Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Use of Digital Portfolio in Higher Education before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study is focused on the advantages and disadvantages of using a digital portfolio to improve the learning and evaluation processes in the initial teacher training of 4th-year students in the University of Seville (Spain). One of the interests of this research was to compare the learning capacities perceived by the students to improve their learning process before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative, descriptive methodology was applied, identifying the most relevant dimensions, categories and codes for the analysis, management and interpretation of the opinions of the students, with a research triangulation (Cohen’s kappa coefficient) and a coding performed using the ATLAS.ti 8.4 software. The results show that the advantages with greater percentage correspond to the following categories: learning, usefulness of OneDrive, autonomy and evaluation. The greatest disadvantages detected were: time, uncertainty, usefulness of OneDrive and autonomy. There are differences in the perceptions of the students, between before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, about the learning capacities developed with the use of digital portfolio, since they consider that they have acquired more significant learning, greater self-regulation of their learning and greater reflection capacity.
Factors of Collaboration Affecting the Performance of Alternative Energy Patents in South Korea from 2010 to 2017

In recent years, innovation of alternative energy technologies to manage climate change has become an important goal worldwide. South Korea has been focusing on the innovation of alternative energy technologies through its investments and innovation systematic capabilities. This study quantitatively examines the effect of national innovation systems that are designed to improve the performance of innovation. To do so, this study analyzes the effects of financial support from the national research and development (R&D) project, and collaborations between institutions regarding the national innovation systems on patent performance based on citation count, which is a useful indicator of patent quality. Specifically, this study analyzes the effects of financial support from the national R&D project, as well as collaborations between universities, industries, and the government regarding patent performance using the patent data of South Korea. These data were used in congruence with a hurdle negative binomial model, using data from 2010 to 2017. Consequently, this study establishes that financial supports from national R&D project are generally inefficient. The relational aspects of the South Korean innovation systems are also generally inefficient, while collaborations between universities and industries contribute toward improving the performance of alternative energy patents.
THE AGRICULTURAL POTENTIALS OF FLOOD PLAIN SOILS ALONG THE BANK OF WARRI RIVER FOR DRY SEASON CROPPIN

This research work was carried out to assess the potentials of flood plain soils on agricultural productivity in Warri River, in the Niger-Delta area of Nigeria. Soil samples were collected from plots of 10 meters by 10meters along the river bank. In all ten (10) sample plots were established and the simple random technique was employed in the collection of the soils. Soils were collected from 0-15, 15-30cm soil depth and a total of 30 samples were collected for laboratory analysis. The soil elements considered include, particle size for the proportion of sand, silt and clay. The status of organic matter, total Nitrogen, exchangeable calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium were also analyzed. Other elements considered are effective cation exchangeable (CEC), available phosphorous, iron and the soil pH. Results from the study showed that the soil ofRiver Warri flood plain has high soil productivity if put into proper use. This is evident from the high cation exchangeable capacity recorded as both the 0-15cm and 15-30cm soil layers. It is therefore recommended that farmers should be encouraged by agriculture extension workers to take advantage of the soil to cultivate large amount of vegetables such as okro, fluted pumpkin, cucumber and sugar cane etc along the bank of the river especially during the 3rd and 4th months of the dry season to utilize the abundant mineral and organic nutrients and moisture content of the soil.
Enforcing Semantic Consistency for Cross Corpus Emotion Prediction Using Adversarial Discrepancy Learning in Emotion

Mismatch between databases entails a challenge in performing emotion recognition on a practical-condition unlabeled database with labeled source data. The alignment between the source and target is crucial for conventional neural network; therefore, many studies have mapped two domains in a common feature space. However, the effect of distortion in emotion semantics across different conditions has been neglected in such work, and a sample from the target may be considered a high emotional annotation in the target but as low in the source. In this article, we propose the maximum regression discrepancy (MRD) network, which enforces semantic consistency in a source and target by adjusting the acoustic feature encoder to minimize discrepancy in maximally distorted samples through adversarial training. We show our framework in several experiments using three databases (the USC IEMOCAP, MSP-Improv, and MSP-Podcast) for cross corpus emotion prediction. Compared to the Source-only neural network and DANN, MRD network demonstrates a significant improvement between 5% and 10% in the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) in cross-corpus prediction and between 3% and 10% for evaluation on MSP-PODCAST. We also visualize the effect of MRD on feature representation to shows the efficacy of the MRD structure we designed.
The clinical irrelevance of “desistance” research for transgender and gender creative youth.

In recent years, the suggestion that over 80% of trans and gender creative children will grow up cisgen-der has been strongly criticized in the academic literature. Although concerns over the methodology of these studies, known as desistance research, has shed considerable doubt regarding the validity of the reported number, less attention has been paid to the relevance of desistance research to the choice of clinical model of care. This article analyzes desistance research and concludes that the body of research is not relevant when deciding between models of care. Three arguments undermining the relevance of desistance research are presented. Drawing on a variety of concerns, the article highlights that “ desistance ” does not provide reasons against prepubertal social transition or peripubertal medical transition, that transition for “ desisters ” is not comparably harmful to delays for trans youth, and that the wait-and-see and corrective models of care are harmful to youth who will grow up cis. The assumed relevance of desistance research to trans youth care is therefore misconceived. Thinking critically about the relation-ship between research observations and clinical models of care is essential to progress in trans health care. Public Significance Statement The allegedly high rate of “ desistance ” among transgender youth has garnered public interest in recent years. This article explains why worries about trans children overwhelmingly changing their mind later are unjusti ﬁ ed, showing that desistance research doesn ’ t offer sound reasons to oppose or delay gender-af ﬁ rming care.
The impact of inflation on the financial sector development: Empirical evidence from Jordan

Abstract In any economy, the financial sector plays a fundamentally important role in achieving economic growth and thus achieving sustainable economic development. Therefore, interest in this sector and the improvement of its performance is considered a strategic goal for any country. Accordingly, this study aims to analyze the short- and long-run impacts of inflation on the development of this sector on the Jordanian economy for the period from 1993 to 2018. To do so, the study uses an auto-regressive distributed lag bound testing approach, which is considered an advanced analytical model. Empirical findings confirmed that there is a statistically significant long- and short-run negative effect of inflation on financial sector development. On the contrary, there is a statistical significant long- and short-run positive impact of economic growth on financial sector performance. In addition, results confirmed that there is a positive support of the previous financial sector policies on financial sector performance in the current period.
Is the Understanding Dementia Massive Open Online Course Accessible and Effective for Everyone? Native Versus Non-Native English Speakers

Most massive open online courses (MOOCs) are offered in English, including those offered by non-English speaking universities. The study investigated an identified English language dementia MOOC’s accessibility and effectiveness in improving the dementia knowledge of non-native English speaker participants. A total of 6,389 enrolees (age range 18–82 years; 88.4% female) from 67 countries was included in analyses. Dementia knowledge was measured by the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS) before and after the MOOC completion. Rates of completion were also compared. Native English speakers (n = 5,320) were older, more likely to be female, less likely to be employed, and had lower educational attainment than non-native English speakers (n = 1025). Native English speakers were also more likely to care for or have cared for a family member or friend living with dementia than were non-native English speakers. Native English speakers had a significantly higher DKAS score both pre- (M = 33.0, SD = 9.3) and post-MOOC (M = 44.2, SD = 5.5) than did non-native English speakers (M = 31.7, SD = 9.1; and M = 40.7, SD = 7.7 for pre- and post-MOOC, respectively). Non-native English speakers with low pre-MOOC dementia knowledge scores gained significantly less dementia knowledge following course completion than did native English speakers (p <.001, adjusted for age and education). There was no significant difference between the two groups in their likelihood of completing the MOOC. Our findings suggest that non-native English speakers are motivated and able to complete the MOOC at similar rates to native English speakers, but the MOOC is a more effective educational intervention for native English speakers with low dementia knowledge.
Students’ Motivation to Learn English as a Foreign Language in the Context of Saudi Arabian Learners

Motivation is the major contributor to the students’ learning English as a second language. However, varying reasons have been suggested by different researchers and theorists to explain the reasons and dimensions of this motivation. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate the motivation to learn English as a foreign language (EFL) among 157 Saudi Arabian university students. The instrument used for the analysis was a modified version of the motivation scale developed by Wen (1997), which measures motivation based on six subscales: integrative, instrumental, effort, valence, expectation, and ability. In addition, students’ motivation was compared among students with different English language levels using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) on six motivation subscales. The results of the MANOVA revealed that there was no significant difference among students of different levels of English knowledge when each level was compared separately. Nevertheless, when comparing a merged group of students with English level knowledge of 1st to 3rd with the group of 4th level, the motivation of the latter group was statistically significantly higher. Furthermore, the difference in mean values was significant for integrative, effort, valence, and ability subscales. Thus, the findings of this research depicted that instrumental and integrative motivations could be the main contributor to students’ motivation to learn English as a foreign language.
Ion Channel Impairment and Myofilament Ca2+ Sensitization: Two Parallel Mechanisms Underlying Arrhythmogenesis in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias are the main clinical burden in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and frequently occur in young patients with mild structural disease. While massive hypertrophy, fibrosis and microvascular ischemia are the main mechanisms underlying sustained reentry-based ventricular arrhythmias in advanced HCM, cardiomyocyte-based functional arrhythmogenic mechanisms are likely prevalent at earlier stages of the disease. In this review, we will describe studies conducted in human surgical samples from HCM patients, transgenic animal models and human cultured cell lines derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. Current pieces of evidence concur to attribute the increased risk of ventricular arrhythmias in early HCM to different cellular mechanisms. The increase of late sodium current and L-type calcium current is an early observation in HCM, which follows post-translation channel modifications and increases the occurrence of early and delayed afterdepolarizations. Increased myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity, commonly observed in HCM, may promote afterdepolarizations and reentry arrhythmias with direct mechanisms. Decrease of K+-currents due to transcriptional regulation occurs in the advanced disease and contributes to reducing the repolarization-reserve and increasing the early afterdepolarizations (EADs). The presented evidence supports the idea that patients with early-stage HCM should be considered and managed as subjects with an acquired channelopathy rather than with a structural cardiac disease.
Spread and establishment of Cecidochares connexa (Macquart) (Diptera: Tephritiidae) in Nigeria, a biological control agent of Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M. King and H. Robinson

ABSTRACT Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M. King and H. Robinson (Asteraceae) is one of the worst invasive weeds in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. Cecidochares connexa (Macquart) (Diptera: Tephritiidae) is a biological control agent of C. odorata. It was introduced into Côte d’Ivoire in 2003 and spread across West Africa. This paper reports the establishment, distribution, and density of C. connexa in Nigeria, the seventh country in West Africa with a confirmed report of C. connexa. It is anticipated that the gall fly, recorded in Nigeria, will have similar impacts on C. odorata as in the other six countries.
Development and Validation of an Algorithm Literacy Scale for Internet Users

ABSTRACT In light of the widespread use of big data analytics, internet users are increasingly confronted with algorithmic decision-making. Developing algorithm literacy is thus crucial to empower users to successfully navigate digital environments. In this paper, we present the development and validation of an algorithm literacy scale that consists of two interrelated dimensions: 1) awareness of algorithms use and 2) knowledge about algorithms. To validate the scale, we use item response theory and report findings from two studies. In study 1, we tested 46 items among N = 331 participants, resulting in a 32-item pool. These items were tested in a second study among N = 1,041 German internet users. The final scale consists of each 11 items measuring algorithm awareness and knowledge. Both subscales correlated positively with participants’ subjective coding skills and proved to be an appropriate predictor for participants’ handling of algorithmic curation in three test-scenarios.
Using a Conflict Framework Analysis to Help Beekeepers and Giant Armadillos (Priodontes maximus) Coexist

Damage caused by wildlife is one reason preventing peaceful coexistence between humans and wildlife. To identify the complexity and scope of human-wildlife interactions and to guide conservation interventions, a theoretical framework has been recently proposed, based on the field of conflict analysis and peacebuilding. Despite its importance, to our knowledge, there are no studies yet testing the framework. We therefore adapted and expanded the framework to investigate a wildlife-people interaction scenario, involving damage by giant armadillos (Priodontes maximus) to apiaries in the Brazilian Cerrado biome of Mato Grosso do Sul state. From August to November 2018, we interviewed 111 beekeepers identified through a mixed random and snowball sampling design to assess at which level of conflict this interaction could be framed, and to identify strategies able to promote coexistence. Analysis of the five key areas of the framework suggested the current human-wildlife interaction is a level one conflict. This means the negative relation between beekeepers and giant armadillos is still not rooted in less visible, more complex social disagreements, but founded in a material dispute: destruction of beehives. We used the findings to create an intervention strategy which involves: (i) the implementation of mitigation strategies that prevent giant armadillos from predating beehives; (ii) a certification scheme to acknowledge beekeepers' efforts to implement the mitigation strategies, and (iii) a Citizen Science Program using an app that enables data gathering for adaptive management, as well as maintains beekeeper engagement. We hope beekeepers-giant armadillos' coexistence will become beneficial rather than a challenge with the novel interventions.
Predictive Models to Estimate Carbon Stocks in Agroforestry Systems

This study aims to assess the carbon stock in a pasture area and fragment of forest in natural regeneration, given the importance of agroforestry systems in mitigating gas emissions which contribute to the greenhouse effect, as well as promoting the maintenance of agricultural productivity. Our other goal was to predict the carbon stock, according to different land use systems, from physical and chemical soil variables using the Random Forest algorithm. We carried out our study at an Entisols Quartzipsamments area with a completely randomized experimental design: four treatments and six replites. The treatments consisted of the following: (i) an agroforestry system developed for livestock, (ii) an agroforestry system developed for fruit culture, (iii) a conventional pasture, and (iv) a forest fragment. Deformed and undeformed soil samples were collected in order to analyze their physical and chemical properties across two consecutive agricultural years. The response variable, carbon stock, was subjected to a boxplot analysis and all the databases were used for a predictive modeling which in turn used the Random Forest algorithm. Results led to the conclusion that the agroforestry systems developed both for fruit culture and livestock, are more efficient at stocking carbon in the soil than the pasture area and forest fragment undergoing natural regeneration. Nitrogen stock and land use systems are the most important variables to estimate carbon stock from the physical and chemical variables of soil using the Random Forest algorithm. The predictive models generated from the physical and chemical variables of soil, as well as the Random Forest algorithm, presented a high potential for predicting soil carbon stock and are sensitive to different land use systems.
Huntsman at Home, an Oncology Hospital at Home Program

Leaders at the University of Utah Health Huntsman Cancer Institute have developed a hospital at home model for oncology patients that features ongoing monitoring and rapid response for patients with unstable, acute illness. Nurse practitioners, home health registered nurses, and other staff provide hospital-level care in the patient ’ s own home. Services are available within 2 hours of the patient arriving home and in response to emergent calls. Early results show reductions in hospitalizations, hospital length of stay, ED use, and cost of care. Patients with cancer experience toxicities and complications related to their disease and treatments that result in ED visits and unplanned hospitalizations. Within a year of diagnosis, 75% of patients with advanced cancer are hospitalized, and more than 15% experience three or more unplanned hospitalizations. 1 This impacts quality of life, time at home with family, and health care costs. More recently, the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated interest in models of care for preventable ED visits, hospitalizations, and infectious exposures. Hospital at home models are one way to reduce acute care hospitalizations, shifting that care to a more cost-effective setting while keeping patients in the comfort of their homes and with their families. Hospital at home, as the name describes, provides acute, hospital-level care at home. Countries including Canada, Japan, Spain, Australia, and the United Kingdom have documented the bene ﬁ ts from shifting acute medical care services from the hospital to the home. 2 , 3 A variety of hospital at home models have been designed for speci ﬁ c chronic diseases, particularly congestive heart failure 4 - 6 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 7 , 8 or have been tailored to geriatric care. 9 In the United States, several programs have been described that primarily focus on geriatric
FINDING TOPICS IN CREATIVE WRITING ON ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION FOR BETTER TEACHING STRATEGIES: A CASE OF STUDY IN AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FROM COLOMBIA

En esta investigación, se evaluaron ensayos sobre la preservación de árboles de estudiantes de cuarto grado (escuela primaria de Colombia) con Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). El objetivo fue extraer los temas fundamentales, para comprender el comportamiento y la conciencia de los estudiantes hacia el medio ambiente a partir de la escritura creativa. Los resultados computacionales sugieren que las reflexiones del estudiante sobre la preservación del medio ambiente se centran en cinco temas principales en: Enseñar-Aprender a cuidar el medio ambiente, Explorar-descubrir el medio ambiente, Bienestar del medio ambiente, Preocupación por el medio ambiente y Restauración y conservación del entorno. Este análisis de texto por LDA puede complementar el análisis manual de los docentes, evitando el sesgo de veracidad y permitiendo potenciar las estrategias de enseñanza.
What Drives House Price Cycles? International Experience and Policy Issues

The role of real estate during the global financial and economic crisis has prompted efforts to better incorporate housing and financial channels into macro models, improve housing models, develop macroprudential tools, and reform the financial system. This article provides an overview of major, recent contributions to the literature in relation to earlier research on what drives housing prices and how they affect economic activity. Particularly emphasized are studies, both theoretical and more strongly evidence-based, that connect housing markets with credit markets, house price expectations, financial stability, and the wider economy. The literature reveals much diversity in the international and regional behavior of house prices and the need to improve data tracking key housing supply and demand influences. Also reviewed are studies examining how monetary, macroprudential, and other policies affect house prices and access to housing. This survey is designed to help readers navigate the plethora of recent studies and understand the unsettled issues and avenues for further research. The findings should be of interest to policy makers concerned with financial stability as well as those dealing with the role of housing in the wider economy (JEL E32, E44, E63, G01, G21, R31).