Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Teleconference Sessions in Distance Learning Courses: The Influence of Psychological Factors

A teleconferencing learning environment has the potential to increase interaction between educators and learners. Interaction must be designed and continuously supported by the educator. When using teleconferencing in distance education, there is a set of psychological factors which may impact learner involvement. Τhe objective of this study was to identify what psychological factors influence the learner involvement in distance learning courses during teleconferencing sessions. A questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were used as the research tools. The results show that anxiety, learner satisfaction, and expectation of success affect learners and educators in teleconferencing learning environments. Finally, concerning the interconnection of the psychological factors and the effectiveness in teleconferencing sessions as it appears, the main premise of a successful teleconferencing session is laying down the groundwork for adequate planning and preparation taking into account all the influencing psychological factors.
CRYSTALLINE AMINO ACIDS A link between chemistry, materials science and biology

Amino acids belong to systems that are replete with mystery and magic and that serve as beautiful models. These small molecules form the elementary basis of peptides and proteins, which are crucial for life. This condition alone would suffice to make the study of amino acids exciting and important, but studies of amino acids are not restricted to biological problems. Amino acids can form not only variable peptide chains but also three-dimensional crystalline structures, which are no less variable and beautiful than biopolymers. Polymorphism of crystalline amino acids is a challenge for crystal engineers, and also for those researchers who are involved in studying intermolecular interactions, in particular – hydrogen bonds. Crystalline amino acids can serve as biomimetics modeling interactions in biopolymers. Phase transitions in crystalline amino acids are related to the folding of peptides. Crystalline amino acids serve as drugs and molecular materials, and the control of their structures and properties finds important applications in industry. Biomolecular assemblies – polyaminoacids, two-dimensional peptide-layered structures, peptide nanoporous structures – form a link between proteins and crystalline amino acids. Comparative studies of the sequence: crystalline amino acids – polyaminoacids – peptide layers – proteins provide insight into the properties of matter in its diverse forms.
The Okomu Forest Reserve in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: Evaluating its Services to Ecosystem and Small Holder Crop Farmers

Aim of study: The basis for sustainable conservation of any protected forest area is determined by the services it provides to the ecosystem and immediate communities. This study seeks to evaluate the services provided by the Okomu Forest Reserve that should warrant its conservation. Area of study: The study was conducted in Okomu Forest Reserve in Edo State, Southern Nigeria. The major practices of farmers in the surrounding communities are sole cassava and intercropping cassava with maize, melon and groundnut. Material and methods: The function system was used to evaluate the Okomu Forest Reserve, using a questionnaire containing a checklist of ecosystem functions. Respondents for the rural survey were crop farmers, while the urban survey were tourists from urban centres. Main results: Results showed that rural dwellers' important functions were food/nutrition, fuel energy, and fishing with mean values of 2.81, 2.49 and 2.04 respectively, while the urban dwellers’ important functions were recreation/tourism, educational/scientific information and nature protection with mean values of 2.82, 2.76 and 2.72 respectively. Highlights: The order of importance of forest functions as perceived by the urban respondents from the highest was carrier, information, regulation and least with production. The rural dwellers' perception from the highest was carrier, production and information functions as least.
Distribution system reconfiguration in presence of Internet of things

Correspondence Mahmood Joorabian, Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran. Email: mjoorabian@scu.ac. ir Abstract Network reconfiguration (NR) has undergone new changes to adapt to smart grid evolution. Internet of things (IoT) has found its way to smart grids especially in the distribution systems. Demand-side management can be more efficient in the presence of IoT. IoTbased energy management systems can have bidirectional communication with smart grids and decide according to their preferences, time-of-use (TOU) pricing, and their flexible devices. Therefore, customers would consume electricity more interactively. Consequently, the total load profile will be changed and a new NR approach must be adopted to meet load demands. So, the selection of critical switches must be modified to achieve the most effective network resource utilisation. For this purpose, a mixed-integer linear programming model for feeder reconfiguration is presented considering the customers’ behaviours in the IoT environment. At first, the customer manner is investigated at different prices and preferences. Then the total load profile is calculated considering the normal distribution of uncertain customer preference factors. Finally, the identification of critical switches is obtained using the proposed method. The optimisation is done in YALMIP and MOSEK toolboxes. Results show the effectiveness of the proposed method to efficient utilisation of IoT potentials and renewable energy benefits.
Benefit of Relaxation-Type Damping on the Performance of a Six-Degree-of-Freedom Microvibration Isolation Device for Control Moment Gyroscope

In order to provide an ultraquiet environment for spacecraft payload, a six-degree-of-freedom microvibration isolation device for satellite control moment gyro (CMG) is proposed in this paper. The dynamic characteristics of the microvibration isolation device are analyzed theoretically and experimentally. The dynamic equations of the microvibration suppression device are established by using the Newton–Euler method. The dynamic responses are numerically solved and the frequency-domain characteristics of the microvibration isolation device under base excitation are analyzed. The analytical results are first verified numerically, and the two results are in good accordance. The experimental apparatus is built, and the vibration isolation performance is investigated. The acceleration transfer function is measured and the influence of the excitation amplitude on the vibration isolation performance is performed. It is shown that the amplification factor at the vicinity of the resonance frequency is within 10 dB, and the vibration isolation performance is significant at higher frequencies. The vibration attenuation performance at the main frequency of the CMG (100 Hz) is more than 30 dB. The microvibration suppression device can effectively suppress the microvibration generated by CMG during orbital operation.
Some considerations for designing a pneumatic micro-droplet generator

Micro-droplet ejection is a liquid dispensing technology that has potential applications in many fields. Specifically, pneumatic ejection is actuated by a solenoid valve, which is set to ‘conduction’ state for a brief period of time Δt. High pressure gas of P 0 enters the liquid reservoir, then releases through a venting tube, creating a oscillating pressure waveform P(t), forcing the liquid out through a tiny nozzle to form a micro-droplet. For each actuation, P(t) is acquired by a high-speed pressure sensor, and the ejection state is obtained by high-speed photography and image processing methods. Some issues for the design of pneumatic micro-droplet ejector are discussed. For simulation of P(t), it is proposed within an electro-acoustic analogy picture that the acoustic resistance of the venting tube is mainly due to viscous effect and may vary with time during the whole ejection process. Based on this assumption, the calculated P(t) is more consistent with the actual measurement. Experimentally, the droplet ejection process for different length of venting tube is studied. With P 0 and Δt set, by increasing the venting tube length L, both the peak value P MAX1 and duration of the first positive pressure period increase, and more droplets are ejected from a single actuation. By setting different P 0, P MAX1 for different L is tuned to an identical and appropriate value, so that single droplet is ejected due to the first positive pressure period. However, with the increase of L, the peak value of the second positive pressure period P MAX2 increases. There is a certain probability that another droplet is ejected. It is realized that the increase of L can reduce gas consumption, but the multiple ejection is a drawback that should be considered in the design of pneumatic ejection system.
The Impact of Changes in Bank Ownership Structure on the Allocation of Capital: International Evidence

A new wave of bank privatizations in the past decade has significantly changed the ownership structure of banking systems around the world. This paper explores how these changes affect the allocation of capital within countries. Increases in domestic blockholder ownership of banks adversely affect the allocation of capital through increased lending activity to less productive industries and to those with less dependence on external finance. This result is more pronounced in countries with higher levels of corruption. I find some evidence that foreign presence improves capital allocation efficiency by increasing lending to more productive industries, primarily in common law countries.
Visual map of power transmission of magnetically coupled wireless power transfer system based on independent analysis of transmitter and receiver sides

A wireless power transfer (WPT) technology has recently garnered significant attention owing to its advantages of removing wire and mitigating charging concerns. In a conventional resonance‐based compensation circuit design, the power transmission characteristics strongly depend on the coupling condition of the transmitter and receiver coils. Therefore, some non‐resonance‐based designs have been proposed. However, they are complicated and lack the resonance condition; therefore, circuit designers cannot comprehensively understand their power transmission characteristics. This study proposes a visualization method for the power transmission characteristics based on a divided analysis of WPT systems. The proposed visual map, which consists of simple circles and lines, can help in intuitively understanding the tendency of WPT and evaluate the transmission power of the compensation circuits, including the non‐resonance condition. The tendency obtained from the visual map was validated via numerical simulations and experiments. The experimental results were significantly consistent with the intuitively estimated tendency and the evaluated power transmission.
Localize Animal Sound Events Reliably (LASER): A New Software for Sound Localization in Zoos

Locating a vocalizing animal can be useful in many fields of bioacoustics and behavioral research, and is often done in the wild, covering large areas. In zoos, however, the application of this method becomes particularly difficult, because, on the one hand, the animals are in a relatively small area and, on the other hand, reverberant environments and background noise complicate the analysis. Nevertheless, by localizing and analyzing animal sounds, valuable information on physiological state, sex, subspecies, reproductive state, social status, and animal welfare can be gathered. Therefore, we developed a sound localization software that is able to estimate the position of a vocalizing animal precisely, making it possible to assign the vocalization to the corresponding individual, even under difficult conditions. In this study, the accuracy and reliability of the software is tested under various conditions. Different vocalizations were played back through a loudspeaker and recorded with several microphones to verify the accuracy. In addition, tests were carried out under real conditions using the example of the giant otter enclosure at Dortmund Zoo, Germany. The results show that the software can estimate the correct position of a sound source with a high accuracy (median of the deviation 0.234 m). Consequently, this software could make an important contribution to basic research via position determination and the associated differentiation of individuals, and could be relevant in a long-term application for monitoring animal welfare in zoos.
Quantitative results of diffusion tensor imaging of the liver (LDTI): is there any difference between right and left liver lobes?

Poster: "ECR 2014 / C-0856 / Quantitative results of diffusion tensor imaging of the liver (LDTI): is there any difference between right and left liver lobes? " by: "R. Girometti, M. Maieron, G. Lissandrello, L. Cereser, C. Zuiani, M. Bazzocchi; Udine/IT"
Synergistic Catalysis by Lewis Acid and Base Sites on ZrO2 for Meerwein–Ponndorf–Verley Reduction

Early transition metal oxides, TiO2, ZrO2, and Nb2O5, were studied as heterogeneous catalysts for the Meerwein–Ponndorf–Verley (MPV) reduction of cyclohexanone in 2-propanol. Despite a small amount of Lewis acid sites and weak Lewis acid strength, ZrO2 was clearly superior to TiO2 and Nb2O5 with respect to reaction rate. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and temperature-programmed-desorption (TPD) measurements revealed that ZrO2 has large amounts of base sites that activate the methylene groups in 2-propanol bonded to Lewis acid sites. Various analyses, including experiments using isotopic 2-propanol, suggest that efficient MPV reduction over ZrO2 is due not only to Lewis acid strength and density, but also to a synergistic effect of base and Lewis acid sites.
Source Separation and Medium Change of Contained Chemical Explosions from Coda Wave Interferometry

Differences in the seismic coda of neighboring events can be used to investigate source location offsets and medium change with coda wave interferometry (CWI). We employ CWI to infer the known relative location between two chemical explosions in Phase I of the Source Physics Experiment (SPE). The inferred displacement between the first, SPE-1, and second, SPE-2, chemical explosion is between 6 and 18 m, with an expectation of 9.2 m, where the known separation is close to 9.4 m. We also employ CWI to find any velocity perturbation due to damage from SPE-2, by comparing its coda with the collocated third SPE chemical explosion, SPE-3. We find that damage due to SPE-2 must be confined to a spherical region with radius less than 10 m and velocity perturbation less than 25%.
“AI News Anchor” With Deep Learning-Based Speech Synthesis

Deep learning-based text to speech (TTS) is used in various situations, and the sound quality is close to that of humans. We previously developed a news-specific deep learning-based TTS (DL-TTS) system and implemented it with our AI news anchor for live broadcast programs and automatic news-speech distribution services. We also developed our DL-TTS system for the control of speaking style and speech rate, pitch, intonation, and volume to facilitate the creation of various programs. More specifically, this method enables the changing of specific speaking styles, such as news style, which mimics the style of news reporters, and conversation style. The purpose of creating this system was to eliminate the discomfort due to differences in speech and speaking styles. Controlling speaking style is important in news speech because a mismatched speaking style does not appropriately convey news articles. For this study, we conducted an evaluation experiment on the conveying of simple news articles for language learners regarding speaking-style control and found appropriate speaking styles for automatically generated news speech. We conducted another evaluation experiment on whether synthetic speech generated from our system for “easy news” for Japanese language learners can help people understand the news in Japanese. We also discuss practical applications of our system. Our news-specific deep neural network-based TTS system was found to effectively provide news services to broadcast stations. In the future, we will consider various use cases of flexible production by using a cloud system. The coronavirus pandemic has forced broadcasters to adopt new working styles. Thus, we will explore a new production system, such as a cloud-based system, for news-speech automation for this new normal .
Confirming Scripture through Eyewitness Testimony (2 Peter 1.19a): Resolving a Crux Interpretum

Responding to objections raised against the parousia, the author of 2 Peter seeks to defend the validity of Jesus’ return by pointing to the experience of the apostles at the Transfiguration (1.16-18) and to prophetic scripture (1.19-21). But how these two proofs relate to one another has been a matter of dispute since the earliest days of critical scholarship. Standing behind this disagreement is a difficult grammatical construction involving the comparative adjective βεβαιότερον (2 Pet. 1.19a). This article seeks to bring resolution to the debate through a comprehensive assessment of the force and function of this key term.
Three dimensional printed nanogenerators

In the dawn of energy crisis and rising challenges in powering distributed low energy portable devices, nanogenerators, a class of mechanical energy harvesters is gaining increasing interest in fundamental research and commercial applications. Nanogenerators harvest energy by transducing mechanical energy into electric energy, the performance is highly related to the mechanical and electrical properties of the materials and devices. A typical nanogenerator consists of a substrate, a functional triboelectric active layer, electrode, and separator, which overall built-up a three dimensional (3D) structure. 3D printing with its ability to form complex 3D structures possess coveted advantages in the development of nanogenerators. In this review, we introduce the importance of 3D structures for nanogenerators and explicitly discuss the different 3D printing methods and the ink formulation to tackle the challenges in 3D structured nanogenerators. Additionally, the principle and application of 4D printing in nanogenerator fabrication are critically highlighted.
The international reference system for pure beta-particle emitting radionuclides: an evaluation of the measurement uncertainties

The international bureau of weights and measures (BIPM) is the centre for governments to act in common on matters relating to metrology, co-ordinating the world-wide measurement system and providing capabilities for international measurement comparisons on a shared-cost basis. The ionizing radiation department maintains and develops high-precision instrumentation to enable national metrology institutes to demonstrate the equivalence of primary standards of radioactivity. The scope of this service is expanding: the ‘extended international reference system (ESIR)’ project aims to provide a stable instrument capable of comparing standards of pure beta-emitting radionuclides, complementing existing instruments for gamma-emitters. In 2019, the members of the ESIR project devised a liquid scintillation system that is capable of producing very stable reference values over a long timescale, using a method inspired by the ‘triple-to-double coincidence ratio’ (TDCR) technique. This article sets out the approach that will be used for evaluating uncertainties in future comparison exercises using the ESIR. The method adopted was based on the guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement published by the joint committee for guides in metrology. Particular care has been taken in choosing the evaluation method: the response of the TDCR instrument cannot be linearized, so a Monte-Carlo method was implemented and a technique to manage correlated input data was developed. A novel sampling technique was used for the input multi-variate distribution of coincident count rates; this approach may also be relevant to primary standards realized using the TDCR technique. Calculation have shown that standard uncertainties of the order of 0.1 % will be achievable for a typical radionuclide.
Precipitation Type Distribution and Microphysical Processes During the 1998 Ice Storm Simulated Under Pseudo‐Warmer Conditions

In the future, the intensity, phases, and frequency of precipitation are expected to change due to global warming, in particular during colder seasons when temperatures are near 0°C. To investigate the impacts of warmer atmospheric conditions on the microphysical processes that lead to several precipitation types, the extreme 1998 Ice Storm was simulated using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, with and without a pseudo‐global warming. The pseudo‐global warming approach simulates similar large‐scale conditions but in warmer conditions, which allows for the assessment of thermodynamic feedback from cloud and precipitation microphysics. For both simulations, WRF was coupled with the Predicted Particle Properties (P3) bulk microphysics scheme that predicts the liquid fraction of mixed‐phase particles. Results of the pseudo‐global warming simulation show an increase of ∼828 m in the upper 0°C level and a northeastward migration (∼60 km) of the rain‐snow transition region. The results also show a 20% decrease in domain‐averaged freezing rain amounts, but with an increased maximum amount of 50%. The horizontal distance associated with a melting aloft and a refreezing layer near the surface is 105 km longer in southern Quebec due to the combined effects of the pseudo‐warming and the presence of the Appalachian Mountains. The microphysical processes that lead to precipitation are impacted as well; the increased ice mass and riming conditions aloft in warmer temperatures result in higher liquid precipitation rates. This study contributes to our understanding of the changes in the fine‐scale processes of an extreme storm, simulated with pseudo‐global warming conditions.