Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of strain and deadlayer on the polarization switching of ferroelectric thin film

The effect of misfit strain and deadlayer on the polarization switching of epitaxial ferroelectric thin film is investigated using a phase field model. Simulation results show that a compressive misfit strain increases the coercive field and remanent polarization of ferroelectric thin film with deadlayers, whereas a tensile misfit strain decreases these factors. The presence of a deadlayer between the ferroelectric thin film and the electrode prevents charge compensation on the ferroelectric surface and reduces the coercive field and remanent polarization of the film. A periodic a/c/a/c multiple domain structure is found in ferroelectric thin film with tensile misfit strain when there is no deadlayer. However, when a deadlayer is present in the film, the c domains vanish and the out-of-plane component of polarization degrades. The degradation of the out-of-plane polarization makes ferroelectric thin films with tensile misfit strain and deadlayers lose their ferroelectric property in the thickness directio.
Factor structure of the German version of the pain attitudes and beliefs scale for physiotherapists

ABSTRACT The Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists (PABS-PT) is a questionnaire that is frequently used to measure the treatment orientation of physiotherapists and other healthcare providers toward low back pain (LBP). Previous validation studies of the PABS-PT have reported consistently that exploratory factor analysis (EFA) yielded a two-factor model with the factors “biomedical” and “biopsychosocial. ” However, there remain concerns regarding the composition of these two factors and the internal consistency of the “biopsychosocial” factor. The objective of this study was to replicate the previous validation study on the German PABS-PT. EFA was implemented to reexamine the underlying structure of the scale, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the fit of the hypothesized two-factor model. Results of the initial validation study were not replicated. EFA indicated that a two-factor solution is an inadequate representation of the PABS-PT data, and CFA showed insufficient fit of the hypothesized two-factor model to the PABS-PT data. Our results indicate a need for caution when using the PABS-PT to measure physiotherapists’ orientation toward LBP, particularly in measuring the magnitude of a biopsychosocial orientation.
Strain Sensitive Polyurethane Nanocomposites Reinforced with Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

Conductive elastomeric polyurethane (PU) nanocomposites reinforced with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for the applications of strain sensor purpose have been synthesized via an in situ surface-initiatedpolymerization (SIP) method. The morphology of the nanocomposites with a variety of loadings of MWCNTs was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the corresponding chemical structures were studied by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). Uniformly distributed MWCNTs were observed at different loadings, i.e., 1.0, 3.0 and 5.0 wt%. Improvements of thermal stability arising from the reinforcing MWCNTs in the nanocomposites were also observed from the test result of thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The values of dielectric property were observed to be in direct proportion to the MWCNTs loadings from 2 to 2×106 Hz and a unique negative permittivity was achieved in the nanocomposites with the highest MWCNTs loading of 10.0 wt% at lower frequency range from 2 to 2×102 Hz. Electrical conductivity study reveals that the resistance of the fabricated films decreased from the magnitude of 1010 to 103 with increasing the MWCNTs loadings from 1.0 to 10.0 wt%. The nanocomposites displayed a good response of the conductivity change to the varying strain in the cyclic strain test, indicating a promising potential for strain sensor applications.
PREDICTORS OF HIGH RISK SEXUAL BEHAVIORS IN DEPORTED

OF THE THESIS Predictors of High Risk Sexual Behaviors in Deported Male Mexican Migrants by Elizabeth Ko Lampley Master of Public Health with a Concentration in Health Promotion San Diego State University, 2012 Deported Mexican migrants are a disadvantaged population with unique risk factors for HIV infection. Studies suggest that Mexican migrants frequently engage in sexual risk behaviors, such as unprotected sex and a high number of sexual partners. A previous study using similar methods and study population to those described in this paper found rates of HIV to be lower in Mexican migrants than the general United State’s (US) population. However the relatively high prevalence of HIV risk behaviors among Mexican migrants could result in the rapid spread of HIV, once the virus is introduced into this population. In order to design and implement effective prevention efforts, the determinants of sexual risk behavior in this population must first be identified. The purpose of this paper is to assess the relative contribution to variance in sexual risk behaviors by individual and environmental factors selected on the basis of the Behavioral Ecological Model. Data were collected from a sample of deported Mexican migrants selected on the basis of a probability sampling design from August to November 2009. Analyses were conducted on 353 male participants who (1) had been in the US for at least 24 hours during the 12 months prior to the interview, and (2) reported having sex during that time in the US. Backwards step-wise multiple linear regression models were used to test the association for 20 independent variables that would account for the most variance in the high risk sexual behavior index with the most parsimonious model. The final model included eight independent variables: age, marital status, level of education, English speaking, self-reported level of HIV risk, sex while under the influence of illicit drugs in the last 12 months in the US, condom use social norms, and sex partner social norms. The model explained 14.4% of the variance in high risk sexual behavior. Findings suggest that self-reported level of HIV risk was the strongest predictor of high risk sexual behavior while in the US. Results were partially explained by the BEM, but additional research is necessary to explain a higher proportion of the variance in sexual risk behavior in order to design risk reduction interventions.
Climate Change, Migration, and Allergic Respiratory Diseases: An Update for the Allergist

Local climate changes can impact on a number of factors, including air pollution, that have been shown to influence both the development and attacks of allergic respiratory diseases, and they thus represent an important consideration for the allergist. Migration involves exposure to a new set of pollutants and allergens and changes in housing conditions, diet and accessibility to medical services, all of which are likely to affect migrants' health. This review provides an update on climate change, migration, and allergy and discusses factors for consideration when making recommendations for local allergy service provision, and for assessing an individual patient's environmental exposures.
A minimal order model to investigate the hunting stability of a bogie with mechanically connected wheelsets

In this paper, the hunting stability of a two-axle bogie is studied with a simplified mathematical model. First, a four degree of freedom model of the bogie where the wheelsets are elastically connected, is developed, and the governing equations are obtained. In the model, contact forces at rail/wheel interfaces are calculated with Kalker’s linear theory, and the nonlinear equations of motion are solved numerically. Second, the nonlinear governing equations are simplified with the use of a linear contact force model. Hence, time domain responses are obtained analytically. Numerical and analytical predictions show a good match, and it is concluded that the simpler contact model can represent the dynamics of the system successfully, especially in the stable state of the bogie. Third, the corresponding eigenvalue problem is formulated from the linear equations, and complex eigenvalues are calculated over the operational speed range of the bogie. It is observed that the natural frequencies of the system are speed dependent, and either one or both of the wheelsets may become unstable at certain parameter sets. Finally, stability maps are generated for several parameters, and a better understanding about the effects of system parameters on the stability of two-axle bogie is obtained.
Complexation and precipitation in polyampholyte solutions

We discuss multichain effects in polyampholyte solutions of finite concentration and find that the existing single-chain theories are limited to exponentially small concentrations, if the sample contains chains with net charges of both signs. We show that charged polyampholytes have a strong tendency to form neutral complexes and to precipitate. Stretched chains almost play no role in the ideal case of a neutral sample with nearly symmetric charge distribution. However, for a non-neutral sample, the free counterions accumulate in the supernatant together with charged, elongated chains and the behavior of the solution is dominated by "impurities".
Reputation, Trust, and Rebates: How Online Auction Markets Can Improve Their Feedback Mechanisms

Reputation systems constitute an important institution, helping sustain trust in online auction markets. However, only half of buyers leave feedback after transactions, and nearly all feedback is positive. In this paper, I propose a mechanism whereby sellers can provide rebates (not necessarily in monetary form) to buyers contingent upon buyers' provision of reports. Using a game theoretical model, I show how the mechanism can increase unbiased reporting. There exists a pooling equilibrium where both good and bad sellers choose the rebate option, even though their true types are revealed through feedback. The mechanism also induces bad sellers to improve the quality of the contract.
A short proof of the equivalence of LCMV and GSC beamforming

Charles Jim (1977) showed the conditions under which a linearly constrained minimum-variance (LCMV) beamformer produces outputs equivalent to a generalized sidelobe canceller (GSC). Buckley (1986) has stated that the proof of equivalence extends to general multilinear constraints. In this article a short proof based on complementary subspaces is presented.
Impacts of globalization on quality of life: evidence from developing countries

This paper evaluates the impacts of globalization on quality of life, particularly on human development, gender development and human poverty in developing countries. Applying the fixed effect model to the annual panel data of 124 developing countries covering nine years from 1997, it shows that globalization (in terms of its comprehensive indexes and key elements) not only promotes human and gender development, but also significantly reduces human poverty. Not surprisingly, all the three aspects of globalization (economic, social and political) contribute to the overall effect of globalization. In general, the results from the key elements of globalization are consistent with the results from the comprehensive indexes. However, it is also observed that political and social globalization, FDI, and international migration were insignificant to gender-related development. Thus, further research is suggested for appropriate policy recommendations to make these variables significant on promoting gender aspects of development.
On the Interpretation of High-Velocity White Dwarfs as Members of the Galactic Halo

A detailed analysis of 32 of the 38 halo white dwarf candidates identified by Oppenheimer et al. is presented, based on model atmosphere fits to observed energy distributions built from optical BVRI and infrared JHK CCD photometry. Effective temperatures and atmospheric compositions are determined for all objects, as well as masses and cooling ages when trigonometric parallax measurements are available. This sample is combined with that of other halo white dwarf candidates and disk white dwarfs to study the nature of these objects in terms of reduced proper motion diagrams, tangential velocities, and stellar ages. We reaffirm the conclusions of an earlier analysis based on photographic magnitudes of the same sample that total stellar ages must be derived in order to associate a white dwarf with the old halo population, and that this can only be accomplished through precise mass and distance determinations.
Scale based region growing for scene text detection

Scene text is widely observed in our daily life and has many important multimedia applications. Unlike document text, scene text usually exhibits large variations in font and language, and suffers from low resolution, occlusions and complex background. In this paper, we present a novel scale-based region growing algorithm for scene text detection. We first distinguish SIFT features in text regions from those in background by exploring the inter- and intra-statistics of SIFT features. Then scene text regions in images are identified by scale-based region growing, which explores the geometric context of SIFT keypoints in local regions. Our algorithm is very effective to detect multilingual text in various fonts, sizes, and with complex background. In addition, it offers insights on efficiently deploying local features in numerous applications, such as visual search. We evaluate our algorithm on three datasets and achieve the state-of-the-art performance.
Hierarchical Type Constrained Topic Entity Detection for Knowledge Base Question Answering

Topic entity detection is to find out the main entity asked in a question, which is significant in question answering. Traditional methods ignore the information of entities, especially entity types and their hierarchical structures, restricting the performance. To take full advantage of Knowledge Base(KB) and detect topic entities correctly, we propose a deep neural model to leverage type hierarchy and relations of entities in KB. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Flying in the face of environmental concern: why green consumers continue to fly

Abstract Some unsustainable consumer behaviours have proved extremely hard to change or even challenge. Despite the fact that flying can be more damaging than any other activity that an individual can undertake, many otherwise green consumers still choose to fly, offering an opportunity to elicit narratives about the differences between their attitudes and behaviours. Qualitative interview data were gathered from self-selected green consumers and set within a cognitive dissonance analytical framework. Four strategies were uncovered: not changing travel behaviour (but offering justifications related to travel product, travel context or personal identity); reducing or restricting flights; changing other behaviours to compensate for flying; and stopping flying. This analysis furthers research on green consumer rationales for (un)sustainable behaviours and suggests several avenues for sustainable marketing management.
Computational microwave imaging using 3D printed conductive polymer frequency-diverse metasurface antennas

A frequency-diverse computational imaging system synthesised using three-dimensional (3D) printed frequency-diverse metasurface antennas is demonstrated. The 3D fabrication of the antennas is achieved using a combination of polylactic acid (PLA) polymer material and conductive polymer material (Electrifi), circumventing the requirement for expensive and time-consuming conventional fabrication techniques, such as machine milling, photolithography, and laser-etching. Using the 3D printed frequency-diverse metasurface antennas, a composite aperture is designed and simulated for imaging in the K-band frequency regime (17.5-26.5 GHz). The frequency-diverse system is capable of imaging by means of a simple frequency-sweep in an all-electronic manner, avoiding mechanical scanning and active circuit components. Using the synthesised system, microwave imaging of objects is achieved at the diffraction limit. It is also demonstrated that the conductivity of the Electrifi polymer material significantly affects the performance of the 3D printed antennas and therefore is a critical factor governing the fidelity of the reconstructed images.
Flexible adjacent channel interference and phase noise suppression in energy-efficient OFDMA receivers

This paper addresses the problem of phase noise mitigation in OFDMA-based radio link in a case where also adjacent channels are downconverted and therefore affected by the phase noise. The paper proposes the use of receiver-side digital-signal-processing algorithm for mitigation of receiver phase-noise in case of adjacent channel interference. The idea of the algorithm is to first detect the received signal, and then to construct an estimate of the phase-noise-free signal from the detected symbols and channel estimates. The phase noise is then estimated by comparing the received signal with phase noise to the phase-noise-free estimate. The algorithm can be used iteratively. Simulations are then done to show that the algorithm indeed is able to efficiently mitigate the phase noise effects even when adjacent channels are present. This algorithm allows moving the complexity from the analogue side to the digital side of the receiver and thus potentially results in very energy efficient receiver design.
Age‐related changes to composite lower extremity kinetics and their constituents in healthy gait: A perspective on contributing factors and mechanisms

Abstract This perspective examines the isolated effect of healthy aging on combined lower extremity and individual joint kinetics during gait, as well as mechanisms for this adaptation. Older adults redistribute neuromuscular effort from the ankle to the hip without changes in overall lower extremity kinetics. This kinetic effect parallels kinematic alterations to stride characteristics and body segment geometry. Evidence suggests that both kinetic and kinematic factors may drive observed adaptations with aging. There is stronger support for the influence of kinematic effects, including increased hip flexion, body center of mass repositioning, and balance‐driven control strategies. These data indicate that appropriate interventions may alter age‐related changes. Further, insights gained from the study of healthy aging may be applied to better understand the independent effects of other adaptive stimuli such as degeneration, acute injury, or exercise. Finally, this analysis demonstrates that due consideration of task sensitivity, kinematic/kinetic interdependence, and conscious/unconscious motor control is critical to any biomechanical investigation of an aging population.
Demographical and Psychological Determinants of Depression, Among a Sample of Iranian Male Adolescents

Background: The prevalence of depression especially among youths is increasingly high. The present study is aimed to identify some demographic and psychological factors such as self-efficacy and perceived stress that may be related to depression among male adolescents. Methods: Overall, 402 adolescent were selected for participation in the study using multistage sampling method. The participants completed a questionnaire including demographic, depression, self-efficacy, and perceived stress data. A multiple regression analysis and the Pearson correlation test were used for data analysis. SPSS version 17 software was used for performing analyses. Results: The mean age of the adolescents was 15.44 (SD = 0.68) years. The total mean score of depression was 16.02 ± 9.14 and 153 (38.1%) of participants showed depressive symptoms. Results showed that high levels of depression were associated with low level of self-efficacy and high level of perceived stress; also some demographic variables such as fathers’ job and academic situation can be related to depression among male adolescents. Conclusions: Self-efficacy and perceived stress can be related to depression but the role of stress and self-efficacy in the etiology and forming of depression in adolescent are discussed. Therefore, more studies for approval of these associations should be considered.
An Application of Classical Test Theory and Manyfacet Rasch Measurement in Analyzing the Reliability of an English Test for Non-English Major Graduates

Taking classical test theory (CTT) and many-facet Rasch measurement (MFRM) model as its theoretical basis, this study investigates the reliability of an English test for non-English major graduates by using SPSS and FACETS. The results of the CTT reliability study show that the candidates’ scores of the objective test were not significantly correlated with their scores of the subjective tasks, and the internal consistency of the three subjective tasks was not satisfying, either. The results of the MFRM analysis indicate that it was the two raters’ severity difference in their rating, the varying difficulty levels of the test tasks, and the bias interaction between some students and certain tasks that caused most of the variance in the scores. This demonstrates the necessity of training raters to be not only self-consistent but also coherent and consistent with each other. It also requires systematic study of measurement theory as well as test item writing or test task design techniques on the part of the teachers as item writers or task designers. In addition, it calls upon English teachers’ attention to enhancing students’ comprehensive language skills.
Iodine enhanced focused-ion-beam etching of silicon for photonic applications

Focused-ion-beam etching of silicon enables fast and versatile fabrication of micro- and nanophotonic devices. However, large optical losses due to crystal damage and ion implantation make the devices impractical when the optical mode is confined near the etched region. These losses are shown to be reduced by the local implantation and etching of silicon waveguides with iodine gas enhancement, followed by baking at 300 °C. The excess optical loss in the silicon waveguides drops from 3500 to 1700 dB/cm when iodine gas is used, and is further reduced to 200 dB/cm after baking at 300 °C. We present elemental and chemical surface analyses supporting that this is caused by the desorption of iodine from the silicon surface. Finally we present a model to extract the absorption coefficient from the measurements.
Coordination of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Degrees of Freedom in Soft Robotic Grasping

We demonstrate that moving the wrist while the fingers perform a grasp increases performance. The coordination shapes the interactions between the fingers, the object and its environment to extend the hand capabilities (e.g. higher payload and precision). We evaluated our hypothesis with a human grasping study where the volunteers grasped objects by moving the soft RBO Hand 2 while its fingers closed in a predefined motion. We limited their ability to coordinate their motion with the finger movements using a compliant robot attached to the hand, and observed that their grasp success decreases with increased constraints. We also successfully transferred one of the observed movement patterns to the robot, indicating that adaptive intrinsic/extrinsic motion increases robotic grasp performance as well.
Energy Efficiency Analysis of Channel Aware Geographic-Informed Forwarding (CAGIF) for Wireless Sensor Networks

This letter analytically examines the achievable energy efficiency of channel aware geographic-informed forwarding (CAGIF) algorithm, which chooses the next hop relay node by taking into consideration the underlying channel conditions, rather than purely maximizing the forwarding progress. The theoretical analysis in terms of the average forward distance is developed and the upper bound and lower bound of the average energy consumption are provided by referring to the retransmission techniques. Numerical results show that CAGIF significantly improves the energy efficiency over the previous geographic information based routing algorithms that ignore the channel conditions.