Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The determination of the noise, gain and scattering parameters of microwave transistors (HEMT's) using only automatic noise figure test-set

A method for the complete characterization of microwave transistors in terms of noise, gain and scattering parameters using only a computer-controlled noise figure measuring set-up is presented. The selection of the optimum measuring conditions, all steps of the experimental procedure, the data collection and the processing needed to derive all the parameters are completely controlled by original (unpublished) software and do not require the presence of an (unskilled) operator. This is novel with respect to other approaches to the same problem. Experimental results regarding the characterization of 32 samples of HEMT's from four manufacturers in the 8-12 GHz frequency range are reported. >
A 3D mathematical evaluation of the emission into the air of reactive BTEX compounds: A new approach for mechanism reduction

BTEX species are abundant volatile organic compounds that are classified as main pollutants by several environmental protection agencies. In this study, a new 3D air pollution dispersion model with the capability of taking into account the BTEX's reactions was developed and evaluated. The Toxchem model is employed to estimate the amount of emitted BTEX from several area sources, followed by simulating the transport of the reactive species through a 3D model. Also, reduced mechanisms were developed, based on Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM), for the simulation of the atmospheric chemistry of BTEX. The application of the mechanism reduction method yielded a mechanism of 43 species and 45 reactions. Based on findings, the deviation of the reduced mechanism from the whole mechanism was < 4% throughout the simulation. In addition, the result showed that, during a 12 h period of simulation, the effect of the atmospheric chemical reaction on reducing the final concentration of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m-xylene, o-xylene, and p-xylene was about 0.3, 1, 1.4, 5, 3.1, and 3.2%, respectively. Lastly, it was indicated that the estimated emission rates by Toxchem and simulated concentrations by the dispersion model were in good agreement with the reported experimental values.
Stability of Trenches Filled with Fluids

This paper traces the historical development of the slurry trench wall. Typical slurry compositions are described and expressions are given for penetration of slurry, blowout gradient, filter cake formation, and stability analysis. Distance of penetration of the slurry trench backfilled with soil is used as a cutoff. A mechanism for determining the stability of the trench during construction is described.
Dielectric measurements using a rational function model

A recently proposed rational function model for the aperture admittance of 50 ohm Teflon filled coaxial lines in contact with a homogeneous dielectric is experimentally validated. A calibration technique of the automatic network analyzer utilizing standard terminations and time domain gating is used. Uncertainties in the dielectric properties of reference liquids do not enter the calibration procedure. Experimental results for water and methanol are compared with estimated values. A model expression for the sensitivity of the probe is validated. The sensitivities of two coaxial line probes for the measurements made are determined. Results obtained using the new model are compared with those of other workers. >
Relationship building, lean strategy and firm performance: an exploratory study in the automotive supplier industry

In contrast to previous literature, we propose that commitment to lean strategy should be preceded by building close relationships with key supply chain partners (suppliers and customers). Two aspects of lean strategy, lean manufacturing and lean design are studied in this paper. We hypothesize that relationship building positively affects both aspects of lean strategy, which in turn positively influences firm performance. To test these relationships, we use data from the top 150 auto suppliers to the ‘Big Three’ original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The results show positive relationships between (1) relationship building and lean design, (2) relationship building and lean manufacturing, and (3) lean design and firm performance. This suggests that relationship building is more valuable for enhancing the ‘product’ aspects of lean strategy as opposed to the ‘process’ aspects of lean strategy. Process aspects of lean strategy appear to be largely a function of internal efforts.
Experiences of Using a Continuous Glucose Monitoring System in Children—A Descriptive Study with Parents in the Republic of Georgia

The benefits of medical devices are often multifaceted and may have an important impact on patients’ and relatives’ physical, mental and/or social well-being. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder and a continuous subcutaneous glucose monitoring sensor can suggest increasing treatment satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to describe parents’ experiences during their daily lives and support needs when a child uses a Flash Glucose Monitoring system (FGM). Twenty parents (n = 3 men vs. n = 17 women) to children (age ranged between 22 months and 16 years) with diabetes disease type 1, treated with an FGM unit (used for an average of 7 months (range 1–72)) at home, participated in this study. A qualitative questionnaire survey with open questions including follow-up dialogues was distributed to the parents, and collected data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Overall satisfaction with the Libre device was Md 10 (IQR 9.25–10). One main theme “Advances in technology significantly improved everyday life” emerged from 2 categories: Improvements in quality of life and Elements of challenges. In conclusion, this qualitative study determined that parents of children with DMT1 experience a great improvement in daily life when given the opportunity to use the Libre device.
Quasi-Exact-Constraint Design of Wind Turbine Gearing

In the past two decades the wind turbine industry has witnessed a considerable number of catastrophic accidents, many of which were due to gearbox failure. Ever increasing power ratings at decreased rotor speeds result in rotor torques of some million Nm. This imposes tooth loads and planet/pinion bearing loads on the order of a hundred tons within the first step-up stage. Such heavily loaded gearboxes, correctly (or rather innocently) designed according to the relevant codes, can be self-destructive. Due consideration should be given to the elastic environment in which the gears exist. Otherwise, appreciable, unsymmetrical/unequal elastic deformations in unwanted directions lead to gear tooth edge loading, in addition to overloading the bearing(s) near that edge. Designers of wind turbine gearing have in recent years identified several concepts and measures to be taken for counteracting the asymmetry of elastic deformations or mitigating their effects. In addition to giving a brief survey of such new design concepts, this paper suggests the use of selected types of curved-tooth cylindrical gears (so-called C-gears), primarily for their self-aligning capability; they allow four degrees of freedom (4-DOF), in contrast to the 3-DOF spur and helical gears and the 2-DOF double-helical gears. In addition, these gears offer a unique set of further advantages. When used in at least the most heavily loaded, first step-up stage, the design will be rendered quasi-exactly constrained; largely tolerant of misalignment due to elastic deformations, and the gearbox reliability should be improved, by design.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Dynamic Spatial Ability: An Exploratory Analysis and a Confirmatory Study

Spatial ability is included in nearly every multiple aptitude battery. However, it has been defined and evaluated in such a variety of ways that it is difficult to be precise about the meaning of the concept. A first study addresses the spatial literature, considers several measures, and empirically explores the dimensionality of the spatial domain. Nine spatial ability tests and 1 computer- administered measure were administered to a total of 104 volunteers. Results from the exploratory factor analysis identified 3 main factors: visualization, spatial relations, and dynamic spatial ability. A second study was conducted to cross-validate this factor structure. A total of 141 participants were involved in this study. Participants were recruited from professional training domains in which spatial ability has been considered important for successful performance: air traffic control, piloting, civil engineering, and architecture. Cross-validation was obtained through a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In general, both empirical studies confirm the existence of dynamic spatial ability as a distinct dimension within the spatial domain.
Prey speed up, predators slow down: non-consumptive effects on movement behavior of a ciliate predator-prey pair

Non-consumptive effects (NCEs) of predators on prey, such as induced defensive strategies, are frequently neglected in the analysis of predator-prey interactions. Yet these effects can have demographic impacts as strong as consumption. As a counterpart to NCEs, resource-availability effects (RAEs) can prompt changes in predators as well, e.g., in their foraging behavior. We studied NCEs and RAEs in the ciliate predator-prey pair Didinium nasutum and Paramecium caudatum. We examined the dependence of prey/predator swimming speed and body size on predator/prey presence. We also investigated prey spatial grouping behavior and the dependence of predator movement on local prey abundance. We collected individual movement and morphology data through videography of laboratory-based populations. We compared swimming speeds and body sizes based on their distributions. We used linear models to respectively quantify the effects of local prey abundance on predator displacements and of predator presence on prey grouping behavior. In the presence of prey, predator individuals swam more slowly, were bigger and made smaller displacements. Further, their displacements decreased with increasing local prey abundance. In contrast, in the presence of predators, proportionally more prey individuals showed a fast-swimming behavior and there was weak evidence for increased prey grouping. Trait changes entail energy expenditure shifts, which likely affect interspecific interactions and populations, as has been shown for NCEs. Less is known about the link between RAEs and demography, but it seems likely that the observed effects scale up to influence community and ecosystem stability, yet this remains largely unexplored. Significance Statement To maximize their fitness, organisms balance investment in foraging and avoiding being eaten. The behaviors of prey and predators are thus expected to depend on the presence and absence of each other and serve either to boost the chances of predation evasion or to increase predation success. Here we provide an example of the co-dependence of behaviors in the predator-prey pair Didinium nasutum and Paramecium caudatum. We show that the predator slows down and searches in smaller areas when prey are present, while the prey speeds up and possibly groups more as a response to the presence of predators. Such behavioral changes are likely to have a demographic and community impact that is not accounted for with common measures of predators-prey interactions.
Towards Usable End-user Authentication

TOWARDS USABLE END-USER AUTHENTICATION Mohammad Tanviruzzaman Marquette University, 2014 Authentication is the process of validating the identity of an entity, e.g., a person, a machine, etc.; the entity usually provides a proof of identity in order to be authenticated. When the entity—to be authenticated—is a human, the authentication process is called end-user authentication. Making an end-user authentication usable entails making it easy for a human to obtain, manage, and input the proof of identity in a secure manner. In machine-to-machine authentication, both ends have comparable memory and computational power to securely carry out the authentication process using cryptographic primitives and protocols. On the contrary, as a human has limited memory and computational power, in end-user authentication, cryptography is of little use. Although password based end-user authentication has many well-known security and usability problems, it is the de facto standard. Almost half a century of research effort has produced a multitude of end-user authentication methods more sophisticated than passwords; yet, none has come close to replacing passwords. In this dissertation, taking advantage of the built-in sensing capability of smartphones, we propose an end-user authentication framework for smartphones, called ePet, which does not require any active participation from the user most of the times; thus the proposed framework is highly usable. Using data collected from subjects, we validate a part of the authentication framework for the Android platform. For web authentication, in this dissertation, we propose a novel password creation interface, which helps a user remember a newly created password with more confidence—by allowing her to perform various memory tasks built upon her new password. Declarative and motor memory help the user remember and efficiently input a password. From a within-subjects study we show that declarative memory is sufficient for passwords; motor memory mostly facilitate the input process and thus the memory tasks have been designed to help cement the declarative memory for a newly created password. This dissertation concludes with an evaluation of the increased usability of the proposed interface through a between-subjects study.
Uptake of long-acting reversible contraception in federal medical centre, Asaba: A three year review

Background: Effective contraception is one of the evidenced based requirements for prevention of maternal death. Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) is a sure cost effective contraception that is urgently needed in low resources settings where there are low contraceptive prevalence and high fertility and maternal mortality rate. Objective: To assess the uptake of long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) among women attending the family planning clinic in Federal Medical Centre, Asaba as well as to review of the socio-demographic characteristics of the women who accepts LARC methods. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study of women who attended family planning clinic at FMC, Asaba between 1st January, 2017 and 31st December 2019. Data was collected from the family planning register. The register was used to identify women, who accepted LARC between 1st January, 2017 and 31st December, 2019. Thereafter, their case notes were retrieved, analyzed using SPSS (IBM version 20) and results presented in frequencies, percentages and tables. Results: A total of 1304 women attended family planning clinic at Federal Medical Centre, Asaba during the period of study. One thousand one hundred and sixty- five (1165) women accepted a modern method of contraception, had complete record and were used for this study. A total of eight hundred and forty- six (846; 72.6%) women accepted LARC method. Out of this, intra-uterine contraceptive device (IUCD) uptake was 437(51.7%) while implants uptake was 409(48.3%). The majority of the women who accepted LARC were between the ages 30-34years 298(35.2%). A greater proportion of the women were married 810(95.7%) while 29(3.4%) were single women. Over half of the women who accepted LARC had tertiary level of education. Uptake of LARC increased with increasing parity. Conclusion: There was high uptake of LARC in this study with rate of 72.6% as well as a rising trend in its usage. The most commonly used LARC was copper IUCD (51.7%). However, adolesents, less educated and low parity women had poor uptake.
Clinical Evaluation of Open Release Surgical Method in Treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Original Research Article Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment neuropathy. It is more common in the middle age group and more common in women than men. Worldwide open release surgical method is widely used in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. But very few studies have been conducted regarding the treatment of CTS in Bangladesh. So the local data related to the issue are very limited. Aim of study: The aim of this study was to evaluate the open release surgical method in treating carpal tunnel syndrome. Methods: This was an observational prospective study. The study was conducted at the Department of Orthopedics Surgery in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period from January 2018 to December 2018. In total 60 patients with carpal tunnel syndrome were selected as the study people. Patients were classified into mild, moderate and severe carpal tunnel syndrome according to clinical and nerve conduction grading. Results: According to the quantification of the severity of CTS in patients regarding nerve condition grading in several stages we observed before surgery no pain, mild pain, moderate pain and severe pain were found in 0.00%, 0.00%, 56.67% and 43.33% patients respectively. But in 1st follow up (After 1 month) no pain, mild pain, moderate pain and severe pain were found in 61.67%, 20.00%, 11.67% and 6.67% patients respectively. In 2nd follow up (After 3 months) no pain, mild pain, moderate pain and severe pain were found in 93.33%, 3.33%, another 3.33% and 0.00% patients respectively. Finally in 3rd follow up (After 6 months) only no pain and mild pain were found in 98.33%, 1.67% patients respectively. In this stage moderate pain or severe pain were not found. Conclusions: Now a day, the frequencies of carpal tunnel syndrome has been increased specially in females. Open release surgical method is an effective method of the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. Sensory symptoms (Paresthesia, numbness and nocturnal pain) were more common than symptoms of motor weakness. Dominant hand involvement was more common.
The relationship between bipedalism and growth: A metric assessment in a documented modern skeletal collection (Certosa Collection, Bologna, Italy)

Abstract Objectives Long bone variations during growth are susceptible to the combined action of nutritional, hormonal, and genetic factors that may modulate the mechanical forces acting upon growing individuals as they progressively acquire a mature gait. In this work, we explore diaphyseal length and breadth variations of tibia and fibula during ontogeny (a) to test the presence of changes in relation to early toddling, and (b) to further our understanding of developmental patterns in relation to sex. Materials and Methods Lengths, breadths, and indices were analyzed on right and left leg bones of 68 subadult individuals (Human Identified Skeletal Collection of the University of Bologna, Italy). Analyses included intersex and age classes (1, 0–1 year; 2, 1.1–3 years; 3, 3.1–6 years) comparisons, linear regressions with age and assessment of correlation among tibial and fibular measurements, as well as principal component analysis. Results A significant difference emerged among age class 1 and the others. Age class 1 and 3 differ between them, while age class 2 overlaps with the others. No sex dimorphism was detected. All measurements were strongly correlated with age. Tibial and fibular measurements correlated with each other. Conclusions Our results relate the progressive emergence of toddling attempts in growing individuals at the end of the first year of age. No significant sex differences were found, suggesting that tibial and fibula growth might diverge between sexes in later childhood. We provide quantitative data regarding tibial and fibular linear growth and its timing in a modern documented osteological sample from Italy.
Productivity improvement in the Indonesian construction industry

A sectoral analysis of the construction industry in Indonesia indicates that it has grown considerably in recent years. Efforts are under way to adapt to this new situation, including exploring ways to increase productivity. A survey of top contractors indicates that certain functions including procurement practices, cost control, scheduling and management integration need much improvement. A survey of top design professionals indicates that they are concerned about design practices, computer utilization in planning and scheduling activities, and goal setting techniques. There seem to be conflicting opinions regarding the construction management project delivery system. Both contractors and design professionals are willing to cooperate in any productivity enhancement programme but neither are willing to fund such activities.
Quality management: a survey on accomplished results

Best practice in quality management has been addressed in a number of publications, but to date, there has been little broad empirical research within the field. This article reports on a study of quality management in 270 Danish enterprises, selected at random at the beginning of 1995. Today, most Danish enterprises work with quality explicitly, and as a result of their efforts, production errors have declined in parallel with customer complaints. However, a number of enterprises lack the capacity to measure directly the benefits realized from quality initiatives. Almost one‐half of the responding enterprises have established an independent quality department, and, correspondingly, these enterprises have derived the highest benefits from their quality efforts. An additional one‐third of the enterprises have become certified, yet these enterprises claim that it has not noticeably affected their competitive power. In general, Danish enterprises do well when it comes to discussing quality issues. In relation to measuring the benefits from their quality efforts, their performance leaves much to be desired. As Danish enterprises have a long‐standing tradition for design and quality work, the results of the survey have wide implications for other organizations faced with the challenge of quality management.
The Novelty of Innovation: Competition, Disruption, and Antitrust Policy

We develop a model to capture the novelty of innovation and explore what it means for the nature of market competition and quality of innovations. An innovator decides not only whether to innovate but how boldly to innovate, where the more novel is the innovation—the more different it is from what has come before—the more uncertain is the outcome. We show in this environment that a variant of the Arrow replacement effect holds in that new entrants pursue more innovative technologies than do incumbents. Despite this, we show that the new entrant is less likely to disrupt an incumbent than the incumbent is to disrupt itself, and less likely to fail in the market. We extend the model to allow the incumbent to acquire the entrant postinnovation and show that this reverses the Arrow effect. The prospect of acquisition makes innovation more profitable but simultaneously suppresses the novelty of innovation as the entrant seeks to maximize her value to the incumbent. This reversal suggests a positive role for a strict antitrust policy that spurs entrepreneurial firms to innovate boldly. This paper was accepted by Joshua Gans, business strategy.