Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of Mid-IR Fiber Bundle for Thermal Imaging

We present and discuss the fabrication and characterization of a Mid-Infrared (Mid-IR) transparent flexible bundle based on 1200 fibers whose cores consist of a Ge30As13Se32Te25 chalcogenide glass and the cladding of a Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP). The Mid-IR fiber bundle was manufactured using the stack and draw method. The high index contrast between the glass and the cladding allows for strong field confinement of the well guided modes within the chalcogenide glass core transparent across the Mid-IR. Higher order modes, which could be prone to cross talk, suffered high losses thanks to the high attenuation offered by the polymer cladding. Additionally, the FEP cladding confers the bundle mechanical flexibility. Following a qualitative thermal imaging assessment, we also present and discuss the experimental loss measurements of the fiber bundle and we compare them to values obtained through modelling to conclude on the potential prospect of the manufactured bundle and its possible improvements.
Districtwide Implementations Outperform Isolated Use of Automated Feedback in High School Writing

: This paper describes a large-scale evaluation of automated writing evaluation in classroom, non-high-stakes settings. Thirty-three high schools in California se of an educational product, Turnitin Revision Assistant , during the 2016-2017 school year. We demonstrate moderate evidence of growth in student outcomes based on this usage in general, exceeding rates of improvement statewide. We empirically demonstrate that broader adoption across buildings within a school district is correlated with stronger outcomes, and discuss implementation steps that can support those broad adoptions. Finally, we replicate this finding in a new context, with a full district adoption case study in Georgia, comprising ten schools.
Background Velocity Inversion by Phase along Reflection Wave Paths

Summary A background velocity model containing the correct lowwavenumber information is desired for both the quality of the migration image and the success of waveform inversion. We propose to invert for the low-wavenumber part of the velocity model by minimizing the phase difference between predicted and observed reflections. The velocity update is exclusively along the reflection wavepaths and, unlike conventional FWI, not along the reflection ellipses. This allows for reconstructing the smoothly varying parts of the background velocity model. Tests with synthetic data show both the benefits and limitations of this method.
Micro-environment versus Personal Monitoring : Estimation of Exposure to Carbon Monoxide

Until recently, human exposure to air pollutants could be assessed only with fixed-site ambient monitoring data. Typically, people residing in the same neighborhood near a monitoring station were treated as homogeneous receptors fixed at the location of the monitoring station. Recent field studies with personal exposure monitors (PEM) have found this approach inadequate for pollutants which are spatially variable or have nonambient sources or sinks, such as carbon monoxide. For example, during the Washington Microenvironment Study, commuters were exposed to 9 to 12 ppm CO averaged over the entire commute route, while at the same time of day fixed-site monitors in DC logged an average of about 3 ppm CO (Akland et al., 1985). Nagda and Koontz (1985) observed CO concentrations generally between the MEM and PM values reported here for comparable microenvironments. Furthermore, it is important to consider population activities and mobility when assessing exposure. Incorporation of population mobility and activities into the exposure assessment of CO became a practical reality with the development of reliable, continuous CO PEM's. There are two general approaches to assess exposure using PEM's. The first is the personal monitoring (PM) or direct approach in which human subjects are sampled from the target population and are equipped with PEM's for a defined time to measure directly their exposures. This approach was taken in the Washington Urban Scale Study. Advantages of this approach are simplicity of design and freedom from modeling assumptions. The main disadvantage is cost, which is very high for large scale investigations. An alternative approach to assess exposure is the micro-environment type (MET) or indirect approach in which pollutant concentration data are combined with or enhanced by activity time data (Ouan, 1982, 1985; Ott, 1982,1984). The MET approach can be implemented either by the enhanced
Pay less, consume more? Estimating the price elasticity of demand for home care services of the disabled elderly

Although the consumption of home care is increasing with population ageing, little is known about its price sensitivity. This paper estimates the price elasticity of the demand for home care of the disabled elderly, using the French home care subsidy program ("APA"). We use an original dataset collected from a French District Council with administrative records of APA out-of-pocket payments and home care consumption. Identification primarily relies on inter-individual variations in producer prices. We use the unequal spatial distribution of producers to address the potential price endogeneity arising from non-random selection into a producer. Our results point to a price elasticity around -0.4: a 10% increase in the out-of-pocket price is predicted to lower consumption by 4%, or 37 minutes per month for the median consumer. Copayment rates thus matter for allocative and dynamic efficiencies, while the generosity of home care subsidies also entails redistributive effects.
Optical anapoles in nanophotonics and meta-optics

Interference of electromagnetic modes supported by subwavelength photonic structures is one of the key concepts that underpins the subwavelength control of light in meta-optics. It drives the whole realm of all-dielectric Mie-resonant nanophotonics with many applications for low-loss nanoscale optical antennas, metasurfaces, and metadevices. Specifically, interference of the electric and toroidal dipole moments results in a very peculiar, low-radiating optical state associated with the concept of optical anapole. Here, we uncover the physics of multimode interferences and multipolar interplay in nanostructures with an intriguing example of the optical anapole. We review the recently emerged field of anapole electrodynamics explicating its relevance to multipolar nanophotonics, including direct experimental observations, manifestations in nonlinear optics, and rapidly expanding applications in nanoantennas, active photonics, and metamaterials.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Studio Physics at Georgia State University

Previous studies have shown that many students have misconceptions about basic concepts in physics which persist after instruction. It has been concluded that one of the challenges lies in the teaching methodology. To address this, Georgia State University (GSU) has begun teaching studio algebra-based physics. Although many institutions have implemented studio physics, most have done so in calculus-based sequences. Additionally, the unique environment of GSU’s population as a diverse, urban research institution is considered. The effectiveness of the studio approach for this demographic in an algebra-based introductory physics course was assessed. This five-semester pilot study presents demographic survey results and compares the results of student preand post-tests using the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). FCI results show that 1) the studio approach yields higher learning gains than the conventional course, 2) there are significant performance differences among ethnic groups, and 3) a gender gaps exists regardless of instructional method. INDEX WORDS: Physics education research, PER, Studio physics, Interactive engagement, Force Concept Inventory, FCI, Gender performance, Gender gap, Demographic survey, Ethnic differences, Urban institution, Algebra-based physics, Georgia State University, Item analysis, Two-way ANOVA, Normalized gain, Instructional method, Pre-test post-test design
Adaptive learning design in corporate education : Bolstering leadership readiness for organizational change

This case study describes the application of learning science research to customize the learning interventions for a company-wide change management initiative at Samsung Electronics Co., ltd., a diversified global technology company. The adaptive approach (a) measured the learning needs of participants and (b) effectiveness of learning methods, (c) applied qualitative data to inform the design of initial and subsequent learning interventions and (d) advanced the practice of progressive learning methods within the organization. The results demonstrated significant positive impacts both in change readiness at an organizational level and change engagement at an individual level.
Design for the periphery

In everyday life, we are able to perform various activities simultaneously without consciously paying attention to them. In line with Weiser and Brown s [25] vision of calm technology, we see major opportunities to leverage these skills in interaction with technology by designing interactions that can take place in the periphery of our attention. In order to design such interactions however, a detailed understanding of human attention skills is important. This paper therefore provides an extensive theoretical background on attention theory and links this to the design of interactive systems. The aim is to lay a basis for design-research on interaction design for the periphery.
UNITED NATIONS EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF CHANGING POPULATION AGE STRUCTURES

Demographic transition is a process through which almost all countries in the world are passing or have passed; in general terms, it refers to the shift from a regime characterized by high and uncontrolled levels of mortality and fertility to one of low and controlled levels. Demographic transition in the developing countries, such as Mexico, occurs more quickly than in more developed regions. The rapid changes in the size and age structure of the population entail challenges that are not always resolved, or that take a great deal of time to resolve.
BioCAE: A New Strategy of Complex Biological Systems for Biofabrication of Tissues and Organs

Biofabrication as an interdisciplinary area is fostering new knowledge and integration of areas like nanotechnology, chemistry, biology, physics, materials science, control systems, among many others, necessary to accomplish the challenge of bioengineering functional complex tissues. The emergence of integrated platforms and systems biology to understand complex biological systems in multiscale levels will enable the prediction and creation of biofabricated biological structures. This systematic analysis (meta-analysis) or integrated platforms for estimating biological process have been named as BioCAE, which will become the key for important steps of the biofabrication processes. Biological Computational Aided Engineering (BioCAE) is a new computational approach to understanding and bioengineer complex tissues (biofabrication) using a combination of different methods as multiscale modelling, computer simulations, data mining and systems biology. In addition, multi-agent systems (MAS), which are composed of different interacting computing entities called agents, also provide an interesting way to design and implement simulations of biological systems, integrating them with all steps of the BioCAE. MAS as a part of computational science have become a growing area to manipulate and solve complex problems. This paper presents an approach that will allow predicting the development and behavior of different biological processes such as molecular networks, gene interactions, cells, tissues and organs due to its flexibility, beyond to provide a new outlook in the biofabrication of tissues and organs.
Understanding Urban Human Mobility for Network Applications

Understanding urban human mobility is crucial for various mobile and network applications. This thesis addresses two key challenges presented by mobile applications, namely urban mobility modeling and its applications in Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs). First, we model urban human mobility with transportation mode information. Our research is based on two real-life GPS datasets containing approximately 20 and 10 million GPS samples. Previous research has suggested that the trajectories in human mobility have statistically similar features as Levy Walks. We attempt to explain the Levy Walks behavior by decomposing them into different classes according to the different transportation modes, such as Walk/Run, Bike, Train/ Subway or Car/Taxi/Bus. We show that human mobility can be modelled as a mixture of different transportation modes, and that these single movement patterns can be approximated by a lognormal distribution rather than a power-law distribution. Then, we demonstrate that the mixture of the decomposed lognormal flight distributions associated with each modality is a power-law distribution, providing an explanation for the emergence of Levy Walks patterns that characterize human mobility patterns. Second, we find that urban human mobility exhibits strong spatial and temporal patterns. We leverage such human mobility patterns to derive an optimal routing algorithm that minimizes the hop count while maximizing the number of needed nodes in DTNs. We propose a solution framework, called Ameba, for timely
Explore no more : Simple and tight high-probability bounds for non-stochastic bandits

This work addresses the problem of regret minimization in non-stochastic multi-armed bandit problems, focusing on performance guarantees that hold with high probability. A widely accepted common belief is that achieving such strong guarantees requires the learner to explicitly devote several rounds for exploring actions—even if many of the actions are obviously suboptimal. In this paper, we show that it is possible to prove high-probability regret bounds without this undesirable exploration component. Our result relies on a simple and intuitive loss-estimation strategy called Implicit eXploration (IX) that allows a very clean analysis that leads to the best known constant factors in the bounds. We also demonstrate the robustness of IX in a simple experiment that shows a significant improvement over previous methods.
Exploitation of molecular genetics in microbial degradation and decolorization of industrial waste water effluent

Activated sludge samples were used to analyse microbial community structures from the anoxic and aerobic zones of a labora­tory-scale modified Ludzack-Ettinger system. Fluorescent in situ hybridization and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis were applied for analysis. With the help of DNA specific fluorochrome DAPI, approximately 75 to 80% of total cells were detected, hybridised with a specific eubacterial probe for the anoxic and aerobic zones. Results corroborate the dominance of the alpha and gamma subclasses of the Proteobacteria in the anoxic zone whilst the aerobic zone was dominated with the beta subclass of the Proteobacteria. Genetic diversity of the microbial community present in each of the anoxic and aerobic zones was employed by the DGGE technique. Results were obtained from the application of fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) and PCR-DGGE yields a more precise understanding of the microbial community structure and genetic diversity present in domestic wastewater of a laboratory scale treatment process. Nitrogen mass balances indicated an upset in the nitrogen levels for wastewater batches two and seven. The carbon mass balance fell in the range of 92.4 and 105.9% and the nitrogen mass balance fell in the range of 98.4 and 160.0%. Key words: Fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH), denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), COD and nitrogen mass balances.
Biochar a ff ects community composition of nitrous oxide reducers in a fi eld experiment

N2O is a major greenhouse gas and the majority of anthropogenic N2O emissions originate from agriculturally managed soils. Therefore, developing N2O mitigation strategies is a key challenge for the agricultural sector and biochar soil treatment is one reported option. Biochar's capacity to increase soil pH and to foster activity of specialized N2O reducers has been proposed as possible mechanisms for N2O mitigation. An experiment was undertaken to investigate whether changes in the community composition of N2O reducers was observed under field conditions after biochar application. The study objective was to assess the abundance and taxonomic composition of the functional marker genes nosZ and nosZ –II across a vegetation period of Zea mays L. after biochar or lime addition compared to an untreated control. After fertilization, biochar amendment resulted in a significant increase of nosZ gene copy numbers compared to the control and the lime treatment. Simultaneously a shift in community composition of nosZ-II bearing bacteria was observed in the biochar treatment that went beyond the sole liming effect. This study broadens our understanding of the functional impact of biochar on N2O emissions and emphasizes the possibility to shape the functioning of the N2O reducing microbial community through the addition of biochar at a field scale.
Gallium Nitride-based Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers

GaN-based material can potentially cover a wide spectral emission range, and laser di‐ odes emitting in the UV, violet, blue, green, and red wavelengths have already been dem‐ onstrated and/or commercialized. GaN-based semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) have the ability to boost the output power of laser diodes and thus are candidates for a broad variety of potential uses. Applications that utilize short wavelength, ultrafast puls‐ es, including microprocessing, orthoptics, and next-generation optical storage can most benefit from GaN-based SOAs since current ultrafast pulse sources rely on large, expen‐ sive solid-state lasers. GaN-based SOAs can generate high-energy, high peak power opti‐ cal pulses when used in conjunction with mode-locked laser diodes. In this chapter, the basic characteristics of these devices are discussed, concentrating on pulse amplification. Early experimental work, as well as the latest results, is presented, and improvements in the SOA design allowing the generation of higher optical pulse energy are discussed.
Performance and Cost Optimised MPPT for Solar Powered Vehicle

These days we are emphasizing more on the need and methods to utilize the photovoltaic sources of energy in the best possible ways. Solar power is available in abundance to the Earth. With proper matching of solar irradiance and load on the solar panel , extraction of huge amount of electric energy is possible. So using such circuits which can match the load with the solar panel become an essential part for PV generation technique to improve the overall system efficiency. Maximum Power Point trackers are becoming famous and are widely available in market but only few of them are fast enough to perform well in badly varying solar intensity and load such as in solar powered/assisted electric vehicles. This paper presents the low cost and high performance technique that works effectively in such worst conditions. This technique can be used for automotive applications in Hybrid vehicles. Speed and precision of such circuits can both improve battery backup and battery life.
The application of selective principal components analysis ( SPCA ) to a Thematic Mapper ( TM ) image for the recognition of geomorphologic features configuration

Abstraer. Seleclive principal components analysis (SPCA) has been appl ied lo highlya nd/ or liltle-correlated subgroups of bands. It s usefulness \Vas demonst ra ted in t\Vo ways. First, lhe final result is a false colour compositioll based 0 11 lhe first o rder principa l component of each highly correlated subgro up of bands, lhe resulting image contain ing more than 95 per cen l of lhe tota l variance of lbe six TM ballds lI sed. Secondly, Ihe second order principal component of pairs of little-correla ted bands will show Ihe informalion Iha1 is unique for each bando 80th Iypes of analysis have been a pplied 10 characterizc Ihe geoJl1orphological un ils al a si te in SW Spain. 80th mClhodologies have demonsl rated lO be very useful in a difficult lo access area, wilh high vegela tion diversily covering quite differenl geomorphic fealures.
High functioning autism spectrum disorders: an investigation of psychological vulnerabilities during interrogative interview

Forensic psychologists and psychiatrists are commonly asked to ascertain the reliability of statements made by suspects to the police during questioning and to assess an individual's vulnerability to providing information which is inaccurate, unreliable, and misleading during police interview. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterised by qualitative impairments in social communication and interaction, and a restricted or repetitive pattern of behaviours, interests, and activities. It is not clear whether people with ASD are more vulnerable at interview, or more prone to respond negatively to interrogative pressure, when compared with the general population. In the present study, 26 individuals with high functioning ASD, and 27 gender- and IQ-matched controls, were compared on measures of interrogative suggestibility and compliance as well as on measures of anxiety, depression, the extent to which they feared negative evaluation by others, and whether they had a suspicious outlook. There were no significant between-group differences on the measures of suggestibility, but the group with ASD were rated as significantly more compliant than the controls in terms of both parental and self-report, and also had higher scores on measures of depression, anxiety, fear of negative social evaluation and paranoia. Bi-modal distribution of suggestibility scores within the ASD group indicates that individual characteristics should be taken into account when considering an assessment. Individuals with ASD may be more eager to please or to avoid conflict and confrontation than controls, and may be more prone to respond compliantly to requests and demands.