ShinyGPAS: interactive genomic prediction accuracy simulator based on deterministic formulas

Background: Deterministic formulas for the accuracy of genomic predictions highlight the relationships among prediction accuracy and potential factors influencing prediction accuracy prior to performing computationally intensive cross-validation. Visualizing such deterministic formulas in an interactive manner may lead to a better understanding of how genetic factors control prediction accuracy. Results: The software to simulate deterministic formulas for genomic prediction accuracy was implemented in R and encapsulated as a web-based Shiny application. Shiny genomic prediction accuracy simulator (ShinyGPAS) simulates various deterministic formulas and delivers dynamic scatter plots of prediction accuracy versus genetic factors impacting prediction accuracy, while requiring only mouse navigation in a web browser. ShinyGPAS is available at: https://chikudaisei.shinyapps.io/shinygpas/ Conclusion: ShinyGPAS is a shiny-based interactive genomic prediction accuracy simulator using deterministic formulas. It can be used for interactively exploring potential factors that influence prediction accuracy in genomeenabled prediction, simulating achievable prediction accuracy prior to genotyping individuals, or supporting in-class teaching. ShinyGPAS is open source software and it is hosted online as a freely available web-based resource with an intuitive graphical user interfac

Translating Transformative Human Rights Education through Visual Languages & Informal Spaces

This project examines methods, theories, and practices of translating human rights education through multiple vernaculars. Developed as a workshop in sociocultural syntax deconstruction and an educational human rights education website focused on the domestic population of the US, the project focuses on localizing human rights concepts to the public vernacular of the country. Human rights education (HRE) and media and information literacy (MIL) are expanded and redefined as social literacy, or the ability to navigate and decode the present, complex realities that both HRE and MIL were developed to address. Reframing media and visual arts as an archive of past and present conceptualizations of memory and narrative formations, the project explores educational methods and theories of adapting human rights concepts into public spaces

Effects of parenting styles, academic self-efficacy, and achievement motivation on the academic achievement of university students in Ethiopia

The prime purpose of this study was to propose and test an integrated parental and social-cognitive model of academic achievement and examine the effects of parenting styles, academic self-efficacy, and achievement motivation on academic achievement by employing an ex-post facto prospective research design. The data on demographic characteristics, parenting styles, academic self-efficacy and achievement motivation were collected through self-report questionnaires from a sample of 2116 (763 females and 1353 males) undergraduate first year students selected via multi-stage cluster random sampling technique from Addis Ababa University, Kotebe College of Teacher Education, and Wolayta Soddo University in Ethiopia and accessing their second semester Grade-Point-Averages (GPAs) of 2008/09 academic year from the Registrars’ Offices of the respective Higher Education Institutions. Preliminary analyses of the data consisted of percentage and correlational analyses. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analyses with Analysis of MOment Structures (AMOS 18.0 version) were employed to test the adequacy of the hypothesized model and examine the relationships among the variables. A one-way Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was also used to assess sex differences in the academic self-efficacy, achievement motivation, and academic achievement of students. The results of preliminary analyses pertaining to the most predominantly practiced parenting style in the families of Ethiopia revealed that authoritative parenting was the most commonly adopted parenting style; however, parenting styles varied as a function of late adolescent and young adult children’s sex (i.e., parents were authoritative for their daughters but neglectful for their sons). The results from tests of the proposed parental and social-cognitive model of academic achievement showed that the hypothesized model provided a good fit to the empirical data for both the overall sample and the sub-samples of female and male students. The results of the path analyses provided partial support for the hypothesized model, in that, irrespective of students’ sex, parenting styles had a significant and positive direct effect on academic self-efficacy, as well as significant and positive mediated effects on achievement motivation (i.e., via academic self-efficacy) and academic achievement (i.e., via achievement motivation for female students and via academic self-efficacy for male students). Parenting styles had also a significant and positive direct effect on achievement motivation for female students, but not for male students. Specifically, regardless of sex, students who rated their parents as authoritative had higher academic self-efficacy than their counterparts who perceived their parents as non-authoritative; however, only female students who described their parents as authoritative had higher achievement motivation when compared with their counterparts who characterized their parents as non-authoritative. The results also revealed that both female and male students who described their parents as authoritative had higher academic self-efficacy and these students in turn had higher achievement motivation than their counterparts who characterized their parents as non-authoritative. In addition, female students who rated their parents as authoritative had higher achievement motivation and these students in turn had higher academic achievement when compared with their counterparts from non-authoritative families. Similarly, male students who characterized their parents as authoritative had higher academic self-efficacy and these students in turn had higher academic achievement when compared with their counterparts from non-authoritative families. With regard to the interrelationships among academic self-efficacy, achievement motivation, and academic achievement, irrespective of students’ sex, academic self-efficacy had a significant and positive direct effect on achievement motivation and a significant and positive mediated effect (i.e., through achievement motivation) on academic achievement. Furthermore, regardless of students’ sex, achievement motivation had a significant and positive direct effect on academic achievement. Academic self-efficacy had also a significant and positive direct effect on academic achievement for male students, but not for female students. The results of a one-way Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) indicated that there were significant sex differences in the academic achievement of students (i.e., favouring male students); however, there were no significant differences among female and male students in their academic self-efficacy and achievement motivation. The findings also uncovered that undergraduate first year university students in Ethiopia who participated in the present study had high academic selfefficacy and achievement motivation but low academic achievement. Based on the findings, some practical and theoretical implications of the study for designing interventions to maximize students’ academic achievement in higher education institutions are addressed

Camera Trap Monitoring for Wildlife Density Estimation with the REST Model: A Handbook Focusing on Rainforest Mammals

This handbook is a product of an international joint research initiative between Cameroon and Japan funded by JST/JICA SATREPS (JPMJSA1702) and JSPS KAKENHI (JP18K14803, JP 20KK0015, JP21K15173).Earlier handbook version (Hongo et al. 2021).1. Introduction [3]Why Camera Traps, and Why Population Density? [3]Using the Detection Rate is “a Risky Business” [4]Estimating the Population Density of the “Unmarked” Animals [5]The REST model [6]2. The REST model: A Brief Explanation [7]Formula [7]Assumptions [7]Limitations [9]Suitable and Unsuitable Situations for REST [9]3. Development of REST Monitoring Protocols [11]Required Specifications of Camera Traps [11]Camera Placement Design [12]Layout of Camera Stations [15]4. Carrying Out the Monitoring [19]Materials [19]Configuration of Camera Setting [19]Setting of Camera Stations in the Field [20]5. Data Analysis [23]Species Identification [23]Judgement on whether the target species passed through the focal area [24]Measurement of staying time in each passage [24]Acquisition of time data for each passage [24]Data shaping and cleaning [26]Statistical analysis to estimate density [26]6. Perspectives [27]References [28

Particles sizes effect on the Rheological properties of Nickel doped Barium Titanate of Nano particle in IPN-polymer matrix

In this article,we have synthesizedcomposite material by dispersing variable amount of nanoparticles of nickel-doped BaTiO3 nanoparticulate in IPN-polymer matrix.­­­­­The chemical composition of the selected specimen is represented by general formula Ba(Ti1-zXz)O3,where X is Ni and z=0.2 and it was prepared by sol-gel technique. For the preparation of the polymer-matrix composite materials, Polyurethane (PU) as soft phase and PEMA as hard phase were selected as matrix materials.The polymer-based composite was fabricated from casting method by dispersing the nanoparticles in the IPN matrix along with coupling agent (vinyl triethoxysilane). The results from the X-ray diffractogram show that the diameter of the particles which are doped with nickel in the specimen lie in the range of 20-60nm. SEM analysis was used to investigate the morphology of the doped BaTiO3 as well as polymer composite. From the SEM observation, the nanoparticles of doped BaTiO3 were found to be homogeneously dispersed in the polymer matrix. The ratio of soft/hard phase actually modifies the crosslinking density of the respective polymer in the matrix and also shows the better impact on the rheological properties. In this paper, the effect of particle size of fine doped BaTiO3 powder on rheological properties of doped BaTiO3/IPN-polymer composite are discussed along with the role of soft/hard phase matrix. Tensile strength, elongation at a fracture of IPN composite, and UTS strength were evaluated  by Instran testing machine at room temperature at a crosshead speed of 5mm/min. Better dispersion and strong crossliking showed better hardness and tensile strength Key Words: IPN-polymer, Nanoparticle, Rheology, Crosslinking, Polymer Composite

Development of thermal barrier coatings with excellent delamination resistant property by extreme internal oxidation

In Japan, the proportion of thermal power generation has increased since after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, accounting for approximately 85% in 2015. Compared to other power generations, thermal power plants have a large amount of carbon dioxide emissions relative to the amount of power generation. Therefore, it is an urgent task to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by improving the efficiency of thermal power plants. Increasing the turbine inlet gas temperature improves the efficiency of the gas turbine thermal power plants. However, high-temperature components, such as rotating blades, are close to their maximum service temperature. Therefore, application of the thermal barrier coating (TBC) on the turbine blade substrate is needed to protect a structure. The TBC system usually consists of ceramic top-coating (TC) and intermediate metallic bond-coating (BC) on a Ni-based superalloy substrate. To reduce the effect of the heat flux on the structure, heat resistant material, such as Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ), is commonly used for TC layer. While, for BC, MCrAlY (M: Co and/or Ni) alloy is commonly used to protect the substrate from oxidation and corrosion, as well as to improve the bonding strength between the TC and the BC layers. However, delamination of the TBC can occur, because of significant thermal stresses generated when the coating cools down from high to room temperature. Therefore, improvement of TBC delamination resistance is indispensable. Delamination of the TBC is caused by the Thermally Grown Oxide (TGO) formed at the interface between TC and BC, because of the discrepancy in the thermal expansion coefficient between TGO and TC or BC. Therefore, the TBC formation control is important to improve the delamination resistance of TBC. Previously, authors have succeeded in improving the delamination resistance of TBC by adding cerium (Ce) to the CoNiCrAlY alloy as a BC which assist the formation of the inward TGO. The inward TGO reduces the thermal stress experienced by TBC through the formation of vertical cracks initiated by the inward TGO. However, the inward TGO only forms when the temperature is over 1100°C, which is higher than the substrate temperature during the gas turbine thermal power plants operation temperature. As a result of further research, authors have succeeded in reducing the inward TGO formation temperature to 1000ºC close to the actual use environment by adding ceria (CeO2) instead of Ce to the BC materials. In our studies, it was improved that the TBC delamination resistance thanks to the introduction of internal oxidation during BC formation using High Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF) technique. It was showed that internal oxidation introduced during the film formation proceeded sufficient inward oxide at high-temperature exposure (900°C) and exhibited high delamination resistance. Thus, adding CeO2 to the CoNiCrAlY alloy and introducing internal oxidation during BC formation is efficient to reduce the inward oxide formation temperature. However, when the inward oxide is introduced to BC, the internal oxidation might reduce the oxidation resistance of TBC system. In addition, oxidation and corrosion of the substrate can occur due to direct exposure to the combustion environment through vertical cracks. Therefore, it is needed to develop a new BC combining oxidation resistance and delamination resistance. Two-layer BC is considered. The first layer of the BC, located on the substrate side, has less internal oxidation and helps in the protection of the substrate. The second layer of the BC, located on the TC side, has a lot of internal oxides and improves the coating delamination resistance. Thus, it possible to develop TBC compatible with delamination resistance properties and substrate protection properties. The aim of our study is to improve the delamination resistance of TBC and develop TBC with reduced inward TGO formation temperature. For this purpose, TBC with CeO2 and ZrO2 added to the BC material were prepared. To perform TBC specimens with internal oxide in the BC, BC materials with several particle sizes and several BC spraying methods were used. The internal oxide amount and delamination resistant property of these TBC specimens were evaluated with SEM observation and four-point bending test. And also, the high-temperature oxidation behavior and the delamination resistance of TBC with two layers of BC, aiming to achieve both delamination resistance and substrate protection, were evaluated