Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Moderating Effect of Principals’ Supervision on the Relationship between Students’ Personnel Services and Academic Achievement in Schools: A Preliminary Report Using Partial Least Square (PLS- SEM) Approach

This study examines the role of principals’ supervision on the relationship between students’ personnel services and academic achievement in secondary schools in Kwara State, Nigeria. The aim of this study is to explain the research model, research hypotheses and the results of the preliminary findings on the nexus between student personnel services and academic achievement. To know the initial findings of the study, the authors conduct a pilot study to (or “intending to”) know whether it will be suitable for the main study or not. Two sources of data (i.e., primary and secondary) are used for the study. Questionnaires are distributed to 50 students in one of the secondary schools in Kwara State that is chosen for the study. Also, students’ results are obtained from the school to determine their academic achievement in school. Two softwares namely, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Partial Least Square (PLS-SEM) are used to assess the measurement model of the study. Individual items’ reliability of the constructs and discriminant validity are assessed. In conclusion, the preliminary results indicate that the instrument used for the study is valid and reliable; thus, the findings of the paper demonstrates the potency for conducting the comprehensive study on the impact of principals’ supervision on the nexus between student personnel services and academic achievement in secondary schools.
Title: Deep sequencing identifies hepatitis B virus core protein signatures in chronic hepatitis B patients

Background: We aimed to identify HBc amino acid differences between subgroups of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Methods: Deep sequencing of HBc was performed in samples of 89 CHB patients (42 HBeAg positive, 47 HBeAg negative). Amino acid types were compared using Sequence Harmony to identify subgroup specific sites between HBeAg-positive and - negative patients, and between patients with combined response and non-response to peginterferon/adefovir combination therapy. Results: We identified 54 positions in HBc where the frequency of appearing amino acids was significantly different between HBeAg-positive and -negative patients. In HBeAg negative patients, 22 positions in HBc were identified which differed between patients with treatment response and those with non-response. The fraction non-consensus sequence on selected positions was significantly higher in HBeAg-negative patients, and was negatively correlated with HBV DNA and HBsAg levels. Conclusions: Sequence Harmony identified a number of amino acid changes associated with HBeAg-status and response to peginterferon/adefovir combination therapy.
The long commute: Southern Royal Albatross (Diomedea epomophora) foraging trips during incubation

Southern royal albatross from the Campbell Islands employ a ‘commute, forage, commute’ foraging strategy. During commuting phases birds undertook rapid directional flight with a straight-line distance of 180 to 800 km over 24 hours. In foraging phases their range extensions were less than 180 km per 24 hour interval, and they made frequent tight turns and frequent landings. Speed of travel between successive uplinks was significantly higher during commuting phases (28.6 kph ± 1.9 SE) than foraging phases (15.1 kph ± 1.4 SE). Wind strength and direction influenced the timing of return to the colony. Southern royal albatross covered greater distances at more favourable wind angles relative to flight track (broad reach and close reach) than in head, tail or direct side winds. Birds of low mass (< 9 kg) made fewer landings in winds above 40 kph than in lighter winds whereas heavier birds had a similar level of landing activity across all wind speed bands.
The Effect of Surface Treatment and Adhesive System on the Durability of Composite Repairs

Controversy exists concerning the optimal procedure for composite restoration repairs. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of surface treatment, adhesive system and long-term storage in water and a surfactant solution on the bond strength between aged and repair composite materials. Surfaces of a light-cured micro-hybrid composite (Filtek Z250) aged in distilled water for five months at 37°C were treated by grinding with SiC paper P320 or by air abrasion (Rondoflex, Al2O3, 50 μm). The build-ups were made with the same composite material using Optibond FL (OPF), Gluma Comfort Bond (GLU) and Clearfil SE Bond (CLF) adhesive systems. The build-ups were sectioned into sticks, stored at 37°C for four months in distilled water or in a solution of a surfactant sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS, 1.5 wt. %) to accelerate water penetration in the adhesive joint. Control specimens were stored in distilled water for 24 h at 37°C. The results were analyzed with a three-way ANOVA followed by Fisher’s LSD post-hoc tests at α=0.05 and with Weibull statistics. The surface morphology of treated and fractured surfaces was analyzed using light and scanning electron microscopy. The bond strengths of the majority of groups treated by air abrasion were significantly higher and more stable after long-term storage in water and SLS solution than those treated by grinding. These results indicated that air abrasion combined with clinically well-proven adhesives may provide increased strength and long-term stability of composite repairs.
Nose anthropometric study on Indian Americans and its clinical applications

Objectives: The aim was to determine the normal average values of nose liner measurements and to determine any significant sex differences exists in Indian Americans. Methods: The direct nose anthropometric measurements were carried out using digital caliper in 100 (men, women) Indian American students (18 to 30 years) of American University of Antigua (AUA), Antigua and compared between the sexes. Results: Nose measurements showed higher value in men than women. Nasal height and width were higher in both sexes. This study results suggest that Indian Americans have broader nose and narrower mouth. Low coefficient of variations were found in nasal ratios, thus making them far more reliable. Conclusion: Nose anthropometric data specific to Indian Americans will be useful if in case they need to undergo rhinoplasty and for establishing baseline data for cosmetic surgeons which can be used to correct structural defects treating Indian Americans.
Safety Assessment in Road Construction Work System Based on Group AHP-PCA

The effectiveness and the safety of road construction depend on many factors that pose the greatest risk to system safety. The aim of this study is to conduct a comprehensive assessment for these risk factors to contribute to the safety performance of road construction. To achieve this goal, this study constructs a hierarchical safety assessment framework comprising comprehensive risk indicators according to rich work experience and a relevant literature review and then proposes a group AHP-PCA (group analytic hierarchy process-principal component analysis) to calculate the weights of relevant risk factors. The important rankings of a case study using GAHP-PCA show that professional skill, safety education, and work attitude are the most important factors, which are consistent with the experience and knowledge of road construction safety management. The results also demonstrate that judgment dispersion naturally existing in classical AHP can be effectively reduced when combined with PCA, which is the innovation point of the method given in this article.
Patterns of Urban Park Use and Their Relationship to Factors of Quality: A Case Study of Tehran, Iran

Urban parks play an important role in increasing the quality of urban life. Thus, a variety of approaches to planning and decision-making regarding sustainable open spaces and urban parks is needed, especially when models from one location are borrowed to another with a very different culture. In many developing countries cities are expanding without proper planning of public green spaces which places pressure on the quality of life. In common with many Middle Eastern cities, Tehran, the capital of Iran is a large sprawling metropolis which has experienced fast growth since 1970 and with little in the way of comprehensive planning of green spaces as an organised system. To date there has been no comprehensive investigation of urban parks regarding their level of use, range of activities, quality of maintenance, evidence of anti-social activities or the demographic character of their catchment—important information for effective park planning. In this study a representative sample of 16 parks in Tehran was studied using a combination of site assessments and user observations. We found that a combination of factors concerning the quality of the parks such as presence of facilities, existence of water and other special attractions, as well as how well-lit they are, how well maintained and safe they are, has a lot to do with their level of use. Some pleasant parks with good facilities are less well used because of, e.g., evidence of anti-social behaviour, poor maintenance and accessibility. A key aspect we found is the difference between male and female users, with some parks being much less-well-used by women. Much more attention is needed for planning and management of parks in Tehran. The approach applied here has potential to help other cities in similar areas to learn more about their green space systems for planning purposes.
Energy-based models for atomic-resolution protein conformations

We propose an energy-based model (EBM) of protein conformations that operates at atomic scale. The model is trained solely on crystallized protein data. By contrast, existing approaches for scoring conformations use energy functions that incorporate knowledge of physical principles and features that are the complex product of several decades of research and tuning. To evaluate our model, we benchmark on the rotamer recovery task, a restricted problem setting used to evaluate energy functions for protein design. Our model achieves comparable performance to the Rosetta energy function, a state-of-the-art method widely used in protein structure prediction and design. An investigation of the model’s outputs and hidden representations find that it captures physicochemical properties relevant to protein energy.
Study on the relationship between fabric bending rigidity and yarn properties March 2017

In this study, the relationship between fabric bending rigidity and yarn properties such as yarn bending rigidity and yarn torsional rigidity was investigated. The Cooper model was verified and the effect of crimp on yarn torsional rigidity was investigated. This study can be used to improve the simulation of textiles properties. In Chapter 1, a background of the work on fabric and yarn properties was given. Chapter 2 exposed a literature review of the previous studies and published papers on the subject of yarn properties and assessment and presented the general mechanical theories regarding bending properties of fabric as well as torsional and bending rigidity of yarns. The existing methods of assessment of this properties were also developed in this chapter. In Chapter 3, the effect of yarn torsional rigidity on the Cooper model for fabric bending rigidity in any direction was verified. Five commercial fabrics were first used as experimental samples. Then, an additional five cotton fabrics with different weft densities were woven. The torsional rigidity of yarn from the bobbin and that of yarn directly extracted from fabric were measured with a yarn torsional tester. The bending rigidity of yarn from the bobbin was measured using the same pure bending tester as used in fabric bending testing. The bending rigidity of the fabric was calculated using torsional rigidities of yarns extracted from the fabric and showed better agreement with the experimental values than that calculated using the torsional rigidity of yarn from the bobbin. Indeed, measurements showed that the torsional rigidity of yarn from the bobbin was appreciably higher than the torsional rigidity of yarn from the fabric. This is due to the crimp in the yarn. The fabric bending rigidity was able to be predicted using the Cooper model with torsional rigidities of yarns extracted from the fabric. In Chapter 4, following the previous chapter, the effect of crimp on torsional rigidity of monofilament and cotton spun yarns was investigated. Two kinds of polymeric monofilament yarns and four kinds of cotton spun yarns were examined. Different crimps were applied to the yarn
Assessing Agronomic Characteristics, Lycopene and Total Phenolic Contents in Pulp and Skin Fractions of Different Tomato Varieties

Considering the lycopene antioxidant activity against free radicals responsible for many actual important diseases, new tomato varieties with increased lycopene content have recently been developed. Besides some agronomic characteristics, we evaluated five tomato varieties for their lycopene and total phenolic contents in both pulp and skin fractions. All tested varieties generally showed satisfying agronomic characteristics. The lycopene and phenolic contents in fruit pulp and skin varied significantly between the studied varieties. Compared to ‘Rio Grande’, the variety ‘HLY 18’ had 2.7and 2.1-fold higher pulp and skin lycopene contents, respectively. Also, ‘HLY 18’ had 1.6and 2.6-fold higher pulp and skin total phenolic contents, respectively. These results are the first data on skin lycopene and phenolic levels of tomato varieties with high lycopene content and emphasize the promising use of such varieties for healthy quality products and by-products. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Enhancing Elementary Pupils’ Conceptual Understanding on Matter through Sci-vestigative Pedagogical Strategy (SPS)

Teaching Science in a digital society where 21st century skills are being harnessed is a perennial challenge. This is for the reason that teachers, specifically in the elementary level, are relentlessly modifying and innovating teaching strategies to improve science education. This action research study sought to explore the effects of Sci-vestigative Pedagogical Strategy (SPS) on the conceptual understanding on Matter of Grade 6 Science pupils. The study involved 29 pupils in the control group and 30 pupils in the experimental group in a public elementary school in the Division of Zambales for the School Year 2018-2019. Pre-test and post-test were administered before and after the application of the intervention to measure its effects on the conceptual understanding on matter of the pupils. The study found out that there was a significant difference in the conceptual understanding of the pupils in the experimental and control group. However, the use of SPS yielded a higher gain score compared to the gain score in the use of traditional method of instruction (TMI). The pupils’ written works and performance tasks scores have also improved with the use of the SPS. The study recommends that Science teachers may use SPS to improve pupils’ conceptual understanding including their concepts and content knowledge; depth within topics; and transfer and connections and to develop their higher order thinking and inquiry skills. School administrators may consider conducting training and workshops for Science teachers to reacquaint them of the basic rudiments of the Sci-vestigative Pedagogical Strategy which is based on inquiry-based learning. Students may be given varied roles in the agham (science) inquiry tasks so that they can better work as a group. A parallel study may be conducted by other teacher-researchers to validate the effects of the intervention in enhancing pupils’ conceptual understanding in other topics.
Drug delivery from commercial contact lenses: hydrodynamic conditions effect

Nowadays, eyedrops are the most used vehicle of ocular drug administration to treat ocular diseases. The eyedrops’ method has some disadvantages, namely a significant drug loss due to quick absorption into bloodstream, which may cause undesirable side effects and drug elimination as a result of lachrymal turnover. [1,2] In order to overlap these disadvantages, some efforts have been made to develop new drug delivery systems that promote drug residence time in the eye and to guarantee controlled drug delivery profiles. Therefore, contact lenses, as drug delivery systems, seem to be a promising method to reach these issues. [3] This study aimed to evaluate drug release profiles in different release environments, and temperature influence in contact lenses swelling and characterization after and before drug loading, in order to verify possible changes in wettability and transmittance values. In this study, were used two different commercial contact lenses: SofLens, conventional hydrogel contact lenses (Balafilcon A) and PureVision, silicone based contact lenses (Hilafilcon B), both from Baush&Lomb. Were also used two different ophthalmologic drugs: levofloxacin and chlorohexidine. The results obtained suggest temperature influence in contact lenses swelling, changes in drug release profile depending on release conditions and no significant differences in contact lenses wettability and transmittance values after drug loading.
Job satisfaction of academic staff at the Institute of Vocational Education at the time of the changes

Job Satisfaction of Academic Staff at the Institute of Vocational Education at the time of changes Submitted by CHEUNG king-leung Charles in January 2006 The opening up of vocational education to private providers and the reduction of funding has forced the Vocational Training Council to re-define its role and structure to meet these challenges. It is against this backdrop that the study seeks to (1) assess the job satisfaction level of teaching staff at the Institute of Vocational Education in Hong Kong at this time of change; (2) investigate the relationship between selected demographic variables, job facet importance and job satisfaction. Drawing on Lawler’s (1973) facet satisfaction theory, this research identifies seventeen job facets relevant to job satisfaction: achievement, advancement opportunities, fair and considerate of department head, financial rewards, highly regarded working place, influence in your scope of work, job security, learning opportunities, relations with colleagues, recognition of good work, relationship with students, responsible for important work, task meaningfulness, use of abilities and knowledge, work influence in the workplace, work independence and work esteem. The facet approach allows focusing on different aspects of the job and exposing a more complete picture on job satisfaction. In this study, a self reported questionnaire was developed for use in the local vocational education context. The closed end items on facet importance, facet satisfaction and general views were rated on a five-point Likert scale. The survey involved 353 academic staff of the Institute of Vocational Institution (Tsing Yi nexus) with a response rate of 47.3%. Personal interviews were conducted with eight academic staff to supplement the quantitative data. The limited interview findings were found tallied with the types of issues that were emerging from the quantitative studies. The research revealed that the level of the overall job satisfaction of the staff was neutral. As contrary to most research findings, there were no significant correlation between the level of job satisfaction and the selected demographic variables. Further, the analysis indicated that the importance predictors had no impact on the level of job satisfaction.
An Analysis of Racism in Down Second Avenue (2011)

Racism is one of the continually controversial issues in a society. Its victims suffer because of unequal distribution of resources, inequality in career chances, income, and access to opportunities. Therefore, studying about the effects of racism is the initial step to help readers understand and be more aware of it. This study focuses on the analysis of effects of three forms of racism: institutionalized, internalized, and intra-racial racisms, on the characters in a South African writer’s, Ezekiel Mphahlele’s, novel, Down Second Avenue (2011). This study aims to answer the question how the three forms of racism are reflected within the novel, through the characters and situations, by investigating an autobiographical novel written by a South African citizen who witnessed and experienced a series of racial discrimination himself. The data collection method of this study employs content and descriptive analysis as the instrument. The study applies the qualitative research methods to analyze and discuss the effects of the three forms of racism. The results of the analysis show that characters in the novel are most affected by and suffered from the consequences of institutionalized racism, internalized racism, and intra-racial racism, respectively. The study serves as guidelines in examining forms of racism reflected in other literary works and media contents. Keywords: Forms of Racism, Literary Criticism, Institutionalized Racism, Internalized Racism, Intra-Racial Racism, South Africa
Neuropilates to Improve Motor Function in Stroke: Past, present, and Future

Pilates as an exercise form was created by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s and is a programme of mind-body exercise focussing on strength, core stability, flexibility, muscle control, posture and breathing [1]. Joseph Pilates initially started using his exercises to rehabilitate bedridden world war 1 soldiers, often using the springs of the beds as resistance equipment [2]. In the late 1930s, the exercise method then became popular amongst the dance community benefitting them by improving performance and fitness and reducing time spent recovering from injuries [2]. The pilates method of exercise may have suited dancers above other forms of exercise due to the focus on alignment, core strength and flexibility and the aim of achieving neutral postures [3] and building long lean muscles as opposed increasing muscle bulk It also may have helped dancers to increase their kinaesthetic awareness, due to the mind-body nature of this exercise method, thereby enhancing their dancing. As an exercise form, pilates was initially introduced into rehabilitation by therapists specialising in dance medicine [2]. In more recent years, it has become an important and effective rehabilitation tool in wider patient groups, including those with musculoskeletal and rheumatological conditions, particularly for the purposes of reducing pain and disability [4]. The pilates method contains 6 key principles: centreing, concentration, control, precision, flow and breathing [5].
On the logarithmic mean of accretive matrices

In this paper, we define the logarithmic mean of two accretive matrices and study its basic properties. Among other results, we show that if A; B are accretive matrices, then RL(A,B) ? L(RA,RB), where L(A,B) is the logarithmic mean of A and B, and RA means the real part of A. This complements a recent result of Lin and Sun.