Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Contribution to the Investigation of Leader Tortuosity in Positive Long Rod-Plane Air Discharge

In recent years, the investigation of leader tortuosity in long air discharge is brought into focus, for it is the main factor that influents the 50% breakdown voltage and can be used to validate and test the discharge modes in the design of long air gap dimension. In order to find out whether the test data of the whole leader channels are accuracy to represent the leader propagation paths, a discharge test of a 4 m rod-plane air gap subjected to switching impulse voltage is carried out. And an observation platform is set up to synchronously record the voltage waveforms, the discharge currents, the leader propagation processes and the whole leader channels. A new method is proposed to subtract the final-jump part from the whole leader channel by identifying the leader tip height at the initiation of the final jump (LTH for short) from the CCD image. Then the test data of LTH and the leader propagation path are statistically obtained. And probability density functions (PDFs for short) of three different angles between consecutive segments of the leader propagation path are used to quantitatively describe the leader tortuosity. According to the analysis of the results, the mean value of LTH is nearly half the gap length in the gap axial direction. And an obvious difference can be discovered when comparing PDFs of the leader propagation paths with those of the whole leader channels. A conclusion to account for the difference is deduced that the leader paths during the final jump are much straighter than those during leader propagation. In the end, the present work recommends that the final-jump part should be subtracted from the whole leader channel when the test data of leader tortuosity are used in the numerical model for positive long air discharge.
ASPECTS EPIDEMIOLOGIQUES ET DIAGNOSTIQUES DU RETRECISSEMENT DE L’URETRE MASCULIN AU CENTRE NATIONAL HOSPITALIER ET UNIVERSITAIRE HUBERT KOUTOUKOU MAGA DE COTONOU

But : Peu de travaux se sont interesses a l’etude du retrecissement de l’uretre a Cotonou. Le but de ce travail etait de decrire ses aspects epidemiologiques et diagnostiques. Patients et methodes : Il s’agit d’une etude retrospective descriptive qui s’est deroulee dans le service d’urologie du centre national hospitalier et universitaire Hubert Koutoukou Maga de Cotonou entre le 1 er Janvier 2005 et le 31 Decembre 2010. Nous avons collige tous les dossiers medicaux des patients chez qui le diagnostic de retrecissement uretral etait retenu. Resultats : La prevalence hospitaliere etait de 11,3%. L’âge moyen des patients etait de 44,4 ± 12,7 ans. L’etiologie du retrecissement etait surtout infectieuse (44,3%). Le delai moyen de consultation etait de 15,5 mois. La dysurie (48,1%) et la retention vesicale complete (35,9%) etaient les principaux motifs de consultation. L’uretrocystographie retrograde avec cliches mictionnels etait le principal examen realise a visee diagnostique (93 cas). Chez 73,6%, le retrecissement etait situe uniquement sur l’uretre anterieur avec comme siege electif, l’uretre bulbo-perineal (63,2%). Il etait unique chez 84,9% et court dans 77,4% des cas. Sa longueur moyenne etait de 2,1 ± 1,3 cm. La fonction renale etait alteree chez 18,1%. L’uroculture etait positive chez 35,1% (n = 33) et Escherichia coli (17 cas) etait le principal germe retrouve. Conclusion : Le retrecissement de l’uretre masculin reste l’apanage de l’adulte jeune. Sa principale etiologie est infectieuse et l’uretre anterieur represente son siege de predilection. Abstract Purpose : Few studies have focused on urethral stricture in Cotonou. The purpose of this study was to describe its epidemiological and diagnostic aspects. Patients and methods : This is a retrospective descriptive study conducted in the urology department of National University Hospital Hubert Koutoukou Maga of Cotonou between 1 st January 2005 and 31 st December 2010. Medical records of all patients with the diagnosis of urethral stricture were included. Results : The hospital prevalence was 11.3%. The average age of patients was 44.4 ± 12.7 years. The etiology of stricture was mainly infectious (44.3%). The average time to referral was 15.5 months. Dysuria (48.1%) and complete urinary retention (35.9%) were the main reasons for consultation. Retrograd urethrocystography with voiding X-ray was the main examination performed for diagnostic purposes (93 cases). In 73.6% of cases, the stricture was located only on the anterior urethra and more electively at the bulbo-perineal zone (63.2%). It was unique in 84.9% and short in 77.4% of cases. Its average length was 2.1 ± 1.3 cm. Renal function was impaired in 18.1%. Urine culture was positive in 35.1% (n = 33) and Escherichia coli (17 cases) was the commonnest germ found. Conclusion : Stricture of male urethra is common in young adults. Its main cause is infectious and the most frequent location is the anterior urethra.
Simulation of Electric Arcing in HVDC Relays During a Short Circuit Situation

Electric arcing in high voltage direct current (HVDC) relays is an undesirable phenomenon that many manufacturers seek to fully understand and control. In short circuit situations, the rapid increase of the current causes the arcs to excessively heat, melt, boil, and vaporize the contact spots of the relays. This situation may end in explosion of the relays. In this work, the arcing process of such a short circuit situation is simulated based on time dependent current and voltage measurements at the relay [3]. To analyse the electric arcs in detail, and estimate the resulting vaporization from the increasing current, a multiphysics model which couples current flow, fluid flow, and heat transfer, based on balance equations, is established in COMSOL. The simulation results will show the electric arc formation and time dependent arc evolution. It is expected that; the temperatures of the arcs are high enough to melt, boil, and vaporize the contact materials, which has to be quantified to understand the pressure increase within the relay chamber.
Hardware Spiking Neural Networks: Slow Tasks Resilient Learning with Longer Term-Memory Bits

When aiming at efficient and low-power processing of event-based data, hardware implementations of spiking neural networks that co-integrate analog silicon neurons with memristive synaptic crossbar arrays are a promising framework. Fully analog systems however commonly make it difficult to learn patterns with real-world timescales, which are typically beyond the millisecond, due to intrinsic constraints of the underlying technologies. In this work, we propose to alleviate this issue by supplementing each presynaptic unit with a single memory bit, which allows to implement a hardware-friendly Spike Timing-Dependent Plasticity. By simulation means on the N-MNIST dataset, we illustrate the potential of this concept and show its robustness to postsynaptic neuron variability. We also discuss how to circumvent challenges raised by initial weight distribution. These results could facilitate the emergence of embedded smart systems directly fed by event-based sensors.
Physics Projection

This study presents an approach termed physics projection, via which robots can learn about the physical world and predict the effects of their actions online and in an active manner. This approach employs three components: a robot, physical world model, and physics engine. The physics projection process involves a double loop structure comprising a real loop for learning the physical world model and an imaginary loop for a simulation search. Experiments were performed using the TurtleBot3 mobile robot and Unity graphics engine. The results effectively demonstrate that the robot can predict the effects of various actions performed by it under the given physical conditions, successfully execute the tasks of carrying a wine glass and a cup filled with water without dropping them or spilling their contents, and predict a catastrophic effect that could not be predicted by a human operator. The proposed method would contribute to enable robots to predict the effects of their actions and determine appropriate actions to perform in a dynamically changing physical world.
FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SURVIVAL FOR A COHORT OF CLINICALLY CONFIRMED DIABETES CASES IN NOVA SCOTIA

Objectives: Limitations underlying much of the epidemiological literature pertaining to the nature and course of diabetes mellitus (DM) restrict our ability to understand the progression of DM from disease onset to death. Data from the Diabetes Care Program of Nova Scotia (DCPNS) Registry were used to examine factors associated with survival for a cohort of clinically confirmed type 1 and type 2 DM cases. Methods: Historical cohorts of 2,043 type 1 and 47,974 type 2 DM cases were followed from first Diabetes Centre (DC) visit until death/study end. Kaplan Meier curves were computed to explore differences in survival by sex, district health authority (DHA) of care, and comorbidity status. Cox proportional hazard models were used to explore differences in survival by comorbidity status while controlling for other variables. Results: Median lifespan for type 1 DM cases was 12 years shorter than for type 2 cases. The hazard rate ratios (HRRs) for type 1 cases with dyslipidemia, hypertension, or both compared to those with no comorbidities were 1.63, 2.57, and 7.52 respectively. The HRRs for type 2 cases with dyslipidemia, hypertension, or both compared to those with no comorbidities were 0.95, 1.15, and 1.00 respectively. Conclusion: Disease progression and the relationship between comorbidity status and survival differed markedly for the type 1 and type 2 DM populations underscoring the need to examine these populations separately. Comorbidity status was intertwined with DM diagnosis and progression among the type 2 DM population but not among the type 1 population.
OF-ECF: A New Optimization of the Objective Function for Parent Selection in RPL

The RPL routing protocol is designed to respond to the requirements of a large range of Low-power and Lossy Networks (LLNs). RPL uses an objective function (OF) to build the route toward a destination based on routing metrics. Considering only a single metric, some network performances can be improved while others may be degraded. In this paper, we present a flexible Objective Function based on Expected Transmission Count (ETX), Consumed Energy and Forwarding Delay (OF-ECF) built on a combination of metrics using an additive method. The main goal of this proposed solution is to balance energy consumption and minimize the average delay. To improve the reliability of the network, a flexible routing scheme that provides the diversity of paths and a higher availability is presented. Simulations results show that the new objective function OF-ECF outperforms the OF-FUZZY, and the standards OF0 and MRHOF. In terms of network lifetime and reliability.
Suboptimal Control of Linear Systems with Bounded Disturbances using Krotov sufficient Conditions

This article considers the problem of sub optimal regulator design for linear systems subject to additive but bounded disturbances. The information regarding the bounds is used to formulate another optimal control problem. The system used in the latter problem is the original system subject to worst case of disturbance. Then the latter optimal control problem is solved using Krotov sufficient conditions via selection of the so-called Krotov function. The selection of Krotov function is made such that the iterative computation of solutions (which is required while employing these conditions) is avoided. The resulting controller, which is sub-optimal for the original problem, is comprised of a state-feedback term and a time-varying term which compensates for the effect of disturbances. The numerical examples demonstrate the application of developed methodology.
Palaeohealth at Man Bac

The purpose of this chapter is to review the evidence of adult and subadult health for individuals recovered from the Man Bac site during the 2005 and 2007 excavation seasons. A fuller appreciation of the inhabitants of Man Bac can only be realised through an examination of the nature and patterning of health markers in the context of other bio-variables such as preservation, demographic profile, stature, diet and genetic relationships with contemporaneous, previous and later populations in the region. To this end, the health profile of the Man Bac inhabitants has been developed towards the end of this monograph. The palaeohealth of the ancient inhabitants of what is now Vietnam has been extensively examined and discussed in a number of studies (Oxenham et al., 2005; Oxenham, 2006; Oxenham et al., 2006). With respect to Man Bac specifically, limited examinations of childhood health, using remains from the 2005 season only, have been carried out in the context of broader mortuary archaeological questions (Oxenham, 2006). In this chapter, health variables are limited to two nonspecific signatures of physiological impairment, cribra orbitalia and linear enamel hypoplasia, as well as a range of oral health indicators, including dental caries, alveolar defects (often termed abscesses) and antemortem tooth loss. Subsequent publications will review the evidence for other health variables including trauma and infectious disease.
Multiresolution Analysis Pansharpening for the Fusion of Raman and Conventional Brightfield Microscopy Images

This contribution investigates the application of multiresolution analysis-based pansharpening algorithms for the fusion of microscopic images generated by Raman and conventional brightfield microscopy. Using hyperspectral and panchromatic image data of a polymer sample, eleven different established algorithms have been applied. Fusion quality assessment has been conducted at reduced and full resolution. It could be demonstrated that among the considered approaches, pansharpening based on high-pass filtering performs best in terms of spatial and spectral consistency, according to established quality measures and a visual image quality assessment.
The Sadistic Murderer

T H E forensic psychiatrist is sometimes asked by the police whether he can describe the type of person they should be looking for when a major crime has been committed. What can be done in this field remains limited and this must be said clearly at the outset. The question frequently arises in cases of murder and in particular the sexual murder. It seemed therefore of value to attempt to draw such a profile in the specific case of sadistic murderers. The more precise the description which can be given, the more probable becomes their early detection and the greater hope there is of eventually being able to recognise them before they have killed. It is useless, though it is sometimes done, simply to label such a person a psychopath and then give a text-book description of psychopathy. This is not only too broad to be of value to the police, for example, but it is also not accurate. It is also important to distinguish the mtu-derer who kills in a sexual setting, as for example the killing of a taunting, imsatisfied sexual partner or killing to silence a victim of rape, from the true sadistic murderer who alone is considered m this paper, although these can be factors in his case also.
How to Control the Distribution of Anchored, Mn12–Stearate, Single-Molecule Magnets

Controlling the distribution of the Mn12–stearate, single-molecule magnets (SMMs) anchored on a select surface is expected to be a new method for tuning its interactions, and an investigation on the magnetic properties of separated magnetic molecules is also lacking. The anchoring of the SMMs at the surface with an assumed statistic distance between each other is not an easy task; nevertheless, in this work, we show a synthesis which allows for this in detail. The immobilization of the Mn12–stearate was demonstrated with the use of FTO glasses and spherical silica as substrates. Based on differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations, we proved the efficiency of the method proposed. We observed continuous decreasing the number of bonds, and afterward, decreasing in the number of immobilized molecules with an increasing the number of spacer units used for separation of the magnetic particles.
Elevated CRP levels during first trimester of pregnancy and subsequent preeclampsia: a prospective study

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Analysis of Community Trust in Nganjuk toward Online Transportation Innovations Technology: Case Study HeehJek

Online Transportation is one of internet connected mobile application service. Nowadays, Online Transportation can be easily found not only in bigger city but also in Districts. One of it is HeehJek, Nganjuk local online transportation. Because of the technology and cultural progress in Nganjuk people, there is slightly changing pattern for transportation from conventional transportation mode to online based application transportation mode. This research aims to analyze the trigger of pattern changing using Conceptual Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). This research is also using Quantitative Cluster Sampling. The data processed by WarpPLS 6.0 are responds from HeehJek user in Nganjuk. This research found that the trust grows from the society to the online transportation innovation is giving huge contribution to the transportation mode shifting choices.
Development and Application of a Multifunctional Nanoindenter: Coupling to Electrical Measurements and Integration In-Situ in a Scanning Electron Microscope

Fundamental understanding and quantitative characterization of electron transport mechanisms between two solids brought into mechanical contact require the development of a dedicated multifunctional device. In this study, we report original measurements and analysis based on a nanoindenter coupled with fine electrical measurements in-situ a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). After a description of the experimental set-up, we report quantitative results on resistive-nanoindentation on metallic systems with increasing complexity. Starting from a model case (Au single crystal), a procedure is developed and further applied to a complex rheology structure (200 nm Au thin film plastically deformed against an elastic substrate) to demonstrate the quantitative monitoring of contact area. Then a two-phase AgPdCu alloy is used to illustrate the resolution of spatial mapping of both mechanical properties and electrical resistance. Finally, we present our experimental results on natively-oxidized Al single crystal. The resistance evolutions during indentation are discussed in terms on dielectric breakdown and electrochemical processes.
Partial discharge in a cylindrical cavity in XLPE under DC voltage: Simulation and experiment

A simulation model is established to investigate the influence of applied voltage and temperature on DC partial discharge characteristics of a XLPE sandwich internal cavity sample. The field and temperature dependent conductivity of XLPE is considered, and its influence on the electrical field distribution is computed. The calculation results show that the voltage across the cavity changes with time under constant DC, and the steady cavity voltage is 32.7% higher than that just after voltage application. When calculating the cavity voltage at 70 °C, the error is over 500%, if the characteristics of the conductivity of XLPE is not considered. Residual cavity voltage with the opposite polarity after decreasing voltage is discovered by computation, and discharges with the polarity opposite to the applied voltage are detected by experiment. By simulation, the partial discharge repetition rate increases by two orders of magnitude when the temperature increases from 23 to 70 °C. The repetition rate measured by experiment increased by over one order of magnitude. The change of repetition rate is attributed to the reduction of cavity voltage recovery time influenced by the temperature dependence of the XLPE conductivity.
Deep Panchromatic Image Guided Residual Interpolation For Multispectral Image Demosaicking

Snapshot multispectral imaging based on multispectral filter arrays (MSFA) has gained popularity recently for its size and speed. To process these multispectral images, demosaicking is the most crucial and challenging step to reduce artifacts in both spatial and spectral domain. In this work, a novel ResNet based deep learning model is first proposed to reconstruct the full-resolution panchromatic image from MSFA mosaic image. Then, the reconstructed deep panchromatic image (DPI) is deployed as the guide to recover the full-resolution multispectral image using a two-pass guided residual interpolation method. Experiment results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art conventional and deep learning demosaicking methods both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Fully CNN-Based Pixel Level Classification Model for Urban Land Image Acquired by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

With the improvement of the spatial resolution of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery, the texture information of the surface structures becomes richer and more complex, which Making high-resolution image classification bring new opportunities and great challenges. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel imagery classification method based on U-Net fully convolution neural network combine with a conditional random field model to process this kind of images. First, deep and abstract visual features are extracted by convolution and pooling operations, and then feature map is reconstructed by deconvolution and upsampling operations. Then, a softmax classifier generates the initial classification results. Finally, conditional random field is used to optimize the classification results. The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method is verified on the UAV imagery data collected from Guangdong Province. Experimental results indicate that the method proposed in this paper can effectively classify different objects with an overall accuracy larger than 91.09% and obtained an average 4.18% improvement over UAV imagery data.
Comparison of High-Speed Single-Phase Flux Reversal Motor and Hybrid Switched Reluctance Motor

Single-Phase Flux Reversal Motor and Hybrid Switched Reluctance Motor have simple and reliable rotor structures. This makes it possible to apply the motors in highspeed applications. In order to determine the application fields of these motors and to compare their advantages and drawbacks, the motors of the same rated power and speed are discussed in the paper.
The Effects of Lactational Exposure to Soy Isoflavones on Testicular Function in the Rat

ii List of Tables iv List of Figures v List of Abbreviations vii Chapter 1: Literature Review 1 Leydig Cell Development and Function 2 Estrogen Receptors 10 Endocrine Disruptors 18 Isoflavones and Soy-Infant Formula 26 Chapter 2: Thesis 32 Background 33 Experimental Protocol 39 Results 44 Discussion 47 Conclusion 52 References 53