Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of L1 Reading on L2 Reading : Different Perspectives from the Process and Product of Reading

The 1990s experienced an accumulation of research studies investigating the relationships between L1 and L2 reading. Many studies included readers’ L2 linguistic proficiency as a predicting variable and attempted to identify its effect on the relationship between reading ability in two languages. This design seems to have been motivated by Alderson’s (1984) review article in which he examined a broad range of research relevant to this topic and suggested future research directions. Alderson articulated two sources of difficulties in L2 reading: L1 reading ability and L2 linguistic proficiency, and he raised a question concerning which of the two factors causes problems in L2 reading. In dealing with this question, two hypotheses were introduced: the linguistic interdependence hypothesis (or readinguniversal hypothesis) and the linguistic threshold hypothesis (or short-circuit hypothesis). The former, in its simplest form, proposes that L1 reading ability transfers to L2 reading, while the latter states that a threshold level of L2 linguistic ability is necessary before L1 reading ability transfers to L2 reading. Since then, these two hypotheses have often been considered conflicting, and researchers have attempted to determine which of the two gives the better explanation of the relationship between L1 and L2 reading. The research studies conducted after Alderson (ibid.) have identified a strong influence of L2 linguistic proficiency on the transfer of L1 reading ability to L2 reading: Higher level readers transfer their L1 reading ability more successfully than lower level readers (sometimes lower level readers did not show any evidence of transfer). Thus, generally speaking, the linguistic threshold hypothesis has been largely supported. However, the linguistic threshold hypothesis does not seem to explain all aspects
Analysis of the Factors Affecting Noise in Schools Using Experimental Design

Sounds that are high enough to negatively affect our perceiving are called noise. Noise adversely affects students’ success. The term (four different terms), the time when the noise measurement is taken (during courses or breaks), and location (corridor or classroom) are usually considered as main reasons of noise in schools. In this study, noise measurements are collected in several of Bursa’s primary and secondary schools and factors which affect noise significantly are investigated. To analyze the data, general full factorial experimental design with four factors (term, time, location and school) is constructed. MINITAB 17 and Bruel & Kjaer Measurement Partner Suite programs are used for data analysis. Analysis results indicate that noise values exceed the limit values set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and also noise regulations currently in effect in Turkey. According to the experimental design results, for secondary schools, the school which has partial acoustic insulation, is less noisy than the school which doesn’t have any acoustic insulation. Similarly, for primary schools, it was observed that school which has partial acoustic insulation, is less noisy than the school which doesn’t have any acoustic insulation. Besides, among the four schools which measurements are collected, it was noted that the private school is less noisy than the selected public schools. Keywords : Noise, noise pollution, experimental design, general full factorial designs DOI : 10.7176/JSTR/5-5-06
An Ice Giant Exoplanet Interpretation of the Anomaly in Microlensing Event OGLE-2011-BLG-0173

We analyze the microlensing event OGLE-2011-BLG-0173, which shows a small perturbation at the end of the microlensing event caused by the primary lens. We consider both binary lens and binary source models and explore their degeneracies, some of which have not previously been recognized. There are two families of binary lens solutions, one with a mass ratio q ≈ 4 × 10−4 and a separation s ≈ 4.6, and the other with q ≈ 0.015 and s ≈ 0.22, i.e., both have companions in the planetary regime. We search for solutions by using Bayesian analysis that includes planet frequency as a prior and find that the s ≈ 4.6 family is the preferred one with a planet on an orbit of ∼10 au. The degeneracies arise from a paucity of information on the anomaly, demonstrating that high-cadence observations are essential for characterizing wide-orbit microlensing planets. Hence, we predict that the planned Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope microlensing survey will be less prone to these degeneracies than the ongoing ground-based surveys. We discuss the known low-mass, wide-orbit companions and notice that for the largest projected separations the mass ratios are either high (consistent with brown dwarf companions) or low (consistent with Uranus analogs), but intermediate mass ratios (Jupiter analogs on wide orbits) have not been detected to date, despite the fact that the sensitivity to such planets should be higher than that of Uranus analogs. This is therefore tentative evidence of the existence of a massive ice giant desert at wide separations. On the other hand, given their low intrinsic detection sensitivity, Uranus analogs may be ubiquitous.
Circumstellar molecular composition of the oxygen-rich AGB star IK Tauri - II. In-depth non-LTE chemical abundance analysis

Context. The interstellar medium is enriched primarily by matter ejected from evolved low and intermediate mass stars. The outflow from these stars creates a circumstellar envelope in which a rich gas-phase chemistry takes place. Complex shock-induced nonequilibrium chemistry takes place in the inner wind envelope, dust-gas reactions and ion-molecule reactions alter the abundances in the intermediate wind zone, and the penetration of cosmic rays and ultraviolet photons dissociates the molecules in the outer wind region. Aims. Little observational information exists on the circumstellar molecular abundance stratifications of many molecules. Furthermore, our knowledge of oxygen-rich envelopes is not as profound as for the carbon-rich counterparts. The aim of this paper is therefore to study the circumstellar chemical abundance pattern of 11 molecules and isotopologs ( 12 CO, 13 CO, SiS, 28 SiO, 29 SiO, 30 SiO, HCN, CN, CS, SO, SO2) in the oxygen-rich evolved star IK Tau. Methods. We have performed an in-depth analysis of a large number of molecular emission lines excited in the circumstellar envelope around IK Tau. The analysis is done based on a non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) radiative transfer analysis, which calculates the temperature and velocity structure in a self-consistent way. The chemical abundance pattern is coupled to theoretical outer wind model predictions including photodestruction and cosmic ray ionization. Not only the integrated line intensities, but also the line shapes are used as diagnostic tool to study the envelope structure. Results. The deduced wind acceleration is much slower than predicted from classical theories. SiO and SiS are depleted in the envelope, possibly due to the adsorption onto dust grains. For HCN and CS a clear difference with respect to inner wind non-equilibrium predictions is found, either indicating uncertainties in the inner wind theoretical modeling or the possibility that HCN and CS (or the radical CN) participate in the dust formation. The low signal-to-noise profiles of SO and CN prohibit an accurate abundance determination; the modeling of high-excitation SO2 lines is cumbersome, possibly related to line misidentifications or problems with the collisional rates. The SiO isotopic ratios ( 29 SiO/ 28 SiO and 30 SiO/ 28 SiO) point toward an enhancement in 28 SiO compared to results of classical stellar evolution codes. Predictions for H2O emission lines in the spectral range of the Herschel/HIFI mission are performed.
Optimization of Synthesis Parameters of Transition Metals Deposited on Carbon Structures for Enhancing Electrocatalytic Activity

This study focuses on developing non-precious metal electrodes for oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) and oxygen evolution reactions (OER), the core catalysis of fuel cells and electrolyzers, respectively. Specifically, metal oxides on carbon support are considered as the catalytically active electrode materials in this study. Two approaches of fabrication are presented: one based upon atomic layer deposition (ALD) and one by a wet synthesis process known as the solvothermal method. The resulting catalysts are characterized to reveal the process-performance relationship for ORR and OER. The first study investigates the catalytic activities of titanium dioxide (TiO2) incorporated onto graphene oxygen (GO) by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The catalytic activity was systematically measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV). Evidence shows that TiO2 bonded on the surface of GO is catalytic active. Comparing the CV before and after ALD of TiO2 shows improvement on the catalytic activity after deposition of TiO2. Temperature effects, during deposition, were also measured by CV. The trends show that at higher temperature there is an increase in catalytic activity, which is due to the simultaneous reduction and addition of TiO2 during ALD. In addition, there is also an optimal amount of TiO2 that can be deposited for enhanced catalytic activity, which is 25 cycles. In the second study, a bimetallic metal organic framework (MOF) was synthesized using cobalt and copper chloride, complexed with 2-aminoterephthalic acid and incorporated with graphene oxide (GO), which resulted in flower-like nanostructures. Effects of post-annealing on catalytic activity for this material were measured using CV and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). This bimetallic MOF material showed both ORR and OER activity in an alkaline environment. In addition, as the annealing temperature was increased to 700°C, the ORR and OER catalytic capabilities improved for this material resulting in an ORR half-way potential at around 0.72 V and OER on-set potential of 1.57 V (at 10 mA/cm2). With the overall oxygen electrode performance gauged by the difference of ORR and OER metrics (E = EOER,j=10 – EORR,1/2 = 0.85 V), the bimetallic MOF material has a potential of serving as an excellent bifunctional electrocatalyst for regenerative fuel cells.
Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials

Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials are composed of thin layers that may have a thickness of at least one atomic layer. Contrary to bulk materials, these nanomaterials have a high aspect ratio (surface-area-to-volume ratio) and therefore have many atoms on their surface. These atoms have a different function than internal atoms, and so the increase in the number of surface atoms leads to a change in the behavior of 2D nanomaterials. Graphene, as one of the most widely used and most important 2D materials, has unique properties that result in its widespread use in various industries. After successful performance of graphene in many applications and industry, it is expected that other two-dimensional materials will also have this capability. However, the use of other two-dimensional materials requires more time and effort.
Counting rational points on genus one curves

This thesis contains two papers dealing with counting problems for curves of genus one. We obtain uniform upper bounds for the number of rational points of bounded height on such curves. The main tools to study these problems are descent and various refined versions of Heath-Brown’s p-adic determinant method. In the first paper, we count rational points on smooth plane cubic curves. In the second paper, we count rational points on non-singular complete intersections of two quadrics. The methods are different for curves of small height and large height and descent is only used for curves of small height.
Content Analysis of Counseling Ethics and Decision Making

Limited research has examined counselors’ subjective understandings of ethicality and variables affecting ethical constructions and decision making. Through content analysis, this pilot study explored three counselors’: (a) constructions of ethicality and ethical behavior, (b) general factors influencing ethical constructions and decision-making processes, (c) role of ethical codes on ethical decision-making processes, and (d) role of personal values on ethical decision-making processes. Identified emergent themes included: ambiguity in definitions of ethics and personal values; ethical constructions influenced by ethical codes and personal values; and peer consultation and professional resources as tools that introduce multifaceted ethical conceptualizations.
Parent Networks as Determinants of Relational Trust

This study was conducted to clarify the effect of parent networks on the relational trust between parents and their children's school. Trust is an important foundation of effective schools (Tschannen-Moran, 2004). There are currently multiple schools that have set institutional visions such as “building strong trust relationships with parents. ” School administrators have perceived that building trust with parents is one of the most important issues facing schools. Indeed, several studies have indicated that trust between parents and schools is crucial to school improvement (e.g., Adams, Forsyth, & Mitchell, 2009; Forsyth, Adams, & Hoy, 2011; Hoy & Tschannen-Moran, 1999; Tschannen-Moran, 2004; Tsuyuguchi, 2012). The concept of relational trust (Bryk & Schneider, 2002) is integral to the purpose of the present study. Indeed, an understanding of trust in a school requires the consideration of relational trust, which explains trust from the viewpoint of expectation and obligation (the definition of relational trust is described next section). It is important to understand the determinants of relational trust between parents and schools. Previous studies have addressed the relation between parents and schools in the following views: (1) children's adaptation to the school; (2) family's socio-economic status or family structure; and (3) communication between parents and school teachers. The main focus of this study was to establish a framework to understand how parent networks are a determinant of relational trust. It was hypothesized that parent networks in the school community will have significant effects on the relational trust between parents and schools. If this hypothesis were confirmed, school organizations' trust-building strategies would require modifications. Furthermore, trust-building strategies would need to include parent networks as well as the networks between parents and the school. Thus, trust-building strategies would be difficult to carry out in the school organization alone. Indeed, in order to implement this strategy, the assistance from the Board of Education, including the Adult Education Department, would be required.
Source Information Extraction using Fixed Points of a Frequency to Instantaneous Frequency Map

An integrated fundamental frequency (F0) and source information estimation method for non-stationary, speech-like sounds is proposed based on the differential properties of the instantaneous frequencies. A specific type obtained by fixed points of mapping from the filter center frequency to the output instantaneous frequency provide frequencies of the constituent sinusoidal components of the input signal. When the filter is made from an isometric Gabor function convoluted with a cardinal B-spline basis function, the differential properties at the fixed points provide practical estimates of the carrierto-noise ratio of the corresponding components. A log-linear frequency arrangement of filter center frequencies is used to select the fundamental component. A linear frequency arrangement of filter center frequencies with a parabolic time axis warping is used to integrate the F0 information distributed among the other harmonic components and to estimate noise component. key words instantaneous frequency, fundamental frequency, fixed points, carrier to noise ratio
An Algorithm of the Time-delay Alignment Based on Iterative Estimation

A novel algorithm aligning the time-delay of each signal received by a uniform antenna array is presented. In order to solve the problem that time-delay alignment performance is poor at the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) value, the proposed algorithm makes use of iterative estimation. Then we analyze and compare the performance between the proposed method and the time-delay alignment algorithm based on quasi synthesis reference (TAQSR), indicating that the new algorithm has better performance. Simulation results show that the new algorithm not only improves the time-delay alignment performance in the multi-antenna signal synthesis system, especially in low SNR, but is also free from the actual value of the time-delay difference, compared with TAQSR.
Maitland in chronic lumbar pain of young adults improves pain and functionality

Background: Back pain is an injury to health that accompanies humans since the beginning of time. The pain in the column are recurrent complaints of the physical therapy students of the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco. Objective: The objective was to verify the effectiveness of the Maitland Method, to reduce pain and to improve the functionality of physical therapy students. Methods: 12 volunteers were analyzed in this study, four were allocated in the Intervention Group (IG) and eight in the Control Group (CG). They were evaluated for anthropometry, flexibility (finger-ground index), functionality (Roland Morris Questionnaire-QRM), pain level (Visual Analogue Scale-EVA), and perception of patient improvement. Results: In the QRM scores, it was observed that the CG showed a significant improvement over the initial evaluation in both the T1 (p= 0.026) and the T2 (p= 0.018) reevaluation. The same was observed in VAS in relation to T1 (p= 0.018) and T2 (p= 0.017). IG remained constant throughout the treatment. Conclusion: We can infer that both the Maitland Method and the exercises are effective for the reduction of pain and improvement of function in individuals with chronic low back pain.
Empirical Investigation of Free Cash Flow Hypothesis: Evidence from Jordanian Capital Market

This study aims to investigate free cash flow hypothesis proposed by Jensen (1986). Data pertaining to 102 non-financial firms listed on ASE during the period of 1998–2009 are analyzed using pooled and panel data methods. Contrary to Jensen (1986) proposition, we found that debt and dividend are not substitute techniques for mitigating agency costs of free cash flow in the Jordanian capital market, rather, they are complementary to each other. However, debt is used more than dividend for stability consideration of dividend policy where the use of debt and dividend is largely affected by dividend smoothing and leverage target adjustment considerations. Moreover, we found that low growth firms use debt more than dividends.
Sky Detection in Images for Solar Exposure Prediction

This project describes a technique for segmenting t he area of sky in an image from the remainder of the image. Th is can then be used for predicting solar exposure at a location at any time of the day on any day of the year, using a new techniq ue which involves image processing. A series of photos is ta ken from a location of interest and then processed to separate the areas of sky from the rest of the image. The sunlight that will fall on the location from where the images were taken can then be calculated. Critical to the success of this techniqu e is the image processing used to separate the sky from the rest o f the image. This paper is concerned with finding a technique wh ich can do this for images taken under different conditions.
Accelerating poverty reduction in Mozambique : challenges and opportunities

Over the past two decades Mozambique enjoyed robust and accelerating economic growth, yet strong economic progress only translated into modest poverty reduction. Not only poverty fell at slower pace than expected but the gains in income and consumption growth are unevenly distributed across the country and across groups of people. Some parts of the country –especially the center and the north– account for a disproportionate share of the poor. Overall, urban provinces tend to have lower poverty rates than rural provinces, particularly those in the central and northern parts of the country. Three factors contribute to the low equity outcomes in Mozambique: (i) unequal access to economic opportunities across regions and income groups; (ii) low productivity and market-based growth in agriculture; and (iii) high vulnerability to weather shocks. Growth could have had a much larger impact on poverty reduction in Mozambique if its effects had not been offset by the observed increase in inequality. Accelerating poverty reduction requires addressing structural factors that undermine the inclusiveness of growth. The returns to growth have to be distributed more widely to invest in the most isolated parts of the country in for these regions to be able to seize the economic opportunities brought about by economic expansion and close the gap with the rest of the country. There is a need to deepen the investments in the human, physical and institutional capital of the country. Finally, given the high exposure of Mozambique to natural disasters, it is necessary to strengthen formal and informal risk management systems to avoid that the living standards of the population are highly influenced by major shocks out of their control.
THE PALLADIOLIBRARY GEO-MODELS: AN OPEN 3D ARCHIVE TO MANAGE AND VISUALIZE INFORMATION-COMMUNICATION RESOURCES ABOUT PALLADIO

The paper describes objectives, methods, procedures and outcomes of the development of the digital archive of Palladio works and documentation: the PALLADIOLibrary of Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio di Vicenza (CISAAP). The core of the application consists of fifty-one reality-based 3D models usable and navigable within a system grounded on GoogleEarth. This information system, a collaboration of four universities bearers of specific skills returns a comprehensive, structured and coherent semantic interpretation of Palladian landscape through shapes realistically reconstructed from historical sources and surveys and treated for GE with Ambient Occlusion techniques, overcoming the traditional display mode.
Simultaneous global exact controllability in projection of infinite 1D bilinear Schrödinger equations

The aim of this work is to study the controllability of infinite bilinear Schr\"odinger equations on a segment. We consider the equations (BSE) $i\partial_t\psi^{j}=-\Delta\psi^j+u(t)B\psi^j$ in the Hilbert space $L^2((0,1),\mathbb{C})$ for every $j\in\mathbb{N}^*$. The Laplacian $-\Delta$ is equipped with Dirichlet homogeneous boundary conditions, $B$ is a bounded symmetric operator and $u\in L^2((0,T),\mathbb{R})$ with $T>0$. We prove the simultaneous local and global exact controllability of infinite (BSE) in projection. The local controllability is guaranteed for any positive time and we provide explicit examples of $B$ for which our theory is valid. In addition, we show that the controllability of infinite (BSE) in projection onto suitable finite dimensional spaces is equivalent to the controllability of a finite number of (BSE) (without projecting). In conclusion, we rephrase our controllability results in terms of density matrices.