Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Next Steps in Epidermal Computing: Opportunities and Challenges for Soft On-Skin Devices

Skin is a promising interaction medium and has been widely explored for mobile, and expressive interaction. Recent research in HCI has seen the development of Epidermal Computing Devices: ultra-thin and non-invasive devices which reside on the user’s skin, offering intimate integration with the curved surfaces of the body, while having physical and mechanical properties that are akin to skin, expanding the horizon of on-body interaction. However, with rapid technological advancements in multiple disciplines, we see a need to synthesize the main open research questions and opportunities for the HCI community to advance future research in this area. By systematically analyzing Epidermal Devices contributed in the HCI community, physical sciences research and from our experiences in designing and building Epidermal Devices, we identify opportunities and challenges for advancing research across five themes. This multi-disciplinary synthesis enables multiple research communities to facilitate progression towards more coordinated endeavors for advancing Epidermal Computing.
Everyday Administrative Burdens and Inequality

Administrative burdens may deepen inequality by creating costly experiences for vulnerable groups. Research to date typically focuses on how burdens affect decisions in specific policy contexts, thus little is known about everyday experiences of burdens and their distribution in society. This is the first study to document everyday administrative experiences, accounting for time and emotional costs across ten domains: tax, retirement, government benefits, bills, goods and services, savings, debt, health, childcare, and adult care. Results from 2,243 UK adults show that administrative tasks are a significant part of life (one hour per day). Time and emotional costs vary by domain; government benefits emerge as particularly costly. There is evidence that administrative burdens are regressive, not only through their effects on decisions, but through their unequal distribution in society. Those in poor health and financial insecurity focus on tasks salient to them (e.g. benefits, health, debt), but are less likely to engage in beneficial longer-term tasks (e.g. savings, retirement), and suffer higher emotional costs from engaging in tasks relevant to their disadvantage, compared to non-disadvantaged groups. A choice experiment shows that (hypothetical) burdens discourage beneficial action in general, but even more so for some disadvantaged groups. JEL Classification: D91; I30; J10
Linear electric generator with Halbach array to self-charge a smartphone

Cellular phones have not only function to communicate, but also have e-banking, web surfing, music, and entertainment. The performance of the smartphone has improved because of various functions of smartphone, and capacity of battery has also improved gradually. Although smartphone batteries have been improved compared to conventional batteries, the available usage time of a phone’s rechargeable battery is getting shorter because of the demands of various applications. Therefore, we propose a new tubular permanent magnet linear generator that uses a Halbach array, to send a message or emergency call when the battery is discharged. In order to increase the power generation of existing tubular linear generators, we changed the axial-direction permanent magnet array to a Halbach-type array. When using the Halbach array, it is possible to generate a strong magnetic field without additional magnetic material. In this research, we compared the Halbach array that uses axially and radially magnetized permanent magnets with an existing model that uses an axially magnets. We verified improvement in the amount of power generated with no-load analysis through simulation using the Maxwell commercial electromagnetic analysis software.
Ontology Quality Evaluation

The increasing popularity of semantic web has led to the creation and enrichment of ontologies and other linked datasets using automated algorithms. Alongside these algorithms, quality evaluation of the enriched ontologies is necessary to ensure reliability and reuse. Current quality evaluation approaches seek to evaluate ontologies in either syntactic (degree of following ontology development guidelines) or semantic (degree of semantic validity of enriched concepts/relations) aspects. Current syntactic quality evaluation approaches often use pre-defined rules and priorities for evaluation, which provide limited flexibility and customisability to the end user. Any extension to such works in an attempt to adapt it for a specific task or a different goal also requires significant programming, further posing hindrances in extensibility, especially for non-programming ontology engineers. to create or update rules at run time. Semantic approaches, on the other hand, which often involve crowdsourcing, suffer in output quality with increase in size and diversity of crowd validators. Most current approaches use naive majority voting, with some using spam-filtering techniques. While these methods are useful for eliminating spammers, the accuracy of these works are debatable in more general scenarios where only all validators have some degree of knowledge but only few are absolute experts regarding the ontology domain. In these scenarios, it would be useful to have an algorithm that grades validators according to their expertise and weights their decisions proportionally to their experience. This work thus seeks to propose a semi-automated framework that seeks to achieve both syntactic and semantic quality evaluation in an integrated framework. The proposed framework consists of: a) SynEvaluator and b) SemValidator for evaluating the syntactic and semantic aspects of ontology quality respectively. SynEvaluator uses a novel theoretical rule-creation framework that aims to improve customisability and flexibility for the end user. It does so by allowing for dynamic, task-specific creation and updation of syntactic rules at runtime, all without any need for programming. SemValidator uses crowdsourcing for semantic validation. It also uses a novel algorithm, TweetExpert, to estimate the Twitter-based expertise of validators for weighing their decisions as a means of quality control. The efficacy and validity of the framework is shown empirically on multiple ontologies.
Factors Influencing Academic Performance and Achievement of Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities face diverse challenges which greatly affect their access and full participation in academic programmes at academic institutions of all levels. Therefore, the aim of the current empirical study is to identify the factors influencing the academic performance and achievement of disabled students. The study was guided by the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). Based on the review of the relevant literature, the study concluded that there are several factors that influence the academic performance and achievement of students with disabilities such as: emotional factors such as the disabled students’ fear, depression, low self-confidence, feelings of shame, withdrawal, low self-concept, and feelings of inferiority. Moreover, other factors include the disabled student’ family background along with their socio-economic status, the educational level of the parents, the lack of the parents’ encouragement and motivation, the authoritarian nature of some families of students with disabilities, the negative attitudes of some teachers towards the students with disabilities and the weakness of the instructional strategies implemented by the teachers, the societal attitudes towards disabled students and well as the students’ attitudes towards themselves, the physical barriers within the academic institutions’ environment, etc. finally, multiple detailed solutions and recommendations were suggested by the study.
DP-Shield: Face Obfuscation with Differential Privacy

An immense amount of image data is captured and shared nowadays, e.g., social media and surveillance databases. Such image data may contain sensitive information, such as faces, which can be misused if in the hands of an adversary. Widely used image privacy solutions obfuscate faces, e.g., via pixelization and blurring, before sharing with untrusted parties. However, they do not provide quantifiable privacy guarantees and are prone to inference attacks. In this demo, we present DP-Shield, an interactive framework for face image obfuscation under the rigorous notion of differential privacy. DP-Shield showcases our recently proposed obfuscation methods, namely DP-Pix and DP-SVD, and also includes two alternative methods for comparison. The audience will be able to learn about existing DP methods by interacting with them using real-world face image datasets. Furthermore, DP-Shield integrates widely used image quality measures and practical privacy risk measures (i.e., face recognition) to illustrate the efficacy of our methods.
Shaoyao Gancao Decoction for limb dysfunction after fractures around the knee

Abstract Background: After reduction and fixation of a fracture around the knee (FAK), excessive injury, improper treatment, soft tissue damage, and blood circulation damage often lead to limb dysfunction, which seriously affects limb rehabilitation and the patient’s quality of life. Shaoyao Gancao Decoction (SGD) is an important means of treatment; however, it is not widely applied because of the lack of evidence about the effectiveness of oral drugs in the treatment of limb dysfunction. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of SGD on patients with limb dysfunction from the perspectives of pain, limb edema, stiffness, as well as physical dysfunction. Methods: The Chinese and English databases, the Wanfang database, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, EMBASE, China BioMedical Literature, PubMed, and Web of Science will be searched from inception to September 30, 2021. Both researchers will select the articles, collect the data and evaluate the quality of the methodology independently using the Cochrane bias risk tool. Results: High-quality evidence will be obtained to evaluate the beneficial and detrimental effects of SGD on limb dysfunction after FAK, including knee pain, limb edema, stiffness, and physical dysfunction, as well as adverse events. Conclusion: This study will provide evidence regarding whether SGD is beneficial for treating limb dysfunction after FAK in humans. INPLASY registration number: INPLASY202210028.
Dynamics of the Transversal Magnetic Fields in Photospheric Quiet Regions

Investigation of the properties of photospheric magnetic fields could shed light on the generation mechanism of small-scale magnetic fields in quiet regions. In this work, we studied the transversal magnetic fields by analyzing the linear polarization (LP) features with Sunrise IMaX data. We calculated the area coverage of LP features, and found that they are 16.1%, 8.6%, and 3% for signals above 3, 3.5, and 4.5 times of noise level, respectively. Those LP features extracted above 4.5 times of noise level are further analyzed. A proper value of 1.5 × 1015 Mx for the net magnetic flux contained in LP features is selected to divide the LP features into two types (I and II). Among all detected snapshot LP features, 86% of them are in type I and the rest are in type II. The length scales of LP features in these two types follow Gauss and power-law distributions, separately. For the topology of magnetic fields in type I, the magnetic flux patches might be footpoints of flux loops that root inside transversal magnetic fields with one unipolar thick leg or one thick leg together with one thin leg in opposite polarity. For those in type II, about 50% of them contain bipolar magnetic flux patches, but the rest appear without magnetic flux patches.
The Turbulent Properties of the Sub-Alfvénic Solar Wind Measured by the Parker Solar Probe

For the first time, Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observed the sub-Alfvénic solar wind where the solar wind bulk speed drops below the local Alfvén speed for an extended period of time. Here, we report on the turbulent properties of the sub-Alfvénic region. We analyze the turbulence correlation length and the energy transfer and compare the results with nearby super-Alfvénic regions. As the Alfvén speed is larger or comparable to the solar wind speed in the intervals studied, we use a modified Taylor’s hypothesis to account for wave propagation. We find that the wave propagation speed affects the analysis of the correlation lengths of the forward and backward propagating z ± modes. In the sub-Alfvénic region, the correlation length of the z − mode is shorter than that of the outward propagating z + mode, although the correlation time of the z − mode is about 10 times larger than that of the z + mode. For the energy transfer, we use both incompressible and compressible formulations to calculate the energy flux based on third-order structure functions. The incompressible energy cascade rates for the forward and backward propagating modes are computed separately using the modified Taylor’s hypothesis. The averaged compressible cascade rate is higher in the sub-Alfvénic interval than the nearby downstream super-Alfvénic region, which may be due to the lower fluctuation amplitude in the latter super-Alfvénic interval. Longer incursions of the PSP in the sub-Alfvénic winds in the future will give us better statistics.
Recycled Coarse Aggregate from Concrete Waste Using DMDA for Concrete

This study investigates the effect of the replacement of recycled concrete as coarse aggregates using the Densified Mixture Design Algorithm Method (DMDA) in unconfined concrete behavior. DMDA was applied to produce concrete with the least void. Compressive strength, flexural strength and split tensile strength tests were conducted on 7-, 14-, 28- and 56-day old specimens. Compressive strength test results showed that specimens with 20, 30, and 40% RCA replacements at 56 days are relatively lower compared to the control and with 10% RCA replacement specimens. The compressive strengths of the specimens with RCA replacements decreased as the amount of RCA increased. However, the 10% replacement specimens showed promising performance with an average strength of 3275 psi at 56 days with an 11.2% difference in compressive strength with the control with 0% replacement. A significant increase in compressive strengths between the 28- and 56-day specimens for all specimens was observed and accounted due to the pozzolanic activity of the type C fly ash used as filler. For flexural and splitting tensile strength, results showed that specimens with 40% replacement showed best performance with a 9.87% difference and roughly 1% greater with the control in terms of its flexural and splitting tensile strength, respectively.
A Validation Study of Gearing and Musculoskeletal Performance in Simple Biological Systems through Theoretical and Experimental Methods

II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . III LIST OF FIGURES . VI LIST OF TABLES . IX LIST OF EQUATIONS . X NOMENCLATURE . XI CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEMS . 1 1.1: SKELETAL SYSTEM REVIEW . 1 1.2: MUSCULAR SYSTEM REVIEW . 3 1.3: SIMPLE MACHINES OF THE BODY . 9 1.3. 1: Wheel and Axle System . 10 1.3. 2: Pulley System . 11 1.3. 3: Lever System . 11 CHAPTER 2: MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF KINETICS AND KINEMATICS REVIEW . 16 2.1: CHARACTERIZATION OF MUSCLE PERFORMANCE IN BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS . 16 2.2: MODELING TECHNIQUES OF BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS . 17 2.2.1: Rigid Body Modeling . 17 2.2.2: Inverse and Forward Dynamic Modeling . 20 2.2.1: Finite Element (FE) Modeling . 21 2.3: MODELING TECHNIQUES OF JUMPING IN BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS . 22 2.4: MODELING TECHNIQUES THAT CONSIDER ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ON LOCOMOTION . 26 CHAPTER 3: PROBLEM STATEMENT . 28 CHAPTER 4: MUSCULOSKELETAL THEORETICAL MODEL . 31 4.1: CASE 1: CONSTANT APPLIED FORCE . 32 4.2: CASE 2A: SPRING MUSCLE FORCE IN TERMS OF lin . 33 4.3: CASE2B: SPRING MUSCLE FORCE IN TERMS OF θ . 37 4.4: CASE 3: SPRING – DAMPER MUSCLE FORCE . 39 4.5: CASE 4: SPRING – DAMPER MUSCLE FORCE WITH CONSIDERATION OF GRAVITY . 40 4.6: CASE 5: SPRING – DAMPER MUSCLE FORCE WITH CONSIDERATION OF GRAVITY AND REACTION FORCES . 42 4.7: CASE 6: SPRING – DAMPER MUSCLE FORCE WITH CONSIDERATION OF GRAVITY AND DRAG FORCES . 43 CHAPTER 5: EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP . 46 5.1: FORCE LOADING MODIFICATIONS . 47 5.2: INERTIAL LOADING MODIFICATIONS. 48 5.3: VISCOUS LOADING MODIFICATIONS . 50 CHAPTER 6: RESULTS AND COMPARISONS . 51 6.1: CASE 1: CONSTANT APPLIED FORCE . 51 6.2: CASE 2A AND 2B: SPRING MUSCLE FORCE IN TERMS OF lin AND θ . 55 6.3: CASE 3: SPRING – DAMPER MUSCLE FORCE . 57
Effects of the electric field at the edge of a substrate to deposit a Ø100 mm uniform diamond film in a 2.45 GHz MPCVD system

In this study, uniform diamond films with a diameter of 100 mm were deposited in a 15 kW/2.45 GHz ellipsoidal microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition system. A phenomenological model previously developed by our group was used to simulate the distribution of the electric strength and electron density of plasma. Results indicate that the electric field in the cavity includes multiple modes, i.e. TM02 and TM03. When the gas pressure exceeds 10 kPa, the electron density of plasma increases and plasma volume decreases. A T-shaped substrate was developed to achieve uniform temperature, and the substrate was suspended in air from Ø70 to 100 mm, thus eliminating vertical heat dissipation. An edge electric field was added to the system after the introduction of the T-shaped substrate. Moreover, the plasma volume in this case was greater than that in the central electric field but smaller than that in the periphery electric field of the TM02 mode. This indicates that the electric field above and below the edge benefits the plasma volume rather than the periphery electric field of the TM02 mode. The quality, uniformity and surface morphology of the deposited diamond films were primarily investigated to maintain substrate temperature uniformity. When employing the improved substrate, the thickness unevenness of the Ø100 mm diamond film decreased from 22% to 7%.
Improving Web Search by Identifying Fine­Grained Entity Information in Text

Web search engines could provide better (and less redundant) search results, if they would be able to understand the meaning of relevant information better. One way of doing this is by having a deeper understanding of entities (people, organizations, events, places, etc.) in text. Through this project, my goal is to develop algorithms which can infer different events, topics, roles, and more generally, different aspects of an entity from the context in which it is mentioned. My approach refines the automatic understating of text passages using deep learning, a modern artificial intelligence paradigm. My approach identifies relevant words and relevant entities simultaneously and provides more fine­grained information about entities in some text to help machines understand the meaning of the text better.
Energy performance of earth-air heat exchanger in a Belgian office building

An earth-air heat exchanger (EAHX) has been implemented in a low-energy office building in Kortrijk, Belgium. An extensive monitoring campaign was conducted to define the energy consumption in the building and the contribution of the EAHX to energy savings. This paper presents the results of the measurements and compares the measured performance of the EAHX to the building energy use and to results of a simulation model for 3D transient heat transfer.
Nonlinear Flight Control Design Using Backstepping Methodology

NONLINEAR FLIGHT CONTROL DESIGN USING BACKSTEPPING METHODOLOGY Thanh Trung Tran Old Dominion University Director: Dr. Brett A. Newman The subject of nonlinear flight control design using backstepping control methodology is investigated in the dissertation research presented here. Control design methods based on nonlinear models of the dynamic system provide higher utility and versatility because the design model more closely matches the physical system behavior. Obtaining requisite model fidelity is only half of the overall design process, however. Design of the nonlinear control loops can lessen the effects of nonlinearity, or even exploit nonlinearity, to achieve higher levels of closed-loop stability, performance, and robustness. The goal of the research is to improve control quality for a general class of strict-feedback dynamic systems and provide flight control architectures to augment the aircraft motion. The research is divided into two parts: theoretical control development for the strict-feedback form of nonlinear dynamic systems and application of the proposed theory for nonlinear flight dynamics. In the first part, the research is built on two components: transforming the nonlinear dynamic model to a canonical strict-feedback form and then applying backstepping control theory to the canonical model. The research considers a process to determine when this transformation is possible, and when it is possible, a systematic process to transfer the model is also considered when practical. When this is not the case, certain modeling assumptions are explored to facilitate the transformation. After achieving the canonical form, a systematic design procedure for formulating a backstepping control law is explored in the research. Starting with the simplest subsystem and ending with a full system, pseudo control concepts based on Lyapunov control functions are used to control each successive subsystem. Typically, each pseudo control must be solved from a nonlinear algebraic equation. At the end of this process, the physical control input must be re-expressed in terms of the physical states by eliminating the pseudo control transformations. In the second part, the research focuses on nonlinear control design for flight dynamics of aircraft motion. Some assumptions on aerodynamics of aircraft are addressed to transform full nonlinear flight dynamics into the canonical strict-feedback form. The assumptions are also analyzed, validated, and compared to show the advantages and disadvantages of the design models. With the achieved models, investigation focuses on formulating the backstepping control laws and provides an advanced control algorithm for nonlinear flight dynamics of the aircraft. Experimental and simulation studies are successfully implemented to validate the proposed control method. Advancement of nonlinear backstepping control theory and its application to nonlinear flight control are achieved in the dissertation research.
An improved estimation transmission method for Dark Channel Prior

Many studies have been made in refine transmission to improve the de-haze quality. Compared by several common method of refine transmission, we present an improved refine transmission method of secondary filter to improve halo effect in this paper. Halo effect area is determined by the difference between the estimate transmission and the transmission refined by guided filter. The transmission which is refined by guided filter in halo effect area is replaced by the transmission refined by median filter. Using this method, the too high transmission in halo effect area will be refined. The refine transmission method present by this paper, which combine the advantages of median filter algorithm and the guided filter algorithm. This method can avoid black spots caused by median filter algorithm and halo effect residues caused by guided filter algorithm.