Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sessile Drop Method: Critical Analysis and Optimization for Measuring the Contact Angle of an Ion-Exchange Membrane Surface

The contact angle between a membrane surface and a waterdrop lying on its surface provides important information about the hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of the membrane. This method is well-developed for solid non-swelling materials. However, ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) are gel-like solids that swell in liquids. When an IEM is exposed to air, its degree of swelling changes rapidly, making it difficult to measure the contact angle. In this paper, we examine the known experience of measuring contact angles and suggest a simple equipment that allows the membrane to remain swollen during measurements. An optimized protocol makes it possible to obtain reliable and reproducible results. Measuring parameters such as drop size, water dosing speed and others are optimized. Contact angle measurements are shown for a large number of commercial membranes. These data are supplemented with values from other surface characteristics from optical and profilometric measurements.
Comparative Analysis of Machine Learning Algorithms and Data Mining Techniques for Predicting the Existence of Heart Disease

—Heart diseases are considered one of the leading causes of death globally over the world. They are difficult to be predicted by a specialist physician as it is not an easy task which requires greater knowledge and expertise for prediction. With the variety of machine learning and deep learning algorithms, there exist many recent studies in the state of the art that have been done remarkable and practical works for predicting the presence of heart diseases. However, some of these works were affected by various drawbacks. Hence, this work aims to compare and analyze different classifiers, pre-processing, and dimensionality reduction techniques (feature selection and feature extraction) and study their effect on the prediction of heart diseases existence. Therefore, based on the resulting performance of several conducted experiments on the well-known Cleveland heart disease dataset, the findings of this study are: 1) the most significant subset of features to predict the existence of heart diseases are PES, EIA, CPT, MHR, THA, VCA, and OPK, 2) Naïve Bayes classifier gave the best performance prediction, and 3) Chi-squared feature selection was the data mining technique that reduced the number of features while maintained the same improved performance for predicting the presence of heart disease.
Exploring Intrinsic Motivating Factors in Gamified Context: A Mixed-Method Study

Abstract “Employee Motivation” is the most significant factor affecting quality and efficiency in organizations. In every job, there are aspects that employees enjoy; still, some other elements remain tedious and laborious, and many employers have gamified their performance management system to motivate the employees. Practitioners and academicians often strive to determine the concise form of motivation, intrinsic motivation; still, there is a scant insight into how external interventions influence employee perception and, subsequently, intrinsic motivation. Game-reinforced generations have become the majority in the workplace, which makes studying gamification and intrinsic motivation an especially relevant subject. However, gamification has not always been successful. Therefore it is essential to determine the factors influencing employee perceptions of gamification. The three primary objectives of this study are to examine whether employees’ perceptions of the gamified performance management system (PMS) result in enhanced performance, examine the motivation derived (intrinsic versus extrinsic), and analyse the factors that contribute to employee outcomes in this context. This research includes two studies; the initial study is a qualitative study in which semi-structured interviews were conducted. Study I discovered “Perceived supervisor support” (PSS) as a significant moderating variable. Study II employed a survey approach to empirically examine these relationships among employees who have been working under a gamified PMS. This mixed-method study confirms the mediating role intrinsic motivation plays in the relationship between gamification and employee performance and the moderating role of PSS. Interestingly, these findings follow recent research on intrinsic motivation, concluding that even external interventions can boost intrinsic motivation when the needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness are met. Additionally, PSS as a moderator illustrates that just because gamified systems increase intrinsic motivation does not imply a supervisor’s role is limited when the system is gamified.
Passive Control of a Pentapod Offshore Wind Turbine under Earthquakes by Using Tuned Mass Damper

The finite element model (FEM) of a pentapod offshore wind turbine (OWT) is established in the newly compiled FAST. The dynamic responses of the OWT are analyzed in detail. Further, a tuned mass damper as a passive control strategy is applied in order to reduce the OWT responses under seismic loads. The influence of the tuned mass damper (TMD) locations, mass and control frequencies on the reduction of OWT responses are investigated. A general configuration of TMD can effectively reduce the local and global responses to some degree, but due to the complexity of characteristics of the OWT structure and seismic waves, the single TMD can not obtain consistent controlling effects.
Unilateral External Fixator Combined with Lateral Auxiliary Frame for Ultimate Treatment of Tibia and Fibula Shaft Fractures with Poor Soft Tissue Conditions

Background For severe soft tissue damage or open fracture, unilateral external fixation is one of the treatment choices. In the current study, a unilateral external fixator combined with a lateral auxiliary frame was used to treat tibia and fibula shaft fractures with poor soft tissue conditions to verify its feasibility for the ultimate treatment. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the patients with tibia and fibula shaft fractures who underwent unilateral external fixator combined with lateral auxiliary frame between December 2018 and October 2020. The clinical outcomes were recorded. Results 31 patients with tibia and fibula shaft fractures who received unilateral external fixator combined with lateral auxiliary frame were included in the current study. Among them, 23 cases had closed fractures with poor soft tissue and 8 cases had Gastilo type I open fractures. The average duration of hospital stay was 7.3 ± 2.3 days. The causes of injury were traffic accidents in 15 cases (48.4%), fall from height in 7 cases (22.6%), crush injury in 5 cases (16.1%), and other causes in 4 cases (12.9%). During follow-up, the clinical healing time was 3.0 ± 0.85 months. Additionally, the infection rate of pin-tract and reoperation rate was 12.9% and 3.2%. Fortunately, all patients achieved fracture healing and recovered well without joint dysfunction and obvious claudication. The Johner-Wruh scores showed that 27 cases (87.1%) were “excellent” and 4 cases (12.9%) were “good. ” Conclusions The unilateral external fixator combined with lateral auxiliary frame is an effective option for ultimate treatment of the tibia and fibula shaft fractures with poor soft tissue conditions.
Wide Band Spectrum Monitoring System from 30MHz to 1800MHz with limited Size, Weight and Power Consumption by MRC-100 Satellite

Today, the usage of radio frequencies is steadily increasing based on the continuous development of modern telecommunication technologies, and this, in turn, increases the electromagnetic pollution not only on Earth but also in space. In low Earth orbit, electromagnetic pollution creates some kind of difficulty in controlling nano-satellites. So it is necessary to measure the electromagnetic pollution in the Low Earth Orbit. The basic aim of this paper is to present the capability of designing and developing a PocketQube-class satellite 3-PQ 5 x 5 x 15 cm as a potential continuation of SMOG-1, the fourth satellite of Hungary. The planned scientific payload of MRC- 100 is a wideband spectrum monitoring system for radio frequency smog in the frequency range of 30-2600 MHz on Low Earth Orbit (600 Km). In this paper, we have executed qualifying measurements on the whole system in the frequency range of 30-1800 MHz (first phase), and we calibrated its broadband antenna with a measurement system. We present the capabilities of the wideband spectrum monitoring system to measure radio frequency signals, with the limited size, weight, and power consumption of the designed system. The working spectrum measurement system was tested on the top of the roof of building V1 at BME University and An-echoic chamber, we were able to show that there is significant radio frequency smog caused by the upper HF band, FM band, VHF band, UHF band, LTE band, GSM band, 4G band, and UMTS band. This is relevant to the main mission target of MRC-100.
Can anti-corruption reforms ease corporate financing constraints?—Empirical evidence from China

ABSTRACT China has implemented its toughest anti-corruption policies in decades since late 2012. This paper empirically tests the economic spillover effect of anti-corruption from the perspective of corporate financing constraints based on the data from listed companies in China between 2010 and 2015. Our research shows that anti-corruption can significantly ease the financing constraints on enterprises. Due to China’s special system, the above relationship between anti-corruption and financing constraints is moderated by the nature of enterprise ownership and political connections. Furthermore, this study suggests that corporate financing constraints can be primarily eased by reducing bribery expenses and external financing frictions.
Manajemen Strategik dalam Peningkatan Mutu Pendidikan

This research is motivated by the phenomenon which is telling that education should be managed with the strategic management in order to be able to choose among a lot of good management to produce a most excellent management to be developed. This research was conducted in Madrasah Aliyah Negeri Kunir Wonodadi Blitar and Madrasah Aliyah Negeri (MAN) Blitar. The approach which was used in this study was a qualitative approach to the multi-site study. Data were collected through interviews, observation and documentation. The results of this study concluded that: Strategic planning at MAN Kota Blitar was conducted through activities, the formation of the formulating vision and mission team, the determination of the vision and mission, analyzes opportunities, threats, barriers, and alternative of the problem solving, Ma'had procurement, opening the enrichments class, increasing learning, and improving the quality of educators. Strategic evaluation in MAN Kunir was conducted through: official meetings, meeting with the headmaster and committees, special meeting headmaster and vice of headmaster, teacher, employees, and the headmaster meetings, and committee meetings. While in Madrasah Aliyah Negeri Blitar was conducted through: official meetings, meeting with the headmaster, and committees, special meeting headmaster vice of headmaster, teachers, employees, and the headmaster meeting, activities meeting.
Enabling bricolage in resource-constrained contexts: the role of sense of community and passion in African social entrepreneurs

PurposeSmall social entrepreneurs (SSEs) who operate in resource-constrained environments frequently use entrepreneurial bricolage (EB) to overcome such limitations. Research in social entrepreneurship mainly focuses on the outcomes of bricolage, with little knowledge about individual mechanisms that lead SSEs to use this approach. The authors fill this gap by investigating the role of entrepreneurial passion in fostering bricolage and the mediating effect of the sense of community.Design/methodology/approachTo validate the theoretical model, the authors surveyed 279 SSEs operating in 7 African countries. The authors assessed the risk of common method bias, internal reliability and the validity of constructs and tested the hypotheses by performing linear regression analysis.FindingsThis study’s results demonstrate that passionate SSEs operating in resource-constrained contexts develop a sense of community by perceiving it as a valuable resource provider and that sense of community moves them to engage with EB.Research limitations/implicationsWithin the field of social entrepreneurship, this study examines the importance of a sense of community among SSEs; this evidence opens new avenues for research on drivers of small businesses operating in developing economies.Practical implicationsThis study has practical implications for SSEs on implementing bricolage, and guidelines for governments, policymakers and NGOs in better developing their policies and programs considering the role of communities.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by highlighting individual-level drivers of bricolage for SSEs operating in resource constraints, and revealing the relevance of the subjective view of the role of the community.
BPMS: Blockchain-Based Privacy-Preserving Multi-Keyword Search in Multi-Owner Setting

Searchable encryption (SE) has emerged as a cryptographic primitive that allows data users to search on encrypted data. Most existing SE schemes usually delegate search operations to an intermediary such as a cloud server, which would inevitably result in single-point failure, privacy leakage, and even untrustworthy results. Several blockchain-based SE schemes have been proposed to alleviate these issues; however, they suffer from some issues, such as the support for multi-keyword multi-owner model, query privacy and data storage availability. In this paper, we propose BPMS, blockchain-based privacy-preserving multi-keyword search in multi-owner setting, which supports searching over encrypted data in trustworthy, private and efficient manners. The attribute Bloom filter has been introduced into our BPMS to build indexes, which protects query privacy and improves index generation performance. To guarantee data storage availability, our BPMS leverages the advantages of IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) to store large scale of encrypted data. Security proof and comparative analysis in theory indicate that our BPMS is more secure and efficient. A series of experiments conducted on a real-world dataset further demonstrate that our BPMS is feasible in practice.
Invisibility's Flicker: Detecting Thermal Cloaks via Transient Effects

Recent research on the development of a thermal cloak has concentrated on engineering an inhomogeneous thermal conductivity and homogeneous volumetric heat capacity. While the perfect cloak of inhomogeneous $\kappa$ and $\rho c_p$ is known to be exact (no signals scattering or penetrating to the cloak's interior), no such analysis has been considered for this case. Using analytic, computational, and experimental techniques, we demonstrate that these approximate cloaks are detectable. Although they work as perfect cloaks in the steady-state, their transient (time-dependent) response is imperfect and a detectable amount of heat is scattered. This is sufficient to determine the presence of a cloak and any heat source it contains, but the material composition hidden within the cloak is not detectable in practice.
Study of Interactions between Titanium Dioxide Coating and Wood Cell Wall Ultrastructure

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is used as a UV light absorber to protect wood matter from photodegradation. In this paper, interactions between wood and TiO2 coating are studied, and the efficiency of the coating is evaluated. For the experiments, two wood species were chosen: beech (Fagus sylvatica) and pine (Pinus sylvestris). Molecular and physical modifications in coated and uncoated wood exposed to UV radiation were investigated with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). UV-VIS spectroscopy was used to describe the absorption of UV light by the TiO2 planar particles chosen for the experiment. It was demonstrated that TiO2 coating protects wood against photodegradation to a limited extent. TEM micrographs showed fissures in the wood matter around clusters of TiO2 particles in beech wood.
Long Memory and Change in Persistence in the Rare Earth Market Index

This paper investigates long memory and change in persistence of the rare earth market index. We test for the presence of long memory, complemented with tests that account for regime change or breaks. Our findings confirm the presence of long memory in the rare earth market index, with the memory parameters increasing within two-regime schemes. A break in persistence is also estimated to have occurred on September 4, 2019.
Virtual Tourism and Digital Heritage: An Analysis of VR/AR Technologies and Applications

—During the time of the pandemic, travel restrictions have impacted the tourism industry with an estimated loss of more than a trillion USD; however, at the same time, we have seen a significant increase in profits for the industries which empower remote connectivity. Various studies have identified the positive impact of virtual tourism, in which tourists can be attracted by providing a VR/AR-based experience of the destination. Similarly, virtual, mixed, and augmented realities are being used to enhance user experience in digital heritage and its preservation. With emerging technologies and increasing demand for e-tourism (due to travel restrictions), there is a need to review the technological changes and analyze user requirements with respect to virtual tourism. This paper provides a literature review of the latest technologies and applications that can potentially benefit the virtual tourism and digital heritage industry. We also provide an analysis of its impact on user experience, awareness, and interest, as well as the pros and cons of virtual experiences, which may benefit the research community about the current spectrum of virtual tourism and digital heritage.
Humans, Fires, and Forests: Social science applied to fire management: workshop summary, Tucson, Arizona, January 28-31, 2003.

This summary of the January 26-28, 2003 workshop held in Tucson, Arizona, presents the record of the meeting. It includes the full text of the invited theme papers, the managerial and policy talks, annotated outlines of the breakout sessions and the closing, wrap-up presentation. It also includes a reflective after-the-workshop summary and synthesis paper. This record, however, is only one product of the meeting. In addition to the networking that occurred, researchers attending the workshop also committed to several on-going activities designed both to foster communications among scholars as well as to maximize the utility of social science research applied to fire management. Examples of such activities include: preparation of a social science expertise directory, development of a research framework to demonstrate how various work nodes are relating to one another and where there are still significant gaps, and planning for sessions at the July 2003 Natural Hazards workshop in Boulder, Colorado, and the 2004 ISSRM conference in Keystone, Colorado.
The Impact of Internet Use on the Social Networks of the Elderly in China—The Mediating Effect of Social Participation

Introduction: Under the overlapping interaction of digitization and aging, the number of elderly Internet users has increased yearly. However, the impact of Internet use on the social networks of the elderly is still unclear. Methodology: In this study, we utilize the methods of ordinary least square regression (OLS), propensity score matching (PSM), instrumental variable (IV), and Bootstrap-mediated effect analysis methods using data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) to analyze the impact of Internet use on the social networks of the elderly and examine the mediating effect of social participation. Objectives: A total of 1363 validated respondents aged 60 or above were included to explore the relationship between Internet use, social networks, and social participation among the elderly in China. Results: The results show that Internet use positively and significantly impacts the social networks of the elderly. Compared to the elderly who do not use the Internet, the elderly who use the Internet have a larger social network size, more significant social network heterogeneity, and higher social network upper reachability. The mediated analysis shows that social participation plays a positive mediating role in the influence of Internet use on the social networks of the elderly. That is, Internet use will benefit the social network of the elderly by improving the level of their social participation. Besides, there also exists heterogeneity in the effect of Internet use on social networks among the elderly with different genders, ages, and places of residence. Conclusions: Internet use benefits the social network of the elderly, and social participation partially mediates the relationship between Internet use and the social network of the elderly. These findings have implications for formulating public policies aimed at active aging; it is necessary to bridge the “digital divide” and promote the digital integration of the elderly. Let more older adults benefit from Internet use, thus improving the social network and quality of life of the elderly.
Deep Learning for mmWave Beam-Management: State-of-the-Art, Opportunities and Challenges

Benefiting from huge bandwidth resources, millimeter-wave (mmWave) communications provide one of the most promising technologies for next-generation wireless networks. To compensate for the high pathloss of mmWave signals, large-scale antenna arrays are required both at the base stations and user equipment to establish directional beamforming, where beam-management is adopted to acquire and track the optimal beam pair having the maximum received power. Naturally, narrow beams are required for achieving high beamforming gain, but they impose enormous training overhead and high sensitivity to blockages. As a remedy, deep learning (DL) may be harnessed for beam-management. First, the current state-of-the-art is reviewed, followed by the associated challenges and future research opportunities. We conclude by highlighting the associated DL design insights and novel beam-management mechanisms.
Reactive Symbolic Planning and Control in Dynamic Adversarial Environments

Satisfying both safety and reachability requirements in dynamic adversarial environments is very challenging, particularly when little or no information about the dynamics and intentions of the adversarial objects is available. Therefore, this article addresses the problem of path planning and control of autonomous vehicles in a dynamic adversarial reach–avoid scenario with two noncooperative vehicles and their competitive objectives: 1) “reaching a target and avoiding the other vehicle” for one of them, called attacker, and 2) “protecting the target and capturing the opponent vehicle” for the other one, called defender. In the proposed solution, first, a discrete version of the problem is formulated and solved using linear temporal logic, temporal games, and $\mu$-calculus to construct winning discrete strategies that guarantee safety and reachability. A comprehensive discussion on the existence, correctness, and complexity analysis of the solution is also provided. Finally, a novel correct-by-design hybrid controller is designed to generate smooth control signals that preserve the satisfaction of safety and reachability.