Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
INTEGRATION OF SOFTWARE SAFETY ASSURANCE PRINCIPLES WITH AN AGILE DEVELOPMENT METHOD

Agile software development has had success in different domains. However there is one area where the implementation of agile methods still needs significant development – that is in the field of agile and safety-critical system development. In this field, software engineering processes need to be justified against the requirements of software safety assurance standards (such as ISO 26262 in the automotive domain). It is therefore important that agile development processes can be justified to levels of assurance equivalent to that provided by traditional development approaches. While there is existing literature concerning the integration of agile methods with specific safety-critical system development standards and agile methods, the question of how fundamental software safety assurance principles can be addressed within agile methods has received little attention. In this thesis we describe the results of practitioner surveys that highlight the primary concerns regarding the use of agile methods within safety-critical development. In the context of this survey, and of existing work on software safety assurance principles, we then present an initial proposal as to how assurance could be addressed with an existing agile development method – Scrum. This proposal was submitted to practitioners for initial feedback and evaluation. The results of this evaluation are also presented.
Designing an Interplanetary Autonomous Spacecraft Navigation System Using Visible Planets

Designing an Interplanetary Autonomous Spacecraft Navigation System Using Visible Planets. (May 2012) Reza Raymond Karimi, B.S., Tehran Azad University; M.S., Tarbiat Modares University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Daniele Mortari A perfect duality exists between the problem of space-based orbit determination from line-of-sight measurements and the problem of designing an interplanetary autonomous navigation system. Mathematically, these two problems are equivalent. Any method solving the first problem can be used to solve the second one and, vice versa. While the first problem estimates the observed unknown object orbit using the known observer orbit, the second problem does exactly the opposite (e.g. the spacecraft observes a known visible planet). However, in an interplanetary navigation problem, in addition to the measurement noise, the following “perturbations” must be considered: 1) light-time effect due to the finite speed of light and large distances between the observer and planets, and 2) light aberration including special relativistic effect. These two effects require corrections of the initial orbit estimation problems. Because of the duality problem of space-based orbit determination, several new techniques of angles-only Initial Orbit Determination (IOD) are here developed which are capable of using multiple observations and provide higher orbit estimation accuracy and also they are not suffering from some of the limitations associated with the classical and some newly developed methods of initial orbit determination. Using multiple observations make these techniques suitable for the coplanar orbit determination problems which is the case for the spacecraft navigation using visible planets as the solar system planets are all almost coplanar. Four new IOD techniques
How Long Can the MJO be Predicted During the Combined Phases of ENSO and QBO?

The predictability limit of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO) in the El Niño and La Niña boreal winters (November‐February) is investigated using observational data and historical run outputs of CMIP models. The MJO predictability is computed by the nonlinear local Lyapunov exponents approach for various MJO indices obtained from bandpass‐filtered (30–80 days) outgoing longwave radiation, 850‐hPa zonal wind, and 200‐hPa zonal wind data. The result shows that the MJO predictability during La Niña winters is enhanced by up to 8 days compared to El Niño winters. Enhanced convection of the MJO phases 2–4 with persistence propagation during La Niña winters leads to higher predictability, as compared with those for El Niño winters. The highest (lowest) predictability of the MJO shows 39 (31) days during La Niña/EQBO (El Niño/EQBO) winters. The longer persistence of the MJO during La Niña/EQBO winters leads to higher predictability.
Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Prevention in Type 2: Diabetes in a Real-World Practice Database

Women with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a 40% excess risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) compared to men due to the interaction between sex and gender factors in the development, risk, and outcomes of the disease. Our aim was to assess differences between women and men with T2DM in the management and degree of control of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF). This was a matched cross-sectional study including 140,906 T2DM subjects without previous CVD and 39,186 T2DM subjects with prior CVD obtained from the System for the Development of Research in Primary Care (SIDIAP) database. The absolute and relative differences between means or proportions were calculated to assess sex differences. T2DM women without previous CVD showed higher levels of total cholesterol (12.13 mg/dL (0.31 mmol/L); 95% CI = 11.9–12.4) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c; 5.50 mg/dL (0.14 mmol/L); 95% CI = 5.3–5.7) than men. The recommended LDL-c target was less frequently achieved by women as it was the simultaneous control of different CVRF. In secondary prevention, women showed higher levels of total cholesterol (16.89 mg/dL (0.44 mmol/L); 95% CI = 16.5–17.3), higher levels of LDL-c (8.42 mg/dL (0.22 mmol/L); 95% CI = 8.1–8.8), and higher levels of triglycerides (11.34 mg/dL (0.13 mmol/L); 95% CI = 10.3–12.4) despite similar rates of statin prescription. Recommended targets were less often achieved by women, especially LDL-c < 100 mg/dL (2.59 mmol/L). The composite control was 22% less frequent in women than men. In conclusion, there were substantial sex differences in CVRF management of people with diabetes, with women less likely than men to be on LDL-c target, mainly those in secondary prevention. This could be related to the treatment gap between genders.
Fatigue Optimization of Structural Parameters for Orthotropic Steel Bridge Decks Using RSM and NSGA-II

This study presents an optimization flow for structural parameters of orthotropic steel bridge decks (OSDs) based on the fatigue performance and the structural weight. The effects of structural parameters, namely, the thicknesses of the deck plate, the U-rib, the diaphragm, and the longitudinal diaphragm, on equivalent fatigue stress ranges were investigated using surrogate modelling based on the response surface methodology (RSM). Finally, the Pareto optimum front was obtained via the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II). The results show that the established surrogate response surface model can predict the local equivalent stress amplitudes well. The deck thickness is the most significant factor for the fatigue performance of the deck to U-rib weld and the U-rib to diaphragm weld. The objectives of minimizing the equivalent stress range and the total structural weight are truly conflicting, and the optimum solutions for structural parameters can be obtained from the Pareto optimum front.
The Incidence of Septic Pulmonary Embolism in Patients with Klebsiella pneumoniae Liver Abscess: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background: Septic pulmonary embolism (SPE) is an associated complication of Klebsiella pneumoniae liver abscess (KPLA). However, previous studies have reported that its incidence varies widely. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the incidence of SPE in patients with KPLA. We further analyzed their clinical and computed tomography (CT) features. Methods: Two researchers reviewed PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases to identify the articles that reported SPE in patients with KPLA. The search was conducted from the date of establishment of each database up to January 2021. After screening the articles and extracting the data, we used Review Manager 5.3 for analysis and processing. Results: We selected six articles that included 1,158 patients with KPLA. Of these, 70 patients had SPE. The pooled incidence of SPE was 6% (95% confidence interval, 3%–9%). Among patients with SPE, 85% were men, 72% had diabetes, and 52% displayed the feeding vessel sign on the chest CT. The mortality rate was 12%. Quality assessment revealed that half of the included studies had a high quality. Conclusion: The pooled incidence of SPE in patients with KPLA was 6%. Men and patients with diabetes were more prone to SPE. For patients with KPLA who had SPE as an associated complication, the mortality rate was approximately 12%.
Development of digital thermal insulation value tester for jute products

A new type of digital instrument has been developed for measuring thermal insulation value of various jute products using two-plate method. The instrument is based on a microprocessor and provides automatic results in ‘tog’ for the material under test. It requires no preparation of test samples if the area of the sample is not less than 700 cm. The test is nondestructive and process of sample preparation is free from human error.
Trajectory-tracking control of an underactuated unmanned surface vehicle based on quasi-infinite horizon model predictive control algorithm

The method of a designed trajectory tracking for an underactuated unmanned surface vehicle (USV) in the presence of ocean disturbances is addressed in this paper; the differential flatness theory is applied to get the reference inputs and speed states at the reference position trajectory. Second, a transition process is arranged for the reference trajectory to reduce the overshoot of the actuator, which caused by the large deviation in the initial tracking. Third, the nonlinear disturbance observer is designed to obtain the estimated values of unknown disturbances in the ocean. Then, a controller-based model predictive control (MPC) and terminal cost function is designed for the nominal system. The inherent robustness of the controller and estimates of the observer are used to resist and compensate disturbances. Finally, the simulation experiments of linear trajectory and sinusoidal trajectories are carried out to prove the effectiveness and reliability of the control algorithm designed.
Mixed H2/H∞ PID tracking control design for uncertain spacecraft systems using a cerebellar model articulation controller

A mixed H2/H∞ tracking control design method for uncertain spacecraft systems with guaranteed control performance is examined. A mixed H2/H∞ controller incorporating a cerebellar model articulation controller (CMAC) learning method and sliding-mode control action is developed in uncertain spacecraft systems under plant uncertainties and external disturbances. The CMAC control system is used to adaptively estimate the non-linear uncertainties, yielding a controller that can tolerate a wider range of uncertainties. The sliding-mode control action is included to eliminate the effect of approximation error via CMAC control system approximation. The sufficient condition is developed for mixed H2/H∞ performance in terms of linear matrix inequality formulations. The proposed method is simple and the PID parameters can be obtained systematically. Simulation results indicate that the mixed H2/H∞ performance can be achieved using the proposed methods.
Detection and Classification of Colorectal Polyp Using Deep Learning

Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is the third most dangerous cancer in the world and also increasing day by day. So, timely and accurate diagnosis is required to save the life of patients. Cancer grows from polyps which can be either cancerous or noncancerous. So, if the cancerous polyps are detected accurately and removed on time, then the dangerous consequences of cancer can be reduced to a large extent. The colonoscopy is used to detect the presence of colorectal polyps. However, manual examinations performed by experts are prone to various errors. Therefore, some researchers have utilized machine and deep learning-based models to automate the diagnosis process. However, existing models suffer from overfitting and gradient vanishing problems. To overcome these problems, a convolutional neural network- (CNN-) based deep learning model is proposed. Initially, guided image filter and dynamic histogram equalization approaches are used to filter and enhance the colonoscopy images. Thereafter, Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD) is used to efficiently detect and classify colorectal polyps from colonoscopy images. Finally, fully connected layers with dropouts are used to classify the polyp classes. Extensive experimental results on benchmark dataset show that the proposed model achieves significantly better results than the competitive models. The proposed model can detect and classify colorectal polyps from the colonoscopy images with 92% accuracy.
Individual Wealth Inequality: Measurement and Evidence from Low- and Middle-Income Countries

The accumulation of personal wealth, stemming from ownership and control of assets, plays a critical role in advancing women’s and men’s economic opportunities. Yet, it is an understudied dimension of inequality across the developing world. To study individual-level wealth inequality and gender differences in wealth, this paper leverages unique data from nationally-representative multi-topic household surveys that were conducted in Cambodia, Ethiopia, Malawi and Tanzania and that interviewed men and women in private regarding their personal ownership and valuation of physical and financial assets. The analysis documents substantial gender inequalities in asset ownership and wealth, overall and for specific asset classes. Individual-level wealth inequality measures are substantially higher vis-à-vis comparators based on per capita household consumption expenditures and per capita household wealth — and intra-household wealth inequality has a substantial role in explaining overall wealth inequality. While land is a key contributor to wealth inequality across countries, there is cross-country heterogeneity in the relative contributions of asset classes. Self-reporting on asset ownership and valuation, the internationallyrecommended best practice, is also shown to lead to higher inequality estimates compared to the businessas-usual survey practice of interviewing a single, most-knowledgeable household member to identify intrahousehold asset owners and values. The discussion expands on the implications of the findings for future surveys and methodological research. JEL Codes: C81, C83, D31, J16, O12.
Compound TCP: A New TCP Congestion Control for High-Speed and Long Distance Networks

This document proposes Compound TCP (CTCP), a modification to TCP's congestion control mechanism for use with TCP connections with large congestion windows. The key idea behind CTCP is to add a scalable delay-based component to the standard TCP's loss-based congestion control. The sending rate of CTCP is controlled by both loss and delay components. The delay-based component has a scalable window increasing rule that not only efficiently uses the link capacity, but on sensing queue build up, gracefully reduces the sending rate. We have implemented CTCP on Microsoft's Windows and we have done extensive testing on production links and in Windows Beta deployments. We also engaged with Stanford Linear Accelerator Center to evaluate the properties of CTCP. The results so far are very encouraging. This document describes the Compound TCP algorithm in detail, and solicits experimentation and feedback from the wider community. In this document, we collectively refer to any TCP congestion control algorithm that employs a linear increase function for congestion control, including TCP Reno and all its variants as Standard TCP.
Intention to reduce stigma for people who are affected by HIV A theory of planned behavior based approach

ABSTRACT With an official HIV infection rate of 18.5%, approximately one in five South Africans are HIV positive. Despite this prevalence, stigma and discrimination associated with being HIV positive is widespread. HIV-related stigma emanates from the fact that HIV is associated with risky behaviors such as drug use, sexual promiscuity, homosexuality and transactional sex. Participants were recruited through announcements in classrooms and during community meetings. Participants were selected if they knew someone who was discriminated against HIV as a result of being affected by HIV. The status of the participants was irrelevant. Seven focus group sessions were conducted with 62 participants. The results show that stigma is seen as a result of lack of HIV knowledge, with participants from rural areas showing more knowledge regarding HIV transmission and care as compared to urban participants. Most participants agreed that disclosure leads to more voluntary HIV testing, obtaining treatment and preventing further transmission of HIV. The results of this study provide indications that stigma can be mitigated by increasing knowledge of HIV prevention, targeted information campaigns in urban areas, and encouraging discussion about stigma and discrimination against the disease. Programmes should apply the Theory of Planned Behavior for the development of such interventions, take culture, creed, and other social affiliation into consideration.
Conflict Fusion Analysis on Earthquake-Damaged Risk Evidences for Underground Structure

To account for the conflict sensitivity, one model is presented to fuse the high conflict risk evidences about earthquake-damaged underground structure. Following the nature ideology and model rule of Evidence Theory, the earthquake-damaged origin risk evidence is revised with Similarity Coefficients, and the identical intensity and conflict intensity is calculated for each risk evidence; the difference and conflict character is comparatively analyzed about the fusion rules respectively on Similarity Coefficient and Conflict Intensity; Under Standard DS Fusion Mode and Conflict Intensity Fusion Method, the four combination fusion model is presented as Model-AO, Model-RO, Model-AC and Model-RC, and the improved risk fusion operator is given for such earthquake-damaged underground structure evidences. Finally, case demonstrates the validity of the integrated model, which could overcome the high conflict lack in the risk fusion standard DS model.
Crypto Hash Based Malware Detection in IoMT Framework

The challenges in providing e-health services with the help of Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is done by connecting to the smart medical devices. Through IoMT sensor devices/smart devices, physicians share the sensitive information of the patient. However, protecting the patient health care details from malware attack is necessary in this advanced digital scenario. Therefore, it is needed to implement cryptographic algorithm to enhance security, safety, reliability, preventing details from malware attacks and privacy of medical data. Nowadays blockchain has become a prominent technology for storing medical data securely and transmit through IoMT concept. The issues in the existing research works are in terms of insecurity, non-reliability, remote hijacking, hacking of password and Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. In order to overcome these issues, this work is focused on the double layer encryption model using PoW consensus with Crypto Hash algorithm (PoW-CHA). This proposed work concentrates on secured storage of medical data via IoMT transmission. It ensures transparency, decentralization, security, immutability and preserving privacy, and precisely detecting the malware attack. The accuracy of PoW-CHA is 98% compared to PoW and Crypto Hash algorithm. Moreover, it takes minimum computation time for PoW-CHA.
Determination of the rolling resistance of roller skis

The rolling resistance of skis used in roller skiing competitions should resemble the gliding resistance of cross-country skis to allow specific training and moving patterns for cross-country skiing and to guarantee equal opportunities for athletes in roller ski races. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to develop a portable rolling resistance meter to precisely measure the rolling resistance of roller skis. Measurements were based on recordings of the angular deceleration of a flywheel due to the rolling resistance between a roller ski’s wheel and the flywheel’s steel surface. Rolling resistance coefficients of four roller ski types ranged between 0.019 and 0.025. Measurements of the rolling resistance coefficient showed a precision of 1.26%. Substantial rolling resistance coefficient variations (10%) were observed for wheels of the same type. Furthermore, the rolling resistance coefficient was found to be negatively correlated with normal load or ambient temperature. The proposed rolling resistance meter is appropriate to determine the rolling resistance coefficient of roller skis’ wheels precisely.
In Silico study of 3-D structural interactions and quantitative structural drug likeness of marketed Cox-2 inhibitors

In the field of molecular modeling, docking may be a method which predicts the well-liked orientation of any molecule to a receptor to make a stable complex. Knowledge of the well-liked orientation successively could also be able to predict the strength of association or binding affinity between two molecules using, for instance, scoring functions. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors block cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), an enzyme that promotes inflammation. COX-2 enzyme converts to prostaglandin via arachidonic acid, causing pain and inflammatory responses. They are mainly present in places of inflammation and are responsible for formation of prostanoids (prostacyclins, prostaglandins and thromboxane) as part of the inflammatory response. COX-2 inhibitors are used to relieve pain raised from the inflammation. In the present study, the marketed COX-II inhibitors are subjected for the docking study and the drug likeness study which validate that the drugs show the optimum binding energy and drug likeness score with optimum bioactive score.
Optimal Design of an Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor with Cobalt Iron Core

The use of a cobalt-iron (VaCoFe) core is investigated as an alternative to silicon-iron (FeSi) in the design of interior permanent magnet synchronous motors (IPMSM). Considering VaCoFe and FeSi cores, a spoke-type IPMSM geometry is optimized for a torque range up to 40 N·m, providing a general comparative analysis between materials. This is done considering the application of a four-motor competition vehicle’s powertrain. A genetic optimization algorithm is coupled to the motor’s electromagnetic and thermal hybrid analytical/finite-element model to provide sufficiently accurate results within a feasible time. VaCoFe allows an estimated increase of up to 64% in torque for the same efficiency level, or up to 5% in efficiency for the same torque. After optimization and using a detailed time-dependent model, a potential 3.2% increase in efficiency, a core weight reduction of 4.1%, and a decrease of 9.6% in the motor’s core volume were found for the VaCoFe at 20 N·m. In addition, for the same motor volume, the VaCoFe allows an increase of 51.9% in torque with an increase of 1.1% in efficiency when compared with FeSi.