Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A projection and contraction method with adaptive step sizes for solving bilevel pseudo-monotone variational inequality problems

ABSTRACT In this paper, we propose a single projection method for finding a solution of the bilevel pseudo-monotone variational inequality problem in real Hilbert spaces. The advantage of the proposed algorithm requires only one projection onto the feasible set. Also, we prove strong convergence theorems of the proposed method under mild conditions, which improve some related results in the literature. Finally, we present some numerical experiments to show the efficiency and advantages of the proposed algorithm.
Chromatographic characterization of immobilized metal ion hollow-fiber affinity membranes obtained by direct grafting

Abstract Iminodiacetic acid was immobilized onto membranes with different grafting degrees by reaction in phosphate buffer or water/dimethyl sulfoxide. Membranes subjected to conversion in water/dimethyl sulfoxide underwent greater conversion than those modified in phosphate buffer, despite their grafting degree. Copper saturation capacity increased consistently with the grafting degree and histidine saturation capacity was approximately half than that of copper. When working with proteins, membrane behavior was related to the molecular weight of the protein tested. Accessible sites for lysozyme decreased with the increase in the grafting degree and the rise in the conversion of epoxy groups in iminodiacetic groups in water/dimethyl sulfoxide while they remained practically unchanged when the conversion step was performed in phosphate buffer. When working with hemoglobin, this effect was the same but at lower capacities. For hollow fibres with 60 and 75% grafting, capacities were the same despite the conv.
Accelerating to Success: The Impact of Florida's Developmental Education Reform on Credit Accumulation

Background/Context Underprepared students at community colleges are often assigned to a sequence of developmental education courses that can substantially delay, or even halt, their progress to degree completion. In 2014, Florida implemented a comprehensive reform under Senate Bill (SB) 1720 that allowed the majority of incoming students to enroll directly into college-level courses, while remaining developmental education courses were offered in new instructional modalities that were designed to be completed more quickly than traditional semester-long courses. Colleges provided extensive advising and academic support services intended to help students succeed while progressing at a more accelerated pace. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study In this study, we examined the impact of Florida's developmental education reform on early momentum. More specifically, we defined early momentum as student success in early outcomes (such as the number of credits attempted and earned), which may set students on a promising long-term trajectory on subsequent postsecondary outcomes. Population/Participants/Subjects Our sample included all first-time-in-college students enrolled in all 28 public state colleges. We included three cohorts of students before the reform and up to three cohorts of students after the reform. Each cohort consisted of approximately 70,000 students. Research Design We used an interrupted time series design to compare student outcomes three years before the reform with those up to three years after the reform. Our outcome variables, measured one and three years following initial college enrollment, represented continuous indicators for the number of college-level credits attempted and the number of college-level credits earned. We also examined whether the data revealed heterogeneity in the reform's impacts by race/ethnicity, family income status, and level of high school academic preparation. Findings/Results We found small positive effects on all outcomes, indicating that the reform accelerated student success in both the short term and longer term. The impacts of the reform were even greater for Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, low-income, and underprepared students (particularly in the first year), thus reducing existing achievement gaps. Conclusions/Recommendations Florida's SB 1720 consisted of a complementary set of reform efforts that may together have a larger impact than any single component alone. The results suggest that initial momentum gains in the first year may have set some students on a more successful long-term trajectory, particularly those most likely to be assigned to developmental education before the reform. Colleges should continue to provide comprehensive student support services to help students succeed while progressing at a more accelerated pace.
Managing Early Childhood Care And Education: A Comparison of Government and Private Childcare Centres in Malaysia

Qualified and competent educators in early childhood centres will help to produce better quality early childhood care and education. The Malaysian government places a strong emphasis in this area for both government and private childcare centres This paper aims to understand and compare the workforce and management of early childhood care and education centres in Malaysia. A quantitative research was conducted for this study. A sample of 3,519 respondents consisting of operators, supervisors, principals, childcare providers and teachers were involved in this study using a purposive proportionate random sampling. The sample was stratified by zone i.e. northern, southern, central, east coast and west coast of peninsular Malaysia as well as East-Malaysia. The findings of the study indicated that the workforce in the government childcare centre had more staff with educational and professional qualification as well as experience. The study also found significant differences in the management of the private and government centres. This present study would benefit policymakers and the relevant authorities related to early childhood education by allowing an insight into the workforce and practices in the government and private ECCE in Malaysia.
Perception of Teachers towards the Use of Instructional Materials in Teaching Mathematics at Secondary Level

The major objective of the study is to identify the perception of mathematics teachers towards the use of instructional materials in teaching mathematics for the students of secondary level and to compare their perceptions on the basis of their teaching experience. The study has adopted descriptive survey design. A set of the questionnaire with 24 statements regarding the use of instructional materials in teaching mathematics was the tool for collecting the data. The statements in the questionnaire were categorized into four categories as availability, appropriateness, self-confidence in using instructional materials, and motivation to use it. The questionnaire forms were distributed to 68 secondary school mathematics teachers of public schools. The data were collected, tabulated, ordered, compared, calculated and analyzed by using different statistical tools. Finally, it was found that teachers have negative attitudes towards the statements under the subheadings availability which indicates teachers do not feel comfortable in gathering the instructional materials in teaching mathematics and they were found to have positive towards the statements under the subheadings appropriateness, self-confidence in using, and motivation which means mathematics teachers are in the favor of appropriate use instructional materials in teaching mathematics, and they were found confident in using instructional materials. And also teachers are found motivated to use instructional materials in teaching mathematics at secondary level. The study also concluded that the perception of the teachers regarding the use of instructional materials in teaching mathematics at secondary level differs according to the teaching experience of the teachers. Interestingly, the teacher with less teaching experience were found more positive in using instructional materials in teaching mathematics at secondary level.
Analysis of caffeine and flavan‐3‐ol composition in the fresh leaf of Camellia sinesis for predicting the quality of the black tea produced in Central and Southern Africa

A parameter of fresh tea leaf that correlates with black tea quality is highly desired. Twenty good and 20 poor quality tea clones were selected from the breeding programme at the Tea Research Foundation (Central Africa) (TRF(CA)). The flavan-3-ol profile of fresh tea leaves was analysed by capillary electrophoresis while total theaflavin (TF) content was determined in the black tea manufactured from the same leaves for each clone. The above parameters were correlated with total scores and valuation from two tea tasters with regression analysis. The significance of the differences between the 20 good and 20 poor quality tea clones was determined with the Student's t-test. The total TF content of the black tea correlated (r = 0.63, P = 0.0001) well with the value of the tea. Of all the parameters determined in the fresh leaves, the highest correlation was obtained with (−)-epicatechin (EC) (r = 0.65, P = 0.0001). This may facilitate early selection of good quality TRF(CA) clones in the future. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry
Maternal-fetal Complications in Pregnancy: A Retrospective Comparison Between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Valentina Guarnotta Università degli Studi di Palermo: Universita degli Studi di Palermo Mariagrazia Irene Mineo Università degli Studi di Palermo: Universita degli Studi di Palermo Emanuela Giacchetto Università degli Studi di Palermo: Universita degli Studi di Palermo Maria Pia Imbergamo Università degli Studi di Palermo: Universita degli Studi di Palermo Carla GIORDANO (  carla.giordano@unipa.it ) University of Palermo https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1731-9395
Experimental and Modeling Study of Premixed Atmospheric-Pressure Dimethyl Ether−Air Flames

Chemical species profiles have been measured at atmospheric pressure for two dimethyl ether (DME)−air flat flames having fuel/air equivalence ratios of 0.67 and 1.49. The samples, obtained with an uncooled quartz probe, were analyzed by either gas chromatography or Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, C3H8, DME, CO, CO2, O2, CH2O, and formic acid. A pneumatic probe calibrated at a reference position in the burned gas by a radiation-corrected thermocouple provided temperature profiles for each flame. Species profiles for two methane−air flames with equivalence ratios and cold-gas flow velocities similar to those of the DME flames were also obtained for comparison to the DME results. Mole fractions of C2 product species were similar in DME and methane flames of similar equivalence ratios. However, the CH2O mole fractions were 5−10 times larger in the DME flames. These experimental profiles are compared to profiles generated in a computer modeling study using the best ava.
Offshore wind farm global blockage measured with scanning lidar

Abstract. The objective of this paper was the experimental investigation of the accumulated induction effect of a large offshore wind farm as a whole, i.e. the global-blockage effect, in relation to atmospheric-stability estimates and wind farm operational states. We measured the inflow of a 400 MW offshore wind farm in the German North Sea with a scanning long-range Doppler wind lidar. A methodology to reduce the statistical variability of different lidar scans at comparable measurement conditions was introduced, and an extensive uncertainty assessment of the averaged wind fields was performed to be able to identify the global-blockage effect, which is small compared to e.g. wind turbine wake effects and ambient variations in the inflow. Our results showed a 4 % decrease in wind speed (accuracy range of 2 % to 6 %) at transition piece height (24.6 m) upwind of the wind farm with the turbines operating at high thrust coefficients above 0.8 in a stably stratified atmosphere, which we interpreted as global blockage. In contrast, at unstable stratification and similar operating conditions and for situations with low thrust coefficients (i.e. approx. 0 for not operating turbines and ≤ 0.3 for turbines operating far above rated wind speed) we identified no wind speed deficit. We discussed the significance of our measurements and possible sources of error in long-range scanning lidar campaigns and give recommendations on how to measure small flow effects like global blockage with scanning Doppler lidar. In conclusion, we provide strong evidence for the existence of global blockage in large offshore wind farms in stable stratification and the turbines operating at a high thrust coefficient by planar lidar wind field measurements. We further conclude that global blockage is dependent on atmospheric stratification.
Validation of Emotional Stimuli Flashcards for Conducting ‘Response to Reward’ fMRI Study among Malaysian Undergraduates

Problematic Instagram Use (PIGU) is a specific Internet addiction disorder observed among the youth of today. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can objectively assess regional brain activation in response to addictionspecific rewards, e.g. viewing picture flashcards. Pictures that were uploaded onto Instagram by users with PIGU issue have often been associated with risky behaviors in their efforts to gain more ‘Likes’. Thus, it was hypothesized that individuals with PIGU issue are more drawn to negative emotional cues. To date, no literature on addiction-specific cues found on the local database. The objective of this study was to conduct an out-of-scanner validation study to create a database of pictures with negative emotional cues that evoke responses of arousal among individuals with PIGU issue. Forty-four Malaysian undergraduates (20 undergraduates in the PIGU group, 24 undergraduates in the control group) were randomly recruited as the subjects in the present study. They were grouped into PIGU or control groups based on the evaluation using the Smartphone-Addiction-Scale-Malay version (SAS-M) and modified Instagram Addiction Test (IGAT) and whether they fulfilled the definition of addiction according to Lin et al. (2016). They were administered with 200 content-specific pictures that were multidimensional, i.e. arousal (excitation or relaxation effects), approachavoidance (motivational direction) and emotional valence (positive or negative feelings) to describe their perceptions on the psychological properties of the pictures using a 9-point Likert scale. The results showed that the subjects with PIGU issue, who viewed the negative emotional cues, demonstrated significant positive correlations between arousal and valence (z = 4.834, p < .001, effect size = 0.69) and arousal and avoidance-approach (z = 4.625, p < .001, effect size = 0.66) as compared to the controls and were more frequently aroused by negative emotional type of stimuli. As a conclusion, a database of validated, addiction-specific pictures can be developed to potentiate any future cue-induced response to reward fMRI studies for assessing PIGU.
Light quality, 6-benzyladenine and number of subcultives for in vitro multiplication of hybrid clones of Corymbia

Micropropagation has been recommended in the search for alternatives for rejuvenation/reinvigoration of selected Corymbia clones, mainly to improve clonal seedling production. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of light quality, 6benzyladenine (BA) concentrations and number of subcultures for in vitro multiplication of hybrid Corymbia clones (TC01, TC02, TC03 and CT01). Light qualities (white LEDs, red/blue LEDs, and fluorescent lamps), BA concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mg L-1) and number of subcultures were evaluated at 30 days after inoculation in JADS medium by length, number, vigor and oxidation of axillary shoots. Based on the results obtained, the use of red/blue LEDs resulted in the best responses for the clones evaluated for in vitro multiplication. Regarding to BA, the most appropriate concentration of this growth regulator was 0.5 mg L-1 for TC01, TC02 and TC03 and 1.0 mg L-1 for CT01, promoting better shoot development. The ninth subculture presented the best results compared to the clones analyzed for number of shoots per explant and vigor of axillary shoots.
Transactions Volume, Exchange Direction and Asymmetry of Volatility in Emerging Market: Evidence From Tunisian Stock Exchange

This study is an attempt to explain the relationship between intraday return and volume in Tunisian Stock Market. Indeed, former researches avow that the trading activity have the main explanatory power for volatility. However, most theories measure the activity of transactions through the size of exchange or the number of transactions. Nevertheless, these components are not aware enough of the importance of the direction of exchange when explaining the phenomenon of asymmetry of volatility. In the most of studies, the technique “Augmented Tick Test” (ATT) is employed so as to identify the direction of exchange. Such technique is adapted for the markets directed by orders like the Tunisian financial market. Again, this paper shows that the impact of the direction of exchange differs according to the market trend. In other words, if the returns are positive, the transactions of sale (of purchase) generate a decrease (increase) of volatility; whereas, they induce an increase (drop) of volatility if returns are negative. This result stresses the significance of exchange direction in explaning the asymmetry of volatility. Moreover, throughout this study, one may affirm that “Herding trades” are at the origin of the increase of volatility, while the “Contrarian trades” reduce volatility. Similarly, the identification of the direction of exchange enables us to affirm that the transactions of the initiates are characterized by the absence of returns autocorrelation; whereas, the transactions carried out by uninformed investors present an autocorrelation of the returns. In fact, the sign of this correlation varies according to transaction direction.
Pembelajaran Daring dan Luring pada Masa Pandemi Covid-19

This study aims to explore whether online learning and offline learning can work well, so that educational goals can be achieved. This research is a phenomenological qualitative research to find out how the application of online learning and offline learning in one of the SD Negeri Sepatnunggal 02 in Cilacap Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. The steps of this research include action planning, action implementation, observation stage, and reflection stage. From the results of the study, there were several obstacles in its implementation, but they could be solved well by the teacher in order to educate the students. Both online and offline learning systems are expected for teachers to be creative in educating students, so that learning success can be achieved properly or effectively. This study provides information that teachers actually prefer offline learning where they can interact with students, and also students prefer offline learning with face-to-face interactions.
Microbial Adhesion on Circular Obstacles: An Optimization Study

Microbial filtration is an important process with applications in environmental, mining, and sanitary engineering. Here, we study the interplay between the motility of microswimmers and the imposed flow to determine the adhesion of bacteria at the surface of the solid obstacle. For that, we perform numerical simulations of active Brownian particles interacting with a single cylindrical obstacle when an imposed laminar flow is present. Highly and weakly persistent swimmers are studied, representing extreme cases of bacteria used in experiments and we vary the swimmers’ velocity u 0, the imposed flow velocity U ∞ , and the obstacle radius R. Starting with no swimmers close to the cylinder, we inject them steadily until a constant number of swimmers are adhered to the obstacle surface. The deposition/erosion process is characterized by the number of bacteria in contact with the obstacle, quantified by the average coverage of the cylinder surface λ trap, and the relaxation time to reach the steady state τ trap. Two regimes are found. The Brownian deposition is attained when swimmer velocities are smaller than the imposed flow. In this case, the particles can diffuse across the streamlines and settle around the obstacle covering the whole perimeter, forming multiple layers. The direct interception is obtained when the particle’s velocities are larger, reaching the obstacle by direct swimming, in which case they form approximately one layer on the obstacle surface. It is found that λ trap decreases with u 0 and R, but the dependence with the imposed flow U ∞ is non-monotonic, with and optimum coverage for intermediate flows, given by the crossover of the two regimes. The relaxation rate τ trap decreases with u 0 and increases with R. The dependence of τ trap with U ∞ is more complex, depending on the persistence of the swimmers. The existence of an optimum value of the flow velocity to reach maximum values of the number of deposited swimmers is an important design information for different applications that use microbial filtration. Finally, in general, it is found that optimal adhesion that has larger values of λ trap and smaller values of τ trap is obtained for more-persistent swimmers moving at small velocities interacting with small obstacles.
The Role of Public Trust and Media in Managing the Dissemination of COVID-19-Related News in Switzerland

Public trust in health information is essential to ensure that preventative strategies to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 are accepted and followed. This study explored the way Swiss people accessed and consumed news and information about the coronavirus from different channels, and the role media plays in public trust during the pandemic. Based on a study of 442 randomly assigned participants in French-speaking regions, we examined the following four questions: (1) What are the news sources and platforms and how are they used? (2) How does the public rate the trustworthiness of these sources and platforms? (3) To what extent does the public perceive that these sources and platforms are provided inaccurate information? (4) What roles do these sources and platforms play in the pandemic? Implications are discussed in the conclusion based on our findings.
Factors Affecting Manufacturing Exports

This study aims to determine the factors that influence manufacturing exports in Indonesia. This study uses time-series data with 40 data observations starting from the 1st quarter of 2010 to the 4th quarter of 2019. This study's analysis method is the vector error correction model (VECM), which can dynamically describe the shortterm and long-term effects. Export determinants to be examined are inflation, the rupiah exchange rate, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). This study indicates that inflation at lag 1 harms manufactured exports both in the short and long term. Furthermore, GDP has a positive effect on manufacturing exports in the short run at lag 1 and lag 2, while in the long run, GDP has a positive effect only on lag 1. Meanwhile, the exchange rate and FDI factors did not affect manufactured exports, both in the short and long term. This study implies that inflation and GDP are essential factors in designing policies to increase exports in Indonesia, including exports of manufactured products.