Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the suitability of Narrowband Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT) for smart grids

Narrowband Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT), recently introduced by 3GPP, is a relevant Radio Access Technology (RAT) solution for deployment within smart grids, the electricity grids of the future, due to the need to provide low-cost connectivity to a large number of smart meters installed in households. Outage Restoration and Management (ORM), a smart grid use case, involves the smart meter User Equipment (UE) sending a notification message to the utility upon the detection of a loss or restoration of power. ORM is an effective way for utilities to quickly detect, localise and restore a power outage. However, depending on the extent of the power outage, a near simultaneous network access by multiple UEs may occur, leading to resource congestion, particularly of the so-called ‘random access channel’. This may impact the reliability, i.e. the percentage of total notifications successfully delivered within a certain transfer delay target, and in turn, the accuracy of the power outage localisation. Consequently, the maximisation of the ORM reliability performance for a technology like NB-IoT becomes a challenge, given that such use cases, though relevant, were not considered in its design phase. The main goal of this thesis is the optimisation of the NB-IoT network configuration, with a focus on packet scheduling, in order to maximise the ORM reliability performance. To this extent, a system-level simulation model is developed and implemented, incorporating realistic characteristics of energy distribution and mobile networks in four different environments (rural, suburban, urban and dense urban), the traffic characteristics of ORM and the relevant 3GPP specifications of NB-IoT. Additionally, a set of candidate time-frequency domain packet schedulers are proposed. A sensitivity analysis of key network configuration components is performed for a set of power outage scenarios i.e. network loads, the associated optimisation trade-offs are highlighted and a near-optimal network configuration is derived. Based on the sensitivity analysis, a proposed scheduler which prioritises UEs based on a combination of the Earliest Due Date First (EDDF) and Shortest Processing Time First (SPTF) principles, and assigns each UE a single uplink subcarrier with a subcarrier spacing of 3.75 kHz, performs best amongst all the candidate schedulers. Furthermore, the achieved reliability performance is close to 100% for all the considered power outage scenarios in the rural and dense urban environments. In the suburban and urban environments, close to 100% reliability is achieved for the majority of the power outage scenarios.
Dielectric resonator-based two-element MIMO antenna system with dual band characteristics

In this research article, a dielectric resonator-based multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna system is presented with dual band characteristics. The proposed MIMO antenna includes two symmetrical hybrid radiators. Each hybrid radiator consists of a modified annular ring printed line along with a cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna (CDRA). A modified annular ring printed line acts as a magnetic dipole and creates two different radiating modes (HEM 11δ and TE 01δ ) in the dielectric resonator. The approach of the hybrid antenna (combination of the modified annular ring printed line and CDRA) is taken into account for achieving dual band characteristics. Orthogonally placed antenna elements and a narrow slit in the ground plane are used to improve isolation (| S 12 | <; -20 dB) in the entire operating frequency range. The antenna prototype is fabricated and measured for validating the simulated results. The proposed MIMO radiator is operating over two frequency bands, i.e. 1.75-2.4 and 3.5-5.5 GHz. Different MIMO diversity performance parameters (envelope correlation coefficient, diversity gain, mean effective gain, total active reflection coefficient, and channel capacity loss) are also inspected and found within acceptable limits.
Mechanical properties of bio compatible functional prototypes for joining applications in clinical dentistry

In the presented research, work investigations have been made for mechanical properties of the functional prototypes prepared from biocompatible filament of fused deposition modelling (FDM), comprising of hydroxyapatite (HAp), polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The functional prototypes will be used in clinical dentistry (mainly for joining application for job-type production activities). The filament has been prepared in house using twin screw extrusion process. For evaluation purpose, standard tensile specimens as per ASTM D-638 have been prepared on FDM. This study highlights the effect of three parameters of FDM (namely: infill percentage, layer thickness and speed of extrusion head) on the mechanical properties (namely: load at peak and load at break). The results of the study suggest that infill density has majorly contributed, 92% on load at peak and 89% for load at break, and deposition speed has very less contribution i.e., 1% towards the mechanical strength of the specimen. Further, the results are supported with thermal analysis using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), which ensures that the specimen prepared are thermally stable and can be put in for joining applications for job-type production activities in clinical dentistry.
Comprehensive investigation of leakage problems for concrete gravity dams with penetrating cracks based on detection and monitoring data: A case study

The leakage amount is an important indicator evaluating the seepage behavior of a dam. Due to the complex behavior, crack development judgment and leakage behavior identification for concrete gravity dams remain a challenging task. The paper is concerned with comprehensive investigation of leakage problems for concrete gravity dams with penetrating cracks. A case study on Shimantan Reservoir Dam was taken to examine the utilization of the comprehensive investigation method. Deficiency investigations were undertaken to identify the nature and sources of defects responsible for the serious leakage. Based on the information acquired from field visual inspections and ground‐penetrating radar tests, it is apparent that several transverse cracks penetrate the dam crest and propagate downward into the dam body. The results of the remedial grouting, X‐ray diffraction analyses and water injection tests reflect the appearance of penetrating leakage paths in the dam body. Subsequently, 2 behavior models including the special hydrostatic‐seasonal‐time model and the inverse analysis model were conducted to distinguish the contribution of penetrating cracks to leakage amount. The special hydrostatic‐seasonal‐time model was modified to address the influence of leakage flow in real microcracks in concrete dams based on the Navier–Stokes equation. The result shows that the proposed models provide an acceptable accuracy in analyzing leakage monitoring data for gravity dams with penetrating cracks. Leakage flow in penetrating cracks plays a dominant role in the dam seepage field. The execution flow in this paper could be readily employed in investigations of similar problems of concrete dams.
Design and verification of bonded GaN power amplifier for the 5G

In this thesis a bonded Gallium nitride (GaN) power amplifier (PA) is designed using 3D modeling tool to design layout for the gate and drain matching elements for the GaN PA including bondwires. 1D circuit simulator is used to simulate the PA operation with 3D simulated matching blocks and large signal GaN device model. GaN device used in this design is Qorvo’s TGF2023-2-02. 3D simulated drain and gate matching layouts are based on the TGF2023-2-02 datasheet’s loadpull data and the large signal simulations. The target operational frequency for the power amplifier is from 5.6 GHz to 6.0 GHz. The main design goal is to achieve 60% drain efficiency, 36 dBm maximum output power and over 12 dB gain in the operational band. With simulations, 59.2% drain efficiency, 41.5 dBm output power and 15.8 dB gain is achieved using 28 V drain voltage. According to the measurements, the highest drain efficiency is 59.2% using lower 18 V drain voltage. With measurements, 37.04 dBm drain efficiency and 14.2 dB gain were achieved using the lower drain voltage. This means that the fabricated power amplifier achieves the designed output power and gain targets while the drain efficiency is only 0.8 pp lower than the target.
Dead-time effect analysis of a three-phase dual-active bridge DC/DC converter

The dead-time effect is observed in the three-phase dual-active bridge (DAB) DC/DC converter. The occurrence of the dead-time effect depends on the relationship of the switching frequency, the phase shift value, the dead-time value and the equivalent conversion ratio. The dead-time effect may have a significant impact on the converter performance when high switching frequency, wide input and output voltage range or wide operation power range are required. Therefore, comprehensive research of the dead-time effect is essential to improve the design of the three-phase DAB converter over a wide operation range. In this study, all the cases of the dead-time effect in the three-phase DAB converter are analysed in terms of the buck, boost, and matching states. The expressions of the transmission power, constraint conditions, and key time of the dead-time effect are derived for each state. The operation waveforms of the dead-time effect are also presented to better understand the dead-time effect. Finally, the analysis is verified by both simulation and experimental results.
Homotopy Continuation Methods for Solving Polynomial Systems

for x = (x1, . . . ,xn). This problem is very common in many fields of science and engineering, such as formula construction, geometric intersection problems, inverse kinematics, power flow problems with PQspecified bases, computation of equilibrium states, etc. Many of those applications has been well documented in [40]. Elimination theory based methods, most notably the Buchberger algorithm [7] for constructing Gröbner bases, are the classical approach to solving (1), but their reliance on symbolic manipulation makes those methods seem somewhat limited to relatively small problems. Solving polynomial systems is an area where numerical computations arise almost naturally. Given the complexity of the problem, we must use standard machine arithmetic to obtain efficient programs. Moreover, by Galois theory explicit formulas for the solutions are unlikely to exist. We are concerned with the robustness of our methods and want to be sure that all isolated solutions are obtained, i.e., we want exhaustive methods. In 1977, Garcia and Zangwill
Hannah’s prayer for a male child: Interpreting 1 Samuel 1:11 in the Nigerian context

] is a socially determined bias in a patriarchal society where couples prefer to raise a child who has the culturally accepted characteristics, status and economic potential associated with the male gender. [ It ] often influences behaviour and may result in gender biases that negatively affect girls and women’s welfare, health and survival. in Nigeria where people prefer male children for similar reasons. In view of the fact that the preference for sons has a fatal effect on female children, as well as their mothers, it amounts to women abuse, which makes it an issue of pastoral significance in Nigeria. 1 Samuel 1:11 is thus relevant in the context of marital conflicts among Nigerian Christian couples arising from male child preference. To this end, teaching to illuminate this preference for sons should form an integral part of the marriage theology of the church in Nigeria. Contribution: The article is a contribution in the field of marriage theology, in that it identifies the preference for male children as a possible factor for marital disharmony among Nigerian Christian couples.
Decentralized Precoding for Cache-Enabled Ultra-Dense Radio Access Networks

This letter studies the fully decentralized optimization of the precoding matrices for the downlink of multiple-input-multiple-output cache-enabled ultra-dense radio access network. To avoid signalling exchange between coordinated edge radio access nodes (RANs), we first construct a virtual downlink cache-enabled ultra-dense radio access network. Following, a new concept of signal-to-interference-leakage-plus-noise ratio is defined. Based on this concept, a virtual weighted sum rate maximization problem is formulated to optimize the precoders. We then propose a computationally efficient decentralized optimization algorithm that achieves stationary point to the problem. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve more than 96.15% of the performance of the centralized optimization without any signalling exchange between coordinated edge RANs for multiple-input single-output cases.
Online Fault Diagnosis in Industrial Processes Using Multimodel Exponential Discriminant Analysis Algorithm

Fault diagnosis is used to identify the fault cause of the online abnormality, which is crucial for efficient and optimal operation of industrial processes. Due to the time-varying characteristics of fault process, the historical fault data may consist of multiple patterns and cannot be described accurately using a single model, which may result in poor performance of conventional multivariable statistical methods. In this brief, a multimodel exponential discriminant analysis (MEDA) algorithm is proposed for solving the aforementioned fault diagnosis problem. First, the samples of each fault class are clustered into different subclasses using the fast search and find of density peaks algorithm and the proposed cluster index. Subsequently, the between- and within-subclass exponential covariance matrices are calculated based on the subclasses and then the multimodel exponential discriminant model can be developed. Finally, recursively update the cluster center and the multimodel exponential discriminant model until the developed subclasses can be well separated and better discriminant performance can be obtained. Besides, a probabilistic MEDA algorithm and its corresponding online probabilistic diagnosis are also described to develop fuzzy model, so that the fault classes whose subclasses have fuzzy boundaries can also be effectively diagnosed. The Tennessee Eastman process is used to validate the diagnosis performance of the proposed MEDA algorithm, and the experimental results illustrate that the proposed algorithm can efficiently diagnose different classes of faults.
A FPGA-Based SIFT Architecture for Motion Estimation in Video Coding

In multi-view video coding (MVC), inter-view and temporal redundancies worsen coding efficiency and video quality, and they are needed to eliminate. Motion Estimation (ME) is a key factor for high quality video coding to reducing complexity. This paper proposes a parallel hardware architecture for computing ME by using scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT). It has advantages over many other algorithms because features that detected are fully invariant to image scaling and rotation. This paper applies Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to reduce the complexity in SIFT algorithm. SIFT feature is used to matching corresponding point to find the search range. The experimental results shown that the hardware architecture for SIFT algorithm realized fast feature extraction, and reduces the computational load and memory.
Effect of added resonators in RFID system at 13.56 MHz

In this study, a reader antenna including resonators is proposed to improve detection of a small moving tag in the case of tracking a radiofrequency identification (RFID) system. The near-field RFID technology is based on load modulation, the input impedance on the reader coil and the mutual inductance between the reader and tag coils are the main parameters for performing detection. They are calculated from the impedance matrix parameters. The added resonators change all the parameters of the impedance matrix consequently the input impedance and mutual inductance are also changed. In this study, analytical formulation defining the equivalent impedance matrix parameters is developed. These formulae are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed design according to the tag misalignment (lateral and angular). From the calculation and simulation results, a frequency shift in the equivalent input impedance is found. To avoid this problem, optimising the positioning of the resonators on the reader coil is performed. This study is confirmed by measures of RFID detection for a reader prototype (with and without resonators) and a small commercial tag. Both the surface and volume of detection of the small moving tag (lateral and angular misalignment) are improved by the principle of added resonators.
Optimization of media for micro-propagation of Aloe barbadensis Mill.

An efficient protocol for rapid in vitro propagation of valuable medicinal plant, Aloe barbadensis Mill. (var. Gujrat 20) by using shoot tip as explants were done. Aloe barbadensis is likely to become a major source of a number of medicinal products of high value in the coming future. Therefore, efficient and fast mechanized production need to be established for Aloe barbadensis to address the need of the present time. Our works deal with the establishment of a viable protocol for decontamination with HgCl2, in vitro shooting and rooting of this valued medicinal plant. Out of nine different hormonal regime tried for induction of multiplication on shoot explants, MS media supplemented with 6.0 mg/l BAP + 0.2 mg/l IAA + 100.0 mg/l AdSO4 was found best to induce maximum number of plantlets per explants. For rooting, increase in auxin (IAA) and decrease in cytokinin (BAP) and adenine sulphate was found effective.
Synchrotron-Based FTIR Micro-spectroscopy of Martian Meteorites

Martian meteorites from SNC group were studied with synchrotron-based FTIR spectroscopy with ~1 µm spatial resolution in the mid-infrared region (4000-850 cm-1). Silicate region in EET A79001, ALH 84001, and Nakhla present three prominent bands, while Chassigny has a different spectral profile. The infrared spectra reveal that some of the grains contain aliphatic type organic molecules as well as OH. According to the spatially resolved distribution maps, these molecules appear to be heterogeneously distributed in the samples. This points to complex parent body processes.
Multiple Scalar Auxiliary Variable (MSAV) Approach and its Application to the Phase-Field Vesicle Membrane Model

We consider in this paper gradient flows with disparate terms in the free energy that cannot be efficiently handled with the scalar auxiliary variable (SAV) approach, and we develop the multiple scalar auxiliary variable (MSAV) approach to deal with these cases. We apply the MSAV approach to the phase-field vesicle membrane (PF-VMEM) model which, in addition to some usual nonlinear terms in the free energy, has two additional penalty terms to enforce the volume and surface area. The MSAV approach enjoys the same computational advantages as the SAV approach but can handle free energies with multiple disparate terms such as the volume and surface area constraints in the PF-VMEM model. The MSAV schemes are unconditional energy stable and second-order accurate in time and lead to decoupled elliptic equations with constant coefficients to solve at each time step. Hence, these schemes are easy to implement and extremely efficient when coupled with an adaptive time stepping. Ample numerical results are presented.
Challenges for Miniaturised Energy Harvesting Sensor Systems

Harvesting ambient energy, as an alternative power source, tackles the increasing demand for future energy-efficient autonomous sensor systems, especially for applications requiring miniaturisation and distributed sensing such Wireless Sensors Network and Internet-of-Things. A functional energy harvesting system requires addressing simultaneously all the components of the system: the harvester device, the energy storage and the powering management circuits. These components are described through examples of miniaturized kinetic-based harvesting systems for low-power applications with focus on energy harvester, piezoelectric and electromagnetic, respectively.
A multiclass microscopic model for heterogeneous platoon with vehicle-to-vehicle communication

ABSTRACT Connected and autonomous (CA) vehicles have been verified to significantly improve traffic efficiency. However, there is still a long lifespan for heterogeneous traffic flow consisting of both human-driven and CA vehicles. Thus a deep understanding of the heterogeneous platoon dynamics is critical to the traffic stability issues for the deployment of CA vehicles in the near future. This paper aims to develop a multiclass microscopic model for a heterogeneous platoon which can explicitly demonstrate the interaction between human-driven and CA vehicles. Specifically, the consensus-based control algorithm is adopted to model the dynamics of CA vehicles and a typical car-following model is used to describe the dynamics of human-driven vehicles. We then theoretically and numerically study the linear stability condition of the heterogeneous platoon which takes into account the probabilistic delay in the communication, the penetration of the CA vehicles, and the relative order of the vehicle types in the platoon.
Efficient Producer Mobility Management Model in Information-Centric Networking

Information centric networking is a clean-slate Internet architecture designed as a future Internet to supplement and completely replace the current Internet architecture. The future Internet information-centric networking was proposed in different kind of approaches to offered vast advantages ranging from security, catching, and content mobility support. However, some of the approaches support only content consumer, while content producer mobility faces many challenges, such as unnecessary Interest packet losses, high handoff latency, scalability issues, and high signaling overhead. Therefore, many approaches, protocols, and schemes were proposed to address the problem. The schemes such as indirection-based approach, locator-based approach, rendezvous-based, forwarding-based, and control/data plane-based, and mapping-based approach were investigated using either analytical or simulation investigation. However, in many cases of the formulation of an analytical investigation for information-centric networking mobility support management, the determination and incorporation of producers’ movement behavior are neglected, whereas the movement pattern of mobile content producer plays a vital role in mobility performance analysis of the wireless mobile network. This paper proposed a producer mobility management model for information-centric networking with a random waypoint and random walk mobility model incorporated, to measure the movement pattern effect and proved the uniformity of the proposed model to support any kind of mobility support approaches or schemes. The performance analysis result of our proposed model revealed that movement pattern does affect the mobile producer handoff performance. Hence, for the accuracy of handoff latency, handoff signaling cost, and data packets delivery cost investigation, mobility models must be selected carefully based on the application domain.