Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Indicators of the Wider Social Context and Academic Performance of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

The evaluation of the educational system is performed through the prism of the relationship between the individual person and society, taking into account social and economic, political, cultural, socio-economic, family tendencies and directions of development. Therefore, the analysis of the influence of social, economic, welfare, psychological and school factors is necessary in order to identify the positive, but also the negative influences of the factors and thus prevents the poor academic results of the deaf and hard of hearing students. The research problem is aimed at a wider understanding of the factors of academic achievement or failure of the deaf and hard of hearing students in order to improve the quality of their education and upbringing of deaf and hard of hearing students in schools for the deaf and hard of hearing, but also in the field of inclusive education. This paper presents a part of the research results related to the correlation between the indicators of the wider social context and the academic performance of the deaf and hard hearing students. The sample consisted of 59 respondents attending schools for the deaf and hard of hearing students in the Republic of Serbia. For this research, the method of theoretical analysis and synthesis was used in the study of the relevant literature and the determination of theoretical facts important for the research problem, and the survey and content analysis were used as the research techniques. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences in academic achievement in relation to the type of environment in which the students are living, or in relation to the presence of the cultural institutions in the environment. There is a difference in the academic achievements of the deaf and hard of hearing students in whose environment there are or there are no active organizations for the deaf and hard of hearing, which represents important data in order to create strategies to support the deaf and hard of hearing students.
Impact of green clay authigenesis on K–Mg–Fe sequestration in marine settings

Retrograde clay mineral reactions (i.e., reverse weathering), including glauconite formation, are first-order controls on element (re)cycling vs sequestration in modern and ancient marine sediments. Here, we report substantial K–Mg–Fe sequestration by glauconite formation in shallow marine settings from the Triassic to the Holocene, averaging 4 ± 3 mmol K·cm−²·kyr− 1, 4 ± 2 mmol Mg·cm−²·kyr− 1 and 10 ± 6 mmol Fe·cm−²·kyr− 1, which is ~ 2 orders of magnitude higher compared to deep-sea settings. Upscaling of glauconite abundances in shallow-water (< 200 m) environments predicts a global K–Mg–Fe uptake of ~ 0.05–0.06 Tmol K·yr− 1, ~ 0.04–0.06 Tmol Mg·yr− 1 and ~ 0.11–0.14 Tmol Fe·yr− 1. We conclude that authigenic clay elemental uptake had a large impact on the global marine K, Mg and Fe cycles throughout Earth`s history, in particular during ‘greenhouse’ periods with sea level highstand. Quantifying authigenic clay formation is key for better understanding past and present geochemical cycling in marine sediments.
The effects of social media influencers’ self-disclosure on behavioral intentions: The role of source credibility, parasocial relationships, and brand trust

ABSTRACT We investigate the effects of social media influencers’ (SMIs) intimate self-disclosure (ISD) on consumers’ intent to purchase products from an endorsed brand through the underlying mechanisms of source credibility, parasocial relationships, and brand trust. The results of a survey with 433 participants indicated that high levels of ISD by SMIs can enhance consumers’ intention to purchase the products of an endorsed brand and that a parasocial relationship with an SMI has a stronger effect on consumers’ behavioral intentions than source credibility. The findings suggest that marketing managers should consider SMIs’ ISD and their relationship with their followers to develop consistent marketing strategies.
The Asymmetric Effects of Exchange Rate Changes on Output: Evidence from Asian Countries

ABSTRACT This article examines the asymmetric effects of real exchange rate changes on the domestic output of selected Asian countries. To account for asymmetries, we separate currency appreciation from depreciation and utilize the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model. Employing annual data (1973 to 2018), we find evidence of short-run and long-run asymmetries in the effects of real exchange changes on the domestic output of all the countries. This means that currency appreciations have different effects from currency depreciations on the output of the countries. Overall, the results suggest that both currency appreciations and depreciations are contractionary in most cases.
Effect of the Initial Time of Providing Oat Hay on Performance, Health, Behavior and Rumen Fermentation in Holstein Female Calves

For determining the appropriate time of feeding hay, 210 healthy Holstein calves at day two were randomly divided into three groups: basic diet (calf starter) without hay (CON), and the inclusion of oat hay from the second week (H2) or fourth week (H4) with basic diet. Calves were weaned on day 56 and raised until day 70. Calf starter intake and fecal scores were recorded daily. The body weight, body size, and rumen fluid samples were collected every two weeks before and once a week after weaning. Compared to the basic diet group, the calves that were receiving oat hay from the second week had the highest starter intake (1086.1 g vs. 925.6 g; p < 0.05), body weight (68.4 kg vs. 63.0 kg; p < 0.01) and average daily gain (0.84 kg/d vs. 0.73 kg/d; p < 0.01) throughout the trial period. Compared to H4, calves received oat hay from the second week reduced the frequency (1.48% vs. 3.57%; p < 0.05) and duration of diarrhea (0.21 days vs. 0.50 days; p < 0.05) during post-weaning. Compared to the CON calves, the inclusion of oat hay from the second week increased the ruminal pH (6.38 vs. 6.19; p < 0.01) during the entire trial and increased the acetate (49.07% vs. 44.44%; p < 0.05) during post-weaning. Compared to the basic diet group, calves in H2 treatment spent more time in rumination (275.2 min/day vs. 133.3 min/day; p < 0.01) but less time in abnormal behaviors (80.5 min/day vs. 207.0 min/day; p < 0.01). In conclusion, calves supplemented with oat hay had an improved growth rate and rumen environment compared to calves fed calf starter only.
Application of a Memristive Neural Network for Classification of COVID-19 Patients

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has affected the lives of millions around the globe. We learn new facts about this corona virus every day. A contribution to this knowledge is described in the paper and it is related to employment of memristor neural networks and algorithms that help us analyze patients’ data and determine what patients are at increased risk for developing severe medical conditions once infected with the COVID-19. An efficient separation of potential patients in ill and healthy sub-groups is conducted using software and hardware neural networks, machine learning and unsupervised clustering. In the recent years, many works are related to reducing of neural chips area for the hardware realization of neural networks. For this purpose, a partial replacement of CMOS transistors in neural networks by memristors is made. Some of the main memristor advantages are its lower power consumption, nano-scale sizes, sound memory effect and a good compatibility to CMOS technology. In this reason, the main purpose of this paper is application of a memristor-based neural network with tantalum oxide memristor synapses for COVID-19 analysis. Additional experiments with data clustering are conducted. Experiments show that in fact patients with specific underlying health conditions and indicators are more predisposed to develop severe COVID-19 illness. This research is helpful for engineers and scientists to easier identifying patients that would need medical help
Development of Social Arithmetic Teaching Materials Using IT-Based PMRI Approach for SMP Students

This study aimed to develop teaching materials using an IT-based PMRI approach for junior high school students. The type of this research was a research and development model. This study employed the ADDIE development model consisting of five stages: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. The teaching materials were validated by material experts and media experts before being tested. In addition, this study involved a student response questionnaire investigating the IT-based teaching materials. The validity of teaching materials revealed an average score of 4.40 determined by the results of the teaching material assessment conducted by two expert lecturers, and an average score of 4.80, determined by the results of the teaching material assessment conducted by mathematics teachers at SMP Negeri 56 Palembang. The practicality of teaching materials (student books) had an average score of 4.27 determined by the students' responses to teaching materials. The results of validating material experts, media experts, subject teachers, and student response questionnaires indicated that the teaching materials developed were valid and practical. Overall, this study has shown that the teaching materials developed are very suitable for learning. In addition, the teaching materials developed can improve student learning outcomes on arithmetics materials.
Annotated retinal optical coherence tomography images (AROI) database for joint retinal layer and fluid segmentation

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of the retina provide a structural representation and give an insight into the pathological changes present in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Due to the three-dimensionality and complexity of the images, manual analysis of pathological features is difficult, time-consuming, and prone to subjectivity. Computer analysis of 3D OCT images is necessary to enable automated quantitative measuring of the features, objectively and repeatedly. As supervised and semi-supervised learning-based automatic segmentation depends on the training data and quality of annotations, we have created a new database of annotated retinal OCT images – the AROI database. It consists of 1136 images with annotations for pathological changes (fluid accumulation and related findings) and basic structures (layers) in patients with AMD. Inter- and intra-observer errors have been calculated in order to enable the validation of developed algorithms in relation to human variability. Also, we have performed the automatic segmentation with standard U-net architecture and two state-of-the-art architectures for medical image segmentation to set a baseline for further algorithm development and to get insight into challenges for automatic segmentation. To facilitate and encourage further research in the field, we have made the AROI database openly available.
The Potential of Sky Fruit as an Anti-Aging and Wound Healing Cosmeceutical Agent

There are many extrinsic factors that can contribute to the premature aging of the skin. In recent years, the demand for natural cosmetic from the general population has noticeable grow. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the bioproperties of sky fruit (Swietenia macrophylla) seed extract that could help to inhibit premature skin aging. Firstly, the extract and its fractions were tested on HaCaT cells for their wound healing properties. The presence of sky fruit’s extract and its fractions on scratch wound significantly improved cellular proliferation, migration, and closure of the wound. These effects were distinctly observed following the treatment with S. macrophylla hexane fraction (SMHF) and S. macrophylla water fraction (SMWF). Our continuous research study revealed that SMWF had antioxidant properties, which might be one of the factors contributing to its emerging wound healing properties because antioxidants are known to act as suppressors of the inflammatory pathway and aid the transition towards cell proliferation. In addition, all samples had critical wavelengths that indicated that they were able to absorb the whole UVB range and some parts of the UVA wavelength. This suggested that S. macrophylla might contain potential photoprotective bioactive compounds, which could be developed into anti-UVB photoprotective sunscreens. Thus, this warrants further studies focusing on isolation and identifications of the bioactive compounds responsible for both its photoprotective and wound healing properties. A deeper study on mechanisms of the pathways that were affected by these compounds should be conducted as well to better understand this natural product and develop it into a potential cosmeceutical ingredient.
Examining the contextual factors of science effectiveness: a machine learning-based approach

ABSTRACT This research intended to identify key contextual factors that synergistically influence high- and low-performing students’ science outcomes by drawing upon a dynamic model of educational effectiveness. The dataset, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015, consisted of 79,963 science scores for secondary students (49,924 high performers at proficiency Level 6 and 30,039 low performers at proficiency Levels 1a and 1b) from 53 countries/economies along with students’ and school principals’ responses to the PISA questionnaires. By applying a support vector machine (SVM) and SVM-recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE) sequentially, this study successfully (a) identified 30 key factors of the total 127 contextual factors at the school, classroom, and student levels that synergistically differentiate high and low achievers and (b) provided evidence to support the validity of the dynamic model of educational effectiveness by recognizing the multidimensionality of the contextual factors.
Agro-ecological Characterization of Vermicomposted Sewage Sludge from Municipal and Poultry Enterprise Wastewater Treatment Plants

The purpose of this study was to make an agro-ecological characterization of vermicompost (VC) produced from sewage sludge (SS). As a substrate, SS from municipal and poultry meat processing enterprise wastewater treatment plants (MTP and PTP, respectively) was utilized. The substrates were vermicomposted by Red Californian earthworm (Lumbricus rubellus) for 120 days. For VC quality assessment, 19 physicochemical and 6 microbiological parameters were used. The evaluation of physicochemical parameters was done according to ISO standard methods and microbiological analysis-by plating 1 mL of sample dilutions on selective, chromogenic culture medium sheets. It was found that the vermicompost from MTP (VC-M) had higher levels of EC, mineral elements (N, P and K compounds in forms available to plants), heavy metals (Mn, Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Pb, Cd) and coliforms, and lower levels of pH, TOC, C/N ratio, Fe, total plate count (TPC), Enterobacteriaceae and Salmonella spp. counts compared to VC from PTP (VC-P). During the vermicomposting process, the substrates from both wastewater treatment plants (TPs) showed similar trends towards decrease in pH, TOC, N-NH4+, C/N ratio, TPC, coliforms, E. coli, Enterobacteriaceae and Salmonella spp. counts, whereas the opposite trends were established for EC, TKN, N-NO3-, TP, P2O5, TK, and K2O values. The vermicomposting had a negligible effect on heavy metal concentrations. In the final substrates E. coli were not detected, while the bacterial spore forms (Clostridium perfringens) were not eliminated. The final substrates cannot be used as fertilizers or soil amendments because of the presence of Salmonella spp. and C. perfringens over the permissible limits according to EU and Bulgarian regulations.
Warrior candidates: Do voters value combat experience in postwar elections?

Electoral competition in postwar societies is often dominated by war veterans. The question whether voters actually reward candidates’ records of war service, however, remains open. We answer it using a unique dataset with detailed information on the records of combat service of nearly four thousand candidates in two cycles of parliamentary elections held under proportional representation rules with preferential voting in Croatia. Our analysis shows war veterans’ electoral performance to be conditional on the voters’ communities’ exposure to war violence: combat veterans receive a sizeable electoral bonus in areas whose populations were more exposed to war violence, but are penalized in areas whose populations avoided destruction. This divergence is particularly pronounced for candidates of nationalist rightwing parties, demonstrating the importance of the interaction between lived war experiences and political ideology in postwar societies.
The Influence of Self-Deception in the Practice of Tax Evasion in Brazil

Objective: The studies in the literature show that economic and behavioral factors have an influence on the practice of tax evasion. From this perspective, this research aimed to identify whether self-deception influences the practice of tax evasion in Brazil. Method: Data was collected through a quasi-experiment, followed by the administration of a questionnaire, between November 2016 and September 2017. 800 data collection instruments were applied in loco in all the country’s geographical regions, 598 of which were validated. Measures were adopted to ensure the validity of content, criteria, and constructs. Results: The reliability testing resulted in a Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.63, and the Composite Reliability was greater than 0.60. Data were analyzed through binary logistic regression. Following the multivariate approach, the results of this research suggest that self-deception influences the individual’s chances of tax evasion. Originality/Relevance: This study differs from the others in that it considers tax evasion based on the influence of the taxpayer’s human behavior. Theoretical/methodological contributions: Based on an interdisciplinary approach, this study contributes to the public administration in its determination of actions that may discourage tax evasion through the implementation of strategic policies that include the taxpayer’s behavioral factor.
The effect of aging on beef taste, aroma and texture, and the role of microorganisms: a review

Abstract The present review summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of three different aging methods (traditional dry aging, wet aging in vacuum shrink pack and dry aging in a highly moisture-permeable bag), discusses the effects of aging on beef which focus on the formation of taste-active compounds and aroma-active compounds and texture changes, and speculates the role of microbes. All these three aging methods can improve the aroma, flavor and texture of beef to varying degrees. It is concluded that the improvement in the taste during aging may be attributed to the following three aspects: First, the release of reducing sugars from the transition of glycogen and ATP; Second, the formation of free amino acids (FAAs) and peptides through proteolysis; Third, IMP, GMP, inosine and hypoxanthine which are produced by the degradation of nucleotides. The improvement of aroma is related to the volatile aroma-active components, which are produced by the thermal oxidation/degradation of fatty acids and the Maillard reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars during aging. And the change of texture is mainly owing to the degradation of cytoskeletal myofibrin and collagen with intramural connective tissue in meat by the endogenous proteolysis system. The role of microorganism in aging will be the main direction of further research.
A retrospective investigation of the perceived influence of coaches, parents and peers on talented football players’ motivation during development

Abstract This study retrospectively explored perceptions of coach, parent and peer motivational influences across athlete development. Four investment stage football players (M age = 18.5 years, SD = 0.6) with an average of 13 (SD = 1.4) years footballing experience, and four of their parents, were interviewed to investigate their perceptions of coach, parent and peer motivationally-relevant influence during the athletes’ sampling, specializing and investment stages of development. Abductive thematic analysis of the interview transcripts identified five categories of perceived social agent motivationally-relevant influence that were consistent amongst each social agent and across each development stage. Each social agent was perceived by participants to play a role in each of the following motivationally-relevant categories of social agent influence: relationship factors; interpersonal interactions; support for development; support for participation; and feedback and evaluation. The categories were somewhat supportive and reflective of those outlined in other models. The results describe a complex and dynamic social environment within which players develop and provide insight into how this socio-motivational environment changes as athletes develop. Identified categories of perceived motivationally-relevant social agent influence may provide a framework for future research and allow practitioners to better determine athletes' motivational needs. Sport practitioners may use the findings from the study to ensure that athletes are gaining the breadth of motivational influences described in the categories within this study. Coach education might be developed or adapted to educate coaches on the types and importance of socio-motivational influences in sport. Lay summary: Coaches, parents and peers were found to influence football players’ motivation in a range of ways, including the quality of their relationship with athletes, their positive and negative behaviors, the support they provided players’ development and participation in football, and the support they provided footballers to reflect on their experiences. The type of support that coaches, parents and peers provided to players changed as players progressed through different developmental stages, with coaches and peers becoming more important as athletes reached higher performance levels. Coaches and other sport practitioners might benefit from insight into the range of motivational influences that coaches, parents and peers can have in a football context in order to better develop and maintain athlete motivation.
Toward a lightweight machine learning based solution against cyber-intrusions for IoT

Internet of Things starts to integrate deeply our daily life through the comfort and the services that it offers. This technology made us already more intertwined with the external environment via deployed communicating devices. However, even though this proximity offers many advantages, it presents also strong security issues. The cyber-attack surface is significantly increased and the intruder impact is becoming more compromising. In this context, we present the preliminary results of our study toward the conception of a machine learning based solution against cyber-intrusions. The main purpose is to develop a resource-preserving solution with high precision of detection. We were interested in the IoTID20 dataset over which we experimented the most accurate machine learning models. The employed pre-processing approach that we propose pushes the machine learning models to the peak of their performances. Our study provides a comprehensive view of models efficiency with respect to detection rate, size and delay.