Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AC 2011-545: EXPERIENCES OF TEACHING COMPUTER GAME AND MULTIMEDIASEQUENCECOURSESINTHEELECTRICALANDCOM- PUTER ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

In this paper, we present our experiences for developing and teaching computer game and multimedia sequence courses in our electrical and computer engineering technology (ECET) program. The first course in the sequence is an introduction to computer games, where a software platform, Alice, is adopted to develop programming concepts and working knowledge of multimedia applications using audio, image, animation, and video data. The second course requires students perform multimedia programming using the well-known software, DirectX with a Microsoft Visual C++ platform. Students learn how to integrate graphics, animation and sound assets into interactive environments. We find that the sequence courses stimulate students to achieve their learning objectives in the ECET curriculum via developing their computer game assignments and projects as a vehicle. Furthermore, the student retention is greatly improved. In fact, the sequence essentially establishes a bridge between computer game courses and a traditional digital signal processing (DSP) course offered in our ECET program. In this paper, we first outline the course content and present our pedagogy for teaching the sequence courses. Then, we examine course assessment and analyze outcomes of student learning effects in their upper level course study. The performance comparisons between the students who have completed the game and multimedia sequence courses and the traditional students who are used to do paper exercises and textbook reading, are addressed. Finally, an improvement of the sequence content is proposed.
Trend Analysis of Rainfall Data in Divisional Meteorological Stations of Bangladesh

Sixty four years, 1952-2016, rainfall data (monthly rainfall and annual total rainfall) were analyzed using non-parametric methods like Mann-Kendall and Sen’s T test to detect the recent trends in rainfall pattern over seven divisions of Bangladesh. Sen’s nonparametric estimator of slope was frequently used to estimate the magnitude of trend, whose statistical significance was assessed by the Mann–Kendall test. Station basis trend analysis was performed for rainfall data. For rainfall of Bangladesh most of the stations, viz. Dhaka, Sylhet, Rangpur, Khulna showed significant upward trend. There were rising rates of rainfall in some months such as April in Rangpur and September in Khulna and a decreasing trend in some other months as in January in Sylhet were obtained by these statistical tests suggested overall significant changes in rainfall trend in these areas. Monthly rainfall and annual total rainfall were found to decrease at the rates of 4.94 mm/year and 16.11 mm/year, respectively, where the downward trend of monthly total rainfall was insignificant but the trend of annual total rainfall was significant with 5% level of significance.
On the Design of the Manifold for a Race Car

This paper involves the design and construction of the intake manifold system of the FSAE car including the air shroud, air filter, throttle body, restrictor plenum, fuel injectors, fuel rail and runners. To ensure the quality, the proposed system is designed based on the FSAE rules. The design process of the intake manifold system will consist of the usual engineering processes including computer modelling, Finite Element Analysis and finally Computational Fluid Dynamics testing in order to determine the validity of the model and to tune the design in order to obtain the optimum performance out of the intake manifold system as a whole.
Managerial Discretion: The Relationship Between Investments in R & D and Performance -Revisited: Case of Tunisian Enterprises

This article proposes a re-reading of the role of R & D investments in the performance equation when a manifestation of an opportunistic inclination on the part of managers occurs. Often, the manager and the owners express different expectations regarding investment choices in R & D. Although shareholders are looking for performance, the manager sometimes has a tendency to broaden his managerial discretion. The choice of R & D investments could thus reinforce managerial entrenchment. We will demonstrate the moderation exercised by managerial discretion on the R & D / Performance relationship. Our empirical validation will be put to examination against the Tunisian context by deploying various tests. We come to grips with the characteristics of the Tunisian context through an empirical study of 75 companies observed over a 7 -year time lapse, i.e. from 2008 to 2014. The explanatory analysis was an opportunity to highlight the existence of a moderation exercised over the main relationship dealt with.
Thermodynamic processes affecting the winter sea ice changes in the
Bering Sea in the Norwegian Earth System Model

Abstract. The Arctic sea ice has changed largely over the last decades and is expected to change in the future. In this study, we assess sea ice changes in the Pacific sector of the Arctic in an Earth System Model. In winter, the first Empirical Orthogonal Function of sea ice concentration in the Pacific sector of the Arctic based on observations are significantly opposite to that in the Atlantic sector during a period from 1976 to 2004, describing 13.4 % of the total Arctic winter sea ice variability. The similar pattern is also confirmed in the Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM1-M) (15.8 %). Thermodynamics is found to be vital to winter sea ice variability. In this study, we analyze the relationships between some thermodynamical processes (congelation ice, frazil ice, bottom and top ice melting, and conversion of snow to ice) and sea ice changes in the Bering Sea, based on the NorESM1-M coupled climate model results. All these studied thermodynamical processes can influence the variability in winter sea ice concentration and thickness in the Bering Sea. Considering the mean seasonal cycle over the 30-year time period, conversion of snow to ice contributes about 69 % to the increase in sea ice mass during winter in the Bering Sea, and it is thus the main source to the growth of the winter sea ice in NorESM1-M in the Bering Sea. On the interannual time scales, winter sea ice concentration and thickness variability in the Bering Sea are highly related with the studied thermodynamic processes. Among these thermodynamic processes, congelation ice shows the most important effect on the simulated variability in the Bering Sea, especially in the northeastern part.
Enhancing Employee Performance During the Covid-19 Pandemic: the Role of Readiness for Change Mentality

This study aimed to measure the effect of transformational leadership on employee performance of the employee of a shoe industry in Tangerang which are mediated by readiness for change. Data collection was done by simple random sampling technique and the returned and valid questionnaire results were 117 samples. Data processing was used SEM method with SmartPLS 3.0 software. The results of this study concluded that transformational leadership have not significant effect on the employee performance, but transformational leadership have a positive and significant effect on readiness for change. This study conclude also that readiness for change have a positive and significant effect on relationship between transformational leadership and employee performance. Readiness for change as fully mediator. This new research proposed a model for building employee performance among the employee of a shoe industry in Tangerang through enhancing transformational leadership practice with readiness for change as a mediator. This research could pave the way to improve employee readiness in facing the era of industrial revolution 4.0.
Contribution of gravity gliding in salt-bearing rift basins – A new
experimental setup for simulating salt tectonics under the inﬂuence
of sub-salt extension and tilting

Abstract. Basin-scale salt flow and the evolution of salt structures in rift basin is mainly driven by sub- and supra-salt faulting and sedimentary loading. Crustal extension is often accompanied and followed by thermal subsidence leading to tilting of the graben flanks, which might induce an additional basinward directed driver for salt tectonics. We designed a new experimental analog apparatus capable of integrating the processes of sub-salt graben extension and tilting of the flanks, such that the overlapping effects on the deformation of a viscous substratum and the brittle overburden can be simulated. The presented experimental study was performed to demonstrate the main functionality of the experimental procedure and setup demonstrating the main differences in structural evolution between conditions of pure extension, pure tilting and extension combined with tilting. Digital image correlation of top view stereoscopic images was applied to reveal the 3D displacement and strain patterns. Results of these experiments suggest that in salt basins affected by sub-salt extension and flank inclination, the salt flow and downward movement of overburden affects the entire flanks of the basin. Supra-salt extension occurring close to the graben centre is overprinted by the downward movement, i.e. amount of extension is reduced or extensional faults zones are shortened. At the basin margins, thin-skinned extensional fault developed, which resemble fault zones observed on basin flanks offset from the central graben zone.
Rising to the therapeutic challenge of head and neck cancer

A s a signifcant cause of cancer-related mortality, head and neck cancer presents an important therapeutic challenge that has proven relatively resistant to attempts to improve patient outcomes over the past several decades. In recent years, molecular profling of head and neck cancers has provided greater insight into their signifcant genetic heterogeneity, creating potential opportunities for novel therapies. Here, we discuss the most promising advances.
ScholarWorks@UARK ScholarWorks@UARK

School district consolidation is one of the most widespread education reforms of the last century, but surprisingly little research has directly investigated its effectiveness. To examine the impact of consolidation on student achievement, this study takes advantage of a policy that requires the consolidation of all Arkansas school districts with enrollment of fewer than 350 students for two consecutive school years. Using a regression discontinuity model, we find that consolidation has either null or small positive impacts on student achievement in math and English Language Arts (ELA). We do not find evidence that consolidation in Arkansas results in positive economies of scale, either by reducing overall cost or allowing for a greater share of resources to be spent in the classroom.
Active Palladium Colloids via Palladacycle Degradation as Efficient Catalysts for Oxidative Homocoupling and Cross-Coupling of Aryl Boronic Acids

Active palladium colloids formed upon degradation of a palladacyclic complex (Herrmann–Beller 1) have been isolated for the first time and thoroughly characterized with techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. The synthesized palladium colloids have been utilized as efficient catalysts for the oxidative homocoupling of aryl boronic acids. Cross-coupling of two different aryl boronic acids has also been made possible using these active palladium colloids. This is the first report of this kind of coupling between aryl boronic acids.
The Phenomenon of Sexting Among Mexican and Spanish University Students: A Multigroup Model

The practice of sexting is a phenomenon that has been growing in recent times due to the use of technology and the advance of mobile devices. This practice can have negative consequences for young people who practice it without knowing the risk involved. The main objectives of this paper were to analyze sexting behavior in Mexican and Spanish university students, and to determine the possible sociodemographic factors that influence sexting practice in order to generate explanatory models. A cross-sectional study design was adopted by applying an online survey to a sample of 781 university students. The students belonged to two different institutions, 394 from a Mexican university and 387 from a Spanish university. The results indicated that the practice of sexting was higher in Spanish university students and there were significant differences between the two populations. Furthermore, the model generated on sexting indicated that the country, gender, sexual orientation and use of dating applications were possible predictors of this phenomenon. At the same time, the practice of sexting had a possible influence on students’ levels of depression and stress. Finally, the data and findings obtained showed relevant data on the practice of sexting in Mexican and Spanish students and on the sociodemographic factors that can be influential.
Deep Identification of Arabic Dialects

Due to the social media revolution in the last decade, Arabic dialects have begun to appear in written form. The problem of automatically determining the dialect of an Arabic text remains a major challenge for researchers. This thesis investigates many deep learning techniques for the problem of automatically identifying the dialect of a text written in Arabic. We investigate three basic models, namely a recurring neural network (RNN) -based model and an unidirectional, short-term memory (LSTM) -based model, and a bidirectional LSTM-based model combined with a self-attention network. We also explore how applying some techniques like convolution and Word2Vec embedding on the input text can improve the achieved accuracy. Finally, we perform a detailed error analysis that considers some individual errors in order to show the difficulties and challenges involved in processing Arabic texts.
Fairness analysis of TCP variants in asymmetric network

Conservative nature of Vegas creates less opportunity to get fair share of bandwidth then Reno in wired network. On the other hand, aggressive nature of Reno helps to achieve more share of bandwidth. Both Reno and Vegas assumes that congestion occurs in the forward rather than in reverse path. In asymmetric network the path characteristics of forward and backward is different. In this work, we propose a network model and analyzed the Inter-protocol fairness between TCP Reno and TCP Vegas with some queue management techniques such as Droptail and random early detection (RED) in asymmetric network where the forward and backward path has different characteristics. The simulation experiment results using NS2 indicates that use of RED can achieve better fairness than Drop-tail in asymmetric network.
Structural and Microhardness Studies of Rare-Earth Doped Ruddlesden−Popper Manganites

We investigate the explicit role of the A-site doping by Pr and Sm on the mechanical and structural features of the lanthanum based double-layered manganites. The polycrystalline samples of the Ruddlesden-Popper (La1-yREy)1.4Ca1. 6Mn2O7 phase with RE: Pr and Sm are elaborated by the solid-state synthesis route. Powder X-ray analysis reveal that the samples structure is tetragonal (I4/mmm space group) and the lattice parameters do not change significantly with the rare-earth substitution. However, the scanning electron microscopy analyses demonstrate that the substitution with Pr and Sm affects the microstructure, significantly. Vickers micro-hardness measurements are performed on both samples to evaluate several structural parameters such as the stiffness, creep, micro-hardness, etc. We compare and construct the mechanical and microstructural changes due to the Sm and Pr doping with La site. The detailed explanations for the observed mechanical changes by Pr and Sm doping is given.
Composing discourse parenthetical reports

Hunter (2016) proposed that a speech report with a parenthetical interpretation but non-parenthetical syntax will contribute a modal discourse relation of the form ⌃R to discourse logical form. This paper provides a compositional account of the mechanism by which these modal relations are triggered. It then extends Hunter’s proposal to reports involving factive embedding verbs and provides an explanation of why explicit discourse connectives sometimes block parenthetical readings of reports in their scope.
PSF Scientiﬁc Working Group Call for Grant Requests Development and Maintenance of The Carpentries Python Curriculum

The Carpentries is one of the world’s leading projects for inclusive data and coding training for scientists. It provides hands-on workshops that are offered by a volunteer community of instructors, with all lessons’ content being freely reusable under a Creative Commons Attribution license [1]. From 2012 to 2018, The Carpentries has hosted over 2900 workshops across more than 50 countries, teaching thousands of researchers [2]. In Carpentries workshops, lessons are delivered with evidence-based learning practices [3] that are taught to instructors during their own training. These lessons promote best practices in scientific computing [4, 5], which have been deemed a fundamental, yet often neglected, aspect of modern scientific research [6]. During the year 2020, approximately 200 workshops have been taught globally, despite unprecedented circumstances, as most (if not all) workshops have been shifted to a remote format. The Carpentries enforces a well-defined Code of Conduct, to foster a welcoming and inclusive learning environment [1], and features an extensive assessment program, providing evidence of its impact on learners [7]. This displays the role of The Carpentries in the global scientific community: a project that empowers researchers by teaching them new skills and, while doing so, connects people through education.
Nonconvex Total Generalized Variation Model for Image Inpainting

It is a challenging task to prevent the staircase effect and simultaneously preserve sharp edges in image inpainting. For this purpose, we present a novel nonconvex extension model that closely incorporates the advantages of total generalized variation and edge-enhancing nonconvex penalties. This improvement contributes to achieve the more natural restoration that exhibits smooth transitions without penalizing fine details. To efficiently seek the optimal solution of the resulting variational model, we develop a fast primal-dual method by combining the iteratively reweighted algorithm. Several experimental results, with respect to visual effects and restoration accuracy, show the excellent image inpainting performance of our proposed strategy over the existing powerful competitors.
Phenotypic and Molecular Characterization of the Capsular Serotypes of Pasteurella multocida Isolated from Pneumonic Cases of Cattle in Ethiopia

Background: Pasteurella multocida is a heterogeneous species and opportunistic pathogen associated with pneumonia in cattle. Losses due to pneumonia and associated expenses are estimated to be higher in Ethiopia with limited information about the distribution of capsular serotypes. Hence, this study was designed to determine the biotypes and capsular serotypes of P. multocida from pneumonic cases of cattle.Methods: A cross-sectional study with a purposive sampling method was employed in 400 cattle from April 2018 to January 2019. Nasopharyngeal swabs and lung tissue samples were collected from clinically suspected pneumonic cases of calves (n = 170) and adult cattle (n = 230). Samples were analyzed using the bacteriological and molecular assay.Result: Bacteriological analysis revealed isolation of 61 (15.25%) P. multocida subspecies multocida. Molecular assay targeting KMT1 gene (~460 bp) confirmed P. multocida species. Capsular typing revealed the presence of serogroup A (hyaD-hyaC) gene (~1044 bp) and serogroup D (dcbF) gene (~657 bp) in 56 (91.80%) and 5 (8.20%) isolates, respectively. Isolation of P. multocida A:3 highlights its prevalence in the study areas. Therefore, the current finding suggests further comprehensive studies on P. multocida capsular types and microbial diversity of respiratory infection in cattle to design an effective control strategy.
Auditor ’ s Gender and Audit

Documented behavioral differences between women and men suggest that the gender of the audit engagement partner may have implications for the price setting of the audit. Thus, this paper examines the effect of the auditor’s gender on audit fees in an environment where the responsible audit partners can be identified. Using a sample of public firms from the NASDAQ OMX exchanges in three Nordic countries, we find evidence indicating that firms with female audit engagement partners have significantly higher audit fees. Although this is an interesting finding, it should be interpreted with caution since there is no clear theoretical explanation to support it. Potential reasons are introduced, such as the gender differences in risk tolerance, which may affect the pricing decisions by increasing the audit investment and/or increasing the audit fee risk premium. Alternatively, female auditors’ diligence, lower overconfidence, and higher level of preparation could also lead to an increase in audit investment, and thereby result in higher audit fees.
Furfural production from corncobs using thiourea as additive

Furfural production from the conversion of corncob was investigated using sulfuric acid as catalyst and thiourea as additive. The effects of acid concentration, temperature and thiourea on furfural yield were investigated. A furfural yield of 61.04% is achieved using thiourea as additive compared with 33.78% using H2SO4 alone without additive, under the optimum conditions of liquid–solid ratio of 2:1, temperature of 170°C and sulfuric acid of 0.5M. The effect of thiourea on furfural degradation rate was also evaluated. The reaction kinetic of furfural degradation shows that the activation energy is increased by 21.02% with thiourea as additive, which confirms that thiourea has effect on inhibiting the furfural degradation to some extent. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 36: 690–695, 2017