Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Drunker than you think: delayed performance impairment from moderate amounts of alcohol

The goal of the research was to evaluate the effects of alcohol on the performance of New Zealand drivers across . 05 and . 08 BAC levels. An experimental test was conducted with 61 participants assigned to one of two alcohol dose conditions or a placebo control group. Comparison of alcohol doses showed that a BAC of . 08 produced a level of impairment significantly worse than the placebo control. Impairment included edge and centre line crossings in the driving simulator, disinhibition of reactions to vehicles at intersections, higher peak speeds, and errors learning and recalling a computer-based maze. Drivers with a BAC of . 05 also displayed some performance decrements, but not to the same degree as a BAC of . 08, and with the exception of their steering reactions to hazards, not significantly different to the placebo control. An analysis comparing the impairment associated with peak and post-peak intoxication revealed that response disinhibition and participants self-ratings of intoxication showed acute tolerance (higher levels during ascending and peak BAC levels) while maze learning and recall errors, edge and centre line crossings, and maximum speeds showed acute protracted errors (poorer performance during the post-peak phase). This asymmetry is found even when equivalent BACs levels are compared during ascending and post-peak phases and occurred for both alcohol groups. Finally, participants were not able to accurately judge how much alcohol they had consumed or their level of intoxication (particularly the high dose group), and subjective ratings of intoxication were not a reliable indicator of their performance impairment.
Wireless Sensor Network Group Connectivity

The importance of monitoring physical and environmental conditions increases day by day and, therefore, so is the necessity of having a reliable wireless sensor network (WSN). The need to overcome challenges in WSN deployment and operation arises due to WSN's nature and characteristics such as possible nodes' mobility, limited radio and processing power, available storage and physical effects of the environment (particularly harsh environments) and balancing energy consumption has motivated us to investigate solutions to those problems. By studying related work, it was possible to observe that techniques such as the use of a good link estimator and the deployment of a suitable topology are essential features for a WSN. The core idea is to capture link connectivity dynamically and use it on routing decisions to gain reliability and estimate the whole network connectivity. The three main steps for deployment of a reliable WSN are the following: - Link estimator - Routing and neighbor information - Suitable routing algorithms In addition, self-organization is an important capability that WSNs need to present. They should be reliable, scalable and energy efficient during the network lifetime and self-organization plays a key role in this context. Summing up all these aspects, it comes to the point that reliable connectivity is an important characteristic of a WSN. The goal of this work is to contribute with the research in the subject by means of implementing a suitable topology management and evaluating the network connectivity by the means of quantitative metric for the network as whole. Practical experiments results are presented and discussed.
Impact of Board Diversity on Agency Costs in the Context of Agency Theory Approach: Evidence From Listed Companies in Sri Lanka

Effective corporate governance leads the way towards aligning the interest between managers and shareholders. Effectiveness of practicing the corporate governance of companies in Sri Lanka is debatable topic due to the variation between standard and actual practices. This study aims to examine the influence of board diversity on agency costs of companies listed in Sri Lanka as proposed by agency theory. The sample of this research consists of all companies listed in Sri Lanka, exclusive of bank and financial institutions which are practicing unique governance practices issued by Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The final sample consists of 180 companies during the period from 2013 to 2019. This study deployed panel regression analysis to test the relationship formulated in the hypotheses by using the EViews 9 software. The results showed that the board diversity-related variables such as separate leadership structure and presence of non-executive director on companies’ board are appeared to have significant influence on agency costs. Meanwhile, board size does not have direct impact on agency costs. The findings of this study regarding board diversity and agency costs have important managerial implications, that these findings are unlikely to the prediction of agency theory and best practices. Agency theory is not applicable to these companies, since the exiting corporate governance practices increase agency costs. The potential benefits of this study led to re-think the board of directors of the companies, managers, shareholder and the policymakers to re-organise the implementation of best practices.
musARum - A game based system for promoting reflective learning

The main focus in this thesis was to develop a technological tool to make learning more fun, and to enable the students to reflect on their performance after partaking in an activity. In particular the main goals are: 1. Promoting an engaging user experience during a museum visit using mobile augmented reality. 2. Enabling students to reflect on their experience. Design choices were made on the basis of available theory, literature, and similar systems supporting reflection. The system was evaluated through usability testing, an expert evaluation, and a user evaluation in a realistic environment. The user evaluation turned out to be great success with more than 50 participants, and very few issues with the system itself. The work resulted in a mobile application utilizing augmented reality to engage students in a collaborative quiz, and a web-application which presents users with data collected during the activity to help them reflect on their experience and learn from it. This thesis, the developed system, and its evaluation contribute with an increased understanding of how technology can be used to promote reflection with young learners in order to improve their learning abilities.
Exploring Different Forms of Base Stabilization

Our nation’s roadways have experienced a growing demand over the past couple of decades. With decreasing funds and the need to provide the public with an efficient, safe, and cost effective roadway system, there has been a remarkable increase in the need to rehabilitate our existing pavements. When a flexible pavement has deteriorated to the point where rehabilitation or reconstruction is necessary, pavement engineers have traditionally used either the mill and overlay strategy or complete reconstruction. With the advances made on road construction equipment over the last two decades, there has been a growth in asphalt recycling and reclaiming as a technically and environmentally friendly way of rehabilitating the existing, failed pavements. An example of rehabilitation is base stabilization, or Full-Depth Reclamation. This research identified two mix designs for Portland cement base stabilization, three mix designs for asphalt emulsion base stabilization, and two mix designs for asphalt foam base stabilization. These mix designs are currently being synthesized to produce one final mix design for each technology. Preliminary testing indicated that the modified proctor and Superpave Gyratory Compactor can produce similar moisture density curves. In addition, increasing the water content and asphalt foam content of asphalt foam base stabilization mixture increased the compressive strength.
PCK2:A potential Therapeutic Target and Biomarker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Based on Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, and is associated with a high mortality rate and poor treatment efficacy. Therefore, it is important to explore the underlying mechanisms and screen for novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Methods HCC and non-tumor microarray data was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO) database and 1,612 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. The identified DEGs were then further examined using a weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Modules were identified and correlations with clinical parameters were examined to ultimately identify a single highly correlated module containing a single hub gene, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 2 (PCK2). The genes co-expressed with PCK2 were then examined via Gene Ontology(GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway analysis and were found to be primarily enriched in the area of energy metabolism. The association between PCK2 expression and prognosis and tumor stage was then further verified by using a HCC dataset obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Ex vivo examination of HCC and adjacent non-tumor samples via quantitative real-time PCR demonstrated that PCK2 is downregulated in HCC. Additionally, HCC cell lines overexpressing PCK2 exhibited a time-dependent reduction in cellular viability. Results These findings demonstrate that PCK2 is downregulated in HCC and is associated with HCC prognosis and tumorstage, and that PCK2 may affect HCC progression via energy metabolism. Conclusions this study may help to further elucidate possible HCC progression mechanisms and the findings presented here suggest that PCK2 may serve as a potential HCC therapeutic target or biomarker.
Nonlinear finite element system simulation of piezoelectric vibration-based energy harvesters

Piezoelectric vibration-based energy harvesters consist of an electromechanical structure and an electric circuitry, influencing each other. We propose a novel approach that allows a finite element based system simulation of nonlinear electromechanical structures coupled to nonlinear electric circuitries. In the finite element simulation the influence of the electric circuit on the electromechanical structure is considered via the vector of external forces, using an implicit time integration scheme. To demonstrate the applicability of the new simulation method an active power circuit is considered. Several examples of piezoelectric vibration-based energy harvesters, connected to standard or synchronized switch harvesting on inductor (SSHI) circuits, showing linear or nonlinear mechanical behavior, are studied to validate the proposed simulation method against numerical results reported in the literature. The advocated method allows for consistent and efficient simulations of complete nonlinear energy harvesters using only one software tool.
An Analysis of Co-movement in Equity Sector Indices

This study examines the co-movement among equity sector returns of the Malaysian capital market. The relationship is investigated using Correlation-based on Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and Multivariate-GARCH Dynamic Conditional Correlation (DCC) to examines the volatilities and correlations of sectoral equity indexes. The study uses daily data that ranges from 5 February 1999 to 6 February 2019. The OLS result reveal that there is a strong comovement between sectoral equity and the stock market prices except in tin and mining sector. While time-varying correlations among sectoral indexes are estimated using MGARCHDCC, the empirical results from this analysis show that the plantation, properties and tin and mining sectors have negative unconditional correlation with the stock market, which is a good sign of diversification advantages. The findings have important implications helping portfolio managers and investors to understand the co-movement of equity sectors and then formulate policy measures that encourage better portfolio diversification.
The art of interior design

Inevitably, reading is one of the requirements to be undergone. To improve the performance and quality, someone needs to have something new every day. It will suggest you to have more inspirations, then. However, the needs of inspirations will make you searching for some sources. Even from the other people experience, internet, and many books. Books and internet are the recommended media to help you improving your quality and performance.
Identifying and Reducing Workforce Fatigue in Rapid Renewal Projects

This report describes a three-year research project and results performed as the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP) Project R03. The research scope involved studying factors associated with workforce fatigue and stress in the rapid renewal environment and the risks to worker safety and construction productivity. The study team developed an integrated fatigue management toolkit, including work scheduling and work practice guidance based on fatigue models, organizational practice guidance, fatigue management reference material, and training materials for managers and workers. This suite of products was prepared with the goal of integrating applicable components into existing safety management systems for highway projects, thereby reducing fatigue risk and increasing safety.
Developmental pathways of pulmonary abnormalities in rheumatoid arthritis according to sequential HRCT findings

BackgroundTo determine the patterns and development pathways of pulmonary abnormalities in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of consecutive RA patients who underwent high-resolution CT (HRCT) before and during biologic therapy. The presence of and change in 20 pulmonary lesions were recorded. Patterns of pre-existing and new lesions were examined by cluster analysis and tested for a correlation between pre-existing and new lesions.ResultsThe subjects were 208 patients (mean age, 59.2 years; mean disease duration, 7.9 years). The mean duration between HRCT examinations was 3.3 years. Pulmonary abnormalities were found in 70% of the patients: interstitial lung disease (ILD) in 39%, nodular lesions in 22%, and airway disease (AD) in 55%. There were commonly several different lesions in the same patient, and coexistence patterns were detected. In patients with abnormalities, AD was a shared abnormality. The incidence of pulmonary abnormalities was 10.5/100 person-years. Bronchiolitis was identified as the initial lesion. In patients with pre-existing abnormalities, a variety of new abnormalities developed in several patterns; e.g., ILD and progression of AD occurred in patients with AD. Strong correlation was found between new ground-glass opacity and each of pre-existing AD and honeycombing.ConclusionsPulmonary abnormalities exist and develop in patterns rather than at random. Based on the present findings, we propose the following development pathway for pulmonary abnormalities in RA: the initial lesion is bronchiolitis, which leads to the formation of complex AD, from which a variety of pulmonary lesions arise, particularly ILDs.
MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATION ON TOTAL THERMAL RESISTANCE OF NANO TRIANGULAR PIPE

This article studied the non-equilibrium heat transfer behavior in the nano triangular pipe. Molecular Dynamic simulation generates two controllable isothermal phantom boundary condition to compule internal temperature filled. The phantom work form , the change of integrating surface potential energy and the total thermal resistance can be computed by the temperature distribution along the axial direction. Results reveal that the total thermal resistance which included the solid-liquid contact resistance (evaporation and condensation region) and liquid-vapor resistance (adiabatic region). The total thermal resistance shows near parabolic type curve with respective to surface potential energy. By increasing the surface energy produce the more dense argon atoms aggregate in bottom and top lays which will be more heat transfer generated by phantom Pt molecular. But, as the surface energy larger than the optimal surface energy, argon atoms are absorpted and condensated over the surrounding which will decrease the rate of heat transfer and produce larger thermal resistance.
VERIFICATION OF THE DESIGN METHOD FOR ASPHALT PAVEMENTS IN SWITZERLAND --PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF ASPHALT PAVEMENTS HELD DEFLT UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, AUGUST 23-26 1982. VOL 1 AND 2. -- NETHERLANDS

A structural design method for asphalt pavements based on the results of the aasho-road-test has been used in Switzerland for 10 years and a discussion about a possible revision is actually taking place. Information from three different sources is analyzed in the preparatory phase of this revision. The study of the performance of different pavements under traffic, which have been subjected to a special observation programme since their construction and are now more than 15 years old shows, compared to the results of theoretical performance values, that with few exceptions under special conditions the pavements are behaving far better than could be expected. The size and the degree of precision of some elements contributing to the study are not sufficient to give exact figures of the amount of over-designed thickness. However it can be said that pavements designed for 7 to 15 millions standard axles on a subgrade with a CBR of 10% could easily afford a thickness reduction equivalent to 50 mm asphalt concrete when their structure has unbound or to a certain extent cement stabilized materials in the subbase. These findings are already confirmed in the case of semi-rigid pavements by the intermediate results of full scale tests on a circular test track under moving wheel loads. When comparing the different major design methods, it is found that pavements designed by the Swiss or AASHOo method are distinctly the most conservative ones, those determined with the shell pavement design method are the thinner ones at the opposite end. The truth, as in many cases, may well be found between the two extremes and this would also be confirmed by observations. For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 815640.
Modeling of educational and creative environment for children with special educational needs

In the present scientific paper one of the most general aims is the complex health of the child with special educational needs (SEN), its full integration, as far as possible, that contributes to the well-being of the community and its personal happiness. The creative approach to the formation of a developing educational and creative environment for children with special educational needs is fundamental to their adaptation and socialization, to their full and independent way of life. Analysis of the cognitive and creative functioning of the person increases the probability of building skills to include realistic, evidence-based assessments of situations and to reduce the subjective experience of negative emotion. These skills include identifying cognitive distortions, changing beliefs related to the world and others, and changing behavioral coping strategies. With the development of modern technologies and the transition of human civilization to an information society, the problem of personal adaptability becomes more and more relevant. The adaptation of man to the requirements of the social environment, his experience as a professionally realized and succeeded, identified with the group, with the organization experiencing serious pressure from internal and external factors are present. This report discusses options that alleviate the condition of distress, both in children and in their parents. The practical dimension of this statement is related to seeking a coherent link in the application of creativity as a creative process.
Is Europe prepared to go digital? making the case for developing digital capacity: An exploratory analysis of Eurostat survey data

Digital divides are globally recognised as a wicked problem that threatens to become the new face of inequality. They are formed by discrepancies in Internet access, digital skills, and tangible outcomes (e.g. health, economic) between populations. Previous studies indicate that Europe has an average Internet access rate of 90%, yet rarely specify for different demographics and do not report on the presence of digital skills. This exploratory analysis used the 2019 community survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals from Eurostat, which is a sample of 147,531 households and 197,631 individuals aged 16-74. The cross-country comparative analysis includes EEA and Switzerland. Data were collected between January and August 2019 and analysed between April and May 2021. Large differences in Internet access were observed (75-98%), especially between North-Western (94-98%) and South-Eastern Europe (75-87%). Young populations, high education levels, employment, and living in an urban environment appear to positively influence the development of higher digital skills. The cross-country analysis exhibits a positive correlation between high capital stock and income/earnings, and the digital skills development while showing that the internet-access price bears marginal influence over digital literacy levels. The findings suggest Europe is currently unable to host a sustainable digital society without exacerbating cross-country inequalities due to substantial differences in internet access and digital literacy. Investment in building digital capacity in the general population should be the primary objective of European countries to ensure they can benefit optimally, equitably, and sustainably from the advancements of the Digital Era.
Scene Coordinate Regression with Point Clouds for RGB Camera Relocalization

Outdoor camera relocalization from a single RGB image remains a challenging task in autonomous driving. State-of-the-art method is based on training a scene coordinate regression (SCoRe) neural network with a 3D mesh model [3]. In this work, we look into training the SCoRe network with 3D point clouds. Our results have shown strong evidence that 3D points optimized under multi-view constraints, such as epipolar constraints, reprojection errors, photometric consistency and global visibility, are effective for training the SCoRe network. This also inspires follow-up research on training with the above constraints, i.e. without explicit 3D models, to achieve a robust and generalized SCoRe network for outdoor relocalization.
Environmental management tools for SMEs : a handbook

Note The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the European Commission or the European Environment Agency concerning the legal status of any country or territory, and the boundaries shown on maps do not imply official endorsement or acceptance. A number of people were kind enough to prepare case studies for the Handbook. The editor would like to thank Anders Schmidt (dk-TEKNIK, The editor would also like to thank those people who were kind enough to provide information for the handbook, discuss its content, comment on the text and provide technical assistance. So thank you to
Introduction to safety engineering

This overview of the safety engineering field examines the areas and problems confronting engineers and other health and safety professionals. Discusses various accident conditions and the ways to control them. Covers loss control, human resource development management and training, design assurance, health care, and occupational design. Examines the disaster or imminent disaster situation and the appropriate action to take.