Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Internet use among Moroccan secondary school students: An exploratory study

Due to the expansion of Web 2.0 and the spread of social media platforms, current media research has shifted it orientation towards media users, their motives, traffic, and conduct in using the Internet. Situated within media audience studies, this paper explored Internet use and traffic among adolescents in secondary school. Drawing on the Uses and Gratification Theory (U&GT), this study examined Moroccan secondary school students’ motives for Internet use and their online activities. 395 adolescents were selected through the convenience sampling technique from both rural and urban areas and were given a paper-based questionnaire. 20 informants were also questioned in semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics were used to measure the frequency of the variables based on the quantitative data obtained from the questionnaire. The qualitative data were thematically analyzed and discussed. Our results revealed that the participants utilized the Internet more for socializing and entertainment than for educative purposes and that using the Internet for learning purposes and academic research was not a priority for the students. Results from this study were used to discuss practical implications.
Intracellular signaling specificity in response to uniaxial vs. multiaxial stretch: implications for mechanotransduction

[PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , January 1, 2006; 100 (1): 129-135. J Appl Physiol E. E. Spangenburg and T. A. McBride p70S6K activation Inhibition of stretch-activated channels during eccentric muscle contraction attenuates [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , June 1, 2006; 290 (6): C1660-C1665. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol M. D. Boppart, D. J. Burkin and S. J. Kaufman {alpha}7beta1-Integrin regulates mechanotransduction and prevents skeletal muscle injury [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , June 1, 2006; 290 (6): C1487-C1494. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol Allen R. Tatsumi, X. Liu, A. Pulido, M. Morales, T. Sakata, S. Dial, A. Hattori, Y. Ikeuchi and R. E. hepatocyte growth factor Satellite cell activation in stretched skeletal muscle and the role of nitric oxide and [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , July 1, 2007; 293 (1): C267-C276. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol R. Chandran, T. J. Knobloch, M. Anghelina and S. Agarwal inflammation Biomechanical signals upregulate myogenic gene induction in the presence or absence of [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , September 1, 2007; 92 (5): 963-970. Exp Physiol K. M. Rice, D. H. Desai, D. L. Preston, P. S. Wehner and E. R. Blough p70 S6 kinase in the ageing Fischer 344 x Brown Norway rat aorta Vascular: Uniaxial stretch-induced regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase, Akt and
Solar tracking system – a review

Abstract The generation of power from the reduction of fossil fuels is the biggest challenge for the next half century. The idea of converting solar energy into electrical energy using photovoltaic panels holds its place in the front row compared to other renewable sources. But the continuous change in the relative angle of the sun with reference to the earth reduces the watts delivered by solar panel. In this context solar tracking system is the best alternative to increase the efficiency of the photovoltaic panel. Solar trackers move the payload towards the sun throughout the day. In this paper different types of tracking systems are reviewed and their pros and cons are discussed in detail. The results presented in this review confirm that the azimuth and altitude dual axis tracking system is more efficient compared to other tracking systems. However in cost and flexibility point of view single axis tracking system is more feasible than dual axis tracking system.
BLAST: Latent Dynamics Models from Bootstrapping

State-of-the-art world models such as DreamerV2 [15] have signiﬁcantly improved the capabilities of model-based reinforcement learning. However, these approaches typically rely on a reconstruction loss to shape their latent representations, which is known to fail in environments with high ﬁdelity visual observations [8]. Previous work has found that when learning latent dynamics models without a reconstruction loss by using only the signal provided by the reward, the performance can also drop dramatically [1]. We present a simple set of modiﬁcation to DreamerV2 to remove its reliance on reconstruction inspired by the recent self-supervised learning method Bootstrap Your Own Latent [10]. The combination of adding a stop-gradient to the posterior, using a powerful auto-regressive model for the prior, and using a slowly updating target encoder, which we call BLAST, allows the world model to learn from signals present in both the reward and observations, improving efﬁciency on our tested environment as well as being signiﬁcantly more robust to visual distractors.
Electromagnetic properties of metal-dielectric media and their applications

The main objective o f this dissertation is to investigate nano-structured random composite materials, which exhibit anomalous phenomena, such as the extraordinary enhancements o f linear and non-linear optical processes due to excitation o f collective electronic states, surface plasmons (SP). The main goal is to develop a time and memory efficient novel numerical method to study the properties of these random media in three dimensions (3D) by utilization o f multi core processing and packages such as MPI for parallel execution. The developed numerical studies are then utilized to provide a comprehensive characterization and optimization o f a surface plasmon enhanced solar cell (SPESC) and to serve as a test bed for enhanced bio and chemical sensing. In this context, this thesis work develops an efficient and exact numerical algorithm here referred to as Block Elimination Method (BE) which provides the unique capability o f modeling extremely large scale composite materials (with up to 1 million strongly interacting metal or dielectric particles). This capability is crucial in order to study the electromagnetic response of large scale inhomogeneous (fractal) films and bulk composites at critical concentrations (percolation). The developed numerical method is used to accurately estimate parameters that describe the composite materials, including the effective conductivity and correlation length scaling exponents, as well as density o f states and localization length exponents at the band center. This works reveals, for a first time, a unique de-localization mechanism that plays an important role in the excitation of charge-
Immunogenicity and Reactogenicity of mRNA BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccine among Thai Adolescents with Chronic Diseases

Adolescents with underlying diseases are at risk of severe COVID-19. The immune response of BNT162b2 may be poor among immunocompromised adolescents. We aim to describe immunogenicity of mRNA BNT162b2 among adolescents who are immunocompromised or have chronic diseases. We recruited adolescents 12–18 years of age; group A impaired-immunity (post-transplantation, cancer, on immunosuppressive drugs) and group B chronic diseases. A two-dose regimen of BNT162b2 was given. Immunogenicity was determined by surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT) and IgG against receptor-binding domain (RBD). From August to October 2021, 312 adolescents, with a median age (IQR) of 15 years (13.7–16.5), were enrolled (group A 100, group B 212). The geometric means (GMs) of sVNT (% inhibition) against Delta strain and anti-RBD IgG (BAU/mL) after the 2nd dose among group A were: post-transplantation recipients 52.9 (95% CI 37.7–74.2) and 233.6 (95% CI 79–690.6); adolescents with cancer 62.3 (95% CI 29.2–133.1) and 214.9(95% CI 34.2–1348.6); and adolescents with other immunosuppressive conditions 66.7 (95% CI 52.4–84.8) and 849.8 (95% CI 393.4–1835.8). In group B were: adolescents living with HIV 98 (95% CI 97.3–98.8) and 3240.3 (95% CI 2699–3890.2), and adolescents with other chronic disease 98.6 (95% CI 98.3–98.9) and 3818.5 (95% CI 3490.4–4177.4). At day 90, immunity declined; among impaired-immunity participants were 43.9 (95% CI 30.8–62.4) and 178.7 (95% CI 91.2–350.1) and adolescents with chronic diseases were 90.6 (95% CI 88.4–92.8) and 1037.1 (95% CI 933.3–1152.5). In conclusion, adolescents with impaired immunity had a poor response to 2-doses of BNT162b2, additional dose should be considered. Adolescents with chronic diseases had excellent response but immunity waned after 3 m, booster dose may be required.
Algorithm-Augmented Work and Domain Experience: The Countervailing Forces of Ability and Aversion

Past research offers mixed perspectives on whether domain experience helps or hurts algorithm-augmented worker performance. Reconciling these perspectives, we theorize that intermediate levels of domain experience are optimal for algorithm-augmented performance, due to the interplay between two countervailing forces—ability and aversion. Although domain experience can increase performance via increased ability to complement algorithmic advice (e.g., identifying inaccurate predictions), it can also decrease performance via increased aversion to accurate algorithmic advice. Because ability developed through learning by doing increases at a decreasing rate, and algorithmic aversion is more prevalent among experts, we theorize that algorithm-augmented performance will first rise with increasing domain experience, then fall. We test this by exploiting a within-subjects experiment in which corporate information technology support workers were assigned to resolve problems both manually and using an algorithmic tool. We confirm that the difference between performance with the algorithmic tool versus without the tool was characterized by an inverted U-shape over the range of domain experience. Only workers with moderate domain experience did significantly better using the algorithm than resolving tickets manually. These findings highlight that, even if greater domain experience increases workers’ ability to complement algorithms, domain experience can also trigger other mechanisms that overcome the positive ability effect and inhibit performance. Additional analyses and participant interviews suggest that, even though the highest experience workers had the greatest ability to complement the algorithmic tool, they rejected its advice because they felt greater accountability for possible unintended consequences of accepting algorithmic advice.
Endocrine eﬀects of sublethal exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on silver carp ( Hypophthalmichthys molitrix )

‘‘Capsule’’: Endocrine disrupting eﬀects of selected POPs on silver carp are reported. Abstract Silver carp ( Hypophthalmichthys molitrix ) samples were collected from ﬁve selected sites that represent diverse levels of downgraded persistent organic pollutants (POPs) contamination in Ya-Er Lake in October 1999. Hepatic ethoxyresoruﬁn-O-deethylase (EROD) and UDP glucuronosyltransferase (UDPGT) activities, hepatosomatic index (HSI), hepatic retinoids, serum thyroid hormones were measured. It was found that hepatic retinol and serum free 3,5,3 0 - tetraiodothyronine (FT 3 ) signiﬁcantly increased ( P < 0.01) when both hepatic EROD and UDPGT activities signiﬁcantly declined ( P < 0.01) from pond 1 to 5 with decrease in the degree of pollution. This signiﬁcant negative correlation ( P < 0.01) suggests that the persistent organochlorinated contaminants could induce hepatic EROD and UDPGT activities, alter retinoid and thyroid hormone homeostasis, and ﬁnally lead to the reduction of retinol and FT 3 , the two biologically active forms of retinoids and thyroid hormone in silver carp of Ya-Er Lake. # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Simulation model of traffic operations on single carriageway roads: Model calibrationand validation

The current Malaysian procedure for a detailed evaluation of the capacity and effects of various road and traffic characteristics for single carriageway roads, which is adopted directly from the American Highway Capacity Manual, is inadequate and inaccurate since several aspects used in the method such as the consideration of the recreational vehicles and trucks are not directly applicable to the Malaysian traffic characteristics. The validity of the analysis is debatable since the way in which the effect of motorcycles on overall performance of the roadways is considered is not clear. The existing simulation models of traffic operations on single carriageway roads also suffer from a similar weakness. Therefore, there is a need to develop a comprehensive traffic simulation model to carry out this task. Such a model must be capable of simulating traffic behavior for a range of road layout and geometry, at junctions and compositions of traffic which include motorcycles. This paper describes the development of a simulation model of traffic operations on single carriageway roads to assess and evaluate the speed/flow relationships and hence the road capacity from the simulation model for a given road geometry and traffic demand.
Intents and Preferences Prediction Based on Implicit Human Cues

Visual search is an important task, and it is part of daily human life. Thus, it has been a long-standing goal in Computer Vision to develop methods aiming at analysing human search intent and preferences. As the target of the search only exists in mind of the person, search intent prediction remains challenging for machine perception. In this thesis, we focus on advancing techniques for search target and preference prediction from implicit human cues. First, we propose a search target inference algorithm from human fixation data recorded during visual search. In contrast to previous work that has focused on individual instances as a search target in a closed world, we propose the first approach to predict the search target in open-world settings by learning the compatibility between observed fixations and potential search targets. Second, we further broaden the scope of search target prediction to categorical classes, such as object categories and attributes. However, state of the art models for categorical recognition, in general, require large amounts of training data, which is prohibitive for gaze data. To address this challenge, we propose a novel Gaze Pooling Layer that integrates gaze information into CNN-based architectures as an attention mechanism – incorporating both spatial and temporal aspects of human gaze behaviour. Third, we go one step further and investigate the feasibility of combining our gaze embedding approach, with the power of generative image models to visually decode, i.e. create a visual representation of, the search target. Forth, for the first time, we studied the effect of body shape on people preferences of outfits. We propose a novel and robust multi-photo approach to estimate the body shapes of each user and build a conditional model of clothing categories given body-shape. We demonstrate that in real-world data, clothing categories and body-shapes are correlated. We show that our approach estimates a realistic looking body shape that captures a user’s weight group and body shape type, even from a single image of a clothed person. However, an accurate depiction of the naked body is considered highly private and therefore, might not be consented by most people. First, we studied the perception of such technology via a user study. Then, in the last part of this thesis, we ask if the automatic extraction of such information can be effectively evaded. In summary, this thesis addresses several different tasks that aims to enable the vision system to analyse human search intent and preferences in real-world scenarios. In particular, the thesis proposes several novel ideas and models in visual search target prediction from human fixation data, for the first time studied the correlation between shape and clothing categories opening a new direction in clothing recommendation systems, and introduces a new topic in privacy and computer vision, aimed at preventing automatic 3D shape extraction from images.
University of Birmingham Interactions between nanoparticles in nanosuspension

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Perils of pluralism: Electoral violence and incumbency in sub-Saharan Africa

Why do some multiparty elections lead to political violence while others do not? Despite extensive literatures on democratization, civil war, and violence against civilians in civil war, the topic of electoral violence has received less attention. We develop a set of theoretical propositions to explain this variation, testing them on an original dataset on African elections from 1990 to 2008. We find that elections in which an incumbent presidential candidate is running for re-election are significantly more likely to experience electoral violence, both prior to the election and after voting has taken place. We argue that clientelism is behind this pattern, and that clients often resort to electoral violence to protect a reliable incumbent patron. On the other hand, when an incumbent candidate is not running for office, we argue that clients are less willing to assume the risks of participating in electoral violence because candidates in the election have not established a record of delivering patronage at the executive level. We further find some evidence that pre-existing social conflicts increase the risk of pre-election violence. We suggest that this finding is due to the tendency of political elites to mobilize voters around pre-existing political and economic grievances to promote their candidacies, in turn heightening tensions and divisions. We also examine, but find little support for, a number of other possible determinants of electoral violence, such as regime type, income level, international observers, ongoing civil war, pathway to power, and first elections after civil war. The article contributes not only to a small but growing literature on electoral violence but also to a burgeoning literature on political behavior in African elections.
Associations Between Depression, Anxiety, and Multiple Disease Outcomes: A Phenotype x Phenome-Wide Association Study in Electronic Health Records

Anxiety and depression are frequently comorbid yet phenotypically distinct. This study identifies differences in the clinically observable phenome across a wide variety of physical and mental disorders comparing patients with diagnoses of isolated depression, isolated anxiety, or both. Using electronic health records for 14,994 participants with depression and/or anxiety in the Mayo Clinic Biobank, a phenotype x phenome-wide association study (Phe2WAS) was performed to test for differences between these groups. Additional Phe2WAS were performed restricting analyses to diagnoses occurring before or after a diagnosis of depression or anxiety to determine the temporal sequencing of diagnoses. Compared to isolated anxiety, isolated depression was more strongly associated with obesity (OR=1.61; p=3e-22), sleep apnea (OR=1.71; p=1e-22), type II diabetes (OR=1.74; p=9e-18), and neurological disorders (OR=1.54; p=6e-10); these differences were most pronounced for medical diagnoses made after first depression or anxiety diagnosis. In relation to isolated depression, isolated anxiety was more strongly related to palpitations (OR=1.91; p=2e-25), skin neoplasms (OR=1.61; p=2e-17), cardiac dysrhythmias (OR=1.45; p=2e-12), and degenerative skin conditions (OR=1.41; p=1e-10); these differences were most pronounced for medical diagnoses made before a first depression or anxiety diagnosis. Patients with the comorbid depression and anxiety had stronger associations with other mental health disorders, substance use disorders, sleep problems, and digestive problems relative to those with isolated depression or anxiety. While depression and anxiety are closely related, this study suggests that improving phenotypic characterization within the broad categories of depression and anxiety could improve clinical care and provide future directions for research.
Open School Cambodia: Open Web-based E-learning Platform for Khmer-Speaking Users

The purpose of this usability study was to evaluate the ease of use of an open web-based learning platform called Open School, which was developed for Khmer-speaking users for taking and creating online courses. Based on an audience analysis, Open School was designed to be bilingual (English and Khmer), responsive to different devices, easy to use, and open. The development started in WordPress using WordPress Learning Management System (WPLMS) and other open plugins. To evaluate the ease of use of the platform, the researcher conducted two rounds of distance usability testing in Khmer language with twelve subjects in Cambodia via Google Hangouts. The usability tests focused on six important tasks including: navigating the platform homepage, creating an account, registering for a course, navigating the course pages, requesting to be an instructor and creating a course. The results from the two rounds of testing allowed the researcher to develop relevant support for the users with little experience in e-learning, and most importantly to improve the ease of use of the platform as indicated by a significant improvement of the average usability score from 4.4 to 5.03 on the six-point scale. Open School will be one of the first distance learning platforms in Khmer language when it launches and is hoped to solve some educational issues in Cambodia. Now that the usability issues have been fixed, the next big step for the researcher is to find a way to encourage people to use the platform. Introduction The current Cambodian education system is witnessing a great gap of educational quality between schools in the capital city and those in the provinces. Even within the capital city, there is still an educational gap between public and private schools. The issue stems from the lack of motivation of the government teaching staff and the inadequate financial support to the public schools, which also indirectly increases the cost of education and results in school dropouts among students from poor families (NGO Education Partnership, 2007). By Cambodian law, public general education is free. However, many of the government teaching staff are providing private tutoring classes outside of the school hours to their students to earn extra money to supplement their current minimum wage ("Why educate Cambodia", 2016). Teachers tend to take the formal classroom instruction for granted, which has caused a compromise in the quality of such instruction. A sustainable solution must be addressed for such an issue to guarantee the future of Cambodian next generations.