Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Pilot Study of the Hazard Perception Test for Evaluation of the Driver’s Skill Using Virtual Reality

Background: Although various technologies are used to evaluate driving skill, there are some limitations such as the limited range of the monitor and the possible risk of causing cybersickness. The purpose of this study is to investigate differences in the hazard perception and cybersickness experienced between novice and experienced drivers measured in a VR hazard perception test with a head-mounted display (HMD). Methods: The novice (n = 32) and the experienced drivers (n = 36) participated in the hazard perception test through the VR of an HMD. Results: The total number of identified hazards was 1071 in the novice drivers and 1376 in the experienced drivers. Two of the hazards appeared to be only identifiable through the HMD. A chi-square test revealed that experienced drivers were more likely to identify the hazards than the novice drivers (p < 0.05). The novice drivers appeared to identify “hazard prediction of the current behavior of other road users” more than other hazard types, unlike the experienced group. The Simulator Sickness Questionnaire scores indicated no significant difference in the different age or gender groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Our results suggest that the VR hazard perception test may be useful for evaluating patients’ driving skills.
Mitigating Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does Heterogeneity in Corruption Levels Matter?

In line with Africa’s Agenda 2063 goal 12 of improving governance and building accountable institutions, this article contributes to the literature by examining corruption determinants using survey data from the Afrobarometer. Quantile regression estimates across 31 sub-Saharan African countries show that the effects of the determinants of corruption are heterogeneous across the quantiles. We observe that press freedom, parliamentary oversight, and human development have a reducing effect on corruption, whereas government size, ethnic fractionalization, and bureaucratic quality appear to exert a significant positive effect on corruption. Given the heterogeneity in findings, the “one size fits all” strategy in fighting corruption could be inadequate in mitigating corruption in SSA.
An Evaluation on the Behaviors of Aftershock Sequence of November 26th, 2019 Earthquake, ML=6.3, North of Durrës, Albania

(Kabul): 03.05. 2021 ABSTRACT A comprehensive assessment of aftershocks occurrence for the November 26 th , 2019 earthquake, M L =6.3, 16 km north of Durrës, Albania was achieved. b -value was estimated as 0.88 ±0.07. b -value is close to 1.0 and relatively small b -value may be resulted from the plenty of larger aftershocks with M L  4.0. p -value was calculated as 1.23±0.08 with Mmin =3.1 and Tstart =0.0034 days. This high p -value may be a result of the relative fast decay rate of aftershock activity. Dc -value was calculated as 1.74±0.09 and it means that aftershocks are homogeneously distributed at larger scales. The smallest b -values and the largest p -values were observed in the north, northwest and northeast parts of the mainshock. The smaller b -values correlate with the larger stress variations, whereas the larger p -values are related to the maximum slip after mainshock. Consequently, region-time-magnitude analyses of the aftershocks occurrence may supply important clues for the fast evaluations of real
POVERTY FACTOR ANALYSIS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH AGAINST THE INDEX HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (IPM) IN PADANGSIDIMPUAN CITY

This research aims to learn about poverty in Padangsidimpuan City while also comparing the economy to the Human Development Index. This study is divided into two categories: research documents and library research (Library Research). The approach used in this research is a quantitative method that uses panel data and a fixed effect model; the measures in this study are secondary data collection from the Central Statistics Agency after data review. Based on the findings of the study, using the Fixed Effects Model Analysis method, a negative variable is generated on the Human Development Index in Padangsidimpuan City, when comparing the Economy associated with the Human Development Index in Padangsidimpuan City. Although poverty and published economics linked to the Human Development Index in Padangsidimpuan City are both visible.
Morphological Study on PNIPAAm Hydrogel Microspheres Prepared by Using SPG Membrane Emulsification and UV Photopolymerization

Abstract: W/O emulsions were prepared from the aqueous solution containing NIPAAm, MBA, and APS in the continuous phase of toluene and mineral oil mixture with HMP and Span80 by using SPG membrane emul-sification, and followed by the formation of PNIPAAm hydrogel microspheres through UV photopolymerization. As the ratio of mineral oil to toluene increased in the continuous phase, both particle size of the hydrogel in-creased and density of PNIPAAm polymer in the hydrogel particle increased, and which significantly affected swelling/deswelling ratio (V/V o ) with temperature change around VPTT. When the polymerization temperature was below LCST (20°C), PNIPAAm hydrogel showed filled particle morphology; however, it was turned out to hollow particle morphology with thick shell layer with 40°C. Both density of PNIPAAm and gel content of the hydrogel increased with the increase in MBA concentration. Keywords: SPG membrane emulsification, hydrogel, PNIPAAm, LCST 1. 서 론 1) 균일한 입도를 가지는 고분자 입자의 제조방법으로는 분산중합(dispersion polymerization) 및 무유화 에멀젼중합(soap-free emulsion polymerization) 등이 널리 알려져 있으나, 5 µm 이상의 균일한 입도를 가지는 고
Extended Rindler spacetime and a new multiverse structure

This is the first of a series of papers in which we use analyticity properties of quantum fields propagating on a spacetime to uncover a new multiverse geometry when the classical geometry has horizons and/or singularities. The nature and origin of the “multiverse” idea presented in this paper, that is shared by the fields in the standard model coupled to gravity, are different from other notions of a multiverse. Via analyticity we are able to establish definite relations among the universes. In this paper we illustrate these properties for the extended Rindler space, while black hole spacetime and the cosmological geometry of mini-superspace (see Appendix B) will appear in later papers. In classical general relativity, extended Rindler space is equivalent to flat Minkowski space; it consists of the union of the four wedges in (u,v) light-cone coordinates as in Fig. 1. In quantum mechanics, the wavefunction is an analytic function of (u,v) that is sensitive to branch points at the horizons u=0 or v=0, with branch cuts attached to them. The wave function is uniquely defined by analyticity on an infinite number of sheets in the cut analytic (u,v) spacetime. This structure is naturally interpreted as an infinite stack of identical Minkowski geometries, or “universes”, connected to each other by analyticity across branch cuts, such that each sheet represents a different Minkowski universe when (u,v) are analytically continued to the real axis on any sheet. We show in this paper that, in the absence of interactions, information does not flow from one Rindler sheet to another. By contrast, for an eternal black hole spacetime, which may be viewed as a modification of Rindler that includes gravitational interactions, analyticity shows how information is “lost” due to a flow to other universes, enabled by an additional branch point and cut due to the black hole singularity.
Closing the communication gap in neonatal inter-hospital transfer: a neonatal referral form for resource-limited settings - a modified e-Delphi-consensus study

Background: Standardised neonatal referral forms (NRFs) facilitate effective communication between healthcare providers and ensure continuity of care between facilities, which are essential for patient safety. We sought to determine the essential data items, or core clinical information (CCI), that should be conveyed for neonatal inter-hospital transfer in resource-limited settings (Rounds 1 to 3) and to create an NRF suitable for our setting (Round 4). Methods: We conducted an international, four-round, modified Delphi-consensus study. Round-1 was a literature and internet search to identify existing NRFs. In Round-2 and -3, participants were Rwandan clinicians and international paediatric healthcare practitioners who had worked in Rwanda in the five years before the study. These participants evaluated the draft items and proposed additional items to be included in an NRF. Round-4 focused on creating the NRF and used five focus groups of Rwandan general practitioners at district hospitals. Results: We identified 16 pre-existing NRFs containing 125 individual items. Of these, 91 items met the pre-defined consensus criteria for inclusion in Round-2. Only 33 items were present in more than 50% of the 16 NRFs, confirming the need for this consensus study. In Round-2, participants proposed 12 new items, six of which met the pre-defined consensus criteria. In Round-3, participants scored items for importance, and 57 items met the final consensus criteria. In Round-4, 29 general practitioners took part in five focus groups; a total of 16 modifications were utilised to finalise the NRF. Conclusions: We generated a novel, robust, NRF that may be readily employed in resource-limited settings to communicate the essential clinical information to accompany a neonate requiring inter-hospital transfer.
Is a HIP Always a HIP? The Case of Learning Communities

With the increasing adoption of learning communities, it is imperative to document their effectiveness. Using a large, longitudinal, multi-institutional dataset, we found that linked-learning communities positively impact students’ engagement and perceived gains. We also found that the estimated effect of learning communities varies widely across institutions on various measures. Some learning communities are very beneficial, while others have a negligible impact on students.
FORWARD AND BACKWARD LINKAGE ANALYSIS OF MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN AMHARA REGION, ETHIOPIA

The paper examines 38 manufacturing companies for analyzing the forward and backward linkages and for estimating the production coefficients. The production coefficients of manufacturing industries were determined under 12 categories while the forward and backward linkages with other economic sectors were analyzed under 7 categories using the input-output model. The results show that the largest share (43%) of the value of the total outputs produced by the manufacturing sub-sector in Amhara region was consumed by the service sector. The second prominent user is the final consumers, which directly consumed 36% of the value of its total outputs. The industrial sector (13%) and the export sector (5%) took the third and fourth places in demanding its outputs. However, it supplied only a smaller portion of its outputs (3%) to the agricultural sector, implying that it has a weak forward linkage with this sector. The major suppliers of inputs of the manufacturing sub-sector are service sector (41%), industrial sector (22%) and the import sector (18%). The agricultural sector and other sectors supplied 10% and 9% of the total inputs of the sub-sector, respectively. The backward linkage of the manufacturing sub-sector to the agricultural sector is relatively better than the forward linkage. With a 58% average production efficiency of the sub-sector, the production coefficients of each of the 12 manufacturing industries are estimated using major inputs and outputs. If the production efficiency of the industry is improved either by modification or upgrading, the coefficients will become lower than the estimated values.
Impacts of Fully Coupling Land Surface and Flood Models on the Simulation of Large Wetlands' Water Dynamics: The Case of the Inner Niger Delta

It is known that representing wetland dynamics in land surface modeling improves models' capacity to reproduce fluxes and land surface boundary conditions for atmospheric modeling in general circulation models. This study presents the development of the full coupling between the Noah‐MP land surface model (LSM) and the Hydrological Modeling and Analysis Platform (HyMAP) flood model in the NASA Land Information System and its application over the Inner Niger Delta (IND), a well‐known hot‐spot of strong land surface‐atmosphere interactions in West Africa. Here, we define two experiments at 0.02° spatial resolution over 2002–2018 to quantify the impacts of the proposed developments on simulating IND dynamics. One represents the one‐way approach for simulating land surface and flooding processes (1‐WAY), that is, Noah‐MP neglects surface water availability, and the proposed two‐way coupling (2‐WAY), where Noah‐MP takes surface water availability into account in the vertical water and energy balance. Results show that accounting for two‐way interactions between Noah‐MP and HyMAP over IND improves simulations of all selected hydrological variables. Compared to 1‐WAY, evapotranspiration derived from 2‐WAY over flooding zones doubles, increased by 0.8 mm/day, resulting in an additional water loss rate of ∼18,900 km3/year, ∼40% drop of wetland extent during wet seasons, and major improvement in simulated water level variability at multiple locations. Significant soil moisture increase and surface temperature drop were also observed. Wetland outflows decreased by 35%, resulting in a substantial Nash‐Sutcliffe coefficient improvement, from −0.73 to 0.79. It is anticipated that future developments in water monitoring and water‐related disaster warning systems will considerably benefit from these findings.
Electric vehicle energy consumption modelling and prediction based on road information

The limited driving range is considered as a significant barrier to the spread of electric vehicles. One effective method to reduce “range anxiety” is to offer accurate information to the driver on the remaining driving range. However, the energy consumption during driving is largely determined by driving behaviour, road topography information and traffic situation, which are hard to predict. This paper will discuss an accurate electric vehicle energy consumption model validated using driving tests on different public roads, and then the model is used to predict future energy consumption based on road information. The energy consumption model includes five parts: the road load model, the powertrain loss model, the regenerative braking model, the auxiliary system model and the battery model. The parameters of these models are obtained through driving tests on public road and dynamometer tests in the TU/e Automotive Engineering Science lab. The results show that the model can calculate the energy consumption with a maximum error of 5% based on driving speed under different circumstances. To predict the future energy consumption, the road information is obtained from OpenStreetMap and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. An offline algorithm is built to predict the energy consumption for a future trip based on the road information. The algorithm gives two energy consumption results: one is for the fastest driving speed; the other one is for the most economic driving speed. The results show that the measured energy consumption results for different types of road driving are all within the algorithm’s prediction scope. Therefore, the offline algorithm can give an accurate energy consumption estimation to the driver before a trip begins.
Implementation of the international public sector accounting standards in Europe. Variations on a global theme

ABSTRACT As part of introducing accrual accounting in the public sector, many governments have – voluntarily – implemented the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) for financial reporting. Amongst other claimed benefits, IPSAS have been argued to facilitate comparison of adopters’ financial reports and to lead to favourable conditions on credit markets. However, governments that are confronted with the implementation decision face a trade-off between unaltered adoption, partial adoption, adaptation and non-adoption of standards. Drawing on insights from the literature on standardization and practice variation, this paper analyses the reasons, expressed by various actors from nine European countries, for deviating from implementing unaltered IPSAS and proposes a taxonomy of these reasons. The results show that, first, substantial deviations exist, and second, there is a plethora of reasons for them. These deviations are presented and then structured in the further course of the paper. As a consequence of deviations, achieving comparability as the central aim of standardization runs the risk of being undermined.
Nonlinear Search and Matching Explained

Competing explanations for the sources of nonlinearity in search and matching models indicate that they are not fully understood. This paper derives an analytical solution to a textbook model that highlights the mechanisms that generate nonlinearity and quantifies their contributions. Procyclical variation in the matching elasticity creates nonlinearity in the job finding rate, which interacts with the law of motion for unemployment. These results show the matching function choice is not innocuous. Quantitatively, the Den Haan et al. (2000) matching function more than doubles the skewness of unemployment and welfare cost of business cycles, compared to the Cobb-Douglas specification.
I Alone Can Fix It: Examining interactions between narcissistic leaders and anxious followers on Twitter using a machine learning approach

Due to their confidence and dominance, narcissistic leaders oftentimes can be perceived favorably by followers, in particular during times of uncertainty. In this study, we propose and examine the relationship between narcissistic leaders and followers who are prone to experience uncertainty intensely and frequently in general, namely highly anxious followers. We do so by applying machine learning algorithms to account for personality traits in a large sample of leaders and followers on Twitter. We find that highly anxious followers are more likely to interact with narcissistic leaders in general, and male narcissistic leaders in particular. Finally, we also examined these interactions in the context of highly popular leaders and found that as leaders become more popular, they begin to attract less anxious followers, regardless of leader gender. We interpret and discuss these findings in relation to previous work and outline limitations and future research recommendations based on our approach.
Does aid fuel corruption? New evidence from a cross-country analysis

ABSTRACT This study estimates the effect of foreign aid on corruption using a Two-Step Least Squares method. We address endogeneity using instrumental variables that capture geographical and cultural proximities between donor and recipient countries. Based on a panel framework of 122 countries for the period 2005–2017, we find no significant impact of foreign aid on corruption. Our benchmark results remain insignificant even after checking with respect to different samples, estimation techniques, and the types of aid.
Interval estimation, point estimation, and null hypothesis significance testing calibrated by an estimated posterior probability of the null hypothesis

Abstract Much of the blame for failed attempts to replicate reports of scientific findings has been placed on ubiquitous and persistent misinterpretations of the p value. An increasingly popular solution is to transform a two-sided p value to a lower bound on a Bayes factor. Another solution is to interpret a one-sided p value as an approximate posterior probability. Combining the two solutions results in confidence intervals that are calibrated by an estimate of the posterior probability that the null hypothesis is true. The combination also provides a point estimate that is covered by the calibrated confidence interval at every level of confidence. Finally, the combination of solutions generates a two-sided p value that is calibrated by the estimate of the posterior probability of the null hypothesis. In the special case of a 50% prior probability of the null hypothesis and a simple lower bound on the Bayes factor, the calibrated two-sided p value is about (1 – abs(2.7 p ln p)) p + 2 abs(2.7 p ln p) for small p. The calibrations of confidence intervals, point estimates, and p values are proposed in an empirical Bayes framework without requiring multiple comparisons.
Fluid Mixing Process Based on Programmable Logic Controller as Training Kit for Electrical Engineering Education Students

The Department of Electrical Engineering, Universitas Negeri Surabaya (Unesa) is developing a laboratory, including a control system laboratory. The control system engineering teaching team prepares themselves by making a PLC training kit to accompany the existing modules. With the aim that students know and understand the application of control systems in industry. This can foster student learning motivation in attending lectures and greatly support student competence before entering the workplace. The study used is development research by producing a product prototype in the form of a fluid mixing process training kit. The steps taken are designing, making tools, integrating software to hardware and validating the tools. The result of the research is that the fluid mixing process training kit has worked according to the instructions given and is suitable for use as a learning medium.
A proposed far-field method for frequency-stability measurements on the DSS 13 beam-waveguide antenna

A method for measuring the frequency stability of the beam-waveguide (BWG) antenna at Deep Space Station 13 is presented. This method is relatively inexpensive and primarily utilizes equipment that is already available. Another desirable feature of the method is that a far-field signal will be used for the measurement. In concert with the goal of employing new technology developments, a fiber optic system will be used at 12 GHz to carry a reference antenna signal to the BWG antenna Ku-band test-package location in the pedestal room.
Strain Induced Electronic and Optical Properties of 2D Silicon Carbide Monolayer Using Density Functional Theory

Using the first principles calculation, we investigated the structural, electronic, and straindependent optical properties of the two-dimensional hexagonal Silicon Carbide (SiC) Monolayer. We found that the biaxial compressive strain loading gradually changes the direct bandgap SiC into indirect bandgap semiconductor. The compressive strain increases the bandgap but reduces the values of static dielectric constant and refractive index. Conversely, the biaxial tensile strain loading decreases the bandgap but increases the value of static dielectric constant and refractive index. The result shows that the electronic and optical properties of SiC can be engineered to the desired value by applying strain. The large bandgap issue for the SiC monolayer is limiting its uses in different applications which can be overcome with the help of biaxial strain.
Lentiviral hepatitis B pseudotype entry requires NTCP and additional hepatocyte-specific factors

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the world’s major unconquered infections, resulting in progressive liver disease, and current treatments rarely cure infection. A limitation to discovering new therapies is our limited knowledge of HBV entry and dissemination pathways that hinders the development of in vitro culture systems. To address this gap in our understanding we optimized the genesis of infectious lentiviral pseudoparticles (HBVpps). The recent discovery that the bile salt transporter sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP) acts as a receptor for HBV enabled us to assess the receptor dependency of HBVpp infection. HBVpps preferentially infect hepatoma cells expressing NTCP, whereas other non-liver cells engineered to express NTCP do not support infection, suggesting that additional hepatocyte-speciﬁc factors are required for HBVpp internalization. These results highlight the value of the HBVpp system to dissect the pathways of HBV entry and dissemination.