Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparing Effectiveness of Different Reliability Indices in Contingency Ranking and Indicating Voltage Stability

One of the main objectives of electric utility is to reduce the probability of load curtailment during the contingencies. This objective could only be achieved by the proper and timely control actions against these contingencies. For such an operational decision, an accurate and timely assessment and ranking of contingencies against the probability and frequency of load curtailment, and cascading outage are needed. Conventional techniques to assess the severity of such events are largely based on the assessment of post contingency voltage stability indices. These approaches are often found to be time consuming and sometime unreliable. This study attempts to investigate the effectiveness of different reliability indices in predicting the severity of contingencies. Different composite reliability indices are compared with the more sophisticated voltage stability and system loadability indices. Finding of this study is; use of these reliability indices as additional information to assess the severity of contingencies would complement the effectiveness of conventional approaches.
QTL Detection and Elite Alleles Mining for Stigma Traits in Oryza sativa by Association Mapping

Stigma traits are very important for hybrid seed production in Oryza sativa, which is a self-pollinated crop; however, the genetic mechanism controlling the traits is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the phenotypic data of 227 accessions across 2 years and assessed their genotypic variation with 249 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. By combining phenotypic and genotypic data, a genome-wide association (GWA) map was generated. Large phenotypic variations in stigma length (STL), stigma brush-shaped part length (SBPL) and stigma non-brush-shaped part length (SNBPL) were found. Significant positive correlations were identified among stigma traits. In total, 2072 alleles were detected among 227 accessions, with an average of 8.3 alleles per SSR locus. GWA mapping detected 6 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for the STL, 2 QTLs for the SBPL and 7 QTLs for the SNBPL. Eleven, 5, and 12 elite alleles were found for the STL, SBPL, and SNBPL, respectively. Optimal cross designs were predicted for improving the target traits. The detected genetic variation in stigma traits and QTLs provides helpful information for cloning candidate STL genes and breeding rice cultivars with longer STLs in the future.
Study and Overview on System Feedback Representations in Control Modeling with Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) Platform

Neural Network has become one of the most beneficial methods for efficiency improvement of control system engineering and its different aspects. A review study on block diagram representation with effective and satisfactory performance analysis via artificial neural network techniques is proposed in this paper. The implementation of any block diagram with artificial neural networks using MATLAB (R2008b) simulator and the neural modelof the training state and the performance obtained from the graphs is the basic outcome of this paper. A brief literature review on control theory approach with feedback block modeling and signal flow graphs along with the contribution of artificial neural networks in the field of control system is also studied in this paper.
Free-Form Sketching of Self-Occluding Objects 1

S ketching interfaces to 3D object model-ing facilitate 3D object reconstruction from a 2D drawing provided by a designer. Igarashi presented the Teddy silhouette-based sketching system , which has a simple, intuitive interface. 1 Follow-up research has mainly focused on the representation issue for the resulting 3D objects, as given in recent work: variational implicit surfaces 2 and other forms of implicit surfaces. 3 In this article, we address a different issue, the extension of the modeling domain. In particular , we consider the modeling of self-occluding objects (or multiple objects possibly occluding each other), as Figure 1 shows. The creation of such objects with an existing tool such as Teddy 1 is rather awkward: the 2D closed curves would result in their corresponding 3D pieces that should be combined by detecting the hidden portions. We propose an integrated approach to this problem. Our approach first extracts the 2D skeleton on the sketching plane, given a set of contours self-intersecting or intersecting each other. Then, we derive the 3D skeleton from its 2D counterpart. Finally, we construct the 3D objects(s). Our main contribution is the second step, which derives the 3D skeleton by computing the depth at each (self-)inter-secting point on the 2D skeleton, while guaranteeing the intersection-free condition and C1-continuity at the corresponding points in the 3D space. We formulate the 3D skeleton construction as a sequence of constrained optimization problems to iteratively refine the shape of the skeleton off the sketching plane. The input data for 3D reconstruction are a set of hand-drawn strokes that represent the visible parts of the model's 2D silhouette (see Figure 2a). The contour completion algorithm reconstructs the entire silhouette by finding the occluded parts of the silhouette curves as shown in Figure 2b. This algorithm involves two steps: 1. finding a set of spline segments that correspond to the occluded part of the silhouette, and 2. checking the validity of the topology of the reconstructed silhouette curves composed of the hand-drawn strokes and the spline segments. The algorithm first enumerates the sets of spline segment , corresponding to all the possible ways of connecting free endpoints in a one-to-one manner. If there are more than two free endpoints, the completion problem might have several solutions. In this case, the algorithm sorts the sets of spline segments according to a cost function that reflects the splines' curvature and length. The computation time of …
Analysis of hand movement variation related to speed in Japanese sign language

To achieve the greater accessibility for deaf people, sign language recognition systems and sign language animation systems must be developed. In Japanese sign language (JSL), previous studies have suggested that emphasis and emotion cause changes in hand movements. However, the relationship between emphasis and emotion and the signing speed has not been researched enough. In this study, we analyzed the hand movement variation in relation to the signing speed. First, we recorded 20 signed sentences at three speeds (fast, normal, and slow) using a digital video recorder and a 3D position sensor. Second, we segmented sentences into three types of components (sign words, transitions, and pauses). In our previous study, we analyzed hand movement variations of sign words in relation to the signing speed. In this study, we analyzed transitions between adjacent sign words by a method similar to that in the previous study. As a result, sign words and transitions showed a similar tendency, and we found that the variation in signing speed mainly caused changes in the distance hands moved. Furthermore, we compared transitions with sign words and found that transitions were slower than sign words.
Effective implementation of the integrated Islamic education

This study is aqualitative research on the implementation of Integrated Islamic Education. The Pioneer Schools (Sekolah Rintis) and the Integrated Islamic Education systems are solid evidence that not only Malaysia, but also Brunei has decided to settle on in promoting comprehensive education path for their future generations. However, some problems surface later, which are thought to impede a fully successful implementation of the Integrated Islamic Education in the country. This work aims to examine the extent of the implementation of the Integrated Islamic Education system and to evaluate whether there is ev[dence which requires revision of the current system. This research has identified, however, the need to look into the implementation of two main solutions to successfully accomplish the vision of assimilating the Integrated Islamic Education system in the country in the light of (i) the implementation of the Thoughtful Schooling system or the concept of Integrated Islamic Education system and (ii) the Educator’s capability to prepare and practice a good lesson plan, according to the ‘Eight Steps of the Teaching Learning Process’ in the classroom by focusing on the four factors on the Heart-mind concept of the Integrated Islamic Education system.
Coupled Oscillators Approach in Analysis of Physiological Data

We discuss the usage of the coupled oscillators approach in analysis of bivariate physiological data, taking the cardio-respiratory interaction as an example. These model-based techniques allow us to detect and quantify the strength and directionality of weak interaction, as well as to estimate the delay(s) in coupling. We present both theoretical description of the technique and its algorithmic implementation
Embedding research and academic service in teaching: a case study of a hotel sales management course

ABSTRACT Lecturers in Thai universities have to meet several key performance indicators (KPIs), posing a heavy burden and demanding much time and effort. A new teaching model is explained and proposed where several KPIs can be met through progressive teaching. Embedding academic service and research projects in a course involves the participation of students, employing progressive teaching methods, and helping lecturers to meet various KPIs more effectively. This article describes how the above method is applied in a Hotel Sales Management course at Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality, Dhurakij Pundit University, Thailand. The benefits and difficulties faced during the project are described.
Effects of PMA (PHORBOL-12-MYRISTATE-13-ACETATE) on the Developing Rodent Brain

Perinatal infections have a negative impact on brain development. However, the underlying mechanisms leading to neurological impairment are not completely understood and reliable models of inflammation are urgently needed. Using phorbol-myristate-acetate as an activator of inflammation, we investigated the effect on the developing rodent brain. Neonatal rats and mice deficient in IL-18 or IRAK-4 were exposed to PMA. Brains were assessed for regulation of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and cell death 24 hrs, 7 and 14 days after treatment. PMA induced an inflammatory response and caused widespread neurodegeneration in the brains of 3- and 7-day-old rats. In contrast, 14-day-old rats were resistant to the neurotoxic effect of PMA. Histological evaluation at the age of 14 and 21 days revealed a destruction of the cortical microstructure with decreased numerical density of neuronal cells. Mice deficient in IL-18 or IRAK-4 were protected against PMA induced brain injury. PMA treatment during a vulnerable period can alter brain development. IL-18 and IRAK-4 appear to be important for the development of PMA induced injury.
Efficient subcarrier pairing and power allocation in multi-relay cognitive networks

This paper presents an efficient algorithm for joint subcarrier pairing, power allocation, and relay selection in an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)-based cognitive decode-and-forward (DF) multi-relay network. Such a joint consideration entails a mixed integer programming (MIP) problem. To efficaciously resolve this complicated MIP problem, we propose a blended genetic algorithm (BGA), which tackles all of these three issues as a whole and is free of extra assumptions made in previous works to simplify the problem. In our BGA, every chromosome is divided into a number of integer strings for relay selection and subcarrier pairing, and a real number string for power allocation. A proper initialization scheme based on the convex optimization theory and the channel strengths is proposed. Moreover, new crossover and mutation operations are devised for these new chromosomes as well as to manage the interference to the primary users (PUs). Conducted simulations show that the developed BGA provides superior performance, yet with lower computations compared with previous works.
Automatic generation of semantic dependency rules for Japanese noun phrases with particles “no”

The most important problems of dependency analysis are separated into three kinds of dependencies: noun to verb dependency, verb to verb dependency and noun to noun dependency. Recently, efficient methods have been developed for the first two problems. However, the third problem, namely noun phrase analysis, has not yet been solved. One of the most typical and important noun phrases in the Japanese language is the expression “A B C” (similar to “A of B of C” in English), which is composed of three nouns, A, B and C. In order to analyze this type of noun phrase, this paper proposes a method to generate dependency rules automatically. In this method, semantic structures of noun phrases are defined using a semantic attribute system which has recently been developed by NTT Japan. 4 kinds of semantic dependency rules, one-dimensional, two-dimensional, three-dimensional rules and exceptional rules were generated in the order of generality using examples extracted from the corpus. In the experiments, this method was applied to 10,000 Japanese noun phrases; 198 rules, 1,480 rules, 136 rules and 0 rules, respectively, were generated for each of the above 4 rule groups. The generated rules were applied to the dependency analysis, resulting in an accuracy rate of 85.8%.
TESLA with FLUTE over Satellite Networks

Multicast research has explored the security challenges faced in group communications. Multicast transport and multicast security need to work in close collaboration to realise a multicast service. However, there has been comparatively little work to combine the two technologies. In this paper the authors, presenting an example of partially integrating Timed Efficient Stream Loss-Tolerant Authentication (TESLA) protocol and the File Delivery over Unidirectional Transport (FLUTE) protocol. TESLA provides source authorization and data integrity for multicast groups. This paper proposes a loose synchronization mechanism for a unidirectional transmission environment, suited to satellite networks. It also analyses the effects on Forward Error Control (FEC) and the congestion control building blocks of FLUTE when used with TESLA.
Optimised keyword search with proximity location based services

The queries are made by the user manually, which are more time consuming and finding the route is difficult. So the android users makes a query to the cloud server so the data can be retrieved on the bases of geo tagged query and checking the privacy profile. So the user location in which query is requested and the wireless network is focused with the relation data and spatial database. Based on the spatiotemporal data the processing and retrieving can be done by hadoop framework.
Monitoring Fibrous Scaffold Guidance of Three-Dimensional Collagen Organisation Using Minimally-Invasive Second Harmonic Generation

The biological and mechanical function of connective tissues is largely determined by controlled cellular alignment and therefore it seems appropriate that tissue-engineered constructs should be architecturally similar to the in vivo tissue targeted for repair or replacement. Collagen organisation dictates the tensile properties of most tissues and so monitoring the deposition of cell-secreted collagen as the construct develops is essential for understanding tissue formation. In this study, electrospun fibres with a random or high degree of orientation, mimicking two types of tissue architecture found in the body, were used to culture human fibroblasts for controlling cell alignment. The minimally-invasive technique of second harmonic generation was used with the aim of monitoring and profiling the deposition and organisation of collagen at different construct depths over time while construct mechanical properties were also determined over the culture period. It was seen that scaffold fibre organisation affected cell migration and orientation up to 21 days which in turn had an effect on collagen organisation. Collagen in random fibrous constructs was deposited in alternating configurations at different depths however a high degree of organisation was observed throughout aligned fibrous constructs orientated in the scaffold fibre direction. Three-dimensional second harmonic generation images showed that deposited collagen was more uniformly distributed in random constructs but aligned constructs were more organised and had higher intensities. The tensile properties of all constructs increased with increasing collagen deposition and were ultimately dictated by collagen organisation. This study highlights the importance of scaffold architecture for controlling the development of well-organised tissue engineered constructs and the usefulness of second harmonic generation imaging for monitoring collagen maturation in a minimally invasive manner.
Input-parallel output-series cascading possibilities of single-switch galvanically isolated quasi-Z-source DC-DC converters

Focus is on a transformer based single-switch galvanically isolated quasi-Z-source converter. Single-switch topologies suit well for low power applications due to low complexity and cost of realization. However, their performance is rather limited, since only one switch should handle all converter power. Input-parallel output-series (IPOS) cascading improves stress of semiconductor devices, reliability, input current ripple, efficiency and DC voltage gain in a wide range of the input voltage, while maintaining the duty cycle of the switches within a reasonable range. The proposed two different approaches for IPOS cascading are analyzed and compared with the reference single-switch topology. Theoretical results are supported with a simulation study using PSIM software including Thermal Module for semiconductor power losses analysis.
A Search for Optical Pulsations from Two Young Southern Pulsars

We report on high-speed optical photometry of the radio positions of two young rotation-powered pulsars. No pulsations were detected from the optical counterpart proposed by Caraveo et al. for PSR B1509-58, with a 2 σ upper limit on the pulsed fraction of less than 12%, significantly lower than that measured in the five known optical pulsars. Given its low pulsed fraction, high optical luminosity, and significant (8%) chance coincidence probability, we suggest that this candidate is not associated with the pulsar. We also find that the still unidentified optical counterpart of PSR B1706-44 has R≳18 and lies within 3'' of an R=16.6 star.
If I experience formative assessment whilst studying at university, will I put it into practice later as a teacher? Formative and shared assessment in Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

Abstract The aim of this article is to analyse whether having experience of formative assessment during their initial teacher education courses (ITE) influences graduates’ subsequent practice as teachers. That is, if the assessment methods that university students are subject to during their learning process are then actually employed by them during their professional practice as schoolteachers. To address this issue, questionnaires were issued and focus groups were held with a sample of ITE graduates. The main results of the study are that: (1) formative and shared assessment (FSA) is not used a great deal during ITE, but is highly valued; (2) some graduates have implemented FSA in their practice as teachers, following their experience on their ITE course; and (3) significant variables are found regarding the implementation of FSA in schools (possible resistance from colleagues and/or pupils’ parents, etc.).
Hydraulic Analysis of Water Flow through Leaves of Sugar Maple and Red Oak1

Leaves constitute a substantial fraction of the total resistance to water flow through plants. A key question is how hydraulic resistance within the leaf is distributed among petiole, major veins, minor veins, and the pathways downstream of the veins. We partitioned the leaf hydraulic resistance (Rleaf) for sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and red oak (Quercus rubra) by measuring the resistance to water flow through leaves before and after cutting specific vein orders. Simulations using an electronic circuit analog with resistors arranged in a hierarchical reticulate network justified the partitioning of total Rleaf into component additive resistances. On average 64% and 74% of the Rleaf was situated within the leaf xylem for sugar maple and red oak, respectively. Substantial resistance—32% and 49%— was in the minor venation, 18% and 21% in the major venation, and 14% and 4% in the petiole. The large number of parallel paths (i.e. a large transfer surface) for water leaving the minor veins through the bundle sheath and out of the leaf resulted in the pathways outside the venation comprising only 36% and 26% of Rleaf. Changing leaf temperature during measurement of Rleaf for intact leaves resulted in a temperature response beyond that expected from changes in viscosity. The extra response was not found for leaves with veins cut, indicating that water crosses cell membranes after it leaves the xylem. The large proportion of resistance in the venation can explain why stomata respond to leaf xylem damage and cavitation. The hydraulic importance of the leaf vein system suggests that the diversity of vein system architectures observed in angiosperms may reflect variation in whole-leaf hydraulic capacity.
AGE-BASED PLUMAGE CHANGES IN THE LANCE-TAILED MANAKIN: A TWO-YEAR DELAY IN PLUMAGE MATURATION

Abstract I investigated the relationship of plumage to age and sex in the Lance-tailed Manakin (Pipridae, Chiroxiphia lanceolata) in the lowlands of western Panama from 1999–2004. I captured birds in mist nets, categorized their plumages, examined them for molt, and followed them for several years to document plumage changes. Male Lance-tailed Manakins exhibited three distinct postjuvenal plumages. Males achieved definitive adult plumage through sequential changes that occurred in the same order as in other Chiroxiphia manakins. Definitive male plumage developed over the same time span as reported for C. caudata but one year faster than C. linearis. Juvenal male plumage was similar to that of females, and 5% of 226 females had plumage similar to formative male plumage. Genetic sexing verified that changes observed late in the formative male plumage unambiguously identified sex and age of individual birds. This information can be used in behavioral studies to identify the age of male Lance-tailed Manakins captured in any of the predefinitive plumage stages.
Amapasi Asiwafuni! - To hell with pass laws! Class, race and gender identities in the anti-pass laws cartoons published in Umsebenzi / South African Worker, 1933-1936

The Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) was founded in 1921 and dissolved in 1950 in anticipation of being banned under the Suppression of Communism Act. It was relaunched as an underground party in 1953, renamed the South African Communist Party (SACP) and eventually unbanned in 1990. The important role played by the Communist Party in the liberation struggle of South Africa is generally acknowledged. Despite this role, and the fact that the Party had used printed propaganda since its inception, the printed graphic propaganda of the CPSA has not yet received critical attention. Propaganda was important to the CPSA, and a sizeable volume of printed material produced by the Party survives in archives locally and abroad.