Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reliability and Criterion Validity of Two Algebra Measures: Translations and Content Analysis- Multiple Choice

This technical report summarizes the results of a study in which we examined the technical adequacy of two potential measures for algebra progress monitoring. Eighty-seven students (11 of whom were receiving special education services) completed two forms of a Translations measure and two forms of a Content Analysis-Multiple Choice measure during each of two data collection sessions. In addition, we gathered data on criterion variables including grades, overall grade point average, teacher ratings of student proficiency, and scores on districtadministered standardized tests, as well as a measure of algebra aptitude. We examined both test-retest and alternate form reliability for both single probe scores and aggregated scores (computed by averaging two individual scores). Criterion validity was examined by computing correlations between students’ single and aggregated scores on the probes with their scores on other indicators of proficiency in algebra. The results of this study suggest that the Translations measure is more promising than the Content Analysis-Multiple Choice measure in terms of both reliability and criterion validity. The strength of the relations obtained in this study were in the low to moderate range and were not as strong as the relations obtained with a different sample in this district using three other algebra measures (see Project AAIMS Technical Report 2 for details of the earlier study). Both measures produced acceptable distributions that were free from floor and ceiling effects. Students had roughly similar means and standard deviations on both measures. Reliability estimates for both measures fell short of expected levels for both single probes and aggregated scores. The Translations measure produced stronger correlations than the Content Analysis-Multiple Choice measure, but did not demonstrate a level of reliability that would be acceptable for instructional decision making. The majority of the criterion validity relations were in the low to moderate range. Aggregated scores produced improvements in the criterion validity estimates for the Translations measure, but not for the Content Analysis-Multiple Choice measure. The strongest relations were identified between the Translations measure and eighth graders’ performance on the district’s math achievement test, as well as between the Translations measure and all students’ performance on the algebra aptitude test. These two relations were in the moderate to strong range; relations between the Translations measure and the remaining criterion variables were in the low range.
Power Residue Criteria for Quadratic Units and the Negative Pell Equation

Abstract Let $d\,>\,1$ be a square-free integer. Power residue criteria for the fundamental unit ${{\varepsilon }_{d}}$ of the real quadratic fields $\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{d})$ modulo a prime $p$ (for certain $d$ and $p$ ) are proved by means of class field theory. These results will then be interpreted as criteria for the solvability of the negative Pell equation ${{x}^{2}}\,-\,d{{p}^{2}}{{y}^{2}}\,=\,-1$ . The most important solvability criterion deals with all $d$ for which $\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-d})$ has an elementary abelian 2-class group and $p\,\equiv \,5$ (mod 8) or $p\,\equiv \,9$ (mod 16).
Tool use by four species of Indo-Pacific sea urchins

We compared the covering behavior of four sea urchin species, Tripneustes gratilla, Pseudoboletia maculata, Toxopneutes pileolus, and Salmacis sphaeroides found in the waters of Malapascua Island, Cebu Province and Bolinao, Panagsinan Province, Philippines. Specifically, we measured the amount and type of covering material on each urchin, and, in several cases, the recovery of debris cover after stripping the animal of its cover. We found that Tripneustes gratilla and Salmacis sphaeroides have a higher preference for plant material, especially sea-grass, compared to Pseudoboletia maculata and Toxopneutes pileolus, which prefer to cover themselves with coral rubble and other calcified material. Only for Toxopneutes pileolus did we find a decrease in cover with depth, confirming previous work that the covering behavior serves UV protection. We found no dependence of particle size on either species or urchin size, but we observed that larger urchins carried more and heavier debris. We observed a transport mechanism of debris onto the echinoid body surface utilizing a combination of tube feet and spines. The transport speed of individual debris items varied between species. We compare our results to previous studies of urchin covering behavior, comment on the phylogeny of urchin covering behavior and discuss the interpretation of this behavior as animal tool use.
The Fraser Complex Proteins (Frem1, Frem2, and Fras1) Can Form Anchoring Cords in the Absence of AMACO at the Dermal–Epidermal Junction of Mouse Skin

AMACO (VWA2 protein), secreted by epithelial cells, is strongly expressed at basement membranes when budding or invagination occurs in embryos. In skin, AMACO associates with proteins of the Fraser complex, which form anchoring cords. These, during development, temporally stabilize the dermal–epidermal junction, pending the formation of collagen VII-containing anchoring fibrils. Fraser syndrome in humans results if any of the core members of the Fraser complex (Fras1, Frem1, Frem2) are mutated. Fraser syndrome is characterized by subepidermal blistering, cryptophthalmos, and syndactyly. In an attempt to determine AMACO function, we generated and characterized AMACO-deficient mice. In contrast to Fraser complex mutant mice, AMACO-deficient animals lack an obvious phenotype. The mutually interdependent basement membrane deposition of the Fraser complex proteins, and the formation of anchoring cords, are not affected. Furthermore, hair follicle development in newborn AMACO-deficient mice showed no gross aberration. Surprisingly, it appears that, while AMACO is a component of the anchoring cords, it is not essential for their formation or function.
What Makes Social Work Meaningful? Evidence for a Curvilinear Relationship of Meaningful Work on Work Engagement with Psychological Capital as the Moderator

ABSTRACT Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, this study examines the curvilinear relationship between social workers’ meaningful work and work engagement. Data gathered from 223 social workers reveal that the relationship between meaningful work and work engagement showed a U-shaped curve when psychological capital is low. In contrast, this relationship showed an inverted U-shaped curve when psychological capital is high. Our study makes significant contributions to the literature in the following ways. First and foremost, this is the first paper that provides an established base to validate the momentary and changing nature of meaningful work empirically. Second, we further addressed how the fluctuating nature of meaningful work can be addressed through individuals’ demographic variables of psychological capital. Finally, our results provide managerial interventions that support businesses in advancing the understanding of psychological processes in contexts related to the broad area of work and in organizations. PRACTICE POINTS Meaningful work enhances work engagement. Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) should provide a safe space where social workers can share their victories, perspectives, and frustrations. NPOs should provide ample support to employees and ensure they fit well into the new social work environment. Given the malleable characteristics of PsyCap, NPOs can offer interventions in the form of training to increase social workers’ sense of hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism. The curvilinear effect of PsyCap on the relationship between meaningful work and work engagement shows that NPOs should also design pathways to engage social workers with high PsyCap constantly.
Loss of Social Status and Subjective Well-Being Across the Adult Life Span: Feeling Stuck or Moving Up?

Previous research suggests that loss of social status adversely impacts subjective well-being. Here, we show that important factors modulating this relationship are age differences in beliefs in opportunities and upward mobility. Across two preregistered longitudinal analyses (N1 = 5,487 and N2 = 1,092; 18–89 years), we found that individuals who hold a stronger belief that they have more opportunities in the future to improve their social status are less likely to suffer from status loss. Further analyses revealed that this interaction effect can be explained by age differences in these beliefs. Specifically, younger individuals were more likely to hold opportunity and upward mobility beliefs and, thus, were better able to maintain their relative level of life satisfaction when experiencing status loss. Overall, these findings contribute to our understanding of how individuals may mitigate the detrimental consequences of status loss to their subjective well-being across the adult life span.
Comparison of Lactate Clearance with Established Risk Assessment Tools in Predicting Outcomes in Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Early risk stratification is mandatory in acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (AUGIB) to guide optimal treatment. Numerous risk scores were introduced, but lack of practicability led to limited use in daily clinical practice. Lactate clearance is an established risk assessment tool in a variety of diseases, such as trauma and sepsis. Therefore, this study compares the predictive ability of pre-endoscopic lactate clearance and established risk scores in patients with AUGIB at the University Hospital of Cologne. Active bleeding was detected in 27 (25.2%) patients, and hemostatic intervention was performed in 35 (32.7%). In total, 16 patients (15%) experienced rebleeding and 12 (11.2%) died. Initially, lactate levels were elevated in 64 cases (59.8%), and the median lactate clearance was 18.7% (2.7–48.2%). Regarding the need for endoscopic intervention, the predictive ability of Glasgow Blatchford Score, pre-endoscopic Rockall score, initial lactate and lactate clearance did not differ significantly, and their area under the receiver operating characteristic curves were 0.658 (0.560–0.747), 0.572 (0.473–0.667), 0.572 (0.473–0.667) and 0.583 (0.483–0.677), respectively. Similar results were observed in relation to rebleeding and mortality. In conclusion, lactate clearance had comparable predictive ability compared to established risk scores. Further prospective research is necessary to clarify the potential role of lactate clearance as a reliable risk assessment tool in AUGIB.
The effect of young marriage on household communication harmony in Medan

This study aims to determine: The effect of young marriage on household harmony in Medan Sinembah Village, Tanjung Morawa District on the perspectives on Family Communication. The type of research is quantitative research. The population of this study was adolescents who married at a young age in 2019-2020 whose marriage age was 19-20 years, totalling 52 people. Sampling used a total sampling technique, with a sample of 52 people. The data collection instrument used a questionnaire with a Likert scale totalling 15 statements of young marriage variables, including 12 valid items and 3 invalid items. Then 32 statements of household harmony variables including 28 valid items and 4 invalid items. The data analysis technique used descriptive tests, normality and linearity test, and hypothesis testing. The results of this study indicate that there is an influence between the young marriage variable and the household harmony variable with a t count of 3,794 l> 2,008, so it can be concluded that Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted, which means that "there is an effect of young marriage on household harmony". The value of t count is 3,794> t table 2,008 in simple linear regression analysis. The significance is 0.000 <0.05 probability, so it can be concluded that Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted, which means that "There is an effect of young marriage on household harmony in the context of Family Communication".
Essential Oil Variability of Azorean Cryptomeria japonica Leaves under Different Distillation Methods, Part 2: Molluscicidal Activity and Brine Shrimp Lethality

This study reports on the in vivo molluscicidal activity and Artemia salina lethality of Azorean Cryptomeria japonica leaf (CJL) essential oils (EOs) obtained by hydrodistillation (HD) and water-steam distillation (WSD) techniques, especially in light of the recent focus on the use of forestry and wood industry residues in a sustainable world economy. Molluscicidal activity was performed during several life stages of Radix peregra by the immersion method, under laboratory conditions. A first screening through a single-dose bioassay revealed that both EOs were highly active towards eggs, juveniles and adult snails (ca. 100% mortality). Concentration- and time-toxicity assays were carried out only on adult snails to determine the lethal parameters (LC50;90 and LT50;90). The LC50 values were 33 and 62 µg/mL for EO–WSD and EO–HD, respectively, after 48 h. The LT50 of EO–WSD required only 21 h for both 16 h and continous exposure periods, while that of EO–HD was slighty superior (21.8–25.6 h). Although not significant, EO–WSD was also slightly more toxic against A. salina than EO–HD (LC50 = 98 and 115 µg/mL after 24 h, respectively). In conclusion, Azorean CJL EOs, which are rich in α-pinene (mostly EO–WSD), have huge potential to be used as safe raw materials for the development of natural molluscicide products to control snails responsible for transmitting fascioliasis.
On estimation of stress–strength parameter using record values from proportional hazard rate models

ABSTRACT Based on record values, this article deals with inference for stress–strength reliability, R = P(X < Y), where the distributions of X and Y follow proportional hazard rate models but having different parameters. Maximum likelihood estimator, uniformly minimum variance unbiased estimator, Bayes estimator, and different confidence intervals for R are obtained. Numerical computations and simulation study are presented for illustrative purposes.
Radiomics Outperforms Clinical and Radiologic Signs in Predicting Spontaneous Basal Ganglia Hematoma Expansion: A Pilot Study

Prediction of the hematoma expansion (HE) of spontaneous basal ganglia hematoma (SBH) from the first non-contrast CT can result in better management, which has the potential of improving outcomes. This study has been designed to compare the performance of “Radiomics analysis,” “radiology signs,” and “clinical-laboratory data” for this task. We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records for clinical, demographic, and laboratory data in patients with SBH. CT images were reviewed for the presence of radiologic signs, including black-hole, blend, swirl, satellite, and island signs. Radiomic features from the SBH on the first brain CT were extracted, and the most predictive features were selected. Different machine learning models were developed based on clinical, laboratory, and radiology signs and selected Radiomic features to predict hematoma expansion (HE). The dataset used for this analysis included 116 patients with SBH. Among different models and different thresholds to define hematoma expansion (10%, 20%, 25%, 33%, 40%, and 50% volume enlargement thresholds), the Random Forest based on 10 selected Radiomic features achieved the best performance (for 25% hematoma enlargement) with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.9 on the training dataset and 0.89 on the test dataset. The models based on clinical-laboratory and radiology signs had low performance (AUCs about 0.5-0.6).
Phylomitogenomic Analyses Provided Further Evidence for the Resurrection of the Family Pseudoacanthocephalidae (Acanthocephala: Echinorhynchida)

Simple Summary Acanthocephalans, commonly known as spiny-headed or thorny-headed worms, are a small group of endoparasites with veterinary, medical and economic importance due to their ability to cause disease in domestic animals, wildlife, and humans. In recent decades, great progress has been made using mitochondrial genome data to clarify the phylogenetic relationships of acanthocephalans. However, the current mitochondrial genome database for acanthocephalans remains very limited. Herein, the characterization of the mitochondrial genome of Pseudoacanthocephalus bufonis (Shipley, 1903), the first representative of the family Pseudoacanthocephalidae, is reported. Phylogenetic analyses using the amino acid sequences of 12 protein-coding genes supported the validity of the family Pseudoacanthocephalidae and suggested a close affinity between Pseudoacanthocephalidae and Cavisomatidae. Our phylogenetic results also showed that the families Polymorphidae and Centrorhynchidae have a closer relationship than Plagiorhynchidae in the Polymorphida. These findings contribute to revealing the patterns of mitogenomic evolution in this group and represent a substantial step towards reconstructing the classification of the phylum Acanthocephala. Abstract The phylum Acanthocephala is an important monophyletic group of parasites, with adults parasitic in the digestive tracts of all major vertebrate groups. Acanthocephalans are of veterinary, medical, and economic importance due to their ability to cause disease in domestic animals, wildlife, and humans. However, the current genetic data for acanthocephalans are sparse, both in terms of the proportion of taxa surveyed and the number of genes sequenced. Consequently, the basic molecular phylogenetic framework for the phylum is still incomplete. In the present study, we reported the first complete mitochondrial genome from a representative of the family Pseudoacanthocephalidae Petrochenko, 1956. The mitogenome of Pseudoacanthocephalus bufonis (Shipley, 1903) is 14,056 bp in length, contains 36 genes (12 protein-coding genes (PCGs) (lacking atp8), 22 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes (rrnL and rrnS)) and two non-coding regions (NCR1 and NCR2), and displayed the highest GC-skew in the order Echinorhynchida. Phylogenetic results of maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) using the amino acid sequences of 12 protein-coding genes in different models provided further evidence for the resurrection of the family Pseudoacanthocephalidae and also supported that the order Echinorhynchida is paraphyletic. A monophyletic clade comprising P. bufonis and Cavisoma magnum suggests a close affinity between Pseudoacanthocephalidae and Cavisomatidae. Our phylogenetic analyses also showed that Polymorphidae has a closer relationship with Centrorhynchidae than Plagiorhynchidae in the monophyletic order Polymorphida.
Flood Risk Analysis: The Case of Tigris River (Tikrit /Iraq)

The study of flood risks has a fundamental role in ensuring the safety of cities near rivers and drawing up plans to protect them during future floods. This study aims to manage potential flood risks, and Tikrit city was used as a case study. The daily discharge of the Tigris River in the study area was provided by the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources from 2019 to 2022. The HEC-RAS software was utilized to build a 2-D flood model to simulate potential flood scenarios. First, the model was calibrated by adjusting the value of Manning's coefficient (n), and it was found that n = 0.031 reflects the nature of the region because the Nash-Sutcliff Error (NSE) was 0.93. Then, the efficiency of the 2-D flood model was verified by comparing the model’s results with the study area’s satellite images, and the results showed a great match. Following that, the 2-D model was used under different flooding scenarios. The results showed that the size of areas exposed to flooding increased with the discharges passing through the Tigris River. For instance, increasing the discharge to 800m3/s increased the flooded areas by 13.7%, while increasing the discharge to 1500 m3/s increased the flooded areas by 90.7 % compared to the river’s normal flow. Also, the results showed that the eastern regions of the riverbanks are more vulnerable to flooding than the western side because the ground levels are low on the eastern side compared to the western part of the riverbanks.
Monolayer graphene coated Yb:YAG channel waveguides for Q-switched laser operation

We studied operation characteristics of an Yb:YAG channel waveguide laser, Q-switched by employing monolayer graphene. Uniform monolayer graphene grown by thermal chemical vapor deposition is transferred directly onto one end facet of the channel waveguide which simultaneously serves as an output coupling mirror (OC), making a monolithic Q-switched waveguide laser possible. In this cavity configuration, the Q-switched laser delivers a maximum average output power of 85 mW, corresponding to a pulse energy of 64 nJ at 1.33-MHz repetition rate. The laser performance of this device is compared with another cavity configuration, in which the monolayer graphene is coated onto separate OCs. In this case a shorter pulse duration of 79 ns is achieved, but the laser operation performance is worse with respect to efficiency and output power. The proposed monolithic approach demonstrates the potential for developing more compact Q-switched laser devices.
Log-Spectral Amplitude and Spectral Polarity Estimation in Short-Time Discrete Cosine Transform Domain

Single-channel speech enhancement based on short-time spectral amplitude (STSA) estimation often uses the unmodified phase spectrum for speech re-synthesis, thereby introducing undesired artifacts to the enhanced speech. Using discrete Cosine transform (DCT) instead of discrete Fourier transform (DFT) reduces the effects of such issues because the consequences of using noisy DCT polarities for speech re-synthesis are less severe than using the noisy DFT phases. Although DFT-based STSA estimators have been adequately studied in the past, such estimators have not sufficiently been developed for the DCT domain. This study aims to demonstrate the superiority of DCT representation in STSA estimation-based speech enhancement. To achieve this, we first derive the DCT-based STSA estimator which minimizes the mean squared error (MSE) of the log-spectral amplitudes (LSA). We then propose a novel DCT polarity estimator to be used in combination with the STSA estimator. The clean speech DCT coefficients are modeled by a Gaussian or a Laplace density and the noise DCT coefficients are modeled by a Gaussian density. To assess the enhanced speech, objective and subjective quality measures are employed. Results show that the new estimators performed better and are widely preferred by listeners over the corresponding DFT-based estimators. Moreover, the proposed STSA estimators can be expressed in the closed-form, whereas the DFT-based estimator with super-Gaussian speech prior has no closed-form solutions.
In-Flight Plume Control and Thrust Tuning in Magnetic Nozzle Using Tapered-Coils System Under the Effect of Density Gradient

A three-thick tapered-coils system is developed and the role of spacing and relative size of the coils along with their tapering in controlling the plume geometry through a magnetic nozzle in-flight is revealed under the effect of the density gradient. Empirical relations for the plume radius as a function of the axial distance are obtained for a deeper understanding of the plume geometry after establishing a concept of plasma detachment. For the same current, the translation of the middle coil has a weaker impact on the plume geometry (size and slope profile) compared to the middle-to-outer coil diameter ratio. The combined effect of the tailorable plume geometry and the gradient of the plasma density, occurring because of the varying magnetic field, on the axial thrust is numerically evaluated. As the middle coil is shifted toward the rightmost or the leftmost coil in the system, a significant enhancement in the thrust is noticed, which rises further on tapering the coils and more than 3 mN thrust is achieved for the taper angle of 22°. The results indicate that the plume structure can be changed and optimized in-flight for tuning the thrust without varying the input power.