Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of peculiarities of weed formation in oilseed radish agrophytocoenosis using different technological models

There is limited information about the critical period for weed control (CPWC) in oilseed radish (Raphanus sativus L. var. oleiformis Pers.) This significantly limits the effectiveness of the applied technologies in its cultivation. The article focuses on the results of a long-term study (2013 to 2018) of the peculiarities of weed formation in oilseed radish agrophytocoenosis using different sowing technological models according to seeding rate and row spacing parameters. The study included the peculiarities of the species and generic composition of weeds and the basic attributes of the formation of species-specific amounts. The summed dominance ratio (SDR) was heterogeneous and co-oscillatory in the weed structure for both the formation of the number of individual species and their height dominance, which depended on the phenological stage of growth and crop development. In the general spectrum, the prevailing weed forms were identified with the highest potential for oilseed radish plants with an SDR greater than 1.0, which belong to groups I and VI according to environmental plasticity and stability, given the different conditions of the study period for both hydrothermal conditions and year index. In conclusion, a critical period for weed control (CPWC) in oilseed radish agrocoenosis was defined as a 5% reduction in crops ranging from 5 to 45 d after sprouting (DAS) for row sowing and a seeding rate of 4.0 million similar seeds ha-1 and 6 to 60 DAS for a variant of wide row sowing at a seeding rate of 0.5 million similar seeds ha-1.
Towards Optimal Demand-Side Bidding in Parallel Auctions for Time-Shiftable Electrical Loads

Increasing electricity production from renewable energy sources has, by its fluctuating nature, created the need for more flexible demand side management. How to integrate flexible demand in the electricity system is an open research question. We consider the case of procuring the energy needs of a time-shiftable load through a set of simultaneous second price auctions. We derive a required condition for optimal bidding strategies. We then show the following results and bidding strategies under different market assumptions. For identical uniform auctions and multiple units of demand, we show that the global optimal strategy is to bid uniformly across all auctions. For non-identical auctions and multiple units, we provide a way to find solutions through a recursive approach and a non-linear solver. We show that our approach outperforms the literature under higher uncertainty conditions.
Physical Activity Guidelines Awareness and Counselling Practice in Relation to Health Care Providers’ Knowledge and Behaviour in Qatar

Background: Health care providers represent a credible source to encourage their patients to be physically active. This study aims to assess the level of health care providers’ Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS) and physical activity knowledge in relationship with health care providers’ physical activity interventions. Method: The study recruited 102 health care professionals from different specialties during the first Qatar physical activity guideline awareness campaign. The data were collected from subjects with information about their PAVS, physical activity knowledge, and counselling practice. Result: Public health professionals, Physiotherapists, and Family physicians were more active than other health care providers. Verbal advice on physical activity was the most common intervention offered by health care providers to their patients. Health care providers with a high level of PAVS tend to prescribe more referrals of their patients to fitness coaches. Conclusion: The healthcare providers are influenced by their physical activity vital sign (PAVS) and physical activity knowledge.
FACTORS AFFECTING E-LEARNING INTENTION TO USE AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS: A CASE IN INDONESIA

Online learning has become the most feasible method of teaching in higher education, especially during the pandemic. Technology affordances have affected how subject matters are delivered in the classrooms. Various types of media and hypermedia have opened abundant opportunities for teachers and students to interact in virtual environment. E-learning is the term that is used to describe the delivery of a subject matter via numerous types of digital technology and through web-based interaction. Indonesian government has enforced laws and regulations encompassing e-learning policies in higher education since 2013, but these regulations were not fully adopted in higher education settings. Currently, the pandemic forces universities worldwide to shift their teaching method. This study aims at exploring the antecedents of e-learning intention to use among college students in Central Java. To address the research questions, the researchers administered survey to 100 active students in a private university in Central Java, Indonesia. The questionnaire consists of two parts. The first part was used to look at the demography of students such as gender, class standing, digital literacy, and level of comfort with technology. Pearson Correlation test was used to analyze determinants of e-learning intention to use using Technology Acceptance Model. The results of Pearson Correlation Test demonstrated that e-learning intention to use was significantly correlated with attitude to use, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. Digital literacy is found to be a determinant of learner’s attitude towards e-learning and comfort with technology. Learners’ level of comfort in using technology was significantly correlated with their attitude towards e-learning.
Feedback Linearization Robot Control based on Gaussian Process Inverse Dynamics Model

—In this paper, we analyze the implementation of feedback linearization control scheme based on full data-driven inverse dynamics models. We made no use of physical models in the deﬁnition of the inverse dynamics, that has been learned entirely from previously recorded data via Gaussian Process Regression (GPR). The resulting controller has been tested in a simulated 7 dof manipulator to solve a trajectory tracking prob- lem. Different kernel functions have been tested, in particular we analyzed the performance obtained by Squared Exponential (SE) kernel and the recently introduced Geometrically Inspired Polynomial (GIP) kernel. Results show that GIP obtains better tracking precision and it is more robust w.r. t. the presence of an initial tracking errors. On the contrary, poor generalization properties of SE kernel deeply undermine control performance when the robot is located far from the poses seen during training.
Interaction energies for blends of poly(methyl methacrylate), polystyrene, and poly(.alpha.-methylstyrene) by the critical molecular weight method

Interaction energies for each of the binary pairs PS/Pα-MS, PS/PMMA, and PMMA/Pα-MS were calculated by fitting spinodal curves predicted by the Flory-Huggins theory and the Sanchez-Lacombe equation of state theory to experimental cloud point data for blends of low molecular weight polymers. For blends of PS and Pα-MS, where cloud points could not be observed, the molecular weight limit of miscibility was used to bracket the interaction energy. Phase separation boundaries for this system were predicted to be caused by UCST-type behavior. Oligomeric blends of PMMA with PS showed UCST-type phase boundaries while blends of PMMA with Pα-MS showed LCST-type boundaries. The mechanism of phase separation boundaries was found to stem from the differences between the characteristic temperatures for the pure components (ΔT * )
Improving Glycemic control and Optimizing Care of the Surgical Patients - A Retrospective Longitudinal Study

Introduction: The target-guided glycemic control was proposed to reduce the occurrence of perioperative morbidity by improvement of healthcare. Meantime, to promote adherence to the protocol and ensure effectiveness in clinical outcome, it is necessary to study and develop promoting and divulging strategies, associated to continuing education of medical assistance staff. Thus, based on the concept of quality improvement in health process, the present study intend to evaluate strategies and interventions to increase adherence to the perioperative glycemic control protocol and the effectiveness of the implemented actions in clinical outcome of the evaluated patients.
Assessing the genetic diversity of Dioscorea alata and related species from Colombia through inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers

Dioscorea, commonly known as yam, is an economically, socially, and culturally-relevant tuber crop in many tropical countries. This study aimed to characterize the genetic diversity of Dioscorea alata L. and related species from Colombia (42 D. alata L., 6 D. bulbifera L., 3 D. rotundata Poir., and 3 D. trifida L. f.) through seven intersimple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. The plant material was collected in five departments of Colombia. The seven ISSR generated 164 bands that showed high polymorphism (83.62%). Nei-Li genetic diversity coefficient (0.66) and Shannon information index (0.2636) revealed a high level of genetic diversity. The 54 genotypes were grouped into six groups according to geographic location but not by species. We found moderate genetic differentiation (Gst = 0.13) and high gene flow (Nm = 2.7367). The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed higher variation (86%) within groups than among groups (14%). Our results suggest that the high genetic diversity in yam in Colombia can be exploited in future work on crop improvement.
Corporate Social Responsibility, Shareholder Value, and Competition

This study examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR), shareholder value, and competition by applying a regression discontinuity design to the outcome of CSR shareholder proposals. This approach effectively compares outcomes between proposals that pass or fail by a small margin which provides a causal estimate of the impact of CSR. I find that passing a proposal generates positive abnormal returns. This effect is stronger in firms with lower CSR scores, firms in more competitive industries, and firms subject to higher customer awareness. In addition, passing a proposal also increases the CSR scores of both firms and peers, suggesting that these votes induce higher CSR engagement by competitors. Finally, I identify an increase in the market share of companies that approve close-call proposals. Altogether, these results suggest that CSR improves shareholder value by enhancing the competitiveness of firms.
Internationalizing Professional Development: Using Educational Data Mining to Analyze Learners’ Performance and Dropouts in a French MOOC

This paper uses data mining from a French project management MOOC to study learners’ performance (i.e., grades and persistence) based on a series of variables: age, educational background, socioprofessional status, geographical area, gender, selfversus mandatory-enrollment, and learning intentions. Unlike most studies in this area, we focus on learners from the French-speaking world: France and French-speaking European countries, the Caribbean, North Africa, and Central and West Africa. Results show that the largest gaps in MOOC achievements occur between 1) learners from partner institutions versus self-enrolled learners 2) learners from European countries versus lowand middle-income countries, and 3) learners who are professionally active versus inactive learners (i.e., with available time). Finally, we used the CHAID data-mining method to analyze the main characteristics and discriminant factors of MOOC learner performance and dropout.
Perception Level of Visitors towards Shopping’s Motivation Factors at the Cross-border Informal Market of Serikin, Sarawak

Perception level of the visitors towards shopping motivation factors at the informal cross-border market of Serikin, Sarawak will be examined by using descriptive analysis. There are nine items that are quality of the products, variety of the products, preferences of the products, cheaper price, price and quality of product is consistent, cheaper price due to the cheaper in labor force, bargain hunting, closer, and condition of road. Majority of the visitor’s perception towards shopping motivation factors at the informal cross-border market of Serikin, Sarawak are at the neutral level. This is attested by the higher frequency of respondents that give neutral level towards shopping motivation factors. This finding shows that Serikin needs more improvement and development in terms of products, sale’s services and environment of shopping to encourage visitors to shop.
Dental prosthesis and halitosis: Evaluation of oral malodor in patients with and without a dental prosthesis

Aim The aim of the present study was to evaluate in an adult population the correlation between different methods for the evaluation of halitosis and investigate the influence of prosthetic rehabilitation on halitosis level. Materials and methods A sample of 50 adult patients was selected at the Dentistry Unit of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy, who were divided in Group 1 (absence of prosthesis), Group 2 (fixed prosthesis), and Group 3 (removable prosthesis). The assessment of oral malodor was carried out by organoleptic evaluation, measuring the concentration of H2S, CH3SH, and (CH3)2S with Oral ChromaTM and quantification of salivary β-galactosidases (Sβ-g) activity through the spectrophotometric method. Statistics: Anova, Postdoc LSD test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient (P) and Spearman’s correlation coefficient (Rho) were used; p values less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results A positive and significant correlation between organoleptic evaluation, Sβ-g, levels of volatile sulfur compounds Oral ChromaTM measurements was found (p<0.05). By stratifying patients with and without a dental prosthesis, it was possible to show a significant increase of organoleptic scores (p<0.05), β-galactosidase (p<0.05), food stagnation (p<0.01) and a higher scores of H2S (p<0.05) and CH3SH (p<0.05) in patients wearing a prosthesis. Stratifying results between Groups 1-2-3, it was possible to see that some parameters were higher in Group 3, followed by Group 2. Conclusion The presence of prosthetic rehabilitation negatively affected halitosis in the patients according to both clinical and self-reported evaluations.
Combined Effect of Energetic and Spatial Disorder on the Trap-Limited Electron Diffusion Coefficient of Metal-Oxide Nanostructures

We have extended the random walk numerical simulation (RWNS) method with exponential distribution of trap states so that disordered morphologies of metal-oxide nanostructures are taken into account. By using a stochastic cluster model we generate random packings of nanoparticles with texture parameters (porosity, roughness factor) commonly found in TiO2 and related nanostructures. We then place electron traps according to two alternative models: in the so-called r2 model, traps are located on the surface of the nanoparticles, whereas in the r3 model, the traps are distributed throughout the whole material. RWNS simulations with exponential distribution of trap states are carried out for different porosities and particles sizes. It is observed that the total number of traps in the simulation sample is the key parameter that governs the behavior of the diffusion coefficient. Both models reproduce the experimental dependence on the porosity although only the r2 model explains the increase of the diffusion co.
Growth and Collaboration in Massive Open Online Courses: A Bibliometric Analysis

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are an important approach for achieving UNESCO’s aim of open and accessible education. However, there are concerns regarding fragmentation or bias of MOOCs toward certain disciplines or countries. This study sought to: (a) examine how MOOCs research has evolved and is distributed, (b) determine what key areas are discussed in MOOCs research, and (c) identify the major players in MOOCs research and their collaborations. This study conducted a bibliometric analysis of 3,118 scholarly works related to MOOCs as recorded in the Scopus database in July, 2019. Specifically, we analyzed the evolution of MOOCs research by examining (a) published studies, (b) source titles, (c) types of sources and documents, as well as (d) the languages in which the documents were written in. We further analyzed the key areas of MOOCs research by looking into common subject areas, keywords used most often, and title analysis. Finally, we sought to increase our understanding of the major players in MOOCs research and their collaborations by examining (a) which countries contributed most to MOOCs research, (b) the main institutions involved, as well as (c) authorship and citation analysis. Findings indicated that in their early development starting in 2009, MOOCs caught the attention of scholars from both the East and the West, and the number of publications grew consistently over the 10 years after that. MOOCs research has been well distributed but has yet to adequately encourage inclusiveness. There has been healthy cross-country collaboration, but there is a gap in MOOCs research originating from certain countries as compared to the rest of the world. Our findings provide important input towards improving the inclusivity and global reach of MOOCs.
Correction of a lunar-irradiance model for aerosol optical depth retrieval and comparison with a star photometer

Abstract. The emergence of Moon photometers is allowing measurements of lunar irradiance over the world and increasing the potential to derive aerosol optical depth (AOD) at night-time, which is very important in polar areas. Actually, new photometers implement the latest technological advances that permit lunar-irradiance measurements together with classical Sun photometry measurements. However, a proper use of these instruments for AOD retrieval requires accurate time-dependent knowledge of the extraterrestrial lunar irradiance over time due to its fast change throughout the Moon's cycle. This paper uses the RIMO (ROLO Implementation for Moon's Observation) model (an implementation of the ROLO – RObotic Lunar Observatory – model) to estimate the AOD at night-time assuming that the calibration of the solar channels can be transferred to the Moon by a vicarious method. However, the obtained AOD values using a Cimel CE318-T Sun–sky–Moon photometer for 98 pristine nights with low and stable AOD at the Izaña Observatory (Tenerife, Spain) are not in agreement with the expected (low and stable) AOD values estimated by linear interpolations from daytime values obtained during the previous evening and the following morning. Actually, AOD calculated using RIMO shows negative values and with a marked cycle dependent on the optical air mass. The differences between the AOD obtained using RIMO and the expected values are assumed to be associated with inaccuracies in the RIMO model, and these differences are used to calculate the RIMO correction factor (RCF). The RCF is a proposed correction factor that, multiplied by the RIMO value, gives an effective extraterrestrial lunar irradiance that provides AOD closer to the expected values. The RCF varies with the Moon phase angle (MPA) and with wavelength, ranging from 1.01 to 1.14, which reveals an overall underestimation of RIMO compared to the lunar irradiance. These obtained RCF values are modelled for each photometer wavelength to a second-order polynomial as a function of MPA. The AOD derived by this proposed method is compared with the independent AOD measurements obtained by a star photometer at Granada (Spain) for 2 years. The mean of the Moon–star AOD differences is between −0.015 and −0.005, and the standard deviation (SD) is between 0.03 and 0.04 (which is reduced to about 0.01 if 1 month of data affected by instrumental issues is not included in the analysis) for 440, 500, 675, and 870 nm; however, for 380 nm, the mean and standard deviation of these differences are higher. The Moon–star AOD differences are also analysed as a function of MPA, showing no significant dependence.
2D Charge Density Probing at Aluminum / SiNx Interface: a Sub-micrometric Investigation by Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy

Charge injection and transport mechanisms occurring at metal/dielectric interface may strongly impact devices performance and reliability. However, these phenomena remain partially understood, mainly due to the lack of adapted characterization tools. In this paper, we propose an investigation of the charging behavior at the Al/SiNx interface using Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM). Indeed, KPFM measurements permit to probe space charge density with a sub micrometric resolution. Results presented here emphasize that electrons and holes are injected and trapped close to cathode and anode, respectively. The charge clouds remain stacked to the interface $(2-3 \mu \mathrm{m})$. Moreover, the amount of injected charges increases with the applied bias. The injected electrons and holes follow the same dissipation mechanism in time after bias removal.
On the accuracy of determining light absorption by “yellow substance” through measurements of induced fluorescence

Measurements of light absorption [Ay(375)] and induced fluorescence (F) were performed on a set of samples of yellow substance of varying origin, collected in three different coastal areas. The experimental results were characterized by a correlation coefficient r(x, y) = 0.99, significantly higher than previously reported, and yielded the fit (± 1 SD) Conversion of measured fluorescence into equivalent absorption by the above expression gave results accurate enough for the remote sensing of water properties.
Simple synthesis and characterization of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles by a thermal treatment method

Crystalline, magnetic, cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized from an aqueous solution containing metal nitrates and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as a capping agent by a thermal treatment followed by calcination at various temperatures from 673 to 923 K. The structural characteristics of the calcined samples were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A completed crystallization occurred at 823 and 923 K, as shown by the absence of organic absorption bands in the FT-IR spectrum. Magnetization measurements were obtained at room temperature by using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), which showed that the calcined samples exhibited typical magnetic behaviors.
Educational Strategies on Memorizing the Quran: A Review of Literature

Quran memorization is not a new practice but a continuation from the practice of Prophet Muhammad SAW and maintaining the memorization of the Quran is a huge responsibility as it requires enormous effort and discipline. The lack of knowledge, memory strategies and effective methods in memorizing the Quran could deteriorate the performance of the memory. This study aims to explore the specific memory strategies in Quran memorization. A review of literature was conducted on the journal articles between the year 2015 to 2020 through library sources in accessing websites like Web of Science Database, Scopus Database, Science Direct, SAGE Journal and Wiley Online Library. The analysis found that studies related to memory strategies are mainly experimental across the field of neuroscience, medical and linguistics while not many in the field of Islamic education. This review explains and outlines eight educational strategies in memorizing the Quran involving the internal and external strategies: attention to Quranic verses either verbally or visually, repetition, understanding, organizing, exercise, balanced diet, sufficient sleep and memory aids especially in the application of technology. This review is hoped to guide the students and teachers in improving their Quran memorization as well as positively influence the memory performance.