Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differences in Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) and Online Learning Satisfaction Across Academic Disciplines: A Study of a Private University in Malaysia

Students’ online learning satisfaction is an important variable used to measure attainment of learning outcomes in blended learning courses. Previous studies found that learners who portray a high level of SRL contributed positively to online learning satisfaction. To date, research has also shown that students display different level of online learning satisfaction under different academic disciplines. Therefore, this quantitative research aims to investigate if students’ SRL abilities significantly influence their online learning satisfaction in blended learning courses and if differences exist in online learning satisfaction across multiple academic disciplines. A set of online self-reported questionnaire was posted through the official LMS of the university to collect data from 497 undergraduate students in a private university in Malaysia. The results from the multiple regression analysis revealed that SRL explained 40.2% of the variability in online learning satisfaction (OLS). In addition, the results from one-way ANOVA with Tukey Post Hoc analysis revealed that OLS level was significantly different statistically between students in Health & Medical science discipline and Innovation & Technology discipline. The outcomes of this research provide insights as to where future efforts need to be directed, especially in the areas related to the development of students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) abilities.
Self-diffusion of fluids in narrow cylindrical pores

Fluids under stochastic dynamics in narrow cylindrical pores exhibit a dynamical transition from single-file diffusion (SFD) to Fickian bulk diffusion. For long time, the mean square displacement will change as the pore size increases, with a transition from SFD, ∼t1/2, to Fickian, ∼t, while the diffusion coefficient (Dxx) increases from zero. We present a theory of this important process in terms of a hopping time, τhop, leading to Dxx∝(τhop)−1/2 which is verified with simulation. While the crossover is to be expected, the simple form is a priori unanticipated and is likely to be universal.
Preliminary Study on Construction Waste Management in Malaysia: A Qualitative Approach

Throughout the years, the construction industry had made an important contribution in the lives of the society in Malaysia. Moreover, the Ninth Malaysia Plan RMK9 (2006-2010) had also played a significant role in the demands of executing major residential housing project developments where it has been observed that the construction wastes was one of the priority waste streams. Due to the increasing number of population that is actively involved in economic activities and the modernisation of the country, the types of construction wastes that are being produced are becoming more complex and identifying the sources is complicated. Therefore, appropriate action needs to be taken with respect to its effective management in handling the situation. The aim of this preliminary study is to investigate the existing process of the construction waste management currently practised in Malaysia. The interview method was chosen to obtain data from ten contractors and the data were processed using the NVivo 9 software before being analysed. Throughout this study, useful information and better understanding of the existing process of construction waste management were identified. The detailed description of the existing process of the construction waste management was achieved to assist in improving the quality and awareness of the construction waste management practiced.
In-Line Monitoring of Drying Kinetics of a Fixed Bed Using an Electrical Imaging Technique

The main objective of this study is to determine the drying kinetics of a fixed bed composed of porous particles using the electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) technique. This technique is an imaging modality in which the permittivity distribution inside an object is computed using capacitive measurements from the boundary of the object and mathematical algorithms. An experimental convective drying device equipped with an electrical tomography system is built. An existing relationship between the average moisture content and the dielectric permittivity of the product is determined experimentally from a calibration of the moisture content during the drying process. The tomograms of normalized permittivity distribution are presented. As a result, the distribution of the moisture content of the packed bed is then determined. The drying kinetics of the silica gel is drawn, and the various stages of the drying process are identified. The thermal behavior during the drying process at different levels of the granular bed has been established. The results show the efficiency of electrical tomography technique. This technique can be used to find other parameters such as the evolution of the porosity of the medium during drying as well as other parameters.
THE ROLE OF PRECIPITATION AND BIOSORPTION IN THE ABIOTIC REMOVAL OF MANGANESE WITH CRAB-SHELL CHITIN 1

This study evaluated manganese removal using crab-shells (SC-20) under abiotic, anoxic conditions. Tests were conducted to assess the contributions of each of the components of SC-20 (chitin, proteins, and minerals) to the observed changes. Manganese removal due to precipitation was evaluated in closed-system tests using raw or deproteinized SC-20. Manganese removal due to adsorption onto the organic components of SC-20 (chitin and protein) was evaluated under different pH conditions using sorption isotherms. In closed-system precipitation tests with a contact time of 72 h and an initial manganese concentration (Mno) of 10 - 250 mg/L, removals of ~60 to >95% were obtained. Manganese removal decreased with increasing Mno and could be attributed to the precipitation of rhodochrosite (MnCO3) and/or MnHPO4. Significant increases in pH (from pH 3 to pH 7.7 - 9.9) and alkalinity (from 0 to 55 - 525 mg CaCO3/L) were also observed as a result of the dissolution of chitin- associated minerals. These changes appear to be promoted by the relatively large surface area and distinct composition of SC-20, including phosphates and soluble organic compounds. The equilibrium of adsorption was well described by the Langmuir model. The maximum sorption capacity (qm) depended greatly on the system's pH, with negligible sorption at pH < 5. At higher pH regimes, qm ranged from 0.165 to 0.981 for chitin. When both chitin and protein were present, qm increased 5 - 7 times, suggesting that chitin-associated proteins offer additional sorption sites for manganese. Results demonstrate that Mn removal with SC-20 is achieved by a combination of the reactivity of chitin-associated minerals and the sorption capacity of chitin and its associated proteins. These characteristics could be easily exploited in polishing systems for the removal of the historically difficult Mn in mine impacted waters.
Greenhouse Mobile Robot Navigation Using Wheel Revolution Encoding and Learning Algorithm

Repetitive and dangerous tasks such as harvesting and spraying have made robots usable in the greenhouses. The mechanical structure and navigation algorithm are two important parameters in the design and fabrication of mobile greenhouse robots. In this study, a four-wheel differential steering mobile robot was designed and constructed to act as a greenhouse robot. Then, the navigation of the robot at different levels and actual greenhouses was evaluated. The robot navigation algorithm was based on the path learning, so that the route was stored in the robot memory using a remote control based on the pulses transmitted from the wheels encoders; then, the robot automatically traversed the path. Robot navigation accuracy was tested at different surfaces (ceramics, concrete, dense soil and loose soil) in a straight path 20 meters long and a square path, 4×4 m. Then, robot navigation accuracy was investigated in a greenhouse. Robot movement deviation value was calculated using root mean square error (RMSE) and standard deviation (SD). The results showed that the RMSE of deviation of autonomous method from manual control method in the straight path to the length of 20 meters in ceramic, concrete, dense soil and loose soil were 4.3, 2.8, 4.6 and 8 cm, and in the 4×4 m square route were 6.6, 5.5, 13.1 and 47.1 cm, respectively.
Physicochemical and microbial characteristics of longissimus lumborum and biceps femoris muscles in Korean native black goat with wet-aging time

Abstract This study examined the effects of different wet-aging times on the physicochemical characteristics and microbial profile of longissimus lumborum (LL) and biceps femoris (BF) muscles from Korean native black goat (KNBG) meat. The water holding capacity (WHC), pH, cooking loss, shear force, meat color, free amino acid, total bacteria, and coliform count of KNGB meat were analyzed at 0, 5, 10, and 15 days of wet-aging at 4°C under vacuum packaging. The results showed that different wet-aging times led to significant pH variations between the muscles throughout the aging period. The wet-aging time did not affect the WHC and cooking loss in meat from the LL muscle. In the BF muscle, however, meat wet-aged for five days had a significantly higher WHC and less cooking loss than meat aged for 0, 10, and 15 days. The meat from the LL muscle wet-aged for five days produced tenderer meat (low shear force value) than the unaged meat (p < 0.05). Moreover, the color was similar in the LL muscle regardless of the number of aging days. In the BF muscle, the redness (a*) was higher in the meat wet-aged for 15 days compared to that aged for 0, 5, and 10 days (p < 0.05). Regardless of the muscles, an increase in wet-aging time led to an increase in the total free amino acids contents in both muscles (p < 0.05). On the other hand, the tasty/bitter amino acid ratio was significantly higher for five days of wet-aged meat than 10 and 15 days of aging from the BF muscle. In addition, regardless of the muscles, the total bacteria and coliform counts were significantly lower for five days of wet-aged meat than 10 and 15 days of aging (p < 0.05). Therefore, chevon wet-aged for five days is an optimal aging period under vacuum packaging that fortifies meat quality with a minimal microbial negative defect.
EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF SPACE TRUSSES WITH TYPICAL CONNECTIONS REINFORCED WITH STEEL AND SISAL-RESIN SPACERS

Space trusses are reticulate systems used worldwide because of their advantages in covering roofs with large free spaces. In addition to having a low cost, the self-weight of such trusses is relatively reduced. The limitations on the use of these structures are mainly related to the fragility of the nodes, specifically those classified as typical nodes which may collaps e when submitted to service loads due to eccentricities generated by stamped connections. This fact restricts significantly the use of space trusses. Considering this fact, the present research evaluates a reinforcement proposal for the typical connections with a series of eighteen prototypes. The reinforcements tested are made with steel plates and spacers. In this work, spacers are made of steel or sisal with fiber polymer resin. Such spacers are employed to correct part of the eccentricities present at typical nodes. The experimental tests show an increase of about 40% of the resistant capacity of the truss with the proposed reinforcement avoiding the early collapse of typical nodes. In truss prototypes with typical nodes, local abrupt collapses always happened at nodes. In reinforced trusses, collapse took place by buckling of the bars at the top chord of the prototypes, therefore, taking account of the bar full resistance. Received: Revised: Accepted: 26 May 2019 17 August 2019 01 September 2019
Carrier dynamics of type-II InAs∕GaAs quantum dots covered by a thin GaAs1−xSbx layer

Carrier dynamics of InAs∕GaAs quantum dots (QDs) covered by a thin GaAs1−xSbx layer were investigated by time-resolved photoluminescence (PL). Both the power dependence of PL peak shift and the long decay time constants confirm the type-II band alignment at the GaAsSb–InAs interface. Different recombination paths have been clarified by temperature dependent measurements. At lower temperatures, the long-range recombination between the QD electrons and the holes trapped by localized states in the GaAsSb layer is important, resulting in a non-single-exponential decay. At higher temperatures, optical transitions are dominated by the short-range recombination with the holes confined to the band-bending region surrounding the QDs.
The Effects of an Online Teaching Material Integrated Methods on Students’ Science Achievement, Attitude and Retention

The International Journal of Technology in Education (IJTE) is a peer-reviewed scholarly online journal. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Authors alone are responsible for the contents of their articles. The journal owns the copyright of the articles. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of the research material. All authors are requested to disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest including any financial, personal or other relationships with other people or organizations regarding the submitted work.
Reactions to Covid-19: The Impact of Job Insecurity on Survivors’ Attitudes in Five-star hotels

The spread of Covid-19 and traveling restriction heavily hit the hospitality industry. Consequently, many hotels had to implement the strategy of downsizing in order to reduce the cost of employment. Accordingly, survivors’ workers have been feeling fear from future and job insecurity. Earlier studies showed the overwhelming influence of Covid-19 on hospitality industry, while a few is known about such impact on employees’ reactions. This research examines the influence of job insecurity on the survivors’ attitudes (i.e. organizational commitment, trust, and turnover intention) in downsized five start hotels. Data for this study was collected via self-administrated questionnaires with employees from 79 hotels in Cairo, Sharm El Shiekh and Hurghada. A total of 522 questionnaires were randomly distributed to a convenience sample of hotel staff. Among the questionnaires returned, 452 were useable ones, representing a response rate of 60.27%. The results indicated that survivors’ perceptions of job insecurity post Covid-19 have a strong positive relationship with survivors’ intention to quit. The results also revealed that this relationship is weakened by survivors’ high perception of organization commitment and trust. Furthermore, the results suggested that survivors who propose to move out of their hotel target to change their career. However, losing skilled employee may become a significant risk for hotel industry. The implications of the study are discussed.
A Convolutional Neural Network Approach to the Classification of Engineering Models

This paper presents a deep learning approach for the classification of Engineering (CAD) models using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). Owing to the availability of large annotated datasets and also enough computational power in the form of GPUs, many deep learning-based solutions for object classification have been proposed of late, especially in the domain of images and graphical models. Nevertheless, very few solutions have been proposed for the task of functional classification of CAD models. Hence, for this research, CAD models have been collected from Engineering Shape Benchmark (ESB), National Design Repository (NDR) and augmented with newer models created using a modeling software to form a dataset - ‘CADNET’. It is proposed to use a residual network architecture for CADNET, inspired by the popular ResNet. A weighted Light Field Descriptor (LFD) scheme is chosen as the method of feature extraction, and the generated images are fed as inputs to the CNN. The problem of class imbalance in the dataset is addressed using a class weights approach. Experiments have been conducted with other signatures such as geodesic distance etc. using deep networks as well as other network architectures on the CADNET. The LFD-based CNN approach using the proposed network architecture, along with gradient boosting yielded the best classification accuracy on CADNET.
Synthesis and Characterization of Benzenesulfonyl Hydrazones and Benzenesulfonamides

Abstract In the search for structural cyclic imide analogues of therapeutic interest, the syntheses and characterization of benzenesulfonyl hydrazones and benzenesulfonamides are described. The benzenesulfonyl chlorides (2) and (3) were obtained through the Diels–Alder reaction between N‐p‐chloro‐sulfonylfenylmaleimide (1) and furan or 2‐methylfuran. The reactions of (2) and (3) with hydrazine and amines afforded the hydrazides and sulfonamides, respectively. The sulfonylhydrazones were obtained through a condensation between the sulfonylhydrazides with different benzaldehydes.
L2 Idioms: On the Effectiveness of Teaching Techniques

This study was conducted to compare the possible effect of four ways of teaching on EFL learners' comprehension and production of English idioms. A sample of 80 female Iranian EFL learners (in four groups) at Guya institute in Qazvin were selected. Each group of participants received instruction through one of the four techniques of visualization, storytelling, game and lexical awareness techniques. The participants were given a 60-item Oxford Placement Test to make sure that their general proficiency level was approximately the same. They were also given an idioms pretest. After the treatment period, posttests of idiom comprehension and production were given to all the four groups. One-way ANOVA was run to analyze the collected data. The results suggested that the differences among the four techniques in terms of their effectiveness on L2 idiom comprehension were not statistically significant. However, the four techniques were differentially effective on idiom production. To see which of the four techniques was more effective than the others, a post-hoc Sheffe test was conducted, showing that visualization was significantly more effective than game and lexical awareness on L2 idiom production. The results also showed that storytelling was more effective than game and lexical awareness techniques. These findings can have worthwhile implications for second language teachers, learners and coursebook designers.
EdgeProg: Edge-centric Programming for IoT Applications

IoT application development usually involves separate programming at the device side and server side. While separate programming style is sufficient for many simple applications, it is not suitable for many complex applications that involve complex interactions and intensive data processing. We propose EdgeProg, an edge-centric programming approach to simplify IoT application programming, motivated by the increasing popularity of edge computing. With EdgeProg, users could write application logic in a centralized manner with an augmented If-This-Then-That (IFTTT) syntax and virtual sensor mechanism. The program can be processed at the edge server, which can automatically generate the actual application code and intelligently partition the code into device code and server code, for achieving the optimal latency. EdgeProg employs dynamic linking and loading to deploy the device code on a variety of IoT devices, which do not run any application-specific codes at the start. Results show that EdgeProg achieves an average reduction of 20.96% and 79.41% in terms of execution latency and lines of code, compared with state-of-the-art approaches.
SMN 2 Gene Based Treatments In Spinal Muscular Atrophy-A Review Of Recent Advancements

Spinal muscle atrophy (SMA) is a neurodegenerative disease with autosomal recessive inheritance which is pathologically characterized by degeneration of α motor neurons from the anterior horn of the spinal cord resulting in muscle weakness, muscle atrophy involving mainly muscles of the trunk. SMA is commonly divided into types 1 through 4. In humans, SMN genes, (SMN1 and SMN2) are located on chromosome 5 in close proximity to each other. It has been assumed that the SMN2 locus is derived from a (evolutionarily) recent duplication event of a genomic region spanning 500 kb. The role of SMN2 gene as a phenotypic modifier of SMA has been studied in great details recently. Each patient affected with SMA retains at least oneSMN2 copy. From this perspective, it can be said that SMA arises due to the inability of SMN2 gene to fully compensate for the lack of functional SMN protein resulting from the mutation of SMN1. In this review article, we will focus on three of the treatment strategies using SMN2 gene which have been used as treatment strategies by various techniques. These strategies are: i) inducing the expression of SMN2, ii) modulating splicing of SMN2 derived transcript, and iii) stabilizing the full length SMN2 derived mRNA and/or protein.
Kinetic Modeling of Arsenic Removal from Water by Ferric Ion Loaded Red Mud

A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the ability of ferric ion loaded red mud (FRM) for the removal of arsenic species from water. The adsorbent material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. For an initial arsenic concentration lower than 0.3 mg/L, the FRM with a dosage of 1 g/L was able to reduce As(III) at pH 7 below 10 µg/L, the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of arsenic in drinking water set by the World Health Organization. In the case of As(V) removal, FRM was also particularly effective in reducing the initial arsenic concentration value of 1 mg/L at pH 2, below the MCL requirement of arsenic for drinking water. According to kinetic sorption data, the initial stage of adsorptions of As(III) and As(V) onto FRM were mainly governed by the external diffusion mechanism; however, upon saturation of the external adsorbent surface, the arsenic species were eventually adsorbed by intraparticle diffusion mechanism. The present results are promising for using the very inexpensive FRM as a low-cost material that is effective in remediating drinking waters contaminated with low concentrations of arsenic species. We report here the sorption kinetics and adsorption mechanisms of As(III) and As(V) on the FRM that has not been decsribed previously.
Frequency and causes of amblyopia in children visting an eye O.P.D of tertiary care hospital

Purpose: To evaluate the frequency and causes of amblyopia in children in eye O.P.D of tertiary care hospital Dow University Hospital. Patients and Methods: This was a cross sectional study in which total number of 500 patients, aged 5 to 18 years who came in eye O.P.D in between jan 2018 till dec 2018 were studied. After informed consent they all underwent detailed eye examination including refraction, slit lamp examination and fundoscopy. Visual acuity was assessed by snellen’s chart and after cycloplegic refraction, best corrected visual acuity came out to be less than or equal to 6/12 in any eye without any other abnormality were defined as being amblyopic. Result: Total of 500 cases, 44 came out to be amblyopic (8.8%). There was no significant association between genders and p value is 0.222%. Most of the amblyopia is found in bilateral eyes 52.3% while unilateral was seen in 47.7% subjects and the most common cause of amblyopia came out to be anisometropic amblyopia 27.3%, than high hypemetropia is on second 25.0%. Deprivation amblyopia 18.2%, astigmatic amblyopia 15.9% and least common cause being myopia 13.6%. Conclusion: With high prevalence of amblyopia in our society, it is imperative to take measures for early screening and appropriate treatment plans in amblyopic children.