Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
USERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE BRIGHTSPACE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

This study assesses users’ perceived usefulness (PU) - and perceived ease of use (PEU) - of the BrightSpace learning management system (LMS) by using data collected through campus mailing lists of a small rural college in the United States. The new LMS which was in the tenth month of usage has become a center piece for how courses, teaching and assignments are experienced by the students. Therefore the LMS is a core domain of interaction between instructors and the students. Although the PEU and PU ratings were observed to be below average, the frequency of the LMS usage suggests that it holds critical information and functionality for the student users.
Making reliable distributed systems in the presence of software errors

The work described in this thesis is the result of a research program started in 1981 to find better ways of programming Telecom applications. These applications are large programs which despite careful testing will probably contain many errors when the program is put into service. We assume that such programs do contain errors, and investigate methods for building reliable systems despite such errors. The research has resulted in the development of a new programming language (called Erlang), together with a design methodology, and set of libraries for building robust systems (called OTP). At the time of writing the technology described here is used in a number of major Ericsson, and Nortel products. A number of small companies have also been formed which exploit the technology. The central problem addressed by this thesis is the problem of constructing reliable systems from programs which may themselves contain errors. Constructing such systems imposes a number of requirements on any programming language that is to be used for the construction. I discuss these language requirements, and show how they are satisfied by Erlang. Problems can be solved in a programming language, or in the standard libraries which accompany the language. I argue how certain of the requirements necessary to build a fault-tolerant system are solved in the language, and others are solved in the standard libraries. Together these form a basis for building fault-tolerant software systems. No theory is complete without proof that the ideas work in practice. To demonstrate that these ideas work in practice I present a number of case studies of large commercially successful products which use this technology. At the time of writing the largest of these projects is a major Ericsson product, having over a million lines of Erlang code. This product (the AXD301) is thought to be one of the most reliable products ever made by Ericsson. Finally, I ask if the goal of finding better ways to program Telecom applications was fulfilled --- I also point to areas where I think the system could be improved.
An investigation of the action of Neutral Protamine Hagedorn human analogue insulin in dogs with naturally occurring diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND Neutral Protamine Hagedorn human analogue insulin (Humulin N) is commonly used for treatment of canine diabetes mellitus (DM). However, blood glucose and serum insulin concentrations in Humulin N-treated dogs with naturally occurring DM have not been reported. OBJECTIVE To investigate blood glucose and serum insulin concentrations in the clinical setting of client-owned Humulin N-treated dogs with naturally occurring, well-regulated DM. ANIMALS Ten client-owned dogs with naturally occurring, well-regulated DM. METHODS In this clinical study, blood glucose and serum insulin concentrations were measured when dogs received food and insulin (T(0)), at approximately every half hour for the next 2 hours, and then approximately every 2 hours for an additional 8 hours. Insulin duration of action was defined as the number of hours from T(0) to the lowest blood glucose concentration and until blood glucose concentration returned to an interpolated value of 70% of basal blood glucose concentration (Glucose(b)). RESULTS Mean percent of insulin-induced blood glucose suppression was 49.9 +/- 17.1% (median, 46%; range, 29-78%). Insulin duration of action ranged from 4 to 10 hours. Blood glucose concentration increased initially and returned to Glucose(b) within 0.6-2.2 hours after T(0) in 5 dogs. This initial blood glucose surge then was followed by blood glucose suppression in all 5 dogs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE These results suggest that Humulin N administered SC twice daily is an effective mode of treatment for dogs with naturally occurring DM. Postprandial hyperglycemia is present in some well-regulated diabetic dogs treated with Humulin N.
On the Convergence of Piecewise Linear Strategic Interaction Dynamics on Networks

We prove that the piecewise linear best-response dynamical systems of strategic interactions are asymptotically convergent to their set of equilibria on any weighted undirected graph. We study various features of these dynamical systems, including the uniqueness and abundance properties of the set of equilibria and the emergence of unstable equilibria. We also introduce the novel notions of social equivalence and social dominance on directed graphs, and demonstrate some of their interesting implications, including their correspondence to consensus and chromatic number of partite graphs. Examples illustrate our results.
Genotypic Analysis of Escherichia coli Strains from Poultry Carcasses and Their Susceptibilities to Antimicrobial Agents

ABSTRACT Plasmid profiling and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis were used to genotype 50 Escherichia coli strains from poultry carcasses. Thirty different plasmid profiles were evident, and clustering of the AFLP data showed that they were a distinctly heterogeneous group of strains. Susceptibility testing against five antimicrobial agents used in the South African poultry industry showed all strains to be susceptible to danofloxacin and colistin, while the majority (96%) were resistant to two tetracyclines.
Draft Genome Sequence of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. multiplex Strain Griffin-1 from Quercus rubra in Georgia

ABSTRACT The draft genome sequence of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. multiplex strain Griffin-1, isolated from a red oak tree (Quercus rubra) in Georgia, is reported here. The bacterium has a genome size of 2,387,314 bp, with a G+C content of 51.7%. The Griffin-1 strain genome contains 2,903 predicted open reading frames and 50 RNA genes.
Understanding Local Regulation of Hydro-Fracking: A Spatial Econometric Approach

Fracking is a controversial practice but is thriving in many areas. We combine a comprehensive data set on local bans and moratoria in the state of New York with local-level census data and spatial characteristics in a spatial econometric analysis of local fracking policies. Some factors, including location in the Utica shale, pro-portion of registered Democrats, and education level, increase the probability of restrictions on fracking. Extent of local land development, location in highly productive petroleum areas, and number of extant oil and gas wells are among factors that have a negative impact on the likelihood of a ban or moratorium.
Target Lock: robust real time adaptive visual tracker

Visual tracking is still an open problem because one needs to discriminate between the target object and background under long duration. There is a major problem with conventional adaptive tracking where the target object is incorrectly learnt (adapted) during runtime, resulting in poor performance of tracker. In this paper, we address this problem by proposing validation-update strategy to minimize the error of false patches updating. The classifier we use is based on boosted ensemble of Local Dominant Orientation (LDO). However, since LDO features contain binary values which are unsuitable for classification, we have added a process to the online boosting learning algorithm that permits the two binary values of "0" and "1". We elevate the tracker performance by pairing the classifier with normalized crosscorrelation of patches tracked by Lukas-Kanade tracker. In the experiment conducted, we compare our method with two other state-of-the-art adaptive trackers using BoBot dataset. Our method yields good tracking performance under variety of scenarios set by BoBot dataset.
Researching Statement Meng Wang As a network

As a network researcher, my goal is to develop theoretical frameworks for the control and optimization of large-scale engineering networks and explore the practical implications of such fundamental understanding. Motivated by concrete real-life applications, I pursue the underlying theoretical findings that can contribute to the fundamentals of networks and shed light on other practical applications in a general domain. First, I search for important practical problems in various networks that could benefit from strong theoretical support. Next, I develop a generalized problem and explore it from different angles. Finally, I extend the obtained theoretical results to other applications within the same mathematical framework. My thesis research centers on network tomography from the perspective of sparse recovery, where tools in networking, signal processing, communication, and optimization are leveraged. Among my contributions to this topic, I characterized fundamental limits of sparse recovery, and designed explicit measurement construction methods subject to network topological constraints. Also, I have been working on various optimization problems in different kinds of networks, including joint routing and congestion control of the Internet [2], bad data detection in power networks [8, 9], load management of data center networks [3], and distributed inference in wireless sensor networks [1].
Production of Bioactive Secondary Metabolites by Marine Vibrionaceae

Bacteria belonging to the Vibrionaceae family are widespread in the marine environment. Today, 128 species of vibrios are known. Several of them are infamous for their pathogenicity or symbiotic relationships. Despite their ability to interact with eukaryotes, the vibrios are greatly underexplored for their ability to produce bioactive secondary metabolites and studies have been limited to only a few species. Most of the compounds isolated from vibrios so far are non-ribosomal peptides or hybrids thereof, with examples of N-containing compounds produced independent of nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS). Though covering a limited chemical space, vibrios produce compounds with attractive biological activities, including antibacterial, anticancer, and antivirulence activities. This review highlights some of the most interesting structures from this group of bacteria. Many compounds found in vibrios have also been isolated from other distantly related bacteria. This cosmopolitan occurrence of metabolites indicates a high incidence of horizontal gene transfer, which raises interesting questions concerning the ecological function of some of these molecules. This account underlines the pending potential for exploring new bacterial sources of bioactive compounds and the challenges related to their investigation.
IMECE 2002-33414 REPETITIVE CONTROL FOR LINEAR TIME VARYING SYSTEMS

Repetitive control that asymptotically tracks or rejects periodic signals has been widely used in many applications. For linear time invariant system, this problem has been thoroughly studied and solved. This paper presents the analysis and synthesis of repetitive control algorithms to track or reject periodic signals for linear time varying systems. Both continuous and discrete time domain results will be presented. A time varying internal model is embedded in the feedback loop to ensure asymptotic performance. It is shown that asymptotic performance can’t be achieved with a finite dimensional controller in the continuous time domain, while it is possible in the discrete time domain. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.
Employee empowerment in a technology advanced work environment

– The purpose of this paper is to elicit the determinants of information technology (IT) professional work change and investigates the impact of such changes on IT professionals. Specifically, this paper investigates the effect of work redesign on two personal outcomes: self‐perceived psychological empowerment and organizational commitment. , – An empirical study is conducted in the field of high‐tech industrial organizations in Taiwan. Data collected from 40 technological companies, located in the Taipei and Hsinchu Science Parks (n=428), are analyzed using structural equation modeling. , – The results confirm that both work redesign and empowerment generate positive and direct influence on employees' commitment. Specially, the effect of work redesign is amplified on employee commitment through the implementation of employee empowerment. , – The conceptual structural equation model provides useful information for managers to improve employees' commitment towards their work and the organizations through the proper employee empowerment policies. , – As technology continues to change at a rapid pace, IT professionals are required to adapt to new tasks and enhanced roles. The paper demonstrates how work redesign indirectly but positively influences employees' work commitment and illustrates the mediate effect of employee empowerment on employee commitment.
Agressão e vitimação entre adolescentes, em contexto escolar: Um estudo empírico

Este estudo apresenta dados que permitem conhecer a frequencia de varios tipos de condutas de agressao e vitimacao – fisico, verbal e indirecto ou relacional – ocorridos entre adolescentes que frequentavam as escolas basicas 2/3 e as escolas secundarias do ensino oficial de uma cidade do Norte Alentejo. O estudo compara a frequencia dos tipos de agressao/vitimacao ( bullying ) que ocorrem entre generos; entre tres niveis de escolaridade e entre tres niveis socioeconomicos com base nos resultados obtidos a partir de um questionario de comportamentos referidos pelo proprio ( self-report ). Os resultados obtidos sao ainda comparados com os resultados obtidos por outros estudos europeus sobre este tema.
Causative agents, diseases, epidemiology and diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are caused by more than 30 species; the organisms with the highest frequency and clinical importance are Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Treponema pallidum, Mycoplasma genitalium, the hepatitis B and C viruses, the human immunodeficiency virus, th
Applying change management approach to guide the implementation of technology roadmapping (TRM)

To strive for sustainability under todaypsilas intense business competition, organizations apply technology roadmapping (TRM) as a strategic planning tool to integrate their business and technology strategies. Many organizations implement TRM as an ongoing effort. In that case, organizations need to assure that all activities related to TRM implementation are seamlessly integrated with other existing business processes. The consequences of TRM implementation can possibly lead to some changes in the business process, organization structure, or even working culture. Applying change management approach will help organizations to understand the basic elements which an individual needs so that some challenges can be addressed in advance before adopting the technology roadmapping process. This paper proposes a practical guideline to implement technology roadmapping by applying the concept of change management approach. A case example is also included in this paper to present how the subject organization applied change management approach to overcome challenges and limitations occurring during TRM implementation process. The contribution of this paper is to enrich the existing body of knowledge of technology roadmapping with a practical framework to guide practitioners, whom plan to implement TRM processes in their organizations.
Entwicklung und Bewertung eines Rapid-prototyping-Ansatzes zur multimodalen Mensch-Maschine-Interaktion im Kraftfahrzeug

Basierend auf einer Analyse der Anforderungen liefert die vorliegende Arbeit einen Beitrag zur Entwicklung des theoretischen Fundaments fur Werkzeuge zur prototypischen Realisierung multimodaler Bedienkonzepte. Als Grundlage dienen dabei eine kontextfreie und damit allgemein anwendbare Modellierung der Modalitaten sowie eine an die Problemstellung angepasste formale Reprasentation des Bediendialogs. Darauf aufbauend werden Masnahmen beschrieben, mit denen bereits im Spezifikationsprozess die Benutzbarkeit wahrend der Fahrt sichergestellt werden kann. Daneben wird eine universell einsetzbare Heuristik zur Ausfuhrung des Dialogs entwickelt. Auf Grundlage des dabei entstandenen Werkzeugs wird ein Nutzertest durchgefuhrt. Dieser zeigt, dass die vorgeschlagenen Konzepte gut geeignet und fur Entwickler sehr verstandlich sind.
The noise properties of 42 millisecond pulsars from the European Pulsar Timing Array and their impact on gravitational wave searches

The sensitivity of Pulsar Timing Arrays to gravitational waves (GWs) depends on the noise present in the individual pulsar timing data. Noise may be either intrinsic or extrinsic to the pulsar. Intrinsic sources of noise will include rotational instabilities, for example. Extrinsic sources of noise include contributions from physical processes which are not sufficiently well modelled, for example, dispersion and scattering effects, analysis errors and instrumental instabilities. We present the results from a noise analysis for 42 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) observed with the European Pulsar Timing Array. For characterizing the low-frequency, stochastic and achromatic noise component, or ‘timing noise’, we employ two methods, based on Bayesian and frequentist statistics. For 25 MSPs, we achieve statistically significant measurements of their timing noise parameters and find that the two methods give consistent results. For the remaining 17 MSPs, we place upper limits on the timing noise amplitude at the 95 per cent confidence level. We additionally place an upper limit on the contribution to the pulsar noise budget from errors in the reference terrestrial time standards (below 1 per cent), and we find evidence for a noise component which is present only in the data of one of the four used telescopes. Finally, we estimate that the timing noise of individual pulsars reduces the sensitivity of this data set to an isotropic, stochastic GW background by a factor of >9.1 and by a factor of >2.3 for continuous GWs from resolvable, inspiralling supermassive black hole binaries with circular orbits.
Radiopropagation Simulations in 28 GHz, 38 GHz and 60 GHz with 128 Elements Massive MIMO Array for 5G Networks

This paper presents radiopropagation results simulations in 28 GHz, 38 GHz and 60 GHz with 128 elements massive MIMO array operating at an outdoor urban area located in the historic downtown of Bogotá D. C. city (Colombia). ICS Telecom EV software on high resolution digital cartography is used to perform the basic coverage analysis, SNIR (Signal to Noise and Interference Radio) coverage analysis and throughput coverage analysis and simulation parameters proposed for the 5G networks also are used. Massive MIMO multiantenna systems hope to be incorporated in the next fifth generation networks as one of the technologies that will support the high demand of mobile services through wide bandwidths in millimeter wave frequencies (mmWaves). Results denoted radiopropagation behavior of 128 elements in each one mmwaves frequencies analyzed and performance in 5G networks design.
Adsorption of Xylan onto Cellulose Fibers Pretreated with Cationic Polyelectrolyte and Its Effect on Paper Properties

Xylan is known as a strength-enhancing agent for paper. However, it is difficult to adsorb xylan onto cellulose fibers because it carries the same negative charge as fibers. Therefore, either cationization of xylan or addition of cationic polyelectrolyte is required to maximize the effect of xylan use. In this study, cationic polyelectrolyte was used to promote xylan adsorption onto cellulose fiber. The effect of the polyelectrolyte type on the successive adsorption of xylan and its influence on paper properties was examined. The mechanism for improving paper strength by xylan adsorption on polyelectrolyte pre-formed layers was investigated through the viscoelastic properties of the preformed layers on model cellulose films using Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D). Both tensile and tear indices of paper were improved with the adsorption of xylan onto pulp fibers. It was suggested that the adsorbed xylan onto the polyelectrolyte preformed layer formed a complex layer that gave rise to a large contact area between xylan and fiber. The increase in the physical strength of paper depended on the structure of the polyelectrolyte-xylan layers. Highly charged cationic polyelectrolytes that form a flat adsorption layer gave a relatively lower increase in physical properties. On the other hand, thicker and more viscous adsorbed layers improved paper strength significantly.
Direct Interval Forecasting of Wind Power

This letter proposes a novel approach to directly formulate the prediction intervals of wind power generation based on extreme learning machine and particle swarm optimization, where prediction intervals are generated through direct optimization of both the coverage probability and sharpness, without the prior knowledge of forecasting errors. The proposed approach has been proved to be highly efficient and reliable through preliminary case studies using real-world wind farm data, indicating a high potential of practical application.
Radioisotope Scanning of the Nervous System. Reasons for Scanning

promises to be a very good scanner. On the other hand the Nuclear Chicago gamma cameras are recommended throughout North America and Europe and this model lives up to their reputation. Unfortunately in our limited series we could not assess it with regard to the posterior fossa but Pedersen claimed that it detected 3 out of 5 lesions in his series. An important practical point is that, if ill patients were brought to the department lying in their beds, they could be examined by both instruments without moving them from their beds. Only the gamma camera will perform dynamic and sequential studies. A four-view examination can be done on the Picker Magnascanner in 60 minutes, on the J & P scanner in 40 minutes and on the Nuclear Chicago gamma camera in 32 minutes. However, on an ill patient the camera could do one view in If minutes with slight loss of resolution, whereas the J & P scanner would take 15-20 minutes. Finally, the basic cost of a J & P scanner is £15 000 whilst the Nuclear Chicago gamma camera costs £19 500, the extra money buying a high work capacity, speed, versatility and dynamic and sequential studies. REFERENCES Burrows EH (1973) British Journal ofRadiology 46, 77 Griep R J, WiseG & Marty R (1970) Radiology 97, 311 Handa J, Nabeshima S, Handa M, Hamamoto K, KousakaT & TorizukaK (1969) American Journal ofRoentgenology 106, 708 KeelingDH (1971) Proceedings ofthe Royal Society ofMedicine 64, 340 Kuhl D E & SandersT P (1971) Radiology 98, 317 McCready VR (1969) In: Erstes Heidelberger Symposium uber Kameraszintigraphie. Institut fur Nuklearmedizin des Deutschen Krebsforschungszentrums und Universitats-Strahlenklinik. Heidelberg; p 177 Morczek A, Abraham K, Otto H J, Koch RD & Parnitzke K H (1969) Radiobiologia, radiotherapia (Berlin) 10, 95 PedersenM & HaaseJ (1970) Acta Radiologica (Stockholm) 10, 534 Penning L, Front D & BeekhuisH (1971) Journal ofthe Neurological Sciences 14, 1 Pexman JHW (1973) Bio-medical Engineering 8, 16 Pexman J HW& Woolley J L (1973) awaiting publication Rogers RT (1972) Hospital Radioisotope Imaging Equipment and Techniques. DHSS Supply Division, Scientific and Technical Branch. London; p 5 Rosenthal L (1968) Radiology 91, 1185 Stalder A, Kinser J, R6sler H, Schnaars P & Huber P (1972) Neuroradiology 3, 137 Van Eck J HM & Penning L (1970) Neuroradiology 1, 107