Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advances in structural monitoring with Global Positioning System technology: 1997–2006

Abstract Over the last decade, users of the Global Positioning System (GPS) have developed the technology capable of meeting stringent requirements to study the dynamics of tall buildings, towers, and bridges during earthquakes, wind-induced deformation and traffic loading. Dynamic measurements of relative displacements of structures is currently possible using real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning techniques, now advanced to record typically at 10–20 Hz (or higher – e.g., 100 Hz) with an accuracy of ±1 cm horizontally and ±2 cm vertically. With further advances in the technology and improvements in sampling capability, it is possible to meet the needs of real-time displacement information for the structural engineering community. After a decade of great strides in proving the feasibility of the technology, focus is moving to sensor integration and operational systems. Several investigators are now routinely researching the integration of GPS with other sensors (accelerometers, fibre optics, pseudolites, etc.) to utilise the complementary benefits and overcome limitations of the individual systems. Examples of real-time operational systems exist to demonstrate the significance of GPS technology in measuring the dynamic behaviour of large engineering structures.
GAN-on-Si HEMTs for 50V RF applications

In this work we report on the fabrication and characterization of GaN-on-Si HEMTs for 50V RF applications at 2 GHz. Good wafer uniformity over the main DC parameters and leakage current levels below 10 μA/mm up to 100V were obtained on 4-inch Si substrate. Moreover, thanks to low RF loss at the Si substrate, a PAE close to 50% was measured on 1 mm devices by means of CW load-pull measurements at 50V/2GHz. The associated output power was 3.7W/mm, which was within the targeted value considering package and reliability constraints on the maximum allowable operating junction temperature. Results from on-wafer reliability tests consisting in constant current stress at 50V and off-state step stress up to 100V, both performed at an ambient temperature of 150°C, are also reported.
Broca's Area Supports Enhanced Visuospatial Cognition in Orchestral Musicians

We provide neurobehavioral evidence supporting the transferable benefit of music training to alter brain function and enhance cognitive performance in a nonmusical visuospatial task in professional orchestral musicians. In particular, orchestral musicians' performance on a three-dimensional mental rotation (3DMR) task exhibited the behavioral profile normally only attained after significant practice, supporting the suggestion that these musicians already possessed well developed neural circuits to support 3DMR. Furthermore, functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that only orchestral musicians showed significantly increased activation in Broca's area, in addition to the well known visuospatial network, which was activated in both musicians and nonmusicians who were matched on age, sex, and verbal intelligence. We interpret these functional neuroimaging findings to reflect preferential recruitment of Broca's area, part of the neural substrate supporting sight reading and motor-sequence organization underpinning musical performance, to subserve 3DMR in musicians. Our data, therefore, provide convergent behavioral and neurofunctional evidence supporting the suggestion that development of the sight-reading skills of musical performance alters brain circuit organization which, in turn, confers a wider cognitive benefit, in particular, to nonmusical visuospatial cognition in professional orchestral musicians.
ormalized algorithm for mapping and dating forest disturbances and regrowth or the United States

Forest disturbances such as harvesting, wildfire and insect infestation are critical ecosystem processes affecting the carbon cycle. Because carbon dynamics are related to time since disturbance, forest stand age that can be used as a surrogate for major clear-cut/fire disturbance information has recently been recognized as an important input to forest carbon cycle models for improving prediction accuracy. In this study, forest disturbances in the USA for the period of ∼1990–2000 were mapped using 400+ pairs of re-sampled Landsat TM/ETM scenes in 500m resolution, which were provided by the Landsat Ecosystem Disturbance Adaptive Processing System project. The detected disturbances were then separated into two five-year age groups, facilitated by Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, which was used to calculate the area of forest regeneration for each county in the USA. In this study, a disturbance index (DI) was defined as the ratio of the short wave infrared (SWIR, band 5) to near-infrared (NIR, band 4) reflectance. Forest disturbances were identified through the Normalized Difference of Disturbance Index (NDDI) between circa 2000 and 1990, where a positive NDDI means disturbance and a negative NDDI means regrowth. Axis rotation was performed on the plot between DIs of the two matched Landsat scenes in order to reduce any difference of DIs caused by non-disturbance factors. The threshold of NDDI for each TM/ETM pair was determined by analysis of FIA data. Minor disturbances affecting small areas may be omitted due to the coarse resolution of the aggregated Landsat data, but the major stand-clearing disturbances (clear-cut harvest, fire) are captured. The spatial distribution of the detected disturbed areas was validated by Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity fire data in four States of the western USA (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California). Results indicate omission
INBOUND OPEN INNOVATION , ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY AND INNOVATION PERFORMANCE : AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON SPANISH FIRMS

The aim of this paper is to show the influence of both open innovation and absorptive capacity in the innovative performance of the firm and explore the complementarity of both concepts. Specifically, it explores the effect that depth and breadth search open innovation practices and the potential and realised dimensions of absorptive capacity exert on a firm? s output innovation. The empirical research was conducted on a sample of 174 Spanish medium-sized and large industrial firms belonging to high technology industries. Hypotheses were tested using multiple linear regression analysis. Results show the positive effects of potential absorptive capacity and open innovation sources breadth and radical innovation. Also, the complementary effect of absorptive capacity and open innovation is shown.
Distributed leadership in the construction of a new higher education campus and community

This study examines a teaching-oriented higher education community which undertook a major programme of change when planning a new campus and redesigning its pedagogics. This is a single case qualitative study based on in-depth interviews of community members and field observations and using activity theory as an analytical framework. It is suggested that instead of merely being a rhetorical tool of senior management, distributed leadership can be practised in higher education communities for the benefit of the learners, the teaching and administrative staff and the local community. The study emphasises the importance of the joint sense making of the pedagogical approach in the creation of distributed leadership practices in a teaching-oriented higher education community. It also highlights how higher education students may take an active role in a work system characterised by distributed leadership, and how the infrastructure of a campus building may support distributed leadership.
Unveiling the X-ray point source population of the Young Massive

Aims. We investigate the nature of the X-ray point source population within the Young Massive Cluster Westerlund 1. Methods. Chandra observations of 18 ks and 42 ks were used to determine the X-ray properties of emitters within Wd 1, while a comprehensive multiwavelength dataset was employed to constrain their nature. Results. We find X-ray emission from a multitude of different stellar sources within Wd 1, including both evolved high mass and low mass pre-MS stars. We attribute the X-ray emission from the high mass component to both single stars and colliding wind binaries on the basis of their observed flux and spectral properties, with binaries being systematically harder and more luminous than single stars. We are able to infer a high binary fraction for both WN (10/16) and WC stars (7/8), resulting in a combined Wolf Rayet binary fraction of >70%. These represent the most stringent limits currently placed on the binary fraction of very massive (>45 M� ) stars. We place the first observational constraints on X-ray emission from stars transitioning between the Main Sequence and Wolf Rayet phases, finding that both hot (B hypergiants) and cool (yellow hypergiants and red supergiants) spectral types appear to be intrinsically X-ray faint. The B[e] star W9 is found to be X-ray bright and shows similarities to both the X-ray binary SS433 and the Luminous Blue Variable η Carinae. Globally, we find the point source population to be systematically fainter than those found in younger massive star forming regions such as NGC 3603 and R136/30 Doradus, consistent with a loss of the most massive stars to SNe and a reduction in emissivity from the low mass pre-Main Sequence stars. No unambiguous evidence for X-ray emission due to accretion onto relativistic objects of any mass is found, although the current data do not exclude the presence of either a High Mass X-ray Binary or an Intermediate Mass Black Hole accreting at a low rate. Finally, we suggest the progenitor mass for the magnetar CXOU J164710.2-455216 is comparable to that of SGR 1806-20 (∼55 M� ), while that for SGR 1900+14 appears significantly lower (∼15 M� ), implying that magnetars may form from stars with a wide range of initial masses.
International Asset Pricing and Portfolio Diversification with Time-varying Risk in Asian Emerging Markets

In this study, a conditional version of the international CAPM for Asian emerging markets is tested using a parsimonious generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model in which the risk premia, betas and correlations vary through time. The results show that unlike the static CAPM the time varying CAPM prices market risk. Cross-country correlations increase while the price of covariance risk appears to converge across countries toward the Asian crisis in mid 1997 and diverge afterwards. The impulse response functions from a VAR model comprised of the time-varying price of covariance risk series derived from GARCH model estimations show that movements in the price of covariance risk belonging to U.S or an Asian emerging market can be contagious with varying degrees of strength in the region. Gökçe A. Soydemir Department of Economics and Finance College of Business Administration University of Texas Pan American 1201 West University Drive, Edinburg, TX 78539 tel: (956) 381-3368, fax: (956) 384-5020 e-mail: soydemir@panam.edu JEL Classifications: F36, G15
Journal of Neuroscience Methods Automated Interhemispheric Surface Extraction in T1-weighted Mri Using Intensity and Symmetry Information

• The whole head is divided with a max-flow/min-cut optimized surface. • Both intensity and symmetry information is used for the surface optimization. • No time consuming preprocessing steps are required. • The interhemispheric surface is extracted in less than 30 s. a b s t r a c t Background: Localizing the human interhemispheric region is of interest in image analysis mainly because it can be used for hemisphere separation and as a preprocessing step for interhemispheric structure localization. Many existing methods focus on only one of these applications. New method: Here a new Intensity and Symmetry based Interhemispheric Surface extraction method (ISIS) that enables both applications is presented. A combination of voxel intensity and local symmetry is used to optimize a surface from T1-weighted MRI. Results: ISIS was evaluated in regard to cerebral hemisphere separation using manual segmentations. It was also evaluated in regard to being a preprocessing step for interhemispheric structure localization using manually placed landmarks. Comparison with existing methods: Results were compared to cerebral hemisphere separations by Brain-Visa and Freesurfer as well as to a midsagittal plane (MSP) extraction method. ISIS had less misclassified voxels than BrainVisa (ISIS: 0.119 ± 0.114%, BrainVisa: 0.138 ± 0.084%, p = 0.020). Freesurfer had less mis-classified voxels than ISIS for one dataset (ISIS: 0.063 ± 0.056%, Freesurfer: 0.049 ± 0.044%, p = 0.019), but failed to produce usable results for another. Total voxel distance from all manual landmarks did not differ significantly between ISIS and the MSP method (ISIS: 4.00 ± 1.88, MSP: 4.47 ± 4.97). Conclusions: ISIS was found successful in both cerebral hemisphere separation and as a preprocessing step for interhemispheric structure localization. It needs no time consuming preprocessing and extracts the interhemispheric surface in less than 30 s.
"Mind Blown"--Including Exercise Science Students as Research Assistants to Reduce Ageist Perceptions.

The amount of older adults is increasing rapidly and the demands of an aging population will need to be met by professionals in many fields, including exercise science. However, many undergraduate students do not want to work with older adults. Therefore, this qualitative study sought to examine the experiences and perceptions of exercise science students who served as research assistants in a six-month walking program for senior citizens. Students recognized that their previous ageist views about older adults’ functioning (which originated from personal experiences, education, and society) were challenged by the walking program. Subsequently, more positive views on aging, being an older adult, and working with older adults were elicited by their assistance in the research study. Results from this investigation suggest that exercise science and allied health students be exposed to aging-sensitive experiences to dispel ageist perceptions and ultimately increase the workforce needed to serve this expanding population.
Exploring the motivation and willingness of self-initiated expatriates, in the civil engineering industry, when considering employment opportunities in Qatar

ABSTRACT This paper provides empirical and contextual insight into the complexity of Self-Initiated Expatriates’ (SIEs) experiences in a unique setting. Factors that influence SIEs in the civil engineering industry, when considering overseas employment in Qatar, are identified and considered. Drawing comparison to organizational expatriates (OEs), this paper uses semi-structured interviews conducted with professionals from the civil engineering and construction industries. The research surfaced that different factors interconnect to affect individuals’ decisions about overseas employment. Three factors, specifically; location appeal, host country as an employment setting and effect of expatriation on the family, appear to be more influential to participants when the proposed destination is Qatar.
Cerebral Protection During Surgery for Acute Aortic Dissection Type A: Results of the German Registry for Acute Aortic Dissection Type A (GERAADA)

Background— Cerebral protection during surgery for acute aortic dissection type A relies on hypothermic circulatory arrest, either alone or in conjunction with cerebral perfusion. Methods and Results— The perioperative and intraoperative conditions of 1558 patients submitted from 44 cardiac surgery centers in German-speaking countries were analyzed. Among patients with acute aortic dissection type A, 355 (22.8%) underwent surgery with hypothermic circulatory arrest alone. In 1115 patients (71.6%), cerebral perfusion was used: Unilateral antegrade cerebral perfusion (ACP) in 628 (40.3%), bilateral ACP in 453 (29.1%), and retrograde perfusion in 34 patients (2.2%). For 88 patients with acute aortic dissection type A (5.6%), no circulatory arrest and arch intervention were reported (cardiopulmonary bypass–only group). End points of the study were 30-day mortality (15.9% overall) and mortality-corrected permanent neurological dysfunction (10.5% overall). The respective values for the cardiopulmonary bypass–only group were 11.4% and 9.1%. Hypothermic circulatory arrest alone resulted in a 30-day mortality rate of 19.4% and a mortality-corrected permanent neurological dysfunction rate of 11.5%, whereas the rates were 13.9% and 10.0%, respectively, for unilateral ACP and 15.9% and 11.0%, respectively, for bilateral ACP. In contrast with the ACP groups, there was a profound increase in mortality when systemic circulatory arrest times exceeded 30 minutes in the hypothermic circulatory arrest group (P<0.001). Mortality-corrected permanent neurological dysfunction correlated significantly with perfusion pressure in the ACP groups. Conclusions— This study reflects current surgical practice for acute aortic dissection type A in Central Europe. For arrest times less than 30 minutes, hypothermic circulatory arrest and ACP lead to similar results. For longer arrest periods, ACP with sufficient pressure is advisable. Outcomes with unilateral and bilateral ACP were equivalent.
A Sentiment Analysis of Language & Gender Using Word Embedding Models

A Sentiment Analysis of Language & Gender Using Word Embedding Models by Ellyn Rolleston Keith Advisor: Martin Chodorow Since Robin Lakoff started the conversation around language and gender with her 1975 essay “Language and Woman’s Place,” extensive work has been done on analyzing sociolinguistics associated with gender. While much work has been done on the differences between how men and women use language, there is less research to be found on language about women as opposed to language about men. In this work, I build a word embedding model from a corpus of Wikipedia film summaries and use this model to create lists of words associated with men and words associated with women. I then use sentiment analysis tools to assess the emotional valence of these words and sentences containing them. I find that when comparing words and sentences associated with men and women, language about women tends to be more consistently more positively valenced, while words associated with men cover a wider breadth of valences, skewing slightly negative.
Transtornos alimentares, percepção da imagem corporal e estado nutricional: estudo comparativo entre estudantes de Nutrição e Administração

Objetivo: comparar entre estudantes de nutricao e administracao: prevalencias de anorexia e bulimia nervosa; percepcao da imagem corporal; e estado nutricional, bem como identificar associacoes entre percepcao da imagem corporal e anorexia e/ou bulimia nervosa e estado nutricional; e entre peso e altura referidos e aferidos. Metodos: estudo comparativo entre estudantes de uma Instituicao de Ensino Superior. Utilizou-se: Teste de Atitude Alimentar, Teste de Investigacao Bulimica de Edinburgh, Instrumento de Analises de Silhuetas e questionario demografico-socioeconomico e de saude. Resultados: registraram-se entre estudantes de nutricao e administracao, respectivas prevalencias de anorexia de 25,0% e 14,6%; e de bulimia de 4,2% e 2,2%, com respectivas diferencas estatisticamente insignificantes (p=0,077 e 0,834). 76,1% dos estudantes de nutricao e 67,5% de administracao mostraram-se insatisfeitos com a imagem corporal, diferenca estatisticamente insignificante (p=0,180). Contudo, 65,6% e 56,2% dos estudantes de nutricao e administracao classificaram-se como eutroficos. Percepcao da imagem corporal associou-se a anorexia (p=0,000) e a bulimia (p=0,000). Verificaram-se diferencas insignificantes entre medias de peso aferido/referido (p=0,669) e altura aferida/referida (p=0,377). Conclusao: Apesar da maioria dos estudantes de ambos os cursos ter sido classificada como eutrofica, a maioria tambem se apresentou insatisfeita com a imagem corporal. Verificou-se associacao estatistica entre percepcao da imagem corporal, anorexia e bulimia. Nao se registrou associacao entre percepcao da imagem corporal e estado nutricional; bem como entre grupos e variaveis estudadas. Nao se identificou diferenca estatisticamente significante entre as medias de peso e altura aferido e referido.
Channel-Hopping-Based Communication Rendezvous in Cognitive Radio Networks

Cognitive radio (CR) networks have an ample but dynamic amount of spectrum for communications. Communication rendezvous in CR networks is the process of establishing a control channel between radios before they can communicate. Designing a communication rendezvous protocol that can take advantage of all the available spectrum at the same time is of great importance, because it alleviates load on control channels, and thus further reduces probability of collisions. In this paper, we present ETCH, efficient channel-hopping-based MAC-layer protocols for communication rendezvous in CR networks. Compared to the existing solutions, ETCH fully exploits spectrum diversity in communication rendezvous by allowing all the rendezvous channels to be utilized at the same time. We propose two protocols, SYNC-ETCH, which is a synchronous protocol assuming CR nodes can synchronize their channel hopping processes, and ASYNC-ETCH, which is an asynchronous protocol not relying on global clock synchronization. Our theoretical analysis and ns-2-based evaluation show that ETCH achieves better performances of time-to-rendezvous and throughput than the existing work.
Diagnostics of Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases: A Sequencing Capture Approach

Primary Immunodeficiencies (PID) are genetically inherited disorders characterized by defects of the immune system, leading to increased susceptibility to infection. Due to the variety of clinical symptoms and the complexity of current diagnostic procedures, accurate diagnosis of PID is often difficult in daily clinical practice. Thanks to the advent of “next generation” sequencing technologies and target enrichment methods, the development of multiplex diagnostic assays is now possible. In this study, we applied a selector-based target enrichment assay to detect disease-causing mutations in 179 known PID genes. The usefulness of this assay for molecular diagnosis of PID was investigated by sequencing DNA from 33 patients, 18 of which had at least one known causal mutation at the onset of the experiment. We were able to identify the disease causing mutations in 60% of the investigated patients, indicating that the majority of PID cases could be resolved using a targeted sequencing approach. Causal mutations identified in the unknown patient samples were located in STAT3, IGLL1, RNF168 and PGM3. Based on our results, we propose a stepwise approach for PID diagnostics, involving targeted resequencing, followed by whole transcriptome and/or whole genome sequencing if causative variants are not found in the targeted exons.
A time-varying version of the containment problem for multi-agent systems using general formation graphs

This papers focuses on a time-varying version of the containment problem for multi-agent systems. This problem consists in that a subgroup of agents, called leaders, achieve trajectory tracking while they carry out a time-varying formation. At the same time, another subgroup of agents, called followers, converge to the convex hull formed by the leaders. We propose a decentralized control strategy, that is, agents have no global knowledge of the goal to achieve, knowing only the position and velocity of some agents. To represent the interactions between agents formation graphs are used. The results are presented for front points of unicycle-type mobile robots. The theoretical results are verified by numerical simulation and also are validated experimentally.