Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TEACHERS’ STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES IN TEACHING SPEAKING TO YOUNG LEARNERS

The purpose of this study was to find out the teacher's reflection on the strategies used, to find out the challenges and how the teacher overcomes the challenges faced when teaching English to young learners. To be able to achieve a learning goal, teaching English speaking to young learners must be effective and interesting. But in fact, teaching speaking to young learners is a skill that is quite difficult for EFL teachers to teach. Therefore, this study tries to find out the strategies used by teachers, the challenges faced, and how to deal with these challenges. The research method in this research is a qualitative descriptive method. Data were obtained from three English teachers in a kindergarten in Bandung. The instruments used to collect data were close-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews which were transcribed descriptively. In addition, the data analysis used is data reduction, data display, and conclusions. The results of the research showed that the teacher used three strategies to teach English speaking in young learners' classes including drilling, games, and songs. Meanwhile, the researcher reveals the research findings related to the challenges faced by teachers are divided into two, namely; internal and external challenges. Internal challenges include the mother tongue which is still a challenge for students and the lack of vocabulary. External challenges include a lack of exposure to English outside the classroom. To overcome these challenges, teachers must apply different teaching strategies, provide opportunities for students to speak English in the classroom, adequate learning facilities, classroom management, create a pleasant classroom atmosphere, and do self-reflection.
Influence of Electrospinning Parameters on the Morphology of Electrospun Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) Fibrous Membranes and Their Application as Potential Air Filtration Materials

A large number of non-degradable materials have severely damaged the ecological environment. Now, people are increasingly pursuing the use of environmentally friendly materials to replace traditional chemical materials. Polyhydroxyalkonates (PHAs) are receiving increasing attention because of the unique biodegradability and biocompatibility they offer. However, the applications of PHAs are still limited due to high production costs and insufficient study. This project examines the optimal electrospinning parameters for the production of PHA-based fibrous membranes for air filtration. A common biodegradable polyester, Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), was electrospun into a nanofibrous membrane with a well-controlled surface microstructure. In order to produce smooth, bead-free fibers with micron-scale diameters, the effect of the process parameters (applied electric field, solution flow rate, inner diameter of hollow needle, and polymer concentration) on the electrospun fiber microstructure was optimized. The well-defined fibrous structure was optimized at an applied electric field of 20 kV, flow rate of 0.5 mL/h, solution concentration of 12 wt. %, and needle inner diameter of 0.21 mm. The morphology of the electrospun PHBV fibrous membrane was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy were used to explore the chemical signatures and phases of the electrospun PHBV nanofiber. The ball burst strength (BBS) was measured to assess the mechanical strength of the membrane. The small pore size of the nanofiber membranes ensured they had good application prospects in the field of air filtration. The particle filtration efficiency (PFE) of the optimized electrospun PHBV fibrous membrane was above 98% at standard atmospheric pressure.
The Outsiders: Examining the Effects of Political Appointments on Public-Sector Employee Engagement

Scholars have long examined the inherent trade-offs between control and capability when presidents politicize the executive branch through their appointment powers, including through appointments. Research has consistently connected high ratios of appointees to career leaders with decreased agency performance and higher voluntary turnover at the career senior ranks. However, far less attention has been paid to the cumulative effect of such appointments on the engagement of the civil service workforce, a factor shown to influence organizational performance. Using the 2012 and 2016 Federal Employee Viewpoint Surveys, I evaluate the relationship between degree of agency politicization and self-reported measures of engagement among civil servants. Preliminary analysis indicates the use of political appointments by presidents can impede agency efforts to build and sustain an engaged workforce. The findings suggest the negative outcomes associated with these appointments are both broader and more enduring than the tenure of a single appointee, presenting a new perspective for scholarly understanding of the dynamics at play when presidents politicize the agencies they are entrusted to lead.
Endmember Analysis of Overlapping Handwritten Text in Hyperspectral Document Images

Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) uses large portions of the electromagnetic spectrum to obtain information from images that would be very difficult to get otherwise. An important task in forensic analysis of documents is to extract signatures for authentication. Signatures in documents often overlap with other parts of a document such as typed text or stamps and hence it is difficult to retrieve them. In this work we present a novel algorithm for recovering signatures from hyperspectral images of documents where signatures overlap typed text, seals, stamps, or other images. We used pure pixel index approaches to analyze the hyper-pixels corresponding to regions where overlaps occur and spectral classification methods to analyze the extracted channels’ information and to separate the overlapping signatures. We used the structural similarity index to validate the extracted signatures. Our experimental results highlight the capability of the proposed algorithm to recover signatures with great precision in HSI document images.
Suppression of UVB-Induced MMP-1 Expression in Human Skin Fibroblasts Using Lysate of Lactobacillus iners Derived from Korean Women’s Skin in Their Twenties

The process of skin aging is intricate, involving intrinsic aging, influenced by internal factors, and extrinsic aging, mainly caused by exposure to UV radiation, resulting in photoaging. Photoaging manifests as skin issues such as wrinkles and discoloration. The skin microbiome, a diverse community of microorganisms on the skin’s surface, plays a crucial role in skin protection and can be affected by factors like humidity and pH. Probiotics, beneficial microorganisms, have been investigated for their potential to enhance skin health by regulating the skin microbiome. This can be accomplished through oral probiotics, impacting the gut–skin axis, or topical applications introducing live bacteria to the skin. Probiotics mitigate oxidative stress, suppress inflammation, and maintain the skin’s extracellular matrix, ultimately averting skin aging. However, research on probiotics derived from human skin is limited, and there is no established product for preventing photoaging. The mechanism by which probiotics shield the skin microbiome and skin layers from UV radiation remains unclear. Recently, researchers have discovered Lactobacillus in the skin, with reports indicating a decrease in this microorganism with age. In a recent study, scientists isolated Lactobacillus iners KOLBM20 from the skin of individuals in their twenties and confirmed its effectiveness. A comparative analysis of genetic sequences revealed that strain KOLBM20 belongs to the Lactobacillus genus and closely relates to L. iners DSM13335(T) with a 99.20% similarity. Importantly, Lactobacillus iners KOLBM20 displayed anti-wrinkle properties by inhibiting MMP-1. This investigation demonstrated the inhibitory effect of KOLBM20 strain lysate on MMP-1 expression. Moreover, the data suggest that KOLBM20 strain lysate may prevent UVB-induced MMP-1 expression by inhibiting the activation of the ERK, JNK, and p38 signaling pathways induced by UVB. Consequently, KOLBM20 strain lysate holds promise as a potential therapeutic agent for preventing and treating skin photoaging.
A Modular Serious Game Development Framework for Virtual Laboratory Courses

Laboratory experience is an integral part of the undergraduate curriculum in most engineering courses. When physical learning is not feasible, and when the demand cannot be met through actual hands-on laboratory sessions, as has been during the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual laboratory courses can be considered as an alternative education medium. This study focuses on developing a generic modular virtual laboratory framework that allows engineers, game designers, and developers to build lab experiments as serious games—games with ulterior motives rather than only entertainment—without writing additional code. A virtual lab serious game for civil engineering's soil mechanics course was created in Unity3D as a WebGL game, and it was tested within the framework by 24 students (12 from the Civil Engineering Department, the rest from computer science-related degrees). Seven faculty members evaluated if the serious game met the learning outcomes. In addition, nine engineers and designers assessed the framework's capabilities and analyzed its flexibility and reuse aspects. To analyze the usability and acceptability of the created game, standard questionnaires such as the technology acceptance model, system usability scale, and presence were employed. The study was done in two phases: participants tested the first version of the game, and the second version was built based on their feedback on the first version. The findings indicate that the modular structure has significant potential for use in a variety of fields and laboratory courses. The proposed game has received very positive feedback and can be considered a use case for the potential of games in interactive virtual laboratories.
Fast Automatized Parameter Adaption Process of CNC Milling Machines under use of Perception based Artificial Intelligence

This paper concerns unpublished results obtained from the SIMKI (2020) R&D project at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Aalen University of Applied Science, Germany. The following text generally discusses the development results of the AI-based CNC parameter identification and optimisation tool AICNC. The identification tool supports the AI-based optimisation of milling machine process parameters when using unknown material compositions. The process parameters are determined by a specific test pattern designed to be automatically analysed in real time by a pre-trained perception-based deep learning algorithm. The tool provides the advantage of obtaining real-time quality information due to AI-based quality assessment and the automated identification of material-dependent milling process parameter sets, even for unknown processing material.
Genetic Multi-Objective Optimization of Sensor Placement for SHM of Composite Structures

Increasingly often, due to the high sensitivity level of diagnostic systems, they are also sensitive to the occurrence of a significant number of false alarms. In particular, in structural health monitoring (SHM), the problem of optimal sensor placement (OSP) is appearing due to the need to reach a balance between performance and cost of the diagnostic system. The applied approach of considering nondominated solutions allows for adaption of the system parameters to the user’s expectations, treating this optimization problem as multi-objective. For this purpose, the NSGA-II algorithm was selected for the determination of an optimal set of parameters in the OSP problem for the detection of delamination in composite structures. The objectives comprise minimization of type-I and type-II errors, and number of sensors to be placed. The advantage of the proposed approach is that it is based on experimental data from the healthy structure, whereas all cases with a presence of delamination were acquired from numerical experiments. This makes it possible to develop a customized SHM system for the arbitrary location of damage.
Fraudulent Financial Reporting: How far has it been Researched?

This study aims to determine the development and trend map of fraudulent financial reporting research that is published by a reputable journal in the theme of economics and finance. The data analyzed were more than 91 publications of indexed research publications. The export data is then processed and analyzed using the R Biblioshiny application program to find out the bibliometric map of the development of the research in this topic. The results showed that the number of publications on the fraudulent financial reporting research experienced a significant increase. The results show that the most popular authors are Groove H and Carcello JV, and the most popular keyword topics are Financial, Reporting, and Fraudulent. Apart from that, there are several trend topics related to fraudulent financial reporting.
An integrated natural remanent magnetization acquisition model for the Matuyama‐Brunhes reversal recorded by the Chinese loess

Geomagnetic polarity reversal boundaries are key isochronous chronological controls for the long Chinese loess sequences, and further facilitate paleoclimatic correlation between Chinese loess and marine sediments. However, owing to complexity of postdepositional remanent magnetization (pDRM) acquisition processes related to variable dust sedimentary environments on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), there is a long‐standing dispute concerning the downward shift of the pDRM recorded in Chinese loess. In this study, after careful stratigraphic correlation of representative climatic tie points and the Matuyama‐Brunhes boundaries (MBB) in the Xifeng, Luochuan, and Mangshan loess sections with different pedogenic environments, the downward shift of the pDRM is semiquantitatively estimated and the acquisition model for the loess natural remanent magnetization (NRM) is discussed. The measured MB transition zone has been affected by the surficial mixing layer (SML) and remagnetization. Paleoprecipitation is suggested to be the dominant factor controlling the pDRM acquisition processes. Rainfall‐controlled leaching would restrict the efficiency of the characterized remanent magnetization carriers aligning along the ancient geomagnetic field. We conclude that the MBB in the central CLP with moderate paleoprecipitation could be considered as an isochronous chronological control after moderate upward adjustment. A convincing case can then be made to correlate L8/S8 to MIS 18/19.
Spatiotemporal Distribution of PRRSV-1 Clades in Hungary with a Focus on the Era of Disease Eradication

Simple Summary Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) can be controlled with vaccines and biosecurity measures. Uncovering local strain diversity is expected to help better understand the disease epidemiology and viral evolutionary dynamics, which will contribute to more effective disease control and prevention. In Hungary, although sporadic virus genetic information has been available since the 1990s, a more systematic data collection was initiated only in the mid-2000s and was maximized after the eradication program started in the mid-2010s. In this study, we report on the origin and spread of co-circulating genetic lineages and clades of PRRSV in Hungary till 2020. This longitudinal molecular epidemiological survey was an important element of the national disease eradication program to achieve PRRS-free status in our country. Abstract Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is the cause of the most severe economic losses in the pig industry worldwide. PRRSV is extremely diverse in Europe, which poses a significant challenge to disease control within a country or any region. With the combination of phylogenetic reconstruction and network analysis, we aimed to uncover the major routes of the dispersal of PRRSV clades within Hungary. In brief, by analyzing >2600 ORF5 sequences, we identified at least 12 clades (including 6 clades within lineage 1 and 3 clades within lineage 3) common in parts of Western Europe (including Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands) and identified 2 novel clades (designated X1 and X2). Of interest, some genetic clades unique to other central European countries, such as the Czech Republic and Poland, were not identified. The pattern of PRRSV clade distribution is consistent with the route of the pig trade among countries, showing that most of the identified clades were introduced from Western Europe when fatteners were transported to Hungary. As a result of rigorous implementation of the national eradication program, the swine population was declared officially free from PRRSV. This map of viral diversity and clade distribution will serve as valuable baseline information for the maintenance of PRRSV-free status in the post-eradication era.
Responses of plant leaf economic and hydraulic traits mediate the effects of early- and late-season drought on grassland productivity

Abstract Drought can occur at different times during the grassland growing season, likely having contrasting effects on forage production when happening early or later in the season. However, knowledge about the interacting effects of the timing of drought and the development stage of the vegetation during the growing season is still scarce, thus limiting our ability to accurately predict forage quantity losses. To investigate plant community responses to drought seasonality (early- vs. late-season), we established a drought experiment in two permanent grasslands of the Swiss Jura Mountains that are used for forage production. We measured three plant functional traits, including two leaf traits related to plant economics (specific leaf area, SLA; leaf dry matter content, LDMC) and one hydraulic trait related to physiological function (predicted percentage loss of hydraulic conductance, PLCp), of the most abundant species, and plant above-ground biomass production. Plant species composition was also determined to calculate community-weighted mean (CWM) traits. First, we observed that CWM trait values strongly varied during the growing season. Second, we found that late-season drought had stronger effects on CWM trait values than early-season drought and that the plant hydraulic trait was the most variable functional trait. Using a structural equation model, we also showed that reduction in soil moisture had no direct impacts on above-ground biomass production. Instead, we observed that the drought-induced decrease in above-ground biomass production was mediated by a higher CWM PLCp (i.e. higher risk of hydraulic failure) and lower CWM SLA under drought. Change in CWM SLA in response to drought was the best predictor of community above-ground biomass production. Our findings reveal the importance of drought timing together with the plant trait responses to assess drought impacts on grassland biomass production and suggest that incorporating these factors into mechanistic models could considerably improve predictions of climate change impacts.
Interpreting the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System

The Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS) is the national system for rating fire danger in Canada. The Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System is a sub-system of the CFFDRS and has been in its present form since 1970, with the fourth version of the tables for the FWI System now being used (Canadian Forestry Service 1984; Van Wagner 1987). The purpose of the FWI System is to account for the effects of weather on forest fuels and forest fires. Other factors affecting fire danger (i.e., fuels, topography) are dealt with elsewhere in the CFFDRS.
Relationships between the local sheet structure and Z-direction compressive characteristics of paper

Les caracteristiques de compression du papier dans le sens Z ont ete mesurees a l'aide d'essais de microdurete. Le module tangent moyen d'elasticite en compression s'est revele dependant de la densite apparente et relativement independant du mode de densification (raffinage, pressage humide, et calandrage) ou du type de fibre utilise (pâte kraft de feuillus ou de resineux). Le grammage local, l'epaisseur, et les proprietes de compression ont ete mesures pour un ensemble de feuilles d'essai. Nous avons trouve que la correlation entre la densite apparente locale et le module tangent local etait sans importance, ce qui signifie que le module tangent local depend de facteurs autres que la densite apparente. La variation d'epaisseur locale s'est revelee sensible aux caracteristiques de compression locales plutot qu'a la densite apparente.
Identification and Analysis of Genes Related to Testicular Size in 14-Day-Old Piglets

Simple Summary The reproductive performance of pigs can vary due to the influence of genetic factors, and this is aggravated by environmental factors. Multiple complex factors affect the difference in the reproductive performance of boars in adulthood. This study examined those genetic differences in young piglets, at a time when they are less affected by the environment. Testicular tissue samples were used to explore candidate genes and related pathways affecting testicular size during early development. This experiment into the reproductive performance of pig breeds using the RNA-Seq analysis of testicular tissue with early developmental differences can provide a theoretical basis for breeding by determining key candidate genes that control testicular predevelopment. The data will be used for subsequent research into the genetic mechanism of boars, which is important for early breeding and improvement. Abstract The RNA-Seq technology was used to screen the key genes that affect the early development of the testes of Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire piglets, to determine the regulatory pathway and provide reference for subsequent reproductive performance research, breeding, and other production practices. This study selected 14-day-old Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire piglets as the trial animals. Testes from piglets with similar weights and no pathological changes were divided into small testis (ST) and large testis (LT) groups, and the RNA-Seq screening of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was performed to find candidate genes and regulatory pathways related to early testicular development. The results show that 570 DEGs were found in the ST and LT groups, with 281 upregulated and 289 downregulated. The DEGs were mainly enriched on 47 gene ontology (GO) functional items. The Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genotypes (KEGG) enrichment analysis found that there were 44 significantly enriched KEGG signal pathways, and the regulation of testicular development mainly focused on the arachidonic acid metabolism, Wnt signaling pathway and GnRH secretion pathways. The PTGES, SFRP1, SPP1, PLA2G4E, KCNJ5, PTGS2, and HCN1 genes were found to be as closely related to the testicular development of these Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire piglets, and the differential gene expression was consistent with the real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (real-time qRT-PCR) validation results. This study was validated by high-throughput sequencing analysis and real-time qRT-PCR, and showed that the PTGES, SFRP1, SPP1, PLA2G4E, KCNJ5, PTGS2, and HCN1 genes may be involved in the regulation of germ cell development, spermatogenesis and semen traits. These should be further studied as candidate genes for early testicular development and reproductive trait regulation in boars.