Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving public services through open data: public toilets

Bichard’s work for the TACT3 project (Bichard REF Output 3) found that UK toilet provision is not centrally collated and no national map or database of toilets exists. In contrast, the UK government’s white paper Open Public Services (2011) emphasised its commitment to incorporating the use of Open Data in public services provision that could be tailored to community preferences, and therefore be more sustainable. Incorporating Open Data on public toilet provision, Bichard and Knight (RCA) developed The Great British Public Toilet Map (GBPTM). Whilst a number of other websites and applications map toilets by ‘crowd surfing’, GBPTM is entirely populated by Open Data, and not only uses the data as information for users, but informs members of the public that such information is available and accessible for their use. This paper presents the development of the GBPTM, including inclusive design research and studies that compare accuracy of information directly provided by users with Open Data collected by local authorities. It suggests that, to meet the health and well-being of an ageing population, a sustainable and cost-effective solution must be found for ‘publicly accessible’ toilet provision, including opening up provision beyond that ‘for customers only’ and providing accurate information on current public provision. The paper highlights the barriers encountered in the production of Open Data by local authorities. A review of the paper in the journal Civil Engineering (May 2013) described the design of the GBPTM as a ‘simple and elegant solution’. The development of a digital output and an understanding of digitally based research led to Bichard’s successful submission to an EPSRC Digital Economy sandpit, in which she developed an interdisciplinary project with the Universities of Newcastle, Bournemouth and the West of England. The project, Family Rituals 2.0, secured £750,000 in research funding with Bichard as co-investigator (2013–15).
Pathogenicity of seedborne Alternaria and Stemphylium species and stem-infecting Neofusicoccum and Lasiodiplodia species to cannabis (Cannabis sativa L., marijuana) plants

Abstract Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L., marijuana) plants grown at indoor and outdoor production sites in British Columbia (BC) and Ontario with stem canker symptoms were sampled and affected tissues were surface-sterilized and plated onto potato dextrose agar. Isolates were identified by colony and spore morphology as well as PCR amplification and sequencing of the ITS1-ITS2 rDNA, beta-tubulin, and actin gene regions. The most frequently isolated fungi were Alternaria alternata, Neofusicoccum parvum, and Lasiodiplodia theobromae. In addition, A. alternata was recovered from cannabis inflorescences in BC as well as surface-sterilized hemp seed. Stemphylium vesicarium was isolated from hemp seeds for the first time. The pathogenicity of all these fungi to cannabis plants was confirmed by inoculation of leaves, stems, buds, rooted cuttings and mature plants. Disease ratings varied depending on both tissue type and pathogen. Both L. theobromae and N. parvum produced extensive stem cankers on mature cannabis plants as well as extensive lesions on leaves. All pathogens showed optimal colony growth in culture at 25–30°C. A comparison of the susceptibility of five cannabis genotypes to foliar infection by N. parvum indicated there were significant differences (p < 0.05) in lesion size, with some genotypes showing high susceptibility and others showing resistance. This is the first report of L. theobromae, N. parvum, A. alternata, and S. vesicarium causing stem canker and leaf spot symptoms on cannabis in Canada. The recovery of these fungi adds to the growing list of pathogens that cause infection and loss of quality in cannabis production.
New medications for the treatment of acne

Several new medications, both with novel molecules and modified delivery systems, have been developed for the treatment of acne vulgaris. Trifarotene 0.005% cream, tretinoin 0.05% lotion, and tazarotene 0.045% lotion expand topical retinoid options while minocycline 4% foam and systemic sarecycline provide new antibiotic choices for patients. Clascoterone 1% cream is a first in class topical antiandrogen recently FDA approved for acne. This review provides an update on these medications, including their mechanism of action, clinical data, and where they currently fit in the acne treatment algorithm as well as practical application tips.
Evaluating the effect of a driver’s behaviour on the range of a battery electric vehicle

A battery electric vehicle uses the electric energy stored in a battery to supply power to the electric motor. The estimation of an accurate electric range is an important matter because of the consumer’s fear of running out of electricity while driving, often referred to as ‘range anxiety’. This article both analyses and quantifies the influence of driving aggressiveness on the battery life. In order to achieve this, a modification of the New European Driving Cycle is performed, simulating progressively more aggressive behaviours. The calculation of the energy consumption and, accordingly, of the vehicle range is performed through a complete vehicle model implemented in MATLAB/Simulink, where an improvement in the battery model is presented, allowing faster processing. The methodology presented can contribute to more efficient management of the power consumed by the vehicle and a decrease in range anxiety.
Tiltrotor cabin noise control through smart actuators

This paper deals with the abatement of the tonal noise inside the fuselage of a mid-range tiltrotor aircraft, as generated by the propulsive system. The problem is basically multidisciplinary, involving interactions among the exterior noise field, elastic fuselage dynamics, interior acoustics and control system. A stiffened fuselage, with piezoelectric patches embedded into the structure, is supposed to be impinged on by the aeroacoustic field generated by propellers and excited by the wing/pylon/proprotor vibratory loads at the wing–fuselage attachment. An optimal linear quadratic regulator cyclic control formulation, coupled with a genetic optimization algorithm, is applied to synthesize the control law driving the smart actuators so as to alleviate cabin noise. The aeroacoustoelastic model considered in the control problem is obtained by combining cabin interior acoustics, fuselage smart shell dynamics and wing/pylon/proprotor aeroelasticity described through modal approaches with the exterior pressure field provided by boundary element method solvers. Numerical results examine the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed active control strategy.
Multi-Analytical Assessment of Bodied Drying Oil Varnishes and Their Use as Binders in Armour Paints

The characteristics of commercially available refined and bodied linseed and tung oils, used as binders in the production of armour paints after historic recipes, are explored. Employed as anticorrosive paints mainly from the 1920s to 1960s, armour paints are greener alternatives that can be used for protection in industrial heritage conservation. Using a multi-analytical approach, chemical and physical properties of the fresh oils and solid films before and after accelerated ageing (ISO 16474-2:2013) were investigated to better understand which features are beneficial for the technical function of armour paints. Tests included measurements of density, the refractive index, insoluble impurities, alkaline impurities, the water content, the iodine value, the saponification value, the free fatty acid concentration, the acid value, the peroxide value and colour (Lovibond) and cold tests. The characterisation of the fresh oils using molecular analysis with FTIR and GC-MS revealed the complexity of the commercial formulations, for which additions of semi- and non-drying oils were detected. The results show that organic paint binders follow complex chemical reactions (such as oxidation and decrease of unsaturation being variable or swelling following water-immersion tests), with implications for their suitability for use in protection.
Sheet feedback control design in a printer paper path

• A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers.
Dynamic-stress-induced enhanced degradation of 1/f noise in n-MOSFETs

AC-stress-induced degradation of 1/f noise is investigated for n-MOSFETs with thermal oxide or nitrided oxide as gate dielectric, and the physical mechanisms involved are analyzed. It is found that the degradation of 1/f noise under AC stress is far more serious than that under DC stress. For an ac stress of V/sub G/=0/spl sim/0.5 V/sub D/, generations of both interface states (/spl Delta/D/sub it/) and neutral electron traps (/spl Delta/N/sub et/) are responsible for the increase of 1/f noise, with the former being dominant. For another AC stress of V/sub G/=0/spl sim/V/sub D/. a large increase of 1/f noise is observed for the thermal-oxide device, and is attributed to enhanced /spl Delta/N/sub et/ and generation of another specie of electron traps, plus a small amount of /spl Delta/D/sub it/. Moreover, under the two types of AC stress conditions, much smaller degradation of 1/f noise is observed for the nitrided device due to considerably improved oxide/Si interface and near-interface oxide qualities associated with interfacial nitrogen incorporation.
The Effect of Consumption of Whole Fruits before Meals and Walking 10 minutes after Meals on Daily Food Intake in Overweight Adults

Increased consumption of whole fruits and physical activity are inversely correlated with energy intake and weight gain. This study aimed to analyze the daily consumption of whole fruits before meals and walking 10 minutes after meals on dietary intake in overweight adults. Twenty-two overweight adults in Surakarta city were randomly divided into two groups: the T1 group ate a combination of five different fruits/day before meals and walking 10 min after meals. The other group only ate a combination of five different fruits/day before meals for 30 days. The average of energy and fat intake in T1 and T2 groups after intervention decreased significantly than that of before intervention (p=0.016 and p=0.019; p=0.002 and p=0.021). In addition, both groups had a higher average of fiber intake after the intervention compared before intervention (p<0.001). In conclusion, consuming whole fruits before meals decreases energy and fat intake and increases fiber intake in overweight adults but walking 10 min after meals does not affect their daily food intake.
The Predictive Ability of Wildlife Value Orientations for Mammal Management Varies with Species Conservation Status and Provenance

Wildlife value orientations (WVOs) can predict consensus or controversy over wildlife-related issues and are therefore important for their successful management. We carried out on-site face-to-face interviews with Greek people (n = 2392) to study two basic WVOs, i.e., domination (prioritize human well-being over wildlife) and mutualism (wildlife has rights just as humans). Our sample was more mutualism-oriented than domination-oriented; however, domination was a better predictor of management acceptability than mutualism. WVOs were better predictors of the acceptability of lethal strategies (shooting, destruction at breeding sites, 11–36% of variance explained) relative to taking no action (9–18%) and non-lethal strategies (e.g., compensation, fencing, trapping, and relocating, 0–13%). In addition, the predictive ability of WVOs, mostly for accepting lethal strategies, increased with the increasing severity of the conflict (crop damage, attacking domestic animals, 11–29%; disease transmission, 17–36%) and depending on species conservation status and provenance (endangered native brown bear (Ursus arctos), 11–20%; common native red fox (Vulpes vulpes), 12–31%; common exotic coypu (Myocastor coypus), 17–36%). Managers should consider these findings for developing education and outreach programs, especially when they intend to raise support for lethal strategies. In doing so, they would be able to subsequently implement effective wildlife management plans.
Cold-formed steel battened built-up columns: Experimental behaviour and verification of different design rules developed

Some of the past studies on cold-formed steel (CFS) battened built-up columns have resulted in the development of new design rules for predicting their axial strengths. However, the main drawbacks of such studies are that they are purely numerical and the numerical models developed for such parametric studies were validated using the test results on similar built-up column configurations, but not the exact ones. Therefore, experimental studies on CFS battened columns comprising of lipped channels are needed for verifying the accuracy of the proposed design rules for CFS battened columns. This paper reports an experimental study performed on CFS built-up battened columns under axial compression. Adequately spaced identical lipped channels in the back-to-back arrangement were used as chords and were connected by batten plates laterally with self-driving screws to form the built-up members. The dimensions of chords were fixed as per the geometric limits given out in the North American Specifications (NAS) for the design of CFS structural members. The sectional compactness of the chords and the overall slenderness of the built-up columns were varied by altering the thickness of the channels and height of the built-up columns, respectively. A total of 20 built-up sections were tested under uniform compression to investigate the behavioural changes in the built-up columns due to these variations. The behaviour assessment was made in terms of peak strengths, load–displacement response and failure modes of the test specimens. The current design standards on CFS structures were used to determine the design strengths and were compared against the test strengths for assessing their adequacy. Furthermore, as discussed in the beginning, the test strengths were used to verify the accuracy of the different relevant proposed design rules in the literature.
A New Multi-Objective Evolutionary Approach to Graph Coloring and Channel Allocation Problems

Recent years, a large amount of graph coloring algorithms have been applied in different disciplines and engineering. This paper exhibits a new multi-objective evolutionary algorithm using the new evolutionary operators with multi-objectives in finding the solution to graph coloring and channel allocation. Clique, a maximal connected complete subgraph of a given graph is obtained in solving channel allocation problem. The outcomes of the devised evolutionary method are compared with other recent approaches. Multiple better gene sequences are selected and are applying the subsequent crossover and mutation operations with multiple objectives. The devised operators significantly minimize the problem search space and average generations compared to the standard genetic algorithm. The proposed operators achieve better solution compared to some of the existing well known methods. The expected performance measures are also increased while minimizing the expected generations. The proposed operators can also be applied in solving special engineering applications of graph coloring.
Religiosity and Contentment among Teachers in the Philippines during COVID-19 Pandemic: Mediating Effects of Resilience, Optimism, and Well-Being

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on many areas of people’s lives all over the world, including in the area of education. Many educational institutions must un-preparedly transition from physical classes to distance learning modalities, affecting both the students and teachers. Given that the teachers are confronted with so many challenges, leading to their increased stress and mental health issues, this research project investigated the role of religiosity in the contentment of a sample of 296 teachers in the Philippines, mediated by the effects of resilience, optimism, and well-being. Bivariate correlation analysis showed that religiosity, resilience, optimism, and well-being were positively and significantly correlated with each other, while contentment was positively and significantly correlated with optimism and well-being. Regression analysis indicated no direct significant association between religiosity and contentment. Mediation analyses suggested that optimism partially mediated the impact of religiosity on well-being, whereas well-being fully mediated the impact of religiosity on contentment and the impact of optimism on contentment. Lastly, the measurement model indicated a significant path from religiosity to contentment through optimism and well-being. These significant results suggest that, while facing adversities in life, the teachers in the Philippines might use religiosity and its relevant dimensions as positive coping mechanisms to face the academic challenges triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and thus derive contentment that is mediated by the positive effects of optimism and well-being.
Impact of Personal Resource Inventory on Psychological Well-Being and Depression in Pakistani Sample

The objective of the study was to find out the impact of Personal Resource variable on psychological well-being and depression in Pakistani population. Study design was cross-sectional research design, survey method. The study was conducted in privately registered, semi-government and government institutions of Rawalpindi and Federal Capital Territory during the year 2016-2018. Data was collected using purposive random sampling from 200 employees working in private, semi-government and government organizations. 55.5% were males and 44.5% were females; Mean age = 26.81 (SD = 5.7); Mean job experience was M = 4.5; SD = 5.49; highest qualification was 35 % Masters among Matric, Inter, Graduation, M.Phil and PhD. Results of the study showed that regression analysis showed that Personal Resource variable accounts for 21% of variance in psychological wellbeing and 27% of variance in depression. The alpha coefficient reliability for the newly constructed four factors of self-efficacy, resilience, hope and optimism based questionnaire, was found to be α = 0.86 and split half reliability coefficient was . 74 and . 79 on Pakistani sample which was sufficiently adequate. Hence our objective of the study which was to find out the impact of Personal Resource variable on mental health and depression within Pakistani culture was thus established.
Effective Strategies for Promoting Physical Activity through the Use of Digital Media among School-Age Children: A Systematic Review

Digital media are widespread among school-age children, and their incorrect use may lead to an increase in sedentary levels and the consequences associated with it. There are still few studies that have investigated whether physical activity levels could be increased through their use. The aim of this study was to systematically review the scientific literature in order to identify whether digital strategies and technologies are capable of increasing the level of physical activity. A literature search was performed using the following databases: Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The main outcomes evaluated the increase in physical activity levels, the number of steps, and the reduction of sedentary behaviors. Two trained researchers independently assessed eligible studies against eligibility criteria, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias. The Downs and Black checklist was used to assess the quality of the included studies. A total of 15 studies (1122 children) were included in this systematic review, with a mean age of 8.45 ± 0.70 years. Quality assessment of the studies observed a “moderate quality” of the included records. The results of this systematic review highlight that digital media can be applied as a way to improve the levels of physical activity in children to contrast a sedentary lifestyle. The main limitations of the study are the heterogeneity within the exercise protocols and the paucity of studies involving school-age children. More research is needed to confirm our findings also due to continuing technological progress.
Efficient Small-Batch Verification and Identification Scheme with Invalid Signatures in VANETs

Vehicular Ad hoc networks (VANETs) plays an important role in reducing casualties, optimizing traffic distribution and improving traffic efficiency. Nevertheless, with the rapid growth of vehicles, the existing VANETs computing capacity will not be able to guarantee the service quality due to inefficient signature verification and identification. In this paper a small-batch verification and identification scheme is presented to speed up the signature verification and the invalid signature identification. In the proposed scheme, according to the signature number and the historical signature error rate, we first build an optimization model, which transforms the problem how to divide a batch of signatures into several appropriate small-batches into an integer programming problem, and then stores the optimal batch solution table in roadside units (RSUs). Moreover, in view of the current task, RSU can automatically divide a batch of signatures into several appropriate small-batches. After then, any invalid signature in these small-batches can be quickly identified by using of the exponentiation method. Finally, by comparison with the existing schemes, the total time delay is reduced to 50% in optimal circumstances. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can achieve fast signature verification and invalid signature identification.
An Investigation on Synergism of an Intumescent Flame Retardant Based on Silica and Alumina

Silicon-based materials appear potentially to be attractive flame-retardants because of the protective coatings formed in fire, which decreases the rate of heat release. But few reports were presented about inorganic materials, such as SiO2, Al2O3, used as additive flame-retardants. In this paper the degradation process of the intumescent system, polypropylene (PP)/Ammonium Polyphosphate (APP)-Pentaerythritol (PER), with and without SiO2, Al2O3 or blend of SiO2 and Al2O3 was investigated by means of cone calorimetry, TGA, LOIs measured at ambient and elevated temperature (represented by a t and TI, respectively). For PP/APP-PER system with the blend of SiO2 and Al2O3 a maximal synergy was observed at the highest LOI of 35.5%, 17 units higher than the virgin PP. Its excellent flame-retardance was also evidenced by the highest residue char measured from TGA and parameters (MRL, PK-HRR, etc.) from Cone calorimetry.