Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Where we are and where we ought to be: The need for research-based assessments for dual language immersion learners

ABSTRACT In this paper, we address a lack of assessments of partner language development in dual language immersion (DLI) programs. We propose several important considerations that are necessary for the creation of research-based assessments of partner language development in DLI programs, focusing on Spanish as an example. We first discuss what these assessments need to test, concentrating on different areas of language that have proven to be challenging for heritage speakers and second language learners of Spanish, both of whom are students in these immersion programs. Next, we discuss how to assess these students through the use of implicit and explicit tasks and by measuring production and comprehension separately. We also advocate for embracing students’ translanguaging practices. Finally, we discuss why we need to assess partner language development. We propose that designing assessments that are simple to interpret will allow teachers, linguists, and policymakers to benefit from the data that they provide. For example, assessments of partner language development can contribute to assessment literacy and the creation of learning standards for bilingual schools. We argue that these considerations are essential for bringing DLI education to where we ought to be in the 21st century.
Control of time-varying systems based on forward Riccati formulation in hybrid functions domain

In this paper, the time-varying system control is resolved with the aid of forward Riccati formulation and hybrid functions. The applied Riccati equations need neither advanced knowledge of the system dynamics nor the assumption of the future information of system matrices. Herein, the state space equation of LTV system is rewritten in the Hybrid functions (HF) domain where results a set of linear discrete equations instead of having a complex Forward-in-time Propagating Riccati Equation (FPRE). The HF evolve from the synthesis of sample-and-hold functions (SHF) and triangular functions (TF) that can estimate any functions based on the summation of two series. The feasibility of the proposed method is investigated by various numerical control cases. Numerical results demonstrated that the proposed method is usable in both periodic and non-periodic systems with less control effort and significant damping time.
Public Private Health Care Facility Utilization among Diabetic People in an Urban Area: A Descriptive Study

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes was considered the disease of affluent and imposes a significant burden on the health services. The modalities of diabetes therapies are different in different parts of the world. However, studies regarding public or private healthcare utilization are lacking in Nepal. Therefore, this study was designed to assess public private health care facility utilization among diabetic people in an urban area of Ithari, Nepal. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Itahari, Submetropolitan of Sunsari district in the Koshi zone of Nepal from September 2017 - September 2018. The study population included 221 participants of age 25 years and above, diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes. Multi-stage proportionate random sampling method was adopted to select the participants. Chi square test was applied to find out the association and p<0.05 is considered significant. RESULTS: Out of the total (221) participants, 55.7% were aged 45-64 years with male of 50.2%. Higher proportion of participants above poverty line (79.7%) were used private healthcare facilities. Among the participants those reported less or equal to two hours waiting time, majority (90.8%) had gone to private healthcare facilities, whereas those reported more than two hours waiting time, majority (70.8%) had gone to public healthcare facilities for the treatment which was found statistically significant (p=0.0002). CONCLUSIONS: Maximum participants prefer private health care services as compared to government health services for their treatment. Therefore, additional community based studies are needed to include larger study populations in order to help healthcare providers develop proper health care programs for these patients.
Ionic Liquid Stabilized Perovskite Solar Modules with Power Conversion Efficiency Exceeding 20%

Metal‐halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) exhibit outstanding power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) when fabricated as mm‐sized devices, but creation of high‐performing large‐area modules that are stable on a sufficiently long timescale still presents a significant challenge. Herein, the quality of large‐area perovskite film is improved by using ionic liquid additives via forming a new Pb‐N bonding between the ionic liquid and Pb2+. This new bond can be modulated by a critical screening of the anion structure of the ionic liquid. The selected ionic liquid effectively reduces the defects of the perovskite films and markedly elongate their carrier lifetimes. As a result, a champion PCE of 24.4% for small‐area (0.148 cm2) devices and 20.4% for larger‐area (10.0 cm2) modules under AM 1.5G irradiation is achieved. More importantly, the modified devices retain 90% of their peak PCE after aging for 1900 h at 65 ± 5 °C (ISOS‐T‐1) and 80% after continuous light soaking for 750 h. The non‐encapsulated modules maintained 80% of their peak PCE after 1100 h of aging in the air with a relative humidity of 35 ± 5% and temperature of 25 ± 5 °C under dark (ISOS‐D‐1), showing great potential for future commercialization.
Protein content of Spirulina sp. Cultured Using a Combination of Urea and TSP Fertilizers

This study aims to determine the effect of the combined use of Urea and TSP fertilizers on the Protein content of Spirulina sp. This research was conducted for 10 days at the Center for Brackish Water Aquaculture (BPBAP) Takalar. The method used in this study is an experimental design with Completely Randomized Design (CRD) using 4 treatments with 3 replications, namely Treatment A (0.4 g/l Urea + 0.008 g/l TSP), B (0.5 g/l Urea + 0.010 g/l TSP), C (0.6 g/l Urea + 0.012 g/l TSP) and D (0.4 g/l Urea + 0.008 g/l TSP). The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive analysis method. The results showed that the use of a combination of Urea and TSP fertilizers could have an effect on the protein content of Spirulina sp. with the highest protein content obtained in treatment C of 34.33%.
Modelling multi-scale material growth and erosion under energetic atomic deposition

ABSTRACT We study crystalline surface evolution in extreme environments, where high-energy atoms impinge on a crystalline surface to cause sputtering, growth and surface roughening. For our model system, we study the evolution of the Ni(111) surface under Ni atom bombardment, using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation and a Sutton-Chen force field, where the uppermost surface layers are free to move, supported by thermostatically controlled layers above a rigid template. The MD statistics of sputtering and sticking are used to aid the development of a computationally efficient kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) code. Comparisons between the simulation surface morphologies are used to tune the KMC growth rules so that the key statistical features of the MD structures are captured by the KMC model. This model is then employed to explore the predicted behaviour over length and times scales much larger than those accessible to MD. While the MD-KMC approach is well known, this application to the complex surface growth encountered in energetic atomic bombardment illuminates the complexities of relating atomistic events to morphological evolution. The work shows how simulation methodology can be extended to provide predictive capabilities, paving the way for design tools for engineering processes such as plasma deposition film growth.
Event-Triggered Cooperative Adaptive Fuzzy Control for Stochastic Nonlinear Systems With Measurement Sensitivity and Deception Attacks

In this article, the leaderless adaptive fuzzy consensus control problem is studied for a class of stochastic nonlinear multiagent systems with unknown measurement sensitivity under false data injection attacks. Unknown measurement sensitivity and false data injection attacks can prevent sensors from obtaining right state information and make it difficult to design controllers and adaptive laws. The existing works considered only one of these cases for deterministic systems. In this article, the coexistence of both cases is considered with the help of Nussbaum functions and fuzzy logic systems, and the corresponding controllers and auxiliary variables are not only codesigned to solve the problem, but also extended to stochastic multiagent systems. Then, an improved switching threshold event-triggered mechanism is proposed to reduce the communication burden of the control channel. Furthermore, the leaderless asymptotic consensus control scheme for stochastic multiagent systems is proposed. The boundedness of all signals and leaderless asymptotic consensus control performance are guaranteed via the Lyapunov stability theorem. Finally, two simulation examples are given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.
Androstenedione and Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Concentration Predict the Progression of Frailty Syndrome at One Year Follow-Up in Patients with Localized Breast Cancer Treated with Aromatase Inhibitors

Background: The standard treatment in postmenopausal women with estrogen- and progesterone-positive localized breast cancer consists of aromatase inhibitors (AROi). The ability of AROi to promote or worsen frailty syndrome over time and the relationship with changes in gonadal hormones concentration in blood have not been investigated. Methods: A prospective study to evaluate the relationship between frailty syndrome and gonadal hormones concentrations in blood at baseline (prior to AROi treatment) and after 6 and 12 months under AROi treatment in post-menopausal women with breast cancer. Frailty syndrome was evaluated by the Fried’ criteria. We evaluated whether hormone concentration at baseline could predict frailty syndrome at follow-up. Results: Multinomial regression analysis showed that of the different hormones, those significantly (p < 0.05) associated to the worsening of frailty syndrome were high androstenedione levels and low follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels in blood. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed both androstenedione and FSH significantly (p < 0.05) discriminate patients who developed or presented worsening of frailty syndrome over time, with acceptable sensitivity (approximately 80% in both cases) but low specificity (40%). Conclusion: Hormonal concentrations before AROi treatment constitute possible biomarkers to predict the progression of frailty syndrome.
18F-FDG 18F-FDG Positron Emission Tomography Imaging of Cortical Reorganization in Spinal Trauma

Objective: Spinal cord injury (SCI) extensively impacts the sensorimotor reorganization in the brain. The effects can be both anatomical and functional. To date, not many studies using 18F-Fluoro-2-Deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) to evaluate metabolic changes in the brain are done. Understanding such changes is crucial for developing clinical management and evidence-based rehabilitation strategies for these patients. Subjects and Methods: In this study, we compared 18F-FDG PET imaging of 6 SCI patients with complete paraplegia and 19 controls. Statistical parametric mapping software was utilized to compare the images on a voxel to voxel basis (significance level P < 0.05 and clusters having >50 voxels). Results: The study showed raised metabolism in supplementary motor areas, comprehension centers, some areas in the parietal and temporal lobe, putamen and cerebellum while reduced metabolic uptake in areas like anterior cingulate gyrus, hippocampus and sensory cortical areas when SCI patients were compared against healthy controls. The frontal lobe showed varied results where certain regions showed higher metabolism while the others showed lower in patients compared with controls. Conclusion: Cerebral deafferentation or disuse atrophy can be linked with reduced metabolism while raised uptake can be associated with initiation and planning of movement and cognitive changes in the brain posttrauma.
ETS1 and HLHS: Implications for the Role of the Endocardium

We have identified the ETS1 gene as the cause of congenital heart defects, including an unprecedented high frequency of HLHS, in the chromosomal disorder Jacobsen syndrome. Studies in Ciona intestinalis demonstrated a critical role for ETS1 in heart cell fate determination and cell migration, suggesting that the impairment of one or both processes can underlie the pathogenesis of HLHS. Our studies determined that ETS1 is expressed in the cardiac neural crest and endocardium in the developing murine heart, implicating one or both lineages in the development of HLHS. Studies in Drosophila and Xenopus demonstrated a critical role for ETS1 in regulating cardiac cell fate determination, and results in Xenopus provided further evidence for the role of the endocardium in the evolution of the “hypoplastic” HLHS LV. Paradoxically, these studies suggest that the loss of ETS1 may cause a cell fate switch resulting in the loss of endocardial cells and a relative abundance of cardiac myocytes. These studies implicate an “HLHS transcriptional network” of genes conserved across species that are essential for early heart development. Finally, the evidence suggests that in a subset of HLHS patients, the HLHS LV cardiac myocytes are, intrinsically, developmentally and functionally normal, which has important implications for potential future therapies.
Conjunct roles of client and vendor control in offshore-outsourced project performance

This study explores the conjunct roles of a series of formal and informal control mechanisms exerted, respectively, by client and vendor in offshore-outsourced project performance. Using a sample of 203 offshore projects executed by vendors in China, the results indicate that client process control enhances (or complements) the effect of vendor outcome control, yet impairs (or substitutes) the effect of vendor process control. Conversely, client outcome control enhances (or complements) the effect of vendor process control, yet impairs (or substitutes) the effect of vendor outcome control. Further, for the two informal control mechanisms, the results indicate that client relational control enhances (or complements) the effects of both vendor process and outcome control, whereas vendor clan control only enhances (or complements) the effect of client outcome control on offshore-outsourced project performance. These findings not only contribute new insights for the organisational control and the outsourcing literature, but also provide managerial guidance for client and vendor managers on how to exert and fine-tune their control mechanisms to promote project performance.
Study of Effect of Different Shapes of Nanoparticles in Three-Layer Model for Blood Flow in Arterioles

Arterioles are pivotal console of hemodynamics as they are significant contributors to pressure. Under various physiological conditions like administration of a drug, arterioles ascertain divergent mechanical forces. The current communication discusses the effect of different shapes of copper nanoparticles inoculated as nano drugs in arterioles. The blood is assumed to be a non-Newtonian fluid and is delineated as nanofluids. The three-layer model is used for modeling the blood flow as it aptly describes the flow of blood in narrow vessels of diameter less than 100 μm. The Hamilton-Crosser model is implemented to describe the thermal conductivity of nanofluid as this model holds in accordance with experimental as well as theoretical results. The expressions are also obtained for density, thermal expansion and viscosity of the considered nanofluid. The equations are solved analytically and graphs have been plotted using MATLAB. The relative consequence of various shapes of nanoparticles like platelets, blades, cylinders and bricks is observed in temperature, velocity and flow rate. It has been investigated through the graphs that brick-shaped nanoparticles have shown a maximum rise in temperature, velocity and flow rate. And reverse results are observed for blade-shaped nanoparticles. The effect of volume fraction, heat source parameter and Grashof number have also been inspected. The considered analysis shows that a suitable shape of nanoparticle can be used to develop the nano drug according to biomedical needs.
Core/Combustor-Noise Baseline Measurements for the DGEN Aeropropulsion Research Turbofan

Contributions from the combustor to the overall propulsion noise of civilian transport aircraft are starting to become important due to turbofan design trends and advances in mitigation of other noise sources. Future propulsion systems for ultra-efﬁcient commercial air vehicles are projected to be of increasingly higher bypass ratio from larger fans combined with much smaller cores, with ultra-clean burning fuel-ﬂexible combustors. Unless effective noise-reduction strategies are developed, combustor noise is likely to become a prominent con-tributor to overall airport community noise in the future. The new NASA DGEN Aeropropulsion Research Turbofan (DART) is a cost-efﬁcient testbed for the study of core-noise physics and mitigation. This paper describes the recently completed DART core/combustor-noise baseline test in the NASA GRC Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory (AAPL). Acoustic data were simultaneously acquired using the AAPL overhead microphone array in the engine aft quadrant farﬁeld, a single midﬁeld microphone, and two semi-inﬁnite-tube unsteady pressure sensors at the core-nozzle exit. Combustor-noise components of measured total-noise signatures were educed using a two-signal source-separation method and are found to occur in the expected frequency range. The acoustic data compare well with results from a limited 2014 feasibility test and will serve as a high-quality baseline for future research using the DART. The research described herein is aligned with the NASA Ultra-Efﬁcient Commercial Transport strategic thrust and is supported by the NASA Advanced Air Vehicle Program, Advanced Air Transport Technology Project, under the Aircraft Noise Reduction Subpro-ject.
Wireless power transfer based on current non‐linear PT‐symmetry principle

In this study, the authors propose a novel circuit topology based on the current non-linear parity-time (PT)-symmetry principle. The exact analytical solutions of transfer efficiency and resonant frequency are deduced, a state switching phenomenon is observed, and the mathematical expression of the critical coupling coefficient (κc ) corresponding to the state switching point is provided. When the coupling coefficient (κ) is ≥κc , the system has two real frequencies and can maintain near 100% transfer efficiency theoretically. When κ < κc , the system has only one real frequency, and the transfer efficiency attenuates rapidly. The correctness of the theoretical model is verified by simulation and experiment. Results show that when the distance between the two coils (38 cm in diameter) varies from 10 to 42.5 cm, the transfer efficiency remains ∼95%, without the need for any tuning. Theoretical analysis and experimental verification show that κc increases when the load resistance increases and the natural resonant frequency or the self-inductance of the Rx coil decreases. Furthermore, the system can maintain the equivalent current of the Tx and Rx circuits when κ ≥ κc , which is convenient for controlling the circuit current, and suitable for the case of small load and large current.
On exponentially small terms of solutions to nonlinear ordinary differential equations

An apparatus for detecting a loss of refrigerant and air pressure in a refrigeration/heat pump system having a low pressure refrigerant line and H.V. A.C. ducting, the apparatus comprising: a pressure switch fluidly communicating with the low pressure refrigerant line, responsive to pressure changes therein; a vacuum pressure switch fluidly communicating with a portion of the H.V. A.C. ducting, responsive to air pressure loss therein; a signaling circuit having an enabling DC power supply, operatively associated with the pressure switch and vacuum pressure switch, and two pairs of green and red LEDS for conveying to the operator when the refrigerant pressure drops below a predetermined valve indicating a refrigerant loss or clogged, dirty condenser or evaporator coils, and when air pressure within the H.V. A.C. ducting falls below a predetermined value, indicating a dirty air filter in need of replacement, and a housing for the signaling circuit and respective LED assembly, the signaling circuit including a normally open reed switch which may be selectively enabled by the operator by placing a magnet on the external periphery of the housing.
Lead Detection in the Arctic Ocean from Sentinel-3 Satellite Data: A Comprehensive Assessment of Thresholding and Machine Learning Classification Methods

Abstract In the Arctic Ocean, obtaining water levels from satellite altimetry is hampered by the presence of sea ice. Hence, water level retrieval requires accurate detection of fractures in the sea ice (leads). This paper describes a thorough assessment of various surface type classification methods, including a thresholding method, nine supervised-, and two unsupervised machine learning methods, applied to Sentinel-3 Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter data. For the first time, the simultaneously sensed images from the Ocean and Land Color Instrument, onboard Sentinel-3, were used for training and validation of the classifiers. This product allows to identify leads that are at least 300 meters wide. Applied to data from winter months, the supervised Adaptive Boosting, Artificial Neural Network, Naïve-Bayes, and Linear Discriminant classifiers showed robust results with overall accuracies of up to 92%. The unsupervised Kmedoids classifier produced excellent results with accuracies up to 92.74% and is an attractive classifier when ground truth data is limited. All classifiers perform poorly on summer data, rendering surface classifications that are solely based on altimetry data from summer months unsuitable. Finally, the Adaptive Boosting, Artificial Neural Network, and Bootstrap Aggregation classifiers obtain the highest accuracies when the altimetry observations include measurements from the open ocean.
Transcriptome Analysis of Soursop (Annona muricata L.) Fruit under Postharvest Storage Identifies Genes Families Involved in Ripening

Soursop (Annona muricata L.) is climacteric fruit with a short ripening period and postharvest shelf life, leading to a rapid softening. In this study, transcriptome analysis of soursop fruits was performed to identify key gene families involved in ripening under postharvest storage conditions (Day 0, Day 3 stored at 28 ± 2 °C, Day 6 at 28 ± 2 °C, Day 3 at 15 ± 2 °C, Day 6 at 15 ± 2 °C, Day 9 at 15 ± 2 °C). The transcriptome analysis showed 224,074 transcripts assembled clustering into 95, 832 unigenes, of which 21, 494 had ORF. RNA-seq analysis showed the highest number of differentially expressed genes on Day 9 at 15 ± 2 °C with 9291 genes (4772 up-regulated and 4519 down-regulated), recording the highest logarithmic fold change in pectin-related genes. Enrichment analysis presented significantly represented GO terms and KEGG pathways associated with molecular function, metabolic process, catalytic activity, biological process terms, as well as biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, plant hormone signal, starch, and sucrose metabolism, plant–pathogen interaction, plant–hormone signal transduction, and MAPK-signaling pathways, among others. Network analysis revealed that pectinesterase genes directly regulate the loss of firmness in fruits stored at 15 ± 2 °C.