Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of Factors Affecting of Character Education Program on High School Students’ Self-Regulation Skills

The purpose of this study is to identify the factors of character education that affect students' self-regulation skills. Research uses a quantitative approach. The instrument used was adapted from SRLOQ, which was developed by (Vrieling et al., 2013), but modified with words to fit the context of this study. The research instrument consisted of two parts: measurement of self-regulation skills and student demographic information with a total of 108 students who took part in a character education training program at a high school in Islamic boarding schools. Data analysis involves t test, analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis. The results of this study indicate that gender and age have a strong and significant influence on self-regulation skills. Previous education was also found to have an indirect impact on self-regulation skills. This shows that age maturity is an important component of self-regulation skills, because the higher the age level, the higher the student's thinking ability. In addition, gender is also a component that affects self-regulation skills because there are differences in the way of thinking between men and women. The findings of this study indicate that self-regulation skills become dynamic entities especially with increasing age and gender differences.
Relationship between Environmental Covariates and Ceylon Tea Cultivation in Sri Lanka

How the current distribution of tea cultivation is influenced by specific environmental conditions in Sri Lanka is yet to be explored. Therefore, this study aims to assess the differences between tea and non-tea growing areas with respect to climatic and topographic covariates, and to determine the major covariates that control tea distributions. Climatic data of temperature and rainfall were extracted from WorldClim-Global Climate Data; the elevation, slopes, and aspects were obtained from Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data; and the solar radiation data was computed using a clear-sky solar radiation model. Random points were created on rasterised environmental layers for tea-growing and non-tea growing areas, stratified into low, mid, and high regions, using ArcGIS version 10.4. 1 (Environmental Systems Research Institute: ESRI Redlands, CA, USA). Correlations were derived between covariates and tea and non-tea growing areas. According to the logistic regression analysis, there was no significant influence of the south-west, west, and north-west aspect compared to the north aspect when all other covariates were held constant. The odds ratio indicated that an area with a one-unit higher solar radiation was 1.453 times more likely to be a tea growing area. Similarly, a per unit increase in slope increases the likelihood of an area being suitable for tea cultivation by 1.039 times. When the annual mean temperature increased, the suitability of tea cultivation decreased, but an increased rainfall had increased the suitability of an area for tea cultivation. Areas with a north facing slope had the highest suitability for tea cultivation. This research demonstrated that tea growing could be expanded into a variety of locations as long as these variables are either found or managed in order to obtain the critical levels. In addition, it is proposed that the results of this study could be utilised in the assessment of the climate or/and land suitability for tea.
Dorsal Striatum Dopamine Levels Fluctuate Across the Sleep–Wake Cycle and Respond to Salient Stimuli in Mice

Dopamine is involved in numerous neurological processes, and its deficiency has been implicated in Parkinson’s disease, whose patients suffer from severe sleep disorders. Destruction of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons or dorsal striatum disrupts the sleep–wake cycle. However, whether striatal dopamine levels correlate with vigilance states still remains to be elucidated. Here, we employed an intensity-based genetically encoded dopamine indicator, dLight1.1, to track striatal dopamine levels across the spontaneous sleep–wake cycle and the dopaminergic response to external stimuli. We found that the striatal dLight1.1 signal was at its highest during wakefulness, lower during non-rapid eye movement (non-REM or NREM) sleep, and lowest during REM sleep. Moreover, the striatal dLight1.1 signal increased significantly during NREM sleep-to-wake transitions, while it decreased during wake-to-NREM sleep transitions. Furthermore, different external stimuli, such as sudden door-opening of the home cage or cage-change to a new environment, caused striatal dopamine release, whereas an unexpected auditory tone did not. Finally, despite both modafinil and caffeine being wake-promoting agents that increased wakefulness, modafinil increased striatal dopamine levels while caffeine did not. Taken together, our findings demonstrated that striatal dopamine levels correlated with the spontaneous sleep–wake cycle and responded to specific external stimuli as well as the stimulant modafinil.
PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH DECISION-MAKING STYLES AMONG AL-AZHAR TEACHERS

Purpose: The research aimed to identify the relationship between psychological empowerment and decision-making Styles among Al-Azhar teachers. The research also aimed to identify the differences in teachers' levels on the (psychological empowerment and decision-making styles) scale according to the variable (gender). Methodology: The research sample consisted of (556) male and female teachers in Al-Azhar. The research tools included a psychological empowerment scale and decision-making styles scale. The researcher used descriptive methods. To process the results and validate the hypotheses, the researcher used the correlation coefficients and t-test. Main Findings: The results show that there is a positive relationship between psychological empowerment and decision-making styles. There is a negative correlation between the dimensions of psychological empowerment and decision-making styles. The results indicated a statistically significant difference in psychological empowerment due to gender in favor of males. Lastly, there is no statistically significant difference due to gender in the (intuitive) style. Implication: Psychological empowerment should be utilized to raise the decision-making styles of university students. Novelty: This is a first attempt to explore the psychological empowerment of the decision-making styles of university students in Egypt which may be further explored to enrich the students’ understanding.
Icariin and Its Metabolites as Potential Protective Phytochemicals Against Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting more than 35 million people worldwide. As the prevalence of AD is dramatically rising, there is an earnest need for the identification of effective therapies. Available drug treatments only target the symptoms and do not halt the progression of this disorder; thus, the use of natural compounds has been proposed as an alternative intervention strategy. Icariin, a prenylated flavonoid, has several therapeutic effects, including osteoporosis prevention, sexual dysfunction amelioration, immune system modulation, and improvement of cardiovascular function. Substantial studies indicate that icariin may be beneficial to AD by reducing the production of extracellular amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles and inhibiting phosphodiesterase-5 activity. Moreover, increasing evidence has indicated that icariin exerts a protective role in AD also by limiting inflammation, oxidative stress and reducing potential risk factors for AD such as atherosclerosis. This mini-review discusses the multiple potential mechanisms of action of icariin on the pathobiology of AD including explanation regarding its bioavailability, metabolism and pharmacokinetic.
Factors Considered in the Assessment of Computer Science Engineering Capstone Projects and Their Influence on Discrepancies Between Assessors

A capstone project is an extensive learning experience traditionally developed during a student's final academic year. Assessing such a complex assignment involves several challenges and is usually based upon the evaluations of at least two different people: the capstone project advisor, and one or more other assessors. Quantitative studies comparing only different assessors' grades and qualitative studies investigating the origin of possible discrepancies have been conducted. In both cases, contradictory conclusions were reached. The objective of this study is to analyze the factors that are given consideration by assessors of engineering capstone projects and the influence of these factors on the discrepancies between different assessors’ opinions of the same project. This study quantitatively examined 162 computer science engineering capstone projects developed by one student and supervised by one advisor. Each project was assessed by the project advisor and a committee. For each project, the advisor and the committee were asked to complete an additional questionnaire on product characteristics, student competences, and project supervision. Competences demonstrated by the student were found to be the most relevant element when a capstone project was evaluated by the advisor and the committee; product characteristics were found to be second in influence. Furthermore, advisors grant minor significance to the advisor-involvement component. Discrepancies between grades seem to be associated with those aspects to which one assessor has access, while the other does not, such as student skills demonstrated during project development or their performance in the oral defense. Both the advisor's and the committee's perspectives are important in the assessment of this complex task and they complement one another.
What If People Judge Me Unfairly: The Mediating Role of Fear of Negative Evaluation on the Relationship between Perceived Autonomy Support and Academic Risk-Taking Behaviour in Social Studies Courses

This paper aims to investigate the mediation role of fear of negative evaluation (FNE) in the relationship between perceived autonomy support (PAS) and academic risk-taking (ART) in the context of social studies course. A total of 339 middle school students from Turkey participated in the study. Data were collected through the Learning Climate Scale, Fear of Negative Evaluation in Academic Environments Scale, and Social Studies-Oriented Academic Risk-Taking Scale. Correlation results showed that PAS was negatively correlated with FNE and positively with ART. There was a negative correlation between FNE and ART. Structural equation model analyses showed that PAS predicted FNE negatively and ART positively. In addition, FNE predicted ART negatively. The partial mediation effect of FNE on the relationship between PAS and ART was significant. These results provide empirical evidence for the effect of self-determination theory (SDT) on affective characteristics such as ART and FNE. Keywords: self-determination theory, perceived autonomy support, academic risk-taking, fear of negative evaluation, social studies, mediation
Intracellular concentration and transporters in imatinib resistance of gastrointestinal stromal tumor

Abstract Background: We aimed to investigate the role of intracellular imatinib concentration in drug resistance and the expression of candidate drug transporters in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) cell lines. Method: The imatinib concentrations were measured by the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The expression of candida te drug transporters was detected by qRT-PCR. Results: The tissue imatinib concentrations in imatinib resistant patients were significantly lower than that of sensitive patients (p < .05). Compared with parental cell lines, the intracellular imatinib concentration was notably lower in imatinib resistant GIST cell lines. For candidate transporters, MRP1 and BCRP were overexpressed in resistant GIST cell lines. Conclusion: The intracellular imatinib concentration may play a crucial role in imatinib resistance and the intracellular differences of imatinib concentration may be induced by the upregulation of efflux transporters. Our study highlights the importance of intracellular imatinib concentration and the potential of using imatinib transporters as therapeutic targets for patients with GIST.
Elimination of peripheral auditory pathway activation does not affect motor responses from ultrasound neuromodulation

Recent studies in a variety of animal models including rodents, monkeys, and humans suggest that transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) has considerable promise for non-invasively modulating neural activity with the ability to target deep brain structures. However, concerns have been raised that motor responses evoked by tFUS may be due to indirect activation of the auditory pathway rather than direct activation of motor circuits. In this study, tFUS-induced electromyography (EMG) signals were recorded and analyzed in wild-type (WT) normal hearing mice and two strains of genetically deaf mice to examine the involvement of the peripheral auditory system in tFUS-stimulated motor responses. In addition, auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) were measured to elucidate the effect of the tFUS stimulus envelope on auditory and motor responses. We also varied the tFUS stimulation duration to measure its effect on motor response duration. We show, first, that the sharp edges in a tFUS rectangular envelope stimulus activate the peripheral afferent auditory pathway and, second, that smoothing these edges eliminates the auditory responses without affecting the motor responses in normal hearing WT mice. We further show that by eliminating peripheral auditory activity using two different strains of deaf knockout mice, motor responses are the same as in normal hearing WT mice. Finally, we demonstrate a high correlation between tFUS pulse duration and EMG response duration. These results support the concept that tFUS-evoked motor responses are not a result of stimulation of the peripheral auditory system.
Integrated approach for triple elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis is highly effective and cost-effective: an economic evaluation.

BACKGROUND The Regional Framework for Triple Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission (EMTCT) of HIV, Hepatitis B (HBV) and Syphilis in Asia and the Pacific 2018-30 was endorsed by the Regional Committee of WHO Western Pacific in October 2017, proposing an integrated and coordinated approach to achieve elimination in an efficient, coordinated and sustainable manner. This study aims to assess the population impacts and cost-effectiveness of this integrated approach in the Cambodian context. METHODS Based on existing frameworks for the EMTCT for each individual infection, an integrated framework that combines infection prevention procedures with routine antenatal care was constructed. Using decision tree analyses, population impacts, cost-effectiveness and the potential reduction in required resources of the integrated approach as a result of resource pooling and improvements in service coverage and coordination, were evaluated. The tool was assessed using simulated epidemiological data from Cambodia. RESULTS The current prevention programme for 370,000 Cambodian pregnant women was estimated at USD$2.3 ($2.0-$2.5) million per year, including the duration of pregnancy and up to 18 months after delivery. A model estimate of current MTCT rates in Cambodia was 6.6% (6.2-7.1%) for HIV, 14.1% (13.1-15.2%) for HBV and 9.4% (9.0-9.8%) for syphilis. Integrating HIV and syphilis prevention into the existing antenatal care framework will reduce the total time required to provide this integrated care by 19% for health care workers and by 32% for pregnant women, resulting in a net saving of $380,000 per year for the EMTCT programme. This integrated approach reduces HIV and HBV MTCT to 6.1% (5.7-6.5%) and 13.0% (12.1-14.0%), respectively, and substantially reduces syphilis MCTC to 4.6% (4.3-5.0%). Further introduction of either antiviral treatment for pregnant women with high viral load of HBV, or hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG) to exposed newborns, will increase the total cost of EMTCT to $4.4 ($3.6-$5.2) million and $3.3 ($2.7-$4.0) million per year, respectively, but substantially reduce HBV MTCT to 3.5% (3.2-3.8%) and 5.0% (4.6-5.5%), respectively. Combining both antiviral and HBIG treatments will further reduce HBV MTCT to 3.4% (3.1-3.7%) at an increased total cost of EMTCT of $4.5 ($3.7-$5.4) million per year. All these HBV intervention scenarios are highly cost-effective ($64-$114 per disability-adjusted life years averted) when the life benefits of these prevention measures are considered. CONCLUSIONS The integrated approach, using antenatal, perinatal and postnatal care as a platform in Cambodia for triple EMTCT of HIV, HBV and syphilis, is highly cost-effective and efficient.
Achados patológicos, sinais clínicos e ganho de peso de coelhos infectados experimentalmente por Trypanosoma evansi

O trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar os achados patologicos, sinais clinicos e ganho de peso de coelhos infectados experimentalmente por Trypanosoma evansi . Nove coelhos, machos com idade entre dois a seis meses, foram divididos em tres grupos (A, B, C) com tres animais cada. Os coelhos dos grupos A e B foram inoculados com T. evansi e avaliados diariamente atraves de esfregaco sanguineo periferico. O grupo C foi utilizado como controle, isto e, inoculado somente com solucao fisiologica. Os animais foram acompanhados por 120 dias e posteriormente sacrificados. Observou-se durante o experimento, que a parasitemia manteve-se com picos irregulares em variacoes de zero a cinco tripomastigotas/campo por ate 89 dias apos a inoculacao, desaparecendo da circulacao apos 90 dias. Nao se observou alteracoes macroscopicas e microscopicas nos animais, no entanto, foram observados sinais clinicos como anorexia, apatia e mucosas palidas, alem de edema nas orelhas e palpebras quando o numero de protozoarios aumentava na circulacao periferica. Verificou-se que os animais parasitados por T. evansi apresentaram ganho de peso corporal inferior aos do grupo controle. Com base nos resultados, conclui-se que a infeccao por T. evansi em coelhos acarreta alteracoes sistemicas, embora os animais nao venham a morrer em consequencia da enfermidade.
Source rock types, distribution and their hydrocarbon generative potential within the Paleogene Sokor-1 and LV formations in Termit Basin, Niger

The Paleogene lacustrine mudstone is one of the most important sets of source rocks in Termit Basin, Niger. However, studies on the Paleogene source kitchen are scarce. In this study, the source rock types, spatial distribution and their hydrocarbon generative potential within the Paleogene Sokor-1 and LV formations are systematically evaluated. A total of two third-order sequences (SSQ1 and SSQ2, from the bottom to top) and six systems tracts were identified in the Sokor-1 Formation, while the LV Formation mainly comprises pure shale and is regarded as a compositive stratigraphic sequence with no need of subdivision. Six types of source rocks could be distinguished within the three depositional environments of the sequence stratigraphic framework: (1) deep lake mudstones and shale deposited in the lacustrine deep-water facies, (2) shallow lake mudstones and carbonaceous mudstones occurring in the shallow lake environment, and (3) deltaic-front mudstones and prodeltaic mudstones developed in the deltaic facies. Deep lake mudstones/shale, which mainly occurred in the SSQ1-TST (transgressive systems tract), SSQ2-TST and LV Formation, are considered organic-rich source rocks with oil-prone generative potential. The shallow lake mudstones and deltaic mudstones were predominantly distributed in the tectonic slope and marginal areas of the Agadem Block within the lowstand systems tract and high stand systems tract of the SSQ1 and SSQ2. Nevertheless, geochemical results indicated that the deltaic mudstones are good gas-prone source rocks but the shallow lake mudstones were classified as poor potential source rocks. The variance in organic matter accumulation and preservation conditions within different depositional facies and the fluctuation of relative lake level are the controlling factors for the occurrence and distribution of high-quality source rocks. The effective Paleogene source kitchen is limitedly distributed around the depocenter of the Dinga Depression within a small scale, and therefore exploration for oil and gas resources from the Paleogene source kitchen should focus on the eastern Dinga fault-step zone adjacent to the depocenter of the Dinga Depression.
Earthquake Early Warning ShakeAlert 2.0: Public Rollout

The ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system is designed to automatically identify and characterize the initiation and rupture evolution of large earthquakes, estimate the intensity of ground shaking that will result, and deliver alerts to people and systems that may experience shaking, prior to the occurrence of shaking at their location. It is configured to issue alerts to locations within the West Coast of the United States. In 2018, ShakeAlert 2.0 went live in a regional public test in the first phase of a general public rollout. The ShakeAlert system is now providing alerts to more than 60 institutional partners in the three states of the western United States where most of the nation’s earthquake risk is concentrated: California, Oregon, and Washington. The ShakeAlert 2.0 product for public alerting is a message containing a polygon enclosing a region predicted to experience modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) threshold levels that depend on the delivery method. Wireless Emergency Alerts are delivered for M 5+ earthquakes with expected shaking of MMI≥IV. For cell phone apps, the thresholds are M 4.5+ and MMI≥III. A polygon format alert is the easiest description for selective rebroadcasting mechanisms (e.g., cell towers) and is a requirement for some mass notification systems such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System. ShakeAlert 2.0 was tested using historic waveform data consisting of 60 M 3.5+ and 25 M 5.0+ earthquakes, in addition to other anomalous waveforms such as calibration signals. For the historic event test, the average M 5+ false alert and missed event rates for ShakeAlert 2.0 are 8% and 16%. The M 3.5+ false alert and missed event rates are 10% and 36.7%. Real-time performance metrics are also presented to assess how the system behaves in regions that are well-instrumented, sparsely instrumented, and for offshore earthquakes.