45 years (16.6%). Majority of victims were unemployed (61.2%) and (65%) were married. Car accident constituted the large victim group of road traffic accident fatalities and injuries (32.9%), followed by motorcycle (25.7%). The official statistics revealed of the threat to minibus (16.1%) and lorry (15.3%). out of total number of 78201 cases (39.4 %) that sustained head injury, Skull fractures were found in 44361 (22.4 %) cases of head injury. Among other injuries, most commonly injured abdominal organ was (16.6%) followed by the upper extremity (16.2 %). Conclusion in short, it has been shown in this study that male gender, young ages, and involvement of cars and drivers and pedestrians pose a higher risk, mortality, and morbidity. Our results may be useful for forensic pathologists and clinicians and for mechanical engineers who investigate new safety devices for vehicle occupants.
Aerodynamic Modeling of the Wing-Propeller Interaction for a Tail-Sitter Unmanned Air Vehicle

This paper considers the aerodynamic modeling of a twin-engine tail-sitter unmanned air vehicle that relies on wing- and fin-mounted control surfaces submerged in the propeller slipstreams for control during low-speed vertical flight The aerodynamic forces on this vehicle are predicted using a full azimuthal blade-element solution for the propellers combined with a fixed-wake panel-method model of the vehicle itself. When the flow components determined from the propeller solution are superimposed on the external flowfield and integrated with the panel-method model, the aerodynamic forces can be determined for the full vehicle, including slipstream effects, which are dominant in low-speed flight. The modeling described in this paper has been used extensively for multidisciplinary optimization work, as well as in the construction of a comprehensive aerodynamic database for the vehicle. This database encompasses all the aerodynamic force and moment coefficients and their derivatives for over 4300 separate flight conditions and has been extensively used for vehicle simulation and control design purposes.
Tire Noise Generation and Propagation over Porous and Nonporous Asphalt Pavements

Acoustic measurements were made on several asphalt test pavements at the National Center for Asphalt Technology test track, including five porous pavements. Onboard sound intensity (OBSI) measurements were taken to quantify the tire–pavement noise source strength as a function of pavement parameters. The OBSI results fell into three pavement groupings based on spectral shape. More than other parameters, these groupings were determined by whether the pavement was porous or not and whether it was new or older. The OBSI results also indicated that single-layer porous pavements were particularly effective at reducing tire–pavement noise source strength at frequencies above 1,250 Hz for designs 18 to 33 mm thick. For a thicker, double-layer porous pavement, source strength reductions extended down to 630 Hz. Porous pavements were also found to be effective in reducing the source strength of the tire–pavement interaction by reducing some tire noise mechanisms and by reducing the sound power level of the source through local sound absorption. Testing was also conducted to evaluate the additional attenuation for sound propagating over porous, sound-absorbing pavements compared with nonporous pavements. From the propagation measurements, all porous pavements produced additional sound attenuation over that produced by the nonporous pavements. The additional attenuation also increased with distance from the source.
Thalidomide Exerts Anti-Inflammatory Effects in Cutaneous Lupus by Inhibiting the IRF4/NF-ҡB and AMPK1/mTOR Pathways

Thalidomide is effective in patients with refractory cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE). However, the mechanism of action is not completely understood, and its use is limited by its potential, severe side-effects. Immune cell subset analysis in thalidomide’s CLE responder patients showed a reduction of circulating and tissue cytotoxic T-cells with an increase of iNKT cells and a shift towards a Th2 response. We conducted an RNA-sequencing study using CLE skin biopsies performing a Therapeutic Performance Mapping System (TMPS) analysis in order to generate a predictive model of its mechanism of action and to identify new potential therapeutic targets. Integrating RNA-seq data, public databases, and literature, TMPS analysis generated mathematical models which predicted that thalidomide acts via two CRBN-CRL4A- (CRL4CRBN) dependent pathways: IRF4/NF-ҡB and AMPK1/mTOR. Skin biopsies showed a significant reduction of IRF4 and mTOR in post-treatment samples by immunofluorescence. In vitro experiments confirmed the effect of thalidomide downregulating IRF4 in PBMCs and mTOR in keratinocytes, which converged in an NF-ҡB reduction that led to a resolution of the inflammatory lesion. These results emphasize the anti-inflammatory role of thalidomide in CLE treatment, providing novel molecular targets for the development of new therapies that could avoid thalidomide’s side effects while maintaining its efficacy.
PED Requirements Applied to the Cavity and Helium Tank Manufacturing

For the European XFEL more than 800 Cavities are manufactured by industrial partners. Each cavity is housed in an individual cryo vessel, the so called helium tank. All vessels are made from titanium and manufactured by industry as well. The cavity, welded into its helium tank, is a pressure loaded part and has to follow the pressure equipment directive - PED (97/23/EC). Setting up a series production of cavities and helium tanks by different vendors according given standards, was the task of the XFEL WPG-1 LINAC-WP04. In cooperation with the TUEV-Nord as the notified body, DESY is responsible for the qualification of design, material in use and reasonable tests to get a certificate for pressure bearing parts.
The complete mitochondrial genome of the Korean endemic species Cobitis hankugensis (Kim, Park, Son & Nalbant, 2003)

Abstract As one of efforts to conserve a genetic resource of the endemic cobitid species in the Korean peninsula, the complete mitogenome of Cobitis hankugensis (Kim, Park, Son & Nalbant, 2003) was determined using Illumina MiSeq system. The circular mitogenome was 16,557 bp length and encoded 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and a control region. Only the COX1 gene was identified with an aberrant initiation codon GTG, and an incomplete termination codon (T—/TA–) was identified in six PCGs including COX2, COX3, ND2, ND3, ND4, and Cytb genes. Phylogenetic analysis using 30 mitochondrial genomes belonging to Cobitidae, Botiidae, and Gyrinocheilidae showed that the highest identity (92.38%) with Kichulchoia brevifasciata (NC_027166). The complete mitogenome of C. hankugensis, an endemic species in Korea, will provide fundamental data on the evolutionary relationship of Cobitidae species.
Integrated Agro-Economic Approach to Deficit Irrigation on Lettuce Crops in Sicily (Italy)

The effect of four different irrigation levels on the marketable yield and economic return of summer-growth lettuce was evaluated during 2005 and 2006 in Eastern Sicily, Italy. The viability of deficit irrigation was evaluated by estimating optimum applied water levels. Actual evapotranspiration ( ETa ) was estimated by combining pan evaporation measures and the Penman–Monteith approach ( ET0-PM ) . The highest marketable yield of lettuce was recorded for plots receiving 100% ET0-PM . For deficit irrigated plots, reductions in crop production were ascribed to a decrease in lettuce weight. Crop coefficients equal to 1 determined maximum crop production values. Crop water use efficiency was maximum at a 100% ET0-PM level of water applied, corresponding to yield of 0.3 t ha−1 mm−1 . Irrigation water use efficiency reached its maximum at a 40% ET0-PM level, with values of 0.54 and 0.44 t ha−1 mm−1 during 2005 and 2006, respectively. Water applied and marketable yield of lettuce showed a significant quadratic .
Direct Debris Flow Measurements using DFLP system at Kamikamihorizawa Creek

Observations of debris flows have been reported in numerous studies over many previous decades [e.g., Arattano , 1999 ; Rickenmann , 1999 ; Suwa et al . , 2019], and systematic research into the mechanics of these flows, including detailed investigations in flume tests, has been carried out for approximately 60 years [e.g., Daido , 1971 ; Rickenmann , 1999]. Previous studies of debris flow mechanisms have examined non-uniform-sized debris in mountain torrents via flume tests and field observations as part of efforts to clarify those mechanisms. However, it is still difficult to grasp the vertical and longitudinal component segregation of sediment particles and the vertical profiles of velocity and volumetric concentration that are related to pressure and stress. In Japan, the Disaster Prevention Research Institute of Kyoto University (DPRI) and the Matsumoto Sabo Office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) began debris flow monitoring and observations at Kamikamihorizawa Creek on the eastern slope of Mt. Yakedake in 1970 [e. g. , Suwa et al . , 1973 ; Okuda et al . , 1980]. Heavy rainfalls have caused numerous debris flow events since the last phreatic explosion of this volcano in 1962. Those observations, which continued until the 2000s, resulted in the collection of vast amounts of data on phenomena such as the longitudinal spreading velocity of the frontal part, temporal changes of surges, the relationship between the flow peak discharge rate and the volume, and other factors. At Sakurajima Island, debris flow observations were carried out from the 1970s to monitor the debris flow occurrences that followed volcanic eruptions [e.g., Osaka et al . , 2014], as well as at Kamikamihorizawa Creek, where sediment-water mixture measurements of debris flow bodies were carried out manually with a sampling box to evaluate sediment concentrations. However, little information regarding sediment Original Article