Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
BRANDING AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OF SELECTED PETROLEUM PRODUCTS IN PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE

Consumer behavior to branding is a serious issue that affects owners of businesses. This study addresses the challenges as determinants of customer impulse buying behavior of consumers of petroleum product in Rivers State, Nigeria. The study employed a descriptive survey design to examine 550 consumers of petroleum products in Rivers State. The sample size determination for a finite population as expressed by Krejie and Morgan (1970) and used by Research advisors (2006) was used to draw a sample of 550 consumers of petroleum products. Proportionate sample technique (a variant of stratified sampling method) to reflect the proportions of consumers in each of the 23 local government areas of the state. A research questionnaire was constructed, validated and administered to obtain the primary data. The factor analysis simple regression analysis and Pearson product moment correlation(r) statistical techniques were used to test the hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that there is significant relationship between branding and consumer behavior (P<0.05, R=0.786,R 2 =0.618). It was concluded that high levels of awareness positively influence the choice of petroleum products by consumers. The study therefore recommends that marketers of petroleum products should develop innovative packaging strategies that will appeal to and attract consumers in an exceptional way to trigger impulse buying.
Study of molecular properties using acoustic non-linearity parameter in the ternary liquid mixtures at different temperatures

The parameters of non-linearity (B/A) of ternary liquid mixtures, namely phenol and o-cresol with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in carbon tetrachloride have been evaluated at 293.15, 303.15 and 313.15 K. The non-linearity parameter has been computed by three different methods, namely Tong and Dong's method, Beyer's method and Beyer's method using Tong–Dong coefficients. The excess values of non-linearity parameter (B/A)E have also been evaluated and discussed in the light of intermolecular interactions present in the liquid mixtures. Sehgal's relations for evaluating molecular properties for pure liquids are extended to ternary liquid mixtures.
Evaluation of the Dynamic and Control Strategies of the Vapor Recovery Section of a FCC for a Plantwide Control Design

Abstract The goal of plantwide control studies is to design a control system that can achieve the operating requirements of the complete plant optimal conditions. The problem focuses on the whole plant and not only on single equipment. The size of plantwide control problems are larger than that for individual units, making the solution much more difficult. The main problem is the presence of recycle streams that provide interactions between different equipment. Disturbances that enter a process can propagate not only downstream from one unit operation to the next but upstream through material and energy recycle loops. In this work, the product recovery section of a fluid catalytic unit was used to discuss the optimization and the control of large plants. This unit was chosen because of the presence of four material recycle loops, which allow the observation of equipment coupling. The control system must be able to reject not only local disturbances at the unit level but also at the plant level.
Multiple Solutions for a Class of Nonlinear Fourth-Order Boundary Value Problems

This paper is concerned with multiple solutions for a class of nonlinear fourth-order boundary value problems with parameters. By constructing a special cone and applying fixed point index theory, the multiple solutions for the considered systems are obtained under some suitable assumptions. The main feature of obtained solutions (u(t),v(t)) is that the solution u(t) is positive, and the other solution v(t) may change sign. Finally, two examples with continuous function f1 being positive and f2 being semipositone are worked out to illustrate the main results.
Polysaccharides from prickly pear peel and nopals of Opuntia ficus-indica: extraction, characterization and polyelectrolyte behaviour

The extraction at natural pH of carbohydrate polymers from Opuntia ficus-indica and their physicochemical characterization are reported. Polysaccharides extracted from nopal pulp, nopal peel and pear peel, are denoted NPU, NPE and PPE respectively. For comparison, extraction of the peel of fruit has also been carried out using the conventional acid process generally employed for pectin (PPI). The sugar composition indicates that all the polysaccharides obtained contain anionic moieties, galacturonic acid residues, from 10% for NPU to about 50% for those extracted from peels, the composition of which is typical of pectin. The macromolecular features of these compounds have been characterized by size-exclusion chromatography coupled with multi-angle laser light-scattering detection (SEC–MALLS) and by capillary viscometry, leading to information on conformation and size dimension of macromolecules in dilute aqueous solutions. Our findings show that the polysaccharides from nopals have a random coil structure, whereas those from fruit peel exist as a compact sphere which is assumed to be due to a branched structure. The polyelectrolyte character related to the presence of fixed charges on the chain has been investigated as a function of pH and ionic strength. The conformational change from a compact form in acidic medium to an expanded one takes place in the pH range 4–6. A strong tendency to form aggregates in acidic medium is evidenced by SEC–MALLS. The differences observed in the solution behaviour of the studied polysaccharides are discussed in terms of intra- and inter-macromolecular interactions. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry
Why and How Do University Students Use Facebook in Everyday Life?

The use of Facebook in everyday life has become widespread all around the world regardless of countries and cultures. The largest group of Facebook users consists of young people, particularly university students. This study investigated the attitudes of university students toward Facebook, their major reasons for using this social media application in everyday life, and the factors aff ecting the types of desired relationships with Facebook friends. A survey consisting of 63 items about demographics of participants and their preferences for the use of Facebook was administered to collect data. The sample of the study included 924 undergraduate students from a large public university in North Cyprus. A number of descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were employed to analyze data in relation to the research questions. Results suggested that the students generally had positive attitudes toward Facebook, although there were certain diff erences in terms of demographics. The primary reason for using Facebook was interpersonal communications with close friends. The most powerful factor aff ecting the types of relationships in Facebook was perceived quality of communication and/or socialization. Along with the other fi ndings, implications of the results for future research were discussed.
Behavioral Bias in Individual Investment Decisions: Is It a Common Phenomenon in Stock Markets?

This paper aims to investigate the behavioral factors that influence individual investment decision making at a developing country stock market; the Sudanese Stock Exchange Market. The Study employs a cross-sectional survey design as well as analytical methods to collect the necessary data and establish the relationship between the study variables. Data is collected through a structured questionnaire from a sample of 203 individual investors and Correlation and Regression methods are used to conduct the analysis. The findings of the paper provide evidence that behavioral biases play a noticeable role in individual investment decision making process regardless of the degree of development of the stock market. The paper demonstrates that heuristic and market factors play a dominant role in the process of individual decision making in the Khartoum Stock Exchange. The factors that have a significant impact on individual investment decision making process include Representativeness, Overconfidence, Anchoring, Historical cost of stock, Customer preferences, Loss aversion, Mental accounting, Other investors‟ trading volume, and Quick reaction to changes in other investors „decisions. Factors that have an insignificant impact include Availability bias, Change in stock prices, Regret aversion, and Other investors‟ decisions and choices.
Suppression of viscosity enhancement around a Brownian particle in a near-critical binary fluid mixture

Abstract We consider the Brownian motion of a rigid spherical particle in a binary fluid mixture, which lies in the homogeneous phase near the demixing critical point, assuming that neither component is more attracted by the particle surface. In a recent study, it was experimentally shown that the self-diffusion coefficient first decreases and then reaches a plateau as the critical point is approached. The decrease should reflect the critical enhancement of the viscosity, while the plateau was interpreted as representing the suppression of the enhancement due to the shear around the particle. To examine this interpretation, we take into account the local shear rate to calculate the dependence of the drag coefficient on the particle speed, and then utilize a Langevin equation to calculate the self-diffusion coefficient.
Vouchers and Consumer-Directed Care: Implications for Community Care Services in Hong Kong

There has been considerable interest in the concept of consumer-directed care (CDC) for ageing populations. One type of CDC employs vouchers that older people can use to procure a panel of social services that best fits their needs. The voucher-based strategy has been institutionalised in Hong Kong as the Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly (CCSV). Using a qualitative, semi-structured interview method, researchers probed the experiences of two groups (twenty-six CCSV users and twenty-seven CCSV non-users) with the voucher programme between March 2014 and September 2015 during the first phase of CCSV. The interviews revealed a set of social and institutional supports needed to empower clients to effectively utilise the voucher. These supports (or forms of capital) were consistently present amongst active CCSV users and deficient amongst non-users. The research demonstrates that instituting a voucher does not, by itself, lead to optimised choices but, rather, that a network of institutional and social resources must be assembled in support of the voucher programme. In some instances, a case management approach may be needed, as older people (and family) need to combine different forms of institutional and social support to comprehend the voucher programme and utilise it for their particular needs.
Time and Chance: Using Age Partitioning to Understand How Luck Drives Variation in Reproductive Success

Over the course of individual lifetimes, luck usually explains a large fraction of the between-individual variation in life span or lifetime reproductive output (LRO) within a population, while variation in individual traits or “quality” explains much less. To understand how, where in the life cycle, and through which demographic processes luck trumps trait variation, we show how to partition by age the contributions of luck and trait variation to LRO variance and how to quantify three distinct components of luck. We apply these tools to several empirical case studies. We find that luck swamps effects of trait variation at all ages, primarily because of randomness in individual state dynamics (“state trajectory luck”). Luck early in life is most important. Very early state trajectory luck generally determines whether an individual ever breeds, likely by ensuring that they are not dead or doomed quickly. Less early luck drives variation in success among those breeding at least once. Consequently, the importance of luck often has a sharp peak early in life or it has two peaks. We suggest that ages or stages where the importance of luck peaks are potential targets for interventions to benefit a population of concern, different from those identified by eigenvalue elasticity analysis.
A review of nanomaterials as viscosity reducer for heavy oil

Abstract Heavy crude oil is one of the most potential fossil fuels at present and in the future. However, its high viscosity severely hinders its recovery from reservoir conditions. Heavy oil viscosity reduction is rather essential for its exploitation and transportation. Applying nanomaterials as viscosity reducer for heavy crude oil is an emerging research topic in petroleum industry. In this review, the recent progress about different nanomaterials that have been used in heavy oil viscosity reduction was summarized. These nanomaterials were roughly divided into four kinds: silicon oxide nanoparticles, metal oxide nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, modified nanoparticles and nanocomposites. The properties of the nanomaterials, including chemical property, concentration and injection form, size and the operational conditions such as temperature, different heavy oil and field application were discussed. At the same time, the possible oil viscosity reduction mechanisms including asphaltenes adsorption, disruption of asphaltene aggregates and heavy oil viscoelastic network, recombination of hydrogen bonds for different nanoparticles were summarized. The challenges and future work for this technology are proposed at the end. Nanomaterials for heavy oil viscosity reduction are expected to make a huge impact on petroleum industry. Graphical Abstract
Believing in hidden plots is associated with decreased behavioral trust: Conspiracy belief as greater sensitivity to social threat or insensitivity towards its absence?

Past research has demonstrated that conspiracy belief is linked to a low level of self-reported general trust. In four experimental online studies (total N = 1105) we examined whether this relationship translated into actual behavior. Specifically, since the decision to trust relies on the ability to detect potential social threat, we tested whether conspiracy believers are better at detecting actual threat, worse at detecting the absence of threat, or simply trust less, irrespective of any social cue. To this end, participants played multiple, independent rounds of the trust game, a behavioral measure for interpersonal trust. We manipulated social threat by presenting photographs of their alleged trustees with varying intensity of facial anger. In three of the four studies, trustors’ conspiracy beliefs predicted a more cautious investment behavior in the trust game. This association, however, was not contingent on the social threat posed by the trustee. The present research thus joins a number of studies demonstrating that conspiracy beliefs can – under certain circumstances - influence everyday behavior.
Catastrophes, connectivity, and Allee effects in the design of marine reserve networks

Catastrophic events, like oil spills and hurricanes, occur in many marine systems. These events, although rare, can still have disproportionately large effects on population dynamics. One management strategy to buffer against catastrophes is the establishment of a marine reserve network. In a network, an individual reserve can be recolonized after a disturbance event by organisms from an unaffected reserve—acting as an insurance policy. Management choices about the size and spacing of reserves ultimately determines their success or failure. We use a set of simple models to examine how organism life-history and the disturbance regime interact to determine the optimal reserve spacing. Our results show that the optimal spacing between reserves increases when accounting for catastrophes. This result is accentuated when Allee effects interact with catastrophes to increase the probability of extinction. We also show that classic tradeoffs between conservation and fishing objectives disappear in the presence of catastrophes.
Application of Silica–Coated Magnetite on a Steel Plate and its Frictional and Thermal Effect

The magnetite (Fe3O4) particles that have been coated using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as silica precursors were used as the additive in the lubricant. The effects of silica-coated magnetite additive on the thermal properties of ferro-lubricant and reducing the friction on a steel plate have been investigated. The characterizations were conducted at both conditions: with and without the addition of Fe3O4 particles. The characterization using TEM proposed that the average particle size of the silica-coated magnetite particles is 150 nm. The TGA/DSC curves of the silica-coated magnetite particles suggested a gradual weight loss obtained as the temperature increased. The endothermic peak was obtained at ~37 and 50 °C. The silica-coated magnetite particles' additive increases both the density and viscosity of 0.84 g/cm3 and 134.29 cSt. The silica-coated magnetite particles additive in the lubricant enhances the thermal conductivity and specific heat of 0.151 W/m.K and 1600 J/kg.K. Ferro-lubricant reduces the friction coefficient up to 0.02 (static) and 0.005 (dynamic). The wear resistance of the plate could be improved as analyzed using an optical microscope. These results demonstrate a promising application of the silica-coated magnetite particles as an additive in the lubricant. Therefore improving wear resistance and cooling during the friction process.
Engaging Older Adults in Participatory and Intergenerational Design Teams and Processes: a Systematic Review of the Current Investigation

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a systematic review of the literature (SRL) in the field of Participatory Design (PD), undertaken under the scope of LOCUS – Playful Connected Rural Territories. The project employs an ethnographically, participatory and agile approach to the process of co-designing, developing and evaluating an IoT system to support playful intergenerational engagement in exploring cultural heritage of Portuguese rural territories, by engaging inhabitants, stakeholders and visitors. The SRL aimed to understand how older adults have been integrated and engaged into technology PD teams and processes. This paper focus on the most used methodological approaches and participation methods, along with the challenges in integrating older adults and the strategies to overcome them, which are discussed in the light of project aims. Keywords: older adults, participatory design, intergenerational, ICT, systematic review *** Engager les personnes âgees dans les equipes intergenerationnels et processus de design participatif: une revue systematique de la recherche actuelle Resume : Cet article presente les resultats d'une revue systematique de la litterature dans le domaine du design participatif, effectuee dans le cadre du Projet LOCUS - Territoires ruraux connectes et ludiques. Le projet utilise une approche ethnographique, participative et agile du processus de co-design, developpement et evaluation d'un systeme d’Internet des objets pour soutenir un engagement intergenerationnel ludique dans l'exploration du patrimoine culturel des territoires ruraux portugais, en impliquant les habitants, les parties prenantes et les visiteurs. La revue systematique de la litterature vise a comprendre comment les personnes âgees ont ete integrees et engagees dans des equipes et des processus de design participatif des technologiques. Cet article se concentre sur les approches methodologiques et les methodes de participation les plus utilisees, ainsi que sur les defis de l'integration des personnes âgees et les strategies pour les surmonter, qui sont discutes a la lumiere des objectifs du projet. Mots-cles : personnes âgees, design participatif, intergenerationnelle, TIC, revue systematique de la litterature
Why Does Structural Change Accelerate in Recessions? The Credit Reallocation Channel

Abstract The decline of the U.S. manufacturing share since 1960 has occurred disproportionately during recessions. Using evidence from two natural experiments—the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 and U.S. interstate banking deregulation in the 1980s—I find a role for credit reallocation in explaining this phenomenon by showing that losing access to credit disproportionately hurt manufacturing firms, and that the creation of new credit disproportionately benefited nonmanufacturing firms. These results arise endogenously from a model with technology-driven structural change and fixed costs of establishing new financial relationships. The model suggests an important role for long-run industry trajectories in properly accounting for the costs and benefits of policy interventions in credit markets.
Self–other agreement in personality development in romantic couples

A large body of evidence indicates that personality traits show high rank-order stability and substantial mean-level changes across the lifespan. However, the majority of longitudinal research on personality development has relied on repeated assessments of self-reports, providing a narrow empirical base from which to draw conclusions and develop theory. Here, we (1) tested whether self- and informant-reports provided by couples show similar patterns of rank-order stability and mean-level change and (2) assessed self–other agreement in personality development. We charted the Big Five personality trajectories of 255 couples (N = 510; M age = 27.01 years) who provided both self- and partner-reports at four assessments across 1.5 years. Results indicated similar rank-order stabilities in self- and partner-report data. Latent growth curve models indicated no significant differences between self- and partner-reported personality trajectories, with exceptions to extraversion and agreeableness. We further found strong cross-sectional agreement across all Big Five traits and assessment waves as well as moderate self–other agreement in personality change in emotional stability and agreeableness. These findings highlight the relevance of multi-method assessments in personality development, while providing information about personality stability and change. Discussion focuses on the theoretical implications and future directions for multi-method assessments in longitudinal personality research.