cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Improved Convolutional Neural Networks for Detection of Small Objects Within Aerial Based Imagery
Creators: name: Butler, Justin Bradley
Publisher: name: Schulich School of Engineering
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Convolutional Neural Networks
subject: Artificial Intelligence
subject: Engineering--Electronics and Electrical

description: The development of object detection algorithms utilizing convolutional neural networks (CNNs) has led to the proliferation of these methods in daily life, from autonomous vehicles and astronomy to countless applications on mobile devices. Commercialization of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has resulted in CNNs applied to aerial-based imagery which present unique challenges to modern detection architectures. Aerial-based images typically consist of small objects in large, complex environments that continually change in scale and orientation— challenging deep learning models despite CNNs dominance of object detection competitions. Two-stage detectors such as Mask R-CNN have consistently demonstrated high detection accuracy on benchmark tests by first extracting regions of interest (RoI) likely to contain objects before predicting objects within the RoI; thus avoiding performing predictions across an entire image at once as in single-stage models—an attractive characteristic for detection of objects dwarfed by their backgrounds. Single- and two-stage methods continually underperform on aerial-based data, limiting their applicability to these applications. This thesis evaluates the means of failure of both single- and double-stage detectors on the challenging characteristics of aerial imagery and introduces a training augmentation for both architectures. Mask R-CNN is further improved upon with two modifications to the region proposal network (RPN) to increase the accurate extraction of RoIs when applied to small objects and objects of changing scales. Augmentations and improvements are demonstrated on two challenging aerial-based datasets.
Highly sensitive magnetic properties and large linear magnetoresistance in antiferromagnetic CrxSe(0.875\lex\le1)single crystals
Creators: name: Bai, Yuqing
name: Pan, Shuang
name: Lu, Ziqian
name: Gong, Yuanyuan
name: Xu, Guizhou
name: Xu, Feng
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: CrxSe (x\le1) is a class of quasi-layered binary compounds with potential applications in spintronics due to its intriguing antiferromagnetic properties. In this work, CrxSe single crystals with high Cr content (x=0.87, 0.91 and 0.95) were grown, and their magnetic and transport properties were investigated in detail. It is found that with small increase of Cr content, the Néel temperature (TN) of the samples can dramatically increase from 147 K to 257 K, accompanied with obvious changes in the magnetic anisotropy and hysteresis. The phenomena of field-induced spin-flop transitions were unveiled in these alloys, indicating their comparatively low anisotropy. The magnetoresistance (MR) of the three compounds showed positive dependence at low temperatures and particularly, non-saturated linear positive MR was observed in Cr0.91Se and Cr0.95Se, with a large value of 16.2% achieved in Cr0.91Se (10K, 9T). The calculated Fermi surface and MR showed that the quasi-linear MR is a product of carrier compensation. Our work revealed highly sensitive magnetic and transport properties in the Cr-Se compounds, which can lay foundation when constructing further antiferromagnetic spintronic devices based on them.
Collision-resistant hash function based on composition of functions
Creators: name: Ndoundam, Rene
name: Sadie, Juvet Karnel
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Cryptography and Security (cs.CR)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: D.4.6
subject: 11T71

description: cryptographic hash function is a deterministic procedure that compresses an arbitrary block of numerical data and returns a fixed-size bit string. There exist many hash functions: MD5, HAVAL, SHA, ... It was reported that these hash functions are not longer secure. Our work is focused in the construction of a new hash function based on composition of functions. The construction used the NP-completeness of Three-dimensional contingency tables and the relaxation of the constraint that a hash function should also be a compression function.
description: 18 pages, 1 figure. The preliminary version of this paper was published in the Conference CARI'10, pages 141-148, Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast. The preliminary version was also published in the arXiv August 6, 2011 under number arXiv:1108.1478v1. This version was submittted to the journal ARIMA (January 2011)
Option Pricing Under Rough Heston Model With Jumps
Creators: name: Jin, Yazhao
Publisher: name: Science
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Heston model
subject: rough Heston model
subject: volatility process
subject: jump-diffusion process
subject: affine process
subject: affine Volterra process
subject: Poisson process
subject: implied volatility
subject: calibration
subject: option pricing
subject: Fourier transform
subject: characteristic function/moment-generating-function
subject: Education--Finance
subject: Mathematics
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: The rough Heston model with jumps is proposed and studied in the thesis which is inspired by some well-known models, including the Heston model, rough Heston model, and Kou's jump model. Our new model considers adding a Poisson jump process to the rough Heston model, which not only keeps the roughness of the volatility process, and also adds an extra noise to improve the model performance. To have better comparisons across models and to understand well how the jumps and roughness improve the model performance, we involve another interesting model called the Heston model with jumps where we used the similar jump process as in Kou's model. The concerned topics are reviewed in the front part of the thesis including option pricing methods, Fourier-inversion techniques, Black-Scholes implied volatilities, and the introduction of related models such as model dynamics and their characteristic functions/moment-generating-functions. In the empirical analysis section, two option pricing methods were compared in the dimension of accuracy and efficiency by the results from Monte Carlo's simulation and their CPU computational time. The calibration based on implied volatilities were processed by four discussed models we mentioned above: the Heston model, rough Heston model, Heston model with jumps, and rough Heston model with jumps. We have the in- and out-of-sample tests to monitor the performances of the models by using the 2014-2019 S&P 500 options, where the former test focuses on the calibrated implied volatilities and the latter conducts a time-series forecast based on the in-sample test results. Significant improvements are shown in the rough Heston model with jumps in both tests which lead us to the conclusion that the combination of the volatility roughness and the add-on Poisson jump process can help the model to reach a better performance.
Growth of high-quality CrI3 single crystals and engineering of its magnetic properties via V and Mn doping
Creators: name: Pan, Shuang
name: Bai, Yuqing
name: Tang, Jiaxuan
name: Wang, Peihao
name: You, Yurong
name: Xu, Guizhou
name: Xu, Feng
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: CrI3, as a soft van der Waals layered magnetic material, has been widely concerned and explored for its magnetic complexity and tunability. In this work, high quality and large size thin CrI3, V and Mn doped single crystals were prepared by chemical vapor transfer method. A remarkable irreversible Barkhausen effect was observed in CrI3 and CrMn0.06I3, which can be attributed to the low dislocation density that facilitates movement of the domain walls. In addition, the introduction of the doping element Mn allows higher saturation magnetization intensity. Cr0.5V0.5I3 exhibits substantially increased coercivity force and larger magnetocrystalline anisotropy compared to CrI3, while kept similar Curie temperature and good environmental stability. The first principles calculations suggest direct and narrowed band gaps in Cr0.5V0.5I3 and VI3 comparing to CrI3. The smaller band gaps and good hard magnetic property make Cr0.5V0.5I3 an alternative choice to future research of spintronic devices.
The Gemini NICI Planet-Finding Campaign: Discovery of a Multiple System Orbiting the Young A Star HD 1160
Creators: name: Nielsen, Eric L.
name: Liu, Michael C.
name: Wahhaj, Zahed
name: Biller, Beth A.
name: Hayward, Thomas L.
name: Boss, Alan
name: Bowler, Brendan
name: Kraus, Adam
name: Shkolnik, Evgenya L.
name: Tecza, Matthias
name: Chun, Mark
name: Clarke, Fraser
name: Close, Laird M.
name: Ftaclas, Christ
name: Hartung, Markus
name: Males, Jared R.
name: Reid, I. Neill
name: Skemer, Andrew J.
name: Alencar, Silvia H. P.
name: Burrows, Adam
name: Pino, Elisabethe de Gouveia Dal
name: Gregorio-Hetem, Jane
name: Kuchner, Marc
name: Thatte, Niranjan
name: Toomey, Douglas W.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We report the discovery by the Gemini NICI Planet-Finding Campaign of two low-mass companions to the young A0V star HD 1160 at projected separations of 81 +/- 5 AU (HD 1160 B) and 533 +/- 25 AU (HD 1160 C). VLT images of the system taken over a decade for the purpose of using HD 1160 A as a photometric calibrator confirm that both companions are physically associated. By comparing the system to members of young moving groups and open clusters with well-established ages, we estimate an age of 50 (+50,-40) Myr for HD 1160 ABC. While the UVW motion of the system does not match any known moving group, the small magnitude of the space velocity is consistent with youth. Near-IR spectroscopy shows HD 1160 C to be an M3.5 +/- 0.5 star with an estimated mass of 0.22 (+0.03,-0.04) M_Sun, while NIR photometry of HD 1160 B suggests a brown dwarf with a mass of 33 (+12,-9) M_Jup. The very small mass ratio (0.014) between the A and B components of the system is rare for A star binaries, and would represent a planetary-mass companion were HD 1160 A to be slightly less massive than the Sun.
description: 38 pages, 15 figures, 4 tables. Two small corrections: corrected sign on U (Table 1 and Fig. 15), and corrected absolute magnitude error bars in Table 3. ApJ in press
Momentum asymmetries as CP violating observables
Creators: name: Berger, Joshua
name: Blanke, Monika
name: Grossman, Yuval
name: Ray, Shamayita
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Three body decays can exhibit CP violation that arises from interfering diagrams with different orderings of the final state particles. We construct several momentum asymmetry observables that are accessible in a hadron collider environment where some of the final state particles are not reconstructed and not all the kinematic information can be extracted. We discuss the complications that arise from the different possible production mechanisms of the decaying particle. Examples involving heavy neutralino decays in supersymmetric theories and heavy Majorana neutrino decays in Type-I seesaw models are examined.
description: 20 pages, 9 figures. Clarifying comments and one reference added, matches published version
Anomalous Nuclear Quantum Effects in Ice
Creators: name: Pamuk, B.
name: Soler, J. M.
name: Ramirez, R.
name: Herrero, C. P.
name: Stephens, P. W.
name: Allen, P. B.
name: Fernandez-Serra, M. V.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: One striking anomaly of water ice has been largely neglected and never explained. Replacing hydrogen ($^1$H) by deuterium ($^2$H) causes ice to expand, whereas the "normal" isotope effect is volume contraction with increased mass. Furthermore, the anomaly increases with temperature $T$, even though a normal isotope shift should decrease with $T$ and vanish when $T$ is high enough to use classical nuclear motions. In this study, we show that these effects are very well described by {\it ab initio} density functional theory. Our theoretical modeling explains these anomalies, and allows us to predict and to experimentally confirm a counter effect, namely that replacement of $^{16}$O by $^{18}$O causes a normal lattice contraction.
description: 5 pages, 3 figures
Idling and cutting vibration characteristics of guided circular saws
Creators: name: Mohammadpanah Foroutaghe, Ahmad
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2012

description: In this thesis the vibration characteristics of guided circular saws are studied, both analytically and experimentally. Significant insights into the complex dynamic behavior of guided circular saws are presented first by numerical investigation of rotating disks and then by conducting idling and cutting experimental tests of splined saws with different guide configurations. For the numerical investigations, the governing linear equation of transverse vibration of a rotating disk is used. As a primary interest, the variation of disk natural frequencies with rotation speed and the disk response to applied external force are calculated. Also, the steady state response of the disk at different speeds is calculated. The effects of elastic lateral constraints are investigated in this section. A comprehensive experimental investigation of idling tests of splined saws with different guide configurations is presented. The frequencies and amplitudes of the blade vibrations are documented and the mean deflections of the disks are plotted. The dynamic characteristics of a rotating blade when subjected to the stationary lateral constant force are discussed. Extensive cutting tests are conducted and the effect of different guide configurations on cutting accuracy is presented. Cutting tests are conducted at different speeds, below and above the lowest critical speed for different guide configurations. The cutting results are compared to determine the guide configuration which results in the best cutting accuracy.
Market Potentials for Modified Edible Fats and Oils
Creators: name: Hester, O. C.
name: Boggs, Richard L.
name: Hester, O. C.
name: Boggs, Richard L.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 1964
Subjects: subject: Crop Production/Industries
subject: Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety
subject: Livestock Production/Industries
subject: Marketing
subject: FOS: Economics and business
subject: Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies

description: Excerpts from the report: During the last three decades, the United States has experienced relatively little change in the per capita consumption of food fats and oils. The annual usage level in 1930, for example, was 45.0 pounds per person and it rose only to 45.4 pounds per person by 1960. To increase overall consumption, rather than affect interproduct shifts, attention must be paid to new or different applications in which fat and oil products are not used. This is being done in the Department of Agriculture's development program to strengthen and expand markets for agricultural products. Four applications--food emulsifiers, confectionery fats, protective coatings, and lubricants--were investigated in the following end-use markets: Bakery products; confectionery products; fruit, vegetable, and nut products; meat and meat products; cheese and egg products; prepared food mixes; and food container coatings. The research included a comprehensive search of the literature on fats and oils of agricultural origin and their derivative products; interviews with research personnel, in both government and private industry, on new developments and research now underway; and a survey of suppliers and users.
Impact of Systematics on SZ-Optical Scaling Relations
Creators: name: Biesiadzinski, T.
name: McMahon, J. J.
name: Miller, C. J.
name: Nord, B.
name: Shaw, L.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: One of the central goals of multi-wavelength galaxy cluster cosmology is to unite all cluster observables to form a consistent understanding of cluster mass. Here, we study the impact of systematic effects from optical cluster catalogs on stacked SZ signals. We show that the optically predicted Y-decrement can vary by as much as 50% based on the current 2 sigma systematic uncertainties in the observed mass-richness relationship. Mis-centering and impurities will suppress the SZ signal compared to expectations for a clean and perfectly centered optical sample, but to a lesser degree. We show that the level of these variations and suppression is dependent on the amount of systematics in the optical cluster catalogs. We also study X-ray luminosity-dependent sub-sampling of the optical catalog and find that it creates Malmquist bias increasing the observed Y-decrement of the stacked signal. We show that the current Planck measurements of the Y-decrement around SDSS optical clusters and their X-ray counterparts are consistent with expectations after accounting for the 1 sigma optical systematic uncertainties using the Johnston mass richness relation.
description: 6 pages, 4 figures. Revised to match version accepted in the Astrophysical Journal
title: Registration renewal forecast
title: State of California Department of Motor Vehicles registration renewal forecast. 2021 August
titleType: AlternativeTitle
Creators: name: California Department of Motor Vehicles
Publisher: name: Stanford Digital Repository
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: California
subject: Motor vehicles
subject: Statistics
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: State of California Department of Motor Vehicles registration renewal forecast. 2021 August
Genuine many-body quantum scars along unstable modes in Bose-Hubbard systems
Creators: name: Hummel, Quirin
name: Richter, Klaus
name: Schlagheck, Peter
Publisher: name: Universität Regensburg
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: 530 Physik

description: The notion of many-body quantum scars is associated with special eigenstates, usually concentrated in certain parts of Hilbert space, that give rise to robust persistent oscillations in a regime that globally exhibits thermalization. Here we extend these studies to many-body systems possessing a true classical limit characterized by a high-dimensional chaotic phase space, which are not subject to any particular dynamical constraint. We demonstrate genuine quantum scarring of wave functions concentrated in the vicinity of unstable classical periodic mean-field modes in the paradigmatic Bose-Hubbard model. These peculiar quantum many-body states exhibit distinct phase-space localization about those classical modes. Their existence is consistent with Heller's scar criterion and appears to persist in the thermodynamic long-lattice limit. Launching quantum wave packets along such scars leads to observable long-lasting oscillations, featuring periods that scale asymptotically with classical Lyapunov exponents, and displaying intrinsic irregularities that reflect the underlying chaotic dynamics, as opposed to regular tunnel oscillations.
Composite Majorana Fermion Wavefunctions in Nanowires
Creators: name: Klinovaja, Jelena
name: Loss, Daniel
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We consider Majorana fermions (MFs) in quasi-one-dimensional nanowire systems containing normal and superconducting sections where the topological phase based on Rashba spin orbit interaction can be tuned by magnetic fields. We derive explicit analytic solutions of the MF wavefunction in the weak and strong spin orbit interaction regimes. We find that the wavefunction for one single MF is a composite object formed by superpositions of different MF wavefunctions which have nearly disjoint supports in momentum space. These contributions are coming from the extrema of the spectrum, one centered around zero momentum and the other around the two Fermi points. As a result, the various MF wavefunctions have different localization lengths in real space and interference among them leads to pronounced oscillations of the MF probability density. For a transparent normal-superconducting junction we find that in the topological phase the MF leaks out from the superconducting into the normal section of the wire and is delocalized over the entire normal section, in agreement with recent numerical results by Chevallier et al. (arXiv:1203.2643).
Sharing Experience Around Component Compositions
Creators: name: Bourguin, Grégory
name: Lewandowski, Arnaud
name: Lewkowicz, Myriam
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Human-Computer Interaction (cs.HC)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Society currently lives in a world of tailorable systems in which end-users are able to transform their working environment while achieving their tasks, day to day and over the time. Tailorability is most of the time achieved through dynamic component integration thanks to a huge number of components available over the Internet. In this context, the main problem for users is not anymore the integration of new components, but how to find the most interesting set of components that will fulfill their needs. Facing this issue, the authors' assumption is that it would be helpful for users to take benefit of the experience of other users and our work aims at enhancing current software ecosystems to support this sharing of experience. The authors have applied this approach in the context of software development while considering Eclipse as one of the most advanced and used software ecosystem. The authors then offer ShareXP, an Eclipse feature that allows members of a group to share their expertise, this expertise being embodied in the ``compositions'' each of them has built. ShareXP was already presented in (Bourguin et al., 2012). The current paper is an extension where the authors deeper show that ShareXP is only a first step in their global approach trying to enhance not only the Eclipse ecosystem, but software ecosystems in general.
Redeem with Privacy (RwP): Privacy protection framework for Geo-social commerce
Creators: name: Moniruzzaman, Md.
Publisher: name: Science
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: social network
subject: privacy
subject: artificial intelligence
subject: Artificial Intelligence
subject: Computer Science

description: Geo-social networks (GSN) are online social networks where people interact based on their location and relationship. These applications have gained popularity due to their innovative features. However, there are numerous privacy risks of using GSNs. Users may expose their mobility history to unknown third parties since many of these applications rely on collecting and sharing users' information. Business organizations encourage people to do a check-in to their store on GSNs by offering promotions and deals. Check-in is a virtual form of visiting a location. When a user performs a check-in to a business organization, the record is shared with the merchant. GSNs lack transparency in explaining how the third parties handle users' information. In practice, a dishonest merchant may use check-in histories to track the user's location. It may cause privacy breaches like robbery, disclosure of meetings, stalking, etc. In my Ph.D. thesis, I investigate privacy issues arising from deal redemption in GSNs. I perform an exploratory study on several GSN datasets to understand when people visit different types of locations. The study shows that there is a high degree of regularity in the user's check-in behavior. Since a typical deal requires multiple check-ins from the user within a short period, the user may become vulnerable to location tracking by redeeming deals. One potential solution is to minimize the volume of check-in information released when the user redeems deals. In this thesis, I propose a policy to identify redundant information that is not essential for a merchant to know and suppress them. I also explore the possibility that a merchant may apply inference attacks to recover the deleted information. Several inference methodologies have been investigated in my thesis, showing that a merchant can recover the data with high accuracy. I study an adversarial technique to improve a user's privacy by increasing the merchant's inference error. A recommendation algorithm is proposed to rank check-ins that a user can follow to redeem deals. Ranking applies various factors that people consider when choosing a check-in date, such as daily routine, the promotional value, and privacy. Results show how different user preferences map to various levels of inference accuracy. It would provide helpful feedback to users on how to change their preferences to enhance their privacy.
The search for neutrinoless double beta decay
Creators: name: Gomez-Cadenas, J. J.
name: Martin-Albo, J.
name: Mezzetto, M.
name: Monrabal, F.
name: Sorel, M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex)
subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: Nuclear Experiment (nucl-ex)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In the last two decades the search for neutrinoless double beta decay has evolved into one of the highest priorities for understanding neutrinos and the origin of mass. The main reason for this paradigm shift has been the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which clearly established the existence of massive neutrinos. An additional motivation for conducting such searches comes from the existence of an unconfirmed, but not refuted, claim of evidence for neutrinoless double decay in $^{76}\text{Ge}$. As a consequence, a new generation of experiments, employing different detection techniques and $ββ$ isotopes, is being actively promoted by experimental groups across the world. In addition, nuclear theorists are making remarkable progress in the calculation of the neutrinoless double beta decay nuclear matrix elements, thus eliminating a substantial part of the theoretical uncertainties affecting the particle physics interpretation of this process. In this report, we review the main aspects of the double beta decay process and some of the most relevant experiments. The picture that emerges is one where searching for neutrinoless double beta decay is recognized to have both far-reaching theoretical implications and promising prospects for experimental observation in the near future.
description: 72 pages, 32 figures, 5 tables. Minor revisions. Version accepted for publication in La Rivista del Nuovo Cimento
Wino LSP detection in the light of recent Higgs searches at the LHC
Creators: name: Moroi, Takeo
name: Nakayama, Kazunori
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Recent LHC data showed excesses of Higgs-like signals at the Higgs mass of around 125GeV. This may indicate supersymmetric models with relatively heavy scalar fermions to enhance the Higgs mass. The desired mass spectrum is realized in the anomaly-mediated supersymmetry breaking model, in which the Wino can naturally be the lightest superparticle (LSP). We discuss possibilities for confirming such a scenario, particularly detecting signals from Wino LSP at direct detection experiments, indirect searches at neutrino telescopes and at the LHC.
description: 15 pages, 3 figures; added references
Contingent reward, punishment and employee performance
Creators: name: Layek, Debika
name: Koodamara, Navin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Transactional leadership
Contingent rewards
Contingent punishments
Employee Engagement
employee performance

description: Background: This paper investigated the connection between transactional leadership styles, contingent rewards, punishments, and employee performance while emphasizing employee engagement's mediating role. Existing research has predominantly focused on isolated associations between contingent rewards, punishment, and employee performance, leaving gaps in the empirical exploration of these mediating mechanisms. To address this research gap, our study has introduced a conceptual framework to understand the multifaceted connection between contingent rewards, punishment, and their effects on employee performance, with a specific emphasis on the mediating function of employee engagement.

Methods: We involved 273 full-time non-clinical healthcare professionals employed in NABH-accredited hospitals in Jharkhand, India. A structured survey instrument was employed for data collection from the specific survey participants, with the investigation of the research hypotheses conducted through the application of partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). 

Results: Preliminary findings suggested that contingent rewards and punishment do not directly influence employee performance. Instead, our study highlighted the critical mediating role of employee engagement, particularly its dimensions of Vigor, absorption, and dedication.

Conclusions: This research has underscored rewards and punishments as essential tools for influencing employee behaviour, motivation, and performance. Employee engagement, as a multifaceted construct, not only benefits individual employees but also significantly impacts overall organizational performance and success.
Interrogating White Male Allyship: A Critical Ethnographic Study
Creators: name: Halvorsen, Jeffery
Publisher: name: Social Work
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Allyship
subject: whiteness
subject: masculinities
subject: critical ethnography
subject: settler colonialism
subject: Social Work
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: Ethnic and Racial Studies

description: Numerous scholars and activists have contested white men’s attempts at allyship, noting this group’s propensity to dominate discussions, assume positions of leadership, create emotional burdens for the groups they seek to support, and disengage when faced with adversity. The literature on white men’s allyship focuses largely on men’s experiences of engaging in allyship, but there are few studies that demonstrate how white men’s allyship is experienced in anti-racist, anti-colonial, and gender justice movements. Also lacking is knowledge on how white men come to engage in critical reflection and personal transformation as they aspire to trustworthy allyship. In this dissertation, I investigated the tensions and burdens imposed by white male allies on progressive social movements, and the commitments and actions necessary for white men to contribute to social change. My inquiry was guided by a theoretical framework drawing on critical race feminism, masculinities, and whiteness. I adapted a critical ethnographic methodology (Carspecken, 1996; Madison, 2019) to develop a five stage research approach in which I began by interrogating my positionality, and my own aspirations to allyship. Throughout the study, I continued to reflect on my decisions in research and allyship journals. I engaged in relationship building with two social justice organizations. I presented the study plans and recruited an Advisory Group of seven community leaders who identified as Indigenous, Black, and racialized, with whom I participated in a process of inter-relational reflexivity (Gilbert & Sliep, 2009). These members nominated six white men they identified as their allies and I conducted life history interviews and go-along interviews with these men. All participants came together to confirm the findings and plan dissemination of results after the study. The Advisory Group guided me to centre social justice, histories of resistance, and to decenter white men’s allyship. They defined whiteness and masculinities, and outlined their expectations of would-be allies. The white men shared the starting points of their allyship, the change process they engaged in to prepare for allyship, and contoured allyship practice in five relationships they engage in. I concluded the study with a suggested praxis model for allyship.
The Nature of Transition Circumstellar Disks III. Perseus, Taurus, and Auriga
Creators: name: Cieza, Lucas A.
name: Schreiber, Matthias R.
name: Romero, Gisela A.
name: Williams, Jonathan P.
name: Rebassa-Mansergas, Alberto
name: Merin, Bruno
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: As part of an ongoing program aiming to characterize a large number of Spitzer-selected transition disks (disks with reduced levels of near-IR and/or mid- IR excess emission), we have obtained (sub)millimeter wavelength photometry, high-resolution optical spectroscopy, and adaptive optics near-infrared imaging for a sample of 31 transition objects located in the Perseus, Taurus, and Auriga molecular clouds. We use these ground-based data to estimate disk masses, multiplicity, and accretion rates in order to investigate the mechanisms potentially responsible for their inner holes. Following our previous studies in other regions, we combine disk masses, accretion rates and multiplicity data with other information, such as SED morphology and fractional disk luminosity to classify the disks as strong candidates for the following categories: grain-growth dominated disks (7 objects), giant planet-forming disks (6 objects), photoevaporating disks (7 objects), debris disks (11 objects), and cicumbinary disks (1 object, which was also classified as a photoeavaporating disk). Combining our sample of 31 transition disks with those from our previous studies results in a sample of 74 transition objects that have been selected, characterized, and classified in an homogenous way. We discuss this combined high-quality sample in the context of the current paradigm of the evolution and dissipation of protoplanetary disks and use its properties to constrain different aspects of the key processes driving their evolution. We find that the age distribution of disks that are likely to harbor recently formed giant planets favors core accretion as the main planet formation mechanism and a ~2-3 Myr formation timescale
description: Accepted for publication in ApJ
Reducibility of 1-D quantum harmonic oscillator with new unbounded oscillatory perturbations
Creators: name: Xu, Jin
name: Luo, Jiawen
name: Wang, Zhiqiang
name: Liang, Zhenguo
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Analysis of PDEs (math.AP)
subject: Mathematical Physics (math-ph)
subject: Dynamical Systems (math.DS)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Enlightened by Lemma 1.7 in \cite{LiangLuo2021}, we prove a similar lemma which is based upon oscillatory integrals and Langer's turning point theory. From it we show that the Schr{ö}dinger equation $${\rm i}\partial_t u = -\partial_x^2 u+x^2 u+ε\langle x\rangle^μ\sum_{k\inΛ}\left(a_k(ωt)\sin(k|x|^β)+b_k(ωt) \cos(k|x|^β)\right) u,\quad u=u(t,x),~x\in\mathbb{R},~ β>1,$$ can be reduced in $\mathcal{H}^1(\mathbb{R})$ to an autonomous system for most values of the frequency vector $ω$, where $Λ\subset\mathbb R\setminus\{0\}$, $|Λ|<\infty$ and $\langle x\rangle:=\sqrt{1+x^2}$. The functions $a_k(θ)$ and $b_k(θ)$ are analytic on $\mathbb T^n_σ$ and $μ\geq 0$ will be chosen according to the value of $β$. Comparing with \cite{LiangLuo2021}, the novelty is that the phase functions of oscillatory integral are more degenerate when $β>1$.
description: Journal of Dynamics and Differential Equations
Speed-of-sound compensated photoacoustic tomography for accurate imaging
Creators: name: Jose, Jithin
name: Willemink, Rene G. H.
name: Steenbergen, Wiendelt
name: Slump, Cornelis H.
name: van Leeuwen, Ton G.
name: Manohar, Srirang
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Medical Physics (physics.med-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In most photoacoustic (PA) measurements, variations in speed-of-sound (SOS) of the subject are neglected under the assumption of acoustic homogeneity. Biological tissue with spatially heterogeneous SOS cannot be accurately reconstructed under this assumption. We present experimental and image reconstruction methods with which 2-D SOS distributions can be accurately acquired and reconstructed, and with which the SOS map can be used subsequently to reconstruct highly accurate PA tomograms. We begin with a 2-D iterative reconstruction approach in an ultrasound transmission tomography (UTT) setting, which uses ray refracted paths instead of straight ray paths to recover accurate SOS images of the subject. Subsequently, we use the SOS distribution in a new 2-D iterative approach, where refraction of rays originating from PA sources are accounted for in accurately retrieving the distribution of these sources. Both the SOS reconstruction and SOS-compensated PA reconstruction methods utilize the Eikonal equation to model acoustic wavefront propagation, which is solved using a high accuracy fast marching method (HAFMM). We validate the new reconstruction algorithms using numerical phantoms. For experiments we use the PER-PACT method which can be used to simultaneously acquire SOS and PA data from subjects. We test the reconstruction algorithms using experimental data acquired with the PER-PACT setup from challenging physical phantoms. The results show that it is important to take SOS inhomogeneities into account. The iterative reconstruction algorithms, that model acoustic refractive effects, yield artifact-free highly accurate images. Our approach of using the hybrid measurement method and the new reconstruction algorithms, is successful in substantially improving the quality of PA images with a minimization of blurring and artefacts.
description: Accepted Medical Physics (American Association of Physicists in Medicine). Date of submission 28 May 2012; date of acceptance 15 October 2012
Polymer conformation: genetic and environmental factors associated with this characteristic of glutenin in wheat grain
Creators: name: Branlard, Gérard
name: D'orlando, Angelina
name: Tahir, Ayesha
name: Schmutz, Marc
name: Rhazi, Larbi
name: Faye, Annie
name: Aussenac, Thierry
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Biomolecules (q-bio.BM)
subject: FOS: Biological sciences

description: Using asymmetric flow field flow fractionation, the polymer mass (Mw), gyration radius (Rw) and the polydispersity index (PI) of glutenin polymers (GPs) have been previously studied. Here, using the same multi-location trials (4 years, 11 locations and 192 cultivars), the factors associated with the conformation (Conf) of the polymers were reported. Conf, which is the slope of Log (Rw) = f [Log (Mw)], varied between 0.285 and 0.740. Conf had low broad-sense heritability (H 2 = 16.8) and was significantly influenced by temperature occurring over the last month of grain filling. Higher temperatures were found to increase Rw and the compactness and sphericity of GPs. The HMW-GS and LMW-GS alleles had a significant influence on the Conf value. Assuming a Gaussian distribution for Mw, the number of polymers present in wheat grain was computed for different kernel weights and protein concentrations: it exceeded 10 12 GPs per grain. Using atomic force microscopy and cryo-microscopy, photos of GPs were revealed for the first time. Under high temperatures, GPs became larger, less reticulated, more spherical and consequently less prone to rapid hydrolysis. Some orientations aimed at reducing the possible impact of the numerous GPs for people suffering from non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) were proposed.
Beyond Virus
Creators: name: Qu, Shuduo
Publisher: name: Arts
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Appropriation
subject: Paintings
subject: Racism
subject: Recontextualization
subject: Stereotype
subject: Social Crisis
subject: Comics
subject: Art History
subject: Fine Arts

description: Beneath the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, we have witnessed not only a global public health emergency but also other social crises, such as anti-Asian racism, the Black Lives Matter movement, etc. The pandemic has created an environment for potential social crises and has exacerbated existing social crises. However, when social and cultural crises explode, art responds to them. As an Asian artist who was educated in China and Canada, the existing social issues toward people of color inform my concerns about North American multiculturalism and my art practice. This thesis is divided into five sections: a brief introduction of the background of discrimination in North America and my art practices (Chapter One); the illustration of art appropriation, text-based and comic style artworks that influence my art practices (Chapter Two); how artists’ works reflect their position on social issues (Chapter Three); my thesis exhibition (Chapter Four); and my conclusion (Chapter Five). This paper, alongside the paintings created for my exhibition, explores the usage of appropriation in my art practice and the strength between original works and my recontextualization as well as the roots of racial discrimination and stereotypes.
The Musical Identities of Piano Students: A Phenomenological Case Study
Creators: name: Gerelus, Karen
Publisher: name: Werklund School of Education
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: musical identity
subject: piano students
subject: phenomenology
subject: social environment
subject: motivation
subject: possible selves
subject: student-centered learning
subject: relationships
subject: Education--Curriculum and Instruction
subject: Education--Music

description: It might be said that everyone has a musical identity. Whether you casually sing in the shower or seriously study Classical piano, music holds a role in everyone’s daily life. But what does it mean to incorporate the term musician into your identity? How does being a musician hold a place for who you are and how you describe yourself to others? This research investigated the musical identities of adolescent students in private piano lessons, with supporting evidence from their parents and piano teachers. It was formed around two research questions: How do piano students construct their musical identities and understand themselves as musicians? What kinds of experiences contribute to the formation of a salient musical identity? Drawing from a phenomenological approach, semi-structured interviews, photovoice, demographic surveys, and lesson observations brought forward the experiences which shaped students’ identities. Results suggested that the social environment, possible selves, and motivation were important themes in the formation of a musical identity because they provided experiences which shaped how students understood themselves as musicians. Beyond these three main themes, ability, choice, and relationships arose as their own emerging areas of consideration. Implications for teachers, parents, and students are provided, such as gaining a better understanding of student-centered learning to improve students’ experiences with piano lessons and harness more salient musical identities. This study offers an unprecedented use of photovoice methodology in music education research, and is unique in its focus on the musical identities of adolescent piano students. Further, this study offered a concurrent conceptualization of social environment, possible selves, and motivation. It connected the topics of musical identities and student-centered learning, providing new contributions and challenges to traditional piano pedagogy.
Additional file 3 of Development and external validation of a breast cancer absolute risk prediction model in Chinese population
Creators: name: Han, Yuting
name: Lv, Jun
name: Yu, Canqing
name: Guo, Yu
name: Bian, Zheng
name: Hu, Yizhen
name: Yang, Ling
name: Chen, Yiping
name: Du, Huaidong
name: Zhao, Fangyuan
name: Wen, Wanqing
name: Shu, Xiao-Ou
name: Xiang, Yongbing
name: Gao, Yu-Tang
name: Zheng, Wei
name: Guo, Hong
name: Liang, Peng
name: Chen, Junshi
name: Chen, Zhengming
name: Huo, Dezheng
name: Li, Liming
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Biotechnology
subject: Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Mathematical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Cancer
subject: Science Policy
subject: Plant Biology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences

description: Additional file 3. Show age- and site-adjusted RR (95% CI) from the derivation subcohort and the whole China Kadoorie Biobank.
300-1500 MHz Broadband LNA for the Canadian Hydrogen Observatory and Radio-transient Detector
Creators: name: Lai, Carlson
Publisher: name: Schulich School of Engineering
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: LNA
subject: Microwave Circuits
subject: Radio astronomy
subject: Electricity and Magnetism
subject: Engineering--Electronics and Electrical

description: A next generation radio telescope, CHORD is currently being designed and prototyped. This new radio telescope is designed to supersede the CHIME telescope in area, noise and bandwidth. The specifications for this telescope require a bandwidth between 300 MHz to 1500 MHz, along with the lowest possible noise figure at room temperature. To achieve this, a new LNA topology is proposed using a capacitively loaded source degenerated amplifier with a matching network. This topology allows the designer to control the optimum source impedance for low noise independently from the input impedance, such that the two can be conjugates of each other. A matching network is then proposed to approximate the optimum source impedance for broadband power and noise matching. The LNA was designed and measured, with S11 below -8 dB between 320 MHz to 1580 MHz, S21 of 32 dB +/- 1.2 dB, IP1dB greater than -37 dBm, and IIP3 greater than -20 dBm. Noise parameters were measured, with the LNA achieving sub-20 K noise temperatures between 500 MHz to 1400 MHz.
Stevin numbers and reality
Creators: name: Katz, Karin Usadi
name: Katz, Mikhail G.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: History and Overview (math.HO)
subject: Classical Analysis and ODEs (math.CA)
subject: Logic (math.LO)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 01A85, 26E35

description: We explore the potential of Simon Stevin's numbers, obscured by shifting foundational biases and by 19th century developments in the arithmetisation of analysis.
description: 22 pages, 4 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1104.0375, arXiv:1108.2885, arXiv:1108.4201
Augmented Reality Technology in Teaching about Physics: A systematic review of opportunities and challenges
Creators: name: Vidak, A.
name: Šapić, I. Movre
name: Mešić, V.
name: Gomzi, V.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Physics Education (physics.ed-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The use of augmented reality (AR) allows for the integration of digital information onto our perception of the physical world. In this article, we present a comprehensive review of previously published literature on the implementation of augmented reality in physics education, at the school and the university level. Our review includes an analysis of 96 papers from the Scopus and Eric databases, all of which were published between January 1st, 2012 and January 1st, 2023. We evaluated how AR has been used for facilitating learning about physics. Potential AR-based learning activities for different physics topics have been summarized and opportunities, as well as challenges associated with AR-based learning of physics have been reported. It has been shown that AR technologies may facilitate physics learning by: providing complementary visualizations, optimizing cognitive load, allowing for haptic learning, reducing task completion time and promoting collaborative inquiry. The potential disadvantages of using AR in physics teaching are mainly related to the shortcomings of software and hardware technologies (e.g., camera freeze, visualization delay) and extraneous cognitive load (e.g., paying more attention to secondary details than to constructing target knowledge).