Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
'Fuzzy' Software Patent Boundaries and High Claim Construction Reversal Rates

Bessen and Meurer (2008) theorize that a breakdown in notice of patent boundaries caused the patent litigation surge of the 1990s. They argue a prime source of this breakdown was the proliferation of software patents with particularly uncertain scope. In this paper I seek evidence that software patent scope is more uncertain by extending the empirical literature on claim construction reversal rates to determine whether the Federal Circuit has been more likely to find error in district court construction of software patents. Not only do I find that it has, since 2002 software patents account for forty percent of the difference between the Federal Circuit’s high claim construction reversal rate and its lower average reversal rate on all other patent issues. These results are cause for optimism because, in general, the application of existing claim construction law has been more predictable than many have feared. However, that optimism does not extend to software claim construction, which remains highly unpredictable.
Novel methods for comparing and evaluating single and metagenomic assemblies

Title of dissertation: NOVEL METHODS FOR COMPARING AND EVALUATING SINGLE AND METAGENOMIC ASSEMBLIES Christopher Michael Hill, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015 Dissertation directed by: Professor Mihai Pop Department of Computer Science The current revolution in genomics has been made possible by software tools called genome assemblers, which stitch together DNA fragments “read” by sequencing machines into complete or nearly complete genome sequences. Despite decades of research in this field and the development of dozens of genome assemblers, assessing and comparing the quality of assembled genome sequences still heavily relies on the availability of independently determined standards, such as manually curated genome sequences, or independently produced mapping data. The focus of this work is to develop reference-free computational methods to accurately compare and evaluate genome assemblies. We introduce a reference-free likelihood-based measure of assembly quality which allows for an objective comparison of multiple assemblies generated from the same set of reads. We define the quality of a sequence produced by an assembler as the conditional probability of observing the sequenced reads from the assembled sequence. A key property of our metric is that the true genome sequence maximizes the score, unlike other commonly used metrics. Despite the unresolved challenges of single genome assembly, the decreasing costs of sequencing technology has led to a sharp increase in metagenomics projects over the past decade. These projects allow us to better understand the diversity and function of microbial communities found in the environment, including the ocean, Arctic regions, other living organisms, and the human body. We extend our likelihood-based framework and show that we can accurately compare assemblies of these complex bacterial communities. After an assembly has been produced, it is not an easy task determining what parts of the underlying genome are missing, what parts are mistakes, and what parts are due to experimental artifacts from the sequencing machine. Here we introduce VALET, the first reference-free pipeline that flags regions in metagenomic assemblies that are statistically inconsistent with the data generation process. VALET detects mis-assemblies in publicly available datasets and highlights the current shortcomings in available metagenomic assemblers. By providing the computational methods for researchers to accurately evaluate their assemblies, we decrease the chance of incorrect biological conclusions and misguided future studies. NOVEL METHODS FOR COMPARING AND EVALUATING SINGLE AND METAGENOMIC ASSEMBLIES
Tree Biomass Carbon in different Land Use Types Managed by Smallholder Farmers Along Altitudinal Gradient in Central Highlands of Ethiopia

Background and Aims Biomass carbon (C) stocks of trees across three common traditional agroforestry practices (i.e. home-garden, farmland, and grazing land) and along altitudinal gradients (i.e. upper, middle and lower) in southern Ethiopia are presented and evaluated. These traditional AF systems are characterized by a high proportion and diversity of trees hence can play a remarkable role in climate change adaptation and mitigation.Methods Data were collected from a total of 89 plots: 41 home-gardens, 29 croplands, and 19 grazing lands using total count and Y-frame transect sampling methods. Above- and belowground biomass of trees were calculated using allometric equations developed somewhere else but proven for application in agroforestry systems. Trees with DBH ≥ 2 cm were considered for biomass carbon stock determination.Results above-ground biomass carbon stock of the three land uses showed the order: Home-garden > grazing land > cropland, but the differences in the carbon stocks were not statistically significant. Soil carbon stocks measured from the studied land uses at middle altitude also followed a similar trend. Similarly, differences among altitudinal gradients were not statistically significant. However, the variations observed reflected differences in species composition among the system as well as altitudinal gradients. Other factors such as wealth and garden size also significantly affected biomass C stocks per ha, where rich household holds higher above-ground biomass than medium and poor households. Overall, this reflects that rich households own a large parcel and large total number of trees, compared to that of medium and poor wealth classes.Conclusions The biomass C stocks of the tree across the three studied AF systems were found to be lower than reported for tropical forests and agro-forestry systems due to the recently agro-forestry intensification in the form of reduction in tree diversity and density. For enhancing their biomass carbon stocks traditional agro-forestry should be integrated in future REDD+ projects. As the biomass C stocks were more determined by socioeconomic factors such as wealth and garden size than the types of agro-forestry practice and climate (elevation) future carbon management strategies should also considered them.
The impact of flipped learning in surgical education: A mixed-method study

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of flipped learning in surgical education in trauma. The participants were 15 first-year general surgery residents in Shiraz medical school. After completing a pre-test, the participants received the learning content in interactive multimedia, podcasts, movies, and books. One month later, they had a face-to-face class based on case-based discussions. An early post-test was performed immediately after the class, and a late post-test was performed one month later. In these tests, the residents' problem-solving abilities were assessed using multiple-choice questions. A semi-structured phone interview was used to measure their attitude towards the learning program. The results showed a significant difference between pre-test and early post-test scores and between pre-test and late post-test scores. However, there was no significant difference between early and late post-test scores. The residents were satisfied with the program's overall usefulness for junior residents. The participants tended to use podcasts more than other materials. They mentioned that the videos and books helped more to foster theoretical knowledge. The case-based discussion makes them more confident in dealing with patients in daily encounters.
Investigation on the long term reliability of power IGBT modules

More than forty 300 A/400 A 1200 V IGBT modules, coming from different manufactures, were studied by an intermittent operating life test (power cycling) in order to estimate the long term reliability of the modern power IGBT modules. The test results and the failure analysis results indicate that no module could pass 10/sup 6/ power cycles and most tested modules failed in emitter bonding wire lifting from the bonding pad. Besides, recrystallization and migration in bonding pad metallization, electrothermal migration caused bonding wire breaking, and local overheat induced die burn-out failure were also observed in this study.
The demand for elderly care services and anticipated living arrangements among the oldest-old in China based on the Andersen model

Background: In China, the issues arising from an aging population are becoming increasingly serious, so research on elderly health has become a topic of discussion. However, few studies have focused on the oldest-old with regards to their existing demand for elderly care services and anticipated living arrangements. Methods: The data of 4738 participants aged ≥80 years were extracted from the Chinese Longitudinal Health Longevity Survey (CLHLS) carried out in 2014. Using the Andersen model as the analysis framework, a multiple logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between anticipated use of social services and intended residence and influencing factors. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated to indicate the relationship between the influencing factors and the dependent variables.Results: From the descriptive analysis results, it is found that oldest-old showed high anticipated needs for care services, such as home visits (83.5%), health education (76.4%). And there exists a huge imbalance between supply and demand for aged care services. Moreover, living with children is still the most important way of providing for the oldest-old (44.4% in urban, 55.6% in rural). The multivariate regression results showed that the demand for elderly care services and anticipated living arrangements among the oldest-old in China are influenced by predisposing factors, enabling factors, and need factors (P<0.05). The oldest-old who are older, without housing property rights, childless, and ADL-restricted are more tend to live in long-term care institutions (ORs>1, P<0.05). Conclusions: The most vital needs of the oldest-old are home visits, health education, and spiritual comfort. There is a huge imbalance between supply and demand. Moreover, living with children is still the most important way of providing for the oldest-old. Demand for elderly care services and anticipated living arrangements are influenced by predisposing, enabling and need factors. Although the family plays an essential role in the healthcare of the oldest-old, the traditional pension model no longer meets the multi-level and diversified healthcare service needs of the oldest-old due to the rapidly aging Chinese population, which requires countermeasures from policy makers.
How Australian Small Business Operators Learned about the Goods and Services Tax

Abstract A goods and services tax (GST) was introduced in Australia on 1 July 2000. It was hailed by a commentator as one ‘of the most radical revenue reforms in half a century’ (Surry 2000) requiring businesses, both small and large, to comply with new tax regulations. The introduction of this government mandated scheme provided an excellent opportunity to understand how small business operators learned to implement new practices. This paper reports the findings of an investigation into how 30 small businesses in Queensland, Australia, learned about and came to implement the GST. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with small business operators during 2001–2002 and case studies were prepared that described each of the small businesses’ readiness for and process of implementation of this initiative. This paper identifies and discusses factors influencing small business operators‘ readiness to learn about the GST and the activities and interaction undertaken by them that assisted their learning.
Applicability of Gaussian Noise Approximation for Optically Pre-Amplified DPSK Receivers with Balanced Detection

This letter presents a comparison of exact probability density function with the Gaussian noise approximation in optically pre-amplified DPSK receivers with optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer demodulation (MZI) and balanced detection, including the impact of phase noise. It is found that the Gaussian noise approximation significantly over-estimates ASE-ASE beat noise in DPSK receivers with balanced detection particularly when phase noise is negligible, compared to IM/DD receivers, ASE- amplified spontaneous emission. However, the Gaussian noise approximation is still applicable for DPSK receivers with balanced detection and the measured 3-dB advantage is predicted by the Gaussian noise distribution.
Hazardous materials transportation

This chapter describes how the U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) defines a hazardous material as any substance or material capable of causing harm to people, property, and the environment. Dependence on hazardous materials is a fact of life in industrialized societies. There are thousands of different hazardous materials in use today. The United Nations sorts hazardous materials into nine classes according to their physical, chemical, and nuclear properties: explosives and pyrotechnics; gases; flammable and combustible liquids; flammable, combustible, and dangerous-when-wet solids; oxidizers and organic peroxides; poisonous and infectious materials; radioactive materials; corrosive materials; and miscellaneous dangerous goods, such as hazardous wastes. This first section of the chapter describes how the transportation of hazmats can be classified according to the mode of transport, namely; road, rail, water, air, and pipeline. The next section offers a high-level view of hazmat logistics literature. Section 3 contains a treatment of risk, the main ingredient of hazmat logistics problems that separate them from other logistics problems and section 4 deals with hazmat routing and scheduling problems. Section 5 focuses on models that combine undesirable facility location and hazmat transportation. The final section offers a critique of the existing literature and suggests directions for future research.
Does high occupational physical activity hamper the beneficial health effects of leisure time physical activity? Evidence of the physical activity health paradox from a prospective study on compositional accelerometry data and long-term sickness absence

Background: The ‘physical activity health paradox’ advocates that leisure physical activity (PA) promotes health while occupational PA impairs health. However, this paradox can be explained by methodological limitations of the previous studies—self-reported PA measures, socioeconomic confounding or not addressing the compositional nature of PA. Therefore, this study investigated the association between compositions of accelerometer-based moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) time at work and leisure and onset of long-term sickness absence (LTSA). Methods: Time spent on MVPA and remaining physical behaviours (sedentary behaviour, standing, light PA and time in bed) at work and leisure was measured for 929 workers using thigh accelerometry and expressed as isometric log-ratios (ilrs). LTSA was register-based events of ≥6 consecutive weeks during 4-year follow-up. The association between ilrs and LTSA was analysed using a Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for remaining physical behaviours and potential confounders, then separately adjusting for and stratifying on education and type of work. Results: During the follow-up, 21% workers experienced LTSA. During leisure, more relative MVPA time was negatively associated with LTSA (20% lower risk with 20 minutes higher MVPA, P=0.02). At work, more relative MVPA time was positively associated with LTSA (15% higher risk with 20 minutes higher MVPA, P=0.02). Beneficial association between MVPA at leisure and LTSA was only observed for the lowest tertile of MVPA at work (P=0.03). Results remained unchanged when adjusted for or stratified on education and type of work. Conclusion: These findings provide further support to the ‘PA health paradox’. Key words: physical activity, sedentary behavior, accelerometers, sick leave, occupational health, time-use epidemiology, register-based sickness absence
Monitoring liveweight to optimise health and productivity in pasture[-]fed dairy herds : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University

Daily walkover liveweight (WoW) records (n = 79,697) from 463 cows from a single dairy herd in the lower North Island of New Zealand were recorded over the first 100 days of lactation. The aims of this study were to: (1) describe LW records retrieved by a standalone automatic walkover daily weighing system; (2) describe the frequency and nature of outlier LW records measured by the system and develop an approach for excluding identified outlier LW records; (3) quantify the agreement between cow LWs measured using the walkover system and those measured statically; and (4) describe the autocorrelation between LW measurements in order to provide recommendations around how frequently dairy cows need to be weighed to detect LW change in the early lactation period. The standard deviation of daily LW measurements across parities was 17 kg on average. A near perfect agreement between liveweights measured statically and WoWs (concordance correlation coefficient 0.99, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.0) was observed. After controlling for the effect of liveweight at calving and long term liveweight change using a mixed-effects linear regression model, the autocorrelation between WoWs recorded on successive days was 0.21, decaying to zero by eight days. This study shows that by using a standalone automatic walkover weighing system positioned in the exit race of a rotary milking parlour, it was possible to record LWs of individual cows on a daily basis and, with controlled cow flow over the weighing platform (allowing for sufficient succession distance to prevent congestion), results were similar to those recorded using conventional, static weighing techniques using the same scales. Based on the autocorrelation analyses, we recommend that LWs are recorded on a daily basis to allow changes in physiological status such as the onset of acute illness or oestrus to be detected. For managerial purposes, such as using LW change as a guide for adjusting the herd feeding programme, we recommend a seven-day decision interval where LW measurements on day 1 are compared with LW measurements on day 7. Alawneh JI, Stevenson MA, Williamson N, Lopez-Villalobos N, Otley T, Vink D (2011) Automatic recording of daily walkover liveweight of dairy cattle at pasture in the first one hundred days in milk. Journal of Dairy Science 94, 4431 – 4440. 32 Automatic recording of liveweight in dairy cattle 3.
Unsymmetric extensions of Wilson's incompatible four‐node quadrilateral and eight‐node hexahedral elements

The unsymmetric finite element is based on the virtual work principle with different sets of test and trial functions. In this article, the incompatible four‐node quadrilateral element and eight‐node hexahedral element originated by Wilson et al. are extended to their unsymmetric forms. The isoparametric shape functions together with Wilson's incompatible functions are chosen as the test functions, while internal nodes at the middle of element sides/edges are added to generate the trial functions with quadratic completeness in the Cartesian coordinate system. A local area/volume coordinate frame is established so that the trial shape functions can be explicitly obtained. The key idea which avoids the matrix inversion is that the trial nodal shape functions are constructed by standard quadratic triangular/tetrahedral elements and then transformed in consistent with the quadrilateral/hexahedral elements. Numerical examples show that the present elements keep the merits of both incompatible and unsymmetric elements, that is, high numerical accuracy, insensitivity to mesh distortion, free of trapezoidal and volumetric locking, and easy implementation.
Self-Report Diary: A Method to Measure Use of Office Lighting

Abstract This methodological study was conducted to examine the suitability and reliability of the diary form to measure lighting use in work places. The occupants of 18 single-occupant offices were asked to report in diary form on their lighting-use-related activities and times present in their offices for one workday every two months from June 2009 through May 2010. Electronic measurement of the occupants' time in their offices and use of ceiling luminaires was recorded by data logger during the same period. The self-reported data correlated significantly with the logged data for the occupants' for the two variables investigated: (i) regulating of ceiling luminaires, and (ii) occupancy of their offices. The correlation was strongly significant between self-reported- and logged data with regard to light-on time, while a weak relationship was identified between the self-reported- and logged data regarding occupancy time. Considering the relationship between light-on time and occupancy time, a significant relationship from the self-reported data was found, but, unlike the logged data, these two variables did not seem to relate to each other. The results suggest that the diary form is suitable to measure office occupants' use of general lighting (ceiling luminaires), particularly for a short-term use, whereas the suitability to measure presence in offices is questionable. The diary form was also able to characterize the amount of energy used for lighting. However, the form should be improved to obtain more accurate responses and to indicate the lighting levels provided by dimming controls.
The antenna cable as a source of error in EMI measurements

Radio-frequency current on the exterior of an antenna cable, which is derived from the signal being measured or transmitted, can significantly alter the results of antenna calibration and EMI (electromagnetic interference) measurements. Two distinct phenomena are observed. The first is related to the behavior of the cable as a parasitic element of the antenna system; the second, which is more serious, is related to leakage between the antenna and cable due to imperfect balance, leaky connectors, and other problems. These phenomena are examined, and a method to measure the leakage between an antenna and its cable is developed. Several types of commonly used antennas are characterized with regard to cable interaction. The use of a ferrite choke on the exterior of the cable is proposed as an effective solution to the problem. <<ETX>>