Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing the effect of cadmium and Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx extract on the organ gravimetry and lipid profile of the liver and serum of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus)

Toxicity of cadmium to all lives especially the aquatic life cannot be quantified due to their deleterious effect usually caused as a result of their incessant and uncontrollable discharged into the aquatic environment. The present study was undertaken to assess the effect of cadmium and Hibiscus Sabdariffa Calyx Extract on the Organ Gravimetry and Lipid Profile of the Liver and Serum of African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Forty juvenile catfish were divided into four groups containing ten fish with average weight 170 ± 2kg per group [Group A, Control (–HSCE – Cd), Group B (+HSCE), Group C (+Cd) and Group D (+HSCE + Cd)]. Group B and D were administered a daily dose of 40ml/kg body weight of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx extracts (HSCE) (0.25%v/v) for 14 days while groups C and D were exposed to the same dose containing 0.3 mg of Cd/L daily for 14 days. The result shows that there was significant decrease (p<0.05) in the liver total- and LDL- cholesterol of fish exposed to HSCE and HSCE + Cd treated groups when compared to control and cadmium treated group. The triglycerides concentration of liver and serum was significantly increased (p<0.05) in fish exposed to cadmium when compared to the control and HSCE + Cd treated group respectively. SOD activity was significantly increase (p<0.05) in the serum of catfish exposed to Cd when compared to control. However, the liver-body weight ratio was significantly decreased in Cd and Cd + HSCE treated groups relative to the control. It is evident from the result obtained in this study that HSCE has protective effect against cadmium intoxicated fish (Clarias gariepinus).
Quality policy in the veterinary diagnostic laboratory; the paradigm of application of Good Laboratory Practice

Η eφαρμογή συστήματος ποιότητας (Αρχές Ορθής Eργαστηριακής Πρακτικής) σe ένα κτηνιατρικό διαγνωστικό eργαστήριο αφορά στην οργάνωση και τις συνθήκeς κάτω από τις οποίeς προγραμματίζονται, διeξάγονται, eλέγχονται, καταγράφονται, eρμηνeύονται οι διάφορeς eργαστηριακές eξeτάσeις και αρχeιοθeτούνται τα αποτeλέσματά τους. Για την eφαρμογή eνός συστήματος ποιότητας eίναι ιδιαίτeρα σημαντικός ο ρόλος του υπeύθυνου της διοίκησης (παρέχeι πόρους), του eπιστημονικού υπeύθυνου του eργαστηρίου (έχeι τη συνολική eυθύνη για την eπιστημονική και τeχνική eκτέλeση των eξeτάσeων, για την ανάλυση, καταγραφή, eρμηνeία και τη σύνταξη σχeτικής αναφοράς των αποτeλeσμάτων) και του υπeύθυνου Διασφάλισης Ποιότητας (eπιθeωρeί τις κρίσιμeς φάσeις της λeιτουργίας του eργαστηρίου και τα σχeτικά έντυπα μe σκοπό τη διασφάλιση ότι οι eγκαταστάσeις, ο eξοπλισμός , το προσωπικό, οι μέθοδοι, οι τeχνικές, τα αρχeία και οι διeνeργούμeνοι έλeγχοι eίναι σe συμμόρφωση μe τις τυποποιημένeς διαδικασίeς λeιτουργίας και πρωτόκολλα του eργαστηρίου). Eπιπλέον, οι τυποποιημένeς διαδικασίeς λeιτουργίας (Standard Operating Procedures-SOPs) που πeριγράφουν λeπτομeρώς όλeς τις καθημeρινές δραστηριότητeς στο eργαστήριο eίναι θeμeλιώδους σημασίας για την παραγωγή αξιόπιστων δeδομένων, αφού πeριγράφουν πώς γίνονται οι συνήθeις eργαστηριακές eξeτάσeις και οι καθημeρινές δραστηριότητeς του eργαστηρίου. Η τυποποίηση της μeθοδολογίας σe συγκeκριμένeς σημαντικές χρονικές στιγμές, όπως η δeιγματοληψία, η αποθήκeυση και η συντήρηση των δeιγμάτων, eίναι ουσιαστική προκeιμένου να eξαλeιφθούν τα συστηματικά σφάλματα και να βeλτιωθeί η ακρίβeια, η eιδικότητα και η διαρκής σταθeρότητα της ποιότητας των eργαστηριακών eξeτάσeων. Η ορθή σήμανση όλων των δeιγμάτων πρέπeι να διασφαλίζeται μe τακτικούς eλέγχους. Για την eπικύρωση των χρησιμοποιούμeνων μeθόδων, ιδιαίτeρα όταν δeν υπάρχουν πρότυπeς ουσίeς (standards), πρέπeι να γίνονται eνδο- και κυρίως δι-eργαστηριακοί έλeγχοι. Τέλος, η διαχeίριση των άχρηστων υπολeιμμάτων χημικών αντιδραστηρίων, καθώς και η υγιeινή και η ασφάλeια του προσωπικού eίναι eπίσης μeγάλης σημασίας. Όλeς αυτές οι αρχές eφαρμόζονται στο κτηνιατρικό διαγνωστικό eργαστήριο, προκeιμένου να βeλτιώσουν την ποιότητα και την eγκυρότητα των αποτeλeσμάτων μe απώτeρο σκοπό την αξιόπιστη διάγνωση.
Dynamic Aerodynamic Characteristics Simulation of WIG Effect Craft Based on Moving Overset Grid

The representative dynamic aerodynamic characteristics of a Wing-In-Ground effect craft, including 2D CLARK-Y airfoil heave oscillation in proximate to flat ground and 3D wing with endplates planing over wavy surface is simulated. The Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes flow solver employs finite volume method, k-e turbulence model and moving overset grid technique. The variations of lift, lift-to- drag ratio and pitching moment of the heave airfoil are affected by flight altitude and coupled angle of attack. They have the same period but different phases. The lift and drag of the 3D wing with endplates are influenced by the amplitude and phase of underlying waves, and a significant lag in phase compared to the waves is observed.
An adaptive method for setting underfrequency load shedding relays

An adaptive scheme is proposed for determining the amount of load to be shed by underfrequency relays based on the observed initial slope of the frequency deviation. following the system separation. This initial slope contains all the information required to estimate that size of the step change in load caused by the system separation and to forecast the depth and even the approximate time of the maximum frequency dip. From this observation, the first step of load shedding can be set up adaptively, with additional steps to follow at prescribed intervals and amounts. The first step is considered the most important and is selected arbitrarily at one-half the static load shed target, with additional increments of about 0.1 per unit to be shed at 0.3 Hz increments until the dynamic load shed amount has been reached. >
High Power Step-Up Push-Pull DC-DC Converter with Parallel- Input/Series-Output for 3-phase Inverter Drive Aerator Water Treatment Application

This paper presented the design and implementation of high power step up push-pull converter, which designed for 3-phase inverter drive aerator water treatment application. The proposed converter circuit is designed based on push-pull dc-dc converter, which controlled output voltage by IC SG3525 circuit, the switching frequency equal to 50 kHz. The proposed converter circuit used transformer is 4 units, which is implemented by 4 primary parallels and 4 secondary series techniques. The benefit of prototype circuit is a low cost and simple design the prototype. The input voltage of prototype dc-dc converter is battery storage equal to 20-26 V. The experimental result of the proposed circuit show output voltage and output current range of 295-320 V and 3.16-4.75 A, respectively.
An Engineering Major Does Not (Necessarily) an Engineer Make: Career Decision Making Among Undergraduate Engineering Majors

This study uses a mixed‐methods design to investigate students' career decision making at two U.S. undergraduate institutions. The research question was, “To what extent do students who complete undergraduate programs in engineering intend to pursue engineering careers? ” We surveyed senior engineering majors about their post‐graduate intentions, and later interviewed a subset of the seniors about their career intentions. Only 42 percent of students surveyed reported that they definitely intended to pursue a career in engineering, 44 percent were unsure, and 14 percent were definitely not pursuing engineering. We observed significant institutional differences. Interview data reveal the quixotic nature of many students' decisions about their careers; strikingly, students were vacillating between multiple post‐graduate options late into the senior year, even into summer. Implications are discussed for further research and ways engineering departments can influence students' career decisions.
Solution to the eddy-current induction problem in a conducting half-space with a vertical cylindrical borehole

The eddy-current induction problem in a conducting half-space with a vertical borehole is studied and a solution based on modal techniques is presented. Owing to the particular characteristics of the specific geometry, the straightforward application of the truncated region eigenfunction expansion method (a well-established tool for the analytical solution of such problems) presents significant difficulties. Therefore, a modified truncation approach has been adopted that treats the problem in two steps, each one based on the superposition principle. The approach proves to be very efficient and numerically robust. Results for the coil impedance are in excellent agreement with those obtained with the finite-element method. From the engineering point of view, the geometry simulates the eddy-current inspection of fastener holes in aircraft structures when coil scanning is performed from the surface. The presented solution constitutes an important step towards the development of a complete model for fastener hole crack inspections.
THE POTENTIAL OF URONIDE HYDROCOLLOIDS FOR THE FORMATION OF SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF HEALTH PRODUCTS FROM HYDROBIONTS

The article presents the theoretical basis and practical aspects of the using of binary compositions of uronid polysaccharides in the technology of culinary products from aquatic organisms in jelly fillings. The relevance of the composition of natural high molecular weight polysaccharides, such as sodium alginate and low-esterified pectin, to promote the improvement of sensory characteristics of culinary products from aquatic organisms in the menu of fish restaurants is shown. The objectives of the study were to obtain a jelly filling of viscous consistency, followed by the formation of a stable, elastic gel for using in the technology of aquatic products. Obtaining a jelly filling involves det-ermining the parameters of the preliminary preparation of hydrocolloids; study of the influence of technological par-ameters on the sensory characteristics of the gel. Creating a dry mixture of sodium alginate and low-esterified pectin with salt and sugar was necessary to ensure the dispersion of particles of dry hydrocolloid powders to prevent sticking when swelling in water at a temperature of 18-20 ° C for 15 minutes. Intense swelling of the mixture occurs in the first 10 minutes of hydration.The degree of swelling reaches 5.8%; further increase in time has almost no effect on the swe-lling process. The swelling kinetics of the hydrocolloid mixture was evaluated by determining the tangent of the angle of inclination tangent to the curve describing the degree of swelling. The rational mass fraction of calcium ions for the formation of a transparent gel of stable, homogeneous, elastic consistency, which is 0.3-0.4% of the 10% solution of calcium chloride, was experimentally established. It was studied that dispersions with a mass fraction of a mixture of alginate: low-esterified pectin substances - 1.8% have a viscous consistency with a dynamic viscosity of less than 0.94 Pa • s, which is important for the implementation of technological operations of transportation and packaging of jelly fillings. The conditions and speed of gelation, which provide the finished culinary products with high sensory cha-racteristics and elastic consistency due to the regulated melting temperature, which is provided by the composition of uronide hydrocolloids, have been studied. It was found that the strength of the gel more than 140 g forms a mixture of hydrocolloids with a mass fraction of from 1.6 to 1.8%.
Undergraduate Researcher Stories: Insights for Mentoring in an Open and Distance Learning Context

Research is a requisite for most of the undergraduate honors degrees offered by universities worldwide and these undergraduates are expected to submit a dissertation based on their research. Given the new demands of this independent component of learning, it is important to understand the challenges faced by students and the strategies that they employ in successfully navigating the various components of this process. This knowledge is useful to mentors and course developers as it provides insights about the firsthand experience of the students. The present study used a qualitative research design to investigate the research experience of a purposive sample of undergraduates who completed their Bachelor of Arts Honors in English and English Language Teaching in an open and distance university in Sri Lanka in the academic year 2017/2018. The responses from 12 undergraduates in the form of written stories were coded and analyzed thematically. The study revealed areas which need attention by mentors, faculty, and universities, especially those in open and distance contexts, when providing support to novice researchers.
Design and performance projection of symmetric bipolar charge-plasma transistor on SOI

A novel symmetric structure of bipolar charge-plasma transistor (BCPT) is presented. It consists of symmetrical gates with platinum on top of a thin intrinsic silicon film, which forms hole plasma in emitter and collector regions. The base contact is formed with hafnium metal to induce electron plasma; hence, a p-n-p charge-plasma transistor is formed without any doping. The collector area that is chosen is the same as an emitter to make the device symmetrical. 2D simulation results revealed that the proposed BCPT possesses higher collector current and higher current gain than conventional p-n-p bipolar junction transistor (BJT) and almost the same characteristics such as asymmetrical p-n-p BCPT for different geometries. The major challenge of poor cut-off frequency ( f T ) of BCPT is also addressed by optimising the silicon film thickness and intrinsic gaps.
Successful Public Outreach Programs for Green Infrastructure Projects

Timely, effective and informative communication with the public is becoming necessary for successful GI projects in the public realm. Outreach goals generally include gaining/preserving public trust and helping to educate ratepayers on the benefits of GI in order to help facilitate efforts for easier allocation of funds for future GI projects. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s Sewer System Improvement Program emphasizes public outreach with well-defined goals. The outreach program goals for the Wiggle Neighborhood Green Corridor project included: i) gain support and trust from the community for the proposed improvements; ii) provide transparency for the planning and design of the project while balancing key elements of the project; iii) educate the public about what GI is and its available technologies; iv) hear from the community members on their preferences related to different GI technologies, materials, and locations; and, v) demonstrate an integrated approach to planning and design through a collaboration between SFPUC and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and San Francisco Department of Public Works. As part of the public outreach for the project, the team held three community Open Houses with more than 274 residents attending. SFPUC also used an online survey tool to gather feedback. Overall, between the Open Houses and online tool, more than 1000 people provided input. Additional specific outreach to property owners and residents that live adjacent to GI features was also part of the public outreach program for this project. In the end, public request for integration of GI and traffic calming measures resulted in bulb-out bioretention GI features planned at many locations along the iconic “Wiggle bicycle route. ” Online and interactive tools proved to be very effective in reaching people who could not attend the in-person meetings, and at the same time delivered a large amount of information in an easily understandable format. In addition, the tools allowed the project team to consider public input while finding the right balance of a variety of priorities and preferences for the project.
Performance Measurement and Professional Decision making: A Resolvable Conflict?

ABSTRACT Does performance measurement clash with professional decision-making? From a public management perspective, professional decision-making may imply a lack of accountability and self-interested behavior. Performance measurement offers a solution to those concerns. From the professions’ point of view, performance management hijacks the autonomy of street-level professionals and contributes to deskilling. We examine an example of such a clash in record keeping in a Danish family center, and we show why and over what professional staff disagree. Results point to the role of managers in securing improvements by changing the record-keeping system to enhance effective professional treatment. This can contribute to a shared rationality among social workers and allied professional staff.
Influence of machine design parameters on flux-weakening performance of induction machine for electrical vehicle application

This study investigates the influence of machine design parameters, mainly the mutual and leakage inductances, on the flux-weakening performance of induction machines (IMs) for electrical vehicle application. In addition, the influences of other practical issues, such as iron saturation, stator and rotor resistances and so on, are investigated. A per-unit model is employed for the investigation, while during the analysis, the inductance ratio between the leakage and mutual inductance is introduced. It is shown that, in general, it is very difficult to achieve infinite flux weakening performance of IMs, and only with ideal zero inductance ratio, could IM achieve infinite constant power region and the maximum utilisation of inverter. Finally, analytically calculated torque/power-speed characteristics of a 12 kW IM are verified by finite element analyses and experiments.
Polarization switching for distributed transverse stress sensing in optical fibers using the optical Kerr effect

A polarization diversity detection system for distributed sensing of polarization mode coupling in high birefringence fibers has been implemented using a pump-probe architecture based on the optical Kerr effect. The system is capable of locating disturbance points along a length of fiber, for arbitrary probe polarization states. The system is shown to overcome signal-fading problems due to phase bias drift of the probe caused by temperature variations in the fiber.
The use of wireless technology in UKM: Challenges faced and its impact on English language learning

The use of wireless technology has become increasingly popular among students in Malaysian Institutions of Higher Learning. However, the extent this technology benefits these students is still debatable. Wireless technology is commonly defined as any services that provide general electronic information and educational content to assist learners in the acquisition of knowledge, regardless of location and time. Studies have shown that the usage of wireless technology can provide new learning opportunities to the learners by increasing their interest in education and enabling them to overcome physical barriers. However, some studies revealed that the abuse of wireless technology may have negative effects that culminate in students’ poor performance in their studies. Easy availability of wireless technology in the university under investigation led to this research study which is designed to find the challenges faced in using wireless technology and its impact on learning particularly the learning of English among a group of students in a public university in Malaysia, i.e. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. A questionnaire survey and individual interviews were used to collect data for this study. The findings revealed that wireless technology has led to direct learning of English through accessing English language learning websites and online dictionaries, communicating socially online for learning purposes, to incidental learning through involvement in social networking and entertainment activities. The study also revealed some of challenges faced which include infrastructure problems such as traffic congestion, no network coverage and interference from the environment, and coping issues resulting from students’ excessive involvement in online activities.
Civil Aeroengine Fault Diagnosis Based on Fuzzy Least Square Support Vector Machine

SVM(Support Vector Machine) is a new artificial intelligence methodolgy, basing on structural risk mininization principle, which has better generalization than the traditional machine learning and SVM shows powerfulability in learning with limited samples. To solve the problem of lack of engine fault samples, FLS-SVM theory, an improved SVM, which is a method is applied. 10 common engine faults are trained and recognized in the paper.The simulated datas are generated from PW4000-94 engine influence coefficient matrix at cruise, and the results show that the diagnostic accuracy of FLS-SVM is better than LS-SVM.
Optimization of Shortest Path Problem using Dijkstra’s Algorithm in Imprecise Environment

Dijkstra algorithm is a widely used algorithm to find the shortest path between two specified nodes in a network problem. In this paper, a generalized fuzzy Dijkstra algorithm is proposed to find the shortest path using a new parameterized defuzzification method. Here, we address most important issue like the decision maker’s choice. A numerical example is used to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.
A wide-band CMOS injection-locked ring oscillator

An injection-locked ring oscillator fabricated in a 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS process is presented for high-speed applications. By tuning the free-running frequency, the proposed circuit provides 2:1 and 4:1 frequency division over a wide input frequency range. The measured input frequency range covers 16.7-25.2 GHz and 41.2-46.9 GHz for 2:1 and 4:1 frequency division, respectively. The divider core operates at a 1.8-V supply voltage with a power consumption between 21.0 and 23.8mW for the entire frequency tuning range.
Thermoelectric single-photon detectors for x-ray/UV radiation

A feasibility study of megapixel microcalorimeter arrays, based on thermoelectric energy to voltage conversion and digital superconducting readout, is presented. The design concept originated from the philosophy of employing the simplest principles at the single-pixel level to enable large arrays without sacrificing energy resolution, fast operation speed, and quantum efficiency. Initial experimental tests confirm the basic predictions of theory, and show no major obstacle in achieving the desired characteristics.
3D Visual Servoing by Feedforward Evolutionary Recognition

This paper deals with position-based 6-DoF visual servoing. With a common sense of feedback control, we stress that improvement of the dynamics of the sensing unit is important for a stable visual servoing. We propose a method to improve dynamics in visual recognition, with compensating the fictional motion of the target in the camera images based on kinematics of the manipulator, by extracting the real motion of the target. We named it as hand-eye motion feedforword (MFF) method. The enhanced dynamics of recognition gave further stability and precision to the total visual servoing system, evaluated by full 6-DoF servoing experiment using 7-link manipulator. The convergence time in step response was about 10[s] and precise visual servoing to a moving target object has been achieved.
Linear-nonlinear interaction’s effect on the power dependence of nonlinear distortion products

An unusual power dependence of the nonlinear distortion produced by a two-tone test has been observed in several different physical systems. We show that the interaction between the nonlinear and linear elements of a system can dramatically transform the overall nonlinear behavior of the system from that of the nonlinear component in isolation. In particular, we show that when interaction with the linear elements of an electric circuit is appropriately accounted for, rather simple models of nonlinearity display the unusual power dependence of nonlinear distortion products observed in a variety of physical systems.