Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Policy in the pandemic: lost opportunities, returning to ‘normal’ and ratcheting up control

In this article, we examine education policymaking in England during the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on the period from 2020 to 2022. We argue that the pandemic, while obviously damaging materially, economically and psychologically, seemed to have provided a rare opportunity for a step change, a chance to recalibrate and reconsider values assumed as ‘truths’. However, policymaking in England appears to have been driven by a desire to return to normal as soon as possible or to double down on control. Through a rigorous policy analysis of two specific areas of policy – initial teacher education and inspection – we review policy and ministerial speeches, as well as academic papers, media articles and social media blogs published from the start of the pandemic in England, to analyse the extent to which policy formation was reactive in an attempt to maintain a steady state and return as quickly as possible to pre-pandemic normality and to previously stated intransigent policy positions. We suggest that this policy formation reflects a broader trend in policymaking, which seeks to use power and sustain privilege, underpinned by a constructed evidence base, to present a particular ‘truth’ about what needs to be done to improve education outcomes.
SATORI: Amplification-free digital RNA detection method for the diagnosis of viral infections

With the recent global outbreak of COVID-19, there is an urgent need to establish a versatile diagnostic method for viral infections. Gene amplification test or antigen test are widely used to diagnose viral infections; however, these methods generally have technical drawbacks either in terms of sensitivity, accuracy, or throughput. To address this issue, we recently developed an amplification-free digital RNA detection method (SATORI), which can identify and detect viral genes at the single-molecule level in approximately 9 min, satisfying almost all detection performance requirements for the diagnosis of viral infections. In addition, we also developed practical platforms for SATORI, such as an automated platform (opn-SATORI) and a low-cost compact fluorescence imaging system (COWFISH), with the aim of application in clinical settings. Our latest technologies can be inherently applied to diagnose a variety of RNA viral infections, such as COVID-19 and Influenza A/B, and therefore, we expect that SATORI will be established as a versatile platform for point-of-care testing of a wide range of infectious diseases, thus contributing to the prevention of future epidemics. This article is an extended version of the Japanese article published in the SEIBUTSU BUTSURI Vol. 63, p. 115–118 (2023).
An Improved Bidirectional Dual-Output Multilevel Buck PFC Rectifier With Wide Load Scalability and Stability

Power converters with multiobjective functionality have ample scope of research in the power electronics field. As a consequence, a bidirectional multilevel buck rectifier (BMBR) is proposed for power factor correction applications. Unlike the existing bidirectional multilevel rectifiers, the proposed BMBR has excellent load scalability and stability. In addition, the proposed BMBR synthesizes multilevel voltage across its input terminals to shape the supply current and reduce its harmonic content. Further, the proposed BMBR eliminates the need for an additional output voltage sensor. Also, its continuous current mode operation reduces the requirement for capacitive and inductive filter at its input and output sides, respectively. All the power switches in the proposed BMBR operate at a lower switching frequency and have equal peak inverse voltage. In addition, the BMBR is capable of feeding single as well as double similar/dissimilar loads simultaneously without compromising converter stability. Through experimental findings, the superiority of proposed BMBR has been confirmed under steady-state and dynamic operations.
A novel iterative algorithm for solving nonlinear inverse scattering problems

A NOVEL ITERATIVE ALGORITHM FOR SOLVING NONLINEAR INVERSE SCATTERING PROBLEMS Howard Levinson Vadim Markel We introduce a novel iterative method for solving nonlinear inverse scattering problems. Inspired by the theory of nonlocality, we formulate the inverse scattering problem in terms of reconstructing the nonlocal unknown scattering potential V from scattered field measurements made outside a sample. Utilizing the oneto-one correspondence between V and T , the T-matrix, we iteratively search for a diagonally dominated scattering potential V corresponding to a data compatible T-matrix T . This formulation only explicitly uses the data measurements when initializing the iterations, and the size of the data set is not a limiting factor. After introducing this method, named data-compatible T-matrix completion (DCTMC), we detail numerous improvements the speed up convergence. Numerical simulations are conducted that provide evidence that DCTMC is a viable method for solving strongly nonlinear ill-posed inverse problems with large data sets. These simulations model both scalar wave diffraction and diffuse optical tomography in three dimensions. Finally, numerical comparisons with the commonly used nonlinear iterative methods Gauss-Newton and Levenburg-Marquardt are provided. ii
Development of integrated sensor network for agro-meteorological data collection in Tanzania

Generally, the variation of meteorological conditions has a significant influence on the agriculture sector. In Tanzania, most of the existing automatic meteorological stations are not working, and during the data collection the surveyed manual meteorological stations record meteorological data in the cards daily, but cards are sent in a month to month time interval to the respective organs, this makes the concept of early warning difficult. Therefore, having near-real-time meteorological data will enable crop monitoring and forecasting systems to monitor crop development and provide early warning to the farmers and the government. The advancement of the Internet of Things (IoT) offers possibilities for developing an integrated sensors network to collect meteorological data on a near real-time basis. In his study, the developed integrated sensor network includes sensors, which record remote meteorological data such as rainfall, humidity and temperature, a communication network, and a web application that enhance data visualisation in both graphical and tabular format. In the communication system, the LoRa technology was used, which is preferable compared to other Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN), technologies such as NB-IoT and SigFox for this application. The developed system uses the LoRa Gateway Operating system which provides capabilities to build a private network, and make it more cost-efficient by reducing the operation cost for account subscription, in online platforms such as The Things Network (TTN), ThingPark, ThingSpeak, and Loriot to avoid free accounts limitations. Moreover, the developed system can work in remote areas with limited Internet access as the meteorological stations can communicate with the gateway at a distance of up to 25 km.
Outcomes of the multicenter monitoring of the causative agent of invasive listeriosis in the metropolis

Introduction. Invasive listeriosis is a rare disease posing a threat to high-risk groups and often leading to a fatal outcome. Its causative agent is Listeria monocytogenes, a ubiquitous saprophyte that has turned into an important foodborne pathogen with the growing industry of semi-cooked and ready-to-eat products. The aim of the study is the characterization of L. monocytogenes isolates in the Moscow region and identification of possible causes of susceptibility to infection Materials and methods. The multicenter monitoring of L. monocytogenes was conducted in the Moscow metropolitan area, using bacteriological and genomic methods for description of the pathogen, medical history collection and detailed analysis of patient case summaries. Results. In the cohorts of patients with perinatal listeriosis (PL) and meningitis-septicemia (MS), invasive listeriosis had a year-round occurrence with slight upswings in MarchApril and JulyNovember. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in the MS group, the minimum age of patients decreased to 31 years and the proportion of deaths increased 1.57-fold compared to 20182019. During the pandemic, an increase in the diversity of L. monocytogenes genotypes was observed, along with changes in the spectrum of pathogen genotypes throughout the pandemic stages. During the monitoring, a total of 73 L. monocytogenes clinical isolates belonging to 24 genotypes were described. Seven genotypes belonged to the first phylogenetic lineage (PLI); 14 genotypes belonged to PLII. The PL cohort had the highest proportion of PLI genotypes (52%). In the MS cohort, the group of men had the widest diversity of genotypes, 6 of which were identical to genotypes of food isolates. In the analysed set of isolates, 12 new profiles of internalin genes were identified and described. The whole genome sequencing detected the presence of plasmids in 9 of 58 genomes of clinical isolates. The comparison of core genomes revealed an epidemic relationship between isolates of the same genotype for ST4, ST21, and ST425. Conclusion. The performed study presents a detailed description of the diversity and virulence of L. monocytogenes circulating in the Moscow metropolitan area, thus providing information for timely diagnosis and treatment of invasive listeriosis.
Primary thermometry from 2.5 K to 140 K applying dielectric-constant gas thermometry

Recent thermodynamic temperature measurements at PTB with dielectric-constant gas thermometry were performed up to 140 K. Particular care was taken to check for possible systematic sources of errors by repeating experiments applying two new measuring capacitors and both helium and neon as working gases. The development of a new method for determining the effective compressibility of the new capacitors as a function of temperature has decreased the uncertainty significantly. The combination of the recently obtained results with former values of thermodynamic temperature, corrected using new thermodynamic input data, has yielded a consistent dataset in the range from 2.5 K to 38 K as well as at 84 K, 120 K, 130 K, and 140 K. This dataset is in good agreement with the newest results of acoustic gas thermometry, which has quite different sources of uncertainty compared with dielectric-constant gas thermometry.
Efficacy of Tui-na Massage in Combination with Conventional Medication for Treatment of Canine Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

The objective of this study was to determine whether Tui-na massage in combination with conventional medication (CM) constitutes a more effective treatment for canine osteoarthritis than using CM alone. A total of 47 dogs with radiographic changes consistent with osteoarthritis and already on CM were enrolled in the study. The dogs were randomly assigned to either control (n=24) or experimental treatment groups (n=23). Dogs in the Treatment Group received a weekly Tui-na massage for five weeks, whereas those in the Control Group were seen twice, five weeks apart. All subjects continued their CM during the study. Outcome data included scores for range of motion (ROM), walking frequency/duration, quality of life (QoL), pain and weakness collected pre-trial and at study termination. Comparison between groups after five weeks demonstrated significantly greater improvement for the Treatment Group for all outcome data scores: ROM (p = 1.48×10-10), numbers of walks per day (p = 0.015), total walking time per day (p = 2.75×10-5), QoL (p = 1.43×10-8), pain (p = 3.01×10-10) and weakness (p = 1.63×10-9). The study findings demonstrate that regular Tui-na treatment can serve as an effective coadjuvant in a multimodal treatment and offer statistically significant benefits for dogs suffering from OA.
Swift Observations of Mrk 421 in Selected Epochs. I. The Spectral and Flux Variability in 2005–2008

We present detailed results of Swift observations of the nearby TeV-detected blazar Mrk 421, based on the rich archival data obtained during 2005 March–2008 June. The best fits of the 0.3–10 keV spectra were mainly obtained using the log-parabolic model, yielding low spectral curvatures expected in the case of the efficient stochastic acceleration of particles. During strong X-ray flares, the position of the synchrotron spectral energy distribution peak was beyond 8 keV for 41 spectra, while it sometimes was situated at the UV frequencies in quiescent states. The photon index at 1 keV exhibited a broad range, and the values were observed during the strong flares, hinting at the possible presence of a jet hadronic component. The spectral parameters were correlated in some periods, expected in the framework of the first- and second-order Fermi accelerations of X-ray emitting particles, as well as in the case of turbulence spectrum. The 0.3–10 keV flux and spectral parameters sometimes showed very fast variability down to the fluctuations by 6–20% in 180–960 s, possibly related to the small-scale turbulent areas containing strongest magnetic fields. X-ray and very high-energy fluxes often showed correlated variability, although several occurrences of more complicated variability patterns are also revealed, indicating that the multifrequency emission of Mrk 421 could not be generated in a single zone.
Effects of Government Expenditure on the Poverty Level: A Nonlinear ARDL Approach

The argument on the behaviour of government expenditure toward reducing the poverty level is still controversial among economists and policymakers. This study investigates the role of government development expenditure in alleviating poverty in Malaysia. The study employs a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model from 1970 to 2019 using annual time series data. The bounds test of the NARDL specification suggests the presence of cointegration among the variables, namely the poverty level, development expenditure, gross domestic product per capita, inflation rate, physical capital and human capital. The empirical findings demonstrate that an increase in development expenditure is an insignificant determinant of poverty, but the reductions in development expenditure significantly eradicate the poverty level in the long run. For robustness checks, the share of development expenditure on gross domestic product is used in the estimation. The findings show that all development expenditure has little to no impact on lowering poverty levels over the long and short runs. The Malaysian government should therefore consider how crucial it is to allocate public funds effectively and make sure that the emphasis on spreading development gains across all economic sectors must have an influence on the poverty level.
Hybrid TOA-AOA Cooperative Localization for Multiple AUVs in the Absence of Anchors

This article presents a hybrid time-of-arrival (TOA) and angle-of-arrival (AOA) cooperative localization algorithm, termed HTACL, for the multiple-autonomous-underwater-vehicle (multi-AUV) navigation in the absence of anchors (devices with known positions). Compared with traditional TOA-based methods, the joint use of TOA and AOA measurements improves the quality of position prediction and inter-AUV relative position information in localization. Specifically, by exploring the relationship between AOA measurements and AUV attitudes, the impact of the accumulated errors in inertial measurements on the position prediction is alleviated. Moreover, the directivity and resolution of relative position representation is improved through involving AOA information. As a result, the localization accuracy can be improved by HTACL. The design of HTACL also considers the influence of the long propagation delay during AUV cooperation to enhance its adaptability to harsh underwater environments. Moreover, HTACL is naturally distributed and with good scalability. The abovementioned features make it applicable and suitable for multi-AUV localization issues. Through various simulations, the advantages of HTACL are verified and it could stably provide better localization accuracy compared with the state-of-the-art alternative methods under different conditions.
Dynamics Adapted Imitation Learning

We consider Imitation Learning with dynamics variation between the expert demonstration (source domain) and the environment (target domain). Based on the popular framework of Adversarial Imitation Learning, we propose a novel algorithm – Dyn amics Adapted Imitation Learning (DYNAIL), which incorporates the dynamics variation into the state-action occupancy measure matching as a regularization term. The dynamics variation is modeled by a pair of classifiers to distinguish between source dynamics and target dynamics. Theoreti-cally, we provide an upper bound on the divergence between the learned policy and expert demonstrations in the source domain . Our error bound only depends on the expectation of the discrepancy between the source and target dynamics for the optimal policy in the target domain . The experiment evaluation validates that our method achieves superior results on high dimensional continuous control tasks, compared to existing imitation learning methods.
Strontium Isotope Chronostratigraphic Age of a Sirenian Fossil Site on Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California

Fossils in the order Sirenia (family Dugongidae) from Santa Rosa Island, part of Channel Islands National Park in southern California, provide rare temporal and spatial links between earlier and later evolutionary forms of dugongids, and add information about their dispersal into the northeastern Pacific region. Marine sedimentary rocks containing these fossils have characteristics of both the late Oligocene to middle Miocene Vaqueros Sandstone and the early to middle Miocene Rincon formation observed elsewhere. To determine a more precise age of the fossils, marine invertebrate shells were collected from the same exposures as the sirenian fossils for chronostratigraphic assessment using strontium isotope compositions and the well-calibrated seawater strontium evolution curve. Shells used for analysis were from bivalve mollusks ( Pycnodonte sp. [oyster] and Lyropecten sp. [scallop]) and crustaceans ( Balanus sp. [barnacle]). Results show a wide range of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values, indicating that shell materials experienced varying degrees of diagenetic alteration. Strontium concentrations and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values in subsamples of Pycnodonte shell show correlations between original shell material and a secondary component having lower strontium concentrations and less radiogenic (lower) 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. In contrast, all Lyropecten shell analyses yielded a uniform 87 Sr/ 86 Sr value (0.708440±0.000010 [2× standard deviation]) over a wide range of strontium concentrations (around 900 to 1,800 micrograms per gram [µg/g]). Results for Balanus shell subsamples show a range of strontium compositional behavior between the other two types of shell. Acetic acid leachates of sandy matrix confirm that diagenetic fluids had low 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values consistent with the least radiogenic values in Pycnodonte subsamples. A simple mixing model between two calcite
Determinants of Online Impulsive Buying Post Pandemic Covid-19

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of social media has increased in line with online buying transactions. This research was conducted to find out online impulsive buying due to the large amount of information and promotion spread on social media after the pandemic. Online questionnaires were distributed to 261 respondents who made online transactions. SEM-PLS 3.0. was used to analyze the data. The results prove that hedonic browsing has a significant influence on flow experience. Flow experience has a significant influence on cognitive experience and affective experience as well as online impulsive buying. Cognitive experiences have significant influence on online impulsive buying. However, affective experiences do not have a significant influence on online impulsive buying. Moreover, financial management behavior cannot moderate the relationship among cognitive and affective experiences as well as online impulse buying. Theoretically, the study shows that irrational consumption processes lead to hedonic shopping due to easy and convenient searching for products through social media. Thus, in practice it is advisable for marketing managers to design their promotions on social media related to products and interspersed with financial literacy so that consumers can shop wisely.
15 The Role of Fathers in Caregiving

Throughout most of human history, mothers’ role in the family has been to provide emotional support and care for their children whereas fathers’ role has been mostly instrumental, that is, to provide financial support for their children with limited involvement in dayto-day parenting (Cabrera et al., 2000). This dichotomous view minimizes the financial contribution mothers make to their families and the emotional support that fathers provide for their children. It is clear that this restrictive and reductionist view of parents has outlived its purpose. Over the past few decades, dramatic sociocultural and economic shifts in families, such as increased out-of-wedlock births and increased women participation in the labor force, have led to significant changes in both women’s and men’s roles in the family (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019). Beginning in the 1960s, trend data show that fathers have been increasingly engaged in the direct care of their children (Bianchi et al., 2012). National data from 2011 to 2013 show that the majority of resident fathers with children under age five spent their time in caregiving (e.g., diapering/ toileting), reading, and other activities, such as eating dinner together and playing, at least once a week with their child (Astone et al., 2016). And as women’s participation in the labor force increased, so did fathers’ day-today responsibility for the care of their young children. In 2016, fathers made up 17 percent of all parents who stayed at home, representing an increase in stay-home fathers from 4 percent in 1989 to 7 percent in 2016 (Livingston, 2018). The time fathers spend with children under 6 years is divided among various activities, with most of the time spent in playing and physical care and less time spent in reading and educational activities (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020). These statistics suggest that the emotional versus instrumental dichotomy of roles assigned to fathers and mothers is no longer an accurate portrayal of contemporary parenting in the United States. The erosion of traditional gender roles about who is in charge of caregiving and breadwinning raises the need to further understand how fathers are involved in childrearing and how their caregiving is related to children’s developmental trajectories. In this chapter, we synthesize the empirical evidence mostly from the United States on fathers’ caregiving roles and impacts on children across developmental domains and from early childhood to adolescence. To the degree possible, we also include studies conducted in other countries to illustrate cross-cultural patterns of father caregiving. We also discuss the theoretical and methodological approaches used to conceptualize and assess fathers’ contributions to children’s development. Lastly, we draw implications from existing findings to guide policies and programs targeting families and children.