Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Managing Workplace Anxiety during the Pandemic: A Pilot Study of Natural Imagery through 4K Video and Virtual Reality

Abstract Background: Workplace anxiety has become an increasing priority to address. To date, professional interventions that address workplace anxiety involve medications or talk-therapy, yet the response to these modalities is limited or partial. As a result, there is room for other modalities of care. Aim: In this pilot study, we examined whether imagery of nature delivered through 4K Video or virtual reality (VR) headsets could be safe and feasible when administered in a workplace setting. We also examined whether they could reduce anxiety and worry. Methods: Sixteen employees at a large health insurance company were recruited to participate in the study. All participants completed “pre” and “post” surveys that measured worry or state-anxiety before and after viewing the video or VR interventions respectively. They were instructed to use the interventions at least once a day, three times a week over a two-week period. Results: Overall, the Reulay nature-based interventions were safe and feasible. In addition, there were strong signals of efficacy in reducing anxiety and worry for the 4K Video and virtual reality interventions. In certain instances, VR was superior to the 4K Video. Conclusion: Nature-based imagery may be a useful intervention to reduce anxiety in the workplace if it is delivered using 4K video or VR headsets. Further studies in larger samples are needed to confirm these findings.
Temperature and relative humidity effects on the mechanical and chemical stability of collections : Practical guide to HVAC for museums and historic renovation

The environmental factors affecting the chemical stability of objects in the collections of museums and historic sites include temperature, moisture, reactive chemicals in the air, and biological attack. The concentrations of deleterious airborne chemicals such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are usually a function of a museum's proximity to cities, industrial sites and airports or to materials used in the building's construction. These chamicals can be filtered and avoided. Pest and biological issues such as insect and rodent infestations and mold growth are also important issues but will not be discussed here. The mechanical instability of museum objects may be seen in cracking, delamination, flaking of paint, powdering, etc. and may be the result of chemical changes in the materials and/or environmental action. However, this paper discusses only the principal effects of moisture and temperature on mechanical and chemical stability of collections
Biomechanics of human walking and stability descriptive parameters

From the time of Aristotle onward, there have been countless books written on the topic of movement in animals and humans. However, research of human motion, especially walking mechanisms, has increased over the last fifty years. The study of human body movement and its stability during locomotion involves both neuronal and mechanical aspect. The mechanical aspect, which is in the scope of this thesis, requires knowledge in the field of biomechanics. Walking is the most common maneuver of displacement for humans and it is performed by a stable dynamic motion. In this article it is introduced the bases of the human walking in biomechanical terms. Furthermore, two stability descriptive parameters during walking are also explained - Center of Pressure (CoP) and Zero-Moment Pint (ZMP).
Experimental study of burning rate in large-scale rectangular pool fire

Rectangular pool fires are common in the liquid fuel storage and transportation industries, but the existing burning rate correlations are largely focused on circular pool fires. Through experimental means, this work measured the steady mass burning rates of both n-heptane and gasoline fires in large-scale rectangular pools with aspect ratios ranging from 0.5 to 4.0. The effects of pool width and aspect ratio on the mass burning rate were investigated. A modified model was developed to estimate the mass burning rate in a rectangular pool fire as a function of the pool width and the aspect ratio. Correlations for n-heptane and gasoline burning rates were proposed based on the experimental results. The comparisons between the presented correlations and the existed circular burning rate correlations were analyzed accordingly.
Lottery Design for School Choice

This paper studies outcomes of the deferred acceptance algorithm in large random matching markets where priorities are generated either by a single lottery or by independent lotteries. In contrast to prior work, my model permits students to submit lists of varying lengths and schools to vary in their popularity and number of seats. In a limiting regime where the number of students and schools grow while the length of student lists and number of seats at each school remain bounded, I provide exact expressions for the number of students who list l schools and match to one of their top k choices, for each [Formula: see text]. These expressions provide three main insights. First, there is a persistent tradeoff between using a single lottery and independent lotteries. For students who submit short lists, the rank distribution under a single lottery stochastically dominates the corresponding distribution under independent lotteries. However, the students who submit the longest lists are always more likely to match when schools use independent lotteries. Second, I compare the total number of matches in the two lottery systems, and find that the shape of the list length distribution plays a key role. If this distribution has an increasing hazard rate, then independent lotteries match more students. If it has a decreasing hazard rate, the comparison reverses. To my knowledge, this is the first analytical result comparing the size of stable matchings under different priority rules. Finally, I study the fraction of assigned students who receive their first choice. Under independent lotteries, this fraction may be arbitrarily small, even if schools are equally popular. Under a single lottery, we provide a tight lower bound on this fraction which depends on the ratio r of the popularity of the most to least popular school. When each school has a single seat, the fraction of assigned students who receive their first choice is at least [Formula: see text]. This guarantee increases to [Formula: see text] as the number of seats at each school increases. This paper was accepted by Gabriel Weintraub, revenue management and market analytics.
Perceptual Learning and Recognition of Random Acoustic Patterns

The human auditory system is capable of learning unstructured acoustic patterns that occur repeatedly. While most previous studies on perceptual learning focused on seamless pattern repetitions, our study included several presentation formats, which are more typical for memory tasks (involving temporal delays or irrelevant information between pattern presentations), and probed active recognition of learned patterns more directly. We adapted an established implicit learning paradigm and presented three groups of listeners with the same acoustic patterns in different presentation formats, i.e., either back-to-back, separated by a silent interval or by a masker sound. Participants additionally completed an unexpected memory test after the learning phase. We found substantial learning in all groups, measured indirectly via the increased sensitivity in a perceptual task for patterns that occurred repeatedly (compared to patterns that occurred only once) and more directly via above-chance recognition performance in the memory test. Pattern learning and recognition were robust across presentation formats. Therefore, we propose that similar mechanisms might underlie memory formation for initially unfamiliar sounds in everyday listening situations. Moreover, memories for unstructured acoustic patterns that were acquired implicitly through perceptual learning enable subsequent active recognition. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 17 December 2021 Accepted 20 May 2022
Attitudes of Brazilian Veterinarians Towards Anesthesia and Pain Management in Reptiles

Abstract Veterinarians' perceptions regarding anesthetics and pain management in reptiles are understudied. We conducted an internet-based survey of Brazilian practitioners to assess their knowledge and attitudes towards the use of anesthetics, as well as recognition and treatment of pain, in reptiles. The most commonly cited anesthesia-related complications were prolonged recovery periods and respiratory depression. Difficulty in recognizing pain was the main impeding factor for providing analgesics. Tramadol (88.2%) and meloxicam (97%) were the most commonly used analgesics, and ketamine (88.2%), midazolam (88.2%), and isoflurane (94.5%) were the most common anesthetic agents. In conscious patients, the assessment of pain was performed mainly by observation of behavioral changes. Only 32.7% of the respondents considered their knowledge of anesthesia and analgesia in reptiles to be adequate. More women than men considered their knowledge to be insufficient (P < 0.0068), whereas age of the practitioner had no effect. Nevertheless, all respondents believe that reptiles can feel pain, and 82% provide analgesia to most of their patients. Understanding the criteria, choice, and timing of drug administration, as well as opinions on pain and anesthesia, provides information on the current practices and might assist in targeting areas where more research and development is needed to ensure reptile welfare.
Shaking Table Testing to Evaluate Effectiveness of Prefabricated Vertical Drains for Liquefaction Mitigation

Shaking Table Testing to Evaluate Effectiveness of Prefabricated Vertical Drains for Liquefaction Mitigation Caleb Robert Oakes Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, BYU Master of Science This study was designed to evaluate the ability of vertical drains to prevent liquefaction and limit associated settlement. Drain performance was investigated using full-scale tests with vertical drains in liquefiable sand using a laminar shear box with acceleration time histories applied at the base. Performance of the sand box with drains in these tests was compared with performance of the sane box without drains in previous tests. The test data was also used to create case histories which can be used for further research and calibration of computer models. Although some investigations regarding vertical drains have been performed with centrifuge tests, no full-scale drain installation had been tested previously. Two drain geometries were investigated, first with drains spaced at 4 feet and second with drains spaced at 3 feet, to determine the effect of spacing on drain effectiveness. Sand was hydraulically placed at a relative density of about 40%. Sensors to monitor pore water pressure, settlement, lateral displacement, and acceleration were placed in the laminar shear box. Three rounds of testing were performed with each drain configuration. Each round consisted of three tests, with peak sinusoidal acceleration levels of 0.05g, 0.1g, and 0.2g respectively, with 15 sinusoidal cycles in each case. A cone penetration test sounding was performed between each round as well as before and after testing to characterize the soil properties for each round. Prefabricated drains were effective at reducing excess pore pressure generation during shaking and increasing the rate of dissipation immediately following the shaking. Liquefaction induced settlement was typically reduced by about 50% relative to tests without drains. These results are in good agreement with results from previous centrifuge testing. Drains spaced closer together reduced the excess pore pressure that generated during shaking and increased the rate of pore pressure dissipation relative to tests with drains spaced further apart, but post-liquefaction settlements were similar. As the soil became denser, settlement decreased significantly, as did the time for pore pressures to dissipate.
Contamination of gutta-percha cones before and during clinical use

Iran Abstract Background and Aim: Decontamination of gutta-percha (GP) cones is recommended before placement in the root canal system. However, the incidence of contamination is still a matter of debate. The present study aimed to evaluate the contamination of GP cones before and during clinical use by general dentists. Materials and Methods: In this in vitro study, 120 GP cones (#20) were examined for incidence of contamination. First, 30 GP packages were opened under aseptic laboratory conditions, and two cones were randomly selected for the laboratory tests. Next, the initially sampled packages were distributed among 30 general dentists and then they were asked to use them clinically for 7 days and then the packages were collected for the microbial tests. The collected cones were placed in tubes containing thioglycolate medium and incubated at 37 ℃ for 21 days. Bacterial growth was detected by presence of turbidity and comparison with the control groups. A sample was collected from the tubes showing turbidity and plated in blood agar and also underwent Gram-staining, followed by colony counting. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square and paired sample t-test (alpha=0.05). Results: None of the 60 samples from initial sampling of packages showed contamination. However, in secondary sampling after clinical use, 8.3% of GP samples were positive for contamination. There was a statistically significant difference in contamination of packages before and after clinical use (P= 0.02). Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that GP cones can become infected after opening the package and in the process of clinical
Enabling adaptive pedestals in predictive transport simulations using neural networks

We present PEdestal Neural Network (PENN) as a machine learning model for tokamak pedestal predictions. Here, the model is trained using the EUROfusion JET pedestal database to predict the electron pedestal temperature and density from a set of global engineering and plasma parameters. Results show that PENN makes accurate predictions on the test set of the database, with R 2 = 0.93 for the temperature, and R 2 = 0.91 for the density. To demonstrate the applicability of the model, PENN is employed in the European transport simulator (ETS) to provide boundary conditions for the core of the plasma. In a case example in the ETS with varied neutral beam injection (NBI) power, results show that the model is consistent with previous studies regarding NBI power dependency on the pedestal. Additionally, we show how an uncertainty estimation method can be used to interpret the reliability of the predictions. Future work includes further analysis of how pedestal models, such as PENN, or other advanced deep learning models, can be more efficiently implemented in integrating modeling frameworks, and also how similar models may be generalized with respect to other tokamaks and future device scenarios.
The acceptability of iris-based authentication for public domain: An instrumental design

Innovations in terms of technology have always been a continuous process since change is constant.The invention of information technology has made all services to be rendered in an automated manner.Doing this, the prominent aim is to make all services ubiquitous i.e removing all barriers in terms of time and location, a good example of this is the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) service where banking-related services is rendered in public places for universal access.The beauty of such opportunity is not without its associated security problems with the conventional Personal Identification Number (PIN) entry system.This led to the suggestion of iris-based biometric authentication to guarantee maximum authentication security in all domains.This paper discusses the development of the quantitative instrument (questionnaire) for measuring user’s behavioural intention to use iris-based authentication in public places using Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) as the underpinning theory.The reliability of the constructs is also discussed.
Prevalence and risk factors for postinfectious cough in discharged patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Background Cough is one of the most common symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the prevalence of persistent cough in recovered patients with COVID-19 during a longer follow-up remained unknown. This study aims to investigate the prevalence, and risk factors for postinfectious cough in COVID-19 patients after discharge. Methods We conducted a follow-up study for 129 discharged patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in two large hospitals located in Hubei Province, China from January 2020 to December 2020. Baseline demographics, comorbidities and smoking history were extracted from the medical record. Current symptoms and severity were recorded by a uniform questionnaire. Spirometry, diffuse function and chest computed tomography (CT) were performed on part of patients who were able to return to the outpatient department at follow-up. Results The median (interquartile range) follow-up time was 8.1 (7.9–8.5) months after discharge. The mean (standard deviation) age was 51.5 (14.9) years and 57 (44.2%) were male. A total of 27 (20.9%) patients had postinfectious cough (>3 weeks), 6 patients (4.7%) had persistent cough by the end of follow-up, including 3 patients with previous chronic respiratory diseases or current smoking. Other symptoms included dyspnea (6, 4.7%), sputum (4, 3.1%), fatigue (4, 3.1%), and anorexia (4, 3.1%) by the end of follow-up. Thirty-six of 41 (87.8%) patients showed impaired lung function or diffuse function, and 39 of 50 (78.0%) patients showed abnormal CT imaging. Patients with postinfectious cough demonstrated more severe and more frequent cough during hospitalization (P<0.001), and more chronic respiratory diseases (P=0.01). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, digestive symptoms during hospitalization [odds ratio (OR) 2.95, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10–7.92] and current smoking (OR 6.95, 95% CI: 1.46–33.14) were significantly associated with postinfectious cough of COVID-19. Conclusions A small part of patients developed postinfectious cough after recovery from COVID-19, few patients developed chronic cough in spite of a higher proportion of impaired lung function and abnormal lung CT image. Current smoking and digestive symptoms during hospitalization were risk factors for postinfectious cough in COVID-19.
Temperament and character differences in psychopathic and non-psychopathic antisocial adolescents

The present study tested the possibility of distinguishing between different types of antisocial adolescents based on psychopathic characteristics, and the differences between antisocial adolescents of different ages and subtypes in relation to the Cloninger's personality dimension. The sample included 101 antisocial male adolescents, divided into two age groups (71 respondents in the 13-17 age group and 30 in the 18-25 age group). After conducting model-based cluster analyses, non-psychopathic type (without pronounced signs of psychopathy) and psychopathic type (with pronounced antisocial, lifestyle and interpersonal facet) (Hare’s model) were singled out in the whole sample. Within the psychopathic type, in comparison with juveniles, older adolescents showed a significantly lower expression of character dimensions of Self-directedness and Cooperativeness, which are key in determining all personality disorders. Within the group of juvenile offenders, members of the two subtypes did not differ significantly in temperament and character, which indicates that juveniles are in the process of personality development, especially when it comes to their character, so they are more susceptible to treatment and their outcomes are uncertain. The results suggest that the inflation of psychopathic scores may occur in juveniles due to the identification of developmental features of adolescence (impulsivity, immaturity) as psychopathic, which implies the need to apply basic personality models in the assessment of antisocial adolescent.
The Racialised ‘Second Existence’ of Class: Class Identification and (De-/Re-)construction across the British South Asian Middle Classes

This article maps typologies of class identity for the UK-born South Asian middle classes. Using thematic analysis of interviews with 20 British South Asian professionals, it identifies culturally and socially situated forms of class (dis-)identification. It finds that ‘middle-class’ identity is not uncritically adopted or internalised by socially mobile British South Asians who, on the bases of objective socioeconomic markers, may be classified as such. Beyond existing research which has long established the dual material and symbolic nature of class, and the corresponding ‘fuzziness’ of class subjectivity, for the population of interest this can be attributed in large part to: (i) the rapid upward intergenerational social mobility of South Asian groups which is seen to defy British-specific forms of stratification and class reproduction and (ii) the racialisation of class where the symbolic power and subjective salience of middle-classness is mediated through Whiteness. In establishing this, this article argues for further theoretical and analytical reflection on the racialisation of class taking into account the ethnoracial specificities of culturally diverse ethnic minority populations.
Semiconductor carbon-nitrogen nanomaterials based on interpolyelectrolyte complex sodium lignosulfonate-chitosan

Abstract This article was aimed at synthesizing new carbon-nitrogen nanomaterial from lignosulfonate/ chitosan (LS/CT) system via carbonization. The effect of LS molecular weight on the amount of nitrogen in the carbonizates, textural characteristics of carbon-nitrogen nanomaterials and their electrical properties was established by a variety of methods (SEM, AFM, BET, X-ray, IR, and dielectric spectroscopy). Structure of carbon-nitrogen nanomaterial is fractal with a high specific surface area (378–460 m2/g) and a significant pore volume (0.33–0.48 cm3). The electrical conductivity increases with an increase in the degree of disorder in the structure of carbon-nitrogen nanomaterial and correlates with the quantitative nitrogen content in the sample. The maximum electrical conductivity value was obtained for the sample with molecular weight of LS 67 kDa and is 0.71•10−7 S/cm. This study provides a novel method for the development of highly conductive carbon-nitrogen nanomaterials based on low-cost biopolymers that hold promise for a variety of practical applications.
Producing Ti5Mo-Fused Tracks and Layers via Laser Powder Bed Fusion

The principal optimum process parameters for printing Ti5Mo fused tracks and layers were determined. The laser power, scanning speed and hatch distance were varied to study their influence on fused track and layer formation. The morphology, geometry, homogeneity, surface roughness, solidification structure, microstructure and microhardness of the fused tracks and layers were analysed. It was observed that, based on the laser energy density, different fused tracks and layers can be achieved. It is only at a certain critical threshold that optimum process parameters could be obtained. Laser power of 200 W with a corresponding scanning speed of 1.0 m/s at a hatch distance of 80 µm was obtained as the optimum process parameter set. As opposed to previous research by the authors, the Mo powder particles in the current investigation melted completely in the Ti5Mo alloy matrix due to the small Mo powder particle size (1 µm). A 50% offset rescanning strategy also improved the surface quality of the layers. The solidification front is predominantly cellular, and the microhardness values obtained fall within the values reported in the current literature.