Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Psychological Traits and Intention to Use E-Commerce among Rural Micro-Entrepreneurs in Malaysia

This study was set out to chiefly examine the influence of psychological traits—need of achievement (“N of Ach”) and risk-taking propensity (RTP)—on perceived usefulness (PUF) and perceived ease of use (PercEU), as well as their effects on the intention to use e-commerce among rural micro-entrepreneurs. This study exploited the psychological traits theories and the technology acceptance model (TAM) by utilizing samples represented by rural micro-entrepreneurs. The results of the study found that the N of Ach and RTP significantly influence PUF and PercEU. The two original TAM constructs and PercEU have significant relationships with PUF and intention. At the same time, it was also found that there exists a significant relationship between PUF and intention. This study therefore serves to fill the gaps where N of Ach and RTP of rural micro-entrepreneurs are seldom tested to examine the effects of perceptions of benefits and ease of use on the adoption of e-commerce. On top of that, this study provides vital input to policy makers and stakeholders of rural development in their efforts to increase the adoption of e-commerce among rural micro-entrepreneurs.
Reproductive biology of the white grunt, Haemulon plumierii, in the coastal waters of the northern Yucatán Peninsula

White grunt ( Haemulon plumierii ) has gained relevance as an alternative resource to fisheries off the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, however, knowledge of its biology in the region is scarce. Thus, in order to explore the reproductive biology of H. plumierii , a total of 355 specimens were caught with a hand line and bait, from September 2015 to November 2016 to conduct histological analysis of the gonads. The sample was represented by 233 males and 122 females, differing from the 1:1 sex ratio (1 female per 2.1 males). The reproductive season occurred from February to August with a maximum peak in May. The 50% maturity size (L50) was estimated at 15.15 and 15.22 cm TL for males and females, respectively. The batch fecundity ranged from 9,363 to 42,371 eggs per batch, with an average of 26,558 eggs. Several reproductive biology features were observed in H. plumierii , such as spring spawning seasonality, length at sexual maturity, asynchronous oocyte development with an indeterminate fecundity, and batch spawning. This kind of information can guide proposals for further sustainable fishery management measures that may guarantee the continuity of this economically important species in the region.
Feasible speeds for two optimal periodic walking gaits of a planar biped robot

Abstract The purpose is to define the range of feasible speeds for two walking motions for a particular planar biped robot, which differ in the definition of their finite-time double support phases. For each speed, these two walking motions are numerically obtained by using a parametric optimization algorithm, regarding a sthenic criterion. Results allow us to define the range of allowable speeds for each walking. One result is that the first gait is less consuming in energy for moderate to fast velocity with respect to the second one, while the second gait is more efficient for low walking velocity.
Multistage Exhumation in the Catchment of the Anninghe River in the SE Tibetan Plateau: Insights From Both Detrital Thermochronology and Topographic Analysis

The roles of lower‐crustal flow and upper‐crustal shortening on the growth of the SE Tibetan Plateau remain under debate, which calls for a knowledge about regional exhumation history. We analyzed apatite fission track ages of modern sediments from both the east and west sub‐catchments along the Anninghe River, in the SE plateau. We obtained four age components, with peaks a bit younger in the east than in the west. Combing the asymmetric topography with higher relief in the east, we concluded a non‐uniform exhumation pattern. The components are at the Oligocene, late‐Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene, mostly consistent with the timing for changes in catchment‐wide erosion rates as indicated by the inverse erosion history. We concluded that, in addition to the late‐Miocene lower‐crustal flow and Oligocene upper‐crustal shortening, the landscape in the SE plateau might also be under influences of fault strike‐slip transfer and drainage network reorganization.
Postprandial Triglycerides, Flow-Mediated Dilation, and the Inflammatory Cytokine Milieu in Metabolically Healthy Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study

The cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk of metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) remains controversial. We sought to further characterize the CVD risk profile in MHO by evaluating postprandial triglycerides, vascular function, and systemic inflammatory markers. Control individuals that were normal-weight and metabolically healthy (Con), MHO, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) were recruited (n = 10–11/group). Each participant underwent an abbreviated fat tolerance test, fasting and postprandial flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and had a panel of inflammatory cytokines measured. MHO displayed postprandial triglycerides similar to those in Con and both MHO and Con had lower values than those for MetS (p < 0.01). Fasting FMD was lower in MHO and MetS compared to that of Con (p < 0.01), but during the postprandial period the vasodilatory response of MHO was similar to that while fasting (p = 0.39), while FMD in Con and MetS decreased after the high-fat meal (p values < 0.01). MHO displayed a number of inflammatory cytokines greater than those of Con and MetS (all p values < 0.05), while MetS and MHO had higher TNF-α than did Con (p < 0.05). In conclusion, MHO was associated with lower fasting FMD and a greater inflammatory burden but did not suffer the same negative postprandial effects as did MetS.
Public Sector Employment, Quality of Government, and Well-Being: A Global Analysis

While a growing literature within the study of subjective well-being demonstrates the impact of socio-political factors on subjective well-being, scholars have conspicuously failed to consider the role of the size and scope of government as determinants of well-being. Where such studies exist, the focus is largely on the advanced industrial democracies of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. In this study, we examine the size of the public sector as a determinant of cross-national variation in life satisfaction across a worldwide sample. Our findings strongly suggest that as the public sector grows, subjective well-being increases as well, conditional on the extent of quality of government. Using cross-sectional data on 84 countries, we show this relationship has an independent and separable impact from other economic and political factors.
The effect of Chinese EFL students’ learning motivation on learning outcomes within a blended learning environment

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ learning motivation and learning outcomes in a blended learning environment. A questionnaire was administered to 960 EFL students, and 10 of them participated in an interview. Following a series of analyses on the data collected through the questionnaire, consisting of exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, descriptive analysis, and correlation analysis, a structural relationship model that integrated learning motivation and learning outcomes was developed and tested. The results reveal that both intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation have a positive relationship with learning outcomes within a blended learning environment, both of which are conducive to improving students’ English linguistic competence and facilitating their psychological development of English learning. Moreover, intrinsic motivation is more important than extrinsic motivation. In intrinsic motivation, intrinsic interest in English and the intrinsic goal of understanding English culture are the two most important motives. Based on these results, implications and recommendations for future research are provided.
STUDY ON THE BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WAXWORM AND THE APPLICATION OF WAXWORM TO NYLON PE WASTE TREATMENT IN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Received: 14/4/2021 Globally, the situation of plastic waste is causing several negative impacts on the environment and human health. Besides being a food for birds and reptiles, waxworms are known for their ability to eat plastic waste. The research aimed to study biological characteristics of waxworms (Galleria mellonella), then apply them to solve the nylon waste problem in International School Thai Nguyen University. The study was conducted on 3 experiments with main food sources as PE nylon and honey, under the appropriate temperature and humidity conditions at the laboratory of the International School Thai Nguyen University for 3 months: August, September and October in 2020. The research results showed that experiencing 4 stages of development, waxworms completed their whole life in a period of 35 40 days. Nylon PE is assimilated only at larval stage of waxworms. With appropriate living conditions of 26-33 o C, 80-83% humidity, the amount of nylon that 100 waxworms could handle in the larval stage when the feed contained only nylon was 1517.7 ± 8.9 mg, this figure reached 2200.2 ± 8.7 mg when the feed was added 5g honey/tray and achieved 2120.3 ± 7.9 mg when the feed was mixed 10 g honey/tray. The result showed that waxworms are capable of handling nylon PE in the temperature and humidity conditions at International School Thai Nguyen University. Revised: 04/5/2021
Assessing Panamanian hospitals' performance with alternative frontier methods

In the last decades, there has been a growing interest in measuring the eﬃciency of hospitals using diﬀerent methodological approaches, mainly represented by data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). In this study, we estimate eﬃciency measures of performance for a sample of Panamanian public hospitals over an 11-year period (2005–2015) using both traditional methods (DEA and SFA) and compare them with eﬃciencies estimated with an alternative approach, the so-called StoNED (stochastic semi-nonparametric envelopment of data), which combines the virtues of those methods in a uniﬁed framework. One of the most interesting features of the public health system in Panama is that it is segmented, as hospitals are operating under two parallel management schemes (the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund), thus in our empirical analysis we will also focus on exploring the diﬀerences between hospitals operating under each regime. Our results show that there are certain divergences in the eﬃciency scores estimated with diﬀerent methodologies, but for all of them it is possible to detect that Panamanian hospitals experienced a clear decrease in their eﬃciency levels throughout the period evaluated, being this much higher in the hospitals belonging to the Social Security Fund.
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Reforming Pedagogy Through Assessment

The study analyses the scope and role of Bloom’s Taxonomy in reforming teaching-learning practices in the classroom. Bloom’s Taxonomy propounds that teaching-learning process and assessment items should transcend beyond lower domains of learning i.e. remembering, understanding and applying to the higher domains of learning namely analysing, evaluating and creating. However, this study establishes that teacher always teach in accordance with the normative assessment patterns and students also learn accordingly. In this case, if assessment system is predominantly focused on lower domains, the teaching-learning practices will never transcend to higher domains. This study employs Bloom’s Taxonomy to categorise and analyse each item included in the annual question papers designed by the Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Mirpurkhas for the subject of English for grade XII. At Sindh province level, it has been found that 74% is exhausted for the lower domains whereas only 26% is used for higher domains. Given to the normative assessment practices, teachers and students would remain focused only on the lower domains, but by altering the course, the pedagogical practices and teaching-learning process in Sindh province can remarkably be reformed and transformed from sheer memorization and rote-learning to critical thinking, solution-making, knowledge-building process and analytical skills
Studies on curry leaf (Murraya koenigii L).

Sorted picked curry leaves were analysed for chemical composition and then dried either in the sun (33 degree C), in cross-flow driers (55-58 degree C), in through-flow driers (55-58 degree C) or vacuum-shelf driers (50 degree C). Changes in moisture content, volatile oil yield and colour were determined. Results are tabulated. Yield of volatile oil was greater from dried leaves than fresh leaves. Vacuum-shelf drying gave the best green colour, but sun drying tended to blacken the leaves. TLC and GLC patterns are given for the oil. Caryophyllene, alpha-pinene and beta-pinene were identified as constituents.
The Impact of Nrf2 Silencing on Nrf2-PD-L1 Axis to Overcome Oxaliplatin Resistance and Migration in Colon Cancer Cells

Background: Nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) plays a key role in promoting chemoresistance in various cancers. PD-L1 is one of the downstream targets of the Nrf2 signaling pathway. This molecule has some beneficial impacts on tumors growth by inhibition of the immune system. This study aimed to investigate the potential role of the Nrf2-PD-L1 axis in the promotion of oxaliplatin resistance in colon cancer cells. Methods: We examined Nrf2, PD- L1, and CD80 expression in the tumor and margin tissue samples from CRC patients. After that role of the Nrf2-PD-L1 axis in promotion of Oxaliplatin resistance was investigated. Results: Our data revealed that Nrf2 and PD-L1 mRNA expressions were markedly higher in tumor tissues compared to margin tissues. The PD-L1 mRNA expression level was also increased in the resistant cells. However, Nrf2 expression was decreased in SW480/Res cells and increased in LS174T/Res cells. The inhibition of Nrf2 through siRNA treatment in SW480/Res and LS174T/Res cells has decreased the IC50 values of oxaliplatin. Inhibition of the Nrf2 has significantly increased the oxaliplatin-induced apoptosis, and reduced the migration in SW480/Res cells. Conclusion: It is suggested that effective inhibition of Nrf2-PD-L1 signaling pathways can be considered as a novel approach to improve oxaliplatin efficacy in colon cancer patients.
The Influence of International Tourists’ Destination Image of Pakistan on Behavioral Intention: The Roles of Travel Experience and Media Exposure

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to examine how international tourists’ destination image of Pakistan influences their behavioral intention and travel experience. The mediating effect of travel experience and the moderating effect of media exposure in this relationship was also investigated. Data from international tourists were collected online and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results revealed that destination image has a significant impact on both travel experience and behavioral intention. Moreover, travel experience and media exposure significantly mediate and moderate, respectively, the link between destination image and behavioral intention. This paper enhances the current understanding of tourists’ intention to visit or revisit Pakistan based on their destination image, travel experience, and biased media.
The Association between Daily Fluid Balance and Mean Perfusion Pressure as a Critical Sign in the Intensive Care Unit of Adam Malik Central Hospital, Medan

BACKGROUND: The patient mortality rate in intensive care unit (ICU) is still high. However, we still lack measures to reduce this high mortality rate. Fluid balance is known as a marker for mortality in ICU. If the balance of fluid becomes more positive, the mortality rate consequently becomes higher. Positive fluid balance elevates central venous pressure (CVP), while this elevation increases the risk of renal failure and mortality. Mean perfusion pressure (MPP) is the difference between mean arterial pressure and CVP. AIM: We propose that the MPP value can be used as an alternative indicator to monitor excessive fluid balance since its measurement is faster and more accurate than the manual 24 h record of fluid balance. PATIENTS AND METHODS: It is expected that we can prevent excessive fluid accumulation and the subsequent mortality risk by monitoring MPP in the ICU. To investigate the association between MPP and daily fluid balance in the ICU, a prospective study was conducted from March 2016 to August 2018 in the ICU of Adam Malik Hospital, Medan. During the study period, 76 patients were admitted. Sixty-point 5% were male, with the mean age of 48.3 ± 16.5 years old. RESULTS: The overall mortality of 76 patients was 10.5%, and there was a significant negative correlation found between MPP and fluid balance (r = −0.204; p = 0.048), where a lower MPP value was associated with a more positive fluid balance. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that there is a negative correlation between MPP and fluid balance, where a more positive fluid balance is associated with a lower MPP value. The positive fluid balance had been previously associated with increased mortality risk in the ICU. Edited by: Sinisa Stojanoski Citation: Lubis B, Amelia P, Akil MAY. The Association between Daily Fluid Balance and Mean Perfusion Pressure as a Critical Sign in the Intensive Care Unit of Adam Malik Central Hospital, Medan. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2021 Jun 04; 9(T3):52-55. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2021. 6282
Corporate governance disclosure and corporate performance of Nigerian banks

Corporate disclosure is a key mechanism of corporate governance. This study examined the effect of corporate governance disclosure (CGD) on the financial performance of commercial banks listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. Based on the provisions of the Code of Corporate Governance for Public Companies in Nigeria, 2011 and the Code of Corporate Governance for Banks and Discount Houses 2014, the study developed a disclosure checklist and employed content analysis technique to extract corporate governance (CG) from 78 annual reports of 13 Nigerian commercial banks from 2011 to 2016. The study trichotomized CGD into those relating to the board of directors, risk framework, and whistleblowing policy. The results of the hypothesized relationships showed a positive and significant association between CGD and the banks' financial performance, with a positive effect of CGD on the board of directors and whistleblowing policy. However, the study did not find a significant association between CGD of risk management framework and the banks' financial performance. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing a broader understanding of the effect of CGD on banks' financial performance. The development of a disclosure checklist based on the regulators’ codes of corporate governance is a useful addition to the literature.
Restrictions’ acceptance and risk perception by young generations in a COVID-19 context

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of the acceptance of national governments’ restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the citizens’ safety perceptions of daily life and future plans. In particular, the aim is to examine the relationship among the citizens who belong to Generations Y and Z and who represent the future of tourism markets, as tourists and as host communities, in three important receiving countries, namely, Egypt, Portugal and Turkey. Design/methodology/approach This pilot project gathers data from three important receiving countries located on two continents involving 348 residents from Generations Y and Z. To identify the factors underlying the “acceptance of restrictions and measures” and the “Impacts of the COVID-19 threat on safety perceptions” a factor analysis was carried out. Notably, Pearson's correlation coefficient and a multiple linear regression analysis allowed to analyze the relationships between the two factors and a Kruskal–Wallis test was used to assess the influence of individuals’ country of residence. Findings The results reveal that in general, young generations accepted the measures and restrictions imposed by the respective governments. In addition, the present pandemic has a strong impact on their safety perception in daily lives and future plans to travel. Moreover, results prove that between the three countries there are dissimilarities showing that the countries' situation regarding COVID-19 influences those two dimensions. Research limitations/implications This study adds to the development of studies on the impacts of health risks in tourism activity, specifically on the safety measures adopted and their impacts on local receiving communities. It shows that the current pandemic is severely affecting the daily lives and plans for the future of citizens and tourists, which is in accordance with previous studies. Practical implications The outcome of this study paves the way for policy-makers in the tourism industry because it presents experiences from Generations Y and Z members, future customers and tourist products consumers, but also from receiving communities. Social implications The results of this study bring some light on how local communities, specifically, the younger generations, are facing this pandemic period and on the impact it has on the way they face daily life, future plans and on their level of acceptance of a sector as important as tourism. Originality/value To the knowledge, besides the relevant studies already conducted on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the tourism field, no study has yet been carried out to analyze how residents have reacted and accepted the restrictions and security measures imposed by their national governments and their impact on residents’ feelings and perceptions, daily lives and travel plans. Furthermore, the specific impacts of this crisis will have on the younger generations are yet to be analyzed.
The Quest for Shape Control: A History of Gold Nanorod Synthesis

The development of facile seeded growth syntheses for anisotropic gold nanoparticles (particularly gold nanorods) has spurred an interest in their optical properties and applications. The development of the first seeded growth synthesis for gold nanorods in 2001 was a transformative event, providing the first simple, convenient wet chemistry route to these nanomaterials. Over the past decade, the original seeded growth procedure has been the subject of further modifications that have continuously expanded researchers’ access to anisotropic gold nanoparticles. Recent modifications to the synthesis have improved synthetic control over gold nanorod aspect ratio, increased synthesis up to the gram scale, and provided the opportunity to tightly control the absolute dimensions of AuNRs. Despite these advances, the mechanism of gold nanorod growth in this synthesis remains poorly understood. Recent investigations into gold nanorod growth mechanisms have revealed the process to be unexpectedly complex, suggesting.