Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN HIGHWAY DECISION MAKING

This study, which was made in an effort to develop a comprehensive decision framework that will permit the realistic incorporation of social, economic and environmental factors into the highway decision-making process, consists of two parts: (1) an examination of some elements that are pertinent to an understanding of the changing nature of the highway location and design decision decision process; and (2) the presentation and explantion of a tentative check list and rating system to assist highway desision makers in the evaluation of complex location and design alternatives. Some operational realities facing the state highway agency are pointed out, and some specific project-related topics (e.g. community values, interpersonal trade-offs, public parks) are discussed. The report also presents the relationship between the highway agency and the general public, in terms of citizen participation and the highway decision process.
Voltage reference with programmable temperature coefficient and offset voltage compensation

This paper demonstrates an integrated circuit for compensation of errors in voltage references, that not only is able to compensate first order changes of the temperature coefficient, but can also correct for the offset error that is unavoidable in production due to variations in process conditions and mismatches. The temperature compensation circuit is programmable via three control bits, the remaining offset error is compensated by setting eight control bits and an external provided reference voltage. The compensation procedure can be controlled by an internal digital block or via external signals. The actual calibration data can then be saved in several possible ways (EPROM, laser fuses, external Memory, . . . ). Extensive simulations and measurements show that the described circuit reduces the average temperature error by more than 40% and the overall absolute error by more than 90% wth regards to the uncalibrated reference voltage.
PRINCIPLES AND FIGURES OF MERIT FOR ROADWAY LIGHTING AS AN AID TO NIGHT MOTOR VEHICLE TRANSPORTATION

Night usefulness and the value of streets and highways depends upon lighting. Although some critical and heavily-traveled sections of roadway have been lighted, more will be properly lighted, the extent depending upon the attention devoted to night traffic operations. Work is presented of a small group of engineers and technicians that have conducted research in the area. Roadway lighting aids law enforcement and prevents traffic accidents. Figure of merit ratings for the seeing and traffic effectiveness of roadway lighting are receiving increased attention. It is concluded that action for after dark operation of the nation's motor vehicle transportation system must be accelerated.
Developing a framework for a useable and useful inventory of Computer-facilitated learning and support materials in Australian universities

There are two aspects to this report - general issues related to the adoption of computer-facilitated learning (CFL) resources, and specific issues relating to setting up a useful and usable inventory of CFL resources. The project team began the project with the idea that we could develop a prototype national inventory using 'snapshots' obtained from institutional surveys, case studies and literature work. However, sufficient data about existing CFL resources is simply not yet available. The emphasis in this report evolved into the development of a framework about how a successful national inventory could be set up and maintained. As we outline later, we are recommending a system of distributed databases 'held together' by metadata standards. The report relates to key themes which emerged from the five case studies conducted in this study. These themes are Policy, Culture and Support. We have woven these themes into the report because we have been convinced that Australian university teachers will look for and use existing CFL resources only when these policy, culture and support issues are addressed. Otherwise any national inventory system will be used only minimally (and then only by enthusiasts rather than those who might benefit most).
Crisis Leadership Now: A Real-World Guide to Preparing for Threats, Disaster, Sabotage, and Scandal

Why do some managers shine during a high-level crisis while others stumble? Those who have an action plan in place are the ones who can react quickly, manage rumors, and respond to victims and stakeholders sincerely and adequately while keeping their organization afloat. Leading crisis management expert Laurence Barton has spent more than two decades consulting with top companies on how to anticipate and respond to workplace threats and tragedies. In Crisis Leadership Now he offers concrete solutions for managing disruptive events-from industrial accidents and acts of violence to embezzlement, product recalls, and terrorism. Barton takes you through his journey of advising senior executives on crisis events and examines: The characteristics that define a true crisis Proven strategies to help you understand andrespond to early warning signals Ways to mitigate threatening situations How to effectively communicate your decisionsin a timely manner to employees, shareholders,customers, and other constituencies In this forward-looking guide, Barton applies his corporate insider's insight to numerous case studies, demonstrating how such catastrophes happen to real companies and real people every day. These studies form a framework for building crisis management thinking into your company's strategic toolbox. Anticipating all forms of trouble, advising senior management and boards of directors about potential events, and devising a business recovery plan will allow your organization to rebound should tragedy strike. Barton has also created an indispensable sample crisis management plan, and includes detailed templates for addressing a wide spectrum of incidents and threats. Arming you with an arsenal of strategies, tools, and know-how, Crisis Leadership Now ensures that your company's leaders will demonstrate confidence and implement solutions in the midst of chaos.
Uniformity evaluation of renal tubular distribution in the ischemia-reperfusion process based on fractal theory

Background: Acute tubular necrosis (ATN) after renal ischemia-reperfusion would cause the loss of functional units in the kidney, that are usually used to characterize the activity of the kidney. Apparently, ATN will lead to uneven distribution of uriniferous tubules. The renal activity could be evaluated by analyzing the uniformity of renal tubular distribution. Methods: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been proved to have the ability of imaging the microstructure of kidney in vivo and in real time. Based on the renal ischemia-reperfusion model of Wistar rats described in previous studies, kidneys of three Wistar rats were ischemia for 75 minutes and reperfused for one and a half hour. The normal kidney before ischemia and every 5 minutes after blood reperfusion were imaged using a SDOCT system in 3D mode in vivo. Inhomogeneous distribution of tubules could be clearly observed in the en face OCT images of kidney after blood reperfusion. Box dimension based on fractal theory can be used to evaluate the uniformity of object distribution. This paper applied box dimension to assess the uniformity of renal tubular distribution in OCT images of kidney. The fractal dimension of en face OCT images at the same depth below the renal capsule were calculated using Fractal box count toolbox in ImageJ. Results: The results showed that the box dimensions of OCT kidney images changed a lot at different times of ischemia-reperfusion process. The value was largest for normal kidney, and reached a minimum when ischemia, then gradually increased to a stable value after reperfusion. Therefore, the fractal box dimension value could be applied to assess the status of kidney. Conclusion: The renal tubular uniformity featured by fractal box dimension of OCT images could be used to evaluate the renal ischemia - reperfusion injury.
Joint Architecture Standard (JAS) Reliable Data Delivery Protocol (RDDP) specification.

The Joint Architecture Standard (JAS) program at Sandia National Laboratories requires the use of a reliable data delivery protocol over SpaceWire. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration at the Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, developed and specified a reliable protocol for its Geostationary Operational Environment Satellite known as GOES-R Reliable Data Delivery Protocol (GRDDP). The JAS program implemented and tested GRDDP and then suggested a number of modifications to the original specification to meet its program specific requirements. This document details the full RDDP specification as modified for JAS. The JAS Reliable Data Delivery Protocol uses the lower-level SpaceWire data link layer to provide reliable packet delivery services to one or more higher-level host application processes. This document specifies the functional requirements for JRDDP but does not specify the interfaces to the lower- or higher-level processes, which may be implementation-dependent.
A novel phase self-compensation isolator based on TE-TM mode conversion

The intrinsic factors of magneto-optical waveguide isolator based on 45° nonreciprocal mode conversion and 45° reciprocal mode conversion are introduced. A novel phase self-compensation isolator is designed and simulated by the full-vectorial FD-BPM. The insertion loss of this isolator is -12dB and the isolation is-34dB.
Predictive PWM-based Direct Instantaneous Torque Control of Switched Reluctance Drives

A method of direct instantaneous torque control for switched reluctance motor drives using pulse width modulation based on flux linkage prediction is presented in this paper. The torque characteristic of the machine allows a prediction of reference flux linkage for the next sampling time-step. By estimating this flux linkage, the necessary average phase voltage for the next PWM-period can be calculated to control a constant instantaneous torque output. Moreover, the sampling time of the control can be extended, which allows implementation on low cost microcontrollers. Furthermore, a novel strategy of torque prediction is proposed, which allows complete elimination of inherent torque ripple during phase commutation, without using offline-calculated current or flux profiles. The functionality of this strategy is verified by computer simulation and experiments.
The Control of Human Arm Movement: Models and Mechanical Constraints

A serial-link manipulator may form a mobile closed kinematic chain when interacting with the environment, if it is redundant with respect to the task degrees of freedom (DOFs) at the endpoint. If the mobile closed chain assumes a number of configurations, then loop consistency equations permit the manipulator and task kinematics to be calibrated simultaneously using only the joint angle readings; endpoint sensing is not required. Example tasks include a fixed endpoint (0 DOF task), the opening of a door (1 DOF task), and point contact (3 DOF task). Identifiability conditions are derived for these various tasks.
Robust PID Controller for Quad-rotors

This study considers robust proportional integral derivative (PID) control for attitude stabilization of quad-rotors. The proposed method is designed for maintaining robustness against uncertainty of the system parameters and minimizing the control input for the quad-rotors. The closed-loop poles of the controlled system are placed within a region with specified decay rate and damping ratio for achieving specified transient response. The PID gains are tuned offline using theory. The robust control design problem is converted to optimization problem and solved using genetic algorithm. Finally, the proposed controller is simulated in the nominal and perturbations scenarios.
On‐line monitoring of wind‐induced stresses and fatigue damage in instrumented structures

The use of sparse‐measured response as a means to monitor stresses and fatigue damage throughout metal structures has been the subject of recent work by researchers in the field of vibration‐based structural health monitoring. The basic premise is that by using measured structural response, one can improve upon purely stochastic estimates. The most recent applications found in the literature employ the Kalman filter as an estimator. In this paper, we propose a finite element model‐based state estimator that can be implemented as a modified version of the finite element model of the system using corrective forces that are proportional to the measurements. In contrast with the standard Kalman filter, the proposed estimator explicitly accounts for spatial correlation and for the colored nature of the excitation through knowledge of its power spectral density. The approach is used to estimate the number of threshold crossings in the bending moment history of a simulated tall vertical structure subject to turbulent wind. It is shown that the proposed model‐based estimator outperforms a standard Kalman filter. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Metal Building Construction Using the MIC-240 ABM K-Span Machine.

Abstract : The process of constructing a metal system has always been fairly similar to construct. Although there are many companies that produce, manufacture, and construct metal buildings, the construction effort has been the same. The typical steps are to construct the foundation and floor slab, then erect the steel columns, and roof beams. Once this was completed, the next step was to add Purlins and joists. The final step was to attach and seam together the roof system. There is a different type of metal building system called a K-Span. This metal building does not follow conventional metal building construction methods. In order to construct a K-Span metal building, a special K-Span machine is required. With this machine, a K-Span seamer, and coils steel stock material, a metal building can be constructed. The folks at M.I. C. Industries have taken a different approach to construction of metal building systems by producing a machine that bends, corrugates, and produces curved panel that acts as a structural members not requiring steel columns or steel beams for internal structural support. These curved panels once seamed together, produces a unique, complete and usable metal building.
A model of partially-depleted SOI MOSFETs in the subthreshold range

A steady-state model of partially-depleted (PD) SOI MOSFETs I-V characteristics in subthreshold range is presented. Phenomena, which must be accounted for in current continuity equation, which is a key equation of the PD SOI MOSFETs model are summarized. A model of diffusionbased conduction in a weakly-inverted channel is described. This model takes into account channel length modulation, drift of carriers in the „pinch-off” region and avalanche multiplication triggered by these carriers. Characteristics of the presented model are shown and briefly discussed.
DIFFERENTIAL MOVEMENT AT THE EMBANKMENT/STRUCTURE INTERFACE - MITIGATION AND REHABILITATION. FINAL REPORT

Settlement of roadway pavement surfaces near highway bridge abutments often leads to abrupt grade differences at the abutments. These grade differences subject vehicles to a "bump", which leads to driver discomfort and potentially unsafe driving conditions. In addition, differential movement causes vehicle wear, damages sensitive cargo, subjects the bridge to repeated impact loads, and requires costly and repeated maintenance work that usually impedes the flow of traffic. The objectives of the research described in this report were to: 1) review methods for reducing long-term deformations at the approach embankment/bridge interface and rehabilitating differential deformations; 2) quantify the magnitude of differential settlement/heave problems at the approach embankment/bridge interface in Illinois; 3) determine the factors that lead to differential movement at the approach embankment/bridge interface in Illinois; 4) review current Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) procedures for mitigating differential settlement; 5) review current IDOT maintenance/rehabilitation methods for the approach embankment/bridge interface; and 6) provide recommendations for reducing long-term deformations at the approach embankment/bridge interface in Illinois.
System Identification Theory Approach to Cohesive Sediment Transport Modelling

Two aspects of the modelling sediment transport are investigated. One is the univariate time series modelling the current velocity dynamics. The other is the multivariate time series modelling the suspended sediment concentration dynamics. Cohesive sediment dynamics and numerical sediment transport model are reviewed and investigated. T h e system identification theory and time series analysis method are developed and applied to set up the time series model for current velocity and suspended sediment dynamics. In this thesis, the cohesive sediment dynamics is considered as an unknown stochastic system to be identified. The study includes the model structure determination, system order estimation and parameter identification based on the real data collected from relevant estuaries and coastal areas. T h e strong consistency and convergence rate of recursive least squares parameter identification method for a class of time series model are given and the simulation results show that the time series modelling of sediment dynamics is accurate both in data fitting and prediction in different estuarine and coastal areas. It is well known that cohesive sediment dynamics is a very complicated process and it contains a lot of physical, chemical, biological and ocean geographical factors which are still not very well understood. The numerical modelling techniques at present are still not good enough for quantitative analysis. The time series modelling is first introduced in this thesis to set up cohesive sediment transport model and the quantitative description and analysis of current velocity and suspended sediment concentration dynamics, which provides a novel tool to investigate cohesive sediment dynamics and to achieve a better understanding of its underlying character.
A Study on the Adoption of a Web Page Content Assessment Tool: SPAT

As more users rely on web-based health information there is a growing need to identify reliable information sources. Currently there are a few evaluation approaches for web-based information but they require paper-based materials for note taking or require utilization on a subjective ranking system. In each case, these approaches require an extended period of time to assess the web page and do not provide a validated measure of accuracy or quality. The broad aim of this study was to measure the validity and the adoption, of the new web page assessment tool, SPAT. The mnemonic, SPAT, stands for Site, Publisher, Audience, and Text. As a web page assessment tool, SPAT cues individuals to analyze four components of a web page, each showing a sign of reliability. Once the individual inspects the web page with the SPAT criteria, they then make an educated assessment on the quality of the information presented. A cohort of certified diabetes educators were introduced to SPAT and tested its application. Results revealed that SPAT showed characteristics of validity and routine use. Within the convenience sample of certified diabetes educators there was 100% performance in evaluating a web page for an author and date. Analyzing the web page to perceive the intended web page audience also had 100% compliance while looking at the text of the web page occurred 90% of the time. This investigation was accomplished through the completion of a formal research process, each described within the body of this dissertation. The SPAT instrument would not only be of value for health care professionals but for general information consumers as well.
A Model for Evaluating the Solution Space of Mass Customization Toolkits

Mass customization involves consumers in the design process by enabling them to customize a product through the use of a toolkit. The aim of this paper is to develop a profound understanding of constructing a solution space of mass customization toolkits and to examine the autonomy of the user in relation to the solution space. In this study a model is proposed that can be used to evaluate the solution space of mass customization toolkits. The model is based on target outcome and guidance and analyses toolkits by examining product attributes, mechanisms and choice in the solution space and guidance throughout the process of customization. The three main findings presented concern the emphasis of existing toolkits on customizing ‘hard’ product attributes, a strong focus on ‘lower-level’ product attributes, and the lack of uniqueness in the outcomes from current toolkits.
Characterizing the host response to rhPDGF‐BB in a rat spinal arthrodesis model

Due to the constraints surrounding autograft bone, surgeons have turned to osteoinductive agents to augment spinal fusion. Reports of complications and questionable efficacy slowed the adoption of these alternatives. Recombinant human platelet‐derived growth factor B homodimer (rhPDGF‐BB) has been Food and Drug Administration (FDA)‐approved (Augment) to promote fusion in other areas of orthopedics, but its characterization in spine fusion has not yet been tested. The purpose of this study is to characterize the host response to PDGF‐BB in vivo.
EVALUATION OF ALABAMA LIMESTONE AGGREGATES FOR ASPHALT WEARING COURSES

The Alabama Highway Department does not permit the use of limestone coarse aggregate in asphalt wearing courses because of potential long-term skid resistance problems. A laboratory study was undertaken to evaluate 32 sources of limestone aggregates in Alabama for possible use in the wearing courses. Twelve approved sources of gravel aggregate were also evaluated for comparison. The frictional properties of all aggregates were determined using the British pendulum tester (ASTM E303) after 9 hr of accelerated polishing on the British wheel (ASTM D3319). Aggregates were also subjected to petrographic analysis. The percentage of noncarbonate material in limestone aggregates was determined by two methods: percent insoluble residue (ASTM D3042) and percent loss on ignition (Tennessee DOT method). The British pendulum number (BPN) values were found to follow a hyperbolic relationship with polishing time. This relationship can possibly be used to predict the limiting BPN value after infinite polish time. There was a general trend that the value of BPN9 (BPN value after 9 hr of polishing) increased as the percentage of insoluble residue increased or the percentage loss by ignition decreased. On the basis of BPN9 values, limestone aggregates were divided into three categories: potentially low, medium, and high skid-resistance levels. If BPN9 is used as an acceptance criterion, the limestone aggregates of the medium and high categories have the potential to provide skid resistance levels comparable with gravel aggregates used at the present time.