Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coping with stress and cognitive interference in student teachers performance as important factors influencing their achievement

The purpose of our study was to investigate the relations between student teachersi strate- gies for coping with stressful situations, cognitive interference factors and successfulness of presenta- tion of seminar work. There were 135 student teachers participating in the study. At the beginning of the semester they were administered the Way of Coping Questionnaire (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988). After seminar presentation they reported on cognitive interference factors during their talk (distractive factors and intrusive thoughts). Different aspects of their performance were also evaluated by the teacher according to standard criteria. Significant correlations were observed between certain ways of coping, cognitive interference factors and success of performance. Further statistical analysis showed significant differences in experiencing distractive factors and intrusive thoughts during presentation between stu- dents with low, medium and high performance success. The importance of successful strategies for coping with verbal presentation and the implications for student teacher education are discussed.
NEW FOSSIL RECORDS OF CHOUGHS GENUS PYRRHOCORAX IN THE CANARY ISLANDS: HYPOTHESES TO EXPLAIN ITS EXTINCTION AND CURRENT NARROW DISTRIBUTION

SUMMARY. —New fossil records of choughs genus Pyrrhocorax in the Canary Islands: hypotheses to explain its extinction and current narrow distribution. Aims: To describe the new fossil records of the genus Pyrrhocorax in the Canary Islands. The main goal will be to use these data to discuss about the possible scenario of colonization and extinctions events of this genus in the canary archipelago. Specifically, the possible causes affecting the current narrow distribution of the red-billed chough in the Canary Islands are discussed. Actually this species only breeds in La Palma, the most north-westerly island of the archipelago. Location: Four caves in three islands (La Palma, Tenerife and La Gomera) of the Canary archipelago. Methods: Fossil bones where identify through the combination of biometric and morphologic traits, and using Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA). Results: Bones of both red-billed chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax an alpine chough P. graculus were identified. Bones of the alpine chough were found on both Tenerife and La Palma, the highest islands in the Canary archipelago. These are the first records for this bird in the Canary Islands. On the other hand, the fossil record shows that red-billed chough was distributed at least on La Palma, Tenerife and La Gomera. Conclusions: It is suggested that the colonisation of choughs could be related to climatic changes affecting to the distribution of mainland biota during the Upper Pleistocene period. Alteration of island ecosystems by human arrival is also suggested as an hypothesis to explain local extinctions in the Canaries, such as has been proposed in other insular environments. Two main hypotheses to explain the current narrow distribution of red-billed chough are discussed: (i) It is the result of the survival of a part of the ancestral pool of choughs living in the Canary Islands; (ii) It is a direct consequence of new colonisation and/or reintroduction event.
Integrating Microcontroller-Based Projects in a Human-Computer Interaction Course

— This paper describes the design and application of a short in-class project conducted in Algoma University’s Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) course taught at the Bachelor of Computer Science. The project was based on the Maker Movement (people using and reusing electronic components and everyday materials to tinker with technology and make interactive applications), where students applied low-cost and easy-to-use electronic components, the Arduino Uno microcontroller board, software tools, and everyday objects. Students collaborated in small teams by completing hands-on activities with them, making an interactive walking cane for blind people. At the end of the course, students filled out a Technology Acceptance Model version 2 (TAM2) questionnaire where they evaluated microcontroller boards’ applications in HCI classes. We also asked them about applying the Maker Movement in HCI classes. Results showed overall students’ positive opinions and response about using microcontroller boards in HCI classes. We strongly suggest that every HCI course should include practical activities related to tinkering with technology such as applying microcontroller boards, where students actively and constructively participate in teams for achieving learning objectives.
U.S. Cotton Acreage Response Due to Subsidized Crop Insurance

U.S. farm policy has undergone a series of premium subsidy increases since 1994 to make crop insurance more affordable to farmers. Previous research shows that subsidized crop insurance may cause farmers to shift or expand their production. This study models the acreage response of U.S. cotton at the county level to subsidized crop insurance using simultaneous insurance participation and acreage response equations. Results of panel data analyses from 1995 to 2005 suggest that higher insurance benefits, such as subsidy per unit of production, encourages crop insurance participation which then stimulates additional crop acreage. In addition, counties with relatively low yields are more responsive to insurance participation and acreage than high yielding counties. Empirical evidence implies that crop insurance policies for cotton are shifting the regional comparative advantage of production from relatively high yielding and quality counties to lower yielding and quality counties.
A formal approach to the automated labeling of groups of features

A variety of recurring geographic entities form collections of point, line, or area features. Examples are groups of islands (Archipelago), relief features in deserts, periglacial lakes or geomorphological forms, such as drumlins and sinkholes. All these groups of features might be best identified with a single label. Surprisingly, the (automated) labeling of groups of features has received little attention so far. We propose a framework to determine formal measures that describe the geometric aspects of the cartographic design space for labeling feature groups. Our framework gives rise to a large variety of geometrically optimal labels. We list the optimal label positions and shapes for which labels can already be computed using existing algorithms. However, in many of the cases computing optimal label placements is still an open algorithmic question which can readily be investigated in future work. Once the necessary algorithms are developed, our framework provides an objective basis to investigate the geometric measures used by cartographers to label groups of features. We preliminarily explore the applicability of our framework using one of the geometric optimality choices.
Comparative effects of Rhizobacteria in promoting growth of Hordeum maritimum L. plants under salt stress

Rhizobacterial populations isolated from saline soils aid in plant survival through several mechanisms. Nevertheless, plant growth-promoting bacteria found in association with plants grown under chronically stressful conditions, including high salinity, may have adapted to the stress conditions, and could provide a significant benefit to the plants. In the present study, the main objective was to evaluate the effect of three bacterial strains, selected as PGPR from wild barley (Hordeum maritimum L) rhizosphere, on growth and salt tolerance of this plant. Different growth parameters, chlorophyll content, electrolyte leakage, water content and biochemical properties were analysed in the inoculated plants submitted to 200mM NaCl. The inoculation increased plant dry weight, root and shoot length, soluble sugars concentrations in all plant tissues and enhanced leaf chlorophyll under salt stress. Moreover, proline content and MDA were significantly higher in un-inoculated plants subject to salt. Therefore, it could be predicted that all these parameters cumulatively improve plant growth under saline conditions in the presence of rhizobacteria. Based on the results of their experiment, the authors conclude that rhizobacteria inoculation may facilitate plant growth under salt stress.
Complex Type 4 Structure Changing Dynamics of Digital Agents: Nash Equilibria of a Game with Arms Race in Innovations

The new digital economy has renewed interest in how digital agents can innovate. This follows the legacy of John von Neumann dynamical systems theory on complex biological systems as computation. The Godel-Turing-Post (GTP) logic is shown to be necessary to generate innovation based structure changing Type 4 dynamics of the Wolfram-Chomsky schema. Two syntactic procedures of GTP logic permit digital agents to exit from listable sets of digital technologies to produce novelty and surprises. The first is meta-analyses or offline simulations. The second is a fixed point with a two place encoding of negation or opposition, referred to as the Godel sentence. It is postulated that in phenomena ranging from the genome to human proteanism, the Godel sentence is a ubiquitous syntactic construction without which escape from hostile agents qua the Liar is impossible and digital agents become entrained within fixed repertoires. The only recursive best response function of a 2-person adversarial game that can implement strategic innovation in lock-step formation of an arms race is the productive function of the Emil Post [ 58 ] set theoretic proof of the Godel incompleteness result. This overturns the view of game theorists that surprise and innovation cannot be a Nash equilibrium of a game.
The inner mass power spectrum of galaxies using strong gravitational lensing: beyond linear approximation

In the last decade, the detection of individual massive dark matter sub-haloes has been possible using potential correction formalism in strong gravitational lens imaging. Here, we propose a statistical formalism to relate strong gravitational lens surface brightness anomalies to the lens potential fluctuations arising from dark matter distribution in the lens galaxy. We consider these fluctuations as a Gaussian random field in addition to the unperturbed smooth lens model. This is very similar to weak lensing formalism and we show that in this way we can measure the power spectrum of these perturbations to the potential. We test the method by applying it to simulated mock lenses of different geometries and by performing an MCMC analysis of the theoretical power spectra. This method can measure density fluctuations in early type galaxies on scales of 1-10 kpc at typical rms levels of a per cent, using a single lens system observed with the Hubble Space Telescope with typical signal-to-noise ratios obtained in a single orbit.
OPPOCO: From Ad Hoc Cloudlet-assisted Edge Computation to Opportunistic Computation Offloading

Abstract. Nowadays, the advanced mobile devices provide considerable computation capacity. However, due to the instinct limitation of resources, mobile devices have to offload computation by Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) and Ad-Hoc Cloudlet for improving the performance and prolonging the battery life. However, efficient model for ad-hoc cloudlet-assisted computation offloading is remaining open issues. In this article, we provide an overview of existing computation offloading modes, e.g. remote cloud service mode and ad-hoc cloudlet-assisted service mode, and propose an opportunistic computation offloading (OPPOCO) to enable a more energy-efficient and intelligent strategy for computation offloading. Moreover, the simulation by OPNET verifies our proposal is available and practical to improve mobile users’ Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE).
Smoking cessation in a university setting: The efficacy of an experiential, theory-based intervention for college students

The college setting represents an untapped “window of opportunity” to target the growing number of college student smokers. To address this need the current study tested an intervention drawing upon research from social psychology and previously effective health-related interventions. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of an experiential, dissonance-enhancing smoking intervention for increasing motivation to quit smoking and reducing smoking by comparing it to two control groups, in a three-arm randomized study. Participants were 215 college student smokers randomized to an experiential smoking intervention, a traditional educational smoking intervention, or an experiential intervention on nutrition. A secondary purpose of the present study was to explore the influence of possible mediating variables (e.g. risk perceptions, smoking knowledge) and to investigate whether demographic or smoking history variables would moderate the effects of the intervention. As predicted, the experiential smoking intervention was more effective in increasing motivation to quit as compared to both groups. However, moderator analyses revealed that the effect was found only for females. Increased motivation to quit was also demonstrated on an immediate behavioral measure of impact. Additional analyses indicated that a greater reduction in smoking and higher quit rates at follow-up were found for participants in vi both smoking conditions as compared to participants in the Nutrition control condition. Potential mechanisms of change were not supported; however, participants who received the experiential smoking intervention exhibited greater smoking knowledge and were more likely to report greater negative consequences of smoking. Findings support the efficacy of a standard didactic intervention, and the added efficacy of a more intensive experiential intervention. Implications for intervention are discussed.
Measurements of Wideband Spectrum

: The word spectrum refers to a collection of various types of electromagnetic radiations of different wavelengths In recent years, the demand for radio spectrum for wireless communication is growing due to increase in number of users and popularity of data and multimedia services. This has been observed in the recent auctions completed word wide for the vestige of radio spectrum. The radio spectrum has been assigned to different services and it is very much difficult for the emerging wireless technologies to get entry due to rigid spectrum policy and heavy opportunity cost. The inefficient prevailing spectrum management causes the artificial spectrum scarcity. The measurement campaigns conducted worldwide have confirmed this by showing that the considerable amount of radio spectrum is underutilized. We evaluate the spectrum usage in different bands allocated to wireless services based on the real time data collected from the measurement. We find a significant amount of spectrum is underutilized and opportunities for the secondary use.
A Review of Photocatalytic Water Purification with Metal Organic Frameworks

This review analyzes the preparation and characterization of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and their application as photocatalysts for water purification. The study begins by highlighting the problem of water scarcity and the different solutions for purification, including photocatalysis with semiconductors such as MOFs. It also describes the different methodologies that can be used for the synthesis of MOFs, paying attention to the purification and activation steps. The characterization of MOFs and the different approaches that can be followed to learn on the photocatalytic processes are also detailed. Finally, the work reviews literature focused on the degradation of contaminants from water using MOF-based photocatalysts under light irradiation.
Love waves in proton-exchanged z-cut lithium niobate

Proton-exchanged lithium niobate is very attractive and prospective material for applications in acoustooptics using the interaction between guided optical waves and surface acoustic waves. Relatively simple techniques enables the fabrication of good quality optical guides with a large change of the extraordinary refractive index ∆ne. The proton exchange results also in creation of a layer at the surface with altered elastic properties of the crystal. It is the reason why the velocity of the Rayleigh surface acoustic waves becomes frequency dependent [1,2]. Moreover, in the system consisting of the substrate covered by a thin layer, the other type of the surface acoustic wave can propagate: it is the Love wave with a purely shear polarisation in the propagation plane. The Rayleigh wave propagation in proton-exchanged lithium niobate has been studied in several works [4-6], but there is a lack of relevant Love wave studies. Meanwhile, these waves may offer new interesting possibilities of the interaction with guided optical modes. It is the purpose of the present work to perform studies of Love wave propagation in Z-cut PE:LiNbO3 crystal and their interaction with guided optical modes. In particular, the dependence of Love wave velocity upon a frequency is calculated using the ray geometry method for the case of an anisotropic layer and an isotropic substrate. The calculated V(f) dependence is compared with the results obtained from the measurements of colinear diffraction angles.
Corruption in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry and Implication for Economic Growth

This is an exploratory study that seek to examine the effect of corruption in the oil and gas industry to the economy growth of Nigeria. This study adopted the resource-curse theory, which state that plenty of mineral resources is more often a curse than a blessing, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria. To achieved the purpose of these study, a review of empirical works, Corruption Perception Index Report of Transparency International and some corruption cases in Nigeria was explored. This paper discovers that corruption had being part of our socio-political and economic life in Nigeria as shown by the corruption perception index from 1996 to date and that majority of corruption cases in the oil and gas industry has increased in amount over the years. Generally, corruption impaired economic growth by diverting investment fund meet for public goods and services into private gains by few individuals. This study recommend that the award of oil block, contract, licensing and production right should follow due process and that the awarding of oil block to individual should be discourage rather they should be awarded to corporate entities with wide spread ownership. Keywords: oil and gas, Corruption, Economy growth, Resource-Curse.
Vapor‐Activated Power Generation on Conductive Polymer

An efficient vapor‐activated power generator based on a 3D polypyrrole (PPy) framework was demonstrated for the first time. By constructing the anions gradient in the PPy, this specially designed PPy framework provided free ionic gradient with the assistant of absorbing water vapor to promote the spontaneous transport of ionic charge carriers, thus leading to the intermittent electric output with the change of external water vapor. A high voltage output of ≈60 mV and power density output of ≈6.9 mW m−2 were achieved under the moisture environment. More interestingly, it also exhibited power generation behaviors upon exposure to most of organic or inorganic vapors, indicating the potential new type of self‐powered vapor sensors for practical applications.
on CMS information server CMS CR-2015 / 244 The Compact Muon Solenoid Experiment

Building and operating the CMS Detector is a complicated endeavour! Now, more than 20 years after the detector was conceived, the CMS Bologna group proposes to follow the steps of this challenging project by playing The Higgs Boson Goose Game, illustrating CMS activities and goals.The concept of the game is inspired by the traditional Game of the Goose. The underlying idea is that the progress of building and operating a detector at the LHC is similar to the progress of the pawns on the game board it is fast at times, bringing rewards and satisfaction, while sometimes unexpected problems cause delays or even a step back requiring CMS scientists to use all of their skill and creativity to devise new solutions. Presented at EPS-HEP 2015 European Physical Society Conference on High Energy Physics 2015 The CMS "Higgs Boson Goose Game" Francesca R. Cavallo∗† INFN (IT) E-mail: francesca.cavallo@bo.infn. it Marco Dallavalle INFN (IT) E-mail: marco.dallavalle@bo.infn. it A board game that narrates the story of the CMS experiment fro m detector integration to Higgs boson discovery was developed within the CMS Bologna group a nd realized with the help of the CMS communication group. The European Physical Society Conference on High Energy Phy sics 22-29 July 2015 Vienna, Austria Speaker. †Thanks to Alberto Monti for the original drawings and to Marzena Lapka f or technical support. c © Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creativ Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internation al License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). http://pos.sissa. it/ The CMS "Higgs Boson Goose Game" Francesca R. Cavallo
The ethics of electronic monitoring within the workplace.

This paper shows that electronic monitoring of employees’ use of e-mail and the World Wide Web can be beneficial to a company and even to its employees. However, the use of monitoring and the resulting intrusion into personal privacy can also have adverse affects. Ideally, monitoring should only be used to increase the efficiency of the organisation. This would lead to a far-relaxed attitude to be monitored within the work place. It is difficult for companies to obtain the right balance between private and work-related Internet use. A solution to this problem is to contract an independent outside party to undertake the monitoring process. This paper suggests guidelines for establishing an agreed electronic monitoring policy which should enable increased productivity from better use of electronic facilities yet still be acceptable to employees. The greater acceptability of independent monitoring and the more relaxed atmosphere of a not too restrictive policy on email and Internet use will increase the overall company morale which, in turn, will produce a happier, more productive environment that will benefit both employees and managers alike.
MORPHOMETRY AND SEDIMENT DYNAMICS OF THE CHURIYA RIVER AREA, SIWALIK RANGE IN NEPAL

The Siwalik Range of Central Nepal has weakly consolidated rocks with thin soil cover. Being one of the several north-flowing subsequent tributaries, the Churiya River originated from the southern uplifted range of the Siwalik Group. Morphometry and hydraulic parameters of the Churiya River Basin (CRB) were studied to know how capable is the river for carrying its sediment out of the basin. In many cases, hypsometric integral (HI) in 1st order watershed was lower (0.33–0.57) compared to that of 2nd and 3rd order watersheds (0.45–0.54) suggesting that it had been undergoing severe erosion. The surface flow in the Churiya River appeared only during intense middle monsoon rainfall (June–August) and disappeared most of the time probably due to highly permeable riverbed. Stream powers (Ps) calculated from morphometric analyses of the drainage basin, and stream powers per unit bed area (Ω b ) computed from hydraulic data showed that 2nd order watershed in both cases were 2.5 times higher than 3rd order watershed. This suggests that stream powers of 2nd order watersheds had high potentiality of transporting sediments into 3rd order segment, where stream powers diminished due to reduction in slope, boundary shear stress, and increase of infiltration rate. Although, stream powers reduced downstream (in 3rd order segment), they were quite high enough to flush out from the basin even the largest grain size (d max ) of the riverbeds during the period of high flows. Therefore, sediment erosion should be controlled in the Churiya River Basin to reduce its impact on downstream segments and infrastructures.