Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How Educational Developers can Re-engage Mid-Career Faculty Using SoTL

Mid-career faculty (MCF) currently make up a significant number of faculty at higher educational institutions. This group comprises key stakeholders with institutional history, diverse teaching and learning experiences, and strong relationships with colleagues. While faculty need different kinds of support and opportunities at different career stages, it has been reported that mid-career professional development is under-researched and overlooked. We contend that professional development for MCF is essential if these faculty are going to continue to grow as educators, leaders, and scholars. With the support of Educational Developers (EDs), the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is one way for faculty to focus their professional development in the middle years of their career. Drawing on the literature about challenges for MCF and using the micro-meso-macro-mega framework, we explore ways in which EDs can use SoTL to re-engage MCF on a revitalized path. Our synthesis offers reflections on our career experiences as EDs and boundary-spanning points to ponder for both EDs and MCF as they enter into SoTL engagement.
Persistence of myclobutanil and its impact on soil microbial biomass C and dehydrogenase enzyme activity in tea orchard soils

Persistence of the fungicide myclobutanil in three tea orchard soils with different cultivating ages, neighboring wasteland and forest soils, and its influence on microbial activities in 2- and 50-year-oldtea orchard soils at three rates were studied in the laboratory. Dissipation data fitted well to first-order kinetic equation, except for sterilized treatments, in which neglected dissipation of myclobutanil was observed. At 25oC, the dissipation half-lives (DT50) at level of 1mg kg-1 were in the range of 15.07-69.32 days under non-flooded condition, significantly lower than flooded condition (p < 0.05), indicating that dissipation of myclobutanil was mainly driven by soil microorganisms under aerobic condition. Dissipation rate was significantly increased at 40oC compared to those at 4oC and 25oC for all five soils (p < 0.05). Under all incubation conditions, DT50 were lowest in 50-year-old tea orchard soil (p < 0.01). Correlation analysis between DT50 in tea orchard soils and soil properties showed that soil microbial biomass carbon was negatively correlated with DT50 under 25oC and 60% water holding capacity (p < 0.05). In general, soil microbial biomass carbon and dehydrogenase activity decreased as the concentration of myclobutanil and incubation time increased except 0.1 mg kg-1 spiked soils, in which soil dehydrogenase activity was stimulated after 10 days incubation.
Charging Load Pattern Extraction for Residential Electric Vehicles: A Training-Free Nonintrusive Method

Extracting the charging load pattern of residential electric vehicle (REV) will help grid operators make informed decisions in terms of scheduling and demand-side response management. Due to the multistate and high-frequency characteristics of integrated residential appliances from the residential perspective, it is difficult to achieve accurate extraction of the charging load pattern. To deal with that, this article presents a novel charging load extraction method based on residential smart meter data to noninvasively extract REV charging load pattern. The proposed algorithm harnesses the low-frequency characteristics of the charging load pattern and applies a two-stage decomposition technique to extract the characteristics of the charging load. The two-stage decomposition technique mainly includes: the trend component of the charging load being decomposed by seasonal and trend decomposition using loess method, and the low-frequency approximate component being decomposed by discrete wavelet technology. Furthermore, based on the extracted characteristics, event monitoring, and dynamic time warping is applied to estimate the closest charging interval and amplitude. The key features of the proposed algorithm include 1) significant improvement in extraction accuracy; 2) strong noise immunity; 3) online implementation of extraction. Experiments based on ground truth data validate the superiority of the proposed method compared to the existing ones.
“Critical Agents of Change?”: Opportunities and Limits to Children’s Participation in Urban Planning

Children’s participation in urban planning impacts communities. A policy environment supports their participation, yet this is far from mainstream, particularly in areas of greatest vulnerability. This literature review demonstrates what we do and don’t know about barriers and enablers to children’s participation in urban planning. We identify key themes within participatory methods, processes, and structures that influence urban planning stages and methods and identify the consequences of children’s inclusion or exclusion. We then argue for a research agenda that examines institutional impacts on urban planning and decisions that include or exclude children to contribute to a transformation of on-ground practices.
Bodipy-Loaded Micelles Based on Polylactide as Surface Coating for Photodynamic Control of Staphylococcus aureus

Decontaminating coating systems (DCSs) represent a challenge against pathogenic bacteria that may colonize hospital surfaces, causing several important infections. In this respect, surface coatings comprising photosensitizers (PSs) are promising but still controversial for several limitations. PSs act through a mechanism of antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation (aPDI) due to formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) after light irradiation. However, ROS are partially deactivated during their diffusion through a coating matrix; moreover, coatings should allow oxygen penetration that in contact with the activated PS would generate 1O2, an active specie against bacteria. In the attempt to circumvent such constraints, we report a spray DCS made of micelles loaded with a PS belonging to the BODIPY family (2,6-diiodo-1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-8-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-4,4′-difluoroboradiazaindacene) that is released in a controlled manner and then activated outside the coating. For this aim, we synthesized several amphiphilic copolymers (mPEG–(PLA)n), which form micelles, and established the most stable supramolecular system in terms of critical micelle concentration (CMC) and ∆Gf values. We found that micelles obtained from mPEG–(PLLA)2 were the most thermodynamically stable and able to release BODIPY in a relatively short period of time (about 80% in 6 h). Interestingly, the BODIPY released showed excellent activity against Staphylococcus aureus even at micromolar concentrations.
Immobilized TiO2/ZnO Sensitized Copper (II) Phthalocyanine Heterostructure for the Degradation of Ibuprofen under UV Irradiation

Photocatalytic coatings of TiO2/ZnO/CuPc were developed on stainless steel substrates by subsequent sol gel dip coating for TiO2, spray pyrolysis for ZnO, and spin coating for copper (ii) phthalocyanine (CuPc) deposition. The latter compound was successfully prepared using a Schiff-based process. The materials and coatings developed were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy with attached energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), UV-Vis spectroscopy, room temperature photoluminescence (RTPL) spectroscopy, H1-nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy, C13-nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR) spectroscopy, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS). The as-deposited TiO2/ZnO/CuPc on stainless steel retained in pristine state the structural and morphological/spectroscopic characteristics of its respective components. Estimated energy band gap values were 3.22 eV, 3.19 eV, 3.19 eV for TiO2, ZnO, TiO2/ZnO respectively and 1.60 eV, 2.44 eV, and 2.92 eV for CuPc. The photocatalytic efficiency of the fabricated TiO2/ZnO/CuPc coatings was tested toward ibuprofen (IBF). After 4 h irradiation under 365 nm UV, an increased degradation of about 80% was achieved over an initial 5 mg/L ibuprofen (IBF). This was much higher compared to about 42% and 18% IBF degradation by TiO2/ZnO and TiO2 thin film, respectively. In all cases, the stability of the best-performing photocatalyst was investigated showing a small decline to 77% of IBF degradation after the 5th cycle run. The effect of pH, reactive oxygen species (ROS) probe, shed light on a possible catalytic mechanism that was suggested.
Factor Optimization for the Design of Indoor Positioning Systems Using a Probability-Based Algorithm

Indoor Positioning Systems (IPSs) are designed to provide solutions for location-based services. Wireless local area network (WLAN)-based positioning systems are the most widespread around the globe and are commonly found to have a ready-to-use infrastructure composed mostly of access points (APs). They advertise useful information, such as the received signal strength (RSS), that is processed by adequate location algorithms, which are not always capable of achieving the desired localization error only by themselves. In this sense, this paper proposes a new method to improve the accuracy of IPSs by optimizing the arrangement of APs over the environment using an enhanced probability-based algorithm. From the assumption that a log-distance path loss model can reasonably describe, on average, the distribution of RSS throughout the environment, we build a simulation framework to analyze the impact, on the accuracy, of the main factors that constitute the positioning algorithm, such as the number of reference points (RPs) and the number of samples of RSS collected per test point. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed solution, a real-world testbed dataset is used for validation. The obtained results for accuracy show that the trends verified via simulation strongly correlate to the verified in the dataset processing when allied with an optimal configuration of APs. This indicates our method is capable of providing an optimal factor combination—through early simulations—for the design of more efficient IPSs that rely on a probability-based positioning algorithm.
The Sequence of Heavy Precipitation and Flash Flooding of 12 and 13 September 2019 in Eastern Spain. Part I: Mesoscale Diagnostic and Sensitivity Analysis of Precipitation

The Mediterranean region is frequently affected by heavy precipitation episodes and subsequent flash flooding. An exemplary case is the heavy precipitation episode that occurred in the regions of València, Murcia, and Almería (eastern Spain) on 12 and 13 September 2019. Observed rainfall amounts were close to 500 mm in 48 h, causing seven fatalities and estimated economical losses above EUR 425 million. This case exemplifies the challenging aspects of convective-scale forecasting in the Mediterranean region, with kilometer-resolution meteorological fields required over long forecast spans. Understanding the key mesoscale factors acting on the triggering, location, and intensity of the convective systems responsible for extreme accumulations is essential to gain insight into these episodes and contribute toward their accurate hydrometeorological forecasting. Mesoscale diagnosis suggests that local and distant orography, together with air–sea fluxes, were instrumental in developing convection and intensifying precipitation rate. Sensitivity experiments confirm the role of orography in organizing the cyclonic flow over the southeast part of the western Mediterranean, and also acting as a convection-triggering mechanism. Furthermore, results highlight the role of latent heat flux from the Mediterranean Sea in enhancing convective instability at lower levels and moistening the environment. These moist feeding flows substantially contribute to increasing precipitation rates. Such high sensitivity to environmental moisture distribution naturally propagates to the sea surface temperature, which, by means of sensible and latent heat flux exchanges, dominated the evolution of convective activity for the 12–13 September 2019 episode.
Optimal Coordinated Energy Management in Active Distribution System with Battery Energy Storage and Price-Responsive Demand

Contemporary distribution networks can be seen with diverse dispatchable and nondispatchable energy resources. The coordinated scheduling of these dispatchable resources, together with nondispatchable resources, can provide several technoeconomic and social benefits. Since battery energy storage systems (BESSs) and microturbine units (MT units) are capital-intensive, a thorough investigation of their coordinated scheduling under the economic criterion will be a challenging task while considering dynamic electricity prices and uncertainties of renewable power generation and load demand. This paper proposes a comprehensive methodological framework for optimal coordinated scheduling of BESSs with MT unit considering existing renewable energy resources and dynamic electricity prices to maximize the daily profit function of the utility by employing a recently explored modified African buffalo optimization algorithm. The key attributes of the proposed methodology are comprised of mean price-based adaptive scheduling embedded within a decision mechanism system (DMS) to maximize arbitrage benefits. DMS keeps track of system states as a priori, thus resulting in an artificial intelligence-based solution technique for sequential optimization. Further, a novel concept of fictitious charges is also proposed to restrict the counterproductive operational management of BESSs. The proposed model and method are demonstrated on the 33-bus distribution system, and the obtained results verify the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.
Biomimetic Transparent Eye Protection Inspired by an Ostracod (Crustacea) Carapace

In this study we mimic the unique, transparent protective carapace (shell) of myodocopid ostracods, through which their compound eyes see, to demonstrate that the carapace ultrastructure also provides functions of strength and protection for a relatively thin structure. The bulk ultrastructure of the transparent window in the carapace of the relatively large, pelagic cypridinid (Myodocopida) Macrocypridina castanea was mimicked using thin film deposition of dielectric materials to create a transparent, 15 bi-layer material. This biomimetic material was subjected to the natural forces withstood by the ostracod carapace in situ, including scratching by captured prey and strikes by water-borne particles. The biomimetic material was then tested in terms of its extrinsic (hardness value) and intrinsic (elastic modulus) response to indentation along with its scratch resistance. The performance of the biomimetic material was compared with that of a commonly used, anti-scratch resistant lens and polycarbonate that is typically used in the field of transparent armoury. The biomimetic material showed the best scratch resistant performance, and significantly greater hardness and elastic modulus values. The ability of biomimetic material to revert back to its original form (post loading), along with its scratch resistant qualities, offers potential for a biomimetic eye protection coating that could enhance material currently in use.
Automated woven fabric texture periodicity extraction by spectral analysis and patch-DMF

Abstract Texture provides important visual information for object identification, and texture representation is still a challenging problem in texture analysis. Fabric texture is a typical structural texture, whose periodic behavior plays a vital role in texture discrimination. In this work, an approach to extract the periodicity of fabric texture is proposed, in which the classic spectral analysis method Fourier transform is applied to select underlying frequency peaks corresponding to the texture periodicities given its efficiency and global property; then the patch-DMF based on the distance match function is built to evaluate the best match texture periodicity. The experiments on near-regular textures (plain weave fabric) demonstrate that the performance of the proposed method shows accurate results with near and regular fabric textures compared to others, and being practical usefulness for texture description.
Phosphorylation of natural products—Cytisine, anabasine, and camphor using click chemistry methodology

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT ABSTRACT Anabasine-, cytisine-, and camphor-containing azides and acetylenes were used as building blocks in copper(I) catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions with a series of acetylenes and azides via click chemistry to provide a range of anabasine, cytisine, and camphor conjugates that are substances with potential biological activity.
A compressive sensing method for processing and improving vision‐based target‐tracking signals for structural health monitoring

Monitoring large structures using a vision‐based target‐tracking (TT) system while maintaining the full resolution of high‐speed cameras may limit the data size or the sampling rate selection. Also, similar to wireless sensors networks where data loss often occurs during data transmission, TT signals could possibly lose data due to overexposure. The overall goal of this paper is to demonstrate the validity of compressive sensing (CS) for TT time signal processing when faced with challenges such as data loss. The first part of the study is concerned with signal length where TT signals could be further compressed while original data length is already minimum. Next, CS is investigated for improving and recovering TT signals from the possibility of signal loss as well as enhancing sampling rate for system identification purposes. Two case studies were used to obtain the signals for CS processing. The first case included four field‐monitoring tests of a footbridge that were conducted using different sampling rates TT with limited data length to use full cameras resolution. The second case study was concerned with measuring the shifting of the modal properties of a large‐scale bridge model from white‐noise excitation after earthquake loading. The results show that with limited signal length, lower sampling rates, or data loss, CS techniques can successfully improve TT signals.
Improved Milk Production from Supplementation of Swamp Buffalo with Molasses Nutrient Blocks Containing 10% Urea

Milk production from Asiatic swamp buffalo is a new enterprise in Laos. As yields are limited, provision of high-quality cow-calf molasses nutrient blocks containing 10% urea (UMNB10) may improve productivity. A trial in a recently established commercial buffalo dairy examined dietary supplementation of lactating buffalo cows with UMNB10, with three groups of nine cows in mid-lactation randomly selected. Two groups received ad libitum access to UMBs with the remaining group free of block supplements. All animals were daily fed fresh Napier grass (30 kg), corn (750 gm), rice bran (1.45 kg), plus accessed fresh Mulatto grass. Daily milk production (DMP) and body condition score (BCS) were recorded for the 2 months of access to UMB. Average DMP for the two supplemented groups were 1.02 and 0.96 L, compared to 0.78 L for the control group, suggesting improved milk productivity of 31 and 24% from accessing UMB. Partial budget analysis identified a strong incentive for use of the molasses blocks, with a net profit of USD 408 and USD 295 over a 30-day period for the supplemented groups. A multi-intervention livestock development strategy that includes a combination of nutritional and health interventions has been proposed for scale-out to assist smallholder livestock farming efficiency in developing countries. The use of high-quality molasses blocks may be a simple motivator for these communities to increase the efficiency of large ruminant production, improving rural livelihoods, food security, and potentially, reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) from ruminant-derived foods.
An Improved Cuckoo Search Algorithm for Maximum Power Point Tracking of Photovoltaic Systems under Partial Shading Conditions

The problem of partial shading has serious effects on the performance of photovoltaic (PV) systems. Adding a bypass diode in shunt to each PV module avoids hot-spot phenomena, but causes multi-peaks in the power–voltage (P–V) characteristics of the PV array, which cause traditional maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques to become trapped in local peaks. This problem has forced researchers to search for smart techniques to track global peaks and prevent the possibility of convergence at local peaks. Swarm optimization techniques have been used to fill this shortcoming; unfortunately, however, these techniques suffer from unacceptably long convergence time. Cuckoo search (CS) is one of the fastest and most reliable optimization techniques, making it an ideal option to be used as an MPPT of PV systems under dynamic partial shading conditions. The standard CS algorithm has a long conversion time, high failure rate, and high oscillations at steady state; this paper aims to overcome these problems and to fill this research gap by improving the performance of the CS. The results obtained from this technique are compared to five swarm optimization techniques. The comparison study shows the superiority of the improved CS strategy introduced in this paper over the other swarm optimization techniques.
Anthropogenic CO2-mediated freshwater acidification limits survival,
calcification, metabolism, and behaviour in stress-tolerant freshwater
crustaceans

Abstract. Dissolution of anthropogenic CO2 is chronically acidifying aquatic ecosystems. Studies indicate that ocean acidification will cause marine life, especially calcifying species, to suffer at the organismal and ecosystem levels. In comparison, freshwater acidification has received less attention rendering its consequences unclear. Here, juvenile Chinese mitten crabs, Eriocheir sinensis, were used as a calcifying model to investigate the impacts of CO2-mediated freshwater acidification. Our integrative approach investigating changes in the animal's acid-base homeostasis, metabolism, calcification, locomotory behaviour, and survival rate indicate that the crab will face energetic consequences from future freshwater acidification. These energetic trade-offs allow the animal to maintain its acid-base homeostasis at the cost of reduced metabolic activity, exoskeletal calcification, and locomotion reducing the animal's overall fitness and increasing its mortality. Results suggest that present-day calcifying invertebrates could be heavily affected by freshwater acidification similar to their marine organisms and emphasizes the importance in understanding the long-term implications of freshwater acidification on species fitness.
Mixed-Methods and Multimethod Research

Mixed-methods and multimethod approaches, i.e. the combination of multiple (qualitative and/or quantitative) techniques for data collection and analysis in a single research design, have developed into an established branch of empirical social research and methodology. We show that the German-speaking research landscape is no exception to this trend and provide an overview of the most widely received actors and approaches. Moreover, we argue that the German-language discourse on method integration retains a certain “qualitative” leaning, because most of its prominent authors hail from that tradition.We describe the research areas in which mixed approaches are currently most prevalent (health, education, and evaluation research), highlighting that these are mostly interdisciplinary and applied fields, while traditional core areas of sociology seem to bemore reluctant to follow this trend. We conclude with a discussion of future directions for mixed and multimethod research, including its further institutionalizationwithin professional organizations and teaching curricula, as well as building a stronger link between methodological discourse and empirical research practice.