PbTiO3 has emerged as a promising material for the thermoelectric application. In this study, we proposed to use density functional theory to investigate the underlying mechanism for improving the thermoelectric efficiency of ATiO3. The thermoelectric parameters of the designed surface structures have been obtained by using the Boltzmann transport equation approximation. The properties of the structure, electronic, and thermoelectricity were measured and analyzed. The surface (001) modification through the AO termination layer has increased the electrical conductivity, thus increasing the power factor. On the other hand, increasing the Seebeck coefficient, which is aided by declining thermal conductivity, which is aided by low thermopower, improves the figure of merit. It is shown that the thermoelectric performance of surface (001) SnTiO3 is higher as compared to PbTiO3 making it interesting towards lead-free materials in thin-film application..

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This paper investigates the impact of the domestic and global outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the trading size of the Malaysian stock (MS) market. The theoretical model posits that stock markets are affected by their response to disasters and events that arise in the international or local environments, as well as to several financial factors such as stock volatility and spread bid-ask prices. Using daily time-series data from 27 January to 12 May 2020, this paper utilizes the traditional Augmented Dickey and Fuller (ADF) technique and Zivot and Andrews with structural break' procedures for a stationarity test analysis, while the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method is applied according to the trading size of the MS market model. The analysis considered almost all 789 listed companies investing in the main stock market of Malaysia. The results confirmed our hypotheses that both the daily growth in the active domestic and global cases of coronavirus (COVID-19).....

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Background and Purpose: This research aims to investigate the effects of Malay, Chinese and Indian cultural based text types on reading comprehension. Methodology: An exploratory case study research design was employed to explore the use of cultural schemata in reading comprehension of three types of cultural text format: narrative, descriptive and info graphic. The purposive sampling method was used to select participants based on their ethnicities, English proficiency level, and their scores in prior knowledge assessment and retelling assessment. A total of 15 students, between 11- 12 years old, were selected. The retelling technique in written form, a comprehension test and an interview protocol were used as instruments to gather data in this research and they were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Findings: The overall findings have shown that the comprehension test scores showed better performance in info graphic texts. However, the retelling assessment scores showed.....

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This study aimed to address three vital issues applying lesson study in EFL literature review writing course, namely to explain the effect of applying Facebook aided lesson study instruction model on the students' comprehension of literature review patterns/moves and literature review writing ability, to compare the effect of Facebook-aided lesson study and traditional teaching instruction model, and to elaborate the correlation between students' literature review patterns comprehension and their literature writing ability. Experimental research was employed to examine those three potentials. This research involved 30 EFL learners, with 15 studying in a Facebook-aided lesson study instruction and 15 in a traditional classroom. Results indicated that the implementation of Facebook-aided lesson study in an EFL setting could not improve students' literature review comprehension, but this teaching approach could enhance students' literature writing ability. Finally, the positive correlatio.....

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Background and Purpose: Mathematical modelling competency isone of the vital characteristics in mathematics education. Educational researchers have updated the benefit of modelling as key factor to the  study  of  complexity  and  modern  science.Since  many  scholars  frequently  adopt instrument from one cultural background to another, they alsooffer proof on the issue of validity and reliability. The present paper aimed at validating a mathematical modelling test for secondary prospective mathematics teachers.Methodology: We  utilized  a  survey  approach  to  examine  the  factor  structure  of  mathematical modelling  test  for 202secondary  prospective  mathematics  teachers,  selected  by  cluster  random sampling. Mathematical   modeling   test   was   adapted   to   measure   the   desired   constructs. More importantly,  we  used  exploratory  factor  analysis  (EFA),  confirmatory  factor  analysis  (CFA) using AMOS 1.....

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In this paper we investigate the economic lotsizing problem with the remanufacturing and joint setups case ELSRj where remanufacturing and manufacturing processes share the same production line This problem is modeled as a Mixed Integer Programming MIP formulation and is classified as an NPhard problem In order to strengthen this basic ELSRj model formulation an extended reformulation namely a shortest path SP reformulation and also l S WW inequalities are proposed for this problem Then these formulations are compared with another existing extended reformulation which is a facility location FL reformulation The findings show that all proposed and existing formulations are proven to be theoretically equivalent A computational analysis of average percentage of duality gap is then presented which demonstrates the equivalence and the effectiveness of the proposed and existing formulations These formulations outperform the basic formulation for all data instances tested..

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This study aimed to investigate the association of polymorphisms of Interleukin-4 (IL- 4) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) genes to the susceptibility and severity of type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to evaluate the serum levels of these interleukins in patients with T2DM. A number of 90 individuals from Wasit province, Iraq inclusive of 64 patients with T2DM and 26 healthy individuals with normal fasting blood sugar as a control group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the levels of IL-4 and IL-6 in sera from patients with T2DM. The allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used to investigate the polymorphism of the interleukins: IL4 -590C/T, (rs2243250) and IL6 -174G/C, (rs1800795) genes polymorphisms. Results of this study showed that IL-4 concentrations had a non-significant difference (p = >0.052) between patients with T2DM (154.48 pg/ml ± 7.00) with the control group (151.49 pg/ml ± 6.21). Patients with T2DM revealed an ele.....

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This study aims to determine the integration of stock markets in the presence of the leading macroeconomic indicators. Specifically, this study aims to determine the causal effect of the leading macroeconomic indicators on the stock market, the cointegration relationship between the stock market and the leading macroeconomic indicators, and the integration of stock markets across national borders. This study is underpinned by the information efficient market at semi-strong form. The data used in this study are from 30 countries based on the year 1995 quarter one to the year 2018 quarter one. The methods employed are Toda-Yamamoto causality analysis, Granger causality analysis, panel heterogeneous cointegration analysis and catching-up analysis. The findings show that the leading macroeconomic indicators have a causal effect on the stock markets, the stock market and leading macroeconomic indicators have a long-run and short-run cointegration relationship, and the stock marke.....

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The general objective of this study is to examine the monetary policy reaction function with the presence of exchange rate and terms of trade (TOT) in an economic uncertainty. The specific objectives of this study are to examine the causal relationship between monetary policy and economic uncertainty variables; and to examine the cointegration relationship between monetary policy by including the external economic uncertainty variables without neglecting the output uncertainty and inflation uncertainty. The data of this study are collected on a quarterly basis from the year 1995 quarter one until the year 2018 quarter one based on a sample of 30 countries. This study employs the causality tests (i.e., Toda Yamamoto causality test and Granger causality test) and panel heterogeneous cointegration approach. The findings from the causality tests and panel heterogeneous cointegration approach shows that the economic uncertainty variables have a causal relationship with monetary p.....

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Kajian ini bertujuan menguji kesan modul Bimbingan Kelompok Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (BK REBT) terhadap aspek psikologi yang melibatkan resilien, lokus kawalan, efikasi kendiri dan sokongan sosial awal remaja berisiko. Kaedah kajian eksperimen kuasi telah digunakan dalam kajian ini yang melibatkan 120 orang murid berumur 11 tahun di dua buah sekolah rendah telah dipilih menggunakan kaedah persampelan rawak bertujuan. Subjek dibahagi kepada lapan kelompok iaitu dua kelompok rawatan lelaki, dua kelompok rawatan perempuan, dua kelompok kawalan lelaki dan dua kelompok kawalan perempuan. Data ujian pra dan ujian pasca dikumpul menggunakan Skala Resilien Untuk Awal Remaja (RSEA), Instrumen Lokus Kawalan (LOC), Soal Selidik Efikasi Kendiri Untuk Kanak-Kanak (SEQ-C) dan Skala Multidimensi Penerimaan Sokongan Sosial (MSPSS), seterusnya telah dianalisis secara deskriptif dan inferensi melibatkan Min, Ujian t-Sampel Berpasangan, ANCOVA dan ujian Post Hoc Tukey. Hasil kajian m.....

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