Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Assessment of The Influence of Lesson Study on Learners’ Academic Performance in Mathematics: Case Study of Selected Secondary Schools in Kawambwa District

This study was an assessment of the influence of Lesson Study on learners’ academic performance in Mathematics. The study follows arguments stating that, Lesson Study would provide a means of improving the content and pedagogical competencies of teachers in the teaching of Mathematics and Sciences. Hence improving learner academic performance (Lewis: 2005, Takashi and Yoshida: 2004). The study was conducted in three selected secondary schools in Kawambwa district. The objectives of the study were; ➢ to assess factors that influence the use of Lesson Study in improving learners’ academic performance in Mathematics, ➢ to establish the challenges encountered by teachers of Mathematics in practicing Lesson Study in quest to improve learners’ academic performance in Mathematics. ➢ to ascertain if there has been significant improvement in learners’ academic performance in Mathematics after the introduction of Lesson Study. The study targeted district education officials, head teachers, deputy head teachers, heads of departments (HODs), guidance teachers, School Based Continuous Profession Development (SBCPD) coordinators, teachers of Mathematics, and learners. The total sample comprised of 200 respondents of which the response was 100 percent. The study applied a case study research design. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires and analysed using thematic analysis. The study revealed that effective Lesson Study practices in schools can improve learners’ academic performance not only in Mathematics but also in other subjects. However, the study further revealed that most teachers’ attitudes towards Lesson Study was not encouraging though data collected revealed that there has been an improvement in learners’ academic performance in Mathematics after the introduction of Lesson Study. However, the study further revealed that there were also other factors apart from Lesson Study that contributed to the improved learners’ academic performance in Mathematics. These were examination leakages and malpractices, internet access (you tube lessons), access to summarized pamphlets and books and an increase in number of well qualified teachers of Mathematics in schools. The study concludes that Lesson Study though not included in the school written curriculum, has various benefits to teachers and lecturers as they tend to learn more from each other as they work collaboratively. Furthermore, Lesson Study enables teachers to develop skills and the spirit of team work throughout a lifetime.
Identification of Patterns in Epidemic Cycles and Methods for Estimating Their Duration: COVID-19 Case Study

This paper presents several epidemic cycles of COVID-19 that have practically ended in countries, states and cities and normalize them through simple and well-known numerical methods. It is evident that there is a practically universal pattern between them, in a triangular shape. It is also possible to find similar cycles with very close scales and thus use cases with cycles already closed to predict the end of the cycles still in progress. Three methods are presented and discussed and the case of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is presented in more detail.
The impact of robotic surgery in bladder cancer patients

To investigate the impact of robotic surgery in bladder cancer (BCa) patients, analysing surgical, functional, and oncologic outcomes of robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) in comparing to open radical cystectomy (ORC). A systematic literature search of all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing RARC with ORC was performed in November 2019. For each selected study, the following items were recorded in an Excel (Microsoft, Redmond, United States) sheet: surgical data (operative time, blood loss, transfusion rate, in-hospital stay, complication rates) and oncologic data (positive surgical margins, lymph node yields, disease-free survival, cancer-specific survival, overall survival). We consider 5 RCTs for the analysis including 548 cases (276 cases for RARC and 272 cases for ORC), which fulfilled the predefined inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis All selected studies presented a LoE 1b. One of the limits presented by RARC was the median operating time. All included studies reported longer OP time when compared to ORC. RARC resulted superior to ORC when considered estimated blood loss (EBL) and transfusion. No significant differences in overall complications (grades I–V) were identified between the treatment groups and the proportion of patients who had major complications (grades III–IV) was also similar between the groups. When considering progression-free survival, recurrence-free survival and BCaspecific survival, RARC demonstrated its non-inferiority to open cystectomy without any risk for port-site metastases. RARC robotic cystectomy is non-inferior to open cystectomy for surgical complications and oncological outcomes. Nevertheless, the supposed benefits of a mini-invasive approach concerning reduced hospital stay and improved postoperative QoL could be not demonstrated. Increased adoption of robotic surgery the therapy of muscle-invasive BCa should lead to future randomised trials to assess if RARC could become the new gold standard for RC
An Evaluation Model of User Satisfaction with Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

: Over the past decade, organizations have made important investments in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. However, despite huge investments, many ERP projects failed to achieve corporate goals and led companies to financial difficulties. Accordingly, an appropriate choice of method for ERP success evaluation is much needed. Assessing post-implementation success of ERP systems from the perspective of individual users is crucial because underachievement of the implemented ERP systems may be due in part to underutilization of the systems by the users. User satisfaction is regarded as being one of the most important constructs to evaluate the success of an ERP system from a user perspective. Many conceptualizations are proposed in the literature to measure this construct. From these, the End User Computing Satisfaction (EUCS) instrument developed by Doll & Torkzadeh (1988) seems to be the most appropriate regarding the unique context of ERP systems. Many reported ERP failures and the lack in agreement as to the way to evaluate their contribution to enterprise performance, have led us to conduct an empirical investigation of user satisfaction with several ERP systems. Empirical data was collected using a survey questionnaire which was distributed to ERP users working in four large Tunisian industrial groups. A total of 174 responses were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling. This study offers a new conceptualisation of ERP user satisfaction. We identify two underlying components of satisfaction: satisfaction with ERP technological features and satisfaction with its content. The findings of this study are useful to IT managers and directors by helping them to evaluate the key components of ERP user satisfaction and then to choose the appropriate ERP for their organization, and also to act separately on one or both of these two components to improve overall satisfaction. Managers should consider, on the one hand, the intrinsic attributes of the system such as user-friendly interface, easy to use features and presentation quality of the screen and, on the other hand, the quality of information content and its fit with the task supported.
Mortality estimates of Scyliorhinus canicula in the Cantabrian sea using tag-recapture data

Survival and recovery rates were obtained for small-spotted catshark Scyliorhinus canicula in the Cantabrian Sea (north of Spain) based on tagging data. A total of 7656 specimens were tagged from 1993 to 2001. Recovery models for multiyear tagging studies were applied using the programme Mark. The best model fitted was achieved considering constant survival and recovery rates following the Brownie parameterization. The outputs were a survival rate (S) 0·89 and a recovery rate (f) 0·006. The reduced parameterization (S and r) provided very similar results, 0·89 and 0·06 respectively. The total finite mortality estimated was therefore Z = 0·11.
Uncertainty and Decision-Making During a Crisis: How to Make Policy Decisions in the COVID-19 Context?

Policymaking during a pandemic can be extremely challenging. As COVID-19 is a new disease and its global impacts are unprecedented, decisions need to be made in a highly uncertain, complex and rapidly changing environment. In such a context, in which human lives and the economy are at stake, we argue that using ideas and constructs from modern decision theory, even informally, will make policymaking more a responsible and transparent process.
A Physics-informed Neural Network for Wind Turbine Main Bearing Fatigue

Unexpected main bearing failure on a wind turbine causes unwanted maintenance and increased operation costs (mainly due to crane, parts, labor, and production loss). Unfortunately, historical data indicates that failure can happen far earlier than the component design lives. Root cause analysis investigations have pointed to problems inherent from manufacturing as the major contributor, as well as issues related to event loads (e.g., startups, shutdowns, and emergency stops), extreme environmental conditions, and maintenance practices, among others. Altogether, the multiple failure modes and contributors make modeling the remaining useful life of main bearings a very daunting task. In this paper, we present a novel physics-informed neural network modeling approach for main bearing fatigue. The proposed approach is fully hybrid and designed to merge physics-informed and data-driven layers within deep neural networks. The result is a cumulative damage model where the physics-informed layers are used model the relatively well-understood physics (L10 fatigue life) and the data-driven layers account for the hard to model components (i.e., grease degradation).
A Novel Role for IκB Kinase (IKK) α and IKKβ in ERK-Dependent Up-Regulation of MUC5AC Mucin Transcription by Streptococcus pneumoniae1

Epithelial cells represent the first line of host innate defense against invading microbes by elaborating a range of molecules involved in pathogen clearance. In particular, epithelial mucins facilitate the mucociliary clearance by physically trapping inhaled microbes. Up-regulation of mucin production thus represents an important host innate defense response against invading microbes. How mucin is induced in upper respiratory Streptococcus pneumoniae infections is unknown. In this study, we show that pneumolysin is required for up-regulation of MUC5AC mucin via TLR4-dependent activation of ERK in human epithelial cells in vitro and in mice in vivo. Interestingly, a “second wave” of ERK activation appears to be important in mediating MUC5AC induction. Moreover, IκB kinase (IKK) α and IKKβ are distinctly involved in MUC5AC induction via an ERK1-dependent, but IκBα-p65- and p100-p52-independent, mechanism, thereby revealing novel roles for IKKs in mediating up-regulation of MUC5AC mucin by S. pneumoniae.
Ecology of the Little Black Cormorant, Phalacrocorax sulcirostris, and Little Pied Cormorant, P. melanoleucos, in Inland New South Wales I. Food and Feeding Habits.

The food and feeding habits of two species of cormorant were studied on a group of freshwater lakes in inland New South Wales. P. sulcirostris fed mainly on exotic fish (69% of live weight of prey), captured while fishing communally in the deeper waters. P. melanoleucos fed mainly on native decapod crustaceans (60% of prey) captured while fishing individually in the shallow parts of the lakes, and in nearby billabongs and farm dams. P. sulcirostris took larger common carp Carassius auratus, redfin Perca fluviatilis and yabby Cherax destructor than its congener. Seasonal changes in the diet of P. sulcirostris were similar in each year; its major prey, common carp and redfin, were least available during winter and spring, as fry grew too large to be captured and swallowed. Changes in diet of P. melanoleucos were irregular, as the availability of yabby, its major prey, was influenced by the turbidity, level and temperature of water. Seasonal changes in diets of both cormorants were attributed to changes in prey availability, and not changes in food preference. Food of nestlings sometimes differed from that of adults.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: THE PRESENCE OF UNITEN AND ITS IMPACTS ON BUSINESS PERFORMANCE OF BANDAR

Today, the level of awareness about corporate social responsibility (CSR) is at the rising trend. Recognizing the importance of CSR, many corporations have engaged themselves in these activities in order to gain competitive advantage. Previous researches focused more on the CSR contributions from corporation’s point of view; however, limited research was conducted from consumer’s perspective. Thus, this research aimed to investigate the impacts of CSR to business communities in Bandar Muadzam Shah (BMS) with the presence of Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN). UNITEN is one of the CSR proxies for Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). Data for this study were collected through questionnaires with sample of 115 business entities in BMS. The presence of UNITEN was illustrated based on three independent variables, namely the economy development, social development, and environment. Meanwhile, the business performance (dependent variable) was measured based on profit, job opportunities, and growth of business. After performing Spearman correlation tests, the results indicated that all independent variables have significant impacts, although varies, on business performance except for the environment and profit. Thus, the results revealed that the existence of UNITEN in BMS brought about significant development, improvement and opportunities to the business and local communities in terms of economy, social, and environment. Relevant authorities such as the local council (Majlis Daerah Rompin), TNB and UNITEN management and other stakeholders may use the findings to develop plan and policies for the betterment of the BMS communities in the future.
Trajectory-based Cognitive Recognition of Dynamic Hand Gestures from Webcam Videos

An online description of the hand and detection of the centroid of a hand movement are critical requirements to trace the dynamic hand gestures. The hand acquires very small area in the image frame, and due to its nonrigid nature, and random behavior in movement, the quality of images in the video are affected considerably, if the movement is recorded from low-resolution camera for e.g. webcam. The image quality further reduces by the real-time factors associated with the background and thus, hand detection and its localization become a challenge in webcam videos. These challenges compel researchers either to work with static hand postures or to use advance sensor-based cameras. In this paper we have proposed a novel method to recognize and plot the trajectory of dynamic hand gestures directly in true color videos acquired through webcam. The cognitive learning of Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) features of active hand template in each consecutive frames of the video help in tracing the path of hand movement without background subtraction or involving segmentation process. The determination of active hand template using Chen-Vese model makes our method invariant to the hand posture used by the user to perform his hand gesture. To test the efficiency of the methodology we have generated three different real-time common scenarios for a user to perform his hand movement. The empirical results obtained in different experiments demonstrate that the approach can withstand the challenges associated with the detection and tracking dynamic hand gestures when recorded from a simple webcam.
Identification and Comparison of Effective Substances in Essential Oil of Psammogeton Canescens Plant Collected from Kerman Province / Iran

A B S T R A C T Objective: The genus Psammogeton, belonging to the Umbelliferae family, has 4 annual species in Iran. In the present work, Psammogeton canescens (DC) Methods: Vatke was collected from Saheb-al-Zaman Mountain slope, northeast of Kerman province, Iran in May 2013. The essential oils of leaves, flowers and stems of the plant were separately extracted using hydrodistillation method and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Results: In the leaf oil, 25 components were identified, representing 99.5% of the total oil, with β- pinene (40.3%), dill apiole (20.4%), limonene (15.1%) and 4aα,7β,7aα-nepetalactone (6.6%) as the main constituents. The flower oil was characterized by higher amount of dill apiole (44.3%), limonene (32.4%) and β-pinene (11.4%) among the 22 components comprising 99.8% of the total oil detected. Furthermore, 33 compounds were identified in the stem oil, representing 98.6% of the total oil. β-Pinene (33.6%), dill apiole (27.8%), limonene (16.3%) and γ-terpinene (5.3%) were found to be the major constituents. Consequently, β-pinene, dill apiole and limonene were the main components in all three oils. The dominant components of the leaf and stem oils were monoterpenes (76.0% and 64.5%, respectively), whereas phenylpropanoids (49.7%) and monoterpenes (49.2%) were the major groups of compounds in the flower oil.
Avian community responses to post‐fire forest structure: implications for fire management in mixed conifer forests

Fire is a natural process and the dominant disturbance shaping plant and animal communities in many coniferous forests of the western US. Given that fire size and severity are predicted to increase in the future, it has become increasingly important to understand how wildlife responds to fire and post‐fire management. The Angora Fire burned 1243 hectares of mixed conifer forest in South Lake Tahoe, California. We conducted avian point counts for the first 3 years following the fire in burned and unburned areas to investigate which habitat characteristics are most important for re‐establishing or maintaining the native avian community in post‐fire landscapes. We used a multi‐species occurrence model to estimate how avian species are influenced by the density of live and dead trees and shrub cover. While accounting for variations in the detectability of species, our approach estimated the occurrence probabilities of all species detected including those that were rare or observed infrequently. Although all species encountered in this study were detected in burned areas, species‐specific modeling results predicted that some species were strongly associated with specific post‐fire conditions, such as a high density of dead trees, open‐canopy conditions or high levels of shrub cover that occur at particular burn severities or at a particular time following fire. These results indicate that prescribed fire or managed wildfire which burns at low to moderate severity without at least some high‐severity effects is both unlikely to result in the species assemblages that are unique to post‐fire areas or to provide habitat for burn specialists. Additionally, the probability of occurrence for many species was associated with high levels of standing dead trees indicating that intensive post‐fire harvest of these structures could negatively impact habitat of a considerable proportion of the avian community.
Protolichesterinic Acid: A Prominent Broad Spectrum Antimicrobial Compound from the Lichen Usnea albopunctata

The aim of this study is to investigate the antimicrobial compounds present in the lichen Usnea albopunctata. Ethyl acetate extract was purified by silica gel column chromatography to obtain a major compound and the chemical structure was characterized by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, DEPT, 1H-1H COSY, HMQC, HMBC, UV, and HR-MS spectroscopic methods as protolichesterinic acid. The antimicrobial activity was estimated by determination of the minimal inhibitory concentration by the broth microdilution method and agar disc diffusion method against thirteen human pathogenic bacterial and four fungal strains. Protolichesterinic acid recorded significant broad spectrum antimicrobial property. The best antibacterial activity was recorded against K. pneumonia (0.25 μg/mL) and V. cholerae (0.5 μg/mL). Significant antifungal activity was recorded against T. rubrum (0.12 μg/mL), which is significantly better than the standard antifungal agent. Protolichesterinic acid is reported for the first time from Usnea albopunctata. Antifungal activity of protolichesterinic acid against medically important fungi is also reported for the first time. Thus the results of the present study suggest that protolichesterinic acid has significant antimicrobial activities and has the strong potential to be developed as an antimicrobial drug after further clinical evaluation.
AdaptiveReID: Adaptive L2 Regularization in Person Re-Identification

We introduce an adaptive L2 regularization mechanism termed AdaptiveReID, in the setting of person re-identification. In the literature, it is common practice to utilize hand-picked regularization factors which remain constant throughout the training procedure. Unlike existing approaches, the regularization factors in our proposed method are updated adaptively through backpropagation. This is achieved by incorporating trainable scalar variables as the regularization factors, which are further fed into a scaled hard sigmoid function. Extensive experiments on the Market-1501, DukeMTMC-reID and MSMT17 datasets validate the effectiveness of our framework. Most notably, we obtain state-of-the-art performance on MSMT17, which is the largest dataset for person re-identification. Source code will be published at this https URL.
Effect of chronic exposure to sublethal of ammonia concentrations on NADP + -dependent dehydrogenases of Nile tilapia liver

he effect of chronic exposure to sublethal ammonia (NH3) on liver NADPH producing enzymes of Nile tilapia juveniles (Oreochromis niloticus) was studied. Fish with an initial weight of 15.0±1.4 g were reared in a static system and exposed to the total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) concentrations 5 or 10 mg L −1 for consecutive 70 days at 26±0.5°C. NADPH is mainly produced by glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), 6- phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGDH), and the cytosolic form of NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH). These enzymes have been recently considered as an important factor in cellular defense against oxidative damage as they share in maintaining reduced glutathione (GSH) level. The activity of the enzymes G6PDH, 6PGDH, and cytosolic IDH in liver tissues of fish exposed to different concentrations of NH3 showed significant increase. The degree of increase in activity was positively related to ammonia concentration. The increased activity of these enzymes resulted in higher NADPH availability. This may be interpreted as a defense to maintain a high level of GSH against the expected oxidative stress in ammonia-exposed fish.
Visualizing Transfer Learning

We provide visualizations of individual neurons of a deep image recognition network during the temporal process of transfer learning. These visualizations qualitatively demonstrate various novel properties of the transfer learning process regarding the speed and characteristics of adaptation, neuron reuse, spatial scale of the represented image features, and behavior of transfer learning to small data. We publish the large-scale dataset that we have created for the purposes of this analysis.