Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PAPER PHYSICS: Ultrasonic treatment of secondary fibers to improve paper properties

SUMMARY: The refining is the mainly techniques used to recover paper quality during the recycling process. However, this technique also results in undesirable effects. In this study the potential of ultrasonic treatment to develop the mechanical properties of recycled waste papers was evaluated. Ultrasonic energies were applied at 20 kHz with an intensity of 190 Watts into 1 liter batches of re-pulped OCC at consistencies of 0.5 to 4%, pH levels of 7 and 10, and time increments of 5, 10 and 20 minutes. Sheets were made and evaluated for bulk, ring crush test, tear index and tensile index. Pulps were additionally processed in a PFI mill and compared with the results of the ultrasound trials at equivalent o SR. Pulp consistencies didn’t affect the ultrasonic treatment. The use of higher pH and treatment time favored the development of paper properties. To the same value of tensile index, the ultrasonic treatement produced sheets with higher bulk than the PFI. The results indicate that the ultrasonic treatment of the pulp can be used to improve the properties of recycled waste paper.
Long-term development of vegetation in established permanent field margins

Biodiversity loss, pesticide drift and nutrient leakage are some of the negative effects caused by intensified agriculture. One measure to reduce these negative effects is to establish permanent field margins. Between 1988 and 1990 experiments with broadened permanent field margins were established at three sites near Flen and Uppsala in south of Sweden. One of the aims was to study how different treatments affected the margin vegetation and if the abundance of weeds could be suppressed. The treatments consisted of establishing new or broadening pre-existent field margins, sowing different seed-mixtures (e.g. “meadow plants”) and manage them by yearly mowing with removal of cut material. The vegetation was investigated at three occasions after establishment during a 20-year period. At the second and third occasion, adjacent untreated field margins were examined for comparisons. The results showed that sowing different species, particularly “meadow plants”, can substantially change the field margin flora in a long-term perspective and lower the abundance of weeds, compared to untreated margins. Out of the sown 32 “meadow plants” species, 22 remained after more than 20 years. Several of the sown species that normally occur in well-managed meadows and pastures were able to survive in the experiments.
Perspective on an Emerging Frontier of Nanoscience Opened up by Dressed Photon Studies

The core parts of developing dressed photon (DP) research that require advanced knowledge of highly mathematical quantum field theory and their potentially important impacts on the wide spectrum of long-term scientific activities in general, not necessarily restricted to those in the natural science sector, are succinctly explained in this article. Although a considerable number of remarkable technological achievements in the field of nanophotonics have been attained by utilizing DP phenomena, from the theoretical viewpoint, they remain enigmatic, as in the case of dark matter and energy in cosmology. Under such circumstances, an intriguing working hypothesis (WH) for DPs is proposed by the authors of this article through a combination of Ojima’s micro-macro duality theory and the Greenberg-Robinson theorem, claiming that the space-like momentum contribution is an inevitable element for quantum field interactions to occur. Note that, as the Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment clearly shows, the widespread common quantum mechanics knowledge is incapable of explaining how the invisible quantum world is connected to our familiar visible classical world. In the above-mentioned WH, the main reason why we cannot explain either DPs or dark entities in cosmology is shown to have roots in the fact that the prevailing theories have not revealed an important role of spacelike momentum in connecting the quantum and classical worlds. Our new WH further shows that the entire universe is connected by an instantaneous spacelike entropic spin network, as in the case of quantum spin entanglement explained in mainstream physics. Since such a network may have a close relation with the nonlocal consciousness field, which seems to be the final frontier of physics, our perspective on such a possibility is briefly given in the final section of this paper.
Online Versus Traditional Classes: The Case of History Teaching

Higher education has undergone a massive change due to the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Many higher education institutions were unprepared for the disruptive effects of the pandemic but the adoption of online teaching and learning platforms was fast and successful for most of them. This sudden change brought new challenges and constraints as well as novel opportunities and perspectives into higher education in general and teacher training programs in particular. In order to provide deep insights into prospective teachers’ experiences with online learning mode, this longitudinal case study aimed to compare the initial perceptions of the participants of online education with those elicited nineteen months after the start of the pandemic. Given that the initial views can be misleading, it is assumed that a comparison between the initial and latter views of online learning would be well-founded, which would have sound implications for the future of online teaching and learning platforms for the post-COVID times. Nine undergraduate students studying in the 96-436x department of a private university in Nicosia participated in the current study. The data were elicited via reflective essays to be analyzed qualitatively. Overall, the results indicated that online mode of instruction and learning was not favored in the beginning of the pandemic since all the themes emerged were negative. However, the analysis of the latter data indicated that the participants’ views changed for the better dramatically. Hence, the results have a few implications for the future of higher education
Evaluation of agricultural nutrient reductions in restored riparian buffers

Title of dissertation: EVALUATION OF AGRICULTURAL NUTRIENT REDUCTIONS IN RESTORED RIPARIAN BUFFERS Adrienne J. Sutton, Doctor of Philosophy, 2006 Dissertation directed by: Professor Thomas R. Fisher University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Laboratory Efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay have focused on reducing agricultural nutrient losses. In particular, riparian buffer restoration has been an important component of nutrient reduction strategies, and one program used extensively to restore riparian vegetation on agricultural land is the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). I evaluated the effect of CREP on water quality on the Delmarva Peninsula by measuring groundwater nutrients under restored buffers on two farms, monitoring stream baseflow in 30 small watersheds (or subbasins), and monitoring stream stormflow in two subbasins. On the farms, nitrate concentrations were lower in the restored buffers than in the non-buffered sites, suggesting that buffer restoration was successful in filtering groundwater nitrate. In groundwater under a 7 year old CREP buffer, dilution by infiltration of rainwater accounted for 56% of the total nitrogen reduction, and denitrification accounted for 15 to 30%. At the watershed scale, CREP restored 1 to 30% of total streamline in 15 agriculturally-dominated subbasins in the Choptank River. However, I did not detect differences in nitrogen concentrations between these subbasins based on the amount of buffer restoration. Nitrogen concentrations actually increased in most of the streams since previous monitoring before restoration; therefore, buffers may not be extensive enough to have measurable affects on baseflow water quality. However, comparison of stormflow between two subbasins revealed significant nutrient differences. Total buffered streamline was greater and more widely distributed in Blockston than in Norwich subbasin. The amount and distribution of CREP may have influenced the stormflow nutrient yields, which were 2 times higher in Norwich versus Blockston. Lastly, I reviewed 20 years of stream monitoring data from German Branch subbasin in the context of all agricultural management practices implemented in the basin. A decade after management, I detected a 33% decrease in phosphorus concentrations in stream baseflow, but no significant changes in nitrogen concentrations. However, the rate of increase of 0.14 mg N L yr prior to management did not continue to present-day baseflow conditions and may have been suppressed by management practices. While these results are somewhat encouraging, complete understanding of watershed-scale effects of riparian buffers will require further interdisciplinary study. EVALUATION OF NUTRIENT REDUCTIONS IN RESTORED RIPARIAN BUFFERS
Relationship between normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and forage biomass yield in the Vakinankaratra region, Madagascar

Dairy cow production is an important livestock activity in the highlands of Madagascar and specifically in the Vakinankaratra region. Despite the increase of global milk production over the last decades, cow productivity remains low due to both quantity and quality feed constraints. Elephant grass and Italian ryegrass are the most cultivated forage grass, during the wet and warm season and the dry and cool season, respectively. An experiment under field conditions was carried out to evaluate the ability of the satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to develop a tool for estimating biomass yields of Elephant grass and Italian ryegrass. Results showed moderate to strong but significant relationship between plant height and biomass yield (R² = 0.64 to 0.92), between NDVI and biomass yield (R² = 0.52 to 0.73) and between NDVI and plant height (R² = 0.61 to 0.74) of Elephant grass and Italian ryegrass, respectively. These results suggest that NDVI has potential to provide a tool for dynamic monitoring and management of pastureland forage production. (Resume d'auteur)
Advice-seeking and advice-giving in Arabic computer-mediated communication in the medical context

The current study aims to examine the discourse patterns and strategies of advice-seeking and advice-giving through Arabic computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the medical context. The contribution of this study lies in examining and analyzing the discourse patterns of CMC between patients and doctors in Arabic, how these patterns help doctors understand the advice sought and inquiries made by their patients, and how they help patients understand the comments made by their doctors on their inquiries. The data consist of 300 messages categorized into 150 advice-seeking (postings) and 150 advice-response (replies) messages. They were manually collected from a public medical website by copying and pasting them into an Excel spreadsheet for coding and statistical analyses. Two models were used to analyze the speech acts of advice. Morrow’s model was used for advice-seeking, while Hinkel’s taxonomy was used for advice responses, after some modifications were made to both models. The findings revealed that advice-seeking and advice-response messages had three parts: opening, middle, and closing. The study revealed that both patients and doctors used the opening and closing parts occasionally, unlike the middle part, which was used more often. For advice-seeking, describing the medical problem was the most frequent strategy used by patients when they asked for advice, followed by yes/no questions. These types of strategies were used in advice-seeking more frequently than others. Additionally, it was found that asking yes/no questions and describing the medical problem was the most frequent compound strategy used by patients seeking advice. However, for advice responses, the results revealed that giving clarification/information was the most frequent strategy used by doctors, followed by direct advice. When compared with other types, these two types were used frequently in the advice responses. The results also demonstrated that giving clarification/information and direct advice was the most frequent compound strategy used by doctors in advice responses.
Sibling sexual abuse: a form of family dysfunction as opposed to individualised behaviour

ABSTRACT This paper presents a reconsideration and more in-depth discussion part of some the findings of the Home Office funded Sibling Sexual Abuse (SSA) project (King-Hill et al, 2023). The focus of the paper on the role of family systems, especially dysfunctional family systems, in the sexual abuse. The research is based on 17 semi-structured interviews with survivors of SSA (n=17 female), which were thematically analysed. This resulted in the research team being able to identify 10 commonly identified markers of SSA and family dysfunction. The 10 markers highlight that the family structure, systems, processes, and functionality all contribute to the conditions that enable Sibling Sexual Abuse to occur. The paper goes on to discuss the importance of understanding family systems, ACE's, and trauma in preventing and responding to Sibling Sexual Abuse. The paper concludes that the family system is a key player in Sibling Sexual Abuse and needs to be considered in prevention and treatment as the child who id harmed and the child that harms. PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENT The impact of this paper is both clinical and professional. It provides insights into the role of family systems in sibling sexual abuse cases and by result feeds into discussions around the effective prevention of and response to this form of sexual abuse.
Sex difference in alcohol withdrawal syndrome: a scoping review of clinical studies

Background We conducted a review of all studies comparing clinical aspects of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) between men and women. Methods Five databases (PubMed, Cochrane, EMBASE, Scopus and Clinical Trials) were searched for clinical studies using the keywords “alcohol withdrawal syndrome” or “delirium tremens” limited to “sex” or “gender” or “sex difference” or “gender difference. ” The search was conducted on May 19, 2023. Two reviewers selected studies including both male and female patients with AWS, and they compared males and females in type of AWS symptoms, clinical course, complications, and treatment outcome. Results Thirty-five observational studies were included with a total of 318,730 participants of which 75,346 had AWS. In twenty of the studies, the number of patients presenting with or developing AWS was separated by sex, resulting in a total of 8,159 (12.5%) female patients and a total of 56,928 (87.5%) male patients. Despite inconsistent results, males were more likely than females to develop complicated AWS [delirium tremens (DT) and AW seizures, collective DT in Males vs. females: 1,792 (85.4%) vs. 307 (14.6%), and collective seizures in males vs. females: 294 (78%) vs. 82 (22%)]. The rates of ICU admissions and hospital length of stay did not show sex differences. Although variable across studies, compared to females, males received benzodiazepine treatment at higher frequency and dose. One study reported that the time from first hospitalization for AWS to death was approximately 1.5 years shorter for males and males had higher mortality rate [19.5% (197/1,016)] compared to females [16% (26/163)]. Conclusion Despite the significant heterogeneity of the studies selected and the lack of a focus on investigating potential sex differences, this review of clinical studies on AWS suggests that men and women exhibit different AWS manifestations. Large-scale studies focusing specifically on investigating sex difference in AWS are needed.
The Impact of Change Management in the Greek National Health System: A Quantitative Study

Introduction: Serious changes took place in Greece due to the economic crisis of 2008, which led to significant changes in Greece’s health sector. The reforms and changes that were made to the National Health System (NHS) aimed to improve it, provide quality services to its users, and adapt it to Greece’s new external environment. The aim of this study was to assess the management of these changes by the leadership of the NHS and to examine their effectiveness. Material and methods: The survey was based on quantitative research methods, using a questionnaire as a research tool. The sample population comprised employees of a tertiary-care public hospital in northern Greece. Results: We recruited a sample size of 100 participants for the survey. The questionnaire’s Cronbach’s alpha was equal to 0.724. The overall change management was moderate, and Greece’s NHS did not follow a specific change-management model that provided principles facilitating the success of the effort. The most serious problems identified by using the questionnaire were the following: the changes were not structured and clear, the management set unrealistic goals and objectives, the changes to the NHS were made without the appropriate financial support, and there is uncertainty about the future of health care in Greece. Conclusion: The present study showed that changes cannot be made randomly; rather, they require careful planning and organization. Further changes, continuous feedback, and development are required to improve the status of Greece’s healthcare system.
Rethinking of Local Autonomy and Fiscal Decentralization Policy: Can It Improve The Quality of Human Capital? A Case in Eastern Region of Indonesia

Purpose This study aims to see the effect of regional autonomy and fiscal decentralization in the fields of education, health, and the economy in the development of human resources in Eastern Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a quantitative approach with panel data regression utilizing data from 16 provinces in Eastern Indonesia from 2010-2019. Findings According to the results, the development of human resource quality is influenced by government spending on education, health, and GRDP per capita. However, the study reveals that capital expenditure does not play a significant role in the enhancement of human resource quality. Research limitations/implications One shortcoming of this research is its lack of detailed information regarding how capital expenditures, education expenditures, and health expenditures are distributed across various local governments. Originality/value This study shows the impact of fiscal decentralization and regional autonomy by comparing the results gap that occurs between the western and eastern regions of Indonesia on human resource development
The Roots of Hinduism: The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization

Preface Introduction 1. Defining 'Hindu' and 'Hinduism' 2. The early Aryans 3. Indo-European linguistics 4. The Indus civilization 5. The Indus religion and the Indus script Part I: The Early Aryans 6. Proto-Indo-European homelands 7. Early Indo-Iranians on the Eurasian steppes 8. The BMAC of Central Asia and the Mitanni of Syria 9. The Rigvedic Indo-Aryans and the D? sas 10. The Asvins and Mitra-Varuna 11. The Asvins as funerary gods 12. The Atharvaveda and the Vratyas 13. The Kuru kingdom and the great epics Part II: The Indus Civilization 14. The language of the Indus civilization 15. Fertility cults in folk religion 16. Astronomy, time-reckoning and cosmology 17. Dilmun, Magan and Meluhha 18. Royal symbols from West Asia 19. The Goddess and the buffalo 20. Early Iranians and 'left-hand' Tantrism 21. Religion in the Indus script Conclusion 22. The prehistory of Indo-Aryan speech and Aryan contributions to Hinduism 23. Harappan religion in relation to West Asia and later South Asia 24. Retrospect and prospect Bibliographical notes References Index
Location Centric Energy Harvesting Aware Routing Protocol for IoT in Smart Cities

Battery technology revolutionized power storage for various purposes, including uninterrupted IoT-based Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) operations. However, limited energy sources pose a challenge for sensor nodes. To overcome this, researchers introduced Energy Harvesting (EH) in IoT-based WSNs, enabling them to overcome energy limitations and recharge IoT devices. The shift towards energy harvesting-aware routing is necessary to achieve a near-perpetual network environment. In light of the energy consumption of IoT-based WSN nodes, a simple energy-efficient routing technique is proposed to consume less energy. The protocol incorporates efficient link selection based on the closest angle to the destination node and is divided into two main parts: distributed neighbor discovery and routing processes. By incorporating EH techniques, the proposed model aims to improve network longevity. Experimental results demonstrate successful routing and promising outcomes in terms of energy and utilization techniques.
Molecular Detection of Hepatitis B Virus Among HBsAg Non-Reactive Blood of Donors

Despite all blood donations being tested routinely for HBsAg as a clinical marker of transmissible HBV, cases of post-transfusion hepatitis B virus infection are still being reported because molecular studies using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) are not routinely available for Transfusion Transmissible Infection (TTIs) testing. In this study, we sought to use the PCR technique to re-screen donated blood that had already been proven to be HBsAg non-reactive with rapid diagnostic testing and ELISA. One hundred and eighty-five samples were obtained from a proportion of the blood deposited at the blood bank of the Federal Medical Center, Birnin-Kebbi, Nigeria. Socio-demographic parameters such as age group, status, ethnicity, occupation, and group PCV were obtained from donors' records. Nested PCR was employed to detect HBV DNA. Furthermore, genotyping was performed to determine HBV genotypes in the positive samples using PCR with genotype-specific primers. Of the 185 donors, it was observed that five (2.7%) of the population were positive for HBV. HBV is more common among people aged 18–30, singles, Hausa, and self-employed. In addition, the five positive samples were of genotype E. This study suggests the need to complement antibody-based tests with DNA testing for effective HBV screening and consequent safe transfusion. Keywords: Hepatitis B Virus; HBsAg; PCR; DNA testing
Clinical Efficacy, Pharmacokinetics, and Safety of the Available Medical Options in the Treatment of Endometriosis-Related Pelvic Pain: A Scoping Review

Background: In this scoping review, we sought to identify published studies evaluating the drugs currently used in the treatment of endometriosis-related pelvic pain, with reflection on their chemical properties, pharmacokinetics, safety profile, and clinical efficacy. Methods: A literature search was conducted with the use of the PubMed and EMBASE electronic databases, focusing on identifying articles published in English between January 1990 and 2023. Results: Based on the included studies, current therapy options for the treatment of endometriosis-related pain identified and reviewed in this article were: (1) non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; (2) combined oral contraceptive (COCs); (3) progestins; (4) gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists and antagonists; (5) aromatase inhibitors (AIs); (6) selective estrogen and progesterone receptor modulators; and (7) levonorgestrel-intrauterine device. Conclusions: Based on the published evidence, clinicians should consider NSAIDs, COCs, and progestins as the first-line medical therapies. Compared with second-line options, such as GnRH agonists/antagonists or AIs, the abovementioned first-line options are well tolerated, efficacious, and exhibit lower overall price. Future research priorities should be to identify novel target therapies and to evaluate the effects of available drugs through different routes of administration.