Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Migration Patterns, Timing, and Seasonal Destinations of Adult Ferruginous Hawks (Buteo regalis)

Abstract The Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis) is a keystone raptor in arid-land ecosystems in western North America that is experiencing population declines in some regions. Range-wide migration patterns, destinations, and chronology of adult hawks have not been described. Between 1999 and 2014, we captured 69 adult Ferruginous Hawks east and west of the Continental Divide and monitored them ≤6 yr with satellite telemetry to document their migration ecology. During a short time (x̄ = 30 d, SD = 23) before migrating, 22% of hawks made brief movements away from territories (x̄ = 211 km, SD = 133) and then returned. Migrating hawks (98% of 89 analyzed patterns) moved across broad fronts using five different strategies in three distinct periods: summer (July–August), fall (September–November), and spring (February–March). Breeding range longitude and latitude strongly influenced (r = 0.78) timing of summer migration that was directed to focal areas shared by breeding populations of hawks in the Northern Grasslands and Central Plains. Hawks nesting in grasslands from Canada to the Southern Plains demonstrated a strong pattern of southward migration to summer and winter ranges along the east front of the Rocky Mountains to central Mexico. Hawks from shrub-steppes in the Columbia Basin and Great Basin migrated eastward to summer ranges across the Continental Divide to grasslands, then to wintering areas in California and northern Mexico. On average, adult hawks spent 64% of the year away from breeding home ranges and migrated 2376 km (SD = 1165) annually, but differences in migration destinations, distance (P = 0.048), and duration (P < 0.0001) among populations potentially exposed them to variable levels and types of stressors. Accordingly, conservation of nonbreeding habitats used by Ferruginous Hawks is important for maintaining health of breeding populations; conservation efforts should emphasize protection of fossorial prey and habitats on shared summer ranges and winter ranges in the Mexican grasslands and Central Valley of California.
The Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure on University of Mines and Technology Campus and Its Impact on Library e-Resource Accessibility

Abstract The University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, Ghana has a Local Area Network (LAN) infrastructure whose primary purpose is to facilitate research; teaching and learning; and information dissemination. The LAN infrastructure spans a maximum distance of 1.39 square-kilometers with an upload and download speed of 115 Mb/s and interconnects the administration block, faculties, library and halls of residence with high-speed ethernet links operating over a dedicated fiber optic backbone. The LAN infrastructure with connectivity to the internet impact operations in various sections of the University, notably, the University Library. The main purpose of the library is to interact with different information networks to make available e-resource materials to students, academic and non-academic staff. This can only be achieved over a dedicated LAN infrastructure. The introduction of Library Management Systems (Koha), Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) and the UMaT Space has improved library services such as document delivery, circulation and borrowing, amongst others. However, there exist a major challenge associated with library e-resources accessibility. This paper sought to investigate the factors hindering library e-resource accessibility for the purposes of improving research. Questionnaire was administered to respondents to solicit primary information while secondary information was obtained from published literature. 537 out of 855 participants responded to the questionnaire administered. 351 (65.36%) represented undergraduate students, 73 (13.60%) represented postgraduate students, 87 (16.20%), 21 (3.91%), 5 (0.93%) represented teaching, non-teaching and library staff respectively. The responses were analysed using simple tables and pie charts. Results from the study showed inadequate access points to enable users access these e-resource materials and lack of knowledge about the existence of these resources. The investigation further revealed the need for the library to embark on an information literacy drive for both students and academic staff. Various ways of improving e-resource accessibility was suggested. Keywords: Local Area Network, ICT Infrastructure, Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), E-Resources
Sales Force Targets and Its Psychological Effect on Job Satisfaction of Supply Chain Employees through Pressure and Stress in Indonesian Automobile Industry

Objective of this study is to examine the psychological effect of sales force targets on job satisfaction of supply chain employees. Number of studies available in the literature examining the role of target among various companies, however, the sale force targets was not examined in the automobile industry. Especially, the psychological effect of sale force targets is not examined on job satisfaction. Thus, this study examined the valuable relationship between psychological effect of sale force targets, pressure, stress and job satisfaction. Population of this study is based on the automobile companies of Indonesia. The reason to select automobile companies is that; these companies are facing numerous issues related to the employees and previous studies did not consider the psychological role of sale force targets on employees. A survey was carried out and total 271 questionnaires were returned and used in the data analysis. Results of the study highlighted that psychological effect of sale force targets has significant role in employee job satisfaction of supply chain employees. Psychological effect of sale force targets has increased the pressure on employee and increases the stress which lead to the decrease in job satisfaction. Increase in employee pressure and employee stress finally decreases the job satisfaction.
Physical and Geochemical Investigation of Cross River Sand at Ozizza, Ndibe, Kpoghirikpo and Unwana, Afikpo-North Ebonyi State, South-East Nigeria

High strength, high hardness and very tough engineering material derived from geologically occurring minerals and processed into a tool that rubs or wears off by friction is regarded as an abrasive. Abrasives are produced in different forms and shapes and they afford good opportunities for precision scraping away or machining. In this empirical paper, effort is made in establishing a case for the production of abrasive tools that are formulated with silicon carbide and aluminium oxide as catalytic raw materials. These are locally found in the researchers’ locality a place that Original Research Article Okonkwo et al.; AJARR, 11(2): 47-60, 2020; Article no.AJARR. 57977 48 has many geological deposits of solid minerals. At each of Ozizza, Ndibe, Kpoghirikpo and Unwana beaches, eleven samples of sand were collected at random locations from the Cross River that is flowing through Ozizza down to Unwana for physical and geochemical investigation to determine its suitability for abrasive making. Sand at the four locations were subjected to physical and geochemical investigation. Generally, the sand was physically characterized by bright colours of white, brown and yellow. Some samples at some locations contained dark specks of organic matter. From the distribution, the sand is generally of medium grade size as shown by the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Geochemically by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, the oxide contents are: SiO2 (91.73%), CaO (0.045%), Al2O3 (4.24%), Fe2O3 (1.36%), TiO2 (0.21%), K2O (0.86%). The silica content (91.73%) of the sand is well above the industrial specification of 80% for sanitary ware making and suitable for the silica brick industry, for road dressing mixed with special asphalt. The physical and geochemical property results indicate that the sand is a good material for direct use in abrasive (sand paper and sand blasting). making, glass making and in the building and construction industries.
Conceptual Model for Cashless Society: A Literature Synthesis

DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.24018/ejbmr.2020. 5.3. 343 Vol 5 | Issue 3 | June 2020 1 Abstract—This study provides a review of 50 number of papers, the synthesis and thus develops a comprehensive conceptual model for developing a cashless society in a country. Based on our analysis, factors such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, perceived risk, price value, perceived security, habit, trust, and social influence, all are affecting the use behavior of a customers. Future studies using quantitative and qualitative methods can be conducted based on the proposed conceptual model.
Audit Committee’s Role in Moderating the Effect of Financial Distress Towards Going Concern Audit Opinion

Auditors are required to provide services in auditing financial statements presented by management and provide audit opinions on the fairness of the presentation of financial statements. Sometimes, in reality, management and auditors have their interests so that each party can achieve the goals. The conflict of interest appears on the independence of the auditor in issuing audit opinions, especially the audit opinion with the going concern explanatory paragraph. The audit committee, as a supervisory board, will continue to maintain the independence of the auditor in issuing audit opinions with the going concern explanatory paragraph. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of the audit committee in maintaining the independence of external auditors issuing audit opinions, especially the audit opinion with the going concern explanatory paragraph. Based on the purposive sampling method obtained a sample of 168 companies. Testing the hypothesis in this study using logistic regression and moderated regression analysis. The results showed that financial distress had a significant negative effect for the audit opinion with going concern explanatory paragraph. Furthermore, the audit committee was not able to strenghten the relationship of financial distress on the audit opinion with a going-concern explanatory paragraph.
Non-starch Polysaccharide Degrading Enzymes in Corn and Wheat-Based Broiler Diets: Dual Activity for Major Substrates

This study consolidates the efficacy of a non-starch polysaccharide (NSP)ase enzyme-concept in corn and wheat-based broiler diets. The NSP building blocks of corn, wheat and soybean meal (SBM, 44% protein) were studied first. Cereal NSP primarily consists of arabinose, xylose and glucose molecules that form arabinoxylan, β-glucan and cellulose polysaccharides. In soybean meal (SBM), glucose (cellulose) predominates, next to galactose and uronic acids that form “pectins”. Broiler performance progress using in-feed NSPase enzymes depends on the concentration, complexity and solubility of the substrate and the genetic potential of the animal, mainly. A dual NSPase enzyme-concept for cereal and SBM NSP, predominantly being arabinoxylan, β-glucan and cellulose, was developed. Methods for measuring enzyme activities (endo-1,4-β-xylanase (EC 3.2.1.8) and endo-1,3(4)-β-glucanase (EC 3.2.1.6)) were developed (AVEVE Biochem UNITS) and preparations thereof (XG) standardized to meet requirements for most challenging NSP (corn, barely soluble). Feed intake (FI), bodyweight gain (BWG) and feed:gain ratio (F:G) were assessed in three zootechnical studies, each using 160 Ross 308 broilers split in two feeding groups with 80 birds/group (10 replicates of eight) for 42 d (starter/grower period). Respective corn-SBM, wheat-SBM and corn/wheat-SBM diets were used as negative control (NC) or added with the enzyme-concept (XG). In the total period, XG ameliorated BWG and F:G compared to NC in each study, where BWG increased best in diets with corn and F:G lowered most in diets with wheat. The dual NSPase enzyme-concept offers ingredient flexibility in present setting by enhancing the nutritional content of corn, wheat and SBM, expectedly from cleaving major NSP target molecules. Thereby, broiler professionals increase feed formulation liberty and safety and production result simultaneously.
Raising Awareness of EFL Teachers on Question Types and Pedagogical Goals: An Analysis through Classroom Modes

Soru sorma sinif etkilesimi sirasinda ogretmenler tarafindan en sik kullanilan stratejilerden biridir. Her dil sinifinin essiz dogasi geregi, ogretmenler farkli soru turleri kullanirlar. Bu calisma ogretmenler tarafindan sorulan sorularin turlerini belirlemek ve bu sorularin pedagojik hedeflerini kesfetmek amaciyla yapilmistir. Ayrica ogretmenlerin sinifta sorduklari soru turlerine iliskin gorusleri de incelenmistir. Karma yontem arastirma modeli kullanilmistir. Nicel veriler, sinifta kullanilan soru turlerinin tanimlayici bir analizi ile toplanmistir. Niteliksel veriler ise, yari yapilandirilmis gorusmeler ve sinif gozlemlerine dayali uyarilmis hatirlama roportajlari ile elde edilmistir. Ozel bir universitenin Hazirlik Programinda calisan uc yabanci dil ogretmeni bu calismaya katilmistir. Dersler, arastirmaci tarafindan ucer kez gozlemlenmistir. Video ve ses kayitlari analiz edildikten sonra yari yapilandirilmis gorusmeler ve uyarilmis hatirlama roportajlari gerceklestirilmistir. Calismanin sonuclari, ogretmenin cevabini bildigi ve bilmedigi soru turlerinin en yaygin kullanilar soru turleri oldugunu ortaya koymustur. Ogretmenin cevabini bilmedigi soru turu en cok sinif baglami modunda gorunurken, ogretmenin cevabini bildigi sorular en cok malzeme modunda kullanilmistir. Ogretmenin cevabini bilmedigi sorularin sayisi sinif baglami modunda ogretmenin cevabini bildigi sorularin iki katidir. Katilimcilar soru turlerini terim olarak farkinda olmasalar bile, dersin pedagojik hedefin uygun olarak kullanmislardir.
Protective effect of chitosan oligosaccharide against oxidative damage of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in dairy cows induced by diethylenetriamine/nitric oxide via NF-κB signalling pathway

Abstract Excessive production of nitric oxide (NO) during the lactation period of cows leads to oxidative stress and inflammatory reactions. Chitosan has enhanced effects on antioxidant and immune function, but the mechanism of this effect is unclear. The current study investigated the underlying mechanism of the protective effect chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) exert against oxidative damage of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in dairy cows. PBMCs were allocated to receive one of treatments: CTR: control treatment without COS addition; COS40, COS80, COS160, and COS320 received 40, 80, 160, and 320 μg/mL of COS; PBMCs were then treated with 200 μmol/L diethylenetriamine/nitric oxide (DETA/NO) for 4 h. Compared to the CTR group, the cell viability of the COS pre-treated group increased with increasing COS concentration. The activities of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase and the thioredoxin reductase content showed an upward trend in a dose-dependent manner and COS at a concentration of 160 μg/mL exhibited the strongest effect. COS decreased the content and gene expressions of interleukin-1β and tumour necrosis factor-α, the mRNA and protein expression and activity of the inducible nitric oxide synthase, and NO production compared with the values observed in the CTR group. The expression of genes and proteins related to the nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) pathway also showed a downward trend. Based on these indicators, we concluded COS has a protective effect against oxidative damage caused by DETA/NO, and we speculated that COS may play a protective role by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway. Highlights In vitro experiments simulated changes in antioxidant and immune functions caused by increased NO in dairy cows’ PBMCs in vivo. We showed that chitosan has a protective effect against oxidative damage and a regulatory effect on immune function in vitro. The regulation of chitosan against oxidative stress and immune responses may be related to the NF-KB signalling pathway.
A Study of Cyclists, Participation Motivation, Serious Leisure and Recreational Specialization

The purpose of this study is to analyze the structural relationship among cyclists’ participation motivation; serious leisure and recreational specialization. In this study, cyclists were used as the research object, non-random sampling method was used, and a total of 237 effective questionnaires were collected. After descriptive statistics and partial least squares (PLS) statistics analysis, the results show that: the cyclists’ participation motivation is higher, their characteristics of serious leisure are more obvious, and the recreational specialization also higher; and cyclists have characteristics of serious leisure their recreational specialization is also higher. In addition, the study also confirms that serious leisure has a mediate effect on recreational specialization.
Torréfaction du bois et de ses constituants : expériences et modélisation des rendements en matières volatiles

Actuellement, l’industrialisation de la torrefaction de biomasse se heurte notamment a un manque de connaissances de la nature et de la quantite des matieres volatiles produites en fonction des conditions operatoires et de la matiere premiere. L’objectif de ces travaux est donc de mieux comprendre comment s’opere la torrefaction de la biomasse, en se concentrant sur l’etude de la perte de masse du solide et des rendements en matieres volatiles. La torrefaction est consideree a partir de bois sec, sous atmosphere inerte et suivant un palier a une temperature comprise entre 200°C et 300°C. Lors d’une etude experimentale, du hetre et ses constituants, a savoir cellulose, xylane et lignine, ont ete torrefies, en regime chimique, dans une thermobalance et dans un pilote de torrefaction a echelle laboratoire. Le bilan matiere boucle entre 97% et 104%. Les principales matieres volatiles emises par la torrefaction de ce bois sont l’eau, le formaldehyde, l’acide acetique et le CO2. De l’acide formique, du CO, du methanol et du furfural sont aussi mesures en quantite moindre. Certaines de ces especes ne sont pas produites par tous les constituants du hetre. Il semble en particulier que l’acide acetique soit produit a partir de la degradation des acetates contenus dans les hemicelluloses. Par ailleurs, il apparait en premiere approximation que la transformation peut etre correctement representee par la loi d’additivite jusqu’a 250°C. Cela n’est plus le cas a 280°C et 300°C, du fait d’interactions entre la cellulose et les deux autres constituants du bois. Celles-ci ralentissent la vitesse de torrefaction de la cellulose. A partir de ces resultats experimentaux, a ete developpe dans ces travaux un modele de torrefaction du bois, base sur la superposition de « sous-modeles » decrivant chacun la torrefaction d’un constituant du bois. Ce modele, qui presente comme originalite de prevoir en fonction de la proportion du bois en cellulose/hemicelluloses/lignine a la fois le rendement en solide et en huit especes volatiles, et de prendre en compte les interactions a l’aide d’un facteur empirique, a ete valide sur les experiences de torrefaction du hetre entre 220°C et 300°C. Son utilisation a mis en evidence l’influence significative des contenus en hemicelluloses et cellulose sur les rendements en produits de la torrefaction.
WhatsApp Acceptance: A Comparison Between Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultures

Social media applications led by WhatsApp have exhibited a great adoption rate in individualistic and collectivistic societies. To study the factors which influence the adoption of software applications across cultures, the application design was studied by researchers in both individualistic and collectivistic societies. Most of such studies concentrated on the application design from the developer's point of view. Differently, this research study empirically explores the factors that influence the adoption of smartphone apps, such as WhatsApp, from the user's perspective. Therefore, the focus in this paper is on the moderating effect of Hofstede’s cross-cultures dimension, individualism vs. collectivism (IDV), and the interconnection between the persuasive system design (PSD) and acceptance. A total of 488 responses were collected from societies which span on the spectrum of IDV to include two individualistic societies, Netherlands and Germany, and two collectivistic societies, Malaysia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The overall results indicate that persuasive design principles are relevant to cultures across the globe. Moreover, individualism has a negative influence on the correlation between the persuasive system design principles and acceptance. Consequently, the findings suggest that in collectivistic societies, PSD principles have a stronger influence on the acceptance of smartphone apps. Thus, smartphone apps that are targeting the global community would highly benefit from the implementation of PSD principles which can lead to a higher adoption.
The Political Skill Inventory: An Adaptation and Validation Study in Indonesia

Abstract: This study aims to adapt and validate Political Skill Inventory (PSI) in Indonesian background. Adaptation and validation were tested using two stages: adaptation from original scale to Indonesian version and validation to provide evidence of the validity test. Psychometric properties were tested in Central Java with the number of respondents of 473 coming from State Civil Servants (ASN). The results show that in the adaptation stage, the Indonesian translated items had ambiguous understanding in which they were then adjusted based on Indonesian terminologies. On the other hand, in the reliability testing stage, PSI have high alpha coefficient value; while on the validity testing stage, PSI have consistent validity construct, having positive correlation with self-monitoring, and negative correlation with neuroticism. The results draw positive benefit to the measurement development of political skill in Indonesia.
Active sampling in visual search is coupled to the cardiac cycle

Recent research has demonstrated that perception and reasoning vary according to the phase of internal bodily signals such as heartbeat. This has been shown by locking the presentation of sensory events to distinct phases of the cardiac cycle. However, task-relevant information is not usually encountered in such a phase-locked manner nor passively accessed, but rather actively sampled at one’s own pace. Moreover, if the phase of the cardiac cycle is an important modulator of perception and cognition, as previously proposed, then the way in which we actively sample the world should be similarly modulated by the phase of the cardiac cycle. Here we tested this by coregistration of eye movements and heartbeat signals while participants freely compared differences between two visual arrays. Across three different analyses, we found a significant coupling of saccades, subsequent fixations, and blinks with the cardiac cycle. More eye movements were generated during the systolic phase of the cardiac cycle, which has been reported as the period of maximal effect of the baroreceptors’ activity upon cognition. Conversely, more fixations were found during the diastole phase (quiescent baroreceptors). Lastly, more blinks were generated in the later period of the cardiac cycle. These results suggest that interoceptive and exteroceptive processing do adjust to each other; in our case, by sampling the outer environment during quiescent periods of the inner organism.