Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An empirical evaluation of business model canvas in software startups : a team perspective

Elonen, Atte An Emprical Examination of Business Model Canvas in Software Startups: A Team Perspective Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2019, 70 pp. Information Systems, Master’s Thesis Supervisor(s): Abrahamsson, Pekka Business model canvas is a commonly used tool among software startups. The tool aims to help companies develop business models and new strategies. Even though the model has been widely adapted among software startups a lack of scientific research regarding the topic can be found. This thesis evaluates how the business model canvas should be further developed when it comes to early stage software startups. This is done with a team perspective. First, an understanding of software startups is created. Secondly, based on the literature the Team Component is presented including the constructs of resources, networks, self-organization and way of working. After this, the scope is widened to business model canvas, and the lack of a team construct in it. The theoretical Team Component is compared to the empirical data. The primary data consists of interviews conducted to startup teams and secondary data is based on external student observations. The data was collected in qualitative means and analyzed with a thematic analysis. The empirical data validates two of the constructs included in the Team Component, resources and networks. The two other constructs are not seen important in the context of early stage software startups. Based on the empirical results a further developed version of business model canvas is presented, with the team playing as a core construct. The study claims, that early stage software startups should see the team as a front thought and concentrate on acquiring as versatile resources and wide networks for their team in comparison to strategic planning at early stages. The study confirms, that resources and networks are the most determinate factors to affect an early stage startups success or failure.
Experimental and Numerical Study on the Strain Behavior of Buried Pipelines Subjected to an Impact Load

Long-distance oil and gas pipelines are inevitably impacted by rockfalls during geologic hazards such as mud-rock flow and landslides, which have a serious effect on the safe operation of pipelines. In view of this, an experimental and numerical study on the strain behavior of buried pipelines under the impact load of rockfall was developed. The impact load exerted on the soil, and the strains of buried pipeline caused by the impact load were theoretically derived. A scale model experiment was conducted using a self-designed soil-box to simulate the complex geological conditions of the buried pipeline. The simulation model of hammer–soil–pipeline was established to investigate the dynamic response of the buried pipeline. Based on the theoretical, experimental, and finite element analysis (FEA) results, the overall strain behavior of the buried pipeline was obtained and the effects of parameters on the strain developments of the pipelines were analyzed. Research results show that the theoretical calculation results of the impact load and the peak strain were in good agreement with the experimental and FEA results, which indicates that the mathematical formula and the finite element models are accurate for the prediction of pipeline response under the impact load. In addition, decreasing the diameter, as well as increasing the wall thickness of the pipeline and the buried depth above the pipeline, could improve the ability of the pipeline to resist the impact load. These results could provide a reference for seismic design of pipelines in engineering.
Investigation of the adoption of telemedicine technology in the Kuwaiti health system: Strategy and policy of implementation for overseas referral patients

The cost of health care services is rising and the number of patients requesting overseas treatment from the Kuwait Government continues to increase; this is becoming an unsustainable financial burden. A telemedicine system has the potential to support the Kuwaiti health system to provide medical consultations from global medical centres, and thereby reduce the number of Kuwaiti patients being sent abroad for treatment, and so reduce costs. This research investigates the readiness of the key stakeholders in regard to adoption of telemedicine systems in the Kuwaiti healthcare system. This is achieved by assessing the readiness of individuals (physicians and patients), the organisation (policy makers) and the technical infrastructure (IT managers). Moreover, the lack of research on this topic, particularly in the Arabian Gulf Region, was the reason behind carrying out this study. An in-depth study was conducted by using a quantitative and qualitative approach. A questionnaire was used to explore the attitudes of specialised physicians and patients by obtaining their opinions based on specific criteria. Next, semi-structured interviews were conducted: (1) with IT managers to assess the technical infrastructure of the health system; and (2) with policy makers to assess the organisation in regard to its readiness towards telemedicine adoption. The study shows that the overseas referral patients are ready to use telemedicine systems, as a consequence of their need to receive medical consultations from global experts. However, they expressed some concerns, such as privacy and confidentiality of their data. The specialised physicians also showed readiness towards adoption of telemedicine in the Kuwaiti health system, and their responses indicated that they are willing to use such systems. However, the findings of the interviews reveal that the current technical infrastructure for ICT in the Kuwaiti healthcare system is not ready for telemedicine adoption and there are needs to be change in the way management is organized in order to improve and enhance trust among departments. The qualitative approach identified factors that would inhibit and hinder the adoption of telemedicine in Kuwait, as well as the supportive factors in the organisation. Using the results, a strategy was developed to demonstrate how the Kuwaiti health system could be made ready to receive a telemedicine system, together with policies for the use of telemedicine systems by overseas referral patients. A comparison with Jordan and Syria shows that the Kuwaiti healthcare system is more ready to adopt a telemedicine system with respect to the individuals, technical infrastructure and governmental support. Finally, an economic analysis was performed in order to investigate the cost effectiveness of the proposed system.
Sliding Mode Control for Nonlinear Stochastic Semi-Markov Switching Systems With Application to SRMM

In this paper, the sliding mode control (SMC) design for nonlinear stochastic semi-Markov switching systems (S-MSSs) is studied via the bound of time-varying transition rate matrix, in which semi-Markov switching parameters, stochastic disturbance, uncertainty, and nonlinearity are all considered in a unified framework. The system under consideration is more general, which covers the Markov switching system with sojourn-time-independent transition rate matrix as a special case. Many practical systems subject to unpredictable structural variations can be characterized by nonlinear stochastic S-MSSs with sojourn-time-dependent transition rate matrix. The specific information about the bound of time-varying transition rate matrix is known for the sliding mode controller design. First, by using the stochastic semi-Markov Lyapunov function, sojourn-time-dependent sufficient conditions are developed to guarantee the closed-loop sliding mode dynamics stochastically stable. Then, the SMC law is constructed to ensure the reachability of the sliding mode dynamics in a finite-time level. Finally, one joint of space robot manipulator model is described as nonlinear stochastic S-MSSs to illustrate the validity of the proposed SMC design method.
ULTRA WIDE BAND CPW FED PATCH ANTENNA WITH FRACTAL ELEMENTS AND DGS FOR WIRELESS APPLICATIONS

This article describes multiresonance behaviour to achieve ultra-wideband (UWB) characteristics of a co-planar waveguide (CPW) fed circular patch antenna with a ground plane reflector by using fractal elements and rectangular defective ground structure (RDGS) technique. The patch consists of a circular disc with six ring type fractal elements on the periphery of the disc and slotted defective ground surface (DGS) at the bottom of an FR4 epoxy dielectric substrate to increase the antenna bandwidth. The antenna resonates at frequencies of 5.4 GHz, 9 GHz, & 10.8 GHz with return loss better than −20 dB. The proposed antenna also exhibits UWB characteristics with (≤ −10 dB) impedance bandwidth of 170.4% in the frequency range from 1.8 GHz to 11 GHz. This covers the whole UWB range from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz as defined by FCC. The antenna exhibits nearly omnidirectional radiation pattern and a gain ranging from 1 dBi to 6.8 dBi within the operating frequency range (1.8 GHz–11 GHz). An equivalent circuit model of the proposed antenna is developed, and the circuit response is obtained. All the measured results are found in good agreements with the simulated ones. The proposed antenna is suitable for applications in Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.11a Wireless LAN, WiMAX, ISM bands, wireless communications, etc.
The Urbanization And Diversification Of Farmland Namlea Village

The urbanization process in Namlea village is a consequence of the change in the administrative status of Buru regency into a district. The phenomenon of change affects the social economic life of the community, such as kinship patterns and interaction patterns that shift from homegenous to heterogeneous traits. The research location focuses on the village of Namlea in consideration of changes in community structure and the reduction of agricultural land. The number of informers interviewed were as many as farmers, village apparatus, religious figures, community leaders as well as traders. Analytical techniques used to follow the concept of Miles and Huberman where activities in the analysis of qualitative data are conducted interactively and continuously. The results showed that the urbanization process has brought about the impact of changes in the fulfillment of life needs in which life orientation shifts from agriculture to nonagriculture. Diversification is the basis for increasing the value of land selling and the limitation of agricultural products as a result of the increasing number of needs that are not followed by the improvement of land resources and agricultural products.
On An Equivalent Representation of the Dynamics in District Heating Networks for Combined Electricity-Heat Operation

Improved coordination between power and district heating systems (DHSs) can play a vital role in accommodating more wind power. However, the dynamics of district heating networks (DHNs) have not yet been fully described for large transfer delays, which remains an obstacle for optimal electricity-heat coordination. This paper solves this problem by proposing a uniform framework in the Laplace domain by modeling heat losses and transfer delays from an electrical-analog perspective. Based on this framework, an equivalent representation of DHNs is proposed, showing the explicit “end-to-end” relationship between heat power generation and demand. The model is applied in combined electricity and heat operation, in which the black-box model is provided by DHS operators for power system operators without revealing the detailed network information. A case study of an integrated electricity-heat system demonstrates the effectiveness and simplicity of the proposed model.
Rotary Wheel Atomizer Study Using Computational Fluid Dynamics and Full-Scale Testing

This study models the internal fluid flow from the center to the edge of a rotary atomizer wheel, the flow out of the atomizer, including the film, rivulet and ligament formation, as well as the subsequent atomization process associated with the atomizer outflow using computational fluid dynamics with a volume of fluid approach. The model shows how fluid exits through the overflow and not through the bushing at high inlet fluxes and can reproduce experimental results of power consumption. Furthermore, the drop-size distribution at a given distance from the bushing exit is in good agreement with experimental results. Keywords: Spray drying; Rotary Atomizer; CFD; Droplet size; Volume of Fluid.
Multibit Decentralized Detection Through Fusing Smart and Dumb Sensors Based on Rao Test

We consider decentralized detection of an unknown signal corrupted by zero-mean unimodal noise via wireless sensor networks. We assume the presence of both smart and dumb sensors: the former transmit unquantized measurements, whereas the latter employ multilevel quantizations (before transmission through binary symmetric channels) in order to cope with energy and/or bandwidth constraints. The data are received by a fusion center, which relies on a proposed Rao test, as a simpler alternative to the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT). The asymptotic performance analysis of the multibit Rao test is provided and exploited to propose a (signal-independent) quantizer design approach by maximizing the noncentrality parameter of the test-statistic distribution. Since the latter is a nonlinear and nonconvex function of the quantization thresholds, we employ the particle swarm optimization algorithm for its maximization. Numerical results are provided to show the effectiveness of the Rao test in comparison to the GLRT and the boost in performance obtained by (multiple) threshold optimization. Asymptotic performance is also exploited to define detection gain measures allowing to assess gain arising from use of dumb sensors and increasing their quantization resolution.
AUD-MTS: An Abnormal User Detection Approach Based on Power Load Multi-Step Clustering with Multiple Time Scales

With the rapid growth of Smart Grid, electricity load analysis has become the simplest and most effective way to divide user groups and understand user behavior. This paper proposes an AUD-MTS (Abnormal User Detection approach based on power load multi-step clustering with Multiple Time Scales). Firstly, we combine RBM (Restricted Boltzmann Machine) hidden feature learning with K-Means clustering to extract typical load patterns in the short-term. Secondly, time scale conversion is performed so that the analysis subject can be transformed from load pattern to user behavior. Finally, a two-step clustering in long-term is adopted to divide users from both coarse-grained and fine-grained dimensions so as to detect abnormal users referring to customized OutlierIndex. Experiments are conducted using annual 24-point power load data of American users in all states. The accuracy of clustering methods in AUD-MTS reaches 87.5% referring to the 16 commercial building types defined by the U.S. Department of Energy, which outperforms other common clustering algorithms on AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure). After that, the OutlierIndex score of AUD-MTS can be increased by 0.16 compared with other outlier detection algorithms, which shows that the proposed method can detect abnormal users precisely and efficiently. Furthermore, we summarized possible causes including federal holidays, climate zones and summertime that may lead to abnormal behavior changes and discussed countermeasures respectively, which accounts for 82.3% of anomalies. The rest may be potential electricity stealing users, which requires further investigation.
Studies of human T cell costimulation: potential for the immunotherapy of cancer

Costimulation is required for the generation of an effective T cell based immune response. The presentation of tumour associated antigens may occur in the absence of effective costimulation, inducing tolerance. Conversely effective costimulation can overcome immunosuppressive mechanisms present within the tumour. Costimulation may therefore hold significant potential for cancer immunotherapy. Using recombinant adenoviral vectors encoding the costimulatory molecules CD80 and 4-1BBL (CD137L) and the cytokine IL-12 tumour cell lines were transduced to express these molecules individually or in combination in vitro. Using PBMC from healthy donors the effect of costimulation in response to pan-T cell stimulation with the anti-CD3 antibody OKT-3 were initially studied. The combination of CD80+4-1BBL supported the proliferation of CD8+ T cells and was superior to either molecule alone. Proliferation was further enhanced by the addition of IL-12 to the combination of CD80+4-1BBL. Unexpectedly in the absence of OKT-3 costimulation with 4-1BBL or IL-12 was observed to predominantly induced the proliferation of natural killer (NK) cells. The effects of 4-1BBL on human NK cells are not clearly defined in the literature. Further experiments were therefore conducted to investigate the ability of 4-1BBL and IL-12 to stimulate NK cells. The combination of 4-1BBL+IL-12 was superior to either stimulation alone for the activation, proliferation and function of NK cells from healthy lab donors. 4-1BBL was also shown to promote the long term expansion of NK cells. Importantly renal cell carcinoma patient NK cells were shown to require a combination of 4-1BBL+IL-12 for short and long term expansion; stimulated NK cells were also shown to be functional. These data highlight the need for understanding of the pleiotropic effects of costimulatory molecules and the necessity to choose optimal combinations for the activation of not only the adaptive III but also the innate immune response. The combined intratumoural delivery of 4-1BBL and IL-12 via adenoviral vectors could potentially stimulate beneficial T cell and NK cell responses, and therefore warrant further investigation as a potential immunotherapy.
A study of adolescent English learners’ cognitive engagement in writing while using an automated content feedback system

Abstract The aim of this article is to reveal the ways in which six 14- to 15-year-old second language (L2) learners, two each of high, mid, and low English proficiency levels were cognitively engaged in writing while using an automated content feedback program known as the Essay Critiquing System 2.0 in three out of five workshops in a Hong Kong secondary school. Through their video-recorded verbal reports and stimulated recalls, it was found that cognitive engagement was demonstrated by means of some composing strategies including questioning what and how to write, reading, reasoning and planning, making evaluative comments, and problem-solving strategies. Forty-eight strategies representing four types of mental activities, as well as six aspects of their writing were identified from the two sets of introspective data. Both sets of data showed that the three groups of adolescent language learners made mental efforts to complete their writing in their own ways. All of them were concerned with what to write most, followed by how to express themselves. Although the findings of the six case studies may not be generalizable, through introspections they indicate how the adolescent learners were stimulated to use the System and technology to help them enrich both content and language while writing. The introspective data also shed light on pedagogical implications regarding the use of the System or similar computer-assisted programs to assist writing. The present study contributes to the literature by enhancing our understanding of adolescent English learners’ mental activities in a computer-assisted writing environment, an area which is not adequately researched.
The Evolution of Behavior and Cognitive Therapy in Italy

Behavior therapy was a human creation and a very significant one. It is not possible to discuss it out of the context of its creators or the societal context in which they functioned. The behavioral movement in American psychology and society can be approached as a scientific and social movement influenced by, and in turn influencing, the broader society in which it developed. Behaviorism, from which behavior therapy developed, evolved in the context of the social, political, cultural, educational, economic and intellectual history of 20th century America. [1]
VHF radar signals scattered from the equatorial mesosphere

Radio signals scattered from the equatorial mesosphere above Jicamarca, Peru have been studied. The scattered power level is dependent on look angle in the lower parts of the mesosphere. Indications are that this aspect sensitivity in the received signal cannot be adequately explained by specular reflection from stratified layers. Interferometer studies of the scattered signal have shown that there are structures in the mesosphere that have vertical velocity that varies in the horizontal direction within the antenna beam. The size of these structures is of the order of a few hundred meters. Considerations of vertical and horizontal scale sizes of these structures indicate that they are Kelvin-Helmholtz billows drifting through the antenna beam.
A survey on image and video stitching

Abstract Image/video stitching is a technology for solving the field of view (FOV) limitation of images/ videos. It stitches multiple overlapping images/videos to generate a wide-FOV image/video, and has been used in various fields such as sports broadcasting, video surveillance, street view, and entertainment. This survey reviews image/video stitching algorithms, with a particular focus on those developed in recent years. Image stitching first calculates the corresponding relationships between multiple overlapping images, deforms and aligns the matched images, and then blends the aligned images to generate a wide-FOV image. A seamless method is always adopted to eliminate such potential flaws as ghosting and blurring caused by parallax or objects moving across the overlapping regions. Video stitching is the further extension of image stitching. It usually stitches selected frames of original videos to generate a stitching template by performing image stitching algorithms, and the subsequent frames can then be stitched according to the template. Video stitching is more complicated with moving objects or violent camera movement, because these factors introduce jitter, shakiness, ghosting, and blurring. Foreground detection technique is usually combined into stitching to eliminate ghosting and blurring, while video stabilization algorithms are adopted to solve the jitter and shakiness. This paper further discusses panoramic stitching as a special-extension of image / video stitching. Panoramic stitching is currently the most widely used application in stitching. This survey reviews the latest image/video stitching methods, and introduces the fundamental principles/advantages/weaknesses of image/video stitching algorithms. Image/video stitching faces long-term challenges such as wide baseline, large parallax, and low-texture problem in the overlapping region. New technologies may present new opportunities to address these issues, such as deep learning-based semantic correspondence, and 3D image stitching. Finally, this survey discusses the challenges of image/video stitching and proposes potential solutions.