Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transferring Writing Strategies Across Disciplines and Levels: Results from a Longitudinal Study of Writing

Resumen / Resumo Whether an educational system has a dedicated writing course, or students learn to write within discipline-specific courses, or if they are tutored in writing centers, writing teachers seldom know if students subsequently use the strategies they are taught. We report here the results from a three-year, longitudinal study of student writing that examined whether students transfer writing strategies they learn in a first-year writing class (FYW) at a U.S. research university to other genres in subsequent classes. Students’ cumulative first-year writing portfolios were coded for evidence of the course’s learning outcome strategies (SLOs). These results were then compared to written work completed in subsequent university courses and to brief questions students answered about the assignments as well as transcripts of participant focus groups. Findings suggest that students do transfer FYW SLOs to other genres, but also raised interesting questions about future research as well as about methodology in longitudinal studies. Ya sea que un sistema educativo implemente cursos de composición, cursos de escritura en las disciplinas, o tutorías en centros de escritura, siempre es difícil determinar si los estudiantes usan las estrategias que les han enseñado. Reportamos los resultados de un estudio longitudinal de tres años en una universidad de investigación en EEUU en el que examinamos si los estudiantes transfieren las estrategias que aprenden en un curso de primer año (FYW) a géneros y cursos posteriores. Los portafolios de escritura de los estudiantes se codificaron en términos de evidencia de los objetivos de aprendizaje del curso
Organisation and quality of falsework construction : a socio-economic study of the organisational structure of the construction industry with respect to the falsework production process and the quality of workmanship attained

The research attempted to relate quality of falsework erection to the organisation and competence of personnel involved. The study involved field investigation using a sample of fifty four sites throughout England And Wales where different types of falsework arrangements were being erected by a range of organisations and personnel. By the establishment of a rigorous method of evaluating quality of workmanship of falsework construction this was the first study which enabled quality standards to be compared across different types of falsework arrangements. In addition this study, combined with a sociological analysis, enabled an assessment to be made between organisation, competence and quality, which to the author's knowledge, has not been undertaken prior to this study. Subsequent analyses of the data, used the two models of organisation: the economic and occupational orders. These indicated that all sites essentially adopted the same methods and assumptions. Any attempts to formalise the management of the process of control of falsework, along the lines of the procedures outlined in the Code of Practice for Falsework, were limited in extent and their degree of success. The investigation found that the quality of falsework on building sites was generally of a lower standard than on civil engineering sites. This was found to be attributed to the competence of the manual workforce. This study addresses the organisation structure of the industry at large. Although peculiar, in that it leads to a temporary product, the falsework process may be regarded as a microcosm of the overall construction process. The conclusions presented in this thesis have relevance to the current issues of concern to the industry: competence, skill shortages, training and quality (including safety) and the implementation and efficacy of Quality Assurance schemes.
Bee Venom Prevents Mucin 5AC Production through Inhibition of AKT and SPDEF Activation in Airway Epithelia Cells

IL-13 induces mucus metaplasia, which causes airway obstruction in asthma. Bee venom (BV) and its components have shown anti-inflammatory effects in allergic diseases such as atopic dermatitis and asthma. In this study, we investigated the effect of BV on IL-13-induced mucus metaplasia through activation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT6), and regulation of SAM-pointed domain containing Ets-like factor (SPDEF) and forkhead box A2 (FOXA2) in the airway epithelia cell line A549. In A549 cells, BV (1.0 µg/mL) inhibited IL-13 (10 ng/mL)-induced AKT phosphorylation, increase in SPDEF protein expression, and decrease in FOXA2 protein expression—but not STAT6 phosphorylation. BV also prevented the IL-13-induced increase in mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) mRNA and protein expression. Moreover, we observed that inhibition of phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K)/AKT using LY294002 (50 µM) could reverse the alterations in FOXA2 and MUC5AC expression -by IL-13 and BV. However, LY294002 did not affect IL-13- and BV-induced changes in SPDEF expression. These findings indicate that BV inhibits MUC5AC production through the regulation of SPDEF and FOXA2. The inhibition of MUC5AC production through FOXA2 is mediated via the suppression of PI3K/AKT activation by BV. BV may be helpful in the prevention of mucus metaplasia in asthma.
User Access Control in Open Radio Access Networks: A Federated Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach

Targeting at implementing the next generation radio access networks (RANs) with virtualized network components, the open RAN (O-RAN) has been regarded as a novel paradigm towards fully open, virtualized and interoperable RANs. Through particularly introducing RAN intelligent controllers (RICs), machine learning (ML) can be unprecedentedly installed, adapting to various vertical applications and deployment environments without sophisticated planning efforts. However, the O-RAN also suffers two critical challenges of load balancing and frequent handovers in the massive base station (BS) deployment. In this paper, an intelligent user access control scheme with deep reinforcement learning (DRL) is proposed. To optimize the performance of distributed deep Q-networks (DQNs) trained by user equipments (UEs), a federated DRL-based scheme is proposed with a global model server installed in the RIC to update the DQN parameters. To further predictively train a global DQN with acceptable signaling overheads, the upper confidence bound (UCB) algorithm to select the optimal UE set and a dueling structure to decompose the DQN parameters are developed. With the proposed scheme, each UE effectively maximizes the long-term throughput and avoids frequent handovers. The simulation results well justify the outstanding performance of the proposed scheme over the-state-of-the-arts, to serve as references for the O-RAN standardization.
Skidding Characteristics of Pavement Surfaces Incorporating Steel Slag Aggregates

Steel slag, a by-product of the steel industry, has been used in road construction in South Yorkshire and its environs for the past 60 years. Local highway engineers have anecdotal evidence of good long-term antiskid performance from road surfacings that incorporate steel slag aggregate, and these materials have remained popular with users. In view of the move toward performance measurements for paving materials, a systematic study of the performance of paving materials incorporating slag has been set up as a combined industry-university project with the assistance of the Teaching Company Directorate. The evaluation of the skid resistance characteristics of steel slag aggregates and the skidding characteristics of pavement surfaces incorporating steel slag aggregate are reported. The research program developed a modified specimen preparation procedure that significantly reduced the scatter in polished stone value (PSV) results. The field data showed that all steel slag surfaces provided good long-term skid resistance and that the 14-mm chippings exceed the performance expectations of rock chippings with similar PSVs.
Phenomenological dark energy model with hybrid dynamic cosmological constant

We investigate dark energy (DE) by associating it with vacuum energy or cosmological constant Λ which is taken to be dynamic in nature. Our approach is phenomenological and falls within the domain of variable-Λ cosmology. However, motivated by quantum theory of metastable vacuum decay, we proposed a new phenomenological decay law of Λ(t) where Λ(t) is a superposition of constant and variable components viz Λ(t) = ΛC + Λv which is indicated by the word ‘hybrid dynamic’ in the title. By taking a simplified two-fluid scenario with the Universe consisting of DE and another major component, we found the solutions for three particular phenomenological expressions and made a parametrization of the model in terms of dilution parameter (the dilution parameter has been defined in the text as the exponent of scale factor in the expression of density of the other major component, representing the dilution of the component with the expansion of Universe in the presence of dynamic DE). For pressureless dust and dynamic DE Universe, we found the present day matter density (Ω m0) and dilution parameter (u) to be Ω m0 = 0.29 ± 0.03, u = 2.90 ± 0.54 at 1σ by analysing 580 supernova from Union 2.1 catalogue. The physical features of the model in regard to scale factor evolution, deceleration parameter, cosmic age has also been studied and parallels have been drawn with ΛCDM model. The status of cosmological problems in the model has also been checked which showed that the model solves the cosmological constant problem but the coincidence problem still exists in the model.
A system for multiplexed selection of aptamers with exquisite specificity without counterselection

Aptamers have proven to be valuable tools for the detection of small molecules due to their remarkable ability to specifically discriminate between structurally similar molecules. Most aptamer selection efforts have relied on counter-selection to eliminate aptamers that exhibit unwanted cross-reactivity to interferents or structurally similar relatives to the target of interest. However, because the affinity and specificity characteristics of an aptamer library are fundamentally unknowable a priori, it is not possible to determine the optimal counter-selection parameters. As a result, counter-selection experiments require trial-and-error approaches that are inherently inefficient and may not result in aptamers with the best combination of affinity and specificity. In this work, we describe a high-throughput screening process for generating high-specificity aptamers to multiple targets in parallel, while also eliminating the need for counter-selection. We employ a platform based on a modified benchtop sequencer to conduct a massively-parallel aptamer screening process that enables the selection of highly-specific aptamers against multiple structurally similar molecules in a single experiment, without any counter-selection. As a demonstration, we have selected aptamers with high affinity and exquisite specificity for three structurally similar kynurenine metabolites that differ by a single hydroxyl group in a single selection experiment. This process can easily be adapted to other small-molecule analytes, and should greatly accelerate the development of aptamer reagents that achieve exquisite specificity for their target analytes. Significance statement Aptamers offer the exciting potential to discriminate between structurally similar small molecules. However, generating such highly specific aptamers has been proven challenging using the conventional process of counter-selection. In this work, we describe a high-throughput screening platform that can characterize the specificity of millions of aptamers towards a group of structurally related molecules in a single experiment and generate exquisitely specific aptamers without any counter-selection. As exemplars, we generated aptamers with high affinity and specificity towards three structurally related kynurenine metabolites using our platform. Our platform can be readily adapted to other small molecule targets and should therefore accelerate the development of aptamer reagents with exquisite specificity.
Patients, Social Workers, and Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Barriers to Providing HIV Care in Community Pharmacies in the United States

Retaining people living with HIV (PLWH) in clinical care is a global priority to end the HIV epidemic. Community pharmacies in the United States have structural influences on the success or failure of retention in HIV care by supporting patients’ complex needs. However, to date, barriers to retention in care in the community pharmacy setting have not been examined beyond pharmacy services of medication therapy management. We utilized the patient-centered medical home model to examine the barriers to HIV care in the community pharmacy setting. We utilized semi-structured interviews to collect data from 15 participants: five PLWH, five community pharmacists, and five social workers from a midwestern state. Interview data were transcribed and analyzed using directed content analysis. Four key themes emerged regarding the barriers that impact utilization of community pharmacy services by PLWH: the perception of the role of community pharmacists in HIV care, perceptions of pharmacists’ HIV knowledge, perceptions of pharmacy operation and services, and negative experiences within the community pharmacy space. Participants’ perceptions of solutions for improving HIV care in the community pharmacy focused on improving the relationship between pharmacists and patients, ensuring that the community pharmacy is a private and safe space for patients, and having a diverse pharmacy staff that is equipped to take care of the diverse and marginalized HIV population, such as transgender people.
A novel capacitance formula of the microstrip line using synthetic asymptote

Capacitance formulas of the microstrip line are usually curve‐fitted from numerical solutions, resulting in multiple arbitrary coefficients and multiple equations. Such complexity in equations obscures their physical insight. By using the novel technique of synthetic asymptote, a single formula with just one arbitrary constant is obtained. In this paper, the formula for the line capacitance of arbitrary substrate dielectric constant, thickness, and strip width is investigated. Important parameters of the microstrip line, such as impedance and propagation, are inferred from this capacitance formula. The average errors of the calculated parameters are only 1%. The derived capacitance formula provides insight to enable us to distinguish between the parallel plate field and the fringe field and will find important application in microwave integrated circuit design. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 36: 327–330, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.10756
Energy Losses of Impacts With Friction

Many machine and mechanism processes are accompanied by impacts with friction. They arise by short-time contacts between two or more bodies, and they generate energy losses mainly due to friction in tangential contact directions. During the last two decades a couple of impact models based on the theory of rigid body contact were established connected with the names of Moreau, Fremond and Glocker, which all work quite satifactorily with respect to practical applications, although some examples indicate deviations requiring more investigations with respect to the impact models and the type of examples considered. We shall focus on Glocker’s model, for which some experimental verifications are available by Beitelschmidt. A missing link are energy considerations, which are available, but nevertheless do not provide us with a complete information for all possible cases. The paper tries to fill a bit this gap by founding the investigations on a combined phenomenological and theoretical basis.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
A 20-Gb/s Jitter-Tolerance-Enhanced Digital CDR With One-Tap DFE

A digital clock/data recovery (CDR) circuit with a one-tap speculative decision feedback equalizer (DFE) and a calibration circuit is presented. This CDR circuit is fabricated in 40-nm CMOS technology and its active area is 0.1 mm<sup>2</sup>. For a channel loss of −10.31dB at 10GHz and a 20Gb/s PRBS of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2^{7}-1$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, the measured bit error rate is less than 10<sup>−12</sup>. By the proposed calibration circuit, the measured high-frequency jitter tolerance is improved. The measured convergence time of the calibration circuit is less than <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$5~\mu \text{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The power of this CDR circuit is 55.4mW at 20 Gb/s, and the calculated energy efficiency is 2.77pJ/b.
Thirteen-level cascaded H-bridge inverter operated by generic phase shifted pulse-width modulation

The study proposes a new Generic phase shifted (PS) pulse-width modulation (PWM) approach. Four Generic PS PWM algorithms are proposed. The important advantage of the proposed approach is that it can be easily implemented with multilevel inverters of any topology. The first method produces the 13-level PS PWM signal from six 3-level phase disposition (PD) PWM signals whose carrier signals are PS from each other by the time interval of 1/(6 f carrier ). The second method produces the 13-level PWM signal also from six 3-level PD PWM signals, whereas their modulation and the carrier signals are both PS by the time interval of T modulation /(6 × 5), where T modulation is the modulation cycle time interval. The third method produces the 13-level PWM signal from three 5-level PD PWM signals, whereas their carrier signals are PS from each other by the time interval of 1/(3 f carrier ). The fourth method produces the 13-level PS PWM signal from three 5-level PD PWM signals, whereas their modulation and carrier signals are both PS by the time interval of T modulation /(3 × 5). The proposed methods are analysed and compared one to the other and to the conventional PD PWM method. The analysis is validated by extensive simulation results.
Theoretical Studies of InGaN/GaN Multiple Junction Solar Cell with Enhanced Tunneling Junction Diode

Recent developments in the growth of InGaN layers made it possible to grow a heavily doped p-type layer with Indium concentration up to 40%. In this work, a tunnel junction based on these developments has been designed with the use of Silvaco TCAD. This diode introduces a low resistive path to the current carriers, effectively adds voltages and encounters the parasitic effects of the stacked sub-cells. A double-junction solar cell is designed based on our interfacing tunnel diode and simulated results are presented in this paper. Remarkable results are achieved comparing to the existing InGaN based multijunction solar cells. A high Voc of ~3.1V and conversion efficiency greater than 17.5% has been achieved under AM 1.5. This paper also highlights and discusses the challenges in fabrication of such a highly efficient solar cell.
Climate Change and the Spatiotemporal Variation in Survival of a Long-Distance Migrant (White Stork, Ciconia ciconia) across Western Europe

The spatial variation in the strength of climate change may lead to different impacts on migratory birds using different breeding areas across a region. We used a long-term data series of White Stork ring recoveries to study the temporal and spatial variation of annual survival rates of White Stork across western Europe between 1960 and 2009 in relation to climatic and environmental conditions at their breeding and wintering grounds. White Stork survival was estimated from the Cormack–Jolly–Seber (CJS) model using a cohort-based analysis. Our results support that climate change has caused a gradual decline in the survival performance of western European White Storks during the study period. Both the shape and the strength of the relationship between climate warming and survival differ among different life-stages of the individual development, with juvenile White Storks more strongly affected. The decline in survival is particularly marked for those storks breeding in southern Europe. The large-scale effect of climatic conditions identified in this widespread long-distance migrant species represents a highly likely scenario for other migratory birds in Europe.
Risk Prediction for Gastric Cancer Using GWAS-Identifie Polymorphisms, Helicobacter pylori Infection and Lifestyle-Related Risk Factors in a Japanese Population

Simple Summary Gastric cancer remains the major cancer in Japan and worldwide. It is expected that practical intervention strategies for prevention, such as personalized approaches based on genetic risk models, will be developed. Here, we developed and validated a risk prediction model for gastric cancer using genetic, biological, and lifestyle-related risk factors. Results showed that the combination of selected GWAS-identified SNP polymorphisms and other predictors provided high discriminatory accuracy and good calibration in both the derivation and validation studies; however, the contribution of genetic factors to risk prediction was limited. The greatest contributor to risk prediction was ABCD classification (Helicobacter pylori infection-related factor). Abstract Background: As part of our efforts to develop practical intervention applications for cancer prevention, we investigated a risk prediction model for gastric cancer based on genetic, biological, and lifestyle-related risk factors. Methods: We conducted two independent age- and sex-matched case–control studies, the first for model derivation (696 cases and 1392 controls) and the second (795 and 795) for external validation. Using the derivation study data, we developed a prediction model by fitting a conditional logistic regression model using the predictors age, ABCD classification defined by H. pylori infection and gastric atrophy, smoking, alcohol consumption, fruit and vegetable intake, and 3 GWAS-identified polymorphisms. Performance was assessed with regard to discrimination (area under the curve (AUC)) and calibration (calibration plots and Hosmer–Lemeshow test). Results: A combination of selected GWAS-identified polymorphisms and the other predictors provided high discriminatory accuracy and good calibration in both the derivation and validation studies, with AUCs of 0.77 (95% confidence intervals: 0.75–0.79) and 0.78 (0.77–0.81), respectively. The calibration plots of both studies stayed close to the ideal calibration line. In the validation study, the environmental model (nongenetic model) was significantly more discriminative than the inclusive model, with an AUC value of 0.80 (0.77–0.82). Conclusion: The contribution of genetic factors to risk prediction was limited, and the ABCD classification (H. pylori infection-related factor) contributes most to risk prediction of gastric cancer.
Single mode dye-doped polymer photonic crystal lasers

Dye-doped polymer photonic crystal (PhC) lasers fabricated by combined nanoimprint and photolithography are studied for their reproducibility and stability characteristics. We introduce a phase shift in the PhC lattice that substantially improves the yield of single wavelength emission. Single mode emission and reproducibility of laser characteristics are important if the lasers are to be mass produced in, e.g., optofluidic sensor chips. The fabrication yield is above 85% with highly reproducible wavelengths (within 0.5%), and the temperature dependence on the wavelength is found to be −0.045 or −0.066 nm K-1, depending on the material.