Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Modification of Palm Waste Lignocellulosic Materials into Biographite Using Iron and Nickel Catalyst

This paper presents an alternative way to maximize the utilization of palm waste by implementing a green approach to modify lignocellulosic materials into a highly crystalline biographite. A bio-graphite structure was successfully synthesized by converting lignocellulosic materials via a simple method using palm kernel shell (PKS) as a carbon precursor. This involved the direct impregnation of a catalyst into raw material followed by a thermal treatment. The structural transformation of the carbon was observed to be significantly altered by employing different types of catalysts and varying thermal treatment temperatures. Both XRD and Raman spectroscopy confirmed that the microstructural alteration occurred in the carbon structure of the sample prepared at 800 and 1000 °C using iron, nickel or the hybrid of iron-nickel catalysts. The XRD pattern revealed a high degree of graphitization for the sample prepared at 1000 °C, and it was evident that iron was the most active graphitization catalyst. The presence of an intensified peak was observed at 2θ = 26.5°, reflecting the formation of a highly ordered graphitic structure as a result of the interaction between the iron catalyst and the thermal treatment process at 1000 °C. The XRD observation was further supported by the Raman spectrum in which PKS-Fe1000 showed a lower defect structure associated with the presence of a significant amount of graphitic structure, as a low value of (Id/Ig) ratio was reported. An HRTEM image showed a well-defined lattice fringe seen on the structure for PKS-Fe1000; meanwhile, a disordered microstructure was observed for the control sample, indicating that successful structural modification was achieved with the aid of the catalyst. Further analysis from BET found that the PKS-Fe1000 developed a surface area of 202.932 m2/g with a pore volume of 0.208 cm3/g. An overall successful modification from palm waste into graphitic material was achieved. Thus, this study will help those involved in waste management to evaluate the possibility of a sustainable process for the generation of graphite material from palm waste. It can be concluded that palm waste is a potential source of production for graphite material through the adoption of the proposed waste management process.
Coal exploration technology based on visible-infrared spectra and remote sensing data

ABSTRACT In the modern society, coal is used as the main source of energy. In this paper, based on the theory of the remote sensing, the distributions of the coal mine area through the satellite imagery are measured. First, the satellite pictures of coal mining regions in Quangninh of Vietnam and Huolinhe of China were gathered as the experimental data. Second, spectrometer was used to measure the spectral data of the coal samples of these two regions. The measured data provide comprehensive and accurate spectral characteristics of the coal. Then the classification model can be built by the improved extreme learning machines algorithm based on the measured data and the remote sensing data. Finally, the distribution image of the coal mine area is obtained accurately based on the classification model.
Trade and Innovation

Two central insights from the Schumpeterian approach to innovation and growth are that the pace of innovation is endogenously determined by the expectation of future profits and that growth is inherently a process of creative destruction. As international trade is a key determinant of firm profitability and survival, it is natural to expect it to play a key role in shaping both incentives to innovate and the rate of creative destruction. In this paper, we review the theoretical and empirical literature on trade and innovation. We highlight four key mechanisms through which international trade affects endogenous innovation and growth: (i) market size; (ii) competition; (iii) comparative advantage; (iv) knowledge spillovers. Each of these mechanisms offers a potential source of dynamic welfare gains in addition to the static welfare gains from trade from conventional trade theory. Recent research has suggested that these dynamic welfare gains from trade can be substantial relative to their static counterparts. Discriminating between alternative mechanisms for these dynamic welfare gains and strengthening the evidence on their quantitative magnitude remain exciting areas of ongoing research.
An Assessment of the Relationship between Defence Expenditure and Sustainable Development in the Baltic Countries

As geopolitical instability increases and new threats emerge, a number of countries are increasing their respective allocations for defence expenditure in order to take greater responsibility for their citizens in terms of defending and protecting their values and way of life. Small states such as Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia must evaluate certain economic, political, and strategic factors when increasing their respective defence expenditure. While they do tend to increase expenditure on national defence matters, budgetary constraints often force them to cut funding in some civilian domains or to increase their borrowing on international markets. Therefore, the security and defence of small states must be addressed in an integrated way, taking into account economic, social, and environmental factors. The aim of this article is to assess the relationships between defence expenditure and sustainable development indicators during the period between 2000 and 2018 in the Baltic states. The authors of this article aimed to determine which sustainable development indicators have a significant impact upon a country’s expenditure when it comes to defence matters. The study was conducted using econometric methods, including Spearman’s correlation analysis and Automatic Linear Modelling (ALM). The research results revealed some differences amongst the Baltic countries. In Lithuania, the employment rate and R&D personnel as a share of the active population demonstrated a significant impact upon defence expenditure. In Latvia, defence expenditure was found to be affected by disposable household income per capita and environmental taxes as a share of total tax revenue. In Estonia, defence expenditure was mainly influenced by disposable household income per capita and energy import dependency. The study’s findings may be used to ensure both the security of the country and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Research on Social Media Tourism Marketing in the Post-epidemic Period

Since 2020, the outbreak of covid-19 has changed the operation mode of many industries, and also has a great impact on the global tourism industry. At the same time, it also promotes the transformation of the tourism industry, which is more dependent on the real economy, to the Internet economy. The use of social media for tourism marketing is a hot spot in recent years, and the outbreak of the epidemic has intensified the development of this model. This paper analyzes the characteristics of social media to explain why it is more suitable for tourism marketing than traditional media, and summarizes the tourism marketing strategies and means of social media. Social media has rich forms of expression, such as text, pictures, audio, video, live broadcast, etc., which can be selected according to the nature of tourism destination. Through the use of precision marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, celebrity effect and other marketing strategies, it can also improve the audience's willingness to travel during the post epidemic period, and promote the recovery and development of tourism.
Analysis of Manager and Teacher Opinions on the Management of School Risks in the Framework of the Internal Control Risk Management Model

In order for the educational processes in schools to be carried out as designed, all internal and external elements of the school should be in harmony and cooperation. In order to achieve this harmony, it is necessary to determine the situation of the school correctly and to manage the risks defined as uncertainty and opportunities for the future. The most important condition for making the right interventions are against risks are to develop measures by taking advantage of the experiences of people who are exposed to risks and who are most affected by these risks. In this way, the effectiveness and efficiency of the school can be increased. In this study conducted in this context, the opinions of school administrators and teachers on the measures that can be taken for risks that are considered to be of high importance in schools were examined. The study groups of the study consist of school administrators and teachers working in public high schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in Nigde city center. According to the results of the research carried out in qualitative design, regular inspections and risk analyzes of schools are among the measures that can be taken against risks with high scores, that the administrators appointed on the basis of merit are open to communication, fair, competent and impartial, and school staff create a corporate culture based on love, respect and mutual trust and the recommendations to respect disciplinary rules come to the fore.
Determinants of Smallholders’ Food Security Status in Kalu District, Northern Ethiopia

This study analyzed the determinants of rural households’ food security in the Kallu district of the Amhara region, Northern Ethiopia. The study used primary data collected from 395 randomly selected rural households. The study employed descriptive statistics and a binary logit model to estimate the status and determinants of smallholders’ food security, respectively. Of the total sample households, 47.30% are food insecure. The binary logit model results showed that sex and education level of the household head, livestock ownership, credit access, and technology adoption have positive and significant effects on food security, while age and market distance are negatively associated with the probability to be food secure. The results suggest that improving access to marketing and financial services will contribute to improving the food security status of smallholders.
CO2 Gasification of Chars Prepared by Fast and Slow Pyrolysis from Wood and Forest Residue: A Kinetic Study

The CO2 gasification of chars was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The chars were prepared from spruce and its forest residue. Prior to the gasification, the raw materials were pelletized and pulverized. Part of the samples was directly gasified in the TGA when the char was formed at low heating rates before the gasification. Another sort of char was prepared in a drop-tube reactor (DTR) at a heating rate of around 1 × 104 °C/s and a residence time of 0.2 s at 1200 °C. The kinetic evaluation was based on TGA experiments with linear, modulated, and constant-reaction rate (CRR) temperature programs. The gasification of the DTR chars took place at temperatures 80–100 °C lower than the chars formed at low heating rates. The chars formed at low heating rates exhibited a side reaction that occurred 80–100 °C below the main peak of the mass-loss rate curves during the gasification. Accordingly the gasification kinetics of these chars was described by assuming two pseudocomponents. The thermal an.
How Does China’s Economic Policy Uncertainty Affect the Sustainability of Its Net Grain Imports?

China is a considerable grain importer in the world. However, the sustainability of China’s grain imports has been greatly challenged by its increasing economic policy uncertainty (EPU). This paper constructs the indicators of economic and environmental sustainability of China’s net grain imports and analyzes the impact of its EPU index on these indicators with a Time-Varying Parameter Stochastic Volatility Vector Autoregression (TVP-SV-VAR) model to explore how China’s EPU affects the sustainability of its net grain imports. The main conclusions are as follows. (1) The sustainability of China’s net grain imports fluctuated from 2001 to 2019. (2) China’s EPU has a negative impact on the economic sustainability of its net grain imports. A higher EPU index leads to a lower net import potential ratio and higher trade cost. (3) China’s EPU has a significant negative impact on the environmental sustainability of its net grain imports. It has the greatest negative impact on virtual water imports and smaller impact on virtual land imports and embodied carbon emission. Therefore, China’s EPU affects the sustainability of its net grain imports negatively through its impact on its net grain import potential ratio, trade cost, and virtual land, virtual water, and embodied carbon emissions in net grain imports.
Shock Absorption Characteristics and Optimal Design of Corrugated Fiberboard Using Drop Testing

The application of corrugated paper to buffer packaging has increased with the rise of the circular economy. The dynamic buffer curve is the key to designing the buffer packaging structure but requires multiple testing by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) without resources. In this study, we propose drop testing to perform a fractional factorial experiment and establish a regression model of impact strength through experimental data. The analysis results show that static stress, falling height, and buffer material thickness are the key variables of impact strength, and an impact strength prediction model (R2 = 94.1%) was obtained. Model verification using the buffer package design of a personal computer showed that the measured values of impact strength fell within the estimated 95% confidence interval. These results indicate that SMEs can use the proposed analysis procedure to improve the design of corrugated paper using minimal resources.
Collagenase-Expressing Salmonella Targets Major Collagens in Pancreatic Cancer and Improves Immune Checkpoint Blockade

Therapeutic resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) can be attributed, in part, to a dense extracellular matrix containing excessive collagen deposition. Here, we describe a novel Salmonella typhimurium (ST) vector expressing the bacterial collagenase Streptomyces omiyaensis trypsin (SOT), a serine protease known to hydrolyze collagens I and IV, which are predominantly found in PDAC. Utilizing aggressive models of PDAC, we show that ST-SOT selectively degrades intratumoral collagen leading to enhancement of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy in tumor-bearing mice. Ultimately, we found that ST-SOT treatment significantly modifies the intratumoral immune landscape to generate a microenvironment more conducive to ICB.
Social Concern as a Means of Understanding the Risk of Workplace Deviance

ABSTRACT Agnew recently conceptualized social concern theory has started to gain empirical attention. However, none of the previous tests have applied social concern theory to deviance unique to the workplace. This dearth in the literature is likely partly due to the comprehensive nature of the theory and lack of concise measurement tools. The current study sought to help fill these gaps in the literature by using a modified version of Shadmanfaat et al.’s recent social concern scale to test the utility of social concern theory for explaining work deviance. Original data was collected from a sample of 301 employees of private banks in Rasht, Iran. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and regression analysis were used to test the direct, indirect, conditioning, and mediating effects of social concern on work deviance. Results generally support the propositions derived from social concern theory for work deviance by showing that all four components of social concern (e.g., conformity to others) are significantly associated with work deviance and that social concern can mediate and moderate the relationships between other causes (e.g., low self-control) and work deviance. Theoretical implications are discussed within.
An Analysis of Factors Affecting Student Dropout: The Case of Tunisian Universities

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the determinants of university dropout in the first year of bachelor programs at Tunisian universities. We consider 160 higher education institutions with an average of 671 bachelor study programs per year from 2013 to 2018. Using several econometric models (pooled ordinary least square, fixed effect model, and random effect model), we regress student dropout rate on four categories of indicators: student characteristics, and institutional, contextual, and external factors. The estimation results suggest that the institutional characteristics have a significant impact on dropouts. The findings show that student–staff ratio has a positive influence on student dropout. We also find a negative association between staff quality and dropout rate. In addition, the analysis reveals the importance of contextual factors such as university accommodation in helping students to complete university education. Finally, regression also indicates a significant and positive interaction between unemployment rate and the dropout rate.
Analysis of Income Income in Batam City Through the Tourism Industry

Batam Islands has a strategic geographical location between various foreign countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Singapore. Therefore, competition in the Riau Islands is not centered on national competition, even in the international field, because of the geographical location of the Riau Islands which is closer to various foreign countries than the capital city of Indonesia and is also the third tourism destination after Bali and Jakarta. This research uses descriptive qualitative method. Primary data was obtained by conducting (a) in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders in Batam City Regency. While secondary data comes from various trusted publications, such as BPS, Bappeda Belitung Regency, journals, newspapers, magazines, official documents, and other articles sourced from the internet. All the data is then compiled and adjusted to the focus of this study and then analyzed and drawn conclusions. The results of this study concluded that the economic decline in the Batam tourism sector was caused by these factors. (1) The rapid spread of covid-19 made Indonesia decide to close itself off from other countries. (2) the lack of foreign tourists who travel in Batam. (3) Batam has no plans to stabilize the economy when there are no foreign tourists.
Experimental Investigation of the Unsteady Stator/Rotor Wake Characteristics Downstream of an Axial Air Turbine

A feasibility study of velocity field measurements using the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) method in an axial air turbine model is presented. The wakes past the blades of the rotor wheel were observed using the PIV technique. Data acquisition was synchronized with the shaft rotation; thus, the wakes were phase averaged for statistical analysis. The interaction of the rotor blade wakes with the stator ones was investigated by changing the stator wheel’s angle. The measurement planes were located just behind the rotor blades, covering approximately 3 cm × 3 cm in axial × tangential directions. The spatial correlation function suggests that the resolution used is sufficient for the large-scale flow-patterns only, but not for the small ones. The scales of fluctuations correspond to the shear layer thickness at the mid-span plane but, close to the end-wall, they contain larger structures caused by the secondary flows. The length-scales of the fluctuations under off-design conditions display a dependence on the area of the stator and rotor wakes cross-sections, which, in turn, depend on their angle. The obtained experimental data are to be used for the validation of mathematical simulation results in the future.
Gender differences in child nutrition status of Bangladesh: a multinomial modeling approach

Purpose Malnutrition is one of the serious public health problems especially for children and pregnant women in developing countries such as Bangladesh. This study aims to identify the risk factors associated with child nutrition for both male and female children in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted among 23,099 mothers or caretakers of children under five years of age from a nationally representative survey named Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, 2019. This study used chi-square test statistic for bivariate analysis and multinomial logistic regression was used to evaluate the adjusted effects of those covariates on child nutritional status. Findings The prevalence of severely malnourished, nourishment was higher for males than females (5.3% vs 5.1%, 77.4% vs 76.8%) while moderately malnourished were higher for females (18.1% vs 17.4%). The findings from the multinomial model insinuated that the mother’s education level, wealth index, region, early child development, mother’s functional difficulties, child disability, reading children's books and diarrhea had a highly significant effect on moderate and severe malnutrition for male children. For the female children model, factors such as mother’s education level, wealth index, fever, child disability, rural, diarrhea, early child development and reading less than three books were significant for moderate and severe malnutrition. Originality/value There is a solution to any kind of problem and malnutrition is not an exceptional health problem. So, to overcome this problem, policymakers should take effective measures to improve maternal education level, wealth status, child health.
Managerial ethical leadership, ethical climate and employee ethical behavior: does moral attentiveness matter?

ABSTRACT Ethical leaders can influence followers’ ethical behaviors by establishing an ethical climate. However, followers’ responses to an ethical climate may also differ according to the amount of attention they devote to moral questions. This study analyzes whether moral attentiveness augments the positive effect of an ethical climate on employees’ ethical behaviors, as well as the indirect effect of ethical leadership on employee ethical behavior through an ethical climate. Data from 270 employees in the Malaysian manufacturing industry indicate that the positive impact of an ethical climate on ethical behavior is greater among employees who exhibit high rather than low moral attentiveness; this moderating role also applies to the relationship between ethical leadership and employee ethical behavior through the ethical climate. This study thus sheds new light on the notable role of moral attentiveness in ensuring that ethical leadership and ethical climate enhance ethical behavior in the workplace.