Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of an in-line asymmetric directional coupler modulator with distributed optical loss to other linearized electrooptic modulators

The transfer function of an external modulator is the critical factor that determines the spurious free dynamic range, signal power gain, and noise figure of a wide-band analog RF-photonic link. We present an in-line asymmetric directional coupler modulator with distributed optical loss capable of providing a transfer function linearized to the fourth order for multioctave bandwidths. This modulator compares favorably with multiple modulator suboctave linearization techniques consisting of series symmetric directional coupler and series Mach-Zehnder modulators and superoctave parallel Mach-Zehnder, and cascaded sections containing series Mach-Zehndersymmetric directional coupler modulators. The optimum bias point for the asymmetric directional coupler modulator is determined by device dimensions and material parameters with relative insensitivity to errors introduced during fabrication. Optical insertion loss imposes significant limitations on modulator performance. An implementation of an in-line asymmetric directional coupler modulator is discussed that eliminates excess loss due to fiber coupling in order to achieve a large RF power gain and competitive noise figure compared to the linearization configurations.
Equations for Calculating the Rate of Liquid Migration Through Composite Liners Due to Geomembrane Defects

Equations available to date for calculating the rate of liquid migration through a composite liner due to geomembrane defects require the use of graphs to obtain the value of one of the terms of the equations for the case where the liquid head is larger than the thickness of the low-permeability soil component of the composite liner. In this paper, it is shown that the terms that require graphs can be expressed analytically, which leads to a new set of equations that provides an entirely analytical means of calculating the rate of liquid migration through composite liners. This new set of equations is particularly useful when the liquid head is large compared to the thickness of the low-permeability soil component of the composite liner, which is often the case when the low-permeability soil associated with the geomembrane to form a composite liner is a geosynthetic clay liner. A numerical example is given.
An improved method for determining the mass fraction of calcium carbonate in the carbonate bedrock

In the article it is offered to enter in the technological audit of the lime department of sugar factory the adjusted technique of the definition of the maintenance of calcium carbonate in carbonate breed. For this purpose, a complete chemical analysis of limestone was performed, which includes determination of moisture content, impurities insoluble in hydrochloric acid, the amount of one and a half oxides of aluminum and iron, calcium carbonate (advanced method), and magnesium carbonate, calcium sulfate, alkali metal oxides, potassium, and sodium. The obtained experimental data are summarized in one table and the material balance of all components of carbonate bedrock is summarized. The proposed method made it possible to obtain objective data on the component composition of the carbonate material. This, in turn, avoids many technological problems, namely to reduce the formation of melts in the lime kiln, improve the filtration of juices, increase the ability of lime to chemically interact with water, reduce the volume of water on the juicer etc. Thus, the use of the recommended method for determining calcium carbonate (CaCO3), as part of the technological audit, will allow early adjustment of the process, which will give maximum energy and resource savings, as well as increase the level of environmental friendliness of the enterprise.
Odor, total reduced sulfur, and ammonia emissions from animal housing facilities and manure storage units in minnesota

The quantification of odor, total reduced sulfur (TRS), and ammonia (NH3) emissions from animal housing facilities and manure storage units is essential for the development and implementation of improved setback evaluation methods and tools. This observational study measured odor, TRS, and NH3 levels emitted from more than 200 animal housing facilities and manure storage units on 85 farms in Minnesota. Emissions were highly variable in accordance with observations from other large air quality studies. Possible reasons for the large variation in emissions data included differences between sampling sites and season or ambient temperature. Odor, TRS, and NH3 emissions were typically highest from swine housing facilities and concrete tanks containing swine or dairy manure. Pearson’s correlation matrix calculated significant (p < 0.05) and strong correlations between odor and TRS emissions (r = 0.947) and odor and NH3 emissions (r = 0.954) from swine housing only. Therefore, TRS and/or NH3 emissions from swine housing facilities are potential proxies for odor emissions. This study was strictly observational and not a controlled experiment. Thus, odor TRS and NH3 emissions reported in this study may not apply to other geographic locations.
Sound-Absorbing Acoustic Concretes: A Review

Noise is continuously treated as an annoyance to humans and indeed commotion contamination shows up within the environment, causing inconvenience. This is likewise interesting to the engineering tactic that inclines to develop this noise proliferation. The basics of the sound-retaining proliferation, sound-absorbing properties, and its variables were rarely considered by previous researchers. Thus, the acoustic performance and sound insulation of constructions have gained significance over the last five decades due to the trend for accommodating inner-city flat and multi-story residential building condominiums. Due to this dilemma, the proliferation of high-driven entertaining schemes has engaged extraordinary demands on building for its acoustic performance. Yet, construction industries worldwide have started to mainly use sound-absorbing concrete to reduce the frequency of sounds in opened-and-closed areas and increase sound insulation. As reported, the concrete acoustic properties generally rely on its density, exhibiting that the lighter ones, such as cellular concrete, will absorb more sound than high-density concretes. However, this paper has an objective to afford a wide-ranging review of sound-absorbing acoustic concretes, including the measurement techniques and insulation characteristics of building materials and the sound absorption properties of construction materials. It is also intended to extensively review to provide insights into the possible use of a typical sound-absorbing acoustic concrete in today’s building industry to enhance housing occupants’ efficiency, comfort, well-being, and safety.
Evaluation of the costs and benefits of an environmental management system

The implementation of ISO 14000 certification in a company involves a set of costs and benefits that must be known in order to assess the investment effectively in terms of environmental quality. However, as will be shown, these figures can be difficult to calculate, mainly because of a lack of reference data or specific assessment criteria. Moreover, few companies have so far implemented an Environmental Management System. Investments in environment quality sometimes simply look like costs, but benefits do exist and these are often economically quantifiable. Such benefits depend on the choice and the pursuit of aims, on the respect of rules (e.g. no omissions) and on environmental efficiency (e.g. no waste), and can only be calculated following an in-depth analysis of the system. A first and approximate estimate of these costs and benefits has been obtained for a number of real industrial cases, mainly in the chemical field, and the survey results are given in this paper. The research was carried out in Italy in companies implementing an Environmental Management System in most cases in accordance with the ISO 14000 series.
Sono-chemical synthesis of Fe3O4 nanostructures and its application in acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymeric nanocomposite

Sono-chemical is a fast procedure for preparing monodisperse nanoparticles. Magnetite nanoparticles were prepared via a sono-chemical reaction at a room temperature. Fe3O4 nanostructures were then added to acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer. Nanocomposites are very attractive due to the fact that small amount of nanostructure can lead to great improvement in many properties, such as mechanical and thermal property. Nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The XRD pattern of nanoparticles is indexed as a cubic phase (space group: Fd-3m). Fe3O4 nanostructures exhibit a super paramagnetic behaviour with a saturation magnetization of 54 emu/g and a coercivity of 11 Oe at room temperature. The effect of ultrasonic power on the shape and particle size was investigated and the result showed at 150W by increasing power growth stage overcome to nucleation stage and nanoparticles with bigger diameters were obtained. The flame retardancy behavior of ABS-Fe3O4 was studied by UL-94 analysis.
Investigating the Use of Record-to-Record Variability in Static Capacity Approaches

In performance-based earthquake engineering, fragility curves constitute an essential component, providing a probabilistic link between the earthquake intensity measure and the structural response, expressed as an engineering demand parameter. In this study we apply a capacity spectrum method that uses inelastic response spectra derived from earthquake accelerograms to construct fragility curves for an example reinforced concrete structure. This approach has the advantage of simplicity and rapidity over methods using the accelerograms directly. Various sets of scaled and unscaled accelerograms are used to investigate the impact of record-to-record variability on the derived curves. It is found that the variability in the input spectra at periods longer than the natural period of the undamaged structure has a direct impact on the standard deviation associated with the curves. When the spectra closely match a target the curves are almost vertical (small standard deviations) but as the variation around the target increases the curves become flatter (high standard deviations). A variant of the peak-to-trough measure introduced by Stafford and Bommer (2010) provides a useful way of measuring the variability in the input spectra.
Prediction of watershed runoff using Bayesian concepts and modular neural networks

Artificial neural networks have been widely used as models for a variety of nonlinear hydrologic processes including that of predicting runoff over a watershed. In this paper such networks were organized in a modular architecture to handle complex sets of rainfall‐runoff data. Such data often contain examples corresponding to different rules that may be associated with high, low, and medium streamflows. Different modules within the network were trained to learn subsets of the input space in an expert fashion. A gating network was used to mediate the response of all the experts. The problem was posed as one of Bayesian statistics combined with maximum likelihood estimation of network parameters. The training of the gating network was equivalent to the classification problem (i.e., identification of the expert), while the experts trained to minimize the absolute difference between predicted and target monthly discharges. The performance of modular networks in predicting runoff over three medium‐sized watersheds was examined. Average monthly rainfall of current and previous months and average monthly temperatures were treated as network inputs, and monthly runoff was treated as output. Three different modular network architectures were examined in this paper: two based on hard classification and one based on soft classification. In addition, a fully connected feed forward network was utilized for comparison purposes. On the basis of the results, modular networks appear to be good alternatives for predicting runoff. The role of these networks on issues regarding probabilistic interpretability and classification are discussed.
Not All Heart Attacks are Created Equal: Thinking Differently About Acute Myocardial Infarction in the Young

Cardiovascular disease, particularly myocardial infarction, remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality among young individuals. Although myocardial infarctions have declined significantly in the general population, this decline has not been uniformly observed in younger cohorts. Young adults often have different risk factors, including a higher burden of tobacco use and substance abuse, and they are less likely to be treated with preventive therapies since they are often categorized as having low risk. This review examines the existing literature on myocardial infarction in young patients, with a focus on risk factors, therapeutic challenges, and opportunities for prevention.
Pervasive model, a new paradigm of computing applied to road transport systems

This paper will describe how mobile and ubiquitous computation models have been applied, with the aim of solving some technological traditional problems in the domain of public passenger road transport. Those problems are due to a weak integration of the information systems aboard. The introduced models have permitted us to solve our integration problems, and, consequently, we have managed to improve the business in a variety of domains. The application of these models have benefited on-board mobile information systems and user information systems.
Adoption of improved oil palm production and processing technologies in Arochukwu local government area of Abia state, Nigeria

The study determined the extent of adoption of improved oil palm production and processing technologies in Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria. Fifty oil palm farmers randomly selected from five communities were sampled. A structured interview schedule was used for data collection, while percentages and mean scores were used for presenting the data. The findings show that four technologies namely, use of mechanized mills for processing oil palm fruits, planting of leguminous cover crops in palm plantations, use of insecticides and use of herbicides had very low adoption levels among the farmers. The most preferred and most important information source on improved oil palm technologies used by the farmers was the extension agents. However the greatest constraint to adoption of improved oil palm technologies was lack of finance. This suggests the need for the provision of subsidies and financial support to farmers to enable them pay for the necessary farm inputs. Keywords : Oil palm, Improved technologies, Information sources, Nigeria Agro-Science Vol. 5 (1) 2006: pp. 26-35
Relaxation oscillations in waveguide distributed feedback lasers

The authors present an analysis of relaxation oscillation in planar and fiber distributed feedback lasers taking into account end reflectivity. The laser characteristics obtained as a function of the system parameter show competition between two different resonators (Fabry-Perot and distributed) as well as the influence of the gain saturation on the parameters describing relaxation oscillations. >
THE INFLUENCE OF ISLAMIC CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND INTERNAL CONTROL ON INDICATIONS OF FRAUD IN ISLAMIC COMMERCIAL BANKS IN INDONESIA

This article aims to analyze the implementation of ICG (Islamic Corporate Governance) and Internal Control on indications of fraud at Islamic Commercial Banks in Indonesia. The method used in this study is to use quantitative analysis with technical data analysis using multiple linear regression. The data used is secondary data obtained from Islamic banking financial reports, amounting to 60 data. The conclusion in this article is the influence of Islamic Corporate Governance which is proxied by the variables of the implementation of DPS duties and responsibilities, the performance of duties and responsibilities of the board of directors, and internal control, on the dependent variable, namely, the indication of fraud in Islamic Commercial Banks in Indonesia of 46.1 percent while the rest 53.9 percent is influenced by other factors which are not used in this study
Constraining the Range and Variation of Lithospheric Net Rotation Using Geodynamic Modeling

Lithospheric net rotation (LNR) is the movement of the lithosphere as a solid body with respect to the mantle. Separating the signal of LNR from plate tectonic motion is therefore an important factor in producing absolute plate motion models. Net rotation is difficult to constrain because of uncertainties in geological data and outstanding questions about the stability of the mantle plumes used as a reference frame. We use mantle convection simulations to investigate the controlling factors for the magnitude of LNR and to find the statistical predictability of LNR in a fully self‐consistent convective system. We find that high lateral viscosity variations are required to produce Earth‐like values of LNR. When the temperature dependence of viscosity is lower, and therefore slabs are softer, other factors such as the presence of continents and a viscosity gradient at the transition zone are also important for determining the magnitude of net rotation. We find that, as an emergent property of the chaotic mantle convection system, the evolution of LNR is too complicated to predict in our models. However, we find that the range of LNR within the simulations follows a Gaussian distribution, with a correlation time of 5 Myr. The LNR from the models needs to be sampled for around 50 Myr to produce a fully Gaussian distribution. This implies, that within the time frames considered for absolute plate motion reconstructions, LNR can be treated as a Gaussian variable. This provides a new geodynamic constraint for absolute plate motion reconstructions.
Anomalous junction leakage current induced by STI dislocations and its impact on dynamic random access memory devices

As the density of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) increases up to giga-bit regime, one of the important problems is the control of the process-induced defects and damage. Although the shallow trench isolation (STI) is widely used for deep submicron devices, it has a great possibility of generating STI dislocations due to its inherently large mechanical stress and damage. When STI dislocations are located within the depletion region of pn junction, anomalous junction leakage current could flow. This junction leakage current degrades the memory cell data retention time and the standby current of DRAM. We resolved the problems from STI dislocations as follows; the crystal defects and the mechanical stress were reduced by optimizing the implantation condition and the densification temperature of trench filled high-density plasma (HDP) oxide, respectively. In addition, the residual mechanical stress before source/drain implantation was relieved through rapid thermal nitridation (RTN). By using these methods, STI dislocations were successfully clamped outside the depletion region of pn junction.
A fibre flexure–shear model for seismic analysis of RC‐framed structures

While currently existing modelling approaches of reinforced concrete (RC) behaviour allow a reasonably accurate prediction of flexural response, the determination of its shear counterpart needs further developments. There are various modelling strategies in the literature able to predict the shear response and the shear–flexure coupling under monotonic loading conditions. However, very few are the reported models that have demonstrated successful results under cyclic loading, as in the seismic load case. These considerations lead to this research work focused on the development of a flexure–shear model for RC beam–column elements. A reliable constitutive model for cracked RC subjected to cyclic loading was implemented as bi‐axial fibre constitutive model into a two‐dimensional Timoshenko beam–column element. Aim of this research work is to arrive at the definition of a numerical model sufficiently accurate and, at the same time, computationally efficient, which will enable implementation within a finite element package for nonlinear dynamic analysis of existing non‐seismically designed RC structures that are prone to shear‐induced damage and collapse. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Polarization mode dispersion of short and long single-mode fibers

Polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in short and long single-mode fibers was measured by a polarization-maintaining Michelson interferometer. A nonnegligible PMD was found in some standard fibers. The sensitivity enables PMD to measure the bend-induced PMD of a fiber rolled on a 28-cm diameter drum. A theoretical model for PMD with random mode coupling is developed, and an explicit equation for the time-of-flight distribution is presented. Comparison between measurements on short and long fibers with residual birefringence leads to an estimation of the coupling length on the order of 20-30 m. >
Energetics of household biogas plants in India

SYNOPSIS An attempt to assess the energetic feasibility of family size biogas plants has been made. The standard technique of process analysis has been used to determine the energy yield ratio of the three popular designs of biogas plants in India. The effects of size and retention time on energy yield ratio have also been studied.
Measurement and Numerical Simulation of Flow and Electric Fields in Charge Injection Type of Electrostatic Oil Filter

This paper presents experimental and numerical simulation results of the flow and electric fields in a two-dimensional model of charge injection type of electrostatic oil filter. A previous work has shown that flow is generated from the tips of the projections of the emitter electrode towards the smooth electrodes because of ion drag phenomenon and that the flow may detach part of the contaminant particles captured on the smooth electrodes and may be the principal cause of the saturation of the filtration speed at higher applied voltages and oil temperatures. In order to minimize the bad influence of the ion drag flow on the filter performance, it is important to be able to predict the flow in filters of various configurations by numerical simulation. Numerical simulation results of the flow field are compared to experimental results. In addition, electric potential distribution is measured and is compared between experiment and simulation. It is shown that the flow fields obtained by numerical simulation agree relatively well with measured ones. It is expected that the numerical simulation contributes to designing a filter with a better performance.
Acute Pancreatitis Due to COVID-19 Active Infection

Background This study investigates the relationship between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and acute pancreatitis. We present large registry data assessing the association between acute pancreatitis and mortality in patients with COVID-19 post-infection. Methods The researchers identified adult patients aged 18-90 years with COVID-19 infections in the TriNetX (COVID-19 research network) database between January 20, 2020, and June 1, 2021. The researchers identified n=1,039,688 cases divided into two cohorts: those with post-acute pancreatitis (n= 1,173) and those without post-acute pancreatitis (n=1,038,515) post COVID-19 infection having follow-up within a two-week period. The researchers then conducted a 1:1 propensity score match to account for differences in the cohorts and created two well-matched cohorts (n=1,173/1,173). Results Patients that developed acute pancreatitis had higher mortality (12.4% vs 3.7%, p<0.001), stroke (3.6% vs 1.7%, p=0.005), higher inpatient admissions (28.2% vs 10.6%, p<0.001), and higher rates of ICU admission (9.5% vs 3.2%, p<0.001). Conclusion In a large multinational federated database, we observed higher mortality, stroke, higher inpatient admissions, and higher rates of ICU admissions among patients with COVID-19 with pancreatitis.