Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Open learning technology and the rural school:The effects on classroom practice

New developments in information and communications technologies have rapidly made their way into the forefront of educational concerns. With exciting possibilities for global communication, access to vast amounts of information and new approaches to teaching and learning practices, a small number of schools have integrated the technology into the school environment. However, the majority of schools are just feeling their way and this is particularly so in small rural schools which are removed from the high technology communications networks of the capital cities. This study placed open learning technology into three rural schools where the teachers had control over its use. Using qualitative multi-site case study techniques, the effect of the technology on the planning and teaching strategies of the teachers, classroom organisation and management, changes in teacher-student interactions, student motivation, curriculum enhancement and/or extension, the role of the teacher, and professional development issues was investigated. It was found that the use of the technology had a positive effect on encouraging open learning and student-centred approaches to lesson delivery. The Internet and e-mail were accepted by the teachers and the wider school community and became part of normal classroom activities. Staff development opportunities figured largely in the outcomes of this study being revealed as a necessity for teacher adoption of the innovation. The leadership role of the principals emerged as an important theoretical construct influencing the implementation of the innovation. Finally, the introduction of the technology was found to contribute to breaking down the barriers of distance that are a characteristic of rural and isolated schools. By providing teachers in rural schools with access to open learning technology that can be readily integrated into teaching activities, it is likely that lasting change in attitude to the legitimacy of information gained through the technology, and a greater level of independent student classroom activity, will occur.
The prevalence of uterine rupture and associated factors in Ethiopia: A systematic review and Meta – analysis

Background Globally, maternal morbidity and mortality a major public health challenge. Uterine rupture is a life-threatening obstetrical emergency with serious undesired complications for both the mother and her infant. Uterine rupture is the leading cause of maternal and fetal death in developing countries. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the prevalence of uterine rupture and its associated factors in Ethiopia. Method: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline was followed. The databases used were; PubMed, Google scholar, Cochrane Library, African Journals Online, Ethiopian's university research repository online library, and manual searching. The search was further limited to studies conducted in Ethiopia and reported in English. Two authors independently extracted all necessary data using a standardized data extraction format. STATA 11 software was used to analyze the data. The Cochrane Q and I2 test were used to assess the heterogeneity of studies. The pooled estimate prevalence and the odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were computed by a random effect model. Result: A total of 16 studies were included in this meta-analysis with a sample size of 10,550. The national pooled prevalence of uterine rupture was 14.74%. The pooled adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of uterine rupture for prolonged labour(>24hours) was 4.3 (95% CI=2.57,7.19), not having antenatal care during pregnancy was 3.71(95%CI=2.26,6.08),grand multiparity was 1.99(95%CI=1.04,3.81),rural residency was 4.17 (95%CI=1.72,10.12),having cesarean section scar was 8.52 (95%CI: 4.98,14.59),not using partograph during labour was 3.43(1.62,7.29), and obstructed labour was 8.78(95%CI:3.38,22.8). Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis showed that uterine rupture was high in Ethiopia. Being from the rural residence, prolonged labour(>24hours) , not having ante natal care , grand multiparity, having cesarean section scar , not using partograph during labour, and obstructed labour increased the risk of uterine rupture.
CONTEXT-AWARE ACCESS CONTROL IN UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING (CRAAC)

Ubiquitous computing (UbiComp) envisions a new computing environment, wherecomputing devices and related technology are widespread (i.e. everywhere) andservices are provided at anytime. The technology is embedded discreetly in theenvironment to raise users? awareness. UbiComp environments support the proliferationof heterogeneous devices such as embedded computing devices, personaldigital assistants (PDAs), wearable computers, mobile phones, laptops, officedesktops (PCs), and hardware sensors. These devices may be interconnected bycommon networks (e.g. wired, wireless), and may have different levels of capabilities(i.e. computational power, storage, power consumption, etc). They areseamlessly integrated and interoperated to provide smart services (i.e. adaptiveservices). A UbiComp environment provides smart services to users based on theusers? and/or system? s current contexts. It provides the services to users unobtrusivelyand in turn the user? s interactions with the environment should be asnon-intrusive and as transparent as possible. Access to such smart services anddevices must be controlled by an effective access control system that adapts itsdecisions based on the changes in the surrounding contextual information.This thesis aims at designing an adaptive fine-grained access control solutionthat seamlessly fits into UbiComp environments. The solution should be flexiblein supporting the use of different contextual information and efficient, in terms ofaccess delays, in controlling access to resources with divergent levels of sensitivity.The main contribution of this thesis is the proposal of the Context-Risk-Aware Access Control (CRAAC) model. CRAAC achieves fine-grained accesscontrol based upon the risk level in the underlying access environment and/orthe sensitivity level of the requested resource object. CRAAC makes new contributionsto the access control field, those include 1) introducing the concept oflevel of assurance based access control, 2) providing a method to convert the contextualattributes values into the corresponding level of assurance, 3) Proposingtwo methods to aggregate the set of level of assurance into one requester level ofassurance, 4) supporting four modes of working each suits a different applicationcontext and/or access control requirements, 5) a comprehensive access control architecturethat supports the CRAAC four modes of working, and 6) an evaluationof the CRAAC performance at runtime.
The BLZ Systems for the 2011 NIST Language Recognition Evaluation

This paper briefly describes the language recognition systems developed for the 2011 NIST Language Recognition Evaluation (LRE) by the BLZ (Bilbao-Lisboa-Zaragoza) team, a threesite joint including GTTS from the University of the Basque Country (Spain), L 2 F (Spoken Language Systems Lab) from INESC-ID Lisboa (Portugal) and I3A from the University of Zaragoza (Spain). The primary system fuses 8 (3 acoustic + 5 phonotactic) subsystems: a Linearized Eigenchannel GMM (LE-GMM) subsystem, a JFA subsystem, an iVector subsystem, three Phone-SVM subsystems using the Brno University of Technology phone decoders for Czech, Hungarian and Russian, and two Phone-SVM subsystems using the L 2 F phone decoders for European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese. Gaussian backends and multiclass fusion have been applied to get the final scores. Three contrastive systems have been also submitted, featuring: (1) the fusion of the whole set of 13 (6 acoustic + 7 phonotactic) subsystems; (2) the fusion of 3 subsystems, for the combination of one subsystem per site yielding the best performance on development data; and (3) the fusion of the same 8 subsystems used in the primary system under a different configuration.
THE EFFECTS OF SEAT POST ANGLE IN CYCLING PERFORMANCE

OF DISSERTATION _______________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Exercise Science in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky By Saori Hanaki-Martin Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Robert Shapiro, Professor of Kinesiology and Health Promotion Lexington, Kentucky 2012 Copyright © Saori Hanaki-Martin 2012
Control of malignant ascites using HIPEC in 2 patients with ovarian cancer: A case-report

Objective: to demonstrate an efficacy of Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) in management of malignant ascites (MA) in patients with platinum-refractory ovarian cancer (OC). Background: MA in OC patients can dramatically affect quality of life. HIPEC is an investigational treatment modality that can be effective in MA setting but evidence-based data supporting this method are lacking. Cases presentation: 2 women 50-year-old, FIGO stage IV and 60-year-old, FIGO stage IIIC presented at our center, both had recurrent MA. Patients were treated with HIPEC after platinum-refractory recurrence. The first one had total control of MA with no evidence of disease at the time of last follow-up examination. The 2nd had 9 months of disease control – a relatively long time considering her MA recurrence rate.Conclusions: HIPEC can be successfully used for MA management in selected patients with epithelial OC refractory to standard chemotherapy, however more data are needed from randomized clinical trials.
Formulation, characterization and optimization of nebivolol-loaded sustained release lipospheres

Purpose: To formulate, characterize and optimize nebivolol-loaded sustained release lipospheres (LPs) using beeswax (BW) as the drug carrier. Methods: Nebivolol-loaded LPs were formulated using solvent evaporation technique (SET) and characterized. The impact of independent variables on responses such as percentage yield (PY), entrapment efficiency (EE) and drug release after 12 h (DR12) was assessed using central composite design (CCD). Numerical and graphical optimization techniques were also used to evaluate outcomes of the measured responses. Results: Twenty micron-sized (20 - 100 μm), smooth spherical LPs with good rheological properties were produced. The yield ranged from 33 (F10) to 81 % (F6), while EE ranged from 32 (F4 and F9) to 69 % (F6). The results of rheological evaluation revealed angle of repose > 24 o, Hausner’s ratio > 1.5, and Carr’s index ranging from 13 to 19 %. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed nebivolol and BW compatibility, and the absence of possible interactions between formulation components. Duration of nebivolol release was strongly associated with BW concentration and formulation F15 showed minimum drug release (46%). Drug release was significantly higher in formulations with similar BW concentrations and low Tween-20 (T-20) concentrations (F1 and F11) than in formulations with high T-20 concentrations (F2, p < 0.05). The zeta potential of deflocculated LPs ranged from +15 to +35 mV. Nebivolol release (46 - 85 %) at pH 6.8 was significantly affected by BW concentration and it followed zero order model. Conclusion: The results obtained in this study have shown that BW is a suitable material for producing an effective sustained release formulation. The mechanism of drug release in nebivolol- loaded LPs is diffusion accompanied by erosion. Keywords: Lipospheres, Nebivolol, Beeswax, Formulation, Central composite design
Oversampling the minority class using a dedicated fitness function and genetic algorithmic progression

Class imbalance is a pertinent characteristic of a number of real‐world datasets. The underrepresentation of the minority class in such datasets causes difficulty in learning and prediction of its members. In this era of Big Data, we need to address this practical issue in order to get admissible outputs from our classifier models. We present a novel work, oversampling the minority class using a dedicated fitness function and genetic algorithmic progression – to tackle the problem of class imbalance. We generate a random set of feature points in the given space and use genetic‐algorithm guided progression to metamorphose them into a set of potential minority points. The optimization function looks at the neighborhood of the synthetic minority points for computing the fitness scores. We have employed 19 real‐world datasets, three metrics, three classifiers, and four diversified oversampling methods in the empirical study. A comprehensive study involving several well‐established minority oversamplers demonstrates the efficaciousness of the proposed method in handling class imbalance.
A study of pilot selection for the Korean Air Force.

Abstract : The Operation with Economic Efficiency (OEE) Program in the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) was designed to reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of all ROKAF operations. The ROKAF is now faced with the problem of developing a more efficient pilot candidate selection and training program which will improve pilot quality and reduce attrition rates and the number of aircraft accidents. The present research provides a starting point for the development of a more efficient pilot selection and training program. If successful this program should result in the selection of pilot candidates exhibiting a significantly higher probability of completing the pilot training program. This thesis also provides a summary of aviation selection test batteries presently in use by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy and applies the principles of decision theory in determining whether a change in the ROKAF's present pilot selection system is feasible.
Design and Performance Analysis of a Prototype Circulation Control Helicopter Rotor

Abstract : A Circulation Control Rotor (CCR) has been designed for application to existing, conventional speed helicopters of the 5000 to 10000 pound weight class. A design methodology is shown which tends to minimize rotor induced power in hover while operating at near maximum airfoil section efficiency. The particular design was constrained by conventional disc loadings and blade tip speeds to be consistent with available helicopter engine/transmission combinations. The design is near optimum within these constraints and current available data. Circulation control airfoil and slot geometry design considerations are shown. Tip speed, solidity and disc loading were varied to show performance sensitivity to those parameters and to define the conditions of best overall rotor aerodynamic efficiency. The constrained CCR design was found to operate best at a thrust coefficient/solidity ratio around 0.12. At this condition hover Figure of Merit improved with increased disc loading, while cruise aerodynamic efficiency was relatively insensitive to disc loading changes. Overall performance exceeded or was equal to that of conventional rotor systems for the same weight class vehicle.
Energy Efficiency Analysis and Implementation of AES on an FPGA

I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. Abstract The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) was developed by Joan Daemen and Vincent Rjimen and endorsed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in 2001. It was designed to replace the aging Data Encryption Standard (DES) and be useful for a wide range of applications with varying throughput, area, power dissipation and energy consumption requirements. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are flexible and reconfigurable integrated circuits that are useful for many different applications including the implementation of AES. Though they are highly flexible, FPGAs are often less efficient than Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs); they tend to operate slower, take up more space and dissipate more power. There have been many FPGA AES implementations that focus on obtaining high throughput or low area usage, but very little research done in the area of low power or energy efficient FPGA based AES; in fact, it is rare for estimates on power dissipation to be made at all. This thesis presents a methodology to evaluate the energy efficiency of FPGA based AES designs and proposes a novel FPGA AES implementation which is highly flexible and energy efficient. The proposed methodology is implemented as part of a novel scripting tool, the AES Energy Analyzer, which is able to fully characterize the power dissipation and energy efficiency of FPGA based AES designs. Additionally, this thesis introduces a new FPGA power reduction technique called Opportunistic Combinational Operand Gating (OCOG) which is used in the proposed energy efficient implementation. The AES Energy Analyzer was able to estimate the power dissipation and energy efficiency of the proposed AES design during its most commonly performed operations. It was found that the proposed implementation consumes less energy per operation than any previous FPGA based AES implementations that included power estimations. Finally, the use of Opportunistic Combinational Operand Gating on an AES cipher was found to reduce its dynamic power consumption by up to 17% when compared to an identical design that did not employ the technique. iv Acknowledgements
A Low-power Pipeline ADC with Front-end Capacitor-sharing

This thesis presents the design and experimental results of a low-power pipeline ADC that applies front-end capacitor-sharing. The ADC operates at 20 MS/s, resolves 1.5 bits/stage, and is implemented in IBM 0.13um technology. The purpose of the technique is to reduce power consumption in the front-end S/H. This work is a proof-of-concept and it concentrates on the front-end design. A comparison is conducted between a capacitor-sharing ADC and a regular ADC and as a result, the technique reduces the power consumption in the front-end S/H by 39%. At an input frequency of 9.53 MHz and a sampling rate of 20 MS/s, the fabricated capacitor-sharing ADC consumes 4.7 mW at 1.2 V, and it achieves an ENOB of 8.5 bits and a FOM of 0.68 pJ/step. It has an ENOB as high as 8.67 bits at 0.4 MS/s and a FOM as low as 0.6 pJ/step when sub-sampling at 20 MS/s.
Development and application of image based measurement techniques for aerodynamic investigations in wind tunnels

The experimental investigation of unsteady complex flow fields in wind tunnels requires advanced measurement techniques. This paper describes the development and state-of-the-art of the most important of such image based measurement techniques for measurement of planar flow velocity fields, planar pressure distribution, model location and deformation, and quantitative high speed visualization as carried out by DLR Gottingen. The applications range from low speed flows to transonic flows, from high lift configurations to propellers and rotors, from wake vortex investigations in catapult facilities and water towing tanks to investigations of vortex break down phenomena on delta wings.
Opportunities for Development of a Mature Concentrating Photovoltaic Power Industry

As the solar industry grows, there is interest in exploring a wide variety of approaches, Of these, concentrating photovoltaic power (CPV) is qualitatively different, using lenses or mirrors to reduce the amount of semiconductor material needed to produce each kW. The development of multijunction, III-V concentrator cells with efficiencies > 40% enables this approach by increasing the value of the optics. This paper explores the opportunities and challenges faced by this segment of the solar industry.
An effective system for electronic peer review

Electronic peer review can empower instructors of large courses to produce rapid feedback, promote social interaction and encourage higher order learning by students. But what are the payoffs for educators? Do students recognise the benefits of such a system? Foundation Computing is one of the largest courses at the University of Southern Queensland. A system of electronic submission and peer reviewing with instructor moderation is now being used in this course. This system is innovative and unique and delivers benefits to students, instructors and the University. This system has been evaluated, proven successful and is being considered for wider use.
Design of 3D Carbon Nanotube Monoliths for Potential-Controlled Adsorption

The design of 3D monoliths provides a promising opportunity to scale the unique properties of singular carbon nanotubes to a macroscopic level. However, the synthesis of carbon nanotube monoliths is often characterized by complex procedures and additives impairing the later macroscopic properties. Here, we present a simple and efficient synthesis protocol leading to the formation of free-standing, stable, and highly conductive 3D carbon nanotube monoliths for later application in potential-controlled adsorption in aqueous systems. We synthesized monoliths displaying high tensile strength, excellent conductivity (up to 140 S m−1), and a large specific surface area (up to 177 m2 g−1). The resulting monoliths were studied as novel electrode materials for the reversible electrosorption of maleic acid. The process principle was investigated using chronoamperometry and cyclic voltammetry in a two-electrode setup. A stable electrochemical behavior was observed, and the synthesized monoliths displayed capacitive and faradaic current responses. At moderate applied overpotentials (± 500 mV vs. open circuit potential), the monolithic electrodes showed a high loading capacity (~20 µmol g−1) and reversible potential-triggered release of the analyte. Our results demonstrate that carbon nanotube monoliths can be used as novel electrode material to control the adsorption of small organic molecules onto charged surfaces.
Internal Dialogues and Authenticity: How Do They Predict Well-Being?

Abstract Previous research and theoretical considerations on potential adaptive and non-adaptive functions of internal dialogues (IDs) do not allow to clearly predict the connection between internal dialogical activity and well-being. It was hypothesized that the link depends on the type of ID and its functions. Additionally, the study aimed to explore the role of authenticity in using IDs, their frequency and effects on well-being. Participants were 214 women and 193 men, aged between 20 and 60 years. Three methods were used: the Internal Dialogical Activity Scale-Revised, the Authenticity Inventory, and the Psychological Well-Being Scale. The results confirmed that authenticity is positively associated with well-being. The only type of IDs that highly authentic people conduct more often than those with lower authenticity are identity dialogues. This type of IDs shows a positive link with well-being, whereas the general internal dialogical activity as well as ruminative, maladaptive and confronting IDs are negatively related to well-being. It was also found that higher authenticity eliminates the negative relationship of maladaptive and confronting IDs with well-being. However, this is not the case with regard to the ruminative IDs. Moreover, it transpired that in highly authentic people perspective-changing IDs are conducive to higher well-being.
A Correlation Between Non-Mandatory Attendance and Course Grades in a Fourth-Year Hybrid Industrial Engineering Course

The purpose of this study is to 1) determine whether a correlation exists between non-mandatory attendance and course grades for a fourth-year hybrid industrial engineering course; and 2) to compare this conclusion with the conclusion from a previous study in determining whether a correlation exists between mandatory attendance and course grades for a third-year hybrid industrial engineering course. In sum, both studies provide evidence from their respective Pearson correlation coefficients that a negative correlation exists.