Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of the active surface of the Purging plug on the effectiveness of the argon blowing process in the ladle

The basic procedure of secondary metallurgy is blowing liquid steel with inert gases. This treatment is applied in the ladle at the ladle furnace station. The main task of the injected gas is to homogenize the liquid steel both in terms of temperature and chemistry, and to capture and transfer non-metallic inclusions (NMIs) to the slag phase. The effectiveness of the liquid steel blowing process in the ladle depends on many factors. The main of them is the energy of the injected gas stream, under the influence of which the hydrodynamic conditions for mixing liquid steel in the ladle are formed. As well as the size and number of gas bubbles that flow out, which determine the efficiency of refining liquid steel with NMIs. The article presents the results of tests carried out on a laboratory stand equipped with a physical water model of a ladle. The research was aimed at determining the importance of the size of the active surface of the purging plug used when blowing argon into the ladle to the above-mentioned factors. The criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the liquid steel blowing process were the minimum time of complete mixing of the model liquid in the ladle model and the degree of gas dispersion in the volume of the model liquid. The minimum mixing time was determined on the basis of the determined mixing curves, and the degree of gas dispersion in the liquid was determined on the basis of visualization tests.
Microbial contamination of Raw meat in Retail Shops

This study was based on collecting 120 random samples of raw meat from Local markets, butcher shops, super markets and air condition shops at Kafer El-sheikh city (30 of each). The collected Samples were subjected to microbiological examination including Mesophilic count, cloiforms count and isolation and identification of E.coli and Salmonellae. the obtained results revealed that the mean value of Mesophilic count were 1.03 A— 105 , 3.17 A— 104 , 2.09 A— 104 and 1.84 A— 104 CFU/g at local market, butcher shop, super market and air condition shops respectively and the mean value of cloiforms count were 3.7 A— 103, 1.38 A— 103 , 1.04 A— 103 and 4.54 A— 102 CFU respectively. In addition, the incidence of E.coli isolated from examined samples were 23.33, 13.33, 6.67 and 3.33% respectively. While the incidence of Salmonellae isolated from the examined samples were 20, 16.67, 10 and 3.33% respectively at local market, butcher shops, super market and air condition shops.
Recent records of myxomycetes from New Brunswick, Canada

Studies of the diversity of myxomycetes or plasmodial slime moulds (Amoebozoa) in New Brunswick are lagging behind those of many other groups of terrestrial organisms. Here, we summarize the myxomycetes of the province as documented by recently collected specimens held by the New Brunswick Museum (NBM). Between 2007 and 2019, 264 specimens were collected, representing 80 species in 29 genera. Most of these records result from targetted searching during NBM-led biodiversity surveys (the BiotaNB project) in provincial protected natural areas between 2014 and 2019 and a mycological foray on Campobello Island in 2016. Previously, only seven species had been reported for the province. Consistent with their worldwide distributions and abundance, Arcyria cinerea, Fuligo septica, Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa, and Lycogala epidendrum were the most collected species, whereas the globally rare species Paradiacheopsis microcarpa has been collected in New Brunswick six times. Forty-two species were found only once, and five of these (Comatricha mirabilis, Fuligo laevis, Hemitrichia chrysospora, Lepidoderma neoperforatum, Listerella paradoxa) are rare worldwide.
A pedagogical design for self-regulated learning in academic writing using text-based generative artificial intelligence tools: 6-P pedagogy of plan, prompt, preview, produce, peer-review, portfolio-tracking

The emergence and popularity of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, particularly text-based ones known as large language models, pose both opportunities and challenges to education. The ability of these tools to generate human-like texts based on minimal instructions causes concerns among educators about students’ use of these tools for academic writing, which may constitute a breach of academic integrity. We propose a pedagogical design that models on self-regulated learning and the authoring cycle and develops students’ critical thinking and self-regulation when composing academic writing using text-based generative AI tools. It contains six iterative and interactive phases. Students first plan the content and structure of the writing, then generate prompts for text-based generative AI tools. Next, students preview and verify the tools’ output, followed by the fourth phase of producing the writing using the corrected output. Fifthly, peer review by fellow students may be required to polish and proofread the writing. Lastly, through portfolio-tracking, students reflect on the writing process, and formulate strategies for future usage of text-based generative AI tools for writing. This pedagogical design helps students and teachers embrace text-based generative AI while addressing the perils these tools present, and guides the development of education interventions and instruments.
Briaviolide Q, a New Briarane from the Cultured Briareum violaceum

A new briarane-type diterpenoid, briaviolide Q (1), along with a known analogue, excavatolide Z (2), were obtained from a cultured octocoral Briareum violaceum. Details of the isolation and structure determination of briarane 1 from spectroscopic data are presented in this paper. In RAW264.7 cells, a macrophage-like murine cell line, briarane 1 was found to inhibit the protein expression of pro-inflammatory inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS).
Advancements in Allergen Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that affects individuals of all age groups, manifesting as a spectrum of symptoms varying from mild to severe. Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) involves the administration of allergen extracts and has emerged as a potential treatment strategy for modifying immune responses. Its pathogenesis involves epidermal barrier dysfunction, microbiome imbalance, immune dysregulation, and environmental factors. Existing treatment strategies encompass topical steroids to systemic agents, while AIT is under investigation as a potential immune-modifying alternative. Several studies have shown reductions in the severity scoring of atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) scores, daily rescue medication use, and visual analog scale (VAS) scores following AIT. Biomarker changes include increased IgG4 levels and decreased eosinophil counts. This review provides valuable insights for future research and clinical practice, exploring AIT as a viable option for the management of AD.
ALLANBLACKIA SPECIES: A MODEL FOR DOMESTICATION OF HIGH POTENTIAL TREE CROPS IN AFRICA

Allanblackia is a dioecious multipurpose tree genus of the family Clusiaceae occurring in the equatorial rainforests of Africa extending from Tanzania to Sierra Leone. Besides its traditional main use for producing edible oil from its seeds, local communities use Allanblackia species as medicine and timber. A few years ago, the food processing industry discovered Allanblackia oil with its specific exceptional characteristics as a new ingredient in the sustainable manufacture of products such as margarine. Currently the potential market demand for Allanblackia oil (estimated as over 100,000 tons/year) cannot be met by harvesting fruits of wild Allanblackia species (A. floribunda in Nigeria, A. parviflora in Ghana and A. stuhlmannii in Tanzania), which yields only 200 tons/year. To address this and the challenges of over-exploitation and decreasing Allanblackia abundance in the forests, ICRAF and its partners from the public and private sector are domesticating the species since 2002 using participatory tree domestication approach. The program includes community sensitization, exploration, participatory selections of superior mother trees, conservation in field genebanks, development of agroforestry systems with Allanblackia and market development. Secondly, the program consists of developing asexual and sexual propagation protocols, which are necessary to overcome challenges in multiplication such as seed dormancy, long juvenile phase and high variability of desired traits. Experiments are mainly performed in ‘Rural Resource Centres’ (RRCs), which serve as diffusion hubs for new technologies, germplasm and knowledge. RRCs have their own tree nurseries, motherblocks and demonstration plots, and train farmers in Allanblackia propagation and cultivation techniques. In addition, RRCs support private satellite nurseries in the villages nearby to reach remote farmers. The domestication programme of Allanblackia through public-private partnership and participatory tree domestication could serve as a model for domestication of other underutilized African tree species of high economic potential.
Prevalence of Migraines Among Medical Students in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Headaches are very common and often a common reason people visit emergency departments. Their prevalence among Saudi medical students was higher than the global average but aligned more closely with rates in certain countries. This regional variation may be attributed to factors such as academic pressures, lifestyle, and genetics. This systematic review and meta-analysis focused on assessing the prevalence of migraines among medical students in Saudi Arabia. Six cross-sectional studies were ultimately included in the meta-analysis, reporting a wide range of prevalence rates among Saudi medical students, from 5% to 26%. The pooled prevalence estimate was 23%, indicating a substantial burden of migraines among this population. The findings underscore the importance of tailored strategies and support systems within medical schools to address the impact of migraines on students' academic journey and overall well-being. Standardized diagnostic criteria and awareness programs are essential to effectively managing this condition among medical students. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the significant prevalence of migraines among medical students in Saudi Arabia, emphasizing the need for comprehensive management approaches and further research to refine prevalence estimates and develop targeted interventions.
Modification of Potential Vorticity near the Tropopause by Nonconservative Processes in the ECMWF Model

The upper-level potential vorticity (PV) structure plays a key role in the evolution of extratropical weather systems. PV is modified by nonconservative processes, such as cloud latent heating, radiative transfer, and turbulence. Using a Lagrangian method, material PV modification near the tropopause is attributed to specific parameterized processes in the global model of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). In a case study, several flow features identified in a vertical section across an extratropical cyclone experienced strong PV modification. In particular clear-air turbulence at the jet stream is found to be a relevant process (i) for the PV structure of an upper-level front–jet system, corroborating previous observation-based findings of turbulent PV generation; (ii) for the purely turbulent decay of a tropopause fold, identified as an effective process of stratosphere–troposphere exchange; and (iii) in the ridge, where the Lagrangian accumulated turbulent PV modification exhibits a distinct vertical pattern, potentially impacting the strength of the tropopause inversion layer. In contrast, cloud processes affect the near-tropopause PV structure above a warm conveyor belt outflow in the ridge and above cold-sector convection. In agreement with previous studies, radiative PV production dominates in regions with an anomalously low tropopause, where both radiation and convection act to increase the vertical PV gradient across the tropopause. The particular strengths of the Lagrangian diagnostic are that it connects prominent tropopause structures with nonconservative PV modification along the flow and that it quantifies the relative importance of turbulence, radiation, and cloud processes for these modifications.
Association between Psychological Distress and Possible, Probable, and Definite Sleep Bruxism—A Comparison of Approved Diagnostic Procedures

(1) Background: The relationship between sleep bruxism (SB) and psychological distress has been investigated in numerous studies and is heterogeneous. Different diagnostic procedures have been applied to determine SB. The aim of this study was to directly compare the association between psychological distress and SB diagnosed by different accepted methods. (2) Methods: Data of N = 45 subjects were analyzed, including group comparisons and correlation analyses. Following diagnostic methods for the determination of SB were used in one sample: self-report, clinical assessment, polysomnography with audio–video recording and a novel diagnostic sheet with analyzing software. Psychological distress was measured using the global severity index (GSI) of the Symptom Checklist-90-Standard (SCL-90-S). (3) Results: The GSI did not differ significantly between subjects with and without SB, regardless of the underlying diagnostic classification (p > 0.05). In-depth correlation analyses of self-report and clinical data revealed a weak-to-medium correlation with the GSI (r = 0.12–0.44). Due to non-normally distributed data, a test of statistical significance was not possible. Variables of instrumental methods such as the SB index (amount of SB activity per hour) of polysomnography (PSG) showed almost no correlation with psychological distress (r = −0.06–0.05). (4) Conclusions: Despite these limitations, the results provide an indication that the choice of diagnostic procedure may elucidate the variance in the correlation between SB and psychological distress.
Corporate Debt, Institutional Differences and Firms’ Financial Distress in Emerging Economies under Uncertainty

Firms with high leverage are more vulnerable, particularly during uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to examine the impact of leverage on firms’ financial distress by capturing two countries, Indonesia and Malaysia, which have different levels of leverage and financial development that affect access to external funding. The Altman Z-score—for a rich dataset comprising quarterly data of publicly traded companies between 2015 and 2020—is calculated to measure firms’ financial distress. Furthermore, the Difference-in-Differences (DiD) technique is employed to test the hypothesis that highly leveraged firms have a higher bankruptcy risk that leads to financial distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study finds that firms’ financial distress during the pandemic is higher than prior the pandemic. Indonesian firms’ financial distress was higher than Malaysian firms. Finally, highly leveraged firms are exposed to higher bankruptcy risk than firms with lower debt.
Intraoperative ultrasound in localizing nonpalpable breast lesions

Introduction: Intraoperative ultrasound in breast tumor surgery is a relatively new technique used for localizing nonpalpable breast lesions. This procedure has multiple advantages over wire needle localization (WNL), which is a standard approach to localizing nonpalpable breast lesions. It has been shown that intraoperative application of ultrasound is presented with a decrease in tumor-infiltrated resection margins, and with less excised healthy tissue around the tumor. Aim: The purpose of this article is to evaluate the success rate of nonpalpable breast lesion excisions by localizing them with intraoperative ultrasound. Material and methods: This is a retrospective study, which involves patients from the Department of surgical oncology at "Bežanijska kosa" treated in the period between January 2013 and December 2017. Medical records of the patients who were not operated on for nonpalpable breast lesions using intraoperative ultrasound were isolated. Success rate of identifying and excising nonpalpable lesions is presented in percentages, so this finding can be compared to other published studies. Results: Of the 2627 patients operated on during this period, 317 (11.9%) patients had nonpalpable lesions, of which 173 were localized by WNL, and 144 were localized by intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS). Of 144 patients whose lesions were localized by IOUS, 61 patients had breast cancer, while 83 patients had benign lesions. Based on the medical records, all non-palpable lesions were successfully located and excised with intraoperative ultrasound (144/144-100%). Conclusion: Intraoperative ultrasound represents an optimal technique for localizing nonpalpable breast lesions that are visible on ultrasound and are an indication for surgical removal.
Demographics, Labor Force Participation and Unemployment in Jordan

To better understand the demographic trends in Jordan, it is useful to relate these trends to the historical population displacement in the region and the geostrategic location of Jordan. Jordan’s location in the middle of the Arab World influences labor mobility to and from Jordan. On one hand, Jordan is surrounded by Arab countries with large populations like Iraq, Syria and Egypt; the citizens of these countries can enter Jordan without an entry visa, except for Iraq lately. On the other hand, Jordan is close to the rich Gulf countries, which have abundant natural resources and a small population. The availability and quality of jobs and the higher wages in the GCC have pulled hundreds of thousands of Jordanian workers to migrate to those countries and live there for years. This flow of people and workers to and from Jordan characterizes Jordan’s labor market giving it some distinctive features that leads to an unstable labor supply model, and complicates its forecast and development. The analysis in this paper will be mainly based on the Jordan Panel Labor Market Survey (JLMPS), which was conducted in 2010.
Municipal risk communication challenges in the Nordic context: Organizing risk ownership

At a time when disasters, pandemics, pollution, and other crises gain prominence, local governments bear a crucial responsibility for effective risk communication. Yet, there remains a gap in our understanding of how municipalities approach risk communication before a crisis occurs. This qualitative study, involving seven focus groups and 29 semistructured interviews across two Nordic countries, raises questions about ownership of municipal risk communication: What challenges do municipalities face in managing ownership in risk communication? How does the organization of communication influence municipal risk communication? The results underscore three key considerations: First, there is a critical need for municipalities to engage in definitional clarification of risk and crisis communication. Establishing a shared understanding is paramount for effective communication strategies. Second, reframing uncertainty in municipal risk communication ownership as an opportunity is suggested. Embracing the inherent uncertainties and dependencies can offer a valuable perspective. Lastly, recognizing the underappreciation of risk communication emphasizes the imperative for municipal decision makers to address resource allocation issues. This involves ensuring that communication professionals have the confidence and resources needed, vis‐à‐vis other functions involved in risk management.
Analysis of C-Band Radar Temporal Coherence Over an Irrigated Olive Orchard in a Semi-Arid Region

This article aimed to monitor vegetation using C-band radar data at a subdaily time step. To this end, radar measurements using tower-mounted antennas with a 15-min time step, along with physiology-related information (sapflow and micrometric dendrometry), were acquired quasi-continuously from March 2020 to December 2021 in an olive orchard located near Marrakech, Morocco. The article focused on temporal coherence, whose clear diurnal cycle (highest at night and lowest at the end of the afternoon) had been highlighted over tropical and boreal forests in previous studies. The results showed that coherence was highly sensitive to: wind-induced movement of scatterers, since coherence was lowest when wind speed was highest in late afternoon, and vegetation activity, especially its water dynamics, since the morning coherence drop coincided with the onset of sapflow and the daily evapotranspiration cycle, as well as the good agreement between the temporal drop rate of coherence and the daily residual variation in trunk circumference (i.e., deviation from long-term trend). Finally, coherence remained high for temporal baselines of several days, showing that sentinel-1 data (when both satellites are operational) may be well suited for such studies, especially with acquisitions made during morning passes, when wind speed is low. These results open perspectives for monitoring tree crop physiology using high-revisit-time radar observations.
Antibiotic Resistance Profile of Biofilm Producing Staphylococci Isolated from Different Clinical Samples

Biofilm mediated infections by Staphylococci have a significant negative impact on patient health and necessitate reliable method for detecting biofilm producers. The ability of isolates to produce biofilm makes them resistant to host immune response as well as available antibiotics. This study aims to detect biofilm producing ability among clinical staphylococci by phenotypic methods and presence of icaAD genes and determine their antibiotic profile. A total of 350 different clinical specimens received in the KIST Medical hospital, Gwarko, Nepal was examined from July 2018 to January 2019 and Staphylococci were identified following standard microbiological procedure. The antibiotic resistivity pattern was detected by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method whereas biofilm formation was detected by three phenotypic methods viz. congo red agar (CRA), tube method (TM) and tissue culture plate (TCP) method. Furthermore, icaAD genes were detected by PCR method. Chi-square test and independent sample t-test were employed to calculate the significance. A total of 161 Staphylococci were isolated comprising S. aureus (63, 39.1%) and coagulase negative staphylococci (CNS) (98, 60.9%). Most isolates were found to be resistant to penicillin and erythromycin. Strong biofilm formation was detected among 6 (3.7%), 22 (13.7%) and 35 (21.7%) by CRA, TM and TCP method respectively. Similarly, icaAD genes were detected among 24 (14.9%) isolates. Staphylococci isolated from clinical sample showed biofilm forming ability by both phenotypic and genotypic method. The biofilm producing isolates were found to be more resistant to antibiotics than their planktonic counterparts with 56 (89%) and 65 (66%) S. aureus and CNS observed as methicillin resistant respectively. Regular surveillance of biofilm formation by Staphylococci and their antimicrobial resistance profile may lead to early treatment of Staphylococcal infection.