Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rheological and Mechanical Investigation into the Effect of Different Molecular Weight Poly(ethylene glycol)s on Polycaprolactone-Ciprofloxacin Filaments

Fused deposition fabrication (FDF) three-dimensional printing is a potentially transformative technology for fabricating pharmaceuticals. The state-of-the-art technology is still in its infancy and requires a concerted effort to realize its potential. One aspect includes the processing parameters of FDF and the effect of formulation thereto, which, to date, have not been thoroughly investigated. To progress understanding, the effect of different molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol)s (PEG) on polycaprolactone (PCL) loaded with ciprofloxacin (CIP) was investigated. A rheometer was used, and adapted accordingly, to analyze three processing aspects pertaining to FDF: viscosity, solidification, and adhesion. The results revealed that both CIP and PEG affected all three processing parameters. The salient findings were that the ternary blend with 10% w/w PEG 8000 exhibited rheological and adhesive properties ideal for FDF, as it provided a desirably shear-thinning filament that solidified rapidly, and improved the adhesion strength, in comparison to both the PCL-CIP binary blend and other ternary blends. In contrast, the ternary blend with 15% w/w PEG 200 was unfavorable; despite having a greater plasticizing effect, whereby the viscosity was markedly reduced, the sample provided no benefit to the solidification behavior of PCL-CIP and, in addition, failed to display adhesive behavior, which is a necessity for a successful print in FDF. The original findings herein set the precedent that the effect of drug and PEG on FDF processing should be considered beyond solely modifying the viscosity.
Nystagmus and eye reflex sensor

Nystagmus and Eye Reflex Sensor W. Swart Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa. Thesis: MScEng (Mech) December 2011 Nystagmus is an eye movement pattern that consists of a drifting gaze component, known as the slow phase, followed by a corrective quick phase component. The presence of nystagmus or the lack thereof under certain conditions can be used for various diagnostic purposes including the diagnosis of physiological, pathological and neurological conditions. The angular velocity of the quick phase can make the detection of nystagmus a challenging task for the untrained eye, since the quick phases are usually comparable with saccadic eye motions. The goal is thus to develop a fully automated diagnostic tool that can identify the presents of nystagmus in a patient’s eye motions. In this thesis, an appropriate eye tracking method was selected from a number of eye tracking methods that are commonly implemented in the literature. A video-oculography goggle concept was chosen based on criteria such as invasiveness, sampling rate, accuracy and telemedicine capability, amongst other nystagmus related necessities. A binocular video-oculography concept was chosen that satisfied the technical requirements and provided a cost-effective design. An automated analysis algorithm was developed for automatic nystagmus identification from eye motion data. The algorithm was validated by testing the performance of the algorithm on an optokinetic nystagmus signal. It proved to provide a reliable automatic identification of nystagmus beats, even in signals that contained nystagmus as well as random motion components. A statistical analysis showed that the algorithm provided a sensitivity of 91.8% and a specificity of 96.5% for pure nystagmus signals, and a sensitivity and specificity of 87.8% and 91.1% respectively for mixed signals. iii Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za
An Ergometer for Maximal Effort Repetitive Lifting

Abstract : The vast majority of physically demanding jobs in the armed forces involve lifting. The success of a military mission often depends on the ability to manually move supplies and ammunition. In contrast to an industrial setting, the material handled frequently exceeds safe weight and size limits and must be lifted at a rapid rate for extended time periods. Considerable industrial lifting research has been performed to determine safe and acceptable workloads for repetitive lifting (RL), however little is known about, nor is equipment available to study, maximal effort RL. The purpose of this paper is to describe a RL device designed to examine the physiological limitations to RL, and to provide preliminary data on the maximal effort repetitive lifting capacity of soldiers.
Design and Implementation of the Digital World Vector Shoreline Data Format

Abstract : This report defines the data structure and format that NORDA designed for the Defense Mapping Agency's (DMA) digital World Vector Shoreline (WVS) data set. Methods of accessing the data set, current and future applications for WVS, and suggested future additions to the data set are also discussed. Applications and suggestions are based on responses to a questionnaire prepared by NORDA to survey DoD users who evaluated the latest WVS prototype. NORDA's role in designing the WVS data format and structure was a direct result of our recommendations to DMA on their original WVS prototype data set and format, presented in NORDA reports 146 and 154. In these reports, NORDA recommended that specific changes be made to DMA's original WVS to be sure that it would meet Navy requirements for a digital global shoreline map. In response, DMA requested that NORDA assist them in the design and implementation of a new WVS format and data structure. This new product was completed and distributed to potential Navy and other DoD users in March 1987. Keywords: Shores, Data management, Data bases, Digital maps, Computer applications.
A STRUCTURAL MODEL ANALYSIS OF THE E-WALLET BEHAVIOURAL INTENTION AMONG ADULTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN MALAYSIA

E-wallet offering a new platform to make payment of the products effectively especially during COVID-19 pandemic. It is designed to encourage consumers and small business owners to use digital payments for a safer and more efficient transaction. Hence, this study intends to further investigate the effects of perceived risk, government support, behavioural intention and perceived usefulness as mediating factors on the intention to use e-wallet among adults during COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. A total of 602 total respondents were collected among adults from Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia. Then, the data was analysed using the partial least square SEM (SmartPLS 3.2.7). The findings of this study revealed that perceived risk, perceived usefulness and government support directly influenced behavioural intention on e-wallet usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, this study showed that perceived usefulness completely mediates the impact of government support and perceived risk on e-wallet. Lastly, this study contributes to the advancement of knowledge for marketers of e-wallet companies and financial services in understanding the behaviour and difficulties to adopt e-wallet among youth in Malaysia.
Influence of size parameters and magnetic field intensity upon the amplification characteristics of magnetic flux concentrators

The design principle of the magnetic flux concentrators (MFCs) is studied by finite element method (FEM) and experiment. Firstly, the establishment process of the FEM model in Comsol Multiphysics is elaborated. Based on the simulation model, the magnetic amplification distributions of different shaped MFCs is compared, and the shape design principle of the MFC is obtained. Then, the influence of size parameters on the magnetic amplification of T, triangle, and trapezoid shaped MFCs is analyzed, and the size design principle of the MFCs is obtained. Additionally, the linear working range of the three MFCs is compared. To verify the simulation results, the MFCs are prepared using 1j79 permalloy. The experimental platform is established to acquire the magnetic gain under different magnetic fields. Based on the results, the linear working range of the MFCs is analyzed. And the influence of size parameters on the magnetic gain is tested. The experimental results are compared with the simulation ones to verify the validity of the model.The design principle of the magnetic flux concentrators (MFCs) is studied by finite element method (FEM) and experiment. Firstly, the establishment process of the FEM model in Comsol Multiphysics is elaborated. Based on the simulation model, the magnetic amplification distributions of different shaped MFCs is compared, and the shape design principle of the MFC is obtained. Then, the influence of size parameters on the magnetic amplification of T, triangle, and trapezoid shaped MFCs is analyzed, and the size design principle of the MFCs is obtained. Additionally, the linear working range of the three MFCs is compared. To verify the simulation results, the MFCs are prepared using 1j79 permalloy. The experimental platform is established to acquire the magnetic gain under different magnetic fields. Based on the results, the linear working range of the MFCs is analyzed. And the influence of size parameters on the magnetic gain is tested. The experimental results are compared with the simulation ones to verify .
Fast Multi Harmonic Active Load-Pull

A fast multi harmonic active load-pull setup is presented in this paper. The heart of the system is a large signal network analyzer (LSNA, Maury/NMDG MT4463). The LSNA measures the voltage and current time domain waveforms at the device terminals. The load reflection coefficient (ΓL(f)) is realized by injecting an amplitude and phase controlled signal at the wanted harmonic on the output of the transistor, according to: ΓL(f) = a2(f0)b2(f0)=A(VI, VQ)ej(ω0+θ(VI,VQ))b2(f0)(1) The speed of the system is significantly improved by using the LSNA in modulation mode. This allows for multiple impedance states to be presented during the measurement time of the LSNA. More than 180 impedance states can be measured within 21 ms. The sample clock of the LSNA and the vector modulators, controlling the load impedance, needs to be synchronized. A digital pattern generator (DPG) is therefore used in the setup to enable the synchronization, and also to trigger the start of the measurement. Furthermore, a new optimization algorithm is implemented to reduce the number of iterations needed to realize the desired load impedance. The optimization is based on the Newton-Raphson algorithm, and convergence is obtained within 3-5 iterations for one harmonic. The optimization is carried out simultaneously for all wanted harmonics, and multiple impedance states. This significantly reduce the total measurement time for multi harmonic load-pull measurements.
KARAKTERISTIK KEFIR SUSU SAPI DENGAN INOKULUM RAGI TAPE

Kefir is a fermented milk product that has the typical flavours (acids and alcohol) and its processed by a number of microbes which include lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts.The aims of this study were to know the character of the population of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), a population of yeasts, and chemical characters among others total acid, pH and alcohol levels in kefir milk with inoculum ragi tape. The population of LAB and the population of yeast were calculated with the method of calculation of Total Plate Count. The levels of total acid titration method were determined by the acid. Acidity was measured using a pH meter and alcohol levels were determined by the method of Conway Micro Diffusion. The results showed that the number of LAB has increased to 24 hour fermentations of 9.01 log cells/ml (1,1x109 cells/ml), then the number of cells did not change much until the fermentation time was 48 hours and 72 hours of fermentation on the decline of 8.07 log cells /ml (1,2x108 cells/ml) while the yeast experiences increased from 6 hours to 24 hours, then the amount of yeast did not much change from the 24 to 72 hours of the highest number of yeasts during fermentation 48 hours an amount of 6.12 log cells /ml (1,3x106 cells/ml) and the amount of yeasts did not decline at the time of 72 hours. Total acid continued to experience increased with the number of 0.38-1.24%, pH continued to decline from 6,47-4.27 and alcohol levels continued to experience increased with the number of 0.05-0.38% b/v. Keywords: Inoculum, Kefir Milk, Lactic Acid Bacteria, Ragi Tape, Yeast
Optical design and characterization of a gas filled MEMS Fabry-Perot filter

A concept for a highly integrated and miniaturized gas sensor based on infrared absorption, a Fabry-Perot type linear variable optical filter with integrated gas cell, is presented. The sample chamber takes up most of the space in a conventional spectrometer and is the only component that has so far not been miniaturized. In this concept the gas cell is combined with the resonator cavity of the filter. The optical design, fabrication, and characterization results on a MEMSbased realization are reported for a 24-25.5 μm long tapered resonator cavity. Multiple reflections from highly reflective mirrors enable this optical cavity to also act as a gas cell with an equivalent optical absorption path length of 8 mm. Wideband operation of the filter is ensured by fabrication of a tapered mirror. In addition to the functional integration and significant size reduction, the filter contains no moving parts, thus enables the fabrication of a robust microspectrometer
Consulting to family businesses : a practical guide to contracting, assessment, and implementation

List of Figures, Tables, and Exhibits. Acknowledgments. Preface. Part 1: The Family Business System. 1. Why Family Business Consulting? What Is a Family Business? Family Firm Systems. Family Business Consulting. The Development of the Field. 2. Characteristics of "Healthy" Family Businesses. Healthy Family Businesses. Unhealthy Family Enterprises. Strengths and Weaknesses. Part 2: Consulting to Family Businesses. 3. Contracting and Assessment. The Consulting Process. First Contact. Chemistry Meeting. Proposal/Engagement Letter/Contract. Assessment and Diagnosis. Are We There Yet? 4. Feedback and Planning. Feedback and Action Planning. Creating New Solutions. Planning Ahead: After the Feedback Session. Additional Tips for a Feedback Meeting. Dealing with Conflicts. 5. Intervening in Family Firms. Intervening in Family Firms. Implementation Phase of the Action Research Model. The Intervention Grid. Resistance. Types of Interventions. Family Dynamics Issues. Guidelines for Interventions. 6. Helping Family Firms Make Developmental Transitions. Developmental Stages and Tasks. Transitional DynamicsAssessing the Client s Abilities to Work Through Developmental Stages. Guidelines for Consultants. Implications for Practice. Part 3: The Family Business Consultant. 7. Skills and Ethics of the Family Business Consultant. Self-Assessment. Knowledge and Skills Required. Multidisciplinary Teams. Fees. Ethical Issues. 8. Special Situations and Challenges. Copreneurs. Emotions. Addictions. Gender Issues. Nonfamily Managers. Family Office/Family Foundations. Ethnicity. 9. The Rewards and Challenges of Consulting to Family Businesses. Afterword. References. About the Series. Statement of the Board. Afterword to the Series. About the Editors. About the Authors. Index.
Implementing a Repair Heuristic for Unplanned Work in Resource Constrained Project Schedules Using Base SAS® and SAS® PROC CPM

Scheduling is the process of developing a plan for a set of tasks that compose an overall project that must comply with a set of precedence constraints and optimize a project objective. The area of focus here is the Stochastic Resource Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (SRCPSP) with Stochastic Task Insertion (STI). In order to facilitate experimentation on the development of new predictive techniques for the SRCPSP with STI, an automated process was developed to repair the schedule in “real time” as some tasks occurred and others did not. A right/leftshift repair heuristic is presented here that was formalized and written using Base SAS code and SAS/OR® software’s CPM procedure. Base SAS is used to control the schedule data and shift tasks to the right/left-shift as needed. Additionally, PROC CPM is used in an iterative fashion to check the repaired schedule for resource constraint violations. This paper focuses on the experiment environment; however, this repair heuristic has the potential for real-world application by project managers who have the need to run “what-if” scenarios for project planning.
Real-time motion planning and safe navigation in dynamic multi-robot environments

All mobile robots share the need to navigate, creating the problem of motion planning. In multi-robot domains with agents acting in parallel, highly complex and unpredictable dynamics can arise. This leads to the need for navigation calculations to be carried out within tight time constraints, so that they can be applied before the dynamics of the environment make the calculated answer obsolete. At the same time, we want the robots to navigate robustly and operate safely without collisions. While motion planning has been used for high level robot navigation, or limited to semi-static or single-robot domains, it has often been dismissed for the real-time low-level control of agents due to the limited computational time and the unpredictable dynamics. Many robots now rely on local reactive methods for immediate control of the robot, but if the reason for avoiding motion planning is execution speed, the answer is to find planners that can meet this requirement. Recent advances in traditional path planning algorithms may offer hope in resolving this type of scalability, if they can be adapted to deal with the specific problems and constraints mobile robots face. Also, in order to maintain safety, new scalable methods for maintaining collision avoidance among multiple robots are needed in order to free motion planners from the "curse of dimensionality" when considering the safety of multiple robots with realistic physical dynamics constraints. This thesis contributes the pairing of real-time motion planning which builds on existing modern path planners, and a novel cooperative dynamics safety algorithm for high speed navigation of multiple agents in dynamic domains. It also explores near real-time kinematically limited motion planning for more complex environments. The thesis algorithms have been fully implemented and tested with success on multiple real robot platforms.
Practical Multi-Party Private Set Intersection Protocols

Privacy-preserving techniques for processing sets of information have attracted the research community’s attention in recent years due to society’s increasing dependency on the availability of data at any time. One of the fundamental problems in set operations is known as Private Set Intersection (PSI). The problem requires two parties to compute the intersection between their sets while preserving correctness and privacy. Although several efficient two-party PSI protocols already exist, protocols for PSI in the multi-party setting (MPSI) currently scale poorly with a growing number of parties, even though this applies to many real-life scenarios. This paper fills this gap by proposing two multi-party protocols based on Bloom filters and threshold homomorphic PKEs, which are secure in the semi-honest model. The first protocol is a multi-party PSI, whereas the second provides a more subtle functionality -threshold multi-party PSI (T-MPSI) - which outputs items of the server that appear in at least some number of other private sets. The protocols are inspired by the Davidson-Cid protocol based on Bloom filters. We compare our MPSI protocol against Kolesnikov et al., which is among the fastest known MPSI protocols. Our MPSI protocol performs better than Kolesnikov et al. in terms of run time, given that the sets are small and there is a large number of parties. Our T-MPSI protocol performs better than other existing works: the computational and communication complexities are linear in the number of elements in the largest set given a fixed number of colluding parties. We conclude that our MPSI and T-MPSI protocols are practical solutions suitable for emerging use-case scenarios with many parties, where previous solutions did not scale well.
Modern small antennas

1. Introduction 2. Fundamentals of small antennas 3. Properties of small antennas 4. Fundamental limitations 5. Subjects related to small antennas 6. Principles and techniques for making small antennas 7. Design of small antennas 8. Practical small antennas 9. Evaluation of small antenna performance 10. Electromagnetic simulation.
Seeking Harmony in Shore-based Unmanned Ship Handling - From the Perspective of Human Factors, What Is the Difference We Need to Focus on from Being Onboard to Onshore?

Previous studies have discovered that the tacit but indispensable “ship sense” from seafarers is intensively involved in creating and maintaining “harmony” to assure the safety. The concept of “harmony” reveals the continuous balanced effect by tuning the ship to the dynamic environment under different situations that ship handlers strive for.While the notions of ship sense and harmony is originally created for onboard ship maneuvering, this paper extends it to the domain of shore-based control centers for unmanned ship handling from the perspective of human factors. With the loss of direct ship-sense, the harmony is also lost. This paper analyzes the challenges from having the operator onboard to onshore during ship maneuvering and explores the changing aspects of human factors we need to focus on, in order to facilitate shore-based ship-handlers to regain the harmony. The EU project Maritime Unmanned Ship though Intelligence in Networks (MUNIN) provides the context to conduct the focus group interview of participants with seagoing experience. The shifted human factors in shore-based unmanned ship handling are discussed. The results highlight several differential aspects in human factors that should be considered, such as situation awareness. It provides keys to design shore-based control center for remote monitoring and control in accordance with user-centered design principles.
Automated Sample Preparation (ASP): Development of a Rapid Method to Sequentially Isolate Nucleic Acids and Protein from Any Sample Type by a Cartridge-Based System

Abstract : CUBRC has developed an in-line, multi-analyte isolation technology that utilizes solid phase extraction chemistries to purify and concentrate nucleic acids and protein for downstream analysis. This technology will be automated by developing a single use, cartridge-based unit. Development of such a unit is critical to reaching the US Government's and Department of Defense's biological threat countermeasure development goals. Specifically, CUBRC will design and manufacture a prototype cartridge(s) and test the prototype cartridge for its ability to isolate each analyte individually and in succession. Testing will be performed on both laboratory derived samples and samples typical of those generated by aerosol collectors.
Computer control improves ethylene plant operation

ICIA Australia ordered a turnkey 250,000-tpy ethylene plant to be built at the Botany site, Sydney, Australia. Following a feasibility study, an additional order was placed for a process computer system for advanced process control and optimization. This article gives a broad outline of the process computer tasks, how the tasks were implemented, what problems were met, what lessons were learned and what results were achieved.