Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mathematical teachers’ knowledge of STEM-based education

The challenge of the industrial revolution 4.0 (4IR) demands that future generations have high knowledge, skills, and capabilities in technology. A country’s competitiveness depends on STEM human capital as 4IR develops. Therefore, more organized and holistic actions need to be taken to ensure that the STEM level of mastery is enhanced among students. High demand for STEM human capital is a challenge to most developed countries in the world. Teachers are a crucial medium in the implementation of STEM education in schools. Mastering the knowledge of teachers in STEM education will provide positive input to students’ interest in learning. The purpose of this study was to identify the mathematics teacher’s knowledge of STEM-based education. A quantitative study was conducted on 66 teachers - who teach STEM subjects in high school. Twenty-three of them are math teachers. The findings show that these teachers know STEM education at a moderate level. The implications of this study indicate that the mastery of teachers ‘knowledge of STEM education will stimulate students’ interest in STEM education. Future studies can explore, the factors that influence teachers’ knowledge of STEM education in terms of teacher preparation and in-service teacher professional development programs.
Liposome nano‐formulation with cationic polar lipid DOTAP and cholesterol as a suitable pH‐responsive carrier for molecular therapeutic drug (all‐trans retinoic acid) delivery to lung cancer cells

Abstract The molecular targeted drug ATRA demands a suitable carrier that delivers to the cancer site due to its poor bioavailability and drug resistance. ATRA, being a lipid with carboxylic acid, has been nano‐formulated as a cationic lipo‐ATRA with DOTAP:cholesterol:ATRA (5:4:1) and its pH‐responsive release, intracellular drug accumulation, and anticancer effect on human lung cancer (A549) cell line analysed. The analysis of the physicochemical characteristics of the developed lipo‐ATRA (0.8 µmol) revealed that the size of 231 ± 2.35 d.nm had a zeta potential of 6.4 ± 1.19 and an encapsulation efficiency of 93.7 ± 3.6%. The ATRA release from lipo‐ATRA in vitro was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher at acidic pH 6 compared to pH 7.5. The intracellular uptake of ATRA into lipo‐ATRA‐treated A549 cells was seven‐fold higher (0.007 ± 0.001 mg/ml) while only three‐fold uptake was observed in free ATRA treatment (0.003 ± 0.002 mg/ml). The lipo‐ATRA treatment caused a highly significant (p ≤ 0.001) decrease in percent cell viability at 48 h when compared with the free ATRA treatment. Overall, the results proved that the developed lipo‐ATRA has suitable physicochemical properties with enhanced ATRA release at acidic pH, while maintaining stability at physiologic pH and temperature. This resulted in an increased ATRA uptake by lung cancer cells with enhanced treatment efficiency. Hence, it is concluded that DOTAP lipo‐ATRA is a suitable carrier for ATRA delivery to solid cancer cells.
A simple model for estimating hydrogen sulfide solubility in aqueous alkanolamines in the high pressure-high gas loading region

Hydrogen sulfide is essentially removed from the raw natural gas to meet the process, health, safety and environmental standards. Alkanolamine based absorption process remains the prevalent technique for hydrogen sulfide removal due to ease of operation and economic considerations. The design of such gas separation systems is a critical factor in meeting the stringent process requirements and optimizing operations. To achieve precise design, determination of vapor–liqid equilibrium for the system is indispensable while maintaining efficacy and simplicity. This study presents a simple model for estimating hydrogen sulfide solubility in aqueous alkanolamines and their blends in the high pressure-high gas loading region. The model equation is developed by considering and combining amine protonation and bi-sulfide formation reactions, assuming ideal liquid properties. Satisfactory correlated values of hydrogen sulfide loadings (0.21–3.15 mol gas/mole solvent) are obtained over a wide range of temperature (298.15–393.15 K), pressure (60–7027 kPa) and alkanolamine concentration (1.12–14.27 molal). Parameters are given for the hydrogen sulfide solubility in aqueous solutions of monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, N-methyldiethanolamine, 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol, piperazine, diglycolamine, di-isopropylamine, 1-amino-2-propanol and their selected blends. The model shall be useful for the design of alkanolamine based natural gas sweetening systems, operating at high pressure and high hydrogen sulfide gas loadings. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Malnutrition pathway for the impact of in utero drought shock on child growth indicators in rural households

Abstract This paper evaluates the short-term health effects of in utero drought shock using repeated cross-section household data on Malawi. The main finding reveals that the effects of in utero harvest variability caused by rainfall shocks on child growth indices are driven by the deleterious effects of negative rainfall deviations, namely droughts. Negative rainfall deviation during the agricultural season prior to the gestational period of a child leads to a 21.8 per cent average local level reduction in age-standardized height scores, with the counterpart positive rainfall deviation having no apparent effect. The paper also uses harvest and consumption patterns to establish an important link between early-life malnutrition and growth serving as a precursor for the fetal period programming hypothesis in the literature. The direct impact of embryonic period shocks on growth provides supportive evidence on potential interaction between nutritional and environmental pathways.
Correlates of South African subject leaders’ perspectives and their perceived competence on instructional leadership

Too often, instructional leadership is perceived as an area of competence for principals with less focus on teachers, especially those with subject leadership responsibilities. In the study reported on here we investigated the perspectives of subject leaders and their perceived competence in instructional leadership as a basis for its correlation. Two hundred and five subject leaders from a purposive sample of 100 primary schools across 5 education districts of the Free State province in South Africa were surveyed on their knowledge, beliefs and perceptions of instructional leadership, in relation to their perceived competence. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients and regression. The results show that beliefs about instructional leadership tend to correlate negatively with perceived competencies and make no impact on such competencies. On the other hand, knowledge and perceptions showed significant correlation and are thus considered to be the better predictors of subject leaders’ perceived competencies on instructional leadership. Further examination using regression analysis shows that perceptions may have a high impact on perceived competence. Consequently, we recommend interventions to deliberately target subject leaders’ perceptions of instructional leadership to promote a more distributed practice of subject leadership in schools.
Nanocomposite Inks Based on Nickel–Silver Core–Shell and Silver Nanoparticles for Fabrication Conductive Coatings at Low-Temperature Sintering

Nanocomposite inks composed of nickel–silver core–shell and silver nanoparticles (NPs) can combine the advantages of lower cost, high conductivity, and low-temperature sintering processes, which have attracted much attention in the development of materials for printed flexible electronics. In this context, in the present paper, we report the process of preparation of nanocomposite ink containing nickel–silver core–shell nanoparticles, as the main filler, and silver nanoparticles, as doping material, and their application for the fabrication of conductive coatings. It was found that the addition of a low concentration of Ag NPs to ink formulation based mainly on low-cost Ni-Ag NPs improves the conductive properties of coatings fabricated by ink deposition on a glass substrate. Two types of prepared nanocomposite ink coatings showed promising properties for future application: (1) doped with 0.5% of Ag NPs sintered at 200 °C as low cost for larger industrial application and, (2) containing 1% of Ag NPs sintered at 150 °C for the fabrication of conductive printed patterns on flexible substrates. The conductivity of such nanocomposite films was similar, about of 6 × 106 S/m, which corresponds to 35% of that for a bulk nickel.
Transitioning towards Organic Farming: Perspectives for the Future of the Italian Organic Wine Sector

In recent years, after the publication of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on organic production and the labelling of organic products, all stakeholders have been considering threats and opportunities in the development of the organic food and beverage sector. The aim of the study outlined in this paper was to analyse the development prospects of the Italian organic wine sector in light of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) environmental and climate objectives. Specifically, the study focussed on applying a System Dynamics Approach (SDA) and a Network Analysis in order to explain how the most relevant social–economic determinants of the national organic wine sector are in all likelihood influencing the hoped-for shift from conventional to organic production. Such conversion appeared to be worth exploring because, despite the increasing global demand for organic wine, the economic effects on the entire system are still somewhat unclear from a dynamic perspective. The results of the study clearly demonstrated that public policies and regulatory actions at the national and European level will continue to be very influential for the future of the national organic wine system. Different development pathways, such as groups of operators and the adoption of the new national certification system for the sustainability of the entire wine supply chain, should be undertaken by Italian “small wine operators” in order to gain international markets.
Ab initio investigation of magnetic transport properties by Wannier interpolation

We present an efficient ab initio approach for the study of magnetic transport properties based on the Boltzmann equation with the Wannier interpolation scheme. Within the relaxation-time approximation, band-resolved electric conductivity under a finite magnetic field is obtained and the historical motion of the electron wave packet in reciprocal space is determined. As a typical application of this method, we have calculated the electric conductivities of MgB(2) under finite magnetic fields. Multiband characters for the individual bands are revealed, and the field dependence of the conductivity tensor is studied systematically with the field orientated parallel and normal to the c axis, respectively. The obtained historical motion is employed to simulate directly the cyclotron motion in the extremal orbit and determine the corresponding effective mass. Moreover, this approach is further exploited to calculate the Hall coefficient in the low-field limit without the complicated computation for the second k derivative of the band.
Liquid-crystal polarization volume gratings for near-eye displays

Liquid crystal-based reflective polarization volume gratings (PVGs), also known as a linear Bragg–Berry phase optical element or a member of volume Bragg gratings (VBGs), is a functional planar structure with a patterned orientation of optical axis. Due to the strong polarization selectivity, nearly 100% diffraction efficiency, large diffraction angle, and simple fabrication process, PVGs have found potential applications in novel photonic devices and emerging near-eye displays. In this work, we start from the operation principles and liquid crystal configurations to discuss the optical properties, including diffraction efficiency, angular and spectral response, and polarization state of the diffracted light. Specifically, we emphasize promising applications of PVGs for near-eye displays and novel photonic devices. Through analyzing the functionalities of PVGs with simulations, PVG-based novel devices are proposed. We further develop polarization volume lenses (PVLs) with high diffraction efficiency, low f/#, and large diffraction angles. Previously reported planar lenses are of thin form factor but with on-axis imaging and large f/#. By patterning PVGs with parabolic phase, the obtained PVLs exhibit a small f/#, high diffraction efficiency, and large off-axis diffraction angle. The PVLs offer a new design for near-eye systems, especially for augmented reality (AR) displays. Based on PVLs, we propose a new multi-focal-plane AR system with a polarization multiplexing method to eliminate the vergence-accommodation conflict.
CONGESTION MITIGATION IN DISTRIBUTION NETWORK BY INTEGRATED DISTRIBUTED GENERATIONS FOR IMPROVING VOLTAGE PROFILES AND MINIMIZING THE LOSSES

In electrical power systems, unexpected outage of transmission systems, sudden increase of loads, the exit of generators from service, and equipment failure, leads to a contingency occurring on one or several transmission lines. The loads must be within the specified state and the transmission lines should not exceed the thermal limits. One of the important methods used to alleviate the contingency and reduce the congestion lines by injected a Distributed Generation (DG) within an optimal siting and optimal sizing in the distribution network that achieves improvement of the voltage profile as well as leads to reduce the losses. First, to achieve the best goals in this paper that is determined contingency lines, an index has been used called (Active Power Flow Performance Index) (PIRPF) and an equation called (Line Flow Sensitivity Index) (LFSI) is used for finding the optimum site for Distributed Generation. Second, to determine the optimum size for distributed generators, the Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used. Also, this research was distinguished by choosing new sites and sizes according to the GA to obtain the best desired results. Finally, these methodologies were applied to the IEEE-30 bus ring network using the MATPOWER Version 6.0, 16-Dec-2016 program within MATLAP R2018a environment.
Smart Home Light Based Service Oriented Architecture and IoT

The development of technology is very rapid in everyday life, so that it provides benefits for each. One of the advantages is that with technology, users can control electronic equipment which can be done with the smart home application (Smart Home) and from anywhere. This smart home application can help users control household electronic equipment such as lights, air conditioners, TVs, dispensers and others so as to reduce the waste of electricity when users forget to turn off household electronic equipment when traveling outside the house or anywhere. users are located. This research applies the concept of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Internet of Things (IoT) on smart home light by integrating Ras-berry Pi with Python programming, web server (database) with PHP and An-droid programming with Java programming, and in experimental research that will be controlled. is the house light. The results of this research are in the form of a prototype of a home light controller using the IoT concept, web service and the Android SOA Smart home application with 7 buttons to control / monitor lights and this system is integrated with the concept of Service Oriented Architecture which is equipped with a token as system security. Tests have been carried out by controlling house lights remotely using a smartphone via the internet net-work and the results can be controlled properly.
Data-Fusion-Based Two-Stage Cascade Framework for Multimodality Face Anti-Spoofing

Existing face anti-spoofing models using deep learning for multimodality data suffer from low generalization in the case of using variety of presentation attacks, such as 2-D printing and high-precision 3-D face masks. One of the main reasons is that the nonlinearity of multispectral information used to preserve the intrinsic attributes between a real and a fake face is not well extracted. To address this issue, we propose a multimodility data-based two-stage cascade framework for face anti-spoofing. The proposed framework has two advantages. First, we design a two-stage cascade architecture that can selectively fuse low-level and high-level features from different modalities to improve feature representation. Second, we use multimodality data to construct a distance-free spectral on RGB and infrared to augment the nonlinearity of data. The presented data fusion strategy is different from popular fusion approaches, since it can strengthen discrimination ability of network models on physical attribute features than identity structure features under certain constraints. In addition, a multiscale patch-based weighted fine-tuning strategy is designed to learn each specific local face region. The experimental results show that the proposed framework achieves better performance than other state-of-the-art methods on both benchmark data sets and self-established data sets, especially on multimaterial masks spoofing.
Thiacloprid + deltamethrin against the cotton aphid and the parasitoid wasp Aphidius colemani: From lethal to sublethal population effects

The side effects of insecticides on non‐target species are important to secure the intended effectiveness of pest management programmes. The cotton aphid Aphis gossypii is a frequent problem in industrial greenhouse cultivation, and insecticide and parasitoids are often used for crop protection. Among insecticides, mixtures are playing increasing roles in pest management in the greenhouse production system, as well as parasitoid use. The insecticide mixture thiacloprid + deltamethrin and the parasitoid wasp Aphidius colemani are the main agents used against the cotton aphid and are the focus of this study. Here, we report the effects of the thiacloprid + deltamethrin on A. gossypii and Ap. colemani. The low concentrations 2.79 g a.i/L (LC10) and 7.28 g a.i/L (LC30) compromised the life parameters of the aphid progeny and increased the development time at all juvenile stages. In addition, fecundity, longevity and other parameters (r, R0 and T) were significantly impaired by thiacloprid + deltamethrin at both concentrations. The median lethal time estimate (LT50) for Ap. colemani was 18.73 h; the parasitoid mortality was significant up to 24 h after application but decreased afterward. Regardless, the parasitoid life table parameters were also compromised by insecticide exposure, similarly to the parasitoid population growth and parasitism efficacy. These results demonstrate the effect of the insecticide mixture against A. gossypii, and the increased risk of its adverse impacts on the parasitoid Ap. colemani, which signals against their simultaneous application to control this pest species.
Theoretical and Numerical Analysis of One Euler Two-Layer Completely Conservative Difference Scheme of Gas Dynamics with Adaptive Viscosity

For the equations of gas dynamics in Euler variables, using the operator approach, a family of two-layer in time completely conservative difference schemes (CCDS) with space-profiled weight factors used to approximate the momentum and energy fluxes in time is constructed, theoretically and numerically studied. The schemes have second-order accuracy and are implemented using simple iterative processes. A class of divergent adaptive viscosities for these CCDS is developed and a theoretical analysis of their stability is carried out. The regularization of flux terms of the gas dynamics equations with the help of adaptive artificial viscosity is proposed and, using the example of well-known Einfeld problem, is numerically investigated. This regularization effectively eliminates nonphysical oscillations of the solution, entropy peaks and preserves the property of complete conservatism of schemes of this class.
Coherent Networks of Plasmonic Dipole Domains: Long-Range Optical Coupling of Phase-Correlated Packages of Metallic Nanoparticles

Through the use of experimental and numerical techniques, we study coherent networks of plasmonic phase-correlated dipole domains that can spread coherent properties along ultralong distances. The phase-correlated domains occur in regions containing closely packed metallic nanoparticles with random positions, shapes, and sizes. We demonstrate that when such regions are periodically arranged, forming two-dimensional arrays, optical diffraction can coherently excite and align the plasmonic dipoles of the nanoparticles within each region, forming delocalized collective plasmon resonances associated with the in-phase coupling of the dipoles. We study the impact of the number of metallic nanoparticles in each region, determining the limit at which it becomes a phase-correlated dipole domain and establishes coherent interdomain coupling. Our results show how such a coupling can form coherent networks of packages of delocalized states with the same phase information. $\mathrm{Au}$ nanoislands with different packings, sizes, and shapes are considered as experimental models to explore phase-correlated dipole domains and interdomain coupling. The conditions in which the coherent interdomain coupling occurs via parallel or orthogonal hybridization of the Rayleigh anomaly with the delocalized plasmon resonances supported by the domains are explored. The outcomes offer alternative techniques for coherent transport of energy and information, in which phase-correlated dipole domains serve as units with large coherent spatial extension.
Society's readiness: How relational approaches to well‐being could support young children's educational achievement in high‐poverty contexts

This paper explores how relational approaches to well-being could support young children's educational achievement in high- poverty contexts. It draws on findings from a qualitative study involving mothers and early years educators living and/or working in a city characterised as one of the most disadvantaged in England. The findings suggest that children's well- being, rather than being merely an individual characteristic or aspiration, is interdependent with their social and material environments, as are the institutions that support them. The paper concludes by calling for a recalibration of early childhood policies away from assessing individual children's ‘school readiness’ to encouraging society's readiness to support everyone's well- being, and consequently that of young children too.
Novel Binary Itraconazole-Skimmed milk Solid Dispersion: Preparation and Evaluation

Binary solid dispersions of a poor water soluble drug, itraconazole were prepared by lyophillization technique employing skimmed milk as carrier. Characterization by Differential scanning calorimtry, Scanning electron microscopy suggested partial amorphization of itraconazole in binary solid dispersions. Futhermore, results of Xray diffractometry showed decrease in magnitude of relative degree of crystallinity (RDC) with increase in skimmed milk content. No chemical interaction was observed between itraconazole and skimmed milk, indicated by FT-IR studies. In addition, significant decrease in surface tension values (P<0.01) was observed on increasing the skimmed milk proportion indicating detergent action of milk proteins. The results of solubility studies in Simulated Gastric Fluid (SGF pH 1.2) revealed higher solubility of itraconazole in solid dispersion than bulk drug. Dispersion containing highest skimmed milk proportion (MSD-1) demonstrated 84% drug release in 1 h. The values of % DE 20min and Rdr5min were calculated as 53.2% and 4.16 respectively. The dissolution data showed that the release followed the Higuchi model equation suggesting diffusion as main mechanism of drug release from solid dispersion.