Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Frequency Disturbance Event Detection Based on Synchrophasors and Deep Learning

Power system frequency disturbances are caused by various generation and transmission events including generator trips, load disconnections, line trips, etc. Accurate detections of the events are crucial to bulk power system situation awareness and event investigation. This paper utilizes the recent advances of deep learning to build a convolutional neural network model to detect events in an accurate yet straightforward manner. In this paper, the rate of change of frequency and the relative angle shift are converted to images as the inputs of the proposed model. Finally, this paper uses two convolutional neural networks and classifier fusion to achieve the detection result. Compared with the conventional event detection algorithm and the frequency only deep learning model, the proposed model improves the detection accuracy by over 48%. As a promising tool for bulk power system situation awareness, the proposed model requires a short decision time, which is suitable for practical scenarios.
Strategies for Caregivers to Combat Neuropsychological Hardships that Alzheimer’s’ Patients Face from Day to Day

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a very severe illness that brings with it all sorts of neuropsychological issues. AD can affect individuals of every age. Whether its memory loss, inability to concentrate, or language barriers, these sorts of intellectual problems make the daily lives of the patients difficult and challenging. However, there are actions family members and care givers can take to ease the constant suffering of their loved ones affected by the condition. An action plan with some guidelines and recommendations is presented that will hopefully improve the lives of both AD patients and family members alike.
Psychology of Business Intelligence Tools: Needs-Affordances-Features Perspective

This study applied the Needs-AffordancesFeatures (NAF) framework to study psychological motivations behind the use of Business Intelligence (BI) tools especially when the use of such tools is voluntary. Our findings suggest that psychological needs motivate the use of BI tools that provide 13 affordances to fulfill five psychological needs, namely autonomy, competence, relatedness, having a place and selfrealization. These affordances were identified through a review of six publicly available BI tools. This study posits that three groups of affordances––creation, collaboration, and communication––explain the relationship between psychological needs and applications of BI. This study generates important implications for BI research by providing an overarching framework for the affordances of BI tools as a whole and explaining the importance of psychological needs that motivate the use of BI tools. The results also provide a new lens and common vocabulary for future studies and design of BI tools.
Does Information Technology Experience Matter? A Case of Secondary Schools of Kaduna State Nigeria

The research was conducted using a survey research design following the guidelines of Research Advisor (2007). The study examined the school principals’ perceptions about satisfaction and dissatisfaction with teacher performance regarding student development. Student development was dealt with as a comprehensive construct implying teacher efforts for academic achievement and personality development of students. The respondents comprised 300 principals of senior secondary schools in Kaduna State. Questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using simple frequencies and by calculating the mean and standard deviation. One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was applied to test the research hypotheses. All null hypotheses were rejected and research hypotheses were accepted concluding that there were significant differences between the perceptions of principals regarding teacher performance. The most interesting results were about teachers’ experience; principals expressed more satisfaction with highly experienced (more than 10 years) and less experienced teachers (less than 5 years) as compared to the middle group (5-10 years). These findings initiate a serious debate about whether or not teacher experience matters. Whereas the stakeholders of secondary school education are baptized upon to guarantee that senior teachers are better performers and most eligible for leadership roles, the findings suggest that young teachers can also impress their principals by their performance and are equally eligible for leadership roles to work for holistic student development.
Constrained adaptive backstepping control of a semi‐active suspension considering suspension travel limits

In this article, a new constrained adaptive backstepping control design is presented for vibration suppression of the quarter car suspension system equipped with a magnetorheological (MR) damper. In the controller design, parametric uncertainties related to suspension parameter and the semi‐active actuator are considered. Also, the proposed controller is investigated, along with the designed road profiles based on the International Standard Organization (ISO) 8608 classification and tested under different speed conditions. The effectiveness of the proposed controller has been validated through comparisons with uncontrolled, passive, and separately designed adaptive control cases. According to the simulation and experimental results, the proposed control approach improves ride comfort and ride safety without violating suspension rattle space constraint despite the uncertainties in suspension parameters.
Sequential Trajectory Generation for Dynamic Multi-Contact Locomotion Synchronizing Contact

This paper proposes a new framework to generate 3D multi-contact locomotion with low computation cost. The proposed framework consists of (a) the derivation of the prospect centroidal dynamics by introducing a force distribution ratio, where it can be represented with a formulation similar to the inverted pendulum’s one, and (b) the development of a fast computation method for generating a 3D center-of-mass (CoM) trajectory. Then (c) the ZMP reference is modified so that feasible contact wrench can be generated by a force distribution using the centroidal dynamics with the approximated friction cone. The proposed method allows to generate a trajectory sequentially and to change the locomotion parameters at any time even under variable CoM height. Then, the contact timing of each end-effector can be adjusted to synchronize with the actual contact with the environment by shortening or extending the desired duration of the support phase. This can be used to improve the robustness of the locomotion. The validity of the proposed method is confirmed by several numerical results in dynamic simulator: a CoM motion while changing the contact timing, a multi-contact locomotion considering a transition between biped and quadruped walking on an horizontal floor to move below obstacles. Finally, we also show a climbing stairs using handrail which requires dynamic changes of unilateral and bilateral contacts.
Thrombospondin-1 Stimulates Calcium Influx and Echinocytosis in Sickle Cell-Derived Red Blood Cells

Thrombospondin-1 (TSP1) is a secreted matricellular protein found preformed in platelet α-granules and upregulated in the plasma of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). In preclinical models TSP1 enhances sickle red blood cell (RBC) binding to endothelial cells, while in murine sickle mice TSP1 promotes RBC echinocytosis and vaso-occlusion. Recently we reported elevated plasma TSP1 was associated with vaso-occlusive complications in SCD patients. Herein we tested the hypothesis that TSP1 compromises RBC membrane integrity via enhanced calcium influx leading to morphological changes, such as echinocytosis. RBC were collected via centrifugation of heparinized blood from human HbAA donors (n=3), SCD patients with homozygous HbSS SCD (n=4), and wild type C57BL/6J mice (n=2). Cells were then re-suspended in glucose and calcium-supplemented PBS, and treated with several concentrations of exogenous TSP1 (2.75 nM, 11 nM, 22 nM and 44 nM) for 2 hours at 37°C. RBC morphology was assessed by both light and electron microscopy. TSP1 modulation of RBC calcium influx was studied using the calcium fluorophore Fluo-3, AM. TSP1 treatment, in a dose-dependent manner, stimulated echinocytosis in human SCD and non-SCD RBC and in murine cells. In some instances electron microscopy showed echinocyte membrane projections with a string-of-beads appearance, suggestive of imminent microparticle shedding. TSP1 treatment, again in a dose-dependent manner, also significantly increased calcium influx in SCD (Figure, right panel) and non SCD RBC (Figure, left panel) and murine RBC (not shown). Interestingly, SCD RBC displayed more sensitivity to TSP1-mediated increases in cellular calcium as compared to normal cells. Our results show for the first time that TSP1, at doses found in patient plasma, stimulates significant echinocytosis and calcium influx in both normal and SCD RBC. These data identify a novel role for plasma TSP1 in promoting RBC pathology. Future studies are underway to elucidate this mechanism and its pathogenicity in humans with and without SCD. Disclosures Isenberg: Vasculox: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees; Radiation Control Technologies: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees.
Environmental certification and Spanish hotels’ performance in the 2008 financial crisis

Abstract Limited funds available in times of financial crisis may lead hotel managers to deem environmental actions dispensable. Hence, the need to analyze whether hotels that decided to maintain environmental management measures during the 2008 crisis better withstood its negative effects. The aim of this study is to analyze whether environmental management influenced the performance of Spanish hotels during the 2008 crisis. Through the panel data technique, a comparison is made of how sales, workers and assets management affected the financial performance of hotels with and without environmental certification EMAS and ISO 14001 in the period prior to the financial crisis (2002–2007) and during it (2008–2013). The results demonstrate that, while for non-certified hotels, the effect of sales, workers and assets management on financial performance worsened in the crisis period, for certified hotels it remained the same. In addition, no evidence has been obtained to show that the financial performance of certified hotels was higher than non-certified hotels in either the period prior to the crisis or during it. Nevertheless, the general results confirm that certification permitted Spanish hotels to cope better with the crisis since the adverse effects were less severe than for the non-certified hotels.
Profiling generation Y: A review of the literature

Members of Generation Y (born 1981-1999) are the newest entrants into the workforce and will make up forty percent of all workers by 2020. Managers and co-workers are increasingly reporting difficulties in working with these young employees and are seeking evidence-based advice on effective management approaches. This paper reviewed the extant literature on Generation Y to establish a profile of their characteristics and work preferences in order to identify effective management practices to motivate, engage and retain this newest generation of employees.
THE EFFECT OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENTS, UNDERSTANDING OF RISK BASED INTERNAL AUDIT, SUSTAINABLE EDUCATION AND AUDITOR MOTIVATION ON THE PERFORMANCE OF AUDITORS WITH SELF EFFICACY AS MODERATING VARIABLES IN THE SUMATERA UTARA PROVINCE

The objective of this study is to examine the factors that influence the performance of auditors at the Inspectorate of North Sumatra Province with self-efficacy as a moderating variable. This type of research is explanatory research using primary data. The population in the study were 34 functional auditors at the Inspectorate of North Sumatra Province. The data collection method was a census method by distributing questionnaires to obtain a total sample of 34 employees. Testing the research hypothesis using multiple linear regression analysis and testing the moderating variable using a test of the change in the coefficient of determination. The results showed that simultaneous organizational commitment, understanding of risk based internal audit, continuing education and auditor motivation together had a positive and significant effect on auditor performance. Partially the variable organizational commitment, continuing education and auditor motivation have a significant effect on auditor performance while the risk-based internal audit understanding variable has no significant effect on auditor performance. The self-efficacy variable is proven to moderate the relationship between organizational commitment, understanding of risk based internal audit, continuing education and auditor motivation on auditor performance.
Corneal biomechanics after rigid gas permeable contact lens wear in keratoconus eyes

Background: Evaluation of corneal biomechanical properties 3 months after using rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses in keratoconus. Methods: In this prospective trial study, cases were 32 keratoconic eyes with no history of RGP lens wear. All eyes were examined with the Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA) and the Corneal Visualization Scheimpflug Technology (CORVIS-ST) to measure corneal hysteresis (CH), corneal resistance factor (CRF), deformation amplitude (DA), applanation velocity (AV) 1 and 2, applanation length (AL) 1 and 2, and peak distance before and 3 months after fitting aspheric RGP lenses. The effect of the correlation between contralateral eyes and maximum keratometry were controlled for in the analysis. Results were compared using repeated measures analysis of covariance. Results: At 3 months, neither the increases in mean CH (0.14±2.77 mmHg, P=0.789), CRF (0.41±4.35 mmHg, P=0.612), AV1 (0.03±0.17 m/s, P=0.301), AV2 (0.11±0.59 m/s, P=0.299), AL1 (0.44±1.56 m/s, P=0.118), AL2 (1.16±5.06 m/s, P=0.211), and peak distance (0.19±1.29 m/s, P=0.409), nor the decrease in mean DA (0.03±0.17 mm, P=0.402) was statistically significant. Conclusions: Results in our series of patients indicated that 3 months of RGP lens wear had no significant impact on corneal biomechanics, and perhaps non progression of keratoconus. Therefore, RGP lenses can be regarded safe and appropriate in keratoconic patients.
An efficient blockchain‐based batch verification scheme for vehicular ad hoc networks

As an important branch of the Internet of Things (IoT), Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) have attracted wide attention from industrial and academic. Due to an opening wireless channel, the security and efficiency of VANETs have also become serious. To enhance the security and efficiency, various batch verification schemes have been proposed. However, most of those schemes suffer from the complicated certificate management problem or different kinds of attacks. Also,the bilinear pairing which is intractable for lightweight devices in VANETs usually be used inthose schemes. To solve the above problems, we propose an efficient blockchain‐based batch verification scheme for VANETs using the Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). We also provide security analysis to show its ability to resist current known attacks. Besides, we have implemented corresponding blockchain system and the performance analysis shows that it is suitable for VANETs.
Political stability, political rights and earnings management: some international evidence

This study aims to examine the impact of political stability and political rights on firm-level earnings (both accrual-based and real) management. ,The authors develop models that link political stability, political rights, and the interplay between the two and earnings (both accrual-based and real) management. The authors analyze 63,872 firm-year observations of publicly listed, non-financial, firms drawn from 39 countries, for the period 1995 to 2016. ,The authors find that political stability (political rights) attenuates (accentuates) accrual-based earnings management; political rights (political stability) accentuates (have no effect on) real earnings management; and the association between political rights and real earnings management is more pronounced in countries with better political stability. ,The findings imply that users of financial statements should take cognizance of a country’s ambient political environment in assessing the potential for earnings management by firms. ,No prior research examined the role of political forces in shaping firm-level earnings management behavior in a cross-country setting.
Identity-based Fully Homomorphic Encryption from Ring-LWE: Arbitrary Cyclotomics, Tighter Parameters, Efficient Implementations

— Fully homomorphic encryption allows for data to be stored and processed in an encrypted format, which gives the cloud computing provider a way to process data without even knowing what the data is. At present, most identity-based homomorphic encryption schemes from ring learning with errors have focused on the special classes of rings such as power-of-two cyclotomic rings, which significantly limits its application efficiency in cloud computing. To solve this problem, we construct the first identity-based fully homomorphic encryption scheme from ring learning with errors, which has advantage of high efficiency of encryption and decryption. The security of our scheme is equal to hardness of decision ring learning with errors problem in the random oracle model.
Modelos de aprendizaje profundo para la predicción de comportamiento sedentario futuro

It is well known that sedentary behavior has negative consequences for health. Therefore, encouraging individuals to avoid this type of behavior can help to reduce different risk indicators. In this work, different deep learning architectures were evaluated to predict the future sedentary behavior of an individual from the captured records of different sensors available on mobile devices. Users with different levels of energy expenditure were analyzed, and encouraging results were obtained that demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed architectures.
Contamination of hen manure with nine antibiotics in poultry farms in Ukraine

The problem of processing, use and utilization of poultry manure contaminated with antibiotics remains unsolved not only Ukraine but around the world, and theatment and prevention of highly contagious infectious diseases among birds requires antibacterial medication use. By liquid chromatography, 293 hen manure samples of 12 Ukrainian industrial flocks of poultry farms were studied. The residual content of 9 antibiotics in the hen manure was found, including 38.2% of tetracycline preparations (doxycycline, oxytetracycline, tetracycline and chlortetracycline), fluoroquinolone (enrofloxacin and norfloxacin) including combinations of incompatible tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones, broad-spectrum penicillins (amoxicillin), fenicols (florfenicol), macrolides (tylosin) and one sulfanilamide preparation (sulfametazine). The most common antibiotics in hen manure of Ukrainian industrial flocks of poultry farms are the antibiotics of the tetracycline group, the main one being doxycycline. A high correlation was determined between the release of doxycycline with eggs and hen manure after the preparation was used perorally in preventive and therapeutic doses. Time of complete excretion of doxycycline from the hen body at the preventive dose (50 mg/L of water for 7 days) was 14 days for manure, 8 days for eggs, following its withdrawal, and at the therapeutic dose (100 mg/L of water for 7 days ) – 20 days for manure, and 9 days for eggs, following its withdrawal. The perspective of using the obtained data about the duration of excretion of doxycycline with hen manure consists in confirmation of the time of the antibiotic’s excretion with manure following its use for preventive or therapeutic purpose, which will help in controlling it as a source of environmental pollution. The time of doxycycline excretion from the body of hens with eggs and manure may be used practically by professionals in veterinary medicine in the case of prescribing or replacing antibiotics for treatment of infectious diseases of poultry to prevent the combination of incompatible preparations in the body and manure. The obtained experimental data may form the basis for the development of national regulations on the processing, usage and utilization of manure of hens under treatment with antibiotics.
Soluble Fiber and Omega-3 Fatty Acids Reduce Levels of Advanced Glycation End Products and Uremic Toxins in Senior Dogs by Modulating the Gut Microbiome

Aging is associated with changes in the gut microbiome composition and levels of circulating metabolites. This study evaluates the effect of increased soluble fiber and omega-3 fatty acids on the gut microbial composition and levels of circulating and fecal metabolites in senior dogs, older than 7 years. Thirty six dogs between 8 and 13 years of age were maintained on a control food (control 1) containing 0.5% soluble fiber and 0.4 % omega-3 fatty acids, dry matter basis (DM). After 30 days, dogs were divided into two groups of 18 dogs. One of the groups received a test food containing increased soluble fiber (2.7%) and omega 3 fatty acids (0.92%) for 30 days while the other group received a control food (Control 2), containing 1.8% soluble fiber and 0.43% omega-3 fatty acids. After a washout period on the control 1 food for 30 days, a cross-over was performed to feed the test or the control 2 food for 30 days. Samples from feces and blood were collected after each 30 days period to analyze changes in gut microbial composition and metabolites. The consumption of the test food led to increased proportions of the bacterial genera Phascolarcobacteria, Faecalibacterium and Ruminococcus, and families Christensenellaceae and Ruminococcaceae. Dogs had lower abundance of Megamonas, Salmonella, Fusobacterium and Enterobacteriaceae after eating the test food. Pets had higher levels of glycerol and fatty acids and lower levels of pyrraline and mucin amino acids in feces. The test food reduced circulating levels of pyrraline, symmetric dimethylarginine and phenolic uremic toxins, including the microbial, 4-ethylphenyl sulfate, which as linked to brain damage. Christensenellaceae abundance was strongly associated with the observed health benefits. The study shows omega-3 fatty acids and soluble fiber enhance health in senior dogs by modulating the gut microbiome and metabolites associated with in aging.
Multi-layer Long Short-term Memory based Condenser Vacuum Degree Prediction Model on Power Plant

A multi-layer LSTM (Long short-term memory) model is proposed for condenser vacuum degree prediction of power plants. Firstly, Min-max normalization is used to pre-process the input data. Then, the model proposes the two-layer LSTM architecture to identify the time series pattern effectively. ADAM（Adaptive moment）optimizer is selected to find the optimum parameters for the model during training. Under the proposed forecasting framework, experiments illustrates that the two-layer LSTM model can give a more accurate forecast to the condenser vacuum degree compared with other simple RNN (Recurrent Neural Network) and one-layer LSTM model.