Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stability analysis of discrete time switching systems driven by an automaton

In this work, we develop a framework for stability analysis of Discrete-Time Linear Switching Systems (DTLSS), a class of hybrid dynamical system mixing continuous and discrete state dynamics. We focus on the finite switching automaton describing the discrete state dynamics of the system. First, we study a quantity depicting the worst-case growth rate of the system, the constrained joint-spectral radius ρ. We relate it with stability and describe how the switching automaton influences it. Then we propose an approximation scheme for -relative approximation of ρ based on a powerful mathematical construction we call nodal multi-norms. 1 Discrete-time linear switching systems A discrete-time switching linear system (DTLSS) is a dynamical system of the form xt+1 = Aσ(t)xt x0 ∈ R. At time t, a matrix Aσ(t) is selected amongst a set of N matrices Σ = {A1, · · · , AN}. The value of σ(t) ∈ {1, · · · , N}, is called the mode of the system at time t. The succession of modes up to time t, (σ(0), · · · , σ(t)) ∈ {1, · · · , N}t is referred to as the switching sequence of the system up to time t. For some systems, there might be additional informations about the shape of the switching sequences. Our focus is on using this additional information in developing stability conditions for the switching system. When the switching is either arbitrary or unknown, a quantity known as the joint-spectral radius (see [5]) has been developed to answer the question. It is a real positive number, corresponding to the worst case growth of any trajectory of the system. When it is known that the switching is not arbitrary, sufficient stability conditions based on the joint spectral radius might be too conservative, as illustrated in Example 1.1. Example 1.1. Consider the set Σ = {A1, A2, A3, A4}, with 0 < < 1 and A1 = ( 0.99 0 0 0 ) , A2 = ( 0 1− 0 0 ) , A3 = ( 0 1− 2 0 0 ) , A4 = ( 2 1− 0 0 0 ) . (1) ∗Research supported by the Belgian Interuniversity Attraction Poles, and by the ARC grant 13/18-054 from Communauté française de Belgique. †Université Catholique de Louvain, ICTEAM/INMA. M.P. is a FRIA (F.R.S. FNRS) Fellow. ‡Université Catholique de Louvain, ICTEAM/INMA. R.J. is a FNRS Research Associate. Under arbitrary switching, the system is unstable since A4 has a spectral radius 2 1− greater than 1. In this simple example, this corresponds to the joint-spectral radius of the system. Now consider the switching is made to correspond to transitions in the automaton illustrated in Figure 1.
Design, evaluation, and fabrication of low-cost composite blades for intermediate-size wind turbines

Abstract : This report describes the low-cost composite blade program, carried out by Structural Composites Industries, Inc. (SCI) under a contract to NASA-Lewis Research Center, (NASA), funded by the Department Of Energy (DOE), involving design, evaluation and fabrication of a pair of low-cost composite rotor blades (LCCB) for the MOD-OA wind turbine. The objectives of the program were to identify low cost approaches to the design and fabrication of blades for a two-bladed 200 kW wind turbine and to assess the applicability of the techniques to larger and smaller blades. Rotor blades represent a substantial portion of the cost of intermediate to large-size wind turbines, hence low-cost blades are needed to improve the overall cost effectiveness of these systems.
Regenerate Post COVID-19 Tourism with Smart Tourism Application (Moh Poie Rembau - Let’s Go to Rembau) as the Next Cultural Tourism & Travel Destination in Malaysia

The outlook for the tourism sector in Malaysia remains highly uncertain. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to hit hard in which by 2022 the domestic tourism is expected to decrease by around 80%. To regenerate our local tourism income, a smart tourism application known as ‘Moh Poie Rembau’ or Let’s Go to Rembau has been developed to strengthen the domestic tourism industry. Rembau, Negeri Sembilan is a tourist destination with a huge tourism potential that includes rich culture, heritage, buildings, and gastronomy. However, the culture of Rembau has different attractions for tourists due to lack of and disorganized information on tourism developments, supporting facilities, tourism objects, and visitor information about the locals. Many undiscovered places are worth visiting, but many are unaware of their existence due to the lack of tourism information. This research aims to identify the feedback on the importance of smart tourism application use on smartphones. This application is designed to attract travelers to choose Rembau as their next destination plan. A cross-sectional survey of the 14-item instrument was adapted and distributed online to a total of 150 smartphone users in Klang Valley during the first week of March 2021. Most of the users have high and positive responses towards this product. The findings supported the idea that smart tourism applications can give impact users’ intention to use. The results also improved our knowledge and understanding that this application can be a part of the tourism approach in promoting Rembau as one of the tourism attractions. The application will provide information about tourist attractions, hotels, restaurants, shopping attractions, and other facilities with just one click away. This study is beneficial and significant for the researchers, tourism agencies, media practitioners, and the public to maintain digital technology and travel in line.
Laboratory Information Management Systems for Forensic Laboratories: A White Paper for Directors and Decision Makers

Modern, forensics laboratories need Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) implementations that allow the lab to track evidentiary items through their examination lifecycle and also serve all pertinent laboratory personnel. The research presented here presents LIMS core requirements as viewed by respondents serving in different forensic laboratory capacities as well as different forensic laboratory environments. A product-development methodology was employed to evaluate the relative value of the key features that constitute a LIMS, in order to develop a set of relative values for these features and the specifics of their implementation. In addition to the results of the product development analysis, this paper also provides an extensive review of LIMS and provides an overview of the preparation and planning process for the successful upgrade or implementation of a LIMS. Analysis of the data indicate that the relative value of LIMS components are viewed differently depending upon respondents' job roles (i.e., evidence technicians, scientists, and lab management), as well as by laboratory size. Specifically, the data show that: (1) Evidence technicians place the most value on chain of evidence capabilities and on chain of custody tracking; (2) Scientists generally place greatest value on report writing and generation, and on tracking daughter evidence more » that develops during their analyses; (3) Lab. Managers place the greatest value on chain of custody, daughter evidence, and not surprisingly, management reporting capabilities; and (4) Lab size affects LIMS preference in that, while all labs place daughter evidence tracking, chain of custody, and management and analyst report generation as their top three priorities, the order of this prioritization is size dependent. « less
Uncertainty Intervals to Quantify and Communicate Polling Estimates

The accuracy of predictive models is constrained by the underlying data. It can be challenging for those who did not develop a predictive model to objectively determine whether the uncertainty of the underlying data is consistent with the claimed probability estimates. Here we distinguish two complementary sources of uncertainty: the resolution of the measurement method and the statistical variation of repeated measurements. Although election polls were widely criticized following the 2016 US Presidential Election, state-level polls correctly predicted the outcome for individual states, but only when the statistical confidence interval lay outside the method-specific uncertainty interval. When confidence intervals overlapped with the uncertainty interval, the results were uncertain: both candidates won some of the uncertain state-level contests. Some elections will be too close to call. Estimating the amount of uncertainty in the data alerts data modelers to overly confident predictions and helps improve the way we explain uncertainty.
Parameter Extraction and Characteristics Study for Manganese-Type Lithium-Ion Battery

In this paper, we propose the battery transient response model and parameter extraction method for studying the dynamic behaviors of Manganese-type Lithium-Ion battery. The background knowledge of the battery structure and its operating principle are also concluded. Several aspects of operating conditions, such as charging and discharging operations, environments of terminal currents and temperatures, are considered through the experiments for understanding the battery behaviors. The characteristics of internal effective series resistance, battery capacity, and capacity deterioration to the operational and environmental conditions are also evaluated and analyzed physically. The transient response model and the extracted parameters are validated with a Spice simulation for the practical testing data. The terminal voltage response shows an acceptable conformity for the experiment and simulation to different periods and amplitudes of pulse currents.
Comparison of Nearest Neighbor and Caliper Algorithms in Outcome Propensity Score Matching to Study the Relationship between Type 2 Diabetes and Coronary Artery Disease

Introduction: Propensity score matching (PSM) is a method to reduce the impact of essential and confounders. When the number of confounders is high, there may be a problem of matching, in which, finding matched pairs for the case group is difficult, or impossible. The propensity score (PS) minimizes the effect of the confounders, and it is reduced to one dimension. There are various algorithms in the field of PSM. This study aimed to compared the nearest neighbor and caliper algorithms. Methods: Data obtained in this study were from patients undergoing angiography at Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad, between 2011-12. The study was a retrospective case-control using PSM. In total, 604 patients were included in the case and control groups. A logistic regression model was used to calculate the propensity score and adjust the variables, such as age, gender, Body Mass Index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, smoking status, and triglyceride. Then, the Odds Ratios (ORs) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) for the raw data and two matching algorithms were determined to examine the relationship between type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD). Results: Propensity score in the nearest neighbor and caliper algorithms matched the total number of 604 samples, 200 and 178 pairs, respectively. All variables were significantly different between the two groups before matching (P<0.05). The gender was significantly different between the two groups after matching using the nearest neighbor algorithm (P=0.002). No variables created a significant difference between the two groups after matching with the caliper algorithm. Conclusion: Bias reduction in the caliper algorithm was greater than for the nearest neighbor algorithm for all variables except the triglyceride variable.
Development of Nondestructive Inspection Methods for Composite Repair

This paper describes the development and implementation of two complementary nondestructive inspection methods for repairs made on aircraft composite honeycomb structures: computer aided tap testing (CATT) and air‐coupled ultrasonic testing (AC‐UT). The CATT, being a semi‐automated and quantitative technique, is exploited to map out the interior conditions of a repaired part. The same repair is also imaged with air‐coupled ultrasound and both compared with the results from destructive sectioning.
Four-Wave Mixing in Microwires to All-Optical Signal Processing in Mode-Division Multiplexing Systems

Abstract Mode-division multiplexing requires all-optical signal processing techniques that are able to deal with a new coding dimension, the spatial mode. In this context, optical microwires emerge as a potential highly non-linear and multi-modal waveguide envisioning the development of all-optical signal processing devices to mode-division multiplexing systems based on the four-wave mixing process. The inter- and intramodal phase-matching conditions for the four-wave mixing process are mapped as a function of the microwire diameter and the wavelength of signals. Moreover, the efficiency of four-wave mixing considering a strong guiding regime is investigated in the multi-modal regime.
Development of an Instrument to Study the Meaning of Color in Interior Environments

Objective The objective of this study was to develop an instrument by which the meaning of color in the interior environment could be determined. Research Design An abstract color palette was developed that was representative of a picture of an interior. Six palettes were developed based on pictures of six interiors. The palettes were computer–generated color compositions of hue, value, chroma, contrast, overlapping, and adjacencies. Sixty–four volunteer subjects were asked to view each picture, then later each palette, and determine the degree of absence or presence of a characteristic in each. Twenty–one descriptor words represented the characteristics; they were used with a Likert–type, single–word scale. Analysis A t–test was run on the responses to each word to determine significant differences in subjects’ responses to the descriptor word for the picture and the palette. Key Findings For fourteen words, 66.7%, there were no significant differences between the pictures and the palettes. The abstract color palette was shown to be a valid testing instrument for meaning of color in the interior environment because it reflected the same meaning as the picture. Conclusion Although additional validation of this instrument must be completed, this study showed potential for use of the abstract color palette as a visual research instrument that focuses only on the meaning of color and eliminates all other interior components.
SAW based chirp Fourier transform for OFDM systems

We report on a new SAW based OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) receiver concept for wireless indoor applications. We propose the use of the analog SAW chirp Fourier transform which replaces the digitally implemented FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) of conventional receiver concepts. These analog processors feature real time signal processing and so the amount of costly high speed digital signal processing is significantly reduced.
Mobile Incidental Learning to Support the Inclusion of Recent Immigrants

Social inclusion of recent immigrants is a challenge in many countries for both immigrants and the host communities. To harness the potential of social, situated and opportunistic mobile interactions for the social inclusion of immigrants in a host country, we have developed an Incidental Learning Framework. This supports the design and evaluation of MApp, a suite of smartphone tools and services for recent immigrants. Developed within the European Union's MASELTOV project (http://www.maseltov.eu), the MApp delivers language learning activities, image-to-text translation, context-aware and interest-based recommendations, local information, game-based cultural learning and social support to immigrants in cities. Preliminary field trials in Vienna, Madrid and London have highlighted issues of mobile literacy, affordability, ethics and privacy challenges, as well as insights into motivations and possible measures of success. Incidental learning implemented on a smartphone app has implications for the relationship between formal and informal learning; new systems of learner support by other immigrants, mentors and volunteers; the design of learning materials that combine immediate assistance with longer term learner development; and potential conflicts between technological affordances, e.g. context awareness and learner tracking, and user preferences among vulnerable groups such as recent immigrants.
Improving Intrusion Prevention, Detection and Response

Improving Intrusion Prevention, Deteetion and Response Tar ik Mohamed Abdel-Kader Ibrahim BMath (Hons) In the face of a wide range of attacks. Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and other Internet security tools represent potentially valuable safeguards to identify and combat the problems facing online systems. However, despite the fact that a variety o f commercial and open source solutions are available across a range of operating systems and network platforms, it is notable that the deployment of IDS is often markedly less than other well-known network security countermeasures and other tools may often be used in an ineffective manner. This thesis considers the challenges that users may face while using IDS, by conducting a webbased questionnaire to assess these challenges. The challenges that are used in the questionnaire were gathered from the well-established literature. The participants responses varies between being with or against selecting them as challenges but all the listed challenges approved that they are consider problems in the IDS field. The aim of the research is to propose a novel set of Human Computer Interaction-Security (HCI-S) usability criteria based on the findings of the web-based questionnaire. Moreover, these criteria were inspired from previous literature in the field of HCI. The novelty of the criteria is that they focus on the security aspects. The new criteria were promising when they were applied to Norton 360, a well known Internet security suite. Testing the alerts issued by security software was the initial step before testing other security software. Hence, a set o f security software were selected and some alerts were triggered as a result of performing a penetration test conducted within a test-bed environment using the network scanner Nmap. The findings reveal that four of the HCI-S usability criteria were not ful ly addressed by all of these security software. Another aim of this thesis is to consider the development of a prototype to address the HCI-S usability criteria that seem to be overlooked in the existing security solutions. The thesis conducts a practical user trial and the findings are promising and attempt to find a proper solution to solve this problem. For instance, to take advantage o f previous security decisions, it would be desirable for a system to consider the user's previous decisions on similar alerts, and modify alerts accordingly to account for the user's previous behaviour. Moreover, in order to give users a level o f fiexibility, it is important to enable them to make informed decisions, and to be able to recover from them i f needed. It is important to address the proposed criteria that enable users to confirm / recover the impact of their decision, maintain an awareness of system status all the time, and to offer responses that match users' expectations. The outcome of the current study is a set of a proposed 16 HCI-S usability criteria that can be used to design and to assess security alerts issued by any Internet security suite. These criteria are not equally important and they vary between high, medium and low.
Unobserved Leading and Coincident Common Factors in the Post-War U.S. Business Cycle

The paper introduces a two-factor model of the common leading and coincident economic indicators. Both factors are unobserved and each of them captures the dynamics of a corresponding group of the observed time series. The common leading factor is assumed to Granger-cause the common coincident factor. This property is used to estimate these two factors simultaneously and hence more efficiently. Two models of the latent leading and coincident factors are studied : a model with linear dynamics and a model with Markov-switching dynamics introduced through the leading factor intercept term. Moreover, a possibility of the individual leading variables having different leads over the common coincident indicator is considered. These models - both with linear and with regime-switching dynamics - were applied to the US monthly macroeconomic time series. The business cycle dating resulting from the nonlinear model closely corresponds to the NBER chronology and leads its turning points by 3-5 months.
Comment on “Realized Variance and Market Microstructure Noise” by Peter R. Hansen and Asger Lunde

We find ourselves very much in agreement with the thrust of HL’s message concerning the complexity induced by microstructure noise. In particular, we agree that noise is time dependent and correlated with the efficient price - features that in our view are a necessary consequence of the observed form of market transactions, as we have argued above - and that the properties of noise inevitably evolve over time, again just as the efficient price is itself evolutionary. We further agree that microstructure noise cannot be accommodated by simple specifications. Since microstructure noise at ultra high infill sampling frequencies often off-sets the actual transactions data to the latent efficient price, the complexity of microstructure noise includes local nonstationarity and perfect correlation with the efficient price. These are properties that are not permitted in the models and methods presently used in the literature. However, there are empirical procedures that are capable of addressing these additional complexities as we have indicated in parts of our discussion. We join the authors in saying there is still much to do in this exciting field and we look forward to further developments that build on the work they and others have done recently.
Pass Rate Set by Borderline Regression Method but not by Modified Angoff is Independent on Difficulty of Content in Objective Structured Clinical Exams

Background Standard setting is a method of determining the cut-off point on the scoring scale that separates the competent from the non-competent. This is a crucial feature of each exam. Pass rate should ideally be independent on the difficulty of exam content. Methods We compared the modified Angoff method (MAM) with the borderline regression method (BRM) of standard setting in 185 candidates examined by 137 examiners in the oral part of the European Diploma in Intensive Care exam, June 2018. We then compared the effect of removal of the hardest questions on the performance of the two techniques. The exam comprised 299 items in total across 6 OSCE stations. OSCE stations were of two types; short computer based OSCE stations (3 x 12 minutes), and longer structured discussion stations based on a clinical case (3 x 25 minutes). Our focus was the effect of item difficulty on the performance of the two standard setting techniques in determining the pass mark. Results MAM and BRM both led to similar pass rates overall for the shorter computer based 12 min OSCE stations. In the longer structured discussion 25 min stations MAM set a pass mark much higher than BRM, failing more of the candidates whose performance during the examination was judged by examiners on their global assessment as above the standard required to pass. Further analysis showed the exam items most affecting this were the more difficult items with lower discrimination; Angoff judges over-estimated the borderline candidates ability for these items. Elimination of these items led to convergence of pass marks achieved by the two methods. Conclusion Pass mark setting by Modified Angoff Method, but not by Borderline Regression Method, is influenced by the difficulty of exam content. This has practical implication for evaluating the results of OSCE exams.