Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tranport Tunnel Polarisé en Spin à l'Etat Solide

Cette These experimentale examine le transport par effet tunnel entre deux couches ferromagnetiques separees par une barriere isolante ultrafine. L'enjeu de ces travaux est de rapprocher la comprehension theorique, basee sur des systemes ideaux, de la realite experimentale domin´ee par des jonctions comprenant une barriere amorphe. Au moyen de jonctions partiellement ou entierement epitaxiees integrant le materiau La0:7Sr0:3MnO3 dont nous avons confirme la polarisation de spin tunnel quasi-totale, l'influence de la structure electronique de materiaux isolants tels que SrTiO3, Ce0:69La0:31O1:845, TiO2, MgO (epitaxies) et Al2O3 (amorphe) sur le magnetotransport tunnel est mise en evidence. La theorie soutendant ces resultats est testee au moyen de mesures XMCD effectuees sur des barrieres de Al2O3 et MgO. La demi-metallicite de La0:7Sr0:3MnO3 est ensuite utilisee dans des jonctions La0:7Sr0:3MnO3 /SrTiO3 /La0:7Sr0:3MnO3 et La0:7Sr0:3MnO3 /SrTiO3 /Co afin d'affirmer quantitativement le caractere spectroscopique du transport tunnel polarise en spin entre electrodes ferromagnetiques. Ces etudes en tension montrent l'influence de la generation d'ondes de spin lors du transport tunnel sur l'ordre ferromagnetique de l'interface manganate/ isolant proche de sa temperature de transition metal-isolant. Enfin, nous utilisons l'electromigration aux interfaces afin de modifier la densite d'etats et le profil de potentiel des interfaces. Nous montrons comment il est possible de r´ealiser un dispositif aux proprietes de magnetotransport bistables; et nous examinons dans le regime tunnel Fowler-Nordheim les repercussions de ces modifications sur la formation d'etats quantifies au sein de la barriere, et l'evolution du couplage d'echange indirect entre les electrodes ferromagnetiques.
Semi-automatic calibration technique using six inertial frames of reference

A triaxial accelerometer calibration technique that evades the problems of the conventional calibration method of aligning with gravity is proposed in this paper. It is based on the principle that the vector sum of acceleration from three sensing axes should be equal to the gravity vector. The method requires the accelerometer to be oriented and stationary in 6 different ways to solve for the 3 scale factors and 3 offsets. The Newton-Raphson method was employed to solve the non-linear equations in order to obtain the scale factors and offsets. The iterative process was fast, with an average of 5 iterations required to solve the system of equations. The accuracy of the derived scale factors and offsets were determined by using them to calculate the gravity vector magnitude using the triaxial accelerometer to measure gravity. The triaxial accelerometer was used to measure gravity 264 times to determine the accuracy of the 44 acceptable sets of scale factors and offsets derived from the calibrations (gravity was assumed to equal 9.8000 ms-2 during the calibration). It was found that the best calibration calculated the gravity vector magnitude to 9.8156 ± 0.4294 ms-2. This equates to a maximum of 4.5% error in terms of a constant acceleration measurement. Because of the principle behind this method, it has the disadvantage that noise/error in only one axis will cause an inaccurate determination of all the scale factors and offsets.
Remote sensing of the ocean primary production of the Abrolhos Islands region

Traditionally measurements of carbon uptake at discrete locations have been used to obtain estimates of oceanic primary production. These methods by their very nature produce estimates of primary production only at specific points within a water body. Thus estimates of primary production at ocean basin scales requires extrapolation of in situ measurements via broad and very general assumptions regarding the spatial variation in water conditions. Research by Platt, Sathyendranath, Behrenfeld, Falkowski and others has shown that remote sensing techniques may be used to provide a means of obtaining ocean primary production estimates at basin scales. The techniques discussed by Behrenfeld and Falkowski have been applied to locally obtained SeaWiFS ocean colour data, AVHRR SST data, and estimated PAR data to carry out a study of the annual primary production cycle in the waters associated with Western Australia's Abrolhos Islands.
Millimeter-wave channel measurements for indoor wireless communications

Propagation losses for the indoor radio channel at 21.6 GHz and 37.2 GHz are examined. The propagation measurements carried out are used to quantitatively present, through enveloped distribution, the effects of spatial fading, which is due to multipath propagation, and temporal fading, which is due to people moving in the building. Attenuation is given in the form of the exponent of the distance-power law. <<ETX>>
Evaluation of the Quality of Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Experiences

Practice education, or fieldwork as it is referred to in occupational therapy, is a fundamental feature of occupational therapy education, priming students to become competent entry-level practitioners. Factors reported as contributing to poor quality fieldwork experiences include: students not receiving enough feedback; lack of opportunity to develop skills; and not being made to feel welcome in the environment. These are significant contributors to the overall development of competence so it is important to understand the current context of fieldwork experiences being offered in relation to the notion of quality in those learning environments. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of the fieldwork learning environment from the perspective of occupational therapists’ working in one region of Canada. A validated survey, the Quality of Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Experience (QOTFE) tool, was used to identify features of what might constitute quality fieldwork education, and to determine whether there was a difference in quality of fieldwork experience between practice settings or types of practice areas. However, there was minimal variability in scores based on practice setting and practice area variables. These findings indicate a consistent quality of fieldwork experience across practice settings and practice areas. This research presents a picture of the current quality of fieldwork experiences available to occupational therapy students. This may be a starting place for further investigation into the factors that contribute to the quality of practice education learning experiences
Techniques de reduction de bruit pour la restauration d'enregistrements musicaux

Depuis une dizaine d'annees, l'application de techniques de traitement numerique de signal a la restauration d'enregistrements musicaux degrades a permis d'obtenir des resultats tres spectaculaires. Cependant, certaines questions restent ouvertes. En particulier, plusieurs resultats anterieurs indiquent que l'elimination du bruit de fond n'est souvent obtenue qu'au prix d'une certaine distorsion du signal musical. Actuellement, la reduction du niveau du bruit present sur les enregistrements musicaux est effectuee grace a des techniques d'attenuation spectrale a court-terme. Le principe du traitement consiste a modifier la transformee a court-terme du signal bruite en utilisant un algorithme de decision designe par le terme de regle de suppression de bruit. Dans la premiere partie de l'etude, le fonctionnement de l'attenuation spectrale a court-terme est analyse en considerant d'une part un modele simplifie des regles de suppression utilisees en pratique, et d'autre part, des signaux-test simples. Les resultats obtenus fournissent des elements permettant de caracteriser objectivement les modifications apportees au signal musical lors du traitement. De plus, l'utilisation de resultats classiques de la psychoacoustique permet de prevoir sous quelles conditions les distorsions produites peuvent devenir audibles. Les principaux phenomenes mis en evidence sont la modification du timbre, l'apparition d'effets de modulation, ainsi que le lissage des transitoires brusques. A partir de ces resultats, une nouvelle technique de reduction de bruit de fond, adaptee au cas des enregistrements musicaux, est decrite. Le signal est tout d'abord analyse par une transformee a court-terme de resolution frequentielle moyenne, puis, les signaux de sous-bande sont traites de deux manieres differentes selon leurs caracteristiques locales: lorsque la presence de composantes stationnaires est detectee, la restauration du signal de sous-bande s'effectue par blocs, tandis que dans le cas contraire, celui-ci est traite ponctuellement. Cette restauration selective des signaux de sous-bande, guidee par une procedure de detection, permet d'envisager une amelioration significative par rapport aux resultats des techniques classiques
Linking between Learner Control and Self-Efficacy of Online Learners in a New Zealand Postgraduate Online Programme.

This paper describes a research-in-progress study on the link between learner control and self-efficacy of postgraduate students in an online programme at a New Zealand university. Even though students are familiar with computers and Internet usage, learning online may still pose a challenge, especially for inexperienced online learners. By enabling learners to control their own learning, their interactions increase along with their self-efficacy and a sense of belonging to the learning community, all of which contribute to better academic outcomes. However, few studies have looked at the link between self-efficacy of online learners and learner control in a real online setting. To do so, students in a postgraduate online programme embedded with learner control were selected as the sample group. The preliminary findings showed a positive relationship between these two variables, though not as strong as expected. Follow-up research is being undertaken with a larger sample group.
Speaker-independent isolated word recognition based on emphasized spectral dynamics

A new speech analysis technique applicable to speech recognition is proposed considering the auditory mechanism of speech perception which emphasizes spectral dynamics and which compensates for the spectral undershoot associated with coarticulation. A speech wave is represented by the LPC cepstrum and logarithmic energy sequences, and the time sequences over short periods are expanded by the first- and second-order polynomial functions at every frame period. The dynamics of the cepstrum sequences are then emphasized by the linear combination of their polynomial expansion coefficients, that is, derivatives, and their instantaneous values. Speaker-independent word recognition experiments using time functions of the dynamics-emphasized cepstrum and the polynomial coefficient for energy indicate that the error rate can be largely reduced by this method.
Realtime Volume Visualization of Time Evolving Nebulae for Immersive Environments

This paper presents the result of our master thesis work in media technology, which is an implementation of a realtime volume rendering engine capable of visualizing reflection nebulae. The engine is using scattering and emission properties of time evolving volumetric data, created by astrophysicists at the Hayden Planetarium, New York. The visualization is designed towards full dome planetarium displays. Using the latest GPU based techniques for volume rendering and impostor techniques we are able to interactively fly around as well as animate several nebulae embedded in their true astronomical content.This paper is aimed towards fellow media technology students and people interested in the area of realtime volume renderings. It is written with the presumption that the reader has the same knowledge as we did when starting our thesis work, which implies good confidence in modern 3D computer graphics, some experience in object-oriented programming and basic knowledge of algebra and calculus. It is our hope that this report can be enjoyed even if skipping some of the more technical parts.
Should we screen preterm infants for nephrocalcinosis? An evidence-based decision

Nephrocalcinosis is increasingly recognized in premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit based on ultrasound findings of increased echogenicity in medullary pyramids. Nephrolithiasis with obstruction of the urinary tract, urinary tract infection and hematuria may occur in the short-term, and renal dysfunction (e.g., glomerulus, proximal tubules and distal tubules), hypercalciuria, decreased growth of the kidney and hypertension may occur in the long-term. The primary goal of this review is to use the WHO’s screening criteria to determine whether nephrocalcinosis is a suitable condition for screening. The scientific, medical, economic and ethical merit of screening premature infants for nephrocalcinosis is appraised to answer the following question, “should preterm infants be screened for nephrocalcinosis? ”
Medication Management in Belgian Residential Care Facilities for Individuals With Intellectual Disability: An Observational Study

Organizational aspects of the medication management process (MMP) have been investigated in hospital and nursing home settings. However, the amount of literature on medication management in residential care facilities (RCF) for individuals with ID is limited to two studies from the Netherlands, focusing only on drug administration errors. To assess the organization of the MMP in Belgian RCFs for people with ID, the authors undertook a cross-sectional observational study in 34 Belgian RCFs for people with ID. Structured interviews were performed using a questionnaire: the first part (for the RCF directors) addressed admin- istrative and policy issues. The second (for unit employees) and third parts (for medical office employees) addressed practical aspects of the MMP. The fourth part (for physicians) focused on the physician's role in the MMP, on the therapeutic drug formu- lary, and on communication with staff and delivering pharmacist. Standard operating procedures concerning the MMP were not available in 32% of the RCFs. About one-quarter of the RCFs did not have a medication error reporting system, and most RCFs did not systematically (i.e., at least annually) review their MMP for failures. Only two participating RCFs were equipped with an elec- tronic prescribing system. The role of the pharmacist was mainly limited to delivery of medication. Medication was mostly admin- istered by nonmedically qualified staff (e.g., educators). Most frequently cited problems by the interviewees were problems in the medication preparation and administration stage. Most frequently cited possible improvement actions were education/sensitization of staff and improved communication among all stakeholders. The authors note that as this study revealed operational inadequa- cies, problem areas can be identified and targeted quality improvement actions can be undertaken.
A History of Children's Play and Play Environments: Toward a Contemporary Child-Saving Movement

Introduction 1. Early Historical Views On Children's Play 2. Play and Play Environments in Early America 3. The Early Child-Saving Movement: Shame of the Cities 4. The Evolution of the Play and Playground Movement 5. Play and the Child Study Movement: Nursery Schools, Kindergartens, and the Developmental Approach to Play 6. Play during Hard Times: The Great Depression 7. Natural, Built, and Adventure Play Environments: Back To Nature 8. The Value of Play and the Consequences of Play Deprivation 9. Toward a Contemporary Child Saving Movement
Intrusion Detection System using Artificial Immune Systems: A Case Study

Networks are working at their apical efficiency and are increasing in size by every second; emergence of various threats becomes hindrance in the growth and privacy of the users. The network is vulnerable to security breaches, due to malicious nodes. Intrusion detection systems aim at removing this vulnerability. In this paper, intrusion detection mechanisms for large-scale dynamic networks are investigated. Artificial immune system is a concept that works to protect a network the way immune systems of vertebrates work in nature. This paper also illustrates this artificial immune system, the integration of bio-inspired algorithms, and its functionality with the computer networks.
Etudes geotechniques sur modeles centrifuges - Evolution des materiels et des techniques experimentales

Les modeles physiques se sont recemment developpes dans le domaine geotechnique, grace aux installations garantissant un meilleur respect des conditions de similitude (centrifugeuses et chambre d'etalonnage). Depuis une quinzaine d'annees, le LCPC a contribue a ce developpement par la mise au point de materiels et de methodes d'essais. L'objectif de cet article est de presenter les principaux materiels qui sont necessaires a la realisation et a la caracterisation des massifs de sol et aux interventions sur le modele en cours de centrifugation. Des donnees concernant les performances des dispositifs ainsi que des exemples d'utilisation sont fournis. La derniere partie est consacree a un nouveau grand equipement, qui complete la centrifugeuse proprement dite. Il s'agit d'un robot embarque sur le conteneur d'essai, fonctionnant sous une acceleration de cent fois la pesanteur et disposant d'un changeur d'outils. Il permet d'enchainer differentes operations sans arret de la centrifugeuse, ce qui va considerablement elargir ses domaines d'application. Les premieres applications de ce teleoperateur sont presentees. (A) (Titres en anglais, en allemand et en espagnol : Geotechnical studies using centrifuge models - Developments in equipments and experimental techniques - Geotechnische Untersuchungen anhand zentrifugierte Modelle - Entwicklung von Versuchseinrichtungen und techniken - Estudios geotecnicos en modelos centrifugados - Evolucion de los materiales y las tecnicas experimentales).
Industrial Perspectives on the Impact of Object-Oriented Programming for SoftwareDevelopment

This study assessed the impact of object-oriented programming on the quality and reusability of software development. The degree to which object-oriented programming is prevalent over structured and other traditional programming in the software development phase at business organizations was investigated. This research examined the extent to which business organizations use object-oriented approach in software development. A number of professionals from the industries were surveyed to ascertain the relevance of advocating the incorporation of the object-oriented approach into computer science and information technology curriculums.
How Well Do Adolescents Know Their Local Parks? Test-Retest Reliability and Validity of an Adolescent Self-Report Park Survey for Diverse Low- Income Urban Neighborhoods

Background: The study aimed to develop a self-report park survey tailored to underserved populations at risk of obesity (low income urban youth), and to determine the feasibility and reliability of collecting park measures from memory. Methods: Sixth through 8th grade students were recruited from two purposively selected urban schools (one predominantly African American and the other predominantly Latino with high proportions of lower-income students). A total of 103 (47 male) students participated in the test-retest reliability of the survey. Research staff conducted field audits of neighborhood parks/physical activity settings (N=21) to determine concurrent validity of the self-report surveys. Results: Overall, youth participants had good reliability on two-thirds of the survey measures. Validity results suggest students had poor percent agreement on the majority of park/physical activity setting features. Although both schools had similar overall validity results, the only common validated feature was playgrounds. Conclusions: Results suggest most measures were understood by participants, but overall youth could not validly report what physical activity features are accessible to them from memory. This suggests that if youth do not know the features that exist in their neighborhood, then they are probably not utilizing them for physical activity.
Tracking control of a mobile robot using a neural dynamics based approach

In this paper, a novel tracking control approach is proposed for real-time navigation of a nonholonomic mobile robot. The proposed tracking controller is based on the error dynamics analysis of the mobile robot and a neural dynamics model derived from Hodgkin-Huxley's membrane model of a biological system. The stability of the control system and the convergence of tracking errors to zeros are guaranteed by a Lyapunov stability theory. Unlike many tracking control methods for mobile robots where the generated control velocities start with large initial velocities, the proposed neural dynamics based approach is capable of generating smooth, continuous robot control signals with zero initial velocities. In addition, it can deal with the situation with a very large tracking error. The effectiveness and efficiency are demonstrated by comparison and simulation studies.
Melodrama and Modernity: Early Sensational Cinema and Its Contexts

Introduction1. Meanings of Modernity2. Meanings of Melodrama3. Sensationalism and the World of Urban Modernity4. Making Sense of the Modernity Thesis5. Melodrama and the Consequences of Capitalism6. Ten-Twenty-Thirty Melodrama: Boom and Bust7. "Child of Commerce! Bastard of Art! ": Early Film Melodrama8. Power and Peril in the Serial-Queen Melodrama9. Marketing Melodrama: Serials and IntertextualityConclusion
Little League Elbow: Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies

LITTLE LEAGUE ELBOW (LLE) IS A COMMON OVERUSE INJURY IN YOUTH BASEBALL. THE PRIMARY MECHANISM OF OVERUSE IS VALGUS STRESS APPLIED TO THE ELBOW. SKELETALLY IMMATURE ATHLETES ARE VULNERABLE TO OVERUSE BECAUSE OF THE EXISTENCE OF GROWTH CARTILAGE. THE REGULATION OF PITCH VOLUME MAY BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO ADDRESS THIS CONDITION. HOWEVER, SIMPLY ADDRESSING PITCH VOLUME MAY NOT BE ADEQUATE BECAUSE OF UNDERLYING ISSUES WITH PITCH MECHANICS, PITCH SELECTION, AND PHYSICAL CONDITIONING. THEREFORE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE WAS TO DISCUSS THE RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH LLE AND OFFER PREVENTION STRATEGIES FOR THIS POPULATION OF YOUTH ATHLETES.
Developing Open Source Alternatives to Proprietary Software

The invention of the smart phone has provided people the ability to share information instantly. One major development in the last decade is the ability to report problems such as potholes, malfunctioning lights, broke street signs, or graffiti in real time with exact GPS coordinates from a smartphone. Many cities and towns have contracted out to companies to build mobile apps that allow their citizens to report problems wherever they are. These applications often come at hefty prices. The focus of my thesis will be to develop an open source version of a reporting app that is being sold by SeeClickFix Inc. This will allow towns, cities, businesses, and colleges to adopt a real-time issue reporting application while minimizing costs. I will also discuss why adopting open source software can be beneficial.
A Preliminary Structural Equation Model of Comprehension and Persuasion of Interactive Advertising Brand Web Sites

ABSTRACT The main goal of this study was to build a preliminary structural equation model to better understand the relationships between interactivity, comprehension, and persuasion. The limited capacity processing model provided theoretical framework. A two-cell (interactivity: low/high) experimental design was used to examine how the level of interactivity in interactive advertisements influences comprehension and attitudes. The sample consisted of 153 subjects. The structural equation model supported the idea that interactivity is an important and direct factor in both the consumer’s comprehension of interactive advertising and the persuasive outcomes (attitudes and purchase intention). In addition, comprehension had a direct, positive influence on persuasive outcomes. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.