Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Peer Socioeconomic Status on Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis

Previous studies on the effects on students’ test scores of their peers’ socioeconomic status (SES) reported varying results. A meta-regression analysis including 30 studies on the topic shows that the compositional effect that researchers find is strongly related to how they measure SES and to their model choice. If they measure SES dichotomously (e.g. free lunch eligibility) or include several average SES-variables in one model, they find smaller effects than when using a composite that captures several SES-dimensions. Composition measured at cohort/school level is associated with smaller effects than composition measured at class level. Researchers estimating compositional effects without controlling for prior achievement or not taking into account the potential for omitted variables bias, risk overestimating the effect. Correcting for a large set of not well-thought-over covariates may lead to an underestimation of the compositional effect, by artificially explaining away the effect. Little evidence was found that effect sizes differ with sample characteristics such as test type (language vs. math) and country. Estimates for a hypothetical study, making a number of “ideal” choices, suggest that peer SES may be an important determinant of academic achievement.
Using microbiological leaching method to remove heavy metals from sludge

Microbial leaching is one of the most effective methods to remove heavy metals from sludge. In the conducted researches, the sludge samples were processed with Thiobacillus ferrooxidans and Thiobacillus thiooxidans obtained via cultivation, extraction and purification processes. Heavy metals such as Pb, Cd, Cu and Ni were leached from sludge by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans and Thiobacillus thiooxidans within different substrate concentration and pH value conditions. It is defined that from the point of view of economy and efficiency the optimal concentration of FeSO4.7H2O and sulfur for bio-leaching process was 0.2 g. The leaching rates of heavy metals such as Pb, Cd, Cu and Ni of the same concentration were 74.72%, 81.54%, 70.46% and 77.35% respectively. However, no significant differences depending on the pH value among the leaching rates were defined, even for the pH value of 1.5. Along with the removal of heavy metals from sludge, the organic matter, N, P, K were also leached to some extent. The losing rate of phosphorus was the highest and reached 38.44%. However, the content of organic matter, N, P, K in the processed sludge were higher in comparison with level I of the National Soil Quality Standards of China. Ecological risk of heavy metals in sludge before and after leaching was assessed by Index of Geo-accumulation (Igeo) and comprehensive potential risk (RI). The results of research defined that the content of heavy metals in sludge meets the level of low ecological risk after leaching and their contents is lower in comparison with the National Agricultural Sludge Standard of China. Sludge leached by biological methods is possible to use for treatment for increasing soil fertility.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND FOOD SECURITY IN TROPICAL WEST AFRICA – A DYNAMIC-STATISTICAL MODELLING

The relationships between climate and agricultural production in Benin, tropical West Africa, are elucidated using predictions from a high-resolution regional climate model. The aim is to detect the sensitivity of various mainly alimentary crops cultivated in tropical Africa to changing climate conditions due to increasing greenhouse-gas concentrations and ongoing land degradation. This knowledge is of practical relevance since the predominant cultivation of less vulnerable crops may be an appropriate adaptation strategy in order to maintain or improve food security in Africa. Model output statistics are used to transfer simulated climate variability to changing crop yield. It turns out that the statistical relationships between climate and agricultural production are very strong, amounting in part to more than 50% of explained variance at the interannual time scale. Especially summer monsoon precipitation and relative humidity represent reliable predictors of crop yield. Until 2025, the dryer and warmer climate in tropical Africa may come along with a decrease in agricultural production with respect to most crops. The reduction is in the amount of 5 to 20%, implying severe problems of food security given the increasing population density. However, yams and manioc, as major alimentary crops in Benin, appear to be less sensitive to climate change.
Coupled quantum molecular cavity optomechanics with surface plasmon enhancement

Cavity optomechanics is applied to study the coupling behavior of interacting molecules in surface plasmon systems driven by two-color laser beams. Different from the traditional force–distance measurement, due to a resonant frequency shift or a peak splitting on the probe spectrum, we have proposed a convenient method to measure the van der Waals force strength and interaction energy via nonlinear spectroscopy. The minimum force value can reach approximately 10−15 N, which is 3 to 4 orders of magnitude smaller than the widely applied atomic force microscope (AFM). It is also shown that two adjacent molecules with similar chemical structures and nearly equal vibrational frequencies can be easily distinguished by the splitting of the transparency peak. Based on this coupled optomechanical system, we also conceptually design a tunable optical switch by van der Waals interaction. Our results will provide new approaches for understanding the complex and dynamic interactions in molecule–plasmon systems.
Tracing early evolutionary stages of high-mass star formation with molecular lines

Despite its major role in the evolution of the interstellar medium, the formation of high-mass stars (M > 10 Msol) is still poorly understood. Two types of massive star cluster precursors, the so-called Massive Dense Cores (MDCs), have been observed, which differ in their mid-infrared brightness. The origin of this difference is not established and could be the result of evolution, density, geometry differences, or a combination of these. We compare several molecular tracers of physical conditions (hot cores, shocks) observed in a sample of mid-IR weak emitting MDCs with previous results obtained in a sample of exclusively mid-IR bright MDCs. The aim is to understand the differences between these two types of object. We present single-dish observations of HDO, H2O-18, SO2 and CH3OH lines at lambda = 1.3 - 3.5 mm. We study line profiles and estimate abundances of these molecules, and use a partial correlation method to search for trends in the results. The detection rates of thermal emission lines are found to be very similar between mid-IR quiet and bright objects. The abundances of H2O, HDO (1E-13 to 1E-9 in the cold outer envelopes), SO2 and CH3OH differ from source to source but independently of their mid-IR flux. In contrast, the methanol class I maser emission, a tracer of outflow shocks, is found to be strongly anti-correlated with the 12 micron source brightnesses. The enhancement of the methanol maser emission in mid-IR quiet MDCs may indicate a more embedded nature. Since total masses are similar between the two samples, we suggest that the matter distribution is spherical around mid-IR quiet sources but flattened around mid-IR bright ones. In contrast, water emission is associated with objects containing a hot molecular core, irrespective of their mid-IR brightness. These results indicate that the mid-IR brightness of MDCs is an indicator of their evolutionary stage.
Cost efficiency, technological progress and productivity growth of Chinese banking pre- and post-WTO accession

China has recently taken substantial steps to reform its banking sector, particularly after joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December 2001. This study examines the effect of recent banking reforms and WTO accession on the cost efficiency of Chinese banking and the efficiency differentials across different bank ownership groups. We use a nonparametric approach to investigate the efficiency trend and productivity growth of banks between 1998 and 2006 prior to and after joining the WTO. We find that, on average, domestic banks outperform their foreign counterparts over the sample period in terms of overall and allocative efficiencies, but they fall behind in terms of overall technical efficiency. A pre- and post-WTO accession analysis reveals that the efficiency of domestic banks has declined post-accession, while foreign banks have enjoyed an improvement in their cost efficiency post-WTO accession. The findings further suggest that the total factor productivity of Chinese banks has weakened over the period under study. However, total factor productivity has increased for both domestic and foreign banks after China joined the WTO, equally owing to efficiency improvement and technological progress.
AMALIA MORENO GALERA DATA PROCESSING TOOLBOX FOR PET SCANNERS

TAMPERE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY International Master’s Degree Programme in Biomedical Engineering MORENO GALERA, AMALIA: Data Processing Toolbox for PET Scanners Master of Science Thesis, 84 pages, 3 Appendix pages March 2014 Major subject: Medical Physics Examiner: Professor Ulla Ruotsalainen, Professor Jari Viik and M.Sc. Jussi Forma
Modelling Creep (Relaxation) of the Urinary Bladder

Abstract We first present the results of an experiment in which the passive properties of the urinary bladder were investigated using strips of rabbit bladder. Under the assumption that the urinary bladder had orthopaedic characteristics, the strips were taken in the longitudinal and in the circumferential directions. The material was subjected to uniaxial tension, and stress-stretch curves were generated for various rates of deformation. We found that the rates did not have a significantly effect on the passive response of the material. Additionally, the stress-stretch dependence during relaxation of the material when exposed to isometric conditions was determined experimentally. Next, we measured nonlinear stress-stretch dependence to determine the coefficients for this dependence in analytical form using a standard fitting procedure. The same approach was used to obtain the coefficients for the relaxation curves from the experimental data. Two constitutive laws, the nonlinear model for passive response and the creep model, were introduced within the shell finite element for geometrically and materially nonlinear analysis. We provide descriptions of the numerical procedures that were performed by considering the urinary bladder as a thin-walled shell structure subjected to pressure loading. The developed numerical algorithm for the incremental-iterative solution was implemented into the finite element program, PAK. The response of the urinary bladder was calculated for continuous filling, and the numerical and experimental results were compared through cystometrograms (pressure-volume relationships). We also present comparisons of the shapes and volumes of the urinary bladder obtained numerically and experimentally. Finally, the numerical results of the creep response, when placed under constant internal pressure, are provided for various stages of deformation.
NEW RESULTS ON MATURITY STATUS OF WESTERN ATLANTIC BLUEFIN TUNA, THUNNUS THYNNUS

SUMMARY We analyzed the reproductive and sexual maturity of 529 Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT, Thunnus thynnus) sampled from 2004-2010 on NW Atlantic foraging grounds off New England, Canada, and (young of the year, YOY) Virginia. Fish size was 107-292 cm CFL (excluding YOY), and gonadosomatic index (GSI) was 0.012-1.347. Although nearly all gonads sampled from fish >134 cm were regressed, sexual maturity evidence was detected via histology. Partially spent testes were present in males >145 cm and lipid stage oocytes were present in most females sampled in the Gulf of Maine during June-July. We obtained endocrine hormone profiles and compared pituitary gonadotropins (GtHs) across size classes, including YOY, presumably immature, and mature individuals. FSH/LH ratio was >2 among YOY (characteristic of immature fish) while FSH/LH ratio was 134 cm (characteristic of mature fish). Although some size gaps remain in our sampling (e.g., between YOY and 107 cm), our results are consistent with histological and endocrine analyses of maturity patterns in eastern ABFT and suggest a revision of the western ABFT maturity schedule is warranted. RESUME
Longshore Sediment Transport Measurements on Sandy Macrotidal Beaches Compared with Sediment Transport Formulae

In a context of global climate change, local sea level rise could affect the different coastal processes as erosion, transport and deposition which are responsible in maintaining the coastline. The study of sediment transport processes is one of the key for a better understanding of the coastal evolution which is needed for effective design of coastal engineering or to protect anthropogenic activities and population from marine submersion. One of the main processes that control coastal evolution is sediment transport. A number of studies have been focused on this topic, but they were mostly restricted to micro- to mesotidal beaches [1-3] and field investigations on sandy macrotidal beaches appear to be more limited, notably because these environments are less common along the worldwide coastline [4]. Only a few studies have been conducted for quantifying sediment flux on macrotidal beaches [5, 6] where sediment transport results from the complex interactions of tidal currents with longshore currents generated by obliquely incident breaking waves, this complexity being further increased by the large variations in water level that induce significant horizontal translations of the surf zone. Although a number of studies were recently conducted on the morphodynamics of the barred macrotidal beaches of Northern France [7-12], relatively little effort has been dedicated to measuring longshore sediment transport on these beaches, even though it is largely recognized that they are affected by significant longshore transport that plays a major role in the morphodynamics of the intertidal zone [10, 13]. Apart from some attempts to make estimates of longshore sediment transport from fluorescent tracers [10, 14-16] and to infer transport directions using grain-size trend analysis techniques.
Code-Switching Explorations in Teaching Early Number Sense.

New semiotic perspectives about the role of language in mathematics education indicate that teachers have a fundamental role in communicating and teaching the language that carries mathematical meaning. However, little is known about how educators of young children understand and use the language of mathematics. This study addresses this void. Supported by the understanding that mathematics has its own language (Pimm, 1987), the study focuses on code switching—the mixing of words from two languages—by educators as they shift between the language of instruction and the language of mathematics. A qualitative multiple case study approach utilizing discourse analysis was used to explore three early years teachers’ math talk. Findings indicate that these educators code-switched to the mathematics register when they talked about numbers, number words and counting, to revoice students’ ideas, to explain students’ and teachers’ actions, to provide new math information, and when they chose between two terms that belonged to the math register. Findings also demonstrated that educators preferred to avoid the use of the mathematics’ register and relied instead on what the educators called “familiar language. ” Findings further indicated the presence of semantic patterns between perceptual terms and the mathematics register.
Levels of Blood Glucose and Body Mass Index of Some Nigerian Cigarette Smokers

A total of 50 subjects (30 male smokers and 20 male non-smokers) were recruited for the study. Blood was collected for glucose assay and body mass index (BMI), BM1 was estimated based on body weight and height measures. Results show that cigarette smoking significantly (p<0.5) lowers blood glucose (3.10±0.37 mmol /L) when compared with control (non-smokers) value (3.49±0.36 mmol/ L). Changes in BMI measures were not significantly (p>0.05) different. The mechanism of the effect of cigarette smoking on blood glucose should be investigated and observations documented.
Exploring Behavioral Responses of Motorists to Risk-Based Charging Mechanisms

This paper reports the behavioral response of motorists in Australia to a variable-rate charging scheme designed to encourage safer driving practices and reduce exposure to crash risk, specifically kilometers driven, nighttime driving, and speeding. The study involved a 5-week before period of Global Positioning System monitoring to establish how motorists drove normally, followed by a 5-week after period of Global Positioning System monitoring in which charges were levied and changes assessed. Incentives were paid to motorists for the difference in the charges between the two 5-week periods. Vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT) was reduced by 10%, although the sample was evenly split into motorists with increasing VKT and those with decreasing VKT. The proportion of distance speeding fell by 4.7%; this finding, when coupled with decreases in VKT, implied a net reduction of more than 40% in kilometers spent speeding. Three-fourths of the participants reduced their speeding. Exit interviews with a cross section of participants highlighted the practical difficulties of reducing kilometers but (more encouragingly) reinforced the potential to reduce speeding.
Brazil Moving up in the Semiconductor Global Chain

Brazil has implemented policies and incentives for the development of semiconductor chain in the country. In this paper, we described the configuration of semiconductor global chain, identifying the main activities of Brazilian companies, the infrastructures involved and the influence of the industrial policies that are fostering the chain configuration. We carried out a qualitative exploratory study in order to obtain the empirical insights of the current Brazilian operations and strategies to leverage its participation in the semiconductor supply chain. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Brazilian companies already operate in some value chain activities of the semiconductor chain, especially back-end and Design, but some elements that are constraints to move up in this market were identified: the lack of a national infrastructure, experienced labor, and a proper industrial policy to leverage this economic sector, motivating new ventures, developing national production and attracting foreign companies DOI: 10.12660/joscmv7n1p68-84 URL: http://dx.doi. org/10.12660/joscmv7n1p68-84
Mesh Sensitivity Analysis for Numerical Simulation of a Damaged Ship Model

In this paper, a numerical simulation of a damaged ship model is investigated. The damaged ship model has a hole that involves eight subspaces of the cargo tank between two watertight transverse bulkheads. The damage of the ship bottom, due to possible grounding, equals to the 20% of the total length of the ship. In this paper, the numerical simulation of flow around the hole and inside the tanks and calculation of the total damaged model resistance are carried out by employing commercial software package STAR-CCM+. The mathematical model is based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations, with the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method for two-phase turbulent flow, and the k-e turbulence model. The mesh sensitivity analysis of the results obtained for the total resistance force of the damaged model is conducted using different mesh resolutions. The numerical results of the total resistance force of the damaged model are compared to the experimental results.
Human skin auto-fluorescence decay as a function of irradiance and skin type

The aim of this work was to establish measurement conditions under which endogenous skin fluorescence ("auto-fluorescence") is relatively invariant, so that changes in exogenous agents can be accurately determined. Fluorescence emission was measured on the volar forearm of 36 subjects, chosen to be equally representative of all 6 Fitzpatrick skin types. All subjects were exposed to approximately 40 minutes of optical excitation at 450 and 500 nm with 4 irradiances between 0.3 and 9 mW/cm2. Both non-optically-induced (e.g. tissue settling and fluctuation) and optically-induced variations were observed in the measured fluorescence and mechanisms explaining these effects are proposed. The optically-induced auto-fluorescence decay was independent of skin type when excited at 450 nm, but significantly dependent on skin type when excited at 500 nm. Further, the extent of decay over time was linearly related to irradiance at 500 nm, but at 450 nm was non-linear, with the extent of decay rolling off between 2 and 9 mW/cm2. In order to maintain the auto-fluorescence signal within 95% of its original value over a 30 minute period, the excitation at 450 nm would need to be limited to 1.5 mW/cm2, while excitation at 500 nm should be limited to 5 mW/cm2.
A Simple V-Shaped Slot Antenna with Broadband Circular Polarization

In this paper, a simple broadband circular polarization (CP) V-shaped slot antenna is developed. The CP antenna consists of Z-shaped feedline with a stub and a patch, and symmetrically etched two right-angled V-shaped slots (an open slot and a closed slot) along the center line. The stub is introduced for multi-resonances to obtain broadband. The broad CP and impedance bandwidths overlap by the symmetrically etched right-angled V-shaped closed slot along the center line and the Z-shaped feedline placed in a proper position. The measured results show that the proposed antenna has a broad overlapped 3-dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth and −10 dB impedance bandwidth of 71% (2.19–4.6 GHz).
State of Australian Cities Conference 2015 Simple in Theory , But Not in Practice : A ‘ Warts and All ’ Reflection on the Use of Visioning Exercises in Urban Contexts

To-date little research has examined visioning as a practice, including its theoretical underpinnings. In particular, published cases tend to tell high-level positive ‘stories’ rather than consider the tensions and challenges that must be negotiated during a visioning process and that can constrain the impacts of a visioning exercise. In contrast, this paper presents a critical reflection on two visioning exercises run as part of the Visions and Pathways 2040 project – which is funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living – focussed on the key tensions and process challenges that were faced and how we attempted to address them. We identify seven main tensions/process challenges, describe how they manifested during the design and convening of the exercises, and evaluate the strengths and weakness of specific strategies that were used to address them. Whilst strong claims of generalisability are not made, the identified tensions/process challenges and strategies are likely to be of relevance to others convening visioning exercises in urban contexts. Five underlying themes are also identified that visioning practitioners need to be aware of, particularly in urban contexts: (i) the complexity and normativity challenges inherent to envisioning new urban systems and low-carbon transitions; (ii) the barriers to systemic thinking and related process design considerations; (iii) the strong barriers to original or breakthrough ideas; (iv) the need for technical or specialised knowledge and to equip workshop participants, whilst being aware of the limitations of experts; and (v) interactivity challenges (involving stakeholders in the research process). Word count: 4,998 words (excluding references and abstract)