Implicit Estimation of Paragraph Relevance From Eye Movements

Eye movements were shown to be an effective source of implicit relevance feedback in constrained search and decision-making tasks. Recent research suggests that gaze-based features, extracted from scanpaths over short news articles (g-REL), can reveal the perceived relevance of read text with respect to a previously shown trigger question. In this work, we aim to confirm this finding and we investigate whether it generalizes to multi-paragraph documents from Wikipedia (Google Natural Questions) that require readers to scroll down to read the whole text. We conduct a user study (n = 24) in which participants read single- and multi-paragraph articles and rate their relevance at the paragraph level with respect to a trigger question. We model the perceived document relevance using machine learning and features from the literature as input. Our results confirm that eye movements can be used to effectively model the relevance of short news articles, in particular if we exclude difficult cases: documents which are on topic of the trigger questions but irrelevant. However, our results do not clearly show that the modeling approach generalizes to multi-paragraph document settings. We publish our dataset and our code for feature extraction under an open source license to enable future research in the field of gaze-based implicit relevance feedback.

Massive Open Online Courses: A Source of Effective Professional Development for In-service Teachers

The ever-changing needs of society justify the necessity for teachers to engage in continuous learning. Teachers are encouraged to participate in professional development activities that will help them develop the knowledge and skills that are required to meet the needs of a 21st century society. It is recognised that access to professional development has increased since Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) became an option for in-service teachers who traditionally found it difficult to access certain professional development activities because of distance and lack of convenience.A survey was administered to 72 respondents to capture the experiences of in-service teachers from the Caribbean, who participated in a MOOC offered by the Inter-American Teacher Education Network (ITEN). The survey explored the MOOC participants’ perception of the MOOC as a source of professional development, as well as the extent to which they applied the content learnt in the ITEN MOOC. The findings of this research show that 95% of the participants perceived the ITEN MOOC to be an effective source of professional development and were able to apply the content to their professional context. The findings further suggest that MOOCs across the globe provide an opportunity for in-service teachers to forge partnerships and establish learning communities that will improve their professional knowledge and skills.

ANALISIS KUALITAS PUPUK KOMPOS DAUN KETAPANG DAN KOTORAN SAPI DENGAN PENAMBAHAN SUMBER KARBOHIDRAT BERBEDA

Composting of organic waste into compost can be accelerated by using EM4. The nutrients can be obtained from carbohydrate sources, sugar cane, sugar, and brown sugar. This study aimed to determine the quality of Indian almond leaves compost with the addition of carbohydrate sources, sugar cane water, sugar, and brown sugar. The study employed a qualitative descriptive to describe the quality of the compost which refers to the National Compost Standard (SNI: 19-7030-2004). The results showed that the quality of the compost with the addition of the aforementioned carbohydrates sources has a C/N ratio value that exceeds the National Compost Standard (SNI: 19-7030-2004). Meanwhile, other characteristics such as temperature, pH, humidity, texture, color, and smell had met the requirements of the National Compost Standard (SNI: 19-7030-2004). The most effective source of carbohydrates for producing quality compost was brown sugar.

Effects of recycling neutral on density shoulder formation in tokamak plasmas

Towards the physical understanding on the formation of flattened upstream scrape-off-layer (SOL) density profiles, namely ‘density shoulders’, a self-consistent one-dimensional radial transport model has been developed to estimate the upstream profiles covering both core plasma and SOL region at tokamak midplane. For the SOL region, the effective density and temperature profiles for the ionization process are obtained by weighted averaging of the upstream and downstream profiles, which can distinguish the open target operation (OTO) from the closed target operation (CTO) by a weighting factor. Compared with the enhanced turbulent convective transport, it is complementary for the model to study the competition between the effective source Seff and the parallel particle loss LSOL . It indicates that: (1) an appropriate Seff intensity controlled by the neutral pressure due to divertor or wall recycling and (2) an appropriate Seff peak position in a far SOL region adjusted by the plasma current as well as the weighting factor could offset the damping effect of LSOL on density profile. Then Seff over LSOL in a far SOL region could be the sole process involved in bringing about SOL density shoulders.

Omega−3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs): Emerging Plant and Microbial Sources, Oxidative Stability, Bioavailability, and Health Benefits—A Review

The omega−3 (n−3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acid are well known to protect against numerous metabolic disorders. In view of the alarming increase in the incidence of chronic diseases, consumer interest and demand are rapidly increasing for natural dietary sources of n−3 PUFAs. Among the plant sources, seed oils from chia (Salvia hispanica), flax (Linum usitatissimum), and garden cress (Lepidium sativum) are now widely considered to increase α-linolenic acid (ALA) in the diet. Moreover, seed oil of Echium plantagineum, Buglossoides arvensis, and Ribes sp. are widely explored as a source of stearidonic acid (SDA), a more effective source than is ALA for increasing the EPA and DHA status in the body. Further, the oil from microalgae and thraustochytrids can also directly supply EPA and DHA. Thus, these microbial sources are currently used for the commercial production of vegan EPA and DHA. Considering the nutritional and commercial importance of n−3 PUFAs, this review critically discusses the nutritional aspects of commercially exploited sources of n−3 PUFAs from plants, microalgae, macroalgae, and thraustochytrids. Moreover, we discuss issues related to oxidative stability and bioavailability of n−3 PUFAs and future prospects in these areas.

The Renaissance of Plant Mucilage in Health Promotion and Industrial Applications: A Review

Plant mucilage is a renewable and cost-effective source of plant-based compounds that are biologically active, biodegradable, biocompatible, nontoxic, and environmentally friendly. Until recently, plant mucilage has been of interest mostly for technological purposes. This review examined both its traditional uses and potential modern applications in a new generation of health-promoting foods, as well as in cosmetics and biomaterials. We explored the nutritional, phytochemical, and pharmacological richness of plant mucilage, with a particular focus on its biological activity. We also highlighted areas where more research is needed in order to understand the full commercial potential of plant mucilage.

How Neurons in Deep Models Relate with Neurons in the Brain

In dealing with the algorithmic aspects of intelligent systems, the analogy with the biological brain has always been attractive, and has often had a dual function. On the one hand, it has been an effective source of inspiration for their design, while, on the other hand, it has been used as the justification for their success, especially in the case of Deep Learning (DL) models. However, in recent years, inspiration from the brain has lost its grip on its first role, yet it continues to be proposed in its second role, although we believe it is also becoming less and less defensible. Outside the chorus, there are theoretical proposals that instead identify important demarcation lines between DL and human cognition, to the point of being even incommensurable. In this article we argue that, paradoxically, the partial indifference of the developers of deep neural models to the functioning of biological neurons is one of the reasons for their success, having promoted a pragmatically opportunistic attitude. We believe that it is even possible to glimpse a biological analogy of a different kind, in that the essentially heuristic way of proceeding in modern DL development bears intriguing similarities to natural evolution.

PENGARUH PEMBERIAN PUPUK KOTORAN KAMBING DAN ATONIK TERHADAP PERTUMBUHAN SETEK DAUN MAHKOTA NENAS (Ananas comusus L. Merr) KUALU PADA MEDIA GAMBUT

The Kualu pineapple propagation technique uses crown bud cuttings which is made as a pineapple plant propagation material for peat media that is added with goat manure and several concentrations of Atonic. The aim is to obtain an effective source of cutting material for the procurement of Kualu pineapple seedlings cultivated on peat soil. This research used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) factorial with two factors. First factor was the dose of goat manure at levels 0, 10, 20, and 30 g/polybag dan second factor was various atonic concentrations at levels 0, 2, 4, and 6 ml/L. The data were statistically analyzed and further tested for honest real difference (BNJ) at the 5% level. The results obtained from the interaction of the two treatment factors were significantly different to the time of shoot emergence and the percentage of shoot life. There was no significant difference in seedling height and number of leaves, as well as the main effect of each treatment. Crown shoot cuttings planted on peat media added 20 g/polybag of goat manure and 4ml/l Atonic obtained a better source of cutting material to be used as a source of seeds than others. The success of obtaining seeds from crown leaf cuttings sources through this research has answered that crown leaf cuttings have potential and great opportunity to be developed.

Microbial Metabolites: The Emerging Hotspot of Antiviral Compounds as Potential Candidates to Avert Viral Pandemic Alike COVID-19

The present global COVID-19 pandemic caused by the noble pleomorphic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has created a vulnerable situation in the global healthcare and economy. In this pandemic situation, researchers all around the world are trying their level best to find suitable therapeutics from various sources to combat against the SARS-CoV-2. To date, numerous bioactive compounds from different sources have been tested to control many viral diseases. However, microbial metabolites are advantageous for drug development over metabolites from other sources. We herein retrieved and reviewed literatures from PubMed, Scopus and Google relevant to antiviral microbial metabolites by searching with the keywords “antiviral microbial metabolites,” “microbial metabolite against virus,” “microorganism with antiviral activity,” “antiviral medicine from microbial metabolite,” “antiviral bacterial metabolites,” “antiviral fungal metabolites,” “antiviral metabolites from microscopic algae’ and so on. For the same purpose, the keywords “microbial metabolites against COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2” and “plant metabolites against COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2” were used. Only the full text literatures available in English and pertinent to the topic have been included and those which are not available as full text in English and pertinent to antiviral or anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity were excluded. In this review, we have accumulated microbial metabolites that can be used as antiviral agents against a broad range of viruses including SARS-CoV-2. Based on this concept, we have included 330 antiviral microbial metabolites so far available to date in the data bases and were previously isolated from fungi, bacteria and microalgae. The microbial source, chemical nature, targeted viruses, mechanism of actions and IC50/EC50 values of these metabolites are discussed although mechanisms of actions of many of them are not yet elucidated. Among these antiviral microbial metabolites, some compounds might be very potential against many other viruses including coronaviruses. However, these potential microbial metabolites need further research to be developed as effective antiviral drugs. This paper may provide the scientific community with the possible secret of microbial metabolites that could be an effective source of novel antiviral drugs to fight against many viruses including SARS-CoV-2 as well as the future viral pandemics.