Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MARCUS: a two degree of freedom hand prosthesis with hierarchical grip control

An important factor in the acceptance of a prosthesis is the ease with which the wearer can operate the device. Multiple degrees of freedom of a prosthesis are difficult to control independently and require a high level of concentration. If the control is arranged in a hierarchical manner and the lower levels' detailed control is performed by a microprocessor, it is possible to control a number of degrees with little direct intervention by the operator. A two degree of freedom hand has been developed to demonstrate this concept and has been made sufficiently compact to allow users to gain experience with it. >
Mix design for recycled aggregate thermal insulation concrete with mineral admixtures

The objective of this study was to prepare a type of recycled aggregate thermal insulation concrete (RATIC), in which thermal insulation particles (TIPs) were used as solid sealed ‘holes' instead of air holes to allow the thermal conductivity coefficient of the concrete to be reduced. This paper presents the results of a laboratory study on the performance of natural and recycled aggregate concrete, which was prepared by the incorporation of TIPs and different mineral admixtures including ultrafine slag (UFS), nanosilica (NS) and nanocalcium carbonate (NCC). The compressive strength, thermal conductivity coefficient and dry density of the concrete mixtures were determined. The experimental results demonstrate that glazed hollow beads, at the optimal level of 130%, significantly reduced the thermal conductivity property of the recycled aggregate concrete. The properties of the concrete were improved by the addition of UFS and NS, while NCC produced a negative impact. As far as compressive strength was conc.
The Association between Daily Total Dietary Nutrient Intake and Recent Glycemic Control States of Non-Pregnant Adults 20+ Years Old from NHANES 1999–2018 (Except for 2003–2004)

Background: Although daily total dietary nutrient intakes were potentially important factors in maintaining glycemic balance, their overall effect on glycemic control was still unclear among American adults. Objectives: We aimed to examine the association between daily total dietary nutrient intake and recent glycemic control status (RGCS). Methods: This cohort was composed of 41,302 individuals from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The daily total intake of dietary nutrients and RGCS were independent and dependent variables, respectively. To evaluate their association, we carried out binary logistic regression, model fitting, linear discriminant analysis, and the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: The result of robust check model showed that only the daily total dietary vitamin B6 intake (adjusted OR = 0.848; 95% CI: 0.738, 0.973; p-value = 0.019) was significantly negatively correlated with RGCS. When daily total dietary vitamin B6 intake and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were used as independent variables and dependent variables, respectively, to fit the curves and lines, the established robust check model could distinguish American adults with different RGCS well. Moreover, the robust check model results of ROC analysis indicated that daily total dietary vitamin B6 intake might be a potential predictor for RGCS (AUC = 0.977; 95% CI: 0.974, 0.980; p-value < 0.001). Conclusions: This study showed that only daily total dietary vitamin B6 intake was a beneficial factor in RGCS, but it might need further multicenter or prospective studies to verify whether vitamin B6 had biological implications and public health meaning for glycemic control among American adults (specifically referred to non-pregnant participants over 20 years old).
Drone detection with YOLOv5

We propose a fast and accurate method for visual drone detection based on YOLOv5 architecture providing state-of-the-art performance. The proposed method aims to drone detection in combat and real-world environments for military use based on visual detection in the visible and infrared spectrum. The method provides precision/recall of 99.1/98.5% and 99.0/95.3% for RGB and infrared videos from the AntiUAV dataset
Scoping Review of Mental Health Problems among Female Prisoners

BACKGROUND: Detention can cause problems and stressors for prisoners, one of which is mental health problems. Female prisoners have a high rate of mental health needs in prisons. Awareness and the ability to recognize prisoners’ health problems are important. Therefore, the mental welfare of female prisoners is the responsibility of each prison. AIM: This review aimed to identify mental health problems among female prisoners. METHODS: The method used was a scoping review. A systematic searched of the literature between 2000 and August 2021 on several databases and search engines, namely, PubMed, CINAHL, SAGE Journals, and Google Scholar using keywords in English, namely, mental health, female prisoners, and prison. RESULTS: Of the 112 articles found, nine were eligible for inclusion. It was found that the mental health problems of female prisoners were anxiety, depression, substance abuse, stress, loss and grief, trauma, and suicide attempts that put them at risk of psychological distress. There was still limited study on female prisoners, especially to explore mental health problems in prison, and there were few studies discussing adjustment to female prisoners in prison, as well as mental health services which are still rarely carried out in prisons. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings, it is recommended for future research to focus more on how female prisoners can access mental health services in prisons to overcome their mental health problems, conduct a deeper exploration of the extent to which mental health services in prisons have been carried out so far.
Sheathless acoustic based flow cell sorter for enrichment of rare cells

Cell enrichment is a powerful tool in many kinds of cell research, especially in applications with low abundance cell types. In this work, we developed a microfluidic fluorescence activated cell sorting device that was able to perform on‐demand, low loss cell detection, and sorting. The chip utilizes three‐dimensional acoustic standing waves to position all cells in the same fluid velocity regime without sheath. When the cells pass through a laser interrogation region, the scattering and fluorescent signals are detected, translated and transported to software. The target cells are then identified by gating on the plots. Short bursts of standing acoustic waves are triggered by order from PC to sort target cells within predefined gating region. For very low abundance and rare labeled lymphocytes mixed with high concentration unlabeled white blood cells (WBCs), (1–100 labeled lymphocytes are diluted in 106 WBCs in 1 ml volume fluid), the device is able to remove more than 98% WBCs and recover labeled lymphocytes with efficiency of 80%. We further demonstrated that this device worked with real clinical samples by successfully isolating fetal nucleated red blood cells (FNRBCs) in the blood samples from pregnant women with male fetus. The obtained cells were sequenced and the expressions of (sex determining region Y) SRY genes were tested to determine fetal cell proportion. In genetic analysis, the proportion of fetal cells in the final picked sample is up to 40.64%. With this ability, the device proposed could be valuable for biomedical applications involving fetal cells, circulating tumor cells, and stem cells.
Characterizing the Impact of Network Delay on Bitcoin Mining

While previous works have discussed the network delay upper bound that guarantees the consistency of Nakamoto consensus, measuring the actual network latencies and evaluating their impact on miners/pools in Bitcoin remain open questions. This paper fills this gap by: (1) defining metrics that quantify the impact of network latency on the mining network; (2) developing a tool, named miner entanglement (ME), to experimentally evaluate these metrics with a focus on the network latency of the top mining pools; and (3) quantifying the impact of the current network delays on Bitcoin's mining network. For example, we evaluated that Poolin, a Bitcoin mining pool, was able to gain between 0.5% and 1.9% of blocks in addition (i.e., from 36.27 BTC to 137.83 BTC) per week thanks to its low network latency. Moreover, as pools are rational in Bitcoin, we model the strategy a pool would follow to improve its network latency (e.g., by leveraging our ME tool) as a two party game. We show that a Bitcoin mining pool could improve its effective hash rate by up to 4.5%. For a multi-party game, we use a state-of-the-art Bitcoin mining simulator to study the situation where all pools attempt to improve their network latency and show that the largest mining pools would improve their revenue and reach a Nash equilibrium while the smaller mining pools would suffer from a decreased access to the network, and therefore a decreased revenue. These conclusions further incentivize the centralisation of the mining network in Bitcoin, and provide an empirical explanation for the observed tendency of pools to design and rely on low latency private networks.
A meta-analytic investigation of lean practices and their impact on organisational performance

Lean is one of the most powerful operational excellence methodologies in operations management that manufacturing organisations deploy to enhance their competitiveness. The objective of this study is to investigate published research with respect to the relationship between lean practices and organisational performance using a meta-analysis of correlation approach. This study gathered data from 40 articles published in reputed journals from 1993 to 2020 and analysed the effect of lean practices on organisational performance. In this context, this study utilised 12 lean practices and 4 different performance outcomes, which included operational, financial, market, and environmental. Using comprehensive meta-analysis software, the results indicate that a significant and strong positive relationship exists between aggregate lean practices and aggregate organisational performance (r = 0.37). There is also a significant strong positive relationship with all of the performance outcomes. The research highlights those individual practices have the strongest impact on organisational performance and emphasises the role of moderating variables in the relationship between lean practices and organisational performance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed and limitations and future research directions are presented. The findings of this study provide a better understanding of lean deployment benefits in organisation. This research has significant contribution to the body of knowledge for the lean research community, especially for lean deployment in emerging sectors.
Numerical noise analysis for nonlinear circuits with a periodic large signal excitation including cyclostationary noise sources

A numerical small signal noise analysis method for nonlinear circuits with a periodic large signal excitation, e.g. mixer circuits and switching circuits, is proposed. For small signal input responses, these nonlinear circuits are modeled as their linear periodic time-varying circuits. First, a numerical calculation method for the time-varying transfer function of a linear periodic time-varying circuit is described. Next, a noise analysis method is proposed for these circuits which contain noise sources modeled as cyclostationary random processes. Thermal noise and shot noise in the presence of periodic large signal excitation are modeled as cyclostationary random processes, each of which is modeled as a set of stationary random processes in continuous time. Aliasing components folded back to the baseband from high-frequency bands are calculated, and their powers are accumulated until their contributions become negligible. Simulated noise figures closely matched the measured values. >
FIELD TESTS USING GEOSYNTHETICS IN FLEXIBLE AND RIGID PAVEMENTS TO REDUCE REFLECTION CRACKING

The primary objective of this field phase of the research project was to evaluate geosynthetic products placed under or within hot mix asphalt (HMA) overlays to reduce the severity or delay the appearance of reflection cracks. In the laboratory phase of this study, researchers evaluated six geosynthetic products, representing fabrics, grids, and composites, using the large Texas Transportation Institute Overlay Tester. Phase I produced comprehensive guidelines for using geosynthetics with HMA overlays to reduce reflection cracking; a design check for considering a geosynthetic product during pavement design using FPS-19; recommended new specifications for fabrics, grids, and composites; summarized results of a statewide questionnaire; and a review of pertinent literature. Comparative field test pavements were established in three different regions of Texas (Amarillo, Waco, and Pharr Districts) with widely different climates and geological characteristics. Tests in the Amarillo and Pharr Districts utilized flexible pavements; whereas, the test in the Waco District utilized an old, jointed rigid pavement. Performance of these test pavements has been monitored for three to four years, depending on the date of construction. The oldest test pavements (Pharr District) are exhibiting essentially no cracking. The Amarillo District test pavements are exhibiting only a small percentage of reflective cracking. The Waco District test pavements are exhibiting significant reflection of underlying joints and cracks. Construction and preliminary performance of the test pavements are described. Cost of selected geosynthetic materials for reducing reflection cracking and their installation are discussed. Based on first cost alone, installation of an inexpensive fabric must increase the service life of an overlay by more than 15 percent to be cost effective. On a similar basis and, of course, depending on the actual geosynthetic product and installation cost, a more expensive grid or composite material may need to double the service life of an overlay to be cost effective.
A variable speed wind turbine power control

To optimize the power in a wind turbine, the speed of the turbine should be able to vary with the wind speed. A simple control scheme is proposed that will allow an induction motor to run a turbine at its maximum power coefficient. The control uses a standard V/Hz converter and controls the frequency to achieve the desired power at a given turbine speed.
Chip-Scale Atomic Devices:. Precision Atomic Instruments Based on Mems

We describe recent work at NIST to develop compact, low-power instruments based on a combination of precision atomic spectroscopy, advanced diode lasers and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Designed to be fabricated in parallel in large numbers, these "chip-scale" atomic devices may eventually impact a wide range of applications, from the global positioning system to magnetic resonance imaging and inertial navigation. We focus here on recent work to develop compact, high-performance magnetometers.
Use of Flood, Loss, and Evacuation Models to Assess Exposure and Improve a Community Tsunami Response Plan: Vancouver Island

Communities developing plans for response to tsunami require site-specific estimates of the hazard, elements at risk, and potential losses, and an assessment of the effectiveness of mitigations and protective actions. Citizens want to know whether they can reach safe havens in sufficient time and whether recommended safe haven locations can offer sufficient protection. This paper investigates how flood, loss, and evacuation predictive models can be used to develop baseline estimates of potential losses without mitigations in place, with the goal of helping communities assess and improve response plans. A case study is presented for the District of Ucluelet, British Columbia, which is susceptible to the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquake and tsunami hazard. Approximately 58% of the community's buildings and key elements of the critical infrastructure are in a tsunami hazard zone. Depending upon the time of day and year, between one-half and two-thirds of the resident and tourist population are at risk, and depending on the evacuation strategy, between one-fifth and one-third of the population-at-risk could be lost. These mortality rates are comparable to observed rates for a rapid-onset, high-intensity tsunami. Alternative emergency response plans are simulated and assessed for their effectiveness in terms of the potential for loss reduction and for increases in evacuation rates. The importance of self-activation and rapid protective action is confirmed, and pedestrian-based evacuation to an expanded set of proximal safe havens is recommended. Tourists form a large proportion of the population-at-risk during high season and could experience significant proportional losses. Future research is needed to assess the community's understanding of tsunami risk and whether community preparedness has actually improved. This study also confirms the need for broader initiatives to estimate populations at risk, to conduct evacuation modeling studies, and to assess whether evacuation on foot, in vehicles, or in combination is most effective.
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells as a Tool for Modeling Hematologic Disorders and as a Potential Source for Cell-Based Therapies

The breakthrough in human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) has revolutionized the field of biomedical and pharmaceutical research and opened up vast opportunities for drug discovery and regenerative medicine, especially when combined with gene-editing technology. Numerous healthy and patient-derived hiPSCs for human disease modeling have been established, enabling mechanistic studies of pathogenesis, platforms for preclinical drug screening, and the development of novel therapeutic targets/approaches. Additionally, hiPSCs hold great promise for cell-based therapy, serving as an attractive cell source for generating stem/progenitor cells or functional differentiated cells for degenerative diseases, due to their unlimited proliferative capacity, pluripotency, and ethical acceptability. In this review, we provide an overview of hiPSCs and their utility in the study of hematologic disorders through hematopoietic differentiation. We highlight recent hereditary and acquired genetic hematologic disease modeling with patient-specific iPSCs, and discuss their applications as instrumental drug screening tools. The clinical applications of hiPSCs in cell-based therapy, including the next-generation cancer immunotherapy, are provided. Lastly, we discuss the current challenges that need to be addressed to fulfill the validity of hiPSC-based disease modeling and future perspectives of hiPSCs in the field of hematology.
Analysis to the Influence of Rendering Intents on Image Reproduction

Rendering intent is one of the key elements of color management, which has a great influence on image reproduction. Matching principles of four kinds of rendering intents in ICC are elaborated. Based on the color management workflow of ICC, the chromaticity of the color patches are measured with the spectrophotometer. And then the color difference and color gamut volume of the color patches are calculated and analyzed. The experimental results play an instructive role in the choice of rendering intents and the implementation of the color management.
IoT Dataset Validation Using Machine Learning Techniques for Traffic Anomaly Detection

With advancements in engineering and science, the application of smart systems is increasing, generating a faster growth of the IoT network traffic. The limitations due to IoT restricted power and computing devices also raise concerns about security vulnerabilities. Machine learning-based techniques have recently gained credibility in a successful application for the detection of network anomalies, including IoT networks. However, machine learning techniques cannot work without representative data. Given the scarcity of IoT datasets, the DAD emerged as an instrument for knowing the behavior of dedicated IoT-MQTT networks. This paper aims to validate the DAD dataset by applying Logistic Regression, Naive Bayes, Random Forest, AdaBoost, and Support Vector Machine to detect traffic anomalies in IoT. To obtain the best results, techniques for handling unbalanced data, feature selection, and grid search for hyperparameter optimization have been used. The experimental results show that the proposed dataset can achieve a high detection rate in all the experiments, providing the best mean accuracy of 0.99 for the tree-based models, with a low false-positive rate, ensuring effective anomaly detection.
Reduced Combustion Mechanism for Fire with Light Alcohols

The need for sustainable energy has incentivized the use of alternative fuels such as light alcohols. In this work, reduced chemistry mechanisms for the prediction of fires (pool fire, tank fire, and flash fire) for two primary alcohols—methanol and ethanol—were developed, aiming to integrate the detailed kinetic model into the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The model accommodates either the pure reactants and products or other intermediates, including soot precursors (C2H2, C2H4, and C3H3), which were identified via sensitivity and reaction path analyses. The developed reduced mechanism was adopted to predict the burning behavior in a 3D domain and for the estimation of the product distribution. The agreement between the experimental data from the literature and estimations resulting from the analysis performed in this work demonstrates the successful application of this method for the integration of kinetic mechanisms and CFD models, opening to an accurate evaluation of safety scenarios and allowing for the proper design of storage and transportation systems involving light alcohols.
Dimensions of Lifetime Management

The lifetime management of different engineering appliances, structures and structure elements is one of the important technical-economic problems of nowadays. The problem is basically appeared in technical, economic and political dimensions and the solution can be imagined according to many approaches: microstructural approach, application of new design conceptions and operational approaches (conventional methods, fitness for purpose, structural integrity, integrity management, risk management). The methods, applied in the different approaches have basically two types: engineering and fracture mechanical methods. The time of operation, the frequency data of fractures and the fracture causing failure statistics of the engineering structures having great importance shows, that the significance of cyclic loadings, fatigue and fatigue crack propagation is emphasized in general. The sketched possibilities are shown by two examples in this paper. One of them is the system of lifetime management for cyclic loaded structures having cracks or crack like defects; the other is the building-up and purport of the integrated management system for hydrocarbon transporting pipelines.
Analysis of Exposure Using a Logbook Method

Abstract Two principal problems are met when measuring long-term mean exposures at the workplace: (1) Sampling is often done from wide and skewed exposure distributions, which causes a certain risk for inaccurate estimations, when measurements are performed only on a single day or a few days. (2) Commonly, measurements of workers' exposures are performed by personal sampling, but action to reduce exposure frequently comprises alterations of the processes performed or their environments. A sampling strategy is therefore proposed which, at the expense of high precision (low random errors), could improve accuracy (reduce combined bias and random errors) when determining the long-term mean exposure to volatile chemicals for workers having shifting work patterns. The proposed logbook method measures the time and concentration components of the time-weighted average concentration (TWAC) separately. It consists of process logkeeping and process measurements (i.e., only one process is performed during the samplin.