Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling reliability growth in accelerated stress testing

Abstract : Qualitative accelerated test methods improve system reliability by identifying and removing initial design flaws. However, schedule and cost constraints often preclude sufficient testing to generate a meaningful reliability estimate from the data obtained in these tests. In this dissertation a modified accelerated life test is proposed to assess the likelihood of attaining a reliability requirement based on tests of early system prototypes. Assuming each prototype contains an unknown number of independent competing failure modes whose respective times to occurrence are governed by a distinct Weibull law, the observed failure data from this qualitative test are shown to follow a poly-Weibull distribution. However, using an agent-based Monte Carlo simulation, it is shown that for typical products subjected to qualitative testing, the failure observations result from a homogenous subset of the total number of latent failure modes and the failure data can be adequately modeled with a Weibull distribution. Thus, the projected system reliability after implementing corrective action to remove one or more failure modes can be estimated using established quantitative accelerated test data analysis methods. Our results suggest that a significant cost and time savings may be realized using the proposed method to signal the need to reassess a product? s design or reallocate test resources to avoid unnecessary maintenance or redesigns. Further, the proposed approach allows a significant reduction in the test time and sample size required to estimate the risk of meeting a reliability requirement over current quantitative accelerated life test techniques. Additional contributions include a numerical and analytical procedure for obtaining the maximum likelihood parameter estimates and observed Fisher information matrix components for the generalized poly-Weibull distribution. Using this procedure, we show that the poly-Weibull distribution outperforms the best-fit modified Weibull a
Delay flip-flop (DFF) metastability impact on clock and data recovery (CDR) and phase-locked loop (PLL) circuits

DELAY FLIP-FLOP (DFF) METASTABILITY IMPACT ON CLOCK AND DATA RECOVERY (CDR) AND PHASE-LOCKED LOOP (PLL) CIRCUITS by Alfred Sargezisardrud Modeling delay flip-flops for binary (e.g., Alexander) phase detectors requires paying close attention to three important timing parameters: setup time, hold time, and clock edge-to-output (or briefly C2Q time). These parameters have a critical role in determining the status of the system on the circuit level. This study provided a guideline for designing an optimum DFF for an Alexander phase detector in a clock and data recovery circuit. Furthermore, it indicated DFF timing requirements for a high-speed phase detector in a clock and data recovery circuit. The CDR was also modeled by Verilog-A, and the results were compared with Simulink model achievements. Eventually designed in 45 nm CMOS technology, for 10 Gbps random sequence, the recovered clock contained 0.136 UI and 0.15 UI peak-to-peak jitter on the falling and rising edges respectively, and the lock time was 125 ns. The overall power dissipation was 21 mW from a 1 V supply voltage. Future work includes layout design and manufacturing of the proposed design.
Polyseme Transfer in the Chinese to English Machine Translation Output and Chinese Students’ English Writing

Machine translation (MT) systems such as Google Translate, Bing or Youdao are increasingly present in everyday life. Anecdotal evidence suggests that language students might use them to produce written work in the target language (TL) and thus possibly get around a potentially difficult writing task. The crucial question to ask would be whether it is possible to differentiate the output of MT from learner language. This paper seeks to address this question by comparing the lexical features of these two types of discourse in the Chinese context. In particular, it examines the use of English translation equivalents of polysemous Chinese words in two parallel corpora: A Chinese webpage corpus translated into English using Bing and Youdao on the one hand and a Chinese learner writing corpus on the other. While the comparison yields similar error rates, it also establishes that human learners and translation engines have difficulties with different sets of words. Word frequency also plays a significant role in differentiating between the two sets of output. The paper concludes with the finding that MT output is sufficiently different from learner language in terms of lexis. The findings could be used to create an algorithm for the detection of ethics code violation through the use of MT engines in written assignments.
Internal Fluid Dynamics and Frequency Characteristics of Feedback-Free Fluidic Oscillators

In this work, the internal fluid dynamics and frequency characteristics of feedback-free fluidic oscillators are investigated experimentally and numerically. The internal flow field of various scale oscillators was extracted using a refractive index-matched Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique with the help of a PIV phase averaging method and a new sensor setup for simultaneous frequency measurements in refractive index matching fluid. Three different operating regimes (low flow rate, transition and high flow rate regions) and the fluid dynamics of the oscillating behavior in these regimes are revealed with PIV measurements. Flow topologies extracted with PIV measurements differ in these three flow regimes and were found to exhibit various flow features.Frequency measurements were conducted with the use of various experimental techniques including a method that allows non-intrusive measurement. The frequency characteristics were varied depending on properties such as the working fluid, scale and cavity geometry of the fluidic oscillator. Non-dimensional parameters were defined by taking the effects of these variables into account to allow effective comparison of fluidic oscillator designs. Furthermore, 33 modified designs were also tested to provide support for future fluidic oscillator modifications.
Visualization of Large-Scale Fluid

In this project a new approximation of the Shallow Water equations is used to simulate large-scale uids in real-time. The simulation has been tested against a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics model with reasonable results. However, artifacts occur when it is tested with bumps on the ground thus improvements are needed before the approximation can be used as a general purpose solver of large-scale uids. The visualization of the uid has signi cant in uence on the way a user experience the uid. By extending the visualization with ying foam the average user believes that it is large scale uid in contrast to a visualization without foam. The foam has been modelled by transparent billboards and lines thus it requires a lot of blending to get a smooth transition between the opaque uid surface and the transparent foam. Therefore an e ective blending system has been implemented at the boundary of the uid to save the pixelshader from a lot of work.
Ultra Wide Band Signal Modeling for Radar Receiver Characterization

Abstract : Results for modeling, simulation, and analysis of interference effects that modern wideband signals have on existing narrowband radar system performance are presented. In particular, radar detection performance is characterized using a basic radar receiver model and operational parameters consistent with those of the ARSR-4 air route surveillance radar. Two modern wideband signals (interferers) are addressed in this work, including the GPS military signal (M-Code signal) and a direct sequence ultra wideband (DS-UWB) waveform meeting outdoor emission restrictions imposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Interference effects are characterized for an unmodulated sinusoidal pulse as well as linear frequency modulated (LFM) and bi-phase Barker coded pulse compression waveforms. Finally, coherent pulse integration is addressed and interference mitigation demonstrated via improved detection performance. Worst case detection scenarios from the radar's perspective are considered for all cases. M-Code interference results indicate that at proposed received power levels of -160 to -130 dBW, radar detection performance is severely degraded with expected improvement occurring when pulse integration is employed. DS-UWB interference results indicate that at maximum transmit power levels specified by the FCC, the DS-UWB waveform has minimal impact on detection performance for radar receiver/UWB transmitter separation distances beyond 0.5 meters. This separation distance is reduced further when pulse integration is employed. (8 tables, 42 figures, 25 refs.)
Eating our way to sustainability: Are European meat and dairy processors living up to our expectations?

In Europe, sustainability in the meat and dairy industry has emerged as an issue of great concern for society. Research and pressure centre on the agricultural component and little attention has been given to the processing industry despite the integral role it plays in the European meat and dairy supply chain. This thesis aims to fill this knowledge gap by identifying the current sustainability practices of the meat and dairy processors and comparing them to society’s expectations in order to identify potential areas of improvement. Text mining of sustainability reports and web content was used to ascertain the current practices and content analysis of websites was used to identify the current expectations of society. Interviews with industry were used to determine the applicability and feasibility of the suggestions. In Europe, there are some meat and dairy processors that do not visibly engage in any sustainability management. Based on the information from the companies that do engage in sustainability management the results for the two industries generally indicate homogeneity in sustainability topics, despite minor differences between meat and dairy processors and between mediums of communication. The research found that there is high involvement and wide coverage of environmental impacts within the processing plants and the challenge currently is to work with primary production, especially with greenhouse gas emissions, land use and biodiversity issues. Economic issues were found to be underrepresented and the corporation should go beyond the strict confines of financial aid to enhance its role in sharing value, supporting community and providing resilience to economic shocks. Most social issues are also comprehensively covered in the meat and dairy industries’ sustainability disclosures; although companies need to make sure that they have implemented zero- tolerance policies for corruption, anti-competitive behaviour and human rights abuse. Facilitating consumer access to affordable and nutritious food is identified as an area requiring improvement. As regards sourcing, it became clear that supply chain responsibility is being integrated into the three sustainability pillars. In this area there are opportunities for dairy processors to work more on animal health and welfare issues and for meat processors to collaborate more holistically with farmers. Interviews conducted with industry confirmed the feasibility of the suggestions, although it is relevant for each company to use the information in the thesis to benchmark their specific practices against societal expectations and industry practices. The research also found that the use of words, headings and themes by different bodies can vary considerably in terms of content and this complicates the task of working towards uniformity within and improvement of sustainability practices.
INVESTIGATION OF AUDITORY DISCRIMINATION OF SEISMIC SIGNALS FROM EARTHQUAKES AND EXPLOSIONS

Abstract : Magnetic tape recordings of short-period seismic signals from approximately 200 earthquakes and explosions were time-compressed by a factor of up to 512 to shift seismic frequencies to the audible range. These seismic data include the inhomogeneities introduced by substantial variations in the locations of sources and receivers (world-wide), propagation path length (32 to 7000 km), and source magnitude (M = 0.5 to M = 6.5). Subjects were trained with a representative set of the seismic sounds. Auditory experiments were conducted to determine the ability of the human auditory system to distinguish between seismic signals from earthquakes and explosions. The results of the experiments suggest that a trained listener can identify approximately two thirds of the seismic sounds presented.
Robotique collective et auto-assemblage

We present a study of collective robotics by including a mechatronics point of view. In the field it is usually claimed that collective robots are simple and relatively cheap because they are produced in large quantities. Instead in our study we show that collective robots are not simple because they need sensors and actuators for additional work. Our experience in designing robots and producing them allows us to analyze the manufacturing costs of different collective robots . We present in this work four robots developed prior and during to this thesis. Chapter 2 concerns the e-puck robot. This is a robot designed for education, however, it is used in research to experiment collective behaviors. The s-bot robot is presented in Chapter 3. This is a robot that has the collective ability to self-assemble to form larger structures and increase its performance. In Chapter 4 we present the marXbot robot. It is a modular robot developed in the laboratory to meet the needs of different research hubs. One of its modules allows it to self-assemble with its teammates and with the robot handbot presented in Chapter 5. The handbot is a robot that can climb and handle objects. It can climb for example a shelf to grasp a book. On the ground it is transported by marXbot. In Chapter 6 the performance of robots are presented. We expose a study of their performance gain when the robots are self-assembled. Finally we compare in Chapter 7 the four robots from the mechatronics point of view and in respect to their cost.
Principles of Rapid Acquisition and Systems Engineering

Abstract : The purpose of the research was to explore and develop a set of principles common to rapid acquisition and expedited engineering programs utilizing grounded theory and qualitative research methodologies. To accomplish this goal, the research team interviewed over 30 organizations from across the DoD which focus on less traditional acquisition approaches such as rapid prototyping, mature technology integration, or extensive platform engineering. A set of standardized questions grouped by taxonomy of people, product, and process was used to guide open discussions. The responses from the interview notes were analyzed for trends. A set of 12 principles were identified from repeatedly emerging concepts in the systems engineering or acquisition processes of these organizations. While rapid acquisition offices often have unique attributes and permissions, these principles may be applicable to traditional acquisition programs.
Identification of Parameters and Sensor Technology for Vehicular Traffic - A Survey

Speed of vehicular travel is continually reducing; Reasons being increasing vehicle population rendering the road capacity inadequate. The achievable speeds in vehicles are not attained because of traffic congestion, rendering automotive developments ineffective. Vehicles emit CO2, which increases during low speeds and idling resulting in denser CO2 cloud, thereby contributing to global warming. Congestion is one of the fundamental reasons for accidents. This makes vehicular traffic congestion a confronting facet to growing economy and pollution and justifiably deserves eminent priority. This paper studies the present congestion mitigating sensor technologies and the parameters measured. It describes "Parameters of Significance (POS)" for accurate measurement and defines a roadmap of sensor technology to realize accurate measurement and monitoring. A detailed comparison of sensor technology to manage the POS is carried out with a view to realize at affordable cost, with minimal efforts and achieve large foot print. The proposed sensors collate the parameters and are subjected to decision making systems for enabling vehicular traffic decongestion strategies. The key technologies are sensor networks and parameter collating methodologies. Summarizing, the paper evolves POS and their monitoring tools with an endeavor is to arrive at holistic solution and lay-down scope for future work. Language: en
The Relationship Between Hedgehog-interacting Protein Levels and Obesity: A Case Control Study

Background Obesity is an independent risk factor for metabolic disorders including diabetes. The Hedgehog-interacting protein (Hhip) is a negative regulator in tissue remodeling, and inhibits the proliferation of adipocytes and promotes their differentiation. In addition, Hhip was positively associated with diabetes. However, relationship between Hhip and obesity in the human body remain unclear. Methods Participants receiving a physical checkup were recruited. Anthropometric and biochemical data were collected. Serum Hhip levels were determined by ELISA. Subjects were classified into normal-weight, overweight, and obese groups based on their body mass index (BMI). The association between Hhip and obesity was examined by a multivariate linear regression analysis.Results In total, 294 subjects who were either of a normal weight (n=166), overweight (n=90), or obese (n=38) were enrolled. Hhip concentrations were 6.51±4.86, 5.79±4.33, and 3.97±3.4 ng/ml in normal-weight, overweight, and obese groups, respectively (p for trend=0.032). Moreover, the regression analysis showed that BMI (β=-0.144, 95% confidence interval (CI)=-0.397~-0.046, p=0.013) was negatively associated with Hhip concentrations after adjusting for sex and age. Being overweight (β=-0.181, 95% CI=-3.311~-0.400, p=0.013) and obese (β=-0.311, 95% CI=-6.393~-2.384, p<0.001) were independently associated with Hhip concentrations after adjusting for sex, age, fasting plasma glucose, the insulin level, and other cardiometabolic risk factors.Conclusions Our results showed that overweight and obese subjects had lower Hhip concentrations than those of a normal weight. Being overweight and obese were negatively associated with Hhip concentrations. Hhip might be a link between obesity and diabetes.
In Vitro Simulation of Microgravity Induced Muscle Loss Successfully Increases Expression of Key In Vivo Atrophy Markers

In Vitro Simulation of Microgravity Induced Muscle Loss Successfully Increases Expression of Key In Vivo Atrophy Markers by Charles P. Harding, Master of Science Utah State University, 2018 Major Professor: Dr. Elizabeth Vargis Department: Biological Engineering Muscular atrophy, defined as the loss of muscle tissue, is a serious issue for immobilized patients on Earth and in human spaceflight, where microgravity prevents normal muscle loading. In vitro modeling is an important step in understanding atrophy mechanisms and testing countermeasures before animal trials. The most ideal environment for modeling must be empirically determined to best mimic known responses in vivo. To simulate microgravity conditions, murine C2C12 myoblasts were cultured in a rotary cell culture system (RCCS). Alginate encapsulation was compared against polystyrene microcarrier beads as a substrate for culturing these adherent muscle cells. Changes after culture under simulated microgravity were characterized by assessing mRNA expression of MuRF1, MAFbx, Caspase 3, Akt2, mTOR, Ankrd1, and Foxo3. Protein concentration of myosin heavy chain 4 (Myh4) was used as a differentiation marker. Cell morphology and substrate structure were evaluated with brightfield and fluorescent imaging.
Guidelines for development of a quality assurance program. Volume XII. Determination of phosphorus in gasoline

This document presents guidelines for developing a quality assurance program for the determination of phosphorus in gasoline by the Federal reference method. These guidelines include: (1) Recommended operating practices and techniques, (2) Procedures for assessing performance and qualifying data, and (3) Procedures for identifying trouble and improving data quality. This document is an operations manual, designed for use by laboratory personnel. (GRA)
Digital Competence for Lifelong Learning

Lifelong learning strategies need to answer to the growing need for advanced digital competence for all jobs and for all learners. Learning digital skills not only needs to be addressed as a separate subject but also embedded within teaching in all subjects. Building digital competence by embedding and learning ICT should start as early as possible, i.e. in primary education, by learning to use digital tools critically, confidently and creatively, with attention paid to security, safety, and privacy. Teachers need to be equipped with the digital competence themselves, in order to support this process. How to obtain EU publications Our priced publications are available from EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu), where you can place an order with the sales agent of your choice. The Publications Office has a worldwide network of sales agents. You can obtain their contact details by sending a fax to (352) 29 29-42758. The mission of the JRC is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies. As a service of the European Commission, the JRC functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Union. Close to the policy-making process, it serves the common interest of the Member States, while being independent of special interests, whether private or national.
Development of a Vision-Based Robotic Follower Vehicle

Abstract : This report provides an overview of the development of a vision-based leader/follower robotic vehicle at Defence R&D Canada - Suffield, with the eventual goal of autonomous convoying for military logistics. The experimental system uses a pan/tilt/zoom camera to track a lead vehicle or human, estimating the leader's path and following it autonomously. This vision-based approach frees the system from reliance on GPS, radios, and active sensing equipment necessary for current leader/follower systems. Included in this report are the details of the computer vision, camera control, and vehicle control algorithms, as well as the results of field trials of the camera tracking system. Finally, it reports on experiments with the complete follower system following other vehicles and even dismounted humans.
A business model framework for product life extension

Product life extension is an increase in the utilization period of products. Design research on product life extension strategies has so far mainly focused on technical aspects of products, like ‘prevention engineering’ or ‘design for repair, maintenance and upgradability’, and on individual consumer-product relationships, like ‘design for emotional durability’. The viability of product life extension in a business context and the associated consequences for product design, have however remained largely unexplored. In this paper a starting point is provided for this exploration, by outlining the development of a business model framework for product life extension, using strategies for product life extension and mapping these against common elements of contemporary business model theory. Drawing on case studies, examples are used to show how the framework can be used in practice by designers and business developers.