Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Mixed-Method Study of How Instructors Design for Learning in Online and Distance Education

The use of analytical methods from learning analytics (LA) research combined with visualizations of learning activities using learning design (LD) tools and frameworks has provided important insight into how instructors design for learning. Nonetheless, there are many subtle nuances in instructors’ design decisions that might not easily be captured using LA tools. Therefore, this study sets out to explore how and why instructors design for learning in an online and distance higher education setting by employing a mixed-method approach, which combined semi-structured interviews of 12 instructors with network analyses of their LDs. Our findings uncovered several underlying factors that influenced how instructors designed their modules and highlighted some discrepancies between instructors’ pedagogical beliefs and their actual LD as captured by the Open University Learning Design Initiative (OULDI). This study showcases the potential of combining LA with qualitative insights for a better understanding of the complex design process in online distance higher education.
Intelligent Fault Diagnosis With Deep Adversarial Domain Adaptation

With the rapid development of fault diagnosis methods based on deep learning, many studies have investigated the transfer of intelligent fault diagnosis methods to learn the domain-invariant features of machines under different conditions. Previous researches focused on learning domain-invariant features through domain adaptation. However, the domain alignment methods cannot remove the domain shift, the target samples may be incorrectly classified by the decision boundary learned from the source domain and eventually cause the domains to be aligned in the wrong direction. To cope with this problem, we propose a deep adversarial domain adaptation network (DADAN) to transfer fault diagnosis knowledge. DADAN uses domain-adversarial training based on the Wasserstein distance to learn domain-invariant features from the raw signal. In addition, the network is combined with a supervised instance-based method to learn the discriminative features with better intraclass cohesion and interclass separability, which can benefit the domain alignment. A data set of bearing data including three speed conditions and a data set of hard disk data acquired from accelerated degradation test and real-case conditions were used to evaluate the performance of the proposed DADAN.
Resampling Factor Estimation via Dual-stream Convolutional Neural Network

: The estimation of image resampling factors is an important problem in image forensics. Among all the resampling factor estimation methods, spectrum-based methods are one of the most widely used methods and have attracted a lot of research interest. However, because of inherent ambiguity, spectrum-based methods fail to discriminate upscale and downscale operations without any prior information. In general, the application of resampling leaves detectable traces in both spatial domain and frequency domain of a resampled image. Firstly, the resampling process will introduce correlations between neighboring pixels. In this case, a set of periodic pixels that are correlated to their neighbors can be found in a resampled image. Secondly, the resampled image has distinct and strong peaks on spectrum while the spectrum of original image has no clear peaks. Hence, in this paper, we propose a dual-stream convolutional neural network for image resampling factors estimation. One of the two streams is gray stream whose pur-pose is to extract resampling traces features directly from the rescaled images. The other is frequency stream that discovers the differences of spectrum between rescaled and original images. The features from two streams are then fused to con-struct a feature representation including the resampling traces left in spatial and frequency domain, which is later fed into softmax layer for resampling factor estimation. Experimental results show that the proposed method is effective on resampling factor estimation and outperforms some CNN-based methods.
Atomic and electronic structure of silicon nanocrystals embedded in a silica matrix

The atomic structures and the optical and electronic properties of silicon nanocrystals (nc-Si) in a β cristobalite matrix are studied using DFT calculations provided by the AIMPRO code. Five atomic models are considered (two nanocrystal diameters of 5.6 and 11 Å with and without interface defects). After total relaxation, the mean Si–Si distances in nc-Si are found to be 6% higher than those in perfect bulk silicon. The optical and electronic properties are influenced by many parameters, among which are the nanograin density and size. The quantum confinement effect is demonstrated by the increase of energy gap when decreasing nanograin size. The energy gap of nc-Si is adjusted by using B3LYP functional calculations; the energy gap of 5.6 Å nc-Si is found to be equal to 3.4 eV while that of 11 Å nc-Si is equal to 3.1 eV. In the band structure, the levels due to nc-Si appear in the forbidden band of SiO2. The electronic density of these levels is presented in 3D. A redshift is observed in the optical absorption spectrum as the nc-Si size increases, and the absorbance of nc-Si/SiO2 is proportional to the nanograin density. The system is more stable as the distance between nanograins increases. We have also studied two kinds of nc-Si/SiO2 interface defects (Si–O–Si and Si = O bonds). It is found that the Si–O–Si bridge bond leads to the most stable configuration. The presence of Si = O double bonds reduces the nc-Si energy gap and leads to a redshift in the absorption spectrum. The Si–O–Si bonds produce the inverse effect, i.e. an energy gap increase associated with a blueshift in the absorption spectrum.
Flying-Capacitor Linear Amplifier With Capacitor Voltage Balancing for High-Efficiency and Low Distortion

This article presents a flying-capacitor linear amplifier (FCLA) that achieves high efficiency, low harmonic distortion, and low electromagnetic interference (EMI). A conventional class-B linear amplifier cannot be used in power conversion applications, because the power loss generated in active-state MOSFETs is high compared with the loss generated in switching operations. In the proposed FCLA, multiple series-connected MOSFETs are used, and only one MOSFET operates in the active state at a time. Thus, the power loss generated in the MOSFETs can be reduced, and the FCLA can achieve high efficiency without performing the switching operation. In this study, the features of the FCLA and conventional linear amplifiers are theoretically compared and evaluated. Moreover, a voltage balancing control for flying capacitors is proposed and verified through simulations and experiments. It is demonstrated that the prototype 12-series FCLA achieves over 89% efficiency and generates low harmonics and low EMI. The proposed configuration is useful for increasing the number of series MOSFETs, and it contributes to realizing a power converter with advantages such as low harmonic distortion, low EMI, and high efficiency.
Density, Viscosity, and Physical CO2 Diffusivity of Novel Formulated Solvent N-Methyl-4-Piperidinol and 2-Amino-2-Methyl-1-Propanol for Carbon Capture

Amine based CO2 capture is considered as one of the most effective technologies for mitigating global warming and climate change problems. The key of this technology is to use as highly effective solvent. In the present work, novel formulated MPDL-AMP solvent has been firstly introduced. Its essential data for determining and investigating the solvent performance as an alternative solvent for capturing CO2 has not yet been reported. Therefore, density, viscosity, and physical CO2 diffusivity of novel formulated MPDL-AMP solvent were determined in this work over ranges of concentrations and temperatures of 25%wt. MPDL/5%wt. AMP to 15%wt. MPDL/15%wt. AMP and 313 K to 333 K, respectively. The physical data reported in the present work are important for determining the optimum hydrodynamics of the fluid flow inside the absorption column as well as designing the height of the column through the kinetics and the mass transfer data. The results observed in the present work showed that the novel formulated MPDL-AMP solvent should be further investigated for its potential to be used as an alternative solvent for capturing CO2.
Corporate social responsibility reporting and stakeholder management in an emerging market: Perspective of CSR executives

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting and stakeholder management practices are influenced by contextual issues (Abreu, Castro, Soares, & Filho, 2012; Tilt, 2016). This current study examines the CSR reporting and stakeholder management practices, focusing on the perspective of CSR executives in the context of a developing country. A qualitative methodological approach was used for the study, where CSR executives of firms on the Ghana Club 100 (GC 100) from 2010-2012 were interviewed. Information published in annual reports and websites of firms were also analysed. Findings show annual reports are the popular channels for CSR reporting. However, some multinational firms used both annual reports and standalone CSR reports because it is mandatory. The study established that CSR reports are used in correcting negative perceptions and stakeholder scepticism. However, the expected positive interplay between CSR reporting and stakeholder management does not hold for all groups of stakeholders. There is also very little information on the existence of mechanisms that promote the implementation of stakeholder management policies at the firm-level
A Methodology for Digital Twin Modeling and Deployment for Industry 4.0

The digital twin (DT) is a virtual representation of a physical object, which has been proposed as one of the key concepts for Industry 4.0. The DT provides a virtual representation of products along their lifecycle that enables the prediction and optimization of the behavior of a production system and its components. A methodology design using model-driven engineering (MDE) is proposed that strives toward being both flexible and generic. This approach is presented at two levels: first, a DT is modeled as a composition of basic components that provide basic functionalities, such as identification, storage, communication, security, data management, human–machine interface (HMI), and simulation; second, an aggregated DT is defined as a hierarchical composition of other DTs. A generic reference architecture based on these concepts and a concrete implementation methodology are proposed using AutomationML. This methodology follows an MDE approach that supports most of the DT features currently proposed in the literature. A case study has been developed, the proposed ideas are being evaluated with industrial case studies, and some of the preliminary results are described in this article. With the case study, it is possible to verify that the proposed methodology supports the creation and the deployment process of a DT.
Crystal structures and electrical conductivities controlled by CH/n interactions

A series of new TTF derivatives, CnDT-EDO-TTF (n= 5,6), CnDT-EDT-TTF (n= 5,6), and CnDTP-TTF (n= 5,6) have been synthesized. As for the CnDT-EDO-TTF salts, the intermolecular CH.O interactions construct the pseudo-2D electronic state, which stabilizes the metallic character down to 1.3 K. The sulfur based C5DT-EDT-TTF salts preferred the dimeric β'-type structure, which could be Mott insulators. The pyrazino-fused donor C5DTP-TTF afford a variety of donor arrangements by the S.N interaction and the steric hindrance: κ-(C5DTP-TTF) 2 X (X= AsF6, SbF 6 ) are semiconductors, whereas β-(C5DTP-TTF) 2 TaF 6 reveal the metallic down to 150 K.
The Effects of Self-control on the Cyber Victim-Offender Overlap

Increasingly, the overlap between victims and offenders has received empirical attention with regard to traditional forms of deviance. More recently, the growth of cyber offending has led to a need to examine whether traditional criminological theories can be used to explain these crimes in the same manner as traditional offenses. However, limited attention has been given to victim-offender overlap in cyber-offending. The current study uses a sample of American college students to examine the influence of self-control on cyber offending, cyber victimization, and the cyber victim-offender overlap. The results indicate that low self-control significantly predicts participation in cyber offending as well as cyber victim-offending, but has a weak relationship with cyber victimization. Interestingly, associating with deviant cyber peers was a significant predictor across all models. Results are discussed in the context of the existing literature.
Investigation on phase transitions of 1-decylammonium hydrochloride as the potential thermal energy storage material

1-Decylammonium hydrochloride was synthesized by the method of liquid phase synthesis. Chemical analysis, elemental analysis, and X-ray single crystal diffraction techniques were applied to characterize its composition and structure. Low-temperature heat capacities of the compounds were measured with a precision automated adiabatic calorimeter over the temperature range from 78 to 380 K. Three solid–solid phase transitions have been observed at the peak temperatures of 307.52 ± 0.13, 325.02 ± 0.19, and 327.26 ± 0.07 K. The molar enthalpies and entropies of three phase transitions were determined based on the analysis of heat capacity curves. Experimental molar heat capacities were fitted to two polynomial equations of the heat capacities as a function of temperature by least square method. Smoothed heat capacities and thermodynamic functions of the compound relative to the standard reference temperature 298.15 K were calculated and tabulated at intervals of 5 K based on the fitted polynomials.
PHTHALIDE FORMATION: II. CONDENSATIONS WITH 3-HYDROXY-4-METHYLBENZOIC ACID

The condensation of 3-hydroxy-4-methylbenzoic acid with aqueous formaldehyde and hydrochloric acid yields the lactone of 6-hydroxymethyl-1,3-benzodioxane-8-methyl-5-carboxylic acid. This dioxanylphthalide has also been produced in a similar type of condensation from 5-hydroxy-4-methylphthalide which can be obtained by demethylation with aluminum chloride of 5-methoxy-4-methylphthalide.Proof of the presence of the m-dioxane and phthalide rings in the condensation product has been obtained by opening these rings in succession. The action of alkaline permanganate opens the phthalide ring to yield a substituted phthalic acid. Acid hydrolysis then opens the m-dioxane ring with loss of formaldehyde and the formation of a new phthalide ring. Successive steps of decarboxylation, methylation, and oxidation of the new phthalide yield the known 3-methyl-4-methylphthalic acid.
Enabling Circulating Cell-free mRNA Profiling to Empower Cancer Early Detection

DNA methylation occurs early in tumorigenesis and is highly pervasive across cancer types, making it suitable for early detection and intervention of cancer. Gene expression at the transcription level is reflected by epigenetic regulation of chromosome especially DNA methylation, therefore providing a parallel approach to achieve the same goal. Non-invasive and real-time gene expression profiling was performed on plasma circulating cell-free mRNA (cell free m-RNA) enriched from cancer patients using proprietary high sensitivity RT-qPCR assays. A plasma cell free m-RNA expression database covering 750 genes in 9 major cancer pathways was established with multiple layers of cancer type-specific characteristics: (i) the distribution of cell free m-RNA species across 9 major cancer pathways; (ii) the differential expression of target genes (high, medium or low expression); (iii) the global cell free m-RNA expression landscape in circulation; and (iv) the unique cell free m-RNA signatures to differentiate lung, breast, and pancreatic cancer. These novel blood-based metrics and biomarkers can be deployed for early detection and stratification of cancer.
Reliability of Power Electronic Systems for EV/HEV Applications

The electrification of the transportation sector is moving on at a fast pace. All car manufacturers have strong programs to electrify their car fleet to fulfill the demands of society and customers by offering carbon-neutral technologies to bring goods and persons from one location to another. Power electronics technology is, in this evolution, essential and also in a rapid development technology-wise. Some of the introduced technologies are quite mature, and the systems designed must have high reliability as they can be quite complicated from an electrical perspective. Therefore, this article focuses on the reliability of the used power electronic systems applied in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid EVs (HEVs). It introduces the reliability requirements and challenges given for the power electronics applied in EV/HEV applications. Then, the advances in power electronic components to address the reliability challenges are introduced as they individually contribute to the overall system reliability. The reliability-oriented design methodology is also discussed, including two examples: an EV onboard charger and the drive train inverter. Finally, an outlook in terms of research opportunities in power electronics reliability related to EV/HEVs is provided. It can be concluded that many topics are already well handled in terms of reliability, but issues related to complete new technology introduction are important to keep the focus on.
Working capital management effects on investment-cash flow sensitivity

: This study investigated whether working capital management (WCM) affects the investment-cash flow sensitivity in Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). For this, both types of WC (fixed capital and current working capital) are used to examine the impact of WC on the cash flow sensitivity of firms. The data comprises of 357 manufacturing firms listed at PSX for the period 2000–2014 by applying the two-step system GMM approach. The results reveal that firms having a high level of WC exhibit the high value of the current WC to cash flow ratio. However, despite the financial obstacles, firms having a low value of fixed capital to cash flow ratio and high value of WC to cash flow ratio have a high level of fixed investment rate. These results reveal that the aggressive WC policy effectively works on the PSX. Particularly, where financial markets are under-developed and access to external finance is limited.
Synthesis, X-ray crystal structure and dielectric measurements of a tetragonal tungsten bronze: Pb0.75K1.80Li1.70Nb5O15

Abstract Typical crystals Pb0.75K1. 80Li1.70Nb5O15, belonging to tetragonal tungsten bronze materials, were grown by the slow cooling technique. The crystals were characterized at room temperature by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HREM). The structure, solved combining information obtained by HRTEM images and Direct Methods application to single crystal XRD data, was refined by full-matrix least-squares technique in the P4bm space group to a final R = 0.031. The lattice constants are a = 12.540(2), c = 4.037(1) Å, V = 634.8(2) Å3, at 293 K. There are two formulas per unit cell, for a calculated density of 4.928 Mg/m3. Dielectric measurements, carried out along the [001] direction in the frequency 103 Hz, showed the existence of the paraelectric-ferroelectric transition at 628 K and of a further maximum of ε′r (with a very weak intensity) at T1 = 150 K.
Incorporating IPE and simulation experiences into graduate speech-language pathology training

Abstract Ineffective interprofessional collaboration between healthcare workers can negatively impact patient care. At a time when people are living longer with chronic health conditions, it is becoming increasingly important that university programs incorporate interprofessional education into student training. Despite this urgency, a disconnect remains between current training programs and healthcare workforce needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect inclusion of nursing (NSG) students and simulation experiences into a graduate-level speech-language pathology (SLP) course had on increasing the knowledge and skill level preparedness of SLP students entering their hospital externships. Students participated in a series of four classes that incorporated interprofessional education (IPE)-simulation experiences. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest experimental design was selected to collect SLP student responses. Results suggest SLP graduate students felt significantly more knowledgeable as a result of the simulation experiences regarding the roles and responsibilities of NSG and SLPs in patient care and significantly more prepared in their skills for entering a hospital as a medical SLP intern.
MPCSM: Microservice Placement for Edge-Cloud Collaborative Smart Manufacturing

Latency-aware service placement is promising in reducing the overall service response latency of proliferating edge-cloud collaborative smart manufacturing systems. However, intuitive latency estimators used by existing service placement approaches cannot accurately depict the nonlinear end-to-end (E2E) latency of multihop microservices with complex dependencies, which is severely hindering the effectiveness of latency-aware service placement. To address this issue, in this article, we present a microservice placement mechanism for edge-cloud collaborative smart manufacturing (MPCSM), where a microservice placement algorithm latency-aware edge-cloud collaborative placement supported by an accurate data-driven E2E latency estimation method is proposed. We build a real-world collaborative prototype, and conduct a case study on semiconductor manufacturing to elaborate the construction of our latency estimator. Results of extensive experiments demonstrate that the error of our E2E latency estimator is up to <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$10\times$</tex-math></inline-formula> less than that of existing ones, and the overall service latency with MPCSM is up to <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$10\times$</tex-math></inline-formula> less than that with existing service placement approaches.
Electronic Embedded System for Stair Recognition Based on Possibilistic Modeling of Ultrasonic Signal

Safe navigation is a common challenge for humans, as well as for mobile robots. Embedded devices offering autonomous navigation are increasingly required. To fulfill this requirement, various navigation systems have been proposed. Most of them are designed to avoid collisions with objects from the scene. However, some other obstacles, such as stairs, are posing a real danger and unfortunately, they did not attract sufficient attention to get a reliable and practical solution. In this paper, we propose a new electronic system for staircase detection and recognition based on ultrasonic (US) signals. The designed system can be used for indoor and outdoor applications to detect stairs and to recognize their nature (ascending or descending). The challenge here is to process in real-time a small sample size of an ultrasonic signal. Various features in time and frequency are used to characterize as much as possible the ultrasonic signals acquired for each of the two classes of stairs. Possibilistic models of the selected features are built for each class. The paper presents the electronic architecture, as well as the ultrasonic signal processing schemes for the stair recognition task. A rate of up to 93% is reached for staircase recognition using the proposed system.