Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CHECKING THE STUDENT’S APTITUDE FOR A BACHELOR PROGRAM: EXPERIENCES WITH A WEB-BASED TOOL

In autumn 2014 the Bachelor of Science programme “Business Information Technology (BSc BIT)” was launched. BIT is about the application of information technology in business with the focus on building information systems. Since the start of the programme it can be observed that a considerable number of students face difficulties in modules related to programming and mathematics at the beginning of the study. In order to help potential applicants of the programme to understand the kind of competencies of abstract thinking that are needed for the BSc BIT programme ahead of the start, a web based self-assessment test was developed. The aptitude test - built with Google Forms - currently consists of 25 predefined multiple choice questions and calculates an overall aptitude figure by summing up the single aptitude values for the categories logical and analytical thinking, understanding algorithms, mathematics and abstract thinking. The questions are taken from well-established test systems like ELIGO-System, BOMAT, CASA etc. and are typically solved within less than 45 minutes. The students can check their suitability for the study programme by comparing their overall aptitude value with a given threshold. First test runs conducted with the tool confirm the validity of the aptitude test. The future scope will involve more students and deal with an analysis of concrete weaknesses that can be used as input to adapt the settings of programming and mathematics modules. Article DOI: https://dx.doi. org/10.20319/pijtel.2018. 22.149169 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.
Drought Spatial Object Prediction Approach using Artificial Neural Network

Drought Spatial Object Prediction Approach using Artificial Neural Network The concept of object identification and modeling has fueled a lengthy scientific effort to convert remotely sensed images into geographic phenomena. The objective of this article was to develop a new concept for characterizing and identifying drought spatial objects from satellite images for improved drought prediction and mitigation using a back propagation artificial neural network (ANN). To characterize drought as a spatial object, 11 attributes from multi-sensors and resolutions (such as Standardized Deviation of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index [SDNDVI], Digital Elevation Model [DEM], Soil Water Holding Capacity, Ecological Regions, Land Cover, Standard Precipitation Index [SPI], and oceanic indices were used.
Assessing Communication Apprehension And Implication For Employability Among Mass Communication Students

Communication Apprehension is the feeling of anxiety concerning speaking with others. Communication Apprehension (CA) prevents individuals’ ability to communicate effectively in communication contexts. Employers of labour prefer graduates who can effectively communicate in the workplace without apprehension. CA has been established as a barrier to communication and therefore has implication for employability. This study assessed the communication apprehension of mass communication final year undergraduates in Nigeria. A total of 405 respondents were surveyed from four tertiary institutions, namely: Lagos State University (LASU), University of Lagos (UNILAG) Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) and Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) in Nigeria. The data was analysed based on Personal Report Communication Apprehension instrument (PRCA-24) by McCroskey (1984). The mean and SD result of the four CA contexts assessed respectively show Group Discussion (M= 21.16, SD = 4.26), Interview (M=19.60, SD=4.05), Conversation (M=21.51 SD=4.30), Presentation (M= 19.59, SD =4.53), while the overall (M= 81.35 and the SD = 13.34)indicating that most of the respondents were of moderate level of CA. This study gives an insight into communication apprehension level of mass communication undergraduate students.
CCD photometry of variable stars in the field of the globular cluster NGC6397

The field including the central part of the globular cluster NGC 6397 was surveyed in a search for short-period variable stars. We obtained light curves for 6 close binaries, 2 SX Phe stars and 1 RR Lyrae variable, 7 of which are new discoveries. Both identified SX Phe variables are likely members of the cluster. One of the identified eclipsing binaries is most probably a field star while for the remaining 5 binaries our data do not preclude cluster membership. A . color-magnitude diagram extending from the tip of the red giant branch to below the main-sequence turnoff is presented.
FIRBACK: III. Catalog, source counts, and cosmological implications of the 170μm ISO deep survey

The FIRBACK (Far Infrared BACKground) survey is one of the deepest imaging surveys carried out at 170 μm with ISOPHOT onboard ISO, and is aimed at the study of the structure of the Cosmic Far Infrared Background. This paper provides the analysis of resolved sources. After a validated process of data reduction and calibration, we perform intensive simulations to optimize the source extraction, measure the confusion noise (σ_c = 45 mJy), and give the photometric and astrometric accuracies. 196 galaxies with flux S > 3σ_c are detected in the area of 3.89 square degrees. Counts of sources with flux S > 4σ_c present a steep slope of 3.3 ± 0.6 on a differential "log N-log S"plot between 180 and 500 mJy. As a consequence, the confusion level is high and will impact dramatically on future IR deep surveys. This strong evolution, compared with a slope of 2.5 from Euclidian geometry, is in line with models implying a strongly evolving Luminous Infrared Galaxy population. The resolved sources account for less than 10% of the Cosmic Infrared Background at 170 μm, which is expected to be resolved into sources in the 1 to 10 mJy range.
Social Skills and Sports (S3) program : developing the social skills of young adult Special Olympics athletes

The purpose of the study was to determine if young adult Special Olympics participants could develop, generalize, and maintain target social skills (eye contact, contributing relevant information, and turn taking) as a result of a 14-week Social Skills and Sports (S 3 ) Program that combined classroom instruction with soccer activities. Data were collected through direct observation during soccer practices, parent interviews, and parent rating forms. Visual analysis and qualitative methodology were applied to analyze the four case studies. All of the participants increased their ability to demonstrate at least one of the targeted skills, generalized the skill(s) to other settings, and maintained the skill(s) five weeks after completing the intervention. Participants also developed social skills that were not targeted in S 3 . Social skills are an essential component for life adjustment (Epstein & Cullinan, 1987). They are necessary for the initiation and main- tenance of social relationships with people in society, including family members, peers, teachers, and co-workers. Social skills also allow people to participate in daily routines (Quinn, Jannasch-Pennel, & Rutherford, 1995; Woods & Wetherby, 2003). They pro- mote independence, increase social accept- ability, and improve the person's quality of life (Bellack, 1983). Unfortunately, many of the skills which are essential for initiating and sustaining social networks, such as joking, talk- ing about a common subject, expressing and interchanging emotions, and asking about an- other person's interests are deficient in peo- ple with mental retardation (MR) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Asher, Parker, &
Effects of Category-Based Expectancy Violation on Affect-Related Evaluations: Toward a Comprehensive Model

We examined the processes that unfold from category-based expectancy violations. In Experiment 1, which included both Black and White participants, descriptions of in-group and out-group targets' academic credentials either violated or were consistent with relevant category-based expectancies for their respective group category. The results showed that expectancy violations were associated with more extreme affect-related evaluations, regardless of whether the participants were in-group or out-group members. Moreover, these affect-related evaluations were made more quickly than attributions. In Experiment 2, a judgment facilitation paradigm was used in which participants' response times to make affect-related evaluations and attributions regarding expectancy violating targets were compared. Consistent with Experiment 1, the results showed that affect-related evaluations were made more quickly than attributions, and facilitation scores indicated that affect-related evaluations are likely mediators of attributions. Results were consistent with the expectancy-violation theory, and supported the idea that affect-related evaluations mediate the relation between target characteristics and attributional processes.
Generic diffeomorphisms on compact surfaces

We discuss the remaining obstacles to prove Smale’s conjecture about the C-density of hyperbolicity among surface diffeomorphisms. Using a C-generic approach, we classify the possible pathologies that may obstruct the C-density of hyperbolicity. We show that there are essentially two types of obstruction: (i) persistence of infinitely many hyperbolic homoclinic classes and (ii) existence of a single homoclinic class which robustly exhibits homoclinic tangencies. In the course of our discussion, we obtain some related results about C-generic properties of surface diffeomorphisms involving homoclinic classes, chain-recurrence classes, and hyperbolicity. In particular, it is shown that on a connected surface the C-generic diffeomorphisms whose non-wandering sets have non-empty interior are the Anosov diffeomorphisms.
Influence of Short Rear End tapers on the Base Pressure of a Simplified Vehicle.

This paper looks into the effect on base pressure of applying a high aspect ratio chamfer to all edges of a simplified squareback model (the Windsor model). The effects are investigated using force and moment measurements along with surface pressure measurements on the slanted surface and vertical base. The work forms part of a larger study to develop understanding of the mechanisms that influence overall base pressure and hence the resulting aerodynamic drag. A short slant (approx. 4% of model length) was applied to the trailing edges of the simplified vehicle model, representing the small rear end optimisation typical of many real vehicle geometries. Two experiments were performed: the first applied a chamfer at varying angles to the top and bottom edges; the second test looked at the same chamfer angle applied to the sides of the model geometry while the top and bottom angle remained square. The changes in drag are discussed and explained in the context of the base pressures and area weighted pressure coefficients.
A complete characterization of Radon planes whose unit spheres are regular polygons

We study the structure of the unit sphere of polygonal Radon planes from a geometric point of view. In particular, we prove that a $ 2 $-dimensional real polygonal Banach space $ \mathbb{X} $ cannot be a Radon plane if the number of vertices of its unit sphere is $ 4n, $ for some $ n \in \mathbb{N}. $ We next obtain a complete characterization of polygonal Radon planes in terms of a tractable geometric concept introduced in this article. It follows from our characterization that every regular polygon with $ 4n+2 $ vertices, where $ n \in \mathbb{N}, $ is the unit sphere of a Radon plane. We further give example of a family of Radon planes for which the unit spheres are hexagons, but not regular ones.
Exploring the Properties of Choked Gamma-ray Bursts with IceCube’s High-energy Neutrinos

Long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have often been considered the natural evolution of some core-collapse supernova (CCSN) progenitors. However, the fraction of CCSNe linked to astrophysical jets and their properties are still poorly constrained. While any successful astrophysical jet harbored in a CCSN should produce high-energy neutrinos, photons may be able to successfully escape the stellar envelope only for a fraction of progenitors, possibly leading to the existence of high-luminosity, low-luminosity, and not-electromagnetically bright (“choked”) GRBs. By postulating a CCSN–GRB connection, we accurately model the jet physics within the internal-shock GRB model and assume scaling relations for the GRB parameters that depend on the Lorentz boost factor Γ. The IceCube high-energy neutrino flux is then employed as an upper limit of the neutrino background from electromagnetically bright and choked GRBs to constrain the jet and the progenitor properties. The current IceCube data set is compatible with up to 1% of all CCSNe harboring astrophysical jets. Interestingly, those jets are predominantly choked. Our findings suggest that neutrinos can be powerful probes of the burst physics and can provide major insights on the CCSN–GRB connection.
End-to-end single-rate multicast congestion detection using support vector machines

IP multicast is an efficient mechanism for simultaneously transmitting bulk data to multiple receivers. Many applications can benefit from multicast, such as audio and videoconferencing, multi-player games, multimedia broadcasting, distance education, and data replication. For either technical or policy reasons, IP multicast still has not yet been deployed in today’s Internet. Congestion is one of the most important issues impeding the development and deployment of IP multicast and multicast applications. Many congestion control schemes have been proposed to tackle multicast congestion problem. However, few of the schemes focus on using machine learning to detect multicast congestion in advance. Machine learning has already been successfully applied in a number of areas without much background information, and gives useful results. Because we tackle the multicast congestion problem with the end-to-end assumptions, we cannot obtain opportune and accurate congestion information directly from inside the network. Therefore, machine learning is particularly appropriate due to the absence of congestion information and the unpredictable variance of network congestion. To detect end-to-end multicast congestion, we propose an end-to-end multicast congestion detection scheme using support vector machines. Support vector machines are able to detect incipient congestion with great accuracy in an end-to-end multicast network after training by using structural information about the multicast network. To verify the performance of our scheme, we ran several ns-2 simulations and statistical experiments. Our simulations have shown that support vector machine is an appropriate mechanism for decision making in proactive multicast congestion detection.
Robust tracking control for linear vibrating mechanical systems

A novel output feedback tracking control approach is proposed for underactuated linear mass-spring-damper vibrating mechanical systems of multiple degrees-of-freedom. The presented control design methodology considers robustness against unmodeled dynamics and external forces. The proposed control scheme only requires measurements of the position output variable. Tracking error integral compensation is properly used to avoid real-time disturbance estimation. Analytical and numerical results prove the effectiveness of the introduced active vibration control scheme for resonant and chaotic vibration attenuation on the output variable response.
The Effect of a Compressed High School Curriculum on University Performance

A recent education reform in Germany reduced the duration of academic high school education by one year but left the curriculum, and total class time unchanged. We use a unique data set of university students to investigate the effects of this reduction in years of schooling on academic achievements at the tertiary level. By exploiting variation in the implementation of the reform across school types over time, we isolate the reform e ect from cohort, state, and school type effects. Our results suggest that the reform lowers the opportunity costs of schooling and facilitates an earlier labor market entry as we find no detrimental effects while students are one year younger on average.
Ising nematic phase in ultrathin magnetic films : A Monte Carlo study

We study the critical properties of a two--dimensional Ising model with competing ferromagnetic exchange and dipolar interactions, which models an ultra-thin magnetic film with high out--of--plane anisotropy in the monolayer limit. We present numerical evidence showing that two different scenarios appear in the model for different values of the exchange to dipolar intensities ratio, namely, a single first order stripe - tetragonal phase transition or two phase transitions at different temperatures with an intermediate Ising nematic phase between the stripe and the tetragonal ones. Our results are very similar to those predicted by Abanov et al [Phys. Rev. B 51, 1023 (1995)], but suggest a much more complex critical behavior than the predicted by those authors for both the stripe-nematic and the nematic-tetragonal phase transitions. We also show that the presence of diverging free energy barriers at the stripe-nematic transition makes possible to obtain by slow cooling a metastable supercooled nematic state down to temperatures well below the transition one.
Effect of physical exercise on oxygen metabolism of neutrophils in horses.

The study included 114 clinically healthy horses representing different groups: breeding horses (27), recreation horses (22), and sport horses (65). The group of sport horses consisted of racehorses (11), trotters (15), jumping horses (25), and driving horses (14). The peripheral blood samples collected three times: before exercise, immediately after exercise, and after 30-min rest were examined for the activity of oxygen metabolism of neutrophils using chemiluminescence (CL). The study demonstrated a temporary post-exercise intensification of free radical processes in sport horses. The intensity of this reaction depended on the intensity and duration of the exercise workload, which was confirmed by the changes in the heart rate and breathing. The analysis of the results of pre-exercise examination demonstrated clearly higher CL values of neutrophils in horses trained regularly and intensively than in animals of small physical activity. This result proves a positive influence of regular training on oxygen-dependent bactericidal activity of neutrophils.
Cognitive performance in asymptomatic carriers of mutations R1031C and R141C in CADASIL

Abstract CADASIL is the most common hereditary cause of repeated ischemic strokes, and has also been identified as a model of pure vascular dementia. The objective of this study was to establish the cognitive performance of asymptomatic carriers with the mutations R1031C and R141C. This observational crosssectional analytical study divided subjects into three groups: asymptomatic carriers of the R1031C mutation (𝑛 = 39), asymptomatic carries of the R141C mutation (𝑛 = 8) and noncarriers (𝑛 = 50). Statistically significant differences were found (𝑝 < 0.05) between the group of the R1031C mutation and the noncarriers in constructional praxis, executive function and abstract reasoning. For the R141C mutation, scores below expected values in executive function and mental calculation were observed. It is concluded that asymptomatic carriers of the two mutations showed low performance in working memory, mental abstraction and processing speed, which could be associated with preclinical cognitive biomarkers preceding the presentation of the first vascular event.
Do LGBT-supportive Corporate Policies Enhance Firm Performance?

Prior research provides evidence that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)-supportive corporate policies are related to important human resource functions, such as enhanced recruitment and retention. In addition, prior research indicates that investors view the adoption of such policies positively. We examine the firm-performance mechanisms underlying favorable stock-market reactions based on an integration of perspectives from corporate social responsibility and the business case for diversity. Specifically, we estimate a hierarchical linear model (HLM) to account for the nested nature of our data (firms nested within states) and find that (1) the presence of LGBT-supportive policies is associated with higher firm value, productivity, and profitability; (2) the firm-value and profitability benefits associated with LGBT-supportive policies are larger for companies engaged in research and development (R&D) activities; and (3) the firm-value and profitability benefits of LGBT-supportive policies persist in the presence of state antidiscrimination laws. In supplemental analyses, we find that firms implementing (discontinuing) LGBT-supportive policies experience increases (decreases) in firm value, productivity, and profitability. We are among the first to link LGBT-supportive policies specifically to financial performance outcomes as well as to develop and test a multilevel model of these relationships. Our results have important implications for theory and research on LGBT issues in organizations, human resource managers, and policymakers.
The 'Attractive' Progressive - Why use the -ing Form in English as a Lingua Franca?

In SLA literature, the 'extended' use of the progressive in L2 English production has often been considered a 'problem'. The studies have been based on elicited data and explanations for such use have ranged from first language interference to target language input. In this paper, my aim is to look into the use of the progressive in authentic spoken L2 English from a fresh, more communicative perspective, namely that of English as a lingua franca. The main focus is on finding out whether the use of the progressive is really 'extended', and if so, does this cause problems in communication. At the end, an explanation for the characteristic use of the progressive in ELF is attempted. The data for the study comes from an academic ELF speech corpus, ELFA.
ACOUSTICAL GUIDANCE IN ROAD TUNNELS

This study supports that acoustical guidance in road tunnels improves self evacuation in emergencies. An analysis of flight behaviours of people enclosed in a smoke-filled tunnel shows that over 91% of the people can be guided to the nearest emergency exit with the help of acoustic signals. Without acoustical guidance, only 59% of the people evacuate towards the optimal emergency exit. Evacuees are willing to overcome their reluctance to escape forward into the unknown, if clear information about the location of the nearest emergency exit can be provided. Additionally it was made clear that people evacuating unknowingly along the wrong side wall, can be encouraged to cross the smoke-filled tunnel if sound beacons signal an escape possibility on the other side.
Legumes in the Fire-Prone Mediterranean Regions: an Example From Greece

Mediterranean climate ecosystems of the Mediterranean rim are rich in legumes, both as woody shrubs of the late successional stages and as short-lived, pioneer herbaceous plants. In a survey of the floras of numerous geographic regions of Greece, legumes in Mediterranean parts are found to contribute considerably more (11-16% of the total number of species) than in non-Mediterranean regions (6-8%). Legume presence is also notable in other Mediterranean-type ecosystems of the world; nevertheless most leguminous taxa of the Mediterranean basin are herbs in contrast to a significant contribution of shrubs in California and Chile. Due to their long-lived soil banks of hard coated seeds herbaceous legumes are usually among the early post-fire colonizers in the Mediterranean and may play a significant role in the succession of fire-prone communities.