Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sustainability, blended learning and the undergraduate communication skills classroom: negotiating engineering undergraduates’ expectations and perceptions

Purpose This paper aims to discuss the outcomes of a study conducted to explore the perceptions and expectations of undergraduate engineering learners on the potential of incorporating sustainability within the Professional Communication Skills (PCS) module, via blended learning. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methods case study approach was used, using surveys, learner reflections and interviews. Findings Key findings include (a) learners finding a heightened sense of awareness of environmental, social and cultural dimensions of sustainability, (b) development of sustainability literacy and communication skills for the real world, (c) scepticism and apprehension of blended learning teaching and learning methods, (d) development of capacity for self-directed learning resulting from flipped learning and (e) differences in quality of peer and lecturer interaction online and in the traditional classroom set up. Originality/value Sivapalan’s (2015) study suggests that Malaysian engineering graduates lack sustainability knowledge, competences and values, and often struggle to cope with professional responsibilities that require them to exercise these literacies. Much of this is attributed to the lack of sustainability integration within the undergraduate engineering curriculum, and within teaching approaches used. To date, there is little research within the Malaysian engineering education context to gauge the extent to which non-technical academic modules such as the PCS module could be used as a platform to incorporate sustainability learning outcomes. Research to gauge learners’ feedback and reflections on the integration of sustainability via non-technical modules and blended learning approaches is also scarce.
Structural Iron (II) of Basaltic Glass as an Energy Source for Zetaproteobacteria in an Abyssal Plain Environment, Off the Mid Atlantic Ridge

To explore the capability of basaltic glass to support the growth of chemosynthetic microorganisms, complementary in situ and in vitro colonization experiments were performed. Microbial colonizers containing synthetic tholeitic basaltic glasses, either enriched in reduced or oxidized iron, were deployed off-axis from the Mid Atlantic Ridge on surface sediments of the abyssal plain (35°N; 29°W). In situ microbial colonization was assessed by sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and basaltic glass alteration was characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy, micro-X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure at the Fe-K-edge and Raman microspectroscopy. The colonized surface of the reduced basaltic glass was covered by a rind of alteration made of iron-oxides trapped in a palagonite-like structure with thicknesses up to 150 μm. The relative abundance of the associated microbial community was dominated (39% of all reads) by a single operational taxonomic unit (OTU) that shared 92% identity with the iron-oxidizer Mariprofundus ferrooxydans PV-1. Conversely, the oxidized basaltic glass showed the absence of iron-oxides enriched surface deposits and correspondingly there was a lack of known iron-oxidizing bacteria in the inventoried diversity. In vitro, a similar reduced basaltic glass was incubated in artificial seawater with a pure culture of the iron-oxidizing M. ferrooxydans DIS-1 for 2 weeks, without any additional nutrients or minerals. Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy revealed that the glass surface was covered by twisted stalks characteristic of this iron-oxidizing Zetaproteobacteria. This result supported findings of the in situ experiments indicating that the Fe(II) present in the basalt was the energy source for the growth of representatives of Zetaproteobacteria in both the abyssal plain and the in vitro experiment. In accordance, the surface alteration rind observed on the reduced basaltic glass incubated in situ could at least partly result from their activity.
The Impact of Firing Costs on Turnover and Unemployment: Evidence from the Colombian Labour Market Reform

Reductions in firing costs are often advocated as a way of increasing the dynamism of labour markets in both developed and less developed countries. Evidence from Europe and the U.S. on the impact of firing costs has, however, been mixed. Moreover, legislative changes both in Europe and the U.S. have been limited. This paper, instead, examines the impact of the Colombian Labour Market Reform of 1990, which substantially reduced dismissal costs. I estimate the incidence of a reduction in firing costs on worker turnover by exploiting the temporal change in the Colombian labour legislation as well as the variability in coverage between formal and informal sector workers. Using a grouping estimator to control for common aggregate shocks and selection, I find that the exit hazard rates into and out of unemployment increased after the reform by over 1\% for formal workers (covered by the legislation) relative to informal workers (uncovered). The increase of the hazards implies a net decrease in unemployment of a third of a percentage point, which accounts for about one quarter of the fall in unemployment during the period of study.
J‐band variability of M dwarfs in the WFCAM Transit Survey

We present an analysis of the photometric variability of M dwarfs in the WFCAM Transit Survey. Although periodic lightcurve variability in low mass stars is generally dominated by photospheric star spot activity, M dwarf variability in the J band has not been as thoroughly investigated as at visible wavelengths. Spectral type estimates for a sample of over 200,000 objects are made using spectral type-colour relations, and over 9600 dwarfs (J 0:2 mag flaring event from an M4V star in our sample.
Prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection among Bolivian immigrants in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

With the urbanisation of the population in developing countries and the process of globalisation, Chagas has become an emerging disease in the urban areas of endemic and non-endemic countries. In 2006, it was estimated that the prevalence of Chagas disease among the general Bolivian population was 6.8%. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection among Bolivian immigrants living in São Paulo, Brazil. This study had a sample of 633 volunteers who were randomly selected from the clientele of primary care units located in the central districts of São Paulo, Brazil. Infection was detected by two different ELISA assays with epimastigote antigens, followed by an immunoblot with trypomastigote antigens as a confirmatory test. The prevalence of the infection was 4.4%. Risk factors independently associated with the infection were: a history of rural jobs in Bolivia, knowledge of the vector involved in transmission, and having relatives with Chagas disease. Brazil has successfully eliminated household vector transmission of T. cruzi, as well as its transmission by blood transfusion. The arrival of infected immigrants represents an additional challenge to primary care clinics to manage chronic Chagas disease, its vertical transmission, and the blood derivatives and organ transplant programs.
Distinct LTP induction mechanisms: contribution of NMDA receptors and voltage-dependent calcium channels.

1. Our results indicate that there are two distinct components of long-term potentiation (LTP) induced by the K+ channel blocker tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA) at synapses of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. Preincubation of hippocampal slices in the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist D,L-2-amino-5 phosphonovalerate (D,L-APV, 50 microM), reduced the magnitude of TEA LTP. In addition, the L-type voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel (VDCC) antagonist nifedipine (10 microM) attenuated TEA LTP. Only the combined application of D,L-APV plus nifedipine blocked the induction of TEA LTP. 2. Occlusion experiments demonstrated that saturation of VDCC-dependent TEA LTP did not reduce or occlude NMDA-receptor-dependent TEA LTP. These results indicate that the mechanisms underlying VDCC and NMDA receptor components of TEA LTP are different and do not share a common saturable mechanism. 3. TEA LTP was strictly dependent on NMDA receptor activity in slices with CA3-CA1 connections severed (isolated CA1 slices). In contrast to results obtained in slices with intact CA3-CA1 connections, the NMDA receptor antagonists APV (50 microM) or MK-801 dizocilpine (10 microM) completely blocked TEA LTP in isolated CA1. Consistent with this observation, the properties of TEA LTP in isolated CA1 were very similar to other types of NMDA-receptor-dependent plasticity such as tetanus-induced LTP; TEA LTP required presynaptic stimulation, displayed pathway specificity, and was occluded by tetanus-induced LTP. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Exploring Large-Data Issues in the Curriculum: A Case Study with MapReduce

This paper describes the design of a pilot research and educational effort at the University of Maryland centered around technologies for tackling Web-scale problems. In the context of a "cloud computing" initiative lead by Google and IBM, students and researchers are provided access to a computer cluster running Hadoop, an open-source Java implementation of Google's MapReduce framework. This technology provides an opportunity for students to explore large-data issues in the context of a course organized around teams of graduate and undergraduate students, in which they tackle open research problems in the human language technologies. This design represents one attempt to bridge traditional instruction with real-world, large-data research challenges.
Finite element model and validation of a surrogate crash test vehicle for impacts with roadside objects

Highway and roadside safety features are crash tested for compliance with certain safety criteria. US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) uses a surrogate reusable test vehicle, Bogie, to conduct crash tests of roadside safety features. Bogie is intended to replace an impacting vehicle in order to reduce the cost of the test. Bogie can be configured with different crushable impact noses representing various vehicle fronts. Typically, the crushable nose employed by Bogie is a multi-compartment honeycomb material. Different configurations of honeycomb arrangement are considered for different impact velocities. R ecently, the advances in crashworthiness and dynamic finite element analysis have allowed considerable modelling and simulation of vehicle impacts with roadside hardware. This paper describes, in detail, the finite element models and the validation of Bogie and its honeycomb material in impacts with an instrumented rigid pole. This model can be exercised in various simulations of crash scenarios for design optimization of roadside hardware. This validation also allows the use of the model for impacts with narrow objects, which is a critical aspect of crashes with roadside safety devices. NOTATION ρ Density ν Possion's ratio E Elastic or Young's modulus G Elastic shear modulus μ Material viscosity coefficient σy Yield stress for fully compacted honeycomb material τ Shear stress V Relative volume, the ratio of the current volume over the initial volume of honeycomb Vf Relative volume at which the honeycomb is fully compacted a,b,c Subscripts defining the honeycomb cell depth, ribbon, and transverse direction, respectively i,j Subscript index for a,b, and c directions u Subscript designating uncompacted honeycomb β Coefficient for calculation of Eii and Gij
Temporal Changes in Ocean Eddy Transports

Abstract New estimates from 11 yr of altimetric data are made of the global time-average variability kinetic energy and its decadal-scale variability. Making the approximation that the variability reflects primarily eddy motions, a time-mean, but spatially varying, eddy mixing coefficient is then estimated along with its changes over the last decade. With a record length more than 2 times that previously available, the time-mean variability kinetic energy KE is statistically more reliable and smoother in its spatial pattern. Minimum values of KE are present in the subpolar North Pacific Ocean and in the eastern South Pacific (both less than 100 cm2 s−2). In contrast to the North Pacific, the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean shows relatively enhanced KE. Eddy kinetic energy and eddy mixing appear to have declined during the last decade over large parts of the western Pacific Ocean, in some regions by as much as 50% of the time-mean value. Increased eddy variability can be found in the Kuroshio and Gulf Stream.
A Computational Model of the Production and Perception of Facial Expressions of Basic and Compound Emotions

In this dissertation, we investigate the production and recognition of facial expressions of emotion and propose a computational model of human perception. We first show that in addition to the six basic facial expressions (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise and disgust), 15 compound facial expressions can be produced by integrating two basic emotions, e.g., happily surprised and fearfully surprised. The production involves consistent muscle movements in 230 human participants within each emotion category while different emotions employ different groups of muscles. We hypothesize that this production results in visually distinctive expressions. This is tested by the proposed computational model, using second-order information, i.e., intra-facial-component distances, also referred to as configural features. This information is extracted from face shapes, which are the collection of the coordinates of fiducial points delineating the contour of each facial component (e.g., eyes, brows, nose, mouth and entire face). This model is shown to distinguish among the 21 facial expressions (6 basic and 15 compound) highly accurately (72.09%, chance=4.55%). This suggests that the production of facial expressions of emotion may lie far beyond the six basic emotions. These compound emotions, along with the six basic emotions, provide a new platform to test various hypotheses of human cognition and computer vision systems.
Bioengineering and Biotechnology Perspective Article Why Most Traumatic Brain Injuries Are Not Caused by Linear Acceleration but Skull Fractures Are

Injury statistics have found the most common accident situation to be an oblique impact. An oblique impact will give rise to both linear and rotational head kinematics. The human brain is most sensitive to rotational motion. The bulk modulus of brain tissue is roughly five to six orders of magnitude larger than the shear modulus so that for a given impact it tends to deform predominantly in shear. This gives a large sensitivity of the strain in the brain to rotational loading and a small sensitivity to linear kinematics. Therefore, rotational kinematics should be a better indicator of traumatic brain injury risk than linear acceleration. To illustrate the difference between radial and oblique impacts, perpendicular impacts through the center of gravity of the head and 45° oblique impacts were simulated. It is obvious that substantially higher strain levels in the brain are obtained for an oblique impact, compared to a corresponding perpendicular one, when impacted into the same padding using an identical impact velocity. It was also clearly illustrated that the radial impact causes substantially higher stresses in the skull with an associated higher risk of skull fractures, and traumatic brain injuries secondary to those. The interior and exterior surfaces of a car are designed to protect the occupants from injury at accidents through use of energy absorbing materials and clever structural solutions. The primary verification tool in the design process is the Head Injury Criterion (HIC) applied in a free motion head-form experimental setup , where a rigid dummy head is launched toward specific locations (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1995). Linear accelerations in three perpendicular directions are measured in the head-form during the impact and the performance is evaluated according to the HIC. The test procedure is established internationally and thus used by automotive manufacturers all over the world. Sports and automotive helmets are also only tested for pure radial impacts to the helmet, except for the BS 6658 and EN 22.05 oblique impact test for MC helmets (these tests are, however , only used to assess external projections and surface friction by measuring the tangential force). A pure radial impact will cause primarily linear acceleration of the head while a pure tangential impact around the head's center of gravity will cause both rota-tional and linear acceleration of the head. In reality, pure radial impacts are very rare and would mainly cause skull fractures and injuries secondary to …
N- and C-Terminal Domains of β-Catenin, Respectively, Are Required to Initiate and Shape Axon Arbors of Retinal Ganglion Cells In Vivo

We used deletion mutants to study β-catenin function in axon arborization of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in live Xenopus laevis tadpoles. A deletion mutant βcatΔARM consists of the N- and C-terminal domains of wild-type β-catenin that contain, respectively, α-catenin and postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95)/discs large (Dlg)/zona occludens-1 (ZO-1) (PDZ) binding sites but lacks the central armadillo repeat region that binds cadherins and other proteins. Expression of ΔARM in RGCs of live tadpoles perturbed axon arborization in two distinct ways: some RGC axons did not form arbors, whereas the remaining RGC axons formed arbors with abnormally long and tangled branches. Expression of the N- and C-terminal domains of β-catenin separately in RGCs resulted in segregation of these two phenotypes. The axons of RGCs overexpressing the N-terminal domain of β-catenin developed no or very few branches, whereas axons of RGCs overexpressing the C-terminal domain of β-catenin formed arbors with long, tangled branches. Additional analysis revealed that the axons of RGCs that did not form arbors after overexpression of ΔARM or the N-terminal domain of β-catenin were frequently mistargeted within the tectum. These results suggest that interactions of the N-terminal domain of β-catenin with α-catenin and of the C-terminal domain with PDZ domain-containing proteins are required, respectively, to initiate and shape axon arbors of RGCs in vivo.
Numerical Synthesis of Six-Bar Linkages for Mechanical Computation

© 2014 by ASME. This paper presents a design procedure for six-bar linkages that use eight accuracy points to approximate a specified input-output function. In the kinematic synthesis of linkages, this is known as the synthesis of a function generator to perform mechanical computation. Our formulation uses isotropic coordinates to define the loop equations of the Watt II, Stephenson II, and Stephenson III six-bar linkages. The result is 22 polynomial equations in 22 unknowns that are solved using the polynomial homotopy software BERTINI. The bilinear structure of the system yields a polynomial degree of 705,432. Our first run of BERTINI generated 92,736 nonsingular solutions, which were used as the basis of a parameter homotopy solution. The algorithm was tested on the design of the Watt II logarithmic function generator patented by Svoboda in 1944. Our algorithm yielded his linkage and 64 others in 129 min of parallel computation on a Mac Pro with 12±2.93 GHz processors. Three additional examples are provided as well.
Ultrawideband Channel Modeling on the Basis of Information-Theoretic Criteria

We present results of two indoor ultrawideband channel measurement campaigns in the 2-5 GHz frequency band. In measurement campaign I (MC I), the channel is static and we sample it spatially, while in MCII the transmitting and receiving antennas are fixed and channel variation is induced by people moving in the environment. Transmitter and receiver are separated by up to 27 m in MC I and up to 20 m in MC II. To determine suitable small-scale fading distributions for the tap amplitudes of the discrete-time baseband-equivalent channel impulse response, we use Akaike's information criterion (AIC). Despite the large bandwidth, AIC supports the Rayleigh (MCI) or the Rice distribution (MC II). For data from MC II, we estimate the covariance matrix of the random channel impulse response and demonstrate that the number of corresponding significant eigenvalues, and hence the diversity order of the channel, scales approximately linearly with bandwidth. Contrary to the uncorrected scattering assumption, we find that the channel taps are weakly correlated. The ergodic capacity predicted by the Ricean channel model with parameters estimated from MC II shows good agreement with the ergodic capacity obtained by direct evaluation of the measurement results, while the corresponding outage capacities show a worse fit for low outage probabilities because of shadowing.
The Tick-Derived Anticoagulant Madanin Is Processed by Thrombin and Factor Xa

The cysteine-less peptidic anticoagulants madanin-1 and madanin-2 from the bush tick Haemaphysalis longicornis are the founding members of the MEROPS inhibitor family I53. It has been previously suggested that madanins exert their functional activity by competing with physiological substrates for binding to the positively charged exosite I (fibrinogen-binding exosite) of α-thrombin. We hereby demonstrate that competitive inhibition of α-thrombin by madanin-1 or madanin-2 involves binding to the enzyme's active site. Moreover, the blood coagulation factors IIa and Xa are shown to hydrolyze both inhibitors at different, although partially overlapping cleavage sites. Finally, the three-dimensional structure of the complex formed between human α-thrombin and a proteolytic fragment of madanin-1, determined by X-ray crystallography, elucidates the molecular details of madanin-1 recognition and processing by the proteinase. Taken together, the current findings establish the mechanism of action of madanins, natural anticoagulants that behave as cleavable competitive inhibitors of thrombin.
An Adaptive Ship Detection Scheme for Spaceborne SAR Imagery

With the rapid development of spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and the increasing need of ship detection, research on adaptive ship detection in spaceborne SAR imagery is of great importance. Focusing on practical problems of ship detection, this paper presents a highly adaptive ship detection scheme for spaceborne SAR imagery. It is able to process a wide range of sensors, imaging modes and resolutions. Two main stages are identified in this paper, namely: ship candidate detection and ship discrimination. Firstly, this paper proposes an adaptive land masking method using ship size and pixel size. Secondly, taking into account the imaging mode, incidence angle, and polarization channel of SAR imagery, it implements adaptive ship candidate detection in spaceborne SAR imagery by applying different strategies to different resolution SAR images. Finally, aiming at different types of typical false alarms, this paper proposes a comprehensive ship discrimination method in spaceborne SAR imagery based on confidence level and complexity analysis. Experimental results based on RADARSAT-1, RADARSAT-2, TerraSAR-X, RS-1, and RS-3 images demonstrate that the adaptive scheme proposed in this paper is able to detect ship targets in a fast, efficient and robust way.