Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Facile method for liquid-exfoliated graphene size prediction by UV-visible spectroscopy

In this work, an application of UV spectroscopy for facile prediction of liquid –exfoliated graphene size is discussed. Dynamic light scattering method was used to estimate the graphene flake size ( whilst UV spectroscopy measurement was carried out for extinction coefficient value (e) determination. It was found that the value of (e) decreased gradually as the graphene size was further reduced after intense sonication time (7h). This observation showed the influence of sonication time on electronic structure of graphene. A mathematical equation was derived from log-log graph for correlation between ( ) and (e) value. Both values can be expressed in a single equation as ( = (3.4 × 10−2) e1.2).
INSTRUMENTATION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING FOR BARKHAUSEN NOISE MEASUREMENT

The aim of this work is to describe an improved Non Destructive Testing (NDT) methodology based on the analysis of Barkhausen noise (BN). A purposely designed probe has been realized, that allows the acquisition of the Barkhausen noise together with the magnetic induction flux experimented by the pick-up coil core plus the material under test. The basic idea is to support the BN analysis with information related to the hysteresis cycle; experimental results show how a multivariate approach can lead to a better resolution and repeatability.
O ct 2 02 0 Asymptotic correlation functions in the Q-state Potts model : a universal form for point group C 4 v

Reexamining algebraic curves found in the eight-vertex model, we propose an asymptotic form of the correlation functions for off-critical systems possessing rotational and mirror symmetries of the square lattice, i.e., the C4v symmetry. In comparison with the use of the Ornstein-Zernike form, it is efficient to investigate the correlation length with its directional dependence (or anisotropy). We investigate the Q-state Potts model on the square lattice. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are performed using the infinite-size algorithm by Evertz and von der Linden. Fitting the MC data with the asymptotic form above the critical temperature, we reproduce the exact solution of the anisotropic correlation length (ACL) of the Ising model (Q = 2) within a five-digit accuracy. For Q = 3 and 4, we obtain numerical evidence that the asymptotic form is applicable to their correlation functions and the ACLs. Furthermore, we successfully apply it to the bond percolation problem which corresponds to the Q → 1 limit. From the calculated ACLs, the equilibrium crystal shapes (ECSs) are derived via duality and Wulff’s construction. Regarding Q as a continuous variable, we find that the ECS of the Q-state Potts model is essentially the same as those of the Ising models on the Union Jack and 4-8 lattices, which are represented in terms of a simple algebraic curve of genus 1.
RESPONSIVE SIGNAL CONTROL FOR RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC IN AN ARTERIAL

In recent decades, traffic congestion has become a serious problem in major metropolitan areas causing delays, pollution, reduced road safety and degradation of infrastructure. Congestion is mainly concentrated on critical urban arterials that carry high volumes of traffic are mostly managed by traffic lights. To obtain optimality, these traffic control devices should be able to respond to traffic demand and adapt to the likely changes in network conditions. The primary goal of this study is the development of a traffic responsive control strategy to accommodate traffic fluctuations on an urban arterial. Case-based reasoning (CBR), a computational problem-solving paradigm in artificial intelligence (AI), was used to develop a software plug-in, which we have called RESSICA (Responsive Signal Control for Arterial). RESSICA uses an optimal mapping algorithm as an optimization technique with the main control objective of minimizing total vehicular delays, thereby increasing throughput. The developed framework was intensively tested in Quadstone Paramics, a micro-simulation software package, during AM rush hour for Barlow Trail, a major arterial in Calgary, Canada. The performance of RESSICA was compared with existing actuated/pre-timed control strategies. The results show that RESSICA outperformed the existing traffic signal control, in terms of reducing delays, travel times and stops.
IDENTIFICATION OF A RANDOM ELASTIC MEDIUM BY VIBRATION TESTS

This paper deals with the experimental identiﬁcation of the probabilistic representation of a random ﬁeld modeling the Young modulus of a non homogeneous isotropic elastic medium by experimental vibration tests. The random ﬁeld representation is based on the polynomial chaos decomposition. The coefﬁcients of the polynomial chaos are identiﬁed setting an inverse problem and then in solving an optimization problem related to the maximum likelihood principle.
On the expected exit time of planar Brownian motion from simply connected domains

In this note, we explore applications of a known lemma which relates the expected exit time of Brownian motion from a simply connected domain with the power series of a conformal map into that domain. We use the lemma to calculate the expected exit time from a number of domains, and in the process describe a probabilistic method for summing certain series. In particular, we give a proof of Euler's classical result that $\zeta(2) = \pi^2/6$. We also show how the relationship between the power series and the Brownian exit time gives several immediate consequences when teamed with a deep result of de Branges concerning the coefficients of power series of normalized conformal maps. We conclude by stating an extension of the lemma in question to domains which are not simply connected.
The Clactonian elephant butchery site at Southfleet Road, Ebbsfleet, UK

Archaeological excavations at Southfleet Road, Ebbsfleet, Kent, have revealed a complex sequence of fossiliferous Middle Pleistocene sediments containing lithic artefacts. An incomplete skeleton of straight‐tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus was found in lacustrine sediments in close association with a cluster of mint condition cores, flakes and notched flake‐tools, some with evidence of use‐damage. These finds appear to reflect in situ tool production and butchery of the elephant carcass. A far larger concentration of similar artefacts, again in mint condition, occurred nearby in the same horizon. These finds were overlain by a fluvial gravel containing abundant handaxes, some also in mint condition. A range of fossils, including pollen, molluscs and small vertebrates, indicates temperate conditions with local woodland coeval with the elephant butchery. The sediments appear to have formed during the early part of an interglacial, almost certainly MIS 11. As well as providing rare undisturbed evidence of human behaviour, the site supports the existence of a distinctive non‐handaxe Clactonian core/flake‐tool industry in southeast England at this period. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Transpirative Cooling Potential of Vegetation in Urban Environment using Coupled CFD and Leaf Energy Balance Model

Urban greening strategies are increasingly being employed to provide natural cooling in cities and to mitigate the Urban Heat Island effect (UHI). In this study, we investigate the influence of environmental factors such as wind speed, relative humidity and solar radiation on cooling potential of a tree. Furthermore, we investigate the influence of tree height on the microclimate. A parametric study is performed using a coupled CFD and vegetation model, where the tree is modeled as a porous medium. The aim of the study is to determine how these parameters influence the capacity of vegetation to cool its environment. The study shows that the tree provides maximum cooling at low wind speed, low humidity, low radiation level and large tree height.
RT-VC : AN EFFICIENT REAL-TIME VEHICLE COUNTING APPROACH

This paper proposes and implements an efficient real-time vehicle counting (RT-VC) approach. This approach is based on the most efficient action detection and tracking methods in computer vision. YOLO is used for object detection, whereas Kalman filter with Hungarian algorithm are used for tracking. The road is divided into two zones of interest by the end-user, and any vehicle will be counted if its trajectory crosses these zones of interest. The experiments show that the proposed system is very accurate in comparison with other existing approaches. For comparative evaluation, our proposed approach obtained accuracy above 90% for most of the tested videos in the highway roads. Therefore, the proposed approach can efficiently work with many real-time surveillance systems and has the potential to be used in many real road applications.
Mistake Rejection for Firm Grip

Recently as the uses of smartphone and tablet PC have been increased not only basic functions such as text messaging and phone call but also diverse kinds of contents, for example, mobile game, e-book, streaming video has been broadly used everywhere. It is obvious that people enjoy the entertainment content with less control than ordinary cases since user must grip own device to see the content. For instance, when user watches the movie using mobile device on the way home at bus, he/she do not touch here and there on the screen but concentrate on the scene. However, user can touch the screen by mistake, and it could be cause of inconvenience, for instance, turn up the volume, move to previous page, or even exit the application. That is why we research this touch screen of present mobile device. Unlike outdated phones, modern mobile phone we are using has generally equipped touch screen, which has bezel around the display. And grasping short region of bezel makes users to change the grip of mobile phone, and it adds to user’s fatigue cumulatively. Therefore, from this research, we propose the method that distinguishes between normal touch on the screen and unavoidably occurred touch with front camera. It traces the direction of eye, and restrict valid input region to the specific point that user gazes. As a result, the input on the outer range of touch screen will be neglected, and user can concentrate on the contents. In the future work, we are going to assign specific functions, such as scrolling, to the range of input rejected.
ANALYSIS TOOL AND COMPUTER SIMULATION OF A DOUBLE LOBED HYPERBOLIC OMNIDIRECTIONAL CATADIOPTRIC VISION SYSTEM

An omnidirectional catadioptric vision system has the capacity to acquire images with a 360° field-of-view by using a convex mirror. A hyperbolic double lobed mirror has the single view point property, which allows the acquisition of two different images of the same scene simultaneously, making possible stereoscopy. Correspondence of points between the two images lies on a straight line, reducing the computational complexity of the system, which is an advantage for real time stereo navigation systems. Using the single view point property of hyperbolic catadioptric systems, it is possible to perform the rectification of cylindrical panoramic images to omnidirectional images as a function of the mirror design parameters. This work presents the construction of a computer system to transform cylindrical panoramic images to stereo omnidirectional catadioptric images by using a model of a double lobed hyperbolic mirror, allowing free choice of the mirror model geometric parameters to achieve omnidirectional stereoscopy. The system performs an assessment of the sensitivity of hyperbolic double lobed mirror parameters in the reconstruction of 3D scenes. It is also discussed the influence the mirror parameters has on the dimensional errors of the 3D scene reconstruction process.
INSECTS AS INDICATORS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGING AND POLLUTION: A REVIEW OF APPROPRIATE SPECIES AND THEIR MONITORING

A resposta de algumas especies animais e vegetais as perturbacoes pode ser utilizada como parâmetro de analise quanto aos niveis de alteracao do funcionamento dos servicos ambientais, e por isso sao consideradas bioindicadoras das alteracoes ambientais. No entanto, algumas especies respondem mais fidedignamente do que outras a estas alteracoes. A classe Insecta possui muitos representantes adequados para este tipo de analise. Este trabalho objetiva a analise das especies consideradas bioindicadoras das consequencias causadas pela agricultura intensiva, pelo desflorestamento, reflorestamento e pela poluicao de ambientes aereos, aquaticos e terrestres.
SALICYLIC ACID MEDIATED HEAT STRESS TOLERANCE IN SELECTED BREAD WHEAT GENOTYPES OF PAKISTAN

Wheat is one of the most important cereal crop significantly affected by continual and terminal heat stress. Phytohormones are recognized as a strong tool for sustainably alleviating adverse effects of abiotic stress in crop plants. The impact of externally applied salicylic acid was investigated on physiological and agronomical traits of five wheat varieties under heat stress in pot and field study. Salicylic acid was applied exogenously through two ways:1) pre-soaking seeds in 10 M solution of salicylic acid for 24 hours, and 2) foliar application of salicylic acid to the adult wheat plants three days prior to heat stress, while untreated seeds were used as control. In pots, high temperature stress was imposed to plants at post anthesis stage, whereas, in field study one set was sown late so that plants can receive high temperature at grain filling stage. Both field and pot study revealed that heat stress reduced the grain yield and thousand kernel weights. Heat stress reduced leaf chlorophyll content by 34% and brought about an increase of 40% in proline content, 20% in leaf soluble proteins and 17% in soluble sugars as compared to the control plants. Application of salicylic acid through seed treatment and foliar application increased the chlorophyll content in leaves by 18% and 24%, enhanced soluble protein by 21%, proline by 40% and 47% and sugar accumulation by 81% and 88% respectively, and enhanced the net yield by 19% in pot experiment and by 13% in field experiment in selected wheat genotypes of Pakistan under heat stress. Based on results, it can be concluded that exogenous application of salicylic acid through seed priming or foliar spray led to stimulate heat stress tolerance in local
CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDENTS ’ PROBABALISTIC REASONING IN A SIMULATION-BASED STATISTICS COURSE

Although students in traditional introductory college statistics courses see a frequentist definition of probability, they are rarely asked to use this definition, instead relying on technology to conduct parametric tests. In contrast, in a simulationand randomization-based statistics course, the relative frequency of simulated outcomes becomes the central focus of the process of drawing inferences. In this study, eight college students who were enrolled in an introductory simulationbased statistics course were interviewed and asked to describe sampling distributions and make inferences; the results and analysis describes the ways they used and appeared to think about empirical probabilities. Although the students appeared to be able to make connections between various aspects of inferential reasoning, they also encountered difficulties that may be related to their focus on empirical probabilities.
A Strömgren view of the multiple populations in globular clusters

We discuss a variety of photometric indices assembled from the uvby Stromgren system. Our aim is to examine the pros and cons of the various indices to find the most suitable one(s) for studying the properties of multiple populations in the globular clusters (GCs) discovered by spectroscopy. We explore in particular the capabilities of indices like m1 and cy at different metallicities. We define a new index δ4 = (u − v) − (b − y) to separate first and second stellar generations in GCs of any metal abundance, since it keeps the sensitivity to multiple stellar populations over the full metallicity range and at the same time minimizes the sensitivity to photometric errors. We detect clear differences in the red giant branches of the GCs examined, such as skewness or bi/multimodality in color distribution. We connect the photometric information with the spectroscopic results on the O and Na abundances we obtained in our survey of GCs. Finally, we compute the effects of different chemical composition on the Stromgren filters and indices using synthetic spectra.
Multiobjective aerodynamic optimization of a microscale ducted wind turbine using a genetic algorithm

A two-objective aerodynamic optimization of a microscale ducted wind turbine was performed using a genetic algorithm. Two different fitness function pairs were considered for this purpose. In the first alternative the algorithm maximized the power produced while minimizing the drag force at a given wind speed and tip speed ratio. In the second alternative, however, the annual energy production was maximized while minimizing the maximum drag force developed between the cut-in and cut-off wind speeds. Computational uid dynamics solutions performed for selected best designs showed that optimizations performed using the second alternative yielded better turbines, which could produce more power at lower drag. The best design of the second alternative was also observed to operate efficiently at a larger tip speed ratio range compared to the second alternative.
Assessment of antibiotic and fungicide resistance by indigenous Bacillus strains of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.)

The chemical inputs are being used to increase yields, control pathogens, pests, and weeds, but their imbalanced and indiscriminate use over the years resulted in an accumulation of toxic chemical substances in the soil, depletion of organic carbon content and reduction in native micro-flora and fauna, hence lowered the crop productivity. Further the escalating prices of chemical inputs making them dearer to the reach of small and marginal farmers. To reduce these deleterious effects, an efficient alternative method is the application of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). PGPR colonize plant root interiors, migrate to the different plant parts exclusively in the intercellular space and exert beneficial effects on plant growth and development through a wide variety of mechanisms. So, the aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of the four indigenous Bacillus strains viz., Bacillus pumilus MK5, Bacillus sp. MK7, Bacillus sp. MK9 and Bacillus safensis VG1 on antibiotic and fungicide susceptibility. These bacterial cultures were subjected to antibiotic resistance by disc diffusion method. Antibiotics tested were amoxicillin (30 mcg), ampicillin (10 mcg), bacitracin (0.05 mcg), erythromycin (5 mcg), gentamycin 50 mcg), kanamycin (5 mcg) and tetracycline (30 mcg). Further, fungicide resistance to bacterial cultures was performed by well plate assay. Commercial formulation of fungicides were taken at the concentration used under field condition for two major fungicides i.e. mancozeb (0.12, 0.25, 0.37%) and carbendazim (0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20%). Results revealed that all the bacterial strains were sensitive to amoxicillin, ampicillin, erythromycin, gentamycin, kanamycin and tetracycline but showed resistance to bacitracin. Further it was observed that all bacterial isolates showed tolerance to low concentrations of fungicides.
The influence of cognitive factors on pathological gambling

The purpose of this study wasto examine the role of cognitive factors, such as superstition, locus of control, decision-making and unrealistic optimism,on gambling.Eighty-six subjects participated in this study. They were divided into four groups: non-players, social players, problem gamblers, and pathological gamblers. Groups were formed on the basis of South Oaks Gambling Screen Scale. Results showed that pathological gamblers group obtained a high superstition index. With reference to unrealistic optimism, gambler groupbelieved that they had a better chance of success compared to non-gamblers. They also showed a higher impulsivity index in decision making than non-gamblers. This study supports the idea that cognitive factors such as superstition, unrealistic optimism, impulsivity and external locus of control are involved in gambling.
Gradient-Descent Error Correction of POS Tagging

POS tagging is a nontrivial task as it provides preliminary syntactic information to input sentences, proven to improve the accuracy of many NLP tasks that require syntactic analysis. The task of POS tagging for analytic languages (e.g. Thai, Chinese, etc.) is particularly challenging because syntactic ambiguity caused by sentencelike noun phrases and vice versa have to be statistically disambiguated in this level due to the annotation schema. In this paper, we report a comparative study of baseline accuracies and solving this problem by applying locality learning on nouns and verbs and experimenting on various models (SVMs and CRFs) and numbers of grams. BEST 2012 Corpus’s news and entertainment sections, previously annotated with word boundaries, POS tags, and named entities, are used as our gold standard and test set. The experiment results show that CRFs outperform SVMs, where the best tagging accuracy is 96.46%, and local retagging can boost that to 97.82%. Keyword: POS tagging, Thai language, natural language processing, support vector machine (SVM), conditional random fields (CRFs), language models, local retagging
Nonlinear Seismic Response Analysis of Curved and Skewed Bridge System with Spherical Bearings

A three-dimensional (3D) modeling approach to investigate nonlinear seismic response of a curved and skewed bridge system is proposed. The approach is applied to a three-span curved and skewed steel girder bridge in the United States. The superstructure is modeled using 3D frame elements for the girders, truss elements for the cross-frames, and equivalent frame elements to represent the deck. Spherical bearings are modeled with zero-length elements coupled with hysteretic material models. Nonlinear seismic responses of the bearings subjected to actual ground motions are examined in various directions. Findings indicate that the bearings experience moderate damage for most loading scenarios based on FEMA seismic performance criteria. Further, the bearing responses are different for the loading scenarios because of seismic effects caused by interactions between excitation direction and radius of curvature.
Comparison of MM 5 Forecast Shortwave Radiation with Data Obtained from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program

The performance of the Pennsylvania State University-National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model 5 (MM5), in particular the shortwave downwelling (SW) flux calculations, is examined in this paper. Selected quantities output from the MM5 were compared with data from the Department of Energy funded Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program s Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in central Oklahoma. The data were gathered during an intensive observation period (IOP) at this site from June 18 to July 18, 1997. MM5 was run 29 times with a forecast length of 24 hours, the data were saved and then compared to radisonde and pyranometer data. SW flux calculated from the MM5 deviated severely from that observed at the SGP site. Much of the error probably results from the method by which cloud fraction is calculated within the radiation parameterization. Additional error in the SW flux could be attributed to an overly moist upper troposphere generated by the model. Despite the enormous SW flux errors, the model reproduced the observed surface temperature quite well, with only a slight cold bias. These results echo a number of other verification studies of the MM5, and the SW flux problem bears some resemblance to a SW flux verification study conducted with the Eta regional model.