Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Organic resistive nonvolatile memory materials

Resistive memory devices based on organic materials that can be configured to two or more stable resistance states have been extensively explored as information storage media due to their advantages, which include simple device structures, low fabrication costs, and flexibility. Various organic-based materials such as small molecules, polymers, and composite materials have been observed to show bistability. This review provides a general summary about the materials, structures, characteristics, and mechanisms of organic resistive memory devices. Several critical strategies for device fabrication, performance enhancement, and integrated circuit architectures are also discussed.
The impact of telepresence in an online ad on forming attitudes towards the product: The relevance of the traditional experiential approach

This study proposes a conceptual model for understanding the impact of telepresence in an online ad on the process of forming attitudes towards the product. The model takes the traditional experiential approach as its frame of reference. It formulates two interdependent attitude formation processes in a telepresence situation: the first cognitive, the second affective. The model is tested by means of a quasi-experiment. The results confirm the hypotheses of direct and indirect causality among the variables comprising the two processes. This causal analysis allows us to carry out a conceptual diagnosis and to make various recommendations.
The effects of EDI usage on production performance through the changes of management control systems

This study empirically investigated and demonstrated changes of management control systems (MCSs) when electronic data interchange (EDI) is adopted and utilised. Using structural equation modelling, causal relationships among environmental uncertainty affecting EDI adoption, EDI usage, organic forms of MCSs and production performance were confirmed. This study also empirically showed the mediating effects of individual elements of MCSs on the relationship between EDI usage and production performance. The results presented that environmental uncertainty is a primary cause factor for the adoption of EDI. According to the results of this study, it was found that under high degrees of EDI usage, forms of MCSs become organic (i.e. characterised by decentralised structure, high degree of integration, decentralised communication and team-based rewards), and that both the high usage of EDI and the organic types of MCSs have a positive impact on production performance of a firm. However, it seems that because of the information effects of EDI, a highly formalised structure and formula-based performance evaluation are required when using EDI.
Analysis and evaluation of harmonic suppression of lumped-element networks suitable for high-frequency class-E operation condition approximation

The harmonic output of microwave lumped-element class-E load-coupling topologies is assessed. Measurement results on fabricated C-band class-E power amplifiers with either a modified lowpass and an optimised second-harmonic impedance network show that the latter provides better performance not only in terms of output power, gain and efficiency, but also in regard to harmonic suppression. Compared with the common modified lowpass network, harmonic content in the load of the optimised second-harmonic impedance topology at the second-, third- and fourth-harmonic frequencies are lower by more than 5.8, 10 and 5.8 dB, respectively.
HOW CAN WE BEST REDUCE GLOBAL WARMING? SCHOOL STUDENTS' IDEAS AND MISCONCEPTIONS

This questionnaire‐based study explored school students' ideas, both scientific and idiosyncratic, about the extent to which various actions might contribute towards reducing global warming. Many students appreciated that a decrease in industrial and vehicle emissions could play a major role in this reduction, and producing energy from renewable sources was another popular idea. Fewer students appreciated the role that actions by individuals, such as “saving” electricity and recycling paper, might play; perhaps suggesting that young people feel disempowered about this issue. Misconceptions that confused sources of local pollution, such as bonfires and street litter, with pollution on a global scale diminished over the age groups. One major misconception appeared to be the idea that reducing nuclear power would diminish global warming, whereas in fact nuclear energy, despite its environmental hazards, might be an option to fill the gap between carbon‐based and renewable energy sources, at least in the medium term. In view of the potential confusion that might be caused to students by the complexity of the issues, we suggest that actions to help reduce global warming might be taught within a taxonomic framework of reduction, recycling, replacement and raising.
Area-efficient and self-biased capacitor multiplier for on-chip loop filter

A self-biased capacitor multiplier is proposed to reduce the area of a large integrating capacitor in loop filters. A prototype Sigma-Delta fractional-N frequency synthesiser including the capacitor multiplier is fabricated with a 0.35 mum BiCMOS process. The designed capacitor multiplier makes capacitance of 2.72 nF from an on-chip capacitor of 170 pF with current consumption of 240 muA at 2.8 V. The frequency synthesiser demonstrates the in-band phase noise of -79 dBc/Hz at 5 kHz offset
Managing demand and supply uncertainties to achieve mass customization ability

Purpose – Managing demand and supply uncertainties is critical for all manufacturers, but it has added importance for companies that intend to achieve mass customization (MC) ability because these uncertainties are an intrinsic characteristic of MC. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how managing uncertainties in a firm's demand and supply affects its MC ability.Design/methodology/approach – Regression analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) are conducted on data collected from 189 manufacturing plants to empirically test two hypotheses.Findings – Both demand and supply uncertainty management have a positive impact on a company's MC ability. However, managing either demand or supply uncertainties independently of the other is not enough to achieve MC ability; instead, a company needs to concurrently manage both demand and supply uncertainties to achieve MC ability.Originality/value – The current literature lacks a sound theoretical basis to link demand and supply uncertainty management with MC .
Bankruptcy in Indian Private Sector Banks: A Neural Network Analysis

This paper aims to predict the bankruptcy in Indian private banks using financial ratios such as ROA, GNPA, EPS, PAT, and GNP of the country. This paper also explains the importance of Ohlson’s number, Graham’s number and Zmijewski number as the major predictors of bankruptcy while developing a model using neural networks. For the prediction, the financial data for private sector banks of India such as HDFC, HDFC, ICICI, AXIS, YES bank, KOTAK MAHINDRA Bank, FEDERAL BANK, INDUSIND Bank, RBL and KARUR VYSYA for the last 10 years from 2010-2019 have been analysed. The model developed during the research will help the financial institutions and banks in India to understand the economic condition of the banking industry.
Plasma‐Assisted Deposition of TiO2 3D Nanomembranes: Selective Wetting, Superomniphobicity, and Self‐Cleaning

Fabrication of tunable wetting surfaces is sought for the last years given its importance on energy, biomaterials and antimicrobials, water purification, microfluidics, and smart surfaces. Liquid management on surfaces mainly depends on the control at the micro‐ and nanoscale of both roughness and chemical composition. Herein, the combination of a soft‐template method and plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition is presented for the synthesis of TiO2 nanofibers on porous substrates such as cellulose and stainless‐steel membranes. The protocol, carried out under mild conditions, produces 3D nanomembranes with superhydrophobicity and oleophilicity that are tested as microliter water/oil filters. Photoactivation of TiO2 by UV illumination provides a straightforward approach for wetting tunability that converts the surface into amphiphilic. A final chemical modification of the TiO2 nanofibers by embedding them in an elastomeric polymeric shell and by fluorine‐based grafting opens the path toward the formation of superomniphobic and self‐cleaning surfaces with long‐lasting lifetimes. Thus, a reliable procedure is demonstrated for the fabrication of TiO2 nanofibers, which allows the modification of porous supports and provides an innovative route for the development of 3D nanomembranes with under design wetting. This protocol is extendable to alternative metal oxides, metals, and core@shell nanoarchitectures with potential multifunctionalities.
A printed diversity dual‐band monopole antenna for WLAN operation in the 2.4‐ and 5.2‐GHz bands

A novel printed diversity dual‐band monopole antenna integrated on a PCMCIA network card for WLAN operation in the 2.4‐ and 5.2‐GHz bands is proposed. The antenna comprises two substantially orthogonal printed monopoles with a straight strip of longer length for the lower‐mode operation (2.4‐GHz band) and a protruded strip of shorter length for the upper‐mode operation (5.2‐GHz band). In addition, the two monopoles are placed symmetrically with respect to a protruded ground plane of double‐T shape, which leads to good isolation obtained between the antenna's two feeding ports. With the system switching between the antenna's two ports, maximum signal strength for WLAN operation can be obtained, and system performance can be enhanced. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 36: 436–439, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.10784
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF PRIVATE CAR USE IN FUTURE WORK TRIPS

This study proposes an extension of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to investigate whether psychological factors can potentially be predictors for the behavioral intention of private car use in future work trips. The study sample comprised 156 undergraduate students who were in their senior year and were expected to graduate in the next few months. A questionnaire survey was conducted to measure several psychological variables related to private car use for future work trips after graduation. Core constructs included subjective norm, attitude, and perceived behavioral control, with an addition of moral obligation. Based on structural equation modeling, subjective norm, attitude, and moral obligation were found to be significant determinants for the behavioral intention. Contrary to the TPB, the perceived behavioral control was not found to be a statistically significant factor influencing the intention of private car use in future work trips. Practical implementations of the results are discussed.
Subspace based non-parametric approach for hyperspectral anomaly detection in complex scenarios

Recent studies on global anomaly detection (AD) in hyperspectral images have focused on non-parametric approaches that seem particularly suitable to detect anomalies in complex backgrounds without the need of assuming any specific model for the background distribution. Among these, AD algorithms based on the kernel density estimator (KDE) benefit from the flexibility provided by KDE, which attempts to estimate the background probability density function (PDF) regardless of its specific form. The high computational burden associated with KDE requires KDE-based AD algorithms be preceded by a suitable dimensionality reduction (DR) procedure aimed at identifying the subspace where most of the useful signal lies. In most cases, this may lead to a degradation of the detection performance due to the leakage of some anomalous target components to the subspace orthogonal to the one identified by the DR procedure. This work presents a novel subspace-based AD strategy that combines the use of KDE with a simple parametric detector performed on the orthogonal complement of the signal subspace, in order to benefit of the non-parametric nature of KDE and, at the same time, avoid the performance loss that may occur due to the DR procedure. Experimental results indicate that the proposed AD strategy is promising and deserves further investigation.
FACTOR OF SAFETY AND WORKING STRESSES OF MARINE PROPULSION SHAFTING

Mr. Setz' paper in the November 1941 issue of the Journal, entitled “The Influence of Corrosion on Propeller Shaft Maintenance,” gives the impression that current shafting is designed with a factor of safety of the order of 9. This is true only in the shaft body and when steady shearing stress alone is considered. The present paper points out that additional stresses exist, and gives a discussion of the influence of these on the mode of failure and the factor of safety, which now becomes of the order of 2.
Phase-shifted pulse-width-amplitude modulation for quasi-Z-source cascade multilevel inverter-based photovoltaic power system

A phase-shifted pulse-width-amplitude modulation (PS-PWAM) is proposed for a quasi-Z-source cascade multilevel inverter (qZS-CMI)-based photovoltaic power system. The switching actions of each power device of the qZS-CMI in the PS-PWAM technique are greatly reduced when compared with that in the phase-shifted sinewave pulsewidth modulation, so the qZS-CMI's power loss is reduced when using the PS-PWAM. The PS-PWAM principle and the qZS-CMI's loss analysis are presented. The simulation and experimental results verify the proposed PS-PWAM and the resultant efficiency improvement.
The Alumni Survey as an Effective Assessment Tool for Small Engineering Programs

An alumni survey can be crafted which will evaluate even a small engineering program's success in imparting the abilities enumerated in the Engineering Criteria 2000 (EC 2000) guidelines. The core of the survey consists in its analysis of alumni ranking of both the importance of, and preparation in, the eleven key desired outcomes. Its originality lies in its establishing certain threshold percentages in the difference in perception of importance and preparation which indicate a level of under‐preparedness demanding immediate attention, so that the survey can function as an objective assessment tool. The responses of specific aggregates can also be analyzed in this manner, providing insight on the different perspectives of alumni by degree program, career path, and other demographic groupings.
Decision Making Platform Supported on ICTs: Application to the Management of Ground Handling Operations at an Airport

Abstract The required harmonization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) with operational decision-making demands new alignment software techniques, especially at shop floor level. This alignment exists when people, systems, processes and technology are properly positioned to support company strategies; which in turn support the overall mission and goals. But the required integration is not easy as physical elements, implementation platforms and shop floor management operate as black boxes with a conspicuous lack of information sharing. In order to face this situation, this paper proposes the use in environmental alignment of concepts and technologies coming from manufacturing control. The application of an agent-based alignment supported by new “Visibility Frameworks” (as EPC Information Services) in scheduling levels is presented. A layered agent space is used in adapted platforms, where the interaction protocol between them and the decision making process, are based on sharing Markov reward parameters. This paper proposes the use of Markov parameters so as to maintain the system aligned, reflecting the company's global policy guidelines in every single decision taken in the plant, terminal or logistic centre. A software tool has been developed/deployed by which it has been possible to test these new ideas in the ground handling management of the Ciudad Real Central Airport.
Measurement of particle size and electrostatic charge distributions on toners using E-SPART analyzer

Performance characteristics of a laser-based instrument called the electrical-single particle aerodynamic relaxation time (E-SPART) analyzer for measuring aerodynamic size and electrostatic charge distribution of particles in real time and on a single-particle basis are described. Applications of this analyzer along with experimental data of the characterization of different toners for their size and charge distributions are presented, including operational principles and methods of data acquisition. Size distribution ranged from 2.0 to 20.0 mu m in aerodynamic diameter, and the charge-to-mass distribution ranged from 0 to +or-20 mu C/g. The method is noncontact and provides both magnitude and polarity of electrostatic charge on an individual particle basis. The aerodynamic diameter and charge are measured simultaneously at an average count rate of approximately 100 particles/s. >
Dual-mode filter design based on uniform or stepped impedance resonator

This article presents a design of compact microstrip dual-mode filter. The design uses dual-mode resonators developed from a uniform or stepped impedance resonator with a load tapped at the middle of the resonator. Four different types of loads can be employed to excite an additional even mode. This kind of dual-mode resonator is applicable in filter design. To validate the new approach, several bandpass filters are designed, fabricated and measured. Measurements have verified the effectiveness of the method.
A structural equation model for continuous improvement: a test for capabilities, tools and performance

Continuous improvement has been analysed in the literature from two different perspectives: as a set of practices and processes and as a set of competitive abilities. What is however still lacking is an overall perspective that integrates both practices and abilities and at the same time enables assessing their mutual relations as well as their impact on performance. Based on a comprehensive literature review, this study proposes such an integrated model, whose hypotheses are then tested via structural equation modelling on an international dataset from 452 manufacturing firms. The results of the structural model test support the proposed hypotheses. The implications of the findings for researchers and practitioners are discussed and indications for further research are provided.
Mechanical Design of Substandard Glass- Bottled Beer Recycling Equipment

In beer production industry, some substandard glass-bottled beer should be recycled considering the economic benefit. The traditional way of recycling the glass- bottled beer totally depends on manpower, which limits the development of the production line. This paper proposes a new method for recycling substandard glass-bottled beer, and a relevant equipment is designed. Based on FBS model, a framework for the glass-bottled beer recycling equipment is proposed. With the implement of CATIA, the mechanical structures are modeled and a virtual assembly is conducted. To verify the feasibility of the product, a motion simulation is conducted. The equipment can coordinate recycling of beer, recycling of bottle and recycling of the cap. It frees the labor force in recycling the substandard glass-bottled beer, removing the obstacle to the development of beer-brewing industry. There exist some further work to verify the practicability of the equipment. A prototype should be made and in service in the production line to test and perfect the design. Keywords-component;Equipment; industry; Glass-bottled beer recycling; Function-Behavior-Structure; Computer Aided Design
Seismic response of critical interdependent networks

During the last decade, critical infrastructure systems such as electric power, water distribution, transportation and telecommunications have been stressed by significant natural hazards and human errors leading to malfunction. Earthquakes, blackouts and satellite failures have evidenced the vulnerability of these growing networked systems threatening the continuity of the United States' economy. The potential for malicious perturbations to these systems is also an important current concern. However, the underlying susceptibility of these networks to disruptive events is in large part due to the increasingly complex pattern of interdependencies that tie these civil infrastructures together. This paper mainly investigates the effect of seismic disruptions on the performance of real interdependent networks. Maintenance‐induced malfunctions and coordinated attacks are also studied for completeness. Several degrees of interconnectedness are explored. Interdependent network fragility curves are introduced to display the effect of these different strengths of coupling. Characterization of the performance displayed by the networks is utilized to propose mitigation actions and study propagation of their effects. It is shown that minimal strategic interventions propagated through the network can generate a more resilient interdependent entity. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Optimization methodology for efficient LLC resonant converter with power factor correction circuit

High efficiency is required in power conversion circuits. A systematic optimization procedure is presented in this paper to optimize LLC series resonant converter efficiency where the effect of LLC input voltage variation cased by power factor correction circuit is considered. A mode solver technique is proposed to handle LLC converter steady-state solutions under different input voltage conditions. Loss models are provided to calculate total component losses using the current and voltage information derived from the mode solver. A prototype 300W 12V output LLC converter is built using the optimization results. Experimental results are presented. (6 pages)
A model for operationalizing ERM in project-based operations through dynamic capabilities

Purpose – This paper aims to propose a model, to operationalize the idea of enterprise risk management (ERM), relying on the concept of capabilities. The proposed model, labelled “Spring model”, is specifically tailored to the characteristics of project-based organisations, where risk is to be managed transversally to different organizational levels (enterprise, project portfolio, functions, projects). Design/methodology/approach – A case study methodology is used to exemplify the functioning of the proposed model and display the suitability of the concept of capabilities, as means whereby companies can manage their risk. Data were collected from different sources over a time frame of three years: semi-structured interviews, official documents and presentations, archives, direct observation and internal document usually not available to the public. Findings – The “Spring model” explains how risk can impact different organizational levels (enterprise, project portfolio, functions, projects), and how risk c.
Industrial application for global quantum communication

In the last decade the quantum communication community has witnessed great advances in photonic quantum cryptography technology with the research, development and commercialization of automated Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) devices. These first generation devices are however bottlenecked by the achievable spatial coverage. This is due to the intrinsic absorption of the quantum particle into the communication medium. As QKD is of paramount importance in the future ICT landscape, various innovative solutions have been developed and tested to expand the spatial coverage of these networks such as the Quantum City initiative in Durban, South Africa. To expand this further into a global QKD-secured network, recent efforts have focussed on high-altitude free-space techniques through the use of satellites. This couples the QKD-secured Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) with secured ground-tosatellite links as access points to a global network. Such a solution, however, has critical limitations that reduce its com.