Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Regression-Based Approach for Mediation Analysis with Censored Data

The regression method is one of the most applied approaches to estimate the direct and indirect effect of the causal variable (X) to an outcome (Y) with any mediating variable (M) in their mechanism. Censored or limited data on any one of the inputs, mediators, and output often observed in a randomized trial with a specific follow-up time or with certain conditions and limitations caused by a particular setting. In this study, several regression strategies were employed to estimate each different path parameter, i.e., the effect of X on M(a), the effect of M on Y (b), and the effect of X on Y (c’) for a single mediator model. A simulation study was conducted under various conditions to assess the performance of the proposed strategy while dealing with a censored mediator. A continuous mediator and outcome are observed in this study so that the product method can be applied to understand the estimation of the indirect effect. Based on the results, it is clearly shown that a higher censoring percentage in the mediating variable yields higher bias estimate. By applying Tobit model in M-regression can minimize the bias of estimate effect with higher censoring percentage. Furthermore, it can conclude that the proposed strategy can effectively perform the estimation of indirect effect with a censored mediator.
Design and development of a new three‐phase AC‐DC single‐stage wind energy conversion system

The prevalent use of the diode bridge rectiﬁer in three phase wind energy conversion systems decreases the efﬁciency of the power generation. In standalone wind energy generation, bridgeless converters can address this problem by eliminating the front-end diode bridge rectiﬁer. This work presents a novel single-stage three-phase bridgeless AC to DC c`uk converter for wind energy conversion systems. The proposed converter is designed to work in discontinuous inductor current mode because of its inherent power factor correction and less harmonic distortion. Using body-diodes of the MOSFETs per phase component reduction is also done in this converter. A unique maximum power point tracking technique is developed for this converter using three-phase voltages and currents, instead of the DC link states. A wind energy emulation system using a DC motor and self excited induction generator is used to test the laboratory prototype of the proposed converter.
Numerical investigation of inter-linked parallel micro-channel heat sinks

Parallel micro-channel heat sinks linked with a joint are investigated in this paper. Channels are analyzed for laminar flow (water) under constant heat flux. The considered channels with same hydraulic diameter (776 ) are investigated for two different dimensional variations of connecting link with parallel flow and the comparison of parallel and counter flow in the channels. It is found that the varying dimension of joining link has a little influence on the over-all thermal hydraulic performance. Performance index decreases in the cases of either increasing the height (J) or width (W) of the joint at higher Reynolds number (1000 and 1200). Convective heat transfer (Nu) marginally improves with the increasing J. Inter-linked micro-channels with counter flow has given improved convective heat transfer but with an increase in frictional factor. The Nu with counter flow is found almost 15% higher than that with parallel flow at Re = 1200. The design can be further explored based on present calculations for a positive addition of designing micro-channel heat sinks.
Acquisition of IS Capabilities by Collaborating with Academics: A Case in A Non-Profit Organization in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT The emerging technological trends have impacted both business firms and nonprofit organizations (NPO). For both of them to adopt emerging technological applications, the primary prerequisite is the acquisition of IS capabilities, which may not be challenging for business firms, but NPOs. In this paper, a case of academic-community collaboration between the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK PolyU) and the Scout Association of Hong Kong (SAHK) is presented. The collaboration involves some students' capstone projects with Information Systems (IS) background to develop a range of technological applications in response to the training and activities of SAHK. From this case, several theoretical implications of IS capabilities and academic-community collaboration are highlighted, as well as practical implications for academics and NPOs.
MULTI-OBJECTIVE OPTIMIZATION OF A COMBINED CRYOGENIC AND MEMBRANE PROCESS FOR HELIUM RECOVERY FROM NATURAL GAS USING GENETIC ALGORITHM

Increasing demand for Helium and also high energy requirement of Helium production make the necessity of improving Helium recovery processes. This study is aimed to simulate and optimize a combined cryogenic and membrane process for He separation from natural gas. APCI flashing based system and two stage membrane system are chosen for cryogenic and membrane sections respectively. The proposed combined system can produce a 99% containing Helium gas stream. In order to enhance the performance of the system, a parametric study and exergy analysis are conducted to determine the effects of the feed gas pressure on the exergy efficiency. Moreover, a complete optimization study is carried out by a multi-objective evolutionary based genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) considering two different objective functions, exergy efficiency and total cost rate. The results indicated that when considering both objective functions with equal importance, 42.47% and 0.06185 $/s were obtained at the optimal point for exergy efficiency and total cost rate respectively. The feed gas pressure at this point was 2006 kPa, the inlet feed pressure to the membrane was 1486 kPa and the required membrane area was 1710 m 2 .
Monaural Singing Voice Separation Using Robust Principal Component Analysis with Weighted Values

This paper proposes an extension of robust principal component analysis (RPCA) with weighted values for monaural singing voice separation.Although the conventional RPCA is an effective method to separate singing voice and music accompaniment from the mixted audio sig- nal, it fails when one singular value is much larger than all others. For example, drums may lie in the sparse subspace instead of being lowrank, which lead that the separation performance is decreased in many real world applications, espe- cially for drums existing in the mixture music sig- nal. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, we utilize different weighted values between sparse (singing voice) and low-rank matrices (music ac- companiment). Evaluation results on ccMixter and DSD100 datasets show that the proposed method achieves better separation performance than the conventional RPCA.
Comparing microbial composition and diversity in freshwater lakes between Greenland and the Tibetan Plateau

Greenland and the Tibetan Plateau, also known as the third pole, are both cold environments where anthropogenic activities are relatively weak. There are multitudinous lakes in both regions, especially in Greenland, where small water bodies are continuously created as glaciers retreat. It is unclear whether the community structure and community assembly mechanisms of these water bodies are consistent with those of lakes in the Tibetan Plateau that were indirectly influenced by glaciers. In addition, due to different evolution times of the lakes, differences of microbial diversity, especially at the sub‐species level, are feasible but not yet reported. Microbial compositions in lake water and sediment were investigated based on high‐throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. The oligotyping analysis revealed disproportionally distributed bacterial oligotypes in lakes between the two different areas. Moreover, microbial macrodiversity and intra‐operational taxonomic units microdiversity is significantly higher in Greenland lakes which experiencing early lake ontogeny. Microbial community composition and functionality significantly distinguished between the two regions and habitats. Multivariate analysis together with null model tests demonstrated that deterministic processes largely controlled the patterns of community structure in the sediment, while stochastic processes are more important for those in pelagic water in both regions. Microbes may be further subject to N and P co‐limitation in line with the evolution of lake ecosystems. The obtained results could help us understand evolution trajectory of these polar lakes under the future climate change scenario.
Call auction, continuous trading and closing price formation

The Shanghai Stock Exchange changed its trading mechanism of the preceding three minutes to closing from continuous trading to call auction on August 20, 2018, while Shenzhen had already changed this in 2006. Taking all A-shared stocks’ data from 2017 to 2019 as our sample, we construct difference-in-difference models and find significant trading volume shifts from closing call to preceding continuous trading. We also see a significant increase in volatility in call preceding continuous trading, but a significant decrease in closing price deviation in a closing call. Market efficiency is found to be improved by these changes, perhaps due to less liquidity noise in the closing price. Our conclusions remain robust in various robustness checks. It suggests that the introduction of closing call auction would reduce manipulation and liquidity noise in the closing price, thus improving market efficiency in China.
Modeling of fluid flow and heat transfer in a crown-compensated impulse drying press roll. I. The lubrication problem

The lubrication problem which arises in the impulse drying of paper using a crown-compensated (CC) roll is modeled and studied both analytically and numerically; the geometry for the associated steady flow problem is constructed, and expressions are derived for the relevant velocity fields, mass flow rates, and normal and tangential forces acting on both the bottom surface of an internal hydrostatic shoe and the inside surface of the CC roll. A set of three nonlinear transcendental algebraic equilibrium equations are derived and solved numerically for different values of some of the key design parameters associated with such shoe/roll configurations.
Where physics meets biology: More information

Taking examples from oculomotor research it is shown how physics was instrumental in stating the logical problems of how to generate eye movements in response to various sensory stimuli, while biological research shows how different solutions evolved. In an ideal way, the two approaches combine. While the physicist wants to work out general rules, the biologist has to observe every detail including all deviations from the rule when describing the endless inventions and variations of evolution. Let us make the assumption both reasonable and, today probably undisputed, that biological processes do not evade, but obey all physical laws. That means that we do not have to invoke additional factors, like a 'vital force' that would be needed to explain biological processes. Then, who would be better prepared to do biological research than a physicist? Indeed, physicists have made decisive contributions, as Helmholtz (physicists like to consider him one of their own breed, although by training he was an army surgeon) or Mach, to mention just two, give testimony. Both of them changed the field of biological research at their times, and established the foundations for visual, oculomotor, and vestibular research, on which this paper will focus.
Charged ultrafiltration membranes based on TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils/poly(vinyl alcohol) antifouling coating

This study reports the potential of TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (T-CNF)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) coatings to develop functionalized membranes in the ultrafiltration regime with outstanding antifouling performance and dimensional/pH stability. PVA acts as an anchoring phase interacting with the polyethersulfone (PES) substrate and stabilizing for the hygroscopic T-CNF via crosslinking. The T-CNF/PVA coated PES membranes showed a nano-textured surface, a change in the surface charge, and improved mechanical properties compared to the original PES substrate. A low reduction (4%) in permeance was observed for the coated membranes, attributable to the nanometric coating thickness, surface charge, and hydrophilic nature of the coated layer. The coated membranes exhibited charge specific adsorption driven by electrostatic interaction combined with rejection due to size exclusion (MWCO 530 kDa that correspond to a size of ∼35–40 nm). Furthermore, a significant reduction in organic fouling and biofouling was found for T-CNF/PVA coated membranes when exposed to BSA and E. coli. The results demonstrate the potential of simple modifications using nanocellulose to manipulate the pore structure and surface chemistry of commercially available membranes without compromising on permeability and mechanical stability.
Shape-Controlled Synthesis of Organometallic Microcrystal-Based Hollow Hexagonal Micromotors through Evaporation-Induced Supramolecular Self-Assembly

A facile strategy was developed to fabricate structure controllable microcrystals of ferrocene-based metal–organic (Fc-Ala-BCB) materials through evaporation-induced self-assembly. Two distinctive microcrystals, microrods and microtubes had been achieved by tuning the solvents during the self-assemblies. X-ray diffraction analysis was conducted on single crystals to investigate the packing mode of Fc-Ala-BCB molecules, which indicated the two crystals with the hexagonal system. Inheriting the aromaticity and chirality of ferrocenyl and l-Ala, this organic molecule self-assembled into a single-helix structure through intermolecule hydrogen bonds and π–π stacking. Theoretical analysis and stimulated computations were carried out to compare the surface energies of certain planes. Among those microcrystals, the microrods exhibited a higher chemical activity in catalyzing the decomposition of H2O2, due to the high-density atomic steps and kinks on the high energy surfaces. However, the hollow hexagonal tubes d.
An examination of student preference for traditional didactic or chunking teaching strategies in an online learning environment

This research examined first year undergraduate tertiary student preferences for different online video playback options by comparing a didactic long lecture recording versus a series of topical ‘chunked’ videos of identical learning material in an information literacy unit. Student preference was determined by student unique download choice of streaming video lecture material, cumulative visits and percent completion of viewing of lecture videos. De-identified click-stream data for 1268 university students across two academic years 2016 (n = 647) and 2017 (n = 621) were pooled to examine student preference. The major findings indicated a significant preference for chunk-style videos between 3 and 17 min duration when compared to traditional long-view didactic lecture materials. Results also highlighted an increase in unique views (60%–67%), cumulative visits (54%–67%) and percentage completions (25%) of chunked videos compared to didactic lectures (60 min). Additionally, student total viewing of the unit information influenced the final grade for the unit. Student preference and success were in favour of the smaller chunk-style lectures, which may also improve student attention, assist with time management to complete the materials and increase unit engagement. The overall findings of this research re-enforce the value of student-centric learning design in university education settings.
Documenting the changing cultural values in TV advertising in Ireland from 1960s to 1980s

Abstract Utilising adaptations of Richard Pollay’s 1983 methodology for measuring the cultural values that are contained in advertising texts this study conducts an interpretive content analysis of 214 TV adverts archived by the Irish Film Institute and funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland under the ‘Irish Adverts Project’. Findings show that throughout the decades surveyed the dominant cultural value referenced in these adverts is Enjoyment/Leisure; followed by Success/Status, with the third most prominent cultural value being Modernity/Technology. Given that Ireland in the 1960s was emerging from decades of inward-looking, protectionist policies and was growing in confidence (economically, politically and culturally), advertising appeals that focused on topics such as holidaying overseas, social status and technology align with the cultural changes Ireland was experiencing; although the full picture for people in Ireland in these years is more mixed. The results of the analysis thereby arguably add some credence to the claim that advertising acts a ‘distorted mirror’, reflecting a marketable version of society back to itself.
Cancer Classification using Ensemble Feature Selection and Random Forest Classifier

High volumes of genomic data made available by high through put gene expression sequencing technologies like next generation sequencing, microarray gene expression data have made it possible to develop models to computationally analyse this data and infer meaningful insights like presence of a disease, nature of disease, place of localization of the tumour in cancers etc. Since gene expression data is very high dimensional, each gene stands for one dimension, and has very small number of observations, it is imperative to apply feature selection on the data before using it for classification task. In this paper, we have proposed a method for classification of human cancer types by analysis of microarray gene expression data. We have used an ensemble feature selection algorithm for selecting subsets of 5, 10, 20 and 30 genes and applied random forest classifiers to obtain the classification accuracy and other performance parameters for comparison with existing solutions. We have been able to obtain 100% classification accuracy with just 5 genes on colon cancer data set with our algorithm.
Student Performance Protection Based On Blockchain Technology

In recent years, performance management has become more and more significant in terms of management and credibility of universities. They have to review student performance when issuing diplomas. Therefore, the reliability of student performance management is extremely important. Nowadays, many universities adopt a data-centralized management model. However, centralized database often brings about problems such as information leakage and easy tampering. With the development of blockchain technology, its decentralized and unforgeability characteristics have gradually attracted people’s attention. In order to prevent students’ scores from being maliciously tampered with, we utilize blockchain to design and implement a decentralized student score sharing management system. Moreover, by using the Ethereum smart contract to manage on-chain and off-chain data storage as well as on-chain query and verification, we ensure the traceability, tamper-proof, distributed storage, and the security of query process. Finally, this article explores the construction of prototype system based on the Ethereum environment. The experimental results show that the anti-tampering and traceability scheme proposed in this article is feasible. The application of blockchain can fully satisfy the needs of various participants in student performance management. Each subject’s information has a separate decryption private key, which perfectly protects student’s score information.
Family influence on refugee youth education and employment aspirations and choices

ABSTRACT During cultural transition, refugee-background youth in Australia must navigate adolescence and the demands of cultural transition and adaptation, including educational and employment decisions. Using a qualitative methodology we report on a study exploring the influence of family – including parents, siblings and extended family members – on youth aspirations and decision-making regarding education and employment pathways. Based on interviews with 79 participants (46 refugee-background youth aged 15–26 years and 33 parents or caregivers) residing in regional and metropolitan South Australia, we find that although there were some tensions between youth and family expectations, motivations, identities, and acculturation in resettlement, there were also mutual support strategies that strengthened family relationships and supported youth aspirations. We note four key themes: ‘motivating and supporting’ or how families supported youth to select their future education and employment pathways; ‘Independence versus influence’ or to what extent families influenced youth decision-making; ‘clash of expectations’ between parents and youth expectations; and ‘family responsibilities’ that interfered with youth aspirations. Implications of study findings for future research, policy, and practice are discussed.
T cell receptor‐mediated Ca2+ signaling: Release and influx are independent events linked to different Ca2+ entry pathways in the plasma membrane

In this study, we showed that cross‐linking CD3 molecules on the T cell surface resulted in Ca2+ release from the intracellular stores followed by a sustained Ca2+ influx. Inhibition of release with TMB‐8 did not block the influx. However, inhibition of phospholipase C activity suppressed both Ca2+ release and influx. Once activated, the influx pathway remained open in the absence of further hydrolysis of PIP2. Thapsigargin, a microsomal Ca2+ ‐ATPase inhibitor, stimulated Ca2+ entry into the cells by a mechanism other than emptying Ca2+ stores. In addition, Ca2+ entry into the Ca2+ ‐depleted cells was stimulated by low basal level of cytosolic Ca2+, not by the emptying of intracellular Ca2+ stores. Both the Ca2+ release and influx were dependent on high and low concentrations of extracellular Ca2+. At low concentrations, Mn2+ entered the cell through the Ca2+ influx pathway and quenched the sustained phase of fluorescence; whereas, at higher Mn2+ concentration both the transient and the sustained phases of fluorescence were quenched. Moreover, Ca2+ release was inhibited by low concentrations of Ni2+, La3+, and EGTA, while Ca2+ influx was inhibited by high concentrations. Thus, in T cells Ca2+ influx occurs independently of IP3‐dependent Ca2+ release. However, some other PIP2 hydrolysis‐dependent event was involved in prolonged activation of Ca2+ influx. Extracellular Ca2+ influenced Ca2+ release and influx through the action of two plasma membrane Ca2+ entry pathways with different pharmacological and biochemical properties.
A Nano‐Heterogeneous Membrane for Efficient Separation of Lithium from High Magnesium/Lithium Ratio Brine

Lithium extraction from salt lake brines is highly demanded to circumvent the lithium supply shortage. However, polymer nanofiltration membranes suffer from low lithium permeability while nanofluidic devices are hindered by complicated preparation and miniaturized scales despite high permeability. Here, the authors report a facile strategy to prepare positively charged nanofiltration membranes for ultrapermeable and selective separation of lithium ions from concentrated magnesium/lithium mixtures. A new electrolyte monomer (diaminoethimidazole bromide, DAIB) containing bidentate amine groups is designed to modify pristine polyamide composite membranes. Structure characterizations and simulations show that the DAIB modification brings about nano‐heterogeneity that not only improves surface hydrophilicity, but also reduces water transport resistance through the ≈100 nm thick separation layer. Water permeance of the modified membrane improves fivefold and is coupled with good stability in 200‐h continuous nanofiltration. It exhibits high lithium flux (0.7 mol m−2 h−1) for brines (Mg2+/Li+ ratio 20) at 6 bar operation pressure.