Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distribution and Accumulation of Some Heavy Metals in Mangrove Sediments of Ban Laemchabang Community, Chon Buri Province

Mangrove of Ban Laemchabang Community, Chon Buri Province is surrounded by the urban community and Laemchabang Industrial Estate with three petroleum refineries being located nearby the Estate. This study aimed to investigate the distribution and accumulation of 7 heavy metals (Hg, Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, Fe and Ni) in the mangrove sediments and to assess the degree of these metals contamination. The surface sediments from 10 stations were collected in February 2014. The ranges of concentrations (µg/g dry weight) were as follows: 0.004 - 0.325 Hg; 14.9 - 79.8 Pb; 0.018 - 3.37 Cd; 28.2 - 800 Zn; 2.69-126 Cu; 2,582 - 20,345 Fe; and 2.16 - 26.8 Ni. The highest metals concentrations in the sediments were mostly observed at the station before entering the mangrove, while the lowest concentrations were found at the station to the seaward. The average metal concentrations in all mangrove sediments were in the order of Fe > Zn > Cu > Pb > Ni > Cd > Hg. There were positive correlations between the metals in mangrove sediments and some sediment characteristics (organic matter, silt and clay contents) which suggested that the above three sediment components were the major metal sorbents in the study area and they were also major controlling factors that had influence on the binding of heavy metals. In addition, all metals were associated with each other in the sediments. A geoaccumulation index (Igeo) was used to assess the degree of contamination in the sediments. The results showed that the sediments were unpolluted to moderately polluted with Cu, moderately polluted with Pb, moderately to strongly polluted with Cd and Zn and unpolluted for Hg, Fe and Ni. The degree of anthropogenic metal pollution in the study area was as follows: Cd > Zn > Pb > Cu. © 2015 Published by Burapha University.
The Physicochemical Characterization, Fatty Acid Profile, and Nutritional Indices of the Greek Traditional Cheese “Tsalafouti”

Tsalafouti cheese, a traditional Greek spreadable cheese, has experienced remarkable popularity over the last decade due to the strong dairy production heritage links that it presents, alongside the special nutritional and sensory attributes that it holds. The aim of this study was to chemically characterize the Greek cheese Tsalafouti, with a special focus on its fatty acid profile and the potential nutritional effect it may have. Standard methods were used to assess the physicochemical profile of Tsalafouti cheese, while a fatty acid profile was determined using gas chromatography. The analysis revealed average values, including a pH of 3.94, moisture content of 75.05%, protein content of 8.86%, and fat content of 11.3%. The fatty acid profile highlighted the predominance of health-important fatty acids, such as oleic acid, known for its well-established health benefits. Additionally, the health lipid indices of Tsalafouti were assessed by calculating the atherogenicity index (IA), the thrombogenicity index (IT), the ratio of hypocholesterolemic to hypercholesterolemic fatty acids (HH), the health-promoting index (HPI), and the PUFA-n-6/PUFA-n-3 ratio. The values of these indices indicate the quality concerning proatherogenicity, prothrombogenicity, and the risk of cardiovascular issues. Notably, all the above health indicators are consistent with known health effects. Importantly, the ratio of ω6/ω3 fatty acids aligns with the nutritional recommendations of the World Health Organization. Based on these results, Tsalafouti cheese emerges as a low-fat product and source of protein with potential functional properties, distinguishing itself from other cheeses in the market.
Analysis of Students' Predicting Skills in The Concept of Reaction Rate

The present research aimed to describe the skills of 11th grade students in predicting reaction rate material. The need for this study arose due to the inadequacy of the teacher's assessments to elaborate on the students' predictive skills, particularly in reaction rate material. The participants were 26 students from the 11th grade Science-2 class of State Senior High School (SMAN) 5 Pontianak. A quantitative description with a case study approach was used to gather data. The students were administered a questionnaire immediately after the reaction rate lesson, consisting of three questions. The mean scores of the students were analyzed to determine the results. The results showed that 50% of the students were categorized as having a very low level of skill in predicting reaction rate material, 27% as having a low level, 19% as having a medium level, 4% as having a high level, and 0% as having a very high level. It can be concluded that the majority of the students have a very low level of skill in predicting reaction rate material. The findings of this study have implications for teachers in creating more suitable lesson plans, syllabi, and media to align with the students' standard of competency outlined in the curriculum. This study may also serve as a foundation for future research on knowledge and education sustainability.
Metaphor power in the context of the author’s opinion expression and perception

The article explores the relationship between the functional potential of metaphor and the expression and perception of the author’s opinion. Metaphor is considered as a means of implicit speech impact exerted both from the positions of its generation and perception. This paper aims to identify the correlation between the author’s opinion and various aspects of metaphor power, namely density (the number of metaphors per text), intensity (the ratio of new and conventional metaphors) and the metaphor projections typology (the ratio among orientational, ontological, and structural metaphors). The data for the study were obtained from a two-stage linguistic experiment. First, 20 experts in Russian Philology and Journalism composed three-part texts about Russia (its history, culture, and people), and were asked to summarise their personal opinion in the most relevant part. Then 180 respondents who were students of Moscow State Linguistics University identified the author’s position in the composed essays. The latter were analysed using metaphor-driven discourse analysis (MDDA), which included the identification of metaphor density, their intensity, and functional typology indices. Next, the MDDA numerical values of indices were juxtaposed with the data reflecting the author’s opinion expression and its perception by the respondents. The findings showed that metaphor intensity and density are related to the verbal message persuasion, since in 80% of the cases personal opinion was set forth in those text parts that contained the greatest number of the author’s metaphors. The proven relationship between metaphor power and the author’s opinion expression makes it possible to identify metaphorical speech impact, which reflects forms and degrees of speech impact in different types of texts. Thus, the results expand the theoretical and practical framework for the study of metaphorical speech persuasion.
Timber-based agrisilvicultural systems to facilitate reforestation in Panama

The objective of this study was to evaluate the suitability of sequential intercropping of forest plantations with agricultural crops to generate earlier returns out of hardwood plantations and hence, facilitate reforestation on degraded lands. For this purpose, an agroforestry trial was established in eastern Panama. During the first two years, intercropping of the 6 investigated tree species with 4 different crop rotations did not negatively influence tree growth and survival. In contrast, silvicultural potentials of intercropping, especially when using shrubby crop species (such as Cajanus cajan ) were found. By selling agricultural crops, costs for tree management were offset. Thus, when considering the modeled rotation period of 25 years the agroforestry concept performed financially better than pure forest stands. The agroforestry system therefore has a high potential to improve modern plantation technology but also to solve land use conflicts.
Financial Development and Trade Openness Economic Growth Nexuses in Pakistan: Evidence from ARDL Cointegration Approach

Many studies have drawn conflicting conclusions about relationships between labour transfers, monetarily buildup, growth, and living standards in different settings, but only partially so. For this purpose, the capital and threshold conduction effects are often used to trace transmission channels for causal links. On the other hand, workers' remittances play a key role in the financial development of the economy. No study has specifically focused on the effects of worker transfers on living standards in Pakistan by monitoring the main and threshold transfer channels. Thus, there is a considerable need to explore these channels and their expansion. This study examines the effect of workers' remittances on living standards by expanding the capital conduit and threshold channels. The study scrutinizes the direct impact of financial development on living standards by tracing the threshold effect channel. Second, it channels the influence of financial development with living standards through the capital channel for GDP growth. Third, it examines the unintended effect of labour transfers on living standards by the financial development and GDP growth based on extended versions of capital leadership and threshold channels. to estimate bidirectional causal relationships between financial development and GDP growth. The data were taken for the period 1980–2020. Employing ARDL-bound (cointegration) testing, the study's results indicate a direct and indirect long and short-term relationship between worker transfers and living standards if we consider the effects of financial development and GDP growth. Furthermore, it is confirmed that the extension of the journey contributed significantly. Policymakers can use these findings to understand better worker remittances' role in developing financially sound strategies.
Moderating effect of profitability: An analysis of factors that determine firm value in the Jakarta Islamic Indeks

The value of a firm is often examined by linking the factors that influence on its value. However, this method is no longer adequate because profitability also has a significant role in determining the value of a firm. Thus, incorporating the role of profitability in strengthening firm value is a necessary further step. This quantitative research uses samples of all JII companies within five years, from 2016 to 2020 . Seventy financial statements were obtained as samples. Secondary data were obtained through the company website and www.idx. go.id. The analysis of data adopted was the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with the help of Smart PLS software. The findings show that the liquidity and debt policy have a positive and significant effect on firm value, but the capital structure, dividend policy, and profitability have no effect on firm value. Meanwhile, profitability has an effect as a moderator in the relationship between liquidity and debt policy on firm value. Nevertheless, profitability has no effect on the relationship between capital structure and dividend policy on firm value. This study could have practical implications whereby investors are more aware that stocks listed in the JII also have bright prospects in addition to their conventional counterparts.
Formal definitions of Slovakian mire plant associations and their application in regional research

We applied the Cocktail method to a large data set of 4 117 releves of all Slovak vegetation types with the aim to create formalised definitions of all Slovakian mire plant associations. We defined 21 groups of species with the statistical tendency of joint occurrences in vegetation. These groups differed substantially in their position along the pH/calcium gradient. We further defined 24 plant associations according to presence and/or absence of certain groups and/or strong dominance of some species. Only six traditional plant associations were not possible to be reproduced this way. We applied our formalised definitions to the regional data set of mires from the surrounding of the Vysoke Tatry Mts. Combined with frequency-positive fidelity index this method has led to the classification of the majority of vegetation plots into ten associations. When the vegetation types obtained from Cocktail-based classification and from cluster analysis were compared with respect to measured pH and conductivity in the study region, 82% of pairs differed significantly either in pH or in water conductivity in the former classification and 69% in the latter one.
Integrating simulation and measurement techniques to model outdoor noise and heat in airport neighbourhoods with varying urban geometries

This study aims to evaluate the impact of different urban building geometries (six courtyards, two canyons, two slabs) on heat mitigation and aircraft noise attenuation, in order to support an evidence-based retrofit plan for future airport neighborhoods. Using ’Pachyderm + ENVI-met simulations + field measurements’, we found that the slanted-roof, low-rise courtyard exhibited optimal acoustic-thermal performance (SPL min = 71.1 dB ( A ) , σ UTCI < 5 ◦ C)
Effects of Academic Stress on Students’ Academic Achievements and Its Implications for Their Future Lives

The study aimed to investigate the Effect of Academic Stress on Students’ Academic Achievements and Its Implications for Their Future Lives. A correlational research design was employed through stratified random sampling (n i = 270, where female = 80 and male =190) to collect pertinent data through a questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed. Firstly, academic stress highly affects students’ academic achievement, with females being more stressed (65.20%) than males (59.60%), which leads to a high dropout rate and low graduation rate. Secondly, about 69% were accustomed to drinking alcohol, chewing Khat, absenteeism, and smoking whereas about 31% were regularly engaging in unsafe sex, physical fights, smoking shisha, and poor personal sanitation. Thirdly, there were significant positive relationships among sex, age, academic batch, and student’s cumulative grade point average. To conclude, academic stress hinders good academic achievement, increases college dropout rates, low graduation rates, and lack of self-confidence. It leads to drinking alcohol, absenteeism, chewing khat, reduced academic morale of students, and failure in completing assignments on time. Therefore, university authorities should ensure a good academic environment for the students and minimize academic stress through appropriate course load, appropriate lecture hours, proper lecture schedules, and non-congested lecture halls.
Diurnal, seasonal, annual, and semi-annual variations of ionospheric parameters at different latitudes in East Asian sector during ascending phase of solar activity

We analyzed ionospheric parameters including the critical frequency of the F2 layer (foF2), the peak height of the F2 layer (hmF2), and the scale height at hmF2 (HT) from 2006 to 2012 (ascending phase of solar activity) at Hainan (19.5° N, 109.1° E, MLat. 9.7° N), Irkutsk (52.4° N, 104.3° E, MLat. 42.5° N), and Norilsk (69.2° N, 88.0° E, MLat. 59.8° N) stations (low, middle and high latitudes). We have used manual scaled digisonde ionogram data. Studies of foF2 and hmF2 diurnal-seasonal variations continue those made earlier for East Asia. Features peculiar for the ascending phase of solar activity are mostly consistent to those for descending phase, except for the features of sunset and nighttime hmF2 variations. Features of annual and semi-annual variations recorded by a digisonde agree with those obtained by a satellite occultation and TEC map. We also obtained seasonal, diurnal, annual, and semi-annual variations of the ionospheric parameter HT (scale height at hmF2) from digisonde data, which differ from foF2 variations and hmF2 features.
Peran Kelompok Tani dalam Penerapan Teknologi Pertanian

English This paper describes roles of farmers’ groups in agricultural technology application. A farmers’ group is defined as a group of farmers informally consolidate themselves based on their common goals in farming activities. Initial spirit of establishing a farmers’ group is to strengthen farmers’ bargaining position, especially in terms of collective purchasing of farm inputs and selling their agricultural products efficiently. Indonesia has a long experience in formation of farmers’ groups since Mass Intensification (BIMAS) and Special Intensification (INSUS) were launched in 1970s-1980s. Currently, most of farmers groups in Indonesia are not formed by farmers themselves, but they are mostly formed as a response to the government program that requires farmers to become members of a farmers’ group. Most of government support for farmers, such as distribution of subsidized fertilizer, agricultural extension, subsidized farm credits and other programs are distributed to farmers’ group or farmers’ groups association. Introduction and promotion of a new technology is also delivered through farmers’ groups. Thus, the roles of a farmers’ group are not only as the means of distributing government assistance and extension services, but also as the agent for new technology adoption. Indonesian Makalah ini merupakan tinjauan (review) dari berbagai literatur dan hasil penelitian terdahulu, ditujukan untuk mendeskripsikan peran kelompok tani dalam penerapan teknologi pertanian. Kelompok tani didefinisikan sebagai sekelompok petani yang secara informal mengkonsolidasi diri berdasarkan kepentingan bersama dalam berusahatani. Semangat awal pembentukan kelompok tani adalah untuk memperkuat posisi tawar, terutama dalam pengadaan sarana produksi dan pemasaran hasil secara kolektif. Indonesia mempunyai pengalaman panjang pembentukan kelompok tani, sejak diluncurkannya program BIMAS, INSUS dan Supra Insus di era 1970-an dan 1980-an. Saat ini kebanyakan kelompok tani di Indonesia tidak lagi dibentuk atas inisiatif petani dalam memperkuat diri, melainkan kebanyakan merupakan respon dari program-program pemerintah yang mengharuskan petani berkelompok. Umumnya program-program bantuan pemerintah seperti: penyaluran pupuk bersudsidi, penyuluhan teknologi pertanian, kredit usahatani bersubsidi, dan program-program lain disalurkan melalui kelompok tani atau gabungan kelompok tani (Gapoktan). Petani yang ingin mendapat teknologi baru dan berbagai program bantuan pemerintah harus menjadi anggota kelompok atau anggota Gapoktan. Dengan demikian, peran kelompok tani tidak hanya sebagai media untuk menyalurkan bantuan-bantuan pemerintah, tetapi juga sebagai agen penerapan teknologi baru.
Student perceptions of security services at UKZN.

Security is a condition which is created by the conscious provision and application of physical security measures for the protection of persons, property and information. The security of students at universities and technikons for administrators constitutes a challenge and an obligation in creating and maintaining an environment that is conducive to teaching, learning and research. Literature on security and security management abounds from a business perspective, however, very little exists regarding security management at universities. In order to address and add to the literature, this study was conducted at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) amongst students on all five of its campuses. The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions that students have of security at the UKZN by way of their experience, interactions and observations. The questions that the study sought to answer was “do students feel safe at UKZN and what corrective measures can be taken to make them feel safer? ” The objectives set out in the study were designed specifically to identify the factors that could improve service delivery and change the way that security, in its entirety, is managed at the UKZN. A qualitative study was conducted based on a random sample of students from the five campuses. An electronic questionnaire was emailed to all registered students of the university. The sample comprised of 407 valid respondents. The study showed that whilst a marginal majority of students felt safe, a large proportion of students felt unsafe. The study shows that students were dissatisfied with the service and found the security officers to be incompetent and un-trained. One crucial aspect that emerged from the study is that resources were not utilized to their fullest and the perception of the majority of students was that security personnel were not functioning in the way that they should. It is recommended that resources are used optimally, rather than adding more resources, security staff require more training, contract security need to undergo ongoing induction and orientation to comply with UKZN security policies and procedures. Better security services inevitably adds value to the institution in that it lowers the university’s insurance risk profile, it attracts investment, and if security is managed effectively UKZN becomes the institution of choice for parents and prospective students.
RAR Inhibitors Display Photo-Protective and Anti-Inflammatory Effects in A2E Stimulated RPE Cells In Vitro through Non-Specific Modulation of PPAR or RXR Transactivation

N-retinylidene-N-retinylethanolamine (A2E) has been associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) physiopathology by inducing cell death, angiogenesis and inflammation in retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells. It was previously thought that the A2E effects were solely mediated via the retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-α activation. However, this conclusion was based on experiments using the RAR “specific” antagonist RO-41-5253, which was found to also be a ligand and partial agonist of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ. Moreover, we previously reported that inhibiting PPAR and retinoid X receptor (RXR) transactivation with norbixin also modulated inflammation and angiogenesis in RPE cells challenged in the presence of A2E. Here, using several RAR inhibitors, we deciphered the respective roles of RAR, PPAR and RXR transactivations in an in vitro model of AMD. We showed that BMS 195614 (a selective RAR-α antagonist) displayed photoprotective properties against toxic blue light exposure in the presence of A2E. BMS 195614 also significantly reduced the AP-1 transactivation and mRNA expression of the inflammatory interleukin (IL)-6 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) induced by A2E in RPE cells in vitro, suggesting a major role of RAR in these processes. Surprisingly, however, we showed that (1) Norbixin increased the RAR transactivation and (2) AGN 193109 (a high affinity pan-RAR antagonist) and BMS 493 (a pan-RAR inverse agonist), which are photoprotective against toxic blue light exposure in the presence of A2E, also inhibited PPARs transactivation and RXR transactivation, respectively. Therefore, in our in vitro model of AMD, several commercialized RAR inhibitors appear to be non-specific, and we propose that the phototoxicity and expression of IL-6 and VEGF induced by A2E in RPE cells operates through the activation of PPAR or RXR rather than by RAR transactivation.