Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigation of surface tension and viscosity properties of liquid Al–Au binary alloys

ABSTRACT The experimentally obtained isothermal surface tensions associated with liquid binary alloy Al-Au were obtained as the functions of temperature and composition. The obtained results are compared with theoretical predictions from the Eyring, Guggenheim, Improved Guggenheim, Butler, Ideal Butler, Ideal Solution, Kohler, Egry et al. and Chatain models. The slopes of surface tension with respect to temperature showed negative values. In addition, the experimental data on the viscosity were compared with those from different models, such as Sato, Gasior, Kaptay, Iida-Ueda-Morita, Seetharaman and Sichen, Kozlov-Romanov-Petrov, Kohler, MD (Molecular Dynamic), and Hirai models. The calculated square mean root deviation values of the models are given with respect to both surface tension and viscosity. The best agreement of the surface tensions among chosen models was obtained in the Kohler model for all ranges of Al and Au compositions, respectively.
Can we use atmospheric targets for geolocating spaceborne millimeter-wave Ice Cloud Imager (ICI) acquisitions?

The forthcoming spaceborne Ice Cloud Imager (ICI) millimeter/sub-millimeter wave radiometer is designed to support climate monitoring as well as ice clouds representation in weather and climate models. The assessment of the correct pointing of each ICI channel is of undeniable importance to deliver high quality products. Nevertheless, the ICI channels have limited chance to sample the surface features due to the strong atmospheric gas absorption. Only for channels within 183 - 325 GHz, few locations worldwide show the sufficiently dry environmental conditions allowing for an occasional sampling of surface landmark targets. In this work, for the first time, we investigate the possibility of exploiting distinctive atmospheric signatures, namely those generated by water vapor masses and deep convective clouds, for absolute and relative geolocation validation purposes. The main idea behind the proposed approach is: 1) to georeference a pivotal channel at 183 GHz, exploiting the synergy of infrared and microwave collocated observations (absolute geolocation); 2) to test the relative pointing accuracy of all the other ICI channels with respect to the pivotal one (relative geolocation). Observations of SSMIS, SEVIRI as well as radiative transfer simulations are used to pursue the goals. Results show that WVM atmospheric targets can achieve an absolute point accuracy for the lower ICI channels of the order of 5.1 km (i.e., 32% of the 16 km footprint size). Conversely, when dealing with relative pointing accuracy of higher ICI channels, the expected pointing accuracy is smaller than 4.1 km (i.e. 25% of the footprint size).
#Westgate: A Case Study: How al-Shabaab used Twitter during an Ongoing Attack

ABSTRACT During the Westgate terrorist attack of 2013, al-Shabaab used Twitter to claim responsibility for and live tweet throughout the attack. This article analyzes 556 of these tweets to understand the motivations for using Twitter during ongoing terrorist operations and builds up a picture of how al-Shabaab interacted with Twitter throughout the Westgate attack. Conclusions arising from the analysis include that al-Shabaab were primarily concerned with controlling the narrative of the attack and retaining an audience. In addition, the tweets were aimed at a specific geographical audience, indicating that the Westgate attack was primarily motivated by territorial concerns.
Improved Performance of Ballasted Rail Track Using Geosynthetics and Rubber Shockmat

AbstractLarge repetitive wheel loads from heavy haul and passenger trains can cause significant track deformation that leads to poor track geometry and safety issues. The inclusion of geosynthetics and rubber mats (i.e., shockmat) in critical sections in the track for reducing these adverse effects was further examined through an extensive field trial in the town of Singleton, New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Four types of geosynthetics and a shockmat were installed below the ballast layer in selected sections of track constructed on three different subgrades (soft alluvial clay, hard rock, and concrete bridge), and the performance of the instrumented track was monitored for five years under in-service conditions including tamping operations. The measured stress-deformation response indicates that the geosynthetics effectively control the long-term and transient strains in the ballast layer, with the obvious benefit of reducing maintenance costs. The study also showed that the aperture size of geogrids i.
Exposure to low-dose bisphenol A induces spleen damage in a murine model: Potentially through oxidative stress?

Background: During early life, exposure to environmental toxicants, including endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA), can be detrimental to the immune system. To our knowledge, a few researches have looked at the effects of developing BPA exposures on the spleen. Aim: The murine model was developed to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms and mode of BPA actions on the spleen subsequent to prolonged early-life exposure to BPA. Methods: Immature (3-week-old) male and female Swiss Albino mice were intraperitoneally injected with 50 μg/kg BPA in corn oil or corn oil alone for 6 weeks. Mouse spleens were harvested and examined histologically at 10 weeks old (adulthood). Results: We observed neurobehavioral impairments and a significant increase in peripheral monocyte and lymphocyte counts in mice (males and females). Moreover, several spleen abnormalities in both male and female mice were observed in adulthood. BPA-treated mice’s histopathological results revealed toxicity in the form of significantly active germinal centers of the white pulp and a few apoptotic cells. There was also a notable invasion of the red pulp by eosinophils and lymphocytes that were significantly higher than normal. Agarose gel electrophoresis provided further evidence of internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and apoptosis in the splenic tissues of BPA-treated mice compared to controls. In addition, there were increased levels of the lipid peroxidation malondialdehyde end-product, a marker of oxidative lipid damage, in the spleens of BPA-treated mice compared to controls. Conclusion: Our study provides evidence that oxidative stress injury induced by early-life exposures to BPA could contribute to a range of splenic tissue damages during adulthood.
Exploring Techniques of Addressing Grammar in CLT Classes: A Qualitative Study

Learners who have learned English through the audio-lingual method have a profound knowledge of grammar, but they cannot use it to communicate their knowledge and experience fluently. To solve this problem, there was a shift towards communicative language teaching (CLT). This shift towards CLT solved the fluency problem but created another unwanted effect since learners were communicatively competent but linguistically incompetent. While many teachers weed out form as irrelevant, some CLT teachers try to respond to this problem by addressing from in CLT classes. This study aims at conceptualizing these teachers’ perspectives and uncover the strategies they use in addressing grammar in communicative instruction. Following the constructivist grounded theory procedures, participants’ perspectives were theoretically sampled through in-depth, open-ended interviews. Abstraction and thematic analysis of participants’ experiences clearly revealed that the participants helped learners not only discover the target form but also connect it to their experience. It was also found that they used contrastive analysis, contextualization of input flood, and the integrated skill approach to address form in predominantly communicative classes. These findings have clear implications for teachers, teacher trainers and school policy makers.
Single Nucleotide Polymorphism of TWIST2 May Be a Modifier for the Association between High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Blood Lead (Pb) Level

The association between lead (Pb) exposure and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was reported; however, the mechanism was unclear. Our purpose was to investigate the association of Pb, lipid profile, and to study the associated SNPs using a genome-wide association study (GWAS). A total of 511 participants were recruited to check blood Pb levels, lipid profile, and genotypes with Taiwan Biobank version 2.0 (TWB2). Our main result shows that HDL-C was significantly negatively associated with blood Pb levels, adjusted for gender, body mass index (BMI), and potential confounders. In addition, via the TWB2 GWAS, only two SNPs were found, including rs150813626 (single-nucleotide variation in the TWIST2 gene on chromosome 2), and rs1983079 (unclear SNP on chromosome 3). Compared to the rs150813626 GG carriers, the AA and AG carriers were significantly and negatively associated with HDL-C. We analyzed the interaction of rs150813626 SNP and blood Pb, and the HDL-C was consistently and negatively associated with blood Pb, male, BMI, and the rs150813626 AA and AG carriers. Moreover, the rs150813626 AA and blood Pb interaction was significantly and positively associated with HDL-C. In conclusion, the SNPs rs150813626 and rs1983079 were significantly associated with HDL-C in Pb-exposed workers. Furthermore, the interaction of rs150813626 AA and blood Pb had a positive influence on HDL-C. TWIST may inhibit osteoblast maturation, which might relate to bone Pb deposition and calcium metabolism. The mechanism needs more investigation in the future.
Evaluation of Serological Methods and a New Real-Time Nested PCR for Small Ruminant Lentiviruses

Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs), i.e., CAEV and MVV, cause insidious infections with life-long persistence and a slowly progressive disease, impairing both animal welfare and productivity in affected herds. The complex diagnosis of SRLVs currently combines serological methods including whole-virus and peptide-based ELISAs and Immunoblot. To improve the current diagnostic protocol, we analyzed 290 sera of animals originating from different European countries in parallel with three commercial screening ELISAs, Immunoblot as a confirmatory assay and five SU5 peptide ELISAs for genotype differentiation. A newly developed nested real-time PCR was carried out for the detection and genotype differentiation of the virus. Using a heat-map display of the combined results, the drawbacks of the current techniques were graphically visualized and quantified. The immunoblot and the SU5-ELISAs exhibited either unsatisfactory sensitivity or insufficient reliability in the differentiation of the causative viral genotype, respectively. The new truth standard was the concordance of the results of two out of three screening ELISAs and the PCR results for serologically false negative samples along with genotype differentiation. Whole-virus antigen-based ELISA showed the highest sensitivity (92.2%) and specificity (98.9%) among the screening tests, whereas PCR exhibited a sensitivity of 75%.
Perceptions of the Usage of WhatsApp for Instruction: A Study of Teachers in Senior High Schools in Ghana

: The free education policy at the senior high school levels in Ghana resulted in an increase in enrollment numbers which subsequently lead to the adoption of the double track system which necessitated the need to divide students into two tracks. This meant that while one track was in school, the other was on vacation. As such, an innovative way is needed to keep students’ engage especially a track that is on vacation. The purpose of this research was to determine the perception of teachers on the usage of WhatsApp messenger for teaching and learning. A cross-sectional design was employed in this study among 125 senior high school teachers within Tema Metropolis of Ghana. The research revealed that, perceived cost had an effect on teachers perceive usefulness, perceived convenience, perceived effectiveness, perceived trust and perceived intension to use WhatsApp Messenger for teaching and learning. Perceived convenience had a more pronounced effect on perceived usefulness. Implications of the results for scaling up or developing reforms on regular stakeholder’s consultations to understand the concept of using WhatsApp messenger for teaching and learning in high schools with similar context are discussed.
Optimal Power Flow Using Firefly Algorithm with Consideration of FACTS Devices "UPFC"

This paper present solution of optimal power flow problem using a firefly algorithm (FA) with consideration of FACTS devices "UPFC". The objective is to minimize the total fuel cost of generation and also maintain an acceptable system performance in terms of limits on generator real power and reactive power outputs, bus voltages and power flow of transmission lines. In order to maximize the relief of congestion in power system, to reduce the total system real power loss and improves the loadability of the system we propose also the optimization of the placement of FACTS devices in the power system (UPFC). The proposed method is tested on IEEE 30-bus system and the Algerian electrical network. The result of this method is compared with those obtained by biogeography based optimization (BBO), genetic algorithm (GA), and artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm.
Parental coronavirus disease vaccine hesitancy for children in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) requires mass immunization to control the severity of symptoms and global spread. Data from developed countries have shown a high prevalence of parental COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. However, parental vaccine hesitancy data in low- and middle-income countries are scarce. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of parental vaccine hesitancy and identify subgroups with higher odds of vaccine hesitancy in parents in Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the parents of children aged <18 years from October 10, 2021 to October 31, 2021. Parents participated in face-to-face interviews in randomly selected locations in Bangladesh using a vaccine hesitancy questionnaire. Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy were identified using binary logistic regression analysis. Results: Data from 2,633 eligible parents were analyzed. Overall, 42.8% reported COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy for their youngest child. The final model suggested the following factors were associated with hesitancy: children's age; parent's age, religion, occupation, monthly household income, permanent address, living location, status of tobacco use, adherence with regular government vaccination programs (other than COVID-19), perceptions of COVID-19 vaccine efficacy among Bangladeshi children, self-vaccination intentions, reported family members' illness or death from COVID-19, and perceived threat of COVID-19 were the independent predictors of parental COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Conversely, participants who were not tobacco users, parents who were very likely to believe that their children or family members could be infected with COVID-19 in the following year and who were very concerned about their children or a family member contracting COVID-19 in the next year had significantly lower odds of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Conclusions: Our study suggested that vaccine hesitation varied based on sociodemographic characteristics, religion, behavior, and perceived COVID-19 threat. Therefore, interventions focused on addressing vaccine hesitancy among specific subgroups are warranted.
Why Some Innovation Sustainable and Some Not ?

Why some public service innovations carried out by local governments in Indonesia are sustainable and many others are not? This is the question that this article attempts to answer. This article is based on research conducted on ten public service innovations introduced by the Government of Bone Regency, South Sulawesi, which have persisted and even inspired other public service innovations. Case study data and information on these ten public service innovations were collected through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with innovators. This study finds several factors that support why their public service innovations can survive or are sustainable until now. First, there is high motivation from innovators to provide better services to the community. They have a kind of sense of meaningfulness so that they seriously realize their goal of creating service innovations. “There is an invaluable sense of satisfaction seeing my innovations help people meet their needs. ” So, the innovation that is created is not just to fulfill the requirements of the public service training they attended. Second, there is a sense of belonging to the members of the organization where the innovation is implemented. Public service innovations are generally from the idea of an innovator but then all members of the organization feel that they have the innovation. On the other hand, many public service innovations seem to belong to the initiator so that other members of the organization do not feel part of the innovation. As a result, when the initiator of the innovation is transferred to another unit, the story of the innovation ends. Third, there is support from the leadership of the organization where the innovation was introduced as well as support from the highest executive officer (regent, mayor, or governor) of the local government. In this study, all cases of innovation continued because they received support from organizational leaders. This happens because one of the performance assessments of the work unit leader is the service innovation introduced to the organization he leads. The Regent also greatly appreciated the innovations made by his staff. The Regent's commitment and support is realized even by bringing this innovation at the village level with the obligation for each village to have at least one innovation in 2022 to come.
Genomic Selection and Genome-Wide Association Analysis for Stress Response, Disease Resistance and Body Weight in European Seabass

Simple Summary In the present study, the genetic architecture of the stress response, body weight, and disease resistance in European seabass were studied, providing fruitful results for further research. Initially, the above traits were recorded and genotyping on a large scale was performed in those fish. The recorded data and genotypes were combined and analyzed to find genomic areas affecting them as well as to estimate the heritability of those traits. Stress response traits and body weight were medium heritable, while genomic regions affecting them were detected. However, no genomic areas related to disease resistance were revealed. These findings improve our knowledge of the genetic structure of those traits and can be utilized in a breeding program for the genetic improvement of aquaculture broodstocks. Abstract The majority of the genetic studies in aquaculture breeding programs focus on commercial traits such as body weight, morphology, and resistance against diseases. However, studying stress response in European seabass may contribute to the understanding of the genetic component of stress and its future use to select broodstock whose offspring may potentially be less affected by handling. A total of 865 European seabass offspring were used to measure body weight and stress response. Moreover, a disease challenge experiment with Vibrio anguillarum was conducted in a subset (332) of the above fish to study disease resistance. Fish were genotyped with a 57k SNP array, and a Genome-Wide Association study (GWAS) was performed. Five SNPs were found to be statistically significant, three of which affect stress indicators and body weight (in a subgroup of the population), and a putative SNP affects growth performance, while no SNP associated with resistance to Vibrio was found. A moderate to high genomic heritability regarding stress indicators and body weight was estimated using the Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML) process. Finally, the accuracy, along with the correlation between Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) and Genomic Estimated Breeding Values (GEBVs), were calculated for all the traits.
Automatic Early Detection of Wildfire Smoke With Visible Light Cameras Using Deep Learning and Visual Explanation

The present work focus was developing a system for early automatic detection of smoke plumes in visible-light images. The system used a realistic dataset gathered in 274 different days from a total of nine real surveillance cameras, with most smoke plumes being viewed from afar and 85% of them occupying less than 5% of the image area. We employed the innovative strategy of using the whole image for classification but “asking” the neural networks to indicate, in a multidimensional output, which image regions contained a smoke plume. The multidimensional output helped to focus the detector on the smoke regions. At the same time, the use of the whole image prevented wrong image classification caused by a constrained view of the landscape under analysis. Another strategy used was to rectify the detection results using a visual explanation algorithm, Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM), to ensure that detections corresponded to the smoke regions in an image. The detection algorithms tested were residual neural networks (ResNet) and EfficientNet of various sizes because these two types have given good results in the past in multiple domains. The training was done using transfer learning. Our dataset contained a total of 14125 and 21203 images with and without smoke, respectively, making it, to the best of the author’s knowledge, one of the largest or even the largest reported dataset in the scientific literature in terms of the number of images with smoke collected from large distances of various kilometers. This dataset was fundamental to achieve realistic results concerning smoke detection efficiency. Our best result in the test set was an Area Under Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.949 obtained with an EfficientNet-B0.
THE PROBABILITY OF ZERO MULTIPLICATION IN FINITE RINGS

Abstract Let R be a finite ring and let ${\mathrm {zp}}(R)$ denote the nullity degree of R, that is, the probability that the multiplication of two randomly chosen elements of R is zero. We establish the nullity degree of a semisimple ring and find upper and lower bounds for the nullity degree in the general case.
Application of a Program to Improve Personal Development in Future Physical Education Teachers of the Degree in Education and Its Relationship with Wisdom

The objective of the present study was to apply an intervention program based on emotional education and self-knowledge in students of the degree in Education to verify changes in wisdom to improve their psychological health and emotional well-being. For this, Three-dimensional Wisdom Scale (3S-WS) was administered before and after the intervention, analyzing aspects related to affective, cognitive and reflective wisdom. The sample consisted of 100 students (40 men and 60 women, aged between 20 and 29 years). After the intervention program, students improved reflective wisdom without an identifiable difference between sexes. On the other hand, men had higher values in all variables than women. In conclusion, the program to improve personal development and self-awareness could be useful to improve wisdom (especially reflective wisdom) in third and fourth year students of the degree in Education specializing in Physical Education. At the same time, it is intended that these students understand the foundations of the intervention so that in the future it can be replicated in their classrooms and contribute to the sustainable development of the 2030 Agenda.