Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Continuous modal parameter identification of cable-stayed bridges based on a novel improved ensemble empirical mode decomposition

Abstract The objective of this paper was to perform an effective and meticulous continuous modal parameter identification. Since the data obtained from the cable-stayed bridge was non-linear and time varying, and also there exists a phenomenon of mode mixing in the current decomposition techniques, such as empirical mode decomposition (EMD), which further complicates the extraction of accurate structural information, therefore, a novel improved Ensemble EMD method was proposed. This method can effectively deal with the non-linear and time varying structural behaviour and eliminate the phenomenon of mode mixing effectively, specially for cable-stayed bridges, because in this method the added white noise was selected by a pre-defined process and also the intrinsic mode function (IMF) selection was made self-adaptively, then finally Pareto technique was adopted to reconstruct the IMF. After the signal decomposition and reconstruction, Recursive Stochastic Subspace Identification was employed to carry out the continuous modal parameter identification. Sutong Yangtze Bridge, a long-span cable-stayed bridge, with main span of 1088 m was taken as a case study and the proposed method was applied. The result showed that the proposed method was effective in attaining its goals and can endows better results in real life bridge health monitoring.
Computational fluid dynamics investigation into flow behavior and acoustic mechanisms at the trailing edge of an airfoil

Airfoil self-noise or trailing edge noise and shear noise were investigated computationally for a NACA 0012 airfoil section, focusing on noise mechanisms at the trailing edge to identify and understand sources of noise production using ANSYS Fluent. A two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulation has been performed for 0°, 8°, and 16° airfoil angles of attack capturing surface pressure contours, contours of turbulent intensity, contours of surface acoustic power level, vorticity magnitude levels across the airfoil profile, and x- and y-directional self-noise and shear noise sources across the airfoil profile. The results indicate that pressure gradients at the upper surface do increase as the angle of attack increases, which is a measure of vortices near the surface of the trailing edge associated with turbulence cease as the boundary layer begins to separate. Comparison of the turbulent intensity contours with surface acoustic power level contours demonstrated direct correlation between the energy contributed by turbulent structures (i.e. vortices) and the level of noise measured at the surface and within the boundary layer of the airfoil. As angle of attack is increased, both x and y sources have the same trends; however, y sources (perpendicular to the free-stream flow) appear to have a bigger impact as angle of attack is increased. Furthermore, as the angle of attack increased, shear noise contributes less and less energy further downstream of the airfoil and becomes dominated by noise energy from vortical structures within turbulence. The two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulation revealed that pressure, turbulent intensity, and surface acoustic power contours further corroborated the previously tested noise observations phenomena at the trailing edge of the airfoil.
A conceptual framework concerning education as factor of elders’ acceptance for smart assistive technologies

Abstract The aging of the world's population, raises issues of assisting elderly in conditions of sustainable spending. In this respect, smart technologies bring both an opportunity, providing solutions to assist elders’ life and a barrier coming from the lower acceptance of older adults for digital technologies. The paper proposes a research focused on education and its influence on older adults’ readiness to adopt new, digital technologies. As reference the two versions of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT and UTAUT2) were used. The research is based on a systematic literature review aimed to draft a conceptual framework placed on two dimensions: the first one tries to establish "if and how the initial education is influencing the elders’ acceptance of assistive technologies" and, the second targeting "how this initial education is correlated and/or imbedded in the elements of the UTAUT models".
Optical absorption and luminescence in diamond

This review outlines some relevant aspects of theoretical physics-molecular orbital and other calculation of the properties of point defects, symmetry and group theory, zero-phonon lines and the configuration coordinate diagram. The experimentally observed spectra can conveniently be divided into infrared (<1 eV), which are observed in absorption and are mainly vibrational, and 'visible' (1-5.5 eV), which are vibronic and are observed in both absorption and luminescence. 'Visible' spectra include those present naturally, those induced by irradiation, and those induced by irradiation plus annealing. This review covers all the important point defects observed optically in diamond, and includes some results which are not generally available. The relevance of the experimental results to the current controversy about how to calculate the properties of point defects is brought out.
Reciprocity and commitment in online travel communities

PurposeWith social exchange theory as a basis, the purpose of this paper is to seek a better understanding of advice processes in online travel communities, which offer crucial advice for travelers’ decisions. It also predicts that relational capital variables (commitment, reciprocity perceptions) moderate the main relationships.Design/methodology/approachData from a web survey of 456 users of online travel communities affirm the scale’s validity and provide the input for structural equation modeling and multisample analyses of the hypotheses.FindingsHigher levels of commitment reinforce the effect of following past advice on passive and active participation intentions. Users’ perceptions of reciprocity in the community strengthen the influence of following past advice on active participation. However, a high level of reciprocity causes users following past advice to reduce their intentions to continue following that advice.Practical implicationsManagement tactics should specify active and passive participation in online travel communities. Specifically, to encourage the creation of high-quality new content, community managers should create interactive environments marked by high levels of reciprocity and commitment.Originality/valueThis research elucidates the role of relational capital variables in advice processes and advances understanding of online travel communities.
Non-self-conjugate singular perturbations: a model of transition from a discrete to a continuous spectrum

This paper is concerned with the spectral analysis of singularly perturbed operators and the asymptotics of an effect thereby discovered connected with non-self-conjugacy. The transition from a discrete to a continuous spectrum in the self-conjugate case has been well studied (see [1], [2], and also [3]). In this paper we demonstrate the peculiarities of the behaviour of the spectrum of an operator for a non-self-conjugate singular perturbation using as an example the boundary-value problem: where λ is a spectral parameter, ε > 0 is a small parameter, and q € C[— 1,1] is a real-valued function. The spectrum of the problem (1), (2) is discrete and situated in the half-band {ming < Re λ < max? , ImA < 0}. We consider the asymptotic behaviour of the spectrum, and the eigenfunctions and Green's function of the problem as ε I 0. The essentially non-self-conjugate effect that arises here already takes place in the case q(x) = χ (the problem of stability of a Couette flow, where ε is the viscosity of the liquid, reduces to equation (1) with q(x) = i). To simplify the presentation we confine ourselves to this case and note that equation (1), after the change of variable ζ = (ιε)~ 1 ^ 3 (λ — ι), turns into Airy's equation. We introduce the standard solutions of Airy's equation: Ai(z) and Bi(z) (see, for example, [4]). The eigenvalues (ev) of the problem correspond to the poles of Green's function G c (x, ξ, λ) and coincide with the zeros of the characteristic determinant Using the asymptotics of Airy's functions we study the disposition of the zeros of Δ(λ) and establish
Environmental practices and firm performance in emerging markets: the mediating role of product quality

Abstract Environmental practices have not received as much research attention in emerging market contexts as traditional topics like quality. However, the importance of environmental practices for a firm’s production strategy has been increasing at an unprecedented level across the globe. Our research objective is, therefore, to investigate the interplay between environmental practices and quality in the pursuit of firm performance. Relying on 492 responses from Turkish manufacturers to test our hypotheses, we show that environmental practices directly improve the quality of products over and above the effect of quality management practices in emerging markets. Product quality, in turn, is important for increasing firm performance, acting as a mediator for the positive effects of environmental practices on performance. Thus, we reveal that product quality functions as an instrumental conduit between environmental practices and firm performance in emerging markets like Turkey where stakeholder pressures are weak, and regulations are often not properly enforced.
Metric regularity and subdifferential calculus

The theory of metric regularity is an extension of two classical results: the Lyusternik tangent space theorem and the Graves surjection theorem. Developments in non-smooth analysis in the 1980s and 1990s paved the way for a number of far-reaching extensions of these results. It was also well understood that the phenomena behind the results are of metric origin, not connected with any linear structure. At the same time it became clear that some basic hypotheses of the subdifferential calculus are closely connected with the metric regularity of certain set-valued maps. The survey is devoted to the metric theory of metric regularity and its connection with subdifferential calculus in Banach spaces.
Kinetics of the active medium of a He—Sr+ recombination laser: 2. Achievable energy characteristics

The mechanisms limiting the improvement of the energy characteristics of He—Sr+ recombination lasers with increasing pressure, active volume, and pulse repetition rate are analysed. It is found that the existence of optimal pressure is related to the cooling rate limitation for electrons at high pressures arising from the heating action of the trailing edge of a current pulse and that the average power saturation with increasing discharge tube diameter and pulse repetition rate occurs due to the formation of radial nonuniformity as well as due to the growth of the electron temperature in the afterglow. Calculations involving a mathematical model showed that the attainable maximum of the linear power is equal to ≈6.2 W m-1 for self-heating active elements of BeO ceramics and to ≈7.8 W m-1 with its surface blackened, to ≈7.7 W m-1 for an independent introduction of the vapour and to ≈9.4 W m-1 in combination with blackening, to ≈17 W m-1 for intense forced cooling of the active elements of cylindrical geometry and to ≈29 W m-1 with active elements of rectangular cross section for a wall dimension ratio of 1:3. We demonstrate the feasibility of raising the output power by ≈21% in the excitation of the active medium by pulse bursts with a short interpulse separation.
Risk factors for alcohol dependence in adolescents

Objective: To identify risk factors for alcohol dependence during adolescence. Methods: Integrative review of 21 articles published between 2000 and 2009, captured in the LILACS, BVS, MEDLINE, COCHRANE and IBECS databases, with keywords: adolescence, risk for dependence, and alcohol . Results: There is evidence that alcohol is the most consumed drug by adolescents, with initiation between 14 and 16 years. Risk factors for dependency are related to early onset of use, media infl uence, troubled relationship with parents, use by family member, sexual abuse, domestic violence, low self-esteem, curiosity, and peer pressure, among others. The articles pointed to genetic vulnerability to alcohol dependence and controversies in relation to gender and social class. Conclusion: Health services should incorporate preventive strategies for identifying risk for dependency, control and monitoring specifi c to the group of dependent adolescents.
Development of fMRI-Compatible Steering Reaction Force Generation Unit

A major hurdle in the development of automobiles that are easy to operate and pleasant to drive is ignorance of the influence of the characteristics of the steering force on the driver based on an understanding of the brain. To address this problem, it is suitable to measure brain activity by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which can measure activity in the entire brain at a high spatial resolution. In this study, we develop an fMRI-compatible steering force generation unit and verify its performance. To avoid disturbance due to the electromagnetic field of the MRI, the unit was configured as follows: a motor installed outside a scan room generated a reaction force that was transmitted to a steering wheel placed in the hands of a subject using a nonmagnetic transmission unit. To verify the performance of the unit, we measured the brain activity of participants of an experiment by using fMRI while they performed steering operations using their arm/arms under various steering forces. The results were consistent with those for motor-related brain activity obtained in past neuroimaging studies. We conclude that the proposed unit can measure brain activity through fMRI in the presence of a steering reaction force.
Fast ELM dynamics in JT-60U

Simultaneous fast measurements of electron density and temperature, Dα emission and Mirnov probe fluctuations in JT-60U during type I ELMs have been performed. Density fluctuations, measured with two vertical chords of the far infrared interferometer (FIR) at low and high field sides, have been found instrumental in determining spatial structure of type I ELMs (fluctuations localized mainly at the low field side) and duration of its MHD phase. Two different mechanisms for the initial phase of the interaction between the ELM-induced power and particle flows into the scrape-off layer (SOL) and the divertor target have been considered. They may explain the observed difference in the behaviour of Dα emission spikes at the inner and outer targets, which is related to the value of electron collisionality at the pedestal before the ELM. In ELMs with low pedestal collisionality, sharp fronts of Dα emission spikes at the inner and outer strike points and their simultaneous occurrence, coincident with the start of large-scale oscillations observed on the FIR channels, is observed. It is concluded that in such ELMs, plasma-wall interaction is initiated by a power flow conducted to the target through electron channel. In ELMs with high pedestal collisionality (but still of type I), slower evolution of fast signals was observed, with more gradual Dα spikes and clear time delays between outer and inner Dα channels, consistent with the mechanism of convective parallel energy fluxes with the ion sound speed proposed at JET.
Testing the tidal alignment model of galaxy intrinsic alignment

Weak gravitational lensing has become a powerful probe of large-scale structure and cosmological parameters. Precision weak lensing measurements require an understanding of the intrinsic alignment of galaxy ellipticities, which can in turn inform models of galaxy formation. It is hypothesized that elliptical galaxies align with the background tidal field and that this alignment mechanism dominates the correlation between ellipticities on cosmological scales (in the absence of lensing). We use recent large-scale structure measurements from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to test this picture with several statistics: (1) the correlation between ellipticity and galaxy overdensity, wg+; (2) the intrinsic alignment auto-correlation functions; (3) the correlation functions of curl-free, E, and divergence-free, B, modes, the latter of which is zero in the linear tidal alignment theory; (4) the alignment correlation function, wg(rp,θ), a recently developed statistic that generalizes the galaxy correlation function to account for the angle between the galaxy separation vector and the principle axis of ellipticity. We show that recent measurements are largely consistent with the tidal alignment model and discuss dependence on galaxy luminosity. In addition, we show that at linear order the tidal alignment model predicts that the angular dependence of wg(rp,θ) is simply wg+(rp)cos (2θ) and that this dependence is consistent with recent measurements. We also study how stochastic nonlinear contributions to galaxy ellipticity impact these statistics. We find that a significant fraction of the observed LRG ellipticity can be explained by alignment with the tidal field on scales ≳ 10 \hMpc. These considerations are relevant to galaxy formation and evolution.
The Assessment and Reduction Plan of Radiation Exposure During Decommissioning of the Steam Generator in Kori Unit 1

대한민국 첫 상업원전인 고리1호기는 40년간의 성공적인 운전을 끝내고 2017년 6월 18일 영구정지 되었다. 고리1호기는 본격적인 해체에 앞서 터빈건물에 폐기물처리시설 건설을 계획하고 있다. 각종 방사성폐기물은 폐기물처리시설에서 제염, 해체, 절단, 용융되어 자체처분 되거나 방사성폐기물 처분장으로 보내 진다. 해.
Numerical analysis of deep excavations and tunnels in accordance with EC7 design approaches

Numerical methods are well established in practical geotechnical engineering to assess the deformation behaviour of deep excavations and tunnels. However, it becomes more and more common to use results from numerical analysis for ultimate limit state design (ULS) and in these cases compatibility with standards and codes of practice, valid in the respective country, has to be fulfilled. This is by no means straightforward and in this paper design approaches defined in EC7 will be applied to deep excavation and tunnelling problems highlighting some key aspects. Secondly the importance of the appropriate choice of a constitutive model for the soil is pointed out by comparing results obtained from different soil models.
Investigation of Thermomechanical Stress in Solar Cells with Multi Busbar Interconnection by Finite Element Modeling

The interconnection of silicon solar cells by soldering causes thermomechanical stress due to different coefficients of thermal expansion of the materials involved, especially copper and silicon. In contrast to the current standard interconnection technology, using three to five flat ribbons to be soldered on continuous or segmented busbars on the solar cells front side and on large contact pads on the solar cells rear side, the Multi Busbar concept uses twelve to fifteen round solder coated copper wires to be soldered on a large number of small contact pads for each polarity. In this paper we present two finite element models, one for a solar cell with a common busbar-based interconnection and a second one for a solar cell using the Multi Busbar interconnection approach to analyze and compare the distribution of the thermomechanical stress induced by the cell interconnection. The results show only a slight vertical deformation of a contacted solar cell of 0.4 mm for the three busbar design and 2.2 mm for the Multi Busbar interconnection technology due to the non-symmetric pad layout and the aluminum metallization on the rear side. However, most parts of the copper interconnector (ribbons and wires) are plastically deformed because the tensile stress exceeds the yield strength of 100 MPa. In addition, the results indicate that there is only slight tensile stress in most parts of the silicon solar cell after the soldering process. For both interconnection technologies we detect local stress peaks and, on the rear side of the solar cells near the outermost contacts, we determine areas where the tensile stress reaches levels above 200 MPa that potentially cause defects.
Assessing the natural durability of teak wood by near infrared spectroscopy

Owing to its outstanding technological properties, teak (Tectona grandis Linn. f.) is one of the most preferred tropical timbers in the world. Some of its characteristics play a key role in defining the suitability of this timber species for specific end-uses. One of the most commonly cited characteristics of teak wood is its natural durability. It offers very good resistance to weather, termites, and decay, which means that it can be used externally without any treatment, increasing its commercial value. Like many characteristics, there is variability in this property, especially since the diversification of silvicultural practices and increase in plantation areas to meet market demand. Assessing natural durability is a tedious, complicated, and time-consuming procedure, and this explains why there are very few reports on variation in the natural durability of teak wood. One of the methods most likely to be adaptable to rapid measurements of wood is near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS). MRS is widely used to identify compounds and to assess various material properties. This study evaluated the ability of MRS to assess the resistance of teak wood of different origins to fungi, in comparison with standard test methods. The best measurement strategy is discussed. The results prove that NIRS can predict resistance to different species of fungi, which use different schemes of attack. (Texte integral)
An Improved Skewness Decision Tree SVM Algorithm for the Classification of Steel Cord Conveyor Belt Defects

Skewness Decision Tree Support Vector Machine (SDTSVM) algorithm is widely known as a supervised learning model for multi-class classification problems. However, the classification accuracy of the SDTSVM algorithm depends on the perfect selection of its parameters and the classification order. Therefore, an improved SDTSVM (ISDTSVM) algorithm is proposed in order to improve the classification accuracy of steel cord conveyor belt defects. In the proposed model, the classification order is determined by the sum of the Euclidean distances between multi-class sample centers and the parameters are optimized by the inertia weight Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. In order to verify the effectiveness of the ISDTSVM algorithm with different feature space, experiments were conducted on multiple UCI (University of California Irvine) data sets and steel cord conveyor belt defects using the proposed ISDTSVM algorithm and the conventional SDTSVM algorithm respectively. The average classification accuracies of five-fold cross-validation were obtained, based on two kinds of kernel functions respectively. For the Vowel, Zoo, and Wine data sets of the UCI data sets, as well as the steel cord conveyor belt defects, the ISDTSVM algorithm improved the classification accuracy by 3%, 3%, 1% and 4% respectively, compared to the SDTSVM algorithm. The classification accuracy of the radial basis function kernel were higher than the polynomial kernel. The results indicated that the proposed ISDTSVM algorithm improved the classification accuracy significantly, compared to the conventional SDTSVM algorithm.
Exact Polynomial Solutions of Schrödinger Equation with Various Hyperbolic Potentials

The Schrödinger equation with hyperbolic potential V(x) = −V0sinh2q(x/d)/cosh6(x/d) (q = 0,1,2,3) is studied by transforming it into the confluent Heun equation. We obtain general symmetric and antisymmetric polynomial solutions of the Schrödinger equation in a unified form via the Functional Bethe ansatz method. Furthermore, we discuss the characteristic of wavefunction of bound state with varying potential strengths. Particularly, the number of wavefunction's nodes decreases with the increase of potential strengths, and the particle tends to the bottom of the potential well correspondingly.