Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Profiles of readiness: Using a blended framework to explore what it takes for faculty to be ready to change instructional practice

Abstract In answer to calls for research about professional change, this study addressed the question: What is involved in college science faculty readiness for change in instructional practice? The setting was a professional development experience in oceanography/marine science and paleoclimatology among 32 faculty from 2- and 4-year colleges. Ten of the 32 participated in interviews, and all provided survey responses and documents used in the study. Cycles of inductive analysis generated three example case stories to illustrate a new model for exploring faculty readiness for change in teaching. The model blends results from the health sciences on readiness for behavioral change with research on the personal, external, professional, and consequence domains of a professional change environment. The blended model attends to how an instructor draws on the domains to (a) see an instructional challenge as requiring intentional action to be resolved; (b) notice new significance (for the instructor) in some aspect of instructional practice; (c) feel able to manage instructional stressors/challenges; (d) have commitment to initiate/sustain change; and (e) perceive adequate support in undertaking change. Profiles of instructional readiness for change are represented by composite cases named Lee, Pat, and Chris. In the case of Lee, factor (c) drove change efforts; for Pat, factors (a) and (b) were in the forefront; and for Chris it was factors (d) and (e). The three cases are valuable both as sketches of the blended model in use and as touchstones for future research and development related to postsecondary faculty professional learning.
Twitter, Social Services and Covid-19: Analysis of Interactions between Political Parties and Citizens

The state of alarm caused by Covid-19 has mobilised the population’s digital social participation in social networks. Likewise, the relevance acquired by Social Services as a support for the social and health crisis has generated an unprecedented social debate on Twitter about the reality of these services in Spain. The analysis of this phenomenon is the focus of the present article, in which the tweets on Social Services and Covid-19 published during the confinement have been analysed using the qualitative analysis software Atlas.Ti. The results show the precariousness of social services and that a change in the management and financing model of these services is required to guarantee benefits and satisfy fundamental social rights.
Toward Trustworthy and Comfortable Lane Keeping Assistance System: An Empirical Study of the Level of Haptic Authority

ABSTRACT A shared control system has received steady attention as it can mitigate or avoid potential weaknesses of autonomous driving. According to the preliminary study, the drivers’ experience was found to change significantly depending on the system’s intervention strategy. In particular, driver satisfaction was found to decrease significantly due to the feeling of disturbance or interference. In this study, a strategy was suggested to adjust the haptic authority according to human torque to minimize the feeling of disturbance. Twelve control strategies were designed as a prototype to investigate their effects on the driver’s experience. As a result, a positive effect on the driving experience was observed by providing adequate torque reduction. Based on the regression model of satisfaction, optimal design parameters were derived. The results of this study are expected to contribute to designing more favorable control strategy of a shared steering control system.
A Novel Iron Chloride Red-Ox Concentration Flow Cell Battery (ICFB) Concept; Power and Electrode Optimization

For renewable energies to succeed in replacing fossil fuels, large-scale and affordable solutions are needed for short and long-term energy storage. A potentially inexpensive approach of storing large amounts of energy is through the use of a concentration flow cell that is based on cheap and abundant materials. Here, we propose to use aqueous iron chloride as a reacting solvent on carbon electrodes. We suggest to use it in a red-ox concentration flow cell with two compartments separated by a hydrocarbon-based membrane. In both compartments the red-ox couple of iron II and III reacts, oxidation at the anode and reduction at the cathode. When charging, a concentration difference between the two species grows. When discharging, this concentration difference between iron II and iron III is used to drive the reaction. In this respect it is a concentration driven flow cell redox battery using iron chloride in both solutions. Here, we investigate material combinations, power, and concentration relations.
The impacts of Chinese FDI on domestic investment and economic growth for Africa

Abstract This study examines the role of domestic governance quality on the relationship between Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI), domestic investment, and African countries’ economic growth. The study utilized a larger dataset of Chinese FDI to 44 African countries applying the two-step system GMM estimation method for 2003–2017. This study’s findings reveal that Chinese FDI’s impact on economic growth is conditional to improving African countries’ aggregate and each component of individual governance indicators used to represent the countries’ institutional quality. The impact of Chinese FDI on African countries’ domestic investment is robustly positive. Besides, improvement in the governance environment stimulates the effect of Chinese FDI on domestic investment. More specifically, control of corruption, government effectiveness, and voice and accountability have mediating roles in the nexus of Chinese FDI and African countries’ domestic investment. Thus, African countries aiming to attract Chinese FDI and promote their economic growth and domestic investment need to improve governance quality.
Normalization of glucose metabolism by Exendin-4 in the chronic phase after stroke promotes functional recovery in diabetes

Background Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) activation can decrease stroke risk in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Moreover, animal studies have shown the efficacy of GLP-1R agonists to counteract stroke-induced acute brain damage. Whether GLP-1R activation can also improve stroke recovery during the post-acute, chronic phase after stroke, however, remains to be determined. We investigated whether post-acute, chronic administration of the GLP-1R agonist Exendin-4 improves poststroke recovery and examined possible underlying mechanisms in T2D and non-T2D mice. Methods We induced stroke via transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) in T2D/obese mice (8 months of high-fat diet) and age-matched controls. Exendin-4 was administered daily for 8 weeks from day 3 after tMCAO. We assessed functional recovery by weekly upper-limb grip strength tests, while insulin sensitivity and glycemia were evaluated at 4 and 8 weeks after tMCAO. Neuronal cell death, stroke-induced neurogenesis, neuroinflammation, potential atrophy of GABAergic, parvalbumin + interneurons, poststroke vascular remodeling and fibrotic scar formation were investigated by immunohistochemistry. Results Exendin-4 entirely normalized the T2D-induced impairment of forepaw grip strength recovery. The recovery correlated with the normalization of glycemia and insulin sensitivity. We also show that Exendin-4 counteracted the T2D-induced atrophy of parvalbumin + interneurons and decreased microglia activation. In addition, Exendin-4 normalized density and pericyte coverage of microvessels and restored fibrotic scar formation in T2D mice. In non-T2D mice the recovery effect of Exendin-4 was minor. Conclusion This study demonstrates that post-acute, chronic GLP-1R activation mediates neurological recovery after stroke in T2D mice likely through the normalization of glucose metabolism and neuroplasticity mechanisms as well as improved vascular remodeling in the recovery phase. The results promote launching clinical trials investigating whether GLP-1R agonists improve the efficacy of rehabilitation after stroke in people with T2D.
“Everyone Has Their Own Places”: Mapping as a Storied Approach to the Study of Youth Identity

This article highlights part of my work with ten 16 and 17-year-olds at two Canadian secondary schools. My multiple case study sought to make visible my participants’ stories of place: how did they construe the role of place within their own lives? How did they record their journeys within, through, and between places? I share how my participants articulated their place-identities as dynamic encounters rather than fixed surfaces (Massey, 2005; Ingold, 2016). Employing story-mapping as a research method encouraged my participants to articulate their lives in their own terms, affording me the opportunity to understand how they negotiated their identities.
Production of Lignocellulolytic Enzymes and Biomass of Trametes versicolor from Agro-Industrial Residues in a Novel Fixed-Bed Bioreactor with Natural Convection and Forced Aeration at Pilot Scale

Solid-state fermentation requires the development of more efficient cultivation systems for its industrial application. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of aeration regime on the production of biomass and several lignocellulolytic enzymes (laccase, manganese peroxidase, endoxylanase, β-glucosidase, and total cellulases) by Trametes versicolor in a novel fixed-bed solid-state pilot-scale bioreactor. Three regimes were assessed: natural convection, low aeration level (10 min every 6 h at 10 L/h air flowrate), and high aeration level (1 h every 6 h at 10 L/h air flowrate). The mushroom was grown on a medium based on lignocellulosic residues. The design of the bioreactor, as well as the control of aeration, humidity, and temperature of the beds, allowed T. versicolor to grow properly on the medium, reaching a maximum biomass production of 204.7 mg/g dry solid (ds). The influence that aeration regime had on the production of lignocellulolytic enzymes was determined. Low level of forced aeration favored obtaining the highest titers of laccase (6.37 U/g ds) compared to natural convection and high aeration level. The greatest lignin degradation was also verified for low aeration regime. For the first time, pilot scale cultivation of T. versicolor was reported in a fixed-bed bioreactor.
Microbial Communities in Methane Cycle: Modern Molecular Methods Gain Insights into Their Global Ecology

The role of methane as a greenhouse gas in the concept of global climate changes is well known. Methanogens and methanotrophs are two microbial groups which contribute to the biogeochemical methane cycle in soil, so that the total emission of CH4 is the balance between its production and oxidation by microbial communities. Traditional identification techniques, such as selective enrichment and pure-culture isolation, have been used for a long time to study diversity of methanogens and methanotrophs. However, these techniques are characterized by significant limitations, since only a relatively small fraction of the microbial community could be cultured. Modern molecular methods for quantitative analysis of the microbial community such as real-time PCR (Polymerase chain reaction), DNA fingerprints and methods based on high-throughput sequencing together with different “omics” techniques overcome the limitations imposed by culture-dependent approaches and provide new insights into the diversity and ecology of microbial communities in the methane cycle. Here, we review available knowledge concerning the abundances, composition, and activity of methanogenic and methanotrophic communities in a wide range of natural and anthropogenic environments. We suggest that incorporation of microbial data could fill the existing microbiological gaps in methane flux modeling, and significantly increase the predictive power of models for different environments.
Analog Models for Empirical-Statistical Downscaling

Global climate models (GCM) are fundamental tools for weather forecasting and climate predictions at different time scales, from intraseasonal prediction to climate change projections. Their design allows GCMs to simulate the global climate adequately, but they are not able to skillfully simulate local/regional climates. Consequently, downscaling and bias correction methods are increasingly needed and applied for generating useful local and regional climate information from the coarse GCM resolution. Empirical-statistical downscaling (ESD) methods generate climate information at the local scale or with a greater resolution than that achieved by GCM by means of empirical or statistical relationships between large-scale atmospheric variables and the local observed climate. As a counterpart approach, dynamical downscaling is based on regional climate models that simulate regional climate processes with a greater spatial resolution, using GCM fields as initial or boundary conditions. Various ESD methods can be classified according to different criteria, depending on their approach, implementation, and application. In general terms, ESD methods can be categorized into subgroups that include transfer functions or regression models (either linear or nonlinear), weather generators, and weather typing methods and analogs. Although these methods can be grouped into different categories, they can also be combined to generate more sophisticated downscaling methods. In the last group, weather typing and analogs, the methods relate the occurrence of particular weather classes to local and regional weather conditions. In particular, the analog method is based on finding atmospheric states in the historical record that are similar to the atmospheric state on a given target day. Then, the corresponding historical local weather conditions are used to estimate local weather conditions on the target day. The analog method is a relatively simple technique that has been extensively used as a benchmark method in statistical downscaling applications. Of easy construction and applicability to any predictand variable, it has shown to perform as well as other more sophisticated methods. These attributes have inspired its application in diverse studies around the world that explore its ability to simulate different characteristics of regional climates.
Review: Polymers, Surface-Modified Polymers, and Self Assembled Monolayers as Surface-Modifying Agents for Biomaterials

Biocompatibility and nontoxicity of biomaterials are of utmost importance when foreign bodies come in contact with a biological system. Irrespective of the nature of material, nonspecific protein adsorption is the first process observed at surface–biological system interfaces followed by cellular processes. Nonspecific protein adsorption leads to deleterious cellular processes such as biofouling and finally immunological host response. Hence, surface modification becomes mandatory for preventing undesirable implant failure and inflammatory responses. Various polymers, surface-modified polymers and surfaces withself assembled monolayers, have been tested to tune surface properties for a given application. Surface functional groups and surface structures of polymers and copolymers regulate surface hydrophobicity, nonspecific protein adsorption, biomaterial stability, and antifouling property, etc. Self assembled monolayers are formed by covalent linkage with more controlled surface structure and smoothness. Mixed and hybrid self assembled monolayers containing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups result in moderate wettability. Further, we have discussed different methods of surface modification using polymers, modified polymers, and self assembled monolayers for improved surface biocompatibility and nonfouling properties. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Differential effects of interprofessional education by gender and discipline among medical and dental students in Japan

Background and Aims: Studies investigating whether the eﬀects of interprofessional education (IPE) workshops vary depending on the students’ characteristics have found mixed results. The objectives of this study were to assess the impact of IPE workshops and how it was related to students’ discipline and gender. Methods: The data included medical and dental students who attended our IPE workshop (N=108). Pre- and post-workshop questionnaires on IPE were ﬁlled out by the students. After the workshop, workshop satisfaction was evaluated. The relationship between score changes in the questions on IPE and students’ satisfaction were assessed by regression analysis. The students’ responses to open-ended questions were analyzed qualitatively by explanatory sequential design. Results: The increase in scores for workshop necessity was related to satisfaction in medical and dental students. The medical students tended to discuss their own role in IPE. In the dental students, realizing the diﬀerences in perspective among professions was associated with satisfaction (OR: 6.3, 95% CI: 1.7, 23.9). In both male and female medical students, increased scores for workshop necessity,
Investigating the WRF Temperature and Precipitation Performance Sensitivity to Spatial Resolution over Central Europe

The grid size resolution effect on the annual and seasonal simulated mean, maximum and minimum daily temperatures and precipitation is assessed using the Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting model (ARW-WRF, hereafter WRF) that dynamically downscales the National Centers for Environmental Prediction’s final (NCEP FNL) Operational Global Analysis data. Simulations were conducted over central Europe for the year 2015 using 36, 12 and 4 km grid resolutions. Evaluation is done using daily E-OBS data. Several performance metrics and the bias adjusted equitable threat score (BAETS) for precipitation are used. Results show that model performance for mean, maximum and minimum temperature improves when increasing the spatial resolution from 36 to 12 km, with no significant added value when further increasing it to 4 km. Model performance for precipitation is slightly worsened when increasing the spatial resolution from 36 to 12 km while further increasing it to 4 km has minor effect. However, simulated and observed precipitation data are in quite good agreement in areas with precipitation rates below 3 mm/day for all three grid resolutions. The annual mean fraction of observed and/or forecast events that were correctly predicted (BAETS), when increasing the grid size resolution from 36 to 12 and 4 km, suggests a slight modification on average over the domain. During summer the model presents significantly lower BAETS skill score compared to the rest of the seasons.
Evaluation of the California Wastewater Reclamation Criteria using enteric virus monitoring data

The State of California's Wastewater Reclamation Criteria is under review and will be revised and expanded to include several new regulations on the use of reclaimed municipal wastewater. To provide a scientific basis for the evaluation of the existing and proposed Criteria, enteric virus monitoring data from secondary and tertiary effluents were evaluated. These virus data were obtained from special studies and monitoring reports, covering the period from 1975 to 1989, including ten municipal wastewater treatment facilities in California. Based on the enteric virus data from these reports, and using the current Criteria as a guide, four exposure scenarios were developed to determine the risk of waterborne enteric virus infection to humans as a consequence of wastewater reclamation and reuse. The exposure assessments included food crop irrigation, landscape irrigation for golf courses, recreational impoundments, and ground water recharge. The virus enumeration and the resulting risk assessments described in this paper provide a comparative basis for addressing the treatment and fate of enteric viruses in wastewater reclamation and reuse. The analyses show that annual risk of infection from exposure to chlorinated tertiary effluent containing 1 viral unit/100 L in recreational activities such as swimming or golfing is in the range of 10−2 to 10−7, while exposures resulting from food-crop irrigation or groundwater recharge with reclaimed municipal wastewater is in the range of 10−6 to 10−11. The risk analyses are also used to demonstrate that the probability of infection can be further mitigated by controlling exposure to reclaimed wastewater in the use area.
Educator perceptions of adult-student relationships, racial climate, and associated discipline techniques

ABSTRACT The overuse and misuse of exclusionary and punitive discipline practices in schools have been consistently linked to social and educational inequities across the globe, particularly for students of color. However, there is an ongoing need for a greater understanding of how school climate factors (e.g., adult-student relationships, racial climate) relate to the types of discipline approaches observed, particularly from the viewpoints of educators. The current study used hierarchical multiple regression analyses to investigate teacher, administrator, and staff (N = 168) survey responses from four junior high schools where discipline disproportionality for Latinx students had been previously established. Analyses explored how perceptions of adult-student relationships were associated with the perceived use of punitive and positive discipline practices and the potential moderating effect of racial climate. Results suggest that perceptions of more positive adult-student relationships were associated with less punitive discipline, but not meaningfully related to positive discipline approaches (i.e., social-emotional instruction, positive reinforcement). Additionally, racial climate was a significant moderator in the relation between adult-student relationships and punitive discipline techniques, enhancing the inverse relation between positive adult-student relationships and punitive discipline. Implications for theory, research, and practical application are discussed.
High-Level Renewable Energy Integrated System Frequency Control with SMES-Based Optimized Fractional Order Controller

The high-level penetration of renewable energy sources (RESs) is the main reason for shifting the conventional centralized power system control paradigm into distributed power system control. This massive integration of RESs faces two main problems: complex controller structure and reduced inertia. Since the system frequency stability is directly linked to the system’s total inertia, the renewable integrated system frequency control is badly affected. Thus, a fractional order controller (FOC)-based superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) is proposed in this work. The detailed modeling of SMES, FOC, wind, and solar systems, along with the power network, is introduced to facilitate analysis. The FOC-based SMES virtually augments the inertia to stabilize the system frequency in generation and load mismatches. Since the tuning of FOC and SMES controller parameters is challenging due to nonlinearities, the whale optimization algorithm (WOA) is used to optimize the parameters. The optimized FOC-based SMES is tested under fluctuating wind and solar powers. The extensive simulations are carried out using MATLAB Simulink environment considering different scenarios, such as light and high load profile variations, multiple load profile variations, and reduced system inertia. It is observed that the proposed FOC-based SMES improves several performance indices, such as settling time, overshoot, undershoot compared to the conventional technique.