Afghan EFL Lecturers’ Perceptions of Code-Switching

Code-switching is explained as switching between two languages at the same time while conversing in the same discourse. The aim of this study is to explore the perceptions of Afghan EFL lecturers toward code- switching. This study used a qualitative research approach in which the data was collected via semi-structured interviews with five EFL lecturers. The lecturers were interviewed to explore their perceptions and reasons for code-switching, and the extent to which they practice code-switching in their classrooms. The results revealed that the lecturers in the study had positive perceptions of code-switching and believed it as a beneficial strategy in facilitating the learning process. However, they also conveyed that an excessive practice of code-switching should be avoided. The study results also disclosed that the lecturers practiced code-switching for various functions such as explaining difficult concepts (translation), explaining complex grammatical points, clarifications, and giving instructions. Finally, the paper provides recommendation for further research

Contribution of rankl regulation to bone resorption induced by PTH receptor activation in osteocytes

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)PTH increases osteoclasts by upregulating RANKL in cells of the osteoblastic lineage, but the precise differentiation stage of the PTH target cell remains undefined. Recent findings demonstrate that PTH regulates gene expression in osteocytes and that these cells are an important source of RANKL. We therefore investigated whether direct regulation of the RANKL gene by PTH in osteocytes is required to stimulate osteoclastic bone resorption. To address this question, we examined bone resorption and RANKL expression in transgenic mice in which PTH receptor signaling is activated only in osteocytes (DMP1-caPTHR1) crossed with mice lacking the distal control region regulated by PTH in the RANKL gene (DCR -/-). Longitudinal analysis of circulating C-terminal telopeptide (CTX) in male mice showed elevated resorption in growing mice that progressively decreased to plateau at 3-5 month of age. Resorption was significantly higher (~100%) in DMP1-caPTHR1 mice and non-significantly lower (15-30%) in DCR -/-mice, versus wild type littermates (WT) across all ages. CTX in compound DMP1-caPTHR1; DCR -/-mice was similar to DMP1-caPTHR1 mice at 1 and 2 months of age, but by 3 months of age, was significantly lower compared to DMP1-caPTHR1 mice (50% higher than WT), and by 5 months, it was undistinguishable from WT mice. Micro-CT analysis revealed lower tissue material density in the distal femur of DMP1-caPTHR1 mice, indicative of high remodeling, and this effect was partially corrected in compound vi mice. The increased resorption exhibited by DMP1-caPTHR1 mice was accompanied by elevated RANKL mRNA in bone at 1 and 5 months of age. RANKL expression levels displayed similar patterns to CTX levels in DMP1-caPTHR1; DCR -/-compound mice at 1 and 5 month of age. The same pattern of expression was observed for M-CSF. We conclude that resorption induced by PTH receptor signaling requires direct regulation of the RANKL gene in osteocytes, but this dependence is age specific. Whereas DCR-independent mechanisms involving gp130 cytokines or vitamin D 3 might operate in the growing skeleton, DCR-dependent, cAMP/PKA/CREB-activated mechanisms mediate resorption induced by PTH receptor signaling in the adult skeleton

Interaction of growth hormone with androgen/estrogen on beef carcass characteristics, and chemical, physical and palatability properties of longissimus muscle of steers

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of recombinant bovine somatotropin (bST), Revalor and the combination of the two on beef carcass characteristics, quality and physical, chemical and palatability attributes of bovine longissimus (loin eye) muscle. Crossbred steers (n = 20) were blocked by body weight and allotted in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments: control, Revalor-S°ler (Trenbolone acetate 120 mg+estraiol 24 mg) implanted in ear on day 1 and 97, bST (160 mg/wk), and Revalor-S°ler + bST and fed for 140 days. Loin eye was removed from left side, cut into 2.4 cm steaks and postmortem aged for 13 days. Revalor treatment increased (p \u3c.05) body, hot carcass, longissimus and semitendinosus weights and loin eye area; however, bST had no effect (p \u3c.05) on these variables. Backfat, KPH fat %, and dressing percentage were not affected (p \u3c.05) by either Revalor or bST. Carcass composition was physically separated into lean, fat, and bone. Lean, fat, and bone were increased (p \u3c.05) by Revalor; however, bST had no effect (p \u3c.05) on lean, bone was increased (p \u3c.05), and fat was reduced by 14.8% (p \u3c.13). Revalor tended to reduce marbling, and yield and quality grades; however; bST reduced marbling and quality grade (p \u3c.05, and.15) and had no effect on yield grade. Revalor had no effects on meat color, pH, drip and cook losses and water holding capacity; however, bST reduced cook losses (p \u3c.01). Revalor increased (p \u3c.05) protein, reduced (p \u3c.05) fat and had no effect on moisture; however, bST had no effect on these variables. Revalor decreased (p \u3c.05) total collagen and increased (p \u3c.26) soluble collagen. bST increased total collagen (p \u3c.01) and had no effects on soluble collagen. Revalor decreased (p \u3c.05) initial tenderness and myofibril fragmentation index (MFI), increased (p \u3c.05) shear force, and had no effects on juiciness and flavor intensity. Both bST had no effect on sensory attributes, shear force, and MFI. bST and Revalor had no effects (p \u3c.05) on fiber percentages. The percentage of intermediate fiber was increased and the percentage white fiber was decreased by either Revalor or bST. Revalor and bST had an additive effect for all of the measurements; however, there were interactions between Revalor and bST on semitendinosus weight (p \u3c.05), quality grade (p \u3c.08) and degree of marbling (p \u3c.04)

Bayesian Learning Networks Approach to Cybercrime Detection

The growing dependence of modern society on telecommunication and information networks has become inevitable. The increase in the number of interconnected networks to the Internet has led to an increase in security threats and cybercrimes such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. Any Internet based attack typically is prefaced by a reconnaissance probe process, which might take just a few minutes, hours, days, or even months before the attack takes place. In order to detect distributed network attacks as early as possible, an under research and development probabilistic approach, which is known by Bayesian networks has been proposed. This paper shows how probabilistically Bayesian network detects communication network attacks, allowing for generalization of Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDSs). Learning Agents which deploy Bayesian network approach are considered to be a promising and useful tool in determining suspicious early events of Internet threats and consequently relating them to the following occurring activities.Peer reviewe

Hunayn: Elevating Translation Beyond the Literal

This project introduces an advanced English-to-Arabic translator surpassing conventional tools. Leveraging the Helsinki transformer (MarianMT), our approach involves fine-tuning on a self-scraped, purely literary Arabic dataset. Evaluations against Google Translate show consistent outperformance in qualitative assessments. Notably, it excels in cultural sensitivity and context accuracy. This research underscores the Helsinki transformer's superiority for English-to-Arabic translation using a Fusha dataset

Analysis of Total Lip Score System and Total Groove Score for gender identification: A cross sectional study

Endless ink and pixel space have been spent to validate the use of cheiloscopy classification systems in the field of identification. It is becoming evident that lip-print patterns may provide indications about an individual\u27s gender, race, occupation, habits, blood type, and paternity. Over the course of time, much data has been collected on a substantial population in this field. In the present study, we strive to see how well a noble total lip scoring system (TLS) works in identifying a person\u27s gender among College of Dentistry students. We also quantified the total groove score (TGS) and compared it with each quadrant for better authentication of the set study design

Face recognition employees attendance system

Face recognition uses a variety of technologies and locations to carry out the attendance system. In order to recognise a face in real-time settings utilising a specific purpose device, attendance systems require accurate results. Video architecture is also achieved in our design by piercing the camera via a stoner- friendly interface. The Overeater (Histogram of Acquainted Grade) algorithm is used to recognise and segment the face from the VHS frame. Garbling a photo using the Overeater method to obtain a simplified interpretation of the image is the first phase, or pre-processing stage. Find the part of the image that most closely resembles a general Overeater encoding of a face using this simplified image. Also in the next step, figuring out the face's disguise by chancing the primary landmarks in the face. Once we've located those landmarks, we can utilise them to anchor the image such that the eyes and mouth are centred. Run the centred face image through a neural network that understands how to measure facial traits. Save those 128 measurements for later. Examine all of the faces we've measured in the past to find who has the most similar measurements to ours. That's the result of our match. Overall, we developed a Python programme that takes an image from a database and does all of the necessary changes for recognition, as well as checks the image in videos or in real time by accessing the camera using a Stoner-friendly interface. After a successful match is made, the name and time of the individual in attendance is recorded

Shilajit elicits apoptosis and suppresses cell migration in oral cancer cells through targeting Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR) and chemokine signaling pathways

Shilajit (Mumio) is a humic substance with a dark brown colour that comes from rocks found at high altitudes. For centuries, shilajit has been a widely employed traditional medicinal remedy to address various physical ailments. Given the prevalence of oral cancer, there is a growing need for more effective therapies in its treatment. In this in vitro study, the impact of shilajit on normal human gingival fibroblast cells (hGFs) and oral cancer cells (KB-1, subline of the KERATIN-forming tumor cell line HeLa) was compared. The MTT and Annexin-V tests were used to measure the KB-1 cells growth and apoptosis after they were exposed to varying concentrations of Shilajit for 24h. An inverted microscope was used to evaluate the shilajit treated cell morphology. On the other hand, AO/EtBr dual staining was employed to analyse cellular apoptosis quantitatively. ROS production analysis was carried out utilizing DCFH-DA staining, while the gene expression of proapoptotic and antiapoptotic proteins was assessed through real-time PCR

Role of Mumio in periodontal wound healing–an in vitro study on human PDL cells

Mumio, used in ancient medicine for almost 4000 years, is the gold standard of traditional medicine. Mumio, a tar-like compound made from rock dissolved minerals and degraded organic matter, takes a century to form. Dibenzo-alpha-pyrones, humic acid, and fulvic acid are important in Mumio, which includes 60–80% humus, benzoic acid, fatty acids, ichthyol, ellagic acid, resin, triterpenes, sterol, aromatic carboxylic acids, bioactive 3,4-benzokoumarins, amino acids, phenol Active chemicals improve Mumio\u27s antioxidant effects. Despite its anti-ulcerogenic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, memory-enhancing, and anxiolytic characteristics, mumio has been studied rarely on oral tissues. The present study examined the cytotoxic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and reparative effects of the aqueous fraction of Mumio on primary cultures of human periodontal ligament (PDL) fibroblasts

Development Of A Sub-Surface Stormwater Storage-Infiltration System

Floodings due to the increase in impervious areas as a result of urbanization are still a main problem in many countries, including Malaysia. The lack of open space in urban areas may hinder the use of typical stormwater detention/retention systems, which are normally constructed above ground. Systems installed below the surface (subsurface) have great potential in such areas. Subsurface detention/retention systems such as pipe systems, arch chamber systems, and storage tanks systems are available in some countries abroad, such as Australia and the U.S.A, and importing such systems is not cheap and it involves the outflow of funds from the country. In this research a new subsurface detention/retention system has been developed for the purposes of reduction of volume and flow rate of stormwater runoff and recharging groundwater. It may also be able to minimise the environmental impact on water quality. Developing a new system that is manufactured locally and based on a readily available material in the local market also encourages the growth of local industry and faster achievement for the aim to reduce the flooding and pollution in urbanized areas in the country. The system that has been developed in this research is called the Stormwater Infiltration Block (SWIB)system and the following criteria have been considered in its development; the system is designed to be installed in subsurface, it has high structural strength and storage capacity, it allows water to infiltrate at high rates, it is light in weight and cost effective, it requires low maintenance, and it is simple and easy to install. The SWIB system is composed of the Stormwater Infiltration Blocks (SWIBs) to store and infiltrate stormwater runoff, geotextile, geogrid, adequate soil cover, and porous pavement surface. The SWIB is formed by nine hollow plastic pipes held vertically together by two plastic holders, one each at the top and the bottom. Both, the pipes and holders are made from rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC-U). The design of the holder takes into consideration the following criteria; the holder must be strong enough to sustain, transfer and distribute the loads applied on the holder to the pipes, it is able to allow for SWIBs to be stacked above each other to achieve the desired height and provide firmly connected SWIBs, it must hold the pipes tightly without fasteners, and it should have high percentage of open space to allow water to flow into the SWIB very easily. Experimental tests were carried out in the laboratory to investigate the structural and hydraulic performance of the SWIB system. A total of 20 experimental tests were carried out to investigate the structural performance of the SWIB system under different conditions. Some of these tests were done to evaluate the system ability to sustain the design axial compression load of 93 kN, which is the maximum load expected when the system is installed in a parking area and the results demonstrate that the system has the strength to sustain the load applied. Ultimate strength tests were also conducted and they proved that the SWIB has an ability for support the axial compression loads up to 486 kN, which is five times larger than the design load. No significant reduction in the SWIB strength was found when its height was increased from 348 mm to 648 mm. Lateral loads tests reveal that the SWIB has good ability for supporting lateral loads equivalent to the lateral soil pressure of up to 3 m depth below the ground surface without any damage observed in the SWIB system. For all the tests performed under the design load no critical stress that may lead to the SWIB failure occurred and no failure was observed in the SWIB geogrid or geotextile. Another 20 experimental tests were carried out to investigate the hydraulic performance of the SWIB system under different conditions. Some of these tests were done to evaluate the infiltration rate through the system which revealed that the system has high infiltration rate and demonstrates an excellent efficiency in preventing the ponding of water on the surface area even under high rainfall intensities that varied from 300 mm/hr to 420 mm/hr for 5 min and 10 min rainfall durations. The type of block pavement surface used on top of the system significantly affect its infiltration rate, therefore, the correct pavement surface should be selected. The block pavement type which can give the highest infiltration rate is the open-celled type. Evaluation of the system capacity to store water demonstrates that the system has high storage capacity that reaches a value of 93% of the total volume of the SWIB