Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multimodal Classification of Safety-Report Observations

Modern businesses are obligated to conform to regulations to prevent physical injuries and ill health for anyone present on a site under their responsibility, such as customers, employees and visitors. Safety officers (SOs) are engineers, who perform site audits to businesses, record observations regarding possible safety issues and make appropriate recommendations. In this work, we develop a multimodal machine-learning architecture for the analysis and categorization of safety observations, given textual descriptions and images taken from the location sites. For this, we utilize a new multimodal dataset, Safety4All, which contains 5344 safety-related observations created by 86 SOs in 486 sites. An observation consists of a short issue description, written by the SOs, accompanied with images where the issue is shown, relevant metadata and a priority score. Our proposed architecture is based on the joint fine tuning of large pretrained language and image neural network models. Specifically, we propose the use of a joint task and contrastive loss, which aligns the text and vision representations in a joint multimodal space. The contrastive loss ensures that inter-modality representation distances are maintained, so that vision and language representations for similar samples are close in the shared multimodal space. We evaluate the proposed model on three tasks, namely, priority classification of input observations, observation assessment and observation categorization. Our experiments show that inspection scene images and textual descriptions provide complementary information, signifying the importance of both modalities. Furthermore, the use of the joint contrastive loss produces strong multimodal representations and outperforms a baseline simple model in tasks fusion. In addition, we train and release a large transformer-based language model for the Greek language based on the Electra architecture.
Factors influencing students' adoption intention of brain–computer interfaces in a game-learning context

PurposeA research framework that explains adoption intention in students with regard to brain–computer interface (BCI) games in the learning context was proposed and empirically examined.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, an approach integrating the decomposed theory of planned behavior, perceived playfulness, risk and the task–technology fit (TTF) concept was used to assess data collected using a post-experiment questionnaire from a student sample in Taiwan. The research model was tested using the partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique.FindingsAttitude, subjective norms and TTF were shown to impact intention to play the BCI game significantly, while perceived behavioral control did not show a significant impact. The influence of superiors and peers was found to positively predict subjective norms. With the exception of perceived ease of use, all of the proposed antecedents were found to impact attitude toward BCI games. Technology facilitating conditions and BCI technology characteristics were shown to positively determine perceived behavior control and TTF, respectively. However, the other proposed factors did not significantly influence the latter two dependents.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the nascent literature on BCI games in the context of learning by highlighting the influence of belief-related psychological factors on user acceptance of BCI games. Moreover, this study highlights the important, respective influences of perceived playfulness, risk and TTF on users' perceptions of a game, body monitoring and technology implementation, each of which is known to influence willingness to play.
Economics: A Fragmented and Troubled Scientific Discipline? A Review of Alessandro Roncaglia’s The Age of Fragmentation: A History of Contemporary Economic Thought (2019)

Abstract This paper provides a detailed review of Alessandro Roncaglia’s book, The Age of Fragmentation: A History of Contemporary Thought, published in 2019. It is shown by Roncaglia in this book that since early in the twentieth century economic thought has fragmented into many different research fields, and into many different theoretical approaches, and yet the mainstream of contemporary economics has become progressively dominated by the marginalist approach. The review accounts for the main themes in Roncaglia’s interpretation of the development of contemporary economic thought in its many different fields and theoretical perspectives and his evaluation of their scientific contribution. A central argument of Roncaglia is that because of the fragmented nature of economics and the cultural-political factors shaping research funding of it, the history of economic thought has never been more important for communication and mutual comprehension across the discipline to ensure its intellectual health and ethical standing.
Triboelectrification based Multifunctional Tactile Sensors

Advanced tactile sensors are receiving significant attention in various industries such as extended reality, electronic skin, organic user interfaces, and robotics. The capabilities of advanced tactile sensors require a variety of functions, including position sensing, pressure sensing, and material recognition. Moreover, they should comsume less power and be bio-friendly with human contact. Recently, a tactile sensor based on the triboelectrification effect was developed. Triboelectric tactile sensors have the advantages of wide material availability, simple structure, and low manufacturing cost. Because they generate electricity by contact, they have low power consumption compared to conventional tactile sensors such as capacitive and piezoresistive. Furthermore, they have the ability to recognize the contact material as well as execute position and pressure sensing functions using the triboelectrification effect. The aim of this study is to introduce the progress of research on triboelectrification-based tactile sensors with various functions such as position sensing, pressure sensing and contact material recognition.
The future adaptivity of nineteenth century heritage buildings

Purpose Designing for the future sustainability and adaptability of building assets contributes to waste and emission reduction. Moreover, sustainable design and conservation principles are necessary for achieving sustainable and adaptable built heritage. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the improved adaptSTAR model in regards to maximising the future adaptive reuse and sustainability of existing built heritage and its surroundings. Design/methodology/approach A comparative study of two iconic nineteenth century heritage assets in Australia and Hong Kong is undertaken to highlight the need to forecast the future adaptation of heritage buildings in order to guarantee their continuous reuse and sustainability in an urban context. Findings Findings show that the functional, technological and legal attributes of these two nineteenth century heritage buildings require improvement so as to ensure their future adaptivity. The upgrading of heritage buildings for environmental sustainability is also deemed necessary. Originality/value The originality of this paper pertains to the advancement of the adaptSTAR tool in evaluating the future adaptivity of existing built heritage as well as new built environments whilst considering their economic, environmental and social values.
Differential Modes of External Change Agent Support in Diffusion of Innovation.

xiii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION.1 Overview. 1 The Call for Educational Change. 2 External Change Agents.3 Study Context: Education in Louisiana.5 Building Louisiana’s Capacity. 5 Louisiana’s School and District Accountability Program. 7 Problematic Concerns for Louisiana. 11 New Role of the Central Office.12 Conceptual Framework. 14 Purpose of the Study. 17 Importance o f the Study. 19 Research Questions and Hypotheses. 22 Research Questions (RQ). 23 Research Hypotheses (RH). 25 Definitions of Terms/Variables. 26 External Agents of Change. 27 Extrinsic Capacity.29 Diffusion of Innovation. 31 Internal Change Agents. 32 Local Capacity.32 School Effectiveness Processes.33 Fullan’s School Improvement Processes. 36 Limitations of the Study.38 Overview of the Study.38 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND RESEARCH 40 Introduction. 40 Review of Literature on Educational Change. 41 Models of Change. 41 Dynamics of Change. 43 Principles of Change Facilitation. 43 Review of Literature on Diffusion of Innovation. 44 Early Studies and Models of Diffusion of Innovation. 44
Mission reliability–centered maintenance approach based on quality stochastic flow network for multistate manufacturing systems

Previous studies of reliability centered maintenance (RCM) rarely consider the maintenance quality for the operation condition monitoring of manufacturing system. Therefore, a quality-oriented maintenance approach for the multistate manufacturing system with the aid of mission reliability is proposed. First, connotations of the mission reliability and maintenance quality of the multistate manufacturing system are expounded on the basis of the operational mechanism. Second, a quality stochastic flow network (QSFN) model of the multistate manufacturing system is established, and a novel mission reliability model is presented. Third, a quality-oriented mission reliability–centered maintenance framework for multistate manufacturing systems is proposed, and the optimal integrated maintenance strategy is obtained by minimizing the total cost. Finally, an industrial example of subway flow receiver is presented to verify the proposed method. Results show that the proposed method can simultaneously balance the maintenance cost and maintenance quality of the multistate manufacturing system.
Engineering Student Profile Related to the Market of Operation: Competence Perspective

This article proposes a method/framework to model and quantify engineer competencies from the point of view of students, teachers, and the market. Design/Methodology/Approach: As this work has a practical nature to solve a real problem related to engineering course design, the applied methodology was design science research (DSR). Limitations of the Investigation: The study carries out in a single course, and the instrument allows it to be applied only in courses that use the competence of the conceive design implement operate (CDIO) Syllabus. The number of respondents tends to be low because the student must attend the components of the course (students of the last year or former students). Practical Implications: This study allows us to analyze the differences between the competence developed during the undergraduate course and the labor market demand. Thus, course design improvements can be implemented more effectively. Originality/Value: There are no works in the literature that propose the use of the graph technique in conjunction with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to map engineer competence and model performance indicators for the competence developed by students in an engineering course.
Screening Accuracy of FeNO Measurement for Childhood Asthma in a Community Setting

(1) Background: The exhaled fractional nitric oxide is a well-recognized biomarker used in clinical settings for controlling and managing asthma. Less is known about the value of Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) measurement in epidemiological studies on childhood asthma, although available evidence suggests that an increased FeNO is associated with an increased risk of asthma. (2) Aim: The aim of the study was to assess FeNO accuracy in the identification of children with asthma, participants in a population-based respiratory survey. (3) Material and methods: The cross-sectional study included 449 children, 224 (49.9%) boys and 225 (50.1%) girls aged 6–10 years. The FeNO was measured in 449 children; Spirometry tests were completed with 441 children, but technically acceptable spirometry was done in 350. All participants fulfilled the questionnaire (ISAAC) for assessment of the status of their respiratory system on which diagnosis was based on. FeNO and Spirometry were performed according to ERS/ATS recommendations. (4) Results: The FeNO was significantly higher in asthmatic children (n = 22): 27.3 ± 21.3 ppb; with allergic rhinitis (n = 106): 9.9 ± 21.6 ppb, with atopic dermatitis (n = 67) 20.8 ± 25.0 ppb, with an asthmatic tendency (n = 27): 19.8 ± 16.0 ppb in comparison to children without any respiratory/atopy symptoms. The highest diagnostic odds ratio and area under the curve were found in any treated asthma or asthma without any atopic symptoms in relation to FeNO cutoff > 35 ppb; DOR 4.85 and 8.37; AUC 0.615 and 0.795, respectively. The adjustment for spirometry parameters did not improve the diagnostic accuracy of FeNO. In each FeNO cutoff, there were more false positive than true positive subjects. (5) Conclusions. The best diagnostic accuracy of FeNO was for isolated asthma without any atopy against children without any coexisting respiratory or allergic disease. The sensitivity and specificity did not reach the required values for a good screening tool; therefore, it should not be used in epidemiological settings.
Biomaterials for Ophthalmic Applications

Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with diseases of the eye, the organ responsible for vision, and its attachments. Biomaterials can be made with different types of materials and can replace or improve a function or an organ, specifically the eye in the case of ophthalmic biomaterials. Biomaterials are substances that interact with biological systems for a medical purpose, either as a therapeutic (treat, augment, repair, or replace a tissue function of the body) or a diagnostic agent, and have continued to improve over the years, leading to the creation of new biomaterials. With the arrival of new generations, biomaterials have succeeded in reducing complications and toxicity and improving biocompatibilities associated with older generations. With the aging population, eye problems are becoming more prevalent, and biomaterials have helped in recent years to improve or restore vision, improving the quality of life of many patients. This review focuses on the most clinically used ophthalmic biomaterials, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, artificial tears, inlays and vitreous replacements. Tissue engineering is presented as a new tool that is able to be treat several ophthalmologic disorders.
Asymmetric information modelling in the realized spread: A new simple estimation of the informed realized Spread

The market liquidity plays an authoritative role in the execution of financial transaction. Since the liquidity has immediate impact on the trading, the liquidity risk has been gaining a huge attention in the asset pricing, corporate financing, and risk portfolio management. The bid-ask spread is often reported a significant indicator of the market liquidity and its associated cost in the financial market. This work proposes a new estimation of the bid-ask spread, namely the Informed Realized Spread (IRS). The IRS method is a modified version of the Realized Spread (RS), which exclusively illustrates the asymmetric information effects on the spread size. Despite differences behind the construction of spread proxies, the IRS model is found to be positive and strongly correlated with the RS model. The IRS method is straightforward, computationally less-intensive, and suitable for variety of research in the asset pricing studies.
A Review on Electrospun Poly(amino acid) Nanofibers and Their Applications of Hemostasis and Wound Healing

The timely and effective control and repair of wound bleeding is a key research issue all over the world. From traditional compression hemostasis to a variety of new hemostatic methods, people have a more comprehensive understanding of the hemostatic mechanism and the structure and function of different types of wound dressings. Electrospun nanofibers stand out with nano size, high specific surface area, higher porosity, and a variety of complex structures. They are high-quality materials that can effectively promote wound hemostasis and wound healing because they can imitate the structural characteristics of the skin extracellular matrix (ECM) and support cell adhesion and angiogenesis. At the same time, combined with amino acid polymers with good biocompatibility not only has high compatibility with the human body but can also be combined with a variety of drugs to further improve the effect of wound hemostatic dressing. This paper summarizes the application of different amino acid electrospun wound dressings, analyzes the characteristics of different materials in preparation and application, and looks forward to the development of directions of poly(amino acid) electrospun dressings in hemostasis.
Throughput Regulation of Messaging Servers – An Intelligent Control Solution

Enterprise Messaging is a significant building block in message exchange mechanisms at enterprise level. Higher message throughput is always a desired objective to be supported by the Enterprise Messaging Servers. The typical performance tuning of Messaging Servers is carried out either through manual tuning of the server parameters or by implementing conditional programming when the messaging servers are developed. It is evident that these two mechanisms have the limitations of huge manual intervention and inabilities to implement runtime dynamics respectively. In order to address these challenges we had an initial success of applying classic controllers in self-regulating message throughput of Messaging servers. In this paper we are extending our work by proposing an intelligent control solution which indicated a performance improvement over using classic controllers. Keywords— Enterprise Messaging Servers, Message Throughput, Feedback Control Systems, Intelligent control
EVALUATION OF NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF WEDELOLACTONE AGAINST GLUTAMATE-INDUCED NEUROTOXICITY IN PRIMARY RAT CORTEX NEURONAL CULTURE

Glutamate excitotoxicity is one of the major pathogenesis behind the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. In the present study, we have evaluated the neuroprotective activity of wedelolactone (WL) against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in primary rat cortex neurons (RCN). Treated the RCNs with WL 25 & 50 μg/ml for 2h and later treated the cells with 100μM glutamate (GLU) and incubated for 24h at 37oC. Significant protection was observed with WL in a dose-dependent manner. The results demonstrated that WL could improve the antioxidant status in the neurons and inhibit proinflammatory cytokine production. The WL also maintained the Ca 2+ homeostasis, IGF-1 expression, and protected the neurons from glutamate-induced neuronal toxicity. The neuroprotective activity of WL was further confirmed by the results of the NAA and MAP-2 expression. The results propose that the WL is significantly effective against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity and can protect neurons from various chemical events that are involved in the pathogenesis of neurotoxicity.
Comparison of the application of risk management to medical devices guided by ISO 14971 and STAMP

We live in a time where technology is rapidly evolving. Devices and equipment have changed immensely over the last fifty years and this trend will continue in the future. The importance of risk management has therefore never been greater than now. Organizations invest a lot of time and money into managing risk and try to minimize it so therefore it is important to them to have the right tools to analyze and manage risk. Medical devices are not excluded from this technical evolution and the medical device industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world today. There are countless medical devices and their variety is nearly endless. Their level of complexity can range from very simple to extremely complicated and composed of many parts. If a medical device is not used properly and in the correct way, it can possibly lead to patient death so risk management is crucial when it comes to medical devices. The objective of this research was to compare two methods of risk management with regards to medical devices. These methods are the one described in the ISO 14971 standard, which is a special risk management standard for medical devices and Systems-Theoretic Process Analyzes (STPA) which is based on the System-Theoretic Accident Model and Process (STAMP) model of accident causation which is a new method in system safety engineering. Also, the difference between the methods was examined to see if it would affect patient safety in users with microprocessor controlled prosthetic devices. The results show that there is a difference in the application of risk management to medical devices between these two procedures although it is also possible to see similarities. The results indicate that the differences could affect the patient safety of users of microprocessor controlled prosthetic devices.
gp91-phox Gene Expression System in Leukocytes Via Controlling GCN5 Regulates the Superoxide-Generating

The superoxide anion (O 2 2 )-generating system is an important mechanism of innate immune response against microbial infection in phagocytes and is involved in signal transduction mediated by various physiological and pathological signals in phagocytes and other cells, including B lymphocytes. The O 2 2 -generating system is composed of ﬁve speciﬁc proteins: p22-phox, gp91-phox, p40-phox, p47-phox, p67-phox, and a small G protein, Rac. Little is known regarding epigenetic regulation of the genes constituting the O 2 2 -generating system. In this study, by analyzing the GCN5 (one of most important histone acetyltransferases)-deﬁcient DT40 cell line, we show that GCN5 deﬁciency causes loss of the O 2 2 -generating activity. Interestingly, transcription of the gp91phox gene was drastically downregulated (to ∼ 4%) in GCN5-deﬁcient cells. To further study the involvement of GCN5 in transcriptional regulation of gp91-phox, we used in vitro differentiation system of U937 cells. When human monoblastic U937 cells were cultured in the presence of IFN- g , transcription of gp91-phox was remarkably upregulated, and the cells were differentiated to macrophage-like cells that can produce O 2 2 . Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay using the U937 cells during cultivation with IFN- g revealed not only that association of GCN5 with the gp91-phox gene promoter was signiﬁcantly accelerated, but also that GCN5 preferentially elevated acetylation levels of H2BK16 and H3K9 surrounding the promoter. These results suggested that GCN5 regulates the O 2 2 -generating system in leukocytes via controlling the gp91-phox gene expression as a supervisor. ﬁndings obtained in this study should be useful in understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in epigenetic regulation of the O 2 2 -generating system in leukocytes.