Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exams or applications? Elite Taiwanese students’ perceptions and navigation of college admissions systems

Studies often portray elite students as self-interested adolescents who justify educational selection systems that favor them. However, this perspective neglects critiques of the college admissions system on the part of the elite, who often have no other option than to support it as fulfilling the ideals of fairness. This study examines academic elite students’ perceptions of college admissions systems when they are given choices as to which system to use. Data for this study come from surveys, interviews, and participant observation in Taiwan, where students are selected through two systems: exam-based selections and application-based selections. The findings show that students in elite high schools perceive whichever system that benefits them to be the fairest. By narrowly defining fairness as family influence on admission outcomes, these students downplay the institutional advantages they enjoy and present themselves as deserving candidates. Using the example of elite Taiwanese students, this study highlights that elites justify privilege based on self-interest and strategically navigate admissions systems to accrue advantages.
Quasi-oppositional Biogeography-based Optimization for Multi-objective Optimal Power Flow

Abstract This article develops an efficient and reliable evolutionary programming algorithm, namely quasi-oppositional biogeography-based optimization, for solving optimal power flow problems. To improve the simulation results as well as the speed of convergence, opposition-based learning is incorporated in the original biogeography-based optimization algorithm. In order to investigate the performance, the proposed scheme is applied on optimal power flow problems of standard 26-bus, IEEE 118-bus, and IEEE 300-bus systems; and comparisons among mixed-integer particle swarm optimization, evolutionary programming, the genetic algorithm, original biogeography-based optimization, and quasi-oppositional biogeography-based optimization are presented. The results show that the new quasi-oppositional biogeography-based optimization algorithm outperforms the other techniques in terms of convergence speed and global search ability.
Environmental Impact Assessment of Agricultural Production Using LCA: A Review

Life cycle impact assessment (LCA) provides a better understanding of the energy, water, and material input and evaluates any production system’s output impacts. LCA has been carried out on various crops and products across the world. Some countries, however, have none or only a few studies. Here, we present the results of a literature review, following the PRISMA protocol, of what has been done in LCA to help stakeholders in these regions to understand the environmental impact at different stages of a product. The published literature was examined using the Google Scholar database to synthesize LCA research on agricultural activities, and 74 studies were analyzed. The evaluated papers are extensively studied in order to comprehend the various impact categories involved in LCA. The study reveals that tomatoes and wheat were the major crops considered in LCA. The major environmental impacts, namely, human toxicity potential and terrestrial ecotoxicity potential, were the major focus. Furthermore, the most used impact methods were CML, ISO, and IPCC. It was also found that studies were most often conducted in the European sector since most models and databases are suited for European agri-food products. The literature review did not focus on a specific region or a crop. Consequently, many studies appeared while searching using the keywords. Notwithstanding such limitations, this review provides a valuable reference point for those practicing LCA.
Time and Space Redundancy Fault Tolerance Trade-offs for FPGA Based Single and Multicore Designs

This paper investigates the gains and losses in terms of power, area, reliability, and speed when applying time redundancy fault tolerance techniques on single core designs compared to space redundancy fault tolerance techniques applied to multi-core designs. The system is developed on the virtex5 FPGA from Xilinx, it uses 65nm technology with a relatively moderate to high static power consumption. The system consists of two design alternatives. The first is a single core embedded processing system that applies time redundancy fault tolerance through execution repetition to perform self-check pointing through consensus. The second system is built from 3 soft IP core processors which perform a space redundancy approach through Triple-Modular-Redundancy (TMR) with feedback among the processors. The performance of both systems is evaluated in terms of the execution speed and latency due to fault tolerance techniques compared to the non-fault tolerant system.
Deciphering Late Cretaceous palaeo‐river catchments in eastern Australia: Recognition of distinct northern and southern drainage basins

During the Early Cretaceous, Australia was flooded by the epicontinental Eromanga Sea, deposits of which occur across the Great Australian Superbasin. However, the mid‐Cretaceous retreat of this shallow sea, and the resultant palaeogeographic and sediment distribution patterns, are poorly understood. This study chronicles the Eromanga Sea's northward regression through the Carpentaria Basin as captured in the sedimentary record of the Normanton Formation. We achieve this by integrating sedimentary facies analysis of cores from across the Carpentaria Basin with palynology, sandstone petrography and U‐Pb detrital zircon geochronology. Results indicate that the Normanton Formation was deposited between ca. 100 and 96 Ma, and that it represents a large, northward‐prograding, likely river‐dominated delta system. The unit's volcanoclastic nature is exhibited through abundant lithic volcanics and devitrified glass, with a prominent, near‐depositional detrital zircon population attributed to a proximal continental magmatic arc‐derived source hypothesised to parallel the eastern seaboard of Australia at this time. The Normanton Formation is temporally correlative with the lower‐middle portions of the similarly volcanoclastic Winton Formation in the Eromanga Basin, which drained southwards into the Cenomanian‐Santonian Ceduna River Delta system. However, Normanton Formation strata display subtly different provenance signatures and drainage patterns, indicating input from similar, but likely more northern source terrains than much of the contemporaneous Winton Formation. These sediments were unlikely recycled southwards into the Ceduna Delta like those of the Winton Formation; rather they drained northward following the retreat of the Eromanga Sea through the Carpentaria Basin, indicating a Cretaceous drainage divide between two river systems, with distinct northern and southern drainage catchments. The mid‐Cretaceous palaeogeography of eastern Australia is analogous to that of the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway of North America, in which the retreat of a shallow epicontinental sea is marked by the rapid deposition and progradation of multiple large, geographically distinct clastic wedges.
Design of Quasi Free Surface Secondary Optical Lens for LED Auto Taillights

Owing to its high energy efficiency, high color rendering and long life, LED lamps are promising in the field of Lighting. However, it is much more important to design a secondary optical lens for the LED lamps to obtain good output efficiency and a good light distribution pattern than to light the lamps. In the field of auto lamps, LED has more advantages than the traditional lamps. In this paper, we proposed and developed a secondary optical lens design blueprint for LED auto taillights. A quasi free surface based on the cone lens for auto taillights was designed and the desired illumination was achieved. We present the design procedure of the lens. The simulation of the auto tail-lights is carried out in Tracepro 7.0. The results show that the lens can rearrange the luminous flux accurately and reasonably. An auto taillight with a uniform and rectangular luminous flux distribution is obtained
Numerical Simulation of Dendrite Growth of Binary Alloy Using Phase-Field Method

In order to study the growth process and morphology of dendrite directly, a phase field model of binary alloy was established. In this model the order parameter equation was coupled with the temperature field and the solute field. The growing processes and morphology of dendrite were simulated by using this phase field model. Through analyzing the results, we discussed the effects of anisotropic strength and temperature gradient on dendrite morphology. The results shows that with the increasing of anisotropic strength, the dendrite growth rate of the dendrite will increase and the secondary branches appear more clearly. Besides, the temperature gradient has influence on the appearance of secondary arms during the dendrite growing. With the increase of temperature gradient, the size of secondary dendrite arms increase.
DFM methodology for automatic layout hot spot removal

As technology migrates from 90nm to 65nm and 45nm, it is increasingly difficult to achieve fast yield ramp due to random defects, process variations, systematic yield problems and other limitations referred to as design-for-manufacturing (DFM) issues. At 90nm and finer process nodes, these problems often appear as layout hot spots. To avoid downstream yield and manufacturing problems relating to layout hot spots, it is imperative that the layout of library cells used in system-on-chip (SOC) designs are printable, OPC compliant, litho compliant, as insensitive as possible to process variations, and capable of achieving the high yield. It is not uncommon to have fifty thousand plus hot spots in a typical 65nm SOC device1. This paper describes a DFM methodology and a system for improving the quality of cell layouts, using physical layout optimization. This system takes into account actual foundry information, including defect data, fab-specific optical and litho settings, simple design rules and composite design rules. The automated layout optimization system analyzes a GDSII layout, determines the potential impact of failure and eliminates hot spots using 2-D physical layout optimization, resulting in an enhanced GDSII layout that is correct by construction and optimized for yield.
The ‘troubled rebel girl’ and the ‘boy-next-door’: The apparent inversion of gender and love archetypes in 13 Reasons Why, Élite and Sex Education

Teen series play a central role in the socialization process of young people, since they offer portrayals and models that young people can relate to, identify with or modify and break. Previous studies have shown that teen series continue to perpetuate a stereotyped gender representation and usually reproduce a heteronormative relationship model based on the myth of romantic love following the storyline of ‘Beauty and the Beast’. The present study consists of a close reading of three popular current Netflix teen series: 13 Reasons Why (2017–present), Élite (2018–present) and Sex Education (2019–present). The results show an inversion of the gender archetypes of Beauty and the Beast. The three female protagonists are ‘badasses with a good heart’, embodying the typical archetype of the ‘Beast’, while the three male protagonists are patient, caring, innocent and even virginal, embodying the archetype of the ‘Beauty’. However, unlike in the classic model, the boys fail in their attempts to save their beloved from themselves, and the girls end up suffering irreparable consequences. The tragic end of the female characters condemns them to the impossibility of a redemption that has traditionally been granted to males.
Factors influencing the development of Brisbane's laneways as successful urban spaces

This research investigates how pedestrians use a specific form of urban space – laneways – and how this is associated with different land-uses and built form characteristics. The dependent variable is the vitality of laneways and two measures are used to assess this; pedestrian through-flow and pedestrian density. The independent variables are characteristics of the urban environment identified through the literature as likely to have an effect on vitality, these are: land-use, variety of built form, frontages and facades, grain size, permeability and accessibility, vehicular access and environmental quality, which includes the presence or absence of things such as graffiti, weeds, and seating. The research identifies a strong association between high levels of vitality and a preponderance of characteristics generally associated with good quality urban environments. The association is particularly strong in relation to permeability and accessibility, an absence of vehicular traffic and good environmental quality.
Radiance Calibration Of Spherical Integrators

Techniques for improving the knowledge of the radiance of large area spherical and hemispherical integrating energy sources have been investigated. Such sources are used to calibrate numerous aircraft and spacecraft remote sensing instruments. Comparisons are made between using a standard source based calibration method and a quantum efficient detector (QED) based calibration method. The uncertainty involved in transferring the calibrated values of the point source standard lamp to the extended source is estimated to be 5 to 10%. The use of the QED allows an improvement in the uncertainty to 1 to 2% for the measurement of absolute radiance from a spherical integrator source.
Improvement of the path accuracy of the 7th generation LCD glass transfer robot

The 7G LTR (7th generation LCD Transfer Robot) is the robot that is capable of transport the 7th generation LCD glass (1870×2200mm). This paper described a specification and performance of the 7G-LTR. The robot needs precise path accuracy to improve stack efficiency of glass cassette which affects the productivity of LCD plant. This paper presented a method of improving the path accuracy by kinematic compensation for the static deflection. Firstly, the 7G-LTR and its requirements were introduced. Next, the robot arm's kinematic model including the static deflection and the complete kinematic analysis were presented. Finally, the method of improving the path accuracy was provided and its optimization problem was solved. Various tests have been conducted to demonstrate the validity and feasibility of the proposed method.
A cluster head replacement based on threshold in the Internet of Things

An efficient battery usage of sensor nodes is main goal in a sensor network, which is the substructure of Internet of Things. Maximizing the battery usage of sensor nodes makes the lifetime of sensor network increase as well as the reliability of the network improved. The previous solutions to solve these problems are mainly focused on the cluster head selection based on the remaining energy. In this paper, we consider both the head selection and the replacement interval which is determined by a threshold that is based on the remaining energy, density of alive nodes, and location. Our simulation results show that the proposed scheme has outstanding contribution in terms of maximizing the life time of the network and balancing energy consumption of all nodes.
All-fiber Yb-doped CW and pulsed laser sources operating near 980nm

We present a CW/pulsed master oscillator-power amplifier (MOPA) fiber source operating near 980nm and based on an Yb-doped fiber pumped by a Nd-doped fiber laser at 930nm. Up to 2.1W was obtained in CW regime with a slope efficiency of 81%.
Wheel-terrain-obstacle interaction in vehicle mobility analysis

The currently undertaken study is to design an advanced wheel-leg system that provides optimal normal and traction force distributions among the drive wheels and improves vehicle dynamics/performance and provides mission fulfilment of an autonomous vehicle. This paper is a part of that study and deals with mathematical modelling initially of a wheel for both direct and oblique travel over an obstacle and proposes an analytical tool for (i) determining the obstacle height the wheel can overcome based on wheel-terrain-obstacle interaction, (ii) choosing the wheel radius to overcome the obstacle of given size, and later on the work is extended for (iii) determining the leg force in a wheel-leg combination, (iv) researching and proving a power mode of the wheel that has the ability to overcome the obstacle in a larger range for given wheel-terrain parameters and finally (v) determining the wheel torque in a bicycle model of a wheel-leg vehicle which can be incorporated in the control strategy for the distribution of wheel (motor) torque of an autonomous vehicle for its improved mobility.
Strategic Alliance for Resilience in Supply Chain: A Bibliometric Analysis

Resilience is a particularly important quality for supply chains in this turbulent environment. Resilience in supply chain is the ability to retain, resume, and recover operations after an intense destructive incident. One of the strategic solutions for managing supply chain disruptions is to establish collaboration and strategic alliances in order to achieve competitive advantage. Therefore, given the increasing publication of articles in areas of strategic alliances and supply chain resilience, it is a good opportunity to review these articles, identify gaps in the current literature, demonstrate links between the two areas, and provide suggestions for future research. For these purposes, a bibliometric analysis has been performed on literature available on the Web of Science database. The distribution of articles based on year and country, influential journals, research areas, authors, affiliations, keywords, citations, and reference co-citation analysis are discussed. Results indicate that studies about strategic alliances, meant to increase resilience, are growing in areas such as “Management”, “Operations research”, “Management science”, and “Business”. Furthermore, the sources could be categorized in five clusters; namely “From knowledge concept to value creation”, “Internal and external relationships”, “Logistics and supply chain performance”, “Intellectual capital and strategic management”, and “Critical success factors and alliances”. This article can be useful for both practitioners and academics who explore the topic of strategic alliances and resilience in supply chain and also offers managers the opportunity to overcome supply chain disruptions and negative consequences of risks by becoming familiar with the key concepts of resilience. The persistence of businesses and supply chains is guaranteed through communicating with partners and even competitors in the light of alliance according to the findings of this research. Managers can pay attention to the integration of the supply chain to improve resilience and increase collaboration between suppliers and customers. Given the research results, strategic alliances can be noted in expanding organizational entrepreneurship, and shaping strategic collaboration networks in light of strategic alliances.
Energy‑harvesting and energy aware routing algorithm for heterogeneous energy WSNs

Wireless sensor networks are regarded as the most essential components of contemporary technologies since they are in charge of sensing and monitoring processes, which are the primary functions of these technologies. Because these nodes rely on an unchangeable battery and are randomly deployed in the environment, node energy management is the most essential issue to consider when designing algorithms to enhance the network's life. Clustering is a wireless sensor network (WSN) routing technique that has been implemented in order to extend network lifetime. Also, it is trendy to increase the energy levels of the node battery by utilizing various energy harvesting techniques in order to extend the network lifetime. In this paper, a new energy-aware clustering algorithm (EHEARA) has been proposed. The proposed algorithm is based on a dynamic clustering function and adopts a solar energy harvesting scheme in order to improve network lifetime. Furthermore, the active-sleep mechanism was used to distribute node activity and balance communication among nodes within clusters and cluster heads with the base station. The proposed algorithm is simulated using matrix laboratory (MATLAB), and the results show that it outperforms the low energy adaptive clustering hierarchy (LEACH), distributed energy efficient clustering (DEEC), and stable election protocol (SEP) algorithms in terms of network lifetime, energy consumption, and network throughput.
Characteristic of cylindrical-rotor synchronous generator

It has been observed that the values of the magnetizing reactances in both d- and q-axis are reduced significantly from their corresponding unsaturated values as a result of nonlinearities introduced by saturation under both steady-state and transient operations. In the round rotor synchronous machine, q-axis magnetic circuit saturates appreciably more than that along the d-axis because of the presence of the rotor teeth. In the second section, a new method to calculate the q-axis saturation characteristic from the existing d-axis saturation characteristic has been presented. We have next calculated the saturated values of the d- and q-axis self magnetizing reactances and mutual cross magnetizing reactances between the two orthogonal axes under the steady-state operation. Finally, the effect of saturation, particularly the effect of q-axis saturation, on the power system transient stability has been presented.
Evolutionary history of the vertebrate Piwi gene family

PIWIs are regulatory proteins that belong to the Argonaute family. Piwis are primarily expressed in gonads and protect the germline against the mobilization and propagation of transposable elements (TEs) through transcriptional gene silencing. Vertebrate genomes encode up to four Piwi genes: Piwil1, Piwil2, Piwil3 and Piwil4, but their duplication history is unresolved. We leveraged phylogenetics, synteny and expression analyses to address this void. Our phylogenetic analysis suggests Piwil1 and Piwil2 were retained in all vertebrate members. Piwil4 was the result of Piwil1 duplication in the ancestor of gnathostomes, but was independently lost in ray-finned fishes and birds. Further, Piwil3 was derived from a tandem Piwil1 duplication in the common ancestor of marsupial and placental mammals, but was secondarily lost in Atlantogenata (Xenarthra and Afrotheria) and some rodents. The evolutionary rate of Piwil3 is considerably faster than any Piwi among all lineages, but an explanation is lacking. Our expression analyses suggest Piwi expression has mostly been constrained to gonads throughout vertebrate evolution. Vertebrate evolution is marked by two early rounds of whole genome duplication and many multigene families are linked to these events. However, our analyses suggest Piwi expansion was independent of whole genome duplications.