Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Designing and validation of an educational software to improve writing skills of hearing-impaired students in primary schools

Background and Aim : Hearing impairment affects educational skills of hearing-impaired students, but its negative impact is far more on reading and writing skills. This study was per­formed to design and validate an educational software to improve writing skills. Methods : In this study, the mixed-methods approach was used. In the first step, the qualitative method was used to design the educational software, which was based on the main themes of the conceptual model of the writing skill curriculum provided by Sharifi et al. (2016). Afterwards, quantitative method was used to validate the software. In so doing, we enrolled 31 teachers working in hearing-impaired special primary schools. Results : The results indicated that more than 50% of the participants approved the software in terms of objectives, content determination, appropriateness of time of teaching the content, app­ropriateness of the selected places related to the learning subject, diversity of techniques with regard to individual differences, variety of techniques to control organizational shortcomings, as well as appropriateness of the educational software for improving language skills, social relationships, as well as educational achievement in all the curricular areas . Conclusion : Designing an educational software capable of considering all the influential aspects and components for writing skill improvement can improve writing skill of hearing-impaired students.
Growth Promotion and Survival Enhancement of The Freshwater Prawn Macrobrachium Rosenbergii Post Larvae Fed with Allium Sativum, Zingiber Officinale and Curcuma Longa

Post Larvae (P.L.) of M. rosenbergii were fed with ten individually formulated diets using A. sativum (A.S.), Z. officinale (Z.O.) and C. longa (C.L.) at three concentrations (1%, 3% and 5%) separately, for a trial of 90 days. Each diet contained an herb supplemented at any one of the given concentration. Diet without any of the above mentioned herbs served as control. At the end of the trial, analyses were done on growth, survival rate, feed quality, nutritional, biochemical and energy utilization indices. 5% Z.O. offered P < 0.046 level of increase in weight gain (WG) and daily growth rate (DGR), P < 0.080 level of increase in total proteins, amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids and vitamin-E, P < 0.638 level of increase in feed quality indices such as digestibility (D) %, gross feed conversion ratio (GFCR) %, net feed conversion ratio (NFCR) %, feed efficiency (FE) and P < 0.854 level of increase in nutritional indices such as protein intake (PI), amino acid intake (AI), carbohydrate intake (CI), lipid intake (LI), protein efficiency ratio (PER), protein conversion ratio (PCR), protein assimilation rate (PAR) and protein productive value (PPV) was also obtained with 5% Z.O. 5% C.L. increased the survival rate (SR) at P < 0.049 and also the tissue levels of vitamin-C, iron, sodium and potassium at P < 0.129. 5% A.S. increased the tissue level of phosphorus at P < 0.082. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) was found to be higher at P < 0.341 level in the group fed with control diet. P < 0.084 level of increase in rate of feeding, absorption, conversion and ammonia excretion of the prawns was obtained with 5% Z.O. The diets were analyzed for minerals and non-enzymatic antioxidants. P < 0.240 level of increase in vitamin-C, flavanoids, iron, sodium and potassium were recorded in 5% C.L. and P < 0.089 level of increase in vitamin-E was recorded in 5% Z.O. , also P < 0.530 level of increase in phosphorus was recorded in 5% A.S. Increased feed intake and a better quality of the feed has resulted in better nutritional status of the diet-fed animals. Z.O. improved feed intake and promoted the growth. C.L. served as a good source of non-enzymatic antioxidants and enhanced the survival of the freshwater prawns. Therefore, it is suggested that these herbs can be used as cheap and safer alternatives against synthetic hormones and antibiotics for its growth and survival.
Partial Replacing of Concentrate Feed Mixture by Potato Processing Waste in Sheep Rations

Two trials were carried out to investigate the effect of partial substitution of concentrate feed mixture (CFM) with potato peel waste (PPW) in sheep ration on In vitro and In vivo digestibility. In the first trial, chemical composition along with In vitro dry matter disappearance (IVDMD) and In vitro organic matter disappearance (IVOMD) were determined for CFM, PPW and Peanut vines hay (PVH). Three combinations were prepared to contain 50% PVH and the remainder from both CFM and / or PPW. Potato peel waste was used to replace 0, 25 and 50% of CFM in combinations 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Both IVDMD and IVOMD were determined also in these combinations. In the second trial fifteen mature male Ossimi sheep of about 63 kg live body weight were divided into three experimental groups, each of five animals. The control ration (R ) 1 composed of 50% CFM and 50% PVH, while PPW was used to replace 25 or 50% of CFM (W/W) in (R and R ), 23 respectively. The results showed that, crude protein (CP) content of PPW was comparable to that of CFM. The higher crude fiber (CF) content was observed with PVH, while PPW showed the lowest CF content. The IVDMD and IVOMD for CFM, PPW and PVH were 58.4 & 63.75, 85.38 & 88.70 and 58.70 & 63.05%, respectively. The values of IVDMD and IVOMD of different combinations were ranged from 67.23 to 70.13 for IVDMD and from 68.57 to 72.5% for IVOMD. In the second trial, the results showed that there were no significant differences among the experimental rations concerning dry matter and water intakes, however total digestible nutrients (TDN) and digestible crude protein (DCP) intakes were tended to significant decreasing (P<0.05) with increasing the level of PPW. Crude protein digestibility coefficient was significantly decreased in R in comparison with 3 R & R , while (DM, OM, CF, EE and NFE) digestibility coefficients were not significant affected by the dietary 12 treatments. Increasing level of PPW in rations decreased nutritive values as TDN and DCP. All experimental animals were in positive Nitrogen balance. Sheep fed diet containing 25% PPW significantly increased (P<0.05) ruminal pH compared with sheep that fed 0 and 50% PPW containing diets. On the other hand, total volatile fatty acid's (TVFA's) tended to increase as the level of PPW increased in the rations, while ruminal ammonia nitrogen (NH -N) concentration tended to decrease. Sampling time at 4hrs significantly decreased (P<0.05) 3 ruminal pH and NH -N however, significantly increased (P<0.05) ruminal TVFA's in comparison with zero time. 3 There were significant interaction between dietary treatments (PPW levels) and sampling time for ruminal pH, NH -N and TVFA's. From these results it can be concluded that PPW can replace successfully up to 50% of 3 CFM in sheep rations.
Gradients of Atmospheric Temperature and Humidity Controlled by Local Urban Land-Use Intensity in Boston

AbstractCities are home to the majority of humanity. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms that control urban climates has substantial societal importance to a variety of sectors, including public health and energy management. In this study, data from an urban sensor network (25 stations) and moderate-resolution remote sensing were used to explore how spatial variation in near-surface air temperature Ta, vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and land surface temperature (LST) depend on local variations in urban land use, both diurnally and seasonally, in the Boston, Massachusetts, metropolitan area. Positive correlations were observed between the amount of local impervious surface area (ISA) and both Ta and VPD. Heat-island effects peaked during the growing-season nighttime, when mean Ta and VPD increased by up to 0.02°C and 0.008 kPa, respectively, per unit ISA. Air temperature and VPD were strongly coupled, but their relationship exhibited significant diurnal hysteresis during the growing season, with changes.
Two new Gordionus species (Nematomorpha: Gordiida) from the southern Rocky Mountains (USA)

The phylum Nematomorpha contains approximately 350 species in 19 extant genera. The genus Gordionus contains 56species, four of which occur in the contiguous United States of America. Here we describe two new Gordionus speciesfrom the southern Rocky Mountains. Worms were collected at three sites in the Santa Fe National Forest in northern NewMexico in the southernmost tip of the Rocky Mountains. Sites consisted of first order streams above 3120m in aspen/pinewoodland. Gordionus lokaaus n. sp. has flat, polygonal or roundish, areoles covering all parts of the body. The male cloa-cal opening is surrounded by broad bristles with stout apexes forming a unique tube-like opening. Adhesive warts aresmall and postcloacal spines are thin and triangular-shaped. Gordionus bilaus n. sp. also has flat polygonal or roundshaped areoles, but has indistinct interareolar furrows making neighboring areoles appear fused. The male cloacal openingis surrounded by stout, finger-like bristles in 2‒3 rows. Adhesive warts are larger and postcloacal spines are broad andmound-shaped. These species double the number known from the state of New Mexico and are the first gordiids described from the southern part of the Rocky Mountains.
Solution of Nonlinear Stochastic Langevin’s Equation Using WHEP, Pickard and HPM Methods

This paper introduces analytical and numerical solutions of the nonlinear Langevin’s equation under square nonlinearity with stochastic non-homogeneity. The solution is obtained by using the Wiener-Hermite expansion with perturbation (WHEP) technique, and the results are compared with those of Picard iterations and the homotopy perturbation method (HPM). The WHEP technique is used to obtain up to fourth order approximation for different number of corrections. The mean and variance of the solution are obtained and compared among the different methods, and some parametric studies are done by using Matlab.
Smart GNC Scheme for Autonomous Planetary Landing

The moon or other nearest planets are important destinations for space science and the smart landing is key technology for exploring the different planets without fail. Due to the long round-trip delay of communication with the earth a pinpoint autonomous GNC (guidance-navigation-control) system will be suitable for precise landing. Hazard avoidance is another key issue for a safe landing of future planetary missions. Employing sensors and computers onboard, the lander detects hazards in the landing region, makes quick decision considering mission constraints within exigent time limit and generate trajectory to provide necessary command for guidance module that transfers the lander to a suitable safe landing site. Real time onboard terrain mapping Navigation and Guidance is one which has received much attention in the frame of planetary exploration. The paper illustrates the investigations concerning soft landing for planetary exploration and finally proposed a smart and autonomous GNC scheme based on real time range image measurements technique using laser range finder.
Effects of PPARγ agonist decreasing the IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α content in rats on focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury

Objective: To observe the protective effects of PPARγ Pioglitazone agonist on the focal cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion injury (I/ R) and explore its mechanism of action. Methods: By duplicating the rat Middle Cerebral Artery Block Model of Reperfusion (MCAO/R), respectively by TTC staining method, neural function scoring method to observe the effect of the PPARγ agonist on cerebral infarction volume and behavioral score in rats. And observe the effects of PPARγ agonist on the IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α content in rats with brain tissue. Results: PPARγ agonists are able to reduce the volume and behavior of cerebral infarction in I/R rats and decrease the content of IL-1β (t=7.84, P<0.05), IL-6 (t=5.23, P<0.05) and TNF-α (t=8.41, P<0.05) in brain tissues. Conclusion: PPARγ agonist has a protective effect on cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury in rats, and its mechanism is related to decreased IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in brain tissues.
In Vitro Exposure to Prostratin but Not Bryostatin-1 Improves Natural Killer Cell Functions Including Killing of CD4+ T Cells Harboring Reactivated Human Immunodeficiency Virus

In the attempt of purging the HIV-1 reservoir through the “shock-and-kill” strategy, it is important to select latency-reversing agents (LRAs) devoid of deleterious effects on the antiviral function of immune effector cells. Here, we investigated two LRAs with PKC agonist activity, prostratin (PRO) and bryostatin-1 (BRY), for their impact on the function of natural killer (NK) cells, the major effectors of innate immunity whose potential in HIV-1 eradication has emerged in recent clinical trials. Using NK cells of healthy donors, we found that exposure to either PRO or BRY potently activated NK cells, resulting in upmodulation of NKG2D and NKp44 activating receptors and matrix metalloprotease-mediated shedding of CD16 receptor. Despite PRO and BRY affected NK cell phenotype in the same manner, their impact on NK cell function was diverse and showed considerable donor-to-donor variation. Altogether, in most tested donors, the natural cytotoxicity and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) of NK cells were either improved or maintained by PRO, while both activities were impaired by BRY. Moreover, we analyzed the effect of these drugs on the capacity of treated NK cells to kill autologous latently infected CD4+ T cells reactivated via the same treatment. First, we found that PRO but not BRY increased upmodulation of the ULBP2 ligand for NKG2D on reactivated p24+ cells. Importantly, we showed that clearance of reactivated p24+ cells by NK cells was enhanced when both targets and effectors were exposed to PRO but not to BRY. Overall, PRO had a superior potential compared with BRY as to the impact on key NK cell functions and on NK-cell-mediated clearance of the HIV-1 reservoir. Our results emphasize the importance of considering the effects on NK cells of candidate “shock-and-kill” interventions. With respect to combinative approaches, the impact on NK cells of each LRA should be re-evaluated upon combination with a second LRA, which may have analogous or opposite effects, or with immunotherapy targeting NK cells. In addition, avoiding co-administration of LRAs that negatively impact ADCC activity by NK cells might be essential for successful application of antibodies or vaccination to “shock-and-kill” strategies.
The use of EMDR with refugees and asylum seekers: A review of research studies

eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (eMDR) (shapiro 2001), is an evidence based therapy for PTsD and could be effective in the treatment of traumatized and therefore, has been endorsed as a treatment of choice in many national and international health organizations including the world health organisation. This article reviews the current state of knowledge regarding the use of eMDR in the refugees and asylum seekers treatment of PTsD. Recently there is a growing interest in implementing eMDR as a trauma-focused intervention. on reviewing nine studies, authors found that EMDR was more efficacious against waitlist, and was equally efficacious against
Which species become aliens

Alien plant species are a potential threat to global biodiversity. However, only a few species in a species pool become aliens. Until now, it was unclear how these alien species differ from non-aliens. We considered central European aliens in two Argentine provinces. We found that these alien species are characterized by: (1) frequency in central Europe and utilization by humans; (2) a preference for warm, dry and nitrogen-rich conditions in central Europe; (3) a native range that covers several floristic zones; and (4) a ruderal life strategy. Aliens are not characterized by wind or vertebrate dispersal. The traits of aliens indicate that they are in frequent contact with humans as their dispersal vector. They are pre-adapted to the abiotic conditions in Argentina. And they are versatile and can colonize disturbed sites. From these traits we were able to predict correctly 81% of alien species. Thus, traits of species may help us to predict future aliens – even across higher plants in total and even based on an incomplete knowledge of the present alien flora. But such a prediction will require extensive knowledge of the species’ traits.
Estimation of positive sum-to-one constrained zooplankton grazing preferences with the DEnKF: a twin experiment

Abstract. We consider the estimation of the grazing preferences parameters of zooplankton in ocean ecosystem models with ensemble-based Kalman filters. These parameters are introduced to model the relative diet composition of zooplankton that consists of phytoplankton, small size-classes of zooplankton and detritus. They are positive values and their sum is equal to one. However, the sum-to-one constraint cannot be guaranteed by ensemble-based Kalman filters when parameters are bounded. Therefore, a reformulation of the parameterization is proposed. We investigate two types of variable transformations for the estimation of positive sum-to-one constrained parameters that lead to the estimation of a new set of parameters with normal or bounded distributions. These transformations are illustrated and discussed with twin experiments performed with the 1-D coupled model GOTM-NORWECOM with Gaussian anamorphosis extensions of the deterministic ensemble Kalman filter (DEnKF).
Workforce size and work-related role stress

Abstract This paper examines the relationships between workforce size and four work-role stressors, along with two variables that are proposed here to mediate these relationships: objective organizational support and perceived organizational support. A total of 112 clerical workers in organizations of 1–500 employees participated in the study. Workforce size was positively associated with role ambiguity, role conflict, quantitative and qualitative role overload, and objective organizational support; and it was negatively correlated with perceived organizational support. Partial correlations were then computed between workforce size and role stress, controlling sequentially for objective and perceived support. The relationships between workforce size and the four role stressors remained significant when objective support was controlled. However, the corresponding relationships were non-significant after partialling out the effects of perceived organizational support, which suggests that the effect of workf.
Nasopharyngeal Airway-The Dedicated Airway for Lip Haemangioma Excision

Airway management of patients with haemangioma of head and neck can be quite challenging for anesthetist. We are reporting here a case of big haemangioma involving lower lip and tongue with impossible conventional mask ventilation successfully managed by ventilation and inhalational induction via nasopharyngeal airway.
A Secure Key Management Scheme for Heterogeneous Secure Vehicular Communication Systems

Abstract Intelligent transportation system (ITS) is proposed as the most effective way to improve road safety and traffic efficiency. However, the future of ITS for large scale transportation infrastructures deployment highly depends on the security level of vehicular communication systems (VCS). Therefore, security key management schemes are considered as a critical research topic for network security. In this paper, we propose a framework for providing secure key management within heterogeneous network. The security managers (SMs ) Play a key role in the framework by retrieving the vehicle departure information, encapsulating block to transport keys and then executing rekeying to vehicles within the same security domain. The first part of this framework is a novel Group Key Management (GKM) scheme basing on (LP) of vehicles to depart current VCS region. Vehicle's LP factor is introduced into GKM scheme to achieve a more efficient rekeying scheme and less rekeying costs. The second component of the framework using the blockchain concept to simplify the distributed key management in Heterogeneous VCS domains. Extensive simulations and analysis are provided to show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed framework: Our GKM results demonstrate that probability-based BR reduces rekeying cost compared to the benchmark scheme, while the blockchain decreases the time cost of key transmission over heterogeneous networks.
Recognize Actions by Disentangling Components of Dynamics Supplementary Materials

In this section, we provide the architectural details of the proposed model. We plot the network architecture in Figure 1. Input to the network is a sequence of 8 consecutive RGB frames. The architecture is based upon the BNInception model [1]. The first spatial convolutional layer of the BN-Inception is used as the shared lower-level feature extractor for all three branches. We set the stride to 1 to have a displacement map with the same size with the original input.
The effect of a mindfulness meditation intervention on attention, affect, anxiety, mindfulness, and salivary cortisol in school aged children

Author: Maria L. Corbett Title: The Effects of a Mindfulness Meditation Intervention on Attention, Affect, Anxiety, Mindfulness, and Salivary Cortisol in School Aged Children Institution: Florida Atlantic University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Nancy Aaron Jones Degree: Master of Arts Year: 2011 The current study utilized a quasi-experimental nonequivalent groups design to investigate whether a 5-week long Mindfulness Meditation Intervention (MMI), would impact measures of attention, positive and negative affect, state and test anxiety, mindfulness, and reactive cortisol levels in 107 school aged children. A series of reliability corrected ANCOVAs were performed on all behavioral variables. Results indicated that those in the MMI group did not differ from their cohorts on any of the behavioral measures. Reactive levels of salivary cortisol were also collected and assayed in a subsample of 25 participants. An ANCOVA on cortisol change scores was performed and findings did not reach statistical significance. Post-hoc power analyses revealed that this could be due to inadequate sample size. To conclude studies utilizing a MMI of longer duration or with larger sample sizes may be required in assessing the usefulness of MMIs in behavioral and physiological measures in non-clinical child populations. v DEDICATION I dedicate this manuscript to all those in my loving support system, for always encouraging me to push forward, even when it seemed like things had grown stagnant, I thank you all. Specifically, to my sister and best friend Melissa, thank you for always being there to listen to me vent, and for turning teary eyed moments of data frustration into laughter-filled moments instead. To my dear friend June Schell, for recognizing my intelligence and believing in me during times when I didn’t believe in myself. To my friend Laxmi Lalwani, for reminding me that education is a part of life, not life itself. To my three wonderful RA's; Nohemi Medrano, Diana Lopez, and Leticia Valdes for working tirelessly and without college credits for several semesters in my lab. You are some of the greatest young women I have ever known and you will all go on to accomplish wonderful things in this life! And finally to my fiancé Ralph, meeting you has made my life complete. Your unconditional love and acceptance has made me a better human being. For that and so much more, I love you boo!