Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SPECTRUM SENSING TECHNIQUES IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

Recent studies have confirmed that the currently employed spectrum management schemes have brought major inefficiencies in the usage of the frequency spectrum. As a result, dynamic spectrum access (DSA) technologies have been proposed to enable intelligent reuse of the frequency spectrum by secondary users (SUs). However, the SUs should be capable of sensing the surrounding wireless scene, in order to avoid harmful interference to the primary users (PUs) of the network. Several challenges that are generally encountered when conducting spectrum sensing have been identified. Thus, the main focus of this thesis is to address the highlighted coexistence and spectrum sensing challenges, while trying to overcome the shortcomings inherent within the selected sensing technique.The contributions of this study are explained as follows. The energy detector (ED) was examined under co-channel interference (CCI). The obtained mathematical models are derived using a moment generating function (MGF) approach. This approach provides several advantages over direct approaches, one of which is that it greatly simplifies averaging-out the random variables involved. Furthermore, the problem of detecting spread spectrum users was tackled. This issue was investigated by examining the efficiency of EDs to exploit opportunities resulting from the use of slow frequency hopping by the PUs. In addition, in order to curb the hidden node problem and due to the fact that coexistence etiquettes are not perfect against interference, the efficiency of EDs was further investigated under two simple multiple access protocols that do not require any centralised control. Furthermore, three other detector types were investigated. Firstly, the power law detector, which is a generalisation of the ED, for which no known exact PDFs exist for the statistics of its decision variable. Hence, approximations are generally relied upon. Here, novel precise approximations for the PDF and CDF of the PLD's decision variable were presented. Secondly, the performance of Kay's detector for unknown deterministic signals was analysed under AWGN, Rayleigh and Nakagami fading channels by deriving the relevant closed-form analytical expressions. Finally, the robustness of a matched filter detector in the presence of CCI was investigated. For all the detectors, accurate mathematical transformations were derived and their performance compared against the ED.
Advanced Platelet-Rich Fibrin as a Therapeutic Option in the Treatment of Dry Socket: Literature Review and Case Series

Alveolar osteitis (AO) is one of the complications that occur after tooth extraction. The aim of this study has been to evaluate the efficacy of Advanced Platelet-rich Fibrin (A-PRF) in the management of pain and the acceleration of wound healing in the treatment of AO. Consecutive patients who were diagnosed with AO, recruited from patients referred to the Oral Surgery Department of the University of Naples Federico II, were enrolled. After local anesthesia, the dry socket was curetted and irrigated with saline. The Platelet-rich Fibrin (PRF) clot was placed in the socket and then covered with an A-PRF membrane. Clinical parameters, such as the degree of pain and rate of granulation tissue (GT) formation, were measured before treatment and after 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days. The Friedman test for dependent samples was used to detect the treatment and time effect. Four patients with established AO were included. On all the examination days, the post-operative recovery was uneventful. The pain scores progressively reduced, from an average of 8.5 before treatment to 0.25 on the third day, and the GT formation improved over time. The use of A-PRF in the treatment of AO significantly reduced the pain level and enhanced the wound-healing process.
A MICROCOMPUTER BASED PROCEDURE FOR BACKCALCULATING LAYER MODULI FROM FWD DATA. INTERIM REPORT

The purpose of this report is to describe a backcalculation procedure (MODULUS) developed to interpret Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) data and to illustrate how this procedure was built into a pavement analysis system for the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation. MODULUS is microcomputer based and can be used on 2-, 3-, or 4-layer pavement systems. It used a linear-elastic program to generate a database of deflection bowls; in a four-layer system, a minimum of 27 runs (3 x 3 x 3 moduli values for surface, base, and subgrade) would be performed. The size of the database depends on the user-supplied range of acceptable modulus values for each layer. Once the database is generated, a pattern search routine is used to fit measured and calculated bowls; error minimization is very rapid, less than 5 seconds per bowl on a 386-type microcomputer.
Test Methods for Characterizing Aggregate Shape, Texture, and Angularity

This report presents a methodology for classifying aggregates based on the distribution of shape, texture, and angularity characteristics and recommends a test method for measuring these characteristics to help improve specifications for aggregates used in highway pavements. The test method measures shape, texture, and angularity characteristics of aggregates used in hot-mix asphalt, hydraulic cement concrete, and unbound base and subbase layers of highway pavements, and it is appropriate for use in central and field laboratories. This report will be of particular interest to materials engineers, researchers, and others concerned with the design and construction of flexible and rigid pavements.
A framework relating producibility problems to the use of manufacturing information in design

A Framework Relating Producibility Problems to the use of Manufacturing Information in Design by Michael John Gregory This thesis presents the development of a framework for relating the reasons for problems of producibility that occur in manufacturing to the sources of information available to designers. Advice and guidance on Design for Manufacture was obtained from textbooks, journal articles and conference papers that sought to improve the process or report on design-related difficulties in manufacturing. Industrial experience was gained from a two-year project in defence aerospace, researching concurrent engineering in the extended enterprise. Examples of good practice across a range of industries were gained from interviews with practitioners, with advice both from customers engaged in design and from manufacturing suppliers. Further industrial experience was provided by two studies of civil aerospace, covering in-house and outsourced manufacture. Potential problems were classified and then related to the sources of knowledge available to prevent these problems reaching the shop floor. The detailed analysis of findings is presented and provides a structured approach that could assist in planning concurrent engineering processes, especially communications and teamworking. This would enable potential producibility problems to be addressed in a comprehensive manner so as to minimise the costs, effort and delay associated with them. It would also encourage opportunities for improvement to be promoted at the earliest stage in product development, where they are the most effective.
A simulation tool for the analysis and design of leaky wave antennas in laterally shielded planar technology with application to metamaterials

Leaky-waves have been a topic of increasing interest in the last years, with diverse practical applications in many different engineering fields. From periodic, FSS, EBG or even metamaterial leaky-wave based antennas to waveguide filters and higher efficiency energy guiding, they all share a common base structure: a travelling-wave propagating within a metal encapsulation, that can be open or closed, and altered by a planar metallization of periodic nature, from which the energy may radiate. Due to the fact that these antennas are usually electrically large and the periodic printed circuit requires a certain grade of complexity, 3D commercial software is prohibitively time consuming. Also, the homebrew methods developed up to this day are either not rigorous and accurate enough or unable to deal with complex periodic geometries. At this point, the evolution of leaky-wave antennas needs a solid, efficient and versatile tool where to base the future design research on. In this work a novel simulation tool for waveguide embedded leaky-wave antennas is presented. It is based on a full-wave Method of Moments applied to the spectral domain Green Functions for a rigorous modal analysis of the finite structure. The use of Subdomain basis functions allows the software to model complex periodic geometries, overcoming a main limitation, and the analytical nature of the method combined with its 2.5D approach, results in a significant computing time reduction. It is built on a modular coding philosophy and provided with a user-friendly graphical interface, and an intuitive working procedure, making the program not only fast and accurate, but also easy to use and extend to new geometries. Finally, it is remarkable the educational potential of this new analysis software, since it identifies higher order effects as bandgaps and multi-harmonic radiation from a complete and simple modal approach.
Connection Between Foreshock Structures and the Generation of Magnetosheath Jets: Vlasiator Results

Earth’s magnetosheath consists of shocked solar wind plasma that has been compressed and slowed down at the Earth’s bow shock. Magnetosheath jets are pulses of enhanced dynamic pressure in the magnetosheath. Jets have been observed by numerous spacecraft missions, but their origin has remained unconfirmed, though several formation mechanisms have been suggested. In this study, we use a method for automatically identifying and tracking jets as well as foreshock compressive structures (FCSs) in four 2D runs of the global hybrid‐Vlasov simulation Vlasiator. We find that up to 75% of magnetosheath jets are caused by FCSs impacting the bow shock. These jets propagate deeper into the magnetosheath than the remaining 25% of jets that are not caused by FCSs. We conduct a visual case study of one jet that was not caused by FCSs and find that the bow shock was not rippled before the formation of the jet.
Numerical-Experimental Analysis of Plastic Flow Beginning Phase Round the Hole in the Thin Shield Under Tension

The method of recognition of plastic strains with the use of optical interference was characterized in the work. The idea of the method was shown on the example test for 15HM steel tension. The results of experimental testing of plastic strains initiation in the thin shield with opening of O20 diameter under tension, especially considering round the hole zone were presented in further part of the work. The experiment was carried out with the use of method mentioned above. In the experiment the stresses initializing plastic deformations and the shape of plastic zone were determined. The stress state analysis in the hole zone in the specimen under tension was realized with the use of finite element method. The calculations were done for two significantly different hole diameters. The results of FEM calculations allow for certification that for the holes of diameters significantly bigger than the shield thickness round the hole plane stress state occurs.
The inter-individual variability in human muscle strength and in the response to resistance training

Inter-individual differences in strength are not fully explained by muscle size, suggesting that muscle specific tension [force per unit physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA)] varies between untrained individuals. Furthermore, many reports demonstrate greater gains in muscle strength than size following resistance training, thus indicating an increase in specific tension. Moreover, there is considerable variation in the response to training that may have a genetic origin. The aims of the work described in this thesis were i) to examine the degree of variability in muscle specific tension; ii) to investigate whether specific tension changed following resistance training; iii) to quantify the variability in the response of human muscle to resistance training; iv) to identify gene variants that may be associated with the variable training responses. In a group of untrained young men and before and after 9 weeks of resistance training, the quadriceps femoris (QF) muscle specific tension was calculated from the maximum isometric voluntary contraction (MVC) torque, taking into account the contribution of voluntary activation, antagonist muscle co-activation, moment arm length, QF volume, muscle fascicle length and pennation angle. Correcting for these factors made little difference to the between subjects variance of MVC torque, thus demonstrating that muscle specific tension varies considerably between individuals. Resistance training increased QF muscle force much more than PCSA, indicating that most of the increase in force was a result of increased specific tension. This increase was not associated with a change in myosin heavy chain expression and was not accompanied by an increase in single fibre specific tension, or an increase in power per unit muscle volume measured during isokinetic cycling. The results are consistent with an increase in lateral force transmission in the muscle. Substantial variation in the training responses was observed and the final part of this thesis is concerned with linking this variation with specific gene variants.
Rousseau

O presente artigo busca examinar o conteúdo do principio da igualdade à luz do pensamento do contratualista suíço Jean Jacques Rousseau em suas obras políticas. A análise parte da obra O discurso da Origem da Desigualdade entre os Homens e se finda com a analise de alguns conceitos de O Contrato Social.
Effects of Moringa oleifera Leaf Powder as Feed Additives on Growth Performance and Blood Parameters of Broiler

are Abstract | The current experiment was designed to investigate the impact of Moringa Leaf Powder as feed additives on growth performance and blood parameters of broilers. For this purpose, total of 240 DOC (Cobb-500) were purchased from the local market. On day of arrival at the farm, chicks were weighed and were divided equally into 4 experimental groups group A, group B, group C and group D having 3 replicas each containing 20 chicks in each replica. Standard feeding and managemental conditions were given to the chicks throughout the experimental period. Group A was considered as control group (no treatment). Group B, C and D were supplemented the Moringa leaf powder with the percentage of 0.5%, 0.1% and 0.15%, respectively. From the obtained results, it was found that the broilers in the group D were had higher weight gain and FCR (p<0.05) as compared to group A, B and C. Furthermore, the H:L of group D was also lowest (p<0.05) (minimum oxidative stress) as compared to group A, B and C. Hence it was concluded that Moringa leaf powder supplemented with the dose of 0.15% had best effect on productive performance and hematology of the broilers. On the basis of results of current study it was concluded that MOLP supplementation in feed had best effects on the productive performance of the broilers. It was also concluded that MOLP had no effect on the mortality of the broilers.
RESTORATION OF NATIVE PLANT COMMUNITIES AFTER ROAD DECOMMISSIONING: EFFECT OF SEED MIX AND SOIL PROPERTIES ON VEGETATIVE ESTABLISHMENT

Ashley S. Grant Thesis page ii Grant, Ashley, M.S., Spring 2009 Forestry Restoration of Native Plant Communities after Road Decommissioning in the Rocky Mountains: Effect of Seed Mix Composition and Soil Properties on Vegetative Establishment Chairperson: Cara Nelson Co-chairpersons: Cory Cleveland, John Maron, and James Mital Abstract Road decommissioning is increasingly recognized as a critical first step in the restoration of terrestrial and aquatic habitats. In the past two years alone, the United States Congress has appropriated $90 million for road removal and watershed restoration. Despite this relatively large public investment, little is known about the efficacy or ecological effects of road-removal practices. One particularly important issue is the impact of post-roadremoval revegetation strategies. This study evaluated 1) short-term effects of road decommissioning on plant community composition, 2) effects of seed-mix seed origin (native vs. nonnative), species diversity, and seeding density on vegetative establishment, and 3) impact of overstory canopy and coarse woody debris on revegetation success on recently decommissioned roads. Total vegetative cover declined by 60% one-year after decommissioning, with nonnative plants showing the greatest declines (ca. 90%). Although managers often justify the use of nonnative seed mixes by the need for rapid establishment of plants on disturbed sites, we did not find significant differences in percent cover of total vegetation between plots seeded with native versus nonnative species, one year after treatment. Furthermore, cover of native species was significantly higher on plots seeded with natives compared to other treatment plots (12.3% vs. 7.8%, respectively). On treatments seeded with nonnative species, 18% of total vegetative cover was due to cover of seeded species; in comparison, seeded species accounted for 43% of total vegetative cover on native treatments. These findings suggest that native seed mixes actually may outperform nonnative ones in terms of vegetative establishment after disturbance associated with road removal.
Adaptive Traffic Signal Control Using Wireless Communications

This paper presents a novel method for adaptive traffic signal control. The method uses real-time data from wireless communication (dedicated short-range communication, DSRC) to estimate travel time for individual vehicles, with the objective in minimizing travel time throughout the controlled network. Approaching vehicles receive speed adjustment messages from the controller which enables them to avoid unnecessary stops, thus improving fuel economy and reducing emission. The control algorithm is based on approximate dynamic programming, and the signal control process is aperiodic. Microscopic traffic simulation is used to evaluate the performance of the proposed method against benchmark methods. The results show that enhanced awareness of traffic state using wireless data substantially improves performance of a simple junction and only hints at what may be possible in traffic management.
COMMUNICATION AND OPERATIONAL FAILURES IN THE COCKPIT

This paper looks at the relationship between communication and operational failures during a formal proficiency test in a full flight (Boeing 737) simulator. Cockpit communications of 13 crews sampled from a Norwegian Airline Company were recorded in situations with high workload and stress. Results indicated that the best predictor of performance was informal orientations. When tasks became more demanding, anxiety and stress led to inefficient communication and rigidity in problem solving. Under these conditions, the crews building a shared mental model were most successful in reducing operational risk. The communication method used during the normal operation of the aircraft, mainly passing on information related to the task, did not work under high psychological stress.
Invariants of upper motives

Let H be a homology theory for algebraic varieties over a field k. To a complete k-variety X, one naturally attaches an ideal HX(k) of the coefficient ring H(k). We show that, when X is regular, this ideal depends only on the upper Chow motive of X. This gener- alises the classical results asserting that this ideal is a birational invari- ant of smooth varieties for particular choices of H, such as the Chow group. When H is the Grothendieck group of coherent sheaves, we obtain a lower bound on the canonical dimension of varieties. When H is the algebraic cobordism, we give a new proof of a theorem of Levine and Morel. Finally we discuss some splitting properties of ge- ometrically unirational field extensions of small transcendence degree.
Fabrication, electrical characterization, and annealing of Al/, Cu/, and Au/4H-SiC Schottky diodes

Schottky diodes were fabricated on n-type 4H-SiC with Nickel ohmic contacts and Aluminum, Copper, and Gold Schottky contacts. An improved and revised fabrication process was developed in the course of this research project. The Schottky diodes were electrically characterized using I-V and C-V measurements to extract electrical parameters which include Schottky barrier height, ideality factor, the diode series resistance, and substrate doping density. Al/4H-SiC and Au/4H-SiC were annealed at 600oC and 500oC respectively to improve the Schottky parameters. Schottky barrier height was raised and the ideality factor was reduced in both cases. Significant improvement was observed in the ideality factor of Al/4H-SiC diodes. XPS was performed on Al/4H-SiC samples to investigate the effects of annealing at the Aluminum-SiC interface. Analysis of the XPS results showed traces of AluminumSilicon bonding at the interface. The change in the Schottky parameters is attributed to this phenomenon. The electrical characterization of Au/4H-SiC showed that the devices had a very low ideality factor of 1.1 and represented some of the best results obtained in our research lab. The thesis establishes the effect of annealing on Schottky diodes and presents some of the very few surface analysis results performed on Al/4H-SiC.
The short-term effectiveness of precise safety decompression via double percutaneous lumbar foraminoplasty and percutaneous endoscopic lumbar decompression for lumbar lateral spinal canal (LLSC) stenosis

Purpose: This prospective study reports on a new technique, namely precise safety decompression via double percutaneous lumbar foraminoplasty (DPLF) and percutaneous endoscopic lumbar decompression (PELD) for lateral lumbar spinal canal (LLSC) stenosis, and its short-term clinical outcomes.Methods: The study analyzed 69 patients with single-level LLSC stenosis simultaneously occurring in both zones 1 and 2 (defined as retrodiscal space and upper bony lateral recess respectively by new LLSC classification) who underwent DPLF–PELD from November 2018 to April 2019. Clinical outcomes were evaluated according to preoperative, three months postoperatively, and last follow-up, via leg pain/low back pain (LBP) visual analog scale (VAS) scores, Oswestry disability index (ODI) scores, and the Macnab criteria. The postoperative MRI and CT were used to confirm the complete decompression, and flexion-extension x-rays at the last follow-up were used to observe lumbar stability.Results: All patients successfully underwent DPLF–PELD, and the stenosis was completely decompressed, confirmed by postoperative MRI and CT. The mean follow-up duration was 13 months (range: 8–17 months). The mean preoperative leg pain VAS score is 7.05 ± 1.04 (range 5–9), which decreased to 1.03 ± 0.79(range: 0–3) at three months postoperatively and to 0.75 ± 0.63 (range: 0–2) by the last follow-up visit(p < 0.05). The mean preoperative ODI was 69.8 ± 9.05 (range: 52–85), which decreased to 20.3 ± 5.52 (range: 10–35) at the third month postoperatively and to 19.6 ± 5.21 (range: 10–34) by the final follow-up visit(p < 0.05). The satisfactory (excellent or good) results were 94.2%. There was one patient with aggravated symptoms, which were relieved after an open surgery. Two patients had a dural tear, and two patients suffered postoperative LBP. No recurrence or segmental instability was observed at the final follow-up.Conclusion: DPLF–PELD could be a good alternative for the treatment of LLSC stenosis patients whose stenosis occurred in both zones 1 and 2.