Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On Blockage Effects for a Tidal Turbine in Free Surface Proximity

Experiments with a three-bladed, constant chord tidal turbine were undertaken to understand the influence of free surface proximity on blockage effects and near-wake flow field. The turbine was placed at various depths as rotational speeds were varied; thrust and torque data were acquired through a submerged sensor. Blockage effects were quantified in terms of changes in power coefficient and were found to be dependent on tip speed ratio and free surface to blade tip clearance. Flow acceleration near turbine rotation plane was attributed to blockage offered by the rotor, wake, and free surface deformation. In addition, particle image velocimetry was carried out in the turbine near-wake using time- and phase-averaged techniques to understand the mechanism responsible for the variation of power coefficient with rotational speed and free surface proximity. Slower wake propagation for higher rotational velocities and increased asymmetry in the wake with increasing free surface proximity was observed. Improved performance at high rotational speed was attributed to enhanced wake blockage, and performance enhancement with free surface proximity was due to the additional blockage effects caused by the free surface deformation. Proper orthogonal decomposition analysis revealed a downward moving wake for the turbine placed in near free surface proximity.
Cellular particle swarm optimization with a simple adaptive local search strategy for the permutation flow shop scheduling problem

Permutation ﬂow shop scheduling problem deals with the production planning of a number of jobs processed by a set of machines in the same order. Several metaheuristics have been proposed for minimizing the makespan of this problem. Taking as basis the previous Alternate Two-Phase PSO (ATPPSO) method and the neighborhood concepts of the Cellular PSO al-gorithm proposed for continuous problems, this paper proposes the improvement of ATPPSO with a simple adaptive local search strategy (called CAPSO-SALS) to enhance its performance. CAPSO-SALS keeps the simplicity of ATPPSO and boosts the local search based on a neighborhood for every solution. Neighbors are produced by interchanges or insertions of jobs which are selected by a linear roulette scheme depending of the makespan of the best personal positions. The performance of CAPSO-SALS is evaluated using the 12 diﬀerent sets of Taillard’s benchmark problems and then is contrasted with the original and another previous enhancement of the ATPPSO algorithm. Finally, CAPSO-SALS is compared as well with other ten classic and state-of-art metaheuristics, obtaining satisfactory results.
Fourier transform and Ludolph van Ceulen

The author would like to dedicate this paper to the memory of Ludolph van Ceulen (1540-1610), the famous Dutch mathematician, who spent almost his whole life to calculate the first 35 decimals of p. Now, 400 years later, the known number of digits of p exceeds 200 billion and increasing. Highly efficient and very fast converging methods have been developed in the last decades. Without the number crunching power of digital computers it would never have been possible to calculate the billions of digits of p. Amazingly, the key element in calculating the billions of digits is an efficient multiplication method. And here we can find an unexpected application from signal processing and control theory: the Fast Fourier transform (FFT). The paper presents the most efficient algorithms and describes how the Fourier transform makes fast multiplication possible.
The Reliability of Crash Car Protection Level Based on the Circle Confidence Region on the Correspondence Plot

The important thing in vehicle engineering is how well the car protected a driver and passenger during the crash. In this case, there are many variables that might be associated with the car protection system. The association of these variables can be analyzed by multiple correspondence analysis via Burt matrix. By performing an eigen-decomposition on the transformed Burt matrix, we can determine the correspondence plot that visualize the association between variables in a reduced dimension space. While some researchers’ consideration on quantifying this association and visually depicting it, we interest to notice the reliability of the plot in representing the association. In this paper, we shall only consider the reliability by describing circle confidence regions for each point in a low-dimensional correspondence plot. The application on crash car protection data sets is given.
Physiological and mechanical influences on muscle function following total knee arthroplasty

Objective: To investigate the comparative patient reported outcome of total hip and knee arthroplasty in the first year following surgery Methods: This prospective study included all elective primary total joint arthroplasty procedures (1410 hip and 1244 knee) performed at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh over a 2 year period, between January 2006 and November 2008. Patient reported outcome questionnaires for general health (SF12) and joint specific function (Oxford Score) were completed pre-operatively and at 6 and 12 months post-operatively. Overall satisfaction was assessed at 12 months post-op. Results: Both groups demonstrated substantial improvement in the year following surgery, though the THA group demonstrated greater improvement than the TKA. On the Oxford Scores, THA outcome improved on average by 4.9 points more (95% confidence interval [4.2, 5.7]) than TKA at 6 months and by 4.4 [3.7, 5.1] points at 1 year. The SF12 physical scores were on average 2.6 [3.4, 1.8] points better than TKA at 6 months and 2.7 [3.5, 1.9] points better at one year. SF12 mental health scores varied little throughout the post-operative year. Analysis of covariance reveals that the type of arthroplasty and pre-operative Oxford Score are predictors of outcome. Conclusions: Both procedures confer substantial improvement in patient outcome one year following surgery; however greater joint specific, general health and satisfaction scores are reported following THA and a faster rate of improvement is demonstrated compared to TKA. Article focus: Common perception is of equivalent outcome following hip and knee arthroplasty Mean changes in patient reported scores are quantified for both hip and knee arthroplasty. Models that may be used to predict mean scores for patients with given pre-op Oxford Score were developed. Key messages: THA patients report superior outcomes and faster improvement than TKA patients. This difference in outcome is predominantly physical in nature, and mostly occurs in the first 6 months. The extent of the difference in outcome may be informatively displayed via our models. Strengths and limitations: This is the largest and most comprehensive study to assess this issue. The models must be considered with some caution due to the discrete and bounded nature of the Oxford Score. In addition they explain only a fifth of the variation in outcome. Page 1 of 16 http://bmjopen.bmj. com/site/about/guidelines.xhtml BMJ Open 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
African American women's perceptions of HIV prevention communication with their reproductive health providers

AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN’S PERCEPTIONS OF HIV PREVENTION COMMUNICATION WITH THEIR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PROVIDERS By Valerie Nichole Burge-Hall, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015. Major Director: Joann T. Richardson, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Health Education and Promotion, Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences In spite of a decline in HIV incidence rates among African American women, they still bear the most significant disease burden among U.S. women. Findings from numerous studies indicate probable explanations for the disparity, such as the impact of poverty, limited healthcare access, low literacy, and living in areas with high HIV rates. Additionally, many study results provide insight regarding prevention strategies. However, the aim of this study is to explore African American women’s perceptions regarding what HIV prevention communication, if any, occurred with their reproductive health providers (RHPs). In this study, 20 African American women with unknown HIV status participated in face-to-face interviews designed to explore their perceptions about HIV prevention communication with their RHPs. Audio-taped interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded using NVivo10 software. Guided by constructs of the Health Belief Model, inductive and deductive coding yielded four key themes: (1) patients’ lack of expectation to receive information; (2) failure of RHPs to initiate and offer information; (3) patients’ desire to receive information; and (4) patients’ recommendations regarding their preferred methods to receive HIV prevention communication. Results indicated that RHPs missed prime opportunities to initiate and offer HIV prevention information during routine reproductive health visits with women at greatest risk. These findings and recommendations for practice will be useful when designing, implementing and evaluating HIV prevention patient education protocols. The recommendations provide strategies to help RHPs seize every opportunity to address HIV prevention with this highly vulnerable population.
Shape optimization of screwdriver handle for improving grasping comfort of precision and power grips

Improving grasping comfort is a significant factor in enhancing the value of industrial products, as most products are handled by human hands. Our aim was to optimize hand tool shapes and maximize grasping comfort, considering multiple‐shape parameters and grasping types. A screwdriver handle was used as the reference tool for this case study. The measurements of handle length, end diameter, and middle diameter were utilized as the shape parameters of the handle. Twelve participants were included in this study. We measured the participants' subjective perceptions of comfort while grasping the precision and power grips during screw‐driving and screw‐tightening tasks, respectively. The design of the screwdriver handle was formulated as a bi‐objective optimization problem with respect to the grasping comfort of the precision and power grips. A Pareto frontier was determined by optimizing the formulated problem. Well‐balanced and optimal shapes for the precision and power grips were identified.
A Wearable Device to Detect in Real-Time Bimanual Gestures of Basketball Players During Training Sessions

The paper describes the design of a wearable and wireless system that allows the real-time identification of some gestures performed by basketball players. This system is specifically designed as a support for coaches to track the activity of two or more players simultaneously. Each wearable device is composed of two separate units, positioned on the wrists of the user, connected to a personal computer (PC) via Bluetooth. Each unit comprises a triaxial accelerometer and gyroscope, a microcontroller, installed on a TinyDuino platform, and a battery. The concept of activity recognition chain is investigated and used as a reference for the gesture recognition process. A sliding window allows the system to extract relevant features from the incoming data streams: mean values, standard deviations, maximum values, minimum values, energy, and correlations between homologous axes are calculated to identify and differentiate the performed actions. Machine learning algorithms are implemented to handle the recognition phase.
The effects of a hospital ward eating environment on patients' mealtime experience

The provision of adequate nutritional care to hospital patients continues to be an international problem, despite numerous initiatives and attempts by interested parties over several decades to make improvements. The focus of this research was to critically evaluate the effects a hospital ward eating environment can have on patients’ foodservice experience and to establish if providing an enhanced dining environment could improve outcomes. A case study approach was employed on two Orthopaedic wards in an Acute Care Hospital which considered the variables that concurred in the contextual environment of the foodservice provision, to provide an in depth appreciation of Orthopaedic patients’ dining experience. The study used a mixed methods, sequential, exploratory, research process, consisting of four phases incorporating; semi structured interviews with patients, patient questionnaires, exploratory interviews with stakeholders and measurement of patients’ food intake and mood. Following the empirical processes this study has engaged in, theoretical contributions have been made which include; (1) A conceptual model for factors affecting patients’ foodservice experience developed from a synthesis of literature and theories with regard to the provision of hospitality, mealtime experiences and nutritional care provision for patients; (2) A questionnaire to measure hospital patients’ overall food experiences has been developed; (3) An explanatory model for factors influencing hospital patients’ foodservice experience has been developed; (4) A comparison of the patients’ mean, daily, nutritional intakes with the recommended levels, provided updated evidence of poor nutrition in the research setting, whilst factors influencing reduced food intakes were established; (5) The provision of an enhanced group dining experience for the patients, established positive outcomes for patients and stakeholders; (6) A theoretical model was developed that establishes a hierarchy of factors influencing Orthopaedic patients’ foodservice experience and food intake. This research study makes a contribution to our understanding of how sociological and environmental factors can enhance patients’ dining experience which may ultimately lead to improved nutritional intake.
Water-in-Water Emulsion as a New Approach to Produce Mesalamine-Loaded Xylan-Based Microparticles

The water-in-water emulsion method has been reported as a technique able to prepare microparticles without using harmful solvents. However, there are few reports showing the encapsulation of small molecules into microparticles produced within this technique. The probable reason relays on the rapid diffusion of these molecules from the discontinuous phase to the continuous phase. In the present study, xylan microparticles containing mesalamine were produced and the doubled crosslinking approach, used to promote higher encapsulation rates, was disclosed. To achieve this goal, a 23 full factorial design was carried out. The results revealed that all formulations presented spherical-shaped microparticles. However, at specific conditions, only few formulations reached up to 50% of drug loading. In addition, the new xylan-based microparticles formulation retained almost 40% of its drug content after 12 h of a dissolution assay likely due to the degree of crosslinking. Thus, the doubled crosslinking approach used was effective on the encapsulation of mesalamine and may pave the way to successfully produce other polysaccharide-based carriers for clinical use.
Version 4 of the SMAP Level‐4 Soil Moisture Algorithm and Data Product

The NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission Level‐4 Soil Moisture (L.4_SM) product provides global, 3‐hourly, 9‐km resolution estimates of surface (0–5 cm) and root zone (0–100 cm) soil moisture with a mean latency of ~2.5 days. The underlying L4_SM algorithm assimilates SMAP radiometer brightness temperature (Tb) observations into the NASA Catchment land surface model using a spatially distributed ensemble Kalman filter. In Version 4 of the L4_SM modeling system the upward recharge of surface soil moisture from below under nonequilibrium conditions was reduced, resulting in less bias and improved dynamic range of L4_SM surface soil moisture compared to earlier versions. This change and additional technical modifications to the system reduce the mean and standard deviation of the observation‐minus‐forecast Tb residuals and overall soil moisture analysis increments while maintaining the skill of the L4_SM soil moisture estimates versus independent in situ measurements; the average, bias‐adjusted root‐mean‐square error in Version 4 is 0.039 m3/m3 for surface and 0.026 m3/m3 for root zone soil moisture. Moreover, the coverage of assimilated SMAP observations in Version 4 is near global owing to the use of additional satellite Tb records for algorithm calibration. L4_SM soil moisture uncertainty estimates are biased low (by 0.01–0.02 m3/m3) against actual errors (computed versus in situ measurements). L4_SM runoff estimates, an additional product of the L4_SM algorithm, are biased low (by 35 mm/year) against streamflow measurements. Compared to Version 3, bias in Version 4 is reduced by 46% for surface soil moisture uncertainty estimates and by 33% for runoff estimates.
CHANGE IN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE PRICES AND LEGAL DRINKING AGES: EFFECTS ON YOUTH ALCOHOL USE AND MOTOR VEHICLE MORTALITY

This article presents the first set of estimates of the responsiveness of youth alcohol use and motor vehicle death rates to variations in the price of alcohol. In addition, it examines the sensitivity of these two outcome measures to changes in the legal drinking age. Findings indicate that the use of alcohol by youths (teenagers and young adults) declines when either the price of alcoholic beverages or the legal drinking age increases. In statistical terms, youth alcohol consumption is inversely related at a statistically significant level to beverage price and legal minimum drinking age. Price and legal drinking age are particularly important as determinants of beer consumption. Data analysis through multiple regression indicates a statistically significant decline in the motor vehicle accident mortality rate with the effects of a real beer tax for youths aged 15 through 17, 18 through 20, and 21 through 24. Also, changes in the minimum drinking age produced statistically significant inverse effects on accident mortality for youths aged 18 to 20.
Generalized Method to Describe the Propagation of Pulses in Classical and Specialty Optical Fibers

The comprehension of pulsed light propagation is of paramount importance in fiber optics. Here, we present a general method to describe the propagation of pulses in any kind of optical fiber, regardless of its fabrication process or constituent materials. As a result, we obtain a rich toolbox for the analysis and synthesis of optical fibers, which allows us to circumvent the resolution of Maxwell's equations by using heavy-computational numerical methods. To illustrate this, we analyze the pulse propagation problem in non-paraxial anisotropic single-core and multi-core fibers that cover a large variety of optical fibers including classical weakly guiding fibers, optical gain fibers, polarization-maintaining fibers, highly nonlinear fibers, and photonic crystal fibers. Moreover, it is shown that our method can be applied to any kind of guided and unguided medium undergoing spatial and temporal perturbations, provided that the distance and temporal width between different consecutive spatial and temporal medium perturbations are respectively higher than the spatial and temporal width of the optical pulses.
Time-Varying Motion Filtering for Vision-Based Nonstationary Vibration Measurement

In the field of vibration measurement, the vision-based approach can achieve high spatial resolution compared to traditional accelerometers and lasers and thus has attracted much attention during the past decades. A recently developed phase-based video motion magnification (PVMM) technique to estimate subtle motions from videos is only suitable for stationary vibration measurement, because it is limited to analyze the well-separated vibration modes. In this article, a time-varying motion filtering (TVMF) method is presented to endow the PVMM technique with the ability to decompose nonstationary vibrations and visualize the time-dependent mode shapes of nonstationary systems. Specifically, we first build a parameterized mathematical model for the video motions and then extract each vibration mode by optimizing a set of parameters. After modulating each mode with an amplification factor, the time-varying characteristics of the vibration mode shapes can be visualized to naked eyes. Compared to the traditional PVMM technique, the merit of the proposed TVMF is verified to be able to produce less noise and fewer artifacts in nonstationary vibration measurement. The performance of TVMF is demonstrated on both a simulated experiment and a real nonstationary moving mass system.
Integrated design of robust fault estimation and fault‐tolerant control against simultaneous actuator and sensor faults

This paper investigates the problems of simultaneous actuator and sensor faults estimation, as well as the fault‐tolerant control scheme for a class of linear continuous‐time systems subject to external disturbances. First, the original system is transformed into a singular form by extending the actuator fault and sensor fault to be parts of the new state. Then, a new estimation technique named non‐fragile proportional‐derivative observer is designed for the singular system to achieve simultaneous estimations of states and faults. With the obtained estimations information, an integrated design of the non‐fragile output feedback fault‐tolerant controller is explored to compensate for the effect of faults by stabilizing the closed‐loop system. Finally, a simulation study on a two‐stage chemical reactor with recycle streams is provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Censored Spectrum Sharing Strategy for MIMO Systems in Cognitive Radio Networks

Multi-antenna technologies have been widely used in modern wireless communication systems to achieve diversity gain, spatial multiplexing gain, and better interference suppression. Beamforming has been considered as a potential candidate for throughput maximization in MIMO cognitive radio networks. However, the efficient implementation of beamforming demands for accurate knowledge of channel estimate. Conventional spectrum sharing strategies treat the detection and estimation problems in uncoupled manner, which may not result in the overall optimum performance. In this paper, we propose a censored spectrum sharing strategy which considers both the detection and estimation performances simultaneously and is capable of improving the throughput of MIMO cognitive radio network. We derive analytical expressions for the critical parameters and provide simulation results to validate our derivations.