Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using Tablet PCs for the Design of Web Educational Environments

Learning models based on competences facilitate the integration of students into the professional world, allowing further integration into the society, where learning is a necessity. The final aim deals with the topic “learning to learn”, as essential step for continuous learning (lifelong learning). In the project introduced in this work we have used the Problem Based Learning (PBL) methodology applied to the subject Human Computer Interaction (HCI). Students have designed, evaluated and implemented, computing interactive systems to be used by humans. To perform it, students have used Tablet PCs that contribute to do important changes at the classroom, reducing some of the problems associated with the traditional models of education centred on the teacher. Taking into account the enormous penetration rate of devices having touch-sensitive interfaces (smart phones, tablet PCs, home automation systems, remote control, etc .), and the big perspectives of growth in the short and medium term the development of interfaces by means of touch devices, the use of Tablet PC have let students develop transversal competences using PBL methodology. The study has been centred on the analysis of Virtual educational environments.
DSM DESIGN OF LIPPED CHANNEL COLUMNS UNDERGOING LOCAL/DISTORTIONAL/GLOBAL MODE INTERACTION

This work aims at contributing towards extending the domain of application of the available DSM, by making it capable of estimating the ultimate strength of cold-formed steel lipped channel columns affected by local/distortional/global interaction. The current DSM expressions, as well as those applicable to interactive buckling design, are first introduced and an extensive numerical (shell finite element) study involving fixed columns is reported − the column geometries are selected in order to have nearly coincident local, distortional and global buckling loads. The numerical ultimate strength values obtained are then used to assess the accuracy of the DSM expressions. As a preliminary recommendation, the current DSM expressions are adequate to estimate the collapse load of lipped channel columns affected by local/distortional/global interaction.
Seasonal Mixed Layer Heat Balance of the Southwestern Tropical Indian Ocean

Sea surface temperature (SST) in the southwestern tropical Indian Ocean exerts a significant influence on global climate through its influence on the Indian summer monsoon and Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation. In this study, measurements from a long-term moored buoy are used in conjunction with satellite, in situ, and atmospheric reanalysis datasets to analyze the seasonal mixed layer heat balance in the thermocline ridge region of the southwestern tropical Indian Ocean. This region is characterized by a shallow mean thermocline (90 m, as measured by the 208C isotherm) and pronounced seasonal cycles of Ekman pumping and SST (seasonal ranges of 20.1 to 0.6 m day 21 and 268–29.58C, respectively). It is found that surface heat fluxes and horizontal heat advection contribute significantly to the seasonal cycle of mixed layer heat storage. The net surface heat flux tends to warm the mixed layer throughout the year and is strongest during boreal fall and winter, when surface shortwave radiation is highest and latent heat loss is weakest. Horizontal heat advection provides warming during boreal summer and fall, when southwestward surface currents and horizontal SST gradients are strongest, and is close to zero during the remainder of the year. Vertical turbulent mixing, estimated as a residual in the heat balance, also undergoes a significant seasonal cycle. Cooling from this term is strongest in boreal summer, when surface wind and buoyancy forcing are strongest, the thermocline ridge is shallow (,90 m), and the mixed layer is deepening. These empirical results provide a framework for addressing intraseasonal and interannual climate variations, which are dynamically linked to the seasonal cycle, in the southwestern tropical Indian Ocean. They also provide a quantitative basis for assessing the accuracy of numerical ocean model simulations in the region.
Image-Guided Hypofractionated Radiosurgery of Large and Complex Brain Lesions

Hypofractionated radiosurgery either through frame or image guidance has emerged as the most important area of research and development for intracranial and extracra‐ nial radiosurgery. In this chapter, we focused on discussions of three state-of-the-art platforms: Frame- and Image-Guided Gamma Knife, Robotic X-Band Cykerknife, and Flattening-Filter-Free intensity-modulated S-band medical linear accelerators. Practical principles with detailed workflow and clinical implementations are presented in a systematic approach. With rapid evolvement of both hardware and software in the realm of delivering hypofractionated radiosurgery, this chapter aims to offer a reader physical clarity on judging and balancing of achieving high-precision and high- quality treatments with practical examples and guidelines on intracranial applications. movement. Their investigations further found a CTV-PTV margin of 2.0 mm to be adequate in brain tumor treatments for an on-treatment imaging interval of 30–45 sec.
A Wideband Single Fed L Slot Circularly Polarized Antenna

A single-fed circularly polarized (CP) patch antenna is designed and built using L-slot loaded patch technique. The antenna is designed on a high dielectric constant (εr = 10.02) substrate which achieves a reasonable bandwidth and axial ratio bandwidth with respect to a U slot antenna. At the operating frequency of 1.575 GHz with the size of the patch is 25mm X 25mm, while ground plane of 60mm X 60mm and the thickness of the substrate is 9.12mm. Bandwidth is enhanced to 18.42% and Axial Ratio Bandwidth by 4% by this design. The other Parameters of antenna like return loss and radiation pattern are also analyzed using HFSS software. Key Words— Circularly polarized (CP), patch antenna, L-slot
Manifold-tiling Localized Receptive Fields are Optimal in Similarity-preserving Neural Networks

Many neurons in the brain, such as place cells in the rodent hippocampus, have localized receptive fields, i.e., they respond to a small neighborhood of stimulus space. What is the functional significance of such representations and how can they arise? Here, we propose that localized receptive fields emerge in similarity-preserving networks of rectifying neurons that learn low-dimensional manifolds populated by sensory inputs. Numerical simulations of such networks on standard datasets yield manifold-tiling localized receptive fields. More generally, we show analytically that, for data lying on symmetric manifolds, optimal solutions of objectives, from which similarity-preserving networks are derived, have localized receptive fields. Therefore, nonnegative similarity-preserving mapping (NSM) implemented by neural networks can model representations of continuous manifolds in the brain.
Inhaled corticosteroids might not increase the risk of pneumonia in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Japan

Background The use of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) decreases the frequency of COPD exacerbations. Recently, pneumonia was reported as a complication of ICS in patients with COPD. However, there have been few reports concerning the relationship between ICS and pneumonia in Japan. Moreover, there is little information on the types of ICS. Patients and methods To clarify these issues, we investigated the occurrence of pneumonia in Japanese patients with COPD. We retrospectively investigated the occurrence of pneumonia in patients with COPD in our hospital from January 2009 to August 2013. Morbidity and mortality, ICS use, age, sex, and COPD classification were investigated. A group of patients with COPD who received ICS and a group of patients with COPD who did not receive ICS were compared each other. Results Fifty-one patients developed pneumonia among 639 (7.98%) patients with COPD. Among 252 ICS-treated patients with COPD, 13 (5.16%) developed pneumonia, and among 387 ICS-untreated patients with COPD, 38 (9.82%) developed pneumonia. The mortality rate in ICS-treated patients with COPD was 7.7%, while that in ICS-untreated patients was 10.5% (P=0.767). Fluticasone/salmeterol use tended to show a higher risk of pneumonia than budesonide/formoterol use. The use of ICS did not increase the risk of pneumonia or mortality due to pneumonia in Japanese patients with COPD. Conclusion ICS might not increase the risk of pneumonia in Japanese patients with COPD. In regard to pneumonia, ICS can be safely used in Japanese patients with COPD. Because there are apparent differences in lung diseases among races, appropriate treatment should be investigated in each country.
MEDEA: Merging Event knowledge and Distributional vEctor Addition

English. The great majority of compositional models in distributional semantics present methods to compose distributional vectors or tensors in a representation of the sentence. Here we propose to enrich the best performing method (vector addition, which we take as a baseline) with distributional knowledge about events, outper-forming our baseline. Italiano
A Semi-Automated Labeling Approach for a Hierarchy of Image Clusters

Many computer vision learning tasks require a set of annotated images to train from. As datasets grow very large, the human labor needed to complete the annotation process becomes very demanding. Approaches have been proposed that attempt to reduce the dataset in some fashion in order to alleviate the annotation workload, but these approaches still require the annotator to provide labels for each image in the reduced set. This paper introduces a new approach that uses hierarchical clustering to semi-automate the labeling of an image dataset. Using a small number of human annotations, the system automatically propagates labels to clusters unseen by the user. Further, this paper demonstrates how images extracted from videos can lead to further automatic labeling.
Interactions between marine snow and heterotrophic bacteria: aggregate formation and microbial dynamics

Macroscopic aggregates (marine snow) contribute to new production and nutrient dynamics in the upper ocean and vertical fluxes of organic matter to the deep ocean. To test whether microorganisms play a significant role in phytoplankton aggregate formation we studied particle abundance and size as well as abundance, colonization behaviour, and community composition of bacteria during the growth of 2 marine diatoms (Thalassiosira weissflogii and Navicula sp.) under axenic and non-axenic conditions. Community composition of free-living and attached bacteria during phytoplankton growth and aggregation was studied by amplification of 16S rRNA gene frag- ments and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Our results show that the presence of bacteria was a prerequisite for aggregation of T. weissflogii but not of Navicula sp. Occurrences of distinct populations of free-living and attached bacteria depended on phytoplankton growth and aggregation dynamics. The community composition of especially attached bacteria significantly differed between the 2 algal cultures. Our study suggests that phytoplankton aggregation and verti- cal fluxes are closely linked to interactions between the marine phytoplankton and the ambient microbial community.
Focus group and teaching-learning process in nursing: a systematic review of the literature Focus group e processo ensino-aprendizagem em enfermagem: uma revisão sistemática da literatura

Focus-group is strongly associated with qualitative approaches, revealing an extraordinary usefulness in research due to their heuristic qualities. This systematic literature review allows assessment of the state-of-the-art regarding the application of focus group, and the results of these focus group studies, particularly in the context of nursing education. With an aim to analyse the utilization of focus group in the teaching-learning process in nursing, the following goals were set: to present the focus group as a method and technique of data collection; to identify advantages and limitations of its use in research as in the nursing teaching-learning processes. A systematic review of the literature was developed according to the PI(C)OD (Participants, Interventions, Comparisons, Outcomes, Design of the study) analysis protocol. From 598 available articles, twelve meeting the eligibility criteria were selected and analyzed. We found that in qualitative studies, the focus group is presented as a useful method and technique to look deeper into human phenomena, especially those related to the learning process and its principle players. Results corroborate the information provided by the specialized literature, e.g., the focus group technique/method is useful when the intention is to assess experiences, perceptions, opinions, beliefs, values and attitudes, as is the case within many facets of the nursing teaching process.
Investigation of Empty Space in Nanoscale Double Gate (ESDG) MOSFET for High Speed Digital Circuit Applications

The impact of Empty Space layer in the channel region of a Double Gate (i.e. ESDG) MOSFET has been studied, by monitoring the DC, RF as well as the digital performance of the device using ATLAS 3D device simulator. The influence of temperature variation on different devices, i.e. Double Gate incorporating Empty Space (ESDG), Empty Space in Silicon (ESS), Double Gate (DG) and Bulk MOSFET has also been studied. The electrical performance of scaled ESDG MOSFET shows high immunity against Short Channel Effects (SCEs) and temperature variations. The present work also includes the linearity performance study in terms of VIP2 and VIP3. The proper bias point to get the higher linearity along with the higher transconductance and device gain has also been discussed.
Differentiating the Effects of Animal-Assisted Versus Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy on Positive Psychological Outcomes Through a Stress Induction Context

The unique benefits of Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP) such as the human-horse bond, a non-traditional therapy setting, and performing altruistic acts are thought to facilitate positive change in humans. One mechanism by which positive changes occur is through improved coping and resilience in the face of stress. To date, only a handful of correlational studies speak to the potential effects of EFP on resilience-based outcomes. Thus, this study sought to address this gap in the literature by exploring the benefits of EFP compared to traditional Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) in an experimental context. Specifically, we examined the effects of different intervention (EFP vs. AAT vs. control) on three resilience-based outcomes (i.e., positive affect, well-being, and altruism). In addition, we wanted to ascertain whether participation in specific types of psychological interventions may buffer the negative effects of stress on these resiliencebased outcomes. In an online study, participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions and asked to listen to a 10-minute audio guided imagery exercise depicting an EFP, AAT, or control group intervention. Participants were then asked to complete a number of surveys, including measures of stress, affect, well-being, and altruism. Overall, results did not reveal any significant differences in stress reduction, mood, or well-being across conditions. Additionally, analyses did not reveal any moderating effects of intervention type on the relationship between stress and resilience-based outcomes. One significant finding indicates that, contrary to our prediction, participants in the EFP group reported lower levels of altruism than the other two groups. Overall, the results of the current study do not lend significant support for the use of EFP as an effective approach in managing stress and increasing resilience-based outcomes. A number of notable limitations in the current study are discussed as well as suggestions for addressing these issues in future research. INDEX WORDS: EFP, AAT, Mood, Positive affect, Well-being, Altruism, Resilience DIFFERENTIATING THE EFFECTS OF ANIMAL-ASSISTED VERSUS EQUINE FACILITATED PSYCHOTHERAPY ON POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL OUTCOMES THROUGH A STRESS INDUCTION CONTEXT
Fault-Tolerant Training Enabled by On-Line Fault Detection for RRAM-Based Neural Computing Systems

An resistive random-access memory (RRAM)-based computing system (RCS) is an attractive hardware platform for implementing neural computing algorithms. On-line training for RCS enables hardware-based learning for a given application and reduces the additional error caused by device parameter variations. However, a high occurrence rate of hard faults due to immature fabrication processes and limited write endurance restrict the applicability of on-line training for RCS. We propose a fault-tolerant on-line training method that alternates between a fault-detection phase and a fault-tolerant training phase. In the fault-detection phase, a quiescent-voltage comparison method is utilized. In the training phase, a threshold-training method and a remapping scheme is proposed. Our results show that, compared to neural computing without fault tolerance, the recognition accuracy for the Cifar-10 dataset improves from 37% to 83% when using low-endurance RRAM cells, and from 63% to 76% when using RRAM cells with high endurance but a high percentage of initial faults.
Strategic Issues Affecting Training and Development in Tanzania’s Public Sector: Evidence from Selected Local Government Authorities

This paper examined strategic issues affecting training and development in Tanzania’s public sector with evidence from selected local government authorities. The specific objectives were to examine whether organisation resources, modern technology, organisation structure, and organisation culture affects training and development in organisations. Tools for data collection were questionnaires, interviews and documentary review, which were used to collect data Dodoma and Chamwino local authorities, then data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 and excel spreadsheet. The findings revealed individually and collectively independent variables (organisation resources, modern technology, organization structure and organisation culture) affects training and development, where coefficient of determination ( 0.762) implied 76.2% of the variations in training and development was influenced by organisation resources, modern technology, organisation structure and organisation culture in two local authorities. This means that other factors not studied in this research contributes about 23.8% only, with higher influence being from organisation resource at b = 0.448; modern technology with b = 0.253; organisation structure with b = 0.200; and organisation culture with b = 0.124 respectively. Therefore, management in local authorities should consider these strategic issues for effective execution of training and development of employees towards improving council’s service delivery.
Pragmatic and Cross-Cultural Workings of Perlocutionary Intertexts

Perlocutionary intertexts (PIs) have received little attention in the literature on nonliterary discourse. This paper explores PIs in spiked article titles. A textual survey and intertextual analysis were conducted to probe into the pragmatic and intertextual workings of the PIs and their potential appeals. It is found that 1) the sociocultural knowledge for the activation of the PIs is primarily derived from formulaic language, prominent literary/non-literary works, and media products; 2) pragmatic foregrounding attracts the reader’s attention; 3) the common ground derived from the source text forms the basis of the intertextual association; 4) external intertextuality triggers the pragmatic inferencing of the PI meaning and/or significance; and 5) internal paratextuality confirms or further develops the pragmatic inferencing. In addition, a post hoc questionnaire survey with 83 Taiwanese college students and their reading-response logs indicate that such intercultural PIs are moderately appealing, with their repellent effects upon the unknowing readers nullifying some of their attraction.
( 3 D ) Object Discovery in Videos

Topic: The traditional paradigm for learning representative models of data relies on manual annotation. For example, to learn a model for semantic segmentation of images, i.e., assigning object labels to pixels, the most successful methods require annotated training data [1], where every pixel in the entire training set is manually assigned a label. Such data is expensive to acquire reliably, and impossible to adapt to the context of large data collections. The challenge is to depart from this fully-supervised scenario. A promising research direction in this context is to automatically “discover” objects in an image collection. Object discovery inolves localizing objects in a given image collection containing multiple dominant objects [2]. This problem: (i) is unsupervised, i.e., there are no image annotations to guide the discovery process, (ii) makes no assumption of a single dominant class or even a known number of object classes, and (iii) also needs to deal with noisy images in the collection, which do not contain any of the target objects. The internship will focus on extending techniques such as [2–4] using more precise object representations (e.g., in object segments instead of bounding boxes), discover objects in video, and also to build a 3D interpretation of the scene in an unsupervised paradigm.
Vegetable wastes: an alternative resource for biogas and bio compost production through lab scale process.

Vegetable waste is a biodegradable material generated in large quantities from various sources like, domestic, industries, municipalities and markets. Now a day s these kinds of wastes are dumped on land to rot in the open, which not only emits a foul odor, but also creates a big nuisance by attracting birds, rats and pig s vectors of various diseases. These wastes can be treated for bio-energy production through fermentation under controlled conditions or else used for composting.
Induced Electromagnetic Fields Estimation in Spine Examinations of MRI Patients: A Re-Evaluation of Existing Clinical Protocols at a Hospital in Accra, Ghana

Patients undergoing Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are exposed to strong, non-uniform static magnetic fields outside of the central imaging region, in which the movement of the body may induce electric currents in tissues which could possibly be harmful. The purpose of this study was to re-evaluate existing clinical protocols by determining the induced electromagnetic (EM) fields in MRI spine examinations. The study covered 120 MRI spine examinations at the MRI Unit of a hospital in Accra, Ghana. A numerical model based on Faraday’s equation was developed using the finite difference method (FDM) and MATLAB software to compute, first, a test simulation of induced EM field intensities and then actual measurements of induced fields on the spine. The simulation results were peak induced electric field, 0.39 V/m and current density, 0.039 A/m2. Patient results were; calculated maximum velocity, 0.29 m/s; peak induced electric field strength, 0.44 V/m, and current density, 0.043 A/m2. The levels of induced EM-fields were such that they would not pose any potential health hazards to the patients as these values were well below the recommended guidance levels set by the Directive IEC 60601-2-33 of the European Parliament.