Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corridor allocation problem using a permutation-based genetic algorithm

The corridor allocation problem (CAP) seeks the effective placement of given facilities in two parallel rows on opposite sides of a central corridor. The placement of the facilities in both the rows starts from the same level and no gap is allowed between two facilities of a row. The CAP is formulated here as a nonlinear optimization problem, in which the overall flow cost among the facilities is to be minimized. A permutation-based genetic algorithm (pGA) is used to handle the CAP as an unconstrained optimization problem. The performance of the pGA is demonstrated through its application to a number of instances of varying sizes available in the literature.
GaAs monolithic single-chip transceiver

A single-chip transmitter/receiver MMIC operating from 1.25 to 3 GHz and incorporating most of the RF functions of a modern communication system is presented. The device incorporates: a direct vector modulator with the necessary phase shifter circuits, an output amplifier for the transmitter, a low-noise amplifier and a down-converter with image rejection. The circuit has 60 MESFETs and more than 250 passive components in a 5.0/spl times/2.4 mm chip and has been manufactured using 0.5 micron GaAs MESFET process. <<ETX>>
A Three-Phase Four-Wire DSTATCOM for Power Quality Improvement

Power quality improvement in a three-phase four-wire system is achieved using a new topology of DSTATCOM (distribution static compensator) consisting of a star/delta transformer with a tertiary winding and a three-leg VSC (voltage source converter). This new topology of DSTATCOM is proposed for power factor correction or voltage regulation along with harmonic elimination, load balancing and neutral current compensation. A tertiary winding is introduced in each phase for a delta connected secondary in addition to the star-star windings and this delta connected winding is responsible for neutral current compensation. The dynamic performance of the proposed DSTATCOM system is demonstrated using MATLAB with its Simulink and Power System Blockset (PSB) toolboxes under varying loads. The capacitor supported DC bus of the DSTATCOM is regulated to the reference voltage under varying loads.
High-power double-clad fiber lasers

Rare-earth doped, laser-diode-pumped, single-mode, double-clad fiber lasers are studied in detail, experimentally and theoretically, with particular attention to properties of scaling to higher output powers. Gain saturation, spontaneous emission, fiber propagation loss, and the optimum output coupler are considered for oscillator design and laser performance. Thermal properties are investigated, including the thermal fracture limit, the decrease of quantum efficiency with increasing pump power through the temperature dependence of multiphonon decay and ion-ion energy transfer, and thermal lensing. Self-focusing and Raman effects are briefly considered. It is shown that output powers in the tens of watts range are readily feasible with available double-clad fiber lasers. >
Comparison of linear permanent magnet machine with overlapping and non-overlapping air-cored stator windings

In the analyses the thrust per given copper losses and the copper mass of double-sided linear permanent magnet machines with non-overlapping and overlapping air-cored windings are compared. The comparison is done by deriving pitch, thrust and copper-mass factors for the different windings of the machine. It is shown that the optimum non-overlapping winding machine has certain important advantages compared to the overlapping winding machine.
Scaling CMOS photonics transceivers beyond 100 Gb/s

We report on the performance of an integrated four-channel parallel optical transceiver built in a CMOS photonics process, operating at 28 Gb/s per channel. The optical engine of the transceiver comprises a single silicon die and a hybrid integrated DFB laser. The silicon die contains the all functionalities needed for an optical transceiver: transmitter and receiver optics, electrical driver, receiver and control circuits. We also describe the CMOS photonics platform used to build such transceiver device, which consists of: an optically enabled CMOS process, a photonic device library, and a design infrastructure that is modeled after standard circuit design tools. We discuss how this platform can scale to higher speeds and channel counts.
Concurrent Engineering in Real and Virtual Tool Production

Tool production is a widespread and indispensable part of every serial and mass production job. International competition and globalization require ever shorter time frames from idea to placement of the products on the market, and the time needed to produce the tools plays an important part in this process. A proper information system plays a crucial part in concurrent engineering, because it en ables greater reviewability of the production process and thus, greater overlapping of individual phases (Prasad, 1996). The first step in the re-engineering of a company's information system is gaining a thorough knowledge of the work process. This paper presents the methodology of analysis of information creation and information flow. The most important requirements are identified, and con crete solutions are presented for the creation of an appropriate information system. We have connected tool production and the develop ment of serial products and managed to reduce the time to product fabrication. In individual production, all phases must be closely con nected ; a complete toolmaking facility was therefore designed as a well-connected informational whole (Tavčar and Duhovnik, 1997; 1998). Concurrent work requires independent documentation of individual building blocks and data transparency throughout all phases, from preparation of the tender to manufacture. Expansion of the functionality of a product data management (PDM) system to include monitoring and management of production proved to be an appropriate solution for the majority of set requirements. A virtual toolmaking factory was set up to increase capacity during peak production periods. When the concept was tested in the Domel Toolmaking Factory, the average tool production time was reduced by 32%.
An assessment of timber values from alternative silvicultural systems tested in wet Eucalyptus obliqua forest in Tasmania

The Warra silvicultural systems trial in southern Tasmania is being established in wet Eucalyptus obliqua forest to compare feasible alternatives to the routine clearfell, burn and sow system. Six silvicultural systems have been implemented in the trial: (i) clearfell, burn and sow (CBS), (ii) CBS with 5% retained understorey islands, (iii) stripfell, (iv) 10% dispersed retention, (v) 30% aggregated retention, and (vi) single tree/small group selection (SGS). Two variants of each of the latter three systems are tested here in economic models. This paper uses the expectation value concept to compare the economic feasibility of the different silvicultural treatments. This is the notional income that an investor would expect from one hectare of an existing forest stand under the assumption that a defined silvicultural system is implemented for a designated rotation length over infinite rotations. The analysis focusses solely on timber values and does not include non-timber values. Growth and growth suppression were modelled and costs estimated from data gathered at the Warra silvicultural systems trial. Expectation values were calculated using discount rates of 2% (which assigns a high value to future forest assets) and 10% (which reflects expectations of commercially driven forestry). The analysis was conducted for rotation lengths of 90 and 180 years for most treatments. An 18-year cutting cycle was used for the SGS treatment. In terms of timber values, CBS ranks as economically superior to all other systems at the trial. The SGS treatment had the lowest economic rank. The economic analysis was dominated by the high value of the existing crop.
Geodetic surveying of crane trail space relations

Geodets obvious task consists of surveying crane trails of different types. These transport machines must meet precise geometric parameters, considering mainly the safety of their operation. The paper describes several geodetic methods of determining deviations in direction and height of crane trails. Measurements were realized using special set of appliances composed for this purpose, as well as using electronic theodolite for measurements from hall floor. Results ofmeasurements were processed using calculation programe Geus, and graphicproramme Microstation. Used methods were compared in graphic form.
A method to determine direct‐ and quadrature‐axis inductances of permanent magnet synchronous motors

The equivalent circuit constants of permanent magnet synchronous motors are needed in the calculation of operation characteristics, construction of a control system, etc. These constants can be computed from the data on structural form and materials. However, measurements are necessary to obtain highly precise values. Methods for measurement of the d‐ and q‐axis inductances can be roughly divided into rotational and standstill methods. The standstill methods have the advantage that they are easy to carry out. However, it is difficult to consider magnetic saturation and distortion of the change in the armature winding inductance. The accuracy of the standstill method can be improved if these effects can be readily taken into account.
Research on constant beamwidth beamforming for towed linear array

Aiming at the problems of the conventional beamforming in the actual scene of the towed linear array, such as broadband signal distortion and high sidelobe. The expected beam response design method of low sidelobe based on second-order cone constraint optimization is proposed. The expected beam response of the reference frequency point is designed, and the beam response of other frequency points in the processing bandwidth is transformed into the beam response of the reference frequency point. And the constant beamwidth beamforming weighted vector is obtained, which makes the broadband beamforming have frequency invariant beam response. At the same time, the norm constraint of the weighted vector is added to improve the robustness. Besides the constant beamwidth groove beamforming method is proposed to suppress fixed azimuth interference. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by computer simulation with a uniform linear array.
Improved Feature Selection Method for the Identification of Soil Images using Oscillating Spider Monkey Optimization

Precision agriculture is the process that uses information and communication technology for farming and cultivation to improve overall productivity, efficient utilization of resources. Soil prediction is one of the primary phases in precision agriculture, resulting in good quality crops. In general, farmers perform the soil prediction manually. However, the efficiency of soil prediction may be enhanced by the use of current digital technologies. One effective way to automate soil prediction is image processing techniques in which soil images may be analyzed to determine the soil. This paper presents an efficient image analysis technique to predict the soil. For the same, a robust feature selection technique has been incorporated in the image analysis of soil images. The developed feature selection technique uses a new oscillating spider monkey optimization algorithm (OSMO) for the selection of features that are relevant and non-redundant. The new oscillating spider monkey optimization algorithm uses an oscillating perturbation rate to increase its precision and convergence behavior. A set of standard benchmark functions was deployed to visualize the performance of the new optimization technique (OSMO), and results were compared based on mean and standard deviation. Furthermore, the soil prediction approach is validated on a soil dataset, having seven categories. The proposed feature selection method selects the 41% relevant features, which provide the highest accuracy of 82.25% with 2.85% increase.
Peripheral blood iNKT cell activation correlates with liver damage during acute hepatitis C

Invariant NK T (iNKT) cells are implicated in viral clearance; however, their role in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains controversial. Here, iNKT cells were studied during different stages of HCV infection. iNKT cells from patients with acute HCV infection and people who inject drugs (PWID) with chronic or spontaneously resolved HCV infection were characterized by flow cytometry. In a longitudinal analysis during acute HCV infection, frequencies of activated CD38+ iNKT cells reproducibly declined in spontaneously resolving patients, whereas they were persistently elevated in patients progressing to chronic infection. During the first year of infection, the frequency of activated CD38+ or CD69+ iNKT cells strongly correlated with alanine transaminase levels with particularly pronounced correlations in spontaneously resolving patients. Increased frequencies of activated iNKT cells in chronic HCV infection were confirmed in cross-sectional analyses of PWID with chronic or spontaneously resolved HCV infection; however, no apparent functional differences were observed with various stimulation protocols. Our data suggest that iNKT cells are activated during acute hepatitis C and that activation is sustained in chronic infection. The correlation between the frequency of activated iNKT cells and alanine transaminase may point toward a role of iNKT cells in liver damage.
Indicators of infertility and fertility care: a systematic scoping review

Abstract STUDY QUESTION What is the scope of literature regarding infertility and fertility care indicators in terms of types and dimensions of these indicators? SUMMARY ANSWER Most available infertility and fertility care indicators are outcomes indicators of effectiveness and efficiency dimensions. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY The use of appropriate, relevant and valid indicators of infertility and fertility care is critical for monitoring access, equity and utilization. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION A systematic scoping review was conducted. We searched MEDLINE, Pubmed, JSTOR, CINAHL, Web of Science and Scopus electronic databases from inception to May 2022 without imposing language or date restrictions. We searched gray literature and online libraries of relevant organizations. We hand-searched the list of relevant references. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS This scoping systematic review followed the framework of Arksey and O’Malley and the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. Records identified by the search were independently screened and data were extracted. We performed conceptual synthesis by grouping the reported indicators by typology and dimensions. Structured tabulation and graphical synthesis were used along with narrative commentary. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE We included 46 reports from 88 countries. The reporting of infertility and fertility care indicators was voluntary in 63 countries (72%) and compulsory in 25 countries (28%). Reporting for cycles or deliveries was based on individual cycles in 56 countries (64%) and on cumulative cycles in 32 countries (36%). Most indicators were utilized as outcome indicators with fewer being process indicators or structural indicators. For the dimension of indicators, most indicators were utilized as effectiveness and efficiency indicators with fewer utilized as indicators of safety, patient-centeredness, equity and timeliness. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Most indicators fall into the domain of assisted reproductive technology and are reported by fertility clinics. Indicators of safety, patient-centeredness, equity and timeliness as well as non-clinical indicators are almost invisible. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS A wide range of indicators of infertility and fertility care exist in literature. Most indicators were effectiveness and efficiency indicators, while indicators of safety, patient-centeredness, equity and timeliness remain almost invisible. The scope of the current indicators indicates a predominant focus on clinical metrics, with substantial invisibility of non-clinical indicators and indicators outside the ART domain. These gaps need to be considered in further work of identifying a core set of indicators. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This work received funding from the UNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), a cosponsored program executed by the World Health Organization (WHO). The authors had no competing interests. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER Open Science Framework vsu42.
Multi-pulse train control technique for buck converter in discontinuous conduction mode

Multi-pulse train (MPT) control technique, a novel control technique for the control of switching DC-DC converters is proposed here. Unlike traditional pulse train (PT) control technique, which realises the output voltage regulation of switching DC-DC converters by a combination of two different control pulses, MPT control technique extends these two different pulses to multi-level pulses, and thus overcomes the drawback of relatively large output voltage ripple of PT control switching DC-DC converters. Buck converter operating in discontinuous conduction mode is taken as an example to illustrate the operation principle of MPT control technique. Comprehensive analysis on the control pulse combination within a MPT repetition cycle is performed and verified by simulation and experimental results. It also shows that MPT control buck converter has much lower output voltage ripple than PT control technique, and much better transient performance than traditional pulse-width modulation buck converter.
Multisensory Fusion Algorithms for Tracking

In this paper we extend a multitarget tracking algorithm for use in multisensory tracking situations. The algorithm we consider is Joint Probabilistic Data Association (JPDA). JPDA is extended to handle an arbitrary number of sensors under the assumption that the sensor measurement errors are independent across sensors. We also show how filtering can be handled in multisensory JPDA (MSJ PDA) without leading to an exponential increase in filtering complexity. Simulation results are presented comparing the performance of the MSJPDA with another multisensory fusion algorithm and with the single-sensor JPDA algorithm.
Job Stress and Coping Strategies as Predictors for Psychological Wellbeing among Malaysian Anti-Drug Professionals

Existing studies have suggested that job stress and coping strategies are among the key factors of psychological wellbeing. Yet, the information on how these psychological factors contribute to psychological wellbeing in Malaysian anti-drug professionals is still scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the predicting roles of job stress and coping strategies on psychological wellbeing among Malaysian anti-drug officers. The participants were consisted of 1454 staffs from the National Anti-Drug Agency (NADA) aged from 21 to 59 who completed online self-report measures of job stress, control and avoidant coping strategies, and psychological wellbeing. Descriptive analysis indicated that majority of the respondents reported high levels of psychological wellbeing and avoidant coping strategy, but lower levels of job stress and control coping strategy. A multiple regression analysis showed that job stress was related to lower psychological wellbeing while control coping strategy was related to higher psychological wellbeing. Overall, the findings highlight the needs to consider job stress and coping strategies to understand psychological wellbeing among Malaysian antidrug professionals. Also, this study recommended future research to consider longitudinal research design to better understand the directions of the relations among the studied variables.
Equivalent circuit model for left-handed metamaterials

A general equivalent circuit model to calculate the effective permeability of various configurations of split-ring resonators (SRRs) is presented. In the proposed model, each column of the SRR units along the axis of the rings is modeled as a quasisolenoid under magnetic induction. The inductance per ring of the infinite column of these rings is calculated, assuming all the rings in this column support the same current. The electromagnetic coupling between these individual columns of the rings is integrated into this circuit model, which is then applied to a two dimensional cross embedded split-ring resonator. The agreement between the predicted results and numerical simulations shows the efficiency of the model in predicting the frequency band of negative permeability.
A novel waveguide-to-microstrip transition for millimeter-wave module applications

A novel waveguide-to-microstrip transition is developed using a new design methodology based on iris coupling. Key features of the design are a single-layer substrate, new matching topology, and new cavity enclosure. The transition lends itself to a low-cost implementation, while maintaining the enclosure's hermetic integrity. An extensive tolerance study shows that the present design is robust and very stable with respect to manufacturing and assembly variations. Careful consideration has been given to the mechanical aspects of the transition's implementation in order to achieve seamless integration into the overall package manufacturing and assembly process without sacrificing electrical performance. Proof of concept was achieved by implementing a Q-band (f/sub 0/=44.5 GHz) design on alumina, a W-band (f/sub 0/=94 GHz) design on z-cut quartz, and a W-band design on fused silica. All exhibited better than 22 dB return loss at their center frequencies with less than 0.3 dB insertion loss, and at minimum a 10% 15 dB return-loss bandwidth.
Saturable absorption and its consequent effects in bistable erbium-doped fiber ring laser

The linear absorption in erbium-doped fiber (EDF) contributes to its excellent role in EDF amplifiers and lasers. A nonlinear optical contribution in the absorption of EDF is responsible for optical bistable action when it is present in a laser cavity. To quantify this effect, the variation of absorption coefficient is measured at different signal powers at multiple wavelengths in the C-band for different EDF lengths, and saturable absorption parameters such as the saturation power are extracted. Then the modification in the output characteristics of EDF ring laser with change in fiber length and in the presence of self-induced saturable absorption effect within the gain medium, which leads to optical bistability, is measured. By comparing the measured parameters obtained from saturable absorption in EDF and optical bistability in EDF ring laser, we estimated the length of the gain medium which acts as the saturable absorber inside the cavity of the laser. This is useful in constructing bistable lasers with optimized conditions. The temporal evolution of cavity loss and gain with the intra-cavity power and up- and down-thresholds helps in understanding why the down-threshold will be lesser than the up-threshold in bistable laser systems.