Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of criteria for decision making to achieve sustainability and buildability in building envelope design

Assessment of building envelope materials and designs has an impact on sustainability and buildability aspects of a building project; however, it seems that designers, particularly architects and engineers, are unable to grasp the concepts of sustainability and buildability collectively. This study aims to examine major factors governing the assessment of building envelope materials and designs for private high-rise residential projects in Singapore. A pilot study and thorough literature reviews suggest a comprehensive set of criteria for assessment. Survey questionnaire was applied as the main instrument to collect perspectives of architects and engineers on these criteria using importance weights. With respect to the Institutional Theory, the results from factor analysis suggest that the criteria can be grouped into four factors which are “environmental impact”, “economic impact”, “social impact” and “buildability” factors. The findings of this study provide building professionals with a more concise and defined structure of sustainability and buildability, thereby leading to a better way to determine an optimal balance between economic, social, environmental and buildability issues of a design.
Effect of NaCl Stress on the Photosynthetic Attributes of Atriplex centralasiatica

Seedlings of Atriplex centralasiatica Iljin were treated with Hoaglands solution containing 0, 200 and 400 mM NaCl respectively, after 2 weeks, Pn, Gs and Ci were measured. Besides, CO2 compensation point, CO2 saturation point, photorespiration rate, plant fresh weight and other physiological parameters were measured. The results showed that under 400 mM NaCl, the decrease of Pn was due to non-stomatal limitation factor. With the increase of NaCl concentrations, CO2 compensation point and CO2 saturation point did not show significant change. The photorespiration rate of the plants treated with 200 mM NaCl showed a little increase. However, under 400 mM NaCl, the increase of photorespiration rate was not that significant. As far as the carboxylation efficiency is concerned, it decreased with NaCl concrntration. At last, the fresh weight showed significant change under 400 mM NaCl treatment, which paralleled with the change of photosynthesis.
Performance Improvement of Dye Sensitized Solar Cell by Using Recycle Material for Counter Electrode

This project is to investigate the counter electrode material from two different carbon sources to fabricate dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The carbon sources are extracted from battery and pencil lead. The method to prepare the DSSC is through the conventional Dr.Blading method. The same method is also used for the counter electrode which uses carbon from recycle batteries, the carbon from pencil lead are scribbled onto the ITO glass to get a uniform coating. Both thickness of the counter electrode vary accordingly. The solar cells are then placed under outdoor solar irradiation and the output is taken every 10 minutes. Based on observation, the solar cells which have the carbon from batteries shows higher cell efficiency which is 8.2 % with lower FF of 0.78, compared to by using the pencil lead, the cell efficiency is only 7.23% but with a higher FF of 0.93.
Topological Synthesis of a Parallel Wrist Mechanism

To determine a suitable kinematic structure for a specific application is a complex task. Some available methods may provide a list of possible architectures for a robot wrist. However, a systematic method for selecting one among others is still an open problem. The paper presents a qualitative procedure for topological synthesis based on criteria that consider wrist design requirements and parallel mechanism peculiarities. The performance of chosen topology is evaluated according to desired requirements.
Adaptation in Standard CMOS Processes with Floating Gate Structures and Techniques

Title of dissertation: ADAPTATION IN STANDARD CMOS PROCESSES WITH FLOATING GATE STRUCTURES AND TECHNIQUES Yanyi Liu Wong Doctor of Philosophy, 2007 Dissertation directed by: Professor Pamela Abshire Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering We apply adaptation into ordinary circuits and systems to achieve high performance, high quality results. Mismatch in manufactured VLSI devices has been the main limiting factor in quality for many analog and mixed-signal designs. Traditional compensation methods are generally costly. A few examples include enlarging the device size, averaging signals, and trimming with laser. By applying floating gate adaptation to standard CMOS circuits, we demonstrate here that we are able to: • Trim CMOS comparator offset to a precision of 0.7mV. • Reduce CMOS image sensor fixed-pattern noise power by a factor of 100. • Achieve 5.8 effective number of bits (ENOB) in a 6-bit flash analog-to-digital converter (ADC) operating at 750MHz. The adaptive circuits generally exhibit special features in addition to an improved performance. These special features are generally beyond the capabilities of traditional CMOS design approaches and they open exciting opportunities in novel circuit designs. Specifically, the adaptive comparator has the ability to store an accurate arbitrary offset, the image sensor can be set up to memorize previously captured scenes like a human retina, and the ADC can be configured to adapt to the incoming analog signal distribution and perform an efficient signal conversion that minimizes distortion and maximizes output entropy. The thesis is organized as follows: chapter 1 outlines a general overview for the scope of this research; chapter 2 provides a background for discussion, chapters 3 to 5 describe in detail the implementation of the floating gate adaptation, prototype design, and experimental result for the comparator, the ADC, and the imager, respectively; finally, chapter 6 summarizes the work. ADAPTATION IN STANDARD CMOS PROCESSES WITH FLOATING GATE STRUCTURES AND TECHNIQUES
The Potential of Palm Oil as a Motor Fuel

ABSTRACT PALM oils can be substituted for petroleum fuels in diesel engines but pose flow and atomization problems because of high viscosity and the tendency to solidify at intermediate and low temperatures. This study details production and energy-balance characteristics of the oil palm system, and provides information on the physical and chemical nature of palm oils and their derivatives. Tests of these oils, palm/diesel mixtures and palm oil esters as diesel engine fuels indicated generally satisfactory performance, although efficiencies were in most cases slightly less than with conventional diesel fuel.
Energy Absorption Performance of a Rain Forest Vehicle Under Frontal Impact

This paper presents a comprehensive numerical study of the crashworthy design of a rain forest vehicle (RFV) subjected to impact loading. A commercial finite element (FE) nonlinear code, LSDYNA, was employed to further evaluate the energy absorption performance of the structure under two crash scenarios; impacting a rigid wall and a rigid pole. The simulation results were used to identify the energy absorption capacity of the main subcomponent, thus facilitating crashworthiness requirements for future design improvements. The aims of this investigation were to enhance understanding of RFV behavior under impact loading and improve energy absorption capacity and safety, which will contribute towards the development of an early design stage of the RFV, and design and evaluation that may lessen the need for destructive full-scale testing. Recommendations and suggestions for improving the energy absorption capacity of RFVs have been made. A considerable improvement in energy absorption capacity has been obtained by inclusion of a supplementary device attached to the main chassis. These simplified provisions provide design guidelines that will considerably improve an operator's chances of survival during an accidental impact in the forest.
Output Feedback LPV Control Strategies for Flexible Robot Arms

Abstract This paper deals with flexible manipulators and aims at developing a general LPV (Linear Parameter Varying) methodology for modeling and control. As an example, the case of a 2-links manipulator with one flexible link is considered. By the use of the assumed modes technique, the effects of link deflections are accounted for when developing the dynamic model from Euler-Lagrange equations. This nonlinear dynamic model is reformulated into a quasi-LPV model based on the function substitution approach. The LPV model serves as a basis for the development of parameter-dependent control laws involving the joint variables only and minimizing the end-effector deflection. The relevance of the proposed control approaches is demonstrated by simulations.
Optimal stochastic scheduling of hydrothermal systems

The paper describes an efficient algorithm, based on a 1st-order gradient technique in conjunction with a nonlinear-programming technique, for the long-term scheduling of multistorage hydroelectric and multithermal systems for the minimum expected fuel cost under the constraints of expected water available for hydroelectric generation in a given period of time. The system variables are in a discrete form, and the water inflows and load demand are stochastic, their probability properties being pre-estimated from past history. It has been demonstrated through an example solved on an IBM 1130 digital computer that considerable saving in the cost can be achieved through the optimal allocation of the available water.
Evolutionary Robotics: The Biology,Intelligence,and Technology

Evolutionary robotics is a new technique for the automatic creation of autonomous robots. Inspired by the Darwinian principle of selective reproduction of the fittest, it views robots as autonomous artificial organisms that develop their own skills in close interaction with the environment and without human intervention. Drawing heavily on biology and ethology, it uses the tools of neural networks, genetic algorithms, dynamic systems, and biomorphic engineering. The resulting robots share with simple biological systems the characteristics of robustness, simplicity, small size, flexibility, and modularity. In evolutionary robotics, an initial population of artificial chromosomes, each encoding the control system of a robot, is randomly created and put into the environment. Each robot is then free to act (move, look around, manipulate) according to its genetically specified controller while its performance on various tasks is automatically evaluated. The fittest robots then "reproduce" by swapping parts of their genetic material with small random mutations. The process is repeated until the "birth" of a robot that satisfies the performance criteria. This book describes the basic concepts and methodologies of evolutionary robotics and the results achieved so far. An important feature is the clear presentation of a set of empirical experiments of increasing complexity. Software with a graphic interface, freely available on a Web page, will allow the reader to replicate and vary (in simulation and on real robots) most of the experiments.
An autonomous communications relay in GPS-denied environments via antenna diversity

In this paper we present a motion planning scheme for enabling a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to serve as an autonomous communications relay in indoor or GPS-denied environments. Using antenna selection diversity, the quadrotor is able to optimize its location in the communication chain so as to maximize the link throughput. Measurements of the communications field drive a gradient descent algorithm that moves the quadrotor to an optimal location while avoiding obstacles, all without the use of positioning data. Numerical simulations and preliminary experimental results verify the validity of the proposed extremum-seeking approach.
Super Recording Automatic Digital Optical Tracker (RADOT) Field-Test Results at Kwajalein Missile Range (KMR)

The SUPER RADOT videometric tracking system is currently being installed at the U. S. Army Kwajalein Missile Range (KMR) in the Kwajalein atoll of the Marshall Islands. A companion piece of equipment, the Video-metric Analysis and Reduction System (VMARS) has been installed at the KMR Honolulu Data Reduction Facility, Honolulu, Hawaii. Sufficient metric data have been obtained and processed through this new equipment to describe the field operations and data processing experience which have been gained, discuss changes in original concepts which have been required, document results obtained and to discuss planned systems improvement.
RACK1 on and off the ribosome

Receptor for activated C kinase 1 (RACK1) is a eukaryote-specific ribosomal protein implicated in diverse biological functions. To engineer ribosomes for specific fluorescent labeling, we selected RACK1 as an target given its location on the small ribosomal subunit and other properties. However, prior results suggested that RACK1 has roles both on and off the ribosome, and such an exchange might be related to its various cellular functions and hinder our ability to use RACK1 as a stable fluorescent tag for the ribosome. In addition, the kinetics of spontaneous exchange of RACK1 or any ribosomal protein from a mature ribosome in vitro remain unclear. To address these issues, we engineered fluorescently-labeled human ribosomes via RACK1, and applied bulk and single-molecule biochemical analyses to track RACK1 on and off the human ribosome. Our results demonstrate that, despite its cellular non-essentiality from yeast to humans, RACK1 readily re-associates with the ribosome, displays limited conformational dynamics, and remains stably bound to the ribosome for hours in vitro. This work sheds insight onto the biochemical basis of ribosomal protein exchange on and off a mature ribosome and provides tools for single-molecule analysis of human translation.
The design of high‐performance Doherty power amplifier

The article presents a Doherty power amplifier (DPA) with both high efficiency and good linearity for GSM base station using LDMOS transistors. Prepositive delay line structure (PDL) is proposed to satisfy the performances, both higher efficiency and better linearity are achieved. The test results show the proposed DPA reached an efficiency of 43.2% and an IMD3 of −47 dBc at 6 dB back‐off power, which is about 19% and 6.5 dBc improvement, respectively than the class AB amplifier, and the improvement is about 4% and 12 dBc, respectively compared with the DPA without PDL structure. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 52: 493–495, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.24917
Multilayer independently controllable dual-band bandpass filter using dual-mode slotted-patch resonator

Presented is a novel multilayer dual-mode dual-band bandpass filter (BPF) using two identical microstrip cross-slotted patch resonators placed back-to-back. The lengths of the slots on the patch resonator are designed to be different, which can be used to control the two degenerate modes individually so as to build two passbands of the proposed BPF. Two separated coupling paths for the two modes can be realised by the etched slits on the common ground plane of the two microstrip resonators. As a result, the coupling coefficients between the two resonators in each passband can be controlled independently. Furthermore, a new source-load coupling scheme is incorporated in this design to enhance the stopband rejection and then improve the band-to-band isolation significantly.
Dynamique des interactions acoustique-combustion

The work presented in this document belongs to a set of studies concerning the prediction of acoustic instabilities in real combustion systems. The dynamic response of a laminar conical flame to modulations of the fresh gases is first determined. A theoretical modeling of the transfer function between heat release fluctuations and acoustic modulations is derived in an axisymmetrical configuration. An experimental study is performed and measurements are compared with modeling, in order to determine the model limitations. This model is then adapted to the two-dimensional case. The flame transfer function is compared with numerical simulations of acoustic-flame interactions. It is also possible to use the resonance properties of the burner cylindrical cavity, in order to generate strong interactions between acoustic waves, the flow and the flame. The first longitudinal eigenmode is used. Its frequency is around 900 Hz. Acoustic levels are very high and this configuration leads to a strong coupling between acoustics and combustion and to a severe modification of the mean velocity field. The stability domain of the flame from is also studied. Premixed flames with large curvature effects can be obtained using a conical flame submitted to peculiar low-frequency acoustic modulations. Curvature modifies laminar flame behavior. This fundamental problem has immediate practical interests. This situation makes it possible to study the Markstein length, which describe the flame response to stretch effects.
Power transformer protection based on decision tree approach

This study introduces the concept of decision tree (DT) classification, a new approach to power transformer differential protection. The proposed technique is based on processing the differential current. The suggested method detects winding insulation failures and distinguishes them from magnetising inrush and sympathetic inrush conditions with classification accuracies of 100% for simulations and 95% for real-time studies. The internal faults can be accurately recognised from inrush current conditions in a few sampling cycle after the occurrence of a disturbance. Another advantage of the proposed method is that the fault detection algorithm does not depend on the selection of thresholds. Performance analysis of the DT is achieved by the simulation of different faults and switching conditions on a power transformer in power system computer aided design/electromagnetic transients including DC (PSCAD/EMTDC). Furthermore, the proposed method is also tested in laboratory environment. The accuracy of DT is also compared with support vector machine. Both experimental and simulation results are presented and discussed.
A Study of Pedestrian Head Injury Evaluation Method

The EEVC WG17 Test Procedure for Head Impactor Component Test has become widely used. However the kinematics of the whole body may influence the head injury. In this study crash tests with the pedestrian dummy and with the Impactor are conducted and the main factors causing the difference between both results are considered. Two different front shapes of vehicles, a passenger car and a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), are chosen for the tests. The main factors for the differences are the head impact velocity, three directional acceleration values for HIC and head effective mass. For the covering abstract see ITRD E141569.
Corral

Emotional expressiveness is relevant for healthy functioning, and in the early years, both maturational and cultural aspects are configuring it. This study analyzed the change in emotional expressiveness in 99 children between 12, 18, 24 and 30 months of age, considering the ability to express pleasure and frustration and its intensity. The children's emotional expressiveness was assessed against tasks that elicited pleasure and frustration, and the IBQ-R-VSF was applied to evaluate temperament. It was observed that over time the number of children who expressed frustration decreased significantly. Furthermore, the intensity with which the children expressed pleasure and frustration also showed a significant reduction. Profiles were obtained that combined children's gender and temperament, and that showed different patterns of change in the emotional expressiveness of the children. These results are discussed from the perspective of the socialization of positive and negative emotions in Chilean culture.
Multi-Threshold Voltage CMOS Design for Low-Power Half Adder Circuit

The new era of portable electronic devices demands lesser power dissipation for longer battery life and design compactability. Leakage current and leakage power are dominating factors which greatly affect the power consumption in low voltage and low power applications. For many numerical representations of binary numbers, combinational circuits like adder, encoder, multiplexer, etc. are useful circuits for arithmetic operation. A novel high speed and low power half adder cell is introduced here which consists of AND gate and OR gate. This cell shows high speed, lower power consumption than conventional half adder. In CMOS technology, transistors used have small area and low power consumption. It is used in various applications like adder, subtract or, multiplexer, ALU and microprocessors digital VLSI systems. As the scaling technology reduces, the leakage power increases. In this paper, multi threshold complementary metal oxide semiconductor (MTCMOS) technique is proposed to reduce the leakage current and leakage power. MTCMOS is an effective circuit level technique that increases the performance of a cell by using both low- and high-threshold voltage transistors. Leakage current is reduced by 85.37% and leakage power is reduced by 87.45% using MTCMOS technique as compared to standard CMOS technique. The half adder design simulation work was performed by cadence simulation tool at 45-nm technology.
The Use of Vapor Pressure Deficit to Predict Drying Time for Alfalfa Hay

ABSTRACT ALFALFA samples were dried in thin layers to determine the drying constants for the exponential decay of the moisture ratio. Equilib-rium moisture curves were also deter-mined for the material in the range from 20 to 35 °C. The constants ob-tained in the thin-layer experiments were related to saturation vapor pressure deficit.
Robust servo system design giving consideration to transient behavior for a linear system with structured uncertainties

This paper deals with a design problem of a robust servo system which achieves not only robust stability and tracking but also a performance robustness for a linear system with structured uncertainties. The performance robustness means that the deterioration of control performance is suppressed when we compare the transient behavior for the real system with given desirable one generated by using the nominal system, and at the same time excessive control input is avoided. In this approach, we assume that the control law consists of a state feedback with the feedback gain, feedforward input from the reference signal which are designed by using the nominal system in order to generate the desired transient behavior for the real system and a compensation input for the purpose of keeping transient behavior as closely as possible to the desirable one and adopt a similar way to the model-following technique. The compensation input is determined so that the upper bound of a quadratic cost function for the augmented system consisting of the difference state between the present value and the steady-state value of the integrator and of the error between the real and the nominal system is minimized. We show that existence conditions for the compensation input which minimize the upper bound of the quadratic cost function for the augmented error system are given in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) and give a guide to set up the initial state of the integrator.