Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Online Quantitative feedback theory (QFT) -based self-tuning controller for grain drying process

This paper presents a development of QFT-based self-tuning controller for a conveyor belt type grain dryer plant. Grain drying process is complex due to long time delay, presence of disturbances and plant uncertainty. QFT technique potentially has excellent solution towards this problem due to its well known capability to achieve robust performance regardless parameters variation and disturbances. The mathematical model of the grain dryer plant is obtained using system identification based on real-time input/output data. A fixed robust controller could be designed using QFT technique; nevertheless the uncertainty range must be defined. However, in grain drying process, the parameters’ variations are unpredictable and may exceed the defined uncertainty ranges. Therefore, adaptive control with integrated Quantitative Feedback Theory (QFT) constraints is proposed to adapt larger parameters variation. Improved results are obtained by using the proposed method as compared to standard QFT procedure in terms of smaller percentage overshoot and shorter settling time when dealing with larger uncertainty range. In addition, the design methodology of the proposed controller design (loop shaping) was improved such that the dependency on human skills was removed and the controller design was done online. Key words: Self-tuning, quantitative feedback theory, adaptive, grain drying, system identification.
SPECTRAL ANALYSIS OF AIRPORT CAPACITY AND DELAY

Objective delay statistics are sensitive measures of the effect of capacity improvements at airports [1]. However, seasonal, economic, meteorological, and operational changes can mask improvements as significant as new runways [2]. A case in point is the runway that opened in October 2000 at Phoenix. Comparison of average monthly delays before and after October shows increased delay with the new runway. However, spectral analysis of airport throughput and delay is a new way of examining airport performance that separates the positive effect of the new Phoenix runway from the background noise caused by en route congestion, weather, and flow control actions. The histogram of the number of times each hourly arrival count occurs at an airport is roughly analogous to the Fourier transform of the arrival time series. We call this histogram the occurrence spectrum for the airport. We call related distributions of delay versus throughput delay spectra. Spectral analysis is a useful discriminant because airport queuing relates more strongly to delay at the high throughput end of the spectrum. At hubs, delay relative to schedule decreases and queuing delay increases at the highest end of the spectrum because very high throughput occurs when on-schedule aircraft arrive during hubbing rushes. At nonhubbing airports, delay relative to schedule sometimes increases and queuing delay decreases at the highest end of the spectrum because very high throughput occurs when delayed flights merge at the airport with on-time flights in favorable weather. This paper analyzes the patterns of throughput and delay spectra for important US airports that operate near capacity. This work was performed for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Air Force Contract No. F19628-00-C-0002. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by NASA. Airport spectral analysis provides useful new insights into the benefits of congestion management initiatives. Spectral analysis may also help classify airports for simulation studies, help track airport performance changes over time, and help improve airline scheduling accuracy.
CHARGE AND SPIN DENSITY PERTURBATION ON IRON ATOM DUE TO OSMIUM IMPURITY IN METALLIC IRON

Samples of natural Fe α− doped randomly with Os impurities up to about % at. 9 have been investigated by means of the 14.41 keV Mossbauer absorption spectroscopy of Fe 57 versus Os concentration and at room temperature. It has been found that the nearest neighbor single Os impurity reduces hyperfine magnetic field on iron nucleus by 3.97 T, while the second neighbor single Os impurity decreases this field by 1.11 T. More distant impurities slightly increase iron hyperfine field. There are no discernible effects of the Os-Os interaction on the magnetic field seen by iron. On the other hand, the electron charge density on the iron nucleus is increased by the nearest neighbor Os atom as seen via changes in the isomer shift, i.e. via changes in the spectral shift. The second neighbor impurity has the opposite effect on the charge density. More distant impurities tend to decrease the charge density as well. The effect of the first and second neighbor impurities decreases with the increasing overall Os concentration indicating some Os-Os interaction influencing a charge density of the conduction electrons seen on the iron nucleus.
Problem Based Learning Instruction Approaches for Students' Intrinsic Motivation Stimulus

A flawed methodology in the design of Problem Based Learning (PBL) instructional procedure often result in students’ discomfort in working in a PBL environment. As a result, student interest might difficult to sustain, and their intrinsic motivation in learning through the PBL process will be difficult to determine. This paper proposes a fourteen-step PBL instructional procedure which addresses intrinsic motivation within the students’ learning process. This particular case study addressed a course in the first year syllabus of an Electrical Engineering diploma programme. Within this course, this instructional procedure was experimentally tested and compared with Traditional Learning Approaches (TLA). The results indicated that students’ intrinsic motivation level for PBL group exceeded the students’ intrinsic motivation level in the TLA. Therefore, the fourteen-step PBL design proposed, was effective in increasing students’ intrinsic motivation than that of the TLA.
Combining Subset Selection and Parameter Constraints in Model Updating

Model updating often produces sets of equations whose solution are ill-conditioned and extra information must be used to produce a well-conditioned estimation problem. One possibility is to change all the parameters, but to introduce extra constraints, for example by taking the minimum norm solution. This paper takes a different approach, by considering only a subset of the parameters to be in error. The critical decision is then the choice of parameters to include in the subset. The methods of subset selection are outlined and extended to the selection of groups of parameters. The incorporation of side constraints is considered and demonstrated using an experimental example.
Analytical and numerical study of the transverse Kelvin–Helmholtz instability in tokamak edge plasmas

Sheared flows perpendicular to the magnetic field can be driven by the Reynolds stress or ion pressure gradient effects and can potentially influence the stability and turbulent saturation level of edge plasma modes. On the other hand, such flows are subject to the transverse Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability. Here, the linear theory of KH instabilities is first addressed with an analytic model in the asymptotic limit of long wavelengths compared with the flow scale length. The analytic model treats sheared $\boldsymbol{E}\times \boldsymbol{B}$ flows, ion diamagnetism (including gyro-viscous terms), density gradients and parallel currents in a slab geometry, enabling a unified summary that encompasses and extends previous results. In particular, while ion diamagnetism, density gradients and parallel currents each individually reduce KH growth rates, the combined effect of density and ion pressure gradients is more complicated and partially counteracting. Secondly, the important role of realistic toroidal geometry is explored numerically using an invariant scaling analysis together with the 2DX eigenvalue code to examine KH modes in both closed and open field line regions. For a typical spherical torus magnetic geometry, it is found that KH modes are more unstable at, and just outside of, the separatrix as a result of the distribution of magnetic shear. Finally implications for reduced edge turbulence modelling codes are discussed.
Piling On – How Provincial Taxation of Insurance Premiums Costs Consumers

Insurance premiums have been taxed by Canadian governments for so long – some provinces and municipalities collected small levies as early as the late 1800s – that they’ve become a fixture rarely discussed in the literature and the financial press. For many years, insurance premium taxes were collected from insurers as an alternative to taxing their profits. But this practice is now long gone since all Canadian governments tax the corporate income of insurance companies, in addition to premium taxes and other taxes and levies. Most insurance consumers do not know that a provincial insurance premium tax (IPT) ranging from 2 percent to 5 percent is levied on their premiums. In addition, five provinces charge a retail sales tax (RST) ranging from 6 to 15 percent on top of the premium taxes for certain types of insurance. In Quebec and Ontario, the RST rates of respectively 9 and 8 percent generally apply to group life and health insurance, and property and casualty insurance (although Ontario excludes auto insurance). Saskatchewan is the latest province to introduce an RST. Since insurance is a financial service, premiums are exempt from GST/HST. So why do provinces still tax insurance premiums? While IPTs and RSTs on premiums are largely invisible to customers on whom the burden ultimately falls, they generate more than $7 billion of stable and growing provincial government revenues – representing about 7 percent of all provincial taxes collected on goods and services. Premium-based taxes increase the price of insurance products and lower the demand for them. We find that an increase of one percentage point in the provincial IPT rate leads to a 10 percent decrease in the number of life insurance contracts sold. Reduced insurance coverage for natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes, other catastrophes, relief to a deceased's family, or relief of the financial burden of illness and disability may lead to increased cost pressures on government budgets down the road. Canadian governments should revisit and reassess the taxes imposed on insurance products. At a minimum, IPT liabilities should be made creditable against corporate income tax liabilities, partly restoring their original role as a substitute for taxing profits. And provinces that impose an RST on IPTinclusive premiums should lead the way and eliminate this form of double taxation. A more ambitious reform would remodel the patchwork of transaction taxes for insurance services to a comprehensive and broad-based, value-added system, bringing down the insurance industry's high transaction tax burden and ensuring greater comparability with other industries.
Real-time observation of transient electron density in water irradiated with tailored femtosecond laser pulses

Ionization mechanisms in water irradiated with bandwidth-limited and temporally asymmetric femtosecond laser pulses are investigated via ultrafast spectral interferometry. By using a novel common-path interferometer with an enlarged temporal measurement window, we directly observe the dynamics of free-electron plasma generated by shaped pulses. We found that a temporally asymmetric pulse and its time-reversed counterpart address multiphoton and avalanche ionization mechanisms in a different fashion. Positive third-order dispersion shaped pulses produce a much higher free-electron density than negative ones at the same fluence, instantaneous frequency and focusing conditions. From the experimental data obtained after irradiation with bandwidth-limited and shaped pulses the multiphoton and avalanche coefficients were determined using a generic rate equation. We conclude that temporal tailored femtosecond pulses are suitable for manipulation of the initial steps in laser processing of high band gap materials.
The Mediating Effect of Calling on Spiritual Leadership and Job Satisfaction in Village Credit Institution

This research aims to identify and analyse: 1) the effect of spiritual leadership on calling; 2) the effect of spiritual leadership on job satisfaction; 3) the effect of calling on job satisfaction; 4) the mediating effect of calling on spiritual leadership and job satisfaction. The Sample which is used in this study was employees which purposive sampling is taken 44 respondent under certain criteria of the village credit institution (VCI). Data used in this research is primary and secondary data which using Partial Least Square (PLS) in analysing qualifies gathered data. The results of the analysis concluded that: first, spiritual leadership has a significant effect on calling; secondly, spiritual leadership has a significant effect on job satisfaction; thirdly, calling has not significant effect on job satisfaction; finally, calling has unmediated on spiritual leadership and job satisfaction.
Research of the Snaking Phenomenon to Improve Directional Stability of Remote Controlled Articulated Wheel Tool-Carrier

Articulated wheel tool-carriers manufactured up to 20-25 tons of total weights are wide available on the construction equipment market and have a lot of unique advantages not accessible on Ackerman steering or truck-mounted equipment such as : for weight up to 20 t high cross-country mobility – comparable to heavy military tracked vehicles due to size of wheels; excellent manoeuvrability and keeping attachment straight ahead during turning; high lift capacity due to heavy axis construction; high puling force; wide range of tools and attachments due to quick-coupling device; high productivity; high reliability and durability. Moreover their steering systems and transmission are easy to automation due to hydraulic control systems. For those reasons they could be useful and cost effective on hazardous areas and robotised construction sites. There is one unsolved problem, which limits the speed of operation and efficiency of using – they have poor directional stability. During straight movement the articulated tractor deviates from straight line and permanent driver correction is required. The path has oscillation shape so it is called snaking phenomenon. So in the case of remote control the speed is limited to 5-6 km/h. The higher road speed above 30 km/h of driver controlled tractor need an operator aid system that would improve directional stability of articulated tractor too. Designing such system demand perfect knowledge of snaking phenomenon arise reasons. This paper describes tests and trials conducted on 20 tons articulated wheel loader to get answer how the snaking phenomenon is arisen. Used methods, achieved original results and their analysis are presented. It could be basis for future works on articulated tractor directional stabilisation system.
Atomic diffusion in the FeAl alloy: A research via the kinetic Monte Carlo method

For a binary alloy with an ordered structure B 2 , we research the atomic migration by means of kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, where the atomic migration results from the exchange of positions between an atom and a vacancy in a rigid lattice. The atomistic kinetic model we used is based on the jump rate theory and the residence time algorithm, wherein we consider the pair interactions between neighbours up to the next-nearest neighbours. Likewise, we determine the ratio of the diffusion coefficients as a function of temperature and investigate the antiphase boundary mobility in the last stages of the ordering process. Furthermore, we calculate the autocorrelation function, which reveals that, in the lattice, not only the vacancy makes highly correlated jumps at low temperatures but the atoms jump to positions of their sub-lattice at moderate temperatures.
Classification of clouds sampled at the puy de Dôme (France) from 10-year monitoring: Mean features of their physico-chemical properties.

Long-term monitoring of the chemical composition of clouds (73 cloud events representing 199 individual samples) sampled at the puy de Dome (pdD) station (France) was performed between 2001 and 2011. Physicochemical parameters, as well as the concentrations of the major organic and inorganic constituents, were measured and analyzed by multicomponent statistical analysis. Along with the corresponding back-trajectory plots, this allowed for distinguishing four different categories of air masses reaching the summit of the pdD: polluted, continental, marine and highly marine. The statistical analysis led to the determination of criteria (concentrations of inorganic compounds, pH) that differentiate each category of air masses. Highly marine clouds exhibited high concentrations of Na+ and Cl−; the marine category presented lower concentration of ions but more elevated pH. Finally, the two remaining clusters were classified as "continental" and "polluted"; these clusters had the second-highest and highest levels of NH4+, NO3−, and SO24−, respectively. This unique data set of cloud chemical composition is then discussed as a function of this classification. Total organic carbon (TOC) is significantly higher in polluted air masses than in the other categories, which suggests additional anthropogenic sources. Concentrations of carboxylic acids and carbonyls represent around 10% of the organic matter in all categories of air masses and are studied for their relative importance. Iron concentrations are significantly higher for polluted air masses and iron is mainly present in its oxidation state (+II) in all categories of air masses. Finally, H2O2 concentrations are much more varied in marine and highly marine clouds than in polluted clouds, which are characterized by the lowest average concentration of H2O2. This data set provides concentration ranges of main inorganic and organic compounds for modeling purposes on multiphase cloud chemistry.
Comparative study of the free-surface boundary condition in two-dimensional finite-difference elastic wave field simulation

The finite-difference (FD) method is a powerful tool in seismic wave field modelling for understanding seismic wave propagation in the Earth’s interior and interpreting the real seismic data. The accuracy of FD modelling partly depends on the implementation of the free-surface (i.e. traction-free) condition. In the past 40 years, at least six kinds of free-surface boundary condition approximate schemes (such as one-sided, centred finite-difference, composed, new composed, implicit and boundary-modified approximations) have been developed in FD secondorder elastodynamic simulation. Herein we simulate seismic wave fields in homogeneous and lateral heterogeneous models using these free-surface boundary condition approximate schemes and evaluate their stability and applicability by comparing with corresponding analytical solutions, and then quantitatively evaluate the accuracies of different approximate schemes from the misfit of the amplitude and phase between the numerical and analytical results. Our results confirm that the composed scheme becomes unstable for the Vs/Vp ratio less than 0.57, and suggest that (1) the one-sided scheme is only accurate to first order and therefore introduces serious errors for the shorter wavelengths, other schemes are all of second-order precision; (2) the new composed, implicit and boundary-modified schemes are stable even when the Vs/Vp ratio is less than 0.2; (3) the implicit and boundary-modified schemes are able to deal with laterally varying (heterogeneous) free surface; (4) in the corresponding stability range, the one-sided scheme shows remarkable errors in both phase and amplitude compared to analytical solution (which means larger errors in travel-time and reflection strength), the other five approximate schemes show better performance in travel-time (phase) than strength (amplitude).
Prospective study with rapid and low cost serodiagnostic assay for rickettsial infections in children of Vijayapura district, Northern Karnataka, India

Background: Rickettsial infections do exist in study area posing diagnostic difficulties. The study is aimed to compare performance of serological assays for rapid and low-cost diagnosis for rickettsial infections in northern Karnataka, India.Methods: Prospective study was done on 40 children upto 12 years old, hospitalized during 1-year period with fever and presence of one or more of the clinical features of rickettsial infections. Clinical and biochemical findings and serological assays such as indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-IgM (ELISA-IgM) and Weil-Felix were used to diagnose the disease. Statistical analysis was used to compare the results. Performance characteristics such as sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were calculated using MedCalc for Windows.Results: All 40 patients met the inclusion criteria (23 males and 17 females). Mortality was 2%. Predominant age group was 1-3 years (57.50%). Fever, rashes and hepatosplenomegaly was in all 40 patients (100%); whereas other clinical features showed mixed results. Biochemical findings: anemia in 90%, thrombocytopenia in 45% and elevated transaminases 57.50% and 55%. The ELI-SA-IgM assay showed a sensitivity of 95.00%, a specificity of 95.24% and 95.12% accuracy. The Weil-Felix assay showed a sensitivity of 77.50%, a specificity of 81.63% and 79.78% accu-racy. ELISA-IgM test showed only 5% (p=0.5555) and Weil-Felix test showed 12.50% (p=0.3816) non-significant difference when both compared with IFA test. Whereas ELISA-IgM showed 17.50% more significant (p=0.0239) when compared with Weil-Felix.Conclusions: ELISA-IgM may serve as rapid and low cost serodiagnostic assay over IFA for rickettsial infections.
Arbuscular mycorrhiza contribution to the growth performance and heavy metal uptake of Helianthus annuus LINN in pot culture

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to assess the arbuscular mycorrhiza contribution to the growth performance and heavy metals (Cd and Pb) uptake of Helianthus annuus L. from polluted soils. Cadmium sulfate (CdSO 4 .8H 2 O) and lead acetate ((CH 3 COO) 2 Pb.3H 2 O) were applied at the concentrations: Cd- 0,20,40,60,80 mg kg -1 and Pb-0,250,500,750,1000 mg kg -1 in 90 plastic pots filled with 5 kg of topsoil each. Propagules of Glomus mosseae (GM) and Glomus intraradices (GI) at 25 g per pot were applied. Non-inoculated pots served as controls. Each treatment was replicated thrice in completely randomized design. Data were analysed using ANOVA and descriptive statistics. Results showed that arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) fungi significantly (p ≤ 0.05) influenced the number of leaves, plant height and stem girth of sunflower plants only at 80 mg Cd kg -1 concentration. Highest values of 0.11 mg Cd kg -1 and 0.29 mg Pb kg -1 were obtained with GI in the dry shoot of Helianthus annuus while 0.05 mg Cd kg -1 and 0.23 mg Pb kg -1 were remediated with GM application. Least values of Cd and Pb were removed when no AM was applied. GM and GI fungi enhanced the growth of Helianthus annuus and the uptake of Cd and Pb; but GI performed better. Also, a significant (p < 0.05) reduction of AM fungi colonization percentage was obtained with increase in Cd and Pb concentrations. Key words : Glomus mosseae , Glomus intraradices , Helianthus annuus , phytoremediation, polluted soil.