Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
STEW: Simultaneous Task EEG Workload Dataset

—This paper describes an open access electroencephalography (EEG) dataset for multitasking mental workload activity induced by a single-session simultaneous capacity (SIMKAP) experiment with 48 subjects. To validate the database, EEG spectral activity was evaluated with EEGLAB and the significant channels and activities for the experiment are highlighted. Classification performance was evaluated by training a support vector regression model on selected features from neighborhood component analysis based on a 9-point workload rating scale. With a reduced feature dimension, 69% classification accuracy was obtained for 3 identified workload levels from the rating scale with a Cohen’s kappa of 0.46. Accurate discrimination of mental workload is a desirable outcome in the field of operator performance analysis and BCI development, thus we hope that our provided database and analyses can contribute to future investigations in this research field.
Customer Loyalty in Mobile Banking: Evaluation of Perceived Risk, Relative Advantages, and Usability Factors

Information and communications technologies promote change in the service sector, and the banking sector is not an exception. Finding what factors impact consumer satisfaction with service and lead to loyalty is invariably important for business. However, it is important to begin with evaluating the aspects that are specific to the market and service. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting customer loyalty in Mobile Banking. Following the model designed by the researchers, consideration was given to mediator variables of satisfaction, trust, and customer service to examine how factors such as perceived risk, relative advantages, and usability affect customer loyalty. In this study, customers of an Iranian bank (Shahr Bank) based in the city of Tehran constituted the statistical population. The descriptive survey method was used on a sample that was selected through a cluster-convenience method and included 411 Shahr Bank's customers resident in the east, west, north, south, and centre of the city of Tehran. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) test and the LISREL 8.8 software were used to analyse the data and to determine what role each factor plays on loyalty. The results showed that such factors as relative advantages, satisfaction, and trust have the most significant impact on customer loyalty. However, the effect of usability on customer service was not confirmed. Furthermore, it was identified that perceived risk has a negative impact on loyalty.
Explorer Nonlinear optimisation via explicit NRTL model solubility prediction for antisolvent mixture selection in artemisinin crystallisation

Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (CPM) has the potential to revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry, with many expected benefits in terms of cost, efficiency and quality. Process modelling and optimisation are valuable methodologies for comparative technoeconomic evaluations: this paper pursues total upstream CPM cost minimisation via two nonlinear optimisation methods. An explicit NRTL solubility estimation method has been used in order to analyse the potential performance of three binary antisolvent mixtures for the crystallisation of artemisinin. This Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) is a key antimalarial substance and has been the focus of several CPM studies, including continuous chemistry and separation. Ethanol, acetone and ethyl acetate are the three antisolvents studied. Used as a binary antisolvent with toluene as the solvent, the composition of the binary antisolvent, the quantity of the binary antisolvent with respect to the process solvent, and the temperature the overall mixture is cooled to in the crystallisation process are formulated as the three key variables in a nonlinear optimisation problem. Two solvers are used, NOMAD and NLOPT-BOBYQA. Results show that they have very similar precision (<1 % difference), but that the latter is up to 66 % faster; NLOPT-BOBYQA was used for the majority of optimisation cases. Results show that for the size of the temperature gradient of the crystallisation has a much stronger effect on the total cost than the quantity of antisolvent used. Nearly pure antisolvent use (ethyl acetate followed by ethanol) is favoured as yielding the lowest total cost (for a single crystalliser). Considering multiple units, results indicate that higher API recovery, E-factor, and OpEx benefits can be achieved when using two crystallisers, but metrics are inferior with three or more. For sequential crystallisers of varying size, increasing the number of crystallisers also benefits OpEx, E-factor, and API recovery, but CapEx continues to increase, thereby promising technical but no economic benefits.
Effects of Quench Time Profiles on PCDD/F Formation in the Postcombustion Zone during Municipal Solid Waste Incineration

Abstract Effects of postcombustion zone temperatures and flue gas residence times on monochlorinated to octachlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and -furans (PCDD/F) in a laboratory-scale reactor combusting municipal solid waste were investigated. Four different quench time profiles were investigated, falling from 400°C to 200°C, 300°C to 100°C, 450°C to 200°C and 460°C to 260°C, with corresponding residence times of 1.4 to 4.4 sec, 1.4 to 5.4 sec, 1.3 to 4.3 sec, and 1.3 to 4.0 sec, respectively. Flue gas samples were collected simultaneously at three fixed sampling points, with an additional sampling of flue gas entering the postcombustion zone (640°C). The quench time profiles resulted in different total PCDD/F yields, as well as differences in homologue profiles and congener patterns. Thus, the formation pathways seem to be dependent on sufficient residence time within a specific temperature region. Formation of PCDD/F was shown to be rapid and mainly located to the 640°C to 400°C temperature region, with no.
The Myth of Depth: Toward a Shallow Theory of Concepts

By a “deep” theory of concepts, I mean a theory according to which a concept’s possessor represents the grounds of membership in the corresponding category, that is, the properties in virtue of which entities qualify for membership of the category. This paper has three aims. The first is to show that there is an interesting psychological distinction to be made between “deep” and “shallow” approaches to concepts. The second is to show that past theories of concepts have tended, on the whole, to take the deep approach. The third is to show that there is very little evidence that concepts are in fact deep, and so that it is worth exploring shallow alternatives to the existing
•Italian Journal 4-2 2009

Indicators used to estimate the soil structure stability facing erosion are the basis of major indicators of soil quality, and their behaviour is affected by permanent soil properties, vegetation and management. The relation between the pore-volume fraction occupied by water and the pore size distribution in clay soils is studied by the shrinkage curve describing clay soil porosity dynamics as a function of soil moisture. The aim of this work is to study the shrinking behaviour of the surface soil in a badland site through the shrinkage curve and to assess its relations with vegetation. Six treatments with different soil vegetation cover and aspect were selected on a badland site in Pisticci (Southern Italy). Shrinkage curves were built from natural aggregates collected in the 0-10 cm soil depth. Soil stability under shaking in water was also determined, with pre-treatments in water, alcohol and benzene for the determination of the SSI (Soil Stability Index). Soil organic matter, electrical conductivity, ESP were determined in order to investigate the relations between soil cover, chemical properties, SSI and shrink-swell behaviour. Vegetation was associated with lower soil salinity and ESP, and higher soil organic matter content. Vegetated sites showed a higher SSI and a lower overall swelling. The shrinkage curves for samples from vegetated areas lack of the structural phase of shrinkage, likely due to the combined effect of lower ESP and the mechanical effect of plant roots. All soil properties and indicators point to a higher stability of soils under grass in the south aspect and under shrub in the north one.
Evaluation of Factors Enhancing Effectiveness of Destination Management of Nature Based Tourism, Lagos, Nigeria

Effective destination management is pertinent in differentiating a particular nature based tourism destination. Structured questionnaire was used to gather data from staff and tourists to Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC) and Lufasi Nature Park (LNP), both in Lagos. Structured questionnaires were employed to address effectiveness of destination management from staff and responsiveness of tourism destination to tourists needs from tourists. Data were analysed using multiple regression analysis and ANOVA to predict the efficiency of destination management. Test of homogeneity of variance using Levene’s test was carried out to test the null hypothesis that variance was equal across variables in the responsiveness of destinations to tourists’ needs. Results of the study revealed that 55.7% tourists had secondary education in LCC, while in LNP 68.1% had tertiary education. LCC has a greater percentage of the response variable (R2 = 0.622) in predicting the effectiveness of destination management by the educational statuses of staff than in LNP. In predicting the responsiveness of destination to tourists’ needs using the educational statuses of tourists, LNP has a greater percentage of the response variable (R2 = 0.255). Effectiveness of management of nature based tourism destination is a vital tool in improving the quality of service for competitive edge.
Signal Processing: Image Communication

Several deep supervised hashing techniques have been proposed to allow for extracting compact and efficient neural network representations for various tasks. However, many deep supervised hashing techniques ignore several information-theoretic aspects of the process of information retrieval, often leading to sub-optimal results. In this paper, we propose an efficient deep supervised hashing algorithm that optimizes the learned compact codes using an information-theoretic measure, the Quadratic Mutual Information (QMI). The proposed method is adapted to the needs of efficient image hashing and information retrieval leading to a novel information-theoretic measure, the Quadratic Spherical Mutual Information (QSMI). Apart from demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method under different scenarios and outperforming existing state-of-the-art image hashing techniques, this paper provides a structured way to model the process of information retrieval and develop novel methods adapted to the needs of different applications.
EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTIONS FOR ASD: A FOCUS ON APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS (ABA) INTERVENTIONS

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifespan developmental disorder that manifests within the first three years of life primarily through difficulties in social communication and social interaction, and the presence of focused repetitive, restrictive or stereotyped behaviors, interests, and activities (APA, 2013). This disorder is characterized by striking heterogeneity both in its presentation (i.e., the Abstract Given the explosion in published psychological and educational interventions for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) over the past several years, this review highlights the latest trends for children with complex learning and developmental needs. Recent efforts in intervention research focus on meeting standards of scientific evidence and emphasize the importance of strict adherence to the principles of high quality research and evidence-based practice. According to recent systematic reviews, all evidence-based comprehensive intervention programs for children with ASD are based to some extent on the scientific discipline of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Such intensive behavioral interventions have the power to improve the trajectory of development of a child with ASD. In particular, meta-analytical studies have demonstrated substantial improvement in IQ scores and adaptive behavior in children receiving early intensive ABAbased comprehensive interventions. Moreover, the majority of evidence-based focused interventions for ASD are either ABA-based or are included in ABA-based comprehensive intervention programs. There is a growing interest in modular interventions, which allow a high-degree of individualization for each child with ASD, while meeting the standards of evidence-based practice. An uptick in the number of rigorous evaluations of different interventions conducted in real-world settings with outcomes focused on core deficits in ASD augurs well for wide dissemination and implementation by qualified nonspecialists in the community.
Challenges in Getting Started in Motion Graphic Design: Perspectives from Casual and Professional Motion Designers

Motion graphics videos offer a powerful means of communicating complex concepts through engaging visuals and animation. While filmmaking, marketing, or video games industries use these videos to tell compelling stories, others such as educators or domain experts face a steep learning curve. Creating even a short motion graphics video can be an arduous process that requires competency in scriptwriting, graphic design, animation, and skills in using various feature-rich software applications. We interviewed 19 casual and professional motion designers working on a range of motion graphics projects to understand their design processes and challenges. Our results reveal several difficulties that new motion designers face in getting started in the field and how they struggle to devise workarounds. We identify opportunities for HCI to lower entry barriers by designing user-centered tools that simplify the motion design process and incorporate example-based learning and collaborative approaches.
Eﬀects of exogenous input on adoption rates in social networks

Modeling information diﬀusion is an often investigated area in social network science. Optimizing propagation through targeting interactions is an intriguing subfocus within this area, where the goal is to identify agents in the network best capable of diﬀusing information. Our work addresses a pragmatic context where identifying these agents is particularly useful: technology adoption. In this work, we model agent cognitive and social qualities as they are relevant to information communication. We show that a formulation of the social network using cognitively-rich nodes allows for the identiﬁcation of agents to whom targeting for exogenous input provides for more optimal adoption rates. We then present how the representation falls under the theoretical guarantees of performance, as forwarded by Kempe et al. [12].
Context is king: Facilitation in innovation projects. A comparison between academic and industry projects

Over the recent years, the importance of innovation in academic R&D projects has increased. Nevertheless, innovation facilitation in the academic field has rarely been researched. Currently, innovation support focuses on the industrial context. In our study we aim to address this research gap and examine the facilitation of innovation in the academic and the industrial context. In our abductive empirical case study, we investigate the role, skills, mindset and instruments of innovation facilitators by interviewing 25 individuals from nine organizations. We discovered different behaviors and perspectives in dealing with innovation work, depending on the context of the either academic or industry-driven projects. Academic innovation projects focus on feasibility, whereas industry-driven projects focus on viability. In both contexts, the facilitators usually intend to include the user perspective (desirability). With our results we contribute to the facilitation literature and show that innovation projects and their facilitation depend on their specific context and the mentality of the facilitators. With these results, we strive to improve academic and industry-driven projects with advice for innovation practitioners and facilitators on helpful tools and important perspectives to fully exploit the innovation potential.
Quantum key distribution over free space optic (FSO) channel using higherorder Gaussian beam spatial modes

Quantum key distribution (QKD) has emerged as a secure solution of secret key distribution utilizing the well established theories of modern physics. Since its introduction in 1984, many interesting and innovative ideas have been proposed for QKD in order to improve the security and efficiency of the scheme keeping in view of its applications and practical implementation. High error rate QKD scheme for long distance communication – the so-called KMB09 protocol – is one such scheme which was designed to achieve longer communication distance in QKD, without compromising its security, by allowing the utilisation of higher dimensional photon states which is not possible with standard BB84 scheme. However the practical implementation of KMB09 protocol has not been presented yet because of its unique design. In this paper, we propose a framework for the practical implementation of QKD system that runs KMB09 protocol in two or more dimensions of photon states. We present the KMB09 based QKD system design and its simulation for practical implementation based on the encoding of secret bits in higher order Gaussian beam spatial modes. The proposed framework is specifically evaluated in terms of efficiency or success rate with two and four dimensions of photon states. We find that the simulation results of the proposed framework are inline with the numerical and analytical results of the same QKD model presented earlier.
Tolls For Atomic Congestion Games

In games where selfish players compete for resources, they often arrive at equilibria that are less desirable than the social optimum. To combat this inefficiency, it is common for some central authority to place tolls on the resources in order to guide these players to a more advantageous result. In this thesis, we consider the question of how to add tolls to atomic unsplittable congestion games in order to enforce a specific flow as the unique equilibrium. We consider this question in the context of both routing games and matroid congestion games. In the former case, we show that for the class of series-parallel graphs the nonatomic tolls suffice, and investigate examples for which nonatomic tolls fail. In the latter case, we show that the nonatomic tolls can also be used to impose flows in atomic laminar matroid games.
kelp and a conspicuous gastropod grazer: do blue-rayed limpets

populations? 9 10 11 Hannah F.R. Hereward, Andrew Foggo, Sarah L. Hinckley, Joanna 12 Greenwood and Dan A. Smale 13 14 a Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, 15 Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK 16 b Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, 17 Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK 18 c A Rocha UK, 18-19 Avenue Road, Southall, London, UB1 3BL, UK 19 d Lee Abbey Devon, Lynton, North Devon, EX35 6JJ, UK 20 21 22 23 *corresponding author: dansma@mba.ac. uk +44(0)1752 426489 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
Rethinking a Timely Response of Human Resources to Global Signals: A Case of Organizational Reflexes

The general idea of this paper is to present a model that could explain which characteristics of the human reflex arc are inherited by the system of an organization’s human resources when they respond to a signal incoming from the global environment. The possibility of inheritance in an organization is discussed in the theories associated with Sociobiology, Biological view in Strategic Management, Reductionism, Microfoundations, and the advanced experience of inheriting neural activity that can be found in Experimental Neuropsychology. Similarity and consolidation of differences incoming from these theories allowed for the theoretical development of a Reflexes model of an organization’s human resources response to the signals from the global environment. The analysis of organizational response to the signals incoming from the global environment and its reaction to the system’s activity have shown that an organization operates very similarly to the human reflex arc. This insight allowed recognizing the human nervous system’s structure as a constituent in an organization’s decision-making system. In this paper, the model of the biological nature of the organization behavior is presented. It explains how an organization forms its reflexive competitive response to the signals incoming from the global environment.
Upper Extremity Injuries in Tennis Players

Common upper extremity tennis injuries involve soft tissue and are usually a result of overuse. Tennis injuries have a complex association with biomechanical properties of tennis strokes and serves. Injury profile of tennis injuries varies by injury site, mechanism of injury, athlete experience level, and presence of known risk factors. Diagnosis can be a challenge and depends on a thorough understanding of current research topics.
Equilibrium sorption isotherm for lead (Pb) ions on hydrogen peroxide modified rice hulls.

Modified rice hulls system for removing Pb (II) from aqueous solutions has been investigated. Rice hulls are agricultural waste product. The experimental condition was the modification of the rice hulls (sorbent) with different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide solution. The experimental results were fitted to the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms to obtain the characteristic parameters of each model. The Langmuir isotherm was found to well represent the results. The maximum sorption capacities of various concentrations of hydrogen peroxide modified rice hulls were 2.57, 3.15, 5.15, 8.57, 10.97 and 11.88 mg/g for 0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2 and 1.5 M hydrogen peroxide solution respectively.It was noted that increasing the concentration for modification resulted in a higher metal uptake per unit weight of the modified rice hulls.
Revisiting amorphous organic matter in Kimmeridgian laminites: what is the role of the vulcanization process in the amorphization of organic matter?

Kimmeridgian bituminous laminites from Orbagnoux (France) contain abundant amorphous organic matter (AOM). Previous studies have shown that the vulcanization pathway was the dominant preservation mechanism of AOM in these laminites, and led to its structureless aspect (a process called amorphization) at the nanoscale. In contrast, new observations in scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy demonstrate that this AOM exhibits typical cyanobacterial structures (exopolymeric substances, filamentous and coccoid bacteria) and ultralaminae. This identification is supported by a comparison with a recent cyanobacterial biofilm considered as an analogue. Moreover, this comparison demonstrates that ultralaminae in the Orbagnoux environment cannot solely be attributed to microalgal cell walls, but also to constituents of cyanobacteria. The microscopic identification of a ubiquitous cyanobacterial imprint demonstrates that the selective preservation pathway has been largely underestimated in Orbagnoux AOM and/or that the vulcanization process does not lead to the amorphization of organic matter automatically.