Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Framework of Rhetorical Moves Designed to Scaffold the Research Proposal Development Process

Aim/Purpose: To provide a research proposal writing framework to help doctoral students argue and motivate their efforts at furthering the existing knowledge available to understand some phenomenon or theory. Background: I discuss how the cognitive process theory of writing and the science writing heuristic can lead to a set of rhetorical moves and question prompts that students can use to develop the content of their research proposals. Methodology: I searched the literature on research proposal writing and, more broadly, academic writing to locate teaching and learning concepts associated with my recent question prompt approach used to guide my doctoral students. I used search words such as “writing” and “question prompts. ” My review led me to the cognitive process theory of writing and heuristic scaffolding. I searched further using keywords such as “rhetorical move” and “heuristic prompts. ” I performed several iterations of literature searches and reviews. Contribution: Instead of guiding a linearly developed research proposal that begins with an Introduction and proceeds to a Literature Review and then a Research Design and Methods section, the framework reveals a research proposal’s underlying logical flow and content by describing five rhetorical moves: establishing a topic question from an interesting phenomenon, establishing research opportunities, selecting a research question, providing a tentative solution, and establishing a plan to investigate the solution. Thus, the framework contributes to scholarship about how educators can facilitate independent reflection and broader problem-solving at the doctoral research proposal development stage. Particularly for the social sciences, it reveals the promise of the cognitive process theory of writing, dual problem space model of reflection, and heuristic scaffolding as valuable theoretical perspectives for the supervision of the planning phase of doctoral research. Recommendations for Practitioners: Teachers and advisors may use the framework’s rhetorical moves and question prompts as cognitive scaffolds to help students navigate an ill-structured problem typical of doctoral research projects in the social sciences. The question type of scaffolding gives the research student more responsibility; rather than the thesis supervisor or advisor articulating a model or nominating the technique, they require the student to self-regulate and develop it independently. This helps deal with the oft-experienced circumstance in which the supervisor does not have time to interact directly and regularly with the student.
Diagnostic and impact studies of a wavelet formulation of background‐error correlations in a global model

A wavelet formulation on the sphere is being considered for modelling heterogeneous background‐error correlations for the Météo‐France global numerical weather prediction (NWP) model. This approach is compared with the operational spectral formulation, which is horizontally homogeneous to a large extent. Diagnostic studies have been conducted to examine geographical variations of three‐dimensional correlations over the whole globe. Results indicate that the contrast between relatively broad horizontal correlations in the Tropics and sharp ones in midlatitudes is well represented by the wavelet formulation. Heterogeneities in vertical correlations are also better captured in the wavelet approach than in the spectral one, with visible changes as functions of e.g. latitude and land/sea contrasts. In addition, wavelet‐based correlation estimates are shown to be partly sensitive to the choice of the calibration period. The impact of the wavelet formulation on the forecast quality has been investigated during a three‐week calibration period, and also during the following three weeks. While the impact of the wavelet formulation is globally positive during the two periods, it tends to be more spectacular during the calibration time interval, as expected. These results indicate that an on‐line calibration should be considered in the future, in order to exploit fully the ability of wavelets to extract correlation heterogeneities from ensemble data. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society
Fully Printed Dual-Layer Depolarizing Chipless RFID Tag for Wearable Applications

This work presents a cross-polar dual-layer chipless radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag based on a ladder-shaped resonator design. An integrated ground plane enables direct attachment to human skin without performance deterioration. Simulations show that the ladder-shaped resonator provides several advantages over traditional L-shaped and straight resonators, including a strong cross-polar radar cross section (−23.4 dBsm), third-order harmonics, orientation insensitivity, and compact size ( $0.062~\lambda ^{2}$ ). The effects of the ground plane shape on the surface current distribution are investigated, and a circular tag of 20 mm radius is designed using ladder resonator groups and frequency shift encoding to provide an active area of 96.45 bits/ $\lambda ^{2}$ and a unit frequency of 6.03 bits/GHz. The tag substrate is three-dimensionally (3D) printed with metallic resonator patterns that are subsequently screen-printed on the substrate. The maximum read range is measured at 40 mm using a cross-shaped, dual-polarized Vivaldi antenna connected to a network analyzer. The measured characteristics in free space are in good agreement with the simulation results, and practical on-body performance tests for the manufactured prototype using simulation and direct measurements indicate that the tag performance remains stable for both free space and on-body cases. The fully printed fabrication process makes the proposed tag design suitable for mass production at a low cost.
Evaluation of Infective Endocarditis in Children: A 19-Year Retrospective Study in Taiwan

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients with heart disease. Little literature has explored differences in the presentation of endocarditis in children with and without heart disease. This study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes and determine the risk of in-hospital death in the study population. Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from 2001 to 2019 from the Chang Gung Research Database (CGRD), which is the largest collection of multi-institutional electronic medical records in Taiwan. Children aged 0–20 years with IE were enrolled. We extracted and analyzed the demographic and clinical features, complications, microbiological information, and outcomes of each patient. Results: Of the 208 patients with IE, 114 had heart disease and 94 did not. Compared to those without heart disease, more streptococcal infections (19.3% vs. 2.1%, p < 0.001) and cardiac complications (29.8% vs. 6.4%, p < 0.001) were observed in patients with heart disease. Although patients with heart disease underwent valve surgery more frequently (43.9% vs. 8.5%, p < 0.001) and had longer hospital stays (28.5 vs. 12.5, p = 0.021), their mortality was lower than that of those without heart disease (3.5% vs. 10.6%, p = 0.041). Thrombocytopenia was independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality in pediatric patients with IE (OR = 6.56, 95% CI: 1.43–40.37). Conclusion: Among pediatric patients diagnosed with IE, microbiological and clinical features differed between those with and without heart disease. Platelet counts can be used as a risk factor for in-hospital mortality in pediatric patients with IE.
SVD-based Image Enhancement Method using Weighted Average of Histogram Stretching and Equalization

히스토그램 확장기법은 입력 이미지의 동적영역을 전체 사용가능한 동적영역으로 변환함으로써 이 미지의 화질을 개선하는 기법이다. 낮은 복잡도를 가지며 원본 이미지의 히스토그램 분포의 모양을 그대로 유지하는 장점이 있지만 입력 이미지의 동적영역에 따라 개선정도는 상당한 차이를 보이는 단점이 있다. 또 하나의 대표적인 방법인 히스토그램 균등화기법은 수학적으로 전 동적영역에 대해서 균일한 분포를 가지도록 변환하지만 영상에 따라 과도한 변환으로 인한 화질 열화가 발생할 수 있다 는 단점이 있다. 제안하는 알고리즘은 이들 두 방법의 장점을 결합할 수 있는 화질개선 기법으로서 이 과정에서 SVD를 적용하여 입력영상을 분해한다. 이후 히스토그램 확장 및 균등화기법으로 얻어진 이미지의 고유값들과의 가중평균을 통해 개선된 이미지를 얻는다. 실험결과는 제안하는 알고리즘은 히스토그램 균등화기법을 포함하여 기존의 여러 방법과 비교하여 높은 주관적 화질을 보이며 개선영 상을 표현하는 화소값의 다양성을 나타내는 엔트로피 또한 상대적으로 높은 것을 볼 수 있다.
Shrub encroachment alters plant trait response to nitrogen addition in a semi-arid grassland

Encroachment of shrubs over large regions of arid and semi-arid grassland can affect grassland traits and growth under a background of increasing nitrogen (N) deposition. However, the effects of N input rates on species traits and the growth of shrubs on grasslands remain unclear. We examined the effects of six different N addition rates on the traits of Leymus chinensis in an Inner Mongolia grassland encroached by the leguminous shrub, Caragana microphylla. We randomly selected 20 healthy L. chinensis tillers within shrubs and 20 tillers between shrubs in each plot, measuring the plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, leaf N concentration per unit mass (LNCmass), and aboveground biomass. Our results showed that N addition significantly enhanced the LNCmass of L. chinensis. The aboveground biomass, heights, LNCmass, leaf area, and leaf number of plants within the shrubs were higher than those between shrubs. For L. chinensis growing between shrubs, the LNCmass and leaf area increased with N addition rates, leaf number and plant height had binomial linear relationships to N addition rates. However, the number of leaves, leaf areas and heights of plants within shrubs did not vary under various N addition rates. Structural Equation Modelling revealed N addition had an indirect effect on the leaf dry mass through the accumulation of LNCmass. These results indicate that the response of dominant species to N addition could be regulated by shrub encroachment and provide new insights into management of shrub encroached grassland in the context of N deposition.
Composition and Food Web Structure of Aphid-Parasitoid Populations on Plum Orchards in Chile

Simple Summary In terrestrial natural ecosystems, more complex and diverse networks of plant–insect primary consumers and their predators are often more productive, stable, and resilient. Plant diversity often positively correlates to the diversity of phytophagous insects and their natural enemies generating multitrophic interactions with changing outcomes (bottom-up effects). The use of cover crops can promote natural enemy populations and their temporal synchronization with a target pest, resulting in greater pest control. Therefore, changes in the habitat conditions can alter food webs. In agroecosystems, characteristics of the food trophic webs, as connectance, measured as the proportion of realized links in the network, could be linked to the efficiency of pest control. In this study, we evaluated how the use of oat cover crops affects composition and structure in the aphid–parasitoid–hyperparasitoid food webs of plum orchards with different habitat management contexts: plums with inter-rows of oats as a cover crop (OCC) and plums with inter-rows with spontaneous vegetation (SV). Quantitative food web metrics differed significantly among treatments showing a higher generality, vulnerability, interaction evenness, and linkage density in SV, while OCC presented a higher degree of specialization. Abstract By increasing plant diversity in agroecosystems, it has been proposed that one can enhance and stabilize ecosystem functioning by increasing natural enemies’ diversity. Food web structure determines ecosystem functioning as species at different trophic levels are linked in interacting networks. We compared the food web structure and composition of the aphid– parasitoid and aphid-hyperparasitoid networks in two differentially managed plum orchards: plums with inter-rows of oats as a cover crop (OCC) and plums with inter-rows of spontaneous vegetation (SV). We hypothesized that food web composition and structure vary between OCC and SV, with network specialization being higher in OCC and a more complex food web composition in SV treatment. We found a more complex food web composition with a higher species richness in SV compared to OCC. Quantitative food web metrics differed significantly among treatments showing a higher generality, vulnerability, interaction evenness, and linkage density in SV, while OCC presented a higher degree of specialization. Our results suggest that plant diversification can greatly influence the food web structure and composition, with bottom-up effects induced by plant and aphid hosts that might benefit parasitoids and provide a better understanding of the activity, abundance, and interactions between aphids, parasitoids, and hyperparasitoids in plum orchards.
Going Vegan for the Gain: A Cross-Sectional Study of Vegan Diets in Bodybuilders during Different Preparation Phases

Numerous athletes compete at a high level without consuming animal products; although a well-planned vegan diet might be appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, a few elements need to be addressed to build a balanced plant-based diet for an athlete, particularly in bodybuilding, in which muscle growth should be maximised, as athletes are judged on their aesthetics. In this observational study, nutritional intakes were compared in a cohort of natural omnivorous and vegan bodybuilders, during two different phases of preparation. To this end, 18 male and female bodybuilders (8 vegans and 10 omnivores) completed a food diary for 5 days during the bulking and cutting phases of their preparation. A mixed-model analysis was used to compare macro- and micronutrient intakes between the groups in the two phases. Both vegans and omnivores behaved similarly regarding energy, carbohydrate, and fat intakes, but vegans decreased their protein intake during the cutting phase. Our results suggest that vegan bodybuilders may find difficulties in reaching protein needs while undergoing a caloric deficit, and they might benefit from nutritional professionals’ assistance to bridge the gap between the assumed proteins and those needed to maintain muscle mass through better nutrition and supplementation planning.
Discovery of an X-Ray-selected Quasar with a Redshift of 4.45

We present observations of RX J105225.9+571905, a z = 4.45 quasar discovered during a very deep ROSAT survey of the Lockman Hole. In addition to being the most distant known X-ray–selected quasar, RX J105225.9+571905 is among the least optically luminous quasars found to date at redshifts above 4.
Is There a Shift in Salmonella Diversity Among Poultry in Northern India?

SUMMARY. The present study was conducted to determine the serotype diversity of Salmonella among poultry in northern India. A total of 101 poultry droppings from 30 farms in the Jammu and Kashmir union territory were analyzed. Nineteen isolates of Salmonella were obtained, and these belonged to four serotypes: Salmonella enterica enterica serotype Kentucky (n = 3), Salmonella enterica enterica serotype Infantis (n = 5), Salmonella enterica enterica serotype Agona (n = 4), and Salmonella enterica enterica serotype Typhimurium (n= 7). The study has isolated some Salmonella serotypes that are infrequently reported in India. Some of the isolated serotypes are reported to be endemic for human nontyphoidal salmonellosis cases in the region. Whether this indicates a shift in the serotype pattern in poultry in the region needs to be investigated further. Nevertheless, the study clearly indicates the risk of foodborne salmonellosis associated with consumption of contaminated poultry and poultry products in the region. RESUMEN. Nota de Investigación- ¿Hay un cambio en la diversidad de Salmonella entre las aves comerciales en el norte de la India? El presente estudio se realizó para determinar la diversidad de serotipos de Salmonella entre las aves comerciales en el norte de la India. Se analizaron un total de 101 muestras de heces de aves comerciales de 30 granjas en el territorio de la unión de Jammu y Cachemira. Se obtuvieron diecinueve aislamientos de Salmonella, pertenecientes a cuatro serotipos: Salmonella Kentucky (n = 3), Salmonella Infantis (n = 5), Salmonella Agona (n = 4) y Salmonella Typhimurium (n = 7). El estudio ha aislado algunos serotipos de Salmonella que se reportan con poca frecuencia en la India. Se ha reportado que algunos de los serotipos aislados son endémicos para los casos de salmonelosis no tifoidea en humanos en la región. Debe investigarse más a fondo si esto indica un cambio en el patrón de serotipos en las aves comerciales de la región. Sin embargo, el estudio indica claramente el riesgo de salmonelosis transmitida por los alimentos asociado con el consumo de aves y productos avícolas contaminados en la región.
Experimental Investigation and Analysis of the Velocity Variations in Turbulent Flow

Of the methods used to record turbulent motion in air the use of a hot-wire anemometer has received most attention; with the result the conditions under which a hot wire will accurately record the velocity variations associated with this type of motion are now well known. Many records have been obtained, all of which confirm the irregular character of turbulence, whether produced in the tree stream of the wind tunnel, or in the disturbed region near the boundary of a model. Various attempts have been made from time to time to analyse the results by statistical methods, but partly owing to the difficulty of obtaining lengthy records sufficiently representative of average conditions, and partly because of the labour involved in the process of reduction, no success appears to have been achieved in this direction. Within the last year a new method of analysis suggested by professor G. I. Taylor, which is also capable of discriminating between different types of turbulent motion, has been developed and applied to the analysis of eddying flow in a wind tunnel. The method depends on the use of a hot-wire anemometer for recording velocity variations; but in place of an Einthoven oscillograph a special type of oscillograph having a mirror attached to the suspension fibres is used so that currents produced by the velocity changes are indicated by the horizontal motion of the reflected image of an illuminated slit. If the image falls on a dropping plate in the usual way, it traces the details of the turbulent motion and provides a record in the form of a black line on a light background; that is, the reverse of that given by the Einthoven oscillograph. This all-important difference gives the new method a power of analysis that the older one lacks; for, if instead of moving across a dropping plate the reflected image moves across a stationary plats, tracing and retracing its path in accordance with the imposed changes of speed, the plate on being developed displays a dark band of variable density representing tbs aggregate effect of every velocity change occurring during an experiment, which may last as long as 5 or 10 minutes. It thus constitutes a detailed record whose density at any point determined photometrically measures the total time of exposure at that point. such information enables one to calculate the relative number of times a given displacement has been reached or exceeded in the course of an experiment. What is more important, when used in conjunction with the known relationship between the displacement of the image and wind speed, it provides sufficient data from which frequency curves can be plotted indicating the actual distribution of the recorded velocity variations.
Automatic differentiation bibliography

This is a bibliography of work related to automatic differentiation. Automatic differentiation is a technique for the fast, accurate propagation of derivative values using the chain rule. It is neither symbolic nor numeric. Automatic differentiation is a fundamental tool for scientific computation, with applications in optimization, nonlinear equations, nonlinear least squares approximation, stiff ordinary differential equation, partial differential equations, continuation methods, and sensitivity analysis. This report is an updated version of the bibliography which originally appeared in Automatic Differentiation of Algorithms: Theory, Implementation, and Application.
Design of Autoconfigurable Random Access NOMA for URLLC Industrial IoT Networking

Low-power devices are massively deployed to facilitate real-time sensing and data transmission requested in low-power wide-area network. However, the dominating signaling, i.e., continuous phase modulation (CPM), barely gains attention in the context of supporting massive connectivity, not to mention ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), a primary concern in industrial network automation. To this end, autoconfigurable nonorthogonal multiple access (AC-NOMA) based on CPM signaling is proposed. The term autoconfiguration is used since each device selects a setup from a pool of configurations whenever connecting to the access point in a random and distributive way. It is proven, using ideal power allocation and phase shaping technique, that AC-NOMA offers drastically improved user load and near capacity performance even in finite blocklength regime. Moreover, to enable massive yet sporadic access, slotted ALOHA is combined with AC-NOMA. It is proven that the resultant scheme outperforms power-domain NOMA in terms of throughput even with reduced transmit power and simple forward error correction schemes, such as repetition and convolutional coding. The throughput is further improved using semi-AC-NOMA with slightly increased latency. It is demonstrated that both designs can support very high user load while enabling URLLC in finite blocklength regime, where the packet size is merely 256 bits while the error rate is $10^{-5}$, which are also desirable in a number of applications, including satellite communications, visible light communications, etc.
Feasibility of Use of Second Life Electrical Vehicle Batteries in Data Centres in Malaysia

It is estimated that the cumulative of Electric Vehicles (EVs) will reach 85 million by 2030. EV batteries that have degraded to 80% of their initial capacity no longer provide the required efficiency for EV, resulting in an increasing amount of batteries being discarded and stored in warehouses instead of being recycled. The cost of this storage after its End of Life (EOL) adds to the initial cost of the EV. There is amounting environmental pressure to re-purpose these discarded batteries in other applications, such as energy arbitrage and peak shaving, such that the initial cost of the EV be reduced. This work presents a feasibility study that allows discarded EV batteries to be repurposed batteries to provide peak shaving in a mid-tier data centre with an area size of 465 m2. A comparison of the cost during peak hours shows that the repurposed batteries can be used as a reliable power supply source to reduce the reliance of data centres on grid power during peak hours. Results showed that the use of these repurposed batteries also achieved a higher cost savings as compared to using brand new Lithium Ion battery over a period of 10 years. A reliability study also shows that the repurposed battery system and brand new battery system performs at par, when the data centre draws power from the grid during peak hours. The study concludes that power supply system in data centres that uses repurposed batteries to achieve peak shaving is a cost effective, green solution that should be implemented. In the larger picture, the reusability of the EV batteries is expected to reduce the initial price of the EV cars, allowing a larger market penetration and thus ensuring the sustainability of the EV car industry. Reusing the stored batteries also reduces environmental issues related to Lithium mining for brand new batteries, such as mining pollution and fresh water shortage.