Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Revisiting Gendered ICT Attitude and Self-Efficacy: A Study of Technical University Students in Ghana

The existence of gender differences in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) impedes the attainment of gender equality and female empowerment. It is therefore essential to provide up-to-date knowledge on the gender ICT divide given that insight into ICT use by gender is often limited and not regularly updated, particularly for low- and lower-middle-income countries. Consequently, this study investigated gender differences in ICT usage, self-efficacy, attitude, and anxiety among technical university students in Ghana. The study is based on primary data conveniently collected from 409 students in a 3-year Higher National Diploma awarding technical university in Ghana using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney U tests, and ordered logistic regression. Male students, compared to their female peers, reported frequent use of ICT, have a more confident and positive attitude, and are less anxious about the use of computers and their related applications. Access to computers and students’ level of study were related to attitude and perceived ICT self-efficacy. Policymakers and administrators of higher education institutions should implement interventions to improve female self-confidence and the use of computers and their applications.
FS-RSDD: Few-Shot Rail Surface Defect Detection with Prototype Learning

As an important component of the railway system, the surface damage that occurs on the rails due to daily operations can pose significant safety hazards. This paper proposes a simple yet effective rail surface defect detection model, FS-RSDD, for rail surface condition monitoring, which also aims to address the issue of insufficient defect samples faced by previous detection models. The model utilizes a pre-trained model to extract deep features of both normal rail samples and defect samples. Subsequently, an unsupervised learning method is employed to learn feature distributions and obtain a feature prototype memory bank. Using prototype learning techniques, FS-RSDD estimates the probability of a test sample belonging to a defect at each pixel based on the prototype memory bank. This approach overcomes the limitations of deep learning algorithms based on supervised learning techniques, which often suffer from insufficient training samples and low credibility in validation. FS-RSDD achieves high accuracy in defect detection and localization with only a small number of defect samples used for training. Surpassing benchmarked few-shot industrial defect detection algorithms, FS-RSDD achieves an ROC of 95.2% and 99.1% on RSDDS Type-I and Type-II rail defect data, respectively, and is on par with state-of-the-art unsupervised anomaly detection algorithms.
Predictors of Long-Term Rebleeding Risk in Cirrhotic Patients Undergoing Esophagogastric Devascularization and Splenectomy: Impact of Portal Vein Thrombosis and Hemoglobin Levels

Background Esophagogastric devascularization and splenectomy (EGDS) is widely used to treat patients with portal hypertension in China. This study aimed to determine risk factors that increase risk of rebleeding after EGDS and evaluate the effect of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) on rebleeding rates after EGDS. Material/Methods Clinical data of patients with cirrhosis (n=138) who underwent EGDS between December 2010 and January 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were assigned to rebleeding or non-rebleeding groups and followed up. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses identified the independent predictors of 3-year and 5-year rebleeding. Results A total of 138 consecutive patients who underwent EGDS and met the inclusion criteria were enrolled. Total bilirubin (HR: 2.392, 95% CI 1.032–5.545, P=0.042) and PVT (HR: 3.345, 95% CI 1.477–7.573, P=0.004) predicted 3-year rebleeding during univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis revealed that PVT (HR: 3.967, 95% CI 1.742–9.035, P=0.001) was an independent predictor. Hemoglobin >87.5 g/L (HR: 3.104, 95% CI 1.283–7.510, P=0.012) and PVT (HR: 2.349, 95% CI 1.231–4.483, P=0.010) were predictors of 5-year rebleeding during multivariate analysis. Albumin >37.5 g/L was an independent predictor of rebleeding in patients with PVT at 3 and 5 years (HR: 3.964, 95% CI 1.301–9.883, P=0.008; HR: 3.193, 95% CI 1.275–7.997, P=0.013, respectively). Conclusions PVT is associated with increased 3-year and 5-year rebleeding rates after EGDS but not at 10 years. Also, hemoglobin >87.5 g/L predicted rebleeding at 5 years. Albumin has huge prospects as a predictor of rebleeding at 3 and 5 years in patients with PVT.
Parental perspectives on the decision-making process on transport mode choice in adolescents: a qualitative study with mothers and fathers

Objective The present study aims to understand the familial decision-making process on transport mode choice in adolescents with a focus on the parental perspective within this process. Background Active travel contributes to adolescents’ overall physical activity and its positive health effects. Based on the social-learning theory, especially parents are assigned a central role for adolescents’ travel behavior. The aim of the present study was to examine how parents are involved in the decision-making process on transport mode choice in adolescents. Method The study is part of the cross-sectional mixed-methods ARRIVE study which includes semi-structured interviews with mothers (n = 12) and fathers (n = 7) of 11- to 14-year-old German adolescents. The interviews focused on travel behavior in adolescents and the decision-making process on transport mode choice from the parental perspective. All interviews were analyzed inductively using Thematic Analysis. Results Our study revealed that parents do not primarily decide for or against active travel in adolescents, but are mostly involved in the decision-making process, especially in case of a deviation from the main transport mode. Different forms of parental involvement in the decision-making process were identified. Some parents acted as main decision makers which is the highest form of involvement while others gave their children complete freedom of choose a transport mode for themselves. These parents accepted their child’s choice fully which shows a low involvement in the decision-making process. Conclusion The results provide a deeper understanding of the familial decision-making process on travel behavior in adolescents. The results indicate an occasionally parental involvement in the decision-making process on the mainly used transport mode by adolescents, and that mothers and fathers are always involved when deviating from the main mode. Implications Further research should investigate changes in travel behavior from childhood to young adulthood to understand long-term travel decisions in families. Due to the findings that parents are often involved in the decision-making process on transport mode choice and that they mainly reported safety concerns as barriers to their children’s active travel, further research should focus especially on the social and physical environment of adolescents.
The effect of air pollution on stock returns: evidence from Thailand and Indonesia

The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of air pollution on stock returns in Thailand and Indonesia from January 1, 2016, to June 30, 2021. Further effects of air pollution on stock returns during the seasonal pollution period, full moon period, new moon period, and high pollution period are also studied. The result shows that a lagged day of air pollution proxy significantly reduces stock returns in Thailand. The significant negative effect of air pollution on stock returns is similar to that after controlling for the January effect. This is consistent with the finding of Li and Peng (2016). In addition, the negative effects of the lag air pollution agent on stock returns are stronger during the seasonal air pollution period, the full moon periods, and the high pollution days. Moreover, the stock returns are higher during the new moon period in Indonesia. This is consistent with the finding of Dichev and Janes (2003). However, this paper does not find the significant effects of air pollution on stock returns in Indonesia.
The Influence of Food Delivery Application Attributes in Developing e-Loyalty: The Mediating Role of e-Satisfaction

Food delivery application or FDA is a promising online food delivery service today. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA is helping restaurants grow and helping consumers order food. This study fills the gap in the FDA literature by analyzing and empirically testing the mediating effect of e- satisfaction on the relationship between FDA attributes and e-loyalty. The FDA attributes are represented in information quality, visual design, and navigational design. Data was collected using an online questionnaire for 651 FDA user respondents in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data is analyzed using Partial Least Square. The findings of this study indicate that customer e-satisfaction is proven to mediate partially from visual design, navigation design with e-loyalty, and customer e-satisfaction is proven to fully mediate information quality with e-loyalty. This research closes with theoretical and managerial implications, as well as limitations.
Interactions of climate, carbon, and nutrient cycling in wet tropical forest

Tropical forests play a substantial role in the global carbon (C) cycle and are projected to experience significant environmental change, highlighting the importance of understanding the factors that control C and N cycling in this biome. Yet interactions between biogeochemical and abiotic variables, notably species diversity and precipitation, remain poorly resolved in the tropics. In a wet lowland tropical forest in southwest Costa Rica I examined how: i) biologically generated chemical diversity affected soil C mineralization; ii) abiotic and chemical factors control litter decomposition; and iii) potential changes in precipitation and labile C inputs may alter nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. I investigated how inter-specific chemical variation in soluble dissolved organic matter (DOM) affected heterotrophic soil respiration in a series of laboratory incubations. Following DOM additions, soil respiration rates varied by as much as an order of magnitude; largely driven by variation in the C: phosphorus (P) ratio of DOM. These results suggest that tropical tree species composition may influence soil C storage and mineralization via variation in plant litter chemistry. Subsequently, I assessed how variation in precipitation and litter chemistry affect rates of leaf litter decay. Despite exceptionally high rainfall, simulated throughfall reductions consistently slowed rates of litter decomposition. Overall, variation between species was greater than variation induced by throughfall reductions, and was best explained by initial litter solubility and lignin: P ratios. These results support a model of litter decomposition where mass loss rates are
Hexa‐band SIW cavity antenna system integrating two antennas with high isolation

A hexa-band substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) cavity antenna system integrating two antennas with high isolation is proposed. A square SIW cavity is divided by a wide slot into two half sub-cavities. Two narrow slots are etched in the upper sub-cavity and other two slots are cut in the lower sub-cavity to achieve multi-band operation. Six half-mode resonances with different sizes can occur in a single cavity. They are excited by two coaxial ports to form two integrated antennas. A fabricated sample with the overall size of 0.63 λ 0 × 0.63 λ 0 has been measured. The measured frequencies excited by port 1 are 2.31 GHz ( f 1 ), 2.91 GHz ( f 2 ), and 3.35 GHz ( f 3 ). The resonating frequencies excited by port 2 are 2.57 GHz ( f 4 ), 3.11 GHz ( f 5 ), and 3.61 GHz ( f 6 ). The measured gain and efficiency at the above frequencies are higher than 5 dBi and 72%, respectively. Moreover, the measured isolation between these integrated antennas is better than 22 dB within the frequency of interest. The proposed antenna system offers advantages of compact size, hexa-band operation, high isolation, and unidirectional radiation, which has potential applications in multi-standard wireless systems.
Effects of the orthodontic miniscrew geometric design on the bone microdamage and primary stability

This study investigated the effects of the pitch (P) and thread shape on orthodontic miniscrew cortical bone microdamage. The relationship between microdamage and primary stability was examined. Ti6Al4V orthodontic miniscrews had custom-made thread heights (H) and pitch sizes and were classified into the following groups: HCPC (control); HCPN (with a narrower pitch); and HTPC (with a taller thread height) (HC = 0.12 mm; HT = 0.36 mm; PC = 0.60 mm; PN = 0.30 mm). The orthodontic miniscrews were inserted in the pilot hole of prepared 1.0-mm-thick tibia cortical bone, and the maximum insertion torque (MIT) and Periotest value (PTV) were measured. After basic fuchsin staining, histological thin sections were examined using microdamage parameters, including the total crack length (TCL) and total damage area (TDA), and insertion state parameters, including the miniscrew surface length (SL) and bone compression area (BCA). The orthodontic miniscrews with taller thread height showed lower primary stability, minimal bone compression, and microdamage, while narrower thread pitch resulted in maximum bone compression and extensive bone microdamage. A wider thread pitch reduced microdamage, while decreased thread height increased bone compression, ultimately improving primary stability.
Reconstruction of a Car–Running Pedestrian Accident Based on a Humanoid Robot Method

Due to the characteristics of multibody (MB) and finite element (FE) digital human body models (HBMs), the reconstruction of running pedestrians (RPs) remains a major challenge in traffic accidents (TAs) and new innovative methods are needed. This study presents a novel approach for reconstructing moving pedestrian TAs based on a humanoid robot method to improve the accuracy of analyzing dynamic vehicle–pedestrian collision accidents. Firstly, we applied the theory of humanoid robots to the corresponding joints and centroids of the TNO HBM and implemented the pedestrian running process. Secondly, we used rigid–flexible coupling HBMs to build pedestrians, which can not only simulate running but also analyze human injuries. Then, we validated the feasibility of the RP reconstruction method by comparing the simulated dynamics with the pedestrian in the accident. Next, we extracted the velocity and posture of the pedestrian at the moment of collision and further validated the modeling method through a comparison of human injuries and forensic autopsy results. Finally, by comparing two other cases, we can conclude that there are relative errors in both the pedestrian injury results and the rest position. This comparative analysis is helpful for understanding the differences in injury characteristics between the running pedestrian and the other two cases in TAs.
Chtějí zůstat nebo odejít? Začínající učitelé v českýchzákladních školách

Jednim z faktorů ovlivňujicich kvalitu vzdělavani je nedostatek ucitelů, k němuž přispiva I tzv. drop- out, tedy odchody kvalifikovaných ucitelů ze skoly ci ze skolstvi. Nejohroženějsi profesni skupinou jsou přitom zacinajici ucitele. Kniha přinasi výsledky výzkumneho setřeni na ceských zakladnich skolach, ktere se zaměřilo na procesy socializace zacinajicich ucitelů a jejich objektivnich determinant, ktere byly identifikovany na rovině interaktivni (žaci, třida), institucionalni (skola, kolegove, vedeni skoly) i na rovině kulturni (komunita blizka skole vcetně rodiců, sirsi kulturni, spolecenský a politický kontext). Autoři formulovali řadu doporuceni pro vzdělavaci politiku, vzdělavatele ucitelů i pro vedeni skol.
How sensitive are IPOs to the fear of the COVID-19 pandemic in emerging markets?

This study investigates the relationship between COVID-19-related pandemic fear and the short-term�performance of initial public offerings in emerging markets. This paper�investigates whether the short-term fear of COVID-19 continues to influence post-IPO performance. � In doing so, the fundamental methodology is cross-sectional ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and numerous variables are included to the model as control variables. � The results show that whether looking at the first-day trading price of an IPO or the subsequent trading prices, the effect of pandemic fear (GFI, RCI and RDI) was positive. However, results were somewhat different for HighGFI, which was a dummy variable indicating severity of fear as they were negative in all cases. These results conclude that investors are not making IPO decisions in the first few days, but that over time the effect of high pandemic fear accumulates and suppresses subsequent trading prices.
Preventive Roles of Rice-koji Extracts and Ergothioneine on Anxiety- and Pain-like Responses under Psychophysical Stress Conditions in Male Mice

This study determined the effect of daily administration of Rice-koji on anxiety and nociception in mice subjected to repeated forced swim stress (FST). In a parallel experiment, it was determined whether ergothioneine (EGT) contained in Rice-koji displayed similar effects. Anxiety and nociception were assessed behaviorally using multiple procedures. c-Fos and FosB immunoreactivities were quantified to assess the effect of both treatments on neural responses in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), nucleus raphe magnus (NRM), and lumbar spinal dorsal horn (DH). FST increased anxiety- and pain-like behaviors in the hindpaw. Rice-koji or EGT significantly prevented these behaviors after FST. In the absence of formalin, both treatments prevented decreased FosB expressions in the PVN after FST, while no effect was seen in the NRM and DH. In the presence of formalin, both treatments prevented changes in c-Fos and FosB expressions in all areas in FST mice. Further, in vitro experiments using SH-SY5Y cells were conducted. Rice-koji and EGT did not affect cell viability but changed the level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor. In conclusion, Rice-koji could reduce anxiety and pain associated with psychophysical stress, possibly mediated by the modulatory effects of EGT on neural functions in the brain.
Broadband waveform modeling over a dense seismic network

We developed a "two-way" calibration technique for studying clustered events, particularly their mechanisms and rupture directivities. First, we demonstrate that the magnitude 4 events with known source mechanisms can be used to calibrate the path effects on the short-period (0.5-2 sec) P waves, so that the corrected P waves can be modeled for determining focal mechanisms of the smaller events. The correction is formulated in terms of a station-specific "Amplitude Amplification Factor" (AAF), whose origin is mainly due to the site effect. Second, we show that the smaller events with radiation pattern corrections provide excellent empirical Green's functions (EGFs) for investigating the detailed rupture processes of the magnitude 4 events. In Chapter 2 of this thesis, we present the application of our methods to the 2003 Big Bear sequence. A new technique CAPloc to retrieve full source parameters of small seismic events from regional seismograms is developed, which include origin time, epicenter location, depth, focal mechanism, and moment magnitude. In particular, we tested whether our new method could produce satisfactory results with as few as two stations, so that we can improve source estimates of poorly monitored events with sparse waveform data. We conducted the test in the Tibetan plateau. The focal mechanisms and locations determined from only two stations agree well with those from a well-distributed PASSCAL array. We use 49 Tonga-Fiji events recorded at the broadband TriNet array, southern California to develop a pure path upper-mantle shear velocity model. At the epicentral distances of 70-95 degree, multi-bounce S waves up to S5, including the guided waves, are observed and modeled to constrain the radial velocity structure. Our preferred model PAC06 contains a fast lid (Vsh=4.78 km/sec, Vsv=4.58 km/sec) ~60 km thick, and a prominent low velocity zone (LVZ) with the lowest velocities Vsh=4.34 km/sec, and Vsv=4.22 km/sec. Besides the 406 km and 651 km discontinuities, PAC06 also has a small (~1%) velocity jump at ~516 km. We consider these main features of PAC06 to be well determined, since PAC06 explains a large data set from various events. Therefore, it is ideally suited for comparing with mineralogical models.
Current research trends on cognition, integrative complexity, and decision-making: a systematic literature review using activity theory and neuroscience

Introduction This article presents a systematic literature review that follows the PRISMA and PICOS guidelines to analyze current research trends on cognition, integrative complexity (IC) (a cognitive feature focusing on information processing in a person’s response rather than its quantity or quality), and decision-making from the perspectives of activity theory and neuroscience. Methods The study examines 31 papers published between 2012 and 2022 and 19 articles specifically related to neuroscience. We performed a content analysis using six categories within activity theory: subjects, objects, rules, community, division of labor, and outcomes. Results The study investigates the relationship between decision-making outcomes and IC as a cognitive feature in various contexts. Additionally, content analysis on neuroscience and IC revealed significant research gaps, including understanding the nature of IC, challenges related to its measurement, and differentiation from other cognitive features. We also identify opportunities for investigating the brain’s activity during decision-making in relation to IC. Discussion We address the need for a more precise categorization of IC in studies of cognition, IC, and decision-making. We discuss the implications of our analysis for understanding the cognitive nature of IC and the potential of neuroscience methods for studying this attribute.
Understanding Emotional Labor Dynamics in Participant Sport Service: A Conceptual Framework

In the service industry, the quality of interactions between employees and customers is crucial for improving customer outcomes. Emotional labor, which involves managing one’s emotions to meet job requirements, is a significant aspect of these interactions. To address the lack of attention paid to emotional labor in participant sport contexts, this study proposes a conceptual framework that outlines the antecedents, consequences, and moderators of emotional labor strategies in participant sport service. The framework includes 25 propositions based on theories and empirical evidence from various scientific domains. More specifically, the conceptual framework consists of four main components: (a) intrapersonal and (b) interpersonal consequences; (c) moderators; and (d) antecedents of emotional labor. The study recommends that sport organizations should implement emotional labor training workshops to help employees engage in effective and health-beneficial emotional labor strategies specific to sport organization settings. Overall, this conceptual framework provides a foundation for understanding emotional labor in sport organizations and can help enhance customer outcomes and employee well-being in the participant sport service industry.