Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Developing a Formative Evaluation Instrument forcusing on Students' interactive and cooperative Behaviors in Physical Education Class

A new formative evaluation instrument focusing on students' interactive and cooperative behaviors in physical education class was developed. Three hundred and sixty-four Japanese elementary students in the sixth grade participating in 12 PE classes answered to questionnaire consisting of 30 items with 3-point intensity scale. Item analysis canceled 9 items and factor analysis of 21 items based on promax rotation revealed 5 factors, which were named Cooperative achievement, Cooperative thinking, Positive interaction with teammates, Human relationship in the group, and Motive for cooperative activities. This scale was condensed into 10 items typical of each factor by an applicable selection and had similarr factorial simple structure with consistent reliability (alpha=.75). We could confirm that the average score of this scale had increased through out a “Karada-Hogushi no Undo” unit including six sessions in the sixth grade's PE class (Repeated Measures ANOVA; p<.05) and agreed with “task appropriateness” for students. This scale may be viewed as an useful instrument for assessment and improvement of PE class intending students to interact with one another.
Encoded Exposure to Tobacco Use in Social Media Predicts Subsequent Smoking Behavior

Purpose. Assessing the potential link between smoking behavior and exposure to mass media depictions of smoking on social networking Web sites. Design. A representative longitudinal panel of 200 young adults in Connecticut. Setting. Telephone surveys were conducted by using computer assisted telephone interviewing technology and electronic dialing for random digit dialing and listed samples. Subjects. Connecticut residents aged 18 to 24 years. Measures. To measure encoded exposure, respondents were asked whether or not they had smoked a cigarette in the past 30 days and about how often they had seen tobacco use on television, in movies, and in social media content. Respondents were also asked about cigarette use in the past 30 days, and a series of additional questions that have been shown to be predictive of tobacco use. Analysis. Logistic regression was used to test for our main prediction that reported exposure to social media tobacco depictions at time 1 would influence time 2 smoking behavior. Results. Encoded exposure to social media tobacco depictions (B = .47, p < .05) was a significant predictor of time 2 smoking, even after controlling for all the aforementioned predictors. Conclusion. Our results suggest that social media depictions of tobacco use predict future smoking tendency, over and above the influence of TV and movie depictions of smoking. This is the first known study to specifically assess the role of social media in informing tobacco behavior.
Using self-referencing to explain the effectiveness of ethnic minority models in advertising

Advertising research has generally not gone beyond offering support for a positive effect where ethnic models in advertising are viewed by consumers of the same ethnicity. This study offers an explanation behind this phenomenon that can be useful to marketers using self-reference theory. Our experiment reveals a strong self-referencing effect for ethnic minority individuals. Specifically, Asian subjects (the ethnic minority group) self-referenced ads with Asian models more than white subjects (the ethnic majority group). However, this result was not evident for white subjects. Implications for academics and advertisers are discussed.
Performance Analysis of Space Shift Keying Modulation With Imperfect Estimation in the Presence of Co-Channel Interference

In this letter, the performance of space shift keying (SSK) modulation for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems with imperfect channel knowledge and in the presence of co-channel interference (CCI) and Rayleigh fading is investigated. In particular, closed-form expressions of the average bit error probability (ABEP) for an arbitrary number of transmit antennas are obtained. To gain further insight on the system performance, simple asymptotic expressions of the ABEP for high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) are computed, which provide information on the achievable diversity order and coding gain. Numerical results are shown to substantiate mathematical frameworks and findings.
Coexistence Analysis of H2H and M2M Traffic in FiWi Smart Grid Communications Infrastructures Based on Multi-Tier Business Models

In this paper, we study the performance of multi-tier integrated fiber-wireless (FiWi) smart grid communications infrastructures based on low cost, simple, and reliable next-generation passive optical network (PON) with quality-of-service (QoS) enabled wireless local area networks (WLANs) in terms of capacity, latency, and reliability. We study the coexistence of human-to-human (H2H), e.g., triple-play traffic and machine-to-machine (M2M) traffic originating from wireless sensors operating on a wide range of possible configurations. Our analysis enables the quantification of the maximum achievable data rates of both event- and time-driven wireless sensors without violating given upper delay limits of H2H traffic. By using experimental measurements of real-world smart grid applications, we investigate the impact of variable H2H traffic loads on the sensor end-to-end delay performance. The obtained results show that a conventional Ethernet PON may cause a bottleneck and increase the delay for both H2H and M2M traffic. In contrast, by using a 10 G-EPON or wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) PON, the bottleneck arises in the wireless network. Furthermore, we study the interplay between time- and event-driven nodes and show that the theoretical upper bound of time-driven sensors decreases linearly as a function of the number of sensors, whereas with event-driven sensors, the upper bound decrease is nonlinear and more pronounced.
An open control platform for reconfigurable, distributed, hierarchical control systems

Complex control systems for autonomous vehicles require integrating new control algorithms with a variety of different component technologies and resources. These components are often supported on different types of hardware platforms and operating systems and often must interact in a distributed environment (e.g., in communication with a groundstation, mothership, or other UAVs in a swarm). At the same time, the configuration and integration of components must be flexible enough to allow rapid online reconfiguration and adaptation to react to environmental changes and respond to unpredictable events during flight, such as avoiding a moving obstacle or recovering from vehicle equipment failures. This paper describes an open software architecture, called the open control platform, for integrating control technologies and resources. The specific driving application is supporting autonomous control of VTOL uninhabited autonomous vehicles.
Biodegradable and Renal Clearable Inorganic Nanoparticles

Personalized treatment plans for cancer therapy have been at the forefront of oncology research for many years. With the advent of many novel nanoplatforms, this goal is closer to realization today than ever before. Inorganic nanoparticles hold immense potential in the field of nano‐oncology, but have considerable toxicity concerns that have limited their translation to date. In this review, an overview of emerging biologically safe inorganic nanoplatforms is provided, along with considerations of the challenges that need to be overcome for cancer theranostics with inorganic nanoparticles to become a reality. The clinical and preclinical studies of both biodegradable and renal clearable inorganic nanoparticles are discussed, along with their implications.
Weighted kernel functions for SVM learning in string domains: a distance function viewpoint

This paper extends the idea of weighted distance functions to kernels and support vector machines. Here, we focus on applications that rely on sliding a window over a sequence of string data. For this type of problems it is argued that a symbolic, context-based representation of the data should be preferred over a continuous, real format as this is a much more intuitive setting for working with (weighted) distance functions. It is shown how a weighted string distance can be decomposed and subsequently used in different kernel functions and how these kernel functions correspond to inner products between real vectors. As a case-study named entity recognition is used with information gain ratio as a weighting scheme.
HELIUM-IGNITED VIOLENT MERGERS AS A UNIFIED MODEL FOR NORMAL AND RAPIDLY DECLINING TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE

The progenitors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are still unknown, despite significant progress during the past several years in theory and observations. Violent mergers of two carbon–oxygen (CO) white dwarfs (WDs) are a candidate scenario suggested to be responsible for at least a significant fraction of normal SNe Ia. Here, we simulate the merger of two CO WDs using a moving-mesh code that allows for the inclusion of thin helium (He) shells (0.01 M☉) on top of the WDs at an unprecedented numerical resolution. The accretion of He onto the primary WD leads to the formation of a detonation in its He shell. This detonation propagates around the CO WD and sends a converging shock wave into its core, known to robustly trigger a second detonation, as in the well-known double-detonation scenario for He-accreting CO WDs. However, in contrast to that scenario where a massive He shell is required to form a detonation through thermal instability, here the He detonation is ignited dynamically. Accordingly the required He-shell mass is significantly smaller, and hence its burning products are unlikely to affect the optical display of the explosion. We show that this scenario, which works for CO primary WDs with CO- as well as He-WD companions, has the potential to explain the different brightness distributions, delay times, and relative rates of normal and fast declining SNe Ia. Finally, we discuss extensions to our unified merger model needed to obtain a comprehensive picture of the full observed diversity of SNe Ia.
PSST… privacy, safety, security, and trust in health information websites

Various newsworthy incidents typically include breaches of security, invasion of privacy, and harm caused by false information. In the e-health domain, there has been a lot of focus on ethical issues when dealing with electronic health records (EHRs) and patient medical records (PMRs). However, equally important are the myriad of health information websites that are being used to formally or informally get medical advice online. This study surveys related work on three popular and pertinent issues in health information websites: privacy, security, and trust. Our contributions include a succinct survey of different categories of popular health information websites (WebMD.com, MayoClinic.com, KidsHealth.org, PatientsLikeMe. com) to gauge existing methods for handling these issues. Moreover, an agenda is proposed for understanding the three issues orthogonally via access control. Other outcomes of the study include recommendations for open problems identified in health websites, including the need for fine-grained privacy, security and trust controls.
On the Dimensions of Bureaucratic Structure: An Empirical Reappraisal

1 An earlier version of this article was presented at the Eastern Academy of Management Meetings in Philadelphia, May 1973. The author is grateful to Professor Anant Negandhi for his help and encouragement. The results of a comparative study of 19 United States manufacturing organizations using the Aston group's four abbreviated structural scales and seven other measures support the concept of a multidimensional bureaucratic structure space. Factor and cluster analyses yielded three independent dimensions of decentralization, specialization, and formalization. The results are interpreted to suggest not only that a multidimensional model of bureaucracy is superior to the unidimensional Weberian one, but that the dimensionality of the bureaucratic structure space may be a function of the socio-cultural environment of the organization unit being examined. The results imply that bureaucratic structure may conform to the equifinality principle, in that a variety of structural arrangements appear to be equally viable strategies for the various sample organizations. '
Changes in the Heart Rate Variability in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Its Response to Acute CPAP Treatment

Introduction Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The goal of this study was to demonstrate whether the use of CPAP produces significant changes in the heart rate or in the heart rate variability of patients with OSA in the first night of treatment and whether gender and obesity play a role in these differences. Methods Single-center transversal study including patients with severe OSA corrected with CPAP. Only patients with total correction after CPAP were included. Patients underwent two sleep studies on consecutive nights: the first night a basal study, and the second with CPAP. We also analyzed the heart rate changes and their relationship with CPAP treatment, sleep stages, sex and body mass index. Twenty-minute segments of the ECG were selected from the sleep periods of REM, no-REM and awake. Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were studied by comparing the R-R interval in the different conditions. We also compared samples from the basal study and CPAP nights. Results 39 patients (15 females, 24 males) were studied. The mean age was 50.67 years old, the mean AHI was 48.54, and mean body mass index was 33.41 kg/m2 (31.83 males, 35.95 females). Our results showed that HRV (SDNN) decreased after the use of CPAP during the first night of treatment, especially in non-REM sleep. Gender and obesity did not have any influence on our results. Conclusions These findings support that cardiac variability improves as an acute effect, independently of gender or weight, in the first night of CPAP use in severe OSA patients, supporting the idea of continuous use and emphasizing that noncompliance of CPAP treatment should be avoided even if it is just once.
A Neural-Network-Identifier and Fuzzy-Controller-Based Algorithm for Dynamic Decoupling Control of Permanent-Magnet Spherical Motor

This paper proposes a dynamic model of permanent-magnet spherical motor (PMSM) and puts forward a dynamic decoupling control algorithm of the motor, using fuzzy controllers (FCs) and a neural network identifier (NNI). PMSM is a multivariable nonlinear system with strong interaxis couplings. A computed torque method structure is applied to PMSM. There are such uncertainties as estimated errors of the model and external perturbations, which may influence the precision of the control system. A back-propagation algorithm with additional momentum term and self-adaptive learning rate applied to feed-forward neural network can approach nonlinear functions with a learning rate adjusted online, which helps to improve training speed. In this paper, an NNI is applied to identify the uncertainties online. An adaptive-neuro-fuzzy-inference-system-based FC is applied, which has self-adaptive ability and strong robustness. Simulation results preliminarily validate that the algorithm proposed in this paper can eliminate the influences of interaxis nonlinear couplings effectively to actualize dynamic decoupling control. Furthermore, the static and dynamic performances of the control system have been improved greatly with strong robustness to uncertainties. A hypothetical microprocessor system is proposed, and simple experiments of spinning operation are carried out as a foundation for further study.
An MIMO-MTI approach for through-the-wall radar imaging applications

In this paper, we apply Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) configurations to Moving Target Identification (MTI) for urban sensing using radars. In particular, we consider MIMO-MTI formulations for detecting slow-moving personnel inside enclosed structures and behind walls. Using signal multiplexing from two transmitters and several receiver positions, it is shown that the virtual array (co-array) implementing MIMO schemes, applied to stepped-frequency radars, permit improvement in image resolution of moving targets. Laboratory experiments are conducted to validate the proposed approach with targets walking behind walls.
In vitro platforms for tissue engineering: implications for basic research and clinical translation

Clinical translation of engineered tissues into regenerative medicine applications, and the effort to reduce the use of animals for the screening of drugs and other compounds, result in an increasing demand for human tissues engineered in vitro for implantation, in vitro screening systems and basic research. Further development and optimization of in vitro models for quantitative studies of biophysical stimulation and mass transport in engineered tissues is seen as one of the high research priorities. A recent international symposium held in The Netherlands discussed the state of the art and key challenges in the development of bioreactor platforms and microscale technologies. Here we summarize the current status and future development of in vitro tissue models, based on the findings presented at this symposium. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Modeling of Wide-Bandgap Power Semiconductor Devices—Part II

Compact models of wide-bandgap power devices are necessary to analyze and evaluate their impact on circuit and system performance. Part I reviewed compact models for silicon carbide (SiC) power diodes and MOSFETs. Part II completes the review of SiC devices and covers gallium nitride devices as well.
The Longitudinal Examination of Body Mass Index and Internalizing Symptoms among Canadian Adolescents

Child and adolescent overweight and obesity issues are a rising concern. The mental health correlates of weight issues for youth are gaining recognition within the literature. However, the cross-sectional literature indicates that the relationship between weight and mental health problems is unclear. Further, few longitudinal studies have been completed to date. Thus, the overarching goal of the present dissertation was to examine longitudinally the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and internalizing symptoms among Canadian youth (ages 10-17, N = 6,987, 50.6% boys) using Statistics Canada’s National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), cycles 4 to 8. In order to achieve the abovementioned goal, the dissertation is presented as two distinct studies. Given differences in the availability of measures based on age group, developmental trajectories were mapped from ages 10 to 15 and follow-up measures were analyzed for ages 16 and 17. The first study focused on the relationship between the developmental trajectories of BMI and internalizing symptoms. This objective was achieved through a parallelprocess growth curve analysis, whereby the latent variables (i.e., intercept, slope, and quadratic) of the growth curves of BMI and internalizing symptoms were regressed on one another to examine the relationships over time. Results indicated that there were gender differences in trajectories and in the relationships among trajectories. More specifically, the shape of the BMI trajectory among girls (i.e., linear) and boys (i.e., quadratic) differed, possibly reflecting gender differences in pubertal timing. Regarding the parallel-process analysis, among boys, factors of the BMI trajectory predicted
A Balanced SLNR-Based Tomlinson-Harashima Precoder for Downlink MU-MIMO Systems

The signal-to-leakage-and-noise ratio (SLNR) based precoding is a promising linear precoding scheme in multiuser (MU) downlink multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) communications. It gains its popularity recently as it nicely decouples the design problem and allows for a closed-form solution. In this paper, we extend the idea to nonlinear precoding and propose a closed-form SLNR- based Tomlinson-Harashima precoder. The proposed design is derived from a more general form of the simultaneous diagonalization conditions, allowing the the effective SINR among received streams of the same user to be more balanced. A new user-ordering algorithm is also developed for the proposed design based on the max-min SINR criterion to further improve the average error rate performance and the fairness among users. The performance advantages of the proposed design are quantified through extensive computer simulations.
Vehicle Detection and Tracking using the Optical Flow and Background Subtraction

Motion tracking is one of the most active research titles in computer vision field. motion information is very useful for traffic surveillance system. This paper aims to Detect and track the vehicle from the video frame sequence. It also compares the two different approaches to estimate the vehicles velocity. The designed system has the ability to be extended to another related traffic application. This research uses image processing to estimate car speed. The vehicle motion is detected and tracked along the frames using Optical Flow Algorithm and Background Subtraction technique. The distance traveled by the vehicle is calculated using the movement of the centroid over the frames and the speed of the vehicle is estimated. Many proposed motion tracking techniques are based on template matching, blob tracking and contour tracking. A famous motion tracking and estimation technique, optical flow, however, is not being widely used and tested for the practicability on traffic surveillance system. Thus, to analyze the reliability and practicability of it, this research project proposed the idea of implementing optical flow in traffic surveillance system, and will evaluate its performance. The results of tracking using optical flow is proving that optical flow is a great technique to track the motion of moving object, and has great potential to implement it into traffic surveillance system.
DRAGON: Detection and Tracking of Dynamic Amorphous Events in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks may be deployed in many applications to detect and track events of interest. Events can be either point events with an exact location and constant shape, or region events which cover a large area and have dynamic shapes. While both types of events have received attention, no event detection and tracking protocol in existing wireless sensor network research is able to identify and track region events with dynamic identities, which arise when events are created or destroyed through splitting and merging. In this paper, we propose DRAGON, an event detection and tracking protocol which is able to handle all types of events including region events with dynamic identities. DRAGON employs two physics metaphors: event center of mass, to give an approximate location to the event; and node momentum, to guide the detection of event merges and splits. Both detailed theoretical analysis and extensive performance studies of DRAGON's properties demonstrate that DRAGON's execution is distributed among the sensor nodes, has low latency, is energy efficient, is able to run on a wide array of physical deployments, and has performance which scales well with event size, speed, and count.
Observer synthesis in the behavioral approach

Analyzes the observer design problem in the behavioral context. Observability and detectability notions are first introduced and fully characterized. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of an observer, possibly an asymptotic or an exact one, are introduced, and a complete parameterization of all admissible observers is given. The problem of obtaining observers endowed with a (strictly) proper transfer matrix and the design of observer-based controllers are later addressed and solved. Finally, the above issues are particularized to the case of state-space systems, thus showing they naturally generalize well-known theorems of traditional system theory.