Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Translating Culture in Postcolonial Arab/Anglophone Women’s Narratives: The Case of Leila Aboulela’s The Translator

Up to the twentieth century, the literature produced by Arab women writers consisted mainly of translations of the dominant Western literary works. The growing waves of intellectuals and writers in the Middle East, especially Egypt, lead to the evolution of Arabic literature as a whole. Coming from the Arab roots, living in Western Europe, and using the language of the ex-colonized, immigrant writers are set to be widely recognised is Western literary canons. Migration is a central theme in much of Arab/British or American literature. From Deleuze and Guattari’s perspective, narratives produced by immigrant writers are said to be considered as minor literature, and they can also stand as a subcategory of it. Such a trend of writings is insignificant when compared to mainstream tradition (like English literature), and a subset of minor literature when other new dimensions are added to, if we may say, mainstream minor literature. This later might be the case of Arab/Muslim women-immigrant literature. The present research work attempts to investigate how critical immigrant women writers such as Leila Aboulela develop narratives where they offer new models of cross-cultural encounters. In so doing, such writings have acted as mediators and interpreters between variant cultures, and they have also forged new literary identities in the writers’ adopted countries.
Synthesis and Characterization of 6,6ˊ-bis(1-(2-ethylhexyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)-2,2ˊ-bipyridine (EH–BTzBP) for Actinide/Lanthanide Extraction and Separation

ABSTRACT A new N-donor extractant, 6,6ˊ-bis(1-(2-ethylhexyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)-2,2ˊ-bipyridine (EH-BTzBP), was synthesized and tested for Am(III)/Ln(III) extraction and separation. EH-BTzBP in combination with 2-bromohexanoic acid (as lipophilic anion source) selectively extracts Am(III) from acidic solutions (HNO3 ≤ 0.1M) with Am(III)/Eu(III) separation factors of about 70. Phase transfer kinetics is rapid, back-extraction of metal ions posed no issues, and there is no evidence of ligand degradation by acid hydrolysis or contact with hydrogen peroxide (which simulates some effects of radiolysis).
An empirical study on the effect of product information and perceived usefulness on purchase intention during online shopping in India

Technological advancements and high speed connectivity has made the internet an integral part of our life. Life without internet is unimaginable and so is shopping. Online shopping is popular because of the wide range of products and services it provides to the customers. Online shoppers depend more on product information, specifically in terms of the look-and-feel of products, to make a purchase decision. The reason is lack of tangibility on online purchases. Perceived usefulness is the perception of consumers about how an online portal could add value and efficiency to them while shopping online. This study concentrates on the effect of product information and perceived usefulness on the purchase intention of online customers. Survey methodology was adopted and structural equation modelling technique was used. Analysis was done using Smart PLS version 3. The study shows a positive correlation between product information and perceived usefulness which in turn significantly influences the purchase intention. The study reveals the importance of detailed online product information and efficiency of the website as key factors that make customer buy online.
The Influence of High-Involvement Human Resources Practices on Proactive Behavior

This research is based on the theory of self-determination, and focuses on how high-involvement human resources practices can promote employee’ proactive behavior. Through the analysis of 328 questionnaire data, the results show that high-involvement human resources practices promote proactive behavior, and this process is realized through the intermediary effect of thriving at work. This research broadens the theoretical research on the impact of high-involvement human resources practices, and explores the mechanism and practical significance of the organization’s adoption of effective human resource practices to promote proactive behavior.
Cash Waqf Linked Sukuk (CWLS) Model: For Indonesia Sustainable Food Security

This study aims to build an integrated model between Islamic social finance, government sukuk financing and Indonesian food security. This study proposes an integrated model between Islamic social finance and government sukuk to build community food security through the cash waqf linked sukuk model. This model based on a modification of Sukuk issued by The Central Bank of Bahrain to provide a commodity in the future. The model proposed in this study is an innovative productive waqf model. The management involves both government and private companies. Sukuk are issued by the government through the ministry of finance or Bank Indonesia. Sukuk issued in social purposes with the underlying transaction is an innovative productive waqf. After the sukuk is issued, the funds are collected by means of a waqf contract, through cash waqf and assets. The funds or assets collected are submitted to the operational manager. The operational manager provides sukuk funds to farmers as capital for carrying out agricultural, plantation and livestock activities. Products that are prioritized are the primary needs of the community, including agricultural products of superior quality from biotechnology research, superior quality vegetables from biotechnology research in the field of plantations, livestock products from research field. The harvest is sold through the ministry of agriculture or through the traditional market to support the availability of food in sufficient quantities in a minimum price. The preferred products are the products of the primary needs of the community.
When Green Infrastructure Turns Grey: Implications of Overdesign on Plant Water Stress

Green infrastructure systems are often overdesigned. This may be a byproduct of static sizing (e.g., accounting for a design storm’s runoff volume but not exfiltration rates) or may be deliberate (e.g., buffering against performance loss through time). Regardless, overdesign may compromise plants’ access to water in systems where soil pits are embedded in infiltration beds. It could raise the storm size required for water to reach soil pits, reducing water availability between storms, which could ultimately induce plant physiological stress. This study investigated the hydrological dynamics and water relations of a tree trench system suspected to have been overbuilt and identified factors contributing to, compounding, and mitigating the risk of plant stress. Results provided strong evidence that the abovementioned processes played out. Water in the infiltration bed reached soil pits only once in three years, with that event occurring during a hydrant release. Moreover, minimal water was retained in the soil pit during the event due to the hydraulic properties of the soil media. Through a growing season, one of the two tree types frequently experienced water stress, while the other did so only rarely. These contrasting responses can likely be attributed to roots either being largely confined to the soil pits or reaching a deeper water source. Implications of these results for green infrastructure design are considered.
Flow management system for maximising business revenue and profitability

Abstract Most for-profit organisations must constantly improve their business strategies and approaches to remain competitive. Many of them choose to embark on Lean or Six Sigma journeys with the intention of maximising productivity and increasing sales. Despite a significant progress in the development of the Big 3 Improvement Methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints – TOC), many manufacturers are still involved in ineffective operations, resulting in longer-than-desired lead times, late deliveries, high inventories and considerable operational costs. All of these business errors seriously challenge the company’s competitiveness. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate the importance of effective analysis of maintaining the appropriate level of inventory in gaining a competitive advantage of the company using the company’s key resources in the competitive struggle on the market while conducting continuous reporting of reasons for not achieving the assumed business goals, and using the principles of the economy of bandwidth in order to maximize the profitability.
Modeling population and subject-specific growth in a latent trait measured by multiple instruments over time using a hierarchical Bayesian framework

Psychometric growth curve modeling techniques are used to describe a person’s latent ability and how that ability changes over time based on a specific measurement instrument. However, the same instrument cannot always be used over a period of time to measure that latent ability. This is often the case when measuring traits longitudinally in children. Reasons may be that over time some measurement tools that were difficult for young children become too easy as they age resulting in floor effects or ceiling effects or both. We propose a Bayesian hierarchical model for such a scenario. Within the Bayesian model we combine information from multiple instruments used at different age ranges and having different scoring schemes to examine growth in latent ability over time. The model includes between-subject variance and within-subject variance and does not require linking item specific difficulty between the measurement tools. The model’s utility is demonstrated on a study of language ability in children from ages one to ten who are hard of hearing where measurement tool specific growth and subject-specific growth are shown in addition to a group level latent growth curve comparing the hard of hearing children to children with normal hearing.
Computational Screening of Molecules Approved in Phase-I Clinical Trials to Identify 3CL Protease Inhibitors to Treat COVID-19

Ligand and structure based virtual screening approaches were applied to clinical stage drugs as well as those approved for human use in an attempt to repurpose drugs for potential use against COVID-19. This approach involved ligand-based shape similarity searches, structure-based docking and pharmacophore searches with the help of pharmacophore queries derived from available ligands and receptor structures. Several compounds appeared as hits in pharmacophore and shape similarity searches and those docking to the SARS-CoV-2 viral 3CL protease were then ranked on the basis of docking scores.
SURFACE EVALUATION OF RESIN ZEIN FILMS CONTAINING SUGAR PLASTICIZERS BY PERMEABILITY AND ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY ANALYSIS

Zein is one of the best biopolymer for edible film making and sugars are natural plasticizers for biopolymers. In this research, sugars (fructose, galactose and glucose) at three levels (0.5, 0.7, 1 g/g of zein) were used as plasticizers for zein protein films and their water vapor permeability (WVP), oxygen permeability (OP) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) topography were studied. The pure zein films had the highest WVP and adding sugars to 0.7 g/g of zein decreased WVP of the films. In comparison among different zein films, those plasticized by galactose and fructose had the highest and lowest barrier properties, respectively. The zein films without plasticizer had low OP and increasing plasticizers to 0.5 g/g of zein decreased OP values in all samples. The films containing galactose and fructose had the lowest and highest OP, respectively. AFM images were used to evaluate surface topography (a qualitative parameter) and roughness (a quantitative parameter) of the zein films. The films plasticized by fructose had smoother surface and lower roughness than the other films. Interrelation between WVP, OP and the roughness of zein films were not observed.
A Study on Human Behavioral Aspects on Individual Financial Decisions in Indian Context

The stream of behavioral finance is still in its infancy stage. Behavioral finance is gaining attention and interest of academic fraternity of late. Academicians are now trying to understand the concepts and theories on how investors become irrational while making investment decisions. In a developing economy like India, where there are large number of millennials and by considering their growing amount of interest in investments, studying behavioral finance can definitely add to the deep understanding of the topic. This study aims to investigate the behavioral aspects influencing the individual financial decision making amongst Indians across various age groups, income sources, gender and native regions / domiciles. The objective and the scope of this project is to study two important theories in behavioral finance in Indian Context viz. prospects theory and mental accounting theory. SPSS 20 and STATA 15 have been used to validate the sample characteristics. Multi-stage stratified sampling has been used to collect a sample of 223 respondents. It was found that there are two important factors /biases of prospect theory namely- loss aversion and regret aversion besides mental budgeting bias of mental accounting, which affect the financial decision making of Indians. The outcome of the research is not only important to the retail investors but also to the companies, which offer various investment instruments as it will help them to understand what are biases which are affecting individuals and retail investors.
Addressing the COVID-19 and climate crises

This paper provides decision-makers with a framework for prioritising different economic, social and environmental goals and analysing the options available to achieve them. To this end, it develops three stylised COVID-19 recovery pathways (“Rebound”, “Decoupling” and “Wider well-being”) that differ in the extent to which they encompass greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and the integration of mitigation and wider well-being outcomes or, broadly equivalently, SDGs. A number of real-world examples of COVID-19 recovery measures in the surface transport and residential sectors were identified, and the paper maps these measures onto these three stylised pathways. The paper finds a wide divergence in the environmental and social impacts of COVID-19 recovery measures developed to date, with several countries putting in place measures that correspond to all three pathways. The nature and pace of economic recovery in different countries and in aggregate will have important implications for existing, updated and new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, and the paper also highlights the possible impact of the COVID-19 recovery measures being put in place on NDCs– including on the ambition of both current and future NDCs. The paper concludes that it will be important for governments to improve their understanding of the impact of their recovery measures across multiple policy dimensions (economic, social, environmental) as well as across different time periods (short and long-term) and spatial scales.
The complete mitochondrial genome of Mnais tenuis Oguma, 1913 (Odonata: Calopterygidae) and its phylogenetic implications

Abstract We sequenced and assembled the complete mitochondrial genome of Mnais tenuis from Darshi, Taoyuan County, Taiwan. The complete mitogenome of M. tenuis is 15,131 bp long, and contains 13 protein-coding, 22 tRNA, and two rDNA genes. Nucleotide compositions of the mitogenome of the M. tenuis are A: 40.08%, T: 25.47%, C: 20.38%, and G: 14.07%. The AT and GC skewness of the mitogenome sequence was 0.2228 and −0.183, showing the A-skew and C-skew. The clade including M. tenuis and all the other Odonata species received absolute support (100%). The phylogenetic position of Anisozygoptera is sister to Anisoptera. Mnais is phylogenetically close to Psolodesmus. Mitogenomic data from this study will provide useful information for further studies for the population genetics, speciation and conservation of M. tenuis in the future.
The complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis of Phintella cavaleriei (Araneae: Salticidae)

Abstract The complete mitochondrial genome of Phintella cavaleriei is 14,325 bp in length, containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), two ribosomal RNA genes, and a putative control region. The overall nucleotide composition is 35.04% A, 8.46% C, 13.41% G, and 43.09% T, with a total of A + T content of 78.13%. Ten PCGs start with typical ATN codons, two genes (cox2 and cox3) begin with TTG, and cox1 use TTA as initiation codon. Ten PCGs use usual termination codon of TAA or TAG, whereas the remaining three PCGs had an incomplete termination codon (T—). Seven tRNAs (trnY, trnC, trnG, trnN, trnH, trnP, and trnV) lacked the TΨC arm stem, while two tRNAs (trnS1 and trnS2 ) lost the dihydrouracil (DHU) arm. Phylogenetic analysis based on 13 PCGs indicated that P. cavaleriei was closely related to Cheliceroides longipalpis, and clustered within Salticidae clade.
Synthesis, Surface Properties, and Inhibiting Action of Novel Nonionic Surfactants on Carbon Steel Corrosion in 1 M Hydrochloric Acid Solution

In the present study novel nonionic surfactants were synthesized, characterized, and tested as corrosion inhibitors for carbon steel in 1 M HCl solution. The inhibiting performances of these surfactants were studied by weight loss, potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The adsorption of these inhibitors was well described by Langmuir adsorption isotherm, and the kinetic parameters were calculated and discussed. The inhibition efficiency (IE) was found to rise with increasing the concentration of these inhibitors. Polarization measurements revealed that the inhibitors acted as mixed-type inhibitors. The efficiencies obtained from the impedance measurements were in good agreement with those obtained from the weight loss and potentiodynamic polarization techniques which prove the validity of these tools in the measurements of the tested inhibitors. The surface parameters of the synthesized nonionic surfactants were investigated and the results showed that these surfactants have lower values of surface tension and are effective as wetting and emulsifying agents.
Relationship between Mobility-Related Activities of Daily Living and Health-Related Quality of Life among Healthy Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Structural Equation Modeling

Objective: To develop a conceptual model that confirms whether mobility-related activities of daily living (ADLs) abilities are strongly associated with reduced health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in older adults. Methods: A total of 153 participants (63 men, 90 women) were analyzed. The mobility-related ADL survey from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan was used. The Japanese version (v1.2) of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey was administered to evaluate HRQOL. Structural equation modeling was performed to test a hypothetical model: mobility-related ADL abilities would influence HRQOL. Results: The chi-square value was not significant (chi-square = 9.463, p = .305), and goodness-of-fit values were high, implying that the model was validated; goodness-of-fit index, 0.981; adjusted goodness-of-fit index, 0.949; comparative fit index, 0.996; and root mean square error of approximation, 0.035. Results showed that mobility-related ADL abilities influenced the physical health including physical function and general health in HRQOL. Conclusions: This study developed the conceptual model confirming the influence of mobility-related ADL abilities especially on physical health. Further intervention studies on instructions/training for physical activity of healthy older adults should assess this causal relationship.
Two distant helicases in one mycovirus: evidence of horizontal gene transfer between mycoviruses, coronaviruses and other nidoviruses

Abstract Nidovirales, which accommodates viruses with the largest RNA genomes, includes the notorious coronaviruses; however, the evolutionary route for nidoviruses is not well understood. We have characterized a positive-sense (+) single-stranded (ss) RNA mycovirus, Rhizoctonia solani hypovirus 2 (RsHV2), from the phytopathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia solani. RsHV2 has the largest RNA genome size of 22,219 nucleotides, excluding the poly(A) tail, in all known mycoviruses, and contains two open reading frames (ORF1 and ORF2). ORF1 encodes a protein of 2,009 amino acid (aa) that includes a conserved helicase domain belonging to helicase superfamily I (SFI). In contrast, ORF2 encodes a polyprotein of 4459 aa containing the hallmark genes of hypoviruses. The latter includes a helicase belonging to SFII. Following phylogenetic analysis, the ORF1-encoded helicase (Hel1) unexpectedly clustered in an independent evolutionary branch together with nidovirus helicases, including coronaviruses, and bacteria helicases. Thus, Hel1 presence indicates the occurrence of horizontal gene transfer between viruses and bacteria. These findings also suggest that RsHV2 is most likely a recombinant arising between hypoviruses and nidoviruses.
Effect of trachea stiffness on tumor distribution in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma

Biomechanical factors play an important role in tumor distribution, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion and other important processes. Despite fewer reports investigating biomechanical function in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), a large number of PTC cases are located close to the trachea and the majority of advanced cases of PTC have been associated with invasion of the trachea. However, the effect of trachea stiffness on PTC distribution and growth remains unknown. To clarify this issue, two types of PTC cells (TPC-1 and KTC-1) were seeded on a substrate with different stiffness to observe cell proliferation and movement. To identify the effect of trachea stiffness on the thyroid, two thyroid lobes (left and right) were evenly divided into interior (close to the trachea) and lateral (away from the trachea) parts, based on the vertical line between the trachea and thyroid lateral margin with different von Mises stress values. As PTC originates from papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) with a maximum diameter of <1 cm, the present study selected PTMC as the study subject to reflect initial PTC distribution in the thyroid. The association between the percentage of PTMC distribution in different parts of the thyroid and von Mises stress values was analyzed. Both PTC cells exhibited stronger proliferation and mobility on the stiff substrate compared with that on the soft substrate. Furthermore, the results of finite element analysis revealed that the von Mises stress values of the interior parts of the trachea were notably higher compared with that in the lateral parts. PTMC distribution in the interior trachea was notably greater compared with that in the lateral section. There was also an observed association between von Mises stress values and PTMC distribution. In addition, the results of RNA-sequencing and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR demonstrated that three biomechanical genes were overexpressed in PTMC located in the interior section compared with that in adjacent normal tissue, and the related signaling pathways were also activated in these tissues. On the whole, these results indicated that trachea stiffness may supply a suitable biomechanical environment for PTMC growth, and the related biomechanical genes may serve as novel targets for PTMC diagnosis and prognostic estimation.