Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
VALIDATION OF SENSEWEAR PRO2 ARMBAND TO ASSESS ENERGY EXPENDITURE DURING TREADMILL EXERCISE IN CHILDREN 7 - 10 YEARS OF AGE

Andreacci JL, Dixon CB, Dube JJ, McConnell TR. Validation of SenseWear Pro2 Armband to Assess Energy Expenditure during Treadmill Exercise in Children 7 – 10 Years of Age. JEPonline 2007;10(4) 35-42. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the accuracy of a newly developed, child-specific exercise algorithm for the assessment of energy expenditure (EE) using the SenseWear TM Pro2 armband (SWA) in children. Thirty-three children (16 females; 17 males) between 7 – 10 years of age participated in this study. All participants performed three 8-minute sub-maximal exercise bouts on a motorized treadmill (1.7 mph, 0% grade; 2.5 mph, 0% grade; and 3.4 mph, 0% grade) each separated by a 5-min seated rest period. EE was assessed using the SWA and compared to indirect calorimetry (IC), the criterion measure. The total EE estimates of the SWA were not significantly different from IC. The results demonstrate that the SWA, when equipped with the child-specific exercise algorithms, accurately estimates EE during intermittent sub-maximal treadmill exercise in children.
Detection of Activities of Public Transport Users by Analyzing Smart Card Data

During the past decade, a significant amount of research has been dedicated to the use of smart card data for various purposes. A method is presented for the detection and estimation of the location, time, duration, and purpose of activities undertaken by public transit users with the use of smart card databases and other available information about land use and user behavior. The method is applied to cases in Santiago, Chile, and Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, to identify activity purpose and time frame to characterize user behavior. The results obtained for each city are compared to discover differences in behavioral activity patterns due to sociological, cultural, and geopolitical differences.
Speed sensorless direct torque control of induction motors using an adaptive flux observer

The authors present a new sensorless induction motor drive. The drive uses an adaptive flux observer for speed estimation and the discrete-time direct torque control technique for torque and stator flux control. The adaptive flux observer uses a mechanical model to improve the behavior during speed transients. The estimated stator flux of the adaptive observer is used in the discrete-time direct torque control method to provide fast torque response combined with torque ripple free operation over the whole speed range. The sensorless drive system is capable of working from very low speed to high speed and exhibits good dynamic and steady state performance. The authors demonstrate the steady state and dynamic performance of the proposed sensorless drive using simulation and experimental results.
Stress-induced frequency shifts in langasite thickness-mode resonators

In this paper, we report on our study of stress-induced effects on thickness vibrations of a langasite plate. The plate is assumed to be doubly-rotated, specified by angles /spl phi/ and /spl theta/. The stresses are assumed to be uniform and planar. The first-order perturbation integral as developed by Tiersten for frequency shifts in resonators is used. The dependence of frequency shifts on /spl phi/ and /spl theta/ is calculated and examined, and loci of stress-compensation are determined. The analysis makes use of the third-order material constants that are available for langasite but not for its isomorphs.
Comparison of functional activation responses from the auditory cortex derived using multi-distance frequency domain and continuous wave near-infrared spectroscopy

Abstract. Significance: Quantitative measurements of cerebral hemodynamic changes due to functional activation are widely accomplished with commercial continuous wave (CW-NIRS) instruments despite the availability of the more rigorous multi-distance frequency domain (FD-NIRS) approach. A direct comparison of the two approaches to functional near-infrared spectroscopy can help in the interpretation of optical data and guide implementations of diffuse optical instruments for measuring functional activation. Aim: We explore the differences between CW-NIRS and multi-distance FD-NIRS by comparing measurements of functional activation in the human auditory cortex. Approach: Functional activation of the human auditory cortex was measured using a commercial frequency domain near-infrared spectroscopy instrument for 70 dB sound pressure level broadband noise and pure tone (1000 Hz) stimuli. Changes in tissue oxygenation were calculated using the modified Beer–Lambert law (CW-NIRS approach) and the photon diffusion equation (FD-NIRS approach). Results: Changes in oxygenated hemoglobin measured with the multi-distance FD-NIRS approach were about twice as large as those measured with the CW-NIRS approach. A finite-element simulation of the functional activation problem was performed to demonstrate that tissue oxygenation changes measured with the CW-NIRS approach is more accurate than that with multi-distance FD-NIRS. Conclusions: Multi-distance FD-NIRS approaches tend to overestimate functional activation effects, in part due to partial volume effects.
PREDICTING (AND CREATING) SUCCESS IN CS1

This paper describes a testing process that has shown significant validity at measuring preparedness for success in a rigorous Computer Science 1 course. Basic skills, knowledge, and conceptual abilities are tested with a simple exam, and the results have proven to be very useful for predicting future success in CS1. The exam also provides prescriptive information about areas of deficiency in which students need improvement to be adequately prepared for CS1. This placement exam has been used to determine which students need additional preparation before entering CS1, and a CS0 course has been created to provide a way for students to get a stronger background in many of the areas that are needed for CS1. Details of the testing exam and its predictive abilities are described in the paper, along with recommendations for its most effective use.
Clock jitter and quantizer metastability in continuous-time delta-sigma modulators

The performance of continuous-time (CT) delta-sigma modulators (/spl Delta//spl Sigma/M's) suffers more severely from time jitter in the quantizer clock than discrete-time designs. Clock jitter adds a random phase modulation to the modulator feedback signal, which whitens the quantization noise in the band of interest and hence degrades converter resolution. Even with a perfectly uniform sampling clock, a similar whitening can be caused by metastability in the quantizer: a real quantizer has finite regeneration gain, and thus, quantizer inputs near zero take longer to resolve. This paper quantifies the performance lost due to clock jitter in a practical integrated CT /spl Delta//spl Sigma/M clocked with an on-chip voltage-controlled oscillator. It also characterizes metastability in a practical integrated quantizer using the quantizer output zero-crossing time and rise time as a function of both quantizer input voltage and the slope of the input voltage at the sampling instant, and predicts the maximum-achievable performance of a practical CT /spl Delta//spl Sigma/M given jitter and metastability constraints.
Effects of Crown Position and Plant Age on Rooting of Jack Pine Long Shoot Cuttings

Rooting success of long shoot cuttings of jack pine— Pinus banksiana Lamb. — was found to be influenced by crown location effects among 5-to 30-year-old trees. Despite some variation in response, mid to lower crown cuttings generally rooted more readily than upper crown cuttings. The highest rooting frequencies observed for 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, and 10-year-old trees ranged from 45 to 75%, whereas cuttings from 30-year-old trees rooted at 28%. These results are encouraging in light of the general perception that jack pine is difficult to propagate by rooted cuttings, and they suggest that operational asexual propagation may be feasible. Tree Planters'
Working Memory Impairment in Transient Ischaemic Attack: N-back as a Sensitive Measure for Detection

Abstract Background: Transient ischaemic attack (TIA) can lead to lasting changes in brain structure and function resulting in cognitive impairment. Cognitive screening tools may lack sensitivity for detecting cognitive impairments, particularly executive function, which tends to be the earliest affected domain in vascular cognitive impairment. Aim: In this preliminary study, we examine a working memory (WMem) task as a sensitive measure of cognitive impairment in TIA. Method: Patients referred to a TIA clinic for transient neurological symptoms completed a general cognitive screening tool (Montreal Cognitive Assessment; MoCA), and a WMem task (2-N-back) in a cross-sectional design. Results: TIA patients (n = 12) showed significantly reduced WMem performance on the N-back compared to patients diagnosed with mimic clinical conditions with overlapping symptoms (n = 16). No group differences were observed on the MoCA. Conclusions: Assessing WMem may provide a sensitive measure of cognitive impairment after TIA, with implications for cognitive screening in TIA services to triage patients for further neuropsychological support, or for interventions to prevent vascular dementia.
Contributors to Construction Debris from Electrical and Mechanical Work in Hong Kong Infrastructure Projects

The crucial problem of construction debris is of increasing concern in Hong Kong. In the construction industry, the electrical and mechanical (E&M) installations in the infrastructure, for example, buildings, tunnels, or dams, are some of the major and usually complex components. Difficulty in coordinating the various trades affects productivity in general, and has a major impact on the quantity of construction debris. By identifying the sources of waste at each stage of E&M engineering work, some of the construction debris can be eliminated at the source during production. This paper investigates the critical production shortcomings in the E&M sector in Hong Kong. The study is based on a survey that includes a preliminary questionnaire survey, brainstorming exercises with a focus group, structured interviews with experienced frontline supervisors, and a second focus group exercise to test findings and proposed measures. The principal findings are that “poor coordination” and “design changes and/or errors.
Salient-rotor PM synchronous motors for an extended flux-weakening operation range

This paper proposes some novel designs of permanent-magnet synchronous motors for extending their flux-weakening capabilities. According to such a proposal, the motors are characterized by a saliency ratio l/sub d//l/sub q/ greater than one, whereas classical designs exhibit a saliency ratio lower than one. The innovative and classical design solutions are deeply compared in the paper. In order to understand better the basic differences in the motor design, the same base and flux-weakening performance are fixed. The influence of the saliency ratio on inverter voltampere ratings, maximum feasible speed, and current control characteristics is highlighted and discussed.
Comparative Enhancer Map of Cattle Muscle Genome Annotated by ATAC-Seq

Annotating regulatory elements could benefit the interpretation of the molecular mechanism of genome-wide association study (GWAS) hits. In this work, we performed transposase-accessible chromatin with sequencing (ATAC-seq) to annotate the cattle muscle genome's functional elements. A total of 10,023 and 11,360 peaks were revealed in muscle genomes of adult and embryo cattle, respectively. The two peak sets produced 8,850 differentially accessible regions (DARs), including 2,515 promoters and 4,319 putative enhancers. These functional elements were associated with the cell cycle, muscle development, and lipid metabolism. A total of 15 putative enhancers were selected for a dual-luciferase reporter assay, and 12 of them showed enhancer activity in cattle myoblasts. Interestingly, the GeneHancer database has annotated the interactions of eight active enhancers with gene promoters, such as embryo-specific peak1053 (log2FC = 1.81, embryo/adult, E/A) with ligand-dependent nuclear receptor corepressor-like protein (LCORL) and embryo-specific peak4218 (log2FC = 1.81) with FERM domain-containing 8 (FRMD8). A total of 295 GWAS loci from the animal QTL database were mapped to 183 putative enhancers, including rs109554838 (associated with cattle body weight and average daily gain) to peak1053 and rs110294629 (associated with beef shear force and tenderness score) to peak4218. Notably, peak4218 has been found to be involved in mouse embryo development. Deleting peak4218 clearly reduced luciferase activity (P = 3.30E-04). Our comparative enhancer map is expected to benefit the area of beef cattle breeding.
Driver Heterogeneity in Car following and Its Impact on Modeling Traffic Dynamics

A dedicated trajectory data collection method using a helicopter enabled a range of in-depth empirical studies of car-following behavior. These studies found a high degree of heterogeneity in car-following behavior; that is, drivers' driving styles turned out to be highly different because different modeling approaches were needed to model these behaviors satisfactorily. Therefore the impact of heterogeneity in car following on modeling traffic dynamics is examined to gain insight into the effect of incorporating different types and degrees of heterogeneity in car-following behavior on the dynamics of a simulated traffic flow. The microsimulation approach that was adopted focused on two case studies: the first case study focused on heterogeneity in parameter values by comparing stability results for heterogeneous platoons and homogeneous platoons, which could in fact be seen as a solid preparation for the second case study. The second study was a simulation of a fixed stretch of road on which, from a certain point on, a speed limit was imposed for the drivers. In this case study the link between the empirical results and the simulations was strengthened as several types of heterogeneity (e.g., different model specifications for different drivers and different parameter settings and combinations of them) were explored and compared with the empirically estimated parameters. Both analyses show clear differences between simulations with homogeneous drivers and simulations with heterogeneous drivers.
UTSim: overview and application

UTSim is a software package developed to help plan and refine ultrasonic inspections for complex shaped components. The software reads 3D solid‐model CAD representations of the components. Virtually any shape or complexity of object can be loaded and examined using the ultrasonic ray tracing tools in UTSim. For many applications, the software can also be used to model ultrasonic beam propagation as well as the response from flaws within a component. This presentation will give an overview of UTSim and its features and will demonstrate examples of its ultrasonic simulation capabilities.
MoM/BI-RME analysis of boxed MMICs with arbitrarily shaped metallizations

In this paper, we propose a novel approach for the analysis of shielded microstrip circuits, composed of a number of thin metallic areas with arbitrary shapes and finite conductivity, embedded in a multilayered lossy medium. The analysis is based on the solution of an integral equation (IE) obtained by enforcing the proper boundary condition to the electric field on the metallic areas. The IE is solved by using the method of moments with entire domain basis functions, which are numerically determined by the boundary integral-resonant-mode expansion (BI-RME) method. The use of the BI-RME method allows for the efficient calculation of the basis functions independently on the shape of the domain, thus permitting the analysis of a wide class of circuits. Two examples demonstrate the accuracy, rapidity, and flexibility of the proposed method.
Abruptly attenuated carbon sequestration with Weddell Sea dense waters towards the end of the 21st century

Antarctic Bottom Water formation, such as in the Weddell Sea, is an efficient vector for carbon sequestration on time scales of centuries. Possible changes in carbon sequestration under changing environmental conditions are unquantified to date, mainly due to difficulties in simulating the relevant processes on high-latitude continental shelves. Using a model setup including both ice-shelf cavities and oceanic carbon cycling, we demonstrate that by 2100, deep-ocean carbon accumulation in the southern Weddell Sea is abruptly attenuated to only 40% of the rate in the 1990s in a high-emission scenario, while still being 4-fold higher in the 2080s. Assessing deep-ocean carbon budgets and water mass transformations, we attribute this decline to an increased presence of Warm Deep Water on the southern Weddell Sea continental shelf, a 16% reduction in sea-ice formation, and a 79% increase in ice-shelf basal melt. Altogether, these changes lower the density and volume of newly formed bottom waters and reduce the associated carbon transport to the abyss.
Cyber victimization within the Routine Activity Theory Framework in the Digital Age

This quantitative-based research determined whether the routine activity theory influences cyber victimization. To measure the dimensions of the theory, defined as exposure to a motivated offender, suitable online target, and absence of a capable guardian, a valid and reliable questionnaire was used. The cyber victimization questionnaire developed by Álvarez-García, Dobarro, and Núñez was applied to 1,285 students selected at random from schools in Colombia. Findings: 46% are identified as exposed to a motivated offender, 37.5% are suitable online targets, and 29.8% have no capable guardians. The interdependence of these three elements revealed that 3.9% of students are at risk due to their routine activities, which had a significant influence on cyber victimization. It is proposed that these findings should be considered in the design of communicative and educational policies aimed at a responsible use of technologies.
How Trauma May Magnify Risk of Involuntary and False Confessions Among Adolescents

Empirical research on police interrogation has identified both personal and situational factors that increase criminal suspects’ vulnerability to involuntary, unreliable, or false confessions. Although trauma exposure is a widely documented phenomenon known to affect adolescents’ perceptions, judgments, and behaviors in a wide array of contexts (especially stressful contexts), trauma history remains largely unexamined by interrogation researchers and virtually ignored by the courts when analyzing a confession. This article argues that trauma may operate as an additional personal risk factor for involuntary and false confessions among adolescents by generating both additive and interactive effects beyond youths’ general, developmentally-driven vulnerabilities in police interrogations. First, we briefly review adolescent trauma symptomatology, emphasizing the heterogeneity of adolescents’ responses to trauma. Next, using Leo and Drizin’s (2010) “Three Errors” framework of police-induced false confessions, we systematically apply clinical findings to each of the three police errors—misclassification, coercion, and contamination—to outline the psychological mechanisms through which adolescents with trauma histories may be at increased risk for making involuntary or unreliable statements to police. Finally, we offer considerations for interrogation research, clinical forensic practice, police practices, and courtroom procedures that could deepen our understanding of trauma’s role in the interrogation room, improve the integrity of investigative and adjudicatory processes, and ultimately promote justice for adolescent suspects with trauma exposure.
Analysis of repeated signals during shell fights in the hermit crab Pagurus bernhardus

Shell exchanges between hermit crabs may occur after a period of shell rapping, when the initiating or attacking crab brings its shell rapidly and repeatedly into contact with the shell of the non–initiator or defender, in a series of bouts. There are two opposing models of hermit crab shell exchange and the function of shell rapping. The negotiation model views shell exchange as a mutualistic activity, in which the initiator supplies information about the quality of its shell via the fundamental frequency of the rapping sound. The aggression model views shell rapping as either detrimental to the defending crab, or as providing it with information about the initiator's ability or motivation to continue, or both. The negotiation model makes no predictions about the temporal pattern of rapping, but under the aggression model it would be expected that crabs that rapped more vigorously would be more likely to effect an exchange. Repeating the signal could be expected under either model. Crabs that achieve an exchange rap more vigorously, rapping is more persistent when a clear gain in shell quality may be achieved, and the vigour is greater when the relative resource–holding potential (or ‘fighting ability’) is high. These findings support the aggression model rather than the negotiation model. Contrary to the predictions of game theory, crabs that do not effect an exchange appear to signal that they are about to give up. The data suggest that rapping is performed repeatedly because the accumulation of all of the performances acts as a signal of stamina.
Modelling ground vibration from railways using wavenumber finite- and boundary-element methods

A mathematical model is presented for ground vibration induced by trains, which uses wavenumber finite- and boundary-element methods. The track, tunnel and ground are assumed homogeneous and infinitely long in the track direction (x-direction). The models are formulated in terms of the wavenumber in the x-direction and discretization in the yz-plane. The effect of load motion in the x-direction is included. Compared with a conventional, three-dimensional finite- or boundary-element model, this is computationally faster and requires far less memory, even though calculations must be performed for a series of discrete wavenumbers. Thus it becomes practicable to carry out investigative study of train-induced ground vibration. The boundary-element implementation uses a variable transformation to solve the well-known problem of strongly singular integrals in the formulation. A ‘boundary truncation element’ greatly improves accuracy where the infinite surface of the ground is truncated in the boundary-element discretization. Predictions of vibration response on the ground surface due to a unit force applied at the track are performed for two railway tunnels. The results show a substantial difference in the environmental vibration that could be expected from the alternative designs. The effect of a moving load is demonstrated in a surface vibration example in which vibration propagates from an embankment into layered ground.