Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring the selectivity and market timing performance of Islamic mutual funds in the KSA

Article history: Received: November 15, 2020 Received in revised format: January 28 2021 Accepted: March 2, 2021 Available online: March 2, 2021 This paper examines the selectivity and market timing abilities of Islamic fund managers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), since the empirical research has yet to explore the profitability and investment risk factors involved. We use a uniquely large set of data for 134 Islamic funds for a period from June 2002 to December 2019, and this was free from any survival bias. We found that Islamic fund managers in the KSA demonstrated good selectivity skills but no market timing ability. We also found that Islamic fund managers in the KSA tend to select companies with aggressive investment patterns despite their low profitability. © 2021 by the authors; licensee Growing Science, Canada
Comment on ‘‘A Modular Framework for Modeling Unsaturated Soil Hydraulic Properties Over the Full Moisture Range” by Weber et al.

Weber et al. (2019) (W19 in the following) present a modular framework for parametrizing soil hydraulic properties. The W19 model framework is almost identical to the model system developed jointly by Peters (2013), https://doi.org/10.1002/wrcr.20548, Iden and Durner (2014), https://doi.org/10.1002/2014wr015937, and Peters (2014), https://doi.org/10.1002/2014wr016107, to which we will refer as PDI ("Peters‐Durner‐Iden") model in the following. The primary goal of this comment is to uncover some inconsistencies of the W19 formulation. In the following, we (i) comment on the statement made by W19 regarding the number of parameters in the original PDI formulation, (ii) critically analyze the use of their function to parameterize the water retention curve (WRC), and (iii) show that, in contrast to the statement in W19, using their formulation of for parametrizing noncapillary hydraulic conductivity leads to systematic deviations from the physically based film‐conductivity model developed by Tokunaga (2009), https://doi.org/10.1029/2009wr007734.
The Impact of Water-Related Challenges on Rural Communities Food Security Initiatives

Water scarcity has been a critical concern in many countries of the world. The same concern has been discussed, analyzed and researched at different platforms to find better solutions to the challenges of water scarcity, and in most cases water scarcity directly influence food security in terms of food production. South Africa, being one of the water scarce countries that derives its food from the agricultural sector; water scarcity remains at the centre stage of the national socioeconomic debate. Water scarcity is one of the major challenges in many countries such as Zimbabwe and Ethiopia particularly for the farmers. However, there is insufficient information on the impact of water scarcity challenges on rural communities’ food security initiatives. This review is focused on unearthing water scarcity challenges in rural communities, their impact on agriculture and ultimately food security initiatives. This paves way for possible research areas, practical implications and strategies to mitigate water security effects on food security.
Determination of Effective Parameters for Coal Moisture Content Determination Using a ‘Design of Experiment’ Method

ABSTRACT Drying of low rank coal is a very significant topic due to its high economic value. One of the most important parameter in the designing of a dryer is the exiting moisture content of the material at the specified conditions and time. Aim of this study was to utilize the design of experiment methodology to determine the most effective parameters on the moisture content of the dried coal. The investigated parameters were dryer bed height, coal particle size, inlet drying air velocity, inlet drying air temperature, inlet drying air relative humidity, exit drying air relative humidity, and time. The results showed that bed height and time were the most effective parameters, and inlet air relative humidity and inlet drying air velocity were less effective parameters. Additionally, particle size and inlet drying air temperature parameters were also significant. To attain more accurate results in the prediction of the exiting coal moisture content, only more influential parameters may be used. Therefore, the design of experiment methodology was a significant way of determining the effective parameters in the coal drying process.
A review of studies on green finance of banks, research gaps and future directions

ABSTRACT With growing global concern for environmental protection, climate change and sustainable development, policymakers and researchers have recently focused on green finance. In this study, existing studies on green finance in the context of the banking sector have been reviewed with considerations on products and determinants of green finance. The content analysis approach has been used to critically analyse and summarize forty-six (46) relevant studies. The results found green securities, green investments, climate finance, carbon finance, green insurance, green credit and green infrastructural bonds as part of key green finance products of banks. Pertinent determinants the study found to be influencing green finance policies from banks include environmental and climate change policies, interest rates, religion, risks, social inclusion and social justice as well as banking regulations. In theory, this study provides a guide for further studies. The results of the study will assist banks on the key issues to consider in adopting, developing and granting green finance.
Collaborative skills of prospective teachers in laboratory activities related to the concept of elasticity

The collaborative is a skill needed in facing challenges and opportunities in the era of industrial revolution 4.0. Therefore, universities must prepare prospective graduates to have collaborative skills. The purpose of this study was to describe collaborative skills that are trained and developed through laboratory activities. This study used descriptive quantitative methods. The research sample amounted to 250 teacher candidates from several Islamic Universities in Indonesia. The sampling technique used random sampling, which represents Islamic universities on four islands in Indonesia. The research instrument used was a performance assessment supplemented by a rubric of assessment. The results of research prospective teacher collaboration skills were a good category. Thus, laboratory activities can train and develop collaborative skill skills of prospective teachers.
A comprehensive review on the chemistry and pharmacology of Corchorus species—A source of cardiac glycosides, triterpenoids, ionones, flavonoids, coumarins, steroids and some other compounds

An exhaustive literature survey on the secondary metabolites of Corchorus species has been carried out. Cardiac glycosides, triterpenoids, sterols, phenolics, ionones, carbohydrates and fatty acids have been reported from different species. Many of these compounds have been found to possess significant biological properties e.g. digitalis glycosides like action, anticonvulsive activity, antiesterogenic action, anticancer activity and antipyretic activity etc.
Bromine doping effect on some properties of CdS films

The suitability of bromine as an anionic dopant influencing the properties of CdS thin films is discussed in this paper. The as-deposited films were characterised respectively by XRD, SEM, UV-vis-NIR spectrophotometer and two-point probe setup. All the films appear to be polycrystalline in nature exhibiting hexagonal crystal structure with a (002) preferential growth texture. The 2θ value of the (002) plane shifts towards lower Bragg angle with doping inferring an expansion in their lattice volumes. Increased transparency and blue shift in optical band gap value are observed for the doped films. Electrical resistivity decreased with increase in Br-doping concentration. Increased transparency, widened band gap and decreased electrical resistivity values achieved confirm that Br is a suitable anionic dopant that can strongly influence the physical properties of pure CdS towards future optoelectronic devices.
EFFECT OF DIFFERENT NUTRIENT MEDIUM ON GROWTH OF LEMNA GIBBA DURING IN VITRO CULTURE

Duckweed as Lemna spp. have been used in various types of research. The effects of Murashige and Skoog (MS), B5 (Gamborg) and White media on survival growth rate of lemna gibba during in vitro cultivation and the effect on different concentrations of media were investigated. Under in vitro conditions, frond proliferation of Lemna gibba in white medium were 90% respectively faster than that in MS medium and B5 medium. Biomass production in White medium also increases compared to MS medium and B5 medium. The roots of lemna gibba in 1/16 MS medium and 1/16 B5 are distinctly shorter than 1/16 white medium. Root elongation of the frond colonies in MS, B5 and White media is comparable. The distinct effects of MS, B5 and White media on vegetative growth and survival growth rate is higher 70-90% in all concentrations of White media respected to MS and B5. White media with 1/16 concentrations of nutrients contain 1.25% sucrose as carbon source and six additional nutrients (Na2SO4, KCl, Ca(NO3)2.4H2O, Fe2(SO4)3, Ca-Pantothenate, Cysteine HCl), which were important for vegetative growth.
Control of postharvest browning of lychee fruit using ascorbic acid

Effect of ascorbic acid on controlling of postharvest browning of lychee fruit (cv. Khom) was studied. Fruit were dipped in 0.5 and 1.0 M ascorbic acid solutions for 10 and 30 minutes and then stored at 5°C and 90-95% RH. Ascorbic acid treatments reduced browning of lychee pericarp with 1.0 M ascorbic acid giving the best control of browning. The treatments with ascorbic acid resulted in reductions in total phenolic compound content as well as pH value of lychee peel which are related to browning disorder as indicated by the browning score. Also ethylene production and loss of weight were low following ascorbic acid treatments. However, the storage life of lychee fruit treated with ascorbic acid was only 28 days due to rapid deterioration from fungal infection.
Self-Balanced Switched-Capacitor Thirteen-Level Inverters With Reduced Capacitors Count

This letter describes two improved 13-level inverters based on switched-capacitor. Compared with their original structure, which is published recently, one less high-voltage capacitor is required in the proposed inverters and the blocking voltage of their inverting half-bridge is reduced by half. In addition, the new inverters inherit various advantages of the original structure, such as a high boost factor of 6, self-balanced capacitor voltages, and reduced voltage ripples. Circuit description, operation principle, hybrid PWM modulation, and capacitor voltage ripples are analyzed and the feasibility of the proposed inverters is finally verified by experimental results.
Linear and nonlinear vibrations of variable cross‐section beams using shear deformation theory

In the present paper, the governing equations of a vibratory beam with moderately large deflection and arbitrary cross‐section are derived by using the first‐order shear deformation theory. The beam is homogenous, isotropic and it is subjected to the axial loads. The kinematic of the problem is according to the von‐Kármán strain‐displacement relations and the Hooke law is used as the constitutive equations. The partial differential governing equations describing the axial and transverse vibrations of homogeneous beams contain four coupled nonlinear equations with variable coefficients which are derived employing Hamilton's principle. The Galerkin method in conjunction with the perturbation technique is applied to obtain the linear natural frequencies. A parametric study is performed and the effects of different thickness functions such as linear, polynomial and trigonometric on the results are investigated. The non‐linear frequencies which contain the corrections on the linear frequencies are calculated. The corrected parts of the non‐linear frequencies are functions of the axial as well as the transverse amplitudes of the vibrations. The influences of the axial load and aspect ratio on the linear and non‐linear frequencies are studied too. To confirm the reliability of the vibration analysis carried out in the present paper, the analytical results are checked with the corresponding numerical results obtained from the finite element analysis. The numerical and analytical results are in a good agreement.
Exploring Impact of Surrounding Service Facilities on Urban Vibrancy Using Tencent Location-Aware Data: A Case of Guangzhou

Urban vibrancy contributes towards a successful city and high-quality life for people as one of its vital elements. Therefore, the association between service facilities and vibrancy is crucial for urban managers to understand and improve city construction. Moreover, the rapid development of information and communications technology (ICT) allows researchers to easily and quickly collect a large volume of real-time data generated by people in daily life. In this study, against the background of emerging multi-source big data, we utilized Tencent location data as a proxy for 24-h vibrancy and adopted point-of-interest (POI) data to represent service facilities. An analysis framework integrated with ordinary least squares (OLS) and geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) models is proposed to explore the spatiotemporal relationships between urban vibrancy and POI-based variables. Empirical results show that (1) spatiotemporal variations exist in the impact of service facilities on urban vibrancy across Guangzhou, China; and (2) GTWR models exhibit a higher degree of explanatory capacity on vibrancy than the OLS models. In addition, our results can assist urban planners to understand spatiotemporal patterns of urban vibrancy in a refined resolution, and to optimize the resource allocation and functional configuration of the city.
Pulpwood quality estimation by near-infrared spectroscopic measurements on eucalypt woods

Near-infrared spectroscopy has been examined as a method for providing a rapid estimate of pulpwood quality based on small samples. The woods were drawn from three trees in ten provenances of Tasmanian Eucalyptus globulus. The measures of pulpwood quality were yield, soda charge at Kappa number 15, total lignin, and hot water and alkali solubles. The samples were divided to provide 24 which were used in obtaining the calibrations and six which served as unknowns. The calibrations were obtained by using standard. Norris and partial least squares regressions. Predictions of the various pulpwood quality measures were obtained with residual standard deviations in the range 0.8-2.6 units.
Rate-Capacity Characterization of Wastewater for Nutrient Removal Processes

The detailed composition of wastewater has significant impact on the biological wastewater treatment processes. The carbon sources present govern the oxygen uptake rate, the rate of denitrification and the biological phosphorus uptake rate. In this paper, the respiration rate determinations used for the bi- or tri-substrate determinations are coupled to removal capacity in order to develop rate-capacity diagrams, that gives a fuller picture of the wastewater and its influence on the biological processes. The directly degradable carbon source gives high reaction rates, but the concentration and thus the capacity can be very limited. In such a case the overall obtainable removal rate is of more interest than the peak rate. The rate-capacity diagrams are shown for raw, primary settled and primary precipitated wastewater, characterized by detailed investigations of the respiration rates obtainable. It shows the effect of pretreatment not only on the total concentrations in the pre-treated wastewater, but also in the rate-capacity curves for biological denitrification. The rate-capacity curves are in practice coupled to the design and operation of the treatment plant. These two factors determine whether the carbon sources in the influent wastewater are used for denitrification (or biological phosphorus removal), for oxidation with oxygen or for sludge production.
A STUDY OF MUTUAL INTERPLAY OF MICRONUTRIENTS AND SPECTRUM OF DIABETIC PATIENTS

Persistent uncontrolled hyperglycaemia in Diabetes Mellitus causes permanent structural and functional damage to tissues, which leads to micro and macro vascular complications causing increased mortality and morbidity. Magnesium and Calcium are required for Insulin secretion, Iron is essential for cell functioning and zinc forms the structure of insulin. 90 subjects were enlisted in the study after obtaining written informed consent and divided into 3 groups of pre-diabetic, diabetic and diabetic with micro and macro vascular complication. A brief history with relevant clinical examinations using monofilament test and ophthalmoscopic examination were done to evaluate for diabetic neuropathy and retinopathy respectively. Blood samples for serum zinc, calcium, magnesium and iron were collected and analysed with respect to age, gender and duration since diabetes was diagnosed. With increase in duration of diabetes and HbA1c, serum zinc, iron, and magnesium levels decreased, while calcium levels increased. Till date very few studies have been conducted to study micronutrients deficiency in pre-diabetics. Detection of micronutrients deficiency early in the course of diabetes, may delay the development of complications with their supplementation. Hence, this study is being done to study micronutrients in diabetics and pre-diabetic patients.
Lactation performance of Awassi ewes fed diets containing either Atriplex halimus L. or olive cake

Abstract The objective of the two studies was to evaluate t effects of feeding on lactating Awassi ewes (study 1) and lambs (study 2), fed on a diet of Atriplex halimus L. (ATR) or olive cake (OC), as a foraging source substitute for wheat straw. In study 1, 33 newly lambed ewes and their lambs were randomly assigned one of three diets: The control diet (CON), 250 g/kg of OC, or 250 g/kg of ATR dry matter (DM). Ewes and lambs were housed in individual pens. Ewes fed CON diet had greater DM, neutral detergent fibre, and acid detergent fibre intakes than OC and ATR groups. Ether extract (EE) intake was greater (p < .0001) in OC diet compared to CON and ATR diets. Milk yield was similar (p = .99) among treatments. Content of milk total solids and fat were greater in ATR diet than CON and OC diets. Milk production cost was lower in the OC and ATR compared to the CON group. In study 2, 18 ewe lambs were assigned the same diets used in study 1 to evaluate the effects of OC and ATR on nutrient digestibility and N balance. Dry matter digestibility was greater in ATR compared to CON and OC groups. The digestibility of EE was greater in the OC group than in CON and ATR groups. Results showed that the inclusion of OC and ATR did not negatively impact lactation performance. Additionally, results proved the economic value of using such products, as they reduced the cost of milk production. Highlights Olive cake and Atriplex halimus L. were fed to Awassi ewes at a level of 250 g/kg of dietary DM. The inclusion of olive cake and A. halimus L. at 250 g/kg of dietary DM, as a source of fibre, did not negatively impact the lactation performance of sheep. Additionally, results proved the economic value of using such products, as they reduced the cost of milk production.
Efficient Algorithms for Cache-Throughput Analysis in Cellular-D2D 5G Networks

In this paper, we propose a two-tiered segment-based Device-toDevice (S-D2D) caching approach to decrease the startup and playback delay experienced by Video-on-Demand (VoD) users in a cellular network. In the S-D2D caching approach cache space of each mobile device is divided into two cache-blocks. The rst cache-block reserve for caching and delivering the beginning portion of the most popular video les and the second cacheblock caches the latter portion of the requested video les ‘fully or partially’ depending on the users’ video watching behaviour and popularity of videos. In this approach before caching, video is divided and grouped in a sequence of xed-sized fragments called segments. To control the admission to both cacheblocks and improve the system throughput, we further propose and evaluate three cache admission control algorithms. We also propose a video segment access protocol to elaborate on how to cache and share the video segments in a segmentation based D2D caching architecture. We formulate an optimisation problem and nd the optimal cache probability and beginning-segment size that maximise the cache-throughput probability of beginning-segments. To solve the non-convex cache-throughout maximisation problem, we derive an iterative algorithm, where the optimal solution is derived in each step. We used extensive simulations to evaluate the performance of our proposed S-D2D caching system.
The Relationship between Suggestibility, Fabrication, Distortion, and Trauma in Suspected Sexually Abused Children

Being a victim of abuse in childhood can lead to the development of trauma-related psychopathology, which could affect the testimony of the child victim. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a factor that can increase both the levels of suggestibility and the production of memory errors, such as confabulations, which can be identified in distortions and fabrications. No studies have analyzed the relationship between suggestibility, fabrications, distortions, and PTSD on samples of children and adolescents suspected of being sexually abused. This study aims to verify in a sample of 221 sexually abused children and adolescents the effect of PTSD, measured by Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Children, in increasing the levels of immediate and delayed suggestibility and the production of fabrications and distortions in immediate and delayed memory tasks, obtained by Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale 2, controlling age and non-verbal intelligence. Our results show that PTSD increases the levels of immediate and delayed suggestibility, but it has no effect on memory recall in immediate recall tasks. Moreover, PTSD leads to a greater number of distorted and fabricated information inserted in delayed memory. Forensic implications of PTSD consequences on memory tasks and suggestibility levels of sexually abused children are discussed.
Comparison of Gd-L X-rays RYIED and proton-NMRD

In previous works, it was shown that, for W under proton irradiation, the x-ray relative yields were dependent on the energy of the irradiation ion beam. This was then named Relative Yield Ion Energy Dependence (RYIED) and was seen both for the L (1) as well as for the K shell x-rays(2). In the present work, this effect is further explored and comparisons are made to data originating from a totally different analytical technique, namely the analysis of the proton longitudinal relaxation time dependence on the Larmor frequency (proton-NMRD). This technique when applied to water solutions of chelate of paramagnetic ions, provides information on the electronic configuration of the chelate, including the electrons surrounding the core ion. Experimental evidence related to RYIED effects strongly suggests an important connection between intensity ratio variation patterns and the electronic configuration where the emitting ion is embedded. This work focus on the L-shell x-ray lines of Gd and namely on the ratios of intensity of lines corresponding to transitions to the same sub-shell (LI, LII and LIII). Results are presented for three different Gd environments and for several proton beam irradiation energies between 0.7 and 1.95 MeV.