Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of IL4 rs2070874, FoxP3 rs3761548 Polymorphisms with Keratoconus in Algeria

Abstract Purpose The aim of this case–control study was to determine the impact of environmental factors on the predisposition to develop keratoconus in a sample of Western Algerian population. Subsequently, we were interested in the implication of two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) IL4 rs2070874 and FOXP3 rs3761548, previously described as contributing to the occurrence of allergy, in the development of keratoconus. Methods The study included 70 unrelated KC cases and 70 controls originating from Western Algeria. DNA genotyping was done using predesigned probe-based allelic discrimination TaqManⓇ assays. Allele and genotype frequencies were compared between the cases and controls by Chi-square test and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Results A significant association between risk factors such as family history, atopy, eye rubbing, and the development of keratoconus was found in our sample. Smoking would provide a protective effect against the pathology. No statistically significant differences were found in the allele and genotype frequencies between cases and controls neither for IL4 rs2070874 nor for FOXP3 rs3761548. Conclusion Our study provides, for the first time, a clear demonstration of the absence of association of the allergy-associated IL4 and FOXP3 polymorphisms with KC in a sample from Western Algerian population.
Delay based noise cancelling sturdy MASH delta-sigma modulator

A delay-based noise cancelling sturdy multi-stage noise shaping (MASH) structure that cancels the first-stage quantisation error is presented. Thus, a smaller number of bits can be used for the first-stage quantiser without degrading the overall performance. In addition, the proposed structure improves stability with respect to maximum applicable input by removing the first-stage quantisation error from the first loop.
Statistics and optimization of random pan stacking

We consider a minimal model of random pan stacking. A single pan consists of a V-shaped object characterized by its internal angle α. The stack is constructed by piling up N pans with different angles in a given, random order. The set of pans is generated by sampling from various kinds of distributions of the pan angles: discrete or continuous, uniform or optimized. For large N the mean height depends principally on the average of the distance between the bases of two consecutive pans, and the effective compaction of the stack, compared with the unstacked pans, is 2 log 2/π. We also obtain the discrete and continuous distributions that maximize the mean stack height. With only two types of pans, the maximum occurs for equal probabilities, while when many types of pans are available, the optimum distribution strongly favours those with the most acute and the most obtuse angles. With a continuous distribution of angles, while one never finds two identical pans, the behaviour is similar to a system with a large number of discrete angles.
Performance of medium voltage multi-level inverters

There are many ways to build medium voltage inverters. This paper studies the characteristics of two types of nonregenerative medium voltage source inverters that are in the market place today. Each inverter that was investigated has major differences in circuit topologies, which in turn led to differences in performance characteristics. The operational characteristics and the mechanical construction of a 5 level neutral point clamped medium voltage PWM inverter are described. Particular detail is given in describing the current harmonics present at different speeds of motor operation. The second part of the paper studies a medium voltage drive which was invented by P. Hammond (see IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol.33, no.1, 1997). The inverter was built by Robicon and retrofitted with GE signal electronics. The performance of that GE-Robicon hybrid inverter prototype was measured and is described in this paper.
Polyphase filtered OFDM transmission system

A polyphase filtered orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (PF-OFDM) technique is presented. The proposed structure uses a modified discrete Fourier transform transmultiplexer to achieve greater spectral efficiency than an OFDM system, while preserving backward compatibility with it. The prototype PF-OFDM filter has excellent time and frequency localisation properties, which make it possible to eliminate a guard interval and easily suppress interchannel interference.
Effect of workstation loading on the objective of the systems’s entry policy in FMS

This paper attempts to reveal the interrelationships between the workstation loading and system entry policies and in particular to investigate the adverse or positive effects of workstation loading on the objective which the entry policy is trying to achieve. This analysis is made through a computer simulation study of an existing flexible assembly plant for printed circuit boards. Dynamic performance indicators are defined and are shown to be crucial in revealing the effect of workstation loading. The analysis of the simulation results shows that in general, the workstation policy is beneficial when it takes into account an important local system parameter which is not considered by the entry policy, and furthermore, when it is able to attain at least the value of the dynamic performance indicator dictated by system entry policy.
NOZZLE WEAR RATES AND TEST PROCEDURE

ABSTRACT The wear rates of fan spray tips were determined. Both nominal capacity and construction material greatly influenced wear rates of the tips. Equations were developed for relationships between usage times and changes in flow rates through the tips. The percentage increase in flow rates for all brass, nylon, and stainless steel tips varied approximately with square root of time of use. Test results indicated that hours of use before 10% increase in flow rate increased rapidly with increased capacities of brass, stainless steel, nylon, and plastic tips. For all capacities tested, stainless steel tips were used an average of 5.6 and 2.1 times longer than brass and nylon tips, respectively, before flow rates through the tips increased ten percent. To reduce large variations in nozzle wear test results, a standard method for measuring nozzle wear rates was developed.
A Review of Optimal Energy Management Strategies for Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Presence of an alternative energy source along with the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) appeals for optimal power split between them for minimum fuel consumption and maximum power utilization. Hence HEVs provide better fuel economy compared to ICE based vehicles/conventional vehicle. Energy management strategies are the algorithms that decide the power split between engine and motor in order to improve the fuel economy and optimize the performance of HEVs. This paper describes various energy management strategies available in the literature. A lot of research work has been conducted for energy optimization and the same is extended for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). This paper concentrates on the battery powered hybrid vehicles. Numerous methods are introduced in the literature and based on these, several control strategies are proposed. These control strategies are summarized here in a coherent framework. This paper will serve as a ready reference for the researchers working in the area of energy optimization of hybrid vehicles.
A Vitamin D–RelB/NF-κB Pathway Limits Chandipura Virus Multiplication by Rewiring the Homeostatic State of Autoregulatory Type 1 IFN–IRF7 Signaling

Besides its functions in the skeletomuscular system, vitamin D is known to alleviate viral-inflicted pathologies. However, the mechanism underlying protective vitamin D function remains unclear. We examined the role of vitamin D in controlling cellular infections by Chandipura virus, an RNA virus implicated in human epidemics. How immune signaling pathways, including those regulating NF-κB and IFN regulatory factors (IRFs), are activated in virus-infected cells has been well studied. Our investigation involving human- and mouse-derived cells revealed that vitamin D instructs the homeostatic state of these antiviral pathways, leading to cellular resilience to subsequent viral infections. In particular, vitamin D provoked autoregulatory type 1 IFN–IRF7 signaling even in the absence of virus infection by downmodulating the expression of the IFN-inhibitory NF-κB subunit RelB. Indeed, RelB deficiency rendered vitamin D treatment redundant, whereas IRF7 depletion abrogated antiviral vitamin D action. In sum, immune signaling homeostasis appears to connect micronutrients to antiviral immunity at the cellular level. The proposed link may have a bearing on shaping public health policy during an outbreak. Key Points Vitamin D generates a cell state less permissive for Chandipura virus infections. Vitamin D triggers autoregulatory T1-IFN–IRF7 signaling, basally. Downmodulating RelB NF-κB, vitamin D provokes antiviral type 1 IFN signaling.
Obstacle Avoidance and Local Path Planning for Mobile Robots using the Fast Elastic Band

This paper presents a new obstacle-avoidance method for mobile robots. This approach, called the FEB (Fast Elastic Band) method, has been developed and successfully tested on the experimental mobile robot PHOPE-1S. The FEB method eliminates the shortcomings of the elastic band method previously introduced, yet retains all the advantages of its predecessor. The FEB algorithm is computationally efficient, and it allows continuous and fast motion of the mobile robot without stopping for obstacles. The FEB-controlled mobile robot traverses very densely cluttered obstacle courses and is able to pass through narrow openings or narrow corridors without oscillations. The results of the simulation and experiment have verified the validity of the proposed method.
Cancellation of sub‐harmonic and second harmonic components to improve the linearity of a low‐power consumption LNA using SiGe HBT

Three simple methods to improve the third‐order intercept point (IP3) of a low‐noise amplifier (LNA) for personal communication systems (PCS) applications or CDMA cellular handsets are introduced. Both simulations and results from previous works in the literature are compared in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of these methods in improving the performance of the LNA in terms of linearity when low‐bias voltage is used. The LNA was designed to operate at 1.9 GHz, using a silicon germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) and 2.4 V bias voltage. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 37: 308–311, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.10903
Research on Non-hyperelastic Mechanical Model of EMU Rubber Spring Based on Experimental Data

The dynamic mechanical properties of rubber spring have great influence on the vehicle dynamic performance, so the accurate description of the mechanical properties of rubber spring has always been the focus of the train dynamics. Among the mechanical properties of rubber springs, the study of non-hyperelastic properties are the most difficult and complex. Therefore, this paper mainly studies non-hyperelastic forces. Based on the experimental data of rubber springs, an elliptic analysis model is derived to describe the non-hyperelastic properties of rubber springs. On the basis of this model, a modified model based on time change and a modified model based on displacement change are also proposed. The results show that the ellipse analysis model is simple, but the error of calculation is large; the calculation precision of time correction model is high, but the calculation process is complex; the displacement correction model is between the previous two models, with both accuracy and convenience. Compared with other models, the displacement correction model has great advantages, which can improve the accuracy of the calculation of train dynamics. It is suggested to adopt the rubber spring displacement correction model in engineering application.
Modelling and attitude control of a miniature ducted fan UAV

Ducted fan UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) has broad application prospective. To study flight dynamics and flight control problems of ducted fan UAV, this paper developed a refined aerodynamic model for the ducted fan UAV by wind tunnel test. Based on that, the flight dynamic model of ducted fan UAV was built, which showed features as being nonlinear and unstable and of strong coupling and, therefore, inspired this paper to adopt a strong adaptive control approach based on decoupling to perform attitude control on the ducted fan vehicle. The approach combined model tracking control and reference model adaptive control together, which highly reduced attitude tracking error and improved stability margin of the closed-loop system, and was successfully applied in flight control simulation and flight tests of the vehicle.
Maximizing the benefits of ERP Systems

The ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems have been consolidated in companies with different sizes and sectors, allowing their real benefits to be definitively evaluated. In this study, several interactions have been studied in different phases, such as the strategic priorities and strategic planning defined as ERP Strategy; business processes review and the ERP selection in the pre-implementation phase, the project management and ERP adaptation in the implementation phase, as well as the ERP revision and integration efforts in the post-implementation phase. Through rigorous use of case study methodology, this research led to developing and to testing a framework for maximizing the benefits of the ERP systems, and seeks to contribute for the generation of ERP initiatives to optimize their performance.
A parametric method for preliminary determination of underwater vehicles deadweight

A parametric method for preliminary determination of underwater vehicles deadweight This paper describes a method useful for determination of load carrying capacity of underwater vehicle, elaborated on the basis of investigations of series of vehicles of systematically changed geometrical dimensions. By using the set of the series of vehicles their structural mass and displacement - at a given structural material and assumed maximum permissible submersion depth - were determined, and next - approximation formulae for deadweight of vehicles were obtained. Vehicle's form may be consisted of one or a few cylindrical floats of circular cross-section, ended with caps. The floats are joined together with a space pipe frame. Acceptability of design solutions results from comparison of working stress values in float's shell plating with permissible stresses as well as critical stresses. The presented method may be useful in the preliminary stage of designing the underwater vehicles - i.e. may serve for preliminary determination of a vehicle deadweight - at its given, or determined, geometrical dimensions, maximum permissible submersion depth, as well as a selected structural material.
Enhancing the Reliability of Spectral Correlation Function with Distributed Computing

Various random time series used in signal processing systems are cyclostationary due to the sinusoidal carriers, pulse trains, periodic motion, or physical phenomenon. The cyclostationarity of the signal could be analysed by using the spectral correlation function (SCF). However, SCF is considered high complex due to the 2-D functionality and the required long observation time. The SCF could be computed in various methods however there are two methods used in practice such as FFT accumulation method (FAM) and strip spectral correlation algorithm (SSCA). This paper shows the benefit on the complexity and the reliability due to the workload distribution of one processor over different cooperated processors. The paper found that with increasing the reliability of the SCF, the number of the cooperated processors to achieve the half of the maximum complexity will reduce.
Advanced 2N+1 Submodule Unified PWM With Reduced DC-Link Current Ripple for Modular Multilevel Converters

The 2N+1 submodule unified pulsewidth modulation (SUPWM) is attractive for modular multilevel converters (MMCs). To generate 2N+1 voltage levels, the SUPWM results in voltage pulses imposed on the arm inductors, which produces large high-frequency current ripple in the dc link of the MMC and deteriorates the dc-link performance. In this article, the dc-link high-frequency current ripple under 2N+1 SUPWM is analyzed and a reduced dc-link current ripple control method is proposed for advanced 2N+1 SUPWM. By regulating the phase angles of the three-phase carriers in each carrier period, the resulted voltage pulses on the arm inductors of three phases can be counteracted, and therefore the dc-link high-frequency current ripple is suppressed. With the proposed method, the MMC has much reduced dc-link current ripple, which effectively improves the performance of the MMC under 2N+1 SUPWM. Simulations and experiments are conducted to verify the validity and effectiveness of the proposed control.
A Novel Approach of Audio Based Feature Optimisation for Bird Classification

Bird classification using audio data can be beneficial in assisting ornithologists, bird watchers and environmentalists. However, due to the complex environment in the jungles, it is difficult to identify birds by visual inspection. Hence, identification via acoustical means may be a better option in such an environment. This study aims to classify endemic Bornean birds using their sounds. Thirty-five (35) acoustic features have been extracted from the pre-recorded soundtracks of birds. In this paper, a novel approach for selecting an optimum number of features using Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) has been proposed to give better classification accuracy. It is found that using a Nearest Centroid (NC) technique with LDA produces the optimum classification results of bird sounds at 96.7% accuracy with reduced computational power. The low computational complexity is an added advantage for handheld portable devices with minimal computing power, which can be used in birdwatching expeditions. Comparison results have been provided with and without LDA using NC and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) classifiers. It has been demonstrated that both classifiers with LDA outperform those without LDA. Maximum accuracies for both NC and ANN with LDA, with NC and the ANN classifiers requiring 7 and 10 LDAs to achieve the optimum accuracy, respectively, are 96.7%. However, ANN classifier with LDA is more computationally complex. Hence, this is significant as the simpler NC classifier with LDA, which does not require expensive processing power, may be used on the portable and affordable device for bird classification purposes.
Adjustments in the Range of Angular Motion during Walking after Amputation of the Toes: A Case Report

The forefoot plays an important role in providing body support and propulsion during walking. We investigated the effect of forefoot dysfunction on the gait pattern of a young adult with partial bilateral amputation of the toes. We measured our participant’s gait kinematics during barefoot and shod overground walking and analysed time-distance and joint range of motion (RoM) parameters against a group of healthy adults. Forefoot dysfunction gait is improved by footwear and walking experience; however, this improvement was still remarkably different (exceeded 95% CI) when compared to healthy gait at matching walking speed. Compared to healthy gait, walking barefoot had a slower speed and a 30% reduction in ankle and knee joint RoM, but a larger hip RoM. Shod gait resulted in a remarkable increase in ankle RoM and walking speed compared to barefoot gait. These results are consistent with the important role of the forefoot (tarsals and metatarsophalangeal joints) and suggest that footwear can facilitate gait function following toe amputation.
Antiviral activity of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) hemolymph against a human coronavirus

Coronaviruses can cause severe respiratory infections in humans. This study aimed to assess the antiviral activity of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) hemolymph against a human coronavirus, HCoV-229E. An eight-fold reduction in infectivity of HCoV-229E on Huh-7 cells was observed in the presence of 10% C. gigas hemolymph. Antiviral activity of C. gigas hemolymph positively correlated with its concentration and appears to be active during an intracellular stage of HCoV-229E infection.
Mechanistic Understanding of Arylation vs Alkylation of Aliphatic Csp3–H Bonds by Decatungstate–Nickel Catalysis

: Computational analysis of the arylation of aliphatic C sp3 –H bonds catalyzed by decatungstate-nickel validates the reaction mechanism and provides valuable insights on how to accomplish the corresponding alkylation. Our analysis indicates that the light excited decatungstate photo-catalyst activates one of the C sp3 –H bonds by a hydrogen atom transfer reaction involving the bridging O atoms of the decatungstate. The generated alkyl radical reacts with a bipyridine based Ni I species to form a Ni I -alkyl intermediate. Oxidative addition of the aryl-bromide to this intermediate leads to a Ni III complex, from which the cross-coupling product is liberated via reductive elimination. We also investigated the corresponding prototype reaction where the aryl-bromide is replaced by an alkyl-bromide, which highlighted a too high energy barrier for the oxidative addition of the alkyl-bromide to the Ni I -alkyl intermediate. Variation of the steric and electronic properties of the bipyridine ligand suggest that steric encumbrance in the 6,6′-positions can promote the oxidative addition of the alkyl-bromide as verified by ad hoc experimental tests.
Improving Performance of Shunt Active Power Filter with Hysteresis-Based Direct Current Control using Particle Swarm Optimisation

Abstract Shunt active power filter (SAPF) is a well-established and widely accepted power electronic device for cancelling harmonic currents from electrical networks. The common configuration of SAPF utilises a proportional-plus-integral (PI) controller. However, the conventional approaches for determining the PI coefficients may not provide satisfactory results for a wide range of operating points (loads). This paper proposes to use the particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithm to determine the optimal coefficients of PI controller for SAPF applications. The DC control approach is used to generate the reference harmonic signals from the non-sinusoidal load current while a hysteresis-based PI controller is selected to control the compensating currents. Simulation results for a power network connected to a non-linear load are generated to investigate the dynamic performances of SAPF with the conventional-PI and enhanced PSO-PI controllers.
There is nothing like a pandemic – to force rapid change and upskilling in higher education

To improve the teaching and learning experience for both students and academics, our institution formed the Business Co-Design (BCD) team. The BCD team consists of both professional and academic staff and we work with the unit coordinators (UCs) and the teaching team together to redesign existing units or design new units. Our activities range from one-on-one consultations, educational innovation, and development project support to professional development programs (Cerimagic and Khanna, 2020; Vallis, Bryant and Huber, 2020).