Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Not More Technology but More Effective Technology: Examining the State of Technology Integration in EAP Programmes

Technology use in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programmes is seen as a strategy to support pedagogical innovation and intensifying growth in post-secondary international student enrolments. This article discusses government-funded research documenting the largely undefined use of technologies in post-secondary North American EAP programmes. This study surveyed EAP teachers and administrators in over 40 universities and colleges across North America using qualitative and quantitative approaches. Site visits involving classroom observations, interviews with teachers and administrators, student focus groups and student surveys were then conducted to deepen understanding of the affordances of technology-mediated EAP approaches from stakeholder perspectives in situated post-secondary contexts. Findings reveal widespread enthusiasm about emerging technologies to engage learners, develop autonomous learning, instructional pathways and transferable 21st century skills. However, despite this enthusiasm, many participating teachers, administrators and students also expressed critical views towards technology integration. Instructors noted time, lack of pedagogical guidance and vision, inadequate support, and training impacting their actual use and visions of technology use. Participants also revealed a ‘visioning’ dilemma where they had difficulty identifying the potential of emerging technologies that they had no concrete experience with. Findings suggest the need for sound theoretically informed techno-pedagogy in order to support technology integration in EAP. Implications for teacher education, further research and EAP teaching and curriculum design in today’s digital era conclude the article.
Risk and Performance in Emerging Economies: Do Bank Diversification and Financial Crisis Matter?

This study empirically investigates the quadratic effects of bank diversification, size and global financial crisis on risk-taking behaviour and performance. To unfold those effects, it uses the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator and also uses an unbalanced panel data set on a large sample consisting of 542 bank-year observations between 2004 and 2015. The key results for emerging economies are as follows: (a) increasingly higher non-performing loan ratio makes the bank underperforming and unstable; (b) benefits derived from bank diversification are heterogeneous and confirms portfolio diversification theory; (c) small-sized banks of Bangladesh ensure higher advantage from portfolio mix over large banks; (d) large banks of South Africa achieve higher benefit from income diversification over small-sized banks; and finally, this study evidences that during the financial crisis, emerging economies can use portfolio diversification as a mechanism for controlling risk and improve bank performance. Mainly, emerging countries can rely on income diversification and should involve this mechanism with systematic risk a great care of.
Catering for Learner Diversity in Hong Kong Secondary Schools: Insights from the Relationships Between Students’ Learning Styles and Approaches

Purpose: Catering for learner diversity is a key issue in the recent educational reforms in Hong Kong. The present study addresses this issue through an investigation of the relationships between students’ learning styles and approaches to learning in Hong Kong secondary schools. Design/Approach/Methods: A total of 6,054 junior secondary students in Hong Kong responded to a questionnaire consisting of two instruments. A series of confirmatory factor analysis, two-way analysis of variance, and structural equation modeling analysis were conducted. Findings: The results identified three types of learning style among the students which are characterized by a cognitive orientation, a social orientation, and a methodological orientation. Some significant gender- and achievement-level differences were revealed. Compared with the socially oriented learning style, the cognitively and methodologically oriented learning styles were more extensively and strongly related to students’ approaches to learning, even though these students showed a greater preference for the socially oriented learning style. Originality/Value: It is unwise to blindly cater for students’ learning styles in classroom teaching and curriculum design. Teachers should adopt a comprehensive and balanced approach toward the design of curriculum and teaching which not only highlights the congruence between students’ learning styles and teacher’s pedagogy but also integrates the constructive frictions between them into classroom teaching.
Joint Estimation Of Acoustic Parameters From Single-Microphone Speech Observations

Key parameters that characterise the degree of degradation in an acoustic environment are reverberation time (RT), direct-to-reverberant ratio (DRR) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). To address the inherent interplay that exists between these parameters, which can hinder existing methods designed to estimate only a single parameter, we propose a data-driven solution to jointly estimate all three parameters using a convolutional neural network. To facilitate robustness to unseen acoustic conditions, the method is trained using a large set of simulated acoustic impulse responses that have been carefully selected so as to mitigate interplays that exist between RT and DRR. In this work we evaluate the performance of the proposed estimator with respect to reverberation only. Results show the estimator compares favourably with respect to the state-of-the-art for unseen and real acoustic scenarios.
Patterns of Ecological Performance and Aquatic Insect Diversity in High Quality Protected Area Networks

v CHAPTER I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION.1 Abstract.2 Background.3 Motivations for protected area conservation.4 Chapter II.6 Chapter III.9 Chapter IV.13 Future directions.16 References.17 Appendix I Figures and Tables.21. 2 Background.3 Motivations for protected area conservation.4 Chapter II.6 Chapter III.9 Chapter IV.13 Future directions.16 References.17 Appendix I Figures and Tables.21 CHAPTER II. A METHOD FOR PREDICTING IN SITU CLIMATE REFUGIA AND FUTURE CONNECTIVITY IN PROTECTED AREA NETWORKS.23 Abstract.24 Introduction.26 Methods.31 Results.33 Discussion.36 References.41 Appendix II. Figures and Tables.46. 24 Introduction.26 Methods.31 Results.33 Discussion.36 References.41 Appendix II. Figures and Tables.46 CHAPTER III. PREVALENCE OF IMPERILED AQUATIC INSECT SPECIES IN A HIGH QUALITY PROTECTED AREA NETWORK.63 Abstract.64 Introduction.66. 64 Introduction.66 vii Methods.68 Results.72 Discussion.75 References.84 Appendix III. Figures and Tables.88 CHAPTER IV. CADDISFLY SPECIES TURNOVER ALONG HYDROLOGICAL GRADIENTS AND ACROSS VARYING SOURCE POOLS.102 Abstract.103 Introduction.105 Methods.110 Results.115 Discussion.118 References.126 Appendix IV. Figures and Tables.131. 103 Introduction.105 Methods.110 Results.115 Discussion.118 References.126 Appendix IV. Figures and Tables.131 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.150 Chapter II.150 Chapter III.151 Chapter IV.152 VITA.155
Effects of increasing levels of dietary cooked and uncooked banana meal on growth performance and carcass parameters of broiler chicken.

Received: Revised: Accepted: April 19, 2012 May 14, 2012 August 19, 2012 Discarded banana is a valuable feed ingredient for poultry feed formulations. However, due to the presence of resistant starches, inclusion of more than 10% banana meal in poultry rations reduces the growth performance. The objective of this study was to determine whether higher levels of banana meal could be included in broiler diets if raw banana is cooked before being processed into meal. Discarded banana (Cavendish) collected at harvesting was processed into two types of banana meals. Cooked banana meal was prepared by cooking banana at 100C for 15 minutes and subsequent drying. Uncooked banana meal was prepared by drying at 80C for three days. Giving a 2 x 4 factorial arrangement, 144 broiler chicks in 48 cages received one of the eight experimental diets containing either cooked or uncooked banana meal at 0, 10, 20 or 30% ad libitum from day 21-42. Birds fed cooked banana meal were significantly heavier on day 28 and 35. Live weight on day 42, weight gain, feed intake or feed conversion efficiency were not affected either by the type or level of banana meal and their interaction. Cooked banana meal increased the weights of the crop and liver significantly. Weight of the small intestine, proventriculus, gizzard abdominal fat pad and the fat free tibia ash contents were not affected by the dietary treatments. It was concluded that uncooked banana meal produced using peeled raw banana can be included up to 30% in nutritionally balanced broiler finisher diets without any adverse effects on performance. ©2012 PVJ. All rights reserved
Global pattern of short‐term concurrent hot and dry extremes and its relationship to large‐scale climate indices

The short‐term concurrent hot and dry extreme (SCHDE) event has recently stimulated intensive scientific interests due to its rapid onset, severe intensity, and devastating impacts on agriculture and natural ecosystems. The SCHDE is mainly caused by an increase in actual evapotranspiration (ET) accompanied with a decrease in soil moisture (SM) due to anomalously high surface temperature (Tair). Based on the daily datasets of precipitation (P), Tair, ET, and SM from four global modelling products as well as large‐scale climate indices, we analyse globally the spatio‐temporal evolution of SCHDE events at both grid and basin scales. Results indicate that SCHDE events occur mostly in Northern Hemisphere regions with relatively low P. During 1980–2010, due to significant global warming (0.30°C·decade−1) the global mean occurrence frequency of SCHDE has an increasing trend (0.34%·decade−1) along with a weakly decreasing trend of SM (~−0.08%·decade−1) and a significantly increasing trend of ET (~8.34 mm·decade−1). Overall, North America and Asia have a higher frequency of SCHDE occurrence than other continents. The variability of Tair is mainly responsible for the variability of SCHDE occurrence over the equator regions, while the variability of ET (SM) plays an important role in SCHDE occurrence variability in the cropland‐dominant (mid‐ and high‐latitude) regions. Globally, the relative contribution of Tair to SCHDE variability is the largest, followed by ET and SM. Lastly, we found that the cold phases of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation during the La Niña events (i.e., negative Multivariate ENSO Index) are conducive to the intensification of SCHDE events in southern South America and Australia.
In vitro and in vivo anthelmintic activity of Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. ex Delile bark and leaves.

This study was carried out to assess the anthelmintic activity of Acacia nilotica bark and leave extracts in different solvents. Adult motility assay, egg hatch test and fecal egg count reduction test were carried out to evaluate the anthelmintic activity. Effect of plant extracts both of leaves and bark of A. nilotica was dose-dependent. Highest mortality of worms was observed 12 hours post-exposure @ 25 mg/ml. Extracts of leaves were more potent than the bark extracts. Ethyle acetate fractions both of bark and leaves exhibited higher anthelmintic effects compared with chloroform, petroleum spirit and aqueous fractions. Crude aqueous methanol extract (CAME) of bark (LC50= 201.0032 µg/ml) had higher inhibitory effects compared with that of leaves (LC50= 769.2485 µg/ml) on egg hatching. Likewise, chloroform and ethyle acetate fractions of A. nilotica bark exhibited higher ovicidal activity. In vivo, maximum reduction (72.01%) in fecal egg counts was recorded for CAME of bark followed by CAME of leaves (63.44%) @ 8 g/kg at day 12 post-treatment. Results suggest lipophilic nature of the active principles having anthelmintic efficacy in A. nilotica bark and leaves.
Effects of dietary inclusion of toyocerin® (Bacillus cereus var. toyoi) on performance, health and faecal nitrogen excretion in growing rabbits.

The effect of dietary supplementation of Bacillus cereus var. toyoi on the performance, health, caecal fermentation and microbiota, and faecal N excretion of growing rabbits in an Epizootic Rabbit Enteropathy scenario was evaluated. Two diets were manufactured including 0 (Diet C) or 1000 (Diet T) ppm of Toyocerin (1×10 spores of Bacillus cereus var. toyoi per g). For the growth trial, 100 weaned rabbits (50 per diet) were randomly housed i n collective cages (5 per cage) and had free access to one of the experimental diets from 28 to 58 d of age. Mortality and morbidity were recorded daily and individual live weight and average feed intake of the cage were checked at 28, 42 and 58 d. To evaluate the effect of the product on caecal microb ota and fermentative parameters, 8 animals per die t were slaughtered at 58 d of age. Another group of 1 9 rabbits of 42 d (8 per diet) was used to determin e faecal N excretion in a digestibility trial. The di etary inclusion of the probiotic did not affect rab bit growth rate, feed intake and feed conversion rate d uring the experimental period. However, the inclusion of Toyocerin  significantly reduced the mortality ( −6%) and sanitary risk index ( −12%), confirming the general reduction of digestive probl ems with diets supplemented with this probiotic in previous works. As what concerns caecal fermentatio n, only a reduction of branched chain fatty acids (isobutyric+isovaleric) frequently related with the presence of Clostridium sp was observed. A trend was observed where the presence of Cl stridium decreased and lactic acid bacteria counts increase d in animals fed with diet T. The addition of Toyocerin did not change the total cellulolytic bacteria coun ts. Finally, the dietary supplementation of this probio tic did not affect DM and crude protein digestibili ty coefficients. The reduction of faecal excretion of N observed ( −14%; P<0.05) for the animals with diet T was probably due to the slightly lower DM intake observed with this diet ( −8%; P<0.10) during the digestibility trial, the faecal excretion of N bein g corrected by a similar feed intake for both diets . In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 1000 ppm o f Toyocerin did not affect the growth and feed conversion rate, but significantly reduced the mort ality and sanitary risk index of rabbits during the fattening period. This improvement in growing rabbi ts health could be related to positive changes in hindgut microflora.
PARTISIPASI PEMERINTAHAN ADAT SERTA MASYARAKAT TENGANAN PEGRINGSINGAN DALAM PENGELOLAAN KEUANGAN DESA

Partisipasi pemerintahan adat di Desa Tenganan Pegringsingan dalam pengelolaan keuangan desa dilakukan melalui pemanfaatan serta pengelolaan ekowisata Desa sebagai mana pengelolaan ekowisata termasuk dalam pembangunan pariwisata yang menjadi salah satu bagian terpenting dalam perekonomian partisipasi pemerintah desa dalam pengelolaan dana desa mampu meningkatkan kesejahteraan masyarakat desa dan pemerataan pembangunan yang dilaksanakan melalui desa, Pengelolaan keuangan desa menjadi hak serta kewajiban Desa dalam penyelenggaraan pemerintahan desa yang dinilai bahwa sebagai bentuk kekayaan lain yang berhubungan dengan hak dan kewajiban desa dalam pengelolaan keuangan Desa. Dalam partisipasi pemerintahan adat di Desa Tenganan Pegringsingan bertujuan untuk pembangunan, pemberdayaan masyarakat serta dalam meningkatkan pengembangan jaringan ekowisata desa dalam pengelolaan keuangan. Pentinganya penelitian ini untuk mengetahui seberapa besar partisipasi pemerintah adat serta masyarakat adat dalam pengelolaan keuangan melalui ekowisata desa bentuk partispasi masyarakat dalam perekonomian di Desa Adat Tenganan dengan membuka usaha-usaha kecil di lingkungan Desa Tenganan Pegringsingan. Masyarakat sangat berperan penting dalam pengelolaan keuangan sebagai pengembangan Kawasan berbasis lokal wisdom. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah metode penelitian kualitatif adalah penelitian dengan pendekatan deskriptif, yang dimaksudkan sebagai pengukuran fenomena sosial tertentu yang mampu mengembangkan konsep serta menghimpun fakta tetapi tidak melakukan hipotesis Kata Kunci : Partisipasi Masyarakat, Keuangan Desa, Pengelolaan Keuangan Desa
Phenolic characterization of some hazelnut cultivars from different European germplasm collections

Some main national varieties or endangered old cultivars from six countries (13 from France, 12 from Greece, 10 from Italy, 6 from Portugal, 8 from Spain and 8 from Slovenia) were analysed for phenolic composition within the framework of the SAFENUT (Safeguard of hazelnut and almond genetic resources: from traditional uses to novel agroindustry opportunities) European project. Using a high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) with a diode array (PDA) detector, the content of phenolic compounds was analyzed in extracts from the kernels. Gallic, chlorogenic, sinapic, p-coumaric, ferulic and ellagic acid, as well as epicatechin and routine, were individually identified in all tested cultivars. Large variations of phenolic contents were noted between cultivars. Intercultivar variability was the most evident in sinapic, ellagic and p-coumaric acid, as well as in routine. The cultivar ‘Casina’ from France had the highest sum (251.01 mg/kg) of all the identified phenolics. In contrast, the Greek cultivar ‘Polycarpos’ was the poorest with phenolic compounds et al (49,16 mg/kg). Ellagic acid, one of the most important polyphenolic antioxidants, appeared in concentrations between 0.56 mg/kg (‘Polycarpos’, Greece) and 18.55 mg/kg (‘Porpurea’, Portugal). On the chromatograms, two additional phenolic compounds were found, expressed as the equivalent of chlorogenic acid. They were the most abundant phenolics in all the studied cultivars. An improved method, MS-HPLC will be used next year with the aim of identifying them individually. INTRODUCTION Hazelnut kernels are an important source of several health-promoting bioactive and nutraceutical compounds, such as unsaturated fatty acids, proteins, carbohydrate, dietary fibre, minerals, vitamins, phytosterols, and phenolics. Due to their chemical and nutritional composition, hazelnuts are recognized as beneficial to human health (US FDA, 2003).
A model for exploring lactic acidosis: 2. Model evaluation and validation

For exploring lactic acidosis, a computer model based on incorporating our experimental data with information in the literature was evaluated its sensitivity to key parameters and validated by performing against experimental results in sheep. The model produced reasonable, interesting responses in the concentrations of lactic acid and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) as well as pH and the predicted data was relatively stable over the range of the values of the parameters tested. The results suggest that the rate of fermentation and the amount of substrate are important factors in terms of the development of fermentative acidosis. The model described here can be usefully employed in the design and interpretation of experiments to study lactic acid production and the prevention of acidosis in the rumen.
Identification of natural wastes for application in water treatment

Minimizing wastes and making the most of natural resources are the aims of the circular economy. Natural wastes were employed as abundant and inexpensive materials for wastewater treatment. In this context, snail shell powder (SSP) and pine cone powder (PCP) were studied for their ability to remove pollutants from wastewater, especially heavy metals. For the characterization of adsorbents, scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and measurement of point of zero charge (PZC) were carried out. The PCP crystallinity index was evaluated by the peak height and deconvolution method. The apparent crystallite size was estimated using the Scherrer equation. The SEM micrographs showed the irregular morphology of their particles and the roughness of their surfaces. FTIR analysis allowed the identification of functional groups present on the surface of both adsorbents, mainly related to their abatement capacity. XRD analysis showed that SSP was a calcium carbonate compound in the aragonite mineralogical form. PCP was mainly constituted of cellulose in amorphous and crystalline phase. The PCP deconvolution results indicate that the crystalline peak (200) was directly related to crystallite size. The PZC results were used to explain general connections among points of zero charges and cation exchange capacity of the adsorbents. The PZC values were 7.97 and 5.62 for SSP and PCP, respectively. This work highlights the applicability of the SSP and PCP as available and low-cost natural wastes that can be involved in an efficient and economically appealing wastewater treatment process.
Redefining the Supply Chain Model on the Milicz Carp Market

The growing demand for cheap food is a key factor in maintaining long supply chains. Increasing the distance between the producer and the consumer results not only in certain problems in maintaining profitability by small, local producers, but also in a threat to food safety. One way to counteract these adverse effects is to sell food through short supply chains. They shape the market in the direction of maintaining care for the sustainable development of all food production, but above all, maintaining and strengthening the production capacity ensuring the transparency of the high-quality food production process from an identifiable source of origin. The purpose of this article is to indicate the conditions on the side of both carp producers and consumers, conducive to building short supply chains, and determine whether they can be an effective alternative sales model in Polish conditions. The article focuses on the possibilities of developing short supply chains on the carp market in the Barycz Valley, concentrating the largest area of carp ponds in Europe. The research (surveys) included the five largest fishing farms and, on the recipient side, individual consumers and restaurants located in the Barycz Valley and Wroclaw, and agritourism facilities in the researched area. The obtained results confirmed that short supply chains in the area of Polish aquaculture are characterized by high implementation potential. However, it is necessary to modify the current sales model so that the producers’ expectations regarding the sales volume and the obtained price are balanced with the expectations of consumers articulating the will to buy fish at a given time, place, and price. This, in turn, will ensure the high economic efficiency of fishing farms, and consumers will have access to a high-quality product.
Bathing routines in different infant placement settings: an ethological study

ABSTRACT This study used an ethological approach to explore the behavioural adaptation of nineteen infants during their first six weeks in Residential Care (RC), or a Foster Family (FF) or an Infant-Mother Centre (IMC). Direct observations were conducted once a week at bath time. Observed behaviours were: sleep-wake states, visual exploration, motor activity, facial and vocal expressions. Non-parametric analyses showed that, in RC, the duration of bathing was the shortest and babies expressed more crying and withdrawal and less locomotor abilities and vocalizations. By contrast, in IMC, the bathing time was the longest and babies spent the least time in crying and showed the most locomotor abilities and vocalizations. The placement in FF showed intermediate results. This study showed sleep-wake states and behaviours that found variable expression depending on the placement environment and therefore could be considered as markers of the baby’s adaptation to his placement milieu in follow-up quantitative studies.