Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of the current–voltage curves and saturation currents in burner-stabilised premixed flames with detailed ion chemistry and transport models

Current-voltage, or i–V, curves are used in combustion to characterise the ionic structure of flames. The objective of this paper is to develop a detailed modelling framework for the quantitative prediction of the i–V curves in methane/air flames. Ion and electron transport coefficients were described using methods appropriate for charged species interactions. An ionic reaction mechanism involving cations, anions and free electrons was used, together with up-to-date rate coefficients and thermodynamic data. Because of the important role of neutral species in the ion production process, its prediction by the detailed AramcoMech 1.4 mechanism was optimised by using available experimental measurements. Model predictions were evaluated by comparing to i–V curves measured in atmospheric-pressure, premixed, burner-stabilised flames. A detailed evaluation of the reliability of ion kinetic and transport parameters adopted was performed. The model provides good quantitative agreement with experimental data for various conditions.
The utility of biochar for increasing the fertility of new agricultural lands converted from boreal forests

Abstract: The agricultural soils of the Happy Valley-Goose Bay (HV-GB) region of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada are Podzols that are converted from boreal forest and have limited productivity due to their sandy texture, acidity, low soil organic matter (SOM), cation-exchange capacity (CEC), and water and nutrient retention capacity. Although numerous studies advocate biochar for mitigating soil quality problems and enhancing agronomic productivity, there is limited information on managing biochar for boosting the productivity of Podzols under newly converted agricultural lands. A 5 year experiment evaluated the impact of eight biochar rates (0–80 Mg C·ha−1) on soil properties including SOM, CEC, and availability of plant nutrients and metals in agricultural soils of HV-GB. Both immediate and long-term impacts were thus assessed. Biochar generally improved soil fertility indicators. Although the largest rates (40 and 80 Mg C·ha−1) led to the greatest changes, significant changes were also found with rates as low as 10 Mg C·ha−1. Increasing biochar rates had diminishing returns for quality parameters of soil. The impact of biochar decreased with time after application, but the largest rate led to longer lasting effects. Although biochar was incorporated in topsoil, its effects were also measurable in the subsoil, albeit with a temporal delay, usually of 1 year. Thus, given the diminishing returns of increasing biochar rates, and that beneficial effects diminish over years, it is advisable that biochar be added in smaller amounts immediately after conversion, as little as 10 Mg C·ha−1, with regular supplementation as needed.
A FoxM1/lncRNA PTTG3P/YAP1 Positive Feedback Loop Controls Colorectal Cancer Progression

Background Pseudogenes are vital regulators of cancer progression. PTTG3P biological function in colorectal cancer (CRC) needs further to be clarified. Methods qRT-PCR was adopted to measure the PTTG3P expression. Functional studies were examined by CCK-8, glucose uptake, lactate assay, ATP assay, ECAR assay and xenograft mice model. The mechanism of PTTG3P was carried by GSEA. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and luciferase assay were explored to certify the binding activity between PTTG3P promoter region and FoxM1. Results Ectopic expression of PTTG3P was involved in CRC and related to dismal prognosis. Experimental evidence discovered that PTTG3P enhanced cell proliferation and glycolysis through YAP1 and regulated FoxM1(Hippo pathway target gene). Further, LDHA knockdown or glycolysis inhibitor (2-DG,3-BG) recovered PTTG3P-induced proliferation. Mechanically, FoxM1 increase PTTG3P expression at transcription level and the PTTG3P promoter region of -900 to -1200 nt is necessary for binding with FoxM1, thus forming a positive feedback loop to facilitates the CRC progression. Additionally, FoxM1 depletion could rescue the PTTG3P function. Conclusions A FoxM1/lncRNA PTTG3P/YAP1 positive feedback loop plays a vital part in CRC progression, and targeting FoxM1, PTTG3P and YAP1 provides therapeutic targets for CRC treatment.
Status, pride, and educational motivation: Understanding differences in attitudes to education from the perspective of evolutionary emotion theory

Abstract The present study suggests that the theoretical framework of evolutionary psychology, in particular theories and models relating to social status and pride, can be used to further our understanding of educational motivation. Our assumption was that the desire for social recognition and high status is a universal human phenomenon. Based on this, we suggested that differences in educational motivation among high school students would be related to differences in the extent to which one sees academic achievements as a viable path to social status and source of pride. The present study examined this topic using a cross-sectional design in a sample of high school students. In general, the results provided support for the hypothesis that status and pride are reliably related to educational motivation in high school students, and that the theoretical framework employed could be used to understand differences in educational motivation related to both gender and level of parental education.
An In-Depth Process Model for FUEL Production via Hydrothermal Liquefaction and Catalytic Hydrotreating

One of the more promising technologies for future renewable fuel production from biomass is hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). Although enormous progress in the context of continuous experiments on demonstration plants has been made in the last years, still many research questions concerning the understanding of the HTL reaction network remain unanswered. In this study, a unique process model of an HTL process chain has been developed in Aspen Plus® for three feedstock, microalgae, sewage sludge and wheat straw. A process chain consisting of HTL, hydrotreatment (HT) and catalytic hydrothermal gasification (cHTG) build the core process steps of the model, which uses 51 model compounds representing the hydrolysis products of the different biochemical groups lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, lignin, extractives and ash for modeling the biomass. Two extensive reaction networks of 272 and 290 reactions for the HTL and HT process step, respectively, lead to the intermediate biocrude (~200 model compounds) and the final upgraded biocrude product (~130 model compounds). The model can reproduce important characteristics, such as yields, elemental analyses, boiling point distribution, product fractions, density and higher heating values of experimental results from continuous experiments as well as literature values. The model can be applied as basis for techno-economic and environmental assessments of HTL fuel production, and may be further developed into a predictive yield modeling tool.
HEXACO and Dark Triad Personality Traits as Predictors of Male Attractiveness in Different Relationship Contexts

This study aimed to further investigate the perceived attractiveness of the Dark Triad (DT) personality in different types of relationships (i.e. friendship, short-term and long-term relationship) controlling for basic personality traits from the HEXACO model. The participants were 167 female students (M = 20.82 years, SD = 1.54) who rated personality and attractiveness of a man with highly expressed DT characteristics (n = 91) or a low-scoring DT character (n = 76) presented in a vignette. In line with recent findings, we observed a high negative correlation between the Honesty-Humility factor and DT personality (r = -.88, p < .001). As hypothesized, there was a significant difference in attractiveness ratings for the two characters in the context of different interpersonal relationships, with high DT character rated as significantly more attractive than the low DT character in the context of short-term mating. Furthermore, the hierarchical regression analysis showed that DT personality had a unique contribution in predicting attractiveness in the context of short-term relationship, after controlling for the basic personality traits.
Exploring Female Undergraduate Education Students’ Perceptions of Collaborative Online Project-Based Learning (COPBL)

This study aims to identify the perceptions of female student teachers enrolled in the Primary Classroom Teacher Program (PCTP) at a university in Saudi Arabia. It will focus on Collaborative Online Project-Based Learning (COPBL), its advantages, challenges facing the implementation of this strategy, and provide suggestions and recommendations to overcome these challenges. A mixed-method research design was used to analyze the data. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data from fifty-five students, and nine of them were interviewed to collect qualitative data. The interview sample was intentionally chosen based on the diversity of responses in the questionnaires. The results of this study revealed that there is a consensus between the perceptions of the study sample in the questionnaires and interviews. Participants showed positive perceptions about COPBL. Researchers presented some recommendations and suggestions at the end of this study.
Searching and Making Meaning of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of African Immigrants in the United States

African immigrants continue to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unclear how they are searching for and finding meaning in the face of this adversity. This study sought to understand how African immigrants in the United States are searching for and making meaning of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted in-depth interviews remotely with 20 immigrants from West Africa (Nigeria and Ghana), East Africa (Somali and Rwanda), and Central Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo). The meaning-making model was used as a framework to understand the processes of coping during a significant, adverse life event. The study found that some participants attempted to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their global meaning by seeking answers as to why the pandemic occurred and creating positive illusions. Some redefined their priorities and reframed the pandemic in a positive light. Participants found meaning in the form of accepting the pandemic as a reality of life, appreciating events previously taken for granted, and making positive changes in their lives. This study’s findings can inform health care providers of the meaning-making processes of African immigrants and the need to assist them in their search for meaning.
A mixed-methods study of online learning in the EFL classroom

The need to adapt classroom materials to maintain students’ interest to learn the subject matter in an engaging environment, by means of Information and Communication Technologies, becomes a first concern. The purpose of this mixed-methods study, which involves a combination of both qualitative and quantitative data analyses, is to survey the perceptions and engagement of higher education students as regards learning theoretical content and vocabulary through the implementation of two online called ‘Cybertasks’. The participants were administered two perception questionnaires in order to gather information concerning their previous knowledge and their acquired knowledge. Additionally, a final written exam was delivered to determine whether there is a correlation between students’ satisfaction with Cybertask completion and their academic achievement. The results indicate that students with higher levels of engagement towards the use of the Cybertask to improve their acquisition of theoretical content and vocabulary showed higher academic achievement in their final exam.
Dangling a carrot: Will level of compensation influence the behaviour of CEO with accounting background towards earnings management?

Purpose Prior studies had documented that CEOs with accounting backgrounds are more conservative as compared to their non-accounting backgrounds counterparts. However, prior studies also suggested that CEOs with accounting backgrounds tend to engage in earnings management activities because they have the knowledge to do so. Motivated by these findings, this study aims to examine empirically the possibility of executive compensation to play a moderating role in influencing the behaviour of CEO with accounting backgrounds towards earnings management. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the data from 2013 to 2017 from Malaysian FTSE Top 30 companies. The data on the education backgrounds of the CEOs were collected manually from the companies’ annual reports. CEOs with accounting qualification was coded 1, and 0, otherwise. The earnings management were the discretionary accruals estimated using the modified Jones (1991) model. Meanwhile, the data on executive compensation was also collected manually from the companies’ annual reports. All other governance data were also collected manually from the annual reports, and financial data was collected using the Thompson Reuters DataStream application. Findings This study found that compensation suffered multicollinearity with the CEO accounting background, thus ineligible to act as a moderating variable between the latter and earnings management. The result further documented a negative but insignificant relationship between compensation with earnings management. Originality/value This study discusses the possibility of executive compensation as a moderating variable in the relationship between CEOs with accounting backgrounds and earnings management, whereby, to the authors’ best knowledge, such a discussion is limited in the existing literature.
Ectomycorrhizal fungal community assembly on seedlings of a Neotropical monodominant tree

Ectomycorrhizal tree species may benefit from positive plant–soil feedbacks, where soil environments near adult trees enhance conspecific seedling growth and survival. In tropical monodominant forests, seedling survival is particularly important, as seedling banks help maintain stand‐level dominance over generations. Positive plant–soil feedbacks may be mediated by diverse ectomycorrhizal fungal communities, which improve nutrient acquisition of heavily shaded seedlings. Despite the potential importance of these fungi, little is known about ectomycorrhizal fungal community development on seedlings of tropical monodominant trees. In Guyana, we sequentially monitored percent colonization and species composition of ectomycorrhizal fungi on an even‐age cohort of seedlings of the tropical monodominant tree Dicymbe corymbosa (Fabaceae subfamily Detarioideae). Ectomycorrhizal fungi found on D. corymbosa seedlings over a 12‐month period of early development were compared to those of conspecific adults and four other ectomycorrhizal tree species in the region. Species turnover was high (80%) between 6‐ and 12‐month‐old seedlings, though the /russula‐lactarius, /clavulina, and /tomentella‐thelephora lineages were species‐rich on seedlings at all ages. The number of ectomycorrhizal morphotypes per seedling increased with age, but extent of fungal colonization did not. Seedling ectomycorrhizal fungi were shared with sympatric conspecific adults (55%) and, to a lesser extent, regional heterospecific adults (27%), but numerous species were previously unrecorded for Guyana. Over their development D. corymbosa seedlings did not rely strictly on adult trees for their mycobionts but appeared to foster unique assemblages of ectomycorrhizal fungi.
Bacterial Pattern of Community acquired Urinary Tract Infections: A Challenge for Antimicrobial Resistance

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is considered one of the most common bacterial infections seen in health care. To our knowledge, there is no available antimicrobial resistance surveillance system for monitoring of community-acquired UTIs (CA- UTIs) in our country. Objectives: we aimed to discuss the bacterial pattern and resistance profile of CA-UTIs in Ismailia, Egypt. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 400 patients suffering from symptoms of acute UTIs. Urine specimens were collected by clean-catch mid-stream method, examined microscopically and inoculated immediately on blood agar and MacConkey's agar plates. Colony counting, isolation and identification of the urinary pathogens were performed by the conventional biochemical tests according to the isolated organism. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method. Interpretation was performed according to Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Results: out of 400 specimens, 136 of them revealed no bacterial growth or insignificant bacteriuria. Most of participants with UTI were females (81.8%) (p=0.008) and 54.5% of them were married (P=0.1). Gram negative bacteria were more common than Gram positive representing 66 % and 34% respectively. E. coli was the most common isolated organism (39%) followed by S. aureus (32%), K. Pneumoniae and Pseudomonas (10.5% for each), Proteus (6%) and Enterococci (2%). E. coli isolates showed the highest susceptibility to imipenem, meropenem, amikacin, nitrofurantoin, levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. Most of our patients were diabetics (64.8%) (p=0.004). The mean ± SD of HbA1c was 6.4±2.0 with 4 to 12.6 range, S.E was 0.1 and 95% C.I was 6.2- 6.7. The highest mean ± SD of HbA1c was in S. aureus infections. Conclusion: Gram negative bacteria were most common than Gram positive with predominance of E. coli with significant relation to the presence of diabetes.
Predicting poverty and malnutrition for targeting, mapping, monitoring, and early warning

More frequent and severe shocks combined with more plentiful data and increasingly powerful predictive algorithms heighten the promise of data science in support of humanitarian and development programming. We advocate for embrace of, and investment in, machine learning methods for poverty and malnutrition targeting, mapping, monitoring, and early warning while also cautioning that distinct tasks require different data inputs and methods. In particular, we highlight the differences between poverty and malnutrition targeting and mapping, identification of those in a state of structural versus stochastic deprivation, and the modeling and data challenges of developing early warning systems. Overall, we urge careful consideration of the purpose and possible use cases of big data and machine learning informed models.
Conversational Style of Male and Female Characters in Game of Thrones Season 8

Abstract: This study aims to find out what are conversational features used by male and female characters in Game of Thrones season 8, how it is represented in their conversation, and how power and social status affect characters' linguistic behavior. This study used a descriptive qualitative research design. The data of this study are twenty-two conversations taken from episode 1 up to episode 6 of season 8. There are four conversational style features discussed in this study: (1) talkativeness, (2) interruption, (3) compliments, and (4) minimal responses. The results show that all four features are found in the conversations, but they are manipulated differently by male and female characters. Also, the use of gender conversational style features in this case seems universal. Female characters are more talkative which confirms the theory of women’s language. Male characters also use female conversational style more frequently in terms of minimal responses and compliments. However, power plays an important role in this case since it enables characters to be more dominant which reflects that gender is not the only factor to control the conversation. Keywords: compliments, conversational style, interruptions, minimal response, talkativeness Abstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui gaya percakapan yang digunakan oleh pemeran pria dan wanita dalam serial berjudul Game of Thrones Season 8, bagaimana gaya tersebut direpresentasikan dalam percakapannya, dan bagaimana kekuasaan dan status sosial mempengaruhi perilaku linguistik karakter. Penelitian ini menggunakan desain penelitian deskriptif kualitatif. Data dalam penelitian ini adalah dua puluh dua percakapan yang diambil dari episode 1 hingga episode 6 di season 8. Ada empat fitur gaya percakapan yang dibahas dalam penelitian ini: (1) tingkat keaktifan berbicara, (2) interupsi, (3) pujian, dan (4) tanggapan minimal. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa keempat fitur ditemukan dalam series ini, namun dipraktekkan secara berbeda oleh karakter pria dan wanita. Selain itu, penggunaan fitur gaya percakapan gender dalam hal ini terkesan universal. Karakter perempuan lebih banyak bicara yang mana mendukung teori gaya bahasa wanita. Karakter pria juga lebih sering menggunakan gaya percakapan wanita dalam hal memberikan tanggapan minimal dan pujian. Namun, kekuasaan memainkan peran penting dalam hal ini karena memungkinkan karakter lebih dominan dan menjelaskan bahwa gender bukan satu-satunya faktor yang mengendalikan percakapan. Kata kunci: gaya percakapan, interupsi, respon minimal, pujian
The Impact of Salespersons’ Interaction on Customer Satisfaction of Textile Shops: A Study in Kiribathgoda Area

All businesses are trying to win the market by competing with other rivalries. The Textile industry is not exceptional for that. Textile shops are also one of the well-known retail markets in the industry that depend on customer satisfaction for their success. The main objective of the study is to investigate the impact of salespersons’ interaction on customer satisfaction of textile shops in the Kiribathgoda area since salespersons are the change agents to change the minds of customers. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire among 100 respondents based on the simple random sampling method. Researchers incorporated correlation & regression analyses by using the SPSS version 20.0 software for analyzing the data. Major findings showed that all three dimensions of salespersons’ interaction -Communication skills, Empathy and Trust have a positive relationship with Customer Satisfaction. 61.4% salespersons’ interaction impacted on customer satisfaction and Trust has a higher impact (39.3%) on Customer Satisfaction rather than Communication skills and Empathy.