Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Abolishment of Students’ Meal Allowances at the University of Zambia: Exploring the Alternative Sources of Income, Challenges and Opportunities for First-Year Students

Background: Access to higher education is among the national development goals for every country. However, many factors may hinder equitable access to higher education, especially among vulnerable groups. Aim: This study sought to investigate the abolishment of students’ meal allowances at the University of Zambia by exploring the alternative sources of income, challenges and opportunities for first-year students. Objectives: To ascertain the alternative sources of income for first year students at the University of Zambia; to establish the challenges faced by first-year students in raising income for meals at the University of Zambia; to unpack the perceived opportunities in scrapping off meal allowances for first-year students at the University of Zambia. Materials and methods: The study employed a qualitative approach using a descriptive case-study design among 18 first-year students. The main data collection techniques were focus group and semi-structured interviews, supplemented by documentary review.
Uplink Performance of MmWave-Fronthaul Cell-Free Massive MIMO Systems

Cell-free (CF) massive multiple-input multiple-output (mMIMO) is a promising candidate to support the requirements of the fifth-generation (5 G) and beyond networks. However, the capacity of the fronthaul network dramatically influences its performance. While wired fronthaul links can be seen as the optimal choice, they may not be practically feasible. Exploiting the enormous bandwidth available in the millimeter-Wave (mmWave) band to support the fronthaul links paves the way to achieve the full potential of CF mMIMO systems. In this paper, we investigate the uplink (UL) performance of CF mMIMO systems supported by mmWave-fronthaul networks. Using tools from stochastic geometry, we derive analytical expressions for both the distribution of the provided fronthaul capacity and the average UL data rates. We show that although increasing the density of blockages degrades the average UL data rates, increasing the density of CPUs can limit such effect. Moreover, the obtained results reveal that the network deployment should be adjusted according to the available fronthaul bandwidth and the density of blockages. In particular, for a given fronthaul bandwidth, increasing the density of APs beyond a certain limit would not achieve further improvement in the UL data rates. Besides, increasing the number of antennas per AP may even cause a degradation in the system performance.
Accuracy Improvement in DOA Estimation with Deep Learning

SUMMARY Direction of arrival (DOA) estimation of wireless signals is demanded in many applications. In addition to classical methods such as MUSIC and ESPRIT, non-linear algorithms such as compressed sensing have become common subjects of study recently. Deep learning or machine learning is also known as a non-linear algorithm and has been applied in various ﬁelds. Generally, DOA estimation using deep learning is classiﬁed as on-grid estimation. A major problem of on-grid estimation is that the accuracy may be degraded when the DOA is near the boundary. To reduce
Forecasting of Options in the Car Industry Using a Multistrategy Approach

In recent years, car options like air-conditioning, automatic gears, car stereo, power windows, sunroof etc. were getting more and more important for car manufacturers. Especially at those car manufacturers which offer cars individually according to customer requirements, the options affect 30% - 40% of the parts by now. Therefore, very detailed planning and forecasting of options becomes more and more important. Because customer behavior concerning the options varies from model to model and from country to country, it seems necessary and reasonable to forecast each option for each model and each country separately. The resulting huge number of data sets requires an automatic forecasting tool that adapts itself to the actual data sets and that requires almost no user interaction. Because depending on the characteristics of a time series the quality of the forecasting results varies a lot, and because "N heads are better than one," the basic idea is m select in a first step the most appropriate forecasting procedures. This selection is done by a decision tree which is generated by using a symbolic machine learning algorithm. Those selected forecasting methods produce different results that are in a second step combined to get a common forecast. In this approach there are integrated univariate time series used in the first step for running the prediction as well as symbolic machine learning algorithms for generating the decision trees as well as multivariate statistical methods and neural networks used in the combination step.
Agricultural Leadership Development Program Participant Personality and Demographic Characteristics: An Empirical Analysis

Although personality has been widely studied within the academic literature, there has been little research into the relationship between personality and leadership development programs, particularly within an agricultural context for adult learners. The purpose of this research was to investigate the nature of relationships among ten aspects of the Big Five personality factors and demographic characteristics including: gender, age, organizational level, educational attainment, and geographic region within a sample of adult agricultural leadership development program participants. Results of the study indicate that there are differences between demographic groups relative to specific aspects of personality. Among the ten aspects analyzed, the most statistically significant differences between groups were observed between age groups, while the fewest statistically significant differences were observed in the educational attainment and geographic region groups. Effect sizes were also calculated with gender having the largest observed effect sizes and age having the largest number of statistically significant effect sizes.
Association Between Inflammation and Appetite in Healthy Community-Dwelling Older Adults—An enable Study

Aging is associated with reduced appetite as well as a slight increase in pro-inflammatory status, which both might contribute to the development of malnutrition. We aimed to evaluate the association between inflammation based on serum C-reactive protein (CRP), and appetite in healthy community-dwelling older adults. In this cross-sectional study of 158 healthy and non-smoking persons (aged 75–85 years), appetite was assessed in personal interviews by a single question with five answer categories. As nobody reported (very) poor appetite, the remaining three categories were dichotomised into “(very) good” and “moderate” appetite. Fasting serum CRP was analysed according to standard procedures, values ≥ 5.0 mg/L were considered as inflammation. The association between inflammation and appetite was examined by binary logistic regression, unadjusted and adjusted for age, sex, waist circumference, leptin, depressive mood, number of medications, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α. Appetite was very good in 27.8%, good in 58.9%, and moderate in 13.3% of participants. Inflammation was present in 10.8% overall, in 8.8% of those with (very) good and in 23.8% of those with moderate appetite (p = 0.038). In the unadjusted model, participants with inflammation were 3.2 times more likely to have moderate appetite (95%CI: 1.01–10.44, p = 0.047). In the adjusted model, the odds of having moderate appetite was 3.7 times higher in participants with inflammation, but no longer significant (95%CI: 0.77–18.55, p = 0.102). In healthy older people, we found hints for a potential association between increased levels of CRP and a slightly reduced appetite. More studies in larger samples are needed.
Cold pools over the Netherlands: A statistical study from tower and radar observations

We provide a detailed analysis of convectively generated cold pools (CPs) over flat midlatitude land, combining ten‐year high‐frequency time series of measurements at several heights available from the 213‐m tower observatory at Cabauw, the Netherlands, with a collocated 2D radar rainfall dataset. This combination of data allows us to relate observations of the CP's temporal and vertical structure to the properties of each CP's parent rain cell, which we identify by rain‐cell tracking. Using a new detection method, based on the anomalies of both the vertically averaged wind and the temperature, we monitor the arrival and passing of 189 CPs during ten summers (2010–2019). The time series show a clear signature of vortex‐like motion along the leading CP edge in the vertical and horizontal wind measurements. The arrival of CP gust fronts is characterized by a steep decrease in both temperature and moisture, with a recovery time of approximately two hours. We see no evidence of moisture rings on the gust front edge, and therefore no indications for thermodynamic convective triggering. From the tower data, we obtain a median CP temperature drop of Tdrop≈−2.9 K and a height‐averaged horizontal wind anomaly of Δumax≈ 4.4 m · s −1 . Relating the individual CP's horizontal wind anomalies and temperature drops, we confirm the validity of the theoretical density current relationship, Δumax∝Tdrop1/2 . We further propose a simple statistical model to relate the CP strength defined by Tdrop to the environmental properties influencing the CP: rain intensity and lower boundary‐layer saturation. A multivariate linear regression suggests a 1 K colder CP for a 4 mm · hr −1 more intense rain cell (instantaneous area‐averaged rain intensity) or for a 2.5 K larger pre‐CP dew‐point depression.
Bank Regulation in the Economies in Transition

Given that banking in economies of transition fluctuate heavily, we explore the effect of regulatory norms on performance of banking industry. In particular, we examine the effect of Reserve Requirements, Activity Restrictions, and Capital Stringencies on the overall industry profitability and stability of the financial institutions. We utilize the Generalized Methods of Moments methodology to the panel data regressions over 17 different transitional economies during, and after the crisis period of 2008 through to 2019. Our results show that the Reserve Requirements regulatory norm is the only significant factor that improves the profitability and diminishes the risk of financial instability. The findings are confirmed with our tests over the regional sub-samples. This research sheds the light on the necessities of political and economic reforms in banking for these markets in transition.
Site Effects and Building Damage Characterization in Concepción after the Mw 8.8 Maule Earthquake

The influence of site effects on seismic demand was studied in Concepción to explain the observed damages suffered by engineered structures during the 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule, Chile, earthquake. Shallow shear-wave velocity (V S ), site period, and gravity measurements were used to assess site effects. The three-dimensional (3-D) basin shape was inverted from gravity values. Predominant period shows a good correlation with bedrock depth, suggesting that V S of soil is relatively uniform throughout the city. This was confirmed by direct V S measurements at 17 sites throughout the city. The irregular distribution of damage suggests that VS30 is not a good proxy for damage distribution in Concepción. In contrast, we observe dependence with basin thickness, site period, and estimated PGV for buildings with high vulnerability. Most low-vulnerability structures showed no damage regardless of site conditions and intensity measures. Our results indicate that site effects contributed to structural damage in vulnerable structures and these effects were primarily controlled by basin depth.
Bounds on Error in Signal Parameter Estimation

In this correspondence, the problem of lower bounds on mean-square error in parameter estimation is considered. Lower bounds on mean-square error can be used, for instance, to bound the performances, namely the attainable output signal-to-noise ratio, of pulse modulation transmission systems, such as pulse-position modulation (PPM) or pulse-frequency modulation (PFM). The tightest lower bounds to mean-square error previously known are the Ziv-Zakai bounds; the analysis carried out in this paper, which is based on an inequality first obtained by Kotel'nikov, leads to lower bounds tighter than previously known bounds.
BRCA Mutations in Prostate Cancer: Assessment, Implications and Treatment Considerations

Prostate cancer ranks fifth in cancer-related mortality in men worldwide. DNA damage is implicated in cancer and DNA damage response (DDR) pathways are in place against this to maintain genomic stability. Impaired DDR pathways play a role in prostate carcinogenesis and germline or somatic mutations in DDR genes have been found in both primary and metastatic prostate cancer. Among these, BRCA mutations have been found to be especially clinically relevant with a role for germline or somatic testing. Prostate cancer with DDR defects may be sensitive to poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors which target proteins in a process called PARylation. Initially they were used to target BRCA-mutated tumor cells in a process of synthetic lethality. However, recent studies have found potential for PARP inhibitors in a variety of other genetic settings. In this review, we explore the mechanisms of DNA repair, potential for genomic analysis of prostate cancer and therapeutics of PARP inhibitors along with their safety profile.
Structural Analysis of the Bell Tower of the Basilica De La Merced of Lima

The Bell Tower of the Basilica de la Merced de Lima is a monument with its own personality in itself, was built by master masonry Alonso de Morales as contract signed May 12, 1589 whose original is in the General File Nation of Peru. Until now has been repaired several times due to damage to large earthquakes that destroyed the city of Lima in more than one occasion. The Bell Tower of the Basilica de la Merced de Lima is the construction of unreinforced brick masonry higher and that has continued for over four centuries in the same location and is without doubt one of the famous monuments of the city of Lima. For structural analysis, the monument was modeled and analyzed by finite element method, models were developed to adjust and show impressive results and consistent with the records of damage were made in the year 2005 date when the monument was established structurally. An important historical record supports the technical scope of the investigation. Interesting comments on its formidable seismic capacity, and their significant contributions in knowledge of construction techniques of the builders of the sixteenth century in Lima, reveal a building that surprises with its apparent simplicity but it saves a lot of knowledge about engineering techniques applied to the great monuments that have survived from the years in which Lima was the largest metropolis in South America.
New Self-Report Measures of Commuting Behaviors to University and Their Association with Sociodemographic Characteristics

Active commuting provides an opportunity for increased physical activity levels by a simple, inexpensive, and easy way to be incorporated in daily routines and could be considered a steppingstone for achieving a sustainable society since it provides physical, psychological, environmental, and economic benefits. Objective: (a) to describe the commuting patterns to and from university in students regarding gender, (b) to provide new self-report variables to measure the active commuting behavior, and (c) to examine the sociodemographic characteristics associated with commuting behaviors. Material and Methods: A total of 1257 university students (52.4% females) participated (22.4 ± 5.6 years old) from three Chilean universities located in different cities. Results: 56.1% of women and 42.0% men use public bus to and from university. The commuting energy expenditure was higher in active commuting followed by public and private modes of commuting (p < 0.001). The most active commuters were those older (men: OR = 3.637; 95% CI = 1.63, 8.10; women: OR = 8.841; 95% CI = 3.94, 13.78), those who lived in university residence (men: OR = 12.432; 95% CI = 4.39, 35.19; women: OR = 3.952; 95% CI = 1.31, 11.85), belonged to low socioeconomic level (men: OR = 3.820; 95% CI = 1.43, 10.18; women: OR = 4.936; 95% CI = 1.63, 14.90), and to public universities (men: OR = 26.757; 95% CI = 10.63, 67.34; women: OR = 8.029; 95% CI = 3.00, 21.48). Conclusion: The sociodemographic characteristics may influence in the mode of commuting to university. New variables of commuting behaviors may be efficient to quantify the physical activity.
Tillage Practices in Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Production: A Review

Potato is one of the main crops grown worldwide under different climatic conditions. Potato is conventionally produced under intensive tillage practices under the same or different soil types. Research has shown some contrasting effects of the tillage practices on the soil properties, crop growth, yield, and quality. Under the reducing available freshwater for food production, soil management practices are more targeting conservation and system sustainability. It is therefore critical to revisit literature on the tillage practices and their impact on the soil, crop, and crop yield. This review presents research results of studies conducted exclusively on potatoes comparing different types of tillage practices and is a valuable source of information for potato growers and scientists as it is not only focused on the impact of tillage practices on soil properties but also on potato tuber yield and grade, tuber specific gravity, and the impact of tillage practices on diseases in potatoes. La papa es uno de los principales cultivos que se siembran en todo el mundo bajo diferentes condiciones climáticas. Se produce convencionalmente bajo prácticas de cultivo intensivo en el mismo o diferentes tipos de suelo. La investigación ha demostrado algunos efectos contrastantes de las prácticas de labranza en las propiedades del suelo, el crecimiento de los cultivos, el rendimiento y la calidad. Bajo la reducción del agua dulce disponible para la producción de alimentos, las prácticas de manejo del suelo se dirigen más a la conservación y la sostenibilidad del sistema. Por lo tanto, es crítico revisar la literatura sobre las prácticas de labranza y su impacto en el suelo, el cultivo y el rendimiento. Esta revisión presenta los resultados de la investigación de estudios realizados exclusivamente sobre papas comparando diferentes tipos de prácticas de cultivo y es una valiosa fuente de información para los productores de papa y científicos, ya que no solo se centra en el impacto de las prácticas de labranza en las propiedades del suelo, sino también en el rendimiento y calidad del tubérculo, la gravedad específica y el impacto de las prácticas de cultivo en las enfermedades de las papas.
Mechanisms Driving Microbial Community Composition in Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Waste-Activated Sewage Sludge

Anaerobic co-digestion (Co-AD) is used to increase the effectiveness of anaerobic digestion (AD) using local “wastes”, adding economic and environmental benefits. Since system stability is of existential importance for the operation of wastewater treatment plants, thorough testing of potential co-substrates and their effects on the respective community and system performance is crucial for understanding and utilizing Co-AD to its best capacity. Food waste (FW) and canola lecithin (CL) were tested in mesophilic, lab-scale, semi-continuous reactors over a duration of 120 days with stepwise increased substrate addition. Key performance indicators (biogas, total/volatile solids, fatty acids) were monitored and combined with 16S-rRNA amplicon sequencing to assess the impact of co-substrate addition on reactor performance and microbial community composition (MCC). Additionally, the latter was then compared with natural shifts occurring in the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP, source) at the same time. An almost linear increase in biogas production with both co-substrates at an approximate 1:1 ratio with the organic loading rate (OLR) was observed. The MCCs in both experiments were mostly stable, but also prone to drift over time. The FW experiment MCC more closely resembled the original WWTP community and the observed shifts indicated high levels of functional redundancy. Exclusive to the CL co-substrate, a clear selection for a few operational taxonomic units (OTUs) was observed. There was little evidence for a persistent invasion and establishment of microorganisms from typical primary substrates into the stable resident community of the reactors, which is in line with earlier findings that suggested that the inoculum and history mostly define the MCC. However, external factors may still tip the scales in favor of a few r-strategists (e.g., Prolixibacter) in an environment that otherwise favors K-strategists, which may in fact also be recruited from the primary substrate (Trichococcus). In our study, specialization and diversity loss were also observed in response to the addition of the highly specialized CL, which in turn, may have adverse effects on the system’s stability and reduced resilience and recovery.
Biaxially Loaded L‐shaped Reinforced Concrete Columns

Results of an experimental and analytical investigation on the strength and deformation of biaxially loaded short and tied columns with L‐shaped cross section are presented. The study explores the behavior of reinforced concrete columns under loads monotonically up to failure. A few tests loaded cyclically are also compared with those loaded monotonically. The strength interaction curves and load contours of L‐shaped columns based on analysis and some test results are shown in this paper to provide advice for design information. Two design examples are given to provide possible design procedures.
Adapted Physical Education Teaching Online During COVID-19: Experiences from the South of the United States

ABSTRACT The rapid transition from face-to-face to online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic provided unprecedented experiences for Adapted Physical Education (APE) teachers while they have had many different emerging roles, demands, and expectations related to program delivery. The purpose of this study was to examine APE teachers’ experiences teaching online during COVID-19. Participants included 11 APE teachers from the south region of the United States (8 females, 3 males). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with each participant. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Data analysis resulted in five themes: ‘initial thought: how are we going to even do this? ’, ‘challenges in teaching online’, ‘collaboration: key to overcome challenges’, ‘Parents’ support is critical’, and ‘it’s doable, but I am over it’. Despite the challenges experienced by the participants during COVID-19, they were able to navigate and adapt the online teaching; however, the quality and delivery of instruction declined.