Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimization and Comparison of Dual-Armature Flux-Switching Permanent Magnet Machines With Different Stator Core Shapes

This article investigates the influence of design parameters on average torque and compares the electromagnetic performances of novel dual-armature flux-switching permanent magnet (DA-FSPM) machines with different stator core shapes. Firstly, the topology of novel E- and C-core DA-FSPM machines are proposed and their operating principles are introduced. Secondly, the influence of design parameters on average torque of U-, E- and C-core DA-FSPM machines are analyzed in detail, including the stator to rotor copper loss ratio, split ratio, magnet arc, stator tooth arc, stator yoke thickness, rotor tooth arc and rotor yoke thickness. Then, the key parameters of the machines are sequentially optimized to maximize the average torque. It shows that the optimal parameters of the DA-FSPM machines are no longer the same as their FSPM counterpart machines. Furthermore, the electromagnetic performances of the optimized DA-FSPM machines and their FSPM counterpart machines are compared, including the phase back-EMF, electromagnetic torque, overload capability, inductances, power factor, efficiency, and unbalanced magnetic force. Finally, the finite-element analyses are validated on two prototype machines.
Effect of balconies and upper–lower vents on ventilation and indoor air quality in a wind-induced, naturally ventilated building

Balconies are green features commonly used in residential buildings to improve natural ventilation and air quality. Small vents, if mounted with an acoustic silencer, can reduce noise penetration while still allowing natural ventilation to occur. In this study, the computational fluid dynamics method is used to investigate numerically the effect of balconies with small upper and lower vents on the ventilation and air quality of the 4th, 5th and 6th floors of a 10-storey building. The results show that balconies can significantly increase the natural ventilation on these floors and generally have a more positive effect on the improvement of natural ventilation and the reduction in pollutant concentration on the floor on which they are located rather than on the levels above or below. Practical application: This study will help designers and engineers understand more about the effect of balconies and lower and upper vents on natural ventilation and indoor air quality in buildings. This study will also help them to incorporate with confidence the design of balconies with lower and upper vents.
Integrating Planning and Operations Models to Predict Work Zone Traffic

The impetus of this research is to meet the growing need for accurate and practical methods to support traffic analysis in work zones. Road construction and maintenance activities have become a common feature for the majority of U.S. roads over the last few years as a result of an aging infrastructure and increased funding in the last two highway bills. At the same time, traffic levels across the United States continue to surge, especially along urban corridors. Therefore, it is no surprise that concerns over traffic safety and delays in work zones continue to top national transportation priorities [8]. Recent transportation legislation has addressed work zone safety and mobility concerns by requiring states to develop a systematic process that starts early in project development and continues through project completion. In addition, every significant project must include a transportation management plan [14]. This research examines the application of two classes of traffic analysis models, macroscopic sketch analysis and microscopic traffic simulation, to work zones. The Excel-based QuickZone developed by the Federal Highway Administration provides a relatively easy to use macro-level analysis tool. Citilabs’ Dynasim and PTV America’s VISSIM are the two microscopic traffic simulation models used in this study. The research will evaluate the application of these tools to an urban interstate work zone. Specifically, this research will examine the following: 1) how the use of traffic analysis models relates to federal requirements about considering traffic impacts of major construction projects, 2) the accuracy of model results in comparison to real-world conditions, and 3) modeling effort and data requirements of these models. The primary objectives of this research are as follows: 1) determining the feasibility of applying a traffic-analysis model to a work-zone environment, 2) calibrating and validating the simulation models based on data collected in the work zone, 3) using the calibrated model to apply various work zone management strategies, and 4) documenting the research findings and lessons learned from the model applications.
Impact of Local Energy Markets Integration in Power Systems Layer: A Comprehensive Review

In recent years extensive research has been conducted on the development of different models that enable energy trading between prosumers and consumers due to expected high integration of distributed energy resources. Some of the most researched mechanisms include Peer-to-Peer energy trading, Community Self-Consumption and Transactive Energy Models. To ensure the stable and reliable delivery of electricity as such markets and models grow, this paper aims to understand the impact of these models on grid infrastructure, including impacts on the control, operation, and planning of power systems, interaction between multiple market models and impact on transmission network. Here, we present a comprehensive review of existing research on impact of Local Energy Market integration in power systems layer. We detect and classify most common issues and benefits that the power grid can expect from integrating these models. We also present a detailed overview of methods that are used to integrate physical network constraints into the market mechanisms, their advantages, drawbacks, and scaling potential. In addition, we present different methods to calculate and allocate network tariffs and power losses. We find that financial energy transactions do not directly reflect the physical energy flows imposed by the constraints of the installed electrical infrastructure. In the end, we identify a number of different challenges and detect research gaps that need to be addressed in order to integrate Local Energy Market models into existing infrastructure. * Corresponding author. E-mail address: viktorija.dudjak@hslu.ch (V. Dudjak).
STOCK LIQUIDITY AND CORPORATE TRADE CREDIT STRATEGIES: EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

This study investigates the nexus of stock liquidity and trade-credit policies in China from 2002 to 2017. The estimates are robust to alternative proxies, various fixed-effects, and the exogenous impact of Chinese split share structure reforms (SSSR) 2005-06 is investigated through the difference-in-difference analysis. The results validate that stock liquidity significantly impacts firms’ capacity to produce more trade credit supplies and less reliant on trade credit demand. The study applied SUEST analysis to investigate the effect of the Chinese institutional setting. The nexus of stock liquidity and trade credit strategies is substantial in state-owned enterprises. Additional analysis revealed that the said association is more visible to credit-constrained and equity-reliant enterprises. The policymakers should focus on market liquidity because it elevates firms’ capacity to mobilize capital through trade credit provisions. The micro aspect of this study suggests that stock liquidity allows managers to shape non-price competitive strategies and avoid excessive usage of trade credits.
Comparing internal representations of facial expression kinematics between autistic and non‐autistic adults

Recent developments suggest that autistic individuals require dynamic angry expressions to have a higher speed in order for them to be successfully identified. Therefore, it is plausible that autistic individuals do not have a ‘deficit’ in angry expression recognition, but rather their internal representation of these expressions is characterised by very high‐speed movement. In this study, matched groups of autistic and non‐autistic adults completed a novel emotion‐based task which employed dynamic displays of happy, angry and sad point light facial (PLF) expressions. On each trial, participants moved a slider to manipulate the speed of a PLF stimulus until it moved at a speed that, in their ‘mind's eye’, was typical of happy, angry or sad expressions. Participants were shown three different types of PLFs—those showing the full‐face, only the eye region, and only the mouth region, wherein the latter two were included to test whether differences in facial information sampling underpinned any dissimilarities in speed attributions. Across both groups, participants attributed the highest speeds to angry, then happy, then sad, facial motion. Participants increased the speed of angry and happy expressions by 41% and 27% respectively and decreased the speed of sad expressions by 18%. This suggests that participants have ‘caricatured’ internal representations of emotion, wherein emotion‐related kinematic cues are over‐emphasised. There were no differences between autistic and non‐autistic individuals in the speeds attributed to full‐face and partial‐face angry, happy and sad expressions respectively. Consequently, we find no evidence that autistic adults possess atypically fast internal representations of anger.
Salinity induces unique changes in lipid classes and fatty acids of the estuarine haptophyte Diacronema vlkianum

Abstract Studies on the influence of salinity on microalgal lipids have focused mainly on chlorophyte species and knowledge about photosynthetic secondary endosymbionts is limited. Haptophytes exemplify this situation and represent an interesting model to advance knowledge about the high phylogenetic variability of microalgae in their response to salinity. The estuarine Pavlovophyceae Diacronema vlkianum underwent particular lipid class and fatty acid changes under the effect of salinity. Variability due to salinity was higher in the fatty acid profile compared with that of the lipid class profile. Triacylglycerols decreased with salinity in actively growing cells and increased only when salinity rose to 50 and cell growth ceased. Hypersalinity caused a slight, although significant, sulpholipid decrease and a 4-fold increase in phosphatidylglycerol, suggesting a key role for this phospholipid in salt tolerance. Conversely, the betaine lipid diacylglycerol hydroxymethyl-N,N,N-trimethyl-β-alanine was specifically decreased with high salinity. The fatty acids that decreased the most with salinity were 14:0, 16:1n-7, 20:4n-6, 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3, while higher levels of 16:1n-9, 17:1, 18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3 were induced by high salinity. Despite fatty acid changes, the unsaturation index did not vary with salinity, but nutritional value of D. vlkianum decreased at a salinity of 50 due to a lower presence of 20-C polyunsaturated fatty acids. This pattern of lipid variation in D. vlkianum with salinity has not been described in any other microalgae. Although D. vlkianum grows within a wide salinity range, production of nutritional and functional lipids is more favourable at low salinity values.
Potential Prebiotic and Anti-Obesity Effects of Polysaccharides from Codium fragile

Polysaccharides from marine algae exhibit beneficial biological activities. In this study, we examined the effect of polysaccharides from Codium fragile (PCF) on prebiotic and anti-obesity activity. PCF increases the growth of specific beneficial microbial populations with concomitant decrease in pathogenic microbes. Further, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and DPPH radical scavenging activity (DPPH activity) after fermentation with PCF as carbon source were higher than for the glucose as control. Moreover, PCF inhibited adipocyte differentiation by inducing differentiation-related factors when the induction of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes into adipocytes was induced. Therefore, we suggest that PCF can be used as prebiotic material with anti-obesity for human health.
Waveform and Filter Joint Design Method for Pulse Compression Sidelobe Reduction

A joint waveform and filter design method is developed for suppressing radar pulse compression sidelobe level in this article. The problem is formulated as the minimization of the integrated sidelobe level (ISL) under the constraint of waveform constant modular and filter energy. To control the loss-in-processing gain (LPG), an additional function is introduced to constrain the peak level based on penalty function method. The joint design algorithm is then derived based on the alternating minimization and majorization minimization (MM) schemes. The computation complexity is analyzed and the convergence analysis verifies that the algorithm can converge to a critical point. Specifically, the proposed method is extended to the waveform and filter design for suppressing the peak sidelobe level (PSL). Numerical simulations are carried out to analyze the key parameters, which demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method. Simulation results show that the ISL and PSL can be significantly reduced with small LPG. Moreover, the proposed method exhibits faster running speed than the existing one and it thus can be applied to longer sequence designs.
Transitory Optimism

Passengers’ perception and satisfaction have long been seen and used as important measures of transit service quality and attractiveness. This research tried to understand better transit passengers’ perception of the implementation of various improvement strategies in bus service over time. The study analyzed three surveys of bus user perceptions conducted over a period of 3 years. The study also used stop-level data collected from the Société de Transport de Montréal's automated vehicle location and automatic passenger count systems and bus schedules in Montreal, Canada, to measure the actual changes in service. Descriptive statistics and regression models were used for a better understanding of the differences between perceptions and reality. The implementation of various strategies had a limited impact on the short-term overestimation by users of their waiting time benefits, whereas the implementation had a long-term impact on their travel time overestimation. This study can be of interest to marketing and planning departments at transit agencies, because it provides them with new insights into passengers’ perception and satisfaction.
Identification, Synthesis, Conformation and Activity of an Insulin-like Peptide from a Sea Anemone

The role of insulin and insulin-like peptides (ILPs) in vertebrate animals is well studied. Numerous ILPs are also found in invertebrates, although there is uncertainty as to the function and role of many of these peptides. We have identified transcripts with similarity to the insulin family in the tentacle transcriptomes of the sea anemone Oulactis sp. (Actiniaria: Actiniidae). The translated transcripts showed that these insulin-like peptides have highly conserved A- and B-chains among individuals of this species, as well as other Anthozoa. An Oulactis sp. ILP sequence (IlO1_i1) was synthesized using Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis of the individual chains, followed by regioselective disulfide bond formation of the intra-A and two interchain disulfide bonds. Bioactivity studies of IlO1_i1 were conducted on human insulin and insulin-like growth factor receptors, and on voltage-gated potassium, sodium, and calcium channels. IlO1_i1 did not bind to the insulin or insulin-like growth factor receptors, but showed weak activity against KV1.2, 1.3, 3.1, and 11.1 (hERG) channels, as well as NaV1.4 channels. Further functional studies are required to determine the role of this peptide in the sea anemone.
Are Cover Crops Affecting the Quality and Sustainability of Fruit Production?

The study of the interaction between fruit trees and cover crops has been addressed in numerous works over the last 50 years or more, evidencing the need to evolve from a productive orchard to an orchard that plays different ecosystem roles in terms of environmental sustainability rather than just productivity. This review, through an analysis of the scientific literature since the 1950s, highlights the development of sustainable soil management models in fruit tree orchards, mostly considering the relationship with fruit quality traits and with the ecosystem services that result from the adoption of cover crops, aiming at identifying and formulating technical recommendations in perennial orchards. Cover crop management surely improves soil features and positively influences fruit quality in perennial woody species, but also helps to develop a better habitat for beneficial insects, thus influencing pollination. A large number of scientific approaches highlight the beneficial use of a mixture of seeds in order to enhance biodiversity, aiming at improving ecosystem services for a transition towards more sustainable systems based on agroecological management.
Modifications in the Stress Field of a Long Inclined Fault Caused by the Welded-Contact Boundary Conditions across the Interface between Two Elastic Half-Spaces

In welded-contact boundary conditions, some stress components are not required to be continuous across the boundary between two elastic half-spaces. The purpose of this note is to study the modifications in the stress field of a long inclined strike-slip, dip-slip or tensile fault caused by the welded-contact boundary conditions across the interface between two elastic half-spaces. The Poisson’s ratios of the two half-spaces do not appear in the stress field of a strike-slip fault. In the case of a dip-slip fault, the Poisson’s ratio of the half-space in which the fault lies, has a significant influence on the stress field across the interface. However, for a tensile fault, the modification in the stress field is significantly affected by the Poisson’s ratios of both the half-spaces.
OVERVIEW FATIGUE PHENOMENON IN ORTHOTROPIC BRIDGE DECKS IN THE NETHERLANDS

An orthotropic steel bridge deck is a construction type with advantages. It is a lightweight construction, which is beneficial especially in case of larger spans. However over the last decades several details showed fatigue cracks. Well-known examples of fatigue cracks in the Netherlands are those observed in the bascule bridge Van Brienenoord in Rotterdam in summer 1997. Due to the huge amount of heavy vehicle traffic at the highways and the heavy but still growing axle loads, several fatigue cracks have already been observed in bridge decks and more cracks are expected. A lot of orthotropic steel bridge decks in the Netherlands are build up in the sixties and seventies. Fatigue problems are nowadays a challenging problem for bridge engineers. This introductory paper describes several fatigue prone details. Especially four types of cracks are discussed in this paper. These are cracks in the deck plate (1), cracks in the longitudinal weld between deck plate and longitudinal trough profile (2), cracks in the trough splice joint (3) and cracks in the connection between the trough profile and the crossbeam (4). For those four crack types the mechanical background is briefly analysed. The description of the cracks is illustrated with visual observations of the cracks in the steel structure it self and also with visual observations of the surfacing layers. The analysis of these structural details leads to the conclusion that especially fatigue cracks in the deck plate are potentially disturbing the traffic flow. For this reason emphasis on solutions for this type has been made. The analysis also leads to conclusions that are useful for the development of improved bridge deck structures. History In the third decade of the 20 th century, engineers in Germany and the USA were searching for an alternative to wooden and concrete decks supported by stringers and crossbeams. They considered steel decks as a promising alternative. The objectives were cost savings by a reduction of the steel mass and also achieving a reduction of
Laboratory Performance and Clinical Correlation of Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction as a Diagnostic Test for Bordetella Pertussis Isolated from Patients in Oman

Objectives To evaluate real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a diagnostic tool for pertussis (whooping cough), vis-à-vis culture, the long-time gold standard, with emphasis on the importance of clinical correlation in determining specificity. Methods Nasopharyngeal/throat swab samples in charcoal media received from all over Oman at Central Public Health Laboratories from January 2014 to December 2016 were included in this study. These samples were tested using both culture and real-time PCR. PCR was compared with culture to calculate its sensitivity and specificity. Further clinical correlation was conducted for the discrepant cases using different case definitions. Results A total of 590 nasopharyngeal/throat samples were included in the study. Out of the 590 samples, 73 were positive by PCR compared with 26 positive samples by culture (which were also positive by PCR). The sensitivity and specificity of PCR compared with those of culture were 100% (95% CI: 86.77−100) and 91.7% (95% CI: 89.07−93.81), respectively. To rule out false-positive results by PCR, clinical correlation was performed. Out of 47 cases that were positive by PCR but negative by culture, 44 cases were clinically evaluated by accessing clinical details. Out of these 44 cases, 21 (47.7%) met the pertussis clinical criteria according to the CDC-2014 case definition, 41 (93.2%) according to the Europe-2008 case definition, and 44 (100%) according to the Canada-2009 and Australia-2014 case definitions. With only positive PCR, these cases were classified as confirmed according to these case definitions, which increased the specificity of PCR to 95.7–100%. The mean turnaround time was 3.5 days for PCR compared to 6.2 days for culture. Conclusions Real-time PCR is a highly sensitive and specific test for the diagnosis of Bordetella pertussis infection. Based on our results, we recommend setting up PCR diagnostic facilities in regional hospitals in Oman as this will lead to a timely and accurate diagnosis of pertussis.
Printed parallelogram monopole antenna with symmetrical parasitic elements for wideband applications

A printed microstripline‐fed parallelogram monopole antenna for wideband applications is presented.This antenna is composed of a parallelogram monopole, a ground plane with three symmetrical parasitic elements, and a 50‐Ω microstrip feedline. By using short‐circuited parasitic elements including a symmetrical parallelogram patch and a pairs of strip lines, the proposed antenna can excite extra resonate modes to achieve wideband operation. The measured results show that the proposed antenna offers a large impedance bandwidth for 10‐dB return loss is 4.74 GHz (1.82–6.56 GHz), corresponds to fractional bandwidth of 113% for central frequency at 4.19 GHz, and can cover the personal communication services, IMT‐2000, 2.4/5.2/5.8 GHz wireless local area network, and 2.5/3.5/5.5 GHz worldwide interoperability for microwave access standards. In addition, measured radiation patterns exhibit reasonable radiation characteristics. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:388–391, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.27278