Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Calibration considerations for piezoresistive-based stress sensors

The authors present a study of the variation of the piezoresistive coefficients over several devices on the same die, the same wafer, and at different doping levels. The sensor test vehicles are fully documented, and a thorough error analysis on the method of applying a known uniaxial state of stress is presented. It is shown that individual stress-sensor calibration is required if the uncertainty in the absolute values of the measured stresses needs to be less than 15%. If the uncertainty only needs to be less than 50%, then one device per wafer can be calibrated or an equation relating the unstressed resistance values to the piezoresistance coefficients can be used. <<ETX>>
Cost-effective 10-Gb/s optical duobinary transmission systems using a nonbuffered X-cut LiNbO/sub 3/ Mach-Zehnder modulator

We demonstrate a cost-effective method to implement a 10-Gb/s optical duobinary transmitter using a simple nonbuffered x-cut LiNbO/sub 3/ Mach-Zehnder (MZ) modulator. The bandwidth of the modulator used in our experimental demonstration is 4 GHz. The duobinary signal generated from the nonbuffered MZ modulator exhibits a similar performance to the one using a 9-GHz bandwidth buffered MZ modulator, in terms of dispersion and self-phase modulation tolerance. Thus, the use of cost-effective nonbuffered x-cut MZ modulators will substantially relax the cost issues of duobinary transmitters, by offsetting the cost of the precoder and the encoder which are not needed in conventional on-off keying transmitters.
Analysis of saturated synchronous reactances of large turbine generator by considering cross-magnetizing reactances using finite elements

This paper describes a method to calculate saturated reactances of synchronous machines at various loads under steady-state operation by considering influence of cross-magnetizing phenomenon between d- and q-axis circuits. In the method, mutual reactances x/sub dq/ due to the cross-magnetizing phenomenon can be calculated on the basis of two-dimensional magnetic field analysis. The validity of analysis is shown by good agreement between measured and calculated field current values of a 592 MVA turbine generator at various loads. It is clear that quantitative accuracy requires the magnetic coupling between d- and q-axis circuits be considered. Subsequently, steady-state reactances at various loads are analyzed by considering mutual reactances x/sub dq/ due to cross-magnetizing phenomenon. The relation between the load angle /spl delta/ and mutual reactance x/sub dq/ is clarified, and the difference between equivalent synchronous reactances that are obtained by considering x/sub dq/ and conventional defined synchronous reactances that do not consider x/sub dq/ is shown numerically.
Validation of a CFD model for predicting gas flow in a cyclone

Cyclones are widely used in many industries for separating particles from a gas stream. The separation efficiency and pressure drop is strongly linked to the geometry and flow structure in the cyclone. Novel designs including offset vortex finders, vortex breakers and various inlet geometries have been used in process plant. Analytical methods for designing cyclones do not permit these geometries to be readily assessed. CFD models provide a means of assessing the benefits of such designs, however the complex swirling flow in cyclones provides a significant challenge for CFD codes. A CFD model based on the commercial code CFX4 is developed for single phase gas flow in a cyclone as a first step towards validating the model. CFD predictions are compared against laser velocity measurements to establish a level of confidence in the CFD model. A number of differencing schemes for the convection terms are applied as are k-epsilon and Reynolds stress turbulence models. The high quality laser velocity measurements allow the influence of differing numerical techniques to be assessed. Excellent agreement is found between the CFD predictions and experimental measurements.
A Single-Gated CNT Field-Ionizer Array with Open Architecture

The micro gas analyzer project aims to develop the technology for portable, real-time sensors intended for chemical warfare and civilian air purity control. The device is composed of four micro-fabricated subsystems: an ionizer, a mass filter based on a quadrupole array [1], an electrometer [2], and a positive displacement pump [3]. We are developing a single-gated fieldionizer array based on gated carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The devices achieve species ionization by tunneling of outer shell electrons due to the presence of high electric fields that the device sets. We use CNTs as field enhancers because of their small radii and high aspect ratio while the gate proximity ensures high fields at low voltage. State-of-the-art ionizers use electron-impact ionization (thermionic cathodes), incurring in excessive power consumption, low current, current density, ionization efficiency, and short lifetime. The field-ionizer arrays (Figure 1) are able to soft-ionize species, thus achieving molecule ionization. The reliability and lifespan of the field-ionizer arrays are larger than the corresponding values for electronimpact ionizer arrays because the CNTs are biased at the highest potential in the circuit, thus making it unlikely for ionized molecules to back-stream. Figure 2 shows two SEM pictures of a single-gated CNT array that implements a selective CNT-growth process. This process reduces the fabrication complexity of the device because it grows CNTs from an un-patterned catalyst (Ni). Current research efforts concentrate on improving the device and data acquisition, including benchmarking the performance of the ionizer in low-pressure oxidizing environments.
SNAPPE II Score as a Predictor of Neonatal Mortality in NICU at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Pakistan

Introduction The concept of illness severity scoring has been around for long and is currently being utilized in many neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Scoring systems that help to quantify mortality risks on the basis of clinical conditions not only help in estimating prognosis, but also help clinicians in making decisions particularly in situations presenting with dilemmas. This study aims to determine SNAPPE-II (Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology-Perinatal Extension) score as a predictor of neonatal mortality in NICU at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. Methodology It was a longitudinal cohort study. The study was conducted at a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) Karachi, Pakistan. All neonates were included who were born in AKUH and who needed respiratory support in NICU. Results A total of 333 newborns were enrolled for this study. Out of those 30 (9.1%) neonates expired while 298 (90.9%) survived. Area Under the Receiver operative curve was calculated to obtain the SNAPPE-II score’s diagnostic discrimination ability. Area under the curve (AUC) was 80.2±4.6% which corresponds to a moderate diagnostic accuracy for the prediction of neonatal mortality. The 95% CI for this was between 71.1-89.2%. SNAPPE-II category III (>40) was found to be the strongest predictor of mortality, with a sensitivity of 40% and a specificity of 98.7%. Conclusion The SNAPPE-II scoring system, we conclude, might be a valuable technique for predicting newborn death in resource-constrained NICUs.
Acoustic methods in real-time welding process monitoring: Application and future potential advancement

The rapid advancement of the welding technology has simultaneously increased the demand for the online monitoring system in order to control the process. Among the methods that could be possibly used to assess the weld condition, an air-borne acoustic method grasps the attention from scholars due to its ability to provide a simple, non-contact, and low-cost measurement system. However, it is still lack of resources involving this subject in an attempt to deeply understand the emitted sound behaviour during welding especially when dealing with a complete deviation of a process parameter, welding types, workpiece material as well as the noise from the surrounding. This paper reviews the application of the acoustic method in monitoring the welding process. Specifically, this review emphasized the source of both structure-borne and air-borne acoustic during the welding process and the significance of applying the acoustic method in more detail. By focusing on the liquid state welding process, the scope of discussion converged on the arc and laser welding process. In the last part of this review, the potential future advancement of this method is pointed out before the overall conclusion is made.
Mice as an Animal Model for the Study of Adipose Tissue and Obesity

as an animal model for the study of adipose tissue and obesity. Int. J. Morphol. , 39(6) :1521-1528, 2021. SUMMARY: The study of adipose tissue has gained increasing importance in the biomedical area due to its implications for health and obesity. Obesity is a situation of great concern mainly in the Western world due to its high prevalence and morbidity. Experimental studies on obesity often need a model where it is possible to carry out experiments, drug testing, and other therapeutic procedures, which are typically not possible in humans. Although several animals are used for obesity studies, rodents are by far the most used animals, and among rodents, mice are particularly indicated for this investigation. This mini review will introduce the challenging classification of obesity in rodents, paralleling human obesity, defining and classifying what an obese mouse is. The text will differentiate between white adipose tissue (WAT, aimed at endocrine secretion and lipogenesis) and brown adipose tissue (BAT, aimed at thermogenesis) and describe the browning process of white adipocytes in an adaptation to increase thermogenesis. The text will also describe the various types of body fat in mice with their differences and indications for investigation and teach how to recognize and dissect these fats. At the end of this introductory reading, the young researcher is expected to have acquired sufficient knowledge to start an experimental investigative project on obesity.
Automatic modification retrieval between CAD parts

Several research works have been focused on integrating FEA (finite-elements analysis) with CAD (Computer Aided Design) over the last decade. In spite of the improvements brought by this inte- gration, research work remains to be done in order to better integrate all the operations led during the design process. Until now, the communication between CAD modules remains static. The design process involves several modifications of an initial design solution. Consequently, there is a need for more flexible communications between CAD modules through the design cycle. Some approaches have been developed in order to reduce the design process length when using FEA, and to automate the transfer of part's data from one step of the process to the next one. Automatic re-meshing is one of these approaches and it is based on automatically updating the part's mesh around modifications zones, in the case of a minor change in the part's design, without the need to re-mesh the entire part. The purpose of this paper is presenting a new tool, aiming at the improvement of automatic re-meshing procedures. It basically consists in auto- matically identifying and locating modifications between two CAD parts (typically an initial design and a modified design). A major benefit of the approach presented here is that it is completely independent of the description frame, which is made possible with the use of vector-based geometric representations.
Six‐sigma as a strategy for process improvement on construction projects: a case study

Significant expenditures of time, money and resources, both human and material, are wasted each year as a result of inefficient or non‐existent quality management procedures. In an attempt to improve their market competitiveness, by limiting the extent of non‐value‐adding activities, some organizations are beginning to monitor the performance of internal and external engineering and construction processes. To achieve these bold aims, these organizations are looking to other industries such as manufacturing to examine the effectiveness of measuring and monitoring tools such as six‐sigma. Only in recent years has the six‐sigma method been utilized by some of the major players in the construction sector. To familiarize both researchers and practitioners on how to implement the six‐sigma method and its potential benefits, the paper describes the outcomes of a six‐sigma process improvement project (PIP) conducted for the construction of concrete longitudinal beams on the St Pancras raised railway station in London, UK. The outcome of the six‐sigma PIP was the improved productivity of beam construction, enhanced interaction between project teams and reduced project delays. Moreover, interviews with key project participants were conducted to determine the success factors, barriers, suitability and advantages of the six‐sigma approach compared with other TQM techniqes. In summary, the six‐sigma approach provided the PIP team with a structured process improvement strategy to reduce waste and other non‐value adding activities from the construction process.
Design Consideration of Bio-Inspired Contractible Water-Jet Propulsor for Mini Autonomous Underwater Robot

The main aim of this paper is to discuss the general design considerations for contractible water-jet propulsion system for mini underwater robot locomotion. The motivation of this paper is the problems that occurred to the motorized turbine blade propeller for a lower than centimeter scale underwater robot. Contractile water-jet propulsion mechanism is proposed to counter the turbine blade problem. In this research, active materials had been proposed as the actuator for the contractile function. The integration of active material structure and passive structure caused significant consequence on the kinematic and dynamic of the robot. This including the dimension variation, stress distribution as well as contraction force which affects the hydrodynamic efficiency of the propulsion. Several essential design considerations were highlighted and discussed.
Design of the integrated collaborative model for agile development software.

This article objective is to explain background and functioning of the integral collaborative model for software development (ICMSD). ICMSD is a methodological model to assist custom made software development and it is address to enterprises and expert developers who don’t count with methodological processes well defined to built software. Software development allow information technologies innovate on productive processes in any organization leading to economic growth regionally or in a country. That is why the urge to generate a model for software development small and medium companies. ICMSD proposes five levels to provide the best practices in software development; and it is supported by Project Management Institute (PMI) to generate quality software aligned to organizational objectives. ICMSD considers the evaluation of software quality through indicators validating its functioning, this indicators are based on quality international standards. Finally ICMSD seeks to generate a knowledge database across social business and social networks, to put into best practices software development projects.
Assessment of voltage control techniques for low voltage networks

The increasing connection of photovoltaic generators (PVs) and new forms of loads into the low voltage (LV) distribution networks may lead to unpredictable voltage problems. This paper investigates a number of existing voltage control techniques for the LV networks in the UK and assesses their ability to maintain the voltage regulation. The voltage control equipment investigated includes the On Load Tap Changer (OLTC) transformer, the capacitor bank and the energy storage device. The load flow studies are carried out for several LV network models with different PV penetrations. The results will help network operators to make decisions on which are the more suitable devices to be used in order to prepare for the change in future load demand.
Factors Influencing US Hospital and Medical School Participation in Pediatric COVID-19 Research.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Literature suggests that funding for pediatric clinical trials is inequitably awarded. Furthermore, although coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected all hospitals, institutions with already limited resources were more severely impacted. We hypothesized that there would be difference in schools and hospitals that were able to participate in the initial round of pediatric COVID-19 clinical research. METHODS We searched online databases for preregistered studies using the keywords "COVID-19," "COVID," "SARS-CoV-2," "2019-nCov," "2019 novel coronavirus," and "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. " Search results were limited to studies enrolling participants from birth to 17 years, studies started in 2020, and studies originating in the United states. We calculated the proportion of institutions with active COVID-19 pediatric clinical studies in 2020 and compared institutional characteristics between institutions with and without at least one qualifying COVID-19 study, using rank-sum tests, χ2 tests, or Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. RESULTS We identified 150 allopathic medical schools, 34 osteopathic medical schools, and 178 children's hospitals meeting inclusion criteria. Among included institutions, 25% of medical schools and 20% children's hospitals participated in 1 of the registered pediatric COVID-19 studies the year before the study period. Institutions that participated in pediatric COVID-19 studies had more publications, more National Institutes of Health funding, and more studies registered on Clinicaltrials.gov in 2019. CONCLUSIONS Despite the pandemic affecting everyone, participation in early clinical research on the impact of COVID-19 in pediatric populations was concentrated in a few well-resourced institutions that were highly experienced in research.
Skeleton-driven dynamics modeling for computer-aided muscular rehabilitation

animating a skeletal character in computer-aided muscular rehabilitation, we innovate in both skinning and dynamic simulation. First, a new rigging scheme is proposed for transforming the bone- constrained nodes; and the motion of the unconstrained nodes can be efficiently computed by dynamic deformation simulation. Secondly, a position-based dynamics framework is employed; instead of geometrical constraints, nonlinear strain-based constraints are utilized in the tetrahedral body mesh deformation. Thirdly, in order to improve the computational performance, a unique layered constraint solving scheme is designed to solve the constraints in an ordered way; anisotropic deformations of the body mesh can be achieved by the desired stretch and shear coefficients in the different layers. Finally, we provide an interactive tool for local reference frames which control the anisotropic deformation behaviours. Real-time skeletal animation can be realized, and the model is stable even in the cases of large deformation and degeneration. The comparative advantages over the competing methods are presented and verified with experiments.
FUZZY-LOGIC-BASED FAULT CLASSIFICATION FOR TRANSMISSION LINE PROTECTION

In this paper, an approach for fault classification of transmission line faults using fuzzy logic has been presented. This method is able to identify the single line to ground faults that may occur in a transmission line under different fault resistances, inception angle and load angles. This method requires only samples of three phase currents. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique, extensive simulation studies, using PSCAD/EMTDC and MATLAB, have been carried out for different types of single line to ground fault considering wide variations in fault resistances, inception angle and loading levels. Fault data generated by PSCAD/EMTDC have been used for fault classification by a MATLAB program.
Spatially and Temporally Resolved Ambient PM2.5 in Relation to Preterm Birth

Growing evidence suggests that maternal exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) during pregnancy is associated with preterm birth; however, few studies have examined critical windows of exposure, which can help elucidate underlying biologic mechanisms and inform public health messaging for limiting exposure. Participants included 891 mother–newborn pairs enrolled in a U.S.-based pregnancy cohort study. Daily residential PM2.5 concentrations at a 1 × 1 km2 resolution were estimated using a satellite-based hybrid model. Gestational age at birth was abstracted from electronic medical records and preterm birth (PTB) was defined as <37 completed weeks of gestation. We used Critical Window Variable Selection to examine weekly PM2.5 exposure in relation to the odds of PTB and examined sex-specific associations using stratified models. The mean ± standard deviation PM2.5 level averaged across pregnancy was 8.13 ± 1.10 µg/m3. PM2.5 exposure was not associated with an increased odds of PTB during any gestational week. In sex-stratified models, we observed a marginal increase in the odds of PTB with exposure occurring during gestational week 16 among female infants only. This study does not provide strong evidence supporting an association between weekly exposure to PM2.5 and preterm birth.
Effect of Trailing-Edge Ejection on Local Heat (Mass) Transfer in Pin Fin Cooling Channels in Turbine Blades

Experiments are conducted to study the local heat transfer distribution and pressure drop in a pin fin channel that models the cooling passages in modern gas turbine blades. The detailed heat/mass transfer distribution is determined via the naphthalene sublimation technique for flow through a channel with a 16-row, staggered 3 × 2 array of short pin fins (with a height-to-diameter ratio of 1.0, and streamwise and spanwise spacing-to-diameter ratios of 2.5) and with flow ejection through holes in one of the side walls and at the straight flow exit (to simulate ejection through holes along the trailing edges and through tip bleed holes of turbine blades). The pin fin heat/mass transfer and the channel wall heat/mass transfer are obtained for the straight-flow-only and the ejection-flow cases. The results show that the regional pin heat/mass transfer coefficients are generally higher than the corresponding regional wall heat/mass transfer coefficients in both cases. When there is side wall flow ejection, a portion of the flow turns to exit the ejection holes and the rate of heat/mass transfer decreases in the straight flow direction as a result of the reducing mass flow rate along the channel. The rate of cooling air flow through a pin fin channel in a gas turbine blade must be increased to compensate for the “loss” of the cooling air through trailing edge ejection holes, so that the blade tip is cooled sufficiently.Copyright © 1992 by ASME