Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RCM and AHP Hybrid Model for Road Network Maintenance Prioritization

Category 1 defects such as potholes significantly accelerate structural deterioration and pose imminent hazards on trunk road networks. Frequent occurrences of category 1 defects have increased service disruptions on trunk road networks. Road maintenance agencies are now required to effectively prioritize trunk road network category 1 defects maintenance works. However, existing road maintenance prioritization methods such as value engineering and traditional expert judgment methods have limitations. Value engineering is resource and time intensive thus best suited for project level prioritization and traditional expert judgments are subjective and lack audit trails. In an attempt to address the limitations of above methods, this study presents a Reliability Centered Maintenance and Analytical Hierarchy Process based hybrid model for trunk road network maintenance prioritization. The proposed hybrid model is used to establish failure diagnostic and Multi-criteria Decision Making respectively. As a case study, the hybrid model is implemented on a trunk road network in the United Kingdom. Relevant category 1 defect failure information linked to trunk road network sub-assets are extracted from databases and relevant information elicited from maintenance experts. The criticality analysis results presented show the risk priority numbers of category 1 defect related failures and cost effective preventative maintenance tasks are proposed. The Analytical Hierarchy Process results are used to address the complex prioritization process. The proposed hybrid model facilitates a systematic prioritization of a large number of trunk road network category 1 defect failure maintenance activities consistently.
Commando country: special training centres in the Scottish highlands, 1940-45.

Commando Country assesses the nature of more than 30 special training centres that operated in the Scottish highlands between 1940 and 1945, in order to explore the origins, evolution and culture of British special service training during the Second World War. These locations were chosen by virtue of the utility of the physical environment of the highland estate, strongly influenced by associated ideas about the challenge of that environment, individual character and the nature of irregular warfare. By virtue of its Scottish geographical perspective, Commando Country diverges from the existing literature by looking across the training establishments used by different organisations, principally Military Intelligence, the Commandos, and Special Operations Executive (SOE), whose histories tend to be considered in isolation. The book investigates the development and function of each category of training centre, the relationships between them, and their place in the broader framework of British and Allied special operations. Based on research in official documentary sources, unpublished and published memoirs and on fieldwork and interviews with surviving participants conducted by the author, Commando Country also presents rare unpublished photographs from public and private sources and artefacts assembled for the exhibition of the same name held at the National War Museum, Edinburgh in 2007. The resulting thesis is that the philosophy and practice improvised at the original school of irregular warfare at Inverailort House in the summer of 1940 permeated the culture of the training centres that developed thereafter. Close attention is accordingly given to the circumstances, organisation and instructing personnel that created the Inverailort syllabus, and the backgrounds and skills brought to bear, some drawn from civilian professions. The application of similar methods to the newly formed Commando forces is then traced. In this context the original operational purposes of individual aspects of the training became standardised into a general test of fitness and character designed to control admission of volunteers into the Commandos, the raiding and assault units that regarded themselves as a new military elite. Simultaneously, the approach pioneered at Inverailort was adapted to form the paramilitary training element of SOE, the organisation that coordinated and supported Resistance organisations in enemy-occupied countries. Particular attention is paid to the dedicated training establishments for Polish and Norwegian SOE units based in Scotland. The book concludes by considering how techniques and philosophy were applied more widely as conventional military training itself evolved, extending influence even into postwar civilian outdoor recreation
On some cracks in the "engine" of knowledge-creation : a conceptual critique of Nonaka and Takeuchi's (1995) model

The core of Nonaka and Takeuchi’s (1995) model of knowledge-creation is flawed because of ambiguities in the conceptualization of knowledge, and tacit knowledge, and their failure to specify clearly the nature of ‘explicit’ knowledge. It is argued that tacit knowledge must be viewed as irreducibly tacit, not specifiable in words, while ‘explicit knowledge’ is more accurately named ‘knowledge representations’. On this basis a new framework is proposed in which socialization, ‘externalization’ (renamed ‘representing’) and internalization are confirmed. Nonaka and Takeuchi’s discussion of these modes, however, fails to recognize the complex cognitive and social processes involved. ‘Combination’ is revealed as untenable, being either the iterative linking of representing and internalization, or an entirely separable process information management. A new model is presented which indicates knowledge management has two important foci managing cognitive processes, and managing information. 1
Risk Factors for Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Among Home Health Care Patients: Analysis Using Routinely Collected Clinical Data

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a complication often experienced during a home health care (HHC) episode, yet related hospitalization risk factors are unclear. Objectives: This study use multiple data sources to identify risk factors for UTI related hospitalization or emergency department (ED) visits among HHC patients.Method: We performed a multivariable logistic regression to identify risk factors for UTI-related hospitalization or ED visits using merged data from the Outcome and Assessment Information Set, electronic health record from a large HHC agency, and Center for Medicare and Medicaid claims. Results: Of 48,336 cases, 1,689 patients (3.5%) had a UTI-related hospitalization/ED visits. Being a female (OR = 1.31; 95% CI: 1.16–1.46), the presence of a urinary catheter (OR = 5.7; 95% CI: 4.54–7.14), treatment with general antibacterial and antiseptics (OR = 2.75; 95% CI: 1.02–7.38), dependency in instrumental activities of daily living (e.g., meal preparation [OR=1.72; 95% CI: 1.25-2.37]), and no available caregivers (OR = 1.79; 95% CI: 1.2–2.68) increased the odds of a UTI related event among HHC patients. Discussion/conclusion: We identified notable risk factors for UTI related hospitalization/ER visit, filling a knowledge gap on the currently understudied HHC population. Risk factors identified in this study can be used to proactively identify HHC patients at risk for UTI related hospitalization and target them for preventive interventions. Further research is needed in HHC to develop tailored interventions for at-risk patients.
Firmness changes of pear fruit before and after harvest with the acoustic impulse response technique

Abstract The non-destructive acoustic impulse response method was evaluated for monitoring firmness changes of Conference and Doyenne pears on the tree. The correlation between firmness and meteorological factors was investigated during two successive years. In both years, the firmness showed a sudden reduction between three weeks and one week before harvest to about 23 kHz 2 g 2/3 for Conference and on average 31·5 kHz 2 g 2/3 for Doyenne pears. Afterwards the firmness decrease could be described by a first order model, which allows to estimate the optimum harvest date, corresponding to a firmness of about 20–21 kHz 2 g 2/3 for Conference and 26–27 kHz 2 g 2/3 for Doyenne. Especially for Doyenne pears the correlation between the non-destructive firmness and the destructive penetrometer firmness was high (correlation coefficient ρ =0·82). Also the soluble solids contents was reasonably well (negatively) correlated with the firmness measures ( ρ =−0·60 to −0·79). Pears that were harvested too early never reached an acceptable quality for consumption. Especially Conference pears stored at a low relative humidity developed weak necks. On the other hand, when pears were picked late, the rates of firmness degradation and weight loss increased. None of the measured meteorological parameters (temperature and rainfall) consistently provided a significant improvement of the predictive firmness model.
Analisis Faktor Produksi Dan Efisiensi Alokatif Usahatani Bayam (Amarathus Sp) Di Kota Bengkulu

A bstract . The purpose of this study is (1) determine the factors that affect farm production spinach (2) determine the level of allocative efficiency of the use of production factors that affect farm production spinach (3) determine the level of farmers'income spinach. The study was conducted in the city of Bengkulu were selected intentionally (purposive sampling) include tebeng village gardens, the Village Land of Broken Bridge Village and Small with the consideration that the area is a center for vegetable planting. The samples used in this study were 36 farmers were taken with the Proportional stratifies random sampling method. The results found that overall (simultaneously) the observed variables significantly affect production, while partial variabel land area (X 1 ), urea (X 3 ), manure (X 4 ) and labor (X 5 ) does not significantly affect the production and variabel seeds (X 2 ) significantly affected the production of spinach. Allocative efficiency analysis shows that the factors of production of seed and manure inefficient use may need to be added while the land area for production factors, urea fertilizer and labour should be reduced because it is not efficient in its use.
Hybrid-mode analysis of homogeneously and inhomogeneously doped low-loss slow-wave coplanar transmission lines

A hybrid-mode analysis is presented to characterize the propagation properties of uniplanar slow-wave MIS (metal-insulator-semiconductor) coplanar transmission lines. The effect of homogeneous versus gradually inhomogeneous doping profile is investigated as well as the influence of the metal conductor losses and finite metallization thickness on the slow-wave factor and the overall losses. Numerical results indicate that thick-film MIS CPWs can support a slow-wave mode with moderate loss up to 40 GHz when the line dimensions are kept in the micrometer range. Furthermore, it is found that an inhomogeneous doping profile can reduce the overall losses and that the effect of metal conductor losses in heavily doped MIS structures is only marginal. On the other hand, in weakly doped or insulating GaAs material a lossy metal conductor leads to a higher propagation constant, exhibiting a negative slope with increasing frequency. >
Information and Control in Organ Systems

DESIGNERS of artificial internal organs face many difficult physical and physiological requirements. In order to correct for an organic malfunction, it is necessary for these prosthetic devices to carry out certain physicochemical operations under the control of both specific and not-so-specific signals that originate inside the body and/or in the outside world. This task calls for the establishment of adequate information-matching procedures. The devices must be prepared to deal with control signals in the form of spatiotemporal patterns of electrical, mechanical, or even chemical activity. Appropriate coding (including the necessary redundancy) must insure the transmission of the information-bearing elements, or ``distinctive features,'' of these paterns in the presence of various types of interference, or ``noise. '' In many instances, our knowledge of the control circuits for the various organs is still incomplete. Neuro-physiological research during the last decade has, for instance, focused on elucidating the role of the less specific ascending and descending pathways in the nervous system, in contrast with the better-known (``classical'') afferent pathways.1 Designers of artificial organs are thus often faced with specifications that lack some of the most important data. Another difficulty that stands in the way of establishing rational procedures for the design of artificial organs is our inability to agree upon the evaluation of the performance of a device that has multiple inputs and multiple outputs and that only too often fulfills multiple functions. Under such circumstances, it is not reasonable to hope for a simple, unambiguous figure of merit or of efficiency.
Steady-state analysis of the LLC series resonant converter

The operating modes of the LLC series resonant converter are analyzed to determine the steady-state operating point and mode boundaries. The three-element LLC series resonant converter is realized by adding an inductor to the basic two-element series resonant converter topology. Unlike the two element series resonant converter, which is limited strictly to step down operation, the LLC converter is capable of both step up and step-down. A wide range of output power is controlled with only a narrow variation in operating frequency. In addition, zero-voltage switching can be achieved over the entire operating range. All of these desirable properties are obtained essentially for free, as the additional resonant inductor can be realized simply by introducing an air gap in the main power transformer.
A new instantaneous-current controller for three-phase buck-boost and buck converters with PFC operation

A new instantaneous-current controller for three-phase buck-boost and buck power converters with power factor correction (PFC) operation is proposed. Based on the idea of a three-phase equivalent pulse-current-source with delta-form, the controller simply generates three-phase switching-patterns for PFC operation. Additionally, the controller employs a pulse-space-modulation technique to compensate modulation errors caused by ripples in the DC-inductor current and to reduce the size of the inductor. The modulation technique is further extended to realize a discontinuous-switching scheme to reduce switching losses. The paper describes the theory and the implementations. To show the validity of the theory, experimental waveforms, spectra and static characteristics, obtained by a 3 kW setup are introduced. Finally, conclusions are drawn and abilities and problems for future study are described. <<ETX>>
Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document for the Refining of Mineral Oil and Gas. Industrial Emissions Directive 2010/75/EU (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control)

The BREF entitled ‘Refining of Mineral Oil and Gas’ forms part of a series presenting the results of an exchange of information between EU Member States, the industries concerned, non-governmental organisations promoting environmental protection, and the Commission, to draw up, review, and where necessary, update BAT reference documents as required by Article 13(1) of the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU). This document is published by the European Commission pursuant to Article 13(6) of the Directive. This BREF for the refining of mineral oil and gas covers certain industrial activities specified in Section 1.2 of Annex I to Directive 2010/75/EU, namely the energy industries of the refining of mineral oil and gas sector. In particular, this document covers the following refineries processes and activities: Alkylation Base oil production Bitumen production Catalytic cracking Catalytic reforming Coking Cooling Desalting Combustion of refinery fuels for energy production Etherification Gas separation Hydrogen consuming processes Hydrogen production Isomerisation Natural gas plants Polymerisation Primary distillation Product treatments Storage and handling of refinery materials Visbreaking and other thermal conversions Waste gas treatment Waste water treatment Waste management. Important issues for the implementation of Directive 2010/75/EU in the refining of mineral oil and gas sector are the emissions to air of volatile organic substances, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, hydrofluoric acid, ammonia, carbon monoxide, dioxins and furans, and dust; emissions to water of oils, benzene, suspended solids, COD, nitrogen, metals (lead, cadmium, nickel, mercury); energy efficiency; and the prevention of emissions to soil and groundwater. The BREF document contains seven chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 provide general information on the refining of mineral oil and gas industry and on the industrial processes and techniques used within this sector. Chapter 3 provides data and information concerning the environmental performance of installations in terms of current emissions, consumption of raw materials, water and energy, and generation of waste. Chapter 4 describes the techniques to prevent or reduce emissions from installations in the sector. In Chapter 5 the BAT conclusions, as defined in Article 3(12) of the Directive, are presented for the refining of mineral oil and gas industry. Chapters 6 and 7 are dedicated to emerging techniques as well as to concluding remarks and recommendations for future work in the sector, respectively. Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document for the Refining of Mineral Oil and Gas Industrial Emissions Directive 2010/75/EU Integrated Pollution Prevention and control Authors: Pascal Barthe Michel Chaugny Serge Roudier Luis Delgado Sancho
Methods for Control of Liquid Slosh

Horizontal movement of liquid containers is a common operation in an industrial packaging machine. During the movement the acceleration of the container induces motion of the liquid within the container, this is referred to as liquid slosh or liquid vibration. If there is too much slosh the liquid might wet the sealing surfaces of the container and even contaminate the machine. There is no measurement of the slosh so the only way to control the slosh is through the acceleration reference that defines the movement. The work presented in this thesis is focused on development of systematic methods for calculation of acceleration references that move the container as fast as possible without too much slosh. The methods are based on a simple model of the slosh phenomenon which is derived from fluid dynamics and system identification. The acceleration reference is calculated both directly using optimal control techniques with various cost functions and constraints and iteratively using iterative learning control. To enable practical evaluation of the acceleration references and the use of iterative learning control an experimental setup has been used where it is possible to measure the surface elevation on one side of the container using an infrared laser displacement sensor. The experimental evaluations show that it is possible to achieve fast movements by solving a minimum energy optimal control problem and tuning of the model parameters. It is also shown that the iterative learning control methods are successful in finding good acceleration references in practice using only a simple model of the slosh phenomenon. A method that utilize tilting of the container is also derived, this enables faster movements with less slosh. The methods simultaneously calculates the horizontal and rotational acceleration references by solving a minimum energy optimal control problem. Experiments show that the method is successful if the maximum allowed surface elevation is not too large. (Less)
Managing Project Stakeholder Communication: The Qstock Festival Case

This research develops the understanding of project stakeholder management through examining how stakeholder communication is facilitated and managed during the different phases of the project's life cycle. By building on the information processing view and the stakeholder salience framework, our study shows how stakeholder communication practices vary among the impersonal, personal, and group modes of communication. We also show how these practices depend on stakeholders’ salience and project life cycle phase. The results indicate that a dynamic approach is required to understanding stakeholder management; different communication practices are required over the project's life cycle, which can be explained by the varying degrees of stakeholder salience.
The Association Between Sarcopenia and Cognitive Performance : Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 1999 to 2002

Background: Sarcopenia and cognitive impairment are both age-related diseases. And they have many risk factors in common. However, the association between them has been controversial in recent years.Objective: To investigate the association between sarcopenia and cognitive performance in the U.S. adults through the use of the NHANES data from 1999 to 2002.Methods: A total of 2550 participants were identified in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys Data Base (1999–2002). The independent variable was sarcopenia and the dependent variables was cognitive performance. Men were classified as sarcopenia if appendicular lean mass (ALM) adjusted for BMI (ALMBMI) <0.789, and women<0.512. The cognitive performance was assessed by Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). Higher scores on the DSST indicated better cognitive performance. The covariates included gender, age, race, poverty income ratio, comorbidity index, educational level, physical activity and smoking status.Results: For the primary outcome, our multivariate linear regression analysis indicated that sarcopenia negatively correlated with cognitive performance in the model I (crude OR = 5.18; 95% CI: [3.49–6.87]). The negative association remained significant in the adjusted model II and model III (OR=3.40; 95% CI: [1.91–4.90]; OR=1.50; 95% CI: [0.12–2.89]). The subgroup analysis results indicated that participants without sarcopenia were associated with better cognitive performance was similar in different gender, age, race, poverty income ratio, comorbidity index, educational level, physical activity and smoking status.Conclusions: Participants without sarcopenia were associated with better cognitive performance in a representative sample of older adults in the U.S. We might be able to try to improve cognitive performance by dealing with sarcopenia and provide opportunity for intervention at a younger age and better physical performance.