Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Time-Domain Topological Energy Imaging Method of Concrete Cavity Defect by Lamb Wave

This paper presents an ultrasonic Lamb wave imaging method based on time-domain topological energy to address artifacts in the results of traditional ultrasound imaging methods. This method is based on topological theory and the calculation of the direct and adjoint sound fields in a defect-free reference medium. It focuses the direct and adjoint sound fields at the cavity defect using time reversal and their time-domain topological energy as the pixel values of the image to reduce the artifacts. The physical mechanism of time-domain topological energy (TDTE) imaging is revealed by finite element simulation and experiment. The feasibility of this method for multilayer concrete cavity defect imaging is verified. Compared with the traditional synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) imaging method, the numerical simulation and experimental results show that the method can overcome the influence of ultrasonic Lamb wave dispersion and locate cavity defects with high accuracy and few artifacts. These features indicate the potential of the method in imaging damage concrete structures.
How Can Organisations and Business Models Lead to a More Sustainable Society? A Framework from a Systematic Review of the Industry 4.0

The concept of Industry 4.0 has been mainly addressed by the current literature from a technological perspective, overlooking the organisational and even ethical challenges related to this recent paradigm. In order to become ‘4.0 compliant’, an enterprise must adapt its organisation and business approaches, and these changes may lead to a significant impact on sustainability. Therefore, we performed a systematic literature review to investigate the most recent Industry 4.0 research streams by adopting a multi-perspective approach. This analysis led to collect insights on the key traits of an Enterprise 4.0: integration, decomposed hierarchy, flexibility, and autonomy. Each of these keywords involves work environments, business and organisational models, and educational approaches, which constitute the key traits of the novel framework proposed in this study.
Market Liquidity, Funding Liquidity and Bank Quality

The seminal paper of Brunnermeier & Pedersen (2009) distinguishes two channels for banks to obtain liquid assets, namely a market liquidity channel and a funding liquidity channel. This thesis adds to the existing literature by examining whether the use of market liquidity and funding liquidity channels depends on bank quality. The data covers quarterly data from 2001 until 2014 of banks in the USA. I find that high-quality banks make less use of the market liquidity channel compared to low-quality banks. The use of the funding liquidity channel could not be associated with bank quality.
DNND_A_228939 123..130

Jill Rasmussen 1 Haya Langerman 2 1Psi-Napse, Dorking, Surrey, UK; 2Department of Medical Affairs, MSD Ltd, Hoddesdon, UK Abstract: Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia. However, neither Alzheimer’s disease nor Alzheimer’s dementia are an inevitable consequence of aging. This review provides an overview of the issues involved in a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease before an individual meets the criteria for Alzheimer’s dementia. It examines how Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis rates can be improved, the implications of an early diagnosis for the individual, carer and society, and the importance of risk reduction to prevent or delay progression. Although no disease-modifying agents capable of reversing the initial pathological changes are currently available, it may be possible to prevent or delay the development of dementia in a proportion of the population by modifying exposure to common risk factors. In other individuals, diagnosing the disease or risk of disease early is still valuable so that the individual and their carers have time to make choices and plan for the future, and to allow access to treatments that can help manage symptoms. Primary healthcare professionals play a pivotal role in recognising individuals at risk, recommending lifestyle changes in mid-adult life that can prevent or slow down the disease, and in timely diagnosis. Early intervention is the optimal strategy, because the patient’s level of function is preserved for longer.
MICROFINANCE AND SUBSIDIZED MICROFINANCE: IMPACT OF SUBSIDY ON SUSTAINABILITY

Detailed review of literature forms the basis of an y good research. This provides enough clues for the study to be undertaken. It helps to identif y the problem areas for further scrutiny. Though a summary of such review is already presented in ch apter one, the present chapter furnishes a detailed version. This chapter begins with the revi ew of literature on the proliferation of microfinance across the globe in general and India in particular with special focus on their outreach and on the importance of microfinance in a llevi ting rural poverty. The global emergence and spread of the subsidized microfinance re covered in the next section with special reference to India. The sustainability issue of var ious microfinance programmes and subsidized microfinance programmes are also an indispensable p art of the study wherein the impact of microfinance with special focus on impact of subsid y on sustainability is studied. Methodological issues with regard to the impact ass es ment of microcredit and impact of subsidy on sustainability are covered at the end.
Soil properties and landscape factors affecting maize yield under wet spring conditions in eastern Canada

nt matter & 2007 IAgrE. emseng.2007. 10.006 hor. eon-etienne.parent@sga. Spatial variation in soil properties is attributable in part to redistribution of moisture and topsoil and to soil compaction associated with water-logging. Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) can define topography at a fine scale where these processes may occur as related to field landscape positions such as footslope, depression, crest, and plateau. Our objective was to relate micro-relief (slope, elevation) to soil physical properties and to maize (Zea mays L.) yield under wet spring conditions and delineate soil management units in the field. The experimental 9-ha field was located in the St-Lawrence Lowlands, Quebec, Canada. A topographical survey was conducted using an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) equipped with high-precision Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers sampling 3-D coordinates to generate a grid as fine as 3 m. The GPS sampling method was compared to a total station (TS) for land survey on a 20-m grid. Soil samples and grain yield were collected and georeferenced on a 30-m grid. Kriging, mapping, and correlation analyses were conducted. Topographic data sampled using a GPS receiver embedded on an ATV were accurate (o10 cm) compared to TS. Soil compaction indexes (bulk density, clay and clay/OM ratio) were the most closely related to yield (r 1⁄4 0.57 to 0.60). An independent dataset across the St-Lawrence Lowlands indicated that maize yield exceeding 10 t ha 1 in 1999 and 2000 was obtained with clay/OM ratios less than 12. The DEM and clay/OM ratio distribution maps were useful to locate five landscape positions of clay accumulation, water-logging, and soil compaction, forming two soil management units. In the footslope and depression management units, specific allocation of organic amendments may increase maize yield. & 2007 IAgrE. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Metacognitive awareness and personal characteristics of students: A case of Estonia

Entrepreneurship education has acquired a great importance in higher education for the development of entrepreneurial thinking, acquiring knowledge and skills for the development of entrepreneurial initiative among students. However, there is a need to study more profoundly the input as well as outcome of entrepreneurship training courses, especially concerning the assessment and improvement of training courses for making them more effective. The purpose of this article is to investigate how the courses on entrepreneurship are influencing students‟ metacognitive awareness and whether different personal characteristics of students are connected with and influencing the development of their metacognitive abilities. The article is based on the survey carried out by using students‟ psychological profile questionnaire and additional metacognitive awareness questionnaire. The results of study have been analysed by the tools of linear statistical analysis and clustering methodologies. The results indicate that entrepreneurial mindset and metacognitive awareness are most developed among students presenting higher level of self-confidence, aspiration towards independence and and risk-taking propensity, i.e. entreprising students. On the basis of the results of survey it is possible to make a conclusion that in order to increase students‟ metacognitive awareness the content of courses and teaching methods are important aspects to consider for students with different personal characteristics.
Oil price Volatility and Exchange rate Dynamics in Nigeria: A Markov Switching Approach

The paper examines the spillover effect of crude oil price shocks to exchange rate movement of appreciation and depreciation in Nigeria using monthly data ranging from January 2004- June 2019. The study employed a two stage heteroskedastic Markov switching model. Results from preliminary investigations reveal that both Crude oil prices and exchange rate series are characterized with non- normal distribution, presence of unit root and ARCH effects. Also the BDS, Bai-Perron and Cusum Q tests are conducted to figure out the nonlinearities and structural breaks in the data. The result obtained from the estimated model indicated a positive relationship between oil prices and exchange rate in regime 1(depreciation regime) and negative relationship in regime 2 (appreciation regime). Further analysis reveals that low volatility appreciation regime is more persistent than high volatility deprecation regime with transitional probabilities 0.97 and 0.39 respectively. Consistently the expected duration of stay reveals that duration of stay in the appreciation regime is higher than in the depreciation regime at 35.92 months and 1.6 months respectively. Further, analysis of volatility spillover between oil prices and exchange rate reveals that a rise in oil prices leads to appreciation of the Naira and conversely negative shock in oil prices cause a consequent deprecation of the local currency. Certainly the findings are shall be of utmost relevance to monetary authorities.
AKMA Support in Multi SIM User Equipment

Multi SIM User Equipment (UE) can have more than one physical slot for Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). The eUICC is an embedded version of the UICC, which cannot be physically removed from the communication device. Currently, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is working on developing Authentication and Key Management for Applications (AKMA), with which user can bootstrap authentication towards application server from his mobile subscription. We consider the scenario that may become common in devices with Multi SIM and eUICC, in which one subscription is used for primary services such as voice and data, and another subscription is used for AKMA services. In this scenario, the purpose is to use AKMA services simultaneously and without interrupting primary services. There are existing requirements for Multi SIM and eUICC, which restrain this scenario from being successful. The solution that we propose includes arrangements and adaptations, in order to provide secure and uninterrupted services of both primary and AKMA services.
Empirical Study of Taijiquan Interventions on the Prevention and cure of Hypertension

Based on the principle and model of the sports prescription,and with the case study of Taijiqan prescription on the prevention and cure of deficiency of liver-yin and kidney-yin hypertension,the study explores its clinical effectiveness.The results indicated that:1)After 16-week practice of taijiquan,the decrease of the CPR concentration of the experimental was different from that before the experiment while the decrease of CPR concentration of the control group didn't have apparent difference.2)In the experimental group,the systolic blood pressure of the experimental group,compared with themselves before the experiment,was significantly lower,and their diastolic blood pressure was also evident lower than before.However,the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the control group didn't have significant change.In the comparison of the difference between the experimental control group,before and after experiment,systolic blood pressure were significantly different,and diastolic pressure had an extremely significant difference.3)In the experimental group,95.15% subjects felt balance enhanced,clear-headed,body relaxed,energetic,no discomfort,etc.while in the control group was 76.08%. The difference between them was statistically significant.In the experimental group,90.33% subjects' following symptoms reduced-insomnia,dreams,dizziness,tinnitus,fatigue,and irritability while in the control group was 87.53%. The research indicated that traditional Chinese medical exercise prescription has antihypertensive effect which is suitable for clinical use on hypertension patients.
VIRTUAL REALITY SITUATIONAL LANGUAGE TRAINER FOR SECOND LANGUAGE: DESIGN & EVALUATION

Use of virtual learning environments has been studied for years, but no common guidelines for evaluating them for education exist. The Developing Virtual Learning for Finnish project proposed a set of such guidelines in context of teaching a second language to immigrants. To aid the definition work and test the guidelines, a demonstrative application was created with focus on introducing the students to everyday situations and to the use of spoken language. The main objective of the game design was to create a friendly and comfortable environment, where the users would feel safe to experiment with the new language. To evaluate both the game and the initial guidelines, user experience research was conducted on actual immigrants learning Finnish as a second language. According to the questionnaire results, the game fulfilled the primary objectives and the evaluation criteria provided an insight into the usefulness of the game for learning.
Introducing a Mindset Intervention to Improve Student Success

Aim/Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce, describe, and document the methods involved in the preparation of a mindset intervention built into a freshmen development course, and established after years of longitudinal research, that is designed to have a positive impact on the outlook, achievement, and persistence of first generation and under-prepared students. Background A number of studies conducted in the past fifteen years have concluded that grit, the persistence and perseverance to achieve goals, and growth mindset, the belief that skills and intelligence can be developed, are positive predictors of achievement; however, little focus has been placed on the implications at institutions purposed to educate minorities, first generation college students, and learners from diminished socio-economic backgrounds. Methodology A series of models were created, custom self-assessment scales designed, and a lesson plan prepared purposed to deliver a mindset intervention to edify students about and change perceptions of grit, locus of control/self-efficacy, growth mindset, and goal setting. The mindset intervention, as presented in this paper, was delivered as part of a pilot implementation to students enrolled in a freshmen professional development course at a Mid-Atlantic HBCU in the Fall of 2019. Contribution This qualitative paper documents an ongoing initiative while providing a workable template for the design and delivery of a mindset intervention that Introducing a Mindset Intervention 136 is believed will be highly effective with first generation and socio-economically disadvantaged learners. It represents the third paper in a five paper series. Recommendations for Practitioners As part of a commitment to positive student outcomes, faculty and administrators in higher education must be constantly exploring factors that may, or may not, impact student success. Recommendations for Researchers Research is needed that explores elements that may help to contribute to the success of under prepared college students, in particular those who are from low income, first generation, and minority groups Future Research The authors have introduced the mindset intervention with freshmen business students enrolled in a required professional development course. Results of the self-assessments and reflection questions are being collected and coded. Additionally, students are being administered a survey designed to measure the perceived efficacy of the initiative.
The Aircraft Pose Estimation Based on a Convolutional Neural Network

The pose estimation of the aircraft in the airport plays an important role in preventing collisions and constructing the real-time scene of the airport. However, current airport target surveillance methods regard the aircraft as a point, neglecting the importance of pose estimation. Inspired by human pose estimation, this paper presents an aircraft pose estimation method based on a convolutional neural network through reconstructing the two-dimensional skeleton of an aircraft. Firstly, the key points of an aircraft and the matching relationship are defined to design a 2D skeleton of an aircraft. Secondly, a convolutional neural network is designed to predict all key points and components of the aircraft kept in the confidence maps and the Correlation Fields, respectively. Thirdly, all key points are coarsely matched based on the matching relationship and then refined through the Correlation Fields. Finally, the 2D skeleton of an aircraft is reconstructed. To overcome the lack of benchmark dataset, the airport surveillance video and Autodesk 3ds Max are utilized to build two datasets. Experiment results show that the proposed method get better performance in terms of accuracy and efficiency compared with other related methods.
ON DYNAMIC QUASI-BIFURCATION OF SIMPLE SHELL-LIKE SYSTEMS UNDER IMPULSIVE LOADS

The nonlinear dynamic response and buckling of a simple, two degree of freedom system is investigated in this work under an impulsive load that simulates a nearby detonation-like explosion. The model considered in this work was originally studied by other researchers to explore static buckling. The system includes force and moment springs in much the same way as membrane and bending effects develop in shell structures. The static response is first obtained to evaluate bifurcation states and nonlinear equilibrium paths including geometric imperfections. The dynamic problem is modeled using Lagrange equation of motion involving the total potential and kinetic energies. The nonlinear dynamic response under impulsive load is next computed for the perfect configuration under increasing load levels. The presence of quasi-bifurcations is detected using stability coefficients based on second order derivatives of the total potential energy. For a given load level, it is found that one stability coefficient vanishes at the first maximum in the displacement versus time trajectory, at which the system passes through a state of zero velocity. This occurs for the same displacement configuration as in the static buckling mode. The results show that quasi-bifurcation loads thus obtained are independent of the amplitude of the geometric imperfection considered but display high sensitivity to changes in the membrane to bending stiffness ratio. Extensions of the present model to account for the behavior of oil storage tanks under loads due to nearby explosions are suggested.
Determination of lignin concentration in bleaching effluent via Coomassie brilliant blue G-250 method

Kraft pulp and alkali peroxide mechanical pulp were prepared with aspen and wheat straw and bleached with chlorine dioxide, an alkali extraction strengthened by hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen peroxide, or peroxyacetic acid. Eight different bleaching effluents were obtained, and a Coomassie brilliant blue G-250 method was applied to determine the lignin content in each of the bleaching effluents. The visible light spectra indicated that the alkali-soluble lignin and the alkali bleaching effluent could increase the absorbance of Coomassie brilliant blue G-250 at 640 nm, but the acidic soluble lignin and the acidic bleaching effluent did not increase absorbance. Thus, the Coomassie brilliant blue G-250 method applied to alkali bleaching effluents but did not apply to acidic bleaching effluents. An analysis of the pH, particle size, zeta potential, and visible light spectra determination showed the Coomassie brilliant blue G-250 absorbed on lignin particles, which caused the absorbance increase at 640 nm. With the actual measured value of the lignin content obtained via the Klason lignin method, the relative error of the results obtained via the Coomassie brilliant blue G-250 method was less than or equal to 3.8%.
Implementing organic viticulture as a business strategy: A case study

Design/methodology/approach A comparative case study approach was used with respect to HAK AND DUL (2009). Enterprises were observed by using annual financial statements over a five-year period. Statistical analysis was conducted to compare key figures that examine impacts of organic farming compared to conventional farming practices. Moreover, content analysis was drawn to examine impacts of organic viticulture from an entrepreneur’s point of view. Results from quantitative and qualitative data was combined to test propositions that were derived from literature.
Minimal sensing of quality of upper-limb movements

Physiotherapists supervise task-oriented recovery process of stroke patients during clinical assessment sessions; however, these patients should be also followed up after discharge from the clinic and during activities of daily living (ADL). Stroke survivors are faced with hardships while performing ADL due to their restricted arm functionality. Therefore, monitoring and subsequent assessment of the task performance during ADL would lead to efficient rehabilitation procedures. The aim of this study is to develop a stand-alone, minimal-sensing wearable system based on inertial measurement units (IMUs) capable of recognizing various ADL and subsequently assessing the quality of upper-limb movements. The proposed sensing system comprised three IMUs, one located at the sternum and two other sensors on the distal parts of the left and right forearms close to wrists. Human activity recognizer (HAR) of the study was developed using artificial neural network (ANN) and 10-fold cross-validation approach of HAR development showed an accuracy of 94.02 % and 98.08% for detecting 2D-planar and 3D reaching events, respectively. The quality of the detected reaching events was assessed using various validated metrics such as smoothness, workspace area, and relative displacement of hand with respect to sternum. Feasibility of smoothness analysis using the proposed system was validated by the Xsens full-body capture system, although displacement estimations were problematic. Displacement estimates using minimal sensor setup were seen to be inconsistent between different reaching-included tasks by having errors ranging from 0.1 to 7.98 cm when compared to the full-body suit outcomes. Furthermore, in this study, it is proposed that smoothness analysis solely may not be a comprehensive metric for quality of movement assessment. It was seen that there exist some quite smooth movements in which relative displacement of hand and sternum are comparatively short, which is a sign for the existence of compensatory strategies. Thus, the relative displacement of hand and sternum together with smoothness of movement complement the quality upper-limb movement assessment.