Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural and Optical Properties of Bi12NiO19 Sillenite Crystals: Application for the Removal of Basic Blue 41 from Wastewater

This article covers the structural and optical property analysis of the sillenite Bi12NiO19 (BNO) in order to characterize a new catalyst that could be used for environmental applications. BNO crystals were produced by the combustion method using Polyvinylpyrrolidone as a combustion reagent. Different approaches were used to characterize the resulting catalyst. Starting with X-ray diffraction (XRD), the structure was refined from XRD data using the Rietveld method and then the structural form of this sillenite was illustrated for the first time. This catalyst has a space group of I23 with a lattice parameter of a = 10.24 Å. In addition, the special surface area (SSA) of BNO was determined by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method. It was found in the range between 14.56 and 20.56 cm2·g−1. Then, the morphology of the nanoparticles was visualized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). For the optical properties of BNO, UV-VIS diffusion reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) was used, and a 2.1 eV optical bandgap was discovered. This sillenite′s narrow bandgap makes it an effective catalyst for environmental applications. The photocatalytic performance of the synthesized Bi12NiO19 was examined for the degradation of Basic blue 41. The degradation efficiency of BB41 achieved 98% within just 180 min at pH ~9 and with a catalyst dose of 1 g/L under visible irradiation. The relevant reaction mechanism and pathways were also proposed in this work.
Demonstration of a Novel Longitudinal Phase Space Linearization Method without Higher Harmonics

Nonlinear correlations in the longitudinal phase space of electron bunches can be a decisive limitation to the achievable bunch length compression and attainability of small energy spreads. To overcome the restrictions imposed by nonlinear distortions, the longitudinal phase space distribution must be linearized. Previously, a novel linearization procedure based on the controlled expansion of the bunch between two radio frequency cavities operated at the same fundamental frequency has been presented in [1]. A demonstration of this linearization method is presented in this work.
Docking Studies on the Effects of Some Bioactive Compounds from Pistacia atlantica Desf. against Main Protease SARS-CoV2

Novel coronavirus which was named later as SARS-CoV2 appeared in Wuhan, China, in the end of December 2019. Actually, no precise drugs are existed and research concerning SARS-CoV2 treatment is deficient. SARS-CoV2 main protease (Mpro) was crystallized by Liu et al. (2020) and represented a crucial drug target. The present work aimed to evaluate some bioactive compounds from Pistacia atlantica as possible SARS-CoV2 Mpro inhibitors, based on molecular docking approach. Molecular docking was carried out using AutoDock Vina software. The results indicated that Beta-Eudesmol, Elemol, Verbenol, Pinocarvone, Myrtenal, Myrtenol and Trans-Carveol have a potential inhibitor activity of SARS-CoV2 Mpro. Nevertheless, further investigations are required to develop and optimize drug process to combat SARS-CoV2.
CAE Characterization and Optimization of Automotive Seat Rattle Noise

The vehicle seat rattles or, in general, BSR (buzz, squeak, and rattle) noises are one of the major issues, which are directly linked to the NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) quality of the vehicle. Predicting and improving the seat BSR noise in early design phase is still challenging. This is mainly due to the complexity, nonlinearity and uncertainty of the impact mechanism at joints contributed to the rattle. Here, it is shown that there is a strong link between the seat structural dynamics and the seat rattle noise so that the seat rattle noise can be predicted and controlled from the seat structural analysis in early design phase. Accordingly, two experiments are designed for this study. The first experiment is set up to characterize the seat resonant frequencies and its corresponding structural mode-shapes. The second experiment is designed to measure the seat-radiated noise when it goes under vibration excitation. Alternatively, a concept CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) model of the seat is developed and the seat structural dynamics is characterized by using this analytical model. The model is developed to allow designing the seat-structure modifications as well as examining the effects of the modifications on the rattle noise. Comparisons of the results of the simulation and experiment validate the developed CAE model. The results confirm that by changing the seat resonant frequency, the rattle noise and in general BSR noise can be improved or controlled accordingly. Consequently, for the seat system which has an identifiable structural dynamics, the BSR noise can be managed and controlled in early design phase by using the seat CAE model.
Anomaly Detection by Principal Component Analysis and Autoencoder Approach

Several different approach are employed to identify the abnormal events in some Advanced Photon Source (APS) operation archived dataset, where dimensionality reduction are performed by either principal component analysis or au-toencoder artificial neural network. It is observed that the APS stored beam dump event, which is triggered by magnet power supply fault, may be predicted by analyzing the magnets capacitor temperatures dataset. There is reasonable agreement among two principal component analysis based approaches and the autoencoder artificial neural network approach, on predicting future overall system fault which may result in a stored beam dump in the APS storage ring
Study of Fuel Temperature Effects on Fuel Injection, Combustion, and Emissions of Direct-Injection Diesel Engines

The influence of inlet liquid fuel temperature on direct-injection diesel engines can be noticeable and significant. The work in this paper investigates the effects of inlet fuel temperature on fuel-injection in-cylinder combustion, and output performance and emissions of medium-speed diesel engines. An enhanced understanding and simplified modeling of the variations in the main fuel-injection parameters affected by inlet fuel temperature are developed. The study indicates that the main injection parameters affected include the injection timing at the injector end relative to the injection-pump actuation timing, the fuel-injection rate, the fuel-injection duration, and the injection spray atomization. The primary fuel temperature effects on the injection parameters are from the fuel bulk modulus of elasticity and the density with the fuel viscosity less significant as the injector-nozzle flow is usually in a turbulent region. The developed models are able to predict the changes in the injection parameters versus the inlet fuel temperature. As the inlet fuel temperature increases, the nozzle fuel-injection-start timing is predicted to be relatively retarded, the injection rate is reduced, and the needle-lift duration is prolonged from the baseline. The variation trends of the engine outputs and emissions versus fuel temperature are analyzed by considering its consequent effect on in-cylinder combustion processes. It is predicted that raising fuel temperature would result in an increase in each of CO, HC, PM, and smoke emissions, and in a decrease in NOx, and may adversely affect the fuel efficiency for a general type of diesel engine at a full-load condition. The experimental results of the outputs and emissions from testing a medium-speed four-stroke diesel engine agreed with the trends analytically predicted. The understanding and models can be applied to compression-ignition direct-injection liquid fuel engines in general.
Autonomous transport and splitting of a droplet on an open surface

We show a standalone power-free technique for transporting and splitting a droplet on an open surface using continuous wettability-gradients. A three-dimensional phase-field Cahn-Hilliard model for interfaces and Navier-Stokes equations for transport are employed and solved numerically using the finite element method. We can control the droplet splitting ratio by manipulating the widths of the Y-branches. The physics of the droplet transport, flow pattern inside the droplet, and the splitting mechanisms have been explained through detailed numerical studies and scaling analysis.
Adult education in Sweden in the wake of marketisation

Abstract The aim of this study is to describe and analyse how municipal adult education (MAE) in Sweden is enacted at the intersection of course organisation, student selection and course content. For this analysis, the data consist of a nationwide survey sent to Swedish municipalities, interviews with school leaders from 20 municipalities and in-depth interviews with school leaders from six municipalities. The findings show that the supply of MAE courses is clearly governed by policies concerning what municipalities are obliged to offer according to the Education Act, but in many other ways, MAE policies offer a high degree of freedom for interpretation and translation. On a general level, MAE is organised in three different ways: school-based education, apprenticeships and distance education. However, the courses included are enacted in different ways in different municipalities. How the courses are enacted is governed by factors such as using external education companies, resources, the number of students and collaboration with working life. The selection of MAE courses has a clear labour market focus, where employers’ needs for labour are set higher than students’ wishes and needs. A central aspect of this focus is labour market integration of migrants.
A study of variable EWMA controller

The exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) feedback controller (with a fixed discount factor) is a popular run by run control scheme which primarily uses data from past process runs to adjust settings for the next run. Although the EWMA controller with a small discount factor can guarantee a long-term stability (under fairly regular conditions), it usually requires a moderately large number of runs to bring the output of a process to its target. This is impractical for process with small batches. The reason is that the output deviations are usually very large at the beginning of the first few runs and, as a result, the output may be out of process specifications. In order to reduce a possibly high rework rate, the authors propose a variable discount factor to tackle the problem. They state the main results in which the stability conditions and the optimal variable discount factor of the proposed EWMA controller are derived. An example is given to demonstrate the performance. Moreover, a heuristic is proposed to simplify the computation of the variable discount factor. It is seen that the proposed method is easy to implement and provides a good approximation to the optimal variable discount factor.
Minerando Motivações para Aplicação de Extract Method: Um Estudo Preliminar

As refatorações são operações realizadas no código fonte visando melhorar a capacidade de manutenção de um sistema de software. Apesar da literatura conter diversos estudos sobre as refatorações, são poucos os trabalhos que investigaram as motivações para tais refatorações ocorrerem. Esta pesquisa buscou investigar as motivações por trás das operações de extract method em um sistema real. Para isso, um estudo experimental foi conduzido, buscando minerar as refatorações do tipo extract method e analisar as mensagens de commit visando capturar as motivações por trás das refatorações. Também foi verificado a relação entre as refatorações e a métrica de número de linhas de código (LOC). Os resultados apontaram 11 motivações diferentes para a utilização do extract method. Além disso, foi visto que apenas 35% das refatorações que ocorreram foram com intenção de melhorar a qualidade do código. Também foi identificado que as refatorações com intenção de melhorar a qualidade do código ocorreram com maior frequência em métodos com valores de LOC na faixa de 21 a 40 e foram menos frequentes em métodos com valores entre 61 a 80.
Effect of Loading Rate on Pile Groups in Sand

A total of sixty tests on model steel piles embedded in a sand of medium density were carried out in the laboratory to investigate the behavior of pile groups under different loading rates. Model piles having an outside diameter of 25 mm and embedment length of 500 mm were tested under four different loading rates : 1.0 mm/min., 0.5 mm/min., 0.1 mm/min. and 0.05 mm/min. The piles were subjected to axial compressive loads using different configurations (2x1, 3x1, 2x2, 2x3, 3x3). The center to center spacing of piles in the groups was 3d, 6d and 9d (d is the pile diameter). The experimental results indicated that the axial compressive capacity of pile group increases as the loading rate increases. The relationship between the pile capacity and the loading rate can be represented by straight line on semi-log plot. The slope of the linear relationship between the pile capacity and the loading rate increases as the number of piles in a group increases. However, the slope decreases as the spacing between piles in a group increases.
Multicenter perfectly matched layer implementation for finite element mesh truncation

We present the multicenter perfectly matched layer (PML) technique, which is an easy and practical conformal PML implementation, obtained by the complex coordinate stretching, to the problem of mesh truncation in the finite element method. After developing the analytical background of this method, we demonstrate its performance in electromagnetic radiation/scattering problems. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 827–832, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22258
Process planning for the subtractive rapid manufacturing of heterogeneous materials: Applications for automated bone implant manufacturing

This research presents a subtractive rapid manufacturing process for heterogeneous materials, in particular for custom shaped bone implants. Natural bone implants are widely used in the treatment of severe fractures or in tumor removal. In order for the human body to accept the bone implant material and heal properly, it is essential that the bone implant should be both mechanically and biologically compatible. Currently, the challenge of having correctly shaped natural bone implants created from an appropriate material is met through hand-shaping done by a surgeon. CNC-RP is a rapid machining method and software that can realize a fully automated Subtractive Rapid Prototyping (RP) process, using a 3-axis milling machine with a 4 axis indexer for multiple setup orientations. It is capable of creating accurate bone implants from different clinically relevant material including natural bone. However, there are major challenges that need to be overcome in order to implement automated shape machining of natural bones. They are summarized as follows: (1) Unlike homogeneous source materials for which a part can be machined from any arbitrary location within the original stock, for the case of donor bones, the site and orientation of implant harvest need to consider the nature of the heterogeneous internal bony architecture. (2) For the engineered materials, the source machining stock is in the convenient form of geometrically regular shapes such as cylinders or rectangular blocks and the entities of sacrificial supports can connect the part to the remaining stock material. However,
Electrical tree inception characteristics of XLPE insulation under power-frequency voltage and superimposed impulse voltage

□This paper deals with treeing inception voltage characteristics of XLPE cable insulation subjected to impulse voltage superimposed on power-frequency voltage. The tree initiation tests were performed on specimens removed from a section of 220kV transmission cable. The impulse inception strength of electrical tree was found to be dependent on the pre-applied power-frequency stress and the relative polarity of the superimposed impulse voltage. Besides, It also shows obviously accumulative effect and tree inception delay. These phenomena are discussed in connection with the space charge effect.
How supply quality management improves an organization's quality performance: a study of Chinese manufacturing firms

Because of unfavourable economic conditions, organizations worldwide have to constantly reconstruct their business strategies in order to survive. Recent studies have stressed the importance of supply quality management (SQM) for the general competitiveness of manufacturers. However, very little empirical research has been carried out that specifically examines how SQM practices lead to improvements in quality across an organization. To scrutinise the impact of SQM practices, a survey was conducted of 138 leading manufacturing companies in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), a manufacturing hub in southern China dubbed ‘the factory floor of the world’. By using path analytic techniques, a model was constructed to portray the relationships among SQM practices and organizational quality performance. This model could act as a tool of reference for companies seeking to improve their SQM systems, and help them in their efforts to raise quality across the company. This paper demonstrates that quality-conscious management practices speed up the implementation of SQM practices. This paper finally reveals the influential effect of SQM practices on both supply quality and organizational quality performance.
Fingerprinting of Chemical Admixtures in Fresh Portland Cement Concrete by Portable Infrared Spectrometer

The ongoing second SHRP 2 R06-B project entitled Evaluating Applications of Field Spectroscopy Devices to Fingerprint Commonly Used Construction Materials conducted at the University of Connecticut targets, among other objectives, the identification and quantification of chemical admixtures in portland cement concrete (PCC). The two specific objectives for the PCC study are (a) the applicability of portable infrared spectrometers for identification of the admixtures in fresh concrete under field conditions and (b) the feasibility of tracking interaction between hydration products during PCC setting. In the first phase of the study, four admixtures (air entrainer, retarder, accelerator, and super-plasticizer) were tested to establish their chemical signature in the infrared and ultraviolet regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The fingerprinting of the admixtures was performed with a portable attenuated total reflection (ATR) Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The second phase concerned evaluating freshly mixed PCC samples prepared with each admixture separately in the amount prescribed by the manufacturer. Chemical changes in the PCC samples were tracked over the 6-h period by the portable ATR spectrometer. Quantitative analysis of the ATR spectra allowed for evaluating the effect of chemical admixtures on hydration activity in PCC.
Synthesis of Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNCs) from Brewer’s Spent Grain Using Acid Hydrolysis: Characterization and Optimization

This study is aimed at utilizing brewery’s spent grain (BSG) byproduct for the synthesis of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) using acid hydrolysis and optimizing the hydrolysis parameters (hydrolysis time, temperature, liquid-solid ratio, and acid concentration). Alkali and bleaching treatment were done to remove hemicellulose and lignin from BSG. Optimization process was performed using central composite design (CCD) to obtain optimum value of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) yield. The maximum cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) yield of 43.24% was obtained at optimum hydrolysis conditions of 50°C, 51 wt% acid concentration, 41 min, and liquid-solid ratio of 19 ml/g. The raw brewery spent grain; alkali-treated fiber, bleached fiber, and obtained CNC were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), XRD, particle analyzer, FTIR, and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The characterization results indicated that the obtained cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) has rod-like whisker shape with crystallinity of 76.3% and an average particle size of 309.4 nm.
Artificial Neural Networks Applied to Bandsawing Process Control

In the search for productivity increase, industry has invested on the development of intelligent, flexible and self-adjusting method, capable of controlling processes through the assistance of autonomous systems, independently whether they are hardware or software. Notwithstanding, simulating conventional computational techniques is rather challenging, regarding the complexity and non-linearity of the production systems. Compared to traditional models, the approach with Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) performs well as noise suppression and treatment of non-linear data. Therefore, the challenges in the wood industry justify the use of ANN as a tool for process improvement and, consequently, add value to the final product. Furthermore, Artificial Intelligence techniques such as Neuro-Fuzzy Networks (NFNs) have proven effective, since NFNs combine the ability to learn from previous examples and generalize the acquired information from the ANNs with the capacity of Fuzzy Logic to transform linguistic variables in rules.
Lock-in, paradox and regional renewal

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the interaction between political and cognitive lock-in in stalling attempts at regional renewal of old industrial regions. It draws on analysis of the city of Anchorage, Alaska. The decline of the oil industry has been followed by a gridlock: a pattern of being stuck and polarized. This gridlock is caused by a particular type of lock-in: an excessive polarization to individual economic gain has at the same time removed incentives to develop capabilities at the collective level. A key implication is that the inability to perceive and work with paradox is a cognitive barrier sustaining political lock-in.
Bioleaching of Low-Grade Ni-Sulfide Samples with a Mesophilic Consortium of Iron- and Sulfur-Oxidizing Acidophiles

Abstract The bioleaching of nickel-containing sulfide minerals from five ophiolitic ore samples was investigated in this study, using a mesophilic, acidophilic consortium that included Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, and Leptospirillum ferrooxidans. The experiments were carried out in the presence and absence of ferrous iron and elemental sulfur as additional energy sources for the bacteria. After 30 days of contact at 5% pulp density, nickel dissolution was in the range of 15–29% in the chemical leaching and 58–83% in the bioleaching. Accessory forsterite (Mg2SiO4) in the ophiolitic ore samples increased the acid consumption, attributed to the protonation of Mg-silicate surfaces. The ore samples with low Cr2O3/MgO ratios had high acid consumption. Post-leaching examination of solid residues showed the presence of a jarosite and sulfur layers, indicating mineral surface passivation and diffusion limitation. Research highlights The chemical and bioleaching of five Ni-sulfide samples was investigated Ni bioleaching from some samples responded to Fe and sulfur addition Leaching of samples with pentlandite yielded the highest Ni recoveries Sulfur and a jarosite-type precipitate were formed as secondary phases Lizardite was formed as a serpentinization alteration product of Mg-silicates