Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
serp: An R package for smoothing in ordinal regression

The use of specialized methods for the analysis of categorical data has been on the rise in recent years (Agresti, 2010). For instance, scientists frequently use the different forms of the ordinal model to analyze relationships between an ordinal response variable and covariates of interest. In particular, the cumulative link model (CLM) propagated by McCullagh (1980) finds a wide range of empirical applications in clinical trials, social surveys, market research, etc. However, in high-dimensional settings with a large number of unknown parameters, e.g., if several potential predictors and response categories are modeled, the so-called identification problem could be somewhat unavoidable (Bartels, 1985; Fisher, 1966). Thankfully, regularization techniques (see, e.g., Bühlmann & Van de Geer, 2011; Hastie et al., 2009) among other approaches, offer a remedy in such situations.
Mixed Methods Approaches to Investigating Behavior Change in the ICS Field Epistemology

The challenge of promoting access to clean and efficient household energy for cooking and heating is a critical issue facing lowand middle-income countries today. Along with clean fuels, improved cookstoves (ICSs) continue to play an important part in efforts to reduce the 4 million annual premature deaths attributed to household air pollution. Although a range of ICSs are available, there is little empirical evidence on appropriate behavior change approaches to inform adoption and sustained used at scale. Specifically, evaluations using either quantitative or qualitative methods provide an incomplete picture of the challenges in facilitating ICS adoption. This article examines how studies that use the strengths of both these approaches can offer important insights into behavior change in relation to ICS uptake and scale-up. Epistemological approaches, study design frameworks, methods of data collection, analytical approaches, and issues of validity and reliability in the context of mixed methods ICS research are examined, and the article presents an example study design from an evaluation study in Kenya incorporating a nested approach and a convergent case oriented design. The authors discuss the benefits and methodological challenges of mixed-methods approaches in the context of researching behavior change and ICS use recognizing that such methods represent relatively uncharted territory. The authors propose that more published examples are needed to provide frameworks for other researchers seeking to apply mixed methods in this context and suggest a comprehensive research agenda is required that incorporates integrated mixed-methods approaches, to provide best evidence for future scale-up.
Striations in moderate pressure dc driven nitrogen glow discharge

Plasma stratification has been studied for more than a century. Despite the many experimental studies reported on this topic, theoretical analyses and numerical modeling of this phenomenon have been mostly limited to rare gases. In this work, a one-dimensional fluid model with detailed kinetics of electrons and vibrationally excited molecules is employed to simulate moderate-pressure (i.e. a few Torrs) dc discharge in nitrogen in a 15.5 cm long tube of radius 0.55 cm. The model also considers ambipolar diffusion to account for the radial loss of ions and electrons to the wall. The proposed model predicts self-excited standing striations in nitrogen for a range of discharge currents. The impact of electron transport parameters and reaction rates obtained from a solution of local two-term and a multi-term Boltzmann equation on the predictions are assessed. In-depth kinetic analysis indicates that the striations result from the undulations in electron temperature caused due to the interaction between ionization and vibrational reactions. Furthermore, the vibrationally excited molecules associated with the lower energy levels are found to influence nitrogen plasma stratification and the striation pattern strongly. A balance between ionization processes and electron energy transport allows the formation of the observed standing striations. Simulations were conducted for a range of discharge current densities from ∼0.018 to 0.080 mA cm−2, for an operating pressure of 0.7 Torr. Parametric studies show that the striation length decreases with increasing discharge current. The predictions from the model are compared against experimental measurements and are found to agree favorably.
Biogeochemical Effects of a Forest Understory Plant Invasion Depend More On Dissimilar Nutrient Economies Than Invader Biomass

There is an increasing need to better understand how and why invasion impacts differ across heterogeneous landscapes. One hypothesis predicts invader impacts are greatest where the invader is most abundant (the mass ratio hypothesis; MRH). Alternatively, invader impacts may be greatest in communities where the nutrient acquisition strategies of the invader are most dissimilar from those of native species (the nutrient economy dissimilarity hypothesis; NEDH). We tested whether the effects of an invasive grass, Microstegium vimineum, on soil biogeochemistry were best explained by MRH, NEDH, or both. At three locations (Indiana, North Carolina, and Georgia), invaded and reference plots were established across a nutrient economy gradient. Plots varied in the relative abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) vs. ectomycorrhizal (ECM) associated overstory trees, reflecting gradients in biotic nutrient acquisition strategies and edaphic factors. At two locations, we found NEDH predicted invader effects on soil conditions. The net effect of M. vimineum homogenized soil properties across the nutrient economy gradient towards conditions consistent with AM-dominated stands; as such, the nutrient economy gradients observed in uninvaded plots were mostly absent in invaded plots. At one location with high N availability and intermediate acidity, both ECM-dominance (NEDH) and invader abundance (MRH) predicted differences in soil moisture, pH, and nitrification rates. Collectively, these results suggest the biogeochemical consequences of M. vimineum depend, in part, on pre-invasion soil nutrient economies. Where pre-invasion conditions are known, we provide a scalable and predictive approach to determine where impacts on biogeochemical cycling of C and N may be greatest.
How Do Polish Students Manage Emotional Distress during the COVID-19 Lockdown? A Web-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Choices regarding coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak may imply the development as well as the severity of emotional disorders. The aim of this web-based cross-sectional study was to: (1) assess the coping strategies for stress in a population of Polish students and (2) evaluate the impact of those strategies on the severity of depression, stress, and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 lockdown. To evaluate emotional distress, we used the DASS-21 scale and coping strategies Brief-COPE Inventory. The study included 2172 respondents (73% female, 27% male) with a mean age of 22.1 ± 2.2. Students more frequently chose stress coping strategies belonging to the ‘approach’ coping strategies (M = 29.60 ± 6.89) compared to ‘avoidant’ coping strategies (M = 22.82 ± 5.78). The intensification of distress in women caused a turn to religion (p = 0.001), while men used substances (p < 0.001) and a sense of humor (p < 0.001). Medical students coped best with emotional distress, which is very encouraging for their future profession. The highest level of DASS total score was associated with the usage of avoidant coping strategies, prior use of psychiatric or psychological support, and loneliness. Planning interventions to prevent emotional disorders in students requires the identification of factors contributing to increased emotional distress.
Seasonal and intra-diurnal variability of small-scale gravity waves
in OH airglow at two Alpine stations

Abstract. Between December 2013 and August 2017 the instrument FAIM (Fast Airglow IMager) observed the OH airglow emission at two Alpine stations. One year of measurements was performed at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany (48.09° N, 11.28° E) and two years at Sonnblick, Austria (47.05° N, 12.96° E). Both stations are part of the Network for the detection of mesospheric change (NDMC). The temporal resolution is two frames per second and the field of view is 55 km × 60 km and 75 km × 90 km at the OH layer altitude of 87 km with a spatial resolution of 200 m and 280 m per pixel, respectively. This results in two dense datasets allowing precise derivation of horizontal gravity wave parameters. The analysis is based on a two-dimensional Fast Fourier Transform with fully automatic peak extraction. By combining the information of consecutive images time-dependent parameters such as the horizontal phase speed are extracted. The instrument is mainly sensitive to high-frequency small- and medium-scale gravity waves. A clear seasonal dependency concerning the meridional propagation direction is found for these waves in summer in direction to the summer pole. The zonal direction of propagation is eastwards in summer and westwards in winter. Investigations of the data set revealed an intra-diurnal variability, which may be related to tides. The observed horizontal phase speed and the number of wave events per observation hour are higher in summer than in winter.
Monolingual and Bilingual College Students’ Performance on English and Artificial Stroop Tests

Problem. Numerous studies have found that bilingual individuals have a cognitive advantage in executive functions compared to monolingual individuals, possibly due to bilinguals’ experience with switching between languages and having to inhibit the language that is not in use. This so-called “bilingual cognitive advantage” has been found in task switching, inhibition, monitoring, attention, and conflict resolution (Blumfeld & Marian, 2014; Donnelly et al., 2019; Gunnerud et al., 2020; Hartanto & Yang 2019; Stasenko et al., 2017). However, the bilingual cognitive advantage re mains controversial as other studies have found no difference in monolinguals and bilinguals (Donnelly et al., 2019), or suggest that differences are task-specific (Blumfeld & Marian, 2014; Hilbert, 2014) or age-specific and primarily seen in younger children and older adults (Rey-Mermet & Gade, 2018). The present study seeks to provide insight on this by examining monolingual and bilingual college students’ executive functions using English and artificial Stroop tests (Blumfeld & Marian, 2014; Gunnerud et al., 2020). The traditional Stroop Color Word Test (Hilbert, 2014; Redding & Gerjets, 1977) requires inhibitory control to say the color of the ink as opposed to the written color word. This may be extra challenging when the words are novel, as was the case for our artificial Stroop test. Given that these tasks require inhibitory control, and bilinguals often have greater inhibitory control than monolinguals, we hypothesized that bilin guals would outperform monolinguals on both Stroop tests. Method. monolingual, bilingual) the study. Participants first pleted form a self-reported language proficiency questionnaire (LEAP-Q; Marian, 2007). A control Stroop test was administered, followed by an English Stroop test, then an artificial learning period where participants learned eight artificial color names to 100% accuracy, and finally an artificial Stroop test. Accuracy, response times, and different scores were calculated for each Stroop test (English congruent, English incongruent, artificial congruent, artificial incongruent). Results. Data was analyzed in JASP using mixed repeated measures ANOVA with the between-subject factor of lan guage status (monolingual, bilingual), within subject factor of Stroop test (English congruent, English incongruent, ar tificial congruent, and artificial incongruent), and dependent variables of response time, accuracy, and difference score (incongruent scores congruent scores) for each of the four Stroop tests. Preliminary results revealed a significant main effect of test ( F (3,165) = 253.303, p < . 001) and an interaction of test by language status ( F (3,165) = 4.196, p = . 007). Post-hoc paired sample t -tests were used to compare test means. A second one-way repeated measures ANOVA was run with accuracy as a dependent variable revealing a significant main effect of test ( F (3,165) = 22.678, p < . 001), but no between group differences ( F (1,55) = 0.039, p = . 843). artificial which
Resource Orchestration in Supply Chain Service-Based Business Model: The Case of a Cross-Border E-Commerce Company

E-commerce is gaining traction in academia, industry, and with policymakers. Along with this development, the intersection of supply chain management and e-commerce research has become increasingly important. This study explored Osell, a cross-border e-commerce company in China, through a resource orchestration perspective to understand how supply chain resources are deployed to create value in a supply chain service-based business model. We investigated and analysed Osell’s business model based on primary data collected from senior executives and managers, as well as secondary data such as online public resources, and found that the structuring and bundling of resources can be leveraged to enhance service capabilities, which in turn creates value, contributing to supply chain service-based business models with regard to trust improvement, risk mitigation, and consumer satisfaction. This study contributes to the supply chain service-based business model through propositions that have been developed regarding cross-border e-commerce.
A Study Based on Controlled Drug Release by 3D Printed Aloe-Vera Bi-Layer Tablet

Aloe-Vera or Aloe barbadensis (botanical name) is a plant with many medicinal properties and have great importance in Ayurveda. Its leaves are succulent, erect, forming a thick rosette. The internal translucent pulp of Aloe-Vera is bound to a waxy crust or cuticle, and its vascular tissues transport minerals as well as water from the soil. Aloe Vera is being used as a major skin rejuvenating product, although it has varied medicinal properties also. In the present study, an attempt to make a method to create bi-layer tablets of Aloe-Vera, utilizing 3D printing techniques is presented. The method created doesnt affect the integral functional characteristics of the tablet. The method here contains creating an immediate release and sustained release tablet for making the Aloe-Vera to be used directly by the person for its numerous health effects. The tablet is designed so to be consumed by vegans as well since it is completely herbal.
Dividend Dynamics in the Shipping Industry: A Panel Data Analysis of Partial Adjustment Models

This study explores the dividend dynamics of globally-listed firms in the idiosyncratic maritime sector. Employing an array of dynamic panel estimators in a sample of globally-listed shipping firms for the period 1988 to 2019 we provide empirical evidence that the degree of dividend smoothing (speed of adjustment) in the maritime sector is comparatively lower (higher). We also show that the speed of adjustment after deviations from the target is sig-nificantly higher in recession states. Our results document higher flexibility in the shipping industry’s dividend payouts, reflecting its distinct traits that am-plify the adverse impacts of financing shocks.
Checking the progress of using the static chamber method for the measurement of greenhouse gases in Latin America

Abstract Manual static chamber is one of the most widespread methods for the quantification of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions from agricultural systems. But there are concerns about the reliability of measurements and a necessity to assess the static chambers used in the studies performed in the countries of Latin America. Thus, this study aims to investigate the quality of the characteristics from the static chamber methodology, the confidence level of the GHG measurements, and recommend what should be improved. We conducted a systematic review of databases to identify peer-reviewed articles that used the static chamber method in Latin America. A total of 90 articles were analyzed and separated according to the publication year (2000-2008, 2009-2015, 2016-2020). We evaluated eight design and deployment chamber characteristics. The depth of base insertion and type of storage vial received the lowest scores, and the number of samples received the highest score. The description and reporting of the methodological procedures in the studies should be improved. The percentage of articles with high and medium confidence levels increased within the time, and the number of articles with low and very low confidence levels reduced. Scientists/Researchers should continue to follow the protocols, especially the most updated ones.
What Are the Cleaning and Disinfection Methods for Acrylic Orthodontic Removable Appliance? A Systematic Review

(1) Background: The use of removable orthodontic appliances, which is common in early ages, requires careful hygiene, as several different microorganisms are found on their surface during the orthodontic treatment. (2) Methods: Comprehensive electronic searches were conducted up to May 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled clinical trials (CCTs), prospective or retrospective, evaluating the efficacy of cleaning and disinfection methods for acrylic removable orthodontic appliances, redacted in the English language, were included. Three independent blinding review authors were involved in study selection, data extraction, and bias assessment. (3) Results: A total of 2491 records were screened and eight studies (six RCTs and two CCTs) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Among the overall cleaning and disinfection methods described in the included studies, four categories could be defined: liquid antimicrobial agents, commercial tablet cleansers, natural plant extracts and incorporation of quaternary ammonium methacryloxy silicate, all of which demonstrated superior efficacy compared to the placebo/negative control. However, the different methods were not compared with each other. (4) Conclusions: Biofilm control on acrylic orthodontic removable appliances can be performed using the different cleaning and disinfection methods considered in the included studies. Further studies are needed to define the most effective technique. Registration: PROSPERO CRD 42021269297.
Micro-Determination of Fluorine

The author's 1 modification of the Willard-Winter 2 method has been adapted to the determination of small quantities of fluorine. The distillation of H2SiF6 is carried out in the usual manner except that a 50 cc. distilling flask, 0.1 gm. quartz and 5 cc. 60% perchloric acid are employed. The temperature of the flask contents is maintained at 140°, and 150 cc. of distillate are collected. The water employed is freshly boiled after redistillation from alkali. The distillate is made alkaline to phenolphthalein, evaporated to a small volume, rendered just acid to the indicator, and diluted to 10 cc. One cc. aliquots are transferred to 5 cc. vials (such as those in which dentists receive gold foil). The addition of an equal volume of alcohol is omitted in order to permit a direct relationship between the fluorine content of the aliquots and the volume of Th(NO3)4 solution used for their titration and to render inoperative the effect of HClO4 on the determination of more than 5γ (micrograms) F. If the sample contains less than 5γ F, 6 gm. NaClO4 are added to the charge in the distilling flask, the distillate evaporated to about 5 cc. and the aliquots taken by weight. NaClO4 reduced the amount of HClO4 volatilized during the distillation of H2SiF6. One drop of 0.05% sodium alizarin sulphonate is added to the aliquots and, after split drops of appx. 0.03 N HCl are added until the indicator has a light orange color, one drop of buffer soln. (1 molar monochloracetic acid and 1 molar sodium monochloracetate) is introduced. The fluorine is titrated with appx. 0.0004 N Th(NO3)4 (1 cc. = 7-8γ F) to the appearance of a barely perceptible pink color which matches that of a titrated standard solution containing 5γ F. The Th(NO3)4 solution is standardized daily by titration of 1 cc. volumes of solutions containing 10, 5 and 1γ F. The results are substituted in the two-point equation for a straight line and the titration blank calculated.
MANN-KENDALL TEST: TREND ANALYSIS OF TEMPERATURE, RAINFALL AND DISCHARGE OF GHOTKI FEEDER CANAL IN DISTRICT GHOTKI, SINDH, PAKISTAN

Temperature and precipitation variations have huge environmental, socio-economic impacts. This study aims to detect the trend of temperature, precipitation, and discharge from 2000-2020 in the district Ghotki. Mann Kendal test and Sen’s slope were applied by using XLSTAT in MS Excel to investigate the significance of all trends. The results showed that the annual rainfall trend was increased with the highest intensity noted in 2003; 275mm and 2010; 271 mm. The trend in the monsoon season was increased with the highest slope 0.863 by comparing with non-monsoon which showed the slope was 0.642. The annual temperature was increased an average temperature recorded in 2016; 28.5 & 2018; 28 °C. Further, the summer-autumn season’s trend has sharply increased. While the trend of Ghotki feeder discharge was slightly increased in January due to the continuous flow of water and less demand for water during the Rabi season. But in July, the highest discharge was recorded in 2010 due to heavy rainfall and flood situations over the study area. The trend in Kharif was continuously declined due to farmers started sowing sugarcane crops instead of rice and cotton which need less irrigation water. It is concluded that the performance of MK and SS tests was consistent at the verified significance level.
PolyFrame: A Retargetable Query-based Approach to Scaling Dataframes

In the last few years, the field of data science has been growing rapidly as various businesses have adopted statistical and machine learning techniques to empower their decision-making and applications. Scaling data analyses to large volumes of data requires the utilization of distributed frameworks. This can lead to serious technical challenges for data analysts and reduce their productivity. AFrame, a data analytics library, is implemented as a layer on top of Apache AsterixDB, addressing these issues by providing the data scientists' familiar interface, Pandas Dataframe, and transparently scaling out the evaluation of analytical operations through a Big Data management system. While AFrame is able to leverage data management facilities (e.g., indexes and query optimization) and allows users to interact with a large volume of data, the initial version only generated SQL++ queries and only operated against AsterixDB. In this work, we describe a new design that retargets AFrame's incremental query formation to other query-based database systems, making it more flexible for deployment against other data management systems with composable query languages.