Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal spectral broadening in hollow-fiber compressor systems

Supercontinuum generation in gas-filled hollow fibers is investigated using numerical simulation of the nonlin- ear propagation of light pulses in hollow waveguides. The use of the cascading hollow-fiber configuration allows one to signifi- cantly enhance the achievable spectral broadening, particularly in the high energy regime. General design criteria for a single- and a double-fiber configuration are presented, which allow the generation of high-energy supercontinua. characteristics (i.e., gas type and pressure, fiber length and ra- dius), in order to maximize the spectral broadening of light pulses, with a given energy and duration. Spectral broadening induced by self-phase-modulation (SPM) in gas-filled hollow fibers can lead to the generation of high-energy supercon- tinua, covering more than two octaves, thus offering the pos- sibility to generate pulses with a transform-limited duration below 2f s. This requires the development of ultrabroadband dispersive delay lines. Moreover, compression of selected portions of the supercontinuum gives the possibility to gener- ate sub-ten-fs pulses, tunable from the ultraviolet to the near- infrared (16). Using numerical simulations of the nonlinear propagation of a light pulse in a gas-filled fiber, we have deter- mined the limits, in terms of spectral broadening, of a single and a double stage hollow-fiber compressor. We show that a simple analytical model, which describes the evolution of a Gaussian pulse in a Kerr medium, allows one to calculate the spectral broadening factor in very good agreement with the re- sults of the numerical simulations. The paper is organized as follows: in Sect. 2 we briefly discuss the nonlinear equation, which will be used in the numerical simulation of the propa- gation of light pulses in hollow fibers. A simple analytical model, which describes the spectral broadening of Gaussian pulses in a Kerr medium, will be mentioned. In Sect. 3, gen- eral design criteria for the optimization of spectral broadening will be discussed, in the case of a single and a double fiber configuration. Finally Sect. 4 contains the conclusions. 2 Non-linear propagation in gas-filled hollow fiber
A problem with the unilateral constraints in the theory of bending of foot prosthesis

The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of the contact area in the packet of plates under weak bending. The packet is fixed at one end, the lengths of the plates are different. This structure models the framework of foot prosthesis. The assumption that the contact of two adjacent plates takes place only at their ends is verified. This assumption was used in the earlier authors' studies. The plates which are flat in their natural state are considered. The contact area in the system of two plates under arbitrary loading is investigated in full. The load density in this area is found and the conditions for which the area becomes the point are formulated. For the system of arbitrary number of plates the conditions of point contact are formulated for the special case in which the load represents the concentrated force. It is found that the equal strength structure proposed in the earlier authors' study, satisfies these conditions.
Statistical Modeling to Investigate Anatomy and Function of the Knee

The natural knee is a hinge joint with significant functional requirements during activities of daily living; as a result, acute and chronic injuries can occur. Pathologies are influenced by joint anatomy and may include patellar maltracking, cartilage degeneration (e.g. osteoarthritis), or acute injuries such as meniscal or ligamentous tears. Population variability makes broadly applicable conclusions about etiology of these conditions from small-scale investigations challenging. The work presented in this dissertation is a demonstration of statistical modeling approaches to evaluate population variability in anatomy of the knee and function of its tibiofemoral (TF) and patellofemoral (PF) joints. Three-dimensional (3D) computational models of the bone and cartilage in the knee were characterized using a principal component analysis (PCA) algorithm to understand the primary sources of variability in shape and motion and make predictions from sparse
A Review of Techniques for Optimal Placement and Sizing of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Fossil fuel depletion and greenhouse gas emission from the burning of fossil fuels motivates policymakers to find an alternative road transport system. Electric vehicles (EVs) are considered as one of the best solutions in road transportation system as EVs can reduce the dependence on fossil fuel and diminish transportation-related emissions from carbon dioxide emission and other pollutants. The key issue in this system is recharging the EV batteries before they are exhausted. Thus, charging stations (CS) should be carefully located to ensure that EV users can access the stations within their driving range. This study represents a survey of the literature focused on the numerous optimization techniques employed from the last decade to determine the optimal EVCS placement and sizing problems. Streszczenie. Zasadniczym problemem w rozwoju pojazdów elektrycznych jest zapewnienie nich naładowania przed pełnym rozładowaniem. Dlatego równie ważnym zagadnieniem jest właściwe rozplanowanie lokalizacji stacji ładowania. W artykule analizowane są różne techniki optymalizacji lokalizacji jak i wielkości stacji. Przegląd technik optymalnej lokalizacji stacji ładowania pojazdów elektrycznych
Linking Total Precipitable Water to Precipitation Extremes Globally

The relationship between extreme precipitation (EP) and precipitable water (W) is useful to assess design extremes and speculate on their expected changes with rising global temperatures. This study investigates the relationship between daily and longer‐duration EP and corresponding W at a global scale by analyzing remote‐sensed and reanalysis data sets from 2003 to 2019. An assessment of the consistency in the temporal trend across various W data sets reveals a consistent statistically significant upward trend during the period. This upward trend, while predominant worldwide, is especially significant over tropical land regions. W is found to generally be positively correlated with surface (dew point) temperature, suggesting a rise in temperature will cause a greater W over time. To assess whether EPs occur coincident with extreme W, the Concurrent Extremes Index (CEI) is proposed, which compares the cumulative distribution functions between the two variables and assumes a value of unity if ranks of the EP series are identical to that of the coincident W series, and zero with no correspondence. For EP (defined as the five largest 1‐day events per year on average), a high CEI is pronounced across the tropics, except for rainforests. The W‐EP relationship is noticeably weakened in nontropics, except the inland regions of North America and East Asia. An assessment indicates that as the duration of the EP becomes longer, the influence of W on EP decreases. However, the contrast in the W‐EP relationship between the tropics and nontropics is found to become more pronounced as longer‐duration EPs are considered.
Parks and Quality of Life: Differences among African American and White Residents

The question of whether parks are equally available to African American and white residents is of growing concern among public officials, urban and regional planners, parks and recreation managers, and landscape architects. This paper examines the distribution of parks among African American and white residents in metropolitan Detroit and considers relationships between parks, their use by each group, and their overall quality of life. The study uses structural equation modeling to analyze household survey data and GIS data covering the location and amount of parkland. Findings show that, on average, African Americans lived closer to parks and had more parkland within one-half mile of home. However, African Americans were less likely to visit parks and more likely to rate them poorly. For both groups, local park ratings were positively associated with neighborhood satisfaction and higher quality of life.
Spatial Variations of Antarctic Intermediate Water in the Caribbean Sea Due To Vertical Mixing Along Its Path

Because of its pronounced fresh signature, the properties of the northward‐flowing Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) affect the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Hence, understanding modifications of AAIW along its path is important. Here, we analyze AAIW changes along its path in the Caribbean Sea and assess whether vertical fluxes from background turbulence and from double‐diffusive mixing in thermohaline staircases can explain these variations. We deduce the occurrence rate of staircases (7%) and estimate the flux ratio (γ=αFTβFS=0.8) $(\gamma =\frac{\alpha {F}_{T}}{\beta {F}_{S}}=0.8)$ from Argo float profiles. In combination with vertical fluxes from background turbulence, these values are used in a steady‐state advection‐diffusion model to estimate the effective diffusivity of salt that arises from double diffusion (KSdd=O(10−5m2s−1)) $({K}_{S}^{dd}=\mathcal{O}(1{0}^{-5}\hspace*{.5em}{\mathrm{m}}^{2}\hspace*{.5em}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}))$ . This value for KSdd ${K}_{S}^{dd}$ is similar to observed values (Schmitt, 2005, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1108678), implying the observed modification of AAIW in the Caribbean Sea may be attributable primarily to vertical mixing in the region itself.
Characterization of the static behavior of electrically actuated micro-plates using extended Kantorovich method

This paper presents a new approach based on Extended Kantorovich Method to simulate the static response of micro-plates to electrostatic actuation. The presented model accounts for the electric force nonlinearity of the excitation as well as the applied in-plane loads. Using a one term Galerkin approximation and following the extended Kantorovich procedure, the nonlinear partial differential equation governing the micro-plate deflection reduces to two un-coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations with constant coefficients which can be solved iteratively with rapid convergence to yield the desired solution. A parametric study has also been performed to characterize the effect of various design parameters such as applied in-plane loads and micro-plate aspect ratio to pull-in limits of micro-plates. Results in some specific cases have been validated, comparing them with other theoretical and experimental findings reported in the literature as well as the results of the finite element simulation of the problem. It is shown that rapid convergence, high precision and independency of initial guess function make extended Kantorovich method an effective and accurate design tool for design optimization of micro-plates under electrostatic actuation.
Investigation on the Film Cooling Performance of Diffuser Shaped Holes with Different Inclination Angles

Abstract Film cooling performances of laidback hole and laidback fan-shaped hole have been investigated using transient liquid crystal measurement technique. For film cooling of laidback hole, the increase of inclination angle reduces the film cooling effectiveness under small blowing ratio, while produces better film coverage and higher film cooling effectiveness under larger blowing ratios. Heat transfer coefficient is higher in the upstream region of laidback hole film cooling with large inclination angle, while laidback hole with small inclination angle has relatively higher heat transfer coefficient in the downstream region. The increase of inclination angle reduces the film cooling effectiveness and heat transfer coefficient of laidback fan-shaped hole film cooling, especially in the upstream region. Increase of inclination angle is beneficial to the thermal protection of laidback hole film cooling under large blowing ratio. Film hole with large inclination angle has larger discharge coefficient due to smaller aerodynamic loss in the hole.
Reproductive Improvisation and the Virtues of Sameness: The Art of Reestablishing New York City's Emergency Operations Center

Based on an inductive analysis of qualitative in-depth interviews, extensive field observation, and document material, we introduce the concept of reproductive improvisation, an improvisation form that emphasizes reproducing something valued that is lost. We address how an organization might choose sameness in turbulent and ambiguous environments, and how it achieves that goal. Using the reestablishment of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) following its destruction during the September 1l, 2001 World Trade Center disaster in New York City, we discuss how factors such as system stability, pressures to maintain the status quo, substitution accessibility, and retaining a preexisting mental map that develops into a shared vision all facilitate reproductive improvisation. This research differs from most other work on improvisation (e.g., Weick, 1998) that focuses on improvising to generate something new. Here we focus on improvising to generate something that is, as much as possible, the same as a previous model. We therefore add a new perspective on the usual thinking of improvisation and organizations responding to changing environments.
Blackberry control is more than science: understanding community engagement in pest management

The methods for controlling blackberry are well established, however, blackberry continues to be a significant issue for many land managers. This highlights that there are a variety of socio-economic factors inhibiting on ground change. Communityled approaches have a proven record (see for example Hickey and Mohan 2004, Saul 1997) in providing a holistic approach to natural resource management. The Victorian Blackberry Taskforce (VBT), a multi-agency taskforce, is charged with providing direction to the community and government for blackberry control. A significant role is facilitating and supporting community-led projects. Based on the VBT experiences, this paper outlines some lessons and principles for meaningful engagement with communities for effective pest management. The North East Blackberry Action Group and Far East Community Blackberry Action Group formed in 2005 and 2008 respectively, have been used as case studies to begin to explore the complexities around a community-led response for managing blackberry.
BRANCH COVERAGE BASED TEST CASE PRIORITIZATION

Software testing is aimed to detect existing faults in a software. The nature of software shows that modification is unavoided. Testing of a modified software is a must to ensure that the software is still free of failures. This process is named as regression testing. Regression testing can be very expensive if all test cases have to be re-tested. To reduce the cost, it is important to prioritize the test case execution to enhance the capability of detecting failures. Test case prioritization is intended to schedule and order the execution of test case based on the certain criteria. In this research, four test case prioritization methods studied emperically are additional branch coverage prioritization, Manhattan distancebased ART (Adaptive Random Testing), additional branch coverage-based with ART, and ART with additional branch coverage-based. Random Testing, as the basic test selection method, is used as a benchmark of the performance of all studied methods. The conducted experiments using two programs as under test program are Replace and Space programs. The experiment results show that all studied methods improve the effectiveness of RT significantly for large program. The used effectiveness measurement is F-measure, the number of test cases executed to detect the first failure. The additional branch coverage-based with ART comes as the best method in terms of F-measure. This method combines the advantage of the additional branch coverage method and the ART. It also reduces the complexity of the additional branch coverage.
KNOWLEDGE INTEGRATION AND INNOVATION IN AN INTERNATIONALIZING ECONOMY

1. PROLOGUE “What makes Micronic fly”? Micronic Laser System is no household name in Sweden; few people have seen its products, even fewer understand its technology. Yet Micronic, located in Taby outside Stockholm, is the type of company both politicians and pundits should love as a symbol of the future of Sweden in the global economy: a rapidly growing, mid-sized, R&D-based firm, employing people with different types of skills, from Ph Ds in optical acoustics to skilled prototype builders. Trebling its sales in the period 2002-2005 from SEK 400M to SEK 1,300M, Micronic is a world leader in laser pattern generators, which is a key technology for producing the photomasks used in the manufacture of large flat displays (TFT or LCD screens). Micronic enjoys a near-monopoly in this niche market, which is booming as the display market grows. Recently Micronic also introduced the new SLM-(spatial light modulation) technology for the much bigger semiconductor market. A key element in the new Sigma-machine is a 2x4 cm chip with one million individually controlled micro-mirrors that change direction at the frequency of 2000 Hertz (No cheap thrills - the list price starts at 10 million US dollars per machine). With 200 people involved at its peak, this was the largest development project in the 20-year history of the company, involving both cutting-edge internal research and difficult development partnerships with distant suppliers in Germany and the U.S.
Investigations on the parameters limiting the performance of CdS/SnS solar cell

Debutant analysis of the parameters impeding the efficiency of the CdS/SnS‐based photovoltaic device is the chief novelty of the present report. We have developed thin‐film heterojunction solar cells with the stacking sequence: glass/Al‐doped ZnO/CdS/SnS/In. The two crucial issues, band offsets and cell studies, are discussed in detail. The band offsets at the CdS/SnS interface have been systematically evaluated by semidirect X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The calculated valance band offset (ΔEv) and conduction band offsets (ΔEc) are found to be 1.46 and −0.36 eV, respectively. The negative value of conduction band offset indicates that the junction formed is of type‐II (staggered‐type heterojunction). Electrical studies revealed power conversion efficiency of 0.32% with VOC, JSC, and fill factor as 170.61 mV, 7.26 mA/cm2, and 0.26, respectively. The impact of the offset values on the cell studies is clearly elucidated. The reasons for the low efficiency are spotlighted. Collectively, this article gives the overview of the systematic approach undertaken to get obvious picture about the barriers that limit the conversion efficiency of the CdS/SnS‐based solar cell and the measurements required for enhancing the efficiency of the SnS‐based solar device.
From Bat Pinnae to Sonar Antennae: Augmented Obliquely Truncated Horns as a Novel Parametric Shape Model

Biosonar systems operating in air (bats) use intricate baffle shapes for shaping the sonar beam pattern. Because of its relative ease of implementation, beamforming with such baffle shapes is also an attractive solution for enhancing the sonar-sensing capabilities of animats. The work presented here introduces a novel family of parametric, biologically inspired, baffle-shapes for sonar sensors: augmented obliquely truncated horns. The structural features of these shapes are: an obliquely truncated horn, a washboard ripple pattern on its inner surface, and a pin-shaped flap (“tragus”) partially occluding the aperture through which sound enters the baffle. Shapes generated by this model can be completely controlled with 22 parameters. Numerical methods to generate representations of these shapes, evaluate their acoustic properties, and visualize the results are described. The investigated acoustical system properties are: directivity pattern, shape of iso-gain surfaces in three dimensions and gain contours on planar cuts through the spatial distribution of the gain. The last property (cuts) serves as a representation of the shape of a sonar spotlight shone onto an extended target of relatively low curvature. The results demonstrate that ripple and tragus have a profound impact on the functional properties of the baffle shapes. The most prominent effects include breaking of symmetry and generation of side lobes in different frequency bands. The two features have been shown offer the opportunity to shape the spatial distribution of receiver gain into a large number of profoundly different configurations. Evidence of interactions between the features indicates that a combination of both features may generate system properties inaccessible through any one feature alone. The tool-chain of numerical methods used in the present work establishes a foundation for f uture investigations of performance measures to be used in optimizing the baffle shapes for a particular task.
Kramers–Kronig coherent receiver

The interest for short-reach links of the kind needed for inter-data-center communications has fueled in recent years the search for transmission schemes that are simultaneously highly performing and cost effective. In this work we propose a direct-detection coherent receiver that combines the advantages of coherent transmission and the cost-effectiveness of direct detection. The working principle of the proposed receiver is based on the famous Kramers–Kronig (KK) relations, and its implementation requires transmitting a continuous-wave signal at one edge of the information-carrying signal spectrum. The KK receiver scheme allows digital postcompensation of linear propagation impairments and, as compared to other existing solutions, is more efficient in terms of spectral occupancy and energy consumption.
Nonlinear motions at the internal tide source

Oceanic internal tidal wave generation is commonly modeled via interaction of a sinusoidal barotropic vertical velocity W with topography. However, general w above slopes are predominantly nonlinear, as appears in some nonhydrostatic models. Here, 1–2 Hz sampled observations are presented from 2–84 m above the bottom (mab) at ∼1400 m at the Bay of Biscay continental slope. Fronts are observed that all propagate upslope having heights >50 mab and more or less, ±5%, occurring at the tidal periodicity. They are accompanied by O(10 min) pulses of w≈0.10 m s−1 ≫W and irregular small‐scale waves superimposed on an asymmetric tidal signal. This nonlinearity is further exemplified by variations in frontal arrival and steepness, height, form, and is causing: i) internal tidal intermittency of ∼10 tidal periods, ii) nonlinear generation of internal tidal higher harmonics at the source. The observations suggest internal tide generation in a broadband instead of a monochromatic beam.
Essays on Environmental Conditions and Growth of Academic Spin-Offs

This dissertation explores different perspectives on the growth trajectory of companies spun off from publicly funded research. It is composed of four papers, of which the first one provides an overview of the environment for spin-offs in Canada, and the three remaining papers present quantitative studies. Environmental factors are considered in the quantitative studies in two ways: Through explicit operationalization and through a two-country design of the empirical research – using the examples of Germany and Canada. The three empirical papers document how both of these environmental influences are significant. Where analysed, significant differences are found between Germany and Canada, in particular in the higher-order interaction terms, indicate that different combinations of factors lead to company sales growth in the two national contexts observed.