Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Student appreciation of data-driven feedback: A pilot study on OnTask

Feedback plays a crucial role in student learning. Learning analytics (LA) has demonstrated potential in addressing prominent challenges with feedback practice, such as enabling timely feedback based on insights obtained from large data sets. However, there is insufficient research looking into relations between student expectations of feedback and their experience with LA-based feedback. This paper presents a pilot study that examined students’ experience of LA-based feedback, offered with the OnTask system, taking into consideration the factors of students’self-efficacy and self-regulation skills. Two surveys were carried out at a Brazilian university, and the results highlighted important implications for LA-based feedback practice, including leveraging the ‘partnership’ between the human teacher and the computer, and developing feedback literacy among learners.
Modelling Learners in Adaptive Educational Systems: A Multivariate Glicko-based Approach

The Elo rating system has been recognised as an effective method for modelling students and items within adaptive educational systems. A common characteristic across Elo-based learner models is that they are not sensitive to the lag time between two consecutive interactions of a student within the system. Implicitly, this characteristic assumes that students do not learn or forget between two consecutive interactions. However, this assumption seems insufficient in the context of adaptive learning systems where students could have improved their mastery through practising outside of the system or that their mastery may be declined due to forgetting. In this paper, we extend the existing works on the use of rating systems for modelling learners in adaptive educational systems by proposing a new learner model called MV-Glicko that builds on the Glicko rating system. MV-Glicko is sensitive to the lag time between two consecutive interactions of a student within the system and models it as a parameter that captures the confidence of the system in the current inferred rating. We apply MV-Glicko on three public data sets and three data sets obtained from an adaptive learning system and provide evidence that MV-Glicko outperforms other conventional models in estimating students’ knowledge mastery.
Pressure drop and hydrodynamic properties of pulses in two‐phase gas‐liquid downflow through packed columns

The hydrodynamics and the pulse properties in the pulse flow regime of gas-liquid downflow through a packed column were studied using 6 mm Raschig rings and 3 mm spheres as packings. The pulse flow regime is considered to be gas-continuous flow outside the pulses and more like dispersed bubble flow inside the pulses and the pressure drop is viewed as being contributed to by the gas continuous part outside the pulses and by the pulses themselves. Correlations for the total pressure drop, the pressure drop across the pulse and for the pulse velocity are obtained. The experimental data of the average holdup, the pulse holdup, the base holdup and the transition from gas continuous to pulse flow regime are compared with the literature values. On a etudie l'hydrodynamique et les proprietes des impulsions dans le regime pulse d'un ecoulement gaz-liquide descendant dans une colonne garnie, le garnissage etant des anneaux de Raschig de 6 mm et des spheres de 3 mm. Le regime d'ecoulement pulse est considere comme un debit continu de gaz, en dehors des impulsions, et plutot comme l'ecoulement d'une dispersion de bulles a l'interieur des impulsions; en ce qui concerne la perte de charge, on a tenu compte de contributions dues a l'ecoulement continu de gaz en dehors des impulsions ainsi que de contributions dues aux impulsions elles-měmes. On a obtenu des correlations relatives a la perte totale de charge, a la perte de charge sur l'impulsion et a la vitesse de l'impulsion. On a compare, avec les valcurs de la litterature, les resultats experimentaux pour la retention moyenne, la retention de l'impulsion, la retention de base et la transition d'un regime de gaz continu a un regime d'ecoulement pulse.
An Exact Algorithm for Group Formation to Promote Collaborative Learning

Collaborative learning has been widely used to foster students’ communication and joint knowledge construction. However, the classification of learners into well-structured groups is one of the most challenging tasks in the field. The aim of this study is to propose a novel method to form intra-heterogeneous and inter-homogeneous groups based on relevant student characteristics. Such a method allows for the consideration of multiple student characteristics and can handle both numerical and categorical characteristic types simultaneously. It assumes that the teacher provides an order of importance of the characteristics, then it solves the grouping problem as a lexicographic optimization problem in the given order. We formulate the problem in mixed integer linear programming (MILP) terms and solve it to optimality. A pilot experiment was conducted with 29 college freshmen considering three general characteristics (i.e., 13 specific features) including knowledge level, demographic information, and motivation. Results of such an experiment demonstrate the validity and computational feasibility of the algorithmic approach. Large-scale studies are needed to assess the impact of the proposed grouping method on students’ learning experience and academic achievement.
Surveillance under dispute: Conceptualising narrative legitimation politics

Abstract Current debates about surveillance demonstrate the complexity of political controversies whose uncertainty and moral ambiguities render normative consensus difficult to achieve. The question of how to study political controversies remains a challenge for IR scholars. Critical security studies scholars have begun to examine political controversies around surveillance by exploring changing security practices in the everyday. Yet, (de)legitimation practices have hitherto not been the focus of analysis. Following recent practice-oriented research, we develop a conceptual framework based on the notion of ‘narrative legitimation politics’. We first introduce the concept of ‘tests’ from Boltanski's pragmatic sociology to categorise the discursive context and different moral reference points (truth, reality, existence). Second, we combine pragmatic sociology with narrative analysis to enable the study of dominant justificatory practices. Third, we develop the framework through a practice-oriented exploration of the Snowden controversy with a focus on the US and Germany. We identify distinct justificatory practices in each test format linked to narrative devices (for example, plots, roles, metaphors) whose fluid, contested dynamics have the potential to effect change. The framework is particularly relevant for IR scholars interested in legitimacy issues, the normativity of practices, and the power of narratives.
Zinc‐oxide thin‐film ammonia gas sensors with high sensitivity and excellent selectivity

A sensor with a high sensitivity and an excellent selectivity for ammonia gas was prepared by using sputtered ZnO thin films. The sensor exhibited an increase of resistance for exposure to ammonia gas whereas it exhibited a decrease of resistance for exposure to many other gases such as inflammable and organic gases. The resistance change and the selectivity of the sensor were enhanced by doping group III metal impurities such as Al, In, and Ga. The lower limit of the detection for ammonia gas was about 1 ppm at a working temperature of 350 °C.
Unsteadiness boundaries in supersonic flow over double cones

Abstract A computational parameter study of the viscous axisymmetric supersonic flow over a double cone is made with a view to determining the boundary of the region in which such flows are unsteady. The study is restricted to the case when the boundary layer is laminar. The features of both the steady and unsteady flows in different characteristic regions of the parameter space are described. In particular, the phenomenon of pulsating flow typical of spiked blunt bodies (small first-cone angle, $\theta _1$, and large second-cone angle, $\theta _2$), is shown to be inviscid in nature. In $\theta _1$–$\theta _2$ space, the region of unsteady flow is enclosed in a loop with a lower and an upper $\theta _2$ branch with a maximum $\theta _1$ between. The location of the lower $\theta _2$ branch is determined by the second-cone detachment angle $\theta _{2d}$. For this reason, the gas model in one of the conditions is chosen to be thermally perfect carbon dioxide (at Mach number 8) for which $\theta _{2d}$ is quite large. In the other cases, the gas model is perfect-gas nitrogen at Mach numbers 2, 4 and 7.7. In the hypersonic range, within the uncertainties, and in the parameter range covered, the unsteadiness boundary is shown to depend on only three dimensionless parameters.
Targeted conspiratorial killing, human self-domestication and the evolution of groupishness

Abstract Abstract Groupishness is a set of tendencies to respond to group members with prosociality and cooperation in ways that transcend apparent self-interest. Its evolution is puzzling because it gives the impression of breaking the ordinary rules of natural selection. Boehm's solution is that moral elements of groupishness originated and evolved as a result of group members becoming efficient executioners of antisocial individuals, and he noted that self-domestication would have proceeded from the same dynamic. Self-domestication is indicated first at ~300,000 years ago and has probably gathered pace ever since, suggesting selection for self-domestication and groupishness for at least 12,000 generations. Here I propose that a specifically human style of violence, targeted conspiratorial killing, contributed importantly to both self-domestication and to promoting groupishness. Targeted conspiratorial killing is unknown in chimpanzees or any other vertebrate, and is significant because it permits coalitions to kill antisocial individuals cheaply. The hypothesis that major elements of groupishness are due to targeted conspiratorial killing helps explain why they are much more elaborated in humans than in other species.
ON THE TIMING OF THE OLD COPPER COMPLEX IN NORTH AMERICA: A COMPARISON OF RADIOCARBON DATES FROM DIFFERENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXTS

ABSTRACT The Old Copper Complex (OCC) refers to the production of heavy copper-tool technology by Archaic Native American societies in the Lake Superior region. To better define the timing of the OCC, we evaluated 53 (eight new and 45 published) radiocarbon (14C) dates associated with copper artifacts and mines. We compared these dates to six lake sediment-based chronologies of copper mining and annealing in the Michigan Copper District. 14C dates grouped by archaeological context show that cremation remains, and wood and cordage embedded in copper artifacts have ages that overlap with the timing of high lead (Pb) concentrations in lake sediment. In contrast, dates in stratigraphic association and from mines are younger than those from embedded and cremation materials, suggesting that the former groups reflect the timing of processes that occurred post-abandonment. The comparatively young dates obtained from copper mines therefore likely reflect abandonment and infill of the mines rather than active use. Excluding three anomalously young samples, the ages of embedded organic material associated with 15 OCC copper artifacts range from 8500 to 3580 cal BP, confirming that the OCC is among the oldest known metalworking societies in the world.
GAS ION SOURCE PERFORMANCE OF THE ENVIRONMICADAS AT HEKAL LABORATORY, DEBRECEN, HUNGARY

ABSTRACT A coupled accelerator mass spectrometer–gas interface system has been successfully operating at the Hertelendi Laboratory of Environmental Studies, Debrecen, Hungary, since 2013. Over the last 6 years more than 500 gas targets were measured below 100 µg carbon content for carbon isotopic composition. The system was tested with blanks, OxII, IAEA-C1, IAEA-C2, and IAEA-C7 standards. The performance of our instrumentation shows good agreement with other published gas-interface system data and also shows a quite good agreement with the nominal value of international standard samples. There is a measurable but quite small memory effect after modern samples, but this does not significantly affect the final results. Typical ion currents at the low energy side were between 10–15 µA with a 5% CO2 in He mixing ratio. The relative errors average ±6% for samples greater than or equal to 10 µgC sample with mean count rates of 300 counts per microgram C for OxII. The blank is comparable with other systems, which is 0.0050 ± 0.0018 F14C or 34,000–47,000 yr BP, which allows for the routine measurement of both of small environmental and archeological samples.
Study of the structure of molecular complexes. XIII. Monte Carlo simulation of liquid water with a configuration interaction pair potential

A water–water interaction potential obtained from configuration interaction calculations has been used to simulate liquid water, at 25 °C, by a Monte Carlo technique. The resulting radial distribution functions and x‐ray and neutron scattering intensities are compared with experiment and found to be in satisfactory agreement. Some thermodynamic properties are also computed and discussed. The overall agreement seems to indicate that many‐body effects contribute little in determining the structure of liquid water, although they seem to be important for an accurate simulation of internal energy and related quantities.
Measuring Cultural Dimensions: External Validity and Internal Consistency of Hofstede's VSM 2013 Scales

Cross-cultural comparisons often investigate values that are assumed to have long-lasting influence on human conduct and thought. To capture and compare cultural values across cultures, Geert Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory has offered an influential framework. Hofstede also provided a survey instrument, the Values Survey Module (VSM), for measuring cultural values as outlined in his Cultural Dimensions Theory. The VSM has since been subject to a series of revisions. Yet, data on countries have been derived from the original VSM — and not on one of the revised versions of VSM. We tested three scales (indulgence, power distance, and individualism) from the latest version, the VSM 2013, as part of a larger survey across 57 countries. Two main findings emerged. For one thing, country scores based on the VSM 2013 scales correlated only weakly with country scores of the same cultural dimensions obtained in a large previous study. Thus, the validity of the VSM 2013 is in doubt. For another thing, the internal consistency of the VSM 2013 scales was overall poor, indicating that the scales did not reliably measure well-defined constructs. We discuss implications for cross-cultural research.
Protective Effects of N1-Methylnicotinamide Against High-Fat Diet- and Age-Induced Hearing Loss via Moderate Overexpression of Sirtuin 1 Protein

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is the most common form of hearing loss and the predominant neurodegenerative disease associated with aging. Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is associated with the most complex physiological processes, including metabolism, cancer onset, and aging. SIRT1 protein levels are enhanced by the conversion of nicotinamide to N1-methylnicotinamide (MNAM), independent of its mRNA levels. Moreover, MNAM has implications in increased longevity achieved through its mitohormetic effects. Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (Nnmt) is an enzyme involved in MNAM metabolism, and its level increases under caloric restriction (CR) conditions. The CR condition has implications in delaying ARHL onset. In this study, we aimed to determine the relationship between diet, hearing function, SIRT1 and SIRT3 expression levels in the inner ear, and cochlear morphology. Mice fed with a high-fat diet (HFD), HFD + 1% MNAM, and low-fat diet (LFD) were monitored for age-related auditory-evoked brainstem responses, and changes in cochlear histology, metabolism, and protein and mRNA expressions were analyzed. Our results revealed that the HFD- and aging-mediated downregulated expression of SIRT1 and SIRT3 promoted hearing loss that was obfuscated by MNAM supplementation-induced upregulated expression of cochlear SIRT1 and SIRT3. Thus, our results suggest that MNAM can be used as a therapeutic agent for preventing ARHL.
System-Level Analysis of Alzheimer’s Disease Prioritizes Candidate Genes for Neurodegeneration

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder. Since the advent of the genome-wide association study (GWAS) we have come to understand much about the genes involved in AD heritability and pathophysiology. Large case-control meta-GWAS studies have increased our ability to prioritize weaker effect alleles, while the recent development of network-based functional prediction has provided a mechanism by which we can use machine learning to reprioritize GWAS hits in the functional context of relevant brain tissues like the hippocampus and amygdala. In parallel with these developments, groups like the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) have compiled rich compendia of AD patient data including genotype and biomarker information, including derived volume measures for relevant structures like the hippocampus and the amygdala. In this study we wanted to identify genes involved in AD-related atrophy of these two structures, which are often critically impaired over the course of the disease. To do this we developed a combined score prioritization method which uses the cumulative distribution function of a gene’s functional and positional score, to prioritize top genes that not only segregate with disease status, but also with hippocampal and amygdalar atrophy. Our method identified a mix of genes that had previously been identified in AD GWAS including APOE, TOMM40, and NECTIN2(PVRL2) and several others that have not been identified in AD genetic studies, but play integral roles in AD-effected functional pathways including IQSEC1, PFN1, and PAK2. Our findings support the viability of our novel combined score as a method for prioritizing region- and even cell-specific AD risk genes.
Identification and Characterization of Osmoregulation Related MicroRNAs in Gills of Hybrid Tilapia Under Three Types of Osmotic Stress

Researchers have increasingly suggested that microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression and protein translation in organs and respond to abiotic and biotic stressors. To understand the function of miRNAs in osmotic stress regulation of the gills of hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus ♀ × Oreochromis urolepis hornorum ♂), high-throughput Illumina deep sequencing technology was used to investigate the expression profiles of miRNAs under salinity stress (S, 25‰), alkalinity stress (A, 4‰) and salinity–alkalinity stress (SA, S: 15‰, A: 4‰) challenges. The results showed that 31, 41, and 27 upregulated and 33, 42, and 40 downregulated miRNAs (P < 0.05) were identified in the salt stress, alkali stress, and saline–alkali stress group, respectively, which were compared with those in the control group (C). Fourteen significantly differently expressed miRNAs were selected randomly and then validated by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction. On the basis of Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis, genes related to osmoregulation and biosynthesis were enriched in the three types of osmotic stress. In addition, three miRNAs and three predicted target genes were chosen to conduct a quantitative polymerase chain reaction in the hybrid tilapia and its parents during 96-h osmotic stress. Differential expression patterns of miRNAs provided the basis for research data to further investigate the miRNA-modulating networks in osmoregulation of teleost.
Effort-Reward-Imbalance, Burnout, and Depression Among Psychiatrists 2006 and 2016-Changes After a Legislative Intervention

Background: Physicians, especially psychiatrists, have a high risk of job-related stress, and mental impairment. In our study we examined changes in private and occupational stress factors and mental health within a decade. The legislative reduction of physicians' working hours in Germany during this period made it possible to investigate the impact of working hours in particular. Methods: Questionnaires were administered at two psychiatrist meetings (2006 and 2016) about job and family situation, depressiveness, burnout and effort-reward imbalance. A total of N = 1,797 datasets were analyzed. Results: Working hours and free weekends were associated with mental health indices. Correlation analyses showed that a reduction in weekly working hours and working days at weekends was related to reduced scores for effort-reward-imbalance, burnout and depression. Conclusions: Our data show changes in workplace stress and mental health in psychiatrists in a decade in which a reduction in working hours has been required by law. These results can provide indications of effective prevention strategies in the professional context of physicians working in psychiatry.
Integrative Modeling of Gene Expression and Metabolic Networks of Arabidopsis Embryos for Identification of Seed Oil Causal Genes

Fatty acids in crop seeds are a major source for both vegetable oils and industrial applications. Genetic improvement of fatty acid composition and oil content is critical to meet the current and future demands of plant-based renewable seed oils. Addressing this challenge can be approached by network modeling to capture key contributors of seed metabolism and to identify underpinning genetic targets for engineering the traits associated with seed oil composition and content. Here, we present a dynamic model, using an Ordinary Differential Equations model and integrated time-course gene expression data, to describe metabolic networks during Arabidopsis thaliana seed development. Through in silico perturbation of genes, targets were predicted in seed oil traits. Validation and supporting evidence were obtained for several of these predictions using published reports in the scientific literature. Furthermore, we investigated two predicted targets using omics datasets for both gene expression and metabolites from the seed embryo, and demonstrated the applicability of this network-based model. This work highlights that integration of dynamic gene expression atlases generates informative models which can be explored to dissect metabolic pathways and lead to the identification of causal genes associated with seed oil traits.
Single-Step Synthesis of Quantum Dots with Chemical Composition Gradients

We demonstrate a single-step synthetic method for highly luminescent (i.e., quantum yield up to 80%) and stable quantum dots (QDs) by using the reactivity difference between Cd and Zn precursors and that between Se and S precursors. A wide range of emission wavelengths (500−610 nm) with a narrow fwhm (<35 nm) is obtained by changing the ratios of the precursors. Under the reaction conditions selected, Cd- and Se (with a bit of S)-based cores are formed first and Zn- and S-based shells are formed successively; therefore, the QDs have a core/shell structure with composition gradients, which relieve the lattice mismatch between core and shells. The QDs are characterized using the combined techniques of HR-TEM, UV–vis, PL spectroscopy, and ICP-AES. The QDs also have energy gradients depending on their compositions in a radial direction, which energetically confine carriers (electrons and holes) to the cores. This leads to the stability of QDs during their surface passivation from oleic acid to mercaptopropion.