Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Listening to mothers’ voices of children’s play challenges and changes during social distancing

This study explores how mothers in the US described challenges to their children’s (ages birth to eight) play experiences at home during social distancing due to the COVID-19 virus. Understanding their lived experiences is valuable because it will add insight into the effects of this unique time period on the critical role parent-child interactions play in children’s physical, social, and emotional well-being. Using a phenomenological design, interviews with 14 mothers revealed a common experience in which play efforts were altered at times due to challenges related to social distancing and COVID-19. Four themes described these challenges: Lack of Parent Resources and Support, Work and Child Care Balance, Children’s Struggles with Social Isolation, and Children’s Uncertainty Regarding COVID-19. Mothers believed it was their responsibility to keep their children engaged in play as part of their childcare duties. They struggled to balance work and childcare, did not always enjoy playing with their children, and desired alone time to recover during this challenging time. They sought to best meet their children’s needs but had to make allowances to their parenting practices and play attitudes. The authors discuss how more intensive parenting philosophies could be difficult to sustain when society does not operate as usual.
Setting the Tone: A Discursive Case Study of Problem-Based Inquiry Learning to Start a Graduate Statistics Course for In-Service Teachers

The first day of a course has great potential to set the tone for the entire course, planting the seeds for habits of mind and questioning and setting in motion expectations for classroom discourse. Rather than let the first meeting contain little besides going over the syllabus, the instructor (Lesser) decided to use two sustained open-ended scenarios to put in place from the start the problem-based inquiry learning approach he wanted to use throughout most of the course. After reviewing the literatures involved, this paper shares a description of the lesson's design and instructional cycle and a discourse analysis of that lesson's implementation. Strategies identified by the case study analysis include varying participation structures, well-crafted problems, and the instructor's role as facilitator and co-learner.
Study of the excitation of magnetostatic modes in yttrium‐iron‐garnet films by a microstrip line

Magnetostatic modes in a rectangular yttrium‐iron‐garnet film, magnetized by a normal or parallel magnetic field, were excited using a microstrip line. The modes spectra are used to investigate the coupling between the microstrip and the magnetostatic waves in the film and to examine the theory of the dispersion of these waves. It is shown that when the microstrip is lifted off the film it excites magnetostatic waves in all directions whereas when it is close to the film waves are emitted only in the directions close to the normal to the microstrip line. These results are discussed in view of their implications to magnetostatic wave devices.
Magnetic ordering and spin-reorientation transitions in Tb Co 3 B 2

The magnetic structure of the compound TbCo{sub 3}B{sub 2} has been studied in the temperature range 1.5 K{<=}T{<=}300 K by means of neutron powder diffraction, magnetization, magnetic ac susceptibility, and heat capacity measurements. The compound is of hexagonal symmetry and is paramagnetic at 300 K, undergoes a magnetic Co-Co ordering transition at {approx}170 K, and a second magnetic Tb-Tb ordering transition at {approx}30 K. The latter induces a spin-reorientation transition, in which the magnetic axis rotates from the c axis toward the basal plane. Below this transition a symmetry decrease ({gamma} magnetostriction) sets in, leading to an orthorhombic distortion of the crystal lattice. The crystal and magnetic structures and interactions and their evolution with temperature are discussed using a microscopic physical model.
Central European Journal of Mathematics On set-valued cone absolutely summing maps

Spaces of cone absolutely summing maps are generalizations of Bochner spaces Lp(μ, Y ), where (Ω, Σ, μ) is some measure space, 1 ≤ p < ∞ and Y is a Banach space. The Hiai-Umegaki space L1[Σ, cbf(X )] of integrably bounded functions F : Ω → cbf(X ), where the latter denotes the set of all convex bounded closed subsets of a separable Banach space X , is a set-valued analogue of L1(μ, X ). The aim of this work is to introduce set-valued cone absolutely summing maps as a generalization of L1[Σ, cbf(X )], and to derive necessary and sufficient conditions for a set-valued map to be such a set-valued cone absolutely summing map. We also describe these set-valued cone absolutely summing maps as those that map order-Pettis integrable functions to integrably bounded set-valued functions. MSC: 28B20, 47H04, 46B42, 28B15
Two-phase modeling of deflagration-to-detonation transition in granular materials: Reduced equations

Of the two-phase mixture models used to study deflagration-to-detonation transition in granular explosives, the Baer–Nunziato model is the most highly developed. It allows for unequal phase velocities and phase pressures, and includes source terms for drag and compaction that strive to erase velocity and pressure disequilibria. Since typical time scales associated with the equilibrating processes are small, source terms are stiff. This stiffness motivates the present work where we derive two reduced models in sequence, one with a single velocity and the other with both a single velocity and a single pressure. These reductions constitute outer solutions in the sense of matched asymptotic expansions, with the corresponding inner layers being just the partly dispersed shocks of the full model. The reduced models are hyperbolic and are mechanically as well as thermodynamically consistent with the parent model. However, they cannot be expressed in conservation form and hence require a regularization in order to fully specify the jump conditions across shock waves. Analysis of the inner layers of the full model provides one such regularization [Kapila et al., Phys. Fluids 9, 3885 (1997)], although other choices are also possible. Dissipation associated with degrees of freedom that have been eliminated is restricted to the thin layers and is accounted for by the jump conditions.
High $K$-band surface brightness fluctuations in NGC 1427 and NGC 720

We have observed K{band Surface Brightness Fluctuations (SBF) in NGC 1427 and NGC 720. We combine our measurements with distance measurements based on I{band SBF distance moduli and distance moduli derived by other distance indicators. When using distances from I{band SBF, we obtain MK = 6:55 0:27 for NGC 1427 and MK = 6:430:18 for NGC 720. When using an average of direct distance measurements, we obtain MK = 6:17 0:23 for NGC 1427 and MK = 6:14 0:24 for NGC 720. For both galaxies, MK lies well above the average value used as a calibration for distance indication (MK = 5:61 0:12 Jensen et al. 1998). In NGC 720 the high K{band SBF are most probably due to an intermediate-age population. However, there is no hint from current data for any anomaly in the stellar population of NGC 1427. These large variations of MK in several galaxies underline once more the need for a better understanding of MK as a function of stellar population properties (Mei et al. 2001b; Liu et al. 2001), especially with respect to the potential presence of intermediate{age populations.
Structured mesh generation with smoothness controls

In geometrically complex domains, the Ryskin and Leal (RL) orthogonal mesh generation system may cause mesh distortion and overlapping problems when using the ‘weak constraint’ method with specified boundary point distribution for all boundaries. To resolve these problems, an improved RL system with automatic smoothness control is proposed. In this improved RL system, the automatic smoothness control mechanism is based on five types of smoothness conditions and includes the self‐adjustment mechanism and the auto‐evaluation mechanism for an empirical parameter. The proposed system is illustrated using several test examples. Several applications to natural domains are also demonstrated. It is shown that the improved RL system is capable of resolving the above problems at little cost of orthogonality. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Fin-Improving Effects of Fucosylated Chondroitin Sulfate from Green and Purple Apostichopus japonicus on Caudal Fin Regeneration of Zebrafish Larvae

This study investigated the capability for fin regeneration in zebrafish larvae with the mechanism of FCS isolated from green and purple sea cucumbers Apostichopus japonicus (G-FCS and P-FCS). HPGPC determined that mean molecular weight of purified G-FCS and P-FCS is 19.5 and 18.8 kDa, and the FT-IR spectrum displayed similar characteristic absorption peaks. AFM images presented that G-FCS was shown as a spherical polysaccharide, while P-FCS molecules exhibited elongated chains. For the regeneration examination, FCS increased the regrowth area of the larval fin at 48 hours postamputation with enhanced locomotor behaviors, and the transcription levels of regeneration-related genes (Wnt10a, msx1b, fgf20a, bmp2a, bmp4, and igf2b) were upregulated. Moreover, FCS promoted the mRNA expression of inflammatory factors (iNOS, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, and IFN-γ) and TLR/NF-κB pathway-related genes (TLR3, TLR4a, NF-κb, and MyD88). The Western blot analyses of TNF-α and IL-1β supported that FCS enhanced immune response. ELISA results indicated that FCSs increased the contents of NO, CAT, SOD, and G6PD. Summarily, the present results suggested that FCS was a potential regeneration enhancer by elevating immunomodulatory and antioxidative processes in zebrafish.
Software modules categorization through likelihood and bayesian analysis of finite dirichlet mixtures

In this paper, we examine deterministic and Bayesian methods for analyzing finite Dirichlet mixtures. The deterministic method is based on the likelihood approach, and the Bayesian approach is implemented using the Gibbs sampler. The selection of the number of clusters for both approaches is based on the Bayesian information criterion, which is equivalent to the minimum description length. Experimental results are presented using simulated data, and a real application for software modules classification is also included.
A novel method improving the alignment accuracy of a strapdown inertial navigation system on a stationary base

In the process of initial alignment for a strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) on a stationary base, the east gyro drift rate is an important factor affecting the alignment accuracy of the azimuth misalignment angle. When the Kalman filtering algorithm is adopted in initial alignment, as the east gyro drift rate cannot be estimated, it yields a constant error in the estimation of the azimuth misalignment angle. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to improve the alignment accuracy. The update equation for the estimate of the east gyro drift rate is established, and the estimation accuracy of the azimuth misalignment angle has been improved greatly through adjusting the estimated value of the east gyro drift rate on the basis of the update equation. Simulation results show that the method proposed in this paper is efficient in initial alignment for a medium accuracy SINS on a stationary base.
Correlation and Path Analysis Studies for Yield and Quality Traits of Rice Landraces and Mutants of Chhattisgarh, India

Background: The production of rice needs to grow as this is one of the major objective in plant improvement program to fulfill the requirement of the rapidly growing population. Objective and Methods: The field experiment was conducted to study character association among yield and its attributes among 58 rice genotypes at Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, College of Agriculture, Raipur (C.G.) to know the relationship among characters. Results: it is found out that Traits like panicle weight per plant, filled spikelets per panicle, harvest index, and biological yield per plant are having a high direct effect and significant correlation with grain yield per plant, and traits like milled grain length-width ratio, hulling %, and alkali spreading value are having a high direct effect and significant correlation with head rice recovery. Conclusions: Direct selection based on these traits for improvement of rice grain yield and grain quality can be effective.
Serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D and hyaluronic acid levels as markers of fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease at the main tertiary referral hospital in Ghana: A case‐control study design

Liver fibrosis leading to chronic liver disease (CLD) is a major cause of morbidity, mortality and health‐care expenditure worldwide. The “gold standard” for diagnosis and staging of liver fibrosis is histological analysis of liver tissue obtained by liver biopsy, an invasive procedure. Therefore, there is the need to identify noninvasive and inexpensive markers for diagnosis and staging of liver fibrosis. This study aimed at evaluating the correlation of hyaluronic acid (HA) and 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25‐OH vitamin D) serum levels as markers of fibrosis with histologically staged and graded liver biopsies obtained from CLD patients.
A Potential Role of the Spike Protein in Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Narrative Review

Human prion protein and prion-like protein misfolding are widely recognized as playing a causal role in many neurodegenerative diseases. Based on in vitro and in vivo experimental evidence relating to prion and prion-like disease, we extrapolate from the compelling evidence that the spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 contains extended amino acid sequences characteristic of a prion-like protein to infer its potential to cause neurodegenerative disease. We propose that vaccine-induced spike protein synthesis can facilitate the accumulation of toxic prion-like fibrils in neurons. We outline various pathways through which these proteins could be expected to distribute throughout the body. We review both cellular pathologies and the expression of disease that could become more frequent in those who have undergone mRNA vaccination. Specifically, we describe the spike protein’s contributions, via its prion-like properties, to neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative diseases; to clotting disorders within the vasculature; to further disease risk due to suppressed prion protein regulation in the context of widely prevalent insulin resistance; and to other health complications. We explain why these prion-like characteristics are more relevant to vaccine-related mRNA-induced spike proteins than natural infection with SARS-CoV-2. We note with an optimism an apparent loss of prion-like properties among the current Omicron variants. We acknowledge that the chain of pathological events described throughout this paper is only hypothetical and not yet verified. We also acknowledge that the evidence we usher in, while grounded in the research literature, is currently largely circumstantial, not direct. Finally, we describe the implications of our findings for the general public, and we briefly discuss public health recommendations we feel need urgent consideration. An earlier version of this article was previously posted to the Authorea preprint server on August 16, 2022.
Interactions between large‐scale and mesoscale processes define long‐term rainfall variability and availability of water resources in Western Bahia, Brazil

Western Bahia, a region in Northeast Brazil highly dependent on water availability due to the large concentration of irrigated lands, has been suffering from decreasing precipitation in the last decades. The mean climate of Northeast Brazil and its variability have been linked to teleconnections with the Atlantic and Pacific sea surface temperatures, including the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). This study investigates how large‐scale (AMO) and mesoscale (orographic) interactions are related to precipitation patterns in the region. Time series of precipitation and naturalized flows (corresponding to the flow that would occur in the river section if there were no anthropogenic actions) for the period 1981–2020 are analysed, indicating an average reduction of 11.5% in rainfall since the 1980s. The analyses show a significant (α = 0.05) rainfall reduction in the wettest months, the December and January bimester (DJ). A strong and significant negative correlation between AMO and precipitation (R = −0.62, α = 0.01) indicates a decrease in DJ rainfall when the AMO index is positive. The five rainiest and five driest DJ bimesters between 1981 and 2020 were selected to investigate the changes in atmospheric circulation. In the rainiest years, large‐scale mechanisms interact with the local topography to promote a major convection centre over Western Bahia. The driest years show suppressed convection over the topographic gradient and a change in the convection centre several hundred kilometres to the west. The continued increase in temperatures in the North Atlantic may perpetuate the decline in Western Bahia precipitation, putting pressure on water availability and impacting economic activities in the region.
CO2 emissions and growth: A bivariate bidimensional mean‐variance random effects model

We introduce a bivariate bidimensional mixed‐effects regression model, motivated by the analysis of CO2$$ {\mathrm{CO}}_2 $$ emission levels and growth on OECD countries from 1990 to 2018. The model is able to capture heterogeneity across countries and allows for a full association structure among outcomes, assuming a discrete distribution for the random terms with a possibly different number of support points in each univariate profile. We test the behavior of the proposed approach via a simulation study, considering several factors such as the number of observed units, times, and levels of heterogeneity in the data. Empirically, we define an extended version of the STIRPAT model where all model parameters, and not only the mean, vary according to a regression model. Our empirical findings provide evidence of heterogeneous behaviors across countries and suggest the need of a flexible approach to properly reflect the heterogeneity in both the emission levels and the growth processes.
TiO2 based metal-semiconductor-metal ultraviolet photodetectors

Nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films were prepared by sol-gel method and were then used to fabricate metal-semiconductor-metal ultraviolet photodetectors with Au Schottky contact. It was found that dark current of the fabricated devices was only 1.9nA at 5V applied bias. High responsivity of 199A∕W was achieved when it was irradiated by the ultraviolet light (λ=260nm). The low dark current and high responsivity maybe attributed to the effect of Schottky barrier in company with neutral semiconductor owing to the wide finger gap of 20μm. The devices show a slow time response with a rise time of 6s and a decay time of 15s. The authors deduced that the slow time response was caused by defect traps which were widely distributed in nanocrysal.
A modified runs test for symmetry

We propose a modification of a Modarres–Gastwirth test for the hypothesis of symmetry about a known center. By means of a Monte Carlo Study we show that the modified test overtakes the original Modarres–Gastwirth test for a wide spectrum of asymmetrical alternatives coming from the lambda family and for all assayed sample sizes. We also show that our test is the best runs test among the runs tests we have compared.
Instability of a moving liquid sheet in the presence of acoustic forcing

The excitation of thin planar liquid sheets formed by impinging two collinear water jets to acoustic waves was studied at varying frequencies and sound pressure levels (SPLs). Experiments were conducted over a range of liquid velocities that encompassed the stable and flapping regimes of the sheet. For a given frequency, there was a threshold value of SPL below which the sheet was unaffected. The threshold SPL increased with frequency. Further, the sheet was observed to respond to a set of specific frequencies lying in the range of 100–300 Hz, the frequency set varying with the Weber number of the liquid sheet. The magnitude of the response for a fixed pressure level, characterized by the reduction in the extent of the sheet, was larger at lower frequencies. The droplet sizes formed by the disintegration of the sheet reduced with an increase in the measured response and the drop-shedding frequency was near the imposed frequency. Model equations for inviscid flow and accounting for the varying pressure fie.
The attenuation of cavity tones using plasma actuators

The aeroacoustic environment of an open cavity with length-depth (L/D) ratios of 0.5 and 1.0 was studied with and without plasma actuators. The study was conducted through low speed wind tunnel experiments at freestream velocities between 10m/s and 20m/s corresponding to Reynolds numbers, based on the depth of the cavity, of 2.7×104 to 6.7×104. The oncoming boundary layer was turbulent with a thickness typically of 0.1D. The fluid flow inside the cavities was studied using a range of measurement techniques. These include oil flow, particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) and surface mounted microphone measurements. For acoustic control an array of paraelectric plasma actuators were located on the approaching surface to the cavity, aligned with the direction of the oncoming flow. Results show that the plasma actuators lead to a significant attenuation of the dominant cavity mode. The PIV surveys around the electrode elements reveal vortical structures produced by the plasma actuators. It is surmised that these structures are convected downstream with the mean flow and produce disturbances similar to that of vortex generators. This affects the convection of discrete vortices in the cavity shear layer, disrupting the mechanisms that allow the cavity to produce tones. Results also show that for any given geometry and input voltage to the plasma actuator the attenuation in the dominant mode reduces with increasing flow speed.
Pontine Infarct Resulting in Millard-Gubler Syndrome: A Case Report

Millard-Gubler syndrome is a crossed brainstem syndrome involving the facial nerve, abducens nerve, and the pyramidal tracts, typically resulting in ipsilateral facial weakness and contralateral hemiparesis. Here we report the case of a 76-year-old female with no pertinent past medical history who presented to the emergency department with acute left-sided facial droop and right upper extremity sensory loss. A pontine infarction was identified on imaging and she was managed medically with complete recovery. Pontine infarction can result in Millard-Gubler syndrome and present with facial weakness and subtle contralateral limb symptoms.