Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving the student learning experience through dialogic feed-forward assessment

Abstract Assessment feedback from teachers gains consistently low satisfaction scores in national surveys of student satisfaction, with concern surrounding its timeliness, quality and effectiveness. Equally, there has been heightened interest in the responsibility of learners in engaging with feedback and how student assessment literacy might be increased. We present results from a five-year longitudinal mixed methods enquiry, thematically analysing semi-structured interviews and focus groups with undergraduate students who have experienced dialogic feed-forward on a course in a British university. We use inferential statistics to compare performance pre and post-assessment intervention. The assessment consisted of submitting a draft coursework essay, which was discussed and evaluated face-to-face with the course teacher before a self-reflective piece was written about the assessment process and a final essay was submitted for summative grading. We evidence that this process asserted a positive influence on the student learning experience in a number of inter-related cognitive and affective ways, impacting positively upon learning behaviour, supporting student achievement and raising student satisfaction with feedback. We advocate a cyclic and iterative approach to dialogic feed-forward, which facilitates learners’ longitudinal development. Programme teams should offer systematic opportunities across curricula for students to understand the rationale for and develop feedback literacy.
Community engagement in patient-centered outcomes research: Benefits, barriers, and measurement

Abstract Introduction: This study employed the Delphi method, an exploratory method used for group consensus building, to determine the benefits and challenges associated with community engagement in patient-centered outcomes research. Methods: A series of email surveys were sent to the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)-funded researchers (n = 103) in New England. Consensus was achieved through gathering themes and engaging participants in ranking their level of agreement over three rounds. In round one, participant responses were coded thematically and then tallied. In round two participants were asked to state their level of agreement with each of the themes using a Likert scale. Finally, in round three, the group was asked to rank the round two themes based on potential impact. Results: Results suggested the greatest benefit of community engagement is that it brings multiple perspectives to the table, with 92% ranking it as the first or second most important contribution. Time was ranked as the most significant barrier to engaging community. Strategies to overcome barriers to community engagement include engaging key stakeholders early in the research, being kind and respectful and spending time with stakeholders. The most significant finding was that no researchers reported having specific measures to evaluate community engagement. Conclusion: Community engagement can enhance both research relevance and methodology when researchers are engaged in meaningful collaborations. Advancing the science of community engagement will require the development of evaluation metrics to examine the multiple domains of partnership.
WOMEN’S CONSUMPTION OF PROBIOTIC FOOD; THE EXAMPLE OF YOGURT AND KEFIR

Objective : This study examined the relationship between pregnancy, women’s knowledge level, and consumption of probiotic foods. Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out with the participation of 560 pregnant (n:280) and non-pregnant (n:280) women who applied to the Gynecology and Obstetrics polyclinic at a university hospital between June and August 2017. Data were collected using a data collection form developed by the researchers based on relevant scholarly literature. Results: The two groups (pregnant and non-pregnant women) were similar in average age and educational level. Of the participants, 59.1% knew the term probiotics. The rates of knowing the term probiotics (p: 0.001), recognizing kefir as a type of probiotic food, and consuming kefir as a probiotic food (p: 0.001) were higher in non-pregnant women than in pregnant women at a statistically significant level (p<0.01). Women consumed probiotic foods mostly for problems in the digestive system (87%) and strengthening the immune system (74.1%). Not knowing what probiotic meant was the most common reason (22%) for not consuming probiotic foods. Discussion: Of the participants, 59.1% knew the term probiotics. Non-pregnant women’s rate of knowing the term probiotics (67.9%) was statistically higher than that of the pregnant women (50.4%) (p: 0.001; p<0.01). In sum, some pregnant women did not know the term probiotics. In the scholarly literature, there are no studies on pregnant women’s consumption and knowledge level of probiotic foods. Most of the studies’ sample groups were students. Findings of all these studies show that the most significant reason for not consuming probiotic foods was not having the sufficient knowledge about probiotics. Considering the positive effects of probiotic foods on health, increasing the consumption of probiotics could contribute to a healthy pregnancy. In Turkey, we need to determine pregnant women’s knowledge of probiotic foods to initiate and popularize the consumption of probiotics. Conclusion: Findings of this study indicated that pregnant women did not have sufficient knowledge of the term probiotics. Pregnancy is the ideal period for women to develop behavior that protects and improve both their own and their babies’ health. For this reason, raising awareness on and motivating pregnant women toward probiotic food consumption are significant.
tvReg: Time-varying Coefficient Linear Regression for Single and Multi-Equations in R

The source code of the package tvReg is publicly available for download from the Comprehensive R Archive Network. The five basic functions in this package are the tvLM, tvAR, tvSURE, tvPLM, tvVAR and tvIRF, which cover a large range of semiparametric models with time-varying coefficients. Moreover, this package provides methods for the graphical display of results, extraction of the residuals and fitted values, bandwidth selection, nonparametric estimation of the time-varying variance-covariance matrix of the error term, and four estimation procedures: the time-varying ordinary least squares implemented in the tvOLS, the time-varying generalised least squares in the tvGLS, the time-varying random effects in the tvRE and the time-varying fixed effects in the tvFE method. Applications to risk management, portfolio management, asset management and monetary policy are used as examples of these functions usage.
Millennial generation in accepting mutations: Impact on work stress and employee performance

This study is aimed at examining the impact of work mutations on work stress, as well as on employee performance. Having seen the differences in the phenomenon that occurs between female employees and male employees. The respondents were included in this study were 108 millennial employees of Dental Clinic Centre, consisting of 68 women and 40 men. The technique of data analysis used is WrapPLS. The results of the study indicate that work mutations have a negative impact on work stress, as well as work stress negatively affects performance. Work stress furthermore mediates the impact of work mutations on employee performance. It’s also found that there were differences between men and women in facing the work mutations that occurred. The employee of men is found to be calmer and not stressed in facing the work mutations that occur, while women are the opposite.
Tokamak parameter regimes with low toroidal momentum diffusivity

The strong, sharp flow structures that are seen frequently in tokamak cores, and large amplitude spontaneous global toroidal rotation are both surprising in light of current theories where toroidal flow evolution is dominantly diffusive. Mechanisms for spontaneously generating strong poloidal shear flows have been extensively investigated, but these processes were thought not to apply to toroidal flows. We confirm, however, that there is a regime with near-zero toroidal momentum diffusivity, where toroidal flow structures are spontaneously generated, as shown in earlier global gyrokinetic simulations. This allows strong rotation with negligible applied external torque, and the regime where this occurs is also favourable for strong turbulence stabilisation by rotation. The transition to low momentum diffusivity occurs for tight aspect ratio, low safety factor and at low levels of heat flux, in agreement with a simple zero-dimensional model for the flow–turbulence interaction.
Theoretical analysis of tyre slip power dissipation mechanism using brush model

ABSTRACT Tyre slip power loss has become a key issue for extending the number of miles per charge an electric vehicle can achieve. However, the definition and mechanism of tyre slip power loss has yet to be defined theoretically. Therefore, this paper analytically clarifies the energy equilibrium state when tyre forces are generated using a brush tyre model that is widely used in vehicle dynamics simulations. The analysis results show that input power is dissipated only in the sliding region, but that the amount of dissipation is equal to the total mechanical power including potential energy due to elastic deformation in the adhesion region. The consistency between the energy source and sink of vehicle-tyre dynamics was proved theoretically.
Optimal Rates of Convergence for Deconvolving a Density

Abstract Suppose that the sum of two independent random variables X and Z is observed, where Z denotes measurement error and has a known distribution, and where the unknown density f of X is to be estimated. One application is the estimation of a prior density for a sequence of location parameters. A second application arises in the errors-in-variables problem for nonlinear and generalized linear models, when one attempts to model the distribution of the true but unobservable covariates. This article shows that if Z is normally distributed and f has k bounded derivatives, then the fastest attainable convergence rate of any nonparametric estimator of f is only (log n)–k/2. Therefore, deconvolution with normal errors may not be a practical proposition. Other error distributions are also treated. Stefanski—Carroll (1987a) estimators achieve the optimal rates. The results given have versions for multiplicative errors, where they imply that even optimal rates are exceptionally slow.
Acquiring Diverse Robot Skills via Maximum Entropy Deep Reinforcement Learning

Author(s): Haarnoja, Tuomas | Advisor(s): Levine, Sergey; Abbeel, Pieter | Abstract: In this thesis, we study how maximum entropy framework can provide efficient deep reinforcement learning (deep RL) algorithms that solve tasks consistently and sample efficiently. This framework has several intriguing properties. First, the optimal policies are stochastic, improving exploration and preventing convergence to local optima, particularly when the objective is multimodal. Second, the entropy term provides regularization, resulting in more consistent and robust learning when compared to deterministic methods. Third, maximum entropy policies are composable, that is, two or more policies can be combined, and the resulting policy can be shown to be approximately optimal for the sum of the constituent task rewards. And fourth, the view of maximum entropy RL as probabilistic inference provides a foundation for building hierarchical policies that can solve complex and sparse reward tasks. In the first part, we will devise new algorithms based on this framework, starting from soft Q-learning that learns expressive energy-based policies, to soft actor-critic that provides simplicity and convenience of actor-critic methods, and ending with automatic temperature adjustment scheme that practically eliminates the need for hyperparameter tuning, which is a crucial feature for real-world applications where tuning of hyperparameters can be prohibitively expensive. In the second part, we will discuss extensions enabled by the inherent stochasticity of maximum entropy polices, including compositionality and hierarchical learning. We will demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms on both simulated and real-world robotic manipulation and locomotion tasks.
The Effect of Different Stocking Density of Eggs on The Production of Sangkuriang Catfish Seeds (Clarias gariepinus Burchell 1822) by Using Filtration System

This study aims to determine the production capacity of sangkuriang catfish (Clarias gariepinus) with different high egg density in ponds using filtration system. The research is held in Hatchery Fisheries and Marine Science Faculty, Diponegoro University Semarang on December 2017 – January 2018. The test fish used was sangkuriang catfish eggs that hatch and then maintained with maintenance time for 17 days. This research used experimental method with Completely Randomized Design, consisting of 3 treatments with 3 replications i.e, P1 (egg 50 g), P2 (egg 60 g), and P3 (egg 70 g). Variables which was measured include fertilization rate (FR), hatching rate (HR), absolute length growth (L), absolute weight growth (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), production (ind) and water quality. Data were analyzed by multiform analysis, then Duncan double area test to know the difference between treatment to determine the best treatment. The results showed that the different density of the stocked eggs had significant effect (P<0.05) on the HR, L and WG, SGR, SR and production, but no significant effect (P> 0.05) on FR. Treatment P1 showed the best result with value of FR was 92.6 ± 2.10%, HR was 91.33 ± 0.42%, L was 1.50 ± 0.10 cm, WG was 0.13 ± 0.01 gr, SGR was 22.9 ± 0.55%/day, and seed production was 25,323 ± 345.01 ind.
The Impact of Remittances on Economic Growth in Ethiopia

Nowadays, remittance has risen in a significant way in developing countries. But different scholars in different countries differently characterize its impact on economic growth. Depending on this debate of remittance, two separate views or school of thoughts was created; optimist and pessimist views. The optimists agreed in that remittances have a positive effect on the remit receiving country through reducing poverty and stimulating the economic growth. However, according to the pessimists view, remittance shouldn’t encourage the economic growth, rather it retard the economy through increasing dependency on the foreign by remit receiving countries and making the extreme consumption. Given such important literature this study was undertaken to add on existing literature by assessing the impact of remittances on Ethiopian economic growth over the period 1981 – 2012. ARDL model is used for time series estimation. An empirical result from the study reveals that there is a short run significant impact of remittances on economic growth while it affect the economy negatively in the long run.
Dinitrosyl Iron Complexes with Glutathione Suppress Surgically Induced Experimental Endometriosis in Rats

The review describes the results of our most recent investigations into miscellaneous effects of Dinitrosyl Iron Complexes (DNIC) with Glutathione and S-Nitrosoglutathione (GS-NO) as donors of Nitric Monoxide (NO) on the development of surgically induced endometriosis in rats. Whereas DNIC induced selective suppression of the growth of endometrioid tumors in implantation niduses, GS-NO enhanced tumour growth and lowered the immune responsiveness of experimental rats. It was suggested that the selective cytotoxic action of DNIC with glutathione on endometrioid tumors is a result of DNIC decomposition by endogenous iron chelators generated by tumor cells in order to provide the latter with iron required for fast tumor growth. The nitric monoxide released from DNIC either inside tumor cells or in their vicinity is oxidized to cytotoxic peroxynitrite and thus contributes to the strictly selective cytotoxic effect of DNIC on tumor cells. Such selectivity is not specific to GS-NO whose decomposition is spontaneous and can take place in different divisions of the abdominal cavity. team at the Semenov Institute of Chemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences have established that exogenous water-soluble Dinitrosyl Iron Complexes (DNIC) with glutathione as Nitric Monoxide donors (NO) can selectively suppress the development of experimental endometriosis in rats induced by surgical transplantation of two 2-mm fragments of uterine tissue onto the inner surface of the abdominal wall [1-3]. This effect is manifested in early and more advanced steps of tumor growth. Another NO donor, viz., S-nitrosoglutathione, exerts a non-selective suppressive effect (if any) on tumor growth, which is directed against both endometrioid tumours and other tissues. By weakening the immune responsiveness in experimental animals, S-nitrosoglutathione drastically enhances tumor growth in some of them. This paper is an overview of the results of our studies into miscellaneous effects of DNIC with glutathione on the development of surgically induced experimental endometriosis in rats. It was established that the selectivity of cytotoxic effects of DNIC on endometrioid tumors is determined by their physico-chemical characteristics and the ability to undergo decomposition inside or in the vicinity of endometrioid tumours with a release of considerable amounts of NO.
Morphological and Anatomical Observations on Seeds of Some Iris L. Taxa from Turkey

Bu calisma Turkiye’de dagilim gosteren bazi Iris taksonlarina ait (I. suaveolens, I. sintenisii, I. foetidissima ve I. germanica) tohumlarin morfolojik ve anatomik ozelliklerinin taksonomik degerlendirmesini icerir. Tohumlarin boyutu, sekli, rengi ve yuzey ornamentasyonlari isik ve taramali elektron mikroskobu ile calisilmistir. Testa ve parankima tabakalarinin yapi ve kalinligi anatomik olarak incelenmistir. Elde edilen bulgular, incelenen taksonlara ait tohumlarin renk, sekil, testa yapisi ve kalinligina ait ozelliklerin bazi acilardan farkli oldugunu gostermektedir. Ayrica, yuzey ornamentasyonlari turler arasi seviyede incelenilen taksonlar icin kismen farklidir. Sonuc olarak, incelenen tohum morfolojik ve anatomik karakterlerinin bazi istisnalar ile varyasyonlar gosterdigi ve bu durumun taksonomik oneme sahip oldugu tespit edilmistir.
Microscopic structural alterations in response to mesenchymal stem cells injection in experimentally induced oligospermia in adult rat testis (Histological and immunohistochemical study)

Background: Lead is one of the heavy metals that has many side effects on different organs. Recently, infertility among both men and women has become a major concern. Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells to the male reproductive organ is used for curing various diseases.Aim of the work: The aim of the present work is to study the microscopic structural variations and immunohistochemical appearance of the effects of mesenchymal stem cells transplantation (MSCs) on oligospermia induced in adult male albino rats.Material and methods: Thirty-two adult male rats were divided into; Group I (control group-ten rats), group II, twelve rats injected intravenously by a single dose of lead nitrate (LN, 23.3 mg/kg body weight) and group III (L N with MSCs) ten rats injected intravenously for six weeks. Sperm analysis, hormonal assay and testicular samples were taken for histological, immunohistochemical and statistical analysis at the end of the study.Results: The results revealed that the mean percentage of sperm count, sperm motility and testosterone levels were significantly affected after LN toxicity with apparent changes in the histological pattern of the seminiferous tubules which showed distortion, abnormal distribution, vacuolation, deeply stained nuclei (apoptotic nuclei) and detachment of spermatogenic cells from the germinal epithelium in comparison to the control group. Immunohistochemical study showed that a significant elevation of the intensity of caspase-3 immunostaining in Sertoli, Leydig and peritubular myoid cells in comparison to that of the control group. MSCs injection after lead toxicity showed significant improvement in sperm analysis (count, motility, abnormality and morphology) with marked improvement in histological changes as well as decrease in the mean area% of caspase -3 immune reaction.Conclusion: MCSs partially prevent testicular degenerative changes induced by lead toxicity, suggesting that the MSCs may give hope in the treatment of male infertility.
Fatter Attraction: Marital Status and the Relationship between BMI and Labor Supply

We empirically analyze the labor supply choices of married men and women according to their body size (BMI), using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics on anthropometric characteristics of both spouses, and unmarried men and women as comparison group. Heavier husbands are found to work significantly more hours and earn more labor income, controlling for both spouses’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Conversely, no such effect is found for either unmarried individuals or for married women. We suggest a marriage market mechanism through which male BMI and earnings are positively related. Heavier married men compensate for their negative physical trait by providing their wives with more disposable income, working more hours and earning more. Heavier women may not able to compensate their spouse through labor supply, as female physical traits are more relevant in the marriage market than the corresponding male traits.
Human - Olive Baboon (Papio Anubis L) Conflicts in Farms around Mgori Forest Reserve, Singida, Tanzania

Olive baboons (Papio anubis L) are widely distributed in most tropical countries. They usually live and breed in forests. With the ever increasing human population, more and more of their natural habitats are being replaced by farms, thus decreasing the living spaces and the amount of food available. In many parts of Tanzania, the government in collaboration with the local communities has preserved the forests in their natural conditions to protect the animals’ habitat. Mgori forest reserve is one of such areas, managed by both the local community adjacent to it and the government of Tanzania. However, human beings are moving closer and closer to the Olive baboons’ living spaces, forest. Therefore, when animals occasionally move out of the forest into the neighbouring farmlands in search of food, the result is serious conflicts with the farmers. A cross-sectional study was carried out to examine the nature and extent of the conflicts during the wet and the dry season in three villages adjacent to the forest. Also the study determined the most preferred crops by Olive baboons. Data was collected along transects running from the forest edge up to 2 km into the farmlands. Methods of primary data collection included direct observations, questionnaires, focus group discussion and face to face interviews. Wilcoxon Rank sign test was used to compare intensity of raiding between the wet and dry seasons using PAST computer software. Simple linear regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between the level of crop damage and distance of the farms from the forest edge, while Two Factor ANOVA was used to test whether intensity of raiding varied significantly with season and village. The study established that the crops raided most by Olive baboons are maize, millet, sunflower and finger millet. The results indicated that the level of crop damage during the wet season decreased with increasing distance from the forest edge (R 2 =0.7542). Crop damage in the dry season was minimal because most of it is harvested by end of the dry season. Farmers used a variety of mitigation methods with guarding being the most preferred. This is time consuming and not very effective. It is recommended that farmers should avoid planting crops most preferred by baboons near the forest edge. Further the effort to reduce crop raiding should be a combined effort of the farmers and the government.