Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming

Today designers often focus on making technology easy to use, sexy, and consumable. In Speculative Everything, Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby propose a kind of design that is used as a tool to create not only things but ideas. For them, design is a means of speculating about how things could be -- to imagine possible futures. This is not the usual sort of predicting or forecasting, spotting trends and extrapolating; these kinds of predictions have been proven wrong, again and again. Instead, Dunne and Raby pose "what if" questions that are intended to open debate and discussion about the kind of future people want (and do not want). Speculative Everything offers a tour through an emerging cultural landscape of design ideas, ideals, and approaches. Dunne and Raby cite examples from their own design and teaching and from other projects from fine art, design, architecture, cinema, and photography. They also draw on futurology, political theory, the philosophy of technology, and literary fiction. They show us, for example, ideas for a solar kitchen restaurant; a flypaper robotic clock; a menstruation machine; a cloud-seeding truck; a phantom-limb sensation recorder; and devices for food foraging that use the tools of synthetic biology. Dunne and Raby contend that if we speculate more -- about everything -- reality will become more malleable. The ideas freed by speculative design increase the odds of achieving desirable futures.
Comparison of sampling methods to measure exposure to diesel particulate matter in an underground metal mine

Diesel is an efficient fossil fuel converting a large fraction of its available energy into useable work. A negative aspect to the use of diesel fuel is the resultant emissions and their role as an adverse environmental agent. Medical studies have documented adverse health effects of exposure to diesel emissions. In 1988, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health [NIOSH] recommended that diesel exhaust be regarded as a “potential occupational carcinogen”, and stated that reductions in workplace exposures would reduce cancer risks. Diesel emissions are aerosols that consist, in part, of an elemental carbon (EC) carrier particle onto which adsorbed organic chemicals are bound. These bound organic chemicals make up approximately 30-40% of the particle and are classified as organic carbon (OC). The sum of EC and OC characterize the total carbon (TC) fraction of diesel emissions and TC is the surrogate commonly used when performing air sampling to estimate occupational exposure to diesel particulate matter (DPM). Diesel powered equipment is used in 14,000 mining operations in the United States and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) estimates that approximately 230,000 mine workers are potentially exposed to DPM. Currently, the MSHA-approved air-sampling protocol to appropriately quantify exposure to DPM employs the use of an SKCimpactor (cutpoint = 0.9μm). The use of this device inherently involves a lag-time before an accurate exposure determination can be made. Currently no standardized sampling method exists that would provide real-time DPM exposure results. The purpose of this study is to investigate the presence of a correlation between a TSI DustTrakTM real-time aerosol monitor and an SKC impactor when measuring DPM concentrations in an underground mine.
Understanding the Main Phases of Developing a Maturity Assessment Model

Practitioners and academics have developed numerous maturity models for many domains in order to measure competency. These initiatives have often been influenced by the Capability Maturity Model. However, an accumulative effort has not been made to generalize the phases of developing a maturity model in any domain. This paper proposes such a methodology and outlines the main phases of generic model development. The proposed methodology is illustrated with the help of examples from two advanced maturity models in the domains of Business Process Management and Knowledge Management.
Investigation of formation of hardened layer on titanium alloys by the method of ion-plasma nitriding

Various methods are applied in the world practice to increase wear resistance, fatigue strength and corrosion resistance of aviation equipment, machinery and medicine parts made of titanium and its alloys. Ion-plasma nitriding provides the ultimate effect making it possible to obtain hardened layers with hardness of HV0.01 650–1000 with a thickness of 0.07–0.20 mm for 3–6 hours, depending on the grade of the titanium alloy.Technological factors effecting on the efficiency of ion-plasma nitriding of materials are the process temperature, duration of saturation, pressure, composition and flow rate of the working gas mixture. The effect of these technological parameters on the microstructure, microhardness and depth of hardened layers is investigated in the work. It is shown that hardness and depth of the nitrided layer can be controlled by changing the composition, volume and periodicity of the gaseous medium (nitrogen and argon) supply at the stages of heating and holding time of the samples from titanium and its alloys under ion-plasma nitriding. The tribological characteristics of titanium alloys as-received and the same ones subjected to ion-plasma nitriding under friction conditions without a lubricant were studied. For VT1-0 and VT6 alloys in the as-received state during the tests there is a monotonous decrease of the friction coefficient from 0.35–0.40 to 0.25, after nitriding the friction coefficient monotonically increases from 0.14 up to 0.30 when removing the hardened layer.Studies of corrosion resistance of titanium VT1-0, carried out in a 10 % solution of sulfuric acid, showed that after ion-plasma nitriding at a temperature of 830 °C for 6 hours, the corrosion resistance increases, as the positive polarization potential of the sample shows.
The effect of residential storage and conrrol on the distribution net compared to central storage and control

My research (Master thesis) was about improving power quality in smart grids. Since more and more energy sources and loads are deployed in the low-voltage (LV) network, it becomes more and more difficult to make guarantees about the power quality. Due to this development there is a lot of research going on in this field. One of the proposed solutions is using storage in the distribution net- work. When the production of energy is higher than the consumption, the batteries can be charged and when the demand is higher, the batteries can be discharged. As a result of this, the power quality will increase. In literature the deployed batteries are mostly very large and centrally controlled. This gives good results, but there is a major drawback. Since the power quality is controlled in a central location, data has to be transmitted from houses to that location. This can possibly lead to safety and privacy issues. An other approach is distributed storage. Small batteries will be placed in houses and the power quality is locally measured. When all batteries are used for local power quality optimization, the total power quality can become better.
MACHINE-INSPIRED ENHANCEMENTS OF THE SIMPLEX ALGORITHM

Using spare storage and over-lapping overhead available during the generation of the pricing form in the revised-simplex algorithm allows the production of additional reduced costs of variables which may be effectively used to avoid redundant pivots and to predict actual gains. Results from a simulation indicate a dramatic improvement over all other meaningful selection methods.
A model for the thermo-hydro-mechanical analysis of multiphase porous media in dynamics

This work presents the development of a mathematical and numerical model for the analysis of the thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of multiphase porous materials in dynamics. The fully coupled multiphase model for non-isothermal deformable porous media is developed within the Hybrid Mixture Theory. In order to analyse the thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of soil structures in the low frequency domain, e.g. under earthquake excitation, the u-p-T formulation is advocated neglecting the relative fluids acceleration and their convective terms. Moreover, the dynamic seepage forcing terms and the compressibility of the solid grain at the microscopic level are neglected. The standard Bubnov-Galerkin method is applied to the governing equations for the spatial discretization, whereas the generalized Newmark scheme is used for the time discretization. The final algebraic, non-linear and coupled system of equations is solved by the Newton method within the monolithic approach. The formulation and the implemented solution procedure are validated through the comparison with other finite element solutions or analytical solutions when available.
Polymorphism of Sdr genes regulating seed dormancy in Triticum persicum Vav. and Triticum aethiopicum Jakubz.

Preharvest sprouting of wheat grain, sporadically observed in many regions of cultivation of this crop, leads to deterioration of its food and sowing qualities. Seed dormancy is considered to be the main component of resistance to preharvest sprouting. This physiological state of seeds is regulated by many genes, and it depends heavily on environmental conditions. One of the regulators of seed dormancy in cereals is the Sdr4 gene (Seed dormancy 4), which was first studied in rice. In common wheat, the homologues of this gene (TaSdr-A1 and TaSdr-B1) are also involved in the regulation of seed dormancy. The search for valuable alleles in local varieties and endemic forms is a promising area of research aimed at increasing the resistance of crops to adverse environmental factors. In this study, Sdr genes were sequenced in several accessions of two tetraploid wheat species with limited cultivation areas: Persian wheat (Triticum persicum Vav.) and Ethiopian wheat (Triticum aethiopicum Jakubz.). As a result, the same Sdr-A1 and Sdr-B1 variants that had been found in common wheat were detected in these species. The Persian wheat accessions possessed only the Sdr-A1a allele, while Ethiopian ones, only Sdr-A1b. The analysis of F2 hybrids obtained from crossing these tetraploid species showed that the Sdr-A1b allele was associated with a lower germination index of grains than Sdr-A1a. This result was inconsistent with earlier association studies. Previously unknown polymorphisms were found in the promoter of the Sdr-B1 gene in the studied accessions. A deletion of 16 nucleotides was detected in the 3’-terminal region of the TraesCS2B02G215200 gene, located on the complementary DNA chain close to the 3’-end of the Sdr-B1 gene. Possible effects of the detected polymorphisms on the expression of Sdr genes are discussed.
Analysis of Intelligent public Transit Service Models by users: A Literature Review

— The urban public transit sector for bus passengers has undergone significant strategic changes, motivated by the issue of qualitative management in its service. It has been noticed in the literature that management models, which consider sustainability, eco-efficiency and human capital, are able to value the business, combined with customer satisfaction, quality, and behavior. This article aims to conduct a bibliographical research with the aim of analyzing concepts related to the quality of public road transit service. The methodology was exploratory and explanatory through a literature review on intelligent public transit service models by users. Based on the proposed constructs, the results pointed to the following trinomial: Quality, Satisfaction, and Behavior. It was possible to identify, through the research, models that indicated that service satisfaction is directly related to quality. Nevertheless, the matter is not merely related to quality, but rather social, environmental and economic behavior. Findings were identified in the literature that pointed to the need to build an Intelligent Management Model for public transit,
Interactive comment on "Differing precipitation response between Solar Radiation Management and Carbon Dioxide Removal due to fast and slow components"

The authors studied the climate responses to two different geoengineering approaches: sulfur injections and carbon dioxide removal. Using the Gregory regression approach, the authors separated temperature-independent (fast adjustment) and temperature-dependent (slow responses) components and then quantified their contributions to the total precipitation change in an RCP based scenario. The authors also compared the total amount of aerosols needed under various scenarios and the spatial pattern changes. The paper is well written and contributes to our understandings of the hydrological cycle responses to different geoengineering forcing. I would recommend
Laser-triggered release of drug encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles for therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma

Nanotherapeutics are destination-aware drug cargo which help improving the treatment duration and reducing drug side effects. Biodegrability and biocompatibility of chitosan nanoparticles (ChNPs) are progressively used for biomedical applications. In this work, ChNPs were prepared by ionotropic gelation technique through electrostatic interaction between chitosan chains (positively charged) and non-toxic polyanions tripolyphosphate (TPP) (negatively charged). The ratio between chitosan and TPP was found to have a crucial role on the size, the poly dispersity index (PDI), and the zeta potential of the prepared ChNPs. Different volumetric ratios of Ch:TPP (1:1, 2:1, and 3:1) were prepared. The optimally prepared ChNPs were used for encapsulating the anticancer drug, 5- Fluorouracil (5-FU) forming (5-FU-ChNPs). ChNPs and 5-FU-ChNPs gave hydrodynamic diameter of 140.4 nm and 293 nm respectively, which were confirmed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). Cytotoxic assay was carried out on hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell line and it revealed the effectiveness of laser-irradiated 5-FU-ChNPs compared with in absence of laser irradiation. The 5- FU-ChNPs exhibited the desired light absorption causing hydrolysis and secession of the polymer chains at the tumor site. This led to efficient destruction of the cancer cells and verified the effectiveness of 5-FU-ChNPs as drug delivery system assisted by laser irradiation.
Analysis of partnerships for actions intra-sectoral and inter-sectors for health in areas of high socio-environmental vulnerability in the city of São Paulo/Brazil: a mixed method study

Context: Since poverty areas are socioeconomic complex and limiting environments, there is a need to develop intra-sectoral and inter-sectoral actions in the health territory in order to achieve the economic and social well-being of people and society. This research aims to understand the relationship between inter-sectorial and inter-sectoral actions for health and socio-environmental groupings of the most vulnerable health territories in the city of São Paulo, identify which are the most frequent partners of these actions and how professionals experience these partnerships in their daily lives. Method: We adopted the mixed sequential and explanatory method. In the first phase, an online form was applied and identifies the Basic Health Units (BHU) that take place as intersectoral actions with more partners. In the second phase, we explored how the professionals consider the characteristics of the territory where they act to seek partnerships and how they carry out the actions. Results: Analysis of quantitative data indicated that: a) More than 98% of BHUs conduct intra- and inter-sectoral partnerships and b) there is no relationship between the indices of the most vulnerable groupings and the presence of intra- and inter-sectoral actions with statistical significance p <0.05. The content analysis of literal transcriptions pointed out that: intra- and inter-sectoral practices developed in the health territories were driven by the needs of the treatment of diseases or by the precarious conditions of life of individual or collectivities. However, in order to assist different types of violence, health professionals avoid seeking partnerships, including with the Tutelary Council and the Center for Human Rights, as they fear they will suffer reprisals by those who cause this violence. There was consistency between quantitative and qualitative data, except for partnership with education, other BHUs, environment, and the Tutelary Council. Conclusion: The construction of personalized partnerships for individual and collective health, in order to cope with social inequalities; of chronic diseases and by phases of the life cycle involved in socioeconomic fragilities that generate more poverty is part of the job from BHU’s professionals.
VO2 films as active infrared shutters

An active optical shutter for infrared light (3-5 μm) has been designed, exploiting the phase transition in thermochromic vanadium dioxide (VO2). A spin coating processing route for VO2 films has been adapted to manufacture reproducible depositions onto sapphire (Al2O3) substrates. The VO2 films have been characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), showing 55 % transmittance in the open mode and 0.1 % in the closed mode.The VO2 film temperature determines the operating mode of the shutter, and a resistive circuit of gold was deposited on top of the film for heating purposes. Switching times from the open to the closed mode down to 15 ms have been measured.This work is a part of a comprehensive project at the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), aiming to improve active components for protection against lasers. The shutter within this work is at this stage an early prototype, and needs further development and complementary systems such as a control unit to be implemented in an optical system.
Introduction*

We study a role of EphB receptors and their ligand ephrin-B1 in dorsal-ventral retinotopic mapping. Earlier studies suggested that ephrin-B1 acts as an attractant for EphB expressing axons. We address the results of the recent experiment in chick tectum (McLaughlin et al., 2003b) in which axons of retinal ganglion cells were shown to be repelled by high ephrin-B1 density. Thus it was proposed that ephrin-B1 might act as both attractant and repellent. We show that the same axonal behavior may follow from attraction to ephrin-B1 density and axonal competition for space. Therefore, we show how apparent repulsive interaction can be induced by a combination of attraction to the target and competitive interactions between axons. We suggest an experimental test that may distinguish repulsive interaction with the target from repulsion induced by attraction and competition.
Design, fabrication and testing of tunable RF meta-atoms

Abstract : Metamaterials are engineered structures designed to alter the propagation of electromagnetic waves incident upon the structure. The focus of this research was the effect of metamaterials on electromagnetic signals at radio frequencies. RF meta-atoms were investigated to further develop the theory, modeling, design and fabrication of metamaterials. Comparing the analytic modeling and experimental testing, the results provide a deeper understanding into metamaterials which could lead to applications for beam steering, invisibility cloaking, negative refraction, super lenses, and hyper lenses. RF meta-atoms integrated with microelectromechanical systems produce tunable meta-atoms in the 10 ? 15 GHz and 1 ? 4 GHz frequency ranges. RF meta-atoms with structural design changes are developed to show how inductance changes based on structural modifications. RF meta-atoms integrated with gain medium are investigated showing that loss due to material characteristics can be compensated using active elements such as a Low Noise Amplifier. Integrating the amplifier into the split ring resonator causes a deeper null at the resonant frequency. The research results show that the resonant frequency can be tuned using microelectromechanical systems, or by induction with structural designs and reduce loss associated with the material conductivity by compensating with an active gain medium. Proposals that offer future research activities are discussed for inductance and active element meta-atoms. In addition, terahertz (THz), infrared (IR), and optical structures are briefly investigated.
Factors Affecting Police Officers' Acceptance of GIS Technologies: A study of the Turkish National Police

The situations and problems that police officers face are more complex in today’s society, due in part to the increase of technology and growing complexity of globalization. Accordingly, to solve these problems and deal with the complexities, law enforcement organizations develop and apply new techniques and methods such as geographic information systems (GIS). However, the successful implementation of a new technology does not just depend on providing perfect technical support, but effective and active interaction between the user and system. For this reason, research examining user acceptance of GIS technologies provides a valuable source to investors and designers to predict whether the results of the technology will meet user expectations; understanding the factors that influence user acceptance is vitally important to make the system more usable and preferable. This study attempts to explain Turkish National Police officers’ beliefs about and behaviors toward GIS applications by using the technology acceptance models. It contributes to the technology acceptance literature by testing the proposed model in a rarely studied organization: law enforcement. Regarding methodology, I distributed a survey questionnaire in Turkey; the unit of analysis was the law enforcement officers in the Turkish National Police (TNP). In order to analyze the data derived from the survey instrument, structural equation modeling (SEM), a multivariate statistical technique, was used to analyze the quantitative data by utilizing the AMOS 16.0 software. The analysis resulted in good model fit, and 6 of the 7 hypotheses were supported.
Web-based training for the network marketing industry

The Internet is radically changing the way we do business and in the ways we deliver information and training. Companies must use effective methods for distributing information and training materials in a timely manner to ensure their competitive edge. With globalization, dispersed workforces, remote management and an ever increasing information glut, ensuring that employees are properly trained to represent the company and the industry to which they belong becomes n ongoing challenge, if not a nightmare. One industry that is particularly vulnerable to the challenge of providing consistent, high-quality training, is the Network Marketing Industry. This chapter will look at the Network Marketing Industry training requirements in light of the industry needs and available training sources. An assessment of the fit for the inclusion of Web-Based Training (WBT) as a support tool will be made. A global overview of the potential market sizing will be reviewed with a look at future trends and opportunities. The objective of this chapter is to determine the potential fit of WBT for the Network Marketing Industry. More specifically, this chapter will: