Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advancing global capacity for engineering education research: relating research to practice, policy and industry

Findings are presented from a series of moderated interactive sessions held at international engineering education conferences between July 2007 and December 2008, where attendees discussed the current state and future trajectory of engineering education research. More specifically, this study examines how session attendees described: (1) the relationship between engineering education research and educational practice, policy considerations and industry; (2) important stakeholders, mechanisms/strategies and challenges for relating research to practice, policy and industry. Thematic analysis and open coding procedures were used to analyse the data collected at each session. In summary, frequent discussion and widespread consensus was observed about the need to relate engineering education research to the practice of engineering teaching. Discussions about relating research to policy and industry remain formative, but appear to be gaining traction. The paper concludes by proposing a cyclic model to better conceptualise how engineering education research can be strategically related to practice, profession and industry across diverse local and global contexts.
Impact of e‐commerce in lowering operational costs and raising customer satisfaction

Purpose – Much research has been done on how e‐commerce has allowed companies to integrate business processes and reduce operational costs. The intent of this study, however, is to understand how e‐commerce has affected companies' abilities to serve the customers' needs and to raise their level of satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach – Exploratory data analysis and logistics regression were used to analyze data collected from a multi‐industry company survey. The analysis showed that companies have been able to improve the level of service they can provide to their customers with e‐commerce.Findings – The research showed that there is a direct correlation between the use of e‐commerce and improved customer service. In particular, e‐commerce has improved the availability of information, reduced processing errors, reduced response times, lowered costs of services, and has effectively raised customer satisfaction and the level of service that customers expect to receive.Practical implications – The resear.
The Role Of Melatonin In Aluminium Induced Genotoxicity In Female Albino Rats

Aim of the work, In spite of the wide range of use of aluminium. With the increasing awareness of possible health hazards associated with their use, more attention have been focused on their biological and biochemical activity. Aluminium salts are used as the active antiperspirant in under cosmetics, but the effects of widespread, long term and increasing use remain unknown. Aluminium is known to have genotoxic profile, capable of causing both DNA alterations and epigenetic effects. Melatonin reduces the free radical generation and metal detoxification . This study was planned to determine the effects of melatonin on aluminium induced toxicity in the chromosomes of bone marrow cell . Material and Methods ,Forty female albino rats were used in the present work for the chromosomal analysis. Four groups of adult female albino rats were used in the following way: Group -I, control group; Group-II,50 mg /kg b.wt aluminium orally; Group-III, 50μg / kg b.wt melatonin orally and Group- IV, 50 mg /kg b.wt aluminium orally (am) +50 μg / kg b.wt melatonin orally(pm). Doses were given 30 days. All animals were sacrificed and the bone marrow of femur bones was taken for subsequent cytogenetic studies. The results, Aluminium treatment induced a significant increase in the structural as well as numerical chromosomal aberrations . The frequency of chromosomal aberrations showed significant decrease when rats treated with melatonin and aluminium . In conclusion, the results indicated that melatonin showed a significant improvement of genetic damages induced by aluminium.
Improved Active Damping Stabilization of DAB Converter Interfaced Aircraft DC Microgrids Using Neural Network-Based Model Predictive Control

The stability problem induced by constant power loads (CPLs) is becoming more prominent in more electric aircraft. In this article, the stabilization issue of dc distribution bus with dual-active-bridge (DAB) converters was investigated. On the basis of voltage regulation, an active damping solution based on model predictive control (MPC) was proposed by explicitly incorporating a stabilization term into a cost function. In this solution, to ensure the output voltage performance with a smaller steady-state error and a dynamic voltage overshoot, an adaptive weighting factor was adopted with a stray resistor taken into account. A theoretical design of the weighting factors was performed using the artificial neural network (ANN) method. The proposed approach could supply stiff load voltage and provide good dc-link voltage stabilization, as well as load voltage overshoot clamping. These findings were verified through the computer simulations and practical experiments of an 800-W converter prototype with a switching frequency of 20 kHz, an input voltage of 270 V, and an output voltage of 270 V.
Atrazine losses from corn fields in the Little Vermilion River watershed in east central Illinois.

High levels of atrazine in the Little Vermilion River (LVR) and Georgetown Lake, which supplies drinking water for 5,000 residents, have been detected. Each late spring or summer, the level of atrazine has exceeded the USEPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL). In this study, atrazine losses from surface runoff and tile flow under different cropping and soil management practices for four years of monitoring were studied. The loss from surface flow was much less than that from tile flow. The major loss of atrazine occurred within three months after application and was generally caused by heavy rainfall. Early application without anything growing in the field or atrazine application some time later than planting caused an increase of atrazine losses during rainfall. This suggests that the greatest use of atrazine was at the beginning of weed growth. Therefore, the best time for atrazine application is just before or at the beginning of weed growth. The amount, timing, and distribution of rainfall and stage of plant growth influence the movement of atrazine.
Nonlinear Aeroelastic Formulation and Postflutter Analysis of Flexible High-Aspect-Ratio Wings

The nonlinear aeroelastic modeling and the post-flutter behavior of high-altitude long-endurance wings are discussed. A parametric structural model of wings based on an exact kinematic approach is formulated and coupled with an incompressible unsteady aerodynamic model that is obtained via an indicial formulation accounting for viscous effects, including dynamic stall and flow separation. To this end, a modified Beddoes-Leishman model is employed, and the equations of motion, together with the equations governing the aerodynamic states, are obtained via a total Lagrangian formulation. The critical and post-critical dynamic aeroelastic response is evaluated, and the limit cycles occurring in the post-flutter condition past the Hopf bifurcation are studied. Together, with comparisons from the available data of an experimental wing model with tip store, the effects of the unsteady loads and dynamic stall are evaluated and compared with predictions obtained from a model using a classical quasi-steady aerodyna.
Transformational Leadership, Work Engagement and Performance Among Public Service Employees in Uganda

This study aims at examining the relationship between transformational leadership, work engagement and performance among employees of the public service in Uganda. The study also reports an investigation into the mediating effect of work engagement on the relationship between transformational leadership and performance. To test the relationships between transformational leadership, work engagement and performance, the author applied the Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient. The mediating effect was tested using the three step regression analysis proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986). Data was collected from 132 employees of Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development in Uganda. The results show a positive and significant relationship between transformational leadership, work engagement and employee performance. Though, the inspirational motivation component of transformational leadership is not related to overall work engagement. And the transformational leadership component of individualised consideration is not related to overall performance. Work engagement is found to fully mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and employees’ performance. So even when the results of this study to a certain extent are explained by the social exchange theory, emphasis should be on creating an environment of work engagement by management because this has shown to increase employee performance. However, a possible limitation could be arising from the use of self-report questionnaires. That is, responses generated from the “employees only” could have been biased because they might have expected chastisement for negative responses. was a positive and significant relationship between overall work engagement and the components of performance, that is, task performance and contextual performance. These results support the studies of Amoako-Asiedu and Obuobisa-Darko (2017) who revealed that engaged employees put in their best effort to ensure enhanced performance. The study therefore retains the alternative hypothesis which stated that
Health Belief Associated with Adherence to Health Protocol in Preventing Coronavirus Diseases on Patients’ Family

BACKGROUND: Adherence with health protocols during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is very important to prevent transmission. However, it is obtained that adherence with health protocols is still not optimal. The hospital environment is an area that is at high risk of transmission. AIM: The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between health belief and adherence with the health protocol in the patient’s family. METHODS: Quantitative research is correlated with a cross-sectional approach. The sample is the family of patients at the hospital, which was taken with simple random sampling technique as many as 100 people. Research variables include perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barrier, self-efficacy, and adherence with health protocols. Data collection was using questionnaire instruments. Data analysis was using Fisher test with a significance level of 95%. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Fisher’s test results obtained data that there is a relationship between health belief in the dimensions of perceived susceptibility (p = 0.007), perceived severity (p = 0.027), perceived benefits (p = 0.003), perceived barriers (p = 0.021), and self-efficacy (p = 0.002) with adherence with health protocols in an effort to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. The patient’s family will be willing to implement health protocols if they have a high health belief in efforts to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. This health belief includes the belief that COVID-19 disease is easily contagious and serious; adherence will provide benefits for health. CONCLUSION: Health beliefs are significantly related to adherence with health protocols in the prevention of COVID-19 transmission in the patient’s family.
Caught in the moment: Are there person-specific associations between momentary procrastination and passively logged smartphone use?

Procrastination is an increasingly prevalent phenomenon. Although research suggests smartphones might be involved, little is known about the momentary association between different patterns of smartphone use and procrastination. In a preregistered study, 221 students (Mage = 20, 55% female) self-reported procrastination five times a day for 30 days (i.e., Experience Sampling Method) while their smartphone use was continuously monitored (i.e., passive logging). Using dynamic structural equation modeling (DSEM) on 27,151 observations, we estimated momentary within-person associations between procrastination and 1) total smartphone use and use of specific application categories (social media, messaging, browsers, games, and video streaming), 2) notifications, and 3) smartphone use fragmentation. Procrastination was positively albeit weakly associated with all aforementioned patterns and associations varied from person to person. Collectively, our findings suggest these popular devices potentially encourage dilatory behavior.
Benefits of small municipalities using jurisdiction-specific safety performance functions rather than the Highway Safety Manual's calibrated or uncalibrated safety performance functions

This study compares the performance of uncalibrated and calibrated Highway Safety Manual (HSM) safety performance functions (SPFs) with jurisdiction-specific SPFs. The first edition of the HSM includes a number of SPFs which can be used to identify collision-prone locations on a roadway network. The HSM recommends that these SPFs be calibrated to more accurately reflect a specific jurisdiction's unique roadway characteristics, driver behaviour, etc. and to produce better-fitting results. An alternative approach is the creation of jurisdiction-specific SPFs. This study used negative binomial regression and 5 years of collision data (2005–2009) from the City of Regina, Saskatchewan to develop a set of SPFs. Three intersection categories were investigated: 3-leg unsignalized, 4-leg unsignalized, and 3- and 4-leg signalized. The SPFs provided in the HSM were calibrated using the Regina data, and a set of calibration factors was produced. To compare the different SPFs and find the best-fitting SPFs for the stu.
Finite Element Modeling of Sound Transmission Based on Micro-Computer Tomography for Human Ear

An accurate finite element (FE) model of the human ear can help in understanding the physiological mechanismof human ear and facilitate the design of implantable hearing devices. In this paper,a FE modelof the human ear consisting of the external ear canal, middle ear, and cochlea was developed. The geometry of the external ear canal and middle ear model was based on a fresh specimen of human temporal boneviamicro-computer tomography imaging. A harmonic sound pressure of 90 dB SPL was applied in the ear canal and the multi-field coupled FE analysis was conductedamong the ear canal air, cochlea fluid, and middle ear and cochlea structures. The results were compared with the established physiological data. The satisfactory agreements between the model and published experimental measurementsindicate the middle ear and cochlea functions can be well simulated and further application in terms of human ear can be achieved by the model.
Low threshold half-wave vertical-cavity lasers

Data are presented characterising half-wavelength vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers defined by a native-oxide ring in which the native oxide is 200 AA from the single quantum well. The lowest threshold is achieved with a 2 mu m square active region, with a minimum threshold current of 91 mu A continuous-wave at room temperature. >
A Comparative Study of Effectiveness of Smoke Alarms in Two Types of Buildings

Fire or smoke alarms are crucial components in building fire safety systems. The effectiveness of fire alarms is investigated in this article. A relationship between effectiveness, efficacy, and reliability is formulated. A comparative study of the effectiveness of fire alarms in two types of occupancies is conducted using the published laboratory and field study results. The current study revealed the difference between the effectiveness of the fire alarm systems in dwelling and commercial stores.
Stomatal and non-stomatal limitations to photosynthesis of Populus euphratica Oliv. leaves in an extremely arid area of northwestern China

On the basis of successive measurements of leaf gas exchange during the main growing seasons of Populus euphratica Oliv. in 2013 and 2014, respectively, we analyzed the stomatal and non-stomatal limitations to photosynthesis under natural conditions in an extremely arid region of northwestern China. Our results showed that (1) the distribution patterns of net photosynthesis (Pn) and stomatal conductance (gs) were similar, both of which increased in the morning, peaked at around noon, and then decreased. This contrasted with the observed changes in sub-stomatal CO2 concentrations (Ci). (2) The phenomenon of midday depression of photosynthesis (MDP) was obvious from July to September during the two years. At the beginning of MDP, the stomatal limitation to photosynthesis (Ls) peaked, where its predominance was supported by Ci being at a minimum. Thereafter, Ls decreased and Ci/gs increased sharply, indicating that the non-stomatal limitation to photosynthesis predominated. (3) Both the Ls and relative stomatal limitation to photosynthesis (RLs) increased in the morning, and then decreased, whereas Ci/gs presented contrary changes. (4) The RLs values were greater than the Ls values, which was mainly due to the nonlinearity of the Pn/Ci curve, which often leads to large overestimations. (5) The Ls values in our study were much greater than those from other studies under natural conditions. The most probable reason was that the extremely high temperature and scarce water resource caused the stomata to close to reduce transpiration, resulting in the stomatal limitation to photosynthesis being more intense.
Effect of Vertical Alignment on Driver Perception of Horizontal Curves

The perception of the driver of the road features ahead is an important human factor that can considerably affect traffic safety and design consistency, and should be addressed in road design. An erroneous perception of the road can lead to actions that may compromise traffic safety. Previous studies have shown that combined horizontal and vertical alignments can cause a wrong perception of the horizontal curvature. In this paper, the hypothesis that the perception of the driver of the horizontal curvature is affected by the overlapping vertical alignment is examined analytically. Computer animation was selected as a three-dimensional presentation method of the road perspective, and was found to produce a realistic view of the road. A sample of drivers was interviewed to determine the radius of a horizontal curve on a level grade that would look equal to a radius of a horizontal curve overlapping with a vertical curve. The statistical analysis showed that the horizontal curvature looked consistently sharper when it overlapped with a crest curve and consistently flatter when it overlaps with a sag curve. Field measurements of operating speed profiles on a selected sample of combined alignments confirmed that, for the selected sample of alignments, driver behavior on horizontal curves depended on the overlapping vertical curve rather than the vertical grade of the approach tangent.
Estimating the flow rate capacity of an overturned rail carriage end exit in the presence of smoke

While incidents requiring the rapid egress of passengers from trains are infrequent, perhaps the most challenging scenario for passengers involves the evacuation from an overturned carriage subjected to fire. In this paper we attempt to estimate the flow rate capacity of an overturned rail carriage end exit. This was achieved through two full-scale evacuation experiments, in one of which the participants were subjected to non-toxic smoke. The experiments were conducted as part of a pilot study into evacuation from rail carriages. In reviewing the experimental results, it should be noted that only a single run of each trial was undertaken with a limited — though varied — population. As a result it is not possible to test the statistical significance of the evacuation times quoted and so the results should be treated as indicative rather than definitive. The carriage used in the experiments was a standard class Mark IID which, while an old carriage design, shares many features with those carriages commonly found on the British rail network. In the evacuation involving smoke, the carriage end exit was found to achieve an average flow rate capacity of approximately 5.0 persons/min. The average flow rate capacity of the exit without smoke was found to be approximately 9.2 persons/min. It was noted that the presence of smoke tended to reduce significantly the exit flow rate. Due to the nature of the experimental conditions, these flow rates are considered optimistic. Finally, the authors make several recommendations for improving survivability in rail accidents. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Leadership style and power relations in quantity surveying in Hong Kong

The realization of construction projects brings together a diversity of individuals and organizations, variously forged into groups and teams, in which power is important in shaping leader/follower behaviour. Quantity surveyors, being primarily project cost consultants and procurement/contractual advisers, are employed both by the clients' and the contractors' organizations. This paper investigates aspects of leadership style and power within quantity surveying in both clients' and contractors' project ‘teams’. The empirical work employed two questionnaires, developed from established instruments and completed by samples of team leaders and team members. Some differences emerged between quantity surveyors working for consultants' organizations (acting on behalf of the client) and those working for contractors' organizations. The results confirm the relationship orientation of clients' consultant quantity surveyors, who tend to adopt the supportive style of leadership. The directive style of leadership showed negative impact. Power distance was found to exceed that measured previously for Hong Kong and expert power was the most important power source.
A GAUSSIAN APPROXIMATION OF THE DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING PROCESS

: The authors propose a refinement of the stochastic model describing the dynamics of the Desktop Grid (DG) project with many hosts and many workunits to be performed, originally proposed by Morozov et al. in 2017. The target performance measure is the mean duration of the runtime of the project. To this end, the authors derive an asymptotic expression for the amount of the accumulated work to be done by means of limit theorems for superposed on-off sources that lead to a Gaussian approximation. In more detail, depending on the distribution of active and idle periods, Brownian or fractional Brownian processes are obtained. The authors present the analytic results related to the hitting time of the considered processes (including the case in which the overall amount of work is only known in a probabilistic way), and highlight how the runtime tail distribution could be estimated by simulation. Taking advantage of the properties of Gaussian processes and the Conditional Monte-Carlo (CMC) approach, the authors present a theoretical framework for evaluating the runtime tail distribution.
THE CUPID CODE DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT STRATEGY

A thermal-hydraulic code, named CUPID, has been being developed for the realistic analysis of transient two-phase flows in nuclear reactor components. The CUPID code development was motivated from very practical needs, including the analyses of a downcomer boiling, a two-phase flow mixing in a pool, and a two-phase flow in a direct vessel injection system. The CUPID code adopts a two-fluid, three-field model for two-phase flows, and the governing equations are solved over unstructured grids with a semi-implicit two-step method. This paper presents an overview of the CUPID code development and assessment strategy. It also presents the code couplings with a system code, MARS, and, a three-dimensional reactor kinetics code, MASTER.