Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pedagogical innovation in higher education and active learning methodologies – a case study

PurposeThe aim of this study is to obtain a broader knowledge of innovative pedagogical practices in higher education, by analysing the particular case of the Higher Institute of Administration and Languages (ISAL). The literature review reveals a gap in this scientific field, and filling this gap is as imperative as the need to articulate higher education with the Students' Profile by the End of Compulsory Schooling.Design/methodology/approachThis research adopts a qualitative methodological approach, in order to analyse the students and teachers' perceptions of the active learning methodologies implemented at ISAL. Data were collected from a closed-ended questionnaire, aimed at a population composed of students and teachers.FindingsThe literature review reveals a gap in this scientific field, particularly in Portugal. Filling this gap is as imperative as the need to articulate higher education with the Students' Profile by the End of Compulsory Schooling.Practical implicationsWith the adoption of this methodological approach, this research intends to verify not only whether the innovative pedagogical practices addressed in the literature review are implemented in this institution, but also to identify obstacles to their implementation. With regard to the results, several pedagogical innovation practices are already implemented, even though some limitations to their implementation are identified.Originality/valueThis research allows identifying indicators that are essential to outline an intervention plan in the pedagogical practices implemented at ISAL or other higher education institutions and contributes to assessing the current state of pedagogical practices in higher education.
New record of a stahleckeriid dicynodont (Therapsida, Dicynodontia) from the Late Triassic of southern Brazil and biostratigraphic remarks on the Riograndia Assemblage Zone

ABSTRACT Dicynodonts represent a speciose clade of non-mammalian synapsids that lived from the middle Permian to the Late Triassic, exhibiting a Pangaean distribution. The South American Norian fossil record is represented by two species: Jachaleria colorata from Argentina and J. candelariensis from Brazil. The Brazilian specimens come from a relatively small quarry located in the site known as Botucaraí or Botucaraí Hill (Candelária, Rio Grande do Sul). We describe here four dorsal vertebrae of a single individual referred to cf. Jachaleria candelariensis from a site named Alto Guarda Mor, located in the Faxinal do Soturno municipality, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. This taxonomic proposal and the lithological features of the site support that the outcrop belongs to the Riograndia Assemblage Zone (AZ; Candelária Sequence, Santa Maria Supersequence). Although the specimen cannot be referred unambiguously to Jachaleria candelariensis due to the lack of cranial material, it likely represents the second record of the genus in the Triassic of Brazil. We further discuss the faunal composition and relative age of some sites referred to the Riograndia AZ, which exhibit odd faunal context likely representing an AZ between the top of the Hyperodapedon AZ and the base of the Riograndia AZ.
The Effect of Back Massage on The Sleep Quality of Trimester III Primigravida Pregnant Women in Puskesmas Talaga Jaya

The quality of sleep on pregnant women affected their condition during pregnancy. A decrease in sleep duration in pregnant women can cause a decrease in concentration, fatigue, body aches, losing the mood to work, and having a tendency to be emotional. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of back massage on the sleep quality of trimester III primigravida pregnant women in Puskesmas Talaga Jaya. The research design was a quasi experimental design with a nonequivalent control group design. The research sample was 20 pregnant women with the sampling technique using purposive sampling. From the results of the independent t test, it shows that there is a difference between the experimental group and the control group on the decrease in sleep quality with a p value of = 0.000 α <(0.05). Therefore, it can be concluded that back massage is more effective in increasing sleep quality of those given treatment than those without given treatment.
THE EFFECT OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS ON SHOOT FORMATION FROM CORM EXPLANT OF HEDYCHIUM CORONARIUM

This study was conducted for a micropropagation of Hedychium coronarium,an important medicinal herb, through sprouted rhizome buds. Rhizome buds were cultured on two different media; Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) and Gamborg medium (B5) without any growth regulators during the establishment stage. B5 medium gave a higher percentage of shoot formation 97.30% corresponding in shoot number and length comparing with MS medium. For shoot proliferation the micro shoots were placed on the B5 medium with two different cytokinins, kinitein (kin) and benzyl adenine (BA) at the concentrations of 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 mg/l. Four mg/l of BA led to obtain high value of shoot production. For root formation, the produced shoots were placed on B5 medium plus different concentrations of two types of auxins IBA and IAA at the concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 mg/l for each to study the best auxin and concentration which encouraged root formation (number and length). IBA proved a significantly efficient than IAA and encouraged root formation for both root number and root length. IBA at 3.0 mg/l gave the highest average of root number and length. All good rooted plants were cultured into pots containing vermiculite + peatmoss (1:1) in greenhouse, with 82% of survival percentage.
A Comparison Study of Goodness of Fit Tests of Logistic Regression in R: Simulation and Application to Breast Cancer Data

Goodness of fit (GOF) tests of logistic regression attempt to find out the suitability of the model to the data. The null hypothesis of all GOF tests is the model fit. R as a free software package has many GOF tests in different packages. A Monte Carlo simulation has been conducted to study two situations; the first, studying the ability of each test, under its default settings, to accept the null hypothesis when the model truly fitted. The second, studying the power of these tests when assumptions of sufficient linear combination of the explanatory variables are violated (by omitting linear covariate term, quadratic term, or interaction term). Moreover, checking whether the same test in different R packages had the same results or not. As the sample size supposed to affect simulation results, so the pattern of change of GOF tests results under different sample sizes as well as different model settings was estimated. All tests accept the null hypothesis (more than 95% of simulation trials) when the model truly fitted except modified Hosmer-Lemeshow test in "LogisticDx" package under all different model settings and Osius and Rojek’s (OsRo) test when the true model had an interaction term between binary and categorical covariates. In addition, le Cessie-van Houwelingen-Copas-Hosmer unweighted sum of squares (CHCH) test gave unexpected different results under different packages. Concerning the power study, all tests had a very low power when a departure of missing covariate existed. Generally, stukel's test (package 'LogisticDX) and CHCH test (package "RMS") reached a power in detecting a missing quadratic term greater than 80% under lower sample size while OsRo test (package 'LogisticDX') was better in detecting missing interaction term. Beside the simulation study, we evaluated the performance of GOF tests using the breast cancer dataset.
Diallelic self‐incompatibility is the main determinant of fertilization patterns in olive orchards

Self‐incompatibility (SI) in flowering plants potentially represents a major obstacle for sexual reproduction, especially when the number of S‐alleles is low. The situation is extreme in the commercially important olive tree, where in vitro pollination assays suggested the existence of a diallelic SI (DSI) system involving only two groups (G1 and G2). Varieties belonging to the same SI group cannot fertilize each other, such that successful fruit production is predicted to require pollination between varieties of different groups. To test this prediction, we explored the extent to which the DSI system determines fertilization patterns under field conditions. One hundred and seventeen olive cultivars were first genotyped using 10 highly polymorphic dinucleotide Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers to ascertain varietal identity. Cultivars were then phenotyped through controlled pollination tests to assign each of them to one of the two SI groups. We then collected and genotyped 1440 open pollinated embryos from five different orchards constituted of seven local cultivars with known group of incompatibility groups. Embryos genotype information were used: (i) to assign embryos to the most likely pollen donor genotype in the neighbourhood using paternity analysis, and (ii) to compare the composition of the pollen cloud genetic among recipient trees in the five sites. The paternity analysis showed that the DSI system is the main determinant of fertilization success under field open pollination conditions: G1 cultivars sired seeds exclusively on G2 cultivars, and reciprocally. No self‐fertilization events were observed. Our results demonstrate that DSI is a potent force determining pollination success among varieties within olive orchards used for production. They have the potential to improve management practices by guiding the selection of compatible varieties to avoid planting orchards containing sets of varieties with strongly unbalanced SI groups, as these would lead to suboptimal olive production.
Invasive plants in the Brazilian Caatinga: a scientometric analysis with prospects for conservation

Understanding the impacts caused by invasive plant species, especially in regions where studies are scarce, is of great importance to the development of management and conservation strategies. Amongst the biomes present in Brazil, the Caatinga (Dry Tropical Forest) stands out for having had few studies dealing with biological invasions by plants and animals. An evaluation of scientific production can provide a means by which the progress of invasion-related studies can be assessed, as well as identify research gaps and provide a broad overview of the importance of invasions in this biome. Thus, the objective of this study was to perform a scientometric analysis to evaluate the development of scientific research over the years on exotic and invasive plant species in the Caatinga. We found 46 papers dealing with invasive plants in the Caatinga published over a 14-year period. The main objectives of most of the papers focused on identifying the main strategies used by plants in the process of invasion and characterising the invaded environment. A total of 28 species were cited as invasive for the Caatinga, with Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC. , Cryptostegia madagascariensis Bojer, Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. Aiton and Parkinsonia aculeata L. being the most cited species. Although studies on the subject are incipient, there is already important information about the dynamics of the invasiveness of plant species in the Caatinga, which can serve as a basis for new studies, as well as for the development of management policies, based on consistent information. Biological invasion, dry forest, exotic species, northeast Brazil, scientometry, semi-arid
Outcomes with a shorter multidrug-resistant tuberculosis regimen from Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan

Background In 2016, World Health Organization guidelines conditionally recommended standardised shorter 9–12-month regimens for multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) treatment. We conducted a prospective study of a shorter standardised MDR-TB regimen in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. Methods Consecutive adults and children with confirmed rifampicin-resistant pulmonary TB were enrolled between September 1, 2013 and March 31, 2015; exclusions included prior treatment with second-line anti-TB drugs, and documented resistance to ofloxacin or to two second-line injectable agents. The primary outcome was recurrence-free cure at 1 year following treatment completion. Results Of 146 enrolled patients, 128 were included: 67 female (52.3%), median age 30.1 (interquartile range 23.8–44.4) years. At the end of treatment, 71.9% (92 out of 128) of patients achieved treatment success, with 68% (87 out of 128) achieving recurrence-free cure at 1 year following completion. Unsuccessful outcomes during treatment included 22 (17.2%) treatment failures with fluoroquinolone-resistance amplification in 8 patients (8 out of 22, 36.4%); 12 (9.4%) lost to follow-up; and 2 (1.5%) deaths. Recurrence occurred in one patient. Fourteen patients (10.9%) experienced serious adverse events. Baseline resistance to both pyrazinamide and ethambutol (adjusted OR 6.13, 95% CI 2.01; 18.63) and adherence <95% (adjusted OR 5.33, 95% CI 1.73; 16.36) were associated with unsuccessful outcome in multivariable logistic regression. Conclusions Overall success with a standardised shorter MDR-TB regimen was moderate with considerable treatment failure and amplification of fluoroquinolone resistance. When introducing standardised shorter regimens, baseline drug susceptibility testing and minimising missed doses are critical. High rates globally of pyrazinamide, ethambutol and ethionamide resistance raise questions of continued inclusion of these drugs in shorter regimens in the absence of drug susceptibility testing-confirmed susceptibility. A standardised shorter MDR-TB regimen observational study in Uzbekistan showed moderate success, but high treatment failure with significant risk of amplification of fluoroquinolone resistance https://bit.ly/3o8vfJz
Status of Eye Health among School Children in South India – Sankara Nethralaya School Children Eye Examination Study (SN-SEES)

ABSTRACT Purpose: To define the prevalence of visual impairment, refractive errors and other ocular problems among school children from the public schools of South India between 2011 and 2015. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study covering 296 schools in the three districts of Tamil Nadu. The school eye screening included visual acuity assessment, external eye examination, objective and subjective refraction, and direct ophthalmoscopy. Vision impairment was defined as logMAR visual acuity of less than 0.2 (Snellen equivalent of 6/9). Results: A total of 91545 children were included with a mean age of 12.9 ± 3.0 years. The prevalence of vision impairment was found to be 5.67% (95%CI 5.53–5.83) and spherical equivalent refractive error was 4.42% (95%CI 4.29–4.56). The prevalence of myopia, hyperopia, and ‘other refractive errors’ was found to be 3.57% (95%CI 4.01–4.27), 0.03% (95%CI 0.02–0.04), and 0.82% (95%CI 0.76–0.88) respectively. Strabismus, retina and neuro-ophthalmology-related abnormalities, ptosis, and corneal scars were the common ocular problems. In the rural region the prevalence of the refractive errors and the ocular problems were 2.92% and 2.32%, respectively. Conclusion: The study reports a lower prevalence of refractive errors and myopia in this population, much lesser compared to other reported studies from India. Rural regions exhibit an equal need for both refractive services and management of other ocular problems.
Influence of Reaction Temperature, Pretreatment, and a Char Removal System on the Production of Bio-oil from Rice Straw by Fast Pyrolysis, Using a Fluidized Bed

Rice straw is one of the main renewable energy sources in Korea, and bio-oil from rice straw is produced using a bench-scale plant that is equipped mainly with a fluidized bed and a char removal system. We investigated how the reaction temperature affected the production of bio-oil and the efficiency of a char removal system. To elucidate how the temperature was dependent on the production of bio-oil, experiments were conducted between 400 °C and 600 °C at a feed rate of ∼1 kg/h. The mass balance was established in each experiment, and the produced gas and oil were analyzed with the aid of gas chromatography and a gas chromatography−mass spectroscopy (GC−MS) system. The effect of pretreating rice straw was also investigated by comparing the yield of bio-oil and the content of alkali metals in the bio-oil from the experiments on unwashed rice straw with the corresponding values of washed rice straw. The char removal system is composed of a cyclone and a hot filter. After every experiment, we examined the p.
Ab initio molecular orbital theory: a tool for THz spectroscopic investigation

Terahertz spectroscopy, which investigates the electromagnetic spectrum of samples between 0.1 and 10 THz, allows not only for exploration of molecular structures but also of molecular dynamics. One difficulty in performing THz spectroscopy is that the data can be noisy and difficult to interpret. Ab initio molecular modelling has recently become more and more useful in the prediction of, for example, molecular structures, dynamic states and isomeric forms. Since the structure of biomolecules is closely related to their functionality there are broad ranging applications in biomedicine, for example in DNA sensing. An a priori knowledge of the expected THz spectra allows for improved experimentation. There is a growing and recognised need for THz spectroscopic databases to be created and made available along with classifiers that are able to effectively detect a specific substance. We show, for a specific example, the 9-cis and all-trans retinal isomers, how ab initio molecular orbital calculations and quantum chemical modelling programs, such as Gamess, can aid in this endeavour.
On‐farm evaluation of ridging and residue management options in a Sahelian millet‐cowpea intercrop. 2. Crop development

Abstract. In the Sahel, promising technologies for agricultural intensification include millet stover mulching and ridging. A four year on‐farm experiment was set‐up in order to assess the effect of various combinations of these two technologies on crop development and yield in a millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. ) ‐ cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. ) intercropping system. Treatments included bare surface, ridging, a surface applied banded millet stover mulch (2 t ha–1) and a banded millet stover mulch (2 t ha–1) buried in ridges. The latter three treatments were implemented exclusively in the cowpea rows, with an annual rotation between the millet and cowpea rows. On bare and ridged plots, millet yields fell below 100 kg grain ha–1 after the first year. This was ascribed mainly to soil acidification and loss of soil organic matter rather than to soil physical constraints or water availability despite extensive surface crusting and high soil penetration resistance and bulk density. Compared to the bare plots, ridging increased cowpea hay production by 330% over the four years which was attributed to lower soil penetration resistance and bulk density but also to a reduction of 0.15 cmol+ kg–1 exchangeable acidity in the ridges. Except during the severe drought year of 1997, millet grain yield in the banded mulch treatment remained fairly stable over time at 526 ± 9 kg ha–1. However, a detailed analysis revealed yield compensation mechanisms between various yield components depending on the timing of occurrence of the abiotic stresses. Cowpea productivity was always higher in buried banded mulch plots than in surface applied banded mulch plots but the former treatment appeared unable to sustain millet yields. This decline was attributed to a greater nutrient uptake by cowpea and more rapid acidification in the buried mulch treatment compared to the banded mulch treatment.
Dependence of corn yield on weather conditions and nitrogen fertilization in IOSDV Novi Sad

Abstract A stationary field trial with organic and mineral nitrogen fertilizers (IOSDV) was established at Rimski Šančevi experiment field near Novi Sad in 1983/84. The trial included the following organic fertilizers: A1-only mineral fertilizers; A2-manure (40 tha−1), applied once in the course of rotation, under sugar beets; A3-harvest residues of all crops in the rotation; A4-harvest residues + liquid manure, applied twice in the course of rotation (30 m3 each), under sugar beets and corn. Each variant of organic fertilization included five nitrogen doses, from 0 to 200 kg ha−1, with 50 kg ha−1 intervals between the doses. The trial was established by the split-plot method, in three replications and a four-crop rotation: sugar beet – spring barley – corn – wheat. This paper analyzes only the data for corn from the fourth and fifth rotations (from 1996 to 2003). The following results were obtained. Weather conditions during growing season, especially the amounts and distribution of rainfall, affected significantly the yield of corn grain. They also affected the experimental variants, i.e. organic and mineral fertilization. In years with favorable conditions, the effects of organic and mineral fertilizers were positive. Yield level depended more on mineral nitrogen fertilizers than on organic ones. In dry years with high rainfall deficit, organic fertilizers had a higher effect on yield level, i.e. they were more effective in mitigating the adverse effects of drought than the mineral nitrogen fertilizers. There existed significant relationships between the years and the studied fertilizer combinations. Organic fertilizers had the highest effects in the control variants. These effects went down as the nitrogen dose increased. Effect of nitrogen dose on corn yield depended only partially on the type of organic fertilizer. There existed significant relationships between the applied nitrogen doses and corn yield. In the variants that included manure and liquid manure, less mineral nitrogen provided maximum corn yield. The situation was opposite in the other two variants.
Weak spectral features on (101995) Bennu from the OSIRIS-REx Visible and InfraRed Spectrometer

Context. The NASA Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission has obtained thousands of spectra of asteroid (101955) Bennu with the OSIRIS-REx Visible and InfraRed Spectrometer. Aims. We present a spectral search for minor absorption bands and determine compositional variations on the surface of Bennu. Methods. Reflectance spectra with low and high spatial resolutions were analyzed for evidence of weak absorption bands. Spectra were also divided by a global average spectrum to isolate unique spectral features, and variations in the strongest band depths were mapped on a surface shape model. The global visible to near-IR spectrum of Bennu shows evidence of several weak absorption bands with depths of a few percent. Results. Several observed bands are consistent with phyllosilicates, and their distribution correlates with the stronger 2.74-μm hydration band. A 0.55-μm band is consistent with iron oxides and is deepest in the spectrally reddest areas on Bennu. The presence of hydrated phyllosilicates and iron oxides indicates substantial aqueous alteration in Bennu’s past. Conclusions. Bennu’s spectra are not identical to a limited set of carbonaceous chondrite spectra, possibly due to compositional properties and spatial scale differences; however, returned samples should contain a mixture of common chondrite materials.