Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Math Instrument Development for Examining the Relationship between Spatial and Mathematical Problem-Solving Skills

Spatial cognition involves the ability to acquire, organize, and use spatial information in the “mind’s eye. ” Numerous correlational studies have demonstrated the strong relationship between spatial cognition and skill in problem-solving in mathematics. Educational researchers across the globe aim to improve students’ mathematics problem-solving ability since these skills are often viewed as the gateway to further study in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers of the future. As a result, causal studies showing that spatial cognition interventions can improve mathematics problem-solving skills have begun to appear with increasing frequency. In order to determine if a spatial intervention is effective in improving mathematics problem-solving skills, it is important to identify the type of problem that is likely to respond to improvements in spatial cognition. A large study was conducted in the United States, where a spatial skills intervention was implemented in 7th grade classrooms across the country to determine its impact on mathematics problem-solving skills through four waves of testing. Mathematics instruments for 7th to 9th grades were developed with items compared to the spatial scores of the individual students. In this paper, the instrument development process along with lessons learned are presented. Data are provided showing each item’s correlation with spatial skills test scores, difficulty level, and discrimination index, along with overall instrument reliability. Complete final instruments for each wave of testing are included in an Appendix. General guidelines are also presented discussing the type of math problems likely to be correlated with spatial ability.
The Effectiveness of Automated Writing Evaluation on Writing Quality: A Meta-Analysis

Automated writing evaluation (AWE) has been frequently used to provide feedback on student writing. Many empirical studies have examined the effectiveness of AWE on writing quality, but the results were inconclusive. Thus, the magnitude of AWE’s overall effect and factors influencing its effectiveness across studies remained unclear. This study re-examined the issue by meta-analyzing the results of 26 primary studies with a total of 2468 participants from 2010 to 2022. The results revealed that AWE had a large positive overall effect on writing quality (g = 0.861, p < 0.001). Further moderator analyses indicated that AWE was more effective for post-secondary students than for secondary students and had more benefits for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) learners than for Native English Speaker (NES) learners. When the genre of writing was considered, AWE showed a more significant impact on argumentative writing than on academic and mixed writing genres. However, intervention duration, feedback combination, and AWE platform did not moderate the effect of AWE on writing quality. The implications and recommendations for both research and practice are discussed in depth.
Nilpotent inverse semigroups with central idempotents

An inverse semigroup S with central idempotents, i.e. a strong semilattice of groups, will be called nilpotent, if it is finite and if for each prime divisor p¡ of the orders of the structure groups of S the sets P¡ = {s G S\ o(s) = pf", ks > 0} are subsemigroups of S. If 5 is a group, then P¡ are exactly the Sylow />,-subgroups of the group. A theory similar to that given by W. Burnside for finite nilpotcnt groups is developed introducing the concepts of ascending resp. descending central series in an inverse semigroup, and it is shown that almost all of the well-known properties of finite nilpotent groups do hold also for the class of finite inverse semigroups with central idempotents.
Oncogenic BRAFV600E induces microglial proliferation through extracellular signal-regulated kinase and neuronal death through c-Jun N-terminal kinase

Activating V600E in v-Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (BRAF) is a common driver mutation in cancers of multiple tissue origins, including melanoma and glioma. BRAFV600E has also been implicated in neurodegeneration. The present study aims to characterize BRAFV600E during cell death and proliferation of three major cell types of the central nervous system: neurons, astrocytes, and microglia. Multiple primary cultures (primary cortical mixed culture) and cell lines of glial cells (BV2) and neurons (SH-SY5Y) were employed. BRAFV600E and BRAFWT expression was mediated by lentivirus or retrovirus. Blockage of downstream effectors (extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and JNK1/2) were achieved by siRNA. In astrocytes and microglia, BRAFV600E induces cell proliferation, and the proliferative effect in microglia is mediated by activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase, but not c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Conditioned medium from BRAFV600E-expressing microglia induced neuronal death. In neuronal cells, BRAFV600E directly induces neuronal death, through c-Jun N-terminal kinase but not extracellular signal-regulated kinase. We further show that BRAF-related genes are enriched in pathways in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Our study identifies distinct consequences mediated by distinct downstream effectors in dividing glial cells and in neurons following the same BRAF mutational activation and a causal link between BRAF-activated microglia and neuronal cell death that does not require physical proximity. It provides insight into a possibly important role of BRAF in neurodegeneration as a result of either dysregulated BRAF in neurons or its impact on glial cells.
Physiological stress and spatio-temporal ﬂuctuations of food abundance and population density in Eurasian red squirrels

In continuously changing environments, variation of diﬀerent ecological factors could aﬀect the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in wild mammals, increasing the secretion of glucocorticoids (GCs). In diﬀerent animal species, GC concentrations are often used as a measureofthephysiologicalstressresponsetoenvironmentalpressures, suchasﬂuctuationsinfood abundance, population density, intra- and interspeciﬁc competition, and predation risk. However, previous studies reported contrasting results or did not ﬁnd clear associations between physiological stress and environmental variables. Here, we used concentrations of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs) as an integrated measure of physiological stress in wild Eurasian red squirrels ( Sciurus vulgaris ) from three study areas in the Italian Alps, to investigate whether variations in conifer-seed crop size and/or population density aﬀected HPA axis activity. Squirrel density was estimated in each trapping session using the minimum number of animals alive, and annual counts of fresh cones from diﬀerent conifer species were used to estimate annual food abundance (MJ/ha). We expected higher FGMs in response to increasing population density and/or decreas- ing food abundance, since these two variables could act as environmental stressors. Our results showed a lack of association between population density and FGMs and a signiﬁcant eﬀect of food abundance on FGMs. When conifer seed-crops were poor to moderate, FGMs increased with food abundance, while in the range of high seed-crops, FGMs remained ﬁrst constant and then slightly decreased with a further increase in seed abundance. We also found diﬀerences in FGMs among seasons, as previously observed in this species. Our study adds further evidence that physiological stress can be inﬂuenced in diﬀerent ways by environmental pressures and that long-term studies using individually marked animals are needed to disentangle the potential adaptive outcome of the physiological stress response in pulsed resource systems.
The host galaxies of luminous quasars

We present the results of a deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 imaging study of 17 quasars at z ≃ 0.4, designed to determine the properties of their host galaxies. The sample consists of quasars with absolute magnitudes in the range -24 ≥ M V ≥ - 28, allowing us to investigate host galaxy properties across a decade in quasar luminosity, but at a single redshift. Our previous imaging studies of active galactic nuclei hosts have focused primarily on quasars of moderate luminosity, but the most powerful objects in the current sample have powers comparable to the most luminous quasars found at high redshifts. We find that the host galaxies of all the radio-loud quasars, and all the radio-quiet quasars in our sample with nuclear luminosities M V < -24, are massive bulge-dominated galaxies, confirming and extending the trends deduced from our previous studies. From the best-fitting model host galaxies we have estimated spheroid and hence black hole (BH) masses, and the efficiency (with respect to the Eddington luminosity) with which each quasar emits radiation. The largest inferred black hole mass in our sample is M BH ≃ 3 x 10 9 M ○. , comparable to the mass of the black holes at the centres of M87 and Cygnus A. We find no evidence for super-Eddington accretion rates in even the most luminous objects (0.05 < L/L Edd < 1.0). We investigate the role of scatter in the black hole-spheroid mass relation in determining the ratio of quasar to host-galaxy luminosity, by generating simulated populations of quasars lying in hosts with a Schechter mass function. Within the subsample of the highest-luminosity quasars, the observed variation in nuclear-host luminosity ratio is consistent with being the result of the scatter in the black hole-spheroid relation. Quasars with high nuclear-host luminosity ratios can be explained in terms of sub-Eddington accretion rates on to black holes in the high-mass tail of the black hole-spheroid relation. Our results imply that, owing to the Schechter function cut-off, host mass should not continue to increase linearly with quasar luminosity, at the very highest luminosities. Any quasars more luminous than M V = -27 should be found in massive elliptical hosts, which at the present day would have M V ≃ -24.5.
Gravity Wave Variance in LIMS Temperatures. Part I: Variability and Comparison with Background Winds

Abstract Small-scale features in temperature data from the Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere satellite experiment are isolated by subtracting profiles of globally mapped temperatures (containing zonal waves 0—6) from inverted temperature profiles. These features are interpreted as internal gravity waves. The preponderance of the variance is associated with the longest wavelengths, corresponding to the lowest frequencies (inertio-gravity waves). The data include approximately 2000 daily soundings between late October 1978 and late May 1979, all longitudes, latitudes from about 65°S to 85°N, and altitudes from the tropopause to the middle mesosphere (pressures from 100 to 0.1 mb). Zonal-mean gravity wave variance is compared with background winds, and variance maps are presented for five one-week periods: early November, early January, early February, late March, and early May. Time-height plots of zonal mean wave variance and background winds in the latitude bands 45°–55°S, 5°S–5°N, and 45°–55°N ar.
Future Changes in Tropical Cyclone Exposure and Impacts in Southeast Asia From CMIP6 Pseudo‐Global Warming Simulations

In this Pseudo‐global Warming study, potential future changes in the Southeast Asia tropical cyclone (TC) exposure climatology are quantified. One hundred and seventeen landfalling TCs in the last 20 years are simulated with their current climate conditions and also with the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) ensemble perturbed conditions under the SSP2‐4.5 and SSP3‐7.0 climate change scenarios. Our simulations suggest that landfalling TCs are projected to be 8% more intense at landfall, 2.8% faster and have smaller sizes by the end of the 21st century under the SSP3‐7.0 scenario. In addition, TC landfall locations shift northward with tracks extending further inland toward Laos and Thailand. In particular, TC exposures, wind and rainfall impacts significantly increase in the northern Philippines, Taiwan, southwestern coast of China, and northern Vietnam; and significantly decrease in the southern areas of Southeast Asia and the southeastern coast of China.
Air-water Annular Two-phase Flow in a Horizontal Tube : 2nd Report, Circumferential Variations of Film Thickness Parameters

Experimental investigation was made on circumferential variations of the characteristics of a liquid film formed on the inner surface of a horizontal tube of 26.0 mm I.D. in which air and water flowed concurrently. Superficial velocities of the both phases ranged 10∼50 m/s for air and 0.006∼0.40 m/s for water. The flow pattern concerned was mainly an annular flow. Annular flow is subdivided into two regions characterized by liquid slug like frothy liquid lump (AF-region) and disturbance wave (AD-region). Classification can be made by examining the shape of the cumulative wave frequency distribution, plotted on normal probability paper against the radial distance from tube inner wall. A new method is proposed for separating base film from disturbance wave, which is processed on the wave frequency distribution chart. Experimental data are presented on principal parameters of liquid film such as thickness of base film, disturbance wave-height, -frequency and -velocity. A consideration is also made on the liquid transportation in disturbance wave region.
Shuyi Ge, Oliver Linton and Shaoran Li's contribution to the ‘First Discussion Meeting on Statistical Aspects of the Covid‐19 Pandemic’

Correspondence James L. Wei, Department of Maths, Imperial College, 180 Queen’s Gate, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Email: james.wei19@ic.ac. uk Abstract Knowledge of the current state of economies, how they respond to COVID-19 mitigations and indicators, and what the future might hold for them is important. We use recently developed generalised network autoregressive (GNAR) models, using trade-determined networks, to model and forecast the Purchasing Managers’ Indices for a number of countries. We use networks that link countries where the links themselves, or their weights, are determined by the degree of export trade between the countries. We extend these models to include node-specific time series exogenous variables (GNARX models), using this to incorporate COVID-19 mitigation stringency indices and COVID-19 death rates into our analysis. The highly parsimonious GNAR models considerably outperform vector autoregressive models in terms of mean-squared forecasting error and our GNARX models themselves outperform
Early chemo-dynamical evolution of dwarf galaxies deduced from enrichment of r-process elements

The abundance of elements synthesized by the rapid neutron-capture process (r-process elements) of extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars in the Local Group galaxies gives us clues to clarify the early evolutionary history of the Milky Way halo. The Local Group dwarf galaxies would have similarly evolved with building blocks of the Milky Way halo. However, how the chemo-dynamical evolution of the building blocks affects the abundance of r-process elements is not yet clear. In this paper, we perform a series of simulations using dwarf galaxy models with various dynamical times and total mass, which determine star-formation histories. We find that galaxies with dynamical times longer than 100 Myr have star formation rates less than $10^{-3} M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ and slowly enrich metals in their early phase. These galaxies can explain the observed large scatters of r-process abundance in EMP stars in the Milky Way halo regardless of their total mass. On the other hand, the first neutron star merger appears at a higher metallicity in galaxies with a dynamical time shorter than typical neutron star merger times. The scatters of r-process elements mainly come from inhomogeneity of the metals in the interstellar medium whereas the scatters of $\alpha$-elements are mostly due to the difference in the yield of each supernova. Our results demonstrate that the future observations of r-process elements in EMP stars will be able to constrain the early chemo-dynamical evolution of the Local Group galaxies.
Soft Multifunctional Porous Sponge Sensor for Pressure and Strain Using Liquid Metal/Polydimethylsiloxane with Silver-Nanowire-Coated Composite

Compression and tension sensors with a porous structure have attracted attention recently. Porous sponge sensors have the advantage of a wide deformation range owing to their structural characteristics. In this study, a porous sponge structure was prepared by absorbing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) into the matrix of porous commercial sugar cubes. A conductive network was formed by coating the outside of the sponge skeleton with silver nanowires (AgNWs), which have a high aspect ratio. In addition, a liquid metal (LM), which does not directly form an electrical network but changes from zero-dimensional to one-dimensional under an external force was introduced into this porous sponge structure. The effects of the LM on the sensor sensitivity to pressure and strain were analyzed by comparing the electrical resistance changes of PDMS/AgNW and LM/PDMS/AgNW sponge sensors under tension and pressure. This study shows that the use of a porous structure and an LM may be useful for future wearable sensor design.
Was the Milky Way Bulge Formed from the Buckling Disk Instability, Hierarchical Collapse, Accretion of Clumps, or All of the Above?

Abstract The assembly of the Milky Way bulge is an old topic in astronomy, one now in a period of renewed and rapid development. That is due to tremendous advances in observations of bulge stars, motivating observations of both local and high-redshift galaxies, and increasingly sophisticated simulations. The dominant scenario for bulge formation is that of the Milky Way as a nearly pure disk galaxy, with the inner disk having formed a bar and buckled. This can potentially explain virtually all bulge stars with [Fe/H] ≳ −1.0, which comprise 95% of the stellar population. The evidence is the incredible success in N-body models of this type in making non-trivial, non-generic predictions, such as the rotation curve and velocity dispersion measured from radial velocities, and the spatial morphologies of the peanut/X-shape and the long bar. The classical bulge scenario, whereby the bulge formed from early dissipative collapse and mergers, remains viable for stars with [Fe/H] ≲ −1.0 and potentially a minority of the other stars. A classical bulge is expected from Λ-CDM cosmological simulations, can accentuate the properties of an existing bar in a hybrid system, and is most consistent with the bulge abundance trends such as [Mg/Fe], which are elevated relative to both the thin and thick disks. Finally, the clumpy-galaxy scenario is considered, as it is the correct description of most Milky Way precursors given observations of high-redshift galaxies. Simulations predict that these star-forming clumps will sometimes migrate to the centres of galaxies where they may form a bulge, and galaxies often include a bulge clump as well. They will possibly form a bar with properties consistent with those of the Milky Way, such as the exponential profile and metallicity gradient. Given the relative successes of these scenarios, the Milky Way bulge is plausibly of composite origin, with a classical bulge and/or inner halo numerically dominant for stars with [Fe/H] ≲ −1.0, a buckling thick disk for stars with − 1.0 ≲ [Fe/H]] ≲ -0.50 perhaps descended from the clumpy-galaxy phase, and a buckling thin disk for stars with [Fe/H] ≳ −0.50. Overlaps from these scenarios are uncertain throughout.
Analysis of the buildup of spatiotemporal correlations and their bounds outside of the light cone

In non-relativistic quantum theories the Lieb-Robinson bound defines an effective light cone with exponentially small tails outside of it. In this work we use it to derive a bound for the correlation function of two local disjoint observables at different times if the initial state has a power-law decay. We show that the exponent of the power-law of the bound is identical to the initial (equilibrium) decay. We explicitly verify this result by studying the full dynamics of the susceptibilities and correlations in the exactly solvable Luttinger model after a sudden quench from the non-interacting to the interacting model.
Star formation in cooling flows in clusters of galaxies

Spectrophotometry (wavelength = 3400-5100 A) has been obtained for the nuclei of 13 cD galaxies in cooling flows. Spectral anomalies are found in 8 of the objects, consisting of abnormally strong forbidden O II emission or excess flux effects. Consideration is given to metallicity effects, the relationship between UV excesses and the presence of massive OB stars formed from the cooling flows, and low-level effects related to accretion. 108 refs.
Morphological characters variation of Indonesian accession Echinacea purpurea in response to gamma-ray irradiation

Abstract. Cahyaningsih AP, Etikawati N, Yunus A. 2022. Morphological characters variation of Indonesian accession Echinacea purpurea in response to gamma-ray irradiation. Biodiversitas 23: 5351-5359. Indonesia was one of the countries that introduced E. purpurea as a medicinal plant. Accessions of E. purpurea that have been successfully cultivated in Indonesia have narrow genetic diversity, lack accession variation, and have almost uniform tillers. This study was conducted to determine the effect of different doses of gamma-ray irradiation on morphological characteristics of E. purpurea accession B2P2TOOT. The experimental design was a Randomized Block Design with three replications, and six doses of gamma-ray irradiation (0, 15 Gy, 20 Gy, 25 Gy, 40 Gy, and 60 Gy) were used. The qualitative morphological data were presented descriptively; quantitative data were analyzed using ANOVA followed by a DMRT test at a 5% level with SPSS 16.0 application. The Dice similarity algorithm analyzed the similarity index, group analysis, and dendrogram construction using the UPGMA method with the NTSYS 2.02 application. Gamma-ray irradiation treatment increased the survival rate of E. purpurea plants grown in tropical lowlands. A dose of 15-60 Gy gamma irradiation did not affect the qualitative morphology of E. purpurea roots, stems, and leaves. Irradiation at doses of 40 Gy and 60 Gy resulted in flowers with more variation in color, overall flower shape, and arrangement of ray floret. Gamma irradiation significantly affected plant height, leaf length, leaf area, flower angle, and the first day of flowering. The 40 and 60 Gy doses resulted in longer leaves with wider leaf surfaces. The dendrogram revealed that E. purpurea irradiation resulted in two main groups, with doses of 40 and 60 Gy forming their groups and increasing morphological variation by 30% compared to controls.