64 research outputs found
TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF SCAFFOLDING EFL STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION AT HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE MEKONG DELTA, VIETNAM
Scaffolding has held great appeal for teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) and scholars in helping students take greater responsibility or ownership in their language learning and reach academic success. However, little is known about how teachers perceived this type of support as improving students’ reading comprehension in English within the teaching and learning context in Vietnam high schools. This paper therefore reports a descriptive study that explored teachers’ perceptions of scaffolding EFL students’ reading comprehension at high schools in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were employed to collect data from seventy-nine high school teachers. The findings provide insightful views into teachers’ perceptions about scaffolding students’ reading comprehension. The findings also reveal how teachers experienced varying degrees of their perceptions of scaffolding and challenges while delivering their scaffolding practices in reading instruction.
Article visualizations
Low-energy structures of zinc borohydride Zn(BH)
We present a systematic study of the low-energy structures of zinc
borohydride, a crystalline material proposed for the hydrogen storage purpose.
In addition to the previously proposed structures, many new low-energy
structures of zinc borohydride are found by utilizing the minima-hopping
method. We identify a new dynamically stable structure which belongs to the
space group as the most stable phase of zinc borohydride at low
temperatures. A low transition barrier between and , the two
lowest-lying phases of zinc borohydride is predicted, implying that a
coexistence of low-lying phases of zinc borohydride is possible at ambient
conditions. An analysis based on the simulated X-ray diffraction pattern
reveals that the structure exhibits the same major features as the
experimentally synthesized zinc borohydride samples.Comment: Version accepted by Phys. Rev. B. Manuscript has 8 pages, 5 figures,
2 tables (with 6 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables in supplemental material
Multi-level damage detection using a combination of deep neural networks
In recent years, bridge damage identification using a convolutional neural network (CNN) has become a hot research topic and received much attention in the field of civil engineering. Although CNN is capable of categorizing damaged and undamaged states from the measured data, the level of accuracy for damage diagnosis is still insufficient due to the tendency of CNN to ignore the temporal dependency between data points. To address this problem, this paper introduces a novel hybrid damage detection method based on the combination of CNN and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) to classify and quantify different levels of damage in the bridge structure. In this method, the CNN model will be used to extract the spatial damage features, which will be combined with the temporal features obtained from Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model to create the enhanced damage features. The combination successfully strengthened the damage detection capability of the neural network. Moreover, deep learning is also improved in this paper to process the acceleration-time data, which has a different amplitude at short intervals and the same amplitude at long intervals. The empirical result on the Vang bridge shows that our hybrid CNN-LSTM can detect structural damage with a high level of accuracy
CHARACTERIZATION OF CARBONATED STEELMAKING SLAG AND ITS POTENTIAL APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION
In the current context of Vietnam, the solid waste of steel slag occupy ground for dumping and lead to severe environmental issue due to their high content of heavy metal and fine dust. For the purpose of large-scale recycling steel slag, up to now one of the most relevant solutions is to use as aggregate for asphaltic and/or cement concrete. In this paper, we aim to analyze the influence of the accelerated carbonation condition in the laboratory on the physio-chemical properties of carbonated steel slag. Materials composition were characterized by using different analysis techniques of XRD, SEM, TG and others measurement of the physio-properties (density, L.O.I..) were also realized with regards to the requirement of the national standard for concrete aggregate. In conclusion, we will discuss the effect of reaction condition and on the feasibility of implementing this specific treatment method on a larger scale.Keywords: steelmaking slag, solid waste, CO2 sequestration, accelerated carbonation, concrete aggregate
Porous dendritic copper: an electrocatalyst for highly selective CO 2 reduction to formate in water/ ionic liquid electrolyte
International audienceCopper is currently extensively studied because it provides promising electrodes for carbon dioxide electroreduction. The original combination, reported here, of a nanostructured porous dendritic Cu-based material, characterized by electron microcopy (SEM, TEM) and X-ray diffraction methods, and a water/ionic liquid mixture as the solvent, contributing to CO 2 solubilization and activation, results in a remarkably efficient (large current densities at low overpotentials), stable and selective (large faradic yields) electrocatalytic system for the conversion of CO 2 into formic acid, a product with a variety of uses. These results provide new directions for the further improvement of Cu electrodes
A First Principles Study on Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Defects in ZnO/GaN Core-shell Nanowire Heterostructures
To date semiconductor nanowire (NW) heterostructures (HS) have attracted extensive attention as important components of electronic and optoelectronic nanodevices. Further NWs also show promising potency to enhance the solar energy harvesting, e.g. improving both light trapping, photo-carrier collection, and contacting surface area. In this work we show theoretically that the -ferromagnetism and NW HS bandgap can be turned by engineering the HS interfaces in non-magnetic ZnO/GaN core/shell NW HS. In that NW HS the incorporation of one compound into the other leads to the bandgap narrowing in the nonisovalent alloy because of the type II band alignment betwwen ZnO and GaN. The -ferromagnetic interface can be developed by creating -type defect with and/or -type defect with Zn in Ga--O interface bonds due to the defect-induced polar discontinuity. It's noted that the GaN/ZnO NW HS itself without defect or with same number defects of both types are not ferromagnetic. So that the induced magnetic moment is suggested to be related to the missing charge introduced at these defects. In our study we focused on the effects of GaN/ZnO interfaces on the electronic and magnetic properties, e.g. interface states within the bandgap and interface-induced ferromagnetism and impact of surface reconstruction and quantum confinement. The origin of this -FM is revealed by analyses of spin-polarized bandstructure indicated by the asymmetrical spin-up and spin-down states near the Fermi level, the projected densities of states (PDOSs) and the spin-polarized mulliken charge differences, indicated that most spin-polarized states are dominated by the interface defect site N electrons. The calculated GaN/ZnO interface magnetism, have been compared with FM at the LaAlO-SrTiO\(_{3} interface which are theoretically predicted [30] and experimentally confirmed [31], where the magnetic moments also arise from the polar discontinuity
Thermodynamic stability of alkali metal/zinc double-cation borohydrides at low temperatures
We study the thermodynamic stability at low temperatures of a series of
alkali metal/zinc double-cation borohydrides, including LiZn(BH),
LiZn(BH), NaZn(BH), NaZn(BH), KZn(BH),
and KZn(BH). While LiZn(BH), NaZn(BH),
NaZn(BH) and KZn(BH) were recently synthesized,
LiZn(BH) and KZn(BH) are hypothetical compounds. Using the
minima-hopping method, we discover two new lowest-energy structures for
NaZn(BH) and KZn(BH) which belong to the and
space groups, respectively. These structures are predicted to be both
thermodynamically stable and dynamically stable, implying that their existence
may be possible. On the other hand, the lowest-energy structure of
LiZn(BH) is predicted to be unstable, suggesting a possible reason
elucidating why this compound has not been experimentally identified. In
exploring the low-energy structures of these compounds, we find that their
energetic ordering is sensitive to the inclusion of the van der Waals
interactions. We also find that a proper treatment of these interactions, e.g.,
as given by a non-local density functional such as vdW-DF2, is necessary to
address the stability of the low-energy structures of these compounds.Comment: Final versio
Structural assessment based on vibration measurement test combined with an artificial neural network for the steel truss bridge
Damage assessment is one of the most crucial issues for bridge engineers during the operational and maintenance phase, especially for existing steel bridges. Among several methodologies,
the vibration measurement test is a typical approach, in which the natural frequency variation of
the structure is monitored to detect the existence of damage. However, locating and quantifying the
damage is still a big challenge for this method, due to the required human resources and logistics
involved. In this regard, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based approach seems to be a potential way
of overcoming such obstacles. This study deployed a comprehensive campaign to determine all
the dynamic parameters of a predamaged steel truss bridge structure. Based on the results for
mode shape, natural frequency, and damping ratio, a finite element model (FEM) was created and
updated. The artificial intelligence network’s input data from the damage cases were then analysed
and evaluated. The trained artificial neural network model was curated and evaluated to confirm
the approach’s feasibility. During the actual operational stage of the steel truss bridge, this damage
assessment system showed good performance, in terms of monitoring the structural behaviour of the
bridge under some unexpected accidents.This research was funded by FCT/MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC) from the
R&D Unit Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE), under the
reference UIDB/04029/2020, and from the Associate Laboratory Advanced Production and Intelligent
Systems ARISE, under the reference LA/P/0112/2020, as well as financial support of the project
research “B2022-GHA-03” from the Ministry of Education and Training. And The APC was funded
by ANI (“Agência Nacional de Inovação”) through the financial support given to the R&D Project
“GOA Bridge Management System—Bridge Intelligence”, with reference POCI-01-0247-FEDER069642, which was cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) through the
Operational Competitiveness and Internationalisation Program (POCI)
- …