Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Methodologies for the evaluation of seismic vulnerability of complex masonry buildings: case histories in the historic centre of Sulmona

This paper describes a procedure, addressed to an articulated knowledge of the material, of the morphology and of the constructive aspects of the masonry structures, of the mechanical behaviour and of the possible failure mechanisms of complex buildings in Sulmona (AQ), an important historic centre in Central Italy. It is an area of great interest, not only considering its seismic history, but also because of the characteristics of its prestigious buildings, mainly made of multiple leaf stone masonry. The understanding of the historical buildings has made use of a direct survey of the constructions (based on a geometrical survey, on a survey of the materials and of their state of damage), of indirect information deduced by documentary sources, and of data collected through in-situ non destructive or minor destructive testing and laboratory investigation for a chemical, physical and mechanical characterisation of the masonry and of its components. Record templates and forms, some of them purposely set up, have been adopted and collected into a database for the damage and masonry quality assessment and the evaluation of the future vulnerability of the buildings to in-plane and out-of-plane actions according to damage abacuses previously produced.
Influence of carrier liquid on nanoparticle-based giant electrorheological fluid

The wetting characteristics of the giant electrorheological particles and the suspending fluid were investigated. In contrast to the existing electrorheological fluids, giant electrorheological particles consisting of oxalate core with urea coating are found oil sensitive. The rheological effect of oils from the family of synthetic oil, mineral oil and vegetable oil was studied. The experimental results indicated that hydrogen bonds of the oil chains are instrumental in linking the oil to the giant electrorheological particles; thus, the highest yield stress of giant electrorheological fluid was obtained when hydrogenated silicone oil was used as a suspending phase. Our investigations will provide the compatibility guiding between giant electrorheological particles and liquid phase and may broaden its application to different field, that is, microfluidics with vegetable oil as the carrier liquid.
Annexes

We have identi®ed a Xenopus bHLH gene, Xath2, which is the homologue of the murine MATH-2/NEX-1 gene, using a functional expression screening approach. Overexpression of this gene in neurula embryos induces the expression of the N-tubulin neuronal marker but does not stimulate the expression of the X-ngnr-1 and NeuroD proneural genes. Expression of Xath2 begins in stage 32 embryos and is restricted to the dorsal telencephalon. Within the neuroepithelium of the dorsal telencephalon, Xath2 expression is detected in postmitotic cells located more laterally than those expressing several other related bHLH neuronal regulators. q 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Small‐size WWAN monopole slot antenna with dual‐band band‐stop matching circuit for tablet computer application

A monopole slot antenna printed on a small‐size FR4 substrate of 40 × 10 mm2 to provide two wide operating bands of 824–960 and 1710–2170 MHz for the wireless wide area network operation in the tablet computer is presented. The monopole slot is folded to achieve a compact configuration and is fed by a microstrip feedline loaded with a dual‐band band‐stop matching circuit on the same FR4 substrate. The band‐stop matching circuit can generate two separate parallel resonances at about 1050 and 2250 MHz, which respectively leads to additional resonance occurred nearby the resonant frequencies of the quarter‐wavelength slot mode at about 850 MHz and higher‐order slot mode at about 1900 MHz, thereby resulting in dual‐resonance excitation of the two excited slot modes to respectively cover the GSM850/900 and GSM1800/1900/UMTS operation. The bandwidth‐enhancement technique of using a dual‐band band‐stop matching circuit is reported for the first time in published articles, and its detailed operating principle is described in this study. Performances of the proposed antenna are also discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:875–879, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26723
Novel neural approach for parameter extraction of microwave transistor noise models

A novel approach for parameter extraction of microwave transistor noise models based on artificial neural networks is proposed in this work. Neural networks are applied to determine parameters of the noise model directly from the measured noise and small‐signal scattering parameters without any optimization procedure. Moreover, unlike the similar existing procedures, development of the extraction procedure does not require any measured data or optimizations in a circuit simulator, making the procedure more efficient, as described in detail in the paper. The approach has been applied to extraction of the Pospieszalski's noise model parameters for a specific pseudomorphic high‐electron‐mobility transistor (pHEMT) device working under different temperatures. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Machine vision system for the industrial quality control of printed circuit boards

In this paper we present an automatic system for the on-line quality control of printed circuit boards. A line-scan camera permits the acquisition of a 550 mm wide image with a resolution up to 70 microns/pixel. The system detects the following type of errors: cuts and short circuits in tracks, stains, ink excess or faults, pores, omissions, "bites" and track narrowing. The input for the system are just the Gerber data files corresponding to the circuit to be analyzed. All the tolerances and precision factors can be modified directly from the user-friendly interface. For each analyzed board, the type of error detected and its location inside the circuit are indicated in the interface. For each set of analyzed circuits the system provides information for statistical control of the results.
Novel, multilayer coupled-line structures and their circuit applications

Presented are characteristics of new (or described in the literature but not in detail) symmetric and asymmetric coupled-line structures which are of use in the design of quasi-ideal multilayer microstrip and coplanar directional couplers as well as other coupled-line passive components for monolithic and hybrid microwave integrated circuits. In several designs of tightly and weakly coupled multistrip lines, the coupling coefficient can be achieved in a large range of values, enabling at the same time their quasi-ideal realisation for a given dielectric stratification of the structure. This property allows the design of high-performance multisection coupled-line passive circuits, which are very sensitive to how much the coupling coefficients for individual coupled-line sections differ from the values determined by the circuit synthesis methods. The investigated structures have been used in the design and practical realisation of the following integrated circuits: single- and multi-section coupled-line directional couplers, filters, phase shifters and power dividers, as well as coupled-line compensated baluns, non-reflective multiple pin-diode attenuators/DPDT switches, compact multidimensional Butler matrices, and broadband in-phase antenna array feeding networks. We include the design data and experimental results for most of the circuits we describe. The paper presents the results of the authors' research into the properties and applications of new microstrip and coplanar lines from the period of the past few years. Some of the most recent results (not yet published) are also presented.
Automatic Shadow Detection for Multispectral Satellite Remote Sensing Images in Invariant Color Spaces

Shadow often results in difficulties for subsequent image applications of multispectral satellite remote sensing images, like object recognition and change detection. With continuous improvement in both spatial and spectral resolutions of satellite remote sensing images, a more serious impact occurs on satellite remote sensing image interpretation due to the existence of shadow. Though various shadow detection methods have been developed, problems of both shadow omission and nonshadow misclassification still exist for detecting shadow well in high-resolution multispectral satellite remote sensing images. These shadow detection problems mainly include high small shadow omission and typical nonshadow misclassification (like bluish and greenish nonshadow misclassification, and large dark nonshadow misclassification). For further resolving these problems, a new shadow index is developed based on the analysis of the property difference between shadow and the corresponding nonshadow with several multispectral band components (i.e., near-infrared, red, green and blue components) and hue and intensity components in various invariant color spaces (i.e., HIS, HSV, CIELCh, YCbCr and YIQ), respectively. The shadow mask is further acquired by applying an optimal threshold determined automatically on the shadow index image. The final shadow image is further optimized with a definite morphological operation of opening and closing. The proposed algorithm is verified with many images from WorldView-3 and WorldView-2 acquired at different times and sites. The proposed algorithm performance is particularly evaluated by qualitative visual sense comparison and quantitative assessment of shadow detection results in comparative experiments with two WorldView-3 test images of Tripoli, Libya. Both the better visual sense and the higher overall accuracy (over 92% for the test image Tripoli-1 and approximately 91% for the test image Tripoli-2) of the experimental results together deliver the excellent performance and robustness of the proposed shadow detection approach for shadow detection of high-resolution multispectral satellite remote sensing images. The proposed shadow detection approach is promised to further alleviate typical shadow detection problems of high small shadow omission and typical nonshadow misclassification for high-resolution multispectral satellite remote sensing images.
Miniaturized LIGA Fourier transformation spectrometer

We have developed a miniaturized Fourier Transformation Spectrometer (FTS). The spectrometer is designed for application in the near infrared spectrum and can be used for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of liquid, solid or gaseous substances. Our FTS is basically a Michelson Interferometer that consists of an optical bench for the passive alignment of the optical components with an integrated electromechanical actuator. All parts such as the collimation optics, the detectors and the actuator are assembled on a chip. The system was manufactured using the LIGA technology.
Successful Implementation of Assistive Technology to Promote Access to Curriculum and Instruction for Students with Physical Disabilities.

Students with physical disabilities often require assistive technology to access curriculum and instruction. This paper discusses some of the issues that impede successful implementation of assistive technology for students with physical disabilities and provides a checklist that teachers and related services personnel may use when considering assistive technology for curriculum access. While not exhaustive, the checklist contains assistive technology services and needs that should be addressed as well as assistive technology devices that may be used by students with physical disabilities for curriculum access. 2
Evaluating supervised machine learning algorithms to predict recreational fishing success : A multiple species, multiple algorithms approach

This report examines three different machine learning algorithms and their effectiveness for predicting recreational fishing success. Recreational fishing is a huge pastime but reliable methods of predicting fishing success have largely been missing. This report compares random forest, linear regression and multilayer perceptron to a reasonable baseline model for predicting fishing success. Fishing success is defined as the expected weight of the fish caught. Previous reports have mainly focused on commercial fishing or limited the research to examining the impact of a single variable. In this exploratory study, multiple attributes and multiple algorithms are examined to determine if supervised machine learning is a viable tool to predict recreational fishing success. Recreational fishing success can potentially be predicted by a large number of attributes, which may be different for different species. In this report, data is fetched from multiple sources and combined into a unified data format. The primary source of data is a database from the fishing app FishBrain, containing data of over 250000 logged catches. Another is the World Weather Online API which supplies weather data. The report focuses on the four most common species in the database, largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, northern pike, Esox lucius, rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss and European perch, Perca fluviatilis with a focus on largemouth bass since it has the most data available. Algorithms are evaluated using the Weka data mining software. Hyperparameters are found using cross-validation and some data is used as a test set to validate the results after cross-validation. Results are measured as the error compared to a baseline algorithm. Random forest is the most effective algorithm in the experiments, reducing error compared to the baseline for all the examined fish species. It is also found that no single variable affects the chosen metric of fishing success much, but rather a combination of most of the examined variables is needed to give optimal predictions. In conclusion, the random forest algorithm can be used to predict fishing success across multiple species. It performs significantly better than linear regression, multilayer perceptron and the baseline on crossvalidation and on the testing set.
Performance Impacts Due to Wake Mixing in Axial-Flow Turbomachinery

One of the last loss mechanisms remaining to be quantified and correlated for inclusion in meanline predictive systems concerns the mixing of wakes across downstream airfoil rows. Here, we demonstrate that the unsteady losses incurred as turbomachinery wakes mix in downstream rows are a function of the velocity ratio across the downstream row as calculated in the frame of reference of wake generation. Analytical and computational results, compared to measurements of wakes mixing under variable free-stream velocity conditions, reveal that wake-loss modification is primarily a result of an inviscid dilation of the stream tubes that comprise the wake fluid. Further, simulations of wakes exposed to a range of turbomachinery-specific velocity ratios indicate that wake-loss augmentation caused by stream-tube dilation is significantly more pronounced than wake-loss reductions imparted by stream-tube contraction. It is demonstrated that wakes in turbines are dilated in the adjacent downstream row, whether it is a vane or a blade row, through a work extraction process that occurs in the wake-generation reference frame. Finally, comparisons between rig data and CFD simulations suggest that wake-mixing losses, enhanced by downstream rows, can contribute as much as 1.5 percent of lost efficiency in multistage low-pressure turbines. © 2006 ASME
Thin multi-junction solar cells of III-V materials to advance solar energy harvesting

Significant advancements in photovoltaic solar cells are required to support large-scale energy demands with solar power. The first generation of solar cells (SC) available today uses Si. While Si is highly abundant and these types of SC can be easily manufactured, the best power conversion efficiency is only 24%. Developing photovoltaic SC using III-V materials may increase the efficiency while decreasing the manufacturing costs associated with cell fabrication. This paper studies the opportunity to improve two-junctions solar cells made of III-V materials by making the layers very thin and including the antireflective layer in the first junction. In terms of light harvesting, the anti-reflective layer made of a semiconductor is shown to absorb the most part of the incident light.
Blockchain-Based Decision Tree Classification in Distributed Networks

In a distributed system such as Internet of things, the data volume from each node may be limited. Such limited data volume may constrain the performance of the machine learning classification model. How to effectively improve the performance of the classification in a distributed system has been a challenging problem in the field of data mining. Sharing data in the distributed network can enlarge the training data volume and improve the machine learning classification model’s accuracy. In this work, we take data sharing and the quality of shared data into consideration and propose an efficient Blockchain-based ID3 Decision Tree Classification (BIDTC) framework for distributed networks. The proposed BIDTC takes advantage of three techniques: blockchain-based ID3 decision tree, enhanced homomorphic encryption, and stimulation smart contract to conduct classification while effectively considering the data privacy and the value of user data. BIDTC employs the data federation scheme based on homomorphic encryption and blockchain to achieve more training data sharing without sacrificing data privacy. Meanwhile, smart contracts are integrated into BIDTC to incentivize users to share more high-quality data. Our extensive experiments have demonstrated that the proposed BIDTC significantly outperforms existing schemes in constructed consortium blockchain networks.
A Novel 1.575‐GHz Dual‐Polarization Textile Antenna for GPS Application

This article presents a novel dual‐polarization textile antenna (DPTA) for Global Positioning System applications. In this design, four sector radiating elements are centrally fed by a coaxial probe. A novel antenna structure is successfully achieved by integrating electronic components into a wearable textile antenna. Silver loaded epoxy adhesive is used in embedding four PIN diode switches on ShieldIt super textile of the proposed antenna. The activation of certain PIN diode switches configuration determines the polarization of DPTA. Dimension‐wise, this antenna is compact and small where it consists of 40‐mm radius . The proposed DPTA design successfully generated dual‐polarization omnidirectional radiation pattern with maximum gain 1.81 dB at angle of 0°/360°, 90°, 180°, and 270°. Its small size, flexible, and wearable features enables this DPTA to be easily integrated onto safety jacket and rain coat for tracking, search, and rescue applications. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:2414–2420, 2013
Improved Sample Holder for Q-Meter Dielectric Measurements

ABSTRACT Anew sample holder is described for use with a Q-Meter to measure the dielectric properties of materials. It includes provision for controlling the temperature of the dielectric sample. It also is equipped with two cali-brated, variable air capacitors—one for measurements to determine the dielectric constant, and the other for measurements that determine the loss tangent. The im-proved design eliminates possible errors in determining the loss tangent, loss factor, and conductivity that can be caused by residual and lead inductance at the higher frequencies. Results of measurements between 10 and 40 MHz on samples of hard red winter wheat of different moisture contents are presented and discussed. Mea-sured values of the dielectric constant of wheat were somewhat dependent upon electrode spacing, because kernel dimensions were appreciable in relation to inter-electrode distances.
Exploring Determinants of Pedestrians’ Satisfaction with Sidewalk Environments: Case Study in Korea

This study intends to explore people’s satisfaction with sidewalk environments and to examine its association with emotional perceptions and physical components. A perception survey was taken to evaluate the emotional perceptions of 20 sidewalk environments with 105 participants. Two perception factors were identified as harmoniousness and openness through factor analysis. Then, a path model was tested to examine the relationship among satisfaction, identified perception factors, and physical components of sidewalk environments. The path model demonstrates a good fit with the data. Furthermore, the results show that overall satisfaction is more strongly directly affected by perception factors than by physical components. The indirect effects of physical components on overall satisfaction through emotional perceptions are much more than the direct effect. This study provides a useful method to connect emotional perceptions and physical components of and overall satisfaction with the sidewalk environments simultaneously. With refinements of the perception survey, the method can be a powerful tool to inform urban planners and designers of what should be priority aspects when designing the sidewalk environment.
DETEÇÃO DE FALHAS EM MOTORES ELÉTRICOS ATRAVÉS DA CLASSIFICAÇÃO DE PADRÕES DE VIBRAÇÃO UTILIZANDO UMA REDE NEURAL ELM

O monitoramento das condicoes dos motores eletricos industriais fornece informacoes que auxiliam o planejamento as intervencoes de manutencao antes da ocorrencia de falhas. Este trabalho propoe uma nova abordagem para o monitoramento de condicao operacionais de motores de inducao trifasicos baseada na extracao de caracteristicas de um sinal de vibracao obtido com acelerometros MEMS. Os dados extraidos da decomposicao do sinal de vibracao, por Transformada Haar e atraves da dimensao fractal, sao utilizadas para treinar uma rede neural ELM. Atraves do resultado de experimentos e demonstrada a viabilidade da metodologia para aplicacao na deteccao e identificacao de falhas mecânicas e eletricas.
Effective Responses for Proactive Enterprises: Business Continuity Planning

Discusses the development of Price Waterhouse′s business continuity plan. Points out the theory that businesses which are prepared for the worst (cites the Bishopsgate and Baltic Exchange in London, explosions) can survive the heaviest blow whereas those which are not, do not. The period of recovery will therefore be shorter and only minimal impact on business will occur.
Auxiliary resonant DC link snubber assisted voltage-source soft switching inverter with space zero voltage vector generation method

The aim of the work is to improve the power conversion efficiency of a voltage-source three-phase inverter with a single active auxiliary resonant DC link snubber circuit (ARDCL). The operating principle and salient features of the ARDCL snubber circuit are described. An effective space voltage vector generation method is of proposed zero voltage vector of a three-phase soft-switching inverter, which can reduce power losses in the ARDCL snubber circuit. The zero voltage holding interval in the DC bus-line of the three-phase inverter is controlled due to the generation method of the zero voltage vector. The feasible experimental results confirm the relationship between the inverter power conversion efficiency and the proposed zero voltage vector generation method is concretely implemented and evaluated from a practical point of view.