Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Black Engineering and Computing Doctoral Students' Peer Interaction that Foster Racial Isolation

Black graduate students in engineering and computing experience isolation due to their underrepresentation. In this manuscript, we analyzed how Black engineering and computing doctoral students’ experiences of isolation and impostor syndrome were exacerbated by negative interactions with their Asian international peers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 23 Black PhD students regarding their doctoral experiences. Across the interviews, participants expressed similar experiences in their programs: 1) Feelings of racial isolation from underrepresentation among their peers, 2) Perceptions that Asian peers were positioned to be in STEM which made Black students feel as though they were impostors in their academic fields 3. ) Interactions with Asian peers that challenged their sense of belonging in their departments and programs, leading them to feel increased isolation and minimal support. This research affirms the need to create and employ initiatives at the institutional or departmental level to make engineering and computing programs more inclusive spaces for diverse students and to combat the types of exclusionary practices that hamper and damper the experiences and potentially the outcomes of Black PhD engineers and technologists.
Dirac Particle for the Position Dependent Mass in the Generalized Asymmetric Woods-Saxon Potential

The one-dimensional Dirac equation with position dependent mass in the generalized asymmetric Woods-Saxon potential is solved in terms of the hypergeometric functions. The transmission and reflection coefficients are obtained by considering the one-dimensional electric current density for the Dirac particle and the equation describing the bound states is found by utilizing the continuity conditions of the obtained wave function. Also, by using the generalized asymmetric Woods-Saxon potential solutions, the scattering states are found out without making calculation for the Woods-Saxon, Hulthen, cusp potentials, and so forth, which are derived from the generalized asymmetric Woods-Saxon potential and the conditions describing transmission resonances and supercriticality are achieved. At the same time, the data obtained in this work are compared with the results achieved in earlier studies and are observed to be consistent.
On the distribution of integral functionals of a homogeneous diffusion process

In this article, we study homogeneous transient diffusion processes. We provide the basic distributions of their local times. It helps to get exact formulas and upper bounds for the moments, exponential moments, and potentials of integral functionals of transient diffusion processes. Some of the results generalize the corresponding results of Salminen and Yor for the Brownian motion with drift.
Evaluation of endophytic fungal fractions of Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Wall. Nees leaves for in vitro free radical scavenging and hepatoprotective activity

Fungal endophytes are the microbes residing in internal tissues of the plant forming symbiotic, mutualistic, communalistic and trophobiotic relationship. Endophytes from medicinal plants are considered as essential source of secondary metabolites accompanied by interesting biological/pharmacological activities. In this study, an effort was made to isolate, characterize endophytic fungi from leaves of Andrographis paniculata and to screen the fungal fractions for in-vitro antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity. Two fungal endophytes (APLF-1 and APLF-2) from Andrographis paniculata were isolated and fermented to get chloroform (A1C, A2C), ethyl acetate (A1EA, A2EA) and n butanol (A1nB, A2nB) extracts. All the endophytic fractions of APLF-1 and APLF-2 were assayed for free radical scavenging properties against 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl radical and reducing power. Fractions of APLF-2 showed good scavenging activity compared to APLF-1 extracts. Further, A2EA and A2nB were evaluated for hepatoprotective activity against CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity. A2EA (50 mg/kg &100 mg/kg) and A2nB (50 mg/kg &100 mg/kg) reversed the elevated biochemical parameters with respect to CCl4 treated group (p<0.001). The LPO, SOD and CAT levels were also restored by A2EA and A2nB (100 mg/kg p.o). APLF-1 and APLF-2 were studied for rDNA sequencing by PCR technique. The endophytic fungi, APLF-1 and APLF-2 were identified as Diaporthe sp. A25 and Preussia sp. PPV3.6 respectively based on their morphology and molecular characterization. The presence of polyvalent secondary metabolites in A2EA and A2nB were confirmed by HPTLC analysis. Keyword: Endophytic fungi; Hepatoprotective; Antioxidant; Andrographis paniculata; Diaporthe sp. A25; Preussia sp. PPV3.6
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF CLOSING OF OIL SHALE MINES ON RIVER WATER QUALITY IN NORTH-EASTERN ESTONIA

Chemical and biological characteristics of the Puhajogi and Kunda catchments were determined in 1995, 2000 and 2005. During last ten years the concentration of total nitrogen in the samples of the river water from the Puhajogi catchment has decreased on the average almost 90% since four mines were closed. The concentrations of total nitrogen in the water samples of the Kunda catchment decreased on the average ca 20% during these ten years. The conductivity values of the river water samples of the Puhajogi catchment between 800 and 1800 µS cm –1 indicated a significant amount of ionic species in the river water. The water was microbiologically unpolluted according to the results of the analysis in 2005.
Local adaptation to serpentine and non-serpentine soils in Collinsia sparsiflora

Question: Are populations of a native California annual plant locally adapted to serpentine and non-serpentine soils? Study species: Collinsia sparsiflora (Scrophulariaceae s.l ), which grows both on and off serpentine soils. Field sites: We studied six populations at the McLaughlin University of California Natural Reserve, in the North Coast Range of California. All sites were within 1 km of each other, but were notably variable for a number of soil characters, including concentrations of calcium and magnesium, key factors in serpentine soils. Methods: We conducted reciprocal transplant experiments in 2002 and 2003. The 2002 experiment involved four study populations, two serpentine and two non-serpentine. In 2003, an additional population on each soil type was included in a second reciprocal transplant study. Seeds generated in greenhouse crosses were planted reciprocally into each population, providing replication within the soil types. Results: Both experiments demonstrated the presence of significant reciprocal adaptation to soil type. We also observed variation in phenology between transplants on the two soil types. We conclude that plants from these six populations represent two distinct, soil-specific ecotypes, raising questions about the relative role of selection and gene flow in promoting genetic differentiation in these contrasting environments.
Predictors of in-hospital mortality in primary intracerebral haemorrhage in East coast of Peninsular Malaysia

Background and Objectives: Despite much medical progress, stroke remains a leading cause of death and disability. The aim of our study was to analyze the frequency of various risk factors and determine predictors of in-hospital mortality among primary intracerebral hemorrhage (PICH) patients, thus providing insight in developing therapeutic strategies to improve the outcome. Methods: A prospective study conducted at a tertiary care hospital. Results: A total of 160 patients (108 male and 52 female) were evaluated. Their ages ranged from 25 to 85 years (mean age was 58.3 ± 11.4 years). Hypertension was the commonest risk factor (74.4%), followed by diabetes mellitus (18.8%) and cigarette smoking (36.3%). The commonest location of ICH was lobar (43.8%) followed by basal ganglia / internal capsule (28.1 %) and multilobar (13.1%). The overall in-hospital mortality was 32.5 %. About one third (32.7%) of the deaths occurred within fi rst 24 hours, this rose to 38.5% within fi rst 2 days and 84.6% within one week. The signifi cant independent predictors of acute in- hospital mortality were Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) on admission, posterior fossa bleed (OR 11.01; 95% CI 3.21 to 37.81), hematoma volume >60ml (OR 4.72; 95% CI 1.34 to 16.64), mid line shift (OR 3.32; 95% CI 1.05 to 10.50) and intraventricular extension of haemorrhage (OR 5.69; 95% CI 2.24 to 14.47). Conclusion: Low GCS score, posterior fossa bleed, and large hematoma volume were main indicators of mortality following PICH in East coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
Financial Incentives and Cognitive Abilities: Evidence from a Forecasting Task with Varying Cognitive Load

I examine how financial incentives interact with intrinsic motivation and especially cognitive abilities in explaining heterogeneity in performance. Using a forecasting task with varying cognitive load, I show that the effectiveness of high-powered financial incentives as a stimulator of economic performance can be moderated by cognitive abilities in a causal fashion. Identifying the causality of cognitive abilities is a prerequisite for studying their interaction with financial and intrinsic incentives in a unifying framework, with implications for the design of efficient incentive schemes.
The Impact of Jump Dynamics on the Predictive Power of Option-Implied Densities

This article examines whether incorporating jumps with stochastic volatility can improve the predictive power of option-implied densities of the FTSE 100 index. A general double-jump model is used to fit the market prices of options and to estimate “risk-neutral” densities. “Real-world” densities are then converted from their risk-neutral form by means of alternative statistical calibrations. Both the risk-neutral and real-world densities are evaluated over five forecast horizons using two different tests. The empirical results indicate that adding jumps into the price and/or volatility processes not only substantially lowers the fitting errors of option prices, but also improves the predictive power of risk-neutral densities. Furthermore, satisfactory density prediction was consistently provided by the real-world densities, which were not dependent on the addition of jumps, the approach used to construct the densities, or the prediction horizon.
RF SYSTEM FOR KOMAC RFQ

The 1 MW, 350 MHz RF system for KOMAC (Korea Multipurpose Accelerator Complex) Test Facility (KTF) RFQ has been installed and is being tested at KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute). The main components of the RF system are 350 MHz, 1 MW CW klystron, 1 MW circulator, RF window, various W/G components, LLRF system, 100 kV, 20 A high voltage power supply for the klystron and 2 MW cooling system. In this paper, the installation and test results of the RF system and its components are presented.
The Relationship between Tertiary Level EFL Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Perceptions and Their Level of Linguistic Proficiency

Teacher self-efficacy has been identified as an important characteristic of teachers that can positively influence both teacher and student outcomes. The relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and their linguistic proficiency, however, is yet to be investigated. The present study was an attempt to examine the rather under-researched issue of teachers’ level of linguistic competence in their efficacy perceptions. For this purpose, 50 teachers from different universities in Iran with varying demographic characteristics took part in the study. Respondents were asked to provide answers to the Teacher Efficacy Scale (TES) and the perceived linguistic proficiency self-rating. The results of statistical analysis using Spearman correlation and Regression analysis demonstrated a significant relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and their level of proficiency. The results of regression, too, confirmed the predictability of the level of the proficiency of the self-efficacy beliefs of teachers in their classroom practices. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research and implications are provided for future investigations.
Analysis of factors affecting the technical efficiency of arabica coffee producers in Cameroon

This study analyses the factors influencing the technical efficiency of arabica coffee farmers in Cameroon. To carry out this analysis, a translog stochastic production frontier function, in which technical inefficiency effects are specified to be functions of socioeconomic variables, is estimated using the maximum-likelihood method. The data used were collected from a sample of 140 farmers during the 2004 crop year. The results obtained show some increasing returns to scale in coffee production. The mean technical efficiency index is estimated at 0.896, and 32% of the farmers surveyed have technical efficiency indexes of less than 0.91. The analysis also reveals that the educational level of the farmer and access to credit are the major socioeconomic variables influencing the farmers’ technical efficiency. Finally, the findings prove that further productivity gains linked to the improvement of technical efficiency may still be realized in coffee production in Cameroon.
A practical approach to obtain the soil freezing characteristic curve and the freezing/melting point of a soil-water system

Knowing that extensive field tests and laboratory tests are time-consuming and expensive, this paper describes a practical approach to obtain crucial properties of frozen soil such as the soil freezing characteristic curve (SFCC), the freezing/melting point of a soil-water system and its hydraulic conductivity by means of limited input data. Different models and empirical equations are combined to provide a closed formulation which can be used in computer simulations to account for moisture migration in partially frozen soils. Input data such as grain size distribution and dry bulk density suffice to obtain the aforementioned properties. Further consideration of the pressure dependence of the freezing/melting temperature of water/ice even allows accounting for the phase change point depression and thus the phenomena of pressure melting. The model is appropriate not just to represent qualitatively the SFCC of different soil types, but also to provide conformity between the model prediction and measured data of many soil types having a log-normal grain size distribution. This user-friendly approach is used as default setting of a newly implemented user-defined soil model for frozen and unfrozen soil in the geotechnical finite element code PLAXIS 2D.
Nucleotide differences in the mbf1 gene of the lichenized fungus Umbilicaria decussata collected in polar and non-polar regions

Multiprotein bridging factor 1 (MBF1) is a transcriptional co-activator related to stress tolerance in various organisms. We investigated the nucleotide differences in the mbf1 gene in the lichen-forming fungus Umbilicaria decussata collected from polar (i.e., Antarctica and the Arctic) and non-polar (i.e., Armenia) regions. The 552-bp Udmbf1 genes isolated from eight samples contained numerous sequence variations, including single nucleotide polymorphisms as well as insertions and deletions. The frequency of nucleotide changes was higher in the intron than in the coding sequence. The nucleotide polymorphism levels (π=0.01792, θ=0.01792) and haplotype diversity (Hd=1) in the Udmbf1 gene from Antarctic samples were relatively high. Additionally, of the 19 detected nucleotide sequence variation sites, 15 were observed only in Antarctic samples. The resulting amino acid changes occurred in the N-terminal, whose function remains unknown. Although these DNA polymorphisms and amino acid changes have been verified in Antarctic samples of U. decussata, there is still little evidence indicating that different environmental conditions affected the functional evolution of Udmbf1. Additional studies involving more U. decussata samples from representative ecotypes will be necessary to uncover the relationships among DNA polymorphisms, functional gene evolution, and lichen habitats. Citation: Wang Y Y, Liu R D, Wang W C, et al. Nucleotide differences in the mbf1 gene of the lichenized fungus Umbilicaria decussata collected in polar and non-polar regions. Adv Polar Sci, 2017, 28(1): 43-49, doi: 10.13679/j.advps. 2017.1. 00043
The Removal of Methyl Red from Aqueous Solutions Using Banana Pseudostem Fibers

Problem statement: The aim of this study was to investigate the removal of methyl red, a mutagenic monoazo dye, from various aqueous solutions using banana pseudostem fibers of the size 212-350 micron. Approach: The parameters studied were the effect of pH, amount of adsorbent, contact time, concentration of adsorbate and agitation speed. Results: Equilibrium data were fitted to the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The data were best represented by the latter with an adsorption capacity and adsorption intensity of 0.351 and 0.302, respectively. Conclusion/Recommendations: Specific rate constants of the processes were calculated by kinetic measurements and a pseudo second order adsorption kinetics was obtained for all cases.
COMPARING THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF MOBILE OPERATOR COMPANIES USING ECONOMIC VALUE ADDED (EVA) AND STOCK RETURN

A company has main purpose in running the business activity. Not only maximizing the profit, but also creating value for shareholder. The financial performance could be measured as the company runs in certain period. The objective of this study is to investigate the differences in financial performance between PT. XL Axiata, Tbk and PT. Indosat, Tbk. Economic Value Added (EVA) and Stock Return could be used to measure the financial performance. EVA measures the economic profit of company during a year. Stock Return is reflected the company’s ability in maintaining their equity and returning the expected return of investor. Independent sample t-test is used as the method to test the two different independent samples. The population refers to the mobile operator companies that listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange and the financial statements of both companies from 2010 to 2012 are the samples. PT. XL Axiata, Tbk reaches its best performance and has more profit or economic value for the shareholders in 2011 of the period and creates the highest return for the investors in 2010. PT. Indosat, Tbk reaches its best performance and gain more profit or economic value for the shareholders in 2012 of the period and creates the highest return for the investors in 2010. Keywords: financial performance, economic value added (eva), stock return
Reducing non-linear PDEs using a reduced integration proper orthogonal decomposition method

Model order reduction methods can reduce the runtime of forward model solves by many orders of magnitude. This has important applications in creating simulation tools with real-time response rates, accelerating the solution of stochastic PDEs and inverse problems. A popular and straightforward way of reducing linear PDEs is the method of proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) [1]. This leads to a new set of global POD basis functions that optimally represent the solution data in a set of generated solution snapshots. In an online phase bilinear and linear operators on the original finite element space are projected onto the pre-calculated POD basis, resulting in a small dense linear system that is fast to solve [1]. However, as a natural consequence of solving non-linear PDEs using Newton’s method, the bilinear and linear forms on the finite element space become functions of the current solution. Therefore at every Newton iteration we must re-assemble the finite element space operators and re-project onto the POD basis. This operation can become a dominant portion of the runtime of the solution of the reduced order model. To overcome this issue we have developed a new method where we construct a reduced integration mesh that is adapted to the POD basis and the data contained in the snapshots. We generate this mesh via a greedy process in the offline phase using a simple error estimation and adaptive mesh refinement scheme on the sequence of POD basis functions. The reduced integration mesh has far fewer cells than the original mesh and therefore the linearised projected operators required at each Newton iteration can be assembled much faster. We will show some results implemented in DOLFIN [2] using SLEPc [3] that show an order of magnitude speed up in forward runtime on a time-dependent two-dimensional non-linear reaction diffusion equation and a three-dimensional geometrically non-linear hyperelastic model.
Applying Elements of Outdoor Education in Teacher Education Innovation

This paper attempts to deal with the issue of developing soft skills among trainee teachers by applying the elements of outdoor education in teacher training programs. It is known that there are elements of outdoor education which were already included in the teacher training curriculum in Malaysia’s Teacher Training Institutions. However, outdoor education is not a compulsory activity or subject for trainee teachers in Malaysia’s universities except for those majoring in sports and recreation or physical education. However, due to the declining economic conditions, outdoor education programs at Teacher Training Institutions were the first program that was scaled down. This article attempts to identify the elements of soft skills that can be applied through a well-planned outdoor education activities. The study was conducted involving 671 samples from teacher training institutions and universities using the Life Effectiveness Questionnaire. This article focuses on four elements of soft skills namely team work, leadership ability, self-esteem and time management. The results of this study showed that outdoor education improves students’ soft skills in the elements studied.
Lusternik–Schnirelmann category, complements of skeleta and a theorem of Dranishnikov

In this paper, we study the growth with respect to dimension of quite general homotopy invariants Q applied to the CW skeleta of spaces. This leads to upper estimates analogous to the classical “dimension divided by connectivity” bound for Lusternik– Schnirelmann category. Our estimates apply, in particular, to the Clapp–Puppe theory of A–category. We use cat.X / (which is A–category with A the collection of 1–dimensional CW complexes), to reinterpret in homotopy-theoretical terms some recent work of Dranishnikov on the Lusternik–Schnirelmann category of spaces with fundamental groups of finite cohomological dimension. Our main result is the inequality cat.X / dim.B 1.X //C cat.X / , which implies and strengthens the main theorem of Dranishnikov [7].
An ARM-based Microkernel on Reconfigurable Zynq-7000 Platform

The combination of ARM processor and partially reconfigurable FPGA device is an emerging technology in the current embedded domain. In this paper we propose a custom microkernel on a hybrid ARM-FPGA platform, which is capable of managing reconfigurable hardware accelerators. We will introduce the hardware platform on which the microkernel has been developed and focus on the custom architecture supporting the management of partial reconfiguration and software tasks. An actual use case is studied and presented at the end of this paper to demonstrate the feasibility of our approach.