Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
S-STEM: An Educational Model for Retention at an Urban Institution

This paper analyzes results of the NSF S-STEM grant “ Advancing Student Futures in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics ” awarded in 2015 to New York City College of Technology (City Tech). City Tech is a minority and Hispanic serving institution ranked third in the nation by NSF in the number of associate-level STEM degrees awarded to Black students, 23 rd in degrees awarded to male students, and 48 th in degrees awarded to women. During the past two years (fall 2015 - spring 2017) we have provided ninety-five scholarships. The grant program provides comprehensive support structures at critical junctures including: financial assistance; mandatory academic advisement per semester and end-of-the-semester guidance meetings; exposure to undergraduate research opportunities in various STEM fields campus wide, within, and outside City Tech; personal one-to-one need-based communication; and STEM field trips, seminars, and peer-led workshops. Through these interventions, we observe notable improvement in student retention and an increase in undergraduate research activities. Additionally, we have been able to maintain a continuous cohort. By encouraging our current and former scholars to engage in the wider professional and academic community (by opening and maintaining LinkedIn accounts, for instance) and through their participation in various research activities, we also observe student growth in establishing their professional STEM identity.
Cellulose-Based Bio- and Nanocomposites: A Review

Cellulose macro- and nanofibers have gained increasing attention due to the high strength and stiffness, biodegradability and renewability, and their production and application in development of composites. Application of cellulose nanofibers for the development of composites is a relatively new research area. Cellulose macro- and nanofibers can be used as reinforcement in composite materials because of enhanced mechanical, thermal, and biodegradation properties of composites. Cellulose fibers are hydrophilic in nature, so it becomes necessary to increase their surface roughness for the development of composites with enhanced properties. In the present paper, we have reviewed the surface modification of cellulose fibers by various methods. Processing methods, properties, and various applications of nanocellulose and cellulosic composites are also discussed in this paper.
The Internet of Things: A Main Source of Big Data Analytics

IoT is regarded as a platform or a framework for the objects/devices to interact with one another in an electronically manner with the world around. Not only the humans can communicate with one another using system, but rather IoT had made possible for the system to communicate with each other too. It is being enabled by the presence of other independent technologies which make fundamental components of IoT. One of such technology is Big Data Analytics. Big data has emerged as a connecting point between the objects on the internet. Massive data is generated in day to day life and data mining has played a vital role in converting the data to information useful for the end users. But as the amount of data kept on increasing, it became difficult to extract useful information from it. It is when Big Data Analytics came into picture. In today’s world, various sensors interact over a wireless network by exchanging huge amount of data with one another. It is with the help of IoT, designing of a good infrastructure for storing and managing such huge amount of sensor data became possible. It resulted in an easy search and utilization of sensor data by the users. This paper deals with the so called relationship between IOT and Big data. In particular, the focus of the paper will be in how the things in IOT generate massive data (Big Data) and if both combined then how it can lead to wonders in real world. Keywords : Internet of things, Big Data Analytics, Hadoop, Big Data, Unstructured Data
Secure Live Virtual Machine Migration by Proposed Security Center

In this paper, we propose a Security Center (SC) to provide a secure environment for Live Virtual Machine (VM) migration which is defined as the movement of a virtual machine from one physical host to another. In the cloud systems, the migration has appeared based on the need of transferring VMs among resources. At most, researchers have focused on the performance of migration process; whereas the security aspects in migration have not been fully explored. So, we show how our proposed mechanism analyzes and fulfills the major security requirements for secure live VM migration in cloud environments to become protected against different types of passive and active attacks.
Approximate Scalar Finite-Element Analysis of Anisotropic Optical Waveguides with Off-Diagonal Elements in a Permittivity Tensor

An approximate scalar finite-element program for the analysis of anisotropic optical waveguides having a permittivity tensor with nonzero off-diagonal elements is described. In this approach, the nonphysical spurious solutions which are included in the solutions of the earlier vectorial finite-element method in an axial-components formulation do not appear. Numericaf examples On an anisotropic dielectric rectangular wave-guide composed of a uniaxial medium are given. Our results for the waveguide whose optic axis lies in the plane ( xy-plane) normal to the direction (z-axis) of propagation agree well with the results of the vectorial wave analysis using the variational method. We also demonstrate the application of this approach by analyzing the anisotropic dielectric rectangular waveguide whose optic axis lies in the xz - or yz -plane.
What's Entertainment? Notes Toward a Definition

Entertainment has been a part of all cultures, from the Chauvet Cave paintings to the iPad. For Rothman, it is "the storehouse of national values" (xviii). Perhaps nowhere is that observation more apt than in the United States, a nation that Gabier terms a "republic of entertainment" (11). Many Americans seem to feel entitled to high-quality entertainment (Zillmann and Vorderer viii), and more and more entertainment jostles for their attention (Wolf 46). Zillmann goes so far as to predict that entertainment "will define, more than ever before, the civilizations to come" ("Coming of Media En tertainment" 18). The importance of entertainment can be gauged by a study conducted by Brock and Livingston (259). They asked 115 American undergraduates how much money they would require in order to give up television for the rest of their lives. More than half said they would demand over a million dollars, with several naming amounts exceeding a billion dol lars.
Combined Particle Swarm Optimization and Fuzzy Inference System model for estimation of current-induced scour beneath marine pipelines

In this paper the capability of PSO is employed to deal with the ANFIS inherent shortcomings to extract optimum fuzzy If-Then rules in noisy area arisen from application of nondimentional variables to estimate scouring depth. In the model, a PSO algorithm is employed to optimize the clustering parameters controls fuzzy If-Then rules in subtractive clustering while another PSO algorithm is employed to tune the fuzzy rules parameters associated with the fuzzy If-Then rules. The PSO models objective function is RMSE by which the model attempts to minimize the error of scouring depth estimation with respect to its generalization capability. To evaluate the model performance, the experimental data sets are used as training, checking and testing data sets. In the dimensional model the mean current velocity, mean grain size, water depth, pipe diameter, shear boundary velocity while in the nondimensional model the pipe, boundary Reynolds numbers, Froude number and normalized depth of water are set as the as input variables. The results show that the model provides an alternative approach to the conventional empirical formulas. It is evident that the PSO-FIS-SO is superior to ANFIS model in the noisy area that the input and output variables slightly related to each other.
MULTI-SCALE HABITATASSOCIATION OF THE ORTOLAN BUNTING EMBERIZA HORTULANA IN A SUB-MEDITERRANEANAREA IN SLOVENIA

—Multi-scale habitat association of the ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana in a subMediterranean area in Slovenia. The habitat selection of the ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana has been examined on multiple spatial scales. Habitat variables of territories and random points were measured in the field on a 25 m radius and from GIS layers on scales of 25 m, 100 m, 500 m and 1,000 m radius. Habitat variables were analysed by a generalized linear model. The ortolan bunting was found on a 25 m radius in areas with a few black pines, with low grass and open patches within the herbaceous layer. On a 100 m radius scale, the probability of occurrence was highest in areas with meadows with large trees, permanent and partly overgrown meadows, and small areas of forests. On a 500 m radius scale, the occurrence of the ortolan bunting was negatively affected by urban areas and their infrastructure and by forests, and positively by partly overgrown meadows and permanent meadows with or without large trees. On a 1,000 m radius, permanent meadows with or without large trees, and the absence of large urban areas and infrastructure positively affected the presence of the ortolan bunting. In conclusion, factors influencing habitat selection by the ortolan bunting differ according to spatial scale. On the territorial level, its presence was only influenced by cover of open and partly overgrown meadows and by forest, while on larger scales it was also affected by the cover of urban areas. Factors influence habitat selection differently on different scales; a forest influences the probability of a territory positively on a small scale while negatively on larger scales. Factors influencing the habitat selection positively on a larger scale are becoming less common and therefore fewer suitable sites are available for the ortolan bunting in Kras.
Bloom Filter-Based Secure Data Forwarding in Large-Scale Cyber-Physical Systems

Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) connect with the physical world via communication networks, which significantly increases security risks of CPSs. To secure the sensitive data, secure forwarding is an essential component of CPSs. However, CPSs require high dimensional multiattribute and multilevel security requirements due to the significantly increased system scale and diversity, and hence impose high demand on the secure forwarding information query and storage. To tackle these challenges, we propose a practical secure data forwarding scheme for CPSs. Considering the limited storage capability and computational power of entities, we adopt bloom filter to store the secure forwarding information for each entity, which can achieve well balance between the storage consumption and query delay. Furthermore, a novel link-based bloom filter construction method is designed to reduce false positive rate during bloom filter construction. Finally, the effects of false positive rate on the performance of bloom filter-based secure forwarding with different routing policies are discussed.
Apparatus for Measuring Human Body Volume

A means for measuring the density or the volume of the whole body is essential to reliable estimates of fat in humans. Although Archimedes' principle has often been employed to determine density directly, a method that is less demanding on the subject has been developed for measuring body volume. The apparatus is a closed‐circuit system consisting of two chambers and utilizing a gas‐dilution principle. With the subject in one chamber and helium in the other, the gases in the system are mixed. The helium concentration, measured by thermal conductivity, is related to the tissue volume displacement of the subject. The standard deviation in volume determination is estimated as ±0.12 liter.
Report on Saving Potentials in Energy Transmission and Distribution

This report analyses technically the energy saving potentials in electricity grids including both transmission and distribution parts. The focus is on technical active loss reduction in electricity grid through different sitings of flexible power generators (like gas turbines). For the study a simplified triangular shape grid configuration is used containing three nodes connected through three lines each with other. The study area is considered the North Sea due to the relatively high wind power potential. The study results indicate that active losses could be reduced as much as by 40% through optimization of the electricity system topology.
Using mixed methods to capture complexity in an empirical project about teachers' beliefs and history education in Austria

In international methodological literature, and in the literature about research in education in general, mixed-methods research (MMR) has been identified as a means to get deeper and broader insights, and to validate findings in research projects. Nevertheless, so far there has not been much reflection upon mixed methods in the history education research community. In this article, some advantages of the concept will be presented, drawing on international methodological literature. It will ask how these advantages may be used in research projects in history education to get richer findings. This paper will present an Austrian mixed methods project, and will reflect upon the experience of using qualitative and quantitative methodology in it. The Competence and Academic Orientation in History Textbooks (CAOHT) and Epistemic Beliefs of Austrian History Teachers after the Paradigm Shift to Historical Thinking (EBAHT) projects researched the beliefs of history teachers and history teaching nearly a decade after the reform that changed the Austrian history curriculum from content orientation to domainspecific competence orientation (historical thinking). Sequential qualitative–quantitative triangulation study has made it possible to capture some of the complexity of such an undertaking, more than would have been possible using a mono-method design. To base a survey on a previous qualitative study can help to interpret the context of the statistical results, put into perspective the answers and see relations that are difficult to detect when relying on a mono-method design. Also, when there is corroborating evidence from qualitative and quantitative data, conclusions may be drawn with more confidence, and generalization of qualitative findings becomes possible.
A Lattice Boltzmann Model for Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media

In this paper, a lattice Boltzmann (LB) model with double distribution functions is proposed for two-phase flow in porous media where one distribution function is used for pressure governed by the Poisson equation, and the other is applied for saturation evolution described by the convection-diffusion equation with a source term. We first performed a Chapman-Enskog analysis, and show that the macroscopic nonlinear equations for pressure and saturation can be recovered correctly from present LB model. Then in the framework of LB method, we develop a local scheme for pressure gradient or equivalently velocity, which may be more efficient than the nonlocal second-order finite-difference schemes. We also perform some numerical simulations, and the results show that the developed LB model and local scheme for velocity are accurate and also have a second-order convergence rate in space. Finally, compared to the available pore-scale LB models for two-phase flow in porous media, the present LB model has more potential in the study of the large-scale problems.
Strategic Synergies and Perspectives of Their Evaluation In the Process of Strategic Analysis

Abstract Although the subject of synergy has been explored for a long time, there are many indications that it is still gaining in importance, in the field of economics. The phenomenon of synergy seems particularly important in the field of M&A’s, alliances and the development of new organizational forms of enterprises. Synergy effects are most often evaluated from the operational and very rarely in the strategic, structural perspectives. The aim of the article is to identify and systematize the most important perspectives for synergy effect evaluation in the process of strategic analysis. The identified perspectives will be the starting point of the further research on criteria selection for synergy effects evaluation and will be one of the components of a more complex framework of the process of resource analysis. The research was conceptual, based on a literature review in the fields of methodology of strategic analysis, strategic management and Resource-Based View (RBV) approach. The identification of the structural conditions for synergy effect evaluation, requires focusing on: the subjective scope of the synergy effect analysis, key areas of strategy content and context, with the important role of strategic resources.
A Heuristic for extractive agent flow rate in extractive distillation

Distillation is the most widely used separation process for liquids separation in the industry. Even when the volatilities of the mixture are not favorable, then enhanced distillation is used. Extractive distillation is the enhanced distillation most widely used that consists in introducing a large flow rate of a third compound called extractive agent with a high boiling point that it is collected at the column bottoms and recovered in another column and reused again. Some heuristics are available for distillation column design, e.g. the optimum reflux is around 1.2 to 1.35 times the minimum reflux (or 1.1-1.2 times for refrigerated systems). Unfortunately, there is not a similar heuristic to determine the optimum extractive agent flow rate. Based on a literature review of rigorous simulations of extractive distillation processes, a heuristic is proposed that indicates that the optimum extractive distillation flow rate is which provides a Distillation Sequence Efficiency at 78 % of its maximum value. The maximum value is calculated assuming infinite flow rate of extractive agent. The Distillation Sequence Efficiency is a shortcut method available for distillation columns sequencing.
Growth and characterization of CoO ultra thin films

In this report we present the growth process of the cobalt oxide system using reactive electron beam deposition. In that technique, a target of metallic cobalt is evaporated and its atoms are in-flight oxidized in an oxygen rich reactive atmosphere before reaching the surface of the substrate. With a trial and error procedure the deposition parameters have been optimized to obtain the correct stoichiometry and crystalline phase. The evaporation conditions to achieve the correct cobalt oxide salt rock structure, when evaporating over amorphous silicon nitride, are: 525 K of substrate temperature, 2.5·10-4 mbar of oxygen partial pressure and 1 A/s of evaporation rate. Once the parameters were optimized a set of ultra thin film ranging from samples of 1 nm of nominal thickness to 20nm thick and bulk samples were grown. With the aim to characterize the samples and study their microstructure and morphology, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and quasi-adiabatic nanocalorimetry techniques are utilised. The final results show a size dependent effect of the antiferromagnetic transition. Its Neel temperature becomes depressed as the size of the grains forming the layer decreases.
Mineral, anti-nutritional and amino acid composition of Citrullus vulgaris (guna) seed protein concentrate

The amino acid composition, proximate composition, mineral composition and some anti nutrients of Citrullus vulgaris (guna) seed protein concentrate were investigated. The protein concentrate contained all the essential and semi essential amino acids (EAA) with respect to FAO/WHO requirements. The proximate composition gave a high percentage of crude protein (83.56%). Ash, crude fiber, ether extract (lipid), and carbohydrate were at low levels of concentration. The minerals content analysis indicated both macro and micro minerals which are essential in metabolic processes, while certain heavy metals were below detection levels. The anti nutrients, phytate and oxalate were detected but within acceptable safe limits in diets, while tannins were below the detectable levels.
Enhancement of 2 , 3-butanediol production by Klebsiella pneumoniae PTCC 1290 : Application of Taguchi methodology for process optimization

2,3-Butanediol production parameter optimization using Klebsiella pneumoniae PTCC 1290 was performed using the design of experiments available in the form of an orthogonal array and a software for automatic design and analysis of the experiments, both based on Taguchi protocol. Optimal levels of physical parameters and key media components namely temperature, pH, inoculum size, agitation, acetic acid and succinic acid were determined. 2,3-Butanediol production obtained from the 18 sets of fermentation experiments performed with the selected factors and levels were further processed with Qualitek-4 software at bigger is better as quality character. The optimized conditions showed an enhanced 2,3-butanediol production of 35.8% (from 11.856 to 18.459 g l). The optimal combinations of factors obtained from the proposed design of experiments methodology was further validated by conducting fermentation experiments and the obtained results revealed an enhanced 2,3-butanediol production of 25.8%. Taguchi approach of design of experiments resulted in evaluating the main and interaction effects of the factors individually and in combination.
Effect of irrigation and phosphorus levels on broad bean (Vicia faba L.)for improving growth, yield and water extraction pattern

The experiment was carried out during 2009-10 and 2010-11 rabi seasons to find out the effect of irrigation and phosphorus doses on growth, yield and water extraction of broad bean. Crop irrigated at Y = -0.03 MPa at 30 cm soil depth showed 5.33% and 34.97% higher seed yield compared to y = -0.05 MPa at 30 cm soil depth and rainfed, respectively and was significantly superior. Treatment receiving 75 kg P2O5/ha was significantly superior with 5.33 t/ha seed yield which was 8.33% and 28.74% higher over 50 kg P2O5/ha and 25 kg P2O5/ha, respectively. Growth and yield attributing characters also followed the trend of seed yield. Irrigation applied at Y = -0.03 MPa at 30 cm soil depth markedly enhanced nodule number, net return (Rs. 32200.98 / ha) and benefit cost ratio (2.32) over other irrigation treatments. Among different P levels the highest nodule number, net return (Rs. 36834.22 / ha) and benefit cost ratio (1.32) were recorded with the application of 75 kg P2O5/ha. The study revealed that, Soil moisture extraction by the crop increased with the advancement of crop growing period and again it decreased till harvest. Moisture extraction rate increased with the increase in moisture status of the soil.
MARKER-TRAIT ASSOCIATIONS FOR SPIKE-RELATED CHARACTERS IN A DOUBLED HAPLOID POPULATION OF WHEAT

Phenotypic assessment of yield and its component traits needs to be performed in replicated trials under multiple environments. Mapping populations such as doubled haploids (DHs) are suitable material for studying marker-trait associations, because they can be evaluated repeatedly in different years or in variable environments, thus having considerable potential for the identification of reliable quantitative trait loci. In the present study a DH mapping population, generated from the crossing of two hexaploid high yield potential wheat varieties, Savannah (UK) and Renesansa (SRB), was used to identify associations between five microsatellite markers and seven spike-related traits. Statistically significant associations were observed between marker GWM261 on 2DS chromosome and six spike-related traits: spike length, spikelet number per spike, sterile spikelet number per spike, grain weight, spike weight and spike index. The phenotypic variation explained by this marker was the highest for the trait spike length (from 8.3 to 24.7%).