Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Landscapes on the Move: Land-Use Change History in a Mexican Agroforest Frontier

An unprecedented magnitude of land-use/land-cover changes have led to a rapid conversion of tropical forested landscapes to different land-uses. This comparative study evaluates and reconstructs the recent history (1976–2019) of land-use change and the associated land-use types that have emerged over time in two neighboring rural villages in Southern Mexico. Qualitative ethnographic and oral histories research and quantitative land-use change analysis using remote sensing were used. Findings indicate that several interacting historical social-ecological drivers (e.g., colonization program, soil quality, land conflicts with indigenous people, land-tenure, availability of surrounding land where to expand, Guatemala’s civil war, several agricultural development and conservation programs, regional wildfire, Zapatista uprising, and highway construction) have influenced each village’s own unique land-use change history and landscape composition: the smaller village is characterized by a dominating pasture landscape with some scattered agricultural and forest areas, while the larger village has large conserved forest areas intermixed with pastures, agriculture, oil palm and rubber plantations. The differential histories of each village have also had livelihood diversification implications. It is suggested that landscape history research in tropical agroforest frontiers is necessary because it can inform land-use policies and forest conservation strategies that are compatible with local livelihoods and conservation goals.
Generating Consistent Interfaces for Appliances

We are building a system called the personal universal controller (PUC) that automatically generates interfaces for handheld devices that allow users to remotely control all of the appliances in their surrounding environment. One of the goals of this system is to create interfaces that are consistent for the user. We are interested in two forms of consistency: with other interfaces on the same handheld device and with previously generated interfaces for similar appliances. While these problems differ slightly from the problem of ensuring an application has a consistent interface across multiple devices, we believe a solution to any of these problems will prove useful for solving the others. This paper discusses the challenges that we see for automatically generating consistent interfaces and ideas that we are pursuing to address the consistency problem.
The physiological and biomechanical bases of muscular hypertrophy/atrophy

Introduction: The aims of the current investigations were to modulate muscle-tendon complex (MTC - vastus lateralis [VL] & patella tendon [PT]) adaptations through mechanical stress and strain. Groups performed resistance training (8 weeks) with the MTC placed in a shortened (SL) or a lengthened position (LL) with internal loading standardised. A third group trained over an entire ROM (LX) with the external loading matched to that in SL. MTC response to detraining (4 weeks) was also measured. A control, untrained group was measured during this 12-week period. Methods: Measurements using ultrasonography, dynamometry, electromyography and dual energy absorptiometry were made at baseline (week 0), post-training (week 8), detraining 1 (week 10) and detaining 2 (week 12). VL measurements included volume, cross-sectional area (CSA), and architecture. PT properties included stiffness and Young’s Modulus. Quadriceps MTC function was measured by isometric maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) over a range of joint –angles. Circulating levels of a growth factor (IGF-I) and cytokines (TGF-β1, TNF-α) were measured using enzyme-linked immuno-sorbant assay. Main Results: VL volume, CSA, fascicle length, PT stiffness, modulus, quadriceps MVCs and IGF-I (LL only) were significantly greater (p<0.05) in both LL and LX groups compared to SL post-training. During detraining, CSA, fascicle length, stiffness, modulus, IGF-I (LL only) remained significantly elevated in the LL and LX groups compared to SL. There was no significant change in the control group in any measurement during the study period (p>0.05). Conclusion: Training with the MTC in a lengthened position is more effective for inducing (and retaining) enhanced training MTC adaptations, owing to internal mechanical and physiological stress in this position. This loading method should therefore be incorporated into a structured resistance training program for a range of populations such as athletic, recreationally active, clinical or elderly individuals.
Applied Technology and Innovation Management: Insights and Experiences from an Industry-Leading Innovation Centre

Rapid application of new technologies and highly leveraged innovation processes are key for the success of companies and organizations in dynamic markets. Based on the experiences of one of the industrys most modern innovation centers this book provides an insight into the tools and methods used to align customer requirements, competitive challenges and technological development. Both, scientists and practitioners, will benefit from the lessons learned and presented in this volume.
Optimal Estimation of EMG Standard Deviation (EMG $\sigma$ ) in Additive Measurement Noise: Model-Based Derivations and Their Implications

Typical electromyogram (EMG) processors estimate EMG signal standard deviation (EMG<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sigma $ </tex-math></inline-formula>) via moving average root mean square (RMS) or mean absolute value (MAV) filters, whose outputs are used in force estimation, prosthesis/orthosis control, etc. In the inevitable presence of additive measurement noise, some processors subtract the noise standard deviation from EMG RMS (or MAV). Others compute a root difference of squares (RDS)—subtract the noise variance from the square of EMG RMS (or MAV), all followed by taking the square root. Herein, we model EMG as an amplitude-modulated random process in additive measurement noise. Assuming a Gaussian (or, separately, Laplacian) distribution, we derive analytically that the maximum likelihood estimate of EMG<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sigma $ </tex-math></inline-formula> requires RDS processing. Whenever that subtraction would provide a negative-valued result, we show that EMG<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sigma $ </tex-math></inline-formula> should be set to zero. Our theoretical models further show that during rest, approximately 50% of EMG<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sigma $ </tex-math></inline-formula> estimates are non-zero. This result is problematic when EMG<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sigma $ </tex-math></inline-formula> is used for real-time control, explaining the common use of additional thresholding. We tested our model results experimentally using biceps and triceps EMG from 64 subjects. Experimental results closely followed the Gaussian model. We conclude that EMG processors should use RDS processing and not noise standard deviation subtraction.
Dissociable roles of left and right temporoparietal junction in strategic competitive interaction

Abstract Although many studies have shown that the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) is involved in inferring others’ beliefs, neural correlates of ‘second-order’ inferences (inferring another’s inference about one’s own belief) are still elusive. Here we report a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment to examine the involvement of TPJ for second-order inferences. Participants played an economic game with three types of opponents: a human opponent outside the scanner, an artificial agent that followed a fixed probabilistic strategy according to a game-theoretic solution (FIX) and an artificial agent that adjusted its choices through a machine-learning algorithm (LRN). Participants’ choice behaviors against the human opponent and LRN were similar but remarkably different from those against FIX. The activation of the left TPJ (LTPJ) was correlated with choice behavior against the human opponent and LRN but not against FIX. The overall activity pattern of the LTPJ for the human opponent was also similar to that for LRN but not for FIX. In contrast, the right TPJ (RTPJ) showed higher activation for the human opponent than FIX and LRN. These results suggest that, while the RTPJ is associated with the perception of human agency, the LTPJ is involved in second-order inferences in strategic decision making.
Life in Data Sets: Locating and Accessing Data on the Health of Americans Across the Life Span.

CONTEXT The US government manages a large number of data sets, including federally funded data collection activities that examine infectious and chronic conditions, as well as risk and protective factors for adverse health outcomes. Although there currently is no mature, comprehensive metadata repository of existing data sets, US federal agencies are working to develop and make metadata repositories available that will improve discoverability. However, because these repositories are not yet operating at full capacity, researchers must rely on their own knowledge of the field to identify available data sets. PROGRAM OR POLICY We sought to identify and consolidate a practical and annotated listing of those data sets. IMPLEMENTATION AND/OR DISSEMINATION Creative use of data resources to address novel questions is an important research skill in a wide range of fields including public health. This report identifies, promotes, and encourages the use of a range of data sources for health, behavior, economic, and policy research efforts across the life span. EVALUATION We identified and organized 28 federal data sets by the age-group of primary focus; not all groups are mutually exclusive. These data sets collectively represent a rich source of information that can be used to conduct descriptive epidemiologic studies. DISCUSSION The data sets identified in this article are not intended to represent an exhaustive list of all available data sets. Rather, we present an introduction/overview of the current federal data collection landscape and some of its largest and most frequently utilized data sets.
Ethanol blends in spark ignition engines

• Users may freely distribute the URL that is used to identify this publication. • Users may download and/or print one copy of the publication from the University of Birmingham research portal for the purpose of private study or non-commercial research. • User may use extracts from the document in line with the concept of ‘fair dealing’ under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (? ) • Users may not further distribute the material nor use it for the purposes of commercial gain.
Elite Archive-Assisted Adaptive Memetic Algorithm for a Realistic Hybrid Differentiation Flowshop Scheduling Problem

This research presents an original and efficient elite archive-assisted adaptive memetic algorithm (EAMA) to deal with a realistic hybrid differentiation flowshop scheduling problem (HDFSP) with the objective of total completion time minimization. In this scheduling problem, each job consists of multiple parts and the jobs are divided into different types. The manufacturing of a job is comprised of three consecutive stages: 1) parts fabrication on first-stage parallel machines; 2) parts assembly on second-stage single machine; and 3) job differentiation on one of third-stage dedicated machines. We provide a mixed-integer programming model, derive three lower bounds, and further present the EAMA metaheuristic for HDFSP. The EAMA is initialized heuristically, and its global exploration is performed by a differential evolution, which includes three newly designed operators: 1) elite-driven discretized differential mutation; 2) probability crossover; and 3) biased selection. To enhance the local search, an external elite archive is set and evolved in parallel with global exploration by a meta-Lamarckian learning-based adaptive multistage local search and a variable length-based adaptive block-insertion local search. After the global exploration and local exploitation, an elite sharing strategy is used to exchange the excellent information between population and elite archive, and an adaptive restart strategy is used to diversify the population. The influence of parameter setting on EAMA is surveyed by using an improved design-of-experiment. The statistical results from extensive computational experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the special designs and show that EAMA performs more efficient than the existing algorithms in solving the problem under consideration.
Design of an electrically controlled eddy current brake

Eddy current brakes (ECB) utilise electromagnets to generate smooth braking torque in contrast with traditional friction braking. A disadvantage is the low braking forces experienced at low speeds and as a consequence, the moving object never ceases its motion. The aim of this research is to develop and construct an electrically controlled ECB for research on an application specific motor at Charles Darwin University (CDU). A literature review was conducted into previous works on ECBs and three theoretical models were identified. Between the models Schieber, Smythe and Wouterse, the Wouterse method appeared most appropriate as it is both simple and applicable for this application. The determination of the magnetisation curve of the core material provides the characteristics required to design the ECB. The load line was determined for specific currents to provide a theoretical flux density in the air gap. These values were also confirmed experimentally. The design indicated that in order to achieve the required specifications and constraints, a large number of turns and core would be required. The final constructed design was tested using the permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) at CDU to confirm the simulated torque, speed and current values. In order to confirm the flux travelling through the air gap, a Gaussmeter was used to experimentally measure the flux. The results for the torque versus speed was collected using Labview. This provided torque and speed readings through a torque sensor and incremental encoder. As the aluminium disc did not completely occupy the cross sectional area of the core’s air gap, the results confirm that in order to achieve the simulated results, the current required will need to be increased.
Frictional couplings of wheel with a rail in a brake control system of rail vehicles

Purpose: Discussion on use of frictional coupling of wheel with a rail for detection of surface condition of track ways in coal mine undergrounds is the paper objective. Design/methodology/approach: The method for detection of surface condition of track ways is based on using of dedicated converter installed on the locomotive chassis with active part in a form of “tracking wheel” that moves on the rail surface together with the locomotive. The converter is equipped with a system for torque load and a sensor measuring its rotational speed. Change of track surface is determined by momentary changes in rotational speed of “tracking wheel” due to its slippage. Findings: The described method for detection of track ways surface condition enables to generate information signal which transferred to master braking control system of the locomotive eliminates excessive slippage during braking. Research limitations/implications: The presented results confirm rightness of accepted method for detection of track ways surface condition indicating for necessity of modification of developed test rig to get repeatable information about current track surface. Originality/value: The method for detection of track ways surface condition is the novelty approach to braking of rail locomotives used in the mining industry. It is also an alternative option to the present solutions based on known ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) system used in automotive industry.
Overview of Motion-to-Photon Latency Reduction for Mitigating VR Sickness

For several years, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies have been improving. However, some hurdles remain that slow down the distribution of VR and AR devices, such as head-mounted display (HMD), and related consumer content. One issue is VR motion sickness, which has been experienced by users using 360 degree VR content via HMD. This paper discusses the related international standardization work that classifies the factors causing VR sickness, and proposes the process for VR sickness level evaluation. Among the factors causing VR sickness, many research institutes regard minimizing MTP (Motion-to-Photon) latency as the key enabler to mitigate VR sickness. Thus, this paper introduces research trends of MTP latency measurement and MTP latency mitigation. This paper categorizes the research on MTP latency measurement into 2 categories of hardware-based approach and software code-level approach. The 2 approaches have different pros and cons depending on use-case, purpose, and architecture of each multimedia system. The pros and cons are addressed in this paper. Additionally, the research on mitigating MTP latency with diverse strategies such as proactive computing, caching, and edge server technology is explained, and compared to conventional technologies, shows improved performance.
INTEGRATING RESEARCH ON PUBLIC ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR INTO ENERGY CONTINGENCY PLANNING

As part of the development of a contingency plan for oil shortages, the Ontario Ministry of Energy undertook a study to identify and develop research methodologies that could be used before, during, and after a shortage to monitor public attitudes and behavior. The study consisted of an information needs assessment, methodology development, and implementation plan. The needs assessment was based on contingency management experience in Ontaroio and elsewhere, and on a shortage simulation session in which the utility of hypothetical research results was evaluated. Methodological development involved the review and modification of existing survey methods with which public response to a shortage and demand restraint interventions could be assessed. These included a home interview survey and an interview-game method--both directed at households and with a major emphasis on gasoline consumption--and a telephone survey directed at individual consumers. In addition, a brief driver interview conducted in service stations was developed to monitor problems at the retail level. The study further specifies the use of both public and expert panels to provide information when contingency events make more formal research methods difficult to implement, and proposes a design for an organized network of key informers to keep emergency operations staff up to date. These methodologies are not all active at the same time. The implementation plan assigns different sets of methods to six shortage stages for evolving contingencies, and to four stages for shock contingencies.
HOW CAN QUALITY REQUIREMENTS FOR MEDICAL SOFTWARE BE SYSTEMATICALLY FULFILLED BETTER?

Due to a variety of factors, among others medical and legislative requirements, the quality requirements on medical software become increasingly demanding. Several quality standards and guidelines are already in place, e.g., ISO/IEC s9126, 14598 and 25000 (SQaRE). However, there is a debate on whether these standards are not specific enough for medical software. Furthermore, their effective application for requirement gathering, analysis and monitoring can be difficult. In this paper, we propose a workflow for the application of the ISO/IEC 25010:2011 standard for the systematic collection, analysis and evaluation of requirements for various stakeholders in order to systematically better fulfill quality requirements on medical software
Improving human performance: Industry factors influencing the ability to perform

Learning interventions and new technologies that aim to improve human performance must take cognisance of industry factors inhibiting human performance. The dynamic and fast pace nature of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the engineering industries do not lend themselves to proper skills planning and management. These industries experience real skills gaps, to some of which they contribute by themselves. This study reports on these performance-inhibiting factors such as the underutilisation of available skills, tolerance for individual preferences, and dynamically, and informally refining a role objective while an employee is occupying a certain role. The important professional skills required by individuals to cope with these real life factors are also explored in the skills gaps management context. Moreover, these industries need a profile they refer to as Special Forces, which denotes a high calibre of worker that possesses well-developed professional skills whilst having advanced technical expertise and sufficient experience. This resource profile is required largely due to the poor management of human resource processes in practice and the current reported lack of adequate skills. Furthermore, this study refers to the recent lack of a working definition for these Special Forces leading to the omitted active development of these profiles in industry today, which appears to become a key human performance inhibiting factor. https://doi.org/10.34105/j.kmel. 2013.05. 006
A SOFTWARE DEFINED NETWORKING ARCHITECTURE FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE CLOUDS 1

Multi-tenant clouds with resource virtualization offer elasticity of resources and elimination of initial cluster setup cost and time for applications. However, poor network performance, performance variation and noisy neighbors are some of the challenges for execution of high performance applications on public clouds. Utilizing these virtualized resources for scientific applications, which have complex communication patterns, require low latency communication mechanisms and a rich set of communication constructs. To minimize the virtualization overhead, a novel approach for low latency networking for HPC Clouds is proposed and implemented over a multi-technology software defined network. The efficiency of the proposed low-latency SDN is analyzed and evaluated for high performance applications. The results of the experiments show that the latest Mellanox FDR InfiniBand interconnect and Mellanox OpenStack plugin gives the best performance for implementing virtual machine based high performance clouds with large message sizes.
9 Bonding through Objectification: The Gendered Effects of Commercial Sex on Male Homosocial Work Culture in Northern Thailand and Beyond

: In Northern Thailand, visiting sex workers alongside male peers has historically been a bonding technique that enables men to perform masculinity among their male co-workers. While research uncovering men ’ s work-based visits to sex workers is limited, it has been found that men who do business with each other may provide or expect commercial sex visits as part of workplace negotiations; this has been considered “ an unremarkable aspect of male professional life ” (VanLandingham et al. 1998, 2003). Drawing on one year of ethnographic fieldwork in Northern Thailand, this research utilises the lens of multiple masculinities to assert that workplace bonding in the modern era both perpetuates and challenges gender inequalities. This chapter first examines the gendered effects of visits to commercial sex establishments among male co-workers. By reviewing methods through which male co-workers perform masculinities in relation to commercial sex, this arti-cle will argue that workplace negotiations of manhood through the purchase of commercial sex work affects both men and women. This chapter will conclude by affirming that men who bond through the purchasing of commercial sex create homosocial environments that objectify women and sustain glass ceilings for women in the workplace.