Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimation of lateral spreading by SPT, CPTU and DMT following the 2016 Mw7.8 Ecuador earthquake

Earthquakes may induce liquefaction producing ground failures, including lateral spread. Different approaches are proposed to estimate lateral spread displacements, that account for the complex liquefaction-induced deformation patterns. Following the 2016 Mw=7.8 Ecuador earthquake, several sites experienced liquefaction and lateral spread due to the strong ground motions and the presence of loose saturated sand and silty sand deposits. This paper presents the in situ test data obtained at the Briceño Bridge embankment, where the foundation materials were reinforced by rammed aggregate piers preventing liquefaction-induced failures. Potential lateral displacements at the ground surface were computed using standard penetration test (SPT), piezocone test (CPTu) and flat dilatometer test (DMT) in natural and treated soils, and then compared with real observations. The results provide reasonable agreement between estimation and measurement, supporting the calibration of DMT liquefaction-induced displacement predictions for which no case histories are available.
Superconducting magnets: at the heart of NMR

In 2002, scientists at the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) in Washington, USA, took delivery of a 900 MHz magnet, the world’s largest wide bore magnet. EMSL is part of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, which already had the western hemisphere’s most comprehensive collection of NMR magnets. So why did PNNL feel the need for a bigger magnet still, and why have subsequent orders been placed for commercial 900 MHz systems worldwide? How does the size and quality of magnet benefit spectroscopists and how is this achieved?
The Efficacy of Music Therapy and Specific Musical Stimuli on People with Dementia: A Critical Review

This essay sets out to examine the efficacy of music therapy as treatment for people with the diagnosis of dementia, in particular Alzheimer’s Disease, with an aim to determine which therapeutic methods are most effective. It considers how the use of various musical stimuli in music therapy sessions can help improve symptoms of dementia. Three main pairs of contrasting types of stimuli are studied: familiar versus unfamiliar music, receptive versus interactive therapy, and group versus individual therapy sessions. The possible symptoms of dementia are numerous and can affect all aspects of day to day life for a patient. However, this essay focusses on the symptoms of memory loss, mental health, and behavioural changes. Difficulties with scientific research in this area are identified and considered for each mentioned study. The conclusions drawn are that there is significant evidence to suggest that music therapy is effective in treating some symptoms of dementia in general, but, only for familiar music was a strong case made for this being the most effective musical stimulus. No conclusions could be drawn for the other two pairs, showing that there remains a limited understanding of the most effective techniques that should be applied.
A Dynamic Power Distribution Strategy for Large-scale Cascaded Photovoltaic Systems

The cascaded H-bridge (CHB) multilevel converter is a promising topology for large-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems. The output voltage over-modulation derived by the inter-module active power imbalance is one of the key issues for CHB PV systems. This paper proposed a dynamic power distribution strategy to eliminate the over-modulation in a CHB PV system by suitably redistributing the reactive power among the inverter modules of the CHB PV system. The proposed strategy can effectively extend the operating region of the CHB PV system with a simple control algorithm and easy implementation. Simulation and experimental results carried out on a seven-level CHB grid-connected PV system are shown to validate the proposed strategy.
Online monitoring of exhaust emissions using mid-infrared spectroscopy

Existing automotive sensors do not quantify the levels of pollutants entering the atmosphere; instead they merely indicate that pollution is occurring. However to meet European legislation on emission control, it is necessary to quantify the levels of each type of pollutant leaving the exhaust of a vehicle. This paper discusses the development of an optical sensor suitable for the detection of gas emissions from a motor vehicle based on mid-infrared spectroscopy. Initial tests to detect carbon dioxide using low-cost mid-infrared components are described and a detection system, which could be fitted to an automobile, is outlined.
Optical and electrical properties of interdigitated InGaN/GaN green light-emitting diodes

Properties of InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well (MQW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown by MOCVD on sapphire substrates are investigated over a temperature range from 290 to 340 K. Two types of wafers are used to fabricate the devices: one with Mg dopants in p-type epilayers pre-activated in N2 ambient for 4 min at 800 °C, and the other as-grown, without any pre-activation of Mg acceptors. Measured specific resistances of p-side contacts are 1.49x10-4 Ωcm2 for contacts on pre-activated samples annealed at 650°C for 4 min, and 1.55x10-5 Ωcm2 for contacts on as-grown samples annealed at 600 °C for 30 min. Based on the specific contact resistance experiments, interdigitated LEDs are fabricated using either the standard annealing procedures (separate annealings for p-type conduction activation and for ohmic contact formation) or a single-step annealing process (simultaneous annealing for activation of p-type conduction and for ohmic contact formation). In devices fabricated using the standard annealing procedures, the electroluminescence (EL) peak position at 300 K is at 2.379 eV (~521.3 nm) and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) is ~132 meV, while in devices fabricated using a single-step annealing, the EL peak position shows a red shift by ~10 meV without affecting the FWHM. Over the entire voltage range up to 4 V, tunneling is the dominant carrier transport mechanism. The operating voltage is comparable in both types of LEDs, and the output power of LEDs fabricated using the single-step annealing process is somewhat improved.
LATERAL RESPONSE OF SOCKETED PILE IN COHESIONLESS SOIL

Proper foundation system has to be chosen in order to transfer heavy superstructure load safely; especially in case of metro rail, elevated expressway, etc. which required large diameter pile foundation in order to withstand heavy lateral traffic loads generated by fast moving vehicles. Pile foundation have more advantages than other foundation systems and does not required more space to construct, however in case of end bearing pile foundation over hard strata, the depth of socketing has to be ensured in order to avoid tension failure when the pile subjected to heavy lateral load. The existing field practice is to socket the end bearing piles in hard strata over a minimum depth of one-four times the diameter of the pile based on the compressive strength of rock and thickness the soil and rock strata in which the pile is socketed as per IS 14593-1998. Drilling the hard strata required heavy equipment’s and it is time consuming process. Reese (1997) extended p-y method of analysis piles in soil to single pile in rock. Zhang et al. (2000) developed a non-linear continuum approach for drilled shafts in a soil and rock mass layers by considering the effect of soil and/or rock mass yielding on the behaviour of shafts at small strain level. Randolph (1981) conducted a parametric study on the response of laterally loaded piles embedded in an elastic soil continuum. Carter and Kulhawy (1992) proposed parametric solution for load-displacement relations. However the need of field and lab scale experimental studies to validate the existing methods of analysis is necessary. In this paper detailed experimental program is conducted and the results were discussed. This paper describes the effect of socketing on deflection of pile. A system of experimental program was conducted on an instrumented model pile to study the behaviour of pile socketing under lateral load by varying its depth of socketing (1D, 2D, 3D) and also varying the embedded length of pile (Le) in rock. The model pile of length 1200mm was made up of hollow aluminium pipe of 25.4mm outer diameter and 3mm thickness. Model pile was instrumented with electrical resistance foil type strain gauges of 350±0. 5Ω resistance. with gauge length of 5mm. LVDT was employed to measure the lateral deflection. Lateral load was applied gradually at the pile head, the strains and deflection were measured using a data acquisition system connected with computer. Based on the experimental results the following results may conclude that the pile having 3D depth of socket (Ls=3D) reduces pile head deflection significantly compare to 1D and 2D depth of socketing. In terms of termination criteria to resist lateral load the pile has to socket to minimum depth of 2D (i.e. two times the diameter of pile).
Ultra-low-power, Energy-minimal Computer Architectures

CGRA topology Synthesis and P&R x Standard PE Library +/SNAFU-Arch module PE (input clk, input data); SystemVerilog Description Sta nda rd inte rfac e Bring your own functional unit Your logic RTL Generation Figure 6: Overview of Snafu. Snafu is a flexible framework for generating ULP CGRAs. S ca la r
Design for Air Combat

aircraft loss rates during a military conflict. This fleet de- terioration has been calculated by application of suitable Lancaster equations2 and a computerized war game. Points 2 and 3 are, in this paper, completely covered only for the battlefield air superiority role, in particular the combat air patrol mission. Section 2 of this paper de- scribes some weight-cost performance relationships de- rived from the systematic variation of important design parameters, such as wing loading, wing shape and thrust to weight ratio. Computations were based on state of the art rubberized engines. Design parameter values range from 0.5 to 1.7 thrust to weight ratio, 40-90 lb/ft2 wing loading and 1.2-2.4 max Mach number. A large group of consistent parametric fighter designs has been evaluated in a sequence of detection, intercept and close-in combat. Some of the relevant system param- eter combinations and their impact on these three phases of air-to-air combat are discussed in Sec. 3. Fighter designs with parameter combinations which achieve maximum individual combat results at a giveri level of system cost are discussed in Sec. 4. The effective- ness of these fighter designs has been analyzed in a fleet environment under constant budget cost. It is shown that an optimum combination of thrust/weight and wing loading can be found for a defined scenario. The concluding sec- tion tries to answer some of the questions which are vital in the design for air combat: 1) Can missile maneuver- ability compensate for lack of air vehicle maneuverabili- ty? 2) Are requirements for offensive and defensive com-
ARORA: Autonomous Rover for Rapid Assistance

: Robotic cars are applicable in the industrial area for the detection of gas leakages and as fire extinguishers. The problems associated with the implementation of these type of robotic cars are less coverage area, less memory capacity and inability to support multiple instruction processing. To overcome these problems, an Android application which helps to maintain, monitor and control the movement of the robotic car is developed, where a WIFI-module and Raspberry Pi microcontroller is introduced. The commands generated from the Android application are sent as signals to Raspberry Pi and in turn the application is responded by Raspberry Pi with the video streaming signals.
Comparing Algorithms for Sentiment Classification

Sentimental Analysis has been a well explored field of classifying opinionated text into respective polarities (e.g. positive and negative) to gain an overall prescriptive of multiple opinions. Multiple algorithms have been used to classify text respectively to a polarity, especially with product reviews. Our goal is to improve data processing and feature selection to help improve the accuracy of Naive Bayes and Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) algorithms on book reviews. This project gets a best accuracy of 55%; we conclude there are no improvement from the usual standard
Nitric oxide improves gas exchange and growth in Physalis angulata plants under water deficit

Plant sensitization with nitric oxide (NO) donors may improve the tolerance to abiotic stresses such as water deficit. Physalis angulata is a genetic resource growing in semiarid areas of Brazil, with the potential for fruit growing and medicinal uses. In this experiment sodium nitroprusside, a NO donor was sprayed at three concentrations (0, 50 and 100 µM) at 25 and 49 days after transplantation in well-watered plants and underwater deficit to evaluate the NO mitigating role. The gas exchange, photosynthetic pigments, water relations, growth and productivity parameters were evaluated. The water deficit negatively influenced most of the variables analyzed. However, the SNP spray was able to attenuate, reverse or act in the recovery of stress effects. There was an improvement in gas exchange, especially carbon assimilation, stomatal conductance and transpiration; as well as an increase in total chlorophyll content. The donated NO was able to influence the plant water status. Besides, it promoted an increase in growth parameters, especially in photoassimilates incorporation and yield. However, the NO supply to plants under well-watered conditions does not seem to affect the physiology parameters. The NO supply in micromolar concentrations can attenuate or even reverse the water deficit effects on this species, being an important tool for promoting tolerance to this abiotic stress
In-Network Time-Series Data Compression for Electric Internet of Things

The IoT is considered as one of the most important supporting technologies of the smart grid and the smart grid is considered as one of the most important application areas of the IoT. However, the electric IoT has vast amount and many kinds of sensors, very high data acquisition frequency, and a highly heterogeneous network, which lead to the challenge that if the raw time-series data gathered by sensors is all transmitted to the sensing data center via network and then compressed and reserved, the bandwidth and the computing resource requirements of the network and the sensing data center, respectively, are unacceptable. In this paper, in order to cope with the challenge, we propose an in-network time-series data compression algorithm, i.e., the DSDT (Distributed Swinging Door Trending) algorithm, for the electric IoT, which utilizes the computing resource of the sensors to compress the raw sensing data, and then transmits the compressed data to sensing data center where the data will be further compressed and reserved. In this way, the bandwidth and the computing resource requirements of the network and the sensing data center, respectively, are significantly reduced. A performance study shows the superiority of the algorithm.
SoK: Password-Authenticated Key Exchange -- Theory, Practice, Standardization and Real-World Lessons

Password-authenticated key exchange (PAKE) is a major area of cryptographic protocol research and practice. Many PAKE proposals have emerged in the 30 years following the original 1992 Encrypted Key Exchange (EKE), some accompanied by new theoretical models to support rigorous analysis. To reduce confusion and encourage practical development, major standards bodies including IEEE, ISO/IEC and the IETF have worked towards standardizing PAKE schemes, with mixed results. Challenges have included contrasts between heuristic protocols and schemes with security proofs, and subtleties in the assumptions of such proofs rendering some schemes unsuitable for practice. Despite initial difficulty identifying suitable use cases, the past decade has seen PAKE adoption in numerous large-scale applications such as Wi-Fi, Apple's iCloud, browser synchronization, e-passports, and the Thread network protocol for Internet of Things devices. Given this backdrop, we consolidate three decades of knowledge on PAKE protocols, integrating theory, practice, standardization and real-world experience. We provide a thorough and systematic review of the field, a summary of the state-of-the-art, a taxonomy to categorize existing protocols, and a comparative analysis of protocol performance using representative schemes from each taxonomy category. We also review real-world applications, summarize lessons learned, and highlight open research problems related to PAKE protocols.
Distributed Grouping of Property Graph Streams

Summarizing static graphs aims to reduce their complexity and massive size in order to acquire more valuable insights from the underlying data. However, real-world graphs are dynamic and can be represented by a stream of events containing relationships between entities. The analysis of these graph streams can be challenging due to their continuous evolution and volume. Notwithstanding the relatively comprehensive study of theoretical and experimental work on dynamic systems, limited effort has been made for extensive stream graph data using currently distributed graph data platforms on both topology and semantics level. This thesis presents the concept of a system that enables structural and contextual grouping of graph streams within a distributed infrastructure. The system is configurable by user-defined vertex and edge grouping keys on type and property-level. Besides the supported typical aggregation functions, a new streaming related feature was developed to capture a frequency pattern of the incoming stream objects. Also, the grouping algorithm accepts the timestamp of a stream of events as attribute aggregation by numerous user-defined time granularity as historical statistics. Furthermore, a streaming model as a processing mechanism of unbounded stream elements is presented. The system was prototypically implemented using the relational API of Apache Flink. The prototype was evaluated using synthetic social network data, and the results are discussed in terms of scalability, different grouping configurations, and streaming frequencies. Rana Noureddin 3755286
Influence of chronic alcoholic intoxication and lighting regime on karyometric and ploidometric parameters of hepatocytes of rats

The features of the diurnal dynamics of the area of rat hepatocyte nuclei and their ploidy were studied under conditions of a standart (fixed) light regime and constant illumination, as well as under chronic exposure to alcohol in the mentioned light regimes. It has been shown that exposure to alcohol and exposure to constant illumination separately lead to a change in the amplitude-phase characteristics of the circadian rhythm of the nucleus area, while the combined effect of these factors leads to a complete destruction of the rhythm, which indicates a violation of adaptation processes. An increase in the average ploidy of hepatocyte nuclei in chronic alcohol intoxication is also shown, while in animals kept under constant illumination without drinking alcohol, the values of this parameter decrease, which indicates a successful course of the adaptation process. The conducted research indicates that the results of karyometric and ploidometric analysis characterize the degree of influence of alcohol intoxication and changes in the light regime on the liver of rats, reflecting the rate of efficiency of adaptation to these factors.
Functional and technological definition of BIM-aware services to asses, predict and optimize energy performance of buildings

There are a number of important elements in designing of building energy management systems – when data collection, aggregation and management is usually well addressed by existing building management systems, actual analytical components allowing to diagnose energy-prone and/or user comfort compromising behaviors are far less mature. It is not only about developing algorithms for such tools, but also proper design of a hosting platform and its viability – it should not only enable access to sensor readings, but also provide access to other building data like Building Information Models and allow collaboration and interconnection of such analytics. BaaS project calls such tools Assess, Predict and Optimize services. Developing a smart platform supporting these services naturally leads to a concept of the building as a service ecosystem (BaaS) where any new tool can be plugged in the system and can benefit from already existing components. In the present work, the high level architecture of the BaaS platform is presented and the ability of BaaS system to act as a platform enabling the building contextual data as well as dynamic data (sensor readings) to software modules is demonstrated through a use-case example on a simple one zone office building.
Unified 3-D definition of CPW- and CSL-mode characteristic impedances of coplanar waveguide using MOM-SOC technique

Characteristic impedances of two dominant modes, even CPW- and odd CSL-mode, in the coplanar waveguide (CPW) are defined and characterized with resorting to the network equivalence of a finitely extended CPW line in a three-dimensional (3-D) method of moments (MoM) platform. By introducing the port model with a pair of even or odd symmetrical current sources, a determinant MoM scheme is at first formulated to establish the explicit relationship among the port currents and voltages. A short-open calibration (SOC) technique is then accommodated in this MoM to remove the parasitic port discontinuity effects. Our results are compared with those of the two-dimensional (2-D) definition and demonstrate for the first time the equivalent 3-D characteristic impedances of both CPW- and CSL-mode.
Road safety: Embedded observers for estimation of vehicle's vertical tyre forces

Preventing car accidents using vehicle control systems requires input data concerning vehicle dynamic parameters. Unfortunately, some parameters, like the tyre-road contact forces that have a major impact on vehicle dynamics, are difficult to measure in a car. Therefore, this data must be estimated. In this context, this study presents an estimation process for load transfer and wheel-ground contact vertical forces. The proposed method is based on Kalman filter techniques and on the dynamic response of a vehicle instrumented with currently available standard sensors. Experimental results carried out using an experimental car show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Alignment of Integrated Photonic Devices Based on Improved Particle Swarm Algorithm

A novel automatic alignment algorithm of integrated photonic devices based on improved particle swarm algorithm is proposed. The combination of dynamically changing inertia weight and selection mechanism is used in the standard particle swarm algorithm to overcome the premature phenomenon in alignment search process, which improves the global search ability and convergence speed compared to particle swarm algorithm. The method used in engineering can significantly improve the alignment and coupling efficiency of photonic devices.
Subband adaptive antenna array for wideband wireless communications

Subband array processing is considered a promising method in the fields of echo cancellation and sonar. With the growth of wideband communication services, the computation load and real time performance of an adaptive antenna array become one of the key issues in the wideband mobile environment. In the paper we apply subband processing technology to wideband beamforming of mobile communications instead of the conventional space-time processing. By using this scheme, the reduction in computation becomes viable with additional advantages such as parallelisation of processing tasks and reduced spectral dynamics.