Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
First Estimates of Age and Growth of the Lusitanian Cownose Ray (Rhinoptera marginata) from the Mediterranean Sea

Within the eastern Mediterranean, increased fishing pressure coupled with a lack of basic biological information is threatening the sustainability of the rare Lusitanian cownose ray (Rhinoptera marginata). To provide baseline life-history data for this species, age estimates were obtained from vertebral band counts of 224 rays (size range: 210–998 mm disc width and 140 to 13,600 g weight) collected from Iskenderun Bay. Females ranged in size from 210 to 998 mm disc width and 238 to 13,600 g weight, while males ranged from 130 to 866 mm disc width and 140 to 8250 g weight. The index of average percent error (2.8%) and age-bias plot suggest that the aging method used represents a precise and non-biased approach. Marginal increment analysis indicated that a single opaque band is deposited annually between August and September. The oldest ages obtained for R. marginata were 9 years for males and 19 years for females, which corresponded to total lengths of 866 and 998 mm disc width, respectively. For males, limited samples prevented the accurate calculation of growth rates; however, for combined sexes, observed and disc width-at-age data resulted in the following von Bertalanffy growth parameters: DW∞ = 1102.16 mm, k = 0.148 and t0 = −0.2167. Although additional samples are necessary to determine growth rates in males, the results of the present study indicate that R. marginata females exhibit life history characteristics similar to other Rhinoptera species.
2,4-Diamino-5-(nitromethyl)-5H-chromeno[2,3-b]pyridine-3-carbonitrile

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a cheap polar aprotic solvent used in organic synthesis and in pharmacology because of its low cost, high stability, and non-toxicity. Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) are highly convergent processes and have good atom, step, and pot economies. In this communication, the multicomponent transformation of salicylaldehyde, malononitrile dimer, and nitromethane in DMSO at room temperature was investigated to give 2,4-diamino-5-(nitromethyl)-5H-chromeno[2,3-b]pyridine-3-carbonitrile in good yield. The structure of the earlier unknown compound was confirmed by means of elemental analysis, mass-, nuclear magnetic resonance, and infrared spectroscopy.
Retrospective Genomic Characterization of a 2017 Dengue Virus Outbreak, Burkina Faso

Knowledge of contemporary genetic composition of dengue virus (DENV) in Africa is lacking. By using next-generation sequencing of samples from the 2017 DENV outbreak in Burkina Faso, we isolated 29 DENV genomes (5 serotype 1, 16 serotype 2 [DENV-2], and 8 serotype 3). Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated the endemic nature of DENV-2 in Burkina Faso. We noted discordant diagnostic results, probably related to genetic divergence between these genomes and the Trioplex PCR. Forward and reverse1 primers had a single mismatch when mapped to the DENV-2 genomes, probably explaining the insensitivity of the molecular test. Although we observed considerable homogeneity between the Dengvaxia and TetraVax-DV-TV003 vaccine strains as well as B cell epitopes compared with these genomes, we noted unique divergence. Continual surveillance of dengue virus in Africa is needed to clarify the ongoing novel evolutionary dynamics of circulating virus populations and support the development of effective diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive countermeasures.
Predicting intention of residential solar installation: The role of ecological lifestyle, consumer innovativeness, perceived benefit, government incentives, and solar product knowledge

In this study, we investigated the relationships between personal traits (sustainable lifestyle and consumer innovativeness), psychological and physical benefits (warm glow and government incentive), attitude toward rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system installation, and intention to install a residential PV system. Furthermore, we examined the moderating effect of solar product knowledge on the relationship between attitude and intention to install a residential PV system. Convenience sampling was performed to collect data in this study. An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to participants in the form of an online survey. To prevent priming effects, the research constructs were not presented in the questionnaire, and the questions were not presented in the order of the research constructs. Each questionnaire item was evaluated using a 7-point Likert scale, and 370 valid surveys were received. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to verify the validity of the constructs. The CFA results confirmed that the measurement scales used in this study were appropriate. The conclusions of this study are as follows. First, ecological lifestyle, consumer innovativeness, government incentive, and warm glow affect attitude toward rooftop PV system installation. Second, this attitude influences the intention of rooftop PV system installation, and consumer knowledge moderates the relationship between attitude and intention toward rooftop PV system installation. This study's findings provide a comprehensive theoretical and empirical basis for understanding the antecedents of attitude toward the installation of residential solar energy systems. Thus, the public sector can use the aforementioned findings as a basis for developing a residential solar energy promotion policy, and relevant public and private companies can use these findings as a basis to create attractive marketing strategies for residential solar energy technology.
Impact of Chemical States on the Effective Work Function of Metal Gate and High-kappa Dielectric Materials on Novel Heterostructures

Impact of Chemical States on the Effective Work Function of Metal Gate and High-κ Dielectric Materials on Novel Heterostructures. (August 2012) Mary Rachel Coan, B.S., University of Rochester Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Harlan Rusty Harris Dr. Jorge M. Seminario An experimental and theoretical approach is taken to determine the effect of a heterojunction on the effective work function in a metal/high-κ gate stack, the characteristics of aqueous hydrochloric acid cleaned (aq-HCl) GaN surface and the interface between GaN and Al2O3, HfO2 and GaON. The investigation of the effect of a heterojunction on the effective work function in a metal/high-κ gate stack found that when a Ge/Si heterostructure on silicon is lightly doped and sufficiently thin, the work function can be extracted in a manner similar to that for a simple silicon substrate. Modifications to the terraced oxide structure are proposed to remove oxidation effects of the alternate channel materials. The extracted work function of TiN with various thicknesses on HfSiO is found to be in agreement with that of TiN on a silicon substrate. X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy are used to observe the interface electronic states at the GaN (0001) and Al2O3, HfO2 and GaON dielectric interfaces. The GaN is cleaned using aqueous HCl prior to thermal oxidation to form GaON and atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 and HfO2. This was followed by a post deposition anneal. The GaN/HfO2 and GaN/Al2O3 interfaces exhibited dipoles of 1.6 eV and 0.4 eV ± 0.2 eV, respectively. It is determined that the formation of an interfacial layer at the GaN/HfO2 interface is the primary cause of the larger dipole. Due to the knowledge of the formation of an interfacial GaOx or GaON layer during atomic layer deposition of HfO2, a better understanding of the GaN/GaON interface is needed. To accomplish this task, the interface electronic states at the GaN(0001) and GaON interface are observed using X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and UPS). XPS and UPS analysis of the GaN/GaON interface resulted in the calculation of a -2.7 eV ± 0.2 eV
Implementasi Kontrol Torsi Motor Servo Menggunakan Metode PI pada Sistem Automatic Pallet Dispenser

Abstrak—Teknologi pada sistem paletisasi menggunakan robot telah berkembang pesat untuk meningkatkan fleksibilitas dan kecepatan produktifitas. Salah satu yang sedang dikembangkan di sebuah industri yaitu Robotic Palletizer. Terdapat beberapa varian ukuran palet yang digunakan, oleh karena itu pada subsistem Automatic Pallet Dispenser diperlukan otomatisasi untuk menyesuaikan ukuran palet. Untuk memenuhi hal tersebut, diperlukan motor servo AC dengan menggunakan metode Proposional Integral (PI) dengan Auto Tuning. Proses tuning dilakukan untuk mengontrol kecepatan motor dan berhubungan dengan torsi. Selanjutnya torsi dikontrol untuk membatasi kinerja motor untuk menghimpit palet. Hasil Auto Tuning PI pada motor servo didapatkan nilai parameter yang sesuai adalah Kp=63,8 dan Ki=14,9. Kecepatan pada motor servo berhasil sesuai dengan set point dengan overshoot sebesar 1.6% dan mempercepat settling time selama 94 ms. Hasil kontrol torsi didapatkan dengan nilai limit torsi maksimum adalah 70% mampu menghimpit seluruh varian palet dan diperlukan roller limit switch sebagai sensor tambahan.
Humanizing work in the digital age: Lessons from socio-technical systems and quality of working life initiatives

New and residual challenges related to digital technology, COVID-19, precarious employment and scientific management are a reminder of research published in the early years of Human Relations that laid the foundation for socio-technical systems theory and its later conceptual offspring, the quality of working life. Analysing the evolution, challenges, legacy and lessons of socio-technical systems and quality of working life, we develop guiding principles for the theoretical development and practical implementation of socio-technical systems and quality of working life for the 21st century. These principles are needed to optimize the benefits of new technology and improve job quality. They would enable an effective and sustained humanization of work through stakeholder involvement, inter-disciplinary partnerships and institutional support, producing positive outcomes for employees and employers as well as wider society.
Cross-Sectional Study of Clinical Predictors of Coccidioidomycosis, Arizona, USA

Demographic and clinical indicators have been described to support identification of coccidioidomycosis; however, the interplay of these conditions has not been explored in a clinical setting. In 2019, we enrolled 392 participants in a cross-sectional study for suspected coccidioidomycosis in emergency departments and inpatient units in Coccidioides-endemic regions. We aimed to develop a predictive model among participants with suspected coccidioidomycosis. We applied a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator to specific coccidioidomycosis predictors and developed univariable and multivariable logistic regression models. Univariable models identified elevated eosinophil count as a statistically significant predictive feature of coccidioidomycosis in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Our multivariable outpatient model also identified rash (adjusted odds ratio 9.74 [95% CI 1.03–92.24]; p = 0.047) as a predictor. Our results suggest preliminary support for developing a coccidioidomycosis prediction model for use in clinical settings.
INVESTIGATION ON VISITING PATTERN CHANGE IN COMMERCIAL AREAS DURING COVID-19: A CASE STUDY OF 21 CITIES IN JAPAN

Abstract. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the patterns of visiting commercial areas have changed due to numerous factors, including the risk of infection and the government’s state of emergency. This study investigated human mobility changes in commercial areas of 21 cities in Japan by applying time-series clustering of mobile big data during the COVID-19 pandemic. First, the analysis revealed that the human mobility changes were found to be area-specific and were classified into five patterns according to population change captured by mobile data: decreased cluster, slightly decreased cluster, no change cluster, slightly increased cluster, and increased cluster. There were some commercial areas, which were visited by more people, compared with the pre-COVID-19 period. Second, the increased clusters revealed a high proportion of commercial facilities that provide essential services. This finding suggests that the local-scale commercial areas were essential for supporting everyday life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Third, human mobility in commercial areas was temporarily altered, but ultimately returned to the pre-COVID-19 level. Overall, the proposed method and results provide basic information for resilient urban structures in Japan.
Step counter use and self-determined motivation for walking in a cardiac telerehabilitation program: A mixed method study

Cardiac patients benefit from cardiac rehabilitation and exercise plays a central role in cardiac rehabilitation by reducing risk factors and providing positive outcomes. Despite these benefits, only half of cardiac patients participate in regular exercise up to 18 months after a cardiac event. By using telerehabilitation technologies, Teledi@log intends to increase both attendance to cardiac rehabilitation and long-term adherence to recommendations. As walking has the potential to play an important role in secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, the step counter Fitbit Zip has been implemented as a self-monitoring technology in Teledi@log.
INVESTIGATING 2D AND 3D CONVOLUTIONS FOR MULTITEMPORAL LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION USING REMOTE SENSING IMAGES

Abstract. With the availability of large amounts of satellite image time series (SITS), the identification of different materials of the Earth’s surface is possible with a high temporal resolution. One of the basic tasks is the pixel-wise classification of land cover, i.e. the task of identifying the physical material of the Earth’s surface in an image. Fully convolutional neural networks (FCN) are successfully used for this task. In this paper, we investigate different FCN variants, using different methods for the computation of spatial, spectral, and temporal features. We investigate the impact of 3D convolutions in the spatial-temporal as well as in the spatial-spectral dimensions in comparison to 2D convolutions in the spatial dimensions only. Additionally, we introduce a new method to generate multitemporal input patches by using time intervals instead of fixed acquisition dates. We then choose the image that is closest in time to the middle of the corresponding time interval, which makes our approach more flexible with respect to the requirements for the acquisition of new data. Using these multi-temporal input patches, generated from Sentinel-2 images, we improve the classification of land cover by 4% in the mean F1-score and 1.3% in the overall accuracy compared to a classification using mono-temporal input patches. Furthermore, the usage of 3D convolutions instead of 2D convolutions improves the classification performance by a small amount of 0.4% in the mean F1-score and 1.2% in the overall accuracy.
Correlation between Characteristics of Lymph Node Metastasis and Prognosis of N1-N2 Stage Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective: Patients with non-small cell lung cancer have prognostic heterogeneity, chief prognosis factor of them lymph node metastasis. Our study aimed to evaluate the correlation between lymph node ratio, the number of involved lymph node stations and skip-N2 metastasis and prognosis of N1-N2 stage non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: A total of 374 patients with N1 and N2 stage non-small cell lung cancer were retrospectively analyzed who underwent radical resection at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2012 to December 2019. Cox regression was conducted to identify the independent prognosis factors for N1-N2 stage non-small cell lung cancer. Survival curves were plotted by Kaplan-Meier method. Subgroup analyses were performed regarding proposals for the revision of the N descriptors in the 8th edition of the TNM classification. Results: Multivariate analysis of Cox regression model confirmed that smoking history, multiple-station lymph node metastasis and lymph node rate were independent prognosis factors for disease-free survival. Male, smoking history, multiple-station lymph node metastasis, lymph node ratio, adjuvant chemotherapy and targeted therapy were independent prognosis factors for overall survival. The 5-year overall survival was 57.4% in skip N2 group, while being 65.1% in N1 group (P=0.138) and 36.2% in the non-skip N2 group (P=0.007). Conclusion: Combined with lymph node ratio, the number of involved lymph node stations and skip metastasis, we can effectively predict the inter-subgroup survival difference.
Organizational Socialization and Job Successes of Academic and Public Librarians

Abstract This study was designed to explore status and the relationship between organizational socialization and job success of librarians in academic and public libraries. First, 259 librarians of academic and public libraries were selected as the sample. In order to gather data, Chao and Herzberg’s questionnaire in 5-point Likert scale was used. The socialization of librarians was in a favorable status (mean ± SD: 4.18 ± 0.48). The correlation between the socialization of both public and academic librarians with job success was significant (p-value = 0.038 and 0.004, respectively). It is better for managers and decision makers to take appropriate activities to further improve the socialization of librarians and, consequently, increase their career success.
Ekstraksi Tapak Bangunan dari Orthophoto Menggunakan Model Mask R-CNN (Studi Kasus: Kelurahan Darmo, Kota Surabaya)

Abstrak—Peta dasar skala besar sangat dibutuhkan oleh kota besar/metropolitan seperti Kota Surabaya untuk perencanaan kota dan menunjang pembangunan kota cerdas. Salah satu informasi utama yang paling dibutuhkan dari peta skala besar adalah fitur bangunan. Ekstraksi tapak bangunan sendiri adalah pekerjaan yang sangat menantang karena banyak alasan, termasuk sifat heterogen dari geometri dan spektral bangunan, kompleksitas bangunan yang sulit diprediksi, dan data sensor yang kurang baik (yaitu bayangan, kontras yang buruk, dan perspektif citra yang buruk). Intepretasi yang dilakukan oleh operator secara visual masih merupakan pendekatan yang umum digunakan untuk ekstraksi informasi dari orthophoto. Akurasi intepretasi yang dihasilkan tergantung pada keterampilan dan pengalaman dari operator. Sehingga, dapat terjadi inkonsistensi pada data yang dihasilkan oleh operator yang berbeda. Beberapa tahun terakhir ini, ekstraksi otomatis tapak bangunan dari citra satelit resolusi tinggi maupun orthophoto menjadi isu penelitian penting dan menantang yang mendapat perhatian lebih besar. Banyak penelitian terbaru telah mengeksplorasi metode deteksi objek berbasis deep learning untuk meningkatkan kualitas ekstraksi bangunan. Dalam penelitian ini, penulis menerapkan metode deteksi objek berbasis Mask Region-based Convolutional Neural Network (Mask R-CNN) untuk ekstraksi tapak bangunan memanfaatkan orthophoto di daerah urban, yaitu Kelurahan Darmo, Kecamatan Wonokromo, Kota Surabaya. Model Mask R-CNN secara kuantitatif sudah cukup baik dalam mendeteksi objek namun kualitas geometri delineasi batas bangunan masih perlu diperbaiki. Beberapa strategi dirancang dan digabungkan dengan model deteksi objek berbasis Mask R-CNN, termasuk segmentasi orthophoto, post-processing menggunakan alat otomatis yang terdiri dari regularisasi poligon untuk membuat bangunan lebih teratur, remove overlap untuk menghilangkan tumpang tindih antar bangunan, fill gap untuk mengisi celah antar bangunan dan integrasi hasil ekstraksi untuk keseluruhan area studi. Metode otomatis yang penulis terapkan menghasilkan kinerja yang baik dengan presisi 91,43%; kelengkapan (recall) 82,97%; dan skor-F1 86,99%.
Using Lip Reading Recognition to Predict Daily Mandarin Conversation

Audio-based automatic speech recognition as a hearing aid is susceptible to background noise and overlapping speeches. Consequently, audio-visual speech recognition has been developed to complement the audio input with additional visual information. However, the huge improvement of neural networks in the visual task has resulted in a robust and reliable lip reading framework that can recognize speech from visual input alone. In this work, we propose a lip reading recognition model to predict daily Mandarin conversation and collect a new Daily Mandarin Conversation Lip Reading (DMCLR) dataset, consisting of 1,000 videos from 100 daily conversations spoken by ten speakers. Our model consists of a spatiotemporal convolution layer, a SE-ResNet-18 network, and a back-end module consisting of bi-directional gated recurrent unit (Bi-GRU), 1D convolution, and fully-connected layers. This model is able to reach 94.2% of accuracy in the DMCLR dataset. Such performance makes it possible for Mandarin lip reading applications to be practical in real life. Additionally, we are able to achieve 86.6% and 57.2% accuracy on Lip Reading in the Wild (LRW) and LRW-1000 (Mandarin), respectively. The results show that our method achieves state-of-the-art performance on these two challenging datasets.
Recruiting Business Expatriates in Portugal: The Moderating Role of Employee Willingness

The present study examines the practices that multinational companies located in a small, open and peripheral European economy (Portugal) are acting to build talent pools for expatriate assignments. The role of employee willingness (to go) is explored as a dimension influencing the existing firm staffing practices’ success. By using a Portuguese sample, the study examines whether prior findings in mature economies and consolidated multinational companies can be generalised to peripheral and less-developed international business settings. Five business contexts and 24 expatriate cases were considered to ground empirical analysis. The prevalence of internal recruitment practices, informal and closed systems and staffing criteria, and less established international mobility and staffing experience, suggest the existence of critical differences with the current best-of-breed practices. Study findings indicate that divergent willingness profiles operate as moderating factors of firm propensity to use international work to support expansion goals. A typology of business expatriate willingness profiles (conformist expatriates, trajectory-focused expatriates and disrupted expatriates) is proposed to showcase expatriation assignments as a contemporary socioeconomic heterogenetic condition.
Teaching ascesis: Recovering the neglected center of early Christian pedagogy

This article aims to recover the foundational importance of training in ascesis for Christian education. For early Christian pedagogues such as Basil of Caesarea and John Chrysostom, education was seen not so much as the transmission of information as it was an invitation to a life of virtue and faith; to this end they especially encouraged teaching that would promote an ascetical lifestyle and therefore greater communion with God. By examining two key patristic texts connecting pedagogy and asceticism, this article outlines an approach that can enable modern Christian teachers to engage their students with ascetical practices that will contribute to their spiritual formation and counter-cultural witness.