Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Minimum Viable Mission Profile Emulator for IGBT Modules in Modular Multilevel Converters

Various methods have been presented to emulate the electrical behavior of Modular Multilevel Converters (MMCs). To meet the demands for reliability aspect study of MMCs, this paper proposes a minimum viable setup to emulate the thermal behavior and investigates its feasibility for reliability testing. The proposed mission profile emulator has three distinctive features: 1) capable of emulating and measuring the thermal stresses of power modules; 2) capable of implementing practical switching profiles as a full-scale MMC; and 3) with significantly reduced requirement for dc power supply compared to existing setups used for electrical aspect study. Theoretical discussions and experimental measurements are presented to demonstrate the capability of the mission profile emulator.
Reconciling thermal leptogenesis with the gravitino problem in SUSY models with mixed axion/axino dark matter

Successful implementation of thermal leptogenesis requires re-heat temperatures TR≳2 × 109 GeV, in apparent conflict with SUSY models with TeV-scale gravitinos, which require much lower TR in order to avoid Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) constraints. We show that mixed axion/axino dark matter can reconcile thermal leptogenesis with the gravitino problem in models with mG̃≳30 TeV, a rather high Peccei-Quinn breaking scale and an initial mis-alignment angle θi < 1. We calculate axion and axino dark matter production from four sources, and impose BBN constraints on long-lived gravitinos and neutralinos. Moreover, we discuss several SUSY models which naturally have gravitino masses of the order of tens of TeV. We find a reconciliation difficult in Yukawa-unified SUSY and in AMSB with a wino-like lightest neutralino. However, TR ∼ 1010−1012 GeV can easily be achieved in effective SUSY and in models based on mixed moduli-anomaly mediation. Consequences of this scenario include: 1. an LHC SUSY discovery should be consistent with SUSY models with a large gravitino mass, 2. an apparent neutralino relic abundance ΩZ̃1h2≲1, 3. no WIMP direct or indirect detection signals should be found, and 4. the axion mass should be less than ∼ 10−6 eV, somewhat below the conventional range which is explored by microwave cavity axion detection experiments.
Optimizing scalar multiplication for Koblitz curves using hybrid FPGAs

Elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) is a type of public-key cryptosystem which uses the additive group of points on a nonsingular elliptic curve as a cryptographic medium. Koblitz curves are special elliptic curves that have unique properties which allow scalar multiplication, the bottleneck operation in most ECC cryptosystems, to be performed very efficiently. Optimizing the scalar multiplication operation on Koblitz curves is an active area of research with many proposed algorithms for FPGA and software implementations. As of yet little to no research has been reported on using the capabilities of hybrid FPGAs, such as the Xilinx Virtex-4 FX series, which would allow for the design of a more flexible single-chip system that performs scalar multiplication and is not constrained by high communication costs between hardware and software. While the results obtained in this thesis were competitive with many other FPGA implementations, the most recent research efforts have produced significantly faster FPGA based systems. These systems were created by utilizing new and interesting approaches to improve the runtime of performing scalar multiplication on Koblitz curves and thus significantly outperformed the results obtained in this thesis. However, this thesis also functioned as a comparative study of the usage of different basis representations and proved that strict polynomial basis approaches can compete with strict normal basis implementations when performing scalar multiplication on Koblitz curves.
Robustly Coordinated Operation of a Multi-Energy Micro-Grid in Grid-Connected and Islanded Modes Under Uncertainties

A multi-energy micro-grid (MEMG) consists of combined cooling, heat and power generation units, thermal energy storage systems, diesel generators, and renewable energy generators and it can simultaneously supply electric and thermal loads. The MEMG can operate in grid-connected or islanded mode depending on practical needs. However, uncertainties existing in the renewable power generation and multi-energy loads pose significant challenges to the operation of the MEMGs in terms of economic profits and conformity with operating constraints. To address the uncertainties, this paper proposes a robustly coordinated operation approach which coordinates multiple devices in different timescales to minimize the operating costs. Both the operation modes and the practical operating constraints are considered. In addition, this paper develops a robust optimization method to guarantee optimal and reliable multi-energy supply under the uncertainties. The proposed approach is verified and compared with existing methods, and simulation results show that it can achieve high energy utilization efficiency and high operating robustness against the uncertainties.
TRENDS AND POSSIBLE CAUSES OF MENTAL ILLNESS: THE CASE OF PSYCHIATRY WARD IN JIMMA UNIVERSITY SPECIALIZED HOSPITAL, ETHIOPIA

The main objective of this study was to investigate the trends and factors of mental illness of psychiatric patients in the psychiatry Ward of Jimma University Specialized Hospital.Purposive sampling technique was used to select the participants of the study. Accordingly, 636 patients' cards were analyzed. Moreover, 55 psychiatric patients, 56 care givers and 13 psychiatric ward staff were involved in the study. The instruments designed to obtain the data were observation check list, document analysis form, and semi-structured interview guide. The collected data were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative techniques.The study was also ethically cleared by Institutional Ethical Review Board.The results of the study revealed that schizophrenia, major depression disorder, brief psychosis and anxiety disorder respectively were the frequent mental illnesses in the ward, by looking into the patients’ documents of 51/2 years. These disorders generally attacked the productive age group (20 to 30 years of age), the major reasons of which could be attributed to drug use (mostly ‘Khat’),stress caused by academic failure, joblessness, and lack of youth friendly recreation areas. In addition, the findingsshowed that the trends of the mental illnessesin the ward weregenerally increasing. The results also revealed that drug default, substance use, economic problem, family conflicts, loss of family members, poor social support, stigma and discrimination and repeated chronic illnesses were the major aggravating factors of mental illnesses in Jimma areas, in particular.The alarmingly increasing number of psychiatric patients, due to varies factors, needs serious attention. In addition to aggressively working on awareness creation, early identification and intervention of the disorder need to be targeted. Quality services should also be provided to patients who are visiting the ward.
Natural frequency and vibration analysis of jacket type foundation for offshore wind power

There are various types of foundation structure for offshore wind power, engineers may assess the condition of ocean at wind farm, and arrange the transportation, installation of each structure members, furthermore, considering the ability of manufacture steel structure as well, then make an optimum design. To design jacket offshore structure, unlike onshore cases, offshore structure also need to estimate the wave excitation effect. The aim of this paper is to study the difference of natural frequency between different kinds of structural stiffness and discuss the effect of different setting of boundary condition during analysis, besides, compare this value with the natural frequency of sea wave, in order to avoid the resonance effect. In this paper, the finite element analysis software ABAQUS is used to model and analyze the natural vibration behavior of the jacket structure.
Experimental Implementation of Automatic Control of Posture-Dependent Stimulation in an Implanted Standing Neuroprosthesis

Knowledge of the upper extremity (UE) effort exerted under real-world conditions is important for understanding how persons with motor or sensory disorders perform the postural shifts necessary to complete many activities of daily living while standing. To this end, a feedback controller, named the “Posture Follower Controller”, was developed to aid in task-dependent posture shifting by individuals with spinal cord injury standing with functional neuromuscular stimulation. In this experimental feasibility study, the controller modulated activation to the paralyzed lower extremity muscles as a function of the position of overall center of pressure (CoP), which was prescribed to move in a straight line in forward and diagonal directions. Posture-dependent control of stimulation enabled leaning movements that translated the CoP up to 48 mm away from the nominal position during quiet standing. The mean 95% prediction ellipse area, a measure of the CoP dispersion in the forward, forward-right, and forward-left directions, was 951.0 ± 341.1 mm2, 1095.9 ± 251.2 mm2, and 1364.5 ± 688.2 mm2, respectively. The average width of the prediction ellipses across the three directions was 15.1 mm, indicating that the CoP deviated from the prescribed path as task-dependent postures were assumed. The average maximal UE effort required to adjust posture across all leaning directions was 24.1% body weight, which is only slightly more than twice of what is required to maintain balance in an erect standing posture. These preliminary findings suggest that stimulation can be modulated to effectively assume user-specified, task-dependent leaning postures characterized by the CoP shifts that deviate away from the nominal position and which require moderate UE effort to execute.
Revisit of the interaction between holographic dark energy and dark matter

In this paper we investigate the possible direct, non-gravitational interaction between holographic dark energy (HDE) and dark matter. Firstly, we start with two simple models with the interaction terms Q∝ρdm and Q∝ρde, and then we move on to the general form Q∝ρmαρdeβ. The cosmological constraints of the models are obtained from the joint analysis of the present Union2.1+BAO+CMB+H0 data. We find that the data slightly favor an energy flow from dark matter to dark energy, although the original HDE model still lies in the 95.4% confidence level (CL) region. For all models we find c < 1 at the 95.4% CL. We show that compared with the cosmic expansion, the effect of interaction on the evolution of ρdm and ρde is smaller, and the relative increment (decrement) amount of the energy in the dark matter component is constrained to be less than 9% (15%) at the 95.4% CL. By introducing the interaction, we find that even when c < 1 the big rip still can be avoided due to the existence of a de Sitter solution at z→−1. We show that this solution can not be accomplished in the two simple models, while for the general model such a solution can be achieved with a large β, and the big rip may be avoided at the 95.4% CL.
Liberating the inflaton from primordial spectrum constraints

I discuss an inflationary scenario where the spectral index of the seeded primordial spectrum is not directly determined by the nature of the inflationary stage. In particular, if a scalar field acquires an appropriate time-dependent mass, it is possible to generate an adiabatic, Gaussian scale invariant spectrum of density perturbations during any stage of inflation. As an illustration, I present a simple model where the time-dependent mass arises from the coupling of the inflaton to a second scalar. The mechanism I propose might help to implement a successful inflationary scenario in particle physics theories that do not yield slow-roll potentials.
Novel Adaptive Search Method for Bearing Fault Frequency Using Stochastic Resonance Quantified by Amplitude-Domain Index

Rotating machinery devices are prone to failure due to severe working conditions, whose failures will further induce other mechanical faults. Therefore, the fault diagnosis of rotating machinery is important, especially in the case of unknown fault types and fault characteristics. A novel adaptive search method is proposed for the bearing fault frequency by using stochastic resonance (SR) with general scale transformation. The amplitude-domain indices, which are independent of the specific fault frequency of vibration signal, are applied to quantify SR response. Simulated bearing fault signal is used to illustrate the good performance of these indices in evaluating SR output. Then, an adaptive search procedure for bearing fault frequency is presented in detail and verified by different vibration signals collected from the multiple working conditions. The searching results demonstrate that the proposed adaptive search method is accurate, effective, and sensitive for detecting unknown failure frequencies of rolling bearings. The proposed method might have significant application value in the condition monitoring of rolling bearings.
BEM/FEM FORMULATIONS FOR THE ANALYSIS OF PILES SUBMITTED TO HORIZONTAL LOADS

In this work, a comparative study of numerical formulations for the analysis of soil-pile interaction is presented. These formulations consist of the coupling of the Boundary Element Method (BEM) with the Finite Element Method (FEM). The pile may be subjected to horizontal or moment loading applied to its top. The soil is supposed to be a semi-infinite, elastic, isotropic continuum and is modeled by BEM. The pile is either represented by a single finite element or as a number of usual beam finite elements and the pile-soil interface tractions are represented by constant, linear, quartic and high-degree polynomial functions. Examples of individual piles subjected to horizontal loading are analyzed with the formulations presented, and the displacements and the diagram of the bending moments along the pile are compared.
Low Power Consumption Signal Detector Based on Adaptive DFSD in MIMO-OFDM Systems

For a low complexity signal detector to reduce the power consumption for multiple input and multiple output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) systems, the depth-first sphere decoding (DFSD) detection scheme was proposed. However, the DFSD detection scheme still has high complexity in the hardware implementation. The complexity is especially high when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is low. Therefore, this paper proposes an adaptive DFSD detection scheme. The proposed detection scheme arrays nodes, sorting by ascending order of squared Euclidean distance (ED) at the top layer of tree structure. Then, the proposed detection scheme uses the different number of nodes according to thresholds based on channel condition. In the simulation results, the proposed detection scheme has similar error performance and low complexity compared with the conventional DFSD detection scheme. Therefore, the proposed detection scheme reduces the power consumption in the signal detector.
Bovine Hydatidosis in Eastern Part of Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted on bovine hydatidosis from November 2010 to March 2011 with the aims of investigating its occurrence, risk factors and economic losses in Dire Dawa municipality abattoir. The study revealed 20.05% occurrence of hydatidosis based on the postmortem examination of1536 cattle. Age related infection was significant as older animals were more infected (P<0.05, x2 = 27.496). Among the lungs, liver, heart, spleen and kidneys examined in each carcass, the cysts were distributed in the lungs and livers only. Out of 1852 cysts, 1340 (72.3%) were found in liver while512 (27.7%) in lungs. Five hundred and twenty (53.94%) of 964 hydatid cysts were small, while268 (27.80%) medium and 176 (18.25%) large. These cysts were further characterized as fertile (80.08.7%), sterile (17.3%) and calcified (2.85%) and 53.7% of fertile cysts were viable. Based on the study, the direct economic loss was estimated to be 23,876 Ethiopian Birrs. Presence of hydatid cysts in edible organs has great public health significance as consumption of undercooked/raw meat is still in practice in many parts of Ethiopia. Keywords : Abattoir, Bovine, Carcass, Cysts, Hydatidosis, Eastern Ethiopia.
Can a small change in the tilapia's on-going feeding strategy impair its growth?

The aim of the present work was to answer the following question: can a small change in the tilapia's on-going feeding strategy impair its growth? In the initial phase of the study, fish were evenly distributed and maintained for two weeks in four tanks. In tanks 1 and 2, the ration was given in three equal meals at 8, 12 and 16h or at 9, 13 and 17h, respectively. In tanks 3 and 4, there was only one daily meal at 9 or 10 o'clock, respectively. In the second 8-week phase, fish from tank 1 were distributed into two groups in ten 100-L tanks: the 8-12-16 group, in which fish were always fed at 8, 12 and 16h; and the 8-12-16/9-13-17 group, in which fish were fed at 8, 12 and 16h in the first four weeks and at 9, 13 and 17h in the last four weeks. Fish from tank 2 were allocated into five 100-L tanks and their mealtimes were maintained unchanged. The same procedures were used in tanks 3 and 4. The delay of one hour in the allowance of the artificial diet has significantly reduced fish survival.
A Critical Look at Mechanical Engineering Curriculum: Assessing the Need

Since the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act in 1862, the U.S. higher education system has been serving the industrial world, and engineering study is the epitome of this ideal: Serve those who will practice it in the immediate future. The mechanical engineering curricula have long been evolving to meet the demand of the changing economy, and it may soon be due for a major update. This paper aims to present an initial effort to explore the need for a systematic redesign, or reform, of the mechanical engineering curriculum at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where curricular changes during the past five decades have been largely isolated, incremental and piecemeal. This paper documents the method in, and results from, an evidence-based study of external data, from which a list of key skills future graduates should acquire is generated. The outcome of this study will inform and guide the next phase of the work, which examines the state of the current curriculum, teaching, and assessment within the department, as well as a comparison of curricula among peer and aspirational institutions.
Train Speed Trajectory Optimization With On-Board Energy Storage Device

Rail transportation is used extensively in urban areas to reduce CO2 emission and increase road capacity. As a result, the energy efficiency of rail transportation is becoming a popular research topic. Energy-efficient train operation involves four types of control: maximal traction, cruising, coasting, and maximal braking. With the rapid development of energy storage devices (ESDs), this paper aims to develop an integrated optimization model to obtain the speed trajectory with the constraint of on-board ESD properties such as capacity, initial state of energy (SOE), and the degradation of the on-board ESD. Mixed integer linear programming is implemented on the discretized distance-based model to find the solution. In addition to the optimal speed trajectory, the on-board ESD discharge/charge operation strategy will be obtained. Results show that with high on-board ESD capacity, a train tends to apply more braking to recover more energy by using ESD; high initial SOE leads to more traction operation but undermines the energy-recovering process; degradation of on-board ESD influences the train operation and net energy consumption by affecting discharge/charge frequency. Additionally, in the case with on-board ESD, more than 11.6% of net energy consumption can be reduced compared with the one without on-board ESD. This paper indicates that the proposed method is an effective and robust way to study how on-board ESD influences optimal train operation as well as to achieve optimal train speed trajectory with on-board ESD.
Monitoring the quality of pedagogy

This article discusses the needfor and use of instruments for examining the quality of pedagogy from the perspective of school leaders. It uses the instruments developed with the New South Wales Department of Education and Training to support the NSW model of pedagogy, known as the NSW Quality Teaching model (QT). The need for an explicit model of pedagogy is discussed and the strategic choices in model development are outlined, including reference to student outcomes, maximising the challenge to current practice, balancing maximum challenge and maximum realism. detailing the level and form of the data gathered (such as language employed and use of quantification), and the fit within already existing information. A brief overview of the model and instruments is followed by advice on both conducting a pedagogy audit and moving from an audit to improving pedagogy.
Channel and frequency offset estimation schemes for multicarrier systems

The present work focus on the problem of channel estimation and frequency offset estimation in OFDM systems, with different antenna configurations at both the transmitter and the receiver. This thesis presents the theoretical study of the impact of the pilot density in the performance of the channel estimation in OFDM systems and proposes several channel and frequency offset algorithms for OFDM systems with single antenna at both transmitter and receiver, with transmitter diversity and MIMO. The theoretical study results in the analytical formulation of the mean square error of a generic channel estimator for an OFDM system using dedicated pilots, distributed in the transmitted frame in two-dimensional patterns. The generic formulation is implemented for the two-dimensional LS-DFT estimator to verify the accuracy of the analytical formulation when compared with the values obtained by simulation of the discussed system. The investigated estimation algorithms take advantage of the presence of dedicated pilots present in the transmitted frames to accurately estimate the required parameters. Due to its low complexity, these algorithms are especially suited for implementation in mobile terminals with limited processing power and consumption. The performance of the proposed algorithms was evaluated by simulation of the used system, using accepted multipath mobile channel models. The comparison of its performance with the one of reference algorithms measures its validity.
Wavelet theory as -adic spectral analysis

We construct a new orthonormal basis of eigenfunctions of the Vladimirov -adic fractional differentiation operator. We construct a map of the -adic numbers onto the real numbers (the -adic change of variables), which transforms the Haar measure on the -adic numbers to the Lebesgue measure on the positive semi-axis. The -adic change of variables (for ) provides an equivalence between the basis of eigenfunctions of the Vladimirov operator and the wavelet basis in generated by the Haar wavelet. This means that wavelet theory can be regarded as -adic spectral analysis.