Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Subjective Response Measurement to Prosthesis or Device Use: Validation of the Prosthetic–Bionic Paradigm Questionnaire (PBP-Q)

Many subjects with somatic pathologies or traumas in their recent anamnesis tend to experience symptoms and changes to their daily life parameters after technically successful treatment. Hence, this study aims to validate an investigation tool inspired by the prosthetic–bionic paradigm—namely, the PBP-Q—which allows for the evaluation of variation in questions relating to identity, psychosociality, and psychopathology in relation to the use of a prosthesis or device. We gathered 118 participants (68 females and 50 males) aged between 27 and 94 years (Mean = 58.42 ± 15.17). We performed both exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory (CFA) factor analyses on this sample. Moreover, we calculated the internal consistency for the PBP-Q scales and the total score for the questionnaire’s final 26-item and 5-factor versions. The five scales are psychological well-being; interpersonal relationships; professional relationships; autonomy and safety; addictions, compulsions, and obsessions. The internal consistency is good for both the total score and the subscales. In conclusion, overall, the PBP-Q has satisfactory psychometric properties, especially considering the measure’s complexity. It provides a quick and effective way to evaluate the changes that might arise after the use of a prosthesis or device and, subsequently, has implications for clinical practice.
Automatic Fingerprint Classification Using Deep Learning Technology (DeepFKTNet)

Fingerprints are gaining in popularity, and fingerprint datasets are becoming increasingly large. They are often captured utilizing a variety of sensors embedded in smart devices such as mobile phones and personal computers. One of the primary issues with fingerprint recognition systems is their high processing complexity, which is exacerbated when they are gathered using several sensors. One way to address this issue is to categorize fingerprints in a database to condense the search space. Deep learning is effective in designing robust fingerprint classification methods. However, designing the architecture of a CNN model is a laborious and time-consuming task. We proposed a technique for automatically determining the architecture of a CNN model adaptive to fingerprint classification; it automatically determines the number of filters and the layers using Fukunaga–Koontz transform and the ratio of the between-class scatter to within-class scatter. It helps to design lightweight CNN models, which are efficient and speed up the fingerprint recognition process. The method was evaluated two public-domain benchmark datasets FingerPass and FVC2004 benchmark datasets, which contain noisy, low-quality fingerprints obtained using live scan devices and cross-sensor fingerprints. The designed models outperform the well-known pre-trained models and the state-of-the-art fingerprint classification techniques.
Thermal strain and its alleviation in workers wearing firefighting protective clothing = 消防用防火服着用時の暑熱ストレスとその軽減法に関する研究

The objectives of this study were to investigate the relationship between clothing property factors and physiological effects, and techniques for alleviating physiological strain and enhancing the performance of firefighters on physiological and subjective responses while wearing protective clothing (PC). The studies measured rectal temperature (Tre), mean skin temperature (T _ sk), heart rate, body weight loss and subjective responses. The first study examined the relationships between clothing properties and the physiological effects on physiological/subjective responses for four types of PC and a light work garment. Eight male firefighters performed a bicycle ergometer exercise at 30%, 45% and 60% of V ・ O2peak for 10 minutes each at 30oC. Clothing surfaces coated with aluminized sliver (PC2) compared to other PCs were almost the same or lower in regard to clothing weight and thermal insulation (clo-value). The latent heat resistance of PC2 was the greatest. Physiological and subjective heat strain experienced while using PC2 was greater than other PCs. The physiological strain of firefighting protective clothing, shown in the difference between Tre and T _ sk, depends more upon resistance to latent heat than clothing weight and clo-value, suggesting that latent heat
Comparative Study on the Water Vapour Permeability of Textile by a Standard and Novel device

Thermo-physiological properties are very much connected to water vapour and air permeability. There are multiple standards with different working principles to determine the exact performance of any textile material. However, most of these tests are time-consuming and work on the steady state principle, whereas few devices work on heat flux, where results can be obtained much more quickly. The research article covers the testing of 8 unique shirt samples on these devices compared that on a novel device created by the author to see how much the results differ from each other. Lastly, a theoretical approach was used to determine any correlation between air permeability and water vapour permeability. The research work helps in understanding the working of different devices used for water vapour permeability and allows a reduction in time by using a predictive approach with just the results from the air permeability machine.
Ti3C2Tx MXene Quantum Dots with Surface-Terminated Groups (-F, -OH, =O, -Cl) for Ultrafast Photonics

Transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) have attracted significant attention in photoelectric applications due to their highly tunable electronic and optical properties influenced by a flexible compositional or surface functional group regulation. Ti3C2Tx MXenes (-F, -OH, =O terminated) used in previous ultrafast photonic studies are usually synthesized via a generic hydrofluoric acid (HF) etching strategy, which may cause numerous defects and thus impedes the optoelectronic properties of Ti3C2Tx. In this contribution, inspired by a much higher conductivity and carrier mobility of Ti3C2Tx (-F, -OH, =O, -Cl terminated) prepared from a minimally intensive layer delamination method (MILD) etching strategy, we further optimized it with a liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) method to synthesize pure Ti3C2Tx quantum dots (QDs) for ultrafast photonic. Compared to the other QDs saturable absorber (SA) devices performed at 1550 nm, our SA device exhibited a relatively low saturation intensity (1.983 GW/cm−2) and high modulation depth (11.6%), allowing for a more easily mode-locked pulse generation. A distinguished ultrashort pulse duration of 466 fs centered at the wavelength of 1566.57 nm with a fundamental frequency of 22.78 MHz was obtained in the communication band. Considering the SA based on such a Ti3C2Tx QDs tapered fiber is the first exploration of Er3+-doped fiber laser (EDFL), this work will open up a new avenue for applications in ultrafast photonics.
Effect of insecticides on biological attributes of the egg parasitoid Telenomus remus (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae)

ABSTRACT The egg parasitoid Telenomus remus (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) is one of the most important natural enemies of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). The application of chemical insecticides is the main strategy to control this insect pest, although it can affect T. remus and harm integrated pest management (IPM) programmes. This study evaluated the acute lethal (mortality) and sublethal (parasitism and emergence rate, sex ratio, and longevity) effects caused by chlorfenapyr, spinosad, and thiamethoxam + lambda-cyhalothrin by tarsal contact on T. remus adults. The lethal concentration (LC50) of the insecticides showed that thiamethoxam + lambda-cyhalothrin had the highest lethal toxicity on T. remus adults. However, sublethal effects on the F0 generation showed that all insecticides (chlorfenapyr, spinosad, and thiamethoxam + lambda-cyhalothrin) were classified as innocuous, without significant differences in the parasitism rate, emergence rate, and sex ratio compared to the control. Nevertheless, the risk quotient (RQ, mg ai L−1) classified the insecticides thiamethoxam + lambda-cyhalothrin and chlorfenapyr as toxic to T. remus. In contrast, spinosad was classified as slightly to moderately toxic. Also, thiamethoxam + lambda-cyhalothrin, chlorfenapyr, and spinosad did not affect the biological development of T. remus. These results can be used as a basis for integrating chemical and biological control to manage S. frugiperda in an attempt to preserve natural enemies in the field.
One decade (2011–2020) of European agricultural water stress monitoring by MSG-SEVIRI: workflow implementation on the Virtual Earth Laboratory (VLab) platform

ABSTRACT Cloud computing facilities can provide crucial computing support for processing the time series of satellite data and exploiting their spatio-temporal information content. However, dedicated efforts are still required to develop workflows, executable on cloud-based platforms, for ingesting the satellite data, performing the targeted processes, and generating the desired products. In this study, an operational workflow is proposed, based on monthly Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) anomaly, and implemented in cloud-based online Virtual Earth Laboratory (VLab) platform, as a demonstration, to monitor European agricultural water stress. To this end, daily time-series of actual and reference evapotranspiration (ETa and ET0), from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) sensor, were used to execute the proposed workflow successfully on VLab. The execution of the workflow resulted in obtaining one decade (2011–2020) of European monthly agricultural water stress maps at 0.04˚ spatial resolution and corresponding stress reports for each country. To support open science, all the workflow outputs are stored in GeoServer, documented in GeoNetwork, and made available through MapStore. This enables creating a dashboard for better visualization of the results for end-users. The results from this study demonstrate the capability of VLab platform for water stress detection from time series of SEVIRI-ET data.
Quasi Association Models for Square Contingency Tables with Ordinal Categories

The analysis of contingency tables focuses on a statistical model instead of independence when the independence between row and column variables does not hold. Many association models have been proposed to indicate the structure of odds ratios. Additionally, symmetry and asymmetry models have been proposed to analyze the cell probabilities of square contingency tables with symmetric or asymmetric structures. This paper proposes an asymmetry plus association model for square contingency tables with ordinal categories and partitioning of the test statistic for goodness-of-fit using our proposed model.
Adaptive second order sliding mode control strategies for uncertain systems

The main objective of this thesis is to develop robust sliding mode control strategies for uncertain systems. More specifically, the aim of this thesis is to develop sliding mode control schemes which are successful in controlling systems affected by both matched and mismatched types of uncertainty. One major drawback suffered by conventional sliding mode controllers is the presence of high frequency oscillations in the control input known as chattering. Because of the discontinuous control action in sliding mode controllers, chattering becomes an inherent undesired phenomenon. Apart from chattering, another disadvantage faced by conventional sliding mode controllers is their design prerequisite of advance knowledge about the upper bound of the system uncertainty. This thesis is an attempt to provide solution for these two main limitations of conventional first order sliding mode controllers. The central focus of this thesis is to improve upon the existing sliding mode control techniques with the prime objective of chattering mitigation. An adaptive gain tuning mechanism which can estimate the uncertainty adaptively is proposed in this thesis. Hence prior knowledge about the upper bound of system uncertainty is no longer a necessary requirement in the proposed adaptive sliding mode controller. The basic idea of the proposed adaptive sliding mode controller is that the discontinuous sign function is made to act on the time derivative of the control input and the actual control signal obtained after integration is continuous and hence chattering is removed. The adaptive gain tuning strategy ensures that the controller gain is not overestimated. Based upon the core idea of adaptive sliding mode, various classes of sliding mode controllers are proposed in this thesis. In order to ensure smooth control action throughout the entire operating range, this thesis proposes an adaptive integral sliding mode controller. The integral sliding mode (ISM) algorithm eliminates the reaching phase. Therefore, invariance towards matched disturbances can be ensured from the very beginning by using this method. The proposed adaptive sliding mode control methodology is used to control nonlinear multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems which are highly cross-coupled. The proposed con-
<sup>18</sup>O analyses of bulk lipids as novel paleoclimate tool in loess research – a pilot study

Abstract. The analysis of the stable oxygen isotopes 18O and 16O has revolutionized paleoclimate research since the middle of the last century. Particularly, δ18O of ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica is used as a paleotemperature proxy, and δ18O of deep-sea sediments is used as a proxy for global ice volume. Important terrestrial archives to which δ18O as a paleoclimate proxy is successfully applied are speleothems, lake sediments, or tree rings. By contrast, δ18O applications to loess–paleosol sequences (LPSs) are scarce. Here we present a first continuous δ18O record (n=50) for the LPS Crvenka in Serbia, southeastern Europe, spanning the last glacial–interglacial cycle (since 145 ka). From a methodological point of view, we took advantage of a recently proposed paleoclimate/paleohydrological proxy based on bulk δ18O analyses of plant-derived lipids. The Crvenka δ18Obulk lipid values range between −10.2 ‰ and +23.0 ‰ and are systematically more positive in the interglacial and interstadial (paleo-)soils corresponding to marine oxygen-isotope stage (MIS) 1, 3, and 5, compared to the loess layers (MIS 2, 4, and 6). Our Crvenka δ18Obulk lipid record provides no evidence for the occurrence of interstadials and stadials comparable to the Dansgaard–Oeschger events known from the Greenland δ18Oice core records. Concerning the interpretation of our Crvenka δ18Obulk lipid record, plant-derived lipids such as fatty acids and alcohols are certainly strongly influenced by climatic factors such as temperature (via δ18Oprecipitation) and relative air humidity (via 18O enrichment of leaf water due to evapotranspiration). However, pool effects in the form of non-water-correlated lipids such as sterols or the input of root-derived lipids need to be considered, too. Similarly, the input of soil-microbial lipids and oxygen exchange reactions represent uncertainties challenging quantitative paleoclimate/paleohydrological reconstructions based on δ18Obulk lipid analyses from LPSs.
Investigation of the performance of flexible pavement systems under moving loads using finite element analyses

Dona Johnson INVESTIGATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT SYSTEMS UNDER MOVING LOADS USING FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSES 2008 Dr. Beena Sukumaran Masters of Science in Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) The introduction of larger and heavier aircraft with more complex wheel configurations is making the current design methods inadequate for airfield pavements. In addition, airport pavements experience significant wander. However, the effect of wander on airport pavement performance has not been evaluated. In previous studies, the stress interactions between each tire of a triple-dual-tandem (TDT) axle used on B-777 and A380 aircraft cannot be captured using a two-dimensional model. In addition, many of these studies have assumed a linear-elastic material behavior of the pavement layers. The purpose of this study is to conduct a three-dimensional finite element analysis to quantify and evaluate the effects of wander and aircraft wheel configurations on the mechanical response of the pavement layers. The flexible pavement system that is modeled in this study is comprised of a medium and low strength subgrade. The stressstrain response of the base, subbase, and subgrade layers are simulated using an elastoplastic model and the asphalt layer is modeled separately as a viscoelastic and elastoplastic material. The entire pavement system is also modeled as layered linear elastic. The data collected from this study will show how flexible airport pavements are affected when wander is considered. Correlations between deformations from a single wheel and 4and 6wheel configurations are also studied. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Beena Sukumaran for the opportunity to work on this project. Her confidence in me and unwavering support was the driving force that helped me in completing my project. It was her encouragement that caused me to push myself harder and to better myself in the process. I would like to thank Dr. Mehta and Dr. Von Lockette for taking time out of their busy schedules to be a part of my committee, their help and guidance has provided me with the necessary tools that have led me to become a better engineer. I would like to thank my family and friends who have supported me throughout this project. It was their encouragement and reassuring words that gave me confidence to take on this challenge. I would like to thank all those that have helped and assisted me with this project. I would also like to thank the Federal Aviation Administration for the research grant that made this work possible. In addition, I would like to thank Drs. Gordon Hayhoe and David Brill of the FAA for their assistance with the project.
Stress-Induced Structural Phase Transition in Polystyrene/NaYF4: Eu3+ Photoluminescent Electrospun Nanofibers

Polystyrene (PS) composite nanofibers were successfully fabricated by embedding NaYF4: Eu3+ nanophosphor into the PS matrix via electrospinning. The photoluminescence spectra, surface morphology and crystal structure of nanofibers were characterized by photoluminescence spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffractometer, respectively. Stress-induced α-NaYF4: Eu3+ (cubic) to β-NaYF4: Eu3+(hexagonal) structural phase transformation was observed in the nanofibers. The stress-induced phase transformation provides enough space for tailoring the properties of novel nanostructures. The composite nanofibers exhibited blue emission with 239 nm excitation wavelength. The XRD pattern of espun nanofibers confirmed the successful incorporation of 5% NaYF4: Eu3+ nanophosphors into the PS matrix. Brilliant values of the chromaticity coordinates of the prepared photoluminescent nanofibers (PLNs) predict their possible use in blue solid-state lighting applications.
Eupera troglobia sp. nov.: the first troglobitic bivalve from the Americas (Mollusca, Bivalvia, Sphaeriidae)

Eupera troglobiasp. nov. is the first fully described troglobitic bivalve discovered in the Americas, and possibly the second in the world. The troglobitic designation is based on the lack of pigmentation, reduction in size and shell thickness, and large and few offspring. Unlike its relatives that live in the roots of the water hyacinth, this new species is attached to the walls of the caves with a byssus. The anatomical study shows some peculiarities in comparison with the congeners, especially the simplicity of the foot, the siphons and the gut. This discovery is a new contribution to the efforts for the conservation of subterranean habitats in Brazil.
Reduction of dissolved oxygen in minimizing corrosion

Concrete structures are susceptible to corrosion especially when exposed to marine environment. In order to minimize the corrosion in reinforced concrete, reduction of dissolved Oxygen (DO) in mixing water is recommended. The DO is the measurement of the amount of free Oxygen that is dissolved in water which is proportional to the corrosion rate of steel bars inside concrete. In this paper, the use of industrial waste/by-products, agricultural waste, natural minerals, and green inhibitors as additive for cement in reducing the DO level of the mixing water was explored. Candidate materials from different types of agricultural waste, industrial waste, natural minerals, and green inhibitors. The percentage difference of DO were computed for all types of materials as ash or powder or extract in room temperature. This is the percentage difference of DO level in distilled water and the solution mixed with the candidate material having a mass ratio of 3 : 2 and/or 3 : 1. Results showed that more than 90% reduction of DO level were achieved when mixed with ginger extract, ginger powder, aloe vera extract, ginger pulp, and rice hull ash. Future experimental studies using the candidate materials producing reinforced concrete specimens with high reduction of DO level in mixing water is recommended.
From particle physics to medical applications

CERN is the world's largest particle physics research laboratory. Since it was established in 1954, it has made an outstanding contribution to our understanding of the fundamental particles and their interactions, and also to the technologies needed to analyse their properties and behaviour. The experimental challenges have pushed the performance of particle accelerators and detectors to the limits of our technical capabilities, and these groundbreaking technologies can also have a significant impact in applications beyond particle physics. In particular, the detectors developed for particle physics have led to improved techniques for medical imaging, while accelerator technologies lie at the heart of the irradiation methods that are widely used for treating cancer. Indeed, many important diagnostic and therapeutic techniques used by healthcare professionals are based either on basic physics principles or the technologies developed to carry out physics research. Ever since the discovery of x-rays by Roentgen in 1895, physics has been instrumental in the development of technologies in the biomedical domain, including the use of ionizing radiation for medical imaging and therapy. Some key examples that are explored in detail in this book include scanners based on positron emission tomography, as well as radiation therapy for cancer treatment. Even the collaborative model of particle physics is proving to be effective in catalysing multidisciplinary research for medical applications, ensuring that pioneering physics research is exploited for the benefit of all.
Seasonal Dynamics of Bacterial Community Structure in Diesel Oil-Contaminated Soil Cultivated with Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea)

The objective of this study was to explore the seasonal characteristics of rhizoremediation and the bacterial community structure over the course of a year in soil contaminated with diesel oil. The soil was contaminated with diesel oil at a total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentration of 30,000 mg-TPH·kg-soil−1. Tall fescue seedlings were planted in the contaminated soil and rhizoremediation performance was monitored for 317 days. The TPH concentration gradually declined, reaching 75.6% after day 61. However, the TPH removability decreased by up to 30% after re-contamination in the fall and winter. The bacterial community structure exhibited distinct seasonal dynamics. Genus Pseudomonas significantly increased up to 55.7% in the winter, while the genera Immundisolibacter and Lysobacter, well-known petroleum hydrocarbon (PH)-degrading bacteria, were found to be positively linked to the TPH removal rate. Consequently, knowledge of this seasonal variation in rhizoremediation performance and the bacterial community structure is useful for the improvement of rhizoremediation in PH-contaminated environments.