Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simulation of energy efficiency improvements on commuter railways

Railway networks consume large amounts of energy and, as a result, are the cause of a significant amount of CO\(_2\) and other harmful gas emissions. British railways strive to comply with objectives set by the European Rail Research Advisory Council and the Committee on Climate Change. Improvements in the operation of railway networks through the use of energy efficiency regimes can decrease the operational costs and CO\(_2\) emissions. Existing and industry proven methods include regeneration, coasting allowances and driver training. The use of a simulator allows railway organisations to understand and quantify the benefits of the various methods for their particular rolling stock and networks. This thesis describes the development of a multi-train simulator for the Merseyrail network. The simulator is based on a pre-existing single train simulator. Results from the simulator show that a combination of regeneration, introduction of coasting points and improved driving style have the potential to provide up to a 50% increase in energy efficiency. In particular, the study shows that a 23% reduction in energy consumption through regeneration; a 22% energy reduction with the strategic placement of coasting points; and a 4% reduction in energy when an improved driving style is adopted, are possible. These improvements have the potential to eliminate 12 kilotonnes of CO\(_2\) emissions from Merseyrail per year.
Opposition Based Differential Evolution Algorithm for Capacitor Placement on Radial Distribution System

Distribution system is a critical link between customer and utility. The control of power loss is the main factor which decides the performance of the distribution system. There are two methods such as (i) distribution system reconfiguration and (ii) inclusion of capacitor banks, used for controlling the real power loss. Considering the improvement in voltage profile with the power loss reduction, later method produces better performance than former method. This paper presents an advanced evolutionary algorithm for capacitor inclusion for loss reduction. The conventional sensitivity analysis is used to find the optimal location for the capacitors. In order to achieve a better approximation for the current candidate solution, Opposition based Differential Evolution (ODE) is introduced. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is validated through 10, 33, 34 and85-bus radial distribution systems.
A new PMU-based fault detection/location technique for transmission lines with consideration of arcing fault discrimination-part II: performance evaluation

The theory and algorithms of the proposed technique have been presented in Part I of this two-paper set. In Part II of this two-paper set, the proposed technique is evaluated by considerable simulation cases simulated by the Matlab/Power system Blockset simulator. For the proposed fault detector, the trip time achieved can be up to 3.25 ms and the average value of trip times is about 8 ms for both permanent and arcing faults on transmission lines. For the proposed fault locator, the accuracy can be up to 99.99% and the error does not exceed 0.45%. Moreover, the proposed arcing fault discriminator can discriminate between arcing and permanent faults within four cycles after fault inception. It has proven to be an effective tool to block reclosing on the permanent faults in the computer simulations. The simulation results also demonstrate that the presented extended discrete Fourier transform algorithm eliminates effectively the error caused by exponentially decaying dc offset on fundamental and harmonic phasor computations. Finally, a test case using the real-life measured data proves the feasibility of the proposed technique.
A national inventory and analysis of US transfer of development rights programs

Transfer of development rights (TDR) programs shift development intensity between land parcels. Jurisdictions, most commonly local municipal or county governments, employ TDR to protect resources such as farmland or historical properties and to encourage infill and redevelopment where deemed appropriate. However, while championed by economists and others seeking to reduce conflicts between land development and preservation, TDR program adoption has varied widely across the US. What demographic, economic, or environmental factors are associated with TDR program establishment? This paper describes a census of 375 TDR programs in the United States, documenting primary program attributes and adoption year and categorizing their functions and typology. Using logistic regression, we analyze program spatial patterns and factors predicting program implementation. We find that areas that are coastal, more liberal, have higher home values, in home-rule states, and in states with state-wide growth management programs, are all significantly more likely to implement TDR programs.
Cooperation and firm's capacity to innovation: Evidence from Cameroun

Innovation is the core element of economic growth and sustainable development. While there is emerging literature showing that cooperation is a vector of innovation, very little is known in the context of developing countries and particularly in the context of Cameroon, were there is existing enormous potentiality of innovation and economic growth. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effect of cooperation on firms' capacity to innovation. The empirical analysis focuses on the unobserved heterogeneity of externalities. The data analysis is based on a sample of 640 companies. The estimation method is a probit with selection from the analytical framework proposed by Heckman in 1979. The estimation is performed in two steps using the maximum likelihood estimator. The results revealed the existence of unobserved elements, due to cooperation, that reinforce the innovation capacity of firms. More specifically, the findings seem to suggest that the social benefits of R&D outweigh the private benefits, which is in line with external studies. To this end, innovation promotion policies should be oriented towards the promotion or intensification of cooperation in innovation. Future studies must take this into account.
Stationary Wavelet Transform Method for Distributed Detection of Damage by Fiber-Optic Sensors

AbstractBrillouin scattering–based fiber-optic sensors have been used in a number of applications, including monitoring of pipelines and well-casing damage in the oil and gas industry. The major attribute of these sensors is their capability for distributed sensing of strains along large sections of structures. For these reasons, Brillouin-based fiber-optic sensors have great potential for civil structural applications, such as in bridges. This study reports the investigation of the Brillouin optical time-domain reflectometer for assessing damage in structural members. The primary advantage in using the Brillouin optical time-domain reflectometer is the single-fiber installation and multidamage-detection capability for the entire structure. The challenge in using a Brillouin optical time-domain reflectometer for detection of localized damage is to overcome the effects of system noise and Brillouin frequency-peak shift distortions. The compound effects of noise and frequency-peak distortions result in disp.
Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Free Surface Flow Around a Circular Cylinder

Flow past a surface-piercing cylindrical structure exhibits a substantial amount of free- surface variation along the obstacle surface at high Froude numbers. The free-surface variations and the corresponding pressure gradient result in a remarkable downward flow with a strong velocity component in the radial direction. The interactions of turbulent vortical structures with the free-surface as well as the cylinder and bottom wall are numerical investigated for a turbulent flow past a circular cylinder in a rec- tangular channel. The flow was experimentally investigated by Graf and Yulistiyanto (1998) at the Reyn- olds number of 1.48×10 5 and at the Froude number of 0.5. The turbulent flow is modeled using the URANS approach with the standard k-e and the k-ω shear stress transport (SST) turbulent models along with the scale-adapted simulation (SAS) approach based on the SST model. A two-phase volume of fluid technique is employed to simulate the variation of free-surface. The comparison of numerical prediction with the measurements shows that the free-surface variation around the cylinder can be reasonably cap- tured by all numerical models. It demonstrates that the numerical prediction of the free-surface around obstacle is not sensitive to turbulence models applied in this study. Although the size of the mean horse- shoe vortex at the front and the lee-wake vortex at the downstream of the obstacle are differently predict- ed, all numerical solutions appear to reasonably reproduce the mean flow fields including the distinct counterclockwise circulation at the downstream side of the cylinder that was observed in the experiments. The turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) distributions around the obstacle are underestimated by URANS computations with wall functions. Even though its magnitude is still underestimated, the URANS with wall-integration yields better prediction of TKE, especially in the wake region. The preliminary high resolution SAS simulation demonstrates that the scale-resolving simulation improves the numerical pre- diction in terms of mean flow and turbulence statistics.
Endobronchial Intubation With the King Vision® and McGrath® Laryngoscopes in Simulated Easy and Difficult Airways by Novices (eKingMath)

Objective. The competency of using video laryngoscopes (VL) for double-lumen tube (DLT) endobronchial intubations can be improved with constant training as assessed by measuring the learning curves. We hypothesized that the time to DLT intubation would be reduced over the intubation attempts. Design. A crossover manikin study. Settings. University-affiliated hospital. Participants. Forty-two novice medical students unfamiliar with DLT intubation. Interventions. Participants were randomly allocated to two sequences, including DLT intubation, using King Vision and McGrath VLs. Each participant completed 100 DLT intubation attempts on both simulated easy and difficult airways on two different mannikins using the study devices (25 attempts for each). Measurements and Main Results. The primary outcome was the time to DLT intubation. The secondary outcomes included the best glottic view, optimizing maneuvers, and intubation first-pass success. The use of King Vision VL was associated with a significantly shorter time to DLT intubation (P < 0.044 and P < 0.05, respectively) and a higher percentage of glottic opening (POGO) compared to the McGrath VL (P < 0.011 and P < 0.002, respectively) in the simulated “easy” and “difficult” over most of the intubation attempts. In the simulated “easy” airway, the first-pass success ratio was higher when using the King Vision VL (median [Minimum–Maximum] 100% [100%–100%] and 100% [88%–100%], P = 0.012). Conclusion. Novice medical students developed skills over intubation attempts, meaning achievement of a faster DLT intubation, better laryngeal exposure, and higher success rate on simulated “easy” and “difficult” airways. A median of 9 DLT intubations was required to achieve a 92% or greater DLT intubation success rate.
Fast methods for including attenuation in the EM algorithm

A fast approach to including attenuation in iterative maximum-likelihood and least-squares algorithms for single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT) is presented. Ray-tracing and summing of attenuation coefficients are replaced by the use of two lookup tables, one to compute attenuated ray path integrals based on a set of polar grid points and one to perform polar-to-rectangular transformations. The resulting algorithm implements a spatial average which is comparable in accuracy to ray-tracing with rectangular pixels, yet requires less than one sixteenth the CPU time. >
Generation of Multiple Earthquake Accelerograms Compatible with Spectrum Via the Wavelet Packet Transform and Stochastic Neural Networks

The principal purpose of this article is to present a novel methodology based on wavelet packet transform techniques and stochastic neural networks to generate more artificial earthquake accelerograms from available data, which are compatible with specified response spectra or the design spectra. The proposed method uses the decomposing capabilities of wavelet packet transform on earthquake accelerograms, and the learning abilities of stochastic neural network to expand the knowledge of the inverse mapping from response spectrum to coefficients of wavelet packet transform of earthquake accelerogram. This methodology results in a stochastic ensemble of wavelet packet transform coefficients of earthquake accelerograms and, they are used to the generate accelerograms applying the inverse wavelet packet transform. Finally, an interpretive example is presented which uses an ensemble of recorded accelerograms to train and test the neural network, aiming at the demonstration of the method effectiveness.
Envejecimiento e intervenciones terapéuticas desde la perspectiva psicológica a adultos mayores: una revisión descriptiva

Objetivo: Analizar el estado de la produccion cientifica sobre envejecimiento e intervenciones terapeuticas a adultos mayores desde la perspectiva psicologica. Metodologia: Investigacion cuantitativa, diseno bibliometrico, muestra teorica, recoleccion de datos con tecnica de ficheo. Se realizo la busqueda bibliografica consultando en bases de datos como Pubmed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, PsycInfo, ProQuest, Dialnet entre otros, las palabras de busqueda fueron Vejez, Psicologia Positiva, Envejecimiento activo, Calidad de vida en adulto mayor, modelo PERMA. Los criterios de inclusion fueron publicaciones correspondientes al periodo de 2015 al 2020, criterio de calidad cientifica publicaciones fundamentadas en procesos de investigacion. El analisis de resultados, se desarrollo a partir de matriz de antecedentes, segun los diferentes descriptores y descartando los documentos que no cumplieran los criterios de inclusion. Resultados: se reconocieron los modelos teoricos y metodologicos en las investigaciones recaudadas, siendo los autores principales desde la perspectiva psicologica (Fernandez 1 ): con envejecimiento saludable, positivo y con exito (Ramos y Garcia 2) , determinantes transversales del envejecimiento activo (Riff y Keyes 3) , con bienestar psicologico y finalmente, desde la promocion de la salud (Organizacion Mundial de la Salud 4) , Actividades Diarias (Salvarezza, 1988 5 ) y Teoria de actividad (Glanz, Rimer y Viswanath 6 ). Metodologicamente los estudios revisados fueron no experimentales, con presencia de algunos estudios cuasi experimentales, no obstante, en la informacion cientifica seleccionada estuvieron ausentes las investigaciones longitudinales. Se concluye que la perspectiva psicologica contribuye a la comprension del envejecimiento en variables susceptibles a intervenir, tales como, calidad de vida, bienestar psicologico, felicidad, actividad diaria, por tanto, se perciben en el campo de la psicogerentologia oportunidades de investigacion e intervencion.
Impedance Modeling of Three-Phase Grid-Connected Voltage Source Converters With Frequency-Locked-Loop-Based Synchronization Algorithms

With the increased installation of voltage source converters (VSCs) into the power grid, concerns about resonance/stability issues associated with interactions among converters, and between them and the ac grid is growing. The prevailing method for investigating these issues is the impedance modeling of VSCs, which involves linearizing all their control elements, such as their current control and grid synchronization system among others. In this process, most often a phase-locked loop (PLL) is considered for the grid synchronization of VSCs in the literature. The available options for the grid synchronization, however, are not limited to PLLs; a large number of frequency-locked loops (FLLs) for the grid synchronization of VSCs may also be found in the literature. The impedance modeling of three-phase VSCs equipped with FLL-based grid synchronization systems can be quite challenging as FLLs have different structures compared to PLLs. This article aims to address this difficulty. The general idea is obtaining the PLL counterparts of FLLs, which makes the VSC impedance modeling very straightforward. To make this idea clear, several case studies are presented and investigated.
Practical Implementation of Statistical Process Control in a Chemicals Industry

The implementation and use of statistical process control in a chemicals and plastics firm are examined. The essential external factors are focused upon, which are associated with the practical implementation of statistical process control. The important components of a Statistical Process Control process optimisation study are discussed in the context of their achievements at a manufacturing facility. Benefits achieved from a successful implementation of statistical process control are also discussed.
Comparison of electrical and SEM CD measurements on binary and alternating aperture phase-shifting masks

Many of the recent advances in optical lithography have been driven by the utilization of complex photomasks using optical proximity correction (OPC) or phase-shifting technologies. These masks are difficult and expensive to manufacture so the ability to test and characterize the mask making process is very important. This paper examines the issues involved in the use of relatively low-cost electrical critical dimension (ECD) measurement of mask features. Modified cross-bridge test structures have been designed to allow the on-mask measurement of dense and isolated, binary and phase-shifted layouts. The results of electrical and critical dimension scanning electron microscope (CD-SEM) testing of these structures are presented and indicate the lower variability associated with ECD measurements. In particular the adverse effect of phase-shifting elements on the accuracy of SEM measurements is highlighted.
An Analysis of Gas Tightness Around Unlined Storage Cavern Using a Discrete Fracture Flow FEM Model

ABSTRACT Water curtain method has been utilized to prevent the escape of gas from storage caverns excavated in the rock. The water curtain method appears to be increasingly used in various forms of storage caverns. Fluid flow in crystalline fractured rock where most of water curtains are constructed is basically controlled by the geometry of fracture network and the properties of the individual fracture. The concept of discrete fracture flow is more appropriate approach for analyzing the stability of water curtain system. In order to analyze the groundwater flow in fracture network, we have developed an unsteady state discrete fracture flowing FEM simulator and have applied it to underground LPG storage facilities at Ulsan, Korea. In this site the hydraulic head of observation well Y was monitored as −7.5 m. With the continuum model concept for the fractured rock the hydraulic head of well Y was calculated as −18.62 m, whereas −4 m was estimated with discrete fracture flow model. The result showed that th.
Noise-robust pitch detection method using wavelet transform with aliasing compensation

An improved wavelet-based method is developed for extracting pitch information from noisy speech. It uses a modified spatial correlation function which is originally applied to wavelet-based signal denoising to improve the performance of pitch detection in a noisy environment. The modified spatial correlation function needed in the proposed pitch detection method makes use of an aliasing compensation algorithm to eliminate the aliasing distortion that arises from the downsampling and upsampling operations of the wavelet transform. As a consequence, this allows one to further increase the accuracy of pitch detection. It is shown in various experimental results that this new method gives a considerable performance improvement when compared with other conventional and wavelet-based methods.
Development and validation of a FE model of a mining vehicle tyre

Due to the harsh operating conditions and high payload requirements of heavy mining vehicles, extremely durable, stiff and large, heavy sized tyres are necessary to meet functional requirements. This necessitates the use of multi-piece wheels to allow mounting of the tyre. As part of an on-going study to enhance the safety and design of multi-piece heavy mining vehicle wheels, finite element methods are applied to develop a tyre model of a bias-ply Goodyear 29.5-29 Smooth, D/L 5D (I-5S) 40 ply model used on a Caterpillar R2900G load-haul-dump (LHD) scoop. The model is validated based on manufacturer engineering data, static load testing and quasi-static testing. Tyre deformation was determined using non-contact displacement transducers and analysis of high speed imagery acquired during testing which was representative of harsh tyre loading. Development of an FE model of the wheel and tyre assembly model was completed and error estimates on the displacement measurements on several locations of the tyre, representing vertical, horizontal and out-of-plane deformations, were typically less than 10% when compared to experimental observations. Maximum values of the vertical and lateral deflections of the tyre in both experimental and numerical investigations, considering the most severe loading case within this investigation, were observed to be approximately 80 mm and 30 mm, respectively. This study details the methodology used in the development of a high fidelity numerical mining vehicle tyre model capable of simulating static and quasi-static loading conditions.
Using Sentinel-2 for Simplifying Soil Sampling and Mapping: Two Case Studies in Umbria, Italy

Soil-sample collection and strategy are costly and time-consuming endeavors, mainly when the goal is in-field variation mapping that usually requires dense sampling. This study developed and tested a streamlined soil mapping methodology, applicable at the field scale, based on an unsupervised classification of Sentinel-2 (S2) data supporting the definition of reduced soil-sampling schemes. The study occurred in two agricultural fields of 20 hectares each near Deruta, Umbria, Italy. S2 images were acquired for the two bare fields. After a band selection based on bibliography, PCA (Principal Component Analysis) and cluster analysis were used to identify points of two reduced-sample schemes. The data obtained by these samplings were used in linear regressions with principal components of the selected S2 bands to produce maps for clay and organic matter (OM). Resultant maps were assessed by analyzing residuals with a conventional soil sampling of 30 soil samples for each field to quantify their accuracy level. Although of limited extent and with a specific focus, the low average errors (Clay ± 2.71%, OM ± 0.16%) we obtained using only three soil samples suggest a wider potential for this methodology. The proposed approach, integrating S2 data and traditional soil-sampling methods could considerably reduce soil-sampling time and costs in ordinary and precision agriculture applications.