Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
At the Top of the Tree? Surveying Conference Interpreters as an Elite

In spite of the crucial role that conference interpreters play in the world of international affairs and diplomacy, the concept of conference interpreters as an elite has not attracted significant academic interest to date. Building on the author’s previous work (Hoyte-West, 2021), which examined the historical and theoretical aspects of the intersection between conference interpreting and elite sociology, this article reports on the findings of an empirical study with practising conference interpreters. Given increasing interest in sociological aspects of the translational professions, this study is both necessary and timely. In terms of data gathering, snowball sampling was used to disseminate an internet-based survey among professional conference interpreters, with the aim of determining whether conference interpreters viewed themselves as members of an elite. The internet-based survey received 120 responses from freelance, staff, and retired conference interpreters. Using an overwhelmingly quantitative approach, the data was analysed and tabulated, before being subsequently discussed and compared with Khan’s (2012) framework of elite resource areas (political, economic, cultural, social network, and knowledge-based), which had previously been applied to the professional sphere of conference interpreting by the author. As such, it was noted that conference interpreters generally did not view themselves as members of an elite; however, further qualitative research in this area remains both desirable and necessary.
Towards the End of Drying of Granular Materials: Enhanced Evaporation and Drying‐Induced Collapse

We experimentally study the drying of loosely packed wet glass beads at low initial water content. The drying rate is found to decrease at the start, corresponding to the decreasing rate period controlled by vapor diffusion, followed by a deviation in drying rate from the diffusion limited evaporation. The propagation of drying front associated with a sharp saturation gradient is identified through both image analysis and magnetic resonance imaging technique. The drying‐induced collapse of granular medium is observed and quantified. The concentrated collapse at the end of drying suggests the existence of liquid in the form of liquid bridges in the apparent dry region until the end of drying process. Collapse event is found to be local, that is, a clear boundary can be identified for each collapse event, below which the loosely packed medium remains intact. This indicates the existence of a saturation gradient in the apparent dry region. The drying dynamics and collapse statistics suggest that the observed transition of drying regimes is due to Kelvin effect. This work demonstrates for the first time the drying enhancement phenomenon due to Kelvin effect even for grains with size of hundreds of micrometers, and provides insights on the drying process of partially saturated granular materials, especially near the final period of evaporation.
The Determinants of the Nondefaultable Spreads of Corporate Bonds: Evidence from China

This study investigates the factors impacting the price difference between the interbank market and the exchange market for the same bond using a large transaction dataset from July 2006 to June 2016 in China. We find that market liquidity and macrofactors mainly affect the price difference between the two markets for the same bond. And individual bond liquidity explains only a small part of the price difference. We also find that the interaction between liquidity and credit risk is an important factor affecting the price difference, and the effect is greater during financial crisis.
End-to-End Delay Bound for VR Services in 6G Terahertz Networks with Heterogeneous Traffic and Different Scheduling Policies

The emerging sixth-generation networks have to provide effective support to a wide plethora of novel disruptive heterogeneous applications. This paper models the probabilistic end-to-end delay bound for the virtual reality services in the presence of heterogeneous traffic flows by resorting to the stochastic network calculus principles and exploiting the martingale envelopes. The paper presents the network performance analysis under the assumption of different scheduling policies, considering both the earliest deadline first and the first-in-first-out queue discipline. Furthermore, differently from previous literature, the probabilistic per-flow bounds have been formulated taking into account a number of traffic flows greater than two, which results in a theoretical analysis that is remarkably more complex than the case in which only two concurrent flows are considered. Finally, the validity of the theoretical bounds have been confirmed by the evident closeness between the analytical predictions and the actual simulation results considering, for the sake of argument, four concurrent traffic flows with heterogeneous quality-of-service constraints. That closeness exhibits the ability of the proposed analysis in fitting the actual behavior of the system, representing a suitable theoretical tool to support resource allocation strategies, without violating service constraints.
Insights into the role of cytokinin and gibberellic acid in improving waterlogging tolerance of mung bean

Mung bean (Vigna radiata) is one of the most important pulse crops, well-known for its protein rich seeds, which growth and productivity are severely undermined by waterlogging. In this study, we aim to evaluate how two promising phytohormones, namely cytokinin (CK) and gibberellic acid (GA3), can improve waterlogging tolerance in mung bean by investigating key morphological, physiological, biochemical and yield-related attributes. Our results showed that foliar application of CK and GA3 under 5-days of waterlogged conditions improved mung bean growth and biomass, which was associated to increased levels of photosynthetic rate and pigments. Waterlogged-induced accumulation of reactive oxygen species, and the consequent elevated levels of malondialdehyde, were considerably reduced by CK and GA3 treatments. Mung bean plants sprayed with either CK or GA3 suffered less oxidative stress due to the enhancement of total phenolics and flavonoids levels. Improvement in the contents of proline and total soluble sugars indicating a better osmotic adjustment following CK and GA3 treatments in waterlogged-exposed plants. Most fundamentally, CK or GA3-sprayed waterlogged-stressed mung bean plants demonstrated an increased tendency of the above-mentioned parameters after the 15-day recovery period as compared to water-sprayed waterlogged-exposed plants. Our results also revealed that CK and GA3 treatments increased yield-associated features in waterlogged-stressed plant. Importantly, both phytohormones are efficient in improving mung bean resistance to waterlogging; however, CK was found to be more effective. Overall, our findings suggested that CK or GA3 could be used for the management of waterlogging-induced damage in mung bean, and perhaps in other cash crops.
The emotion trajectory of self-selected jazz music with lyrics: A psychophysiological perspective

This study explored how lyrics, participant-selected music, and emotion trajectory impact self-reported emotional (happiness, sadness, arousal, and valence) and physiological (heart, respiration, and skin conductance rates) responses. Participants were matched (based on sex, age, musicianship, and lyric preference) and assigned to a lyric or instrumental group. Each participant experienced one emotion trajectory (happy-sad or sad-happy), with alternating self- and experimenter-selected jazz music. Emotion trajectory had a significant effect on self-reports, where participants in the sad-happy trajectory reported significantly more sadness overall compared to participants in the happy-sad trajectory. There were also several interaction effects between the independent variables, which indicate the relevance of order as well as differences in processing musical emotions depending on whether music is instrumental or contains lyrics.
COVID-19 Outpatient Screening: A Novel Risk Score to Early Predict Admission in Isolation Care Units

The coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time. Delays in hospitalization of patients with a severe form of COVID-19 contribute to increased morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to perform a reliable and easy-to-use risk scoring system to early predict admission in COVID-19 isolation care units. It was a prospective study including all patients, consulting to the COVID-19 sorting box at Hedi Chaker university hospital, and who were clinically suspected COVID-19 during the first epidemic wave between March and June 2020. Of all,388 patients were enrolled in the study.Multivariate analysis showed that factors independently associated with admission to COVID-19 isolation tertiary-care unit were oxygen saturation<88% (Adjusted Relative Risk (ARR)=16.91;p=0.013), hypotension (ARR=11.71;p=0.004),oxygen saturation between 88 and 92% (ARR=5.90;p=0.001),respiratory wrestling signs (ARR=4.63;p=0.042),dyspnea (ARR=3.22;p<0.001), chronic hypertension (ARR=2.76;p=0.027) and ischemic heart diseases (ARR=2.67;p=0.035). The score had an AUROC of 0.75. At a cut-off point≥2, the scoring system had a sensitivity of 82.7%, a specificity of 53.8%, a positive predictive value of 53% and a negative predictive value 83.1%. When the cut-off was raised to 3, the sensitivity dropped (44%) and the specificity increased appreciably (92.9%).
Constraining Plateau Uplift in Southern Africa by Combining Thermochronology, Sediment Flux, Topography, and Landscape Evolution Modeling

The uplift of the southern African Plateau with its average elevations of ∼1,000 m is often attributed to mantle processes, but there are conflicting theories for the timing and drivers of topographic development. Evidence for most proposed plateau development histories is derived from continental erosion histories, marine stratigraphic architecture, or landscape morphology. Here we use a landscape evolution model to integrate a large data set of low‐temperature thermochronometry, sediment flux rates to surrounding marine basins, and current topography for southern Africa. We explore three main hypotheses for surface uplift: (a) southern Africa was already elevated by the Early Cretaceous before Gondwana breakup, (b) uplift and continental tilting occurred during the mid‐Cretaceous, or (c) uplift occurred during the mid to late Cenozoic. We test which of these three intervals of plateau development are plausible by using an inversion method to constrain the range in erosional and uplift model parameters that can best reproduce the observed data. Results indicate four regions of parameter space that fall into two families of uplift histories are most compatible with the data. Both uplift families have limited initial topography with some topographic uplift and continental tilting starting at ∼90–100 Ma. In one acceptable scenario, nearly all of the topography, >1,300 m, is created at this time with little Cenozoic uplift. In the other acceptable scenario, ∼400–800 m of uplift occurs in the mid‐Cretaceous with another ∼500–1,000 m of uplift in the mid‐Cenozoic. The two model scenarios have different geodynamic implications, which we compare to geodynamic models.
Exact solution for heat transfer free convection flow of Maxwell nanofluids with graphene nanoparticles

This article focuses on the flow of Maxwell nanofluids with graphene nanoparticles over a vertical plate (static) with constant wall temperature. Possessing high thermal conductivity, engine oil is useful to be chosen as base fluid with free convection. The problem is modelled in terms of PDE’s with boundary conditions. Some suitable non-dimensional variables are interposed to transform the governing equations into dimensionless form. The generated equations are solved via Laplace transform technique. Exact solutions are evaluated for velocity and temperature. These solutions are significantly controlled by some parameters involved. Temperature rises with elevation in volume fraction while Velocity decreases with increment in volume fraction. A comparison with previous published results are established and discussed. Moreover, a detailed discussion is made for influence of volume fraction on the flow and heat profile.
Regulatory effects of CaCl2, sodium isoascorbate, and 1-methylcyclopropene on chilling injury of banana fruit at two ripening stages and the mechanisms involved

To improve fruit chilling tolerance during postharvest storage, banana fruit at two ripening stages (green and yellow) were pretreated with 2% (wt/vol) CaCl2 (Ca2+) or 1% (wt/vol) sodium isoascorbate (SI) under vacuum infiltration, or fumigated with 1.0 μL/L 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), then stored at 6 °C. Application of Ca2+ or SI significantly reduced chilling injury index, electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde content, and polyphenol oxidase activity of banana peel during storage at 6 °C. And Ca2+ or SI also sustained levels of firmness, peel lightness, and promoted activities of peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and ascorbate peroxidase in banana at two ripening stages. Application of 1-MCP resulted in positive effects only on the visual quality of yellow ripening banana. Our results indicated that Ca2+ or SI could ameliorate chilling injury of both mature green and yellow ripening banana fruit stored at 6 °C; 1-MCP could enhance chilling tolerance of yellow ripening banana. Practical applications Refrigeration is a usual method for extending storage life of banana fruit. Like other tropical and subtropical fruits, banana is highly susceptible to chilling injury (CI) and develops CI symptoms of rapid peel browning, pulp rigidity, and pitting when stored at low temperature. Our results indicate that 2% (wt/vol) calcium chloride or 1% (wt/vol) sodium isoascorbate are effective methods in alleviating CI of the banana at two ripening stages. A total of 1.0 μL/L 1-methylcyclopropene significantly reduced CI of yellow ripening banana, while exacerbation of CI was observed in green maturity banana during the storage. This research not only provides environmentally friendly chemicals for postharvest application but also investigates the effects of chemical treatments on CI both of mature green banana and yellow ripening banana.
An analytical method for the thermo-mechanics coupling study of thin-walled spherical shell structure

Abstract For large LNG storage tanks, the thermal load has a very important influence on the failure mode of the thin-walled spherical dome. However, the traditional calculation of thermal stress is very complicated for the spherical shell. To obtain an analytic solution with a simple expression, an approximate method was proposed in this paper. The mechanical behaviour caused by the temperature difference is divided into two parts, i.e. the thermal strain directly acting on the shell and the binding force exerted by the boundary. The thickness is ignored in the calculation of deflection caused by boundary constraints. Then, its accuracy was verified by a linear elastic numerical model. Furthermore, the crack pattern in a nonlinear plastic simulation was also well captured. The case study shows that the thermal-induced meridional cracks distribute uniformly along the circumferential direction; these cracks first appeared on the inner surface at the edge of the tank dome, and then rapidly expand to the centre and outer surface; increasing the amount of reinforcement cannot effectively limit the development of such cracks.
Determining the Regional Geochemical Background for Dissolved Trace Metals and Metalloids in Stream Waters: Protocol, Results and Limitations—The Upper Loire River Basin (France)

To avoid the improper disqualification of a watershed for which the water–rock interaction (WRI) may produce trace element concentrations exceeding established guidelines, it is of the utmost importance to properly establish natural geochemical backgrounds. Using the example of the crystalline Upper Loire River Basin, we are proposing a methodology based on the selection and chemical characterization of water and sediment samples from 10 monolithologic watersheds supposedly lowly impacted by anthropogenic inputs. We collected water samples from each watershed’s spring down to its outlet and measured dissolved major, minor and selected trace elements (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, La, Ni, Pb, U, V and Zn) at low- and high-water stages. Results show that the chemical signature of the stream waters is controlled by mineral weatherability rather than by the available rock stock. As a result, the variability in dissolved metal concentrations between the principal lithologies is similar to that observed within each of them. While some elements mostly result from WRI, others clearly identify high inputs from topsoil leaching. Comparison with published data evidences the need to subdivide studied watersheds into distinct sectors, according to the distance from the spring, in order to define reliable natural backgrounds.
Behavioral Stimulus for Using Bank Mestika Mobile Banking Services: UTAUT2 Model Perspective

The existence of mobile banking services is currently experiencing rapid growth. Adopting such a large number of users makes mobile banking services one of the main needs to meet the needs of conducting financial transactions. Therefore, there is a need for additional information for mobile banking service developers on the dominant factors influencing user behavioral intentions. This research is present as a forum to provide an overview of the user's perspective on Mestika bank's mobile banking service. This research aims to find out what factors play an important role in behavioral intention to use Mestika bank's mobile banking services based on the UTAUT2 concept. The research instrument used a questionnaire distributed online to 240 respondents in Medan City and Pematangsiantar City, Indonesia. Next, the researcher tested the hypothesis using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) based on a variant called Partial Least Square (PLS) and the SmartPLS version 3.0 application as a tool to analyze it. This research concludes that effort expectancy has the most significant influence and plays a very important role in shaping the behavioral intention of using Mestika bank's mobile banking. Then performance expectancy and social influence hedonic motivation also significantly influence behavioral intentions to use Mestika bank's mobile banking. Furthermore, the results of this study also conclude that facilitating conditions and habit have no significant effect on behavioral intentions to use Mestika bank's mobile banking.
Melt inclusions in chassignite NWA 2737: A link between processes recorded in Martian meteorites and rocks at Gale crater

Northwest Africa (NWA) 2737, one of the only three discovered Martian chassignites, provides critical constraints on the evolution of the Martian mantle and crust. Because of chassignites’ cumulative nature, they contain abundant melt inclusions (MI). MI are small droplets of melts trapped by crystals during the cooling of magma. They are critical to the study of pre‐eruptive parental magma compositions, and thus, provide snapshots of the composition and evolution of Martian magmatic systems. Here, we present fractional crystallization models using parental magma composition calculated from NWA 2737 melt inclusions as starting compositions. We used the thermodynamic modeling software MELTS to model fractional crystallization of NWA 2737 parental magma compositions with a wide range of parameters (pressure, water content, oxygen fugacity). Our models show that the felsic compositions recently analyzed at the Martian surface in Gale crater, especially Sparkle and Angmaat, the two rocks thought to be analogous to the earliest continental crust on Earth, can be obtained by fractional crystallization of chassignite‐like parental melts. Our results suggest a link between the processes that resulted in chassignites and the rocks analyzed in situ at Gale crater. To assess the possible scenarios for Martian magma migration and storage processes, we compared chassignites to terrestrial analogs formed via various mechanisms and proposed two mechanisms that may explain the intrusive and effusive rocks found in situ at Gale crater: (1) emplacement and fractionation in a closed‐system crustal reservoir and (2) eruption of mafic to intermediate lavas of a relatively open system subject to constant replenishment.
Application of nano silica particles to improve high-temperature rheological performance of tyre pyrolysis oil-modified bitumen

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of nano silica (NS) particles on the high-temperature rheological properties of tyre pyrolysis oil (TPO)-modified bitumen. Physical tests, short-term aging, temperature sweep test and multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR) test were conducted to evaluate the effects of NS on the high-temperature rheological performance. Results indicate that the inclusion of NS to TPO-modified bitumen displayed significant improvement in rutting resistance before and after aging. Meanwhile, MSCR results showed that the high-temperature performance grade of bitumen was upgraded from PG 64S in the case of base and TPO-modified bitumen to PG 64 V at 10% TPO and 4% NS. Statistical analysis also showed that the effects of NS particles on the rutting performance of TPO-modified bitumen are statistically significant within the confidence interval of 95%. These findings present a remarkable enhancement in the high-temperature performance of TPO-modified bitumen.
Student fears of oral presentations and public speaking in higher education: a qualitative survey

ABSTRACT Oral presentations and public speaking are an important aspect of the student experience in the United Kingdom higher education. Many modules (self-contained units normally within a programme of study) use presentations as a form of assessment and require students to verbally engage in small and large group settings to enhance learning. Previous research evidence has indicated that many students experience fear in public speaking. The aims of this qualitative survey were two-fold. First, it sought to gather further insight into the fears experienced and strategies used by students who fear public speaking, including oral presentations. The second objective was to determine whether their fear affected their experience of higher education. A qualitative survey comprising four open-ended questions was completed by 46 undergraduate and postgraduate students with a fear of public speaking from the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol. All participants were attending one of the Stand Up and Be Heard (SUBH) UWE library-based workshops for fear of public speaking. Thematic analysis was used to identify the following six themes, namely: fear of being judged, physical symptoms, uncertainty about the topic, negative effect on university experience, practice and preparation, and more practical support needed. The results of this survey identify the specific fears students have in public speaking and provide evidence of the overall negative effect on their higher education experience. This survey provides further evidence that higher education institutions should acknowledge public speaking fear among some students and provide more support in oral presentation assessments.