Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pre-service teacher training in STEM : a teaching experience

The aim of this work is to evaluate the design of the subject ICT as a teaching resource in science and mathematics taught in the Bachelor's Degree in Primary Education of the Universitat de València, during the academic courses 201314 and 2014-15. The analysis is based on the works of the students and their responses to a questionnaire. The purpose of the subject is to train pre-service teachers in the STEM discipline to make them able to teach Science and Mathematics in an integrated way throughout the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The results show 1 Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el proyecto GVA, grupo de investigación emergente GV/2016/129 y el proyecto de innovación educativa de la Universitat de València L'Hort 2.0 (UV-SFPIE_RMD16-418948). Beltrán Meneu, María José; Hurtado Soler, Desamparados y Ferrando Palomares, Irene (2018) “Formación STEM en el grado de maestro: una experiencia docente”. @tic revista d’innovació educativa, 20, 35-42. Depósito legal: V-5051-2008 | ISSN: 1989-3477. | http://doi.org/10.7203/attic.20. 10946 36 a high interest of the students in the subject, the design of activities and the cooperative work. However, some difficulties are identified related to the interdisciplinary teaching of science and mathematics in elementary courses. The application of ICT in the STEM teaching is an opportunity to develop the teaching competence.
Breeding biology and breeding success of the Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor in a stable and dense population

The Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor is highly endangered throughout Europe, having declined markedly in abundance and range. Long-term changes in climate and agricultural practices have been identified as the main reasons for its decline. To determine which factors influence short-term changes in breeding success, we examined several aspects of its breeding biology. Our investigation revealed that our study area bears a large and stable population of this species. In 1996 and 1997, we recorded 84 and 77 breeding pairs in an area of 20 km2, with an average of 4.20 and 3.85 pairs/km2 respectively. Data on breeding density, clutch size and fledging success from 1989 to 1997 (excluding 1992) indicate a stable breeding population with a constant high breeding success. Reproductive success declined through the season, mainly through seasonal variation in clutch size rather than chick mortality. However, breeding success was generally high (69% and 79% of the nests produced chicks], with low hatching failure and few nest losses. The main cause of breeding failure was nest predation (at least 50% of nest losses), mainly by magpies (at least 66% of depredated nests). Although in this population the Lesser Grey Shrike tends to aggregate in clusters, breeding density had no obvious effect on breeding success and nest predation.
Electrophysiologic Assessment of Right Ventricular Cardiac Pacing Sites Employing Non-Contact Electrical Mapping

It is believed that pacing sites that provide a more rapid, normal activation of the left ventricle (LV) results in improved performance of the heart. Utilization of non-contact electrical mapping (NCM) techniques has been limited in the assessment of alternative pacing sites. Recently, NCM techniques have been developed to characterize and assess global depolarization and repolarization changes associated with cardiac pacing. High-resolution, NCM was employed to reconstruct LV geometry and record electrical activation in anesthetized swine (N=10). Bipolar pacing was performed from the right atrial appendage (RAA), right ventricular apex (RVA), and the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) under fluoroscopic guidance. There were no differences between RAA and RVOT pacing with respect to global activation sequences, QRS durations, total and local endocardial activation durations, conduction velocity and repolarization parameters. Conversely, RVA pacing resulted in impaired electrophysiologic performance, which correlated with decreased global hemodynamic function of the heart. Evaluation of alternative pacing sites employing NCM techniques was successfully demonstrated and supports the need for clinical application of these methodologies. Keywords—Activation, Cardiac, Left Ventricle, Mapping, Pacing.
Preliminary study on educational recommender system

Recommender systems nowadays have been implemented in various fields. It helps its user to suggest the items based on user's preferences. Calculus is one of the tough subjects feared by most students. Thanks to the technology, many sources on the web can supply tutorials, working examples and solutions on the subject. However, there are too many of them. The students need to make selection, which one can fulfill their needs of specific calculus topics. The aim of this paper is to give a general overview and preliminary study on RS and review some similar education systems available.
Comparison Study of Electric Machines for In-Wheel Electric Vehicle Application

Electric vehicle motoring is became a famous task due to several problems caused by thermal engine such as pollution and high oil prices. Thus, electric motor is seen as the solver of these problems. So, different research was done about these motors and its applications. Different configurations were proposed in the literature. Each configuration has its own intrinsic features depending on the industrial application. The variety of industrial applications can lead to different choices. Therefore, the choice of a permanent magnet topology must be carefully made. In this paper, a comparison between different machines according to some criteria was done to choose the most suitable for in-wheel motor application. Keywords— Electric machine, in-wheel motor, efficiency, comparison.
Binarization Technique Used For Recovering Degraded Document Images

Document Image binarization converts an acquired gray-scale document image to binary format, the objective of binarization is to automatically choose a threshold that separates the foreground and background information. Document image binarization is a process that is usually carried out in the pre-processing stage of document image processing. Primary aim of this document image binarization is to extract the foreground text from the document background. In the case of degraded document images this text extraction or segmentation is a difficult task. In this paper, we propose a simple and efficient document image binarization technique it makes use of the adaptive image contrast and some of the noise reduction methods. In the proposed technique, first input degraded document image is normalized to improve the quality of output binarized document image. Second, an adaptive image contrast map is constructed for the normalized image . Third, adaptive image contrast map is binarized and combined with Canny’s edge map to identify the text stroke edge pixels. Then the document text is segmented by a local threshold that is estimated based on the intensities of the detected text stroke edge pixels. Finally, the output document image is filtered to reduce noise. The proposed method requires only minimum number of parameters. This method shows superior performance over various datasets interms of various performance measures.
/ Christiansen & Chater : The Now-or-Never bottleneck : A fundamental constraint on language

Both the Now-or-Never bottleneck and the chunking mechanisms hypothesized to cope with it are more variable than Christiansen & Chater (C&C) suggest. These constructs are, therefore, too weak to support C&C’s claims for the nature of language. Key aspects of the hierarchical nature of language instead arise from the nature of sequencing of subgoals during utterance planning in language
Factors Influencing Progress in Establishing Community-Based Marine Protected Areas in Likupang Sub-District of North Sulawesi , Indonesia

Establishment of community-based small-scale no-take marine reserves is being used with increasing frequency in the Southeast Asian region. However, there is increasing concern that they are experiencing high failure rates. Many factors have been hypothesized to explain the reason for failures and successes including the intrinsic characteristics of the community, the level of project inputs and the characteristics of change agents assigned to facilitate the planning process. An empirical analysis of these hypotheses was conducted using a sample of 24 villages in North Sulawesi province of Indonesia where community-based no-take marine reserves were in the early phases of establishment. Factors found to significantly influence the rate of progress are village complexity, level of development, amount of project inputs and several characteristics of community organizer volunteers. In particular, degree of community organizer homophily relative to the community was an important factor influencing progress. Level of gender equity in public meetings and training events had no influence on progress. In addition, no field extension officer attributes were correlated with progress. These findings can be used by projects that use simultaneous interventions in multiple communities to adjust project strategies in order to obtain economies of scale, target communities more amenable to community-based interventions and increase the probability of success. This can thereby result in a better return on investments made by local governments and international donors in communitybased marine conservation initiatives.
Limit Equilibria of Unidimensional Bargaining Games under SuperMajority Rule Giri Parameswaran

I study equilibria in uni-dimensional bargaining games under q-majority rule. The limit equilibria as players become perfectly patient are characterized. The players whose ideal policies are qth from the right and left, denoted l and r, respectively, play an important role. The limit policy is either the ideal policy of some player between l and r (not necessarily the median), or is the solution to a bilateral asymmetric Nash Bargaining problem between l and r. Which of these outcomes obtains, and the bargaining weights in the asymmetric Nash Bargaining game are determined endogenously by the ideal policies of all agents. The model provides foundations for the endogenous separation of agents with disparate preferences into cohesive voting blocs that are represented by agents with non-median preferences.
Salinity effect on mineral nutrient distribution along roots and shoots of rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes differing in salt tolerance

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of salinity on mineral nutrient distribution along roots and shoots of seven selected rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes, namely Pokkali, PVSB9, PVSB19, PNR381, PNR519, NS15 and Iratom24 differing in salt tolerance. The rice plants were grown in pots and subjected to varying levels of salinity stress (0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 dS m−1). Mineral nutrients distribution in shoots and roots was measured after harvesting the plants at 95 days after transplanting. The responses of salt stress on mineral nutrient uptake and distribution along plant organs significantly differed among the rice genotypes. The contents of Na+ and Cl− in the roots and shoots of resistant genotypes (PVSB9, PNR381 and Pokkali) were significantly lower than the susceptible rice genotype (NS15). The concentrations of Na+ and Na+/K+ in shoots of sensitive rice genotype (NS15) sharply increased with increasing salinity above 6 dS m−1 than those of tolerant genotypes. The highest concentration of K+ was obtained in shoots of resistant genotype PVSB9 and this K+ content decreased more slowly with increasing salinity than those of other genotypes.
Stainless Steel in Hygienic Applications

Beverage, dairy and food Materials for beverage, dairy and food preparation, processing and storage are required to maintain the integrity of the structure (ie corrosion resistant and sufficiently robust to withstand the demands of the service environment). In contrast, regulatory concerns are focused on the chemical activity of the surface in contact with the foodstuff or beverage. Although food contact surfaces must be sufficiently inert to impart neither colour nor flavour to foodstuffs, it is their level of metal release (measured in μg/cm/day or μg/cm/week) that is the major concern for Regulators. In particular, it is the contribution that food contact surfaces make to the total daily intake (TDI) or total weekly intake (TWI) of metals by consumers from all other dietary sources (ie from all food intake, including water/beverages and food contact materials) that is of concern. In fact, there has been sufficient regulatory interest in this topic for the Council of Europe to publish “Guidelines on metals and alloys in contact with food”.
A Modular Approach to Performance, Portability and Productivity for 3D Wave Models

The HPC hardware landscape is growing increasingly complex in order to meet demands in scientific computing for greater performance. In recent years there has been an explosion of parallel devices coming on to the scene: GPUs, Xeon Phis and FPGAs to name but a few examples. As of writing, even the current leading supercomputer, Sunway TianhuLight, uses its own bespoke on-chip accelerators[12]. Available programming models, however, lag behind and are not currently able to provide the necessary tools for running scientific codes across platforms in ways that are performant, portable and productive. This environment creates a plethora of challenges for computational scientists of which we focus on two: first the need for a high level of productivity for codes that still get good performance and second consistently getting good performance across platforms the “performance portability” problem. Existing solutions tend to be either not productive but provide good performance or focus on high-level abstractions requiring heuristics to get good performance (often which are tied to particular platforms). While some current approaches raise the productivity level, they are often trying to solve the same problems over and over or trying to solve too many issues for a niche domain. In addition, many of these approaches have only been tested on simplistic benchmarks, which can lose critical functionality of real-world simulation codes. We instead propose a modular approach using existing frameworks to target these issues separately: a high-level DSL to target the productivity problem compiling into an IR language which addresses the performance portability problem. Our previous research has shown that the development of more productive and performance portable codes for room acoustics simulations is possible. Preliminary results using the intermediary parallel language lift[16] confirm that this framework is capable of handling complex stencils. Further developing lift and targeting existing stencil-focused DSLs will create a simple, modularized approach which harnesses and expands existing functionality instead of trying to reinvent the wheel. This modular approach can then be used as an example to extend to other physical simulations using similar algorithms. WOLFHPC, November 2017, Denver, USA 2017. ACM ISBN 978-x-xxxx-xxxx-x/YY/MM. $15.00 https://doi.org/10.1145/nnnnnnn.nnnnnnn
Room temperature in-plane ferroelectricity in van der Waals In2Se3

We report the discovery of room temperature in-plane ferroelectricity in van der Waals In2Se3 with β′ phase. Van der Waals (vdW) assembly of layered materials is a promising paradigm for creating electronic and optoelectronic devices with novel properties. Ferroelectricity in vdW layered materials could enable nonvolatile memory and low-power electronic and optoelectronic switches, but to date, few vdW ferroelectrics have been reported, and few in-plane vdW ferroelectrics are known. We report the discovery of in-plane ferroelectricity in a widely investigated vdW layered material, β′-In2Se3. The in-plane ferroelectricity is strongly tied to the formation of one-dimensional superstructures aligning along one of the threefold rotational symmetric directions of the hexagonal lattice in the c plane. Surprisingly, the superstructures and ferroelectricity are stable to 200°C in both bulk and thin exfoliated layers of In2Se3. Because of the in-plane nature of ferroelectricity, the domains exhibit a strong linear dichroism, enabling novel polarization-dependent optical properties.
Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Pathophysiology of Dysglycemia among People Living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa

Objective To review available literature on the prevalence, risk factors, pathophysiology, and clinical outcomes of dysglycemia among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods Database search on PUBMED for eligible studies describing the prevalence, risk factors, pathophysiology, or clinical outcomes of dysglycemia in SSA PLHIV. Results Prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and pre-DM among SSA PLHIV ranged from 1% to 26% and 19% to 47%, respectively, in 15 identified studies. Older age and an elevated body mass index (BMI) were common risk factors for dysglycemia. Risk factors potentially more specific to PLHIV in SSA included exposure to older-generation thymidine analogues or protease inhibitors, malnutrition at ART initiation, a failure to gain fat mass on treatment, and elevated serum lipids. There is evidence of higher nephropathy and neuropathy rates among PLHIV in SSA with comorbid DM compared to HIV-negative individuals with DM. Conclusion There is a need for longitudinal studies to enhance understanding of the risk factors for dysglycemia among PLHIV in SSA, further research into optimal therapies to reduce pre-DM progression to DM among SSA PLHIV, and studies of the burden and phenotype of diabetic complications and other health outcomes among PLHIV with comorbid DM in SSA.
Sensitivity to “sunk costs” in mice, rats, and humans

The impact of time wasted The amount of time already spent on a task influences human choice about whether to continue. This dedicated time, known as the “sunk cost,” reduces the likelihood of giving up the pursuit of a reward, even when there is no indication of likely success. Sweis et al. show that this sensitivity to time invested occurs similarly in mice, rats, and humans (see the Perspective by Brosnan). All three display a resistance to giving up their pursuit of a reward in a foraging context, but only after they have made the decision to pursue the reward. Science, this issue p. 178; see also p. 124 Mice, rats, and humans show similar sensitivity to time invested when making foraging decisions. Sunk costs are irrecoverable investments that should not influence decisions, because decisions should be made on the basis of expected future consequences. Both human and nonhuman animals can show sensitivity to sunk costs, but reports from across species are inconsistent. In a temporal context, a sensitivity to sunk costs arises when an individual resists ending an activity, even if it seems unproductive, because of the time already invested. In two parallel foraging tasks that we designed, we found that mice, rats, and humans show similar sensitivities to sunk costs in their decision-making. Unexpectedly, sensitivity to time invested accrued only after an initial decision had been made. These findings suggest that sensitivity to temporal sunk costs lies in a vulnerability distinct from deliberation processes and that this distinction is present across species.
An automated online instrument to quantify aerosol-bound reactive oxygen species (ROS) for ambient measurement and health-relevant aerosol studies

Abstract. The adverse health effects associated with ambient aerosol particles have been well documented, but it is still unclear which aerosol properties are most important for their negative health impact. Some studies suggest the oxidative effects of particle-bound reactive oxygen species (ROS) are potential major contributors to the toxicity of particles. Traditional ROS measurement techniques are labour-intensive, give poor temporal resolution and generally have significant delays between aerosol sampling and ROS analysis. However, many oxidising particle components are reactive and thus potentially short-lived. Thus, a technique to quantify particle-bound ROS online would be beneficial to quantify also the short-lived ROS components. We introduce a new portable instrument to allow online, continuous measurement of particle-bound ROS using a chemical assay of 2′7′-dichlorofluorescein (DCFH) with horseradish peroxidase (HRP), via fluorescence spectroscopy. All components of the new instrument are attached to a containing shell, resulting in a compact system capable of automated continuous field deployment over many hours or days. From laboratory measurements, the instrument was found to have a detection limit of ∼ 4 nmol [H2O2] equivalents per cubic metre (m3) air, a dynamic range up to at least ∼ 2000 nmol [H2O2] equivalents per m3 air and a time resolution of ≤ 12 min. The instrument allows for ∼ 16 h automated measurement if unattended and shows a fast response to changes in concentrations of laboratory-generated oxidised organic aerosol. The instrument was deployed at an urban site in London, and particulate ROS levels of up to 24 nmol [H2O2] equivalents per m3 air were detected with PM2.5 concentrations up to 28 µg m−3. The new and portable Online Particle-bound ROS Instrument (OPROSI) allows fast-response quantification; this is important due to the potentially short-lived nature of particle-bound ROS as well as fast-changing atmospheric conditions, especially in urban environments. The instrument design allows for automated operation and extended field operation with twice-daily presence of an operator. As well as having sensitivity suitable for ambient level measurement, the instrument is also suitable at concentrations such as those required for laboratory and chamber toxicological studies.
Does the field of animal personality provide any new insights for behavioral ecology

Lay Summary We know that animals differ in their behavior. What we do not know is why the study of animal personalities is apparently the only way by which we can understand individual differences among animals. We argue that the field of animal personality does not add anything new. Instead, it appears to be a rebranding of much more rigorous fields of research.
How the Rhizosphere May Favor Water Availability to Roots

Recent studies have shown that rhizosphere hydraulic properties may differ from those of the bulk soil. Specifically, mucilage at the root–soil interface may increase the rhizosphere water holding capacity and hydraulic conductivity during drying. The goal of this study was to point out the implications of such altered rhizosphere hydraulic properties for soil–plant water relations. We addressed this problem through modeling based on a steady‐rate approach. We calculated the water flow toward a single root assuming that the rhizosphere and bulk soil were two concentric cylinders having different hydraulic properties. Based on our previous experimental results, we assumed that the rhizosphere had higher water holding capacity and unsaturated conductivity than the bulk soil. The results showed that the water potential gradients in the rhizosphere were much smaller than in the bulk soil. The consequence is that the rhizosphere attenuated and delayed the drop in water potential in the vicinity of the root surface when the soil dried. This led to increased water availability to plants, as well as to higher effective conductivity under unsaturated conditions. The reasons were two: (i) thanks to the high unsaturated conductivity of the rhizosphere, the radius of water uptake was extended from the root to the rhizosphere surface; and (ii) thanks to the high soil water capacity of the rhizosphere, the water depletion in the bulk soil was compensated by water depletion in the rhizosphere. We conclude that under the assumed conditions, the rhizosphere works as an optimal hydraulic conductor and as a reservoir of water that can be taken up when water in the bulk soil becomes limiting.