Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lighting as a Circadian Rhythm-Entraining and Alertness-Enhancing Stimulus in the Submarine Environment

The human brain can only accommodate a circadian rhythm that closely follows 24 hours. Thus, for a work schedule to meet the brain’s hard-wired requirement, it must employ a 24 hour-based program. However, the 6 hours on, 12 hours off (6/12) submarine watchstanding schedule creates an 18-hour “day” that Submariners must follow. Clearly, the 6/12 schedule categorically fails to meet the brain’s operational design, and no schedule other than one tuned to the brain’s 24 hour rhythm can optimize performance. Providing Submariners with a 24 hour-based watchstanding schedule—combined with effective circadian entrainment techniques using carefully-timed exposure to light—would allow crewmembers to work at the peak of their daily performance cycle and acquire more restorative sleep. In the submarine environment, where access to natural light is absent, electric lighting can play an important role in actively entraining—and closely maintaining—circadian regulation. Another area that is likely to have particular importance in the submarine environment is the potential effect of light to help restore or maintain alertness.
GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum cascade lasers

A unipolar injection quantum cascade (QC) laser grown in an AlGaAs/GaAs material system by molecular beam epitaxy, is reported. The active material is a 30 period sequence of injectors/active regions made from Al0.33Ga0. 67As/GaAs-coupled quantum wells. For this device a special waveguide design, which complies with a GaAs heavily doped substrate and very short Al0.90Ga0. 10As cladding layers, has been optimized. At a heat-sink temperature of 77 K, the laser emission wavelength is 9.4 μm with peak optical power exceeding 70 mW and the threshold current density is 7.3 kA/cm2. The maximum operating temperature is 140 K. This work experimentally demonstrates the general validity of QC laser principles by showing laser action in a heterostructure material different from the one used until now.
Effects of Long-Term Exposure to High G on Blood Oxygen Saturation and Performance

The effects of long term exposure to a high g simulated aerial combat maneuver (SACM, or alternating peaks of +4.5Gz to +7.0Gz) were examined using blood oxygen saturation (SAO2) levels and performance measures (RTs, error rates, and comfort ratings). Four different anti-g protection device configurations were evaluated: the standard issue CSU-13 B/P anti-g suit, an experimental retrograde inflation anti-g suit (RIAGS), the RIAGS with capstan sleeves, and the RIAGS with occlusion cuffs. Overall, RIAGS with sleeves allowed subjects to endure much longer times at high g. However, when SA02 levels were correlated with time to exhaustion, there were no differences between protective suit configurations. RIAGS with sleeves appeared to lead to a slower decrement in blood oxygen saturation levels during long term exposure, allowing subjects to remain at high g longer. It was also shown that SA02 levels “rebounded” to some extent before each of the next +7Gz onsets, but when subjects approached their endurance limits this rebound effect diminished. It seems the longer subjects endured high g, the less able they were to physiologically compensate. The simplest task condition showed an increased in RT when subjects neared their exhaustion point. The more difficult task conditions showed too much variability in RTs to discern any performance patterns. It seemed enough effort and attention was directed to the task to maintain stable performance in the easy condition, but was not enough to maintain performance in the more difficult conditions. Error rates also increased as subjects neared exhaustion, as expected. However, error rates were sensitive to differences among suit configurations, whereas RTs were not. Error rates covaried with time at SACM and comfort ratings. In summary, subjects wearing RIAGS with sleeves withstood high g for longer periods of time, had less error in their performance, and rated the suit most comfortable.
Antecedents of the use of online banking by students in Malaysia: extended TAM validated through SEM

Purpose – The radical advances in the electronic banking technologies have inaugurated unique methods of transaction with a bank, especially using online banking medium. The main purpose of this study is to replicate an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) in order to determine those factors that impact the students’ intention to use online banking, in Malaysian context. Two main banks were selected for data collection purposes, namely, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad and Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad. Design/methodology/ approach – A self-administered questionnaire, which was already developed and tested previously by various scholars, have been adapted for the present study. The questionnaire was distributed through convenience sampling to 550 students of different faculties and universities in Malaysia. A total of 451 usable responses were finally selected for the data analysis purpose. First, the descriptive analysis was undertaken in order to observe the data for various trends. After descriptive analysis, data was inferentially analyzed by deploying Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The main steps of SEM followed in this particular research were; Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and full fledge Structural Equation Modelling, which led to hypothesis testing using AMOS computer software. Findings – The results indicate that Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Enjoyment, and Quality of Internet Connection are the main antecedents of the use of online banking by students. Moreover, the Information on Online Banking significantly affects Perceived Ease of Use, and Perceived Enjoyment. Furthermore, Quality of Internet Connection statistically significantly impact Perceived Enjoyment and Security & Privacy. Descriptive statistics indicates 71.8% males and 28.2% females, 46.3% have their accounts in Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad and 34.6% in Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad. A total of 90.7% students were in between 15 to 35 years of their age. Most of them (64.5%) were the master’s students of different fields, with majority of them (35.9%) pursuing their MBA. Research limitations/ implications – The use of convenience sampling in this study weakens research objectivity and the relatively small size of the sample somewhat limits generalizations. Originality/ value – The use of complex modelling techniques, namely, Structural Equation Modelling is a novel attempt in validating the extended TAM. Further, this study also extends the understanding of the technology acceptance model from students’ behaviour perspective. Perhaps the model validated in the present research can be adopted by future researchers for further investigation, especially in other countries and industries.
Complex New Product Development Projects: How the Project Manager's Information Sharing with Core Actors Changes over Time

A heavily burdened project manager must ensure effective information sharing with actors inside and outside the organization because this is a necessary condition for a new product development (NPD) project to achieve its objectives. Knowledge, however, on who actually assists a project manager with the information sharing during NPD projects is limited; therefore, this study of longitudinal objective email data (4658 emails) during a NPD project contributes to theory and practice by advancing our understanding of when and how the project manager establishes relationships with different core actors inside and outside the organization to promote the information sharing.
The Triple Depreciation Line (TDL) against the Triple Bottom Line (TBL): Towards a genuine integrated reporting

The goal of this presentation is to analyse the concept of “Triple Bottom Line” (TBL), from a critical perspective, and to give an alternative with another concept based on another theory: the “Triple Depreciation Line” (TDL). Indeed, since “Cannibals With Forks” (Elkington, J. 1997. Oxford: Capstone), TBL has gained a tremendous notoriety. Nevertheless, the production of critical analysis of TBL has remained very scarce. Moreover, to our knowledge, no one of the critics propose an alternative to TBL. So, the first part of the talk will be dedicated to a critical analysis of TBL. We will firstly show that there are two main different ways of comprehending TBL, based respectively on the concepts of “effectiveness” and “efficiency”. Then, we will notably suggest that TBL is not a novelty and emphasise that the financial capital is the only one systematically protected under TBL. In this case, as TBL does not do its “job” (the maintenance of the three capitals), we propose to take seriously the existence of different types of capital and apply to all of them the same instruments of protection as used in the case of the financial capital. This will lead us to promote TDL instead of TBL as an effective instrument for solving the urgent problems of today’s capitalism. In short, we take one of the most famous weapons of capitalist accounting, the planned depreciation, and turn it on financial capitalists. Thus, in a second part, from a short analysis of depreciation in accounting, we will show how it can be used for other types of capitals, notably the Human and Environmental Capitals (HEC). This approach, TDL, is based on several assumptions: (1) firms have an obligation to protect some particular HEC that they use; (2) the use of these HEC implies a systematic degradation of them; (3) these HEC are not a priori substitutable to financial capitals: the level of their protection has to be regularly and collectively determined by their representatives, like scientists, NGOS, public organisms, etc. and firms; (4) an integrated reporting, based on a common unit, money, is needed to allow all actors to communicate. (1) and (2) firstly involve the creation of liabilities, related to the protection of the concerned HEC and of two corresponding assets (the use of these HEC). The systematic degradation of the HEC will be registered as depreciations of these assets. We will clearly present the mechanism of the TDL and discuss several consequences of this approach. In particular, the costs incurred to concretely protect the HEC become a type of investments. Moreover, as TDL concerns the balance sheet and the income statement, the focus is not only on flows but also on the capitals at stake and their relative description. In the last part, we will compare TDL with TBL and similar methods. We will replace TBL and TDL in the framework of a new emerging concept: the integrated reporting. We will argue that TBL and “integrated reporting” are basically similar things and that the TDL is the only serious mean to achieve a genuine integrated reporting.
Control of a three-phase AC/DC VIENNA converter based on the sliding mode loss-free resistor approach

The three-phase VIENNA rectifier supplying a regulated DC bus in a micro-grid architecture is controlled in this study by means of a sliding-mode regulation loop, which imposes a loss-free resistor (LFR) behaviour in each phase for power factor correction. Assuming equal parameters per phase and that the intermediate node between the output capacitors of the DC link is the neutral point of the AC generator, the rectifier can then be modelled as a tetra-port LFR with three decoupled resistive input ports and one output port characterised by a power source representing the input power absorbed by the rectifier. After demonstrating that the resulting sliding dynamics are globally stable, the control is analogically executed, this only requiring an analogue multiplier, several operational amplifiers and some auxiliary digitally implemented logic circuitry. Experimental results for different power levels and frequencies supplied by a low-power wind generator are in perfect agreement with the theoretical predictions.
Forward, Back and Home Again - Analyzing User Behavior on the Web

In a period of less than two decades, the World Wide Web has evolved into one of the most important sources of information and services. Due to the infancy of the Web and its rapid growth, our knowledge on how users interact with the Web is limited - knowledge which is likely to provide pointers for improvements in the design of Web sites and Web browsers. In this thesis, we aim to provide an integrative overview of theoretical insights and empirical findings, and to extend this body of knowledge with results from a number of user studies.
Association of Anxiety with Cognition and Academic Performance in Overweight and Obese Adolescents - A Cross Sectional Study

Aims: To determine the correlation between cognitive and academic levels in anxious overweight/obese adolescents. Methods: The Spence Child Anxiety Scale (SCAS) was used to check the level of anxiety on 98 overweight/ obese adolescents aged 12-16 years. After meeting inclusion criteria participants were evaluated by Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) for level of cognition and Academic Performance Rating Scale (APRS) for academic performance. Results: 5.10% of obese/overweight adolescents had moderate cognition, and 13.27% mild cognition. No significant association was seen in BMI and anxiety with cognition and academic performance, however, a positive correlation was seen between cognition and academic performance (p<0.05). Conclusion: Anxiety rates in overweight/obese adolescents are not directly proportional to levels of cognition and academic performance. However, age rise has a correlation with BMI rise and level of anxiety. The research showed that cognition levels are associated with academic performance.
Hysteresis phenomena of ultrasonic velocity change in magnetorheological fluids

The magnetorheological response of magnetorheological flu ids (MRF) results from the polarization induced in the suspended particles by application of an external magnetic field. We proposed a qualitative analysis of these effect s by measuring properties of ultrasonic propagation. Hysteresis was appeared when magnetic field increased to and decrease d from the certain value, 290 mT in our experiment. The change rate of the ultrasonic wave propagation velocity increased during the increasing process of the external magnetic field. However, it was kept almost the same value during the decreasing process. Smart materials have some properties which can be altered or tuned using an external field. Examples include materials that exhibit ferroelectricity, pyroele ctricity, piezoelectricity, a shape memory effect, electrostriction, magnerostriction, electrochromism, p hotomagnetism and photochromism. Most of these materials tend to be used in their solid state, i.e. in a polyc rystalline or a single crystal form as bulk materials or thin films deposited on appropriate substrates . There is also a class of smart materials known as field responsive fluids. These include magnetorheol ogical fluids (MRF), magnetic fluids, electrorheological (ER) fluids and certain types of polymer ic gels. These materials are different from the conventional smart materials, in that they are soft materia ls (typically dispersions or gels) rather than solids (1). MRFs are formed by magnetizable micron-size particles suspended in a nonmagnetic fluid. The physical bases of the remarkable characteristics of these fl uids are somewhat simple. In the absence of an external magnetic field, these suspensions behave as no n-Newtonian fluids. When an external magnetic field is applied, a magnetic dipole moment is induce d in the magnetic particles. The magnetic interaction between the resulting induced dipoles causes particles to aggregate forming a clusters aligned in the magnetic field direction (2). These cluster structure s restrict the motion of the fluid, thus increasing the viscosity of the MRF. MRFs usually show yield stress strongly depending on the amplitude of the external magnetic field. The key to the numerous technology applications of MRF lies in their reversible rheological transition which is closed to the rapid change in the inner microstructures (3). Therefore a detailed understanding of the inner structures and dynamics due to the application of an external magnetic field is needed in order
Strategies For Small-Scale Production Of Dried Apples And Hummus Products With Natural Ingredients

Hummus, a Middle-Eastern legume-based spread, is increasingly popular in the United States, but science-based guidelines to ensure product safety and quality are lacking. Preservatives are used to extend hummus’ refrigerated shelf life, but consumers prefer natural alternatives. We evaluated the effect of natural antimicrobials and acid systems 1) on the shelf life of refrigerated hummus and 2) in combination with thermal processing as a hurdle technology to develop a shelf-stable product. Base hummus was prepared by blending chickpeas, olive oil, salt, and water. Hummus was acidified to pH 4.6 with citric acid, citric and acetic acids, glucono-delta-lactone (GDL), or GDL and acetic acid. Five preservative treatments were tested: 20 ppm natamycin, 500 ppm and 1000 ppm natural plant bitters, 1000 ppm potassium sorbate, and no antimicrobial (control). Samples were inoculated with Penicillium, stored at 15°C for 5 weeks (accelerated study), and analyzed weekly for microbial counts. Following the accelerated study, the citric-acetic acid system was validated for storage at 5°C with 20 ppm natamycin, 1000 ppm potassium sorbate, 1000 ppm sodium benzoate, and no antimicrobial at pH 4.6 and 4.2. Samples were inoculated and analyzed as previously described. Over the accelerated study, total plate counts and yeast and mold counts were lowest in citric-acetic acid hummus with natamycin compared to all other samples (p<0.05), with >5 weeks shelf-life. Hummus with GDL or GDL-acetic acid had no significantly different microbial counts (p>0.05) among preservative treatments. During 5°C storage, yeast and mold counts were below the limit of detection (<1 CFU/g hummus) by Week 12 for citric-acetic hummus with natamycin, demonstrating fungicidal activity. Citric-acetic acid hummus with natamycin achieved 22 weeks of refrigerated shelf life at both pH, which was significantly longer (p<0.01) than the other preservative treatments.
Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes

Whether it is chosen or thrust upon you, change brings both opportunities and turmoil. Since first published 25 years ago, Transitions has helped hundreds of thousands of readers cope with these issues by providing an elegantly simple yet profoundly insightful roadmap of the transition process. With the understanding born of both personal and professional experience, William Bridges takes readers step by step through the three stages of any transition: The Ending, The Neutral Zone, and, in time, The New Beginning. Bridges explains how each stage can be understood and embraced, leading to meaningful and productive movement into a hopeful future. With a new introduction highlighting how the advice in the book continues to apply and is perhaps even more relevant today, and a new chapter devoted to change in the workplace, Transitions will remain the essential guide for coping with the one constant in life: change.
DISTRIBUTION COEFICIENTS (KD) GENERATED FROM A CORE SAMPLE COLLECTED FROM THE SALTSTONE DISPOSAL FACILITY

Core samples originating from Vault 4, Cell E of the Saltstone Disposal Facility (SDF) were collected in September of 2008 (Hansen and Crawford 2009, Smith 2008) and sent to SRNL to measure chemical and physical properties of the material including visual uniformity, mineralogy, microstructure, density, porosity, distribution coefficients (K{sub d}), and chemical composition. Some data from these experiments have been reported (Cozzi and Duncan 2010). In this study, leaching experiments were conducted with a single core sample under conditions that are representative of saltstone performance. In separate experiments, reducing and oxidizing environments were targeted to obtain solubility and Kd values from the measurable species identified in the solid and aqueous leachate. This study was designed to provide insight into how readily species immobilized in saltstone will leach from the saltstone under oxidizing conditions simulating the edge of a saltstone monolith and under reducing conditions, targeting conditions within the saltstone monolith. Core samples were taken from saltstone poured in December of 2007 giving a cure time of nine months in the cell and a total of thirty months before leaching experiments began in June 2010. The saltstone from Vault 4, Cell E is comprised of blast furnace slag, class F flymore » ash, portland cement, and Deliquification, Dissolution, and Adjustment (DDA) Batch 2 salt solution. The salt solution was previously analyzed from a sample of Tank 50 salt solution and characterized in the 4QCY07 Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) report (Zeigler and Bibler 2009). Subsequent to Tank 50 analysis, additional solution was added to the tank solution from the Effluent Treatment Project as well as from inleakage from Tank 50 pump bearings (Cozzi and Duncan 2010). Core samples were taken from three locations and at three depths at each location using a two-inch diameter concrete coring bit (1-1, 1-2, 1-3; 2-1, 2-2, 2-3; 3-1, 3-2, 3-3) (Hansen and Crawford 2009). Leaching experiments were conducted with a section of core sample 3-2. All cores from location 3 were drilled without using water. Core sample 3-2 was drilled from approximately six inches to a depth of approximately 13 inches. Approximately six inches of the core was removed but it broke into two pieces during removal from the bit. At the time of drilling, core material appeared olive green in color (Smith 2008). The fact that the samples were cored as olive green and were received after storage with a gray outer layer is indicative that some oxidation had occurred prior to leaching studies. « less
Small Unmanned Aircraft: Theory and Practice

Autonomous unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) are critical to current and future military, civil, and commercial operations. Despite their importance, no previous textbook has accessibly introduced UAVs to students in the engineering, computer, and science disciplines--until now. Small Unmanned Aircraft provides a concise but comprehensive description of the key concepts and technologies underlying the dynamics, control, and guidance of fixed-wing unmanned aircraft, and enables all students with an introductory-level background in controls or robotics to enter this exciting and important area. The authors explore the essential underlying physics and sensors of UAV problems, including low-level autopilot for stability and higher-level autopilot functions of path planning. The textbook leads the student from rigid-body dynamics through aerodynamics, stability augmentation, and state estimation using onboard sensors, to maneuvering through obstacles. To facilitate understanding, the authors have replaced traditional homework assignments with a simulation project using the MATLAB/Simulink environment. Students begin by modeling rigid-body dynamics, then add aerodynamics and sensor models. They develop low-level autopilot code, extended Kalman filters for state estimation, path-following routines, and high-level path-planning algorithms. The final chapter of the book focuses on UAV guidance using machine vision. Designed for advanced undergraduate or graduate students in engineering or the sciences, this book offers a bridge to the aerodynamics and control of UAV flight.