Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vacuum Maglev – an international endeavour for a global space program

This thesis focuses on the use of magnetic levitation technology as a means to provide launch capability to future space bound vehicles. Building on past work and after an extensive literature review, we aim to show how magnetic levitation and propulsion can be an economically and socially justifiable means to launch cargo and passengers for the purpose of reconnaissance, space tourism, and deep space exploration. Based on the validity of the technology, we look at the economic and political viability of establishing a magnetic levitation and propulsion launch system and compare it with current launch systems. With the recession caused due to the market crash in 2008-09 and the national space budget constrictions that followed, it is easy to establish that any project of this scale would not only require international collaboration and cooperation, but also an international framework developed from the ground up to engage private enterprise and promote public-private partnerships. As the United States of America accounts for over 75% of global space spending, we focus on the impact of its internal policy and legislation such as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the United States munitions list that have a direct impact on collaborative and cooperative efforts made by public and private entities within the United States. The thesis goes on to describe how a new global space policy for civil and commercial projects could potentially pave the way for new avenues of collaboration and inclusion of actors who for the time being are unable to participate in the space arena either due to lack of available funds or technology inputs. This thesis and the publications based upon it, aims to define a new era in international cooperation, with a magnetic levitation and propulsion project being a technological test -bed that would help validate the cooperation scenario.
The Coupling of Orbulina universa< Diameter with the Warming and Cooling Events in the Arabian Sea Over the Past 40,000 Years

P. M. Nimmy*, N. Rajeshwara Rao, K. Neelavannan, S. M. Hussain and S. R. Mahapatra Paleo-Environment Research Group, Department of Applied Geology, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Madras, Chennai 600 025, India Institute for Ocean Management, Anna University, Chennai 600 025, India Department of Geology, University of Madras, Chennai 600 025, India Petroleum Engineering Department, Chandigarh University, Mohali 140 413, India
Combined Measurement of Thermal and Optical Properties of Receivers for Parabolic Trough Collectors

Two new test benches have been developed for the combined measurement of the thermal properties and overall optical efficiencies of receivers for the use in parabolic trough collectors. In the first test bench two receivers are simultaneously irradiated by natural sunlight via parabolic troughs that are mounted on a two axis tracking stage. Shutters enable the variation of the aperture for quasi constant solar input power over the test period. The second, the solar simulator test bench consists of an elliptical cylinder with flat end reflectors. Metal halide lamps (HMI) and the receiver are positioned in the two respective focal lines. The test benches are operated in two modes: Cold performance tests with water flow through the receiver at near ambient temperature in order to measure the optical efficiency in the stationary enthalpy increase, secondly hot testing with the empty receiver at typical operating temperature in order to compare irradiant power and steady state thermal loss power and calculate the efficiency. The test benches are operated in combination with classic heat loss measurement, together the three test benches form a complementary set. First comparative measurements with cold testing on the solar simulator test bench show high reproducibility and a measurement precision relevant for qualification and comparison of different receiver types at industrial and research level.
Religious Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Gender, Occupational and Socio-economic Perspectives Among Malaysian Frontline Healthcare Workers

Objective At the dawn of the new decade of the 20th century, the world was taken aback by the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed to study the nature of religious coping of frontline healthcare workers seen through the perspective of gender, socio-economic status, and occupation. Methods An online-based study was carried out among frontline healthcare workers involved in the care of COVID-19 patients (n = 200). Sociodemographic data form and the Brief Religious Coping scale were used in this study. Results There were more female healthcare workers (60.5%) and doctors (69.5% vs. 30.5%). Healthcare workers used more positive religious coping than negative religious coping (median score: 22 vs. 9). Positive religious coping was seen more in females (median score: 23 vs. 21, P = .015). Non-doctors applied positive coping more than doctors (median score: 26 vs. 21, P < .001). There were significant differences in positive religious coping scores across income groups, with the B40 group having the highest score (median score: 24). Post hoc pairwise comparison concluded that the B40 group had significantly higher positive religious coping scores than the M40 group. Conclusion Positive coping was utilized more among female healthcare workers, nondoctors, and the lowest socio-economic group. As prior literature has shown that positive religious coping is desirable and has superior mental health outcomes, our findings show that more effort should be channeled into enhancing positive religious coping, particularly among male healthcare workers, doctors, and the middle and high socio-economic group.
The Effect of Organizational Climate, Work Discipline and Job Satisfaction Towards Teacher Performance at State Senior High School

The purpose of this study was to analyze: Direct and indirect effects of organizational climate, work discipline, and job satisfaction on teacher performance. This is explanatory research with a quantitative approach. It used a sample of 140 people. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire. Data examination to test hypotheses relied on path analysis with multiple regression methods. The results showed that: (1) Organizational climate, work discipline, and teacher job satisfaction are included in the high classification, while teacher performance is in the good classification, (2) there is a direct and indirect influence of organizational climate, work discipline, and job satisfaction on teacher performance.
The Debunking Handbook 2020

Version Published version Citation (published version): Stephan Lewandowsky, John Cook, Ullrich Ecker, Dolores Albarracin, Michelle Amazeen, P. Kendou, D. Lombardi, E. Newman, G. Pennycook, E. Porter, D. Rand, D. Rapp, J. Reifler, J. Roozenbeek, P. Schmid, C. Seifert, G. Sinatra, B. Swire-Thompson, S. van der Linden, E. Vraga, T. Wood, M. Zaragoza. "The Debunking Handbook 2020. " https://doi.org/10.17910/b7.1182
Customer Online Shopping Feature Extraction based on Data Mining Algorithm

Driven by the climax of the Internet, online shopping has brought people into a new shopping era and has also brought new impacts to enterprises. To improve the market competitiveness of enterprises, enterprises need to continuously mine customer behavior information. In the mining process, due to the high amount of customer behavior characteristics, the existing behavior mining processing has problems such as low acceleration and high error rate. Feature extraction customer behavior mining algorithm, this algorithm estimates the non-customer behavior and customer behavior in online shopping, iterates many times until convergence, and obtains the best mining result corresponding to the regression line and variance feature parameters, and completes the customer behavior mining. The simulation test proves that the proposed algorithm can improve the precision and recall rate, ensure the reliability and stability of customer behavior mining, and has certain use-value in practical applications.
Clinical Features and Outcomes of Patients with Elizabethkingia Meningoseptica Infection: An Emerging Pathogen

Background:Elizabethkingia meningoseptica, formerly known as Chryseobacterium meningosepticum, is a non-motile, non-fastidious, catalase and oxidase-positive, aerobic, glucose-non-fermentative Gram-negative bacillus first defined by Elizabeth O. King in 1959. It has recently emerged as an opportunistic pathogen infecting people in the the extremes of age and the immunocompromised, especially in nosocomial settings. There has been an increased interest in this pathogen due to its rising occurrence around the world, its ubiquity in nature, and inherent capacity for antimicrobial resistance.Methods: We describe a retrospective case series at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan on patients admitted from January 2013 to December 2018 with Elizabethkingia meningoseptica infections. All patients identified to have any clinical culture specimen positive for Elizabethkingia meningoseptica were included. Data was collected on a structured proforma from the Hospital Information Management Systems (HIMS). Results:Sixteen patients with E. meningoseptica were identified. The mean Charlson’s co-morbidity index was 3.25. Nine patients had bacteremia with E. meningosepticum. Three of the isolates were extensively drug resistant with sensitivity only to minocycline. Nine out of 16 patients required intubation and mechanical ventilation. The median length of hospital stay was 13 days and four out of 16 patients died during hospital stay,Conclusion: This is the first case series from Pakistan reporting Elizabethkingia meningoseptica infections.
DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS. A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF EFFECTS ON ROAD SAFETY

The report presents a systematic review of current knowledge regarding the safety effects of daytime running light (DRL). A meta-analysis has been made of 25 studies that have evaluated DRL for cars and 16 studies that have evaluated DRL for motorcycles. A cost benefit analysis of five policy options for the use of DRL in the European Union has been made. DRL reduces the number of multi-party daytime accidents by 5-10%. The benefits of using DRL are greater than the costs in all five policy options.
Residential Steel Framing Handbook

Advantages of Steel Framing. Steel Framing Components and Tools. Four Phases of Steel Frame Construction. Steel Frame Joist Assembly. Load-Bearing Steel Construction. Non-Load Bearing Steel Walls. Roof Rafters and Support. Roof Coverings Over Steel Framing. Installing Exterior and Interior Finishing Materials Over Steel Framing. Appendices: A: Glossary of Steel Framing Terms. B: Conversion Tables. C: Sources of Steel Framing Components.
Experimental Investigations of a Fin Protuberance Partially Immersed in a Turbulent Boundary Layer at Mach 5

Abstract : Various flow visualization results at a nominal Mach number of 5 are presented for cylindrically blunted, unswept and 60-degree swept fins with and without small clearance gaps, partially immersed in a turbulent boundary layer of about 2.6 inches thickness. In addition, pressure and heat transfer measurements were obtained on the flat plate upon which the fin was mounted. Oil smear, azobenzene and Schlieren flow visualization tests were made.
Analysis of Naval Flight Officer selection, assignment, and flight school completion among U.S. Naval Academy Graduates

Abstract : There are three models analyzed in this study. The first two models attempt to determine whether academic rank, military rank, and major are predictive of NFO service selection and NFO assignment. The goal of the third model, which predicts NFO completion, is to determine whether academic and military grades, major, personality, gender, and race predict completion of NFO flight training. Logistic regression is used to analyze the effect of the explanatory variables on the dependent variables. The analysis shows that the first two models are not statistically significant predictors of NFO service selection and NFO service assignment. The NFO completion model displays the most interesting result of all three models. Military quality point rating is a highly significant predictor of completing NFO flight training. For midshipmen who select NFO as their first or second choice, the higher their military grades the more likely an Academy graduate will complete flight officer training. Further research is recommended to determine if military quality point rating is a significant predictor of completing one's initial training in other warfare communities.
Innovation and Coordination for ICT Standards : the Role of Essential Patents

This thesis studies the role of essential patents for the coordination of innovation in ICT standards. The increasing number of essential patents around technological standards is an increasing challenge for standardizing firms. In response, these firms have developed innovative coordination mechanisms, and in particular patent pools and informal standards consortia. This thesis sheds light on the function of essential patents as a distinctive appropriation mechanism tailored to cumulative innovation. This mechanism can however induce incentives for opportunistic strategies, which can be even exacerbated by patent pools. Nevertheless, patent pools also lead to an increase in the number of patented technologies developed for technological standards. Informal consortia induce an increase in the number of standard-related patents when incentives to innovate are insufficient. When the incentives to innovate are excessive, the effect of consortia on the number of patents is weaker, or even negative. Essential patents have an incidence on the technological progress of standards. For instance, inclusion of essential patents induces a more continuous type of technological progress, consisting in many small standard updates, and avoiding discontinuous standard replacements.
Bond of Reinforcing Bars to Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC)

resum, resumen Abstract [English] iii Resum [Valencià] v Resumen [Español] vii Chapter 0. Introduction and Objectives 0.1 Background 0-1 0.2 Objectives 0-3 PART I. STATE OF THE ART Chapter 1. Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete: an Introduction 1.1 Background I-1 1.2 Definitions and General Aspects I-2 1.3 Components and Proportioning I-4 1.4 Fibers Contribution to Concrete Behavior I-7 1.5 Fresh State Behavior I-11 1.6 Compressive Behavior I-13 1.7 Tensile Behavior I-16 1.8 Flexural Behavior I-20 1.9 Shear Behavior I-26 1.10 Durability I-27 1.11 Production and Control I-29 Chapter 2. Bond of Reinforcing Bars to Concrete 2.1 Rebar-Concrete Interaction I-31 2.2 Modes of Failure I-40 2.3 Concrete Compressive Strength I-44 2.4 Reinforcing Bar I-48 2.5 Confinement I-56 Chapter 3. Effect of Fibers on Bond 3.1 Contribution of Fibers to Bond Performance I-67 3.2 Overview of Experimental Approaches Found in Literature I-70 3.3 Effects of Fibers on Bond Strength I-73 3.4 Structural Role of Fibers on Bond I-78 3.5 Effect of Fibers on Bond Toughness I-81
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study investigating the effects of torso geometry simplification on aspiration efficiency

Anderson, Kimberly Rose. "Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study investigating the effects of torso geometry simplification on aspiration efficiency. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost I would like to thank my advisor, Renée. I cannot possibly thank you enough for providing me with the support and direction to complete this work. You sparked my interest in research and set me on the path to pursuing my PhD, and I will always be grateful to you for that. Thank you for indulging me on my various interests and side projects and providing me with the knowledge and resources to pursue those. And thank you for your guidance and focusing me on the tasks at hands when my ambitions got the better of me. I will always be honored to call you my advisor and mentor. I want to thank my family for always being there and supporting me through everything. To my parents, I can't express my gratitude enough. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for you instilling in me a love of learning and pushing me to always do my best. I appreciate your unfaltering belief in my ability to succeed and your unconditional support. And lastly, to my friends who were there to support me, who shared in the laughter and celebrations, and offered encouragement and support through the tears. Thanks for being there and helping me through this. iii ABSTRACT In previous studies truncated models were found to underestimate the air's upward velocity when compared to wind tunnel velocity studies, which may affect particle aspiration estimates. This work compared aspiration efficiencies using three torso geometries: 1) a simplified truncated cylinder; 2) a non-truncated cylinder; and 3) an anthropometrically realistic humanoid body. The primary aim of this work was to (1) quantify the errors introduced by using a simplified geometry and (2) determine the required level of detail to adequately represent a human form in CFD studies of aspiration efficiency. Fluid simulations used the standard k-epsilon turbulence models, with freestream velocities at 0.2 and 0.4 m s-1 and breathing velocities at 1.81 and 12.11 m s-1 to represent at-rest and heavy breathing rates, respectively. Laminar particle trajectory simulations were used to determine the upstream area where particles would be inhaled. These areas were used to compute aspiration efficiencies for facing the wind. Significant differences were found in vertical velocity and location of the critical area between the …
Technologies and Methods used in Wind Resource Assessment

Wind energy is one of the fastest growing energy sources in the world today. The reason for this can be due to the fact that there have been vast improvements in wind energy technology which has led to lower cost. For any wind energy project to be successful there should be a thorough wind resource assessment (WRA) carried out. This chapter presents literature review on the technologies and methods used in WRA. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 4.1 gives an overview on wind energy. Section 4.2 presents the literature review on technologies, software and methods used in WRA. Section 4.3 describes a method for finding the optimum wind turbine for a site. Section 4.4 presents the uncertainty involved in predicting wind speed using different methods. Finally, some conclusions are drawn.
Evaluation of Motorcycle Safety in Kansas

Over the past several years, motorcycle fatalities have increased at an alarming rate in the United States. Motorcycle safety issues in Kansas are no different from the national scenario. Accordingly, this study attempted to investigate motorcycle crashes in Kansas to identify critical characteristics and to evaluate the effect of those on motorcycle crash injury outcomes. State-level motorcycle rider fatality rates were investigated while considering various factors including helmet laws using generalized least-squares regression modeling. A detailed characteristic analysis was carried out for motorcycle crashes using Kansas crash data. Comparisons were made between several aspects of motorcycle crashes and other vehicle crashes. Analysis using logistic regression was performed on Kansas motorcycle crash data to identify factors affecting fatal motorcycle crashes. In addition, a survey was conducted focusing on identifying motorcycle rider behaviors, helmet usage patterns, perception towards helmet laws in Kansas, potential problems, crash contributory factors, and difficulty levels of executing different motorcycle maneuvers. Ordered probit modeling was used to identity factors contributing to increased injury severity of Kansas motorcycle riders involved in crashes. Results from state-level modeling showed statistically significant relationships between motorcycle fatality rates in a given state as well as several other factors. These factors included weather-related conditions, helmet laws, per capita income, highway mileage of rural roads, population density, education, demographic distributions, and motorcycle registrations in the state. The study showed that states with mandatory helmet laws had 5.6% fewer motorcycle fatalities per 10,000 registrations and 7.85% fewer motorcycle fatalities per 100,000 population. Characteristic analysis of motorcycle crashes in Kansas revealed that motorcycle maneuvers such as overtaking, motorcyclists being older than 40 years, not using motorcycle helmets, daytime riding, crashes occurring on roadside shoulders, and being under the influence of alcohol at the time of crashes had a higher risk of ending up as a fatal motorcycle crash in Kansas. Results from the survey conducted among motorcycle riders in Kansas revealed that 71% of respondents thought drivers of other vehicles were the single biggest threat to their own safety. Survey results also revealed that 64% of respondents opposed a mandatory law requiring motorcycle riders and passengers to wear helmets in Kansas. Results from the ordered probit modeling of motorcycle rider injury severity showed that overturned and fixed-object motorcycle crashes, helmet nonuse, younger motorcycle riders, speeding, presence of alcohol impairment among motorcycle riders, and good weather contributed to increased injury severity of motorcycle riders involved in crashes in Kansas.
Talent Management 2: A Quicker And More Cost Effective Route To The High Performance Organisation

Many talent management programmes are unaffordable and destined to fail. Talented people can be costly to recruit and difficult to manage and retain. Fortunes are spent on expensive people who are not engaged, effectively used, or properly supported. This 184 page A4 size report sets out a practical and affordable route to building high performance organisations and quickly achieving multiple objectives. The approach it recommends can avoid traditional trade-offs and benefits people and organisations. Contents Executive Summary 1 Talent Management and the High Performance Organisation 2 Underpinning Research and Experience 3 Addressing Fundamental Challenges 4 Innovation, and Launching and Selling New Products 5 Building and Supporting High Performance Communities 6 24/7 Learning and Development 7 Transforming Public Services 8 Purchasing and Informed Decision Making 9 Implementing Corporate Policies and Strategies 10 Corporate Communications 11 Addressing Special Situations 12 Adopting and Implementing Performance Support 13 Embracing a More Balanced Approach References
Material Perturbations to Enhance Performance of the Thiele Half-Width Leaky Mode Antenna

Abstract : Microstrip traveling-wave antennas, often referred to as leaky-wave antennas, have been shown to radiate when the dominant or fundamental mode is suppressed and the first higher-order mode is excited. One such microstrip variation is the Thiele Half-Width (THW) antenna, which operates from 5.9 - 8.2 GHz for this research. Increasing the bandwidth over which the THW antenna radiates is desired, as is a fundamental understanding of the propagation characteristics over this region. This dissertation seeks to vary or perturb the material and physical properties of the THW antenna, including strip-width variations and modifications of the substrate layer, to achieve these results.