Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Application of Operator Video Bandwidth Compression/Reduction Research to RPV (Remotely Piloted Vehicle) System Design

Abstract : An analytical program to compile, analyze, synthesize, and apply the results of past operator video bandwidth compression/reduction research to the design and development of the U.S. Army Remotely Piloted Vehicle Target Acquisition/Designation Aerial Reconnaissance System was conducted. The analytical work reported addressed the following five program tasks: 1) Compile available video bandwidth compression/reduction operator performance data; 2) Develop mission/task descriptions for the Army RPV system Mission Payload Operator; 3) Analyze and synthesize video bandwidth compression/reduction operator performance research data in terms of RPV system design parameters and operator tasks; 4) Derive recommended RPV bandwidth compression/reduction system design parameters; and 5) Identify critical Army RPV system research and simulation requirements.
IPod Touch – an ICT tool for assembly operators in factories of the future - Technical concepts and requirements

Mass customization increases the amount of information but also the need to fasten the information flow from order, product development and process planer to the operators in the assembly operations. New techniques to handle the increasing information flow in final assembly in terms of what, how and when to assemble is essential for the industrial progress. This paper aim to illustrate a technical concept, developed with support from a case study, to conceptualise an ICT tool for operators in final assembly.
Sorption–desorption, surface diffusion, and memory effects in a 3D system

Bio and nature behavior-inspired modelling of diffusion and trapping of particles, key phenomena for life occurrence, must consider a myriad of ingredients, such as geometry, dimensionality, and scaled diffusion processes occurring across the bulk and surfaces. To attempt to approach this goal, we investigate the diffusion process in a system limited by a surface connected to the bulk through an especially designed boundary condition, connected to some systems of interest, such as in living cells and biomaterials. The surface may sorb/desorb particles from the bulk and shows that the sorbed particles may diffuse within its structure, characterizing a lateral diffusion, before being desorbed back to the bulk. For this system, we find a wide variety of behaviors by analyzing solutions obtained in terms of the Green function approach. The analytical calculation is checked against computer simulations, demonstrating a good agreement between analytical calculation and stochastic computer simulation.
Earth observations of extreme heat events: leveraging current capabilities to enhance heat research and action

In the boreal summer of 2021, as heat extremes triggered mass death in ecological systems, pushed engineered systems to the breaking point, and threatened health and well-being of people across the northern hemisphere, it was impossible to ignore the intensifying nature of summertime heat. This, coming in the same months as deadly flooding and historically intense fires in multiple countries, is both alarming and profoundly unsettling. As Amitav Ghosh wrote of climate extremes: ‘they are the mysterious work of our own hands returning to haunt us in unthinkable shapes and forms’ [1]. The summer of 2021 met this vivid description. It was also a preview of greater extremes to come and an indicator that even wealthy communities are poorly prepared to reduce harm from extreme heat under climate change. Understanding andpreparing for these intensified heat extremes requires transdisciplinary collaboration across diverse communities, sectors, and fields of research. Here we highlight the powerful role that satellite-derived Earth observations (EOs) can play in these efforts. In the context of the 2021 heat extremes, we consider EO contributions in four areas: monitoring, attributing, projecting, and adapting to extreme heat events.
Systematic assessment of the biocompatibility of materials for inkjet-printed ozone sensors for medical therapy

The biocompatibility of medical sensors is of great importance. In order to prevent harm of the patient during measurement, this aspect must be considered throughout the entire design process. Biocompatibility can be achieved by various methods. For example, the sensor can be encapsulated, only biocompatible materials can be used for the sensor, or anti-inflammatory agents can be applied to the surface of the sensor. In this paper the focus is on sensors fully fabricated from biocompatible materials. Two exemplary inkjet-printed amperometric and impedimetric sensors are systematically assessed regarding their biocompatibility. Both sensors can be used for the measurement of dissolved ozone during oxygen-ozone injection therapy. For the sensors each material is evaluated with respect to the international standard ISO 10993. Overall, many amperometric and impedimetric sensors are fabricated from a small set of materials. The assessment reveals that for this specific application an amperometric sensor consisting of gold and silver nanoparticle inks, inkjet-printed on a polydimethylsiloxane membrane, and passivated with SU-8 ink offers the highest biocompatibility and reaches a good compliance with other important requirements. In addition, biological characterization tests are required for the specific medical application to validate the biocompatibility. From this study, it can be concluded that the findings on biocompatibility can also be transferred to other sensors that are made of the same set of materials but are for other applications. This applies to oxygen, glucose, pH, hydrogen peroxide, sweat lactate, and acetone sensors.
Transferable Development Rights

Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) is a voluntary, market-based implementation tool that promotes the conservation of high-value agricultural land, environmentally sensitive areas and strategic open space by shifting development to areas communities deem appropriate for development. The development rights of areas to be protected (referred to as "sending areas") are transferred to appropriate, community-designated areas (“receiving areas”) that can accommodate growth through existing and/or planned provision of infrastructure.
Precursors to Gender Attitudes in the Air Cadet Gliding Population

Abstract : Directorate of Flight Safety (DFS) data between 1997 and 2007 suggest that a disproportionate number of female pilots are involved in Canadian air cadet glider accidents. Research also suggests that commercial aviation continues to be dominated by masculine cultural values and practices, possibly leading to feelings of pressure among females to perform, as well as prejudicial attitudes towards female aviators (Davey, 2004; Vermeulen & Mitchell, 2007). Research by Febbraro et al.(2008) also found differential treatment of males and females in the Canadian air cadet glider training environment. All of these factors suggest that female air cadets may be exposed to negative attitudes and expectations and may encounter stereotype threat (i.e., negative gender stereotypes) in flight situations. Such negative stereotypes or attitudes could, in turn, play a role in the deficit in performance among female cadets, and possibly contribute to the number of accidents attributed to females. This study explored the precursors to negative gender attitudes in an attempt to identify some of the key factors that contribute to stereotype threat. Structural equation modeling based on survey findings from a sample of male and female air cadets (N = 211) indicated that an awareness of pilot limitations and rational thinking patterns predicted aviation gender attitudes (AGA). Knowing the precursors to negative AGA could point to a mechanism by which these attitudes, and therefore, the environment encountered by female cadets, may be altered to increase their confidence and decrease the stereotype threat, thus potentially leading to fewer accidents.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION APPROACHES WORKS AS MEDICINE TO SAFEGUARD LIFE ON EARTH: A STUDY IN CONCERN WITH NOVEL CORONA VIRUS (COVID-19)

The term Covid-19 which refers to a Novel virus creates a deep impact on the mindset of human beings to rethink about one’s activities on planet. During this critical situation when most are indulged and involved in finding the causes and solution of the problem, a very different aspect catches my attention and that is effective communication approaches added through innovative techniques by leaders, hundreds of creative people and think tanks whose efforts resulted as information medicine to protect life and economy which is in danger at the time of rapidly increasing Novel Corona Virus (Covid-19). Some of the communication techniques introduced and liked by millions of people around the world are Clapping Act, Banging of Thali at the doorsteps or at rooftops, Lightening of Lamps, Candles, Flash Lights of Mobile Phones, efforts of global leaders along with Video Conferencing by the Indian Prime Minister Mr Modi and the announcement of lockdown to break the chain of the spread of Coronavirus. The research methodology opted to assess these communication channels and its approaches, media sources and innovative techniques is based on observation, interpretation and analysis on primary and secondary phase. As a result, we have seen the control over COVID-19 up-to some extent, the controlled death rate and economy level in positive numbers. The outcome of this paper suggests that the information spread through various effective communication approaches along with media sources works as information medicine to safeguard life on Earth in context with the COVID-19 pandemic.
X-Ray Image based COVID-19 Detection using Pre-trained Deep Learning Models

Detecting COVID-19 early may help in devising an appropriate treatment plan and disease containment decisions. In this study, we demonstrate how pre-trained deep learning models can be adopted to perform COVID-19 detection using X-Ray images. The aim is to provide over-stressed medical professionals a second pair of eyes through intelligent image classification models. We highlight the challenges (including dataset size and quality) in utilising current publicly available COVID-19 datasets for developing useful deep learning models. We propose a semi-automated image pre-processing model to create a trustworthy image dataset for developing and testing deep learning models. The new approach is aimed to reduce unwanted noise from X-Ray images so that deep learning models can focus on detecting diseases with specific features from them. Next, we devise a deep learning experimental framework, where we utilise the processed dataset to perform comparative testing for several popular and widely available deep learning model families such as VGG, Inception, Xception, and Resnet. The experimental results highlight the suitability of these models for current available dataset and indicates that models with simpler networks such as VGG19 performs relatively better with up to 83% precision. This will provide a solid pathway for researchers and practitioners to develop improved models in the future.
Adolescent risk-taking and social influence in the context of exploration

Adolescents are often described as a strange and different species that behaves like no other age group, typical behaviours being excessive risk-taking and sensitivity to peer influence. Different theories of adolescent behaviour attribute this to different internal mechanisms like undeveloped cognitive control, higher sensation-seeking or extraordinary social motivation. Many agree that some of adolescent risk-taking behaviour is adaptive. Here we argue that to understand adolescent risk-taking, and why it may be adaptive, research needs to pay attention to the adolescent environments’ structure and view adolescents as learning and exploring agents in it. We identify three unique aspects of the adolescent environment: 1) the opportunities to take risks are increased significantly, 2) these opportunities are novel and their outcomes uncertain, and 3) peers become more important. Next, we illustrate how adolescent risk-taking may emerge from learning using agent-based modelling, and show that a typical inverted-U shape in risk-taking may emerge in absence of a specific adolescent motivational drive for sensation-seeking or sensitivity to social information. The simulations also show how risky exploration may be necessary for adolescents to gain long-term benefits in later developmental stages and that social learning can help reduce losses. Finally, we discuss how a renewed ecological perspective and the focus on adolescents as learning agents may shift the interpretation of current findings and inspire future studies.
SHARIA COMPLIANCE AND ISLAMIC CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

This study aims to examine the effect of sharia compliance and Islamic corporate governance on fraud in Sharia banks. Independent variables used are sharia compliance with Profit Sharing Ratio as a proxy and Islamic corporate governance. The dependent variable used is fraud. The population in this study is all Sharia Banks which is registered in Bank Indonesia in the period 2015 to 2017. The sample was selected using purposive sampling method. Sample size in this research as much as 33 Sharia Banks. Those total samples used in this study which consist of 11 Sharia Banks within 3-year study period. The analytical method used in this study is multiple linier regression.The results of this study indicate that the sharia compliance with the Profit Sharing Ratio as a proxy, has a negative effect on fraud in Sharia bank while Islamic corporate governance has no positive effect on fraud in Sharia banks.
A Human-Centered C2 Assessment of Model and Simulation Enhanced Planning Tools

Abstract : The Conflict Modeling, Planning, and Outcomes Experimentation Program (COMPOEX) was designed to test the use of multi-resolution models (MRMs) in conjunction with the Option Exploration Tool for operational-level planning. The COMPOEX system was evaluated on what products or outcomes it facilitated, how it facilitated those products, the effect it had on understanding, and the results of its use in this 2-week planning event. The output and products that COMPOEX facilitated were evaluated in terms of the time and effort to develop the MRMs and the planning outputs produced. The time and resources required for the development of the MRMs compared favorably with the requirements for nodal network development. The coordination that occurred with COMPOEX showed that it did not restrict collaboration across lines of effort, between leadership and planners, or between military and civilian/government experienced participants. The analyses across each of these areas showed that COMPOEX consistently had positive results and appears to support the planning process in the areas mentioned.
Seamless speaker recognition

In a technologically advanced society, the average person manages dozens of accounts for e-mail, social networks, e-banking, and other electronic services. As the number of these accounts increases, the need for automatic user identification becomes more essential. Biometrics have long been used to identify people and are the most common (if not the only) method to achieve this task.Over the past few years, smartphones have become frequently used gadgets. These devices have built-in microphones and are commonly used by a single user or a small set of users, such as a couple or a family. This thesis uses a smartphone’s microphone to capture user’s speech and identify him/her. Existing speaker recognition systems typically prompt the user to provide long voice samples in order to provide accurate results. This results in a poor user experience and discourages users who do not have the patience to go through such a process. The main idea behind the speaker recognition approach presented in this thesis is to provide a seamless user experience where the recording of the user’s voice takes place in the background.An Android application is developed which silently collects voices samples and performs speaker recognition without requiring extensive user interaction. Two variants of the proposed tool have been developed and are described in depth in this thesis. The open source framework Recognito is used to perform the speaker recognition task. The analysis of Recognito showed that it is not capable of achieving high accuracy especially when the voice samples contain background noise. Finally, the comparison between the two architectures showed that they do not differ significantly in terms of performance.
Identifying hub genes associated with clinical characteristicsin IgA nephropathy by Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis

Background: Clinically, IgA nephropathy has a variety of symptoms including paroxysmal gross hematuria, nephritic and nephrotic syndrome. This study aimed at investigating hub geneand genes modular related to IgA nephropathy clinical characteristics by using weighted gene co-expression network analysis combining clinical, microarray and network database parameters. Methods: We collected 32 human samples from the European Renal cDNA Bank and used RMA method to preprocess the data and utilize the limma package to obtain differentially expressed gene in renal interstitium and glomeruli. We used the WGCNA package to construct the gene co-expression of differential expression genes and identify hub genes associated with clinical characteristics in renal interstitium and glomeruli, respectively. Gene ontology enrichment analysis and KEGG analysis for hub genes which associated with clinical characteristics were performed by DAVID. PPI information was acquired from STRING. Results: For glomeruli, 1470 genes differentially expressed between IgA nephropathy patients and healthy control, containing 10 hub genes associated with age, 8 hub genes associated with sex, 48 hub genes associated with Bp enrichd in ERK1 and ERK2 cascade and Rap1 signaling pathway, 223 hub genes associated with BMI enrich in organic acid catabolic process and fatty acid degradation pathway, 136 hub genes associated GFR enriched in immune response and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, 82 hub genes associated with proteinuria enriched in extracellular matrix organization and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. In tubulointerstitium, there were 480 genes differentially expressed between IgA nephropathy patients and healthy control. Among 480 DEGs, 6 hub genes associated with age, 15 hub genes associated with sex, 35 hub genes associated with Bp enrichd in positive regulation of apoptotic process, 87 hub genes associated with GFR enriched in negative regulation of macromolecule metabolic process and RNA transport, 33 hub genes associated with proteinuria enriched in regulation of apoptotic process and FoxO signaling pathway. PPI enrichment analysis shown that all hub genes sets are biologically connected cluster. Conclusions: We made a preliminary investigation on molecular mechanisms of relationship between IgA nephropathy and clinical characteristics and identified hub genes and pathways closely related with BMI, GFR and Proteinuria in IgA nephropathy by a series of bioinformatics analysis.
Life cycle assessment for biodiesel under the Greek climate conditions.

The aim of this paper is the conceptualization and understanding of the biodiesel life cycle produced by various Greek raw materials and under circumstances as already exists in Greece. Furthermore, the paper focuses in assessment and comparison of different biodiesel life cycles with fossil fuels. Three energy crops (rapeseed, sunflower and soy bean), concerning their levels of biodiesel production, have been studied taking into account the existing parameters of Greek climate conditions and production of these plants. So far in Greece, studies have been conducted concerning the benefits and the environmental impacts by the biodiesel combustion, only at the stage of consumption and emissions, but till today limited number of studies of environmental comparison and assessment of biodiesel production processes exist. The environmental impact assessment per crop area indicates the biodiesel production under soy bean raw material as the most effective solution among the others and per biodiesel quantity produced, the sunflower one. This paper concludes that the environmental benefits, in comparison with the fossil fuels, results not only at the emissions stage, but also at the stage of production of biodiesel and that with insignificant modifications it is feasible to decrease environmental impacts at significant degree.
Early Childhood Caries Experience Associated with Upper Respiratory Infection in US Children: Findings from a Retrospective Cohort Study.

Introduction Both Early Childhood Caries (ECC) and Upper Respiratory Infection (URI) are infectious diseases. The oral cavity is considered a potential reservoir of respiratory pathogens due to the anatomical proximity between the oral cavity and respiratory system, which implies a potential association between ECC and URI. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the association between ECC experience and URI incidence in preschool children. Methods This retrospective cohort study collected data via electronic health records. The exposure was ECC before 3 years of age. The dependent variable was the incidence of URI between 4-6 years of age. To analyze the factors associated with the time-to-event of URI, we used log-rank tests and Cox regression models to compare the survival of URI between the ECC and Caries-Free (CF) groups, adjusting factors including demographic-socioeconomic characteristics and medical conditions. To analyze factors associated with the number of URI episodes, we used negative binomial regression models adjusting for factors mentioned above. Results A total of 497 US preschool children were included, with 117 ECC and 380 CF children. More children with ECC (58.1%) developed URI than the CF group (47.6%) during the follow-up period (4-6 years of age) (p=0.04). The ECC children were at 1.6 times higher risk to develop URI than the CF children even after accounting for other URI risk factors (Hazard Ratio 1.57 (1.13, 2.10), p=0.007). Conclusions Our study suggests a potential association between ECC and URI, with an inference that early life ECC experience could be used as a predictor for developing URI in preschool age. The causal relationship between ECC and URI incidence in young children needs to be investigated through future studies.
A NEW APPROACH TO BASEBALL BAT SWING WARM-UP

The purpose of this study was to compare a new form of warm-up with the traditional warm-up routine in baseball bat swing. Three different warm-up conditions (i.e., the standard bat warm-up (CO), the overweighted arm warm-up (OA), and the overweighted bat warm-up (OB)) were tested. Twenty subjects who had competitive baseball experience in high school or college participated in this study. Results indicated that during warm-up swings the bat speed of the CO (31.95 ± 1.50 m/s) was significantly faster than that of the OA (31.35 ± 1.82 m/s) and the OB (25.55 ± 1.43 m/s). However, the OA warm-up increased bat speed (0.659 ± 2.79%) more than the CO (0.049 ± 2.54%) and OB (−0.203 ± 3.83%) warm-ups. However, these differences were not statistically significant due to large variation across subjects. This study also found a significant drop of the bat speed at the first trial (−0.499 ± 3.21% and −1.07 ± 3.21% for the OA and OB warm-ups, respectively) immediately following loaded warm-ups. It was concluded that the overweighted arm warm-up might be better than the traditional warmup routine (i.e., the overweighted bat) but a short break (e.g., 3-min) is recommended to maximize the performance.