Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-Objective Optimization of Joint Power and Admission Control in Cognitive Radio Networks Using Enhanced Swarm Intelligence

The problem of joint power and admission control (JPAC) is a critical issue encountered in underlay cognitive radio networks (CRNs). Moving forward towards the realization of Fifth Generation (5G) and beyond, where optimization is envisioned to take place in multiple performance dimensions, it is crucially desirable to achieve high sum throughput with low power consumption. In this work, a multi-objective JPAC optimization problem that jointly maximizes the sum throughput and minimizes power consumption in underlay CRNs is formulated. An enhanced swarm intelligence algorithm has been developed by hybridizing two new enhanced Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) variants, namely two-phase PSO (TPPSO) and diversity global position binary PSO (DGP-BPSO) variants employed to optimize the multi-objective JPAC problem. The performance of the enhanced swarm intelligence algorithm in terms of convergence speed and stability, while optimizing both the sum throughput and power consumption, is investigated under three different operational scenarios defined by their single objective priorities, which translate to sum throughput and power consumption preferences. Simulation results have proven the effectiveness of the enhanced swarm intelligence algorithm in achieving high sum throughput and low power consumption under the three operational scenarios when the network includes an arbitrary number of primary and secondary users. Comparing the hybrid SPSO approach and the proposed approach, the proposed scheme has shown its effectiveness in increasing the sum throughput to 7%, 16%, and 31% under the multimedia, balanced and power saving operational scenarios, respectively. In addition, the proposed approach is more power efficient as it can provide additional power savings of 3.58 W, 2.48 W, and 1.6741 W under the aforementioned operational scenarios, respectively.
Safety limits & rapid scanning methods in magnetic particle imaging

SAFETY LIMITS & RAPID SCANNING METHODS IN MAGNETIC PARTICLE IMAGING Ömer Burak Demirel M.S. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering Advisor: Emine Ülkü Sarıtaş Çukur July 2017 Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) is a new imaging modality that utilizes nonlinear magnetization of superparamagnetic tracers, with high sensitivity and zeroionizing radiation advantages. Since the introduction of MPI in 2005, there have been substantial contributions to pre-clinical applications such as cancer imaging, cell tracking, and angiography. These studies have promising implications for future clinical human-sized MPI systems. However, the time-varying magnetic fields that are used during image acquisition are subject to human safety concerns, especially in applications that require rapid imaging. By forming electric field patterns in the body, these fields may result in peripheral nerve stimulation, also known as magnetostimulation. To prevent potential stimulations; the effects of frequency, duration, and direction of the fields, as well as body part size were previously investigated. This thesis investigates the effects of duty cycle and fat/water tissue ratio on magnetostimulation thresholds for the drive field in MPI. Human subject experiments with in-house magnetostimulation setup were conducted at 25 kHz, followed by anatomical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the subjects. Accordingly, magnetostimulation thresholds first decrease then increase with increasing duty cycle and reach a maximum at 100% duty cycle. The results also show that the thresholds are strongly correlated with fat/water tissue ratio. Finally, this thesis also demonstrates that MPI image quality can be preserved for rapid scanning scenarios within the human safety limits.
Mobile Electronic Performance Support System as a Learning and Performance Solution: A Qualitative Study Examining Usage, Performance, and Attitudes.

Advanced technology innovations have contributed to the development of learning and performance solutions in both traditional and mobile workplaces. This study observed the use of the proprietary Global Positioning System (GPS) developed by Phonenav as a performance improvement solution in a mobile workplace. Thus, the study investigated the use of data assisted GPS as a performance improvement solution for delivering live instructions in a work environment, and attempted to understand its impact on users’ work performances and attitudes to technology. A cross-sectional qualitative study, supported by multiple data sources, was employed. The findings of this study revealed that the use of mobile EPSS resulted in an increased work performance and work efficiency of its users. This study contributes to the field of Human Performance Technology, by facilitating an understanding of the impact of mobile EPSSs on workplace performance. It provides a useful resource for professionals and researchers in the field of Educational Technology interested in exploring the use of mobile technology for instruction delivery in mobile workplaces.
Experimental Study on Thermal Conductivity of Sand Solidified by Microbially Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation

Soil thermal conductivity is relatively low in low saturation ranges in arid regions, resulting in low heat transfer efficiency of ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems. In this study, thermal conductivity of sand solidified by microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) was measured at different saturation levels. The test results reveal that the thermal conductivity of MICP treated sand increases with the increase in saturation degree (Sr), and the increasing rate gradually decreases. Use of the MICP technique not only increases the thermal conductivity of sands, but also reduces the influence of saturation degree on sand thermal conductivity when Sr is less than 0.22. This study provides a new research direction for the MICP technique and a technical reference for GSHP applications.
Influence of Resonance Radiation Transport on Chemical Equilibrium in an Argon Arc

Deviations from chemical equilibrium in argon arc plasma are analysed by means of collisional-radiative model. Corresponding comprehensive kinetic scheme has been developed and applied form study of free-burning arc at the conditions typical for welding applications. While the natural lifetime have been used for radiation emitted from highly excited argon states, the resonance radiation was described taking into account the radiation transport eﬀects. Resulting spatial distributions of excited argon atoms are compared for the cases of LTE and two-temperature plasma using diﬀerent approaches for the description of the resonance radiation transport.
Numerical Simulation of the Lateral Impact on Composite Beams

The numerical simulation of lateral impact on composite beams is a LS-DYNA and ANSYS simulation of a FEM of a composite beam being impacted by a steel ball. The increasing use of composites requires a broader understanding of their behaviour especially under different loading conditions. The behaviour of a material under dynamic loading (impact) is a crucial element of using that material in a product (such as car, plane or building) to ensure the safety of the occupants. The simulations are of a clamped composite beam using two different materials – SE-84 GFRP and T300/934 CFRP – being impacted by a steel ball. The simulations modelled previous analytical and experimental data accurately. The simulation was studying the low velocity impact of the composite material and used 3 m/s in this case. The CFRP beam had a maximum displacement of 16.2mm and an impact force of 250N compared to the GFRP beam which had a maximum displacement of 15.5mm and an impact force of 177.3N. The T300/934 CFRRP beam simulation matched the maximum displacement within 10% and the impact force within 10.7% of the comparison analytical and experimental data.
Investigation of oxide crystals by means of synchrotron and conventional X-ray diffraction topography

MATErIAŁY ELEKTrONICZNE (Electronic Materials), 2016, 44, 4 17 X-ray diffraction topography, exploring both conventional and synchrotron sources of X-rays, has been widely used for the investigation of the structural defects in crystals of oxides. The majority of bulk oxide crystals have been grown by the Czochralski method from a melted mixture of high purity oxides. Some important oxide crystals like quartz and ZnO have been obtained by the hydrothermal method. In the case of crystals grown by the first method, synchrotron diffraction topography can be and was used for studying individual dislocations and their complexes (e.g. glide bands, sub-grain boundaries), individual blocks, twinning, the domain structure and various segregation effects negatively affecting crystal properties. What is more, the topographical investigation can provide information concerning the reasons for the generation of the defects, which becomes useful for improving the growth technology. In the present paper the possibilities of the diffraction topography are discussed on the basis of several investigations of the oxide crystals, in particular garnets, orthovanadates, mixed calcium barium and strontium niobates as well as praseodymium lanthanum aluminates. the majority of the results refer to oxide crystals grown at the Institute of Electronic Materials Technology (ITME). The synchrotron investigations included in the paper were performed by the authors at the HASYLAB Synchrotron Laboratory in Hamburg.
Sensing characteristic of GPCs induced by sliding of graphene flakes

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of slide between overlapped graphene flakes on the sensing characteristic of graphene-based polymer composites (GPCs). During deformation process of GPCs, the position of the graphene flakes can be determined by using an affine transformation. The analytical solution is obtained based on the equivalent resistance formulas of series and parallel circuits. Meanwhile, the numerical simulation is also conducted through the finite element method (FEM). In addition, the consistence between the analytical solution and numerical result are proved by a simple model consisted of two-layer graphene flakes. The result shows that the gauge factor (GF) of the sensor is related to both the initial resistance and the length of the graphene flakes: the GF of the sensor decreases with the increase of the initial resistance, while the effect of the length of graphene flakes is less. Moreover, the pre-stretched GPCs have a larger sensing range which can improve the usability of the sensor.
Evaluation of Microwave Characterization Methods for Additively Manufactured Materials

Additive manufacturing (AM) has become more important and common in recent years. Advantages of AM include the ability to rapidly design and fabricate samples much faster than traditional manufacturing processes and to create complex internal geometries. Materials are crucial components of microwave systems and proper and accurate measurement of their dielectric properties is important to aid a high level of accuracy in design. There are numerous measurement techniques and finding the most appropriate method is important and requires consideration of all different factors and limitations. One limitation of sample preparation is that the sample size needs to fit in the measurement method. By utilizing the advantage of additive manufacturing, the material can be characterized using different measurement methods. In this paper, the additive manufacturing process and dielectric measurement methods have been critically reviewed. The test specimens for measuring dielectric properties were fabricated using fused filament fabrication (FFF)-based additive manufacturing and were measured using four different commercial dielectric properties measurement instruments including split post dielectric resonator (SPDR), rectangular waveguide, TE01δ cavity resonator, and open resonator. The measured results from the four techniques have been compared and have shown reasonable agreement with measurements within a 10 percent range.
Numerical Modelling of the Influence of Argon Flow Rate and Slag Layer Height on Open-Eye Formation in a 150 Ton Steelmaking Ladle

A transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling approach was used to study the complex multi-phase flow in an argon-stirred industrial scale ladle with a nominal capacity of 150 tons. During the stirring process, when gas was injected through the porous plug from the bottom into the steel bath, it breaks up into bubbles and infringes the slag layer creating an open-eye. The volume of fluid model was used to investigate the open-eye formation process in the simulations. In the numerical simulations, the open-eye area changed from 0.7 to 2.24 m2 with the increment of argon flow rate from 200 to 500 NL/min for slag layer thickness of 40 cm. Furthermore, the influence of slag layer height on the open-eye area was investigated. An argon flow rate of 200 NL/min was able to break the slag layer for slag layer height of 40 cm, and the open-eye formation was not possible for the same flow rate when the slag layer height was elevated from 40 to 55 cm. The numerical simulation results were validated against industrial measurements carried out at Outokumpu Stainless located in Tornio, Finland. The numerical simulation results of dynamics and time-averages of the slag area showed a good agreement when compared to the industrial measurements. To conclude, it is necessary to define gas flow rate based on the slag layer height to have an open-eye suitable for alloying.
Research on High-RAP Asphalt Mixtures with Rejuvenators - Phase II

Research Objectives The overall goal of Phase II was to investigate how high RAP m ixtures and m aterials perf orm due to dif f erent applications (dosages and blending m ethods) of rejuvenators so that an optim um rejuvenating practice f or our state can be developed. More specif ically, the research team tested the dif f erent rejuvenators by changing their dosages applied to the typical m ixture to determ ine optimum m ixture designs with rejuvenators. The ef f ects of rejuvenating procedures (e.g., treatm ent to RAP, treatm ent to entire m ixture, or treatm ent to virgin binder, etc.) that are case specif ic was also investigated. This provided core inf orm ation to reduce costs in m ixture production without com prom ising m ixture quality when high am ounts of RAP are used. Background This study aimed to investigate the effects of type, dosage, and treating methods of rejuvenators when they are added in aged asphalt materials. To meet the goal, the research team used the three rejuvenators (R1, R2, and R3) by conducting various binder-level and mixture-level tests in this study. For the binder-level testing, the performance grading (PG) method was used to primarily determine proper dosages targeting desired binder grades, and two chemical tests (i.e., Fourier Transform Infrared and Saturates-Aromatics-ResinsAsphaltenes analysis) were also conducted to examine chemical characteristics altered by rejuvenation and further aging process. The selected dosage levels from the binder testing were then applied to asphalt concrete (AC) mixturelevel performance evaluation by conducting two tests: flow number for rutting and semicircular bending fracture with and without moisture conditioning for cracking. AC mixtures treated with rejuvenators at the dosage levels selected from the binder PG testing showed improved fracture resistance compared to unrejuvenated mixtures.
HCC biomarkers – state of the old and outlook to future promising biomarkers and their potential in everyday clinical practice

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and deadly tumors worldwide. Management of HCC depends on reliable biomarkers for screening, diagnosis, and monitoring of the disease, as well as predicting response towards therapy and safety. To date, imaging has been the established standard technique in the diagnosis and follow-up of HCC. However, imaging techniques have their limitations, especially in the early detection of HCC. Therefore, there is an urgent need for reliable, non/minimal invasive biomarkers. To date, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is the only serum biomarker used in clinical practice for the management of HCC. However, AFP is of relatively rather low quality in terms of specificity and sensitivity. Liquid biopsies as a source for biomarkers have become the focus of clinical research. Our review highlights alternative biomarkers derived from liquid biopsies, including circulating tumor cells, proteins, circulating nucleic acids, and exosomes, and their potential for clinical application. Using defined combinations of different biomarkers will open new perspectives for diagnosing, treating, and monitoring HCC.
The Anthropological Function of Pictures

The history of philosophy and science supplies many characteristics of what distinguishes the human being. Besides biological peculiarities, which are less relevant in this context, the debate has focused on communication by means of propositional language and the ability to build societies that are rationally (i. e., »politically«) organized. Another aspect often mentioned is that of having »reason«, »mind«, »culture«, »civilization« or »symbols« at one’s disposal and encountering the world with »understanding«, attributing »meaning« to it. The ability to use pictures falls into this category as well. This paper is dedicated to discussing the latter aspect. In the philosophical approach to anthropology, the focus is not on any peculiarities of the biological species »homo sapiens sapiens«, even though only members of this species have been found as examples so far. Interests are rather focused on the fundamental complexity of the repertoire of behavior, which could in principle be found in creatures of a totally different (for instance extra-terrestrial) origin as well. Actually, it is all a matter of the concept1 of corresponding creatures that we should reasonably develop:
Natural fibers and fiber-based materials in biorefineries : status report 2018

This report was issued on behalf of IEA Bioenergy Task 42. It provides an overview of various fiber sources, their properties and their relevance in biorefineries. Their status in the scientific literature and market aspects are discussed. The report provides information for a broader audience about opportunities to sustainably add value to biorefineries by considering fiber applications as possible alternatives to other usage paths.
Development and investigation of metal oxide nanostructures for sensing applications

The presented work deals with the development of metal oxide-based sensor devices, the prior investigation of fundamental metal oxide properties, and the subsequent investigation of variously fabricated field-e ect-based sensor devices. Developed and fabricated sensor devices were initially used as pH sensors, but subsequently evolved into electrochemical bioa nity and biocatalytic sensors. The latter two sensor types allow the specific detection of biological analytes. Integration into self-made polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic channels permits the investigation of electroylte solution samples in the range of a few tens of μl. Additional metal oxide semiconductor field-e ect transistor (MOSFET) devices, containing metal oxides as the active layer, were initially fabricated to investigate and characterize the properties of the embedded oxides. In particular, zinc oxide (ZnO) thin-films (TF) and tin oxide (SnO2) nanowires (NW) were employed, respectively prepared via atomic layer deposition (ALD) and vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth. An amorphous metal oxide, aluminum oxide (Al2O3), fabricated via ALD, and acting as an insulating and sensing material, was analyzed by fabricating both MOS capacitors as well as capacitive electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) sensor devices, utilizing a liquid gate for the fabrication of the latter. At the beginning of the experimental section of this thesis, the ZnO TF-FET and SnO2 NW-FET devices with metal top gate were fabricated and electrically characterized. A strong dependency of the possible gate modulation on the deposition temperature was evident for the ALD-based ZnO thin-film channels, with increasing deposition temperature leading to an abundance of majority charge carriers. Comparing both devices reveals significant di erences in the device characteristics. The monocrystalline SnO2 NW-FET devices not only distinguish themselves through a transconductance of more than one order of magnitude higher than of polycrystalline ZnO TF-FETs, but also show significant advantages regarding their high on/o ratios and steep subthreshold slopes, all of which are important FET device
Solving the Interpretational-Confounding and Interpretational-Ambiguity Problems of Formative Construct Modeling in Behavioral Research: Proposing a Two-Stage Fixed-Weight Redundancy Approach

Recently, formative measurements have received increasing attention in information systems research. However, current approaches to modeling formative constructs have potential validity problems and thus limited applicability. Here, we highlight two major problems in formative measurement — interpretational confounding and interpretational ambiguity — and propose a novel resolution. Interpretational confounding occurs when using the traditional free-estimation approach, because the weights of different formative indicators vary as the dependent variable changes, resulting in the distortion of the measurement weights of the focal formative construct and thus jeopardizing the generalizability of empirical tests. Another way to alleviate the interpretational-confounding issue is to include the multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) construct in the path model (i.e., MIMIC-path). Unfortunately, this method has led to the second major problem of interpretational ambiguity, the existence of more than one potential explanation of the formative model. More specifically, reflective indicators in the MIMIC model can be viewed as (1) indicators of the MIMIC construct, (2) dependent variables of the formative construct, or (3) indicators of a reflective construct affected by independent variables (formative indicators). To resolve these issues, we propose a two-stage fixed-weight redundancy model (FWRM) approach. We demonstrate the applicability of the FWRM approach with a set of survey data. We conducted a simulation study evaluating the FWRM approach by comparing it with the commonly used free-estimation and MIMIC-path methods. The results indicate that our FWRM approach can indeed improve the validity of formative construct modeling by mitigating confounding and ambiguity issues.
Shaking table tests of magnetorheological damped frame to mitigate the response under real-time online control

Magnetorheological (MR) dampers are increasingly employed to attenuate the harmful vibration in Civil Structures caused by dynamic loadings such as earthquakes and strong winds for their excellent response mitigation capacity. The credibility and precision of dynamic response mitigation capacity of MR dampers are highly dependent on intelligent control strategy. In this paper, a piecewise control algorithm based on the feedbacks of story drift and ground excitation acceleration is adopted through a micro-controller with a digital signal processor chip as the control processor. Shaking table tests are carried out on a three-story steel frame structure which incorporates MR damper with the micro-controller installed between the ground and first floor. The dynamic responses of the real-time online intelligent controlled structure are compared with those of passive-on and passive-off controlled structures under different earthquake waves to evaluate vibration control efficacy of the MR intelligent control system. Test results show that the developed MR intelligent control system can sufficiently reduce the peak and root mean square responses due to earthquake excitations, and the control efficiency of displacement and acceleration responses is higher than the two passive control cases.