Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Teaching German as a foreign language in a multilingual South African context

Arguments for the promotion of indigenous languages should not be used as reasons against teaching German in a multilingual South African context. Elevating the status of the indigenous languages can go hand in hand with continuing to teach German as a foreign language. This article argues that teachers of German as a foreign language could valuably affirm African languages in their classrooms. The article demonstrates the importance of taking cognizance of the learners’ first language in learning a foreign language. Knowing what to emphasise and which elements in the primary language are useful for more effective language learning to take place can be problematic for the teacher who is not familiar with the primary language of the learners. An error analysis of the written work of grade 10 and grade 12 learners of German as a foreign language provides valuable insights for teachers in South Africa who find that their classes are increasingly multilingual. It also suggests ways of providing opportunities to affirm African languages in the foreign language classroom.
The Higgs Quantum Space Dynamics Generating the Gravitational Dynamics in the Universe

The present work makes use of the recent experimental observations, achieved with the help of the tightly synchronized clocks in orbit, together with recent theoretical achievements of the Higgs theory to understand the gravitational physics. According to the Higgs theory, a Higgs quantum condensate, present throughout space, gives mass to the elementary particles by the Higgs mechanism. Hence, this Higgs Quantum Space (HQS) rules the inertial motion of the elementary particles and is locally the ultimate reference for rest and for motions. Many recent experimental observations demonstrate that this HQS is moving round earth and round the sun according to Keplerian velocity fields, consistent with the local main astronomical motions. Inertial motion of matter and propagation of light within this Keplerian velocity field is the quintessence of the gravitational physics. In the velocity field of the sun, the planets are locally very closely stationary with respect to the moving HQS. This explains the null results of the Michelson light anisotropy experiments. It also explains the absence of the gravitational time dilation, due to the solar gravitational potential, on the GPS clocks, which is predicted by General Relativity, but not observed. Inertial motion of bodies within the earth's Keplerian velocity field gives origin to the gravitational acceleration on earth. In the current theories, space itself is idle and plays no active role in the gravitational dynamics. These theories ascribe the whole dynamics to interaction forces, which leads to the actual persistent troubles with gravitation.
A Mixed-Integer Fractional Optimization Approach to Best Subset Selection

We consider the best subset selection problem in linear regression—that is, finding a parsimonious subset of the regression variables that provides the best fit to the data according to some predefined criterion. We are primarily concerned with alternatives to cross-validation methods that do not require data partitioning and involve a range of information criteria extensively studied in the statistical literature. We show that the problem of interest can be modeled using fractional mixed-integer optimization, which can be tackled by leveraging recent advances in modern optimization solvers. The proposed algorithms involve solving a sequence of mixed-integer quadratic optimization problems (or their convexifications) and can be implemented with off-the-shelf solvers. We report encouraging results in our computational experiments, with respect to both the optimization and statistical performance. Summary of Contribution: This paper considers feature selection problems with information criteria. We show that by adopting a fractional optimization perspective (a well-known field in nonlinear optimization and operations research), it is possible to leverage recent advances in mixed-integer quadratic optimization technology to tackle traditional statistical problems long considered intractable. We present extensive computational experiments, with both synthetic and real data, illustrating that the new fractional optimization approach is orders of magnitude faster than existing approaches in the literature.
Understanding and supporting search for scholarly knowledge

In the last decade, scholarly communication have been greatly transformed by the web, moving research dissemination away from printed papers in journals to digital content that can be easily posted on the Internet. This technical factor along with a larger scientific community makes it really hard to find relevant content for research in the ever growing sea of publications. With the goal of gaining insights on how researchers find relevant knowledge, we have interviewed a small group of researchers and then opened an online survey to a larger group, asking them to explain how they had found references for one of their papers. The results of this study suggest that finding scientific knowledge has a strong social component, with the different researchers’ social networks (e.g., coauthors, people met at conferences) accounting for a important percentage of the source of the references. In this paper we report on this study and compare our results with the evidence found in a dataset of 5 × 10 authors with their publications and references. We take these results and analyze different approaches for incorporating the social component into search and recommendation of scientific publications.
An Identical Inputs-Adaptive Filter for the Detection of Signal’s Breakdown Points

Detection of the signal’s breakdown points is important for many science and engineering applications. Numerous signal processing methods have been used for this purpose. Of these, the adaptive prediction is simple and easy to implement, however; its simplicity and robustness are hindered by the required delay in the input signal. This paper introduces an efficient alternative to the adaptive prediction in the application of breakdown and inflection points’ detection. Unlike the adaptive predictor, the proposed filter doesn’t require a delay in the primary input to produce the filter’s reference input, which significantly improves the computation speed and overcome the problem of performance sensitivity to the delay value. The Normalized Least-Mean Squares algorithm was used to realize both the adaptive predictor and the proposed filter. The filters were implemented in LabVIEW system design software. The performances of the filters were studied using simulated signals and the simulation results were verified using an experimental signal. The simulation and experimental results showed that the proposed filter efficiently detects the signal breakdowns. Furthermore, the simplicity of the filter offered a significant improvement in the computation speed.
Oscillatory dissipative conjugate heat and mass transfer in chemically reacting micropolar flow with wall couple stress: A finite element numerical study

High temperature non-Newtonian materials processing provides a stimulating area for process engineering simulation. Motivated by emerging applications in this area, the present article studies time-dependent free convective flow of a chemically reacting micropolar fluid from a vertical plate oscillating in its own plane adjacent to a porous medium. Thermal radiative, viscous dissipation and wall couple stress effects are included. The Rosseland diffusion approximation is used to model uni-directional radiative heat flux in energy equation. Darcy’s model is adopted to mimic porous medium drag force effect. The governing two-dimensional conservation equations are normalized with appropriate variables and transformed into a dimensionless, coupled, nonlinear system of partial differential equations under the assumption of low Reynolds number. The governing boundary value problem is then solved under physically viable boundary conditions numerically with a finite element method based on the weighted residual approach. Graphical illustrations for velocity, micro-rotation (angular velocity), temperature, and concentration are obtained as functions of the emerging physical parameters, i.e. thermal radiation, viscous dissipation, first-order chemical reaction parameter, etc. Furthermore, friction factor (skin friction), surface heat transfer and mass transfer rates have been tabulated quantitatively for selected thermo-physical parameters. A comparison with previously published article is made to check the validity and accuracy of the present finite element solutions under some limiting cases and excellent agreement is attained. Additionally, a mesh independence study is conducted. The model is relevant to reactive polymeric materials processing simulation.
A Search for Factors that Predict the Efficacy of Viscosupplementation in Knee Osteoarthritis

Objective: Previous research demonstrates inconsistent effects of hyaluronate (HA) viscosupplementation on patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this study was to evaluate factors that predict clinical response to a single intra-articular injection of Hylan GF-20. Methods: This was an observational study of 55 patients with knee OA, scheduled to receive intra-articular injections of Hylan GF-20. These patients met the institution’s guidelines for use of viscosupplementation, which entails failure/intolerance of medical management of OA. At baseline, patients completed a series of questionnaires, including the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression score. Questionnaires were repeated at three months post-injection. A clinical responder was someone with a change in KOOS score which exceeded the mean minimal detectable change (MDC) values calculated based on test-retest reliability coefficients reported in four prior studies. Hypothesized predictors of response included PHQ-9 score, baseline visual analog scale (VAS) pain score, age, body mass index (BMI), and Kellgren score. Results: There were 35 responders and 20 non-responders. There were no statistically significant differences between responders and non-responders for any of the primary predictors. There were no differences for secondary predictors, including history of knee injury or smoking, prior HA injection, prior intra-articular corticosteroid injection, or location of OA. There was a moderate negative correlation between age and change in total KOOS score (r = —0.32, p = 0.01). Conclusions: Our research did not confirm previous predictors of response to hyaluronate injections, and highlighted the need for prospective studies in order to answer this question.
Dynamic cantilever magnetometry of individual CoFeB nanotubes

We investigate single CoFeB nanotubes with hexagonal cross section using dynamic cantilever magnetometry (DCM). We develop both an analytical model based on the Stoner-Wohlfarth approximation and a broadly applicable numerical framework for analyzing DCM measurements of magnetic nanostructures. Magnetometry data taken at 4.2 K show the presence of a uniformly magnetized configuration at high external fields with mu M-0(s) = 1.3 +/- 0.1 T and nonuniform configurations at low fields. In this low-field regime, comparison between numerical simulations and DCM measurements supports the existence of flux-closure configurations. Crucially, evidence of such configurations is only apparent because of the sensitivity of DCM to single nanotubes, whereas conventional measurements of ensembles are often obscured by sample-to-sample inhomogeneities in size, shape, and orientation.
Use of Cellulose Filters to Isolate Naturally Occurring Campylobacter spp. from Contaminated Retail Broiler Meat and Survival of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in Retail Broiler Meat

ii Acknowledgments . iv List of Tables . vi List of Figures . vii List of Abbreviations . viii Literature Review . 1 Use of Cellulose Filters to Isolate Naturally Occuring Campylobacter spp. From Contaminated Retail Broiler Meat . 13 Survival of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in Retail Broiler Meat . 37 References . 48
Phonological skills as predictor of reading success: An investigation of emergent bilingual Northern Sotho/English learners

The relationship between phonological skills and reading has not been studied extensively in the African languages spoken in South Africa. This study focuses on phonological skills and reading in emergent bilingual Northern Sotho/English learners. Fifty Grade 3 learners (all native speakers of Northern Sotho) were tested on non-word repetition skills, syllable awareness, phonological working memory and reading. The learners fell into two groups: group 1 attended a school where English was the medium of instruction from the first grade, while group 2 attended a school where literacy instruction took place in Northern Sotho for the first three years of schooling. The results indicate that there is a significant correlation between phonological skills and reading in Northern Sotho. Furthermore, group 2 performed significantly better on all of the phonological measures (with the exception of phonological working memory) and reading measures. The findings suggest that a complete lack of mother tongue instruction can influence phonological and literacy development negatively. The study also suggests that the absence of mother tongue literacy instruction causes stagnation in the development of phonological processing skills in the mother tongue.
Towards Service-oriented Cognitive Analytics for Smart Service Systems

The development of analytical solutions for smart services systems relies on data. Typically, this data is distributed across various entities of the system. Cognitive learning allows to find patterns and to make predictions across these distributed data sources, yet its potential is not fully explored. Challenges that impede a cross-entity data analysis concern organizational challenges (e.g., confidentiality), algorithmic challenges (e.g., robustness) as well as technical challenges (e.g., data processing). So far, there is no comprehensive approach to build cognitive analytics solutions, if data is distributed across different entities of a smart service system. This work proposes a research agenda for the development of a serviceoriented cognitive analytics framework. The analytics framework uses a centralized cognitive aggregation model to combine predictions being made by each entity of the service system. Based on this research agenda, we plan to develop and evaluate the cognitive analytics framework in future research.
Rheological properties of wheat flour doughs in steady and dynamic shear: effect of water content and some additives.

Dynamic tests and steady flow measurements were made with a controlled stress rheometer to study rheological properties of wheat flour doughs and to examine how rheological properties are related to dough composition (water content, oxidizing and reducing agents, emulsifiers, etc.). Water added to doughs has mainly strong plasticizing effects, but it probably does not change dough structure. The phase angle tgδ, the shift parameter a, related to the extended Cox-Merz rule, and the power law exponent n are practically independent of water content, and these parameters may reflect the structure level of the protein network. Ascorbic acid has strengthening effects, and lecithins have softening effects, but dough structure is little modified by the presence of these components. Beyond 50 ppm, glutathione has strong softening effects, but it simultaneously affects dough structure. In all cases, when dough composition varies, either tgδ, a, or n remain constant, or they vary simultaneously. Results obtained with glutathione lead us to assume that these parameters are closely interrelated
SEX RATIOS, POLYGYNY, AND THE VALUE OF WOMEN IN MARRIAGE––A BECKERIAN APPROACH

Gary Becker's theories of marriage were mentioned as one of the reasons why he was awarded the Nobel prize in economics in 1992 and were emphasized by Becker: his first article on the family published in a major journal (Becker 1973) is a theory of marriage and the chapters on marriage in his influential Treatise on the Family (Becker 1981, 1991) come first. Becker's theoretical models of marriage all view marriages as small non-profit firms engaged in household production, thereby featuring one of the basic tenets of the New Home Economics that Becker pioneered with Jacob Mincer while both were at Columbia University in the 1960s (see Becker 1960, 1965; Mincer 1962, 1963).
Working capital management and profitability of wine firms in France: an empirical analysis

We estimated the impact of cash conversion cycle (CCC) on the return on assets of wine firms in France over the 2003-2014 period. After controlling for factors such as size, growth, tangibility and leverage, we found that CCC had a negative impact on the profitability of French wine firms, suggesting an aggressive working capital management strategy. However, there was no optimal level of CCC allowing firms to maximise their profitability. On the other hand, French wine firms should grant a payment delay to their customers while reducing the delay to sell stocked wines. They should also lengthen the payment delay to their suppliers while considering potential borrowing cost and potential discounts for early payments. A robustness check on two different sub-periods shows that the recent global financial crisis had a significant impact on the relationship between working capital management and the profitability of wine firms in France.
Spiritual Struggles among Atheists: Links to Psychological Distress and Well-Being

Religious and spiritual struggles (R/S struggles)—tension or conflicts regarding religious or spiritual matters—have been robustly linked to greater psychological distress and lower well-being. Most research in this area has relied on samples consisting predominantly of participants who believe in god(s). Limited research has examined R/S struggles among atheists, generally conflating them with agnostics and other nontheists. This study investigated the prevalence of R/S struggles among atheists and compared atheists to theists in two samples (3978 undergraduates, 1048 Internet workers). Results of a multilevel model showed that atheists experience less demonic, doubt, divine, moral, and overall R/S struggles than theists, but similar levels of interpersonal and ultimate meaning struggles. Correlation and regression analyses among atheists demonstrated links between moral, ultimate meaning, and overall R/S struggles and greater distress (depression and anxiety symptoms) as well as lower well-being (life satisfaction and meaning in life). Even after controlling neuroticism, ultimate meaning struggles continued to predict lower well-being and higher distress across samples; moral struggles also predicted distress independently. This study demonstrates the relevance of R/S struggles to atheists and reinforces the applicability of previous results to atheist samples, but also highlights substantial differences between atheists and theists in certain R/S struggles.
A Computational Focus For Robotics Education

This paper details two undergraduate robotics projects that highlight sophisticated, accessible interactions with spatial representations and computational reasoning for ground and aerial navigation. The results suggest that robotics education may now have the resources – both in hardware and software scaffolding – to bring computationally focused curricula to a wide audience. We argue that the field's computational facets will emerge its empowering force
A Partial PPA block-wise ADMM for Multi-Block Constrained Separable Convex Optimization

Abstract: The alternating direction method of multipliers(ADMM) has been proved to be effective for solving two-block separable convex optimization subject to linear constraints. However, it is not necessarily convergent when it is extended to multiple-block case directly. One remedy could be regrouping multiple-block variables into two groups firstly and then adopting the classic ADMM to the resulting model. The two grouped variables are updated in a GaussCSeidel scheme, while the variables within each group are updated in a Jacobi scheme, which could make it very suitable for parallel computing. However, a special proximal term is added to each subproblem in order to derive convergence, which may slow down the convergence. In this paper, we propose a partial PPA ADMM, which only requires the proximal term in the subproblems of the first group, i.e., the subproblems in the second group are intact. At the end of each iteration, we need to do an extension on the variables with fixed step size. As the subproblems in the second group are unchanged, the resulting sequence should yield better quality as well as potentially faster convergence. Compared with several state-of-the-art multi-block ADMM, preliminary numerical experiments on solving both synthetic and real problems show that our proposed method is effective and promising.
NEW DATA ABOUT THE PRESENCE AND ABSENCE OF THE EXTERNAL FUNDAMENTAL SYSTEM IN ARCHOSAURS

A presenca das lamelas circunferenciais externas (= external fundamental system - EFS ) nos ossos dos tetrapodes, indica uma finalizacao efetiva de qualquer crescimento periosteal significante. Embora esteja presente em alguns Archosauromorpha, a ideia de um crescimento continuo nesse grupo ainda permanece. Aqui sao apresentados novos dados sobre presenca de EFS em Neosuchia, um clado composto por crocodilomorfos terrestres, e suas implicacoes atraves da historia evolutiva dos arcossauros. Utilizamos uma costela parcialmente completa, referida a um crocodilo dirossaurideo (CAV 0014-V). O cortex era composto por tecido zonal-lamelar, rede vascular com osteons primarios e canais vasculares simples, dispostos longitudinalmente. Osteons secundarios ocorrem no cortex inferior e no tecido esponjoso, marcando o remodelamento osseo. Periosticamente foi detectada a presenca de EFS , indicando o final do crescimento assintotico do especime e caracterizando-o como esqueleticamente maduro. Seu arranjo micro estrutural condiz com um animal de metabolismo e crescimento lentos, o que ja e conhecido para taxons evolutivamente relacionados a Dyrosauridae. Ate o momento foi registrado EFS em alguns Pseudosuchia, Crocodilomorpha, Pterosauria e Dinosauria, identificando o crescimento determinado em arcossauros desde os grupos extintos ate taxons atuais. Novas evidencias sobre EFS adicionariam suporte a hipotese de crescimento determinado como regra e nao excecao nos Archosauria. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.14295/cad.cult. cienc.v14i1. 932