Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Implementation of Personalized E-Assessment for Remedial Teaching in an E-Learning Environment

This research explored how different models of Web-based dynamic assessment in remedial teaching improved junior high school student learning achievement and their misconceptions about the topic of ‘Weather and Climate. ’ This research adopted a quasi-experimental design. A total of 58 7th graders participated in this research. Participants were divided into the experiment group (28 participants) and the control group (30 participants). The experiment group took the ‘personalized Web-based dynamic assessment’ while the control group took the ‘non-personalized Web-based dynamic assessment. ’ The two groups of students received the same lessons via conventional teaching prior to the experiment, and after the lessons were completed, they both took the pre-tests of the achievement test and the two-tier diagnostic test. After the tests, different models of Web-based dynamic assessment were administered to facilitate student learning. Once the Web-based dynamic assessments were accomplished, the two groups of students took the post-tests of the achievement test and the two-tier diagnostic test. Research findings reveal that students in the experiment group experience significantly better improvement in their learning achievement and misconceptions.
Terahertz emission from the intrinsic Josephson junctions of high-symmetry thermally-managed Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ microstrip antennas

We show for high-symmetry disk, square, or equilateral triangular thin microstrip antennas of any composition respectively obeying C∞v, C4v, and C3v point group symmetries, that the transverse magnetic electromagnetic cavity mode wave functions are restricted in form to those that are one-dimensional representations of those point groups. Plots of the common nodal points of the ten lowest-energy non-radiating two-dimensional representations of each of these three symmetries are presented. For comparison with symmetry-broken disk intrinsic Josephson junction microstrip antennas constructed from the highly anisotropic layered superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ (BSCCO), we present plots of the ten lowest frequency orthonormal wave functions and of their emission power angular distributions. These results are compared with previous results for square and equilateral triangular thin microstrip antennas.
Predicting vascular events with iron oxide-enhanced MRI: improving cerebrovascular and cardiovascular risk stratification through imaging

Vascular diseases including stroke, myocardial infarction, cerebral aneurysm and aortic aneurysm are among the most widespread causes of death and disability globally. As these conditions are generally asymptomatic before unexpectedly presenting with cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events, it is challenging to identify which individuals can benefit from further intervention such as surgical intervention, aggressive medical management or close clinical surveillance. Noninvasive imaging has been proposed as the solution to this problem by individualizing risk assessment. MRI is a powerful tool that can identify atheromatous plaque constituents and can enhance risk prediction beyond vessel measurements such as degree of stenosis, the traditional marker of disease severity. Iron oxide nanoparticle contrast media have the potential to contribute additional information regarding vascular risk by demonstrating regions of inflammation. This review explores the capability of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxi.
Thermospheric parameters long‐term variations retrieved from ionospheric observations in Europe

Recently developed method to retrieve thermospheric parameters (Tex, O, O2, and N2) and the total solar EUV flux with λ < 1050 Å from routine foF1 ionosonde observations has been applied to monthly median foF1 data on Rome, Slough/Chilton, and Juliusruh stations to analyze long‐term trends in the thermospheric parameters. For the first time exospheric temperature and neutral composition were obtained for June noontime conditions over the period of ~ 5 solar cycles. The retrieved parameter manifested solar cycle and long‐term (some solar cycles) variations with a rising phase in 1965–1985 and falling phase in 1985–2008. The retrieved thermospheric parameters were shown to be close to the MSIS‐86 model ones exhibiting very small (<1% per decade) and statistically insignificant linear trends estimated either over all 56 years or only over the years of solar minimum. No peculiarities in long‐term variations in relation with the last deep solar minimum have been revealed. The source of the thermospheric parameter long‐term trends is the Sun, i.e., they have a natural (not anthropogenic) origin and are mainly controlled by long‐term variations of solar and geomagnetic activity.
Effectiveness of Focus-on-Forms Instruction: Different Outcomes on Constrained- and Free-Production Tasks?

The purpose of this study is to investigate how focus-on-forms instruction in second language teaching affects attention to forms in two different types of task: constrained and free production. These two different types of task were administered to 87 university students enrolled in a first-year French as a second language course before and after instruction on qualifying adjective agreement. Comparisons were made between learning-gain differences from pre- to post-tests for both tasks. Significant differences between pre- and post-test scores were found for both tasks. Although the difference between the two tasks was not significant, the learning-gain difference was somewhat higher for the constrained-production task than for the free-production task. When the total number of adjectives used in the compositions was broken down into colour adjectives and non-colour adjectives, no significant learning gains were observed between the two categories, although the learning gains for the non-colour adjectives was twice as high as for the colour adjectives. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.
Vertical profile of tropospheric ozone derived from synergetic retrieval using three different wavelength ranges, UV, IR, and Microwave: sensitivity study for satellite observation

Abstract. We performed a feasibility study of constraining the vertical profile of the tropospheric ozone by using a synergetic retrieval method on multiple spectra, i.e., ultraviolet (UV), thermal infrared (TIR), and microwave (MW) ranges, measured from space. This work provides, for the first time, a quantitative evaluation of the retrieval sensitivity of the tropospheric ozone by adding the MW measurement to the UV and TIR measurements. Two observation points in East Asia (one in an urban area and one in an ocean area) and two observation times (one during summer and one during winter) were assumed. Geometry of line of sight was nadir down-looking for the UV and TIR measurements, and limb sounding for the MW measurement. The retrieval sensitivities of the ozone profiles in the upper troposphere (UT), middle troposphere (MT), and lowermost troposphere (LMT) were estimated using the degree of freedom for signal (DFS), the pressure of maximum sensitivity, reduction rate of error from the a priori error, and the averaging kernel matrix, derived based on the optimal estimation method. The measurement noise levels were assumed to be the same as those for currently available instruments. The weighting functions for the UV, TIR, and MW ranges were calculated using the SCIATRAN radiative transfer model, the Line-By-Line Radiative Transfer Model (LBLRTM), and the Advanced Model for Atmospheric Terahertz Radiation Analysis and Simulation (AMATERASU), respectively. The DFS value was increased by approximately 96, 23, and 30 % by adding the MW measurements to the combination of UV and TIR measurements in the UT, MT, and LMT regions, respectively. The MW measurement increased the DFS value of the LMT ozone; nevertheless, the MW measurement alone has no sensitivity to the LMT ozone. The pressure of maximum sensitivity value for the LMT ozone was also increased by adding the MW measurement. These findings indicate that better information on LMT ozone can be obtained by adding constraints on the UT and MT ozone from the MW measurement. The results of this study are applicable to the upcoming air-quality monitoring missions, APOLLO, GMAP-Asia, and uvSCOPE.
COMPARISON OF ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY OF PATELLA STABILIZER MUSCLES BETWEEN ATHLETES WITH AND WITHOUT PATELLOFEMORAL PAIN SYNDROME

The aim of this study was to compare the electrical activity of the Tensor fascia lata (TFL) and Vastus lateralis (VL) muscles as lateral stabilizers and the Vastus medialis oblique (VMO) muscle as medial stabilizer of the patella in athletes with and without patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). Eleven healthy athletes (4 women, 7 men) and 9 athletes with PFPS (3 women, 6 men) ranging in age from 20 to 30 years performed the submaximal isometric knee extension contraction initiated from 45°of flexion and an extended position to 30° and 15°angles. The activation amplitude of the TFL, VL and VMO muscles were quantified from the recorded electromyographic (EMG) signals. The results showed that Electrical activity of the VMO muscle at 30° and 45° angles for the patients was significantly greater than those of the control subjects. No significant differences were demonstrated in VMO: VL and VMO: TFL across all knee flexion angles between groups. However, the mean value of the ratio of VMO: (TFL + VL) at an angle of 30° for the subjects with PFPS was significantly greater than that of the control group. It may be assumed that the higher electrical activity of the VMO at 30° angle in PFPS patients is an effort to prevent more lateral patella tracking. Since the TFL and VL muscles produce lateral force on the patella, both of them should be studied for consideration of lateral stabilizers of the patella in the patients with PFPS.
Convex image orientation from relative orientations

Abstract. In this paper we propose a novel workflow for the estimation of global image orientations given relative orientations between pairs of overlapping images. Our approach is convex and independent on initial values. First, global rotations are estimated in a relaxed semidefinite program (SDP) and refined in an iterative least squares adjustment in the tangent space of SO(3). A critical aspect is the handling of outliers in the relative orientations. We present a novel heuristic graph based approach for filtering the relative rotations that outperforms state-of-the-art robust rotation averaging algorithms. In a second part we make use of point-observations, tracked over a set of overlapping images and formulate a linear homogeneous system of equations to transfer the scale information between triplets of images, using estimated global rotations and relative translation directions. The final step consists of refining the orientation parameters in a robust bundle adjustment. The proposed approach handles outliers in the homologous points and relative orientations in every step of the processing chain. We demonstrate the robustness of the procedure on synthetic data. Moreover, the performance of our approach is illustrated on real world benchmark data.
Inference in High-dimensional Dynamic Panel Data Models

We establish oracle inequalities for a version of the Lasso in high-dimensional fixed effects dynamic panel data models. The inequalities are valid for the coefficients of the dynamic and exogenous regressors. Separate oracle inequalities are derived for the fixed effects. Next, we show how one can conduct simultaneous inference on the parameters of the model and construct a uniformly valid estimator of the asymptotic covariance matrix which is robust to conditional heteroskedasticity in the error terms. Allowing for conditional heteroskedasticity is important in dynamic models as the conditional error variance may be non-constant over time and depend on the covariates. Furthermore, our procedure allows for inference on high-dimensional subsets of the parameter vector of an increasing cardinality. We show that the confidence bands resulting from our procedure are asymptotically honest and contract at the optimal rate. This rate is different for the fixed effects than for the remaining parts of the parameter vector.
Separation Anxiety in Children and Adolescents

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychological disorders in younger patients, affecting 6% to 20% of developed countries children and adolescents (Walkup et al. 2008). Separation anxiety is the only anxiety disorder restricted to infancy, childhood, or adolescence (APA, 2000). Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is defined by developmentally inappropriate, excessive, persistent, and unrealistic worry about separation from attachment figures, most commonly parents or other family members. Youths with SAD display distress before separation or during attempts at separation. These children worry excessively about their own or their parents' safety and health when separated, have difficulty sleeping alone, experience nightmares with themes of separation, frequently have somatic complaints, and may exhibit school refusal. Children with separation anxiety disorder exhibit varying degrees of avoidant behaviour that correlate with the severity of their symptoms (Albano et al. 2003). This kind of anxiety in adolescents and schoolchildren significantly interferes with daily activities and developmental tasks. Children with separation anxiety disorder are usually brought to the clinician when SAD results in school refusal or embarrassing somatic symptoms. When analyzing responses to shown images, relative to controls, children with anxiety disorders experience greater negative emotional responses to the presented images, are less successful at applying reappraisals, but show intact ability to reduce their negative emotions following reappraisal. They also may report less frequent use of reappraisal in everyday life (Carthy et al, 2010).
Accumulation of Th, Pb, U, and Ra in marine phytoplankton and its geochemical significance

The bioaccumulation of U, Th, Ra, and Pb in four diverse nanoplanktonic algal species and a picoplanktonic blue-green alga was determined with radiotracers. Among the nanoplankton, differences of 1-2 orders of magnitude in volume/volume concentration factors (VCFs) were observed for a given nuclide, but larger differences were observed among the four nuclides, with VCF values of Th > Pb > Ra approx. U. The picoplankton cells, with greater surface:volume ratios, had significantly higher VCF values. The mean VCF values in the nanoplankton of Th and Pb were 1.5 x 10/sup 5/ and 3.6 x 10/sup 4/ in the light and 2.8 x 10/sup 4/ in the dark. The VCFs of Th and Pb in the picoplankton were both about 2 x 10/sup 6/, irrespective of light. Retention half-times of /sup 228/Th and /sup 210/Pb in fecal pellets of Artemia salina, fed radiolabeled diatoms, were 20-50 d, but > 120 d for /sup 228/Th at 4/sup 0/C. The results suggest that sinking plankton and their debris could account for most of the natural series radionuclides sedimenting out of oceanic surface waters.
Validity and reliability of the test for assessment of specific physical abilities of police officers in the anaerobic-lactate work regime

The subject of this paper was the examination of validity and reliability of the obstacle course test (OC_SAPO1) that can be used to assess the specific abilities of police officers in the anaerobic-lactate work regime. Twenty-five students of the Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies took part in this research (14 male and 11 female). The testing was performed according to the test – retest method for determining reliability. The studied variables included: performance time of the OC_SAPO1 (indicator of effectiveness), lactate concentration in capillary blood (measure of metabolic acidosis) and the value of heart rate frequency (measure of the functional exertion of the cardiovascular system). The results of t-test showed that the participants mastered the OC_SAPO1 7.17 seconds faster in the second testing (t – 4.164, p < 0.01), i.e. 7.25% faster, which suggests the that there is a learning effect and that test can be used for educational purposes. A statistically significant difference of the measured concentration of lactates and maximum heart frequency was not established between the two tests. Based on Cronbach’s Alpha results, we can claim that the OC_SAPO1 is a reliable measuring instrument for the evaluation of the specific ability of police officers in anaerobic-lactate work regime. A lower reliability of the Cronbach’s Alpha test was established for maximum heart frequency when compared to the other studied variables. The registered levels of the studied variables classify the OC_SAPO1 as a test of sub-maximal intensity in the anaerobic-lactate work regime.
Competition between surface screening and size quantization for surface plasmons in nanoparticles

We present a theoretical model for analyzing the size dependence of the surface plasmon resonance of metallic nanospheres in a range of sizes down to a single nanometer. Within this model, we explicitly show how different microscopic mechanisms, namely quantization due to size (quantum size effect (QSE)) and dynamical surface screening, affect the energy of the surface plasmon. We demonstrate that the latter mechanism, which can move the surface plasma energy both toward the red or the blue, can be comparable to or even stronger than QSE. Thus, depending on material parameters, QSE may only be observed for ultra-small metal nanoparticles much closer to 1 nm in size than to 10 nm. Results presented herein are in quantitative agreement with recent published experimental results for Ag and Au.
DISSOLUTION OF OPHIUROID OSSICLES ON THE SHALLOW ANTARCTIC SHELF: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FOSSIL RECORD AND OCEAN ACIDIFICATION

ABSTRACT The brittlestar, Ophionotus victoriae, is abundant in Explorers Cove, offshore Taylor Valley. However its ossicles, composed of high-Mg calcite, have not been reported from Cenozoic cores taken from McMurdo Sound. To identify taphonomic processes we analyzed (1) ossicle dissolution and silhouette area loss during a 2-year in situ experiment in which whole dead brittlestars were suspended above or placed on the sediment-water interface at water depths of 7–25 m; (2) ossicle dissolution in a 27-day, in situ experiment using ossicles freed of soft tissue; (3) porosities of experimental and pristine ossicles; and (4) abundance of ossicles in short cores taken at shallow depths in Explorers Cove. SEM analysis demonstrates significantly higher levels of dissolution in ossicles submerged for two years than in pristine ossicles. Submerged ossicles also had significant breakage reflected in silhouette area loss. During the 27-day experiment, submerged ossicles lost between 0.07 wt% and 1.31 wt%. At the observed rate of dissolution it would take between 6 and 105 years for vertebral ossicles to dissolve completely. Ossicles submerged for two years had a slightly higher mean porosity than pristine ossicles; porosity is controlled by variability in the porous stereom structure as well as dissolution. Results demonstrate that ossicle dissolution starts soon after death and that the stratigraphic record does not accurately reflect the presence and abundance of ophiuroids, thus complicating their use in paleoenvironmental, paleoclimatic, and paleoecologic reconstructions. These results also provide baseline information about CaCO3 skeletal dissolution needed to monitor the ocean acidification that is predicted to affect high-latitude benthic ecosystems within decades.
Exploring internalized ableism using critical race theory

This paper is an attempt to theorize about the way disabled people live with ableism, in particular internalized ableism. Typically literature within disability studies has concentrated on the practices and production of disablism, examining attitudes and barriers that contribute to the subordination of people with disabilities in society. My exploration occurs through examining the insights of critical race theory (CRT) and the contribution that CRT can further make to thinking through the processes, formation and consequences of ableism. A focal concern is the possible ways that the concept of internalized racism, its deployment in CRT and application to critical disability studies. The paper is interested in working through points of difference between the way internalized racism/ableism are mediated in the processes of subjectification and identifying points of convergence that can benefit dialogue across varied sites of scholarship. The author concludes that the study of ableism instead of disability/disablement may produce different research questions and sites of study.
The effect of massive neutrinos on the BAO peak

We study the impact of neutrino masses on the shape and height of the BAO peak of the matter correlation function, both in real and redshift space. In order to describe the nonlinear evolution of the BAO peak we run N-body simulations and compare them with simple analytic formulae. We show that the evolution with redshift of the correlation function and its dependence on the neutrino masses is well reproduced in a simplified version of the Zel'dovich approximation, in which the mode-coupling contribution to the power spectrum is neglected. While in linear theory the BAO peak decreases for increasing neutrino masses, the effect of nonlinear structure formation goes in the opposite direction, since the peak broadening by large scale flows is less effective. As a result of this combined effect, the peak decreases by ∼ 0.6 % for ∑ mν = 0.15 eV and increases by ∼1.2% for ∑ mν = 0.3 eV, with respect to a massless neutrino cosmology with equal value of the other cosmological parameters. We extend our analysis to redshift space and to halos, and confirm the agreement between simulations and the analytic formulae. We argue that all analytical approaches having the Zel'dovich propagator in their lowest order approximation should give comparable performances, irrespectively to their formulation in Lagrangian or in Eulerian space.
CAPITAL STRUCTURE AND BANK PERFORMANCE - EVIDENCE FROM SUB-

This paper seeks to examine the relationship between capital structure and bank performance in Sub-Sahara Africa. This study has employed the use of panel data techniques to analyze the relationship between capital structure and bank performance. The performance variables used in the study were return on asset (ROA), Return on equity (ROE) and net interest margin (NIM). The results from Levin-Lin-Chu and Im-pesaran-shin unit root test show that all the variables were stationary in levels. The study hypothesized negative relationship between capital structure and bank performance. The results also indicate that capital structure does not determine bank performance but rather it is performance that determines banks capital structure.
Beyond authenticity: a visual-material analysis of locality in the global redesign of Starbucks stores

In this article, the authors examine the global store design strategy launched by Starbucks in 2009 in the wake of the economic crisis, increasing brand dilution, and growing competition. They offer a visual-material analysis of the corporation’s efforts to create a global aesthetic grounded in locality, with an in-depth focus on meaning potentials of materiality and community found across the four store redesigns that were unveiled in Seattle, the coffee company’s hometown, and which functioned as prototypes for store design across the United States, Europe and Asia. They then critically engage Starbucks’ rhetoric/discourse of locality in relation to the more widespread notion of authenticity and argue that, while authenticity is rooted in textual and symbolic arrangements, locality operates in the realm of emplaced and embodied claims of difference. Shifting from authenticity to locality in design and branding practices alters critical engagements and everyday relationships with global consumer capitalism, insofar as this may be increasingly entrenched with vernacular expressions of cosmopolitanism.