Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Simulation-Guided Microwave Presintering Process on the Preparation and Final Properties of Pure Ceramic Rings: Lower Sintering Temperature and Higher Mechanical Properties

In order to improve the performance and endurance of steel rings used for twisting and winding yarns in the textile industry, a more wear-resistant ceramic version is studied and examined by conducting multiple simulations combined with microwave sintering experiments of the ring preparation process, aiming to reduce manufacturing costs and improve efficiency. The three-dimensional (3D) electromagnetic field simulation software HFSS is used to simulate the electromagnetic field distribution in the microwave sintering cavity and to determine the electromagnetic region with the most uniform electromagnetic field to guide the microwave sintering experiments. The 3Y-TZP ceramic rings are shaped by gel-casting. The effect of presintering on the performance of ceramic rings is investigated by applying conventional sintering and microwave sintering methods. The experimental results show that the simulation-guided microwave sintering process can resolve the deficiency of uneven microwave sintering at low temperatures. Comparing the final sintering temperatures and mechanical properties of the final ceramic-sintered rings obtained by microwave presintering to those obtained by conventional presintering, microwave presintered sample has a final temperature of 1400°C, which is 100°C lower than that of conventional presintering, which is 1500°C; its average grain size of 0.18 μm is dramatically smaller than that of conventional presintering, which is 0.24 μm, with about 80% of the grain sizes present in the range of 0.1-0.2 μm and a relative density of about 99%, as opposed to conventional presintering’s 70% falling between 0.2 and 0.3 μm and relative density of about 98%; the Vickers hardness and fracture toughness for microwave presintered sample reach 1550 kg·f·mm−2 and 9.05 MPa m1/2, respectively, which are both greater than 1431 kg·f·mm−2 and 8.86 MPa m1/2 in the conventional samples.
Otorhinological Manifestation in patients with thalassemia major

Purpose . This study was designed and intended to reveal the incidence of certain otorhinological presentations in patients with thalassemia major and the relation of desferoxamine with it. Patients and Methods: In our cross-sectional study we blindly select 100 patient complaining of thalassemia major whom attending Baquba teaching hospital for blood transfusion as part of their regular treatment . data collection was done in the otolaryngology outpatient clinic of the hospital. In those patients thalassemia major was documented by hemoglobin electrophoresis. History and examination in those patients was concentrated on nasal problems like nasal airway obstruction, temporomandibular joint complain like pain in TMJ region , ear problems like deafness , tinnitus and morphological abnormalities like saddle nose. clinical examination and pure tone audiometry were done Results:The relative frequency of certain otorhinological manifestations is high in patients with thalassemia major.Conclusion:Thalassemia major may be associated with certain otorhinological problems which can be early diagnosed and treated.
Relationships between Nestling Hemoglobin Concentration and Brood Performance Until Fledging in Great Tits Parus major and Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus

Abstract. Partial mortality in broods of altricial passerines results from various reasons, including deficiency of resources, inadequate parental care, diseases and other external factors. In this study we test two hypotheses concerning the phenomenon of partial mortality in nestling altricial passerines: (1) non-adaptive starvation hypothesis based on the assumption that partial brood losses are caused by starvation and undernourishment and has no adaptive value, and (2) adaptive starvation hypothesis assuming that losses from starvation might be elements of an adaptive strategy of reducing surplus nestlings in broods that are over-large. To test the above hypotheses we divided broods of two tit species Great Tit Parus major and Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus into two categories: broods with incomplete, less than 100% fledging success and broods with complete 100% fledging success. Subsequently, we compared physiological performance of nestlings between brood categories using blood hemoglobin concentration. We predicted, that if non-adaptive starvation hypothesis was correct, in broods with complete fledging success nestlings should be in better condition. Alternatively, if the adaptive starvation hypothesis was correct, no such difference in nestling condition should occur. In accordance with our prediction, we found that for both species, broods of nestlings that attained 100% fledging success had a higher mean hemoglobin concentration than broods in which fledging success was less than 100%. This result strongly supports non-adaptive starvation hypothesis.
The Role of Communication Apprehension and SelfStigma of Academic Help-Seeking in Native and Nonnative English Speakers: Evidence from UK University Students

Although communication apprehension (CA) has long been reported to hinder communication skills and academic attainment, its cumulative impact on self-stigma of academic help-seeking in a global education market has nevertheless been overlooked. The present study examined the relationship between CA and self-stigma of academic help-seeking among British university students who acquired English at different stages in their lives and its impact on achievement. Data were collected from 150 students who completed the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) and the self-stigma of academic help-seeking scale together with a demographic questionnaire. Overall, the findings showed a significant relationship between CA and self-stigma of academic help-seeking while age of English acquisition, residency status and level of study were also found to have a significant effect on the level of CA. The implications of the results are discussed within the higher education provision, pedagogy and psychological frameworks.
SISTEM PENDUKUNG PENGAMBILAN KEPUTUSAN REKRUTMEN GURU MENGGUNAKAN LOGIKA FUZZY TAHANI

Abstrak Salah satu upaya untuk mendapatkan guru yang kompeten di bidangnya adalah dengan melakukan proses rekrutmen guru berdasarkan empat kompetensi guru, yaitu kompetensi kepribadian, sosial, pedagodik, dan profesional. Akan tetapi, kendala dari proses rekrutmen guru yang sering dilakukan adalah subyektifitas pengambilan keputusan. Salah satu cara untuk mengatasi subyektifitas dalam perekrutan guru adalah dengan menggunakan logika fuzzy tahani. Untuk itu penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui implementasi logika fuzzy tahani dalam pengambilan keputusan penerimaan guru berdasarkan hasil tes keempat kompetensi guru. Penelitian ini terdiri dari tiga tahap. Tahap pertama adalah menentukan fungsi derajat keanggotaan dari nilai kompetensi kepribadian, sosial, pedagogik, dan profesional. Tahap kedua adalah mendesain program fuzifikasi tahani dengan menggunakan microsoft excel. Tahap ketiga adalah mengimplementasikan program fuzzy tahani yang berhasil dibuat untuk pengambilan keputusan penerimaan guru. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pengambilan keputusan penerimaan guru yang menggunakan logika fuzzy tahani lebih baik daripada hanya menggunakan nilai rata-rata. Karena logika fuzzy tahani mempertimbangkan berbagai kriteria, sedangkan rata-rata hanya mempertimbangkan satu kriteria yang memiliki nilai tinggi. Abstract One effort to get teachers who are competent in their fields is to conduct a teacher recruitment process based on four teacher competencies, namely personal, social, pedagodic, and professional competencies. However, the obstacle of the teacher recruitment process that is often done is the subjectivity of decision making. One way to overcome subjectivity in teacher recruitment is by using tahani fuzzy logic. For this reason, this study aim to determine the implementation of tahani fuzzy logic in the decision making for teacher admissions based on the results of the four teacher competency tests. This research consists of three stages. The first stage is determining the function of the degree of membership from the value of personal, social, pedagogical, and professional competencies. The second step is designing the tahani fuzification program using Microsoft Excel. The third stage is implementing the fuzzy tahani program that was successfully created for the decision to make admissions. The results showed that teacher acceptance decision making using tahani fuzzy logic was better than just using an average value. Because tahani fuzzy logic considers various criteria, while the average only considers one criterion that has a high value.
Can microcredit improve the risk management capacity of the poor fish farmers? Evidence from Bangladesh

ABSTRACT This study focused on assessing the opinions of the fish farmers concerning their risk management capacity under microcredit programs. Primary data were collected from male fish farmers living in the Mymensingh district of Bangladesh. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the opinions of the fish farmers as to whether their fishery risk management capacity had increased due to microcredit intervention. Propensity score matching technique was used to assess the impact of microcredit on the household incomes of the fish farmers. This study revealed that microcredit had a positive impact on increasing risk management capacity and on the household incomes of the fish farmers.
Uji Antibakteri Ekstrak Batang Kecombrang (Nicolaia Speciosa Horan) Terhadap Staphylococcus Aureus Dan Escherichia Coli

The aims of the research were to learn capability antibacterial of kecombrang stem extract againts the growth Staphylococus aureus and Escherichia coli and to determine the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) score. This research conducted an experimently by the antibacterial activity of kecombrang stem extracts by using polar, nonpolar and semipolar solvents against S. aureus and E. coli. The antibacterial activity was tested by using paper disk diffusion method and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) score by using dilution. The data obtained were tabulated and analysed descriptively. The antibacterial test show that ethyl acetate extract formed clear zone ranged between 1-3,5 mm in diameters, wich was higher than water extract (0,73-3,16 mm) and hexane extract (0,8-1,8 mm) kecombrang stem. Scores MIC show that ethyl acetate extract of kecombrang stem that inhibited the growth of E. coli dan S. aureus at concentration of 20 and 40% and extract water of kecombrang stem inhibited the growth of E. coli at concentration 80% and S. aureus at concentration of 40%. Meanwhile hexane extract of kecombrang stem inhibited the growth of E. coli and S. aureus at concentration 100%.
Comparison Between Quick Speech in Noise Test (QuickSIN test) and Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) in Adults with Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

bjectives: The purpose of this study was to compare between the two newly developed Arabic speech in noise tests (QuickSIN and HINT) to study the clinical utility of both tests in adults with sensorineural hearing loss. Materials and Method: Seventy five subjects, aged 18-50 years, were divided into two groups: Control group consisted of 25 normal hearing subjects and study group consisted of 50 subjects, who were further divided into three subgroups. Subgroup (IIa): 20 subjects with moderate and moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss. Subgroup (IIb): 20 subjects with moderate and moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss who were HAs users. Subgroup (IIc): 10 subjects with unilateral Cochlear implantation (CI). Materials: Arabic QuickSIN, Arabic HINT and Arabic Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) questionnaire. Results: The QuickSIN test had some advantages over HINT in terms of clinical use. The QuickSIN test showed better separation in recognition performances between normal hearing and hearing loss than HINT. The sensitivity for QuickSIN was higher than HINT in all subgroups. Correlation for the QuickSIN test with APHAP background noise (BN) subscale was higher than the correlation for the HINT in HL and HA subgroups. However, both tests were not correlated with APHAB (BN) subscale in CI group. Conclusions: Both tests explain the listener’s experience of hearing in background noise. However, QuickSIN test is a more sensitive measure of speech perception in noise than HINT does in both unaided and aided conditions. CI subjects had the lowest performance for both tests.
Do Emotions Affect Audit Practice? Terrorist Attacks and Accounting Misstatements

Psychology and neuroscience research shows that individuals with negative emotions (e.g., fear) are more sensitive to negative signals and exhibit a higher degree of risk aversion. Using local terrorist attacks as exogenous shocks that cause auditors to experience more negative emotions in the audit period, I empirically study the impact of negative emotions on audit practice. I find that accounting misstatements are less likely to occur for firms when there is a local terrorist attack in the audit period. The reduction in misstatements is stronger for auditors who are located closer to the terrorist attacks. Further evidence suggests that affected auditors are more likely to issue going concern opinions, spend more time on the audit, and charge higher audit fees. I obtain a similar set of results using airplane crashes as an alternative source of emotional shocks. Overall, the evidence is consistent with the idea that auditors with more negative emotions exert greater effort to lower misstatement risks. My findings provide large-scale archival causal evidence that emotions can affect audit outcomes.
Guardians of the Possibility that Claims Can Be False

It is difficult to be a philosopher in this postmodern era. This is so because philosophers, who heretofore have been the archetype of persons eager to engage in reasoned discourse, regardless of their differences, suddenly seem unable to talk to each other, primarily due to claim by postmoderns that non-postmoderns are naïve in their blindness to the fact that truth the claims cannot be true in any objective sense, and that claims to objectivity have been used maliciously throughout the ages to wield oppression. After exploring some of the seductive arguments of the post-modern position, and suggesting a re-working of the non-post-modern position, this paper will conclude that philosophical educators carry a heavy responsibility for limiting the real-life damage that has been produced by this philosophical truth-storm by siding firmly with its less contentious opposite by becoming guardians of the possibility that claims can be false.
Bank-Specific and Macroeconomic Determinants of Islamic Banks Profitability: The Case of GCC Countries

Generally, profitability for a business firm is the primary factor to survive. It helps the organization to grow, compete and remain attractive to investors as well as analysts. The purpose of the present study is to research in the bank-specific as well as macroeconomic determinants of Islamic banks in a region that’s consider to play an important role in Islamic finance development, namely the GCC region. The study used 28 Islamic banks operating in the GCC stock exchanges as a sample for the time of period from 2011 up to 2016, namely Boursa Kuwait, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Doha Securities Market, Bahrain Stock Exchange, Saudi Stock Exchange, Muscat Securities Market, and Dubai Financial Market. Pooled OLS regression is used to estimate the empirical model. The bank’s profitability is measured by the return on asset (ROA), whereas the independent variables that tested are capital adequacy ratio, operational efficiency, assets quality, financial leverage, bank size, liquidity risk, GDP growth, and inflation rate. The regression results indicate that bank-specific determinants including capital adequacy ratio, financial leverage, and operational efficiency are statistically significant and have negative relationship with the Islamic bank’s profitability. However, the bank size is the only tested variable that’s have a positively and significantly relationship with the banks’ profitability. Whereas, the study proves that there is nonlinear relationship between bank’s size and profitability. On the other hand, assets quality and liquidity risk are found to be insignificant determinants for Islamic banks’ profitability. Regarding the macroeconomic variables, GDP growth is the only variable shown that it is relating positively to Islamic banks profitability, whilst the inflation rate has no association with the Islamic banks profitability for the sample studied. These findings provide valuable policy implications which may assist Islamic banks operating in the GCC region to improve their performance and increase their profitability.
First Report on Assessing the Severity of Herbicide Resistance to ACCase Inhibitors Pinoxaden, Propaquizafop and Cycloxydim in Six Avena fatua Populations in Ireland

In response to growers reports of poor weed control, resistance to ACCase inhibitors pinoxaden, propaquizafop and cycloxydim was investigated in populations of six wild oats, Avena fatua, collected from cereal-dominated crop rotations in Ireland. Glasshouse assays confirmed reduced sensitivity to all three ACCase inhibitors in four of the six populations, R2 to R5. R1 was cross-resistant to pinoxaden and propaquizafop and R6 was resistant to propaquizafop only. Dose-response studies confirmed significant differences in the severity of resistance amongst these populations (p < 0.05). For pinoxaden, the ED50 or GR50 resistance factor (RF) of R1, R3 and R5 were between 11.6 and 13.1 times or 25.1 and 30.2 times more resistant, respectively, compared with the susceptible populations. For propaquizafop, the ED50 and GR50 RF of R1, R2, R3, R5 and R6 were between >7.8 and >32 or 16.6 and 59 times more resistant, respectively. For cycloxydim, only R5 had both high ED50 and GR50 RF values of >43.2 and 98.4 respectively. In R2, although the ED50 values to both pinoxaden and cycloxydim and additionally, R3 to cycloxydim, were above recommended field rates, their GR50 values remained below, suggesting a shift towards cross-resistance. While R4 was the only population, where both ED50 and GR50 for all ACCase inhibitors remained below recommended field rates, they would not give effective control at these rates, strongly indicating evolving resistance. This is the first study reporting variable cross-resistance types and levels to ACCase inhibitors in A. fatua from Ireland.
Ozone effects on European forest growth—Towards an integrative approach

The phytotoxic impacts of tropospheric ozone on cellular and molecular processes are increasingly understood and quantified. They generally lead to a decrease in plant carbon uptake that is mainly detectable at leaf scale. At larger scales, most of the empirical and modelling studies reported negative ozone effects on productivity, but the latest empirical studies and model developments temper these observations and simulations. Ozone impacts on European forest growth are controversial and seem negligible because of (1) differences among tree sizes and species, sites, data sources and methodological approaches, (2) the moderate link between adult tree growth and carbon uptake, (3) the presence of several confounding factors such as drought or nitrogen fertilization, and of legacy effects of past land use and management on stand development, and (4) the presence of compensatory processes such as tree acclimation, population adaptation and changes in competition intensity and species composition. We provide a comprehensive review of the empirical and modelling approaches available for ozone risk assessment by detailing their respective main outputs, advantages and limits, and examine research gaps. Synthesis. To disentangle between the forcing factors and to better understand ozone impacts at each ecosystem level and feedbacks across levels, and to reinforce the strength of ozone impact predictions, we recommend to combine ozone‐controlled experiments and long‐term monitoring data with physiological and forest succession process‐based models.
Indole -3- Butyric Acid Induces Plant Regeneration From Stem Cuttings Of Three Medicinal Plants

Field regeneration of three (3) medicinal plants - Securidaca longepedunculata (violet tree), Ocimum gratissimum (scent leaf) and Pterocarpus mildebraedii by means of rooting of stem cuttings at different lengths of 10 -15 cm and 15 -20 cm were studied. The effect of the plant hormone Indole-3-Butyric acid (IBA) at 5g/l was tested on rooting, bud sprout and leaf formation of the rooted stem cuttings of the plant species as well as the effect of the length of the stem cuttings on their growth and survival rates. The results of the study revealed that stem cuttings of O. gratissimum treated with IBA and the control treatment sprouted within 5 - 8 days. The treated O. gratissimum stem cuttings produced a slightly higher number of buds (2.58 ± 0.86) when compared to the control (2.00 ± 0.89) with no significant difference at P ≤ 0.05. Stem cuttings of the treated P. mildbraedii cuttings sprouted within 8 -10 days with 1.40 ± 0.37 number of buds, with the control showing no sprouts. Consequently, IBA application produced more leaves (13.00 ± 5.58) and roots (1.33 ± 0.01) than the control. However, O. gratissimum stem cuttings had the highest leaf (13.08 ± 4.47) and root numbers (135.00 ± 13.45) followed by the control with values- 13.00 ± 5.58 for leaf development and 61.66 ± 2.34 for root number respectively. Irrespective of the treatments, none of the stem cuttings of S. longepedunculata sprouted. This study showed that exogenous application of IBA to stem cuttings of the tested plants, except S. Longepedunculata, improved the root number, number of leaves and number of buds. Keywords: Stem cuttings, Indole-3-Butyric acid (IBA), Rooting
Performance of Newly Developed Weed-Competitive Rice Cultivars under Lowland and Upland Weedy Conditions

Four early-generation backcross populations (BC1F2) derived from one common recipient parental background, Weed Tolerant Rice 1 (‘WTR1’), and four different donor parents (‘Y134’, ‘Zhong 143’, ‘Khazar’, and ‘Cheng Hui-448’) were tested to identify suitable donor and recipient parents for weed competitiveness and to standardize evaluation of the weed-competitive ability in rice. ‘GSR IR2-6’ (G-6) derived from a backcross of WTR1/Y134//WTR1 was selected as the best population and was advanced for phenotypic experiments in the 2014 dry season. The introgression lines (ILs) derived from the G-6 population were evaluated for seed germination and seedling vigor in greenhouse conditions and for weed-competitive ability under field conditions (upland weed-free, upland weedy, and lowland weedy). Parents and checks were included for comparison. Selection pressure for weed competitiveness was relatively stronger in upland conditions than in lowland conditions. After three rounds of selection and based on their relative grain yield performances across conditions, a total of 21 most-promising introgression fixed lines showing superior traits and weed-competitive ability were identified. G-6-L2-WL-3, G-6-RF6-WL-3, G-6-L15-WU-1,G-6-Y16-WL-2, and G-6-L6-WU-3 were the top ILs in lowland weedy conditions, whereas G-6-Y7-WL-3, G-6-Y6-WU-3, G-6-Y3-WL-3, and G-6-Y8-WU-1 were the highest yielding in upland weedy conditions. The use of weed-competitive rice cultivars in African and Asian countries will be a highly effective strategy to reduce production costs and provide alternative solutions to the unavailability of herbicides. Competitive rice varieties will also significantly improve grain yields in aerobic rice systems and can become an important strategy for successful upland rice production. Nomenclature: Rice, Oryza sativa L.