Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Use of Statistical Investigation in Assessing Students' Performance in Statistics

The implementation of the K to 12 curricula brought changes in the Philippine Educational system. Among these is the inclusion of Statistics in the curriculum from preschool to Grade 11 of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) track. The purpose of this action research is to develop an understanding of students’ statistical thinking in order to help teachers improve their practice of teaching Statistics. Students’ level of statistical understanding and performance were mapped based on the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) framework. Each of the 11 groups of Grade 10 students performed a statistical investigation using different worksheets as their guide. The instruments used were observation field notes, students’ written reports, achievement test results, and interviews. Findings show a majority of students had low level of statistical understanding and performance. Students had difficulty in formulating research questions, used survey as the only means of collecting data, and had limited presentation of results and interpretation. The teacher's role was crucial in the development of students' understanding. The challenges and the merits gained from the experience served as motivation to the teacher-researcher to continue and improve the use of statistical investigation in the teaching practice.
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF AN ULTRA-LOW-BACKGROUND 14 GERMANIUM CRYSTAL ARRAY FOR HIGH EFFICIENCY AND COINCIDENCE MEASUREMENTS

Physics experiments, environmental surveillance, and treaty verification techniques continue to require increased sensitivity for detecting and quantifying radionuclides of interest. This can be done by detecting a greater fraction of gamma emissions from a sample (higher detection efficiency) and reducing instrument backgrounds. A current effort for increased sensitivity in high resolution gamma spectroscopy will produce an intrinsic high-purity germanium (HPGe) array designed for high detection efficiency, ultra-low-background performance, and useful coincidence efficiencies. The system design is optimized to accommodate filter paper samples, e.g., samples collected by the Radionuclide Aerosol Sampler/Analyzer (RASA). The system will provide high sensitivity for weak collections on atmospheric filter samples, as well as offering the potential to gather additional information from more active filters using gamma cascade coincidence detection. The current effort is constructing an ultra-low-background HPGe crystal array consisting of two vacuum cryostats, each housing a hexagonal array of 7 crystals on the order of 70% relative efficiency each. Traditional methods for constructing ultra-low-background detectors are used, including the use of materials known to be low in radioactive contaminants, the use of ultra pure reagents, clean room assembly, etc. The cryostat will be constructed mainly from copper electroformed into near-final geometry at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNN)L. Details of the detector design, simulation of efficiency and coincidence performance, HPGe crystal testing, and progress on cryostat construction are presented.
Effect of pulsed electromagnetic fields on the blood circulation in ischemic skin models: A pilot study

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) on the blood circulation in an ischemic skin model using a laser-speckle contrast-imaging technique. Four rats were divided into a control group and a PEMF group. A cranially based skin flap (5 × 10 cm2) was elevated on the back of the rat. The skin flap was not sutured and the blood velocity of the entire medial surface was measured for 90 min, using a laser-speckle contrast-imaging system. For the PEMF group, a PEMF (1 Hz, 10 mT) was applied to this area during the measurement. The blood flow in the control group continued decreasing from immediately after the operation until after 90 min. However, in the PEMF group, the blood flow decreased more than in the control group until after 60 min. The blood flow increased after 90 min, but it did not recover the initial condition. However, the blood flow in certain vessels in the PEMF group increased more than in the initial condition. In conclusion, we found that a PEMF (1 Hz, 10 mT) may improve blood circulation.
Support vector machines for the identification of real-time driving distraction using in-vehicle information systems

Abstract IVIS (In-vehicle Information System) is an important factor causing driver distraction. To study the driver distraction detection method when operating IVIS, the effectiveness of driving performance indicators in the identification of driving distraction was verified by the method of variance analysis. Forty participants were selected to conduct the driver distraction experiment when operating IVIS, and the data of driving performance indicators such as eye movement, speed, et al. were obtained. According to the driving performance data of IVIS, a real-time detection of distraction based on driving performance was built by using support vector machine, and three kernel functions of the model were conducted comparative analysis and validation. The results show that SVM models can effectively evaluate the degree of drivers’ distraction. At the same time, when the Radial Basis Function is used as a kernel function, the accuracy for recognizing driver distraction is 89.9%, which is higher than when the sigmoid polynomial kernel function and SAVE-IT model are used. The research could be applied in the design of adaptive in-vehicle systems and the evaluation of driving distraction, providing theoretical support and reference for the development of vehicle-mounted information systems and the management of driver distraction prevention measures. Highlights We verify the effectiveness of driving performance indicators as decision variables for driving distraction. We use driving performance indicators as inputs to a distraction detection algorithm. We examine changes in the level of information about driving distraction. SVMs method can be used to detect driving distraction during IVIS operations in real time. The accuracy for using Radial Basis Function to recognizing the driver’s level of distraction is higher than the Radial Basis Function.
Bite size of Caenorhabditis elegans regulates feeding, satiety and development on yeast diet

In the wild, the soil dwelling nematode Caenorhabditis elegans primarily feeds on microbes which are abundant in rotting vegetation. Recent published studies showthat several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial populations predominantly constitutes the C. elegans gut microbiome but surprisingly lack any yeast species. Here, we show that C. elegans display low satiety on yeast diet of Cryptococcus neoformans, C. laurentii or S. cerevisiae. We found that average size of budding yeast cells is much larger than E. coli cells. Yeast cells also cause pharyngeal obstruction, diminished feeding, and lower level of neutral lipids in adult C. elegans. Using scanning electron microscopy, we show that the mouth size of C. elegans larvae is smaller than average yeast cell. The larvae have no detectable yeast in their alimentary canal and they undergo delayed development on yeast diet. We propose that microbial cell size or bite size could be one of the crucial factors in regulation of feeding in C. elegans. IMPORTANCE The microbiome in C. elegans gut is composed of diverse genera of bacteria but it lacks yeast and other fungi. In this study, we provide evidence that yeast cell size is bigger than the mouth size of C. elegans larvae. We propose that “bigger than the bite’’ size of yeast cells is one possible reason for low satiety on yeast diet, reduced feeding, lower stored lipids and delayed development. The bite size threshold imposed by C. elegans mouth can, partly, explain absence of yeast in C. elegans native gut microbiome and “bite size’’ can be studied further as a determinant of microbiome diversity in other animals.
What is the Value of Scientific Knowledge? An Application to Global Warming Using the PRICE Model

Governments must cope with the enormous uncertainties about both future climate change as well as the costs and benefits of slowing climate change. This study analyses the value of improved information about a variety of geophysical and economic processes. The value of information is estimated using the "PRICE model" which is a probabilistic extension of earlier models of the economics of global warming. The study uses five different approaches to estimating the value of information about all uncertain parameters and about individual parameters. It is estimated that the value of early information is between $1 and $2 billion for each year that resolution of uncertainty is moved toward the present. We estimate that the most important uncertain variables are the damages of climate change and the costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Resolving the uncertainties about these two parameters would contribute 75 percent of the value of improved knowledge.
The Liberation Praxis of Disability Theology within the Apostolic Faith Mission of Zimbabwe: A Christian Theological Perspective

Despite the inter-disciplinary inclusivity of Disability Studies in the globe over time, the religious organization’s systems are still repulsive to accept the physical and psychosocial realities of people living with Disabilities. The growing literature that should be influencing religious perspectives about people with disabilities has not been able to extricate the dogmatic stereotypes and myths associated with Disability. As such, the prevalence of the diverse responses Disability from different contexts has compromised the ideological and material investment in Disability Studies. We used the combination of phenomenological observation and informal conversation qualitative methodologies to establish the experiences, feelings and behaviors of the Apostolic Faith Mission of Zimbabwe (AFMZ) congregants in Harare on the impact of the liberation praxis of Disability Theology. The findings showed that people with disabilities are most often marginalized, excluded and discriminated against and perpetually subjugated within the religious circles. This complexity of disabilities is exacerbated by the fluidity of policies, culture and religious ideologies when dealing with issues of disabilities. In conclusion, this study emphasized that Disability Theology within Christian tradition should function as a liberating praxis when dealing with issues of disabilities and being effectively used to enhance the participation of people with disabilities in all the religious liturgical activities.
HOW LIMNOLOGICAL VARIABLES INFLUENCE THE OCCURRENCE AND ABUNDANCE OF A VISUAL PREDATOR IN AN INVADED RIVER-FLOODPLAIN SYSTEM

Environmental characteristics of an invaded environment can predict the invasion success of a species, depending on its habits and life strategies. Cichla kelberi is a visual and voracious predator introduced in the Upper Parana River floodplain, an area that suffers with several upstream dams that caused many environmental changes over the years (e.g. increased water transparency). As this species is a pre-adapted species to environments that presents high water transparency, our main goal was to test the hypothesis that variables related to the underwater visibility would be important drivers of the successful invasion of C. kelberi in the Upper Parana River floodplain. We predict that turbidity (proxy of water transparency) is one of the major limnological determinants of occurrence and abundance of C. kelberi. Individuals of the invasive species and seven limnological variables were sampled quarterly between February 2000 and November 2018. This long-term data is part of the sixth site of the Brazilian Long Term Ecological Program (PELD). We fitted two regression models to all occurrence and abundance data (response variables) against the limnological variables (explanatory variables). For occurrence data, we fitted a Generalized Linear Mixed Model and for abundance data, we fitted a Linear Mixed Effects Model. The occurrence data of C. kelberi showed that turbidity and dissolved oxygen were the variables that most influenced the presence of this species, negatively and positively, respectively. The abundance data showed that dissolved oxygen and concentration of chlorophyll-a were the ones that most influenced the abundance of this species, negatively and positively, respectively. Our findings showed that besides turbidity, other limnological variables were also determinants for the occurrence and abundance of C. kelberi . Therefore, our results provided important information about the main environmental drivers of the establishment process of C. kelberi in the Upper Parana River floodplain.
Job satisfaction and burnout levels of early childhood teachers in the U.S. and Turkey

The present comparative study has investigated whether the fact that EC teachers in the U.S. and Turkey do the same job in different conditions exerts a positive and/or negative influence on their state of job satisfaction and burnout. The study was structured within correlational survey methodology. Participants were EC teachers recruited from the province of Konya in Turkey and Buffalo in New York State. When looked at job satisfaction and burnout levels of the participants in the U.S. and Turkey, results point to a significant difference in the mental burnout and internal satisfaction sub-dimensions in favor of the participants in Turkey. When job satisfaction and burnout levels were examined according to the number of years of occupational seniority, emotional burnout score averages, total burnout scores and external satisfaction score averages of the participants in Turkey were found to be higher than the participants in the U.S
Differential Transcript Expression Profiling of Sugarcane(co 99004) for Elevated Temperature Stress

Sugarcane is one of the world’s major C4 crops and mainly grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions for sugar and bioenergy. Climatological extremes including very high temperatures are predicted to have a catastrophic loss of crop productivity. Based on physiological and biochemical assays (data Unpublished), Co 99004 was selected as heat stress tolerant sugarcane variety. To investigate the differential expression of transcripts between control and heat stressed meristematic tissues of Co 99004, an RNA-Seq experiment was conducted. Meristematic tissues were collected from both control and treated samples at formative phase of the crop (150 days). Totally 2,308 transcripts were differentially expressed in the meristematic tissues of sugarcane in response to heat stress. About 458 transcripts and 305 transcripts were up and down regulated respectively in response to heat stress in sugarcane. There were common differential expressed transcripts detected between up and down regulated transcripts. Among the 458 up regulated transcripts, 328 transcripts were found to be commonly upregulated in both control and heat stress. Among the down regulated transcripts, 292 transcripts were down regulated in both treated and control. There were 130 transcripts exclusively upregulated during heat stress, while no transcripts were exclusively down regulated. The distribution of transcript expression level varied in different ranges of fold change. Transcripts coding for dehydration responsive element binding 1A like, grain softness protein, Malate synthase1, lipoxygenase and avenin were exclusively expressed during heat stress in sugarcane. These findings reveal novel target genes for subsequent research on the regulation of elevated temperature stress tolerance.
What to “make” of school: Revealing the conflicting institutional logics of grassroots making and formal education

Abstract This article explores the experiences and opinions of young makers and their parents regarding the integration of maker technologies, activities, and spaces into their schools. By utilizing institutional logic theory as an analytical lens, conflicts between the values, goals, and norms of making and schooling were revealed. The findings suggest that participants view engagement with making as peripheral to, or incommensurate with, the core institutional logic of formal education. While participants showed interest in formalizing maker education, they generally concluded that making could not, and perhaps should not, be integral to school. The authors believe that the findings will help educators address these conflicts and create more sustainable, integrated, and authentic maker-based programs.
Improvements in the Root Morphology, Physiology, and Anatomy of Platycladus orientalis Seedlings from Air-root Pruning

Air-root pruning (AP) has been identified as an effective technique for enhancing root growth and development. However, little information is available regarding the temporal changes in the root system of Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco under AP. We performed integrated morphological, physiological, and anatomical analyses of the roots in P. orientalis seedlings that had been air-root pruned for 120, 150, and 190 days. Our results found that the whole root length, number of root tips, and root surface area of AP seedlings at 120, 150, and 190 days were higher than those of the non–root-pruned (NP) seedlings (P < 0.05), but the average root diameter did not differ significantly between the treatments. Compared with NP treatment, AP increased the root length, surface area, number of tips, and specific root length of the ≤0.5 mm diameter roots in P. orientalis during the experimental periods (P < 0.05), but those of 0.5- to 1-mm-diameter roots were only increased on day 190 (P < 0.05). The AP plants also exhibited higher root vitality and proportion of live fine roots than the NP plants (P < 0.05). Our anatomical evaluation of the ≤0.5 mm roots and taproots revealed features that could account for the morphological differences found between the AP and NP plants. In conclusion, our results indicate that air-root pruning induced changes in the roots that promote the root system development in P. orientalis compared with the NP treatment during the experimental period. These results thus provide experimental evidence to support the use of AP in P. orientalis seedlings.
Role of DNA in Paternity Testing

Egyptian society suffers from increasing in the number of divorce cases which leads to different problems. One of them is the children’s street that is a result of paternity issues. Paternity cases are caused due to huge problems between married couples because women may be entering a sexual partner in her life so the child will be not the son of her husband. This study discusses the techniques that are used in paternity cases in order to detect the biological father and prove which technique is more accurate compared to other techniques. Blood groups were the first approach that was used to detect whether the case is inclusion or exclusion. The most common and accurate technique is a short tandem repeat. This technique depends on 16 short tandem repeat loci founded on the chromosomes. It also depends on the length of each locus. This study discusses 6 samples concerned with 2 paternity cases while in one case concerned father, mother and two children.
Application of Ground-Penetrating Radar and a Combined Penetrometer–Moisture Probe for Evaluating Spatial Distribution of Soil Moisture and Soil Hardness in Coastal and Inland Windbreaks

The development of a method to easily investigate the spatial distribution of soil moisture and soil hardness in tree windbreaks is necessary because these windbreaks often decline due to inappropriate soil moisture condition and soil compaction. This research examined the applicability of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and a combined penetrometer–moisture probe (CPMP) for evaluating the spatial distribution of soil moisture and soil hardness in four windbreaks with different soil characteristics. A GPR-reflecting interface was observed at a less permeable layer in a coastal windbreak and at a depth affected by soil compaction in an inland windbreak with andosol. The spatial distribution of the groundwater table could also be evaluated by examining the attenuation of GPR reflection in a coastal windbreak. In contrast, GPR was not applicable in an inland windbreak with peat because of high soil water content near the soil surface. The CPMP could detect vertical distributions of soil hardness and soil water content regardless of soil type. The CPMP was useful for interpreting GPR profiles, and GPR was useful for interpolating the information about the horizontal distribution of soil moisture and soil hardness between survey points made with the CPMP. Thus, the combination of GPR and a CPMP is ideal for examining the two-dimensional spatial distribution of soil moisture and soil hardness at windbreaks with soils for which both methods are applicable.
Barriers to Digital Literacy: Learning to Program

There are many challenges associated with teaching and learning computer programming for first year engineering students in non-computer based fields. This paper discusses barriers to acquiring the digital literacy needed to learn end-user programming, or programming as a tool to support activities in a non-computer science domain. The first barrier discussed is the gap in educational curriculum, where the first formal introduction to computer science and programming is found in pre-university preparatory courses. The second barrier is a lack of consensus in approaches to learning programming in online resources. A solution of integrating opportunities to use programming as a tool in existing course curriculum activities is proposed, as a way to improve programming accessibility and allow future engineers to use digital skills to innovate in non-computer based applications.
THE FOUNDATIONS AND NATURE OF SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK: AN OVERVIEW

The article provides the background for judging the current and future roles and functions of school social workers in South Africa. It covers the history and nature of South African school social work and the policy dictates that govern local practice, as well as the challenges faced by learners and the roles, tasks and functions practitioners could, and should, perform to address these challenges. Moreover, the article attempts to indicate the basis for the further development of this speciality within the local profession, as well as promote research in this field
A case of recto-vaginal obstetrical fistula treated by the Martius lamp, seen at Befelatanana Madagascar

It is a common and disabling pathology. Every year around the world, 50 000 to 100 000 women have obstetric fistula. Across the world, but especially in subSaharan Africa and Asia, it is generally estimated that more than 2 million young women live with untreated obstetric fistula. Millions of girls and women in resource-poor countries live in shame and isolation, often abandoned by their husbands and excluded by their families and communities. The most common surgical repairs the flap technique. The Martius flap technique is a technique that is rarely used in the treatment of complex rectovaginal fistulas and the most common indications for the Martius flap are iatrogenic fistulas, radiation fistulas and the failures of all other techniques.