Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Terahertz Generation by Intense Femtosecond Gaussian Laser Pulse in Ripple Density Plasma

Terahertz (THz) generation by an intense femtosecond Gaussian laser pulse (Gaussian in space and time) in rippled density plasma has been investigated in the relativistic regime. A component of ponderomotive force is exerted on electrons due to the variation in intensity in the direction transverse to the laser propagation that results in a transient current driving a radiation. If the pulsewidth of the laser is suitably chosen, the frequency of this generated radiation falls in the THz region. The necessary condition for phase matching is provided by the density ripple. The effects of transient focusing of the laser pulse on the generated THz amplitude have also been studied. Numerical simulations show a significant increase in the THz field strength with occurrences of relativistic ponderomotive self-focusing.
Spatial variability of diploptene δ 13 C values in thermokarst lakes: the potential to analyse the complexity of lacustrine methane cycling

Cryospheric changes in northern high latitudes are linked to significant greenhouse gas flux to the atmosphere, including methane release that originates from organic matter decomposition in thermokarst lakes. The connections between methane production in sediments, transport pathways and oxidation are not well understood and this has implications for any attempts to reconstruct methane production from sedimentary archives. We assessed methane oxidation as represented by methane oxidising bacteria across the surface sediments of two interior Alaska thermokarst lakes in relation to methane emissions via ebullition (bubbling). The bacterial biomarker diploptene was present and had low ? 13C values (lower than ? 38 ‰) in all sediments analysed, suggesting methane oxidation was widespread. The most ? 13C-depleted diploptene was found in the area of highest methane ebullition emissions in Ace Lake (? 13C diplotene values between ? 68.2 and ? 50.1 ‰), suggesting a positive link between methane production, oxidation, and emission in this area. In contrast, significantly less depleted diploptene ? 13C values (between ? 42.9 and ? 38.8 ‰) were found in the area of highest methane ebullition emissions in Smith Lake. Lower ? 13C values of diploptene were found in the central area of Smith Lake (between ? 56.8 and ? 46.9 ‰), where methane ebullition rates are low but methane diffusion appears high. Using ? 13C-diplotene as a proxy for methane oxidation activity, we suggest the observed differences in methane oxidation levels among sites within the two lakes could be linked to differences in source area of methane production (e.g. age and type of organic carbon) and bathymetry as it relates to varying oxycline depths and changing pressure gradients. As a result, methane oxidation is highly lake-dependent. The diploptene ? 13C values also highlight strong within-lake variability, implying that single-value, down-core records of hopanoid isotopic signatures are not secure indicators of changing methane flux at the whole-lake scale.
Transformation of robot model to facilitate optimization of locomotion

Locomotion algorithms for robots generally involve a large number of tuned parameters which are highly sensitive to the shape, size, and mass of the robot. Optimal parameters for one physical model may render another completely immobile. An optimization algorithm can be used to find optimal parameters for a given model, but often requires the user to guess, via trial and error, a viable set of parameters to start with. Since robot locomotion is so fragile, searching for a set of parameters that is at all stable can be very time consuming. This paper proposes a method to tune parameters for a new model if viable parameters are known for a previous model. This is accomplished by slowly transforming the original model into the new model over the course of the optimization process.
Low-Grade Waste Heat Recovery for Power Production using an Absorption-Rankine Cycle

An investigation of heat recovery for power generation using an absorption-Rankine cycle with a low temperature waste heat source was conducted. In such a cycle, the condenser and boiler of a conventional Rankine system are replaced with an absorber and desorber. A recuperative solution heat exchanger is also incorporated between the absorber and desorber to minimize the external heat input. An ionic liquid-refrigerant pair is used as the working fluid, for which fluid properties were developed using the Peng-Robinson equation of state for a binary mixture. A detailed thermodynamic model of the system was developed to understand the potential of this cycle and working fluid combination. It was shown that the system is capable of achieving 15 percent conversion efficiencies using waste heat in the 130-160C range. A parametric study also shows that the system can operate over a range of source and sink temperatures. The effects of solution heat exchanger efficiency and turbine efficiency on system performance are also investigated.
Optimizing Constrained Search Patterns for Remote Mine-Hunting Vehicles

When conducting remote mine-hunting operations with a sidescan-sonar-equipped vehicle, a lawn-mowing search pattern is standard if no prior information on potential target locations is available. Upon completion of this initial search, a list of contacts is obtained. The overall classification performance can be significantly improved by revisiting these contacts to collect additional looks. This paper provides, for the first time, a link between the recent literature which finds optimal secondary looks and optimal route planning software. Automated planning algorithms are needed to generate multiaspect routes to improve the performance of mine-hunting systems and increase the capability of navies to efficiently clear potential mine fields. This paper introduces two new numerical techniques designed to enable current remote mine-hunting systems to achieve secondary paths minimizing the total distance to be traveled and satisfying all motion and imaging constraints. The first "local" approach is based on a sequential algorithm dealing with more tractable subproblems, while the second is "global" and based on simulated annealing. These numerical techniques are applied to two test sites created for the Mongoose sea trial held at the 2007 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Fest, Panama City, FL. Highly satisfactory planning solutions are obtained.
The impact of control delay upon the performance of a DC-motor control: Comparison of a centralized vs. a network-based approach

An important aspect when dealing with computer control systems is the impact of control delay upon the performance of the controlled item. Such control delay may be a consequence of the computer controlled implementation or, for the case of a network based control system, can be the consequence of the use of a communication network to interconnect sensors and actuators with the controller. Basically, control applications require a predictable delay between measurement and actuation, with small variability, i.e., small jitter. In this paper we present some simulation results concerning the impact of a varying control delay upon the performance of a DC-Motor, both for a centralized computer-controlled setup and for a network based control system. The results for the centralized setup were also experimentally confirmed. For the network-based setup it was used the h-BEB real-time communication protocol. The evaluated scenarios were simulated using the TrueTime simulator that is based in MATLAB/Simulink. The experimental tests were developed in LabVIEW, where the controller task was executed as a software routine. The tests consisted in the variation of the sampling period and control delay to determinate the steady region of the system.
Probabilistic Integration of Large Brazilian Socioeconomic and Clinical Databases

The integration of disparate large and heterogeneous socioeconomic and clinical databases is considered essential to capture and model longitudinal and social aspects of diseases. However, such integration is challenging: databases are stored in disparate locations, make use of different identifiers, have variable data quality, record information in bespoke purpose-specific formats and have different levels of metadata. Novel computational methods are required to integrate them and enable their statistical analyses for epidemiological research purposes. In this paper, we describe a probabilistic approach for constructing a very large population-based cohort comprised of 114 million individuals using linkages between clinical databases from the National Health System and administrative databases from governmental social programmes. We present our data integration model for creating data marts (epidemiological data) and discuss our evaluation results in controlled and uncontrolled scenarios, which demonstrate that our model and tools achieve high accuracy (minimum of 91%) in different probabilistic data integration scenarios.
Topological Insulator Solution Filled in Photonic Crystal Fiber for Passive Mode-Locked Fiber Laser

We first reported that the topological insulator (TI) nanosheets solution filled in photonic crystal fiber can operate as an effective saturable absorber (SA) with the merits of low-insertion loss (~0.42 dB), long interaction length (>10 cm), and high-power tolerance. This SA device exhibited a saturable intensity of 14.9 MW/cm2, modulation depth of 19.1%, and nonsaturable loss of 25% at 1060 nm. Upo employing, this device rendered us to establish an ytterbium-doped all-fiber laser oscillator, where stable evanescent wave mode-locking operation has been achieved. This letter provided a new way of utilizing the unique nonlinear optical property of TI.
Localized differential sensing of soft deformable surfaces

There is an increasing interest in the use of soft technologies for robotic application, however, the lack of advanced sensory motor capabilities is currently a significant limitation. Sensing of soft robots, in particular, is still not fully understood and methods by which a large deformable continuum body can be effectively sensed without loosing the intrinsic soft body dynamics are limited. This paper proposes a novel soft body sensing method, localized differential sensing, whereby the sensing of localized deformation on a large soft structure can be achieved with a pair of strain sensors. The design principles for this method are given. To demonstrate this sensing method Conductive Thermoplastic Elastomer (CTPE) is used for the sensing of deformation of soft body structures. A feasibility study of the approach is also presented, with strain sensors incorporated into the universal gripper to allow detection of grasped objects.
Quality Control of CNT Forests via EM Probing

In this work, a study of CNT length distribution estimation is presented. The method involves the use of RF signals to excite the CNT forest at frequencies. The observa tions are then processed with an integer program solver to estimat e the distribution of CNT lengths of an equivalent system. The numerical studies confirm the accuracy of this approach to estimate the distribution of CNT lengths in a forest.
Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University The psychology of unethical behavior in the finance industry The psychology of unethical behavior in the finance industry

Chapter overview The finance industry has been singled out as a case of rampant unethical behavior and corporate greed. Drawing on scientific research on unethical behavior from the disciplines of psychology, behavioral ethics, behavioral economics, and organizational behavior, I discuss three characteristics of the finance industry that might explain the high level of unethical behavior in this domain of work. I review research explaining how the disproportionate representation of power and wealth might affect how people working in finance approach social relationships, with important consequences for their propensity to behave unethically. Next, I review the literature suggesting that competitive and demanding work environments that characterise many domains of finance affect the likelihood of unethical behavior both directly and through their effect on employees’ level of available self-regulatory resources. I also argue that the finance industry is marked by a low saliency of those affected by unethical actions and a low sense of personal agency in unethical behavior, and present work showing these factors that may prompt and license unethical conduct. Finally, I discuss how the understanding of the characteristics of the finance industry that contribute to the high level of unethical behavior in this domain may inform decision makers in regulating and managing unethical behavior in finance.
Antimicrobial effects of garlic ( Allium sativum L . )

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a plant from the family of arcs (Aliaceae). It is a herbaceous plant with height of 20-40 cm, a bulb of strong odour and pungent taste. Sulphur compounds in garlic are responsible both for its strong smell, and for its medicinal properties. The undamaged plant contains alliin (S-allyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide). Allin is a soluble, crystal, odourless compound. It is a cysteine derivative and has antimicrobial properties. Standardized garlic powder contains 1.3% of allin. Slight damage causes changes in alliin, which is broken down under the influence of enzymes allinase into lactic acid and 2-propenyl-sulfonic acid. This acid instantly dimerizes and builds allicin diallyl sulfate or diallyl disulfide. Allicin was first isolated in 1940 and has been shown to have antimicrobial activity against many viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. Allicin produces diallyl sulfide, the most important volatile compound of garlic and gives it its characteristic smell. Garlic acts as an antibiotic, antiseptic, antitoxic, antiviral, bactericide, carminative, hipoholesterolemik, depurative, diuretic, expectorant, fungicide, hypoglycemic, hipotensiv, and stomachic. It is used in the food and pharmaceutical industries (Agarwall, 1996). Given that garlic contains a variety of biologically active substances and at the same time acts as an antibiotic and fungicide, objectives of this study were to examine the in vitro antimicrobial activity of both fresh and thermally processed domestic and imported garlic onto selected representatives of Grampositive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungus Candida albicans, compare the antimicrobial effectiveness of heat treated and fresh domestic and imported garlic and assess the degree of sensitivity of selected microorganisms to the effect of garlic.
New ultra-wideband filters based on tuning forks shape and CSRRs

In this work, the tuning forks (TFs) shape and complementary split ring resonators (CSRRs) are the tools used to present new UWB microwave filters. Two tuning forks are printed on the upper side of the microstrip line covering the host transmission lines. The filter bandwidth containing tuning forks is ultra-wide and equal to 11.8GHz operating at 6.1GHz center frequency. A novel method to upgrade the matching between the host transmission lines and the CSRRs is proposed as well. The bandwidths of the developed filters containing tuning forks with the presence of different CSRRs at different designs are 10, 6.8, 5.5 and 4.7GHz at 5.4, 3.6, 3 and 2.55GHz center frequency, respectively. The negative permittivity metamaterial is made of CSRRs which are etched in the lower side of the microstrip line. These metamaterial filters combine negative characteristics of permeability and permittivity which are created by using TF and CSRRs components respectively to create an UWB response with better performance and size reduction. The simulation results showed that the filters have composite right/left handed (CRLH) behavior with insertion losses less than 1dB and suitable average rejections.
An advanced current controller with reduced complexity and improved performance under abnormal grid conditions

Electricity grid regulations are frequently revised in order to accommodate the ever-increasing penetration of distributed renewable energy systems (RES). Interconnected RES are required to operate conditionally under normal and abnormal grid conditions. Furthermore, RES are required to have fault ride through (FRT) capability so that they can provide voltage and frequency support to the grid. The FRT operation may necessitate the injection of positive, negative or both sequence components of current. Therefore, appropriate control techniques are needed that can perform under all grid conditions (faults and harmonics) without violating the grid codes. A benchmarking comparison between two existing current control techniques motivated the proposal of a new current controller with an improved performance and lower computational complexity. The proposed controller allows accurate injection of pure sinusoidal positive, negative or both sequences currents under normal and abnormal grid scenarios. The proposed control strategy can work with considerably lower computational complexity and with improved response as compared to the two existing controllers.
Three-phase line impedance and load level effects on fault currents

This paper presents a contribution to the short-circuit analysis techniques study in Electric Power Distribution Systems. This analysis is focus on the three-phase line impedance variation and load level effects on fault currents in electric distribution systems. Thus, both the conductors arrangement on the feeder and load level are evaluated in this work through computer simulations performed in the MATLAB® environment. The numerical results were validated with the ATP software (Alternative Transient Program) and show that these factors produce significant variations in the faults current study on the power distribution networks.
Prototype development of a home-based heart rate monitoring system using virtual instrumentation platform

In this paper, the process of prototype development of a home-based heart rate monitoring system using a virtual instrumentation platform is proposed. A prototype was implemented on the virtual instrumentation to enable transmission of heart rate information of a patient via short messaging services (SMS) and email notification at the prototyping stage. The experiment tests showed that the instrumentation and measurement systems and components used in generating, acquiring, conditioning and processing signals were able to measure a patient's ECG, heart rate and other essential parameters when compared with an ECG device available in the market. The experimental results also reflected the virtual instrumentation platform is a viable option for rapid prototyping of a system before actual implementation.
Submicron processing using laser-induced photonic nanojet

In this paper, we propose a novel laser-induced photonic nanojet for micro/nanofabrication. The full width at half maximum of the nanojet is smaller than the diffraction limit, thus allowing for the fabrication of structures at the submicron scale. We first developed the experimental nanojet system, which consists of a laser source, an objective lens, a charge-coupled device camera, and a mobile platform capable of three-dimensional movement. Further, the experimental conditions were optimized by simulating the nanojet. The results showed that submicron features could be created successfully on gold electrodes. Thus far, it has been possible to form features as narrow as approximately 300 nm.
Basal conditions and ice dynamics inferred from radar-derived internal stratigraphy of the northeast Greenland ice stream

Abstract We analyze the internal stratigraphy in radio-echo sounding data of the northeast Greenland ice stream to infer past and present ice dynamics. In the upper reaches of the ice stream, we propose that shear-margin steady-state folds in internal reflecting horizons (IRHs) form due to the influence of ice flow over spatially varying basal lubrication. IRHs are generally lower in the ice stream than outside, likely because of greater basal melting in the ice stream from enhanced geothermal flux and heat of sliding. Strain-rate modeling of IRHs deposited during the Holocene indicates no recent major changes in ice-stream vigor or extent in this region. Downstream of our survey, IRHs are disrupted as the ice flows into a prominent overdeepening. When combined with additional data from other studies, these data suggest that upstream portions of the ice stream are controlled by variations in basal lubrication whereas downstream portions are confined by basal topography.
3-D Experimental and FEA Investigations of Thick Single-Lap Bolted Joints

Abstract : Stresses in single-lap bolted joints of thick plates are complex and difficult to analyze. The few previous studies of stress through the thickness of bolted joints have been limited to finite element simulations and have been implemented only for the joining of relatively thin plates. Experimental and numerical analyses were conducted to analyze the stress distribution inside thick bolted plates along the bearing plane normal to the plate surface for both composite and isotropic materials. Experimental analysis was conducted via embedded-polariscope photoelasticity, embedded resistance strain gages, and embedded fiber-optic strain sensors. The FEM analysis was performed with commercial codes using material properties and other data obtained experimentally as input. Experimental and numerical results agreed reasonably well, and are believed to depict the behavior of the joint under load well enough to facilitate improvement of joint design. Some alternative designs were analyzed with the objective of decreasing the value of the maximum stress. The first plate presented a steel bushing around the hole, and the maximum stress in that case was decreased by 50%. The second design had the edges of the hole chamfered at a 45-degree angle. This design did not exhibit a decrease in the maximum stress, but it did show an advantageous change in the position of the maximum stress.
Cutting human tissue with novel atmospheric-pressure microwave plasma jet

In this paper a novel atmospheric-pressure microwave plasma jet is described for use as a microwave scalpel in surgery. The goal is to cut human tissue with a minimum of collateral damage adjacent to the cut. The microwave scalpel has several advantages compared to current electro surgery, in particular that no potentially dangerous currents flow through the patient's body. Experiments have shown the ability of our plasma jet to cut human tissue with good cut performance, which must be further optimized.
Methodology for Estimation of Dynamic Response of Demand Using Limited Data

The paper presents a methodology for estimation of dynamic response of aggregate load at distribution network buses by taking into account daily variation in demand composition and generic dynamic responses of different types of load. Dynamic load models for different load categories obtained from field or laboratory measurements or through appropriate mathematical modeling are used in combination with hourly load composition at the given bus. The load composition is derived based on past demand surveys, and daily loading curves for different classes of customers. Uncertainties in both dynamic load models/responses of individual loads and load compositions at different times of the day are modeled probabilistically. With established dynamic signatures of different load categories and load compositions at different times of the day, Monte Carlo simulations are used to estimate probabilistic real and reactive power responses, including ranges of variation of these responses, for every hour of the day for a given or anticipated mix of demand.