Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling and passive control of flexible guiding hoisting system with time-varying length

ABSTRACT A coupled dynamic modelling of the flexible guiding hoisting system is established, which includes the transverse-longitudinal-coupled vibration and the rotational vibration. Substituting vibrational energy of the system into Hamilton principle and applying the dynamic constraint, a distributed parameter mathematical model of the multi-rope system is derived. It is governed by coupled partial differential equations and ordinary differential equations (PDEs-ODEs), where the dynamic constraint in the form of an unknown moving force is the only connection between the hoisting conveyance and the guiding ropes. Based on Galerkin method, the dynamic response of the system is validated by numerical calculation and ADAMS simulation. Besides, an absorber with artificial intelligence optimization is proposed to reduce system vibration. The simulation result has demonstrated that a hoisting conveyance resonance can be observed when the external disturbance frequency is close to the system natural frequencies. Moreover, a vibration absorber can effectively diminish the resonant peaks of the first three orders of the guiding rope.
Predicting suitable habitat for dreissenid mussel invasion in Texas based on climatic and lake physical characteristics

Eurasian zebra and quagga mussels were likely introduced to the Laurentian Great Lakes via ballast water release in the 1980s, and their range has since expanded across the US, including some of their southernmost occurrences in Texas. Their spread into the state has resulted in a need to revise previous delimitations of suitable dreissenid habitat. We therefore assessed invasion risk in Texas by 1) predicting distribution of suitable habitat of zebra and quagga mussels using Maxent species distribution models based upon global occurrence and climate data; and 2) refining lake-specific predictions via collection and analysis of physicochemical data. Maxent models predicted a lack of suitable habitat for quagga mussels within Texas. However, models did predict the presence of suitable zebra mussel habitat, with hotspots of suitable habitat occurring along the Red and Sabine Rivers of north and east Texas, as well as patches of suitable habitat in central Texas between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers and extending inland along the Gulf Coast. Although predicted suitable habitat extended further west than in previous models, most of the Texas panhandle, west Texas extending toward El Paso, and the Rio Grande valley were predicted to provide poor zebra mussel habitat suitability. Collection of physicochemical data (i.e., dissolved oxygen, pH, specific conductance, and temperature on-site as well as laboratory analysis for Ca, N, and P) from zebra mussel-invaded lakes and a subset of uninvaded but high-risk lakes of North and Central Texas, did not refine model predictions because there was no apparent distinction between invaded and uninvaded lakes. Overall, we demonstrated that while quagga mussels do not appear to represent an invasive threat in Texas, abundant suitable habitat for continuing zebra mussel invasion exists within the state. The threat of continued expansion of this poster-child for negative invasive species impacts warrants further prevention efforts, management, and research.
Transnational Competence: A Transformative Tool? A Comparison of German and Irish Political Trade Union Education Programs

In the literature on cross-border labor action, labor education is seen as an important factor to improving it. This article therefore first reconstructs an innovative pedagogic concept, transformative Transnational Competence, to advance transnational labor education and action. Although initially developed for multinational firms and international organizations, this pedagogical concept is promising for labor, as it also focuses on emotional issues that are central to collective action. Subsequently, we use our reconstructed concept as a yardstick to assess labor education programs of public and private sector unions in Ireland and Germany. Our study shows that all unions face similar difficulties leading to rather little attention to transnational labor education, regardless of the very different labor relations landscapes in which they are operating. Hence, unions’ difficulties in relation to transnational labor education and action cannot be due to distinct national or sectorial factors, such as labor relations systems and different amounts of resources allocated to labor education. Instead, transnational labor education is facing challenges that are common in all cases, notably the tension between utilitarian and emancipatory orientations of union leaders, educators, and members involved in labor education programs.
Experimental and quasi-experimental designs

Researchers within the field of applied linguistics have long used experiments to investigate cause-effect relationships regarding the use and learning of second languages (L2s). In experimental research, one or more variables are altered and the effects of this change on another variable are examined. This change or experimental manipulation is usually referred to as the treatment. Researchers typically draw upon either experimental or quasi-experimental research designs to determine whether there is a causal relationship between the treatment and the outcome. This chapter outlines key features and provides examples of common experimental and quasi-experimental research designs. We also make recommendations for how experimental designs might best be applied and utilized within applied linguistics research.
Simulation model of vertical water wheel performance flow

Potential renewable energy source that can be greatly utilized is the water flow, namely hydropower. The hydropower is one of the efforts to answer the energy crisis occurred in several regions due to lack of awareness to develop alternative energy. This effort will be done by designing a hydroelectric power plant. Before being made, it was studied using CFD simulation using Ansys Student Version 19.1 that was calculated based on flow assumptions. One model of the approach used is k-epsilon, with the initial flow rate of 5 m/s. By using water-liquid fluid material, the speed of water produced around the wheel is 2.19 m/s while the speed of water after passing the water wheel is 5.07m/s.
An Improved DBSCAN Algorithm Based on the Neighbor Similarity and Fast Nearest Neighbor Query

DBSCAN is the most famous density based clustering algorithm which is one of the main clustering paradigms. However, there are many redundant distance computations among the process of DBSCAN clustering, due to brute force Range-Query used to retrieve neighbors for each point in DBSCAN, which yields high complexity (O(<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n^{2}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>)) and low efficiency. Thus, it is unsuitable and not applicable for large scale data. In this paper, an improved DBSCAN based on neighbor similarity is proposed, which utilizes and Cover Tree to retrieve neighbors for each point in parallel, and the triangle inequality to filter many unnecessary distance computations. From the experiments conducted on large scale data sets, it is demonstrated that the proposed algorithm greatly speedup the original DBSCAN, and outperform the main improvements of DBSCAN. Comparing with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\rho $ </tex-math></inline-formula>-approximate DBSCAN, which is the current fastest but approximate version of DBSCAN, the proposed algorithm has two advantages: one is faster and the other is that the result is accurate.
Islamist Communities on VKontakte: Identification Mechanisms and Network Structure

Abstract This article examines the presence of extremist online communities on the Russian social network VKontakte following the tightening by Russian federal аuthorities of internet counter-extremism policies and censorship. Extremist communities were detected using linguistic markers for extremist attitudes and radical violence. The study of socio-demographic data and network metrics of Islamist extremist communities reveals some general tendencies in the Russian context: a majority of female participants, a highly decentralised community network structure, radical Salafism as the mainstream ideology and covert proselytisation through the discussion of Islamic theology and lifestyle issues that are not in themselves extremist.
A mesocosm comparison of laboratory‐based and on‐site eDNA solutions for detection and quantification of striped bass (
 Morone saxatilis
 ) in marine ecosystems

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. © 2020 Stantec Consulting Ltd. Environmental DNA published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd 1Stantec Consulting Ltd., Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada 2Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 3Stantec Consulting Ltd., Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada 4Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Use of the Ishikawa diagram in the investigation of some industrial processes

The use of the Ishikawa diagram was proposed by Japanese professor Kaoru Ishikawa in the 1960s. The diagram must highlight the possible causes of a certain effect. In the research presented in this paper, the analysis method based on the design of the Ishikawa diagram was used to identify the factors able to ensure the adequate development of some investigations concerning certain industrial processes. It was found that various criteria could be used to evaluate the effect. Versions of Ishikawa diagrams were proposed in the cases of chemical engraving process, cast iron milling process, 3D printing process and the reliability of computer subsystems, respectively. A comparison of the Ishikawa diagram method with the systemic analysis method highlighted some particular aspects that could be considered when the problem of investigating the influence of certain process input factors on the process output parameters is formulated.
The use of surgical safety checklists during time-outs in rural and urban operating rooms

25 Introduction . 25 Method . 27 Sample Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria . 28 Data Management Procedures . 29 Data Coding and Analysis . 30 Results . 31 v Discussion . 33 Chapter Three: Methods . 52 Conceptual Model . 52 Study Design . 53 Study Setting and Population . 53 Procedure . 54 Measurement instrument . 54 Data Analysis . 56 Human Subjects Involvement and Characteristics . 56 Sources of Materials . 57 Potential Risks . 57 Recruitment and Informed Consent . 57 Protections against Risks . 58 Potential Benefits of the Proposed Research to Human Subjects and Others . 58 Importance of the Knowledge to be Gained . 58 Summary . 59 Chapter Four: Results . 62 Abstract . 62 Introduction . 62 Background . 63 Methods . 65 Results . 67. 62 Introduction . 62 Background . 63 Methods . 65 Results . 67 vi Discussion . 72 Conclusion . 75 Chapter Five: Discussion . 88 Abstract . 88 Introduction . 89 Barriers to Successful Implementation . 91. 88 Introduction . 89 Barriers to Successful Implementation . 91 Keys to Successful Implementation . 93 Conclusion . 98 Chapter Six: Conclusion . 109 Vita . 156
A model of bi-directional interactions between complementary learning systems for memory consolidation of sequential experiences

The standard theory of memory consolidation posits a dual-store memory system: a fast-learning fast-decaying hippocampus that transfers memories to slow-learning long-term cortical storage. Hippocampal lesions interrupt this transfer, so recent memories are more likely to be lost than more remote memories. Existing models of memory consolidation that simulate this temporally graded retrograde amnesia operate only on static patterns or unitary variables as memories. However, the mechanisms underlying the consolidation of episodes, which are sequential in nature and comprise multiple events, are not well understood. There is currently no computational theory for how memory replays of sequential experiences emerge dynamically during offline periods and how they are coordinated between the hippocampus and cortex to facilitate the stabilization of episodic memories. Further, there is evidence for a bi-directional interaction between the two memory systems during offline periods (Ji & Wilson, 2007), whereby the reactivation of waking neural patterns originating in the cortex triggers time-compressed sequential replays in the hippocampus, which in turn drive the consolidation of the pertinent sequence in the cortex. We have developed a computational model of memory encoding, consolidation, and recall for storing temporal sequences that explores the dynamics of this bi-directional interaction and time-compressed replays in four simulation experiments, providing novel insights into whether hippocampal learning needs to be suppressed for stable memory consolidation and into how new and old memories compete for limited replay opportunities during offline periods. The salience of experienced events, based on factors such as recency and frequency of use, is shown to have considerable impact on memory consolidation because it biases the relative probability that a particular event will be cued in the cortex during offline periods. In the presence of hippocampal learning during sleep, our model predicts that the fast-forgetting hippocampus can continually refresh the memory traces of a given episodic sequence if there are no competing experiences to be replayed.
USING THE SOCIOCULTURAL CONCEPT OF LEARNING ACTIVITY TO UNDERSTAND PARENTS’ LEARNING ABOUT PLAY IN COMMUNITY PLAYGROUPS AND SOCIAL MEDIA

ABSTRACT This paper considers utilising the sociocultural concept of learning activity to understand parents’ learning about young children’s play in the context of community playgroups and social media use. Parents’ knowledge about children’s play influences the provision of parental-provided play experiences for young children and can be enhanced through participation in a community playgroup. Increasingly, playgroup parents are using social media to communicate about children’s play at playgroup and this social situation for learning about play is yet to be theorised for maximising young children’s access to play-based learning experiences in early childhood. Learning activity as a sociocultural concept, recognises learning as an activity for self-development. It has been applied to formal education contexts but has not been used to understand parents’ learning in informal early childhood education contexts. This paper explores its potential for generating new knowledge about parents’ learning about play in the home and community by conceptualising learning as an activity enacted within the social situation of community playgroups and social media. Implications for the mobilisation of this social situation are framed in the context of parent engagement in early childhood education.
Predicting unknown mineral localities based on mineral associations.

Mindat (mindat.org), the Mineral Evolution Database (RRUFF.info/Evolution), and the Global Earth Mineral Inventory are some of the well-known datasets in the field of mineralogy, which contain data about almost all known localities on Earth where minerals have been found. The increase in the amount and accuracy of mineral data and the improvements in technological resources make it possible to explore and answer large, outstanding scientific questions, such as, understanding the mineral assemblages on Earth and how they compare to assemblages and localities on other planets. In this contribution, we present an affinity analysis method to: 1) Predict the previously unknown occurrence of a mineral of interest. 2) Predict the location of a geologic environment or deposit based on a mineral assemblage. Affinity Analysis, or Market Basket Analysis, is a machine learning method that uses mined association rules to find interesting patterns in the data. The strength of the rules is identified using some measures of interestingness, such as ‘lift’. For example, when the occurrence of a mineral predicted with high confidence at a given locality is unexpected (low support), the rule used for such a prediction is considered ‘very interesting’. Successful implementation of this methodology will greatly aid the mineral discovery process.
Second Screen Applications: A Multi-Platform Software Development Kit and Optimization of Human-Computer Interaction in Distributed Systems

This dissertation addresses various aspects of the term second screen and the challenges involved in the development of this type of application. The term and its characteristics have been clearly delineate by the means of a structured review of literature of 65 publications and an analysis of 19 currently available commercial applications. Furthermore, a content and technical classification were created to facilitate communication and the positing of future research activity in this area. The development of second screen applications is currently associated with a high effort, caused by the redundant implementation of multiple software platforms on both first and second screen side. In order to counteract this double multi-platform problem, an SDK was developed that facilitates the connection and communication process between the different application parts. The functionality of this 2ndS SDK was evaluated as reliable and performant and proven in several functional prototypes, which also served the purpose to examine existing and new forms of second screen interaction. In addition to addressing the technical challenges involved in the development of second screen applications, this work presents several results regarding the optimization of human-computer interaction in this type of application. These include a collection of 55 application components raised and validated in a mixed-method approach and insights into the attention behavior in such scenarios with corresponding recommendations derived from two eye-tracking studies. Furthermore, were concrete design guidelines from existing sources abstracted and evaluated with the help of a user study, and heuristics derived for the domain second screen and extended to a checklist for the efficient identification of problems. The results presented in this work are intended to be used in a usercentered design process and aim to ease the development of second screen applications with optimized interaction, and thereby contribute to their awareness and further distribution.
Detecting Abnormal Interactions among Intranet Groups Based on Netflow Data

This paper proposes a method for detecting abnormal interactions among intranet groups based on netflow data. Firstly, the netflows of each group are aggregated, and two anomaly detection indicators are constructed, i.e., the group network traffic and the uncertainty of group network traffic distribution. Secondly, the time series of two anomaly detection indicators of each group are analyzed, and four prediction models are used for prediction. Finally, the best-performing model is selected as the prediction benchmark, and the difference between the predicted result and the real data is used to detect whether there is an interaction anomaly among groups. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively detect the abnormal interaction among groups in intranet.
Not a melting pot: Plant species aggregate in their non‐native range

AIM: Plant species continue to be moved outside of their native range by human activities. Here, we aim to determine whether, once introduced, plants assimilate into native communities or whether they aggregate, thus forming mosaics of native‐ and alien‐rich communities. Alien species might aggregate in their non‐native range owing to shared habitat preferences, such as their tendency to establish in high‐biomass, species‐poor areas. LOCATION: Twenty‐two herbaceous grasslands in 14 countries, mainly in the temperate zone. TIME PERIOD: 2012–2016. MAJOR TAXA STUDIED: Plants. METHODS: We used a globally coordinated survey. Within this survey, we found 46 plant species, predominantly from Eurasia, for which we had co‐occurrence data in their native and non‐native ranges. We tested for differences in co‐occurrence patterns of 46 species between their native (home) and non‐native (away) range. We also tested whether species had similar habitat preferences, by testing for differences in total biomass and species richness of the patches that species occupy in their native and non‐native ranges. RESULTS: We found the same species to show different patterns of association depending on whether they were in their native or non‐native range. Alien species were negatively associated with native species; instead, they aggregated with other alien species in species‐poor, high‐biomass communities in their non‐native range compared with their native range. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: The strong differences between the native (home) and non‐native (away) range in species co‐occurrence patterns are evidence that the way in which species associate with resident communities in their non‐native range is not species dependent, but is instead a property of being away from their native range. These results thus highlight that species might undergo important ecological changes when introduced away from their native range. Overall, we show origin‐dependent associations that result in novel communities, in which alien‐rich patches exist within a mosaic of native‐dominated communities.
Under a top-down rubric policy : the perceptions and actualisations of assessment for learning and rubric in higher education in Hong Kong

Assessment for Learning has been a popular topic in higher education. However, it appears challenging for teachers and students in Hong Kong to adopt this concept. Given the opportunity of a top-down rubric policy in one university in Hong Kong, this thesis explores the perceptions and actualisations of Assessment for Learning and rubrics of students, educators and managers in this context. It offers a model of a holistic assessment policy that refocuses on the stakeholders, content and processes. The study is rooted in an interpretivist paradigm and qualitative data are generated through two focus groups of student participants and fourteen semi-structured interviews of educator and manager participants. This research demonstrates that measurement is the major function of assessment and rubrics in this context due to the Confucian-heritage culture, the dominant assessment discourse and suboptimal assessment literacy, while practical knowledge of learning features exist as a result of the participants’ applied-discipline backgrounds. This research delves into the barriers and opportunities of actualising Assessment for Learning and rubrics under a mandatory policy. Interestingly, pragmatic and contextual issues are key challenges that create tensions in the actualisation, rather than the concept itself or the disagreement on having a policy. This research somewhat concurs with suggestions from the contemporary literature that assessment practice change is complex and should consider institutional and cultural uniqueness. Based on the familiarity and acceptance of features of Assessment for Learning because of the applied-discipline background, the thesis therefore offers a context-specific model that engages stakeholders in various processes. It also includes the policy content necessary for improving the enactment of this policy. Other institutions that share similar cultures and backgrounds can benefit from the model when initiating an assessment policy.