Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Mixed VR and Physical Framework to Evaluate Impacts of Virtual Legs and Elevated Narrow Working Space on Construction Workers Gait Pattern

It is difficult to conduct training and evaluate workers' postural performance by using the actual job site environment due to safety concerns. Virtual reality (VR) provides an alternative to create immersive working environments without significant safety concerns. Working on elevated surfaces is a dangerous scenario, which may lead to gait and postural instability and, consequently, a serious fall. Previous studies showed that VR is a promising tool for measuring the impact of height on the postural sway. However, most of these studies used the treadmill as the walking locomotion apparatus in a virtual environment (VE). This paper was focused on natural walking locomotion to reduce the inherent postural perturbations of VR devices. To investigate the impact of virtual height on gait characteristics and keep the level of realism and feeling of presence at their highest, we enhanced the first-person-character model with "virtual legs". Afterward, we investigated its effect on the gait parameters of the participants with and without the presence of height. To that end, twelve healthy adults were asked to walk on a virtual loop path once at the ground level and once at the 17th floor of an unfinished structure. By quantitatively comparing the participants' gait pattern results, we observed a decrease in the stride length and increase in the gait duration of the participants exposed to height. At the ground level, the use of the enhanced model reduced participants' average stride length and height. The results of this study help us understand users' behaviors when they were exposed to elevated surfaces and establish a firm ground for gait stability analysis for the future height-related VR studies. We expect this developed VR platform can generate reliable results of VR application in more construction safety studies.
Efficacy of s-type stents for the treatment of the main pancreatic duct stricture in patients with chronic pancreatitis

TO THE EDITOR: Ishihara et al. described the successful use of a 10 F s-type stent in 20 symptomatic patients with stricture of the distal main pancreatic duct [1]. They emphasize its longer durability as a stent and no occurrence of stent migration. In our institution an s-type pancreatic stent (Model type ‘‘Ludwigshafen’’, Mandel & Rupp GmbH, Erkrath, Germany) was designed from us in 1997 and has been in use for almost 10 years now. Our intention was comparable with that of the above-mentioned researchers to fit the pancreatic duct as well as possible and minimize the mechanical trauma to the pancreatic duct. However, some critical remarks are necessary. As stated by Ishihara et al., the function of a pancreatic stent as a tube or a wick is still under debate. Therefore the definition of a ‘‘functioning stent’’ was somewhat different in the reported series and a making a comparison of the reported rates is difficult. However, the ‘‘durability of pancreatic stents’’ might not be too important, as the current trend is to use stents of increasing diameter, usually subsequently (owing to the necessity of stent exchanges), and even to use multiple stenting [2]. Moreover, Ishihara et al. emphasize the zero rate of stent migration in their series. As a matter of fact, migration of pancreatic stents was a rare event in published studies as well as in our personal experience with /90 patients. The cited rate of 5% to 7% is so low that it is not possible to demonstrate a difference in comparison with straight-type stents in a number of 33 stent placements in 20 patients. Our main reason for using s-type stents for the pancreatic duct was to minimize the trauma to the pancreatic duct. However, there is some evidence from an animal model to show that even the trauma induced by the new, so-called, wing stents seems to be minor in comparison to a conventional stent [3]. In conclusion, we agree with Ishihara et al. that a randomized comparison between straight-type stents and s-type stents is needed to decide on the equality or superiority of one stent type in pancreatic duct stenting.
Development of future spray imaging techniques using General Purpose GPU accelerated Monte Carlo simulation

The past decade has seen the development and application of emerging laser techniques for spray imaging. Two noticeable examples are Ballistic Imaging (BI) and Structured Laser Illumination Planar Imaging (SLIPI). The main motivation in developing such novel techniques was to filter out the blurring effects introduced by multiple light scattering in order to obtain reliable two-dimensional qualitative and quantitative spray information. In parallel to this experimental development, Monte Carlo (MC) simulation of light propagation and scattering through spray systems has also been initiated. While the MC simulation is a powerful and versatile tool for modeling various spray geometries and detection schemes on a single computer, its main drawback remains its long computational time. However, since 2007 a programming approach, named Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA), has been created for performing general purpose calculations on Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), as a data-parallel computing device. Thanks to the continuously increased number of cores in combination with larger memory bandwidth, recent GPUs offer considerable extended resources for general purpose computing. In this article, we describe an accelerated version of a validated MC model (originally presented at ICLASS-2006), for the simulation of laser light propagation in sprays. The code is now capable of running the calculations on a modern GPU card, showing a ~100x increase in simulation speed compared to the original version of the code. Thanks to these new possibilities, the MC model presented in this article allows detailed performance analysis of various laser imaging techniques. This is demonstrated for BI where a time-gating approach is used and for SLIPI where a modulation-based filtering is employed in the spatial domain. Figure: Illustration of the structure of an atomizing spray. The spray region can either be optically dilute or optically dense depending on the droplets number density, the droplets size and the illumination wavelength. As indicated in the figure a measure of light transmission If / Ii allows defining if the spray is optically dense or dilute for a given wavelength. The GPU-MC model presented here allows the simulation of a laser beam propagating through the spray region. * Corresponding author: edouard.berrocal@forbrf.lth. se
Recombinant Colicin producer Lactobacillus acidophilus and its Inhibitory Effect Against UPEC

Lactobacillus species are a predominant member of vaginal microflora and play a crucial role in prevention of a number of urogenital diseases. To increase antimicrobial potential of vaginal lactobacilli, Colicin E2 possessing specific activity against uropathogenic Escherichia (E.) coli was over-expressed in vaginal probiotic lactobacillus(L.) acidophilus. Recombinant L. acidophilus expressing Colicin E2 showed much higher inhibitory activity against uropathogenic E. coli than wild type in vitro. Efficacy of probiotic L. acidophilus expressing colicin E2 protein required for further in vivo evaluation. The present study in consistent with similar studies demonstrated that the production of colicin by vaginal probiotics may increase the preventive effects of lactobacilli against urinary tract infections.
Cloning and Analysis of the Eg 4 CL 1 Gene and Its Promoter from Oil Palm ( Elaeis guineensis Jacq . ) (

The empty fruit bunches of oil palm have been used as the raw material to produce biofuel. However, the lignin present in oil palm tissues hampers the enzymatic saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass and lower the yield of biofuel produced. Hence, various efforts were taken to identify the lignin biosynthetic genes in oil palm and to investigate their regulation at the molecular level. In this study, a lignin biosynthetic gene, Eg4CL1 and its promoter were isolated from the oil palm. Eg4CL1 contains the acyl-activating enzyme consensus motif and boxes I & II which are present in other 4CL homologs. Eg4CL1 was clustered together with known type I 4CL proteins involved in lignin biosynthesis in other plants. Gene expression analysis showed that Eg4CL1 was expressed abundantly in different organs of oil palm throughout the course of development, reflecting its involvement in lignin biosynthesis in different organs at all stages of growth. The presence of the lignification toolbox AC elements in the 1.5 kb promoter of Eg4CL1 further suggests the potential role of the gene in lignin biosynthesis in oil palm. Together, these results suggested that Eg4CL1 is a potential candidate gene involved in lignin biosynthesis in oil palm.
BANDWIDTH OPTIMIZATION TO ACHIEVE MINIMUM PHASE NOISE IN FREQUENCY SYNTHESIZERS

Abstract– This paper analyzes the phase noise of the single loop second-order frequency fractional-N synthesizer. The aim of this paper is the reduction of the output phase noise in the application of commercial and military subsystems as well as general local oscillators. The mathematical model of PLL based frequency synthesizer is analyzed to develop the minimum phase noise in the specific frequency range. An exact closed form relationship between bandwidth and output phase noise of the frequency synthesizer as well as the bandwidth-phase noise diagram is extracted by using this closed form relationship. From the analysis and simulation results, we observe that the system has minimum phase noise at a particular closed-loop bandwidth. To validate simulation results, the synthesizer is implemented on the low loss professional printed circuit board (PCB). Measurement setup is scheduled on spectrum analyzer 8562A in the span of 5MHz and 10MHz. These measurements show excellent results in output spectrum of the frequency synthesizer.
COHERENT STACKING SCHEME FOR INVERSE-COMPTON SCATTERING AT MHZ REPETITION RATES ∗

An experiment to produce 1 MeV gamma rays via Compton back-scattering of infrared photons on 250 MeV electron bunches is currently in preparation at the Fermilab Accelerator Science & Technology (FAST) facility. To increase the gamma-ray flux the energy of the infrared laser pulses are planned to be amplified within the interaction region using a resonant cavity. This passive amplifier composed of a Fabry-Perot cavity will allow the laser pulse bunches to coherently and constructively stack. Our estimates, based on theoretical models, show that the laser pulse energy can be increased from approximately 1-2 mJ at the exit of the last active amplifier to 5-12 mJ at the interaction point when the laser repetition rate is set at the nominal value of 3 MHz. This paper details the cavity design option(s) and associated wave-optic simulations.
Associations of the Baltic Sea diet with cardiometabolic risk factors – a meta-analysis of three Finnish studies

Dyslipidaemia, hypertension and low-grade inflammation increase the risk of CVD. In the present meta-analysis, we examined whether adherence to a healthy Nordic diet, also called the Baltic Sea diet, may associate with a lower risk of these cardiometabolic risk factors. In 2001–2007, three cross-sectional Finnish studies were conducted: the Dietary, Lifestyle and Genetic Determinants of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome study (n 4776); Health 2000 Survey (n 5180); Helsinki Birth Cohort Study (n 1972). The following parameters were assessed in these three studies: blood pressure, total, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol, TAG and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP); a validated FFQ was used to assess the participants' dietary intakes. The Baltic Sea Diet Score (BSDS) was developed based on the healthy Nordic diet. All studies assessed confounding variables, such as physical activity and BMI, based on standardised questionnaires and measurements. The random-effects meta-analysis provided summary estimates for OR and 95 % CI by the BSDS quintiles. In the meta-analysis, the risk of elevated hs-CRP concentration was lower among men (OR 0·58, 95 % CI 0·43, 0·78) and women (OR 0·73, 95 % CI 0·58, 0·91) in the highest BSDS quintile than among those in the lowest BSDS quintile. In contrast, the risk of lowered HDL-cholesterol concentration was higher among women (OR 1·67, 95 % CI 1·12, 2·48) in the highest BSDS quintile than among those in the lowest BSDS quintile. However, no other associations were found. In conclusion, the associations between the adherence to the healthy Nordic diet and cardiometabolic risk factors are equivocal. Longitudinal studies are needed to further examine this hypothesis.
Synthesis of Silica Nanoparticles by Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis Technique for Cream Perfume Formulation Development

This research focused on silica nanoparticles synthesis by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) technique using tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as a precursor. The synthesized silica nanoparticle was used as a fixative material for cream perfume formulation. The morphology and structure of synthesized silica nanoparticles were examined by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) technique and X-ray diffraction technique (XRD), respectively. Adsorption ability of synthesized silica nanoparticle was also analyzed by incipient wetness impregnation technique. The results showed that the synthesis temperature of 500°C provided the smallest size of silica nanoparticle, about 106 nm. The particle size decreased from 347 nm to 106 nm when the synthesis temperature increased from 300°C to 500°C. Comparing two types of cream perfume, with and without silica, by applying cream perfume on glass slide at 37°C for 5 hours, found that odor of cream perfume with silica lasts longer than cream perfume without silica. A b s t r a c t
Enabling and constraining family Posti-Ahokas , Hanna 2016

For an increasing number of African girls and women , upgrading the level of education has become a strat egy for life improvement. This paper analyses the role that fami ly plays in enabling women’s education and contributes to under standing on the interconnectivity of education, work and fam ily in women’s lives in collective societies. The analysis focuses on how young Tanzanian women perceive the role of fami ly and education in their ‘youth task’, of becoming adult. The analysis is based on interviews with seven young Ta nzanian women enrolled in non-formal secondary education an d ni e professional women enrolled in higher education. Th e results show that the women were determined to pursue highe r lev ls of education and committed to continuous self-impro vement. The women identified family both as a motivator of further education and as a constraint for their individual aims and ambitions. Respecting and maintaining good family r elations were given priority over individual aims and decisi ons. Consequently, the reasons for women to educate them selves were drawn from the overall benefits to the future of the family and society at large. Findings suggest a major role of the family in determining the success in improving educ ation and professional advancement of girls and women in Tanz ania.
A low-profile textile antenna for reception of digital television and wireless communications

A textile multiband monopole antenna designed for WLAN frequencies and digital television is presented. The antenna features a low profile, simple shape, light weight and small size. It performs well when mounted at various positions on the body, covering the DTV band along with GSM-900, UMTS-LTE-advanced, WLAN 2.4/5.8 GHz and Wimax 3.5 GHz. The return loss was found to be only very little affected by the presence of the body. As well as being suited to wearable communication systems, the textile antenna is currently the first of this size to receive digital television.
Normal Estimation Color Image Sensor Depth = 0 A x Global Optimization Surface Normal Output Depth Boundary Detection

The goal of our work is to complete the depth channel of an RGB-D image. Commodity-grade depth cameras often fail to sense depth for shiny, bright, transparent, and distant surfaces. To address this problem, we train a deep network that takes an RGB image as input and predicts dense surface normals and occlusion boundaries. Those predictions are then combined with raw depth observations provided by the RGB-D camera to solve for depths for all pixels, including those missing in the original observation. This method was chosen over others (e.g., inpainting depths directly) as the result of extensive experiments with a new depth completion benchmark dataset, where holes are filled in training data through the rendering of surface reconstructions created from multiview RGB-D scans. Experiments with different network inputs, depth representations, loss functions, optimization methods, inpainting methods, and deep depth estimation networks show that our proposed approach provides better depth completions than these alternatives.
P o S ( C D 1 2 ) 0 4 1 Recent progress in staggered chiral perturbation theory

We present a review on recent progress in staggered chiral perturbation theory (SChPT). In the last decade, the scope of the application of SChPT has been extended beyond the level of calibration into the region of prediction with high precision. SChPT becomes an essential tool to do the data analysis reliably for physical observables calculated using improved staggered fermions. Here, we focus on the following examples: pion spectrum, pion decay constants, εK , and π−π scattering amplitudes. In each subject, we review the recent progress and future prospects.
Habitat Requirements of a Mixedwood Indicator Species: Northern Flying Squirrel

This project aims to assess the value of the northern flying squirrel as an indicator of forest management impacts and protection strategies. The northern flying squirrel is listed by DNRE as a species considered associated with mixedwood forest structures, mature forest, and a sensitivity to fragmentation. The primary goal of this project is to develop science-based habitat associations for this forest vertebrate and to quantify the associated landscape cover thresholds that can be used in forest management planning.
NANO SCALE PHOTONIC CRYSTAL SWITCH FOR INTEGRATED PHOTONIC CIRCUIT APPLICATIONS

This paper has presented the developed novel optical micro-electro-mechanical systems, (MEMS) and nanoelectro-mechanical, (NEMS) optical components for applications including imaging, switching, and optical integrated circuits. Moreover an analog micro mirror array for network switching applications, and a nano scale photonic crystal switch for integrated photonic circuit applications will be described. The effect of variations of output power in respect of control signal wavelength, data signal power and control signal power are measured and plotted. The switch is designed with GS switching scheme to achieve high contrast ratio and the monolithic integration provides the required stability Keywords— Optical switch, Crystal photonic, Mechanical systems, Photonic Devices, and Integrated photonics.
Factors Associated with Hazardous Alcohol Use among Vocational College Students

The aim of this cross – sectional study was to investigate the factors associated with hazardous alcohol use. Nine hundred adolescents participated in this investigation studying in the fields of construction, electricity and accounting at vocational colleges at the municipality of Nakhon Ratchasima Province. A multistage sampling technique was used for selecting the students from a total of 5 colleges considering the size of the college, the male/ 1 Faculty of Public Health, Mahasarakham University 2 Department of Epidemiclogy, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University * Corresponding author, e-mail: natchaporhp@msu.ac. th 699 Factors Associated with Hazardous Alcohol Use among Vocational College Students KKU Res J 15 (78) : August 2010 female ratio and whether the students were enrolled in a certificate or diploma course. Hazardous alcohol drinking was assessed by applying the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). For statistical assessment a univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression was applied. From all students 35.7% were found to be hazardous alcohol drinkers. From those 72.3% were males and 24.8% female students. The proportion of hazardous alcohol drinkers increased with age for both genders. The multivariate examination indicated that alcohol drinking of peers had an influence on males but not on females and alcohol consumption of siblings had no influence on hazardous alcohol drinking for males and females. Learning abilities of female students as assessed by the Grade Point Average (GPA) were related to hazardous alcohol drinking. The consumption of alcohol by females with the lowest Grade Point Average (GPA) was five times higher in comparison with those female students with the highest GPA (adj. OR 5.02, 95% CI 1.32 – 19.13). The selection of study subjects also had an influence on alcohol drinking of female students. Studying in order to become an electrician (adj. OR 0.01 95% CI 0.01 – 0.38) and the selection of accounting as study subject (adj. OR 0.06, 95% CI 0.01 – 0.88) had a protective effect in terms of alcohol drinking in comparison to those females studying construction. A similar relationship was found for male students only for the variable ‘studying to become an electrician’ which had a preventive effect for male students (adj. OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.24 – 0.77) in comparison with students studying construction. It is concluded that lower GPA is associated with higher risks of hazardous drinking. คํา�สํา�คัญ: แอลกอฮอล์ระดับอันตราย นักศึกษาระดับอาชีวศึกษา
Using demand to prevent ageing and depreciation

Revenue management is a broad field of models and methods that is growing in popularity. The goal of all these models is optimizing the expected revenues. In this thesis, we focus on two specific techniques within revenue management. Both techniques focus on forecasting future events based on uncertain information from history: Demand time series forecasting and dynamic pricing. The company Tech Data has asked to think of new ways to increase their revenue and inventory model to decrease depreciation costs and prevent aging. We discuss several time series forecasting methods and use them to determine the optimal method for Tech Data. Furthermore, we introduce some additional techniques such as hierarchical forecasting and regression models. Secondly, we use dynamic pricing to researches methods that model the correlation between demand and price setting. The goal is to find a model that optimizes revenues and could be used by Tech Data. We combine a theoretical basis with numerical experiments on live data from Tech Data.