Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive OFDM system for communications over the indoor wireless optical channel

The authors propose an adaptive orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system for communications over the indoor wireless diffuse optical channel. This channel can be characterised as short-term stationary, with severe attenuation and multipath-induced penalty, and high dependence on the space distribution of emitters and receivers. We have chosen OFDM systems because of their capability of supporting high data rates without channel equalisation. They also mitigate the quality of service fluctuations induced when space distribution of emitters and receivers varies. The performance of the new proposed scheme is compared with that of an adaptive system described in a previous work. The obtained results show that a significant increase of the system throughput is attained over noisy wireless optical channels.
Naming morphologically complex pseudowords: A headstart for the root?

Several studies examining Italian have shown that morphemes are effective processing units in reading aloud. Faster naming times and greater accuracy have been found in the reading of pseudowords consisting of real root + real suffix, than for matched pseudowords not made up of such morphemes. The results of this study suggest that the root is of primary importance in the reading aloud of Italian pseudowords. Faster naming times were found both for real root + real suffix pseudowords and for real root + non-suffix pseudowords than for pseudowords which did not include any morpheme. This held true for a stimulus list consisting mostly of words (Experiment 1), and for one consisting of pseudowords only (Experiment 2). Real root + non-suffix pseudowords were read as fast as pseudowords that were fully parsable into morphemes (root + suffix), suggesting that a headstart to a morphemic route can be provided by the root only. However, root + non-suffix pseudowords were pronounced less accurately than root + suffix combinations, indicating that the identification of a root before initiating pronunciation may conflict with the full elaboration of vocal output. Experiment 3 investigated the roles of root and suffix. An effect of suffix on naming latencies was observed, but it was not as strong as the root effect. Taken together, the results suggest that roots and suffixes are accessed and activated in a cascaded manner during the reading aloud of Italian.
How do children do mathematics with LOGO

This paper considers some results of a study designed to investigate the kinds of mathematical activity undertaken by children (aged between 8 and 11) as they learned to program in LOGO. A model of learning modes is proposed, which attempts to describe the ways in which children used and acquired understanding of the programming/mathematical concepts involved. The remainder of the paper is concerned with discussing the validity and limitations of the model, and its implications for further research and curriculum development.
Stimulating ideas through creativity software

A central task of management is decision making and a crucial aspect of decision making is having good alternatives from which to choose. This paper investigates whether computer-based procedures for idea generation can help individuals to develop solution alternatives more creatively. Our conceptual framework considers creative processes, environments, outputs, and individuals. In particular, generating alternatives is viewed as a process of "making connections" -internal connections among problem elements and external connections between a problem and its environment. We have developed a computer program GENI which incorporates a variety of techniques to assist in making these different types of connections. The program is described and an experimental test with several managerial problems is presented. The results show that use of the program leads to the development of significantly more creative alternatives than does a control treatment. There is an amplification effect in that the performance of the more creative individuals is improved the most. Thus the findings suggest that computerized idea generation leads to more creative alternatives resulting in potentially better managerial decisions.
Sintesis, Karakterisasi Nanopartikel Magnetit, Mg/Al NO3 –Hidrotalsit Dan Komposit Magnetit-Hidrotalsit

Synthesis and characterization magnetite, Mg/Al NO 3 - hydrotalcite and magnetite-hydrotalcite have been done. The XRD and FTIR characterization result from third compound is used to assess the conformation of magnetite in the structure of hydrotalcite by comparison of spectra. Obtained that magnetite nanoparticles (10-20 nm) dispersed on octahedral lattice of hydrotalcite. The position investigation of magnetite particles in the hydrotalcite structure is very useful to determining applications of this composite in various fields, especially that involve ion exchange feature from hydrotalcite. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.15408/jkv.v0i0. 4526
Sorption study of methylene blue on activated carbon prepared from Jatropha curcas and Terminalia catappa seed coats

This research work targets the effectiveness of the prepared activated carbon from Jatropha curcas and Terminalia catappa seed coats for the sorption of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution. The prepared Jatropha activated carbon (JAC) and Terminalia activated carbon (TAC) were characterised using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Branauer- Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis. Effect of initial concentration, pH, contact time, adsorbent dose and temperature on the sorption experiments were studied and the adsorption capacity of these adsorbents were found to be 37.84 mg/g and 17.44 mg/g for methylene blue uptake by JAC and TAC respectively. The experimental data were analysed using Langmuir, Fruendlich, and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherms. The data fitted best into Langmuir isotherm for Methylene blue-JAC and Methylene blue-TAC systems. The kinetic studies fitted into pseudo second order kinetics model. The process chemistry was exothermic.
Examining Web 2.0 Tools Usage of Science Teacher Candidates

Using technology in a science teaching is so important. Only the person, who can use these tools in expert level, can use these tools in their teaching activities. In this research it is aimed firstly identifying science teacher candidates web 2.0 tools usage experience level and factors affecting experience level. In this research survey method was adapted. To gather research data a survey was developed. Survey contains seven sections concerning demographic data, blog, wiki, image sharing, document sharing, social network site and instant messaging usage. After reviewing literature survey developed and survey was given CEIT and science education experts to review. After expert examination survey, finalized survey administrated 289 science teacher candidates and obtained data analyzed.Research findings show that science teacher candidates experience regarding each tool fairly equal and their experience do not differ notable level by gender, computer experience or internet experience.
Intonational Downtrends in Mayali

Many researchers note the paucity of intonational studies of Australian languages. While some descriptive phonetic work has been carried out, most notably on Dyirbal narratives, many grammars do not include systematic descriptions of intonational variation. In this paper, intonational downtrends (declination, downstep, final lowering) and pitch range reset are examined in two varieties of Mayali (Bininj Gun-wok)—Gundjeihmi and Kundedjnjenghmi. Preliminary results of an acoustic intonational study of four texts from these dialects of Mayali show that there is evidence of systematic and non-systematic downtrends (i.e. downstep and final lowering). Mayali shows tonal space resetting across intonational phrases and a use of low boundary tones that are likely to be related to discourse factors, such as initiating new topics, and initiating or closing off discourse ‘paragraphs’.
Coherence or interest as basis for improving hypertext comprehension

Educational hypertext aims to improve the reader’s comprehension by providing flexible access to information. However, this flexibility imposes additional tasks upon a reader who is used to gaining information in a linear manner. One of these difficulties is in choosing the reading order of the hypertext sections. In the present work, we explore two possible strategies to decide the reading order in hypertext: strategies based on coherence and interest. Results of two laboratory experiments reveal that a semantically coherent reading order improves comprehension for novice readers. Finally, we focus on ways to analyze coherence of the reading order, and how to promote it in educational hypertexts.
In vitro antibacterial activity of vernonia amygdalina leaves extracts against pathogen of pineapple heart rot disease

Heart rot disease is one of the major diseases in pineapple cultivation in Malaysia. Josapine and N36 are among varieties that vulnerable to the heart rot disease. The infection can reduce up to 50% yield. In vitro antibacterial activity of four Vernonia amygdalina leaves extract (hexane, chloroform, methanol and aqueous) was carried out and evaluated against pathogen of pineapple heart rot disease. The antibacterial activity was evaluated using well diffusion method where three concentrations for each extract were prepared. The results revealed V. amygdalina chloroform and aqueous leaves extracts at 10000 ppm shows greater inhibition zone than positive control. V. amygdalina hexane leaves extracts, however, did not shows any inhibition zone at any concentrations. Meanwhile, the V. amygdalina methanol leaves extract shows antibacterial activity against the pathogen of pineapple heart rot disease but not as good as positive control. Phytochemical screening was also carried out to determine the presence of alkaloid, flavanoid, glycoside, phenol, saponin, steroid, and tannins as these compounds may attribute to the result. The screening revealed that both V. amygdalina chloroform and aqueous leaves extracts contain alkaloid, saponin, and tannin. Result shows the potentials of V. amygdalina as an antibacterial agent in combating pineapple heart rot disease.
Can Embedded Annotations Help High School Students Perform Problem Solving Tasks Using A Web-Based Historical Document?

Abstract Two versions of a Web site on the United States Constitution were used by students in separate high school history classes to solve problems that emerged from four constitutional scenarios. One site contained embedded conceptual scaffolding devices in the form of textual annotations; the other did not. The results of our study demonstrated the situational importance of the annotations as well as the need for instructional Web designers to make their design intentions transparent. A holistic approach to examining annotational content is recommended in which teachers and designers consider how Web-based annotational content might function in instructional settings. An initial topology is also proposed for the annotations on the Web site used in this study.
Effect of the vegetation clumping on the BRDF of a semi-arid grassland: comparison of the SAIL model and ray tracing method applied to a 3D computerized vegetation canopy

A 3D model of vegetation, the AMAP Software (Atelier de Mode/spl acute/lisation de l'Architecture des Plantes, CIRAD), is used with a ray-tracing method to compute radiative transfer of sparse canopies. In a first step, the ray-tracing model is validated against two well-known radiative transfer models: a turbid medium model, SAIL, in the case of an homogeneous canopy, and a geometrical model of cylinders for clumped vegetation. Then, botanical measurements of semi-arid grassland acquired during the SALSA project in 1997 (Sonora, Mexico) are used to create 3D realistic scenes of vegetation. The BRDF of these 3D scenes is compared to the BRDF of a turbid medium equivalent in terms of vegetation parameters (leaf area index, leaf angle inclinations.). It is then possible to evaluate the error committed when sparse clumped canopies are treated as turbid media.
Models for e‐government

Purpose – This paper aims to present a meta-model for electronic government (e-government) which takes account of the broad nature of this contemporary socio-technical phenomenon. As such it contains within it a number of possible “business models” for the development of e-government – strategies for e-government focused around key business processes and information systems. Design/methodology/approach – This meta-model is built from literature taken from the domains of informatics, business and public administration. It is also built on established academic, policy and practitioner literature from the domain of e-government itself. Findings – The paper demonstrates and validates the use of this meta-model in three ways. First, it is used as an explanatory tool to help review the contemporary experience of e-government in the UK. To help in this process we position specific case examples of e-government against the model from this experience. Second, it is used to evaluate a number of existing models of e-government, particularly those which provide an explicit framework of e-government progress. A number of deficiencies in such models are identified from this evaluation. Third, the meta-model is proposed as a framework for evaluating and potentially benchmarking e-government. The intention is to raise the perspective of evaluation and benchmarking in this area beyond its contemporary focus on electronic service delivery. Originality/value – To demonstrate the worth of this approach, the paper describes the application of elements of this meta-model in two evaluation/benchmarking exercises undertaken by the author in the context of regional e-government.
Statistics for Environmental Biology and Toxicology

Basic Probability and Statistical Distributions Introductory Concepts in Probability Families of Discrete Distributions Families of Continuous Distributions The Exponential Class Families of Multivariate Distributions Summary Exercises Fundamentals of Statistical Inference Introductory Concepts in Statistical Estimation Nature and Properties of Estimators Techniques for Constructing Statistical Estimators Statistical Inference - Testing Hypotheses Statistical Inference - Confidence Intervals Confidence Intervals for Some Special Distributions Semi-Parametric Inference Summary Exercises Fundamental Issues in Experiment Design Basic Terminology in Experiment Design The Experimental Unit Random Sampling and Randomization Sample Sizes and Optimal Animal Allocation Dose Selection Summary Exercises Data Analysis of Treatment versus Control Differences Two-Sample Comparisons - Testing Hypotheses Two-Sample Comparisons - Confidence Intervals Summary Exercises Treatment-versus-Control Multiple Comparisons Comparing More than Two Populations Multiple Comparisons via Bonferroni's Inequality Multiple Comparisons among a Control - Normal Sampling Multiple Comparisons among Binomial Populations Multiple Comparisons with a Control - Poisson Samling All-Pairwise Multiple Comparisons Summary Exercises Trend Testing Simple Linear Regression for Normal Data William's Test for Normal Data Trend Tests for Proportions Cochran-Armitage Trend Test for Counts Overdispersed Discrete Data Distribution-Free Trend Testing Nonparametric Tests for Nonmonotone ("Umbrella") Trends Summary Exercises Dose-Response Modeling and Analysis Dose-Response Models on a Continuous Scale Dose-Response Models on a Discrete Scale Potency Estimation for Dose-Response Data Comparing Dose-Response Curves Summary Exercises Introduction to Generalized Linear Models (GLiMs) Review of Classical Linear Models Generalizing the Classical Linear Model Generalized Linear Models Examples and Illustrations Summary Exercises Analysis of Cross-Classified Tabular/Categorical Data RxC Contingency Tables Statistical Distributions for Categorical Data Statistical Tests of Independence in RxC Tables Log-Linear Models and Relationships to GLiMs Tables of Proportions Summary Exercises Incorporating Historical Control Information Guidelines for Using Historical Control Data Two-Sample Hypothesis Testing - Normal Distribution Sampling Two-Sample Hypothesis Testing - Binomial Sampling Trend Testing with Historical Controls Summary Exercises Survival Data Analysis Survival Data Lifetime Distributions Estimating the Survivor Function Nonparametric Methods for Comparing Survival Curves Regression Models for Survival Data Summary Exercises Appendices References
Investigation for Improved Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Thyristor-controlled Series-compensated Transmission Line Fault Classification with Discrete Wavelet Packet Entropy Measures

Abstract A new transmission line fault-classification algorithm based on half-cycle post-fault current data is presented for an advanced series-compensated transmission line equipped with a thyristor-controlled series compensator. The proposed scheme was developed with the signal feature enhancement tool of discrete wavelet packet entropy measures. The Chebyshev neural network is presented as network-growing technique for protective classification, the single-layer structure of which is a more powerful classifier that eliminates the need for complicated network design. A comparative implementation study of the multi-layer perceptron and Chebyshev neural network authenticates benefits gained by the Chebyshev neural network. To demonstrate the advantage gained by Chebyshev neural networks compared to support vector machines, a comparative study is presented with a support vector machine based classification technique. The fault datawere obtained by dynamic simulation of a sample system using the real-time power system simulator PSCAD (Manitoba HVDC Research Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada). Extensive testing reveals the effectiveness of the Chebyshev neural network for fault classification; a comparative study brings out the superiority of the Chebyshev neural network for neural network design and implementation against the multi-layer perceptron. The Chebyshev neural network proved advantageous against support vector machines as being insensitive to the classification parameter.
Finite element method to improve the computational performance in optical devices analysis

This work presents a robust bidimensional finite element method (FEM) to disassembly and assembly only modified elements in global matrix. It integrates biconjugate gradient stabilized iterative method and incomplete LU threshold preconditioner to solve linear systems for nondiagonal sparse matrixes, decreasing FEM runtime around 70% in some applications. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 57:1423–1426, 2015
Soliton surfaces and generalized symmetries of integrable systems

In this paper, we discuss some specific features of symmetries of integrable systems which can be used to construct the Fokas–Gel’fand formula for the immersion of 2D-soliton surfaces, associated with such systems, in Lie algebras. We establish a sufficient condition for the applicability of this formula. This condition requires the existence of two vector fields which generate a common symmetry of the initial system and its corresponding linear spectral problem. This means that these two fields have to be group-related and we determine an explicit form of this relation. It provides a criterion for the selection of symmetries suitable for use in the Fokas–Gel’fand formula. We include some examples illustrating its application.
Stochastic single‐site generation of daily and monthly rainfall in the Middle East

An important limitation of commonly used single site daily rainfall models is their inability to represent monthly characteristics of observed rainfall, whereas impact studies often demand the accommodation of such statistics of rainfall. In this study, a single‐site model for simulations of daily and monthly rainfall in arid and semi‐arid areas in the Middle East was developed. The rainfall generator is a Markov‐Gamma model in which a first‐order two‐state Markov chain was used to determine the occurrence of rainfall and a two‐parameter Gamma distribution was applied to simulate the rainfall amount on wet days. The basic structure of the generation process comprises the generation of a sequence of daily rainfall amounts and the adjustment of this daily rainfall by implementing the Thomas‐Fiering monthly model. This procedure guarantees that important statistical characteristics of the daily and monthly rainfall are reproduced. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society
Factors and Interactions Influencing Technology Integration During Situated Professional Development in an Elementary School

This study examined factors that influence K–5 teachers’ technology integration efforts during a semester-long Collaborative Apprenticeship. Results suggest that shared planning time, shared curriculum, connection to an individual, expertise, physical proximity, and comfort level influenced interactions across the community of practice. Posing and responding to task-based questions, giving and seeking advice, and sharing ideas composed more than 70% of interactions between teachers. However, the nature of interactions changed as teachers assumed increased responsibility for designing technology-enhanced lessons. Teacher-leaders initially modeled exemplar applications of technology-enhanced lessons and gave advice on their classroom use. Subsequently, the community of teachers brainstormed ideas collaboratively as teacher-leaders supported peers to develop original lessons independently. Implications for collaborative apprenticeships and learning in professional environments are provided.
Hot topics-ubiquitous computing

The author suggests that, due to the trends of unobtrusive technology and more intrusive information, the next phase of computing technology will develop nonlinearly. He states that, in the long run, the personal computer and the workstation will become practically obsolete because computing access will be everywhere: in the walls, on your wrist, and in 'scrap' computers (i.e., like scrap paper) lying about to be used as needed. The current research on ubiquitous computing is reviewed. >
Applications of a monolithic analog multiplier

A fully balanced analog multiplier using differential transistor pairs is briefly described. Several circuit functions usually required in communication systems can be derived from the basic circuit. In particular, the different modes of operation leading to FM detection, suppressed carrier modulation, synchronous AM detection, and TV chroma demodulation are discussed. Experimental data obtained with a monolithic analog multiplier are also presented.
Average TimeSync: a consensus-based protocol for time synchronization in wireless sensor networks1

Abstract This paper describes a novel consensus-based protocol, referred as Average TimeSync (ATS), for synchronizing a wireless sensor network. This algorithm is based on a cascade of two consensus algorithms, whose main idea is averaging local information. The proposed algorithm has the advantage to be totally distributed, asynchronous, robust to packet drop and sensor node failure, and it is adaptive to clock drifts and changes on the communication topology. In particular, we provide a rigorous proof of convergence to global synchronization in the absence of process noise, measurement noise and communication delay, and we show its effectiveness through a number of experiments performed on a wireless sensor network.