Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perception of Japanese vowel duration contrasts by L 1 and L 2 learners of Japanese : An EEG study .

One challenge of second language (L2) acquisition research is to evaluate to what extent experience with an L2 leads to changes in automaticity of L2 speech perception. The present study investigated neural indices of speech processing using electroencephalography (EEG). The Mismatch Negativity (MMN) event-related potential (ERP) served as an index of speech discrimination of a Japanese vowel duration contrast (tado-taado), which is phonemic in Japanese (JP), but not English. Native speakers of Japanese (JPN), naïve American English (AEN) listeners (i.e., no knowledge of JP), and one semester college course L2 learners of JP (JPL2) were tested to determine whether experience with JP leads to changes in discrimination of the target contrast at a pre-attentive level of processing. EEG responses were recorded to natural exemplars of tado and taado while listeners performed an unrelated visual attention task that drew attention away from the auditory stimuli. JPL2 showed a larger amplitude MMN than AEN listeners, but a smaller amplitude MMN than JPN listeners. This study suggests as little as one semester classroom experience with the L2 (JP) enhances discrimination of an L2 phonemic contrast not found in the first language (L1), but L2 speech processing is still less robust (or less automatic) than for L1 listeners.
Effect of Process Temperature on Molybdenum Disulphide Layers Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition Technique

Tremendous downscaling of well known semiconductor materials has resulted in various demerits like, defects at the interface and variation in bandgap. In order to overcome these challenges, the beyond graphene area of material science has been explored rapidly with the discovery of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC). Among TMDC, molybdenum disulphide (MoS2)has drawn tremendous attention for their excellent structural, optical, electrical and mechanical properties, which makes it suitable for the use in next generation electronic and optoelectronic devices. Initially, molybdenum (Mo)thin films were grown on silicon by RF sputtering technique at 45 W. Afterwards, sulphonation of Mo was carried out using a custom designed two zone tubular chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system. In order to optimize the growth temperature, the temperature of higher heating zone of CVD system was varied from 650 C to 850 C, The structural, morphological and optical studies reveal that the higher temperature is favorable for the growth of MoS2 layers.
Mask Technique for Fast and Efficient Training of Binary Resistive Crossbar Arrays

Resistive crossbar arrays, despite their advantages such as parallel processing, low power, and high density, suffer from the sneak path problem created by IR voltage drops. The crossbar non-idealities considerably degrade the accuracy of matrix multiplication operation, which is the cornerstone of hardware accelerated neural networks. In this paper, we propose a novel technique to capture the sneak path problem to enable off-chip learning and weight transfer. The proposed technique can be easily integrated into any neural network training framework. Performance results show a significant improvement after retraining the network with the proposed mask technique. Two mask solutions have been proposed and studied to capture the sneak path problem in resistive crossbar arrays. Both mask solutions were successfully able to achieve classification accuracy close to the baseline accuracy. The tradeoffs between the two solutions are discussed and compared in terms of accuracy, power, and area.
Analysis of Submodule Capacitor Voltage Ripple and Second-Harmonic Current in MMCs

This paper presents a straightforward approach to analyze the 2nd harmonic currents in modular multilevel converters. The submodule capacitor voltage ripple is derived based upon the capacitor’s charge variations instead of commonly used energy variations, resulting in simplified calculations and an explicit expression for the voltage ripple to calculate the ripple value and select a proper SM capacitor size. Using analysis of the dc-side loop, a closed-form expression for 2nd harmonics in the arm currents is obtained considering SM redundancy. To validate the theoretical analyses, a 101-level, 500-MW half-bridge MMC is simulated in PSCAD/EMTDC. Experimental results of a downscaled laboratory setup are also presented. Comprehensive comparisons of the theoretical results obtained by the proposed method against simulation and experimental results as well as against an existing method demonstrate its superior accuracy.
Wideband Filtering Out-of-Phase Power Dividers Using Slotline Resonators and Microstrip-to-Slotline Transitions

Two wideband filtering out-of-phase power dividers are designed and analyzed. The initial design is composed of a quarter-wavelength slotline resonator and two microstrip-to-slotline transitions. Three transmission poles are produced to form the passband. Excellent matching and isolation are achieved using extra matching network. Based on the initial design, a pair of stepped-impedance open stubs are shunted at the output ports to improve the passband selectivity. The designs have been verified through experiment. The tested results show that the proposed devices have achieved 60% operating bandwidth, 1.8 dB insertion loss, 1.2° phase error and excellent in-band matching and isolation.
6LoWPAN Fragment Forwarding

Low-power wireless technologies have been applied to industrial fields not only to monitor facilities but also to control them. There is a legitimate requirement to integrate low-power wireless networks with existing IP-enabled networks such as the Internet. The 6LoWPAN standard makes this happen easily by enabling low-power wireless networks to transport IPv6 packets. A challenge is that an IPv6 packet might not fit in a link-layer frame. The answer is fragmentation: the IPv6 packet is cut into fragments, each fitting in a frame. In a typical implementation, the IPv6 packet is fragmented and reassembled at every hop. Such per-hop reassembly causes low endto- end reliability and high end-to-end latency. This article presents a new implementation technique that results in fragment forwarding without changing any of the standards. Simulation results show how, when going from per-hop reassembly to fragment forwarding, end-to-end reliability goes from 40 percent to 100 percent, memory requirements go from 1280 B to 160 B, and end-to-end latency is halved.
TeBook A Mobile Holy Quran Memorization Tool

Among a popular technique for learning and memorizing the Holy Quran is by using the evaluation technique. In Malay language, the act of evaluating Holy Quran recitation for correctness is called “tebuk”. It is the act of identifying the content of Holy Quran for location of specific verse or surah according to the scripts. The activity involves two parties, the reciter and evaluator. Unfortunately, the involvement of other person as evaluator makes it impossible for the evaluation to be done at any time which is deemed suited by the reciter. The purpose of this application is to provide a means for Holy Quran's recitation evaluation without the involvement of third party by leveraging the use of speech recognition and online Holy Quran search engine. With this application, learners are able to learn to memorize without the constraints of being in a fixed place and this can happen outside the classroom. Device used are of lightweight, portable and can be carried around for teaching and learning activities. The application is developed for Android mobile platform which is available for many Android-based mobile phones and devices. The application is currently available to download and use for free from Google Play Store by the name of “TeBook”.
Influence of heat processing on functional properties of Australian wattle seed ( Acacia victoriae Bentham ) extracts

Whole wattle (Acacia victoriae Bentham) seed was extracted with water before or after a soaking/heat treatment regime designed to destroy its protease inhibitors. The yield, composition and physical properties of these extracts were measured and they were then subjected to an analysis of their functional properties, which included emulsion and foam formation and stabilization, solubility at different pH values and gelling ability. Processing of soaked wattle seed at 100 1C for 30 s led to a much reduced extract yield and viscosity at both pH 4 and 7, decreased its water-soluble carbohydrate content but increased its protein content, and solubility under alkaline conditions. Processing of wattle seed before extraction also led to increased emulsion droplet size and reduced emulsion stability, the differences being more pronounced in emulsions formed with 20% oil compared with 50% oil-in-water emulsions. Comparatively, the emulsions formed using extract from non-processed wattle seed were very stable at both 20% and 50% oil levels, especially at pH 7 where the enhanced viscosity of the extract predominated. All extracts had very low foaming capacity, and gelation did not occur in any of the samples even at 10% (w/v) extract concentration. r 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The Oppositely Doped Islands IGBT Achieving Ultralow Turn Off Loss

An oppositely doped islands insulated gate bipolar transistor (ODI-IGBT) is investigated for the first time. By adding one or several ODIs in the drift longitudinally equidistantly, the ODI-IGBT obtains a better electric field distribution than the field-stop IGBT (FS-IGBT) at OFF-state, which means a larger breakdown voltage. Moreover, at inductive load turn off transient, its space charge region is wider along with the better electric field distribution. Hence, less excess carriers are left when the anode voltage rises to the bus voltage. That is, its current decaying time is smaller than FS-IGBT, so does the turn off loss. Compared with the FS-IGBT in TSUPREM4 simulation, the ODI-IGBT can achieve a much lower turn off loss, which is only 52% of that of the FS-IGBT at the same breakdown voltage and same ON-state voltage. In addition, the ODI-IGBT has a simpler manufacturing process and better immunity to process deviation than the super junction IGBT (SJ-IGBT).
The student, the context, and academic cheating: A valence-based, interactionistic approach

Student cheating has grown into a serious dilemma within classrooms across the world, especially among those in higher education. The objective of this study was to more closely examine the interaction between individual student differences and contextual orientations with respect to academic cheating among college students. Following a comprehensive, theory-driven path model (N = 311), key outcomes of this study revealed that positive and negative affect were the best predictors of cheating through variables of regulatory focus and achievement goal orientation. Practical implications of this study speak to the role of temperament as a stable predictor of school-related behaviors. Increased attention to affective (non-cognitive) behavior and motivation may help to better understand the multifaceted underpinnings of the cheating phenomenon.
A 27-GHz Transformer Based Power Amplifier with 513.8-mW/mm2 Output Power Density and 40.7% Peak PAE in 1-V 28-nm CMOS

A fully integrated 27-GHz transformer based power amplifier with neutralization technique and low-loss transformer is proposed and fabricated in 28-nm CMOS technology. Several common-source cells are combined together as differential power cells. On-chip transformers and current-combining topology are used to combine amplifiers and reduce the problem of output power loss. Using an aluminium-pad (AP) layer on output matching reduces loss and can keep high PAE. In order to improve the overall stability, a neutralization structure is utilized in the combined cell. The measurement results demonstrate a small-signal gain of 13.1 dB, saturated power (Psat) of 17.9 dBm, output power density of 513.8-mW/mm2, and output 1-dB compression point (OP1dB) of 14.7 dBm at 27 GHz. The peak power-added efficiency (PAEpeak) achieved by this power amplifier (PA) at 27 GHz is 40.7%. The core size of the chip is 0.12 mm2. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this circuit presents a superior power and efficiency performance compared with reported Ka-band common-source CMOS PAs.
Stability Analysis of Switched System with All Subsystems Unstable under MDADT Criteria

In this paper, a new mode-dependent average dwell time (MDADT) stability result of discrete-time switched systems with all subsystems unstable is investigated. Combined with MDADT analysis method, we classified subsystems into two categories: switching stable subsystems and switching unstable subsystems. State divergence caused by switching unstable subsystems could be compensated by activating switching stable subsystems for a sufficiently long time. Based on the above considerations, a new globally exponentially stability result was proposed for switched systems with all subsystems unstable. In addition, the new result is a generalization of the previous method, which is more suitable for the case of more unstable subsystems. Some numerical examples are given to illustrate the advantages of our established results.
Improved Adaptive PID Control Using Time-Delay Estimation for Robot Manipulators

This paper proposes improved adaptive proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control based on a time-delay estimation (TDE)-based approach and a gain adaptation. In order to systematically obtain adaptive PID gains, TDE-based control scheme is proposed in conjunction with a gain dynamics and the equivalent relationship is derived between both control methods in the discrete-time domain. Using the derived relationship for adaptive PID gains, the improved adaptive PID control is constructed. In the proposed adaptive PID control, the gain dynamics effectively regulates PID gains according to system states, which compensates for the tracking errors caused by inadequate model-estimation. Consequently, the tracking accuracy is effectively improved compared with existing PID gain tuning methods, which is verified through experimental studies using an industrial-type robot.
Image Stitching with Weighted Elastic Registration

In order to obtain high-quality image stitching results with parallax tolerance, some superb image stitching techniques have been proposed in recent years. One of the methods is to use the approximating thin-plate splines to register the image. However, in some cases with large parallax, it is easy to produce visible distortion at the edge of the overlapping region, making the result look unnatural. Based on the careful study of image stitching with TPS model, this paper proposes a weighted deformation scheme, which effectively reduces the distortion of the stitched image nearby the overlapping region and further improves the visual effect of image stitching. Experimental results show that the proposed method has achieved satisfactory results in several challenging cases.
Design and AC Modeling of a Bipolar GNR-h-BN RTD With Enhanced Tunneling Properties and High Robustness to Edge Defects

This paper proposes a robust to defects and short length device (RDSLD), a newly in-plane resonant tunneling diode (RTD), and its ac-modeling with the minimum length of 3 nm. The proposed structure has robust performance in the presence of defects. It also has a high degree of flexibility in tuning electronic specifications. By using bipolar doping and a special h-boron nitride barrier pattern, these unique features are obtained. The simulation results verify that the proposed structure has the potential for replacing conventional RTD diodes. Such that the peak-to-valley ratio (PVR) and the maximum current of 4500, 450 nA for perfect bowtie and 3.45, 1256 nA for rhombic barrier shape structure are obtained, respectively. Also, negative differential resistance (NDR) is observed in all of the structures with vacancy and impurity defects. The effect of the geometrical parameters on the charge transmission of the device is another issue that is addressed in this paper. Furthermore, the analytical and numerical capacitance model parameters are presented.
A 10W Fully-Integrated LDMOS MMIC Doherty in LGA Package for 2.7GHz Small Cell Application

A two-stage integrated Doherty power amplifier (PA) was designed on latest LDMOS MMIC die and fully integrated with input splitter, output match and combiner as a module with 50ohm in-out characteristics for 2.7GHz LTE small cell application (an industry first). The two stage PA MMIC was fabricated with a size of 3× 2.7 mm2 and was mounted on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) laminate in 7 × 7 mm2 LGA package. An asymmetric integrated Doherty configuration was adopted with the uneven input power splitting network for better Efficiency. To improve linearity, the third-order intermodulation distortion (IMD3) was simulated and optimized by enhancing VBW (video bandwidth). The output combiner for integrated Doherty is simulated and designed carefully using novel capacitor cancellation method to get good bandwidth and Eff. Using a six-carrier LTE signal with a PAPR of 9 dB and a channel bandwidth of 20 MHz at 2.6 GHz, the full PA (an industry first) exhibited a power gain of 27 dB, 10W peak power, a power-added efficiency (PAE) of 41%, and an ACLR of -31dBc at an average output power of 31 dBm. It was lowered to -51dBc after a digital pre-distortion process.
Comprehensive Analysis of Input Waveform Shaping for Efficiency Enhancement in Class B Power Amplifiers

Over the years, different high efficiency power amplifier (PA) design techniques have been proposed and implemented which eliminate input non-linearity considering its negative impact on PA output power and efficiency. This work rather exploits input non-linearity to improve PA efficiency. A generic analysis of a Class B PA under input non-linearity is presented opening the scope of input second harmonic manipulation to improve PA performances. This renders extended and new design space of second harmonic source termination to high efficiency PA design. Theoretical analyses are well supported with load-pull measurement results of a 0.7 mm and a 24 mm GaN devices where about 4.5% drain efficiency improvement compared to conventional Class B PA is observed.
On the Ergodic Capacity of Ground-To-UAV Free-Space Optical Communications

Recently, free-space optical (FSO)communications have gained an increased popularity for data transfer between unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Despite providing large unlicensed bandwidth, the channel capacity of UAV-based FSO links is negatively affected by atmospheric turbulence-induced fading, pointing error due to the position and orientation deviations of hovering UAVs along with link interruption probability due to the joint effects of angle-of-arrival (AOA)fluctuation and receiver field-of-view (FOV)limitation. For a better understanding of UAV-based FSO systems, it is important to study the capacity of such channels, which is the main goal of this paper. To this aim, we first derive the closed-form expression for ergodic capacity of ground-to-UAV link in terms of well-known elementary functions. Then, we characterize the influence of different system parameters on the ergodic capacity of UAV channels.
Learning of Fuzzy Rules by Mountain Clustering

The paper deals with a new approach to the learning of fuzzy rules. It suggests a solution to one of the problems of crucial importance for the learning of fuzzy rules by back propagation- -the issue of estimation of the initial values of the unknown parameters. We introduce the method of clustering via the mountain function to identify the most important rules. Those are the rules that are associated with higher values of the peaks of the mountain function. From the centers of the clusters that are obtained by the mountain function method are determined the initial estimates of the parameters of the reference antecedent and consequent fuzzy sets of the rules. In the next step the method of back propagation is used for more precise identification of those parameters. © (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
UHF Measurement in Power Transformers: An Algorithm to Optimize Accuracy of Arrival Time Detection and PD Localization

Partial discharges (PDs) are among the various indicators that are utilized for monitoring of power transformers. PDs emit electromagnetic waves that can be received by inserting ultrahigh frequency probes inside the transformer tank, thus an advantage of this method is its higher robustness against external noises. In this contribution, an algorithm is proposed to localize PDs in power transformers by capturing and analyzing multiple signal sets. Detecting exact arrival times (ATs) of a signal set is a challenging task in the PD localization. Different AT detection methods are applied to several signal sets to compare their effectiveness. Furthermore, modifications are introduced to enhance the precision of the AT detection. A fraction of the analyzed signal sets provide acceptable coordinates for the PD location. The localization algorithm consists of two approaches including wavelet denoising and AT sequence determination to eliminate PD coordinates that lie significantly far from the real location of the PD. The rest of the PD coordinates are then divided into two sections using a clustering method, and the center of the favorable cluster yields the definite PD coordinates. Precision of the PD localization algorithm is validated by three measurements inside a specially designed transformer tank.
Early Hybrid Safety and Security Risk Assessment Based on Interdisciplinary Dependency Models

Safety and security of complex critical infrastructures are very important for economic, environmental and social reasons. The complexity of these systems introduces difficulties in the identification of safety and security risks that emerge from interdisciplinary interactions and dependencies. The discovery of safety and security design weaknesses late in the design process and during system operation can lead to increased costs, additional system complexity, delays and possibly undesirable compromises to address safety and security weaknesses.
Machine Learning Models for Electricity Consumption Forecasting: A Review

The prediction of energy consumption is a task that allows energy supply companies to adapt to certain behaviors. Among these activities that companies can perform is to know the behavior of their customers to adapt their rates to consumption or know the intervals in which it will produce a greater demand for energy and have planned the adaptation of supply chains. In this sense, it is necessary to carry out an evaluation of methods that allow forecasting future energy consumption based on the consumption history and other variables of the users themselves. In this article, a review of the main machine learning models that allow predicting energy consumption using a one-year data set of a shoe store was made. The review made allowed to observe that for the data set using the Linear Regression and Support Vector Regression has obtained a success of 85.7% being the best results provided.