Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assuring Corporate Social Responsibility Reports: Motives and Challenges of Egyptian Companies

This study aims at examining the contemporary practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) assurance and exploring its future in Egypt. Forty-four managers working in Egyptian listed companies with a recognized CSR experience are surveyed to attain their perceptions on the issues examined. Kruskal Wallis test are utilized for hypotheses testing. Results reveal that the lack of awareness about the assurance importance and its high cost are perceived as the main hindrances of assurance reports in Egypt. Respondents’ level of experience has no impact on their perceptions of the Egyptian companies’ motives of to assure CSR reports. However, the respondents’ experience level influences their realization of certain challenges, such as the dearth of stakeholders’ pressure; the concerns about auditors’ independence and the lack of the awareness of importance of CSR assurance, that may limit Egyptian companies to undertake the assurance decision. Furthermore, respondents’ experience level affect on their perceptions of the urgency of unified reporting guidelines as well as the stakeholders’ pressure to enhance the future of CSR assurance in Egypt. In addition, the companies’ size influences the respondents’ perceptions about the identified factors that stimulates Egyptian companies to assure CSR reports, excluding the need to enhance the external reporting. Also, the companies’ size affects the respondents’ view of stakeholders’ pressure as a factor that imped Egyptian companies from undertaking the assurance decision. Finally, for each identified strand enhance the diffusion of CSR assurance in Egypt, our results report a significant impact of the companies’ size on the respondents’ perceptions. JEL Classifications: C13, M41, O16.
Enhancing the Development of Sustainable Modes of Transportation in Developing Countries: Challenges and Opportunities

All modes of transport can be seen to bring some influence to bear on a country’s economic growth, health, and environment. However, the impact differs among developing countries. This paper presents an assessment and evaluation of the development of a sustainable transportation system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). For this study, data were collected about the four transportation modes of sea, air, road and rail. The data were analyzed to determine the current condition, needs, challenges, and opportunities for improvement for each mode of transportation. Problems associated with each transportation mode were addressed and solutions to overcome these problems were recommended. The results indicate that while sea transportation provides the country with freight transport, it is of limited service to passengers in the Gulf region or on the Red Sea. Air transportation meets the needs of Saudi Arabia with international connections, but domestic flights provide limited passenger transport to the wealthy and are not an effective mode of transport for short distances. Road transport is the most popular mode for the general public but is associated with numerous problems such as the environment, health, noise, a high accident rate, and being the first cause of death in the country. Rail transportation seems to be the mode which is most sustainable for the future. It is essential that KSA meets public demand for public transportation with a reliable, cost effective, and safe public transportation system. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2021-03091776 Full Text: PDF
Middle School-Aged Children's Attitudes toward Women in Science, Engineering, and Technology and the Effects of Media Literacy Training

Tins study examined Iile efficacy of media lileracy traillinE dcsigmd to Il'tlell critical II.inking ab,),,1 gcnder stercutypes On lIIiddle sdlool-aged children's recogllitioll of gender slereotypes; l! ('rcepliol1s of WOllIe! ill ,eimcc, enKil'lurIIIg, al/d technology (SET); and atlitudes lau'llra SET alld SET careers, A lolal r:f 302 s! "l'mlh-gradc studel'l ts were random Iii assigned to one of three cOlldilitnl,; d.SCUFsitm, discussion pl"s mewing of mcdia images of womm, or 11 cOl'llrol, No sigllificant d~ffercllces were foulld Oil aftitudl's toward U~I//lell hI science IIlId aUiludes toward sc.ence among middl( school-aged cllildrrm who parlicipated in ei//I£T media literacy training condlliOlI compared w,tl, those who did /lot participate in tnedi(lliteracy trailling, HOW<""'ver, ~ig1! ifical/l differences ill girl~ tllld boys' pcm'pliolls of women in SET alld tlleir tltlitud~ toward womm in SET wen. ' found for girl~ and boys' ,'Valuatiuns ':f tll~ chamcteristics of female scientists, u~th girls ratinglfmale scient.sts liS more ski/lfl/f, illtelligent, experl, alld quali(i. :d 11m" did boys, [11 addItion, Kirls and boys had t'ery different scores 011 items that Ilsked ab,'ut WQII1e11 ill science, with girls beillK marc like/Ii Illan boys to have pasifiz. " attitudes toward WllI"CII being as good 111 science careers liS lIlen, U'Oll1eu 1II11';I1g access to science cou rsrs and career opportunities, and a woman's career 1! ll'ving til. , same valur ItS" man'" career, The /loys' negative a/Illude, toward women in science found in thiS study were rclalcd II! tile extent to ! I"ucll boys reported that tile media pl<lycd all important role in their Ih'es, The m! pJications for fUlure research on media ifl/luellc~s 011 middle school-aged cllildrtn's perceptions ofgender and science and tl! e droelopment of media litcracy ill/mlclltioll! ' 10 I'roltlo/c Kirts' inlereol ill SET will be addreSSl. 'd,
EFFECT OF PLANTING DATES AND CHELATED CALCIUM FOLIAR APPLICATION ON TIPBURN OF HEAD LETTUCE

This work was carried out at Nikla village, Giza governorate, during 2002 /2003 and 2003/2004 seasons to evaluate the effect of three planting dates ( the first of October, November and December), and applying of 0 , 200 , 400 and 600 ppm chelated calcium as foliar application on vegetative characteristics (.i.e., fresh and dry weight, head size and number of leaves per plant ) and percentage of tipburn injury of head lettuce cv. Limor . The results indicated that seed sown on the first of December increased head size and Ca concentration in leaves compared to other sowing dates. But there were no significant diffrance among planting dates in head fresh and dry weight, number of leaves per plant and percentage of tipburn. Whereas foliar spray with chelated calcium reduced and prevented tipburn injury and increased percentage of Ca concentration in leaves but had no significant effect on fresh and dry weight and number of leaves per plant. Thus, foliar spray with 600 ppm chelated Ca in the three planting dates gave the best results and prevented tipburn incidence.
MicroRNA miR-23b-3p promotes osteosarcoma by targeting ventricular zone expressed PH domain-containing 1 (VEPH1)/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) pathway

ABSTRACT Increasing evidence suggests that dysregulated miRNA expression can lead to the tumorigenesis of osteosarcoma (OS). Nevertheless, the potential role of miR-23b-3p in OS is unclear and remains to be explored. Microarray analysis was performed to identify key genes involved in OS. Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were used to examine miR-23b-3p expression, ventricular zone expressed PH domain-containing 1 (VEPH1) transcript (as well as other transcripts as indicated), and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) signaling pathway-related protein expression. A luciferase reporter gene assay was performed to confirm the regulatory relationship between VEPH1 mRNA and miR-23b-3p. Cell viability was evaluated using the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, cell growth was assessed using the bromodeoxyuridine enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and cell migration was tested using a wound healing assay. We found significant upregulation of miR-23b-3p in OS, which prominently promoted the viability, proliferation, and migration of OS cells. Additionally, VEPH1 was found to be a target of miR-23b-3p and its expression was decreased in OS. Lastly, VEPH1 alleviated the promotion effect of miR-23b-3p on the malignancy phenotypes of OS cells via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Thus, miR-23b-3p augmented the viability, proliferation, and migration of OS cells by directly targeting and downregulating VEPH1, which inhibited the activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.
Finite time thermodynamic analysis of an irreversible regenerative closed cycle brayton heat engine

This communication presents the parametric study of an irreversible regenerative Brayton cycle with nonisentropic compression and expansion processes for finite heat capacitance rates of external reservoirs. The power output of the cycle is maximized with respect to the working fluid temperatures and the expressions for maximum power output and the corresponding thermal efficiency are obtained. The effect of the effectiveness of the various heat exchangers and the efficiencies of the turbine and compressor, the reservoir temperature ratio and the heat capacitance rate of heating and cooling fluids and the cycle working fluid on the power output and the corresponding thermal efficiency has been studied. It is seen the effect of cold side effectiveness is more pronounced for the power output while the effect of regenerative effectiveness is more pronounced for the thermal efficiency. It is found that the effect of turbine efficiency is more than the compressor efficiency on the performance of these cycles. It is also found that the effect of sink-side heat capacitance rate is more pronounced than the heat capacitance rate on the source side and the heat capacitance rate of the working fluid.
Government Green Procurement in Sustainable Infrastructure Development

Infrastructure development is becoming more significant to an economic growth in many countries. A systematic delivery system regardless by traditional or non-traditional procurement methods is a common condition which has considerable impact on project outcome. In recent times, Government Green Procurement (GGP) has received a great attention among stakeholders in procuring products, services and construction works, particularly in public sector. In developing countries such as Malaysia, GGP have been beneficial by enhancing environmental concern to conserve natural resources, however, the evidence in terms of its implementation is still undiscovered. Due to this deficiency, this paper aims to determine the significant attributes of GGP, and to address the significant strategies of GGP in infrastructure project development. Exploratory study was conducted by reviewing literatures extensively and followed with expert interviews. Content analysis method was used to analyse the data. The results reveal that environmental is to be likely the most significant attributes of GGP, meanwhile, GGP Long-Term Action Plan (LTAP) is seemed to be the most important strategy used in promoting green procurement. This paper provides new insights to the literature in relation to green practice strategies and it is potentially to be useful for the stakeholders in prioritizing further efforts of green-oriented public infrastructure development in the future.
The Relation between Menopausal Symptoms among Rural Women and Their Quality of Life

Background: Menopause is a normal physiological process of cessation of menses in women. During menopausal period women can experience many symptoms. These symptoms can be severe enough to affect their quality of life (QOL). The characteristics of rural women can affect the manifestations and treatment of their health problems. Aim of the study: to assess the relation between menopausal symptoms among rural women and their quality of life. Subjects and Method: Design: A descriptive crosssectional study design. Setting: The Rural Health Unit of Ceber bay rural village in Tanta city. Subjects: A convenient sample of 400 menopausal women who experienced stop of menstrual cycle for at least 12 months and free from chronic diseases. Tools of the study: Three tools were used by to obtain the necessary data for this study. Tool I: A structured interview schedule: which included two parts: Part (1): Socio demographic characteristics of menopausal women, Part (2): Obstetrical history of menopausal women. Tool II: Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) questionnaire. Tool III: World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL BREF). Results: Less than half (48%) of rural menopausal women had a moderate menopausal symptom and more than one-quarter (27.3%) of them had a mild symptom. About one-quarter (24.7%) of them had a severe symptom. More than half (52.0%) of the studied menopausal rural women had a good quality of life and less than one-half (47.4%) of them had fair level of quality of life. Conclusion: The QOL of menopausal rural women is affected by their menopausal symptoms where a negative high significant correlation was found between the total score of menopausal rating scale of the studied menopausal rural women and the total score of their QOL. Recommendations: Develop specific health educational programs aimed to improving the quality of life of menopausal rural women and management of their problems and complains.
Co-Design Block PA (Power Amplifier)-Antenna for 5G Application at 28 GHz Frequency Band

This subject addresses the issue related to Transmitters for the new communication standard, namely 5G. Indeed to respond to the problems of radio coverage, the speed of services as well as the rise in user demand, transmitters must have ideal characteristics to be able to meet these requirements. This chapter proposes in order to answer such a problem a block made up of a linear array of antennas has 4 elements and a transistor amplifier operating at the 28 GHz frequency band. The Design of the Block is done first by the design of the antenna then the design of the amplifier and finally the junction of the two devices with a matching network to therefore form the block of transmitters Speaking of the design of the antenna, the prepared antenna is a patch antenna with a patch shape excluding the classic shapes which is printed on a Rogers-Duriod 5880 substrate so the thickness is 0.127 mm, the linear antenna array proposed has a gain greater than 15 dB and a Good Bandwidth, the transistor amplifier is in turn printed on the same substrate has the same thickness to minimize the losses during the junction of this one with the antenna, this amplifier offers a higher gain than device 15 dB and therefore the Bandwidth is greater than 2 GHz, each transmitter has an input and output reflection coefficient of less than −10 db. The simulation of each transmitter is made with the CST-microwave software for the Antenna and the ADS (Advanced Design System) software for the amplifier and the Block PA-Antenna. It is important to note that the Block output impedance is 50 ohms making our device more practical and easily commercial.
Renin–angiotensin system blockers during the COVID-19 pandemic: an update for patients with hypertension and chronic kidney disease

ABSTRACT Hypertension and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are among the most common comorbidities associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity and mortality risk. Renin–angiotensin system (RAS) blockers are cornerstones in the treatment of both hypertension and proteinuric CKD. In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a hypothesis emerged suggesting that the use of RAS blockers may increase susceptibility for COVID-19 infection and disease severity in these populations. This hypothesis was based on the fact that angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a counter regulatory component of the RAS, acts as the receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 cell entry. Extrapolations from preliminary animal studies led to speculation that upregulation of ACE2 by RAS blockers may increase the risk of COVID-19-related adverse outcomes. However, these hypotheses were not supported by emerging evidence from observational and randomized clinical trials in humans, suggesting no such association. Herein we describe the physiological role of ACE2 as part of the RAS, discuss its central role in COVID-19 infection and present original and updated evidence from human studies on the association between RAS blockade and COVID-19 infection or related outcomes, with a particular focus on hypertension and CKD.
Programs' Efficacy to Develop Employable Skills for People With Functional Diversity: A Meta-Analysis

Purpose: Promoting the labour integration of people with functional diversity is a key element to achieve their social inclusion. This meta-analysis aims to examine the effectiveness of experimental programs in developing employable skills for people with disabilities. Methods: Literature searches up to June 2019 were conducted in four databases (Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO and ERIC). Studies that met the following criteria were selected: (1) The program should develop employable skills; (2) the participants should be people with functional diversity; (3) the study should have a design with an experimental group and a control group as well as pretest and posttest measurements; (4) the study had to provide enough data to calculate the effect sizes; and (5) the study had to be written in English or Spanish. 67 independent studies met the selection criteria, among 14 articles published between 1998 and 2019. Results: The results revealed mean effect sizes in favour of the experimental group for the set of all studies according to data reported by people with functional diversity, as well as according their relatives and teachers. The two dimensions of the programs with a significant effect size in favour of the experimental group were interview skills and career planning. Furthermore, it was found that the programs showed a higher degree of effectiveness in groups formed only by people with intellectual disabilities, with a lower educational level, whose duration ranged from six to twelve months. This was particularly the case with participants from Spain and Australia. Conclusion: Promoting the labour insertion of people with disability is a key element to achieve their social inclusion. Programs that support and develop employability and that are conducted upon experimental conditions do have a positive impact upon young people with functional diversity. Upon the results, we discuss practical implications for integrating disabled persons into the labour market.
A numerical study to investigate the effect of turbulators on thermal flow and heat performance of a 3D pipe

To reduce the heat exchanger's costs in a highly competitive industry, thermal performance enhancement of the heat exchangers has successfully gained attention in the last few decades. Among different engineering approaches, the application of the enhanced pipes provides a key solution to improve heat performance. In this paper, the investigation develops a numerical study based on the commercially available computational fluid dynamics codes on the turbulent flow in three‐dimensional tubular pipes. Various concavity (dimple) diameters with corrugation and twisted tape configurations are investigated. The study has shown that perforated geometrical parameters lead to a high fluid mixing and flow perturbation between the pipe core region and the walls, hence better thermal efficiency. Moreover, a model of concavity (dimple) with a 4 mm diameter allows the highest heat transfer enhancement among other designs. In addition, the study shows that due to the disturbance between the pipe core region and the pipe wall, the transverse vortices and swirl flow generated are forceful, which leads to better heat transfer enhancement compared with the conventional (smooth) pipes. As the Reynolds number (Re) rises, the mixing flow, secondary, and separation flow extend to become higher than the values in a smooth pipe, allowing a higher value of performance evaluation factor to be achieved for a dimple diameter of 1mm at the low Re values. This study, therefore, shows the promising potential of the enhanced pipes in the heat transfer enhancement of heat exchangers that is crucial in industrial applications to save more energy.
A Redesign Strategy to Improve the Efficiency of a 17-Stage Steam Turbine

A three-dimensional Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes solver was applied to the aerodynamic redesigning of a 17-stage steam turbine. The redesign procedure was divided into three steps. In the first one, a single embedded stage was considered, and an optimization of stator lean and rotor twist was carried out by applying suitable repeating inlet/outlet boundary conditions. In the second step, a proper geometrical transformation between the original reference stage and the optimized one was identified and then applied to all other turbine stages, thus leading to a first approximation of the redesigned turbine. Finally, a neural-network-based refinement of the stator and rotor twist of each stage was performed to account for its actual position and operating conditions within the meridional channel. In this work, a detailed description of the redesign procedure is provided, and the aerodynamic characteristics of the optimized geometry are discussed and compared with the original ones.
Business Development Services and Small Business Growth in Bangladesh

This study aims at measuring the magnitude of business development services (BDS) and their impact on the growth of the small businesses. Growth in equity capital, growth in production, growth in employment, growth in sales, and growth in profit were used as measures of small business growth. In order to collect the required primary data, the sampled 120 small entrepreneurs were interviewed with a semi-structured interview schedule. The hypotheses framed with regard to the impact, extent, and sources of BDS were tested by using chi-square statistic and t-statistic. The results of the study reveal a significant positive impact of BDS on the small business growth in Bangladesh. The study also suggests that small business growth relates linearly with the extensiveness of BDS and that the growth of small businesses received BDS from public supporting institution is higher than that of the small businesses which received BDS from private supporting institution.
Subsoil Interventions Effect on Structural Seismic Response. Part II: Parametric Investigation

In the present article the effect of subsoil interventions on the response of soil-structure systems under strong earthquake shaking is studied. Several idealized configurations of commonly applied as well as innovative intervention techniques are examined, referring to increased or reduced stiffness of the initial subsoil conditions of the subsoil-foundation-structure system. Numerical analysis utilizing validated simulation procedures covers a large spectrum of structures and soil conditions. A parametric investigation of several key factors is also conducted. A comparative evaluation of the results in time and frequency domain is aiming in generalizing the conclusions to several earthquake and soil-structure combinations. Obtained results reveal a rather detrimental effect of the stiffness-increasing methods, whereas techniques related to modification of oscillation dynamic properties with flexible subsoil intervention schemes, present promising alternatives for an efficient mitigation of structural response to strong earthquakes.