Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Customizing mass housing : a discursive grammar for Siza's Malagueira houses

This thesis proposes a process of providing mass-customized housing based on computer-aided design and production systems. It focuses on the design part, which mainly consists of an interactive system for the generation of design solutions based on a mathematical model called discursive grammar. A discursive grammar includes a shape grammar, a description grammar, and a set of heuristics. The shape grammar provides the rules of formal composition, whereas the description grammar describes the design from other relevant viewpoints. The set of heuristics is used to guide the generation of designs by comparing the description of the evolving design with the description of the desired house. The generation of a design proceeds first by producing a design brief from the user-prompted requirements and then by finding a solution that satisfies this brief. Search is largely deterministic, which decreases the amount of time required to find a solution, thereby making it reasonable to develop Web-based implementations. The proposed model enables an enduring designer's dream, that of the mass customization of housing. The model is illustrated with a case study that includes a shape grammar developed for the houses designed by the architect Alvaro Siza at Malagueira, a description grammar based on the Portuguese housing regulations, and a set of heuristics inferred after a set of experiments. In these experiments, designers were asked to generate houses based on the Malagueira grammar for specific clients. It is argued that this discursive grammar provides a rigorous method for understanding and teaching Siza's design process and that similar grammars could be developed for other styles. A Web page for explaining the grammar and generating new designs on-line was developed as a prototype.
Literature Review of Cystoid Macular Edema in Iridocorneal Endothelial Syndrome and Its Response to Nepafenac 0.1%

Background Iridocorneal endothelial syndrome (ICE) is a rare disease which happens usually in women at 20-40 years of age. About 50% of patient with such disease develops glaucoma.Case presentation A 29-year-old woman presented in August 2015 with right eye blurring of vision for 6 months. On examination, the corneal endothelial with beaten metal appearance was noted. Right eye correctopia with iris atrophy and periphery anterior synechiae were seen. Mottled appearance of the macula which tallied with the optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings of cystoid macular edema (CME) was found. An non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) eye drops (NEVANACÒ Nepafenac ophthalmic suspension 0.1%) was commenced for long term. She was re-examined 2 years later in 2018. Her vision was 6/6. OCT and fundus fluorescence angiography (FFA) finding were normal.Conclusion The NSAIDs was the only treatment received by the patient and throughout the years, her CME has subsided. A long term use of Nepafenac 0.1% has shown to be effective in treating CME in ICE syndrome.
The effectiveness of the voluntary 33/50 program in inducing adoption of pollution prevention techniques and toxic release reduction

This dissertation consists of three essays that empirically investigate the role of regulatory pressures, voluntary 33/50 program and information spillover on firms' environmental performance. First, we examine the extent to which participating in the 33/50 program led to a reduction in 33/50 releases. Second, we examine the extent to which program participation motivated the adoption of Pollution Prevention (P2) technology, and whether learning from peers increased the adoption of P2 technology by a facility after controlling for the effects of program participation and regulatory pressures. Last, we examine the extent to which program participation caused an increase in recycling and whether the adoption of P2 technology was inversely related to changes in recycling and releases of 33/50 chemicals. To answer these questions, we use facility-level information on program participation, toxic emissions and P2 adoption for more than 7000 facilities that were eligible for the program over the period of 1988-1995. We find that program participants had 14.8% to 23.7% higher rate of reduction in 33/50 releases than non-participants, after controlling for industry effects, time trend and other regulatory pressures. We also find that program participants on average adopted 1-1.2 more P2 technologies than non-participants for 33/50 chemicals, but did not significantly increase the number of P2 technologies adopted for other TRI chemicals. Additionally, the adoption of P2 was positively affected by information spillovers from other facilities in the same industry.
Targeted Interventions to Prevent Chronic Low Back Pain in High Risk Patients: Development and Delivery of a Pragmatic Training Course of Psychologically Informed Physical Therapy for the TARGET Trial

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a public health concern because it is highly prevalent and the leading cause of disability worldwide. Psychologically Informed Physical Therapy (PIPT) is a secondary prevention approach that first aims to identify individuals at high risk for transitioning to chronicity and then provides tailored treatment to reduce that risk. Training models that are feasible to implement with acceptable training quality are needed to improve scalability for widespread implementation of PIPT. This manuscript describes the PIPT training program that was developed for training physical therapists providing PIPT in the TARGET Trial. Methods: The PIPT training program was developed, tested and modified using an iterative process. Content development consisted of stakeholder engagement, beta testing, modification of training and confirmation of final course objectives. Methods of delivery consisted of a website that included brief online educational modules followed by a live 8-hour workshop that included video-based mock case scenarios and case-based role playing. Attitudes, beliefs and confidence in implementing PIPT principles were assessed before and immediately after training to measure training quality and impact. Results: Early stakeholder engagement and beta testing indicated the need for increased emphasis on experiential learning opportunities and patient-centered communication training. Booster training varied extensively across TARGET sites with involvement of ‘clinician champions’ providing brief follow-up sessions identified as best practice. Favorable post training changes in physical therapist attitudes and beliefs toward biopsychosocial treatment orientation and increased confidence in implementing PIPT principles were observed. Conclusions: PIPT training for provider participation in the TARGET Trial was feasible to deliver. Course content was acceptable to physical therapists and resulted in improved beliefs and confidence in applying PIPT skills during clinical practice. Ongoing consultation and site-based continuing education were methods by which specific TARGET sites maintained or augmented PIPT skill training, however implementing ongoing training was challenging in general. Due to the pragmatic nature of the TARGET trial, it was not possible to directly measure the effect of PIPT training on treatment fidelity which was a limitation of our approach. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02647658
Computational science and engineering

Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) is the multi-disciplinary field of computer-based modelling and simulation for studying scientific phenomena and engineering designs. Modelling and simulation helps to validate theory, and makes it possible to analyse scenarios that would otherwise be too time-consuming, expensive, or dangerous to study by experiment. Data exploration helps to turn numbers into insight which is especially challenging in times of Big Data.
MOVING FROM MEASURES OF PERFORMANCE TO MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS IN THE SAFETY EVALUATION OF ITS PRODUCTS OR DEMONSTRATIONS

The purpose of this paper is to address issues associated with converting practical measures of performance to measures of metrics of the safety impact of intelligent transportation system (ITS) products and demonstrations. For the purpose of this discussion, the dependent measures associated with driving will be termed "measures of performance" and the associated constructs with theoretically impact driving safety will be termed "measures of effectiveness. " The paper focuses on the empirical, proactive evaluation of ITS safety prior to fleet-type evaluation studies and, ultimately, mass deployment. Therefore, the methods described in this paper attempt to predict safety utilizing measures that are removed from the direct, epidemiological assessment of safety (i.e., numbers of crashes), since achieving sample sizes to accurately predict actual crash rates is often impractical.
Influence of Change Management Pratices on Performance of Hotels in Nairobi County, Kenya

The current study sought to establish how change management practices influences performance of hotel in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study specifically aimed at establishing the influence of communication, employee engagement, leadership and resource dedication on performance of the hotel in Nairobi County, Kenya. The theories that anchors the study comprised of Communication Theory, Self-Determination Theory, Path Goal Leadership Theory and Resource Based View Theory. The study employed a descriptive research design and the target population comprised of 44 hotels distributed in Nairobi County with ratings of one to five stars as formulated in Tourism Regulatory Authority Hotel Classifications 2018. A census approach was adopted in the study. Primary data was collected through questionnaires containing close ended questions while a secondary data collection sheet was used to collect secondary data. The data collected was analyzed by employing both inferential analysis and descriptive statistics using MS Excel and SPSS software V22. A pilot study was conducted on 4 randomly selected hotels to assess the validity and reliability of the data collection instrument. The study established that communication, employee engagement, leadership and resources dedication positively and significantly influence performance levels of the hotels as shown by Beta values of 0.298, 0.321, 0.387 and 0.459 respectively. This implies that increase in one unit of each of the variables results to an increase in the performance levels with the respective beta values. The study recommended that there is a need for hotels to enhance their communication practices while implementing changes, to enhance their employee engagement practices while implementing changes, to enhance their leadership practices while implementing changes and to enhance their resources dedication practices while implementing changes since the practices positively influences the performance levels.
Network Structure, Gender Diversity, and Interdisciplinarity Predict the Centrality of AI Organizations

Artificial intelligence (AI) research plays an increasingly important role in society, impacting key aspects of human life. From face recognition algorithms aiding national security in airports, to software that advises judges in criminal cases, and medical staff in healthcare, AI research is shaping critical facets of our experience in the world. But who are the people and institutional bodies behind this influential research? What are the predictors of influence of AI researchers and research organizations? We study this question using social network analysis, in an exploration of the structural characteristics, i.e., network topology, of research organizations that shape modern AI. In a sample of 158 organizations with 16,385 affiliated authors of published papers in prominent AI conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, FAccT, AIES), we find that both industry and academic research organizations with influential authors are more interdisciplinary, more hierarchical, more gender diverse, and less clustered. Here, authors’ betweenness centrality in co-authorship networks was used as a measure of their influence. We also find that gender minorities (e.g., women) have less influence in the AI community, determined as lower betweenness centrality in co-authorship networks. These results suggest that while diversity adds significant value to AI based organizations, the individuals contributing to the increased diversity are marginalized in the AI field. We discuss these results in the context of current events with important societal implications.
Genome-wide identification and gene expression analysis of SOS family genes in tuber mustard (Brassica juncea var. tumida)

The Salt Overly Sensitive (SOS) pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana plays important roles in maintaining appropriate ion homeostasis in the cytoplasm and regulating plant tolerance to salinity. However, little is known about the details regarding SOS family genes in the tuber mustard crop (Brassica juncea var. tumida). Here, 12 BjSOS family genes were identified in the B. juncea var. tumida genome including two homologous genes of SOS1, one and three homologs of SOS2 and SOS3, two homologs of SOS4, two homologs of SOS5 and two homologs of SOS6, respectively. The results of conserved motif analysis showed that these SOS homologs contained similar protein structures. By analyzing the cis-elements in the promoters of those BjSOS genes, several hormone- and stress-related cis-elements were found. The results of gene expression analysis showed that the homologous genes were induced by abiotic stress and pathogen. These findings indicate that BjSOS genes play crucial roles in the plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses. This study provides valuable information for further investigations of BjSOS genes in tuber mustard.
ANALYSIS OF THE INTER-RELATIONSHIP OF PEDESTRIAN LEG AND PELVIS INJURIES

A database of severely injured pedestrians was obtained from the Major Trauma Outcome Study (MTOS) conducted by a UK hospital. This database contains 316 injured pedestrians who received over 1200 injuries. Though biased towards severely injured pedestrians (99% received a Maximum Abbreviated Injury Score (MAIS) of 2 or more injuries) a comparison has been made to the UK Stats19 distributions to assess the representativeness of the database. Injuries were coded using AIS 90 and an aspect was assigned to each injury where possible. Statistical analysis of the database has been performed to identify the inter-relationships between injuries in light of the injury criteria specified for the proposed impactor tests. Probabilities of sustaining certain injuries have been calculated depending on the incidence of injuries caused earlier in the impact event. The types of injuries have been closely examined in order to understand the likely injury mechanisms. Conclusions are presented regarding the potential benefits and concerns of complying with the proposed impactor injury criteria through vehicle related pedestrian protection measures. For the covering abstract of the conference see ITRD E203643.
Early Celastrol Administration Prevents Ketamine-Induced Psychotic-Like Behavioral Dysfunctions, Oxidative Stress and IL-10 Reduction in The Cerebellum of Adult Mice

Administration of subanesthetic doses of ketamine during brain maturation represents a tool to mimic an early insult to the central nervous system (CNS). The cerebellum is a key player in psychosis pathogenesis, to which oxidative stress also contributes. Here, we investigated the impact of early celastrol administration on behavioral dysfunctions in adult mice that had received ketamine (30 mg/kg i.p.) at postnatal days (PNDs) 7, 9, and 11. Cerebellar levels of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), NADPH oxidase (NOX) 1 and NOX2, as well as of the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin (PV), were also assessed. Furthermore, celastrol effects on ketamine-induced alterations of proinflammatory (TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines in this brain region were evaluated. Early celastrol administration prevented ketamine-induced discrimination index decrease at adulthood. The same was found for locomotor activity elevations and increased close following and allogrooming, whereas no beneficial effects on sniffing impairment were detected. Ketamine increased 8-OHdG in the cerebellum of adult mice, which was also prevented by early celastrol injection. Cerebellar NOX1 levels were enhanced at adulthood following postnatal ketamine exposure. Celastrol per se induced NOX1 decrease in the cerebellum. This effect was more significant in animals that were early administered with ketamine. NOX2 levels did not change. Ketamine administration did not affect PV amount in the cerebellum. TNF-α levels were enhanced in ketamine-treated animals; however, this was not prevented by early celastrol administration. While no changes were observed for IL-6 and IL-1β levels, ketamine determined a reduction of cerebellar IL-10 expression, which was prevented by early celastrol treatment. Our results suggest that NOX inhibition during brain maturation prevents the development of psychotic-like behavioral dysfunctions, as well as the increased cerebellar oxidative stress and the reduction of IL-10 in the same brain region following ketamine exposure in postnatal life. This opens novel neuroprotective opportunities against early detrimental insults occurring during brain development.
The Piezojunction Effect in Silicon. Consequences and Applications for Integrated Circuits and Sensors

This thesis describes an investigation of the piezojunction effect in silicon. The aim of this investigation is twofold. First, to propose some techniques to reduce the mechanical-stress-induced inaccuracy and long-term instability of many analogue circuits such as bandgap references and monolithic temperature transducers. Second, to apply the piezojunction effect to new mechanical sensor structures. The piezojunction effect changes the bipolar-transistor saturation current. This stress-induced change is mainly caused by the change in the conductivity of the minority-charge carriers. The piezojunction effect can be modeled by a polynomial approximation with a set of experimental constants, which are called the piezojunction coefficients. The magnitude of the piezojunction effect is determined according to the stress orientation and main carrier-flow direction through the bipolar-transistor base, both related to the silicon crystal axis. It has been found that the piezojunction effect hardly depends on the current density, as far the transistor is not operated in the high-injection level. Therefore, the voltage which is proportional to absolute temperature voltage VPTAT is much less stress sensitive than the base-emitter voltage VBE. The knowledge of the piezo-effects on device level has been used to predict and suggest methods to reduce their negative influence on the performance of important basic analogue circuits such as translinear circuits, temperature transducers and bandgap voltage references. A new stress-sensing element based on the piezojunction effect has been designed and tested. This stress-sensing element consists of two orthogonal L-PNP transistor pairs operated as a current mirror, which maximises the piezojunction effect and reduces the temperature cross-sensitivity. It has been verified that the linearity, gauge factor and temperature coefficient of the gauge factor are approximately the same as those of the sensors based on the piezoresistive effect. The predictable temperature-dependent base-emitter voltage can be used to compensate for the temperature coefficient of the gauge factor. For further reduction of the sensor area, a single lateral transistor with four split collectors has been designed to implement a stress-sensing device. In conclusion, it appears that the piezojunction effect is very suited to be used for low-power and miniaturised mechanical-stress sensors.
POSSIBLE DESIGN PROCEDURE TO PROMOTE DESIGN CONSISTENCY IN HIGHWAY GEOMETRIC DESIGN ON TWO-LANE RURAL ROADS

European design guidelines explicitly address horizontal design consistency for two-lane, rural roads in an attempt to promote smooth operating speed profiles and, in turn, safe operation. U.S. practice qualitatively advocates consistent alignment but provides little objective guidance to assure that consistency is achieved. This paper presents a procedure for measuring the consistency of horizontal design as defined by operating speed and accidents expected. Operating speeds and accident rates can be predicted for various lane widths based on degree of curve and posted recommended speeds, as derived from measurement of 261 sites in New York state. Guidelines for changes in operating speeds and acceptable accident rates for good, fair, and poor designs are suggested, and various nomographs are developed to evaluate roadway sections based on design parameters. In addition, an example application is provided to illustrate the case of fair design practices. It is concluded that such a procedure could readily be adapted by the design community in prescribing improvements to existing facilities or in fine tuning new highway design.
Frontier technologies for empowering farm women

In agriculture sector, the farm women are assigned secondary roles with insignificant powers. Their significant contribution as labour input has generally remained unaccounted. They are far behind and need to be adequately empowered to take up future challenges. The nature and extent of women involvement in agriculture varies greatly from region to region, ecological sub-zones, caste, class and stages in the family cycle. Empowering farm women for better quality of life is an important and burning issue today. Knowledge coupled with efficient resource management is considered one of the most important factors for development. Extension approaches and strategies followed for transfer of technology to farm women are required to satisfy their specific needs and problems. Thrust needs to be given on cultivation technologies, improved agricultural tools and implements, institutional approach for empowerment and inculcating entrepreneurship skill in them. Coordination is to be made among technology generation, technology dissemination and technology receiving system. The empowering strategies would need to be further sharpened to make them effective and result oriented.
Profiles in Performance: Business Intelligence Journeys and the Roadmap for Change

Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgments. CHAPTER 1 Performance-Directed Culture. Four Levels of Maturity. Six Performance-Directed Culture Criteria. The Maturity Model as an Assessment Tool. CHAPTER 2 Denihan Hospitality Group. 9/11 Rocks the World. A New Era of Growth Begins. An Ownership Change Spawns a Brand-New Company. The Economy Puts the Brakes on Rapid Growth. The Seeds of a Data-Driven Culture Are Planted. New Talent Brings Different Perspectives. Operational and Financial Data Come Together. Widening Cultural Divide? Bringing Everything Together. CHAPTER 3 Cleveland Clinic. Determined to Lead. The Gap between Medical Excellence and Business Performance. Searching for Equilibrium. The Times Are Changing. Time for Change. A New Leader for the 21stCentury. CHAPTER 4 Northern California Public Broadcasting. Can the Same Standards Be Applied to Nonprofits and For-Profits? Setting the Stage for Public Broadcasting in America. San Francisco's Unique Brand of Public Television. Seismic Changes in Public Broadcasting. Money Is Always an Issue. A Growing Desire for Stronger Financial Management. New CFO Shakes Things Up. CHAPTER 5 Mueller Inc. New Owners and a Changing Market Demand a New Focus. Mueller Gets Back on Track. Growth Tests Mueller. The 21stCentury Brings a New Set of Challenges. Formalizing Performance Management at Mueller. An ERP System that Works! Beyond ERP to Business Intelligence. Mueller Refines its Management System. CHAPTER 6 Tying It All Together. It's All about Change. Other Factors to Consider. Applying the Lessons Learned. Index.