Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Teaching Research Methodology: Everything’s a Case

This paper contributes to the discourse about research methodology pedagogy towards the development of new scholarly researchers. Because students can better visualise causal effects within a single case, I propose that instructors, before moving onto to teach inferential statistics relying on impersonal numbers from many cases, use instead a case-oriented approach to emphasise the “case” as the basic pedagogic unit to scaffold the student’s learning of research methodology. A carefully chosen case can represent an instantiation of the same phenomenon that will eventually be used to demonstrate inferential statistics. After all, for causal effects to show up at the population level, they must be operating within particular cases. I refer to this as an N-case approach. This approach locates various combinations of quantitative and qualitative methods on a continuum from exploratory to confirmatory research. This continuum can also be framed as one moving from the particular to the general. The single case allows students to grasp ideas about causal processes in a more direct manner than a survey can. Instructors can then build on single case insights to grasp similar ideas at a population level. My motivation for this approach is to turn away from a pedagogy where research methodology teaching begins with ideas set in quantitative approaches to understand causal processes occurring at a particular case level. I also believe that current research teaching ought to turn away from encouraging students to apply a research design according to their favoured identity along a qualitative-quantitative divide. Instead, the research problem should determine the required research design.
Solid Supported Chiral N‐Picolylimidazolidinones: Recyclable Catalysts for the Enantioselective, Metal‐ and Hydrogen‐Free Reduction of Imines in Batch and in Flow Mode

A new class of solid supported chiral imidazolidinones organocatalysts for the catalytic reduction of imines with trichlorosilane was developed. Polystyrene proved to be a more effective support than silica in terms of both chemical and stereochemical efficiency. Even with a loading as low as 1 mol % the best performing supported catalyst showed a remarkable activity and stereocontrol ability, promoting the reduction with stereoselectivities reaching 98% e.e. and in most cases ranging between 90-95% e.e. The general scope of the methodology and the good recyclability of the immobilized catalyst were demonstrated. The polystyrene-anchored chiral catalyst was also used to prepare packed bed reactors for the continuous flow synthesis of chiral amines, that were obtained in excellent yields and enantioselectivities. By exploiting the chiral organocatalytic reactor, the in-flow stereoselective synthesis of a common, immediate precursor of rivastigmine, of the calciomimetic (R)-NPS 568 and of Acrylamide (S)-A, currently under study for the treatment of neuropathic pain, was successfully accomplished.
Chelating resin micro-column separation/ preconcentration and electrothermal vaporization ICP-OES determination of trace bismuth in environmental and biological samples

A new method for the determination of trace Bi in environmental and biological samples by chelating resin YPA 4 microcolumn separation/preconcentration in conjunction with electrothermal vaporization-inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ETV-ICP-OES) has been developed. The resin loaded with Bi was prepared by slurrying and then directly introduced into the graphite furnace without any pretreatment. The factors affecting the adsorption and vaporization behavior of Bi were investigated in detail. It was found that chelating resin YPA4 is not only an effective solid phase extractant for the quick adsorption of Bi in a wide acidity range of 0.1-3.5 mol L -1 HCl, but also a chemical modifier to vaporize Bi quantitatively from the furnace at the low vaporization temperature of 1000°C. With the use of YPA 4 as a chemical modifier, the sensitivity was increased by a factor of 6. Under optimum conditions, the adsorption capacity of YPA 4 for Bi was 63.5 mg g -1 ; the detection limit (3σ) of the instrument for Bi was 300 pg, with the relative standard deviation (RSD) of 3.5% (n=8, C=2 μg mL -1 ). The proposed method was 'applied to the ETV-ICP-OES determination of trace Bi in environmental and biological reference materials, and the determined values were in good agreement with certified values.
The Bar Fight Theory of International Conflict: Regime Type, Coalition Size, and Victory*

Studies of regime type and war show that democracies tend to win the wars they fight, but questions remain about why this is the case. A simple, if underappreciated, explanation for democratic success is that democracies fight alongside larger and more powerful coalitions. Coalition partners bring additional material capabilities and may also provide intangible benefits to the war effort, such as increased legitimacy or confidence. Democracies may also find it less costly to join coalitions, as democratic war aims may be easier to apportion among the victors without diluting the spoils. Evaluating our hypotheses in a sample of all wars (or all militarized disputes) during the period 1816–2000, we find that democracies fight alongside larger coalitions and that states fighting alongside larger coalitions are more likely to win major contests. Coalition size subsumes most (and in some specifications all) of the direct effect of regime type on victory.
X-ray powder diffraction data for a DACH Pt iodide, cis-[diiodo(1R,2R)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-κN,κN′] platinum(II)

X-ray powder diffraction data, unit-cell parameters, and space group for a novel platinum-based anticancer complex cis-[diiodo(1R,2R)-1,2-diaminocyclo-hexane-κN,κN′] platinum(II), Pt(C6H14N2)I2, are presented [a=14.048(4) Å, b=7.588(3) Å, c=11.502(4) Å, β=98.446(5)°, space group C2, cell volume=1212.80 Å3, and Z=4]. All measured lines were indexed and are consistent with the C2 space group. No detectable impurities were observed.
DFT Study on the Carrier Concentration and Temperature-Dependent Thermoelectric Properties of Antimony Selenide

We present the thermoelectric properties of Antimony Selenide (Sb2Se3) obtained using first principles calculations. We investigated the electronic band structure using the FP-LAPW method within the sphere of the density functional theory. Thermoelectric properties were calculated using BoltzTrap code using the constant relaxation time () approximation at three different temperatures 300 K, 600 K, and 800 K. Seebeck coefficient () was found to decrease with increasing temperature, electrical conductivity () was almost constant in the entire temperature range, and electronic thermal conductivity () increased with increasing temperature. With increase in temperature decreased from 1870 μV/K (at 300 K) to 719 μV/K (at 800 K), electronic thermal conductivity increased from 1.56 × 1015 W/m K s (at 300 K) to 3.92 × 1015 W/m K s (at 800 K), and electrical conductivity decreased from 22 × 1019/Ω m s (at 300 K) to 20 × 1019/Ω m s (at 800 K). The thermoelectric properties were also calculated for different hole concentrations and the optimum concentration for a good thermoelectric performance over a large range of temperatures (from 300 K to 1000 K) was found for hole concentration around 1019 cm−3.
Book Genre Categorization Using Machine Learning Algorithms (K-Nearest Neighbor, Support Vector Machine and Logistic Regression) using Customized Dataset﻿

— Text classification is playing a vital role in current era. Its requirement is increasing day by day because of increase of text data as number of digital users are increasing rapidly. As a result, machine learning algorithms are used to classify certain text data, resulting in better predictions and accuracy. By constructing a data set with proper structure and data, the genre is predicted by the title and abstract of the book. The dataset will consist books which are translated to English from Guajarati or Hindi originate books. In this paper, some weaknesses in text classification techniques are analysed and worked on to improve the accuracy of structured data. The main focus here was to classify a book by genre using
Mixing in a sheared particulate suspension

Abstract In a sheared suspension, the chaotic motion of the particles disperses the suspending liquid and drives an exponential and broadly distributed growth of the elongation of its material lines. This paper addresses experimentally and theoretically the consequences of this complex advection on the mixing of an initially segregated blob of diffusive dye, at large Péclet number and down to the finest scales of mixing. As the suspension is sheared, the combined action of the mean and fluctuating components of the flow stretches and folds the blob into a multi-scale lamellar structure. At short time, overlaps between the lamellae are scarce and the probability distribution concentration can be understood from the local stretching statistics only. At intermediate times, dispersion limits the volume within which lamellae deploy; overlaps become abundant and their statistics determine the concentration distribution. At longer times, the dye becomes homogeneous at the particle scale and the concentration distribution is set by dispersion only. Predictions for both the concentration distribution and the transitions between these successive stages of mixing are provided and compared to the experimental results.
Fundamental parameters analysis of RoHS elements in plastics

European Community Directive 2002∕95∕EC restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. In particular, restrictions are placed on lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and bromine (in polybrominated biphenyls or polybrominated diphenyl ethers). XRF is a convenient method for detecting the presence and measuring the amounts of these elements. Reliably quantifying all of these elements in plastics typically requires a large number of standards that are not yet readily available. Because of the light element matrix, using a “standardless” fundamental parameters method requires some reliance on the primary beam scatter, complicating the analysis algorithm and increasing the uncertainty. We have tested a simplified fundamental parameters method that determines the matrix via difference, requiring only one standard. The method was tested on a series of reference materials containing all of the regulated elements in a variety of plastic resins. One multi-element reference standard was used. It was necessary to include all of the additives in the specimens to achieve good quantitative accuracy. In addition, the scattered primary intensity was used in one set of tests to compensate for variations in specimen thickness. This thickness compensation was necessary to get acceptable results for Cd. Results were very promising, with average relative errors and relative standard deviations of about 10%.
Determination of oscillation frequencies and stellar properties of three Delta Scuti variable stars using Kepler data

Asteroseismology is the science that deals with the oscillations in the stars with the goal of understanding the stellar structure. In this study, photometric data of Kepler mission have been used for the asteroseismic study of Delta Scuti type pulsating stars. The light curve analysis of three Delta Scuti stars observed by Kepler mission is presented. The pulsation frequencies were determined by applying a discrete Fourier transformation with the pre-whitening process. The short cadence light curve of Kepler target KIC 9700322 revealed dominant radial fundamental frequency at 9.792 ± 0.002 d-1 and 1st overtone frequency at 12.569 ± 0.002 d-1 accompanied by a large number of frequency multiples. Non-radial frequencies of mode l = 2 quintuplet were detected with the frequency spacing of 0.134 d-1 and it provided a rotation period of the star as 6.19 days, which was detected as the peak of 0.159 d-1 in frequency spectra. Using the fundamental period, a value for relative density of the star was estimated as 0.10 ± 0.04 relative to the sun. Furthermore, the full dataset of KIC 11754974 was subjected to frequency analysis and the radial fundamental pulsation frequency and its 1st overtone were detected at 16.3451 ± 0.0002 d-1 and 21.3997 ± 0.0002 d-1, respectively. l = 2 frequency quintuplet was detected with a frequency spacing of 0.22 d-1 and determined the rotation period and relative density of the star as 3.83 days and 0.29 ± 0.01 respectively. KIC 9845907 was identified as a purely radial pulsator. The fundamental pulsation frequency was recovered as 17.597 ± 0.002 d-1 with two other dominant modes of overtones at 22.850 ± 0.002 d-1 and 28.210 ± 0.002 d-1. The relative density of the star was determined as 0.34 ± 0.06.
IMPROVING STUDENTS’ COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS THROUGH SCAFFOLDING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE 21 CENTURY

This paper assesses the significance of scaffolding towards improving students’ communicative skills namely: speaking and writing. It provides background on how scaffolding can aid in teaching and learning contexts and ultimately improves students’ communicative skills. The study adopts ZPD theory proposed by Vygotsky (1978). The methodology is qualitative descriptive approach. Method of data collection is desk-based; it looks in-depth at most relevant materials in regard to the study. Evidences from previous studies indicate that scaffolding brings about substantial benefit to students in their attempt to improve their communication skills. The facts also depict that teaching communication skills require various techniques, tools and resources. These in turn, need to be modified depending on the experience of students and the teachers. The study concludes that communication skills should be modelled and taught through different mediums especially work integrated learning.
Overcoming challenges of PhD supervision in a clinical setting

Corresponding author: Dr Anna-Clara Spetz Holm anna-clara.spetz. holm@liu.se Institution: 1. Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, 2. Department of Culture and Society, Linköping University Categories: Teachers/Trainers (including Faculty Development), Teaching and Learning, Postgraduate (including Speciality Training), Research in Health Professions Education
Dentoskeletal effects following Twin-Block functional treatment of skeletal Class II malocclusion accompanied with low-level laser therapy: A prospective clinical evaluation

Abstract Objective: The current prospective study evaluated the dentoskeletal effects subsequent to Twin-Block (TB) functional treatment of skeletal Class II malocclusion accompanied with low-level laser therapy (LLLT). Materials and methods:Twenty eight pre-pubertal patients, 14 boys and 14 girls were randomly allocated to control (mean initial age 10.64±1.36 years) and laser groups (mean initial age 10.55 ±1.45 years). All patients treated with TB appliance where Gallium Aluminum Arsenide diode laser applied in one group weekly around condylar region for 12 sessions inthree months with parameters; continuous mode, 635 nm, 50 mW, 4.5J/cm2, 45 seconds/point, and 11.25J total dose per side. Dentoskeletal variables were analyzed and compared within and between both groups via Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) images before (T1) and after functional therapy (T2). Results: Within each group, TB therapy resulted in significant mandibular skeletal changes (p 0.05). Conclusions: Combination of LLLT, with the current parameters and protocol, accomplished no considerable dentoskeletal effects subsequent to functional orthopaedic treatment of skeletal Class II malocclusion with TB appliance.
Comparative investigation of sesquiterpene components of essential oils originating from intact plants and hairy root chamomile cultures

The importance of chamomile (Chamomilla recutita) inflorescence is widely known in classical and folk medicine, with the largest group of its effective constituents forming the essential oil (chamazulene, a-bisabolol, α-farnesene, trans-β-farnesene, spathulenol, cis/trans-en-in-dicycloethers). Among cultivated species, the Hungarian BK-2 contains more chamazulene in its essential oil than the German Degumil type, which is mainly cultivated for its a-bisabolol. Both components have important antiinflammatory activities. Wild populations can be easily distinguished from cultivated ones by their high amount of bisaboloides, particularly the flower of Hungarian Szabadkigyos wild type, which contained on average 48 % of the biologically active (-)-a-bisabolol. The population of Szabadkigyos has good salt tolerance which is important owing to global warming, because the proportion of saline areas is increasing worldwide. To keep the genome of Szabadkigyos having high (-)-a-bisabolol content, Szőke and research team used biotechnological methods. Sterile plantlets, were infected by Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains #A-4, #15834, #R-1601. The hairy root clones possessing the best growing and biosynthetical potential were multiplied for phytochemical investigations. Pharmacologically important compounds of their essential oils were followed in great detail. The amount of in vitro cultured terpenoids and polyin compounds was compared with that of in vivo plants. GC-MS studies showed that sterile chamomile cultures generated the most important terpenoid and polyin compounds characteristics of the mother plant. Berkheyaradulene, geranyl-isovalerat and cedrol as new components were identified in these sterile cultures. The main component of hairy root cultures (D/400, D/1, D/100 and Sz/400) was tr-b-farnesene and in addition one new compound: a-selinene was identified. Hairy root culture originated from chamomile collected in Szabadkigyos was intensive increased the essential oil content and pharmacological active compounds: (-) -α-bisabolol and β-eudesmol was also synthetized in large quantity. Furthermore, in vitro organized cultures were made from this population to obtain propagation material containing numerous active substances.
Optical Determination of Cholesterol in Milk with Molecularly Imprinted Polymer-Coated Quantum Dots

ABSTRACT Fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymer-coated CdSe/ZnS quantum dots were prepared in an efficient one-step synthesis. Their application as fluorescent nanoparticles for the direct quantification of cholesterol in milk was characterized. The quantum dots were used as cores to produce fluorescence. The molecularly imprinted polymer shells provided specific binding sites for cholesterol. The system exhibited good linearity for cholesterol from 0.5 to 150 µg mL−1, a low detection limit of 0.15 µg mL−1, and acceptable reproducibility with a relative standard deviation of 4.2% for six replicates. The molecularly imprinted polymer-coated quantum dots were used to determine cholesterol in fortified milk. Recoveries were from 87.0 to 105.2% and a possible mechanism is proposed. The fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymer-coated quantum dots exhibited excellent selectivity and provide a simple, rapid, selective, and effective analytical approach.
BSFS: A Bidirectional Search Algorithm for Flow Scheduling in Cloud Data Centers

To support high bisection bandwidth for communication intensive applications in the cloud computing environment, data center networks usually offer a wide variety of paths. However, optimal utilization of this facility has always been a critical challenge in a data center design. Flow-based mechanisms usually suffer from collision between elephant flows; while, packet-based mechanisms encounter packet re-ordering phenomenon. Both of these challenges lead to severe performance degradation in a data center network. To address these problems, in this paper, we propose an efficient mechanism for the flow scheduling problem in cloud data center networks. The proposed mechanism, on one hand, makes decisions per flow, thus preventing the necessity for rearrangement of packets. On the other hand, thanks do SDN technology and utilizing bidirectional search algorithm, our proposed method is able to distribute elephant flows across the entire network smoothly and with a high speed. Simulation results confirm the outperformance of our proposed method with the comparison of state-of-the-art algorithms under different traffic patterns. In particular, compared to the second-best result, the proposed mechanism provides about 20% higher throughput for random traffic pattern. In addition, with regard to flow completion time, the percentage of improvement is 12% for random traffic pattern
REDUCING POWER OF THE SOLVENT EXTRACTS OF EICHHORNIA CRASSIPES (MART.) SOLMS

Reducing power assay of solvent extracts of Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms at different concentrations and time delay was evaluated. Reducing power was linearly proportional to the concentration and time and was found to increase with increase in concentration and time. The extracts were compared to standard antioxidant L‐ascorbic acid. All extracts showed greater reducing power than that of the standard. The results suggest the potential of development of useful natural antioxidants.
High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography and Indirect TLC—HRMS-Based Determination of 20-Hydroxyecdysone in Sesuvium portulacastrum

20-Hydroxyecdysone (20E), an imperative phytoecdysteroid, regulates several biochemical and physiological processes during the different developmental stages in insects. The aim of the present work was to validate an analytical method for the detection and identification of the 20E content in Sesuvium portulacastrum using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) combined with image analysis and using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Using HPTLC, the better separation of 20E was achieved on TLC plate prewashed with ethanol—ethyl acetate—water (8:2:0.5) and using the solvent system consisting of chloroform—methanol—benzene (12.5:2.5:1.5) at RF value of 0.30. The bands were documented using a TLC visualizer and scanned at 254 nm in absorption mode. The method was validated for specificity, linearity, precision, robustness, stability, accuracy, limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantification (LOQ) as per the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. The linear calibration curve was achieved in the range of 50–500 ng band−1 with the most significant correlation coefficient (r = 0.997). The relative standard deviations for intra-day and inter-day precisions were found to be 1.897 and 3.125 at 300 ng band−1, and the limit of detection and limit of quantification were 4.67 and 14.16 ng band−1, respectively. Furthermore, 20-hydroxyecdysone isolated from standard and plant sample bands was identified using indirect TLC—HRMS analysis. The HPTLC method and the indirect TLC—HRMS analysis were observed to be simple, precise, accurate, and suitable for the determination of 20E in S. portulacastrum. In the phytopharmaceutical industry, the present method can be applied for the screening and routine quality control of 20E in plant materials and formulations.
Introduction to the Special Issue

Welcome to the special issue of Political Analysis dedicated to Bayesian methods. We hope that you enjoy the varied and interesting contributions herein featuring Bayesian statistical methods. For many people in empirical political science, Bayesian statistics seems like a weird offshoot of probability that surfaces occasionally in journals and books but does not occupy a particularly central role. This perception appears to be changing. In fact, it appears to be changing quite rapidly. The purpose of this issue is to support and accelerate this momentum by further demonstrating the full flexibility and power of Bayesian methodology.