Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Emotional Intelligence - Enhanced Instruction to Develop EFL Students’ Critical Reading Skills and Their Attitudes Towards English Learning as a Sustainable Development Process

(359) Occasional Papers Vol. 68: October (2019) ISSN 1110-2721 Emotional Intelligence Enhanced Instruction to Develop EFL Students’ Critical Reading Skills and Their Attitudes Towards English Learning as a Sustainable Development Process. Samah Mohamed Fahim Elsakka Abstract The study investigated the impact of Emotional Intelligence (EI) enhanced instruction on developing the critical reading skills of EFL adults and fostering their attitudes towards English learning as a sustainable development process. This is a one group pre/post study. The participants were 50 EFL freshmen at Suez Faculty of Education. The study entailed three instruments: The Schutte’s Emotional Intelligence Scale, a pre/post critical reading test and an English learning as a sustainable process attitude scale. Differences in the mean scores of the pre/post critical reading test as well as the pre/post attitude scale of English learning as a sustainable development process were calculated using ttest. The statistical analyses revealed a significant difference in the mean scores of the pre/post test of critical reading as well as the pre/post administration of attitude scale in favor of the post tests. In addition, a positive correlation existed between emotional intelligence and both participants’ critical reading skills and their attitudes to learn English as a sustainable development process. It was concluded that participants’ critical reading ability and their attitudes to learn English as a sustainable development process were significantly enhanced after receiving emotional intelligence enhanced instruction.
ENACTING POMAK BELONGING: WEDDING PERFORMANCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA IN POST – SOCIALIST BULGARIA *

This article shows how collective, public, cultural acts, such as ritual reenactment and virtual discussions about traditional rituals on social media, can enact political subjectivity. The case study concerns the Pomaks, an ethnoreligious minority that is not officially recognized as such in contemporary Bulgaria. Pomaks’ stage performances of a particular moment of their traditional wedding ritual evoke their collective memory of a traumatic past, in which they were prevented from practicing this and other rituals that mark them as culturally distinctive. The goal of Pomak activists is counterhegemonic and transvaluative, aiming to have their group accepted on equal footing with the dominant group. Using the wedding ritual as proof of a historical link, Pomaks have connected with other Slavic speaking Muslims in the Balkans, enacting their belonging in new ways. Their acts on stage and online create a new identity/subjectivity that breaks with the officially accepted story of their culture and origins.
Isolation and Purification of Proteolytic Enzymes, Produced by Strains of Genus Bacillus

One hundred sixty-six bacterial strains belonging to genus Bacillus were tested for protease production. Ninety percent of the studied strains demonstrated protease activity on nutrient gelatin and milk agar. A strain Bacillus thuringiensis was selected as the most promising for enzyme production based on its initial enzyme activity of 9.2 U/ml. The nutrient medium composition and cultivating conditions were optimized aiming better yields. The highest protease activity of 15 U/ml was achieved on the following conditions: inoculation of the medium with 5% inoculum (6.0 McF), followed by 16 hours of cultivation in liquid medium containing 0.5% glucose, 0.55% Bacto Peptone, 50mM phosphate buffer and 0.2% magnesium ions. The produced enzymes were partially purified 5.6 fold by ultrafiltration and size-exclusion chromatography on Sephadex G-75 and had a specific activity of 17.7 U/mg. The approximate molecular weights were determined by SDS-PAGE to be between 45 and 66 kDa.
Neves, A.L. and Figueiredo, A.D., Modeling a web-based educati

Paper accepted to Euroconference’98 – New Technologies for Higher Education. The advent of the Internet has brought about an immensity of opportunities for educational innovation. Many people, all over the world, are attempting to explore the inherent challenges. However, most of them tend to merely concentrate on content. Our belief is that there is no real future in content if context is not carefully taken into account. This paper aims at stressing the importance of context – a much neglected core component of Web-based educational environments –, relating it to some key concepts proposed by Vygotsky, Argyris and Senge. To this end, we present some of the learning activities that can be explored in Web-based environments, we relate them to the main learning philosophies and associated cognitive and affective competencies, and we propose a model for the representation of educational intranets that borrows the UML notation from Software Engineering and takes into account both content and context.
The effect of poultry manure on proximate composition and in vitro gas production of Panicum maximum cv T 58 in the derived savanna zone of Nigeria.

The in vitro gas production and the proximate composition of field grown Panicum maximum cv T 58 (Guinea grass) harvested from poultry manured soil and harvested after 6 weeks of regrowth was determined. The experiment was a split plot design with three replicates. Poultry droppings increased the volume of the gas produced in both stem and leaf of P. maximum cv T 58. The result reveals that stems produce higher methane gas than the leaf. This indicates that the stem lost high energy compared to the leaves when fed to the ruminants. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in metabolizable energy (ME), organic matter digestibility (OMD) and short chain fatty acids (SFA) measured. Panicum maximum from fertilized poultry dropping recorded higher crude protein 8.40% content in the leaf compared with the stem of 5.08 %. Despite these variations, the forage generally contained adequate amounts of the minerals to meet livestock requirements. In production systems, the quality of Panicum maximum a major feed of grazing animals in south Western Nigeria could be enhanced by application of the poultry dropping to the soil.
The Demand for Soccer1

In this paper we investigate the determinants of the number of attendants of a soccer match. We propose a censored regression model to account for the fact that the grounds of the clubs have limited capacity. This enables us to determine the real, or potential, demand for soccer. The independent variables of our model consist of two types: club specific and match specific variables. The former include current form, current league position and club dummies (both for the home and away team). The match specific variables include geographical distance, a derby and top-match dummy and a dummy to account for the day the match is played. Our results stress the importance of club specific variables that do not change within a season. We find that the top-clubs, Ajax, Feyenoord and PS V, generate in their away matches a gross total of four and a half million guilders per season for the other clubs. We also find that FC Groningen looses almost a quarter of a million guilders per season due to its isolated geographical position. 1 We would like to thank the participants of the “Bijeenkomst voor Sport en Statistiek” and an anonymous referee for their comments. We also would like to thank Joost Schraag helping us collect (part of) the data. department of Actuarial Science & Econometrics, University of Amsterdam, Roetersstraat 11, 1018 WB Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 3Foundation for Economic Research (SEO), University of Amsterdam, Roetersstraat 11, 1018 WB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
TRADITION AND MODERNITY IN VETERINARY MEDICINE, 2020, vol. 5, No 2(9): 88–99 HEAVY METALS ACCUMULATION IN BLACK SEA ECOSYSTEMS: SEAWATER, SEDIMENT, ALGAE, BENTHIC ORGANISMS

The aim of the current review study was to present data on the accumulation of various heavy metals in the Black Sea ecosystems. Subject of study were Pb, Cd, As, Hg, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Fe etc. and their content in seawater, sediment, algae and various benthic organisms. Available data from the Bulgarian coast and also from different Black Sea areas were presented.
Journal of Turkish Science Education/2014, 11(1),3-23

In an attempt to evaluate the impact of the use of a simulation on the learning concepts of relative dating, a study was carried out with first year students at the Technical High School of the city of Taza (Morocco). The method of the study was semi-experimental research design with pre-test and post-test. The study used two groups including the experimental (n = 16) and control (n = 16) groups. The learning outcomes of both groups of students were compared and analysed for significance using the Student’s ttest and the Mann-Whitney U test. The findings showed that the integration of a simulation of relative chronology can have a positive effect on students’ learning if it is properly integrated at an appropriate time during the students’ training.
University of Groningen Brain-related comorbidities in boys and men with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Hendriksen,

Aim: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is more than a muscle disease since there is a higher prevalence of neuropsychological comorbidities. Similarly, the prevalence of epilepsy is increased. Given the nowadays-increasing interest in brain-related comorbidites in DMD, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between DMD, epilepsy, and associated neurodevelopmental disorders in an international sample of DMD patients. Method: Using a questionnaire-based study we investigated the occurrence of self/by-proxy reported brain-related comorbidities in a group of 228 DMD patients. We evaluated the presence of epilepsy and other brain-related comorbidities, but also the specific mutation in the dystrophin gene. With respect to epilepsy, all individually reported epilepsy cases as based on the questionnaire results including information provided on epilepsy treatment, EEG abnormalities, and a description of how a typical seizure would look like, were independently and blindly re-assessed by two external paediatric neurologists (Cohen’s kappa of 0.85). Results: Based on the latter, 18 (7.9%) DMD patients were considered to have epilepsy. In patients with both DMD and epilepsy, certain other brain-related comorbidities (i.e. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety disorders and sleep disorders) were significantly more prevalent. Conclusion: This study is supportive of a high occurrence of epilepsy and other brain-related comorbidities in DMD. Furthermore this study shows for the first time that the frequency of some of these disorders appear to be further increased when epilepsy is present next to DMD. As this study is limited by the self/by proxy setup and the lack of response rates, future studies should elucidate the true incidence of the (triangular) cooccurence between epilepsy, neurodevelopmental deficits, and DMD.
Decision Usefulness of Net Income versus Comprehensive Income: Case of Financial Firms in Malaysia

Research aims: This paper aims at investigating the decision usefulness, namely predictive power and value relevance, of Net Income (NI) in comparison with Comprehensive Income (CI) for financial firms in Malaysia. Design/Methodology/Approach: Panel data analysis techniques are used. An unbalanced panel data is obtained from 29 financial firms listed in Malaysia from 2012 to 2017. Research findings: Pertaining to predictive power tests, there is not enough evidence to conclude that one accounting metric has better predictive power than the other. In terms of value relevance, the results show that NI is better than CI using both Price and Return models. This indicates that NI is more decision useful to investors than CI for financial firms in Malaysia. Originality: This study expands on the literature on the decision usefulness of NI in comparison with CI for financial firms in the context of an emerging economy with a smaller and less efficient market in the Asian region such as Malaysia. This study is related to fair value accounting (FVA) where it is still underexplored in the Malaysian setting. Hence, this study may provide some insights to the financial statements’ users in understanding the effects of FVA on reported earnings in Malaysia where such evidence is lacking. Practitioner/Policy implications: The findings may assist investors in making better investment decisions in the Malaysian market. This study may benefit the academicians by offering a body of knowledge as a reference for furthering and broadening their research on this area in other jurisdictions. The paper may also be relevant to the standard setters, regulators, and policymakers as it offers empirical evidence on the decision usefulness of accounting information disclosure in the context of an emerging country such as Malaysia.
The relationship between inter-organizational trust and employee engagement and performance

There is a growing interest on the concept of employee engagement in the corporate world as well as in the academic world. Employee engagement is all about employees, cognitive, emotional and behavioral involvement of his or her job as well as the organization. On the basis of the review of the existing literature this paper analyze the consequences of employees engagement for job performance. This paper aims at enhancing understanding of the consequences of employee engagement on job performance by examining the mediating role of trust. It presents a conceptual framework of interorganizational trust, employee engagement and employee job performance.
GENOTYPE X ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION AND STABILITY ANALYSIS FOR YIELD IN DURUM WHEAT

The objectives of this research were to assess genotype-environment interaction (GEI) and to determine stability of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) cultivars for grain yield in the Sulaimani province. seven durum wheat cultivars (Iraq7, Rash gull, Sham1, Bohooth 5, Acsad 65, Sham3 and Crezo )were evaluated under rainfed conditions using a randomized complete block design with3 replications. The study was conducted for 2 sowing date and at 3 different locations around Sulaimani province, Kurdistan-Iraq. Eight parametric stability methods including: the mean of yield; joint regression coefficient (bi), deviation from regression(S 2 di); environmental variance (EV); genotypic superiority index; deviation from mean (DFM) ; homeostasis (H%); genotypic resultant (GR) were used to identify the stability of these cultivars at six various environments in grain yield. The results showed different response among cultivars for environments and no cultivar had superior performance in all Environments. Yield reduction was large under spring sowing (58%). The stability parameters showed a wide range of variation between cultivars for grain yield. By simultaneous selection for yield and stability the cultivars Crezo and Iraq7 had the best values according to most parameters of stability; hence, it has a wide adaptability over a range of environments of rainfall conditions in Sulaimani, Kurdistan-Iraq.
Effect of Citrofortunella microcarpa (Calamansi) Peelings on Whole Blood Coagulation Using Blood Samples from Albino Mice

Citrofortunella microcarpa, locally known as calamansi in the Philippines, is an intergeneric hybrid between Citrus reticulata and Fortunella japonica. This fruit is widely cultivated in the Philippines for its fruit juice as an abundant source of vitamin C and as a condiment in many local foods in the country. Sadly, only the pulp is needed for squeezing while the peels are thrown after extracting the juice. Previous studies revealed that the peels of Citrus, as member of the Rutaceae family, can synthesize both coumarins and furanocoumarins wherein their derivates are used as oral anticoagulants which can inhibit vitamin K from functioning as a cofactor in the hepatic synthesis of the vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors II, VII, IX, and X. In this study, the extract of calamansi peelings were proven to have an anticoagulant property on blood samples from albino mice. This study will pave the way for scientists to allot time in studying calamansi peelings for it may be another source of medicine to help patients who are prone to have stroke, myocardial infarction, and other blood clotting diseases.
Validation of mineralisation procedures for the determination of selenium, zinc, iron and copper in chicken meat and feed samples by ICP-AES and ICP-MS

Mineralisation procedures for determining Fe, Zn, Cu and Se in chicken meat and feed samples were studied. We employed three different sample preparation procedures to determine these elements by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. An open vessel wet mineralisation procedure was used for chicken meat analysis. Here, in the case of the trace elements Cu and Se, it was necessary to concentrate and reduce the acid matrix effects so samples were heated to dryness. However, this procedure causes Se volatilisation losses leading to low recoveries and high variability. Therefore, a closed vessel microwave mineralisation procedure was developed for chicken meat samples. The results obtained using this procedure presented a much lower variability (2.5, 2.0 and 3.1% of RSD for Zn, Fe and Se, respectively) and were consistent with the certified values for the reference material being assessed. Cu content, despite presenting a relatively high variability (RSD = 11%) also agreed with the certified value for the reference material. Recoveries in spiked chicken meat were 103–105% for Zn, 107–108% for Fe, 97–100% for Se and 89–94% for Cu. However, when this procedure was used with feeds, some mineralised samples presented siliceous particles which led to a lower recovery of Zn compared with that recorded when using another microwave mineralisation procedure in which these particles had been dissolved with hydrofluoric acid. This alternative mineralisation procedure for feeds was validated by assessing the precision, recovery and sensitivity when determining each element.
A Conceptual Framework for Teacher-Child Relationships in Early Childhood

Teacher-child relationship is an important factor for the overall development of the child. It is also a reflector of child centred teaching practices, classroom quality and child outcomes. These relationships are influenced by many factors that are personal to teacher and child and are also related to the classroom environment. Positive teacher-child relationships develop warm and secure teacher-child bondings which are beneficial for the socioemotional and academic success of the child. Dependent and conflictual teacher-child relationships are stressful for teachers and have a negative outcome for the child. This paper explores the literature to recognise the factors affecting teacher-child relationships and have proposed a conceptual framework to understand these relationships in ethnically and socioeconomically diverse classrooms. Literature has tried to define these relationships according to the attachment theory or through bio-ecological model of development thus ignoring the role of culture as a major factor in formation of these relationships. This paper used Bourdiue’s theory of Capital, Field and Habitus and Contextual System Model of Pianta as theoretical framework and proposes Cultural Framework for teacher-child relationships.
The Effectiveness of Practical Work on Students’ Interest towards Learning Physics

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the use of practical work in secondary school can enhance students’ interest towards learning physics. This study was conducted in a secondary school at Semporna district in Sabah. A total of sixty-six (66) Form Four students (e.g., 16 years old) participated in this research; thirty-two (32) students were assigned to experimental group and thirty-four (34) students to control group. The experimental group was taught by using practical work meanwhile the control group was taught by using traditional teaching method. Overall, mixed methods were used in this study. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through questionnaire and interviews. Pre-survey and post-survey on interest towards learning physics were administered before and after the treatment for both groups. Besides, a semi-structured interview was conducted as well after the treatment in both groups to observe about their feedback. Quantitative data were gathered and analysed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 22.0. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test showed that students in the experimental group showed a significant difference in their interest towards learning physics after the treatment compared to students in control group. Furthermore, the results from the interview were audio-taped and transcribed, indicated that students in experimental group revealed more interest towards learning physics compared to the control group. 4 emerging themes appeared in control group were lack of interest, lack of understanding in physics, lack of excitement and eager to have more experiments and hands-on activities whereas 6 emerging themes identified from experimental group were gain more interest, understanding better in physics, gain new experience, gain excitement, physics made easy and collaboration with friends. Therefore, it is suggested that teacher should conduct practical work with students frequently to increase their interest towards learning physics.
Is Ankle Plantar-Flexor Strength associated With Balance and Walking Speed in Healthy People? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between ankle plantar-flexor muscle (PF) strength and balance and walking speed in healthy adults. METHODS Four databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, CINAHL Plus, and SPORTDiscus) were searched from inception until December 2019. Studies with any design were included if the association between PF strength and balance and walking speed was investigated among healthy adults. Articles were screened for eligibility independently by two reviewers. Study characteristics and Pearson r values derived from the association between PF strength and balance and walking speed were extracted. Thirty-four studies were eligible. The main group of interest in the studies was older adults. Pearson r values were transformed to rz values using Fisher z-transformation. Meta-analysis of rz values was conducted and then back-transformed to r. RESULTS In older adults, PF maximal isometric strength had a positive weak association with static balance (r = 0.20; 95% CI = 0.08-0.32), a positive moderate association with dynamic reactive balance (r = 0.42; 95% CI = 0.32-0.57) and proactive balance (r = 0.55; 95% CI = 0.18-1.06), and a positive weak association with preferred walking speed (r = 0.29; 95% CI = 0.19-0.41), and maximum walking speed (r = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.06-0.63). In younger adults, there was a moderate association between early phase PF rate of torque development and reactive balance (0.42 < r < 0.52). CONCLUSIONS PF strength appears to moderately be associated with dynamic reactive and proactive balance and weakly associated with static balance and walking speed. This finding highlights the potential role of PF strength in dynamic reactive and proactive balance.