Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prototyping in PLACE: a scalable approach to developing location-based apps and games

The rising popularity of location-based applications and games (LBAGs) that break spatial, temporal, and social boundaries creates new challenges for designers. This paper introduces PLACE, an iterative, mixed-fidelity approach to Prototyping Location, Activities, Collective experience, and Experience over time in LBAGs. PLACE consists of 6 design principles: start small and scale up the fidelity, treat participants as co-designers, test in a representative space, focus on activities more than interfaces, respect authentic social experience, and represent time authentically. The effectiveness of PLACE was evaluated by prototyping Floracaching, a geocaching game for citizen science. This revealed the types of insights that PLACE provides, best practices for implementing PLACE, and how PLACE com-pares to other prototyping methods.
Shoulder motion analysis using simultaneous skin shape registration

A new non-invasive approach is proposed to study joint motions. It is based on dynamic tracking of the skin shape. A robust simultaneous registration algorithm (iterative median closest point) is used to follow the evolving shape and compute the rigid motion of the underlying bone structures. This new method relies on the differentiation of the rigid and elastic parts of the shape motion. A skin marker network is tracked by a set of infrared cameras. Unlike usual techniques, the algorithm tracks the instantaneous polyhedral shape embedding this network. This innovating approach is expected to minimize bias effect of skin sweeps and give some new information about the underlying soft tissue activities. Current application addresses the motion of the shoulder complex (humerus, clavicle and scapula). It is compared with two marker-based methods published in the literature. Preliminary results show significant differences between these three approaches. The new approach measurements give rise to greater rotations.
A parallel algorithm for finding a separator in planar graphs

We present a randomized parallel algorithm for finding a simple cycle separator in a planar graph. The size of the separator is O(√n) and it separates the graph so that the largest part contains at most 2/8 ¿ n vertices. Our algorithm takes T = O(log2(n)) time and P = O(n + f1+ε) processors, where n is the number of vertices, f is the number of faces and ε is any positive constant. The algorithm is based on the solution of Lipton and Tarjan [8] for the sequential case which takes O(n) time. Combining our algorithm with the Pan and Reif [12] algorithm, enables us to find a BFS of planar graph in time O(log3(n)) using n1.5/log(n) processors. Using a variation of our algorithm we can construct a simple cycle separator of size O(d ¿ √f) were d is maximum face size.
Efficient cloth model and collisions detection for dressing virtual people

This paper describes a fast technique for dressing virtual humans with different pieces of clothing. It exploits a mass-spring cloth model but applies a new velocity modification approach to overcome its super-elasticity. The algorithm for cloth-body collision detection and response is based on image-space interference tests, unlike most of the existing ones, which use objectspace checks. The modern workstations’ graphics hardware is used not only to compute the depth maps of the body contours but also to interpolate the body normal vectors. As a result the approach is very fast and makes it possible to sew a garment around a virtual human body in about a second.
The Effects of Early Child Care Teachers' Communication Competence, Interpersonal Competence and Teacher Self-efficacy to Enlist Parental Involvement on Parent-Teacher Partnerships

This study examined the characteristics of early child care teachers and the ways this influences their abilities to promote the parent-teacher partnerships. 266 early child care teachers participated in this study. Parent-teacher partnerships, communication competence, interpersonal competence, and teacher efficacy in enlisting parental involvement were measured by means of The Caregiver-Parent Partnership Scale, Global Interpersonal Communication Competence Scale, Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire and selected elements of the Teacher Self-efficacy Scale. The results indicated that parent-teacher partnerships were significantly different in terms of the characteristics of teachers. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that the communication competence, interpersonal competence, and teacher self-efficacy significantly predicted the type and quality of parent-teacher partnerships. In conclusion, improving the effectiveness of parent-teacher partnerships seems heavily dependent upon the quality and personal abilities an beliefs of early child care teachers.
Identifying and Understanding Self-Checksumming Defenses in Software

Software self-checksumming is widely used as an anti-tampering mechanism for protecting intellectual property and deterring piracy. This makes it important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches to self-checksumming. This paper describes a dynamic information-flow-based attack that aims to identify and understand self-checksumming behavior in software. Our approach is applicable to a wide class of self chesumming defenses and the information obtained can be used to determine how the checksumming defenses may be bypassed. Experiments using a prototype implementation of our ideas indicate that our approach can successfully identify self-checksumming behavior in (our implementations of) proposals from the research literature.
Work in Progress Toward a New Paradigm for the Sociological Study of Religion in the United States

This article reviews recent literature on U.S. religious institutions and argues that a new paradigm is emerging in that field, the crux of which is that organized religion thrives in the United States in an open market system, an observation anomalous to the older paradigm's monopoly concept. The article has six sections: first, a brief survey of the paradigm crisis; second, a development of the concept of an open market in the historiography and sociology of U.S. religion; third, fourth, and fifth, arguments that U.S. religious institutions are constitutively pluralistic, structurally adaptable, and empowering; sixth, a consideration of recent religious individualism in the light of the new paradigm. A conclusion sketches some research implications.
Optimizing Skip-Stop Rail Transit Stopping Strategy using a Genetic Algorithm

With skip-stop rail transit operation, transit agencies can reduce their operating costs and fleet size and passengers can experience reduced in-transit travel times without extra track and technological improvement. However, since skip-stop operation does not serve all stations, passengers for certain origins-destinations could experience increased access time, waiting time, total travel time, and/or transfer. Only when the stopping and skipping stations are carefully coordinated can skipstop service benefit passengers and transit agencies. This research developed a mathematical model using a Genetic Algorithm that coordinated the stopping and skipping stations for skip-stop rail operation. Using the flexibility of a Genetic Algorithm, this model included many realistic conditions, such as different access modes, different stopping scenarios, different collision constraints, and different objective functions. Passengers were put into three types and nine groups depending on their origin-destination pairs and the station and transfer choices. Four types of collision constraints were developed depending on the skipstop strategy. For this research, Seoul Metro system Line No. 4 was used as an example. With skipstop operation, total travel time became about 17-20 percent shorter than with original all-stop operation, depending on the stopping constraints. In-vehicle travel time became about 20-26 percent shorter due to skipping stations, although waiting, transfer, and additional access times increased by 24-38 percent.
Geometry-based uplink channel reuse in cellular D2D underlays

Device-to-Device (D2D) communications are promising technologies to improve the spectrum efficiency, network throughput, and transmission latency for short-range communications in underlaid cellular networks. In this paper, we investigate the resource allocation for multiple D2D pairs in underlaid cellular networks. By utilizing the Power Emission Density-based interference modeling method, the impact of the accumulated interference generated from multiple D2D pairs reusing the same cellular user radio resource is carefully studied. With these analytical results, the cell area is divided into multiple non-overlapped rings, wherein D2D pairs communicating with the same radio resource but located in different rings will not influence each other's reception. Based on the division, the resource allocation can be simultaneously conducted with a newly proposed scheme in different rings, which considerably shrinks the reusing candidate set and reduces the computation complexity. Intensive simulations verify our analytical results and show that the proposed scheme can greatly enhance the performance of the resource allocation.
Retrieval of Single Wikipedia Articles While Reading Abstracts

When reading online, users sometimes need auxiliary information to complement or fill in their own background knowledge in order to better understand a document that they are reading. We believe that delivering this information in the least intrusive fashion possible will improve their understanding. We have prototyped a system that selects a single Wikipedia article for users when they highlight text in an abstract. This prototype employs a contextual retrieval algorithm developed for high precision retrieval of Wikipedia articles that uses the terms in the abstract, currently being read, as a context for the search. The results from our evaluation reveal that the top-performing algorithm is able to respond with a single relevant article 77% of the time. The user study that we conducted indicates that participants have a strong preference for this approach to searching while reading.
Single-Cell Growth Rates in Photoautotrophic Populations Measured by Stable Isotope Probing and Resonance Raman Microspectrometry

A new method to measure growth rates of individual photoautotrophic cells by combining stable isotope probing (SIP) and single-cell resonance Raman microspectrometry is introduced. This report explores optimal experimental design and the theoretical underpinnings for quantitative responses of Raman spectra to cellular isotopic composition. Resonance Raman spectra of isogenic cultures of the cyanobacterium, Synechococcus sp. , grown in 13C-bicarbonate revealed linear covariance between wavenumber (cm−1) shifts in dominant carotenoid Raman peaks and a broad range of cellular 13C fractional isotopic abundance. Single-cell growth rates were calculated from spectra-derived isotopic content and empirical relationships. Growth rates among any 25 cells in a sample varied considerably; mean coefficient of variation, CV, was 29 ± 3% (σ/x¯), of which only ~2% was propagated analytical error. Instantaneous population growth rates measured independently by in vivo fluorescence also varied daily (CV ≈ 53%) and were statistically indistinguishable from single-cell growth rates at all but the lowest levels of cell labeling. SCRR censuses of mixtures prepared from Synechococcus sp. and T. pseudonana (a diatom) populations with varying 13C-content and growth rates closely approximated predicted spectral responses and fractional labeling of cells added to the sample. This approach enables direct microspectrometric interrogation of isotopically- and phylogenetically-labeled cells and detects as little as 3% changes in cellular fractional labeling. This is the first description of a non-destructive technique to measure single-cell photoautotrophic growth rates based on Raman spectroscopy and well-constrained assumptions, while requiring few ancillary measurements.
A Fiber Bragg Grating—Bimetal Temperature Sensor for Solar Panel Inverters

This paper reports the design, characterization and implementation of a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG)-based temperature sensor for an Insulted-Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) in a solar panel inverter. The FBG is bonded to the higher Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) side of a bimetallic strip to increase its sensitivity. Characterization results show a linear relationship between increasing temperature and the wavelength shift. It is found that the sensitivity of the sensor can be categorized into three characterization temperature regions between 26 °C and 90 °C. The region from 41 °C to 90 °C shows the highest sensitivity, with a value of 14 pm/°C. A new empirical model that considers both temperature and strain effects has been developed for the sensor. Finally, the FBG-bimetal temperature sensor is placed in a solar panel inverter and results confirm that it can be used for real-time monitoring of the IGBT temperature.
Explaining the academic achievement at school leaving for pupils with a history of language impairment: Previous academic achievement and literacy skills

The relationships are explored between language and literacy and academic success at 16 years in an English sample of 62 young people with a history of specific language impairment identified at 8 years. Data were available from national assessments at 16 and 14; in addition the pupils had completed a range of standardized tests to examine language, literacy and non-verbal ability at 10 years and 8 months and at 16 years. Concurrent measures of literacy had the highest correlations with academic performance. However, analysis revealed a complex model identifying relationships between academic performance at 16 and previous academic attainments in secondary school (national assessments at 14) and a measure of language (listening to paragraphs, Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals 3 or CELF-RUK; Peers et al., 1999). Standardized measures of literacy, non-verbal ability and listening to paragraphs (CELF-RUK) taken at age 11 accounted for over 50% of the variance in performance on Key Stage 3 (KS3) assessments at 14 in English, maths and science. Current gaps in our understanding of the factors that support successful school performance are discussed.
RACK1 Functions in Rice Innate Immunity by Interacting with the Rac1 Immune Complex[W][OA]

A small GTPase, Rac1, plays a key role in rice (Oryza sativa) innate immunity as part of a complex of regulatory proteins. Here, we used affinity column chromatography to identify rice RACK1 (for Receptor for Activated C-Kinase 1) as an interactor with Rac1. RACK1 functions in various mammalian signaling pathways and is involved in hormone signaling and development in plants. Rice contains two RACK1 genes, RACK1A and RACK1B, and the RACK1A protein interacts with the GTP form of Rac1. Rac1 positively regulates RACK1A at both the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. RACK1A transcription was also induced by a fungal elicitor and by abscisic acid, jasmonate, and auxin. Analysis of transgenic rice plants and cell cultures indicates that RACK1A plays a role in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and in resistance against rice blast infection. Overexpression of RACK1A enhances ROS production in rice seedlings. RACK1A was shown to interact with the N terminus of NADPH oxidase, RAR1, and SGT1, key regulators of plant disease resistance. These results suggest that RACK1A functions in rice innate immunity by interacting with multiple proteins in the Rac1 immune complex.
Blood Clotting Factor VIII: From Evolution to Therapy

Recombinant blood clotting factor VIII is one of the most complex proteins for industrial manufacturing due to the low efficiency of its gene transcription, massive intracellular loss of its proprotein during post-translational processing, and the instability of the secreted protein. Improvement in hemophilia A therapy requires a steady increase in the production of factor VIII drugs despite tightening standards of product quality and viral safety. More efficient systems for heterologous expression of factor VIII can be created on the basis of the discovered properties of its gene transcription, post-translational processing, and behavior in the bloodstream. The present review describes the deletion variants of factor VIII protein with increased secretion efficiency and the prospects for the pharmaceutical development of longer acting variants and derivatives of factor VIII.
Native and Additional Cogging Torque Components of PM Synchronous Motors—Evaluation and Reduction

High performance motor drive applications require permanent—magnet synchronous motors that produce smooth torque with very low components of cogging torque. To fulfil such demands a variety of design techniques can be used to reduce or even eliminate cogging torque components. Rotor design techniques are in comparison to the stator ones much more effective, but their effectiveness depend considerably on the motor design parameters. Calculations have shown that the cogging torque can be significantly reduced while maintaining the output torque at the same level by the appropriate use of two or more presented techniques. However, the detailed analysis of cogging torque components has revealed that besides well-know native cogging torque components also additional cogging torque components exist which are provoked by assembly tolerances in mass—production. Since these two groups of cogging torque components are concerning design techniques mostly in contradiction, a minimization of the total cogging torque becomes a challenging task. A finite element method and Fast Fourier transformation were used to study the sensitivity of several motor simulation models with regard to manufacturing tolerances and assembly imperfections. On the bases of numerous simulations and analyses, it follows that manufacturing assembly tolerances and material imperfections cause the phenomena of additional cogging torque harmonic components, which are not present in the case of a perfect motor. The ascertainment that some permanent—magnet motor designs are more sensitive to the phenomenon of additional harmonic components in cogging torque than the others is an important fact for the producers of such motors, which must be seriously considered in the process of motor design optimization.
Therapeutic yield and outcomes of a community teaching hospital code stroke protocol.

OBJECTIVES To describe the experience of a community teaching hospital emergency department (ED) Code Stroke Protocol (CSP) for identifying acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients and treating them with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and to compare outcome measures with those achieved in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) trial. METHODS This study was a retrospective review from a hospital CSP registry. RESULTS Over a 56-month period, CSP activation occurred 255 times, with 24% (n = 60) of patients treated with intravenous (IV) tPA. The most common reasons for thrombolytic therapy exclusion were mild or rapidly improving symptoms in 37% (n = 64), intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in 23% (n = 39), and unconfirmed symptom onset time for 14% (n = 24) of patients. Within 36 hours of IV tPA treatment, 10% (NINDS = 6%) of patients (n = 6) sustained a symptomatic ICH (SICH). Three months after IV tPA treatment, 60% of patients had achieved an excellent neurologic outcome, based on a Barthel Index of > or =95 (NINDS = 52%), while mortality measured 12% (NINDS = 17%). Among IV tPA-treated patients, those developing SICH were significantly older and had a significantly higher mean initial glucose value. Treatment protocol violations occurred in 32% of IV tPA-treated patients but were not significantly associated with SICH (Fisher's exact test). CONCLUSIONS Over the study period, the CSP yielded approximately one IV tPA-treated patient for every four screened and, despite prevalent protocol violations, attained three-month functional outcomes equal to those achieved in the NINDS trial. For community teaching hospitals, ED-directed CSPs are a feasible and effective means to screen AIS patients for treatment with thrombolysis.
The role of children in the design of new technology

This paper suggests a framework for understanding the roles that children can play in the technology design process, particularly in regards to designing technologies that support learning. Each role, user, tester, informant, and design partner has been defined based upon a review of the literature and my lab’s own research experiences. This discussion does not suggest that any one role is appropriate for all research or development needs. Instead, by understanding this framework the reader may be able to make more informed decisions about the design processes they choose to use with children in creating new technologies. This paper will present for each role a historical overview, research and development methods, as well as the strengths, challenges, and unique contributions associated with children in the design process.
Display Content Adaptation Using a Force Sensitive Office Chair

In this paper, the author introduces a novel method for non-invasive, implicit human-computer interaction based on dynamically evaluated sitting postures. The research question addressed is whether or not the proposed system is able to allow for non-obtrusive screen content adaptation in a reading situation. To this end, the author has integrated force sensor array mats into a traditional office chair, providing sitting postures/gestures of the person seated in real time. In detail, variations in the center of pressure were used for application control, starting more generally with usability assessment of cursor control, breaking them down to simpler pan and zoom of screen content. Preliminary studies have indicated that such a system cannot get close to the performance/accuracy of keyboard or mouse, however its general usability, e.g., for handicapped persons or for less dynamic screen content adaptation, has been demonstrated and some future potential has been recognized.
The Language Use Inventory for Young Children : A Parent-Report Measure of Pragmatic Language Development for 18-to 47-Month-Old Children

Purpose: To demonstrate the internal reliability and discriminative validity of the Language Use Inventory for Young Children (LUI; D. K. O’Neill, 2002), a newly developed parent-report measure designed to assess pragmatic language development in 18–47-month-olds. Method: To examine internal reliability, the LUI was completed bymail by 177 parents recruited from the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Child Studies database, 175 of whom completed the LUI again within 4 weeks to assess test–retest reliability. To examine discriminative validity, 49 parents of children awaiting assessment at a local speech-language clinic and 49 parents of typically developing children recruited from the Centre for Child Studies database and matched in age and sex to the clinic group completed the LUI. Results: Alpha values for the subscales of the LUI were at or above acceptable levels (.80–.98), and steady growth in children’s pragmatic language development was demonstrated. The study of discriminant validity revealed sensitivity and specificity levels over 95%. Conclusions: The LUI’s internal reliability and stability were strongly supported and its sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing between typically developing and language-delayed children exceeded even themost stringent criteria of 90% accuracy.