Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Bandpass Filters

A novel microstrip-line ultra-wideband (UWB) band- pass filter is proposed and implemented using a multiple-mode res- onator (MMR), aiming at transmitting the signals in the whole UWB passband of 3.1-10.6 GHz. In the design, the first three res- onant frequencies of this MMR are properly adjusted to be placed quasiequally within the UWB. Then, the parallel-coupled lines at the two sides are longitudinally stretched so as to raise the fre- quency-dispersive coupling degree with the coupling peak near the center of the UWB. After optimization of this filter, a good UWB bandpass behavior with five transmission poles is theoretically re- alized and experimentally confirmed. Within the whole UWB pass- band, the return loss is found higher than 10 dB, and the group delay variation is less than 0.23 ns.
Design of current sensor using a magnetorheological fluid in shear mode

A new approach to measure the direct current (dc) using magnetorheological (MR) fluids with a resonance concept is proposed in this work. The current measurement system is designed using a piezolaminated cantilever beam coupled with an electromagnetic coil-based MR fluid shearing set-up. The cantilever beam is maintained at resonance using simple closed-loop electronics. The current-induced magnetic field produced by the coil changes the viscosity of the MR fluids and produces an additional stiffness to the resonating cantilever beam. The shift in resonant frequency due to the change in viscosity of the MR fluid is measured, and the shift in frequency is related to the input electrical current to the coil. The analytical model of the current measurement system is derived, and the results are compared with the experimental results. The resonance-based current measurement system is evaluated for the input current range of 0 to 1 A.
Selection of PI + Notch Voltage Controller Coefficients to Attain Desired Steady-State and Transient Performance in PFC Rectifiers

The well-known trade-off between dc link voltage dynamics and ac-side current quality in power factor correction (PFC) rectifiers limits attainable dc link voltage loop bandwidth. It has been shown that adding a notch filter in series with the typically employed PI or type-II regulator allows improving dc link voltage dynamics without sacrificing total harmonic distortion (THD). However, clear quantitative guidelines for PI + Notch (PI + N) controller design to attain prescribed values of ac-side current THD and dc link voltage undershoot (response to a step-like load power increase) were not established so far. Consequently, analytical expressions linking the coefficients of the PI + N controller with the above-mentioned performance merits for a given value of dc link capacitance are revealed in this article. Corresponding dc link voltage loop gain phase margin and crossover frequency expressions are derived and the feasibility region of the proposed design guidelines is clearly indicated. Simulations and experimental results validate the proposed design methodology.
Aircraft flight safety and birds strikes management in Aminu Kano International Airport, Nigeria

Aircraft flight collision with bird is a threat to aviation industry in most global large commercial airports, according to international aviation"s report. For instance, John F. Kennedy International (New York) tops the list of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report data in which aircraft suffered serious damage with 80 from 1990 to mid- 2008. The study examined the frequency, period of the year, birds species and aircraft models involved in flight collision with bird around Aminu Kano International Airport in Nigeria. Data were sourced from oral interview, personal observation and questionnaire administration to the port authority and the villages at the airport periphery. The study reveals that twelve (12) bird species were involved in forty four (44) strikes at the airport between the year 2001 to 2010 and mostly during the rainy seasons. Distribution of these strikes by flight stage indicated that 32, 25 and 20% occurred on approach, landing roll, and takeoff stage respectively, while the remaining 23% occurred at other phases. Using the International Bird Strike Committee strike rate (per 10,000 flights), the computed strike rate for this airport is 8 per 10,000 flights. It is therefore recommended that "Bird Strike Avoidance Radar" equipment is to be installed at major airports in the country, while land uses like cereal farming that attracts birds around the airport be discouraged.
Short-term changes of cornea and tear film after ruthenium-106 plaque therapy for intraocular tumors

Purpose: Plaque therapy is a well-recognized treatment for intraocular tumors. In current study, we aimed to prospectively investigate the short-term effects of ruthenium 106 (Ru-106) plaque therapy on the cornea and ocular surface parameters. Methods: Twenty-five patients diagnosed with choroidal melanoma which undergone Ru-106 plaque therapy from 2016 to 2018 were included. Tear osmolarity, tear film break-up time, Schirmer test I, fluorescein dye staining based on Oxford staining method; Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire and corneal specular microscopy were performed. These tests were assessed preoperatively and then 3 months postoperatively. Results: The mean (±SD) age of subjects was 48.52 ± 15.18 years. The patients were followed for a mean(±SD) period of 3.64 ± 2.40 months. Total mean (+SD) delivered radiation dose to the tumor apex and total received radiation by the sclera was 83.20 ± 26.31 and 640.65 ± 472.69 Gray (Gy), respectively. In longitudinal analysis, OSDI score and Oxford staining score increased significantly (P = 0.002 for both variables) and the prevalence of dry eye disease (DED) increased from 20% preoperatively to 72% at 3 months postoperatively (P = 0.001). The changes in the all specular microscopy parameters were statistically nonsignificant (all P values > 0.05). Conclusion: There is a considerable increase in the rate of DED following plaque therapy for the treatment of choroidal melanoma in short-term follow-up. The OSDI questionnaire and fluorescein staining test are valuable tools for early detection of DED postoperatively.
Integrating Reinforcement Learning and Optimal Power Dispatch to Enhance Power Grid Resilience

Power grids are vulnerable to extreme events that may cause the failure of multiple components and lead to severe power outages. It is of practical importance to design effective restoration strategies to enhance the power grid resilience. In this brief, we consider different time scales of various restoration methods and propose an integrated strategy to maximize the total amount of electricity supplied to the loads in the recovery process. The strategy properly combines the slow restoration method of component repair and the fast restoration method of optimal power dispatch. The Q-learning algorithm is used to generate the sequential order of repairing damaged components and update the network topology. Linear optimization is used to obtain the largest amount of power supply on given network topology. Simulation results show that our proposed method can coordinate the available resources and manpower to effectively restore the power grid after extreme events.
Distribution and Location Stability of the Australian Ophthalmology Workforce: 2014–2019

Objective: To investigate the ophthalmology workforce distribution and location stability using Modified Monash Model category of remoteness. Methods: Whole of ophthalmologist workforce analysis using Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency (AHPRA) data. Modified Monash Model (MMM) category was mapped to postcode of primary work location over a six-year period (2014 to 2019). MMM stability was investigated using survival analysis and competing risks regression. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Australia. Participants: Ophthalmologists registered with AHPRA. Main outcome measures: Retention within MMM category of primary work location. Results: A total of 948 ophthalmologists were identified (767 males, 181 females). Survival estimates indicate 84% of ophthalmologists remained working in MMM1, while 79% of ophthalmologists working in MMM2–MMM7remained in these regions during the six-year period. Conclusion: The Australian ophthalmology workforce shows a high level of location stability and is concentrated in metropolitan areas of Australia. Investment in policy initiatives designed to train, recruit and retain ophthalmologists in regional, rural and remote areas is needed to improve workforce distribution outside of metropolitan areas.
Shear- and Tension-Type Tests to Evaluate Bonding of Hot-Mix Asphalt Layers with Different Tack Coat Application Rates

Bonding between adjacent pavement layers is an important factor affecting overlay service life. Poor bonding between adjacent layers of hot-mix asphalt can lead to distresses in the pavement system, such as slippage cracking, top-down cracking, premature fatigue, and, in some cases, complete delamination. Although interface behavior between different pavement layers is important, there is no consensus about the best testing technique for bonding. Interface bonding is usually assessed for shear strength. Considering that interface debonding can be caused by both shear and tension loading and that the optimum tack coats obtained from shear-type and tension-type interface tests may differ, a study to compare shear and tension testing results was conceived and carried out. When optimum tack coat rates as obtained from shear-type and tension-type interface tests were obtained and compared, a significantly higher tack coat rate was needed to create a strong adhesive bond between layers than the optimum rate suggested by shear type tests. In addition, shear- and tension-type tests produced difference rankings in tack coat types in their expected performance under shearing and tensile forces, respectively. It is recommended that tension-type tests, such as the interface bond test, be used along with shear-type tests in the design and control of tack coats and thin-bonded overlay systems and that additional studies be performed to develop a system that allows the holistic optimization of pavement bond on the basis of meeting functional requirements in both shear and tension for a given pavement system, traffic level, and environment.
Analysis, design and implementation of isolated bidirectional converter with winding-cross-coupled inductors for high step-up and high step-down conversion system

In this study, a zero voltage switching (ZVS) isolated bidirectional DC/DC converter is proposed for high step-up and high step-down conversion systems. In the low voltage side, an interleaved Buck and Boost converter is employed to reduce the current ripple and improve the power level. In the high voltage side, a modified three-level structure is adopted to bring each power switch sustain half of the high bus voltage, which makes the low voltage rated MOSFETs available for the performance improvement. Two coupled inductors are interleaved in the low voltage side and in series in the high voltage side, which can not only serve as the filter inductors for the current ripple cancellation, but also as the transformer for isolation, which is named as winding-cross-coupled inductors. As a result, the magnetic size can be reduced to enhance the power density. ZVS operation is ensured from light load to full load conditions by the advanced pulse width modulation plus phase shift control strategy. The voltage regulation and transferred power are decoupled for easy design and implementation. Finally, a 1.5 kW 48 V/800 V prototype is built to verify the effectiveness of the proposed converter.
Assessment of the lamina cribrosa in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of the lamina cribrosa thickness (LCT) and lamina cribrosa depth (LCD) in adolescence with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and compare with those receiving methylphenidate (MPH) and healthy controls. Methods: Fifty-five children with ADHD (9.23 ± 1.92 years, mean ± standard deviation), 41 children with ADHD given MPH (9.24 ± 1.84 years), and 86 healthy controls (9.95 ± 2.16 years) were recruited for the study. All subjects were subjected to a complete eye exam and optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to assess LCT and LCD. The severity of ADHD symptoms was evaluated by using parent-report measures, including Conners's Parent Rating Scale–Revised: Short Form (CPRS-R: S) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: Parent Form (SDQ: P). Results: The study showed a significant finding between the research groups with regard to LCT. LCT was shown to be significantly increased in ADHD subjects given MPH compared with the controls. However, LCD was not significantly different between cohorts. Also, a significant inverse correlation was found between the SDQ: P–Emotional Problems Subscale and LCT (r = −0.253; P = 0.030) in ADHD patients. Conclusion: Changes in lamina cribrosa (LC) in ADHD children receiving MPH suggest that the mechanism of action for MPH may target developing LC structures. More studies to define the relationship between MPH medications and the LC variations are defensible.
Microelectrofluidic iris for variable aperture

This paper presents a variable aperture design based on the microelectrofluidic technology which integrates electrowetting and microfluidics. The proposed microelectrofluidic iris (MEFI) consists of two immiscible fluids and two connected surface channels formed by three transparent plates and two spacers between them. In the initial state, the confined aqueous ring makes two fluidic interfaces, on which the Laplace pressure is same, in the hydrophobic surface channels. When a certain voltage is applied between the dielectric-coated control electrode beneath the three-phase contact line (TCL) and the reference electrode for grounding the aqueous, the contact angle changes on the activated control electrode. At high voltage over the threshold, the induced positive pressure difference makes the TCLs on the 1st channel advance to the center and the aperture narrow. If there is no potential difference between the control and reference electrodes, the pressure difference becomes negative. It makes the TCLs on the 1st channel recede and the aperture widen to the initial state. It is expected that the proposed MEFI is able to be widely used because of its fast response, circular aperture, digital operation, high aperture ratio, and possibility to be miniaturized for variable aperture.
Determinants of restaurant consumers' intention to practice COVID-19 preventive behavior: an application of the theory of planned behavior

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of knowledge about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control on behavioral intentions to practice COVID-19 preventive behaviors using the theory of planned behavior (TPB). SUBJECTS/METHODS A total of 519 restaurant customers' responses was collected in this study through an online self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed on socio-demographic factors. One-way analysis of variance and t-test were conducted to determine differences in the constructs from the TPB according to age and sex. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). RESULTS SEM revealed the positive effect of knowledge about COVID-19 on attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in restaurants. Attitude, subjective norm, behavior intention, and knowledge positively affected COVID-19 preventive behavior intentions in restaurants. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study confirmed that the TPB is helpful in elucidating the determinants of consumers' intention to practice COVID-19 preventive behavior in restaurants. These findings can help policy makers and professionals provide material for further public health interventions and inform them about awareness-raising, guidelines, and health education programs.
How Kindergarten Teachers Assess Their Own Professional Competencies

One of the requirements of Education 4.0 is that students and practitioners should be involved in the creation of the content of study plans. Therefore, in the present research we focused on identifying the further educational needs of kindergarten teachers. Teachers’ educational needs were divided into four dimensions: ‘content knowledge’, ‘diagnostic knowledge’, ‘didactical knowledge’, and ‘classroom management knowledge’. In parallel, we discovered how teachers assess the level of their own teaching competencies. Based on the obtained data, we identified that teachers have the greatest need for further education in the dimension of ‘diagnostic knowledge’ and that the need for their further education in this dimension did not depend on the length of practice. In the other three dimensions, a declining trend in teachers’ educational needs has been recorded with an increasing length of practice, declining significantly in three of the four dimensions examined. The study points to the need to create in-service courses for kindergarten teachers to deepen their ‘diagnostic knowledge’ and thus ensure the sustainability of the quality of pre-school education for children. Teachers‘ self-assessment of their own teaching competencies corresponds to their educational needs, which supports the relevance of the findings on the further educational needs of kindergarten teachers. This study aimed to obtain relevant data on which the improvement of the higher education of future kindergarten teachers might be based. At the same time, this would allow the analysis and tailoring of the content of professional development courses to the needs of in-service kindergarten teachers.
GoodFloorplan: Graph Convolutional Network and Reinforcement Learning-Based Floorplanning

Electronic design automation (EDA) comprises a series of computationally difficult optimization problems that require substantial specialized knowledge as well as a considerable amount of trial-and-error efforts. However, open challenges, including long simulation runtime and lack of generalization, continue to restrict the applications of the existing EDA tools. Recently, learning-based algorithms, especially reinforcement learning (RL), have been successfully applied to handle various combinatorial optimization problems by automatically acquiring knowledge from the past experience. In this article, we formulate the floorplanning problem, the first stage of the physical design flow, as a Markov decision process (MDP). An end-to-end learning-based floorplanning framework GoodFloorplan is proposed to explore the design space, which combines graph convolutional network (GCN) and RL. Experimental results demonstrate that compared with state-of-the-art heuristic-based floorplanners, the proposed GoodFloorplan can provide better area and wirelength.
Non-dominated sorted genetic algorithm-II algorithm-based multi-objective layout optimization of solid wood panels

Common solid wood panel defects affect the appearance of timber products and reduce their value for use. It is necessary to remove defects from solid wood panels to achieve a panel layout. A whole wooden beam column is cut into solid wood panels of different sizes, according to the requirements. Aiming to overcome problems of weak convergence ability, single-objective optimization, and the poor optimization effect of solid wood panel layout optimization based on a traditional genetic algorithm, an improved multi-objective solid wood panel layout optimization based on NSGA-II (Non-dominated sorted genetic algorithm-II) algorithm was proposed. Reverse learning was used to generate a reverse population to increase the search capability of the algorithm and to solve the problem of insufficient population diversity in the genetic algorithms. A combination of directional variation and uniform variation was used to improve the optimization effect and solve the problem of small individual differences in the evolution of the algorithm. The improved multi-objective optimization algorithm showed better optimization and stability than the NSGA-II algorithm. The number of convergence iterations was reduced and simultaneous optimization of multiple objectives can be realized.
Better, Faster, Stronger: The Evolution of Co-authorship in International Management Research Between 1990 and 2016

As a border-transcending discipline, the advancement of international management research depends on collaboration between scholars, universities, and nations to account for the diversity and complexity of management phenomena. Yet, relatively little is known about how international management has evolved as a field of research. We address this gap by examining the evolution of collaboration patterns on three levels of analysis, applying the concepts of cumulative advantage, preferential attachment, and isomorphic behavior in a diachronic network analysis. Based on 6,874 articles published between 1990 and 2016 in eight international management journals, our analysis shows that collaboration is driven by a few key players on each level. Although the US and UK still represent hubs, semi-peripheral actors from Europe and Asia enter the landscape. Nevertheless, non-western actors are still underrepresented. We tie this effect to the expertise-based hegemonic status of American and British business schools and dynamics of cumulative advantage on country-level.
Integrated MOS offset error canceller for analogue adaptive transversal filter

An offset error canceller based on the switched-capacitor technique for realisation of analogue LSIs is developed using a short-channel MOSFET process. Excellent characteristics, such as exceptional capability of suppression of the DC offset component ranging from -3 V to +3 V, large dynamic range of 83 dB and fast operation speed of 2 MHz clock rate, are obtained.
Guided Soft Actor Critic: A Guided Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach for Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes

Most real-world problems are essentially partially observable, and the environmental model is unknown. Therefore, there is a significant need for reinforcement learning approaches to solve them, where the agent perceives the state of the environment partially and noisily. Guided reinforcement learning methods solve this issue by providing additional state knowledge to reinforcement learning algorithms during the learning process, allowing them to solve a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) more effectively. However, these guided approaches are relatively rare in the literature, and most existing approaches are model-based, meaning that they require learning an appropriate model of the environment first. In this paper, we propose a novel model-free approach that combines the soft actor-critic method and supervised learning concept to solve real-world problems, formulating them as POMDPs. In experiments performed on OpenAI Gym, an open-source simulation platform, our guided soft actor-critic approach outperformed other baseline algorithms, gaining 7~20% more maximum average return on five partially observable tasks constructed based on continuous control problems and simulated in MuJoCo.
An N-Way Hybrid Power Divider

A circularly symmetric power divider is described which splits a signal into n equiphase equiamplitude parts where n can be odd or even. The power divider provides isolation between output terminals and approximately matched terminal impedances over about a 20 per cent band. A theory of operation is given which yields the necessary design parameters, and an experimental model is described which has a minimum isolation of -27 db between output terminals, an output VSWR of 1.6, and an input VSWR of 1.2.