Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Self-directed learning as a method for future education

Self-directed learning can be defined as learning to learn (Zahran 2019). Self-directed learning can also be seen as an approach to pursue learning throughout life (Salleh et al. 2019). Koç (2019) defines self-directed learning as a concept that is found in individuals who are efficient in controlling their learning on their own choices and preferences. Self-directed learning represents student-directed learning, which means that the teacher serves as the facilitator and the learners are mainly responsible for finding solutions to complete tasks and other activities (Brandt 2020). This article aims to establish the importance of self-directed learning for future education. Self-directed learning can be seen as developmental because it helps learners to achieve their goals, solve different problems, develop a range of skills and knowledge, and realise their full potential (Brandt 2020). Zahran (2019) adds to Brandt (2020) and states that learning to learn or self-directed learning incorporates independent, self-efficient and self-regulated learning. Self-directed learning will help the learners develop the ability to evaluate the different processes and products through self-reflecting (Bishara 2021). It also encourages learners to play an active role in their learning (Demircioğlu et al. 2018). When a learner is self-directed, he/she becomes the developer of their learning objectives and goals (Zahran 2019). Furthermore, self-directed learning includes the learners in deciding what, when, and how they learn (Demircioğlu et al. 2018). Learners can also select suitable methods and strategies to achieve different learning aims (Gencel and Saracaloğlu 2018). Saeid and Eslaminejad (2017) add to Gencel and Saracaloğlu (2018) and say that the select, manage and assess their learning tasks and activities, which they can pursue at any time, place, through any means, and at any age.
Postoperative sepsis after colorectal surgery: a prospective single-center observational study and review of the literature

Introduction Postoperative sepsis represents a significant problem in colorectal surgery patients. Aim To identify the etiology as well as the risk factors associated with the development of postoperative sepsis, based on prospective data of patients undergoing colorectal surgery at a single large-volume institution. Material and methods Between November 2019 and February 2021, 141 patients underwent an elective operation for colorectal cancer at a tertiary hospital center. The following variables were recorded for each patient: age, gender, American Society of Anesthesiologists Classification (ASA class), duration of surgery, surgical approach, comorbidities (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease). Univariate analysis was performed using χ2 tests for categorical variables. Results A total of 69 males and 72 females were enrolled. Postoperative sepsis was diagnosed in 18 (12.77%) cases, with anastomotic leakage being the most frequent cause (3.55%). There was no statistically significant difference in the presence of sepsis among patients when gender, surgical approach, duration of surgery, and respiratory disease were taken into account. Sixty-nine patients were > 65 years old, with sepsis being statistically significant in this group (p = 0.034). Furthermore, patients with ASA class ≤ 2 developed postoperative sepsis less frequently than patients with advanced ASA scores (p = 0.008). Diabetes and cardiovascular disease also reach statistical significance; sepsis was more frequent in this group of patients (p = 0.013 and p = 0.009, respectively). Conclusions Following colorectal cancer procedures, postoperative sepsis was significantly more common among patients over 65 years old, ASA score > 2, and also with associated comorbidities such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
An Automated Experimentation System for the Touch-Response Quantification of Zebrafish Larvae

Touch-response experimentation in zebrafish helps researchers better understand the link between genetics, drug effects, and behaviors. However, commonly manually conducted experimentation cannot fulfill a high-throughput screening and often delivers low accuracy and lacks reproducibility. Thus, the main aim of this work is to establish a fully automated robot-assisted experimentation system with minimal human participation to conduct the touch-response experimentation with freely swimming zebrafish larvae. Our designed system is able to undertake the role of repeated touch-response experiments at predefined specific location of the larvae in different ages and under different conditions, with high accuracy, robustness, and repeatability, and can also get comparable experimental results. The errors of the detection methods are less than 3 pixels and the offset errors of the touching points are less than 5%. Designed for high-efficiency experimentation, this system will promisingly release a great amount of the burden for the biological operators from touch-response experiments and may also have potential applications in other organisms for touch-evoked response analysis. Note to Practitioners—This article presented an automated touch-response experimentation system on zebrafish larvae, which can release a huge burden of the biological operators by achieving accurate, efficient, and repeated touch-response experiments. Manually conducted experiments are time-consuming and has low accuracy as well as difficult to do the quantification of the behaviors of the larvae. Our proposed system introduced an automated experiment pipeline and can also generate the behavior quantification of the larvae automatically, as the verification experiments confirmed. Basically, the research on the behaviors of zebrafish larvae requires large-scale data collection and analysis, so our system will play a vital role in such cases. Besides, the system can also be potentially used in other organisms, such as medaka larvae, and other related research, such as drug effects. In the current system, only one single larva was considered in each separate experiment, so our future work will be to achieve the experiments with multiple larvae in large scale for more high-throughput readouts and knowledge discovery.
Sincronización de estros en ovejas Pelibuey utilizando CIDR y diferentes dosis de eCG

En la raza ovina Pelibuey, no esta establecida completamente la dosis de gonadotropina corionica equina (eCG) a emplear en protocolos de sincronizacion de estros. El objetivo del estudio fue analizar el efecto de dos diferentes dosis de eCG, incluidas en protocolos de sincronizacion de estros basados en progestagenos, sobre la respuesta reproductiva de ovejas Pelibuey. Para ello, 28 y 24 ovejas durante dos anos consecutivos, fueron sometidas a un protocolo de sincronizacion; el primer grupo (BAJA) recibio un CIDR durante siete dias y a su retiro se administro 0.125 mg de Cloprostenol y eCG a una dosis i.m. de 300 U. El segundo grupo (ALTA) recibio el mismo protocolo con una modificacion, el empleo de una dosis de 400 U de eCG. Para evaluar las variables obtenidas, se realizo la prueba exacta de Fisher (datos en porcentaje) o analisis de varianza. No existieron diferencias (P>0.05) entre grupos para el porcentaje de ovejas en estro (92.31%), la tasa de concepcion total (82.69%) y de las ovejas con estro sincronizado (87.50%). Adicionalmente, el inicio del estro (47.75±1.43 h) y la prolificidad (1.86 crias/parto) fue similar (P>0.05) entre grupos. En conclusion, los protocolos de sincronizacion de estros para ovejas Pelibuey que utilizan CIDR por siete dias, pueden emplear eCG a una dosis de al menos 300 U, sin afectar sus indicadores reproductivos asociados.
Screening of penicillium from Arachis hypogea and its mycotoxin production

Seed infections by Penicillium not only reduce seed quality but also make nuts unsafe for human consumption. Direct plate method using CDA (Czapek Dox Agar) medium was employed for isolation of Penicillium, the total no. of colony forming (CFU) units observed in plate were 13. Penicillium strain was identified by Lactophenol cotton blue staining. The Penicillium was inoculated into CD broth to measure its growth as well as mycotoxin production at different duration as 5, 10, 15, 20 days. Paper chromatography was used to identify amino acid in metabolite as Histidine. Mycotoxin production was confirmed by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and a spot was identified, which was blue in visible light and faint blue under UV light. This indicated the presence of Aflatoxin B2 in culture metabolite when compared with standard. ELISA was also performed to assess the presence of antibodies against fungus and also used for the detection of mycotoxin level in culture metabolite. From the standard curve it was observed that serum sample had no antibodies for Penicillium and the patient was free from the infection of Penicillium as the level of mycotoxin in culture metabolite was low.
Quantification of Carbonaceous Aerosol Emissions from Cookstoves in Senegal

ABSTRACT In some regions of the world, cooking with solid biomass fuels in open fires constitutes the largest source of elemental and organic carbon emissions. However, cooking-related carbonaceous aerosols are still poorly characterized. This paper presents an innovative characterization of elemental and organic carbon (EC and OC) emissions from cookstoves in West Africa. Four stove types (three-stone fire, rocket stove, basic ceramic stove, and gasifier) using two wood species (dimb and filao) were analyzed on a laboratory scale. The EC and OC emission factors based on fuel energy (EFs) when burning dimb were higher for all stoves, highlighting the need to account for the fuel type when reporting cookstove EFs. The highest EC EF was found for the rocket stove (0.18 ± 0.06 g MJ–1 and 0.06 ± 0.01 g MJ–1 for dimb and filao, respectively). The other tested stoves exhibited the same EC EF when burning dimb (0.09 ± 0.02 g MJ–1) and EC EFs ranging between 0.04 ± 0.01 and 0.05 ± 0.01 g MJ–1 when burning filao. The OC EF was highest, on average, for the gasifier (0.08 ± 0.01 g MJ–1), followed by those for the three-stone fire (0.18 ± 0.03 g MJ–1) and the basic ceramic stove (0.21 ± 0.08 g MJ–1). However, the results from testing the rocket stove and the three-stone fire under real cooking conditions using dimb wood indicate that the laboratory-scale tests overestimate the actual EC EFs. Also, the rocket stove did not show a reduction in wood use compared to the three-stone fire, suggesting that the carbonaceous aerosol emissions from the former produce more warming than those from the latter. Therefore, the total EC and OC stove emissions, in addition to the EFs, must be reported. As the impacts of carbonaceous aerosol highly depend on the location of emission, this study contributes valuable data to emission inventories and climate prediction models at national and regional levels.
Effects of gluten and moisture content on water mobility during the drying process for Chinese dried noodles

Abstract To investigate the water mobility during a drying process, noodles were prepared with different gluten contents (10.0%, 12.5%, 15.0%, 17.5%, 20.0%, 22.5%, or 25.0%) and moisture contents (30%, 32%, or 34%), and dried on a food moisture analysis technology platform. Three types of water were deduced from relaxation signals measured by low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) spectroscopy. Peak time T22 increased with gluten and moisture content but decreased with drying time from 4–6 to 1.0–1.7 ms after 1.5 h. Gluten content mainly affected the drying rate (DR) in the middle drying period, whereas initial moisture content had an influence in the middle drying period and final drying period.
Analytical Improvement on the Electromagnetic Scattering From Deformed Spherical Conducting Objects

In this article, electromagnetic scattering from conducting deformed spheres is considered analytically by employing the perturbation method and utilizing Debye potentials. To be able to analyze a wide variety of scattering problems, azimuthal variation is indispensable, and therefore, the geometries of the scatterers considered in this study do not have rotational symmetry; hence, they are dependent on the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\varphi $ </tex-math></inline-formula> angles in spherical coordinates. Analyses are carried up to the second order explicitly to obtain more accurate results, and thus, scattered fields are obtained with second-order corrections. The coefficients used to determine the scattered field are expressed in terms of Clebsch–Gordan coefficients, which enables one to obtain the results for new geometries only by simple algebraic manipulations. Numerical results and their comparisons are also presented for various deformation functions and parameters.
Aqueous foams stabilized with silica nanoparticle and alpha olefin sulfonates surfactant

Carbon dioxide (CO2) foams have been introduced to improve mobility of CO2 in CO2 flooding. However, using surfactant alone to stabilize CO2 foam has potential weaknesses such as high surfactant retention in porous media and the foam is thermodynamically unstable for a long-term. Nanoparticle has been an alternative in stabilizing CO2 foam longer. This study aims to analyze CO2 foam stability at varying concentrations of surfactant, silica nanoparticle (SNP) and brine. The additions of SNP in anionic surfactant of alpha olefin sulfonates (AOS)-water and in AOS-brine towards foam stability were demonstrated in this study. CO2 foam stability was measured through the foam height observation and bubble size analysis. The performance of SNP and AOS suspensions in stabilizing foam were observed at different concentrations of AOS (0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 wt%), SNP (0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 wt%) and brine (0.1, 1 and 5 wt%). The results revealed that the CO2foams were most stable at 0.3 wt% SNP suspension in 0.5 wt% AOS-water. It was found that the most stable foams formed at concentration of 1 wt% of brine. Smaller and uniform bubble size has been produced at 0.3 wt% SNP in 0.5 wt% AOS solution. Thus, concentrations of surfactant, SNP and brine have significant effects on CO2 foam stability.
Hemin-Modified SnO2/Metglas Electrodes for the Simultaneous Electrochemical and Magnetoelastic Sensing of H2O2

In this work, we present a simple and efficient method for the preparation of hemin-modified SnO2 films on Metglas ribbon substrates for the development of a sensitive magneto-electrochemical sensor for the determination of H2O2. The SnO2 films were prepared at low temperatures, using a simple hydrothermal method, compatible with the Metglas surface. The SnO2 film layer was fully characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier Transform-Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The properties of the films enable a high hemin loading to be achieved in a stable and functional way. The Hemin/SnO2-Metglas system was simultaneously used as a working electrode (WE) for cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements and as a magnetoelastic sensor excited by external coils, which drive it to resonance and interrogate it. The CV scans reveal direct reduction and oxidation of the immobilized hemin, as well as good electrocatalytic response for the reduction of H2O2. In addition, the magnetoelastic resonance (MR) technique allows the detection of any mass change during the electroreduction of H2O2 by the immobilized hemin on the Metglas surface. The experimental results revealed a mass increase on the sensor during the redox reaction, which was calculated to be 767 ng/μM. This behavior was not detected during the control experiment, where only the NaH2PO4 solution was present. The following results also showed a sensitive electrochemical sensor response linearly proportional to the concentration of H2O2 in the range 1 × 10−6–72 × 10−6 M, with a correlation coefficient of 0.987 and detection limit of 1.6 × 10−7 M. Moreover, the Hemin/SnO2-Metglas displayed a rapid response (30 s) to H2O2 and exhibits good stability, reproducibility and selectivity.
Soybean Response to Seed Coating with Chitosan + Alginate/PEG and/or Inoculation

Inoculated or coated soybean seeds are often sown in agricultural practice. These treatments play a different role depending on the chemical composition of the preparation. The aim of the field experiment was to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed coating (chitosan + alginate/PEG) and commercial inoculant (HiStick® Soy) applied alone or in combination to soybean seeds. Uncoated (control) seeds were sown for comparison. The research was carried out in 2018–2020 using the cultivar ‘Mavka’. The experiment was located in Makowisko, Podkarpackie Province, Poland. Coating composition was developed in a laboratory belonging to the Łukasiewicz Research Network—Institute of Biopolymers and Chemical Fibers in Łódź, Poland. The main role of the coating is to protect soybean seeds from low temperatures. HiStick® Soy inoculant contains Bradyrhizobium japonicum bacteria which increase nodulation on the roots. The conducted research demonstrated that sowing only coated seeds was not very effective, because the suitable number of nodules had not developed on soybean roots. The application of the inoculant alone positively affected the assessed traits compared to control, however, plant population was lower than expected. The highest seed yield was obtained after sowing coated seeds in combination with the inoculant (4.32 t·ha−1) and only inoculated seeds (4.23 t·ha−1) compared to control (3.64 t·ha−1). The test of the novel seed-coating agent showed that it had an good effect and efficacy, but only in combination with the inoculation procedure.
Main NK cell receptors and their ligands: regulation by microRNAs

The NK cells functions are finely tuned by several kinds of inhibitory and activating receptors, whose pattern of expression characterizes different NK subpopulations and varies with the cell activation status. MicroRNAs have an important role in tightly regulating the expression of NK receptors and, analogously, the expression of their ligands in target cells. The relevance of the microRNA-mediated control is highlighted by the dysregulation of these pathways observed in cancer and virus-infected cells. Here we review our current knowledge of the microRNAs involved in the regulation of NK receptors, as well as that of the corresponding cellular ligands.
Linear stability of parallel flow of liquid metal in a rectangular duct driven by a constant pressure gradient under the influence of a uniform magnetic field

Linear stability of the plane Poiseuille flow of liquid metal under a uniform magnetic field is numerically studied. The liquid metal is driven by a constant pressure gradient in a rectangular duct. The induced magnetic field and the Joule heating are neglected in this analysis. The governing equations are the continuity of mass, momentum equation, Ohm’s law and conservation of electric charge. The solution of basic state is well known as the Hartmann flow in the limit of the large aspect ratio of the cross-section of the duct. It is supposed that disturbance has periodicity along the direction of the basic flow. The linear stability of the basic flow that depends only on the Hartmann number is analyzed by a finite difference method discretized by a fourth order central difference scheme together with the use of HSMAC algorithm. We obtained the phase velocity of Tollmien-Schlichting wave and the Reynolds number as the neutral stability state when input parameters such as the aspect ratio, the Hartmann number and the wavenumber were given. It is predicted that the critical Reynolds number at the onset of instability is about 4.0 x 105 and the wavenumber is about 1.15 when the Hartmann number is 5.
Predictors of adherence to prescribed exercise programs for older adults with non-musculoskeletal indications for exercise: a systematic review

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Prescribed exercise to treat medical conditions and to prepare for surgery is a promising intervention to prevent adverse health outcomes for older adults; however, adherence to exercise programs may be low. Our objective was to identify and grade the quality of predictors of adherence to prescribed exercise in older adults.METHODS: After registration (CRD42018108242), prospective experimental studies were identified using a peer-reviewed search strategy applied to MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane and CINAHL from inception until April 23, 2019. Following independent and duplicate review of titles, abstracts and full texts, we included prospective studies with an average population age >65 years, where exercise was formally prescribed for a medical or surgical condition. We excluded studies where exercise was prescribed for a chronic musculoskeletal condition. Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognostic studies tool or Cochrane risk of bias tool, as appropriate. Predictors of adherence were identified, pooled, and graded for quality using an adaptation of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework for predictor studies.RESULTS: We included 19 observational studies and 4 randomized controlled trials (n=5785) Indications for exercise included cardiac (n=6), pulmonary rehabilitation (n=7), or other (n=10; surgical, medical, and neurologic). Overall adherence rate was reported in 20 studies (range 21%-93%; mean 68%, standard deviation 23%). Moderate-quality evidence suggested that positive predictors of adherence were self-efficacy and good self-rated mental health; negative predictors were depression (high quality) and distance from the exercise facility. Moderate-quality evidence suggested that comorbidity and age were not predictive of adherence.CONCLUSIONS: These findings can inform design of future exercise programs as well as identification of individuals who may require extra support to benefit from prescribed exercise.
Kinetic and Mechanism Studies on Pyrolysis of Printed Circuit Boards in the Absence and Presence of Copper

The kinetic and mechanism of pyrolysis for Cu-free printed circuit board (CFPCB) and Cu-coated printed circuit board (CCPCB) were studied using nonisothermal thermo-gravimetry (TG) analysis coupled with Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry. TG and DTG (differential thermo-gravimetry) analyses were performed to study the mass loss characteristics. Kinetic analysis adopted the Ozawa–Flynn–Wall (OFW) model to confirm the reaction series by the variation pattern of activation energy. The real-time detection technique was used into three-dimensional (3D) FTIR analysis for providing the composition of evolved gases. The results indicated that the pyrolysis reaction of CFPCB can be divided into four separate stages. Stage I (α < 0.075) was ascribed by the breakage of N-containing cross-linkages with low boiling volatiles formed. The irregular cleavage of chemical bonds occurred in Stage II (0.075 < α < 0.85) with the decomposition of both brominated and nonbrominated compounds. In Stage III (0.85 < α <.
Spin-Torque Ferromagnetic Resonance in 
W/Co−Fe−B/W/Co−Fe−B/MgO
 Stacks

Studying resonance modes in exchange-coupled ferromagnetic bilayers is typically accomplished by a magnetic-field-excited ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) technique, in which case it is usually difficult to excite the optical mode, because the out-of-phase resonance cannot efficiently couple to a uniform excitatory magnetic field. This work shows that spin-torque FMR (ST-FMR) can be used to efficiently excite the optical resonance mode, because the current-induced torque naturally does not act uniformly on the two ferromagnetic layers. The results indicate that ST-FMR is an effective probe of interlayer exchange coupling in such systems, to the benefit of research on spintronic devices.