Simple Means Research Articles

Analyzing the Effect of Imputation on Classification Performance under MCAR and MAR Missing Mechanisms

Many datasets in statistical analyses contain missing values. As omitting observations containing missing entries may lead to information loss or greatly reduce the sample size, imputation is usually preferable. However, imputation can also introduce bias and impact the quality and validity of subsequent analysis. Focusing on binary classification problems, we analyzed how missing value imputation under MCAR as well as MAR missingness with different missing patterns affects the predictive performance of subsequent classification. To this end, we compared imputation methods such as several MICE variants, missForest, Hot Deck as well as mean imputation with regard to the classification performance achieved with commonly used classifiers such as Random Forest, Extreme Gradient Boosting, Support Vector Machine and regularized logistic regression. Our simulation results showed that Random Forest based imputation (i.e., MICE Random Forest and missForest) performed particularly well in most scenarios studied. In addition to these two methods, simple mean imputation also proved to be useful, especially when many features (covariates) contained missing values.

Counseling on Reading Culture for Teachers at Haleluyah Christian Kindergarten, Central Jakarta

The development of the times demands that everything can quickly accept change. This change occurs in almost all aspects of life, including the development of education in kindergarten. Indonesian is an important part of education. The importance of learning Indonesian because in it there are four aspects of language skills. Each skill has its own role and function. Likewise with reading skills in children. These skills are considered important in kindergarten education because children have started to be prepared for a higher level of education, namely elementary school. The habit or form of cultivating reading is very important because there will be many benefits for children. Culture has a simple meaning, namely something that is used to. Therefore, the culture of reading in the Kindergarten education environment is something that must be paid close attention to because children will be accustomed to and trained to read from an early age.

Analytical high-dimensional operators in canonical polyadic finite basis representation (CP-FBR).

In the present work, we introduce a simple means of obtaining an analytical (i.e., grid-free) canonical polyadic (CP) representation of a multidimensional function that is expressed in terms of a set of discrete data. For this, we make use of an initial CP guess, even not fully converged, and a set of auxiliary basis functions [finite basis representation (FBR)]. The resulting CP-FBR expression constitutes the CP counterpart of our previous Tucker sum-of-products-FBR approach. However, as is well-known, CP expressions are much more compact. This has obvious advantages in high-dimensional quantum dynamics. The power of CP-FBR lies in the fact that it requires a grid much coarser than the one needed for the dynamics. In a subsequent step, the basis functions can be interpolated to any desired density of grid points. This is useful, for instance, when different initial conditions (e.g., energy content) of a system are to be considered. We show the application of the method to bound systems of increased dimensionality: H2 (3D), HONO (6D), and CH4 (9D).

Assessment of Interpersonal Communication Skills for Provision of Reference Services in Academic Libraries, Kogi State, Nigeria: A Study of Eight Tertiary Institutions in Kogi State

The study dwells on assessment of interpersonal communication skills for provision of reference services in academic libraries in Kogi State, Nigeria. The study covered eight tertiary institutions in the State. Five research questions in line with the objective of the study were formulated to guide the study. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study consists of all professional and para-professional librarians in tertiary Institutions in Kogi State. However, simple random sampling technique was used in selecting fifteen (15) library personnel each from the eight (8) tertiary institutions in Kogi state to make the total of 120 respondents for the study. Questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection and data collected from the field was analyzed using descriptive statistics of simple percentage, frequency count and mean, which was further presented in pie chat and histogram. The result of the findings revealed that academic library personnel in Kogi State possess interpersonal communication skills to a great extent and these skills are quite effective in reference and information service delivery. The study recommended that academic libraries in Kogi State should be proactive in enhancing various reference services so as to be more committed in assisting the users in satisfying their needs. Furthermore, reference librarians and other library personnel should strive to possess various forms of verbal, non-verbal interpersonal communication skills in order to be able to serve their users with the right information, at the right time and to enhance high patronage.

Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence and Room‐Temperature Phosphorescence in Sulfidoazatriangulene‐Based Materials and their S‐oxides

AbstractStructural constraint is an emerging strategy for improving the photoluminescence quantum yield, molar absorptivity, and color purity of luminescent materials. In this report, emitters displaying thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) are achieved for the first time using the planarized donor sulfidotetramethyazatriangulene (SMAT). Compared to non‐planarized phenothiazine (PTZ) donors, the enhanced rigidity of SMAT contributes to improved color purity and photoluminescence quantum yield, with up to 90% quantum yield observed for donor–acceptor compounds in toluene solution. Planarized SMAT‐based emitters also offer up to tenfold enhancement in two‐photon absorption cross‐section compared to analogous PTZ‐based materials. Oxidation of sulfur‐containing donors to sulfoxide and sulfone derivatives is demonstrated as a simple and generalizable means of tuning the electron‐donating ability of sulfur‐containing moieties. SMAT‐TRZ and SOMAT‐TRZ both exhibit TADF, with green and blue emission, respectively, while SO2MAT‐TRZ displays blue room temperature phosphorescence. Overall, this work demonstrates that SMAT and its S‐oxides can be used to design high‐performance luminescent materials with emergent properties such as TADF or room‐temperature phosphorescence.

Control of Andreev Bound States Using Superconducting Phase Texture.

Andreev bound states with opposite phase-inversion asymmetries are observed in local tunneling spectra at the two ends of a superconductor-semiconductor-superconductor planar Josephson junction in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field, while the nonlocal spectra remain phase symmetric. Spectral signatures agree with a theoretical model, yielding a physical picture in which phase textures in superconducting leads localize and control the position of Andreev bound states in the junction, demonstrating a simple means of controlling the position and size of Andreev states within a planar junction.

The effects of qigong intervention based on the Internet on quality of life and physical fitness in Chinese postoperative breast cancer patients: a protocol of randomized controlled trial

BackgroundThe purpose of this study is to verify the improvement of remote qigong intervention on the quality of life and physical fitness of breast cancer patients after surgery by means of a randomized controlled trial and to compare it with the conventional exercise combination of aerobic exercise and resistance training.Methods/designThe research approach applied in this study is a randomized controlled trial. After completing the baseline questionnaire and physical fitness test, participants were randomly assigned to either the qigong group or the combined exercise rehabilitation group. Patients in the qigong group performed Qigong-Baduanjin twice a week for 30 min each time under remote guidance and practiced Baduanjin by themselves at other times. Patients in the combined exercise rehabilitation group were given resistance training twice a week for 30 min under remote guidance, and walking the rest of the time. At the end of the 12-week intervention, outcomes testing and data collection were carried out. The primary outcomes are quality of life, measured using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FATC-B). The secondary outcomes include cardiopulmonary endurance, upper limb strength, lower limb strength, and skinfold thickness.DiscussionThe importance of postoperative exercise rehabilitation for breast cancer has been gradually accepted by more and more doctors and patients, but further research and development of simple and practical means of exercise rehabilitation are necessary. Remote qigong intervention for breast cancer patients via the Internet will be a great alternative.Trial registrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1900027989. Registered on December 7, 2019.

Evaluation of First Treatment Timing, Fatal Disease Onset, and Days from First Treatment to Death Associated with Bovine Respiratory Disease in Feedlot Cattle

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a frequent beef cattle syndrome. Improved understanding of the timing of BRD events, including subsequent deleterious outcomes, promotes efficient resource allocation. This study's objective was to determine differences in timing distributions of initial BRD treatments (Tx1), days to death after initial treatment (DTD), and days after arrival to fatal disease onset (FDO). Individual animal records for the first BRD treatment (n = 301,721) or BRD mortality (n = 19,332) were received from 25 feed yards. A subset of data (318-363 kg; steers/heifers) was created and Wasserstein distances were used to compare temporal distributions of Tx1, FDO, and DTD across genders (steers/heifers) and the quarter of arrival. Disease frequency varied by quarter with the greatest Wasserstein distances observed between Q2 and Q3 and between Q2 and Q4. Cattle arriving in Q3 and Q4 had earlier Tx1 events than in Q2. Evaluating FDO and DTD revealed the greatest Wasserstein distance between cattle arriving in Q2 and Q4, with cattle arriving in Q2 having later events. Distributions of FDO varied by gender and quarter and typically had wide distributions with the largest 25-75% quartiles ranging from 20 to 80 days (heifers arriving in Q2). The DTD had right-skewed distributions with 25% of cases occurring by days 3-4 post-treatment. Results illustrate temporal disease and outcome patterns are largely right-skewed and may not be well represented by simple arithmetic means. Knowledge of typical temporal patterns allows cattle health managers to focus disease control efforts on the correct groups of cattle at the appropriate time.

Novel fluorescent probe for sequential recognition of Zn2+ and pyrophosphate in aqueous based on aggregation-induced emission

A new fluorescent probe (E)-4-(4-([2,2′:6′,2′'-terpyridin]-4′-yl)styryl)-1-dodecylpyridin-1-ium (TPy-SD), with the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property in aqueous solution, has been synthesized and characterized. The new probe, TPy-SD exhibited excellent selectivity and sensitivity towards Zn2+ with a relatively low detection limit (1.76 × 10−7 M). The addition of Zn2+ is thought to disrupt the AIE property of TPy-SD, thereby leading to a fluorescence blue shift. Interestingly, the complex of probe TPy-SD with Zn2+ (Zn (II) TPy-SD), with molar ratio of 1:1, can be used as a simple, sensitive, and rapid means for the detection of pyrophosphates (PPi) in solution (water/DMSO = 99:1). As evidenced by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and fluorescence emission spectroscopy, this detection is thought to be due to the strong affinity between PPi and Zn2+, which brings out Zn2+ from the coordination cavity of chemical sensor TPy-SD, thus realizing the detection and recognition of PPi. Therefore, the new AIE fluorescent probe can be used as a dual probe for the detection of cations and anions.

Optical control of PIEZO1 channels

PIEZO proteins are unusually large, mechanically-activated trimeric ion channels. The central pore features structural similarities with the pore of other trimeric ion channels, including purinergic P2X receptors, for which optical control of channel gating has been previously achieved with photoswitchable azobenzenes. Extension of these chemical optogenetics methods to mechanically-activated ion channels would provide tools for specific manipulation of pore activity alternative to non-specific mechanical stimulations. Here we report a light-gated mouse PIEZO1 channel, in which an azobenzene-based photoswitch covalently tethered to an engineered cysteine, Y2464C, localized at the extracellular apex of the transmembrane helix 38, rapidly triggers channel gating upon 365-nm-light irradiation. We provide evidence that this light-gated channel recapitulates mechanically-activated PIEZO1 functional properties, and show that light-induced molecular motions are similar to those evoked mechanically. These results push the limits of azobenzene-based methods to unusually large ion channels and provide a simple stimulation means to specifically interrogate PIEZO1 function.

How Sensitive Is Thermal Image-Based Orchard Water Status Estimation to Canopy Extraction Quality?

Accurate canopy extraction and temperature calculations are crucial to minimizing inaccuracies in thermal image-based estimation of orchard water status. Currently, no quantitative comparison of canopy extraction methods exists in the context of precision irrigation. The accuracies of four canopy extraction methods were compared, and the effect on water status estimation was explored for these methods: 2-pixel erosion (2PE) where non-canopy pixels were removed by thresholding and morphological erosion; edge detection (ED) where edges were identified and morphologically dilated; vegetation segmentation (VS) using temperature histogram analysis and spatial watershed segmentation; and RGB binary masking (RGB-BM) where a binary canopy layer was statistically extracted from an RGB image for thermal image masking. The field experiments occurred in a four-hectare commercial peach orchard during the primary fruit growth stage (III). The relationship between stem water potential (SWP) and crop water stress index (CWSI) was established in 2018. During 2019, a large dataset of ten thermal infrared and two RGB images was acquired. The canopy extraction methods had different accuracies: on 12 August, the overall accuracy was 83% for the 2PE method, 77% for the ED method, 84% for the VS method, and 90% for the RGB-BM method. Despite the high accuracy of the RGB-BM method, canopy edges and between-row weeds were misidentified as canopy. Canopy temperature and CWSI were calculated using the average of 100% of canopy pixels (CWSI_T100%) and the average of the coolest 33% of canopy pixels (CWSI_T33%). The CWSI_T33% dataset produced similar SWP–CWSI models irrespective of the canopy extraction method used, while the CWSI_T100% yielded different and inferior models. The results highlighted the following: (1) The contribution of the RGB images is not significant for canopy extraction. Canopy pixels can be extracted with high accuracy and reliability solely with thermal images. (2) The T33% approach to canopy temperature calculation is more robust and superior to the simple mean of all canopy pixels. These noteworthy findings are a step forward in implementing thermal imagery in precision irrigation management.

Review Article Olive Fruit Fly Bacterocera Oleae Infestation of Olives: Effect on Quality and Detection in Olive Oil

Bacterocera oleae ‎ is the most common olive fruit pest in Jordan. The high incidence of olive fruit infestation with fruit fly in its stages of larvae and pupa is a common problem in olive oil production. Although not detected by simple means, it is believed to impart a “Grubby” taste that is detected only by experts and results in lowering the value of the oil from infested fruits. The effect of damage caused by B. oleae ‎ depends on the degree of infestation which is manifested in the presence of exit holes (EH) produced by the full-grown larvae which destroy the fruit skin and expose it to oxygen and other destructive factors like fungi. This results in the acceleration of hydrolytic and oxidative types of rancidity which can be estimated by measuring oil acidity (FFA) and peroxide value (PV). This review covers the literature related to the effect of olive fruit fly infestation on the quality of olive fruits and oil and the methods used in its control and detection.

Rebar Replacement in Severely Damaged RC Bridge Column Plastic Hinges: Design Criteria and Experimental Investigation

This paper presents a procedure for rehabilitating plastic hinges with damaged/fractured weldable longitudinal rebars in severely damaged reinforced concrete (RC) bridge columns and possible improvements regarding connection protection and plastic hinge development. Damaged/fractured longitudinal rebars are replaced with new rebar segments, and the basis of this approach involves connecting intermediate machined parts to the original longitudinal rebars by welding with an off-the-shelf steel equal angle. The proposed rehabilitation design procedure is based on capacity design principles, with equations that define the new geometries and required ductility, and it is validated experimentally on three 1∶6-scale RC circular column specimens. Compared with the original columns, the ductility capacity of the rehabilitated columns increased from 39% to 58%, and the energy dissipation (equivalent viscous damping ratio) increased from approximately 50% to 250%. The base shears of the rehabilitated columns were smaller than those of the original columns owing to the reduction in the rebar area; thus, shear failure was avoided, and the demand on the foundation was reduced. The rehabilitation procedure, by adopting a welding connection that is easily performed on site and concentrates the damage in the new rebar segments, promises to be a quick, simple, reliable, and effective means to improve the ductility and shear capacity of RC bridge columns without using mechanical couplers or changing the column dimensions.

Linguistic profile automated characterisation in pluripotential clinical high-risk mental state (CHARMS) conditions: methodology of a multicentre observational study

IntroductionLanguage is usually considered the social vehicle of thought in intersubjective communications. However, the relationship between language and high-order cognition seems to evade this canonical and unidirectional description (ie, the...

Pengaruh Menghafal Al-Qur’an terhadap Prestasi Belajar Siswa pada Mata Pelajaran Al-Qur’an Hadits Kelas 4 di MI Al-Umm Klari Kabupaten Karawang

The Al-Qur'an Hadith subject at Madrasah Ibtidaiyah is one of the PAI lessons that emphasizes the ability to read and write the Al-Qur'an and Hadith correctly, as well as memorize short surahs in the Al-Qur'an, introduction the simple meaning or meaning of these short letters and hadiths about commendable morals to be practiced in everyday life through exemplary and habituation. Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Al-Umm strives to produce graduates who are successful in both academic and non-academic aspects. There are many factors that influence this success, one of which is to familiarize students with morals and thinking of the Qur'an, where one of the leading programs is memorizing the Qur'an. The purpose of this study was to determine the application of memorizing the Al-Qur'an Hadith in class 4 MI Al-Umm, to determine the effect of memorizing the Al-Qur'an on student achievement in the subject of Al-Qur'an Hadith. The research method used in this study is quantitative with a correlational type. The process of collecting data in this study is observation, questionnaires, and documentation. The population in this study were grade 4 students at MI Al-Umm, as many as 82 students became the sample. The results of the hypothesis testing showed that the Tcount was 1.355 <Ttable 1.99006 with Sig. (0.179) > α (0.05), meaning that there is a positive influence but does not have a significant effect on memorizing the Al-Qur'an on learning achievement of the Al-Qur'an Hadith so that the results of the study show that the effect of memorizing the Al-Qur'an on learning achievement Al-Qur'an Hadith of 2.2% while 97.8% is determined by other variables that are not examined.

An Unprecedented Strategy to Fabricate Inside/Surface Homojunction in Bismuth Oxychloride for Efficient Photocatalysis

The design of an efficient homojunction in bismuth oxychloride via simple means is still challenging. Herein, an inside/surface homojunction of bismuth oxychloride via fabricating surface-layer oxygen vacancies from a sulfur dopant and surface-layer hydroxyl from an alkali modification (BOCSO) in a one-pot hydrothermal process is successfully prepared. BOCSO exhibits enlarged specific surface area, improved adsorption of substrate, and enhanced photogenerated charge separation and transfer efficiencies. Extensive characterizations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate BOCSO can form a defect level via surface oxygen vacancies and S doping to narrow the energy gap and capture the photogenerated electrons and holes. Meanwhile, both oxygen vacancies and hydroxyls on the BOCSO surface can also form an inside/surface homojunction containing an interfacial electric field (IEF) to induce a direct Z-scheme charge transfer mechanism. Taking advantage of the above, the photocatalytic degradation activity is remarkably elevated compared to that of pristine BiOCl (BOC). This work provides a new strategy for the fabrication of an inside/surface homojunction in bismuth oxychloride via novel surface modification engineering.

연속형 분포의 표본 분위수 계산 방법에 관한 고찰

When sample data is given, we estimate the population quantiles by computing the quantiles of the data. In statistics textbooks there are two methods of computing sample quantiles. Method 1 uses a single order statistic or a simple mean of two adjacent order statistics as a sample quantile, and method 2 uses a weighted mean of two adjacent order statistics as a sample quantile. In this paper, we compared these two methods for the case of several continuous distributions by simulation. We considered some cases of uniform, normal, exponential, chi-square, and beta distributions, and for each distribution we performed 10,000 times of simulation of drawing a random sample of sizes 20, 30 and 50. In each time of simulation, we computed the difference between the population quantile and the sample quantile obtained by each method. We compared the two methods by two criteria: one is the mean square error over 10,000 times of simulation, and the other is the frequency of giving smaller difference from the population quantile than the competing method. As a result of simulation, method 1 turned out to be much more frequently superior to method 2 by criterion 2.

Melting and solidification performance enhancement of phase change material in a square cavity by utilizing temperature-driven deformable fin

The addition of fins to the phase change material is a simple and efficient means. Nevertheless, conventional fixed fins are difficult to achieve outstanding heat transfer enhancement in melting and solidification processes. In the present work, a temperature-driven deformable fin is proposed to obtain excellent heat transfer enhancement during melting and solidification processes during melting and solidification processes in a two-dimensional square cavity with a constant-temperature left wall. The deformable fin is arranged in the center of the left wall. During the melting process, the deformable fin is designed to bend downward, considering the effect of natural convection. Nevertheless, the fin is designed to return quickly to a horizontal position in the solidification due to the dominance of heat conduction. The enthalpy-porosity method is used to predict the flow and heat transfer during the melting and solidification process, and the dynamic mesh method is used to include the motion of the deformable fin. In order to prove the outstanding heat transfer enhancement of the deformable fin, three existing fixed fins are selected for comparison. The results show that the optimum melting and solidification performance cannot be obtained simultaneously with fixed fins. The fixed straight fin arranged in the center of the left wall (Type 1) has good heat transfer reinforcement during solidification, but the fixed straight fin arranged in the lower part of the left wall (Type 3) has outstanding heat transfer reinforcement during melting. Using deformable fin has a complete solidification time comparable to the use of Type 1, and reduces the complete melting time by 12.6% compared to the use of Type 3. Furthermore, the total thermal energy charge-discharge rate of using deformable fin is increased by 13.1% compared to using Type 1, and increased by 40.4% compared to using Type 3.

SHock-INduced Endotheliopathy (SHINE): A mechanistic justification for viscoelastography-guided resuscitation of traumatic and non-traumatic shock.

Irrespective of the reason for hypoperfusion, hypocoagulable and/or hyperfibrinolytic hemostatic aberrancies afflict up to one-quarter of critically ill patients in shock. Intensivists and traumatologists have embraced the concept of SHock-INduced Endotheliopathy (SHINE) as a foundational derangement in progressive shock wherein sympatho-adrenal activation may cause systemic endothelial injury. The pro-thrombotic endothelium lends to micro-thrombosis, enacting a cycle of worsening perfusion and increasing catecholamines, endothelial injury, de-endothelialization, and multiple organ failure. The hypocoagulable/hyperfibrinolytic hemostatic phenotype is thought to be driven by endothelial release of anti-thrombogenic mediators to the bloodstream and perivascular sympathetic nerve release of tissue plasminogen activator directly into the microvasculature. In the shock state, this hemostatic phenotype may be a counterbalancing, yet maladaptive, attempt to restore blood flow against a systemically pro-thrombotic endothelium and increased blood viscosity. We therefore review endothelial physiology with emphasis on glycocalyx function, unique biomarkers, and coagulofibrinolytic mediators, setting the stage for understanding the pathophysiology and hemostatic phenotypes of SHINE in various etiologies of shock. We propose that the hyperfibrinolytic phenotype is exemplified in progressive shock whether related to trauma-induced coagulopathy, sepsis-induced coagulopathy, or post-cardiac arrest syndrome-associated coagulopathy. Regardless of the initial insult, SHINE appears to be a catecholamine-driven entity which early in the disease course may manifest as hyper- or hypocoagulopathic and hyper- or hypofibrinolytic hemostatic imbalance. Moreover, these hemostatic derangements may rapidly evolve along the thrombohemorrhagic spectrum depending on the etiology, timing, and methods of resuscitation. Given the intricate hemochemical makeup and changes during these shock states, macroscopic whole blood tests of coagulative kinetics and clot strength serve as clinically useful and simple means for hemostasis phenotyping. We suggest that viscoelastic hemostatic assays such as thromboelastography (TEG) and rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) are currently the most applicable clinical tools for assaying global hemostatic function-including fibrinolysis-to enable dynamic resuscitation with blood products and hemostatic adjuncts for those patients with thrombotic and/or hemorrhagic complications in shock states.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE PRACTICES AND EMPLOYEES’ PERFORMANCE: A CORRELATIONAL SURVEY OF COMMERCIAL BANKS IN DELTA AND BAYELSA STATES, NIGERIA

This study investigated work-life balance and employees’ performance in some selected commercial banks in Delta and Bayelsa States, Nigeria. The correlational type of survey research design was adopted and the study’s population comprised all the employees of commercial banks with presence in Delta and Bayelsa States out of which seven were selected. 323 employees from the seven selected banks with branches in Abraka, Delta State and Yenizwe Gene, Bayelsa State formed the study’s sample. This research was successfully carried out and completed with the aid of a self-structured questionnaire. 323 copies were personally administered by the researcher to the target respondents and 229 copies were properly filled, scored, and found usable for analysis. The simple percentage, frequencies, charts, mean and standard deviation were used in presenting the respondents’ data on the research items while the Pearson Correlation was adopted for testing the formulated hypotheses. It was discovered that the work leave initiatives practiced among the banks concerns maternity, marriage; annual type, and sick leave. It was also found out that the extent to which the employees give and receive informal support at the workplace is high but the extent to which flexible work arrangements are adopted and wellness programs are organized was low. However, the results of the tested hypotheses indicated that no significant correlation exists between work leave initiatives, informal support practice, and employee performance while a statistically significant relationship was found between flexible work arrangements, wellness programs and employee performance. The researcher drew conclusions from these findings and recommended that adequate wellness schemes such as health insurance (HIS) should be set up by the management of commercial banks for every worker and little deductions be taken monthly from their remunerations in order to ensure that employees’ health are constantly monitored and checkmated by them.
 Keywords: Work-Life, Balance Practices, Delta and Bayelsa States, Health Insurance,
 Employees’ Performance.