Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study on Estimation of Retransmission Rate of Background Traffic for Various Scan Rates with Scan Response Delay

For efficient network scan to narrow-band wireless networks, this paper proposes a method to estimate the retransmission rate of the background traffic at the target scan rate from a scan response delay obtained at a different scan rate. First, through computer simulations considering a Wi-SUN sensor network with two different network situations and multiple scan rates, we derive a regression function using the least-squares method for the mean of the scan response delay and the COR of the background traffic, and the COR of background traffic and the retransmission rate of background traffic. Then, we propose the new estimation scheme of the retransmission rate of the background traffic. First, Network situation estimator estimates the situation of the target network from observed value and estimated value regarding the variance of scan response delay. Second, COR estimator estimates the COR of the background traffic from the mean of scan response delay, the estimated situation of target network, and the scan rate which is used for observing the scan response delay. Third, Retransmission rate estimator estimates the retransmission rate of the background traffic from the COR of the background traffic the estimated situation of the target network, and a scan rate of estimation target. Through computer simulations, it is confirmed that the proposed method can estimate the retransmission rate of the target network with the average error lower than 5.8% regardless of the situation of the target network and the scan rate.
Designs of Silicon Nitride Slot Waveguide Modulators With Electro-Optic Polymer and the Effect of Induced Charges in Si-Substrate on Their Performance

Dimensional parameters are optimized comparing stoichiometric and Si-rich silicon nitride-based push-pull modulators using a slot waveguide structure, electro-optic polymer cladding, and in-plane ground-signal-ground electrode. An optical power confinement in slot spacing is examined for choosing the optimal device parameters for wavelength of 1550 nm. The electrical simulations are set to calculate an asymmetric spatial distribution of poling efficiency and modulating refractive index change in polymer. The influence of carrier charge in Si-substrate is also considered. The voltage-length products as well as the poling efficiency of Si-rich SiN are calculated as 1.47 V·cm and 0.74 respectively for a polymer with a <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\gamma _{33,bulk}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> of 100 pm/V. For the selected polymer the calculated efficiency comparable to standard silicon based plasma dispersion depletion modulators. The efficiency can be increased more than two times for demonstrated polymers with a <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\gamma _{33,bulk}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> of ∼230. Low metal absorption loss of ∼ 1dB/cm can be achieved from the optimal designed device. Comparing to the conventional simulation method without Si-substrate effect, a more accurate simulation method is also presented in this work.
Optimization-based design of fractional PI controller for a three phase grid connected PV system

This paper presents a robust control of a grid connected photovoltaic (PV) system. Fractional-order proportional-integral (FO-PI) and integer-order proportional-integral (IO-PI) current controllers are proposed. An optimization algorithm is implemented in order to determine the two current controllers parameters. A comparative analysis of the FO-PI and IO-PI improves the effectivness of current control using fractional order controller. In the proposed system, the control strategy enhances stability and system robustness, maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and total harmonic minimization.
Biotechnical System for Control to the Exoskeleton Limb Based on Surface Myosignals for Rehabilitation Complexes

The aim of the study is to develop a biotechnical system of the rehabilitation type, designed to restore the motor activity of the patient’s muscles through biotechnical and biological feedback. The obtained classification models of surface signals of electromyograms can be used to create intelligent rehabilitation systems for patients with neurological diseases and will allow the development of diagnostic test stimulation programs that can be used to create artificial biological feedback. This will provide new predictors of the risk of socially significant diseases.
Personalizing Peer Instruction in a Flipped Classroom

Flipped classroom has been increasingly adopted in engineering education. However it appears relatively challenging to deploy flipped classroom in the large classes which is characterized by student diversity in backgrounds and understanding levels. A possible solution is to promote peer instruction, through which students are promoted to learn with/from each other. This paper presents a learning platform, the P2P platform, that personalizes and guides peer interaction in a flipped classroom. Based on the student feedback, the platform functions to form small study groups, where students engage themselves in learning with and from each other. Meanwhile, the platform generates and forwards the instructor analytics reports of student learning progress and performance, so that the instructor can make informed decision to redesign and adjust the teaching. The P2P platform is described with respect to its system architecture, key functions, core algorithms, and graphical user interface. The P2P platform is validated based on an introductory engineering design course (n=282).
Characterization of several integrative sampling methods for nitric acid, sulphur dioxide and atmospheric particles

Laboratory and field experiments were performed to evaluate integrative measurement methods for atmospheric nitrates, sulphate and sulphur dioxide. Denuder tubes and several filter media were tested under laboratory and field conditions. Effects of sampling variables such as temperature and relative humidity, flow rates, concentration, loading capacity and artifacts due to NO, NO2 and SO2 were also evaluated. The integrative filter sampling method and the ion chromatographic analytical procedure gave a measurement precision (relative standard deviation) of ±11.5 percent for particulate NO3 − on Teflon and ±15.6 percent for gaseous HNO3 on nylon; for both these constituents, the detection limit was about 0.1 μ m−3.
Ultrathin films and hollow shells with pillared architectures fabricated via layer-by-layer self-assembly of titania nanosheets and aluminum Keggin ions

Inorganic multilayer films and hollow shells with pillared architectures have been fabricated layer-by-layer on spherical poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) templates as well as flat substrates through the electrostatic self-assembly technique. Positively charged polyoxocations of aluminum Keggin ions were employed both as inorganic binder and as pillaring agent in electrostatic self-assembly with exfoliated unilamellar crystallites of Ti0.9O2, yielding new types of ultrathin films and core-shell composites. Ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra revealed progressive enhancement of absorbance with increasing deposition cycles, indicating the regular growth of multilayer assemblies of titania nanosheets and aluminum polyoxocations. Evolution of a Bragg peak with a periodicity of ca. 1.5 nm and its enhancement also supported the formation of nanostructured multilayer films and shells, accommodating aluminum polyoxocations in the nanosheet gallery. Depth X-ray photoelectron spectra confirmed their inorganic nature. Calcination at 400 T produced ultrathin films and hollow shells with alumina pillars between the titania sheets. N-2 adsorption results revealed a high specific surface area of 260 m(2) g(-1) and nanoporous feature for the pillared hollow spheres.
Formation of High-Quality Ag-Based Ohmic Contacts to p-Type GaN

Low resistance and high reflectance ohmic contacts on p-type GaN were achieved using an Ag-based metallization scheme. Oxidation annealing was the key to achieve ohmic behavior of Ag-based contacts on p-type GaN. A low contact resistivity of ∼5 X 10 -5 Ω cm 2 could be achieved from Me (=Ni, Ir, Pt, or Ru)/Ag (50/1200 A) contacts after annealing at 500°C for 1 min in O 2 ambient. Oxidation annealing promoted the out-diffusion of Ga atoms from the GaN layer, and Ga atoms dissolved in the in-diffused Ag layer with the formation of Ag-Ga solid solution, resulting in ohmic contact formation. Using Ru/Ni/Au (500/200/500 A) overlayers on the Me/Ag contacts, the excessive incorporation of oxygen molecules into the contact interfacial region, and the out-diffusion and agglomeration of Ag, were effectively prevented during oxidation annealing. As a result, a high reflectance of 87.2% at the 460 nm wavelength and a smooth surface morphology could be obtained simultaneously.
Study on Synthesis and Applied Performance of Petroleum Sulfonate for Enhanced Oil Recovery

In this article, a kind of petroleum sulfonate (NPS) was synthesized from naphthene-base vacuum gas oil in single-tube film sulfonation reactor. The molecular structure of NPS was characterized by element analysis, 1H and 13C-NMR. Our experimental results showed that NPS possessed high content of active components, appropriate average molecular weight, broad molecular weight distribution and favorable surface activity. Moreover, NPS could effectively reduce the interfacial tension (IFT) between crude oil and water at low bulk concentration. IFT values could be reduced to ultra low (< 10−2 mN/m) when used with n-amylalcohol, sodium carbonate or sodium chloride, respectively, hence fulfilling the requirement of enhanced oil recovery. The adsorption isotherm of NPS on reservoir sand at 70°C was measured and the effects of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) and electrolytes on the adsorption of NPS were investigated. It was found that when HPAM concentration above 0.003 g/mL, the adsorption amount of NPS decreased rapidly and the effect of various electrolytes was different. The oil-displacement efficiency of NPS solutions was investigated in core-flooding experiments. NPS solutions could displace residual crude oil efficiently and the adding of electrolytes enhanced the displacement efficiency.
Use of heterocyclic compounds as photosensitisers for the decarboxylation of carboxylic acids

Irradiation of solutions of substituted acetic acids ArX·CH2·CO2H (X = O, S, or NH) in the presence of acridine, phenazine, benzophenazines, and dyes such as Methylene Blue and eosin, leads to decarboxylation of the acids. Reaction occurs in the presence of oxygen and products derived from the substituted methyl radicals ArX·ĊH2 are isolated. Under these conditions the heterocyclic compounds are recovered unchanged at the end of the reaction. Possible reaction mechanisms are discussed and the proposal is made that reaction occurs via electron transfer from the acid to an excited state of the sensitiser.
Electrochemical Fabrication of Mechanically Robust PbSn C4 Interconnections

Electrochemical fabrication of PbSn C4s (controlled collapse chip connection) offers significant cost, reliability, and environmental advantages over the currently employed evaporation technology. A continuous seed layer is required for through-mask electrodeposition of the solder alloy. This layer becomes the ball limiting metallurgy (BLM) for the solder pad after etching. The seed layer metallurgy and the BLM etching are crucial to obtaining mechanically robust C4s. In the present study, the issues related to the selection of seed layer metallurgy, uniformity of plating and etching, and mechanical integrity of C4s have been investigated. The results demonstrate the feasibility of electrochemically fabricating highly reliable PbSn (97/3) C4 structures with a high degree of dimensional uniformity on a variety of wafer sizes ranging up to 200 mm.
General Intelligence Requires Autonomous, Cognitive, Intentional Agents

We contend that natural and artificial systems exhibiting “general intelligence” will likely be endowed with three properties. First, they must be autonomous ; that is, capable of acting in pursuit of their own agendas. Second, they must be cognitive ; that is, capable of reflecting on, and reasoning about, their environments in a manner that is decoupled from their immediate inputs and outputs. Third, they must be intentional ; that is, capable of connecting the content of their mental states to corresponding referents in their environments. We argue that deficits in any one of these properties can lead to pathological behavior in humans and other animals
Factors affecting the repeated surgery of urolithiasis in dogs after surgical removal at the lower urinary tract

The objective of this case-control study was to identify the risk factors associated with the repeated surgery of canine urolithiasis at the lower urinary tract after surgical removal. There were 87 dogs included in this study between August 1 st , 2014 and July 31 st , 2016 at the Small Animal Teaching Hospital, Chiang Mai University, Thailand. Post-operative monitoring was performed until July 31 st , 2017, the repeated surgical rate was 24.13% (21 of 87 dogs). The interval between the surgical episodes varied from 2 months to 36 months. Study variables included the type of primary diet, signalment, post-operative antibiotics, urinalysis, bacterial identification, uroliths analysis, post- operative diet, source of drinking water, and urination behavior. Missing variables and the information of repeated surgery from the medical record were obtained by a telephone interview of the owner. Dogs with struvite uroliths had a 16.54 times (95% CI =1.62 – 4.89 x 10 2 ; p-value = 0.040) greater risk of repeated surgery when compared with the non-struvite uroliths. This result strongly supports the idea that the surgical removal of struvite uroliths in the dog should not be considered as the final step of the treatment plan. Further analysis to identify the type of uroliths is warranted in order to identify dogs with a high risk of repeated surgery. Reducing the concentration of urolith precursors by using a specific diet or drinking more water, and changing the urination management, are recommend. Client education on how to reduce risk of uroliths reformation should be a high priority.
Kaizen practices and performance improvement in Zambian manufacturing companies

There is strong evidence that Zambian manufacturing organizations are increasingly implementing Kaizen programs to help them improve productivity and enhance delivery performance. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the relationship between Kaizen practices and improvement in performance in Zambian manufacturing companies. This study argues that an understanding of knowledge transfer should play a central role in understanding improvements in performance resulting from Kaizen activities. The study also sought to determine the challenges faced by manufacturing companies in implementing Kaizen practices. Building on the extant Kaizen literature, and the knowledge-based theory, this study investigates key Kaizen practices and performance outcomes of knowledge transfer in Kaizen programs. The study employed a cross-sectional descriptive research design with the target population being manufacturing companies in Lusaka Province and the Copperbelt Province being the two highly industrialised regions in Zambia. The unit of analysis was a manufacturing company and a key informant was identified for each company. Thirty-three questionnaires were distributed, and 31 companies responded. Based on the conceptual framework developed, hypotheses were formulated and tested using ordinary least squares regression modelling approach. The results show that the 5Ss were the most popular activities implemented while the Suggestion System was the least implemented. The implementation of Kaizen practices leads to significant operations performance improvements in manufacturing companies in the form of productivity, quality and overall equipment effectiveness. The results also show that employee attitude is the major challenge in implementing Kaizen while management support or leadership is the last hurdle. This research is original work as it has never been done before in Zambia. Kaizen implementation is a new phenomenon in Zambia. Firstly, the value of this research was to inform management, the Kaizen Institute of Zambia and the government policymakers on the successes of the implementation of Kaizen practices in manufacturing companies in Zambia. Secondly, the value of this research was to highlight the challenges faced by manufacturing companies in Zambia in implementing Kaizen practices so that more resources could be directed at reducing these challenges so that companies can enjoy the benefits of Kaizen
CrowdSim: A Hybrid Simulation Model for Failure Prediction in Crowdsourced Software Development

A typical crowdsourcing software development(CSD) marketplace consists of a list of software tasks as service demands and a pool of freelancer developers as service suppliers. Highly dynamic and competitive CSD market places may result in task failure due to unforeseen risks, such as increased competition over shared worker supply, or uncertainty associated with workers' experience and skills, and so on. To improve CSD effectiveness, it is essential to better understand and plan with respect to dynamic worker characteristics and risks associated with CSD processes. In this paper, we present a hybrid simulation model, CrowdSim, to forecast crowdsourcing task failure risk in competitive CSD platforms. CrowdSim is composed of three layered components: the macro-level reflects the overall crowdsourcing platform based on system dynamics,the meso-level represents the task life cycle based on discrete event simulation, and the micro-level models the crowd workers' decision-making processes based on agent-based simulation. CrowdSim is evaluated through three CSD decision scenarios to demonstrate its effectiveness, using a real-world historical dataset and the results demonstrate CrowdSim's potential in empowering crowdsourcing managers to explore crowdsourcing outcomes with respect to different task scheduling options.
O2/A1 – INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

6 EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . 8 PEDAGOGICAL INNOVATIONS IN PARTNER COUNTRIES . 11 France . 11 Austria . 13 Italy . 15 Portugal . 17 Slovenia . 18 Pedagogical innovation . 20 COMMON APPROACHES OF INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGY . 21 Pedagogical approaches . 22 Transdisciplinarity . 22 System approach . 24 Active learning . 26 Experiential learning . 30 Problem-based learning . 32 Pedagogical tools . 34 Digital tools . 34 Field work . 37 Case studies . 39 Project work . 41 BEST EXAMPLES OF INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGY IN AVET . 42 France . 42 Austria . 43 Italy . 44
On proving inequalities by cylindrical algebraic decomposition.

Summary: Cylindrical algebraic decomposition (CAD) is a basic concept in real algebraic geometry, and it has useful applications to deal with symbolic inequalities. We present a new implementation of CAD in the SageMath computer algebra system. This is not as fast as some existing implementations like QEPCAD, but it is more exible to be embedded in certain larger calculations. One such application of CAD is a proving procedure for inequalities involving recursive functions, invented by S. Gerhold and M. Kauers [in: Proceedings of the 2005 international symposium on symbolic and algebraic computation, ISSAC’05. New York, NY: ACM Press. 156–162 (2005; Zbl 1360.68933)]. We present an implementation of this algorithm as well. This paper also gives an overview with examples about the theory behind the implemented algorithms.
Evaluation and Comparison of Blockchain Consensus Algorithms

- While the public catched the interest in blockchains through cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, the technology behind these currencies emerged to a general ﬁeld of research around secure, decentralized and trustless computing system. Fundamentally, these systems are formed by nodes that all have a redundant copy of a shared data structure, in most cases an immutable blockchain. In order to update this data structure among all nodes consistently, the nodes run a consensus protocol that ensures save and consistent modiﬁcation of the distributed ledger among all nodes participating in the network. Over the years, a number of diﬀerent consensus algorithms formed. This work discusses a few of the most inﬂuencal, controversial or innovative consensus algorithms and established a comparison based on a selection of key features.
Factors affecting the analysis of 2-deoxy-2-fluoro[F]-D-glucose in plant tissues by a commercial PET system

Some works showed that commercial PET systems and 2-deoxy-2-fluoro[F]-Dglucose (2-[F]FDG) can be used in plant studies to analyze the transport and allocation of photoassimilates. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of characteristics of plant tissues, applied solution and of the phenomenon of “escaping positrons” on the visualisation and quantification of the distribution of 2-[F]FDG, as a model of photoassimilates, in the tissues of selected plants by a commercial PET system. Experiments included pepper plants immersed with the root system or stem into a 2-[F]FDG solution showed that the accumulation of 2-[F]FDG was several times higher in the aboveground parts that were not directly exposed in a 2-[F]FDG solution than in the parts directly immersed in the solution. Individual experiments carried out by exposing the excised leaves of radish plants in the solutions of 2-[F]FDG containing 100-fold higher concentrations D-glucose (cglu) compared to the original 2-[F]FDG solution showed that with increasing cglu there were significant changes in the distribution of 2-[F]FDG in the leaf blade. The last factor studied was the phenomenon known as "escaping positrons" and defined by annihilation of released positrons during radioactive decay of a given emitter F outside the studied object, whose thickness exceeds the lower limits of resolution of PET systems It was found that the covering the leaf of tobacco, after exposure in a 2-[F]FDG solution, by a parafilm, aluminium foil or copper thin plate caused significant changes in the quantitative data obtained in the PET analysis.
Shape‐Selective Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles with Controlled Sizes, Shapes, and Plasmon Resonances

The attachment of water molecules to poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) is used in conjunction with the region‐selective distribution of PVP and water in a water/PVP/n‐pentanol system to confine reactions along the surface of PVP, thus achieving the highly shape‐selective synthesis of anisotropic Au nanostructures with controlled sizes and remarkable shapes such as regular octahedrons, triangles, rods, dumbbells, belts, and hexagons. The IR absorption spectra of the Au nanoparticles confirm that the nanoparticles are formed around PVP, and corroborate the adsorption of PVP on Au. The size, shape, and plasmon resonance of the Au nanoparticles can be readily tuned by modifying the adsorption behavior and/or the reducing ability of PVP by adjusting the relative amounts of PVP and water, directly adding gold seeds, or changing the stirring conditions in the reaction mixture. The obtained highly pure anisotropic Au nanostructures and the synthesis method demonstrated here enable us to study distinct nanostructures to search for novel physicochemical properties and technological applications. Our method is also successfully extended to prepare highly pure silica spheres, tubes, and needles with controlled aspect ratios.