Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Digital audio technology in music teaching and learning: A preliminary investigation

The inclusion of digital audio technology for sampling, editing, mixing and producing music in formal music classrooms has been considered a needed area of expansion across the music teaching and learning landscape. Current research suggests that music technology, defined broadly, is often disregarded in many music classrooms. However, the ubiquity of music technology suggests its relevancy in the digital age, especially for sampling editing, mixing and producing music. The purpose of this research was to survey the current climate of music education across all levels of instruction, with a special focus on teaching digital audio technology using MIDI controllers and audio production techniques. A researcher-developed survey was distributed to a population of music teachers across the United States (N=83). Results found that participants taught few digital audio technology concepts, used Garageband extensively, were self-taught, relied on out-of-date hardware and used a variety of MIDI controllers. Implications for music education and considerations for additional research are provided in conclusion.
Cyber-physical codesign of wireless structural control system

Sun, Zhuoxiong. Ph.D., Purdue University, December 2015. Cyber-Physical Codesign of Wireless Structural Control System. Major Professor: Shirley Dyke, School of Mechanical Engineering. Structural control systems play a critical role in protecting civil infrastructure from natural hazards such as earthquakes and extreme winds. Utilizing wireless sensors for sensing, communication and control, wireless structural control systems provide an attractive alternative for structural vibration mitigation. Although wireless control systems have advantages of flexible installation, rapid deployment and low maintenance cost, there are unique challenges associated with them, such as wireless network induced time delay and potential data loss. These challenges need to be considered jointly from both the network (cyber) and control (physical) perspectives. This research aims to develop a framework facilitating cyber-physical codesign of wireless control system. The challenges of wireless structural control are addressed through: (1) a numerical simulation tool to realistically model the complexities of wireless structural control systems, (2) a codesign approach for designing wireless control system, (3) a sensor platform to experimentally evaluate wireless control performance, (4) an estimation method to compensate for the data loss and sensor failure, and (5) a framework for fault tolerance study of wireless control system withreal-time hybrid simulation. The results of this work not only provide codesign tools to evaluate and validate wireless control design, xviii but also the codesign strategies to implement on real-world structures for wireless structural control.
The appeal of the omni-channels on lady casual wears retailing in China

Abstract As the omni-channel retailing has become a clear trend, more and more retailers are trying it. Most of the fashion brands are groping and innovating since no historical cases for reference. The focus of this study is to examine the appeal of each omni-channel retailing functionalities from the existing solutions. With the lady casual wears as the research subject, 161 effective questionnaire surveys were conducted online. Functionalities were classified to three types of appeal factors to consumers by the exploratory factor analysis and then revised by the confirmatory factor analysis. The research hypotheses were developed using structural equation modeling, and the results supported the model.
Electric Grid Expansion Planning with High Levels of Variable Generation

Renewables are taking a large proportion of generation capacity in U.S. power grids. As their randomness has increasing influence on power system operation, it is necessary to consider their impact on system expansion planning. To this end, this project studies the generation and transmission expansion co-optimization problem of the US Eastern Interconnection (EI) power grid with a high wind power penetration rate. In this project, the generation and transmission expansion problem for the EI system is modeled as a mixed-integer programming (MIP) problem. This study analyzed a time series creation method to capture the diversity of load and wind power across balancing regions in the EI system. The obtained time series can be easily introduced into the MIP co-optimization problem and then solved robustly through available MIP solvers. Simulation results show that the proposed time series generation method and the expansion co-optimization model and can improve the expansion result significantly after considering the diversity of wind and load across EI regions. The improved expansion plan that combines generation and transmission will aid system planners and policy makers to maximize the social welfare. This study shows that modelling load and wind variations and diversities across balancing regions will produce significantly differentmore » expansion result compared with former studies. For example, if wind is modeled in more details (by increasing the number of wind output levels) so that more wind blocks are considered in expansion planning, transmission expansion will be larger and the expansion timing will be earlier. Regarding generation expansion, more wind scenarios will slightly reduce wind generation expansion in the EI system and increase the expansion of other generation such as gas. Also, adopting detailed wind scenarios will reveal that it may be uneconomic to expand transmission networks for transmitting a large amount of wind power through a long distance in the EI system. Incorporating more details of renewables in expansion planning will inevitably increase the computational burden. Therefore, high performance computing (HPC) techniques are urgently needed for power system operation and planning optimization. As a scoping study task, this project tested some preliminary parallel computation techniques such as breaking down the simulation task into several sub-tasks based on chronology splitting or sample splitting, and then assigning these sub-tasks to different cores. Testing results show significant time reduction when a simulation task is split into several sub-tasks for parallel execution. « less
Wearable Walking Support System Based on GRF and Human Model

In this paper, we propose a new algorithm, referred to as the Model-based control algorithm for Anti-Gravity Muscles Assist with Ground Reaction Force feedback, to control a wearable waking support system. In this algorithm, the joint support moment of human is calculated based on the term of the antigravity and the ground reaction force of necessary joint moment of human, which is estimated based on the dynamics of a human approximated model. The algorithm is implemented in a wearable walking support device, referred to as Wearable Walking Helper-II and experimental results illustrate the potential of the proposed system.
Awareness of Type 2 Diabetic Patients about the Importance of Exercise and Diet on Diabetes Type 2 in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia

Background: Diabetes is becoming more prevalent in undeveloped countries, what is known about self-care practice is insignificant, like self-monitoring of blood glucose, balanced diet, Medication adherence, and exercise. For people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, exercise is usually one of the first control measures recommended. These practices are considered as the basis of diabetes management. Objctive: The study goal is to assess the awareness of type 2 diabetic patients about the importance of exercise and diet on diabetes type 2. Methods: A cross-sectional observational survey study that was carried out in western Province, Saudi Arabia. A questionnaires were used to ask about the background information and patients’ demographics, self-monitoring of blood glucose, eating and drinking habits, exercise habits, and beliefs about the effectiveness of diet and exercise on blood glucose. Results: A total of 568 type 2 of diabetic patients. The average age of the participants was 51.89 ± 12.82 years, 53.5% were females, 89.8% were educated, 81.2% were married, and 30.1% were from Jeddah city. 30.3 % of patients did not practice healthy habits, and 43 % did not exercise, even though 90 % believed that exercise and diet had a positive impact on glucose level in the blood.Male patients showed considerably a higher percentage of those who continued to engage in unhealthy habits such as “smoking, eating fast food, eating sugars, or drinking soft drinks. Conclusion: A significant proportion of Saudi diabetic patients did not follow a healthy diet and exercise on a regular basis. Health policymakers should conduct effective health education sessions for diabetic patients on the importance of a healthy diet and exercise in diabetes management.
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS ON STRENGTH, DURABILITY, SUSTAINABILITY & ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF GEO-POLYMER CONCRETE BLOCKS

With the growth in infrastructure development and boom in the housing sector, the demand for cement is bound to increase. Due to environmental concerns of cement industry, there arises a strong need to make use of alternate technology which is sustainable. Geopolymer, an inorganic alumina silicate polymer is synthesized predominantly from silicon and aluminum materials or from byproduct materials like fly ash. In the present work, an attempt is made to develop geopolymer concrete blocks at ambient curing condition and to investigate strength and durability aspects. The geopolymer blocks prepared here in without the use of cement. The materials considered are Flyash (Class F), Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), Quarry dust and sand. Sodium hydroxide & sodium silicate were used as alkaline activators. The experimental program involves casting of geopolymer blocks and testing the same for compressive strength. The parameter considered in this study is alkaline solution to binder ratio at 8M molarity. The result revealed that geopolymer concrete block develops strength at ambient curing conditions. The study is further extended to understand the economic impact and sustainability of geopolymer concrete blocks.
An isolated bidirectional inverter using high frequency center-tapped transformer

This paper proposes a bidirectional high-frequency link inverter using a high-frequency center-tapped transformer. The main feature of the inverter is fewer number of power switches used. On the secondary side of the transformer, the active rectifier employs only two switches, thus reducing the switching losses. Furthermore, a modified sinusoidal pulse width modulation (PWM) has been applied to increase the efficiency of the inverter. A 1 kW prototype has been constructed and experiments were carried out to verify the viability of the proposed inverter.
A Comparative Study of EFL Instructors’ Essay Rating: Holistic Versus Analytic Approaches at a Tertiary Institution in Saudi Arabia

This study seeks to explore the factors that influence EFL instructors’ rating decisions while using holistic and analytic rubrics. Few studies have been conducted on the factors that influence the rating practices of EFL instructors, specifically, in the Saudi EFL context. This study addresses this gap and contributes more broadly to the understanding of the interplay between EFL instructors and the use of holistic and analytic rubrics. The data were collected in a Saudi university at a preparatory year program (PYP). This study utilizes semi-structured interviews with eleven EFL instructors from different nationalities. Guided by the critical language testing as a theoretical framework and with qualitative analysis, the study reveals that critical language testing can minimize the negative consequences of writing assessment done by graders; however, students’ low English proficiency, time constraints, heavy workload can negatively affect the rating practices. Finally, several pedagogical implications, insights, and recommendations for future research are put forward in the conclusion.
Smart Car System: Review

: Automobiles remained conceived to save the required time and hard work of people, but that showed to be deadly as the number of vehicles increased on road. Driver faces many problem like parking issues, accident and traffic. Therefore it required to solve matters of mishaps caused by automobiles. There is a need to generate a clever device that is employer friendly that purposes to provide information like, humidity, temperature, and way, trip travelled, and other things to employers. Smart Cars can help to reduce the number of accident which occur due to many problems like communication, careless driving, poor visibility, etc. To enable message among 2 automobiles to avoid uncommon decelerating began by 2 automobiles in vicinity and to prevent mishaps, smart cars can be helpful. Intelligent Car is coming generation automatic car that provide user relaxed, luxurious and safe travelling with comfort. In this paper, reviews of different methods of making smart car are covered.
Do Childhood Conduct Problems Predict Negative Outcomes in Adolescence? A Longitudinal Analysis

The primary purpose of this study was to conduct a prospective ­­­examination of the relationship between childhood conduct problems and five outcomes in adolescence– namely, Physically violent offenses; Non-violent offenses; Deviant lifestyle; Consumption of tobacco, cannabis, or alcohol; and Meeting the symptom count diagnostic criteria for Conduct Disorder (CD) – while controlling for a series of sociodemographic factors, family characteristics and adolescent experiences. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine if childhood conduct problems in the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) Cycle 1 contributed to negative outcomes in adolescence in NLSCY Cycle 4. This was a prospective, population-based study of 3,725 adolescents (12-15 years old) in the NLSCY Cycle 4 (2000-2001) who were 6-9 years old in NLSCY Cycle 1 (1994-95). Childhood conduct problems were found to be associated with Non-violent offenses and Consumption of tobacco, cannabis, or alcohol in adolescence, but they were not found to be associated with Physically violent offenses or Deviant lifestyle in adolescence. Furthermore, children with conduct problems before the age of 10 were more likely to meet the symptom count diagnostic criteria for CD in adolescence.
A Concurrent Ant Colony Optimization Multipath Forwarding Algorithm in IP Networks

The rapid development of communication technology and programming router in the last few years have given rise to a strong research interest in Concurrent Multi-Path (CMP). At the same time, much of the researches of ant colony optimization (ACO) focus on wireless net- works such as MANET (Mobile Ad-hoc Networks) and WSN (Wireless Sensor Networks), on the other hand, there are little researches about ACO on wired networks such as Internet. Combining with the advantages of CMP and ACO while based on the disadvantages of conventional single- path OSPF (Open Shortest Path First), ECMP (Equal Cost MultiPath) and random CMP, this paper proposes a novel CMP forwarding algorithm aimed to increase the scalability and decrease the route overhead to existing ant-based routing algorithm. The proposed algorithm, which is called Concurrent ACO CMP Forward (CACF), makes full use of the positive pheromone feed- back of forward ants and backward ants to update the state of difierent paths. Forward ants probe the current condition of the networks and backward ants update the routing information of each path and adjust forwarding granularity for difierent availability bandwidth. CACF can adapt to the changing of link performance dynamically and utilize multiple paths to transmit simultaneously. We validate CACF algorithm through theoretical analysis and NS2 simulation driven by real-world tra-c traces and networks topologies. Results prove that CACF algorithm reduces the degradation of performance of difierent paths, obtains signiflcant performances of throughput, end-to-end delay and jitter.
Aerodynamic characteristics of a wing-and-flap configuration in ground effect and yaw

The influence of the yaw angle on a model representative of a monoposto racing car’s front wing and nose section operating in close proximity to the ground is discussed. The yawed condition is representative of a car operating in a crosswind or with side-slip while cornering. Because of the need for downforce in corners rather than on a straight, it is standard practice to test a racing car at various orientations of yaw, pitch and roll quasi-statically. Wind tunnel testing with a 50%-scale model at a unit Reynolds number of 1.69 × 106 was used to investigate the forces and the surface flow structures. The results were then used to validate simulations with the three-equation k–kL–ω transitional turbulence model to observe the surface pressures and the wake structures. It was found that a change in the surface pressure caused asymmetric loading of the wing, the strengthening or inhibiting of vortices depending on their rotational sense and an overall reduction in both the downforce and the drag of the wing; all these were amplified as the yaw angle was increased or the ground clearance reduced. The fundamental aerodynamic flow features of a racing car’s front wing operating at yaw are established.
A Meta-Analysis of the Association between Leisure Participation and Depressive Symptoms among Older Adults

Background. Depression is one of the major public health concerns among older adults. Participation in preferred leisure activities has been found to be effective for reducing the symptoms of depression among this population. Objectives. The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of the association between leisure participation and depression. Methods. A systematic review of PubMed, Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar yielded 12 studies published between 2010 and 2020 (total participants = 10,681) that met the criteria for a meta-analysis. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software (CMA) was used to conduct the data analysis, and the correlation coefficient r was used as the effect size. Results. The average effect size across all 12 studies was -. 221 (Fisher’s Z = -5.696, P <.001), indicating that participation in leisure activities had a significant negative effect on depression for the elderly. In addition, the Q-value (116.003, P <.001) and the I-squared value (90.517) proved substantial heterogeneity between the 12 studies in the meta-analysis. The symmetrical funnel plot produced by the CMA analysis demonstrated a possible absence of publication bias. Conclusion. This meta-analytic study reinforced the effectiveness of leisure participation in reducing the symptoms of depression among older adults © 2021, Annals of Applied Sport Science. All Rights Reserved.
Application of Wavelet Singularity Detection to Ultrasonic Signal Processing

Pulse echo method is often used in nondestructive testing. To make the automatic ultrasonic testing system detect the flaw accurately, the signal interfered by noise must be processed because the echo signal often contains all kinds of noise. The principle of singular signal detection by wavelet transform was introduced, and ultrasonic echo signal was analyzed with the method. The result of experiment proved that the method of wavelet singularity detection could be used to eliminate noise interference efficiently and localize flaws accurately.
Causes of Drug Initiation among Adolescents

Drug use is a behaviour frequently seen among adolescents. The World Drug Report draws attention to the increase in this phenomenon. The studies were undertaken to look for determinants that promote drug use and those that protect against reckless activities. It seems important to determine the causes of drug initiation. The presented study aimed to identify the determinants favouring first contact with drugs among adolescents. Eighteen respondents participated in the study. Purposive sampling was used and data were collected using categorized interviews. The exploratory nature of the interviews focused on obtaining information on three areas: family life, peer influences and the role of mass culture products. Education, financial background, and inquiries about life plans, dreams, and their realization were also recorded. The analysis of empirical data made it possible to establish interesting factors conducive to the respondents’ first contact with drugs both in the family environment, peer environment, but also related to popular culture, lifestyle, the influence of significant others, as well as to the dangers of the Internet. Established causes of drug initiations are indicated. The obtained results can be used in designing preventive interventions among adolescents. They can also be the basis for planning further studies with this group.
Underground safety monitoring technology based on 3D laser scanner

In this paper,the theory of 3D laser scanning technology and its application in underground safety monitoring are stated,and the 3D laser scanning products at home and abroad and their characteristics aimed at mine safety monitoring are introduced.The trendency of 3D laser scanning system in mine safety monitoring field is analyzed.It is pointed out that the 3D laser scanning technology belongs to technological innovation and important mean in safety monitoring of underground cavity.With the rapid development of mining informatization,the 3D laser scanner will play an important role in the safety monitoring of underground mines.
Awareness regarding breast cancer among urban women in South India

Introduction and Aim: Breast cancer is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and recent trends have shown increased incidence among younger women. There is, therefore, an imminent need to raise the level of awareness among the women in the entire population. The present study was carried out to evaluate the level of awareness among urban women in South India. Methodology: This hospital based cross sectional study was carried out among 1000 adult women who visited the outpatient clinics of our tertiary care hospital for various illness. The level of awareness regarding breast cancer was elicited based on the risk factors of breast cancer, symptoms, and role of family history. Awareness regarding the tools for early detection, management and preventive measures was also elicited. Results: The study observed that 78.9% of the participants who were illiterates had no awareness of the symptoms, while 57.9% of the participants with high school level education were unaware of the symptoms. Regarding the role of genetics in breast cancer occurrence, 47% of the illiterate participants reported that breast cancer is not hereditary. It was observed that lack of awareness regarding the early detection was prevalent among 81%, 87% and 93% of the participants who were illiterate, primary, and middle school level educated respectively. Conclusion: The present study has also elucidated the lack of adequate knowledge on important facts regarding the breast cancer is alarming and this needs to be addressed with due focus on providing health education by health care providers at various levels of health system.