Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward Composing Efficient FPGA-Based Hardware Accelerators for Physics-Based Model Predictive Control Smart Sensor for HEV Battery Cell Management

In the era of climate change, and with the rapid depletion of fossil resources, efficient and sustainable transportation systems, such as hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), are becoming imperative. The cornerstone of HEVs is the efficient battery technology, in order to extend the useful life of the battery and to provide improved performance to fossil fuel technology. Model predictive control (MPC) is an effective technique for battery management systems (BMS), which enables cell-level monitoring and controlling of the battery pack, reducing the safety margin of operation, while maintaining the safety requirements. Furthermore, utilizing the physics-based model (PBM) of the battery allows the control system to operate on the chemical and physical process of the battery that are the root cause of battery degradation. The non-linear extended Kalman filter (EKF) serves as the state observer to monitor the physical and chemical properties/processes of each battery cell, since these are internal processes of the battery, making them physically unobservable. The amalgamation of the aforementioned techniques, i.e., MPC, PBM, and EKF, can extend the useful life of the battery cell/pack, especially for lithium-ion batteries. In real-world scenarios, HEVs and smart applications often require portable BMS, compelling BMS to be executed on highly constrained embedded devices. Also, the inherent adaptive control process of physics-based (PB) MPC is uniquely suited for smart systems/applications. However, the high computational complexity of PB-MPC, comprising PB-EKF, prevents it from being realized on resource-constrained embedded devices, making it infeasible for portable BMS. In this research work, we introduce novel, unique, and efficient FPGA-based embedded hardware accelerator for PB-MPC smart sensor (comprising PB-EKF) for BMS, specifically on embedded devices, by addressing the computational complexity of PBM. Our proposed embedded PB-MPC hardware accelerator achieved 58 times speedup compared to its embedded software counterpart, while maintain a small footprint required for portable systems. This speedup enables us to manage more battery cells utilizing a single chip compared to that of embedded processor-based solutions.
Measurements of natural uranium concentration and isotopic composition with permil‐level precision by inductively coupled plasma–quadrupole mass spectrometry

A new analytical technique using inductively coupled plasma–quadrupole mass spectrometry (ICP‐QMS) has been developed that produces permil‐level precision in the measurement of uranium concentration ([U]) and isotopic composition (δ234U) in natural materials. A 233U‐236U double spike method was used to correct for mass fractionation during analysis. To correct for ratio drifting, samples were bracketed by uranium standard measurements. A sensitivity of 6–7 × 108 cps/ppm was generated with a sample solution uptake rate of 30 μL/min. With a measurement time of 15–20 min, standards of 30‐ng uranium produced a within‐run precision better than 3‰ (±2 R.S.D.) for δ234U and better than 2‰ for [U]. Replicate measurements made on standards show that a between‐run reproducibility of 3.5‰ for δ234U and 2‰ for [U] can be achieved. ICP‐QMS data of δ234U and [U] in seawater, coral, and speleothem materials are consistent with the data measured by other ICP‐MS and TIMS techniques. Advantages of the ICP‐QMS method include low cost, easy maintenance, simple instrumental operation, and few sample preparation steps. Sample size requirements are small, such as 10–14 mg of coral material. The results demonstrate that this technique can be applied to natural samples with various matrices.
A revised and extended earthquake catalogue for Greece since 1900

SUMMARY An earthquake catalogue for Greece is presented covering the period 1900-1985. It is based on a similar effort attempted a few years ago. The present version contains more than double the number of events, i.e. 4310 events compared with 1806 events, than in the previous papers. It also includes another 1711 events which took place in the region in an Appendix. The accuracy and completeness of the parameters of these shocks were insufficient for inclusion in the main catalogue without affecting the catalogue's homogeneity. For the new entries magnitudes are redetermined using Uppsala's reading as before, whereas the other parameters have been rechecked against local macroseismic information. The completeness of this catalogue varies according to the period of observation, but the lower threshold of completely reported magnitudes has been substantially decreased allowing for more detailed seismicity studies to be performed.
LARGE AREA HYDROLOGIC MODELING AND ASSESSMENT PART II: MODEL APPLICATION 1

ABSTRACT: This paper describes the application of a river basin scale hydrologic model (described in Part I) to Richland and Chambers Creeks watershed (RC watershed) in upper Trinity River basin in Texas. The inputs to the model were accumulated from hydro‐graphic and geographic databases and maps using a raster‐based GIS. Available weather data from 12 weather stations in and around the watershed and stream flow data from two USGS stream gauge station for the period 1965 to 1984 were used in the flow calibration and validation. Sediment calibration was carried out for the period 1988 through 1994 using the 1994 sediment survey data from the Richland‐Chambers lake. Sediment validation was conducted on a subwatershed (Mill Creek watershed) situated on Chambers Creek of the RC watershed. The model was evaluated by well established statistical and visual methods and was found to explain at least 84 percent and 65 percent of the variability in the observed stream flow data for the calibration and validation periods, respectively. In addition, the model predicted the accumulated sediment load within 2 percent and 9 percent from the observed data for the RC watershed and Mill Creek watershed, respectively.
Taxonomic evolution of Neogene planktonic foraminifera and paleoceanographic relations

The taxonomic evolution of Neogene (24 Ma to present day) planktonic foraminiferal species are described using four indices: rate of speciation, rate of extinction, rate of diversification, and rate of turnover. The evolution of Neogene planktonic foraminifera is marked by three principal stages: (1) a diversification stage (24 to 16 Ma, early Miocene), (2) an equilibrium stage (16 to 5 Ma, middle and late Miocene), and (3) a declining stage (5 Ma to Recent, Pliocene and Quaternary). The early Miocene diversification was in response to an increase in polar to equatorial thermal gradients and related subdivision of surface water masses. During the middle and late Miocene, the assemblages remained close to their equilibria, with relatively low diversification rates. The decline in diversity during the Pliocene and Quaternary probably resulted from adverse effects imposed by both large-scale paleoceanographic fluctuations that began about 6 Ma and high-frequency climatic oscillations related to northern hemisphere glaciations and deglaciations that began at about 2.5 Ma. Bursts of evolutionary activity marked by higher rates of turnover coincided with major paleoceanographic changes. Average evolutionary rates appear to be similar for tropical, transitional, and temperate assemblages, although the actual numbers of extinctions and speciations are higher in tropical assemblages because of higher standing diversity. Contemporaneity of turnover peaks in the three climatic regimes indicates global control of paleoceanographic perturbations upon planktonic foraminiferal evolution. The observed evolutionary pattern supports the stationary model of Stenseth and Maynard Smith (1984).
Prediction of optimum angle of inclination for flat plate solar collector in Zaria, Nigeria.

A flat plate surface solar collector of dimension 0.5 m 2 , hinged on a horizontal support for quick adjustment of inclination from 0 to 90 o was fabricated, marked out at 1 o intervals on a telescopic leg graduated in degrees. Measurement of the solar radiation, varying degrees of inclination were taken between 12:00 noon and 2:30 pm for 4 days at clear sky hours, within the week of n th day of the year. The measurements were made for each month of the year in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. At each degree of inclination, the solar radiation intensity was replicated three times and the average value was taken. The flat plate was set truly facing south with an engineering prismatic compass. The result showed that the optimum angle of inclination of a flat plate for maximum collection of solar radiation intensities are 26.5, 24.5, 10.0, 19.5, 26.0, 30.0, 24.0, 21.0, 11.5, 19.5, 27.0 and 30.0 o , in the months of January to December, respectively. This work also revealed that the average angle of inclination at which a flat surface solar collector will be mounted at fixed position in Zaria is 22.5 o . The analysis indicated that when a flat surface was located at the predicted optimum angle of inclination for each month of the year, an average annual increment of 4.23 % solar radiation intensity was achieved, when compared with the yearly average solar radiation intensity harnessed by the same flat plate collector on horizontal position, and under the same condition. This percentage increase amounted to annual average solar energy gain of 370,670 MJ/m 2 , at no extra-cost, other than positioning the solar collector at the identified optimum angle of inclination. Comparison of the measured and calculated optimum values of angle of inclination of a flat plate surface for trapping maximum solar radiation intensity for each month of the year indicated a high correlation with R 2 of 0.97.
Knowledge Distillation in Federated Learning: Where and How to Distill?

Federated learning (FL) advances the field of distributed machine learning for facilitating the privacy-preserving management of edge devices and central servers. However, the majority of data among edge devices is non-IID (not Independent and Identically Distributed), making it challenging to achieve edge intelligence. In this work, we attempt to mitigate the above issue through knowledge distillation (KD) by sharing knowledge between the central server and edge devices. Specifically, we first investigate where (i.e. which feature layer) to conduct the distillation for knowledge sharing. We find that setting the feature layer to that before the classification head yields superior performance. Moreover, we investigate how to conduct the KD in terms of loss choices. We test various types of losses for enhancing the knowledge sharing and find that Center Kernel Alignment (CKA) achieves the best performance among the investigated loss metrics. Overall, this work sheds new light on where and how to perform KD in FL. Experimental results on MNIST and Fashion-MNIST demonstrate that our finding yields a performance gain of at least 4%.
The Palaeo-ecology and Biostratigraphy of the foraminifera from the Oxfordian of north Dorset

The Oxfordian rocks of north Dorset are poorly exposed at outcrop. A drilling operation was devised and implemented and the complete sequence of strata from the Weymouth Member of the Oxford Clay Formation through to the Ringstead Waxy Clay Formation was penetrated. Three boreholes were drilled; the Hallett's Farm Borehole, covering the strata from the stratigraphically youngest Ringstead Waxy Clay Formation down to the Cucklington Oolite; the Bowden Farm Borehole, continuing the sequence from the Cucklington Oolite into the lower part of the Hazelbury Bryan Formation and the Hartmoor Hill Borehole which continues downward into the Oxford Clay Formation. A continuous succession of the Corallian rocks from north Dorset was obtained. The fresh borehole material was examined for microfossils, with further samples coming from the BGS East Stour Borehole. A diverse assemblage was extracted. The foraminiferal assemblage was examined and includes representatives of 26 families, comprising 26 genera and 148 species. All species were identified and the taxonomy of each studied and described or confirmed. The assemblage is more diverse than previously recorded Corallian assemblages, partly due to the freshness of the borehole material which is not affected by the weathering processes present at surface outcrops. The regional lithostratigraphy defined by the British Geological Survey (Bristow et al, 1995) is confirmed and lithological boundaries not visible at outcrop are described. The distribution and abundance patterns of foraminiferal taxa are analysed and various statistical indices are compared for each borehole. Multivariate methods are employed and in particular non-metric Multidimensional Scaling is used in an attempt to divide the samples into groups which are palaeo-environmentally significant. The authenticity of this method is checked against a Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering technique. The sample groups are used to define biofacies, fifteen of which are recognised within the studied interval. The correlation of the four boreholes is achieved using lithological techniques, ammonite zonation, foraminiferal biohorizons and the biofacies defined by multivariate analysis. A total of 21 biohorizons are identified with certain horizons coinciding with lithological boundaries and previously defined unconformities recognised within the Oxfordian of Dorset. The long ranging nature of the majority of Upper Jurassic foraminifera precludes the definition of a rigorous biostratigraphic zonation. The important biostratigraphic species for the Upper Jurassic are recorded however, and a tentative zonation, based on the concept of interval zones (Salvador, 1995) is proposed. Eleven zones are recognised. To Maria Harding for being there for me. "I have picked up a few curious things from the shore of the great ocean of time". George Mackay Brown, 1994. Beside the Ocean of Time. 'Nobody's fault but mine" Page, J. & Plant, R. 1976. CONTENTS Page Abstract List of
Estimating the Determinants of Residential Water Demand in Italy

The aim of this study was to estimate the determinants of residential water demand for chief towns of every Italian province, in the period 2007–2009, using the linear mixed-effects model estimated with the restricted-maximum-likelihood method. Results confirmed that the applied tariff had a negative effect on residential water consumption and that it was a relevant driver of domestic water consumption. Moreover, income per capita had a positive effect on water consumption. Among measured climatic and geographical features, precipitation and altitude exerted a strongly significant negative effect on water consumption, while temperature did not influence water demand. Further, data show that small towns in terms of population served were characterized by lower levels of consumption. Water utilities ownership itself did not have a significant effect on water consumption but tariffs were significantly lower and residential water consumption was higher in towns where the water service was managed by publicly owned water utilities. However, further research is needed to gain a better understanding of the connection between ownership of water utilities and water prices and water consumption.
Mark-Up Ratios in Manufacturing Industries: Estimates for 14 OECD Countries

This paper provides estimates of mark-ups of product prices over marginal costs for 36 manufacturing industries in 14 OECD countries over the 1970- 1992 period. The estimates are based on the methodology put forward by Roeger (1995), extended to include intermediate inputs. After a discussion of analytical and data issues, the estimates are presented and shown to be smaller than those of previous studies. It is also shown that the level and dispersion of mark-ups are consistent with a priori views about characteristics of the market structure prevailing in each industry. Finally, the paper examines how mark-up estimates affect the estimated rate of growth of total factor productivity (TFP) . Cette etude fournit des estimations sur le taux de marge des prix sur les couts marginaux pour 36 industries manufacturieres et 14 pays de l’OCDE pour la periode 1970-1992. Les estimations utilisent l’approche mise au point par Roeger (1995) amelioree pour tenir compte des biens intermediaires. L’etude commence par une discussion des problemes methodologiques et statistiques, et les estimations sont presentees. Dans l’ensemble, les taux de marge presentes ici sont beaucoup plus bas que ceux calcules dans d’autres etudes. Le niveau et la dispersion des taux de marge sont relativement coherents avec l’idee a priori sur les caracteristiques des differentes structures de marche. En dernier lieu, il est examine comment les estimations du taux de marge affectent la mesure de la productivite totale des facteurs (PTF) .
Lead, Cadmium, and Arsenic in Raw Cow’s Milk in a Central Andean Area and Risks for the Peruvian Populations

Milk and its derivatives are basic foods in Peru, especially for children. The Junín region, in the central Andes, is one of the leading dairy basins. However, the safety of milk is affected by mining–metallurgical activities, wastewater dumping, organic residues, and inappropriate use of organophosphate fertilizers in agriculture whose contaminants reach the food chain, putting human health at risk. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the bioaccumulation of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) in milk produced on a representative farm in central Peru, which uses phosphorous agrochemicals and is adjacent to a small mineral concentrator and a municipal solid waste dump, and to evaluate the potential risk for the Peruvian population of 2–85 years considering three levels of daily intake by age, which constitutes the innovative contribution of the study. These three elements were quantified by flame atomic absorption spectrometry following standardized procedures. The mean contents of Pb (0.062 mg/kg), Cd (0.014 mg/kg), and As (0.030 mg/kg) in milk exceeded the maximum limits allowed by international standards. At all ages, the target quotient hazard followed a descending order of As > Pb > Cd, being > 1 in the case of As. The hazard index was >1 for children under 7, 9, and 11 years of age in the scenarios of low, medium, and high milk intake. The information is valid for formulating policies to prevent adverse health effects and develop standards and awareness programs, monitoring, and control of heavy metals in milk in Peru.
STORM RUNOFF PREDICTION BASED ON A SPATIALLY DISTRIBUTED TRAVEL TIME METHOD UTILIZING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS 1

ABSTRACT: In this study, remotely sensed data and geographic information system (GIS) tools were used to estimate storm runoff response for Simms Creek watershed in the Etonia basin in northeast Florida. Land cover information from digital orthophoto quarter quadrangles (DOQQ), and enhanced thematic mapper plus (ETM+) were analyzed for the years 1990, 1995, and 2000. The corresponding infiltration excess runoff response of the study area was estimated using the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service Curve Number (NRCS‐CN) method. A digital elevation model (DEM)/GIS technique was developed to predict stream response to runoff events based on the travel time from each grid cell to the watershed outlet. A comparison of predicted to observed stream response shows that the model predicts the total runoff volume with an efficiency of 0.98, the peak flow rate at an efficiency of 0.85, and the full direct runoff hydrograph with an average efficiency of 0.65. The DEM/GIS travel time model can be used to predict the runoff response of ungaged watersheds and is useful for predicting runoff hydrographs resulting from proposed large scale changes in the land use.
Climatic warming and accompanying changes in the ecological regime of the Black Sea during 1990s

The Black Sea ecosystem is shown to experience abrupt shifts in its all trophic levels from primary producers to apex predators in 1995–1996. It arises as a manifestation of concurrent changes in its physical climate introduced by intensive warming of its surface waters as well as abrupt increases in the mean sea level and the net annual mean fresh water flux. The warming is evident in the annual‐mean sea surface temperature (SST) data by a continuous rise at a rate of ∼0.25°C per year, following a strong cooling phase in 1991–1993. The most intense warming event with ∼2°C increase in the SST took place during winters of the 1994–1996 period. It also coincides with 4 cm yr−1 net sea level rise in the basin, and substantial change in the annual mean net fresh water flux from 150 km3 yr−1 in 1993 to 420 km3 yr−1 in 1997. The subsurface signature of warming is marked by a gradual depletion of the Cold Intermediate Layer (characterized by T < 8°C) throughout the basin during the same period. Winters of the warming phase are characterized by weaker vertical turbulent mixing and upwelling velocity, stronger stratification and, subsequently, reduced upward nutrient supply from the nutricline. From 1996 onward, the major late winter‐early spring peak of the classical annual phytoplankton biomass structure observed prior to mid‐90s was, therefore, either weakened or disappeared altogether depending on local meteorological and oceanographic conditions during each of these years. The effect of bottom‐up limited unfavorable phytoplankton growth is reflected at higher trophic levels (e.g., mesozooplankton, gelatinous macrozooplankton, and pelagic fishes) in the form of their reduced stocks after 1995.
Raw Life, New Hope: Decency, Housing and Everyday Life in a Post-apartheid Community

representation that, he argues, colonises space (ibid.; see also Mbembe 2000). Maps are common currency in modern life, and in that sense, if De Certeau is correct, then we are all made complicit with our own abstraction and colonisation. Edward Casey hints at this too, arguing that ‘disembodiment is a geographic ideal’ (1996: 49,
Spatial dependence of soil enzyme activities along a slope

This study measured the spatial dependence of soil enzyme activities and other properties of the Ap horizon in a Gray Brown Luvisol (Hapludalf). Soil samples were collected at 74 positions along a slope following harvest of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ] and fall tillage. Parameters measured were activity of dehydrogenase, urease, glutaminase, phosphatase, arylsulfatase, and β-glucosidase; water, organic carbon (OC), mineral N, and inorganic P contents; the light fraction of soil organic matter; and depth of the Ap horizon. Rank correlation indicated significant relationships between water and dehydrogenase, urease, glutaminase, phosphatase, and arylsulfatase activities, and between water and OC content. Depth of the Ap horizon, water content, and arylsulfatase activity were strongly spatially dependent; OC and inorganic P contents and phosphatase activity were moderately spatially dependent. Other properties showed little or no spatial dependence. The ranges of spatial dependence were similar for depth of the Ap horizon, inorganic P content, and phosphatase activity (20 m). The range for arylsulfatase activity was 16 m, while that of OC content was 32 m. The relatively long range estimate for water content (98 m) was influenced by a trend along the slope. Maps of water and OC contents and phosphatase and arylsulfatase activities indicated similar spatial patterns along the slope. The magnitude of these soil properties was minimal in the middle or upper portion of the slope, and maximal at the footslope. Similarity in spatial patterns along the slope was interpreted as evidence for influence of water or OC content on amounts of phosphatase and arylsulfatase at that scale.