Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Encouraging Renewable Energy Consumption Through Dynamic Pricing

Smart Grids are smart networks of energy transmission and distribution that enable a two-way communication between the consumer and distributor. Smart Grids are important for energy sustainability and environmental preservation avoiding the non-renewable energy consumption since decentralized suppliers are able to supply energy demands through renewable energy. It will be possible to encourage renewable energy consumption using a dynamic pricing adopting different prices to each energy source. Some network and security issues arise with that network communication like if it will be able to calculate the price in a suitable time interval. So a challenge is to analyze the impact of ICT on this operation. We analyzed the impact of a dynamic pricing on consumption changes and energy generation, and the delay time to calculate the price in a clustered network architecture.
Thermal conductivity of germanium crystals with different isotopic compositions

We have measured the thermal conductivity of seven germanium crystals with different isotopic compositions in the temperature range between 2 K and 300 K. These samples, including one made of highly enriched ${}^{70}\mathrm{Ge}(99.99%)$, show intrinsic behavior at room temperature with the exception of a $p$-type sample with $|{N}_{d}\ensuremath{-}{N}_{a}|\ensuremath{\cong}2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{16} {\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$. The ``undoped'' samples exhibit a ${T}^{3}$ dependence at low temperatures, basically determined by boundary scattering. The maximum value of $\ensuremath{\kappa}$ (which falls in the range between 13 K and 23 K) is found to be a monotonically decreasing function of the isotopic mass variance parameter $g$. The maximum ${\ensuremath{\kappa}}_{m}$ measured for the most highly enriched ${}^{70}\mathrm{Ge}(99.99%)$ sample is 10.5 kW/mK, one order of magnitude higher than for natural germanium. The experimental data have been fitted with the full Callaway theory, modified by treating transverse and longitudinal modes separately, using three free adjustable parameters for each set of modes to represent anharmonic effects plus the calculated contributions from isotopic and boundary scattering. For the isotopically purest ${}^{70}\mathrm{Ge}(99.99%)$ sample, dislocation scattering, or a similar mechanism, must be added in order to fit the data. We have also checked the effect of various surface treatments on the thermal conductivity in the low temperature region. The highest values of $\ensuremath{\kappa}$ are found after polish etching with a SYTON suspension.
Simplicity, Truth, and Clustering

Machine learning is a scientific discipline that can be divided into two main branches: supervised machine learning and unsupervised machine learning. In this paper, we aim to show just how simplicity matters in unsupervised contexts. This is important because unsupervised machine learning algorithms have barely received any attention in philosophy. Yet, there is a direct link between simplicity and truth in unsupervised contexts that we do not find in their supervised counterparts. This has thus far evaded philosophical discussions on simplicity.
PHARMACOLOGICALLY ACTIVE FATTY ACIDS OF FIDDLER CRAB Uca acuta acuta (Simpson)

The fatty acid compositions of the body flesh, big chela flesh and hepatopancreas of the selected detritivore fiddler crab Uca acuta acuta (Simpson) have been studied by gas liquid chromatography and other chromatographic techniques. Altogether 28 components were detected and estimated. Major fatty acids recorded were palmitic (16:0), stearic (18:0), oleic (18:1 ω9), linoleic (18:2 ω6), arachidonic (20:4 ω3), eicosapentaenoic (20:5 ω3) and docosahexaenoic (22:6 ω3). Of the polyunsaturated fatty acids, considerably higherlevels of pharmacologically active fatty acids, viz. eicosapentaenoic and Docosahexaenoic acids were recorded. Such findings suggests that the species studied is also a potential source of pharmacologically active fatty acids, particularly those belonging to the –ω3 series.
IRISH FARMERS' USE OF ICTS AND THEIR PREFERENCES FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH EXTENSION

This research investigated the potential for extension organisations to use information and communications technologies (ICTs) in the provision of advice to farmers. Aquestionnaire was administered to 286 extension clients (farmers) in Ireland. It was found that 94% of respondents used computers, all used mobile phones and one third of these had Smartphones. Despite having access to ICTs, the majority did not use these to their potential. In relation to maintaining extension contact, farmers still prefer to use the traditional interpersonal communication methods when looking for specific and detailed advice on farming issues but they are content to use ICTs for more routine contact with extension.
Commercial Stakeholders in the Evolution of OSS Systems

It has been lately established that a major success or failure factor of an OSS project is whether it involves a commercial company, or more extremely, when the project management is in the hands of a commercial software corporation. As documented recently, the success of the Eclipse IDE can be largely attributed to the project management of IBM, since the upper part of the developer hierarchy is dominated by its staff. This paper reports on the study of the evolution of three different Free, Libre, Open Source (FLOSS) projects – the Eclipse and jEdit IDE’s, and the Moodle e-learning system – looking at whether they have benefited from the contribution of commercial companies. With the involvement of commercial companies, it is found that FLOSS projects achieve sustained productivity, increasing amounts of output produced and intake of new developers. It is also found that individual and commercial contributions show similar stages: developer intake, learning effect, sustained contributions and, finally, abandonment of the project. This preliminary evidence suggests that a major success factor for FLOSS is the involvement of a commercial company, or more radically, when project management is in hands of a commercial entity.
Analysis of inertial amplification mechanisms with smart spring-damper for attenuation of beam vibrations

In this paper an inertial amplification mechanisms with an embedded smart spring-damper device for attenuation of bending vibrations in continues structures are analyzed. The complex systems are the extension of the already investigated inertial mechanism , here additionally equipped with the vacuum controlled spring-damper device which shows features of smart materials. This allows the semi-active control to affect different frequency ranges of the vibration in the real time. The features of the basic inertia amplification mechanism are preserved as a possibility to generate two neighboring anti-resonance frequencies between resonance peaks in the low frequency range. The authors show different approac hes to their concepts and research from the earliest solutions to the final design. This work is supported by: Warsaw University of Technology
Non-linear filter response distributions of natural images and applications in image processing

Statistics of natural images have shown to be non-Gaussian quantities displaying high kurtosis, heavy tails and sharp central cusps, i.e. sparse distributions. In this paper we extend on these results to show that the non-linear filter response distributions of natural colour images are also sparse. We then incorporate the statistics of natural images into Bayesian models to illustrate image processing applications in colorization of gray images, compression of colour images and reconstruction of chroma channels from corrupted data.
Cation ordering over short-range and long-range scales in the MgAl2O4-CuAl2O4 series

Abstract A multi-analytical approach using electron microprobe analysis, X-ray structural refinement, and optical absorption spectroscopy was applied to characterize short-range and long-range structures of synthetic spinel single crystals along the MgAl2O4-CuAl2O4 solid-solution series. Site populations, derived from the results of site-scattering refinement and stereochemical analysis, show that the tetrahedrally coordinated site (T) is mainly populated by Mg and Cu2+, while the octahedrally coordinated site (M) is dominated by Al. Crystals also show a significant degree of inversion, i.e., occurrence of Al at T counterbalanced by occurrence of divalent cations at M, which increases slightly from 0.24 to 0.29 for the highest Cu2+ contents. Short-range information derived from optical spectra suggests that the local TCu2+-O distances remain constant at increasing Cu2+ content, whereas local MCu2+-O distances are ca. 0.02 Å shorter in Cu-poor MgAl2O4 spinels as compared to MCu2+-O distances in end-member CuAl2O4. The observed splitting of an absorption band, at ca. 7000 cm-1 , caused by electron transitions in TCu2+ as well as the anomalous broadness of an absorption band, at ca. 13 500 cm-1, caused by electron transitions in MCu2+ indicates the occurrence of local Jahn-Teller distortions at T and M. Long-range information, however, shows no violation of Fd3m symmetry. From refinements of our single-crystal XRD data we could for the first time derive for a cubic spinel phase a MCu2+-O distance of 2.080 Å and a TCu2+-O of 1.960 Å. The very limited variations in the unit-cell parameter a from 8.079 to 8.087 Å are mainly related to the disordering of Al. Because of the very similar size of Cu2+ and Mg at the T and M sites, the spinel structure responds to the Cu2+ → Mg substitution by increasing cation disordering in such a manner that mean M-O distances remain constant and the mean T-O distances decrease slightly. This results in increasing length of shared octahedral edges and thereby increase of the octahedral cation-cation repulsion. In line with other studies, the importance of steric factors for controlling the cation distributions in the spinel structure is demonstrated to be valid also in the MgAl2O4-CuAl2O4 solid-solution series.
Refinement of the use of non-human primates in scientific research. Part III: refinement of procedures

There is an ethical and scientific need to minimise the harm experienced by animals used in scientific procedures and to maximise their well-being. Welfare can be improved by the refinement of practice, particularly if these refinements are applied to every aspect of the life of an animal used in the laboratory, from birth to death. Primates are considered likely to have a greater capacity for suffering than other sentient species and therefore refinement of their use is particularly important. The refinement of the human impact on laboratory-housed primates and of housing and husbandry practices are dealt with in parts I and II of this three-part review. In part III, methods of refinement that can be applied specifically to the use of primates in procedures, are summarised and discussed, together with a description of some current practices, and the scientific evidence that suggests that they should no longer be used. Methods of refinement of identification, capture and restraint, sampling, administration of substances, humane endpoints, and euthanasia are included. If these methods are used, taking into account species-specific differences and needs, it is concluded that harm can be minimised and primate welfare improved.
Start-up of large-power synchronous motor with the 6 kV voltage source inverter and microprocessor-controlled unit for excitation supply

Abstract The paper presents idea and practical implementation of a medium voltage synchronous drive with a voltage source inverter in the stator circuit and a microprocessor controlled unit for excitation supply. Construction of both devices was presented, and methods of their cooperation were described. Selected start-up methods of large power synchronous motors were presented. Exemplary realization was discussed. Measurement results of the direct full-voltage start-up and frequency start-up of a real 1.25 MW 6 kV fan drive system were compared and discussed.
Design and simulation of an integrated solar cooker - dryer system

Several solar drying technologies exist in Uganda, but marred with multiple deficiencies such as inefficient conversion of trapped solar radiations into thermal energy, prolonged drying times, among others. The aim of this study was to design and simulate an integrated solar cooker-dryer system with a simple biomass cooker using locally available technology and materials. The major component of this study entailed an assessment of existing solar drying technologies. Through purposive sampling, four existing dryers were assessed to gather information that guided the development of a better drying technology. The results from performance evaluation of the existing solar dryers showed a substantial drop in ascorbic acid content by about 27.9 mg/100g of pineapple (Ananas comosus) dried in natural convection drying and 14.5 mg/100 g during forced air drying. It showed that the natural convection solar mode of operation was slowest in drying the samples, with the solar forced air mode being fastest under the prevailing meteorological conditions (which were generally unfavorable from November through to December). The results showed a considerable advantage of forced air solar dryer over the natural convection solar dryer in terms of drying rate and reduced risk of spoilage. In view of alleviating the weather restriction experienced by farmers in crop drying especially for pineapples, it is recommended that dryers be designed with backup cooker for supplementing the solar energy and enhancing airflow to increase the drying air temperature. This results into increase in the drying rate and reduced spoilage. Using performance results as boundary conditions, the temperature distribution of the airflow inside the dryer was visualized using OpenFOAM CFD. Uniform temperature distribution was achieved as a result of forced air system and incorporation of a biomass cooker.
Group Sparse Recovery in Impulsive Noise Via Adm

In this paper, we consider the recovery of group sparse signals corrupted by impulsive noise. In some recent literature, researchers have utilized stable data fitting models, like l1-norm, Huber penalty function and Lorentzian-norm, to substitute the l2-norm data fidelity model to obtain more robust performance. In this paper, a stable model is developed, which exploits the generalized lp-norm as the measure for the error for sparse reconstruction. In order to address this model, we propose an efficient alternative direction method, which includes the proximity operator of lp-norm functions to the framework of Lagrangian methods. Besides, to guarantee the convergence of the algorithm in the case of 0 ≤ p < 1 (nonconvex case), we took advantage of a smoothing strategy. For both 0 ≤ p < 1 (nonconvex case) and 1 ≤ p ≤ 2 (convex case), we have derived the conditions of the convergence for the proposed algorithm. Moreover, under the block restricted isometry property with constant δτk0 < τ/(4 − τ) for 0 < τ < 4/3 and δτk0 < √ (τ − 1)/τ for τ ≥ 4/3, a sharp sufficient condition for group sparse recovery in the presence of impulsive noise and its associated error upper bound estimation are established. Numerical results based on the synthetic block sparse signals and the realworld FECG signals demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of new algorithm in highly impulsive noise.
Generation of squeezed states of nanomechanical resonators by reservoir engineering

An experimental demonstration of a nonclassical state of a nanomechanical resonator is still an outstanding task. In this paper we show how the resonator can be cooled and driven into a squeezed state by a bichromatic microwave coupling to a charge qubit. The stationary resonator state exhibits a reduced noise in one of the quadrature components by a factor of 0.5\char21{}0.2. These values are obtained for a 100 MHz resonator with a $Q$-value of ${10}^{4}$ to ${10}^{5}$ and for support temperatures of $T\ensuremath{\approx}25\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mK}$. We show that the coupling to the charge qubit can also be used to detect the squeezed state via measurements of the excited state population. Furthermore, by extending this measurement procedure a complete quantum state tomography of the resonator state can be performed. This provides a universal tool to detect a large variety of different states and to prove the quantum nature of nanomechanical systems.
Emergence and public administration: A literature review for the project ‘A New Synthesis in Public Administration’

This literature review explores the concept of emergence in public governance, and the need for building anticipative capacity in public organisations. The purpose of this review is to explore how public organisations can deal with issues that emerge in their environment. Emerging issues are characterised by a great deal of complexity and uncertainty, and therefore create challenges for static public governance arrangements. Dealing with emerging issues requires that organisations and systems build anticipative capacities. The literature review summarises recent but also less recent organisation theory focusing on organisational improvisation and on complex governance arrangements. This literature presents an alternative way of both analysing organisations and of organising beyond static and highly proceduralised or systemised conceptions. New organisational arrangements to cope with emergence sometimes appear counterintuitive, and they sometimes appear to defy the rules of economy, efficiency, democracy and the rule of law. As is evident from Bourgon’s ‘New Synthesis’ framework, an organisation or system that facilitates emergence needs to make a trade-off with other objectives. While such arrangements are good at anticipating change and at detecting trends, they come with challenges to the performance, compliance, and the resilience of the public sector.
Occupational Health and Safety Risk Levels of Building Construction Trades in Nigeria

This study assessed the occupational health and safety risk-level of common building construction trades in Nigeria. It also identified the sources, frequency and magnitude of risks inherent in the activities of various building construction trades. Being site-based survey research, it made use of a structured questionnaire administered to the selected building construction workers of different trades in Anambra State, Nigeria. The collected data were subjected to quantitative risk analysis using mean value method and risk prioritisation number. The study found that masonry, carpentry (including formwork and roofing), and iron bending and steel fixing are common building trades associated with high risks; whereas electrical fitting and installation, painting, tiling, and plumbing are medium risk building trades. It also found that the rate of occurrence and magnitude of impact of different safety risk factors differ across the building trades, which could be attributed to the differences in activities and modes of operation in different building trades. On this premise, the study suggested a multi-risk management and control approach for construction managers on building construction sites since the frequency of risk occurrence and the magnitude of risk severity differ across trades. It further called for institutional and legislative re-strengthening of extant labour laws in Nigeria.
Mullahs, Migrants and Murids: New Developments in the Study of Pakistan A Review Article

The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of Change. By MUHAMMAD QASIM ZAMAN. Princeton, N.J. and Oxford: Princeton University Press. Migrants and Militants: Fun and Urban Violence in Pakistan. By OSKAR VERKAAIK. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Pilgrims of Love: The Anthropology of a Global Sufi Cult. By PNINA WERBNER. London: Hurst and Company.
Laplace Analysis of Periodic Heat and Mass Transport on a Parabolic Started Surface immersed in Darcian Porous Regime

An analysis of periodic heat and mass transport of unsteady hydromagnetic flow past a parabolic started motion of the infinite vertical plate immersed in Darcian porous regime in presence of a first order chemical reaction has been presented. Here the plate temperature as well as concentration level near the plate are increased linearly with time. The boundary layer conservation equations have been solved by Laplace transforms technique. It has been observed that both the velocity and concentration are decreased with increasing values of chemical reaction parameter. But the opposite behavior has been found for the flow velocity when the values of free convection as well as porosity parameter are increased. Application of magnetic fields to medical science is growing rapidly, with the development of novel magnetic pumps, hydromagnetic separation devices with chemical engineering and geophysical energy systems.
Graph-Based Storage In Social Networks

How do we e ciently store an ever-growing amount of data? How do we retrieve and analyze relationships between data quickly? These are among the concerns faced by companies such as Google, Yahoo, Amazon, and Facebook today. As the world’s leading tech companies are tackling the challenge of their data aggressively increasing in size, NoSQL databases are emerging as their weapon of choice. Immediate consistency is sacrificed to gain higher scalability and availability. In the case of social networking services, NoSQL graph databases are obvious contenders for the role currently held by relational databases. This thesis explores the suitability of graph databases as the main storage for these services. Our research suggests that while using graph databases for social networking services eases the task of software development, today’s leading graph databases are not as robust and mature as these services require.
Preliminary evaluation of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 5 mutations in lower extremity artery disease

The low level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) is a major risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease including Lower extremity artery disease (LEAD). The variability of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 5 (PCSK5) gene was proposed as regulator of HDL-c metabolism. The molecular mechanisms are not fully elucidated. Several studies suggest that several genetic anomalies could influence the risk of developing LEAD. Considering these data, the aim of our study was to identify PCSK5 gene variants in patients with LEAD using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) as a screening method. The study included 48 patients with LEAD documented by angiography. All patients had low levels of HDL-c and a high total cholesterol/HDL-c ratio. DNA extraction was performed using the precipitation method, while polymorphisms of all PCSK5 gene exons were assessed using MLPA. The MPLA results were subsequently analysed with Coffalyser® software. Analysis of PCSK5 gene expression showed normal genotype in 45 patients. Heterozygous deletion of exon 9 of PCSK5 gene was identified in only 3 patients and was not correlated with HDL-c values. Our data cannot establish a clear correlation between mutational profile of PCSK5 gene and LEAD, so more extensive genetic testing in larger cohorts are required.