Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TSV-defect modeling based electromagnetic full wave analysis and defect diagnosis method design

In this paper, modeling for TSV pair structures with void defects, pinhole defects and open defects by using an electromagnetic full wave analysis tool is presented. A low-bandwidth equivalent lumped circuit model of above TSV structures are extracted to analyze the effects of different defect sizes and different defect locations. The simulation results show void defects only minimally affect the TSV resistance. And, the lumped circuit model and scattering parameter are changed by open defects which cut off the TSV completely. Besides, the pinhole of a TSV significantly change the equivalent coupling capacitance between TSV pair. Based on these results, some appropriate testing methods are discussed.
Charge-Steering Based Divider for Low-Power PLL Applications

This paper presents the use of charge-steering logic (CSL) to build frequency dividers, showing the tradeoffs and challenges of employing such technique compared to the conventional topologies. This paper also proposes a novel charge-steering flip-flop (CSFF) as a building block for the frequency divider. The proposed CSFF is a two-stage non-return-to-zero flip-flop that overcomes design challenges such as low output swing and non-overlapping clock generation. The divide-by-4 divider, implemented in 65 nm CMOS technology, operates at a maximum input frequency of 16 GHz with phase noise of -141dBc/Hz while consuming only 0.280 mW from a 1.2-V supply.
Efficacy of nonionic surfactants in the control of zoospore spread of Pythium aphanidermatum in a recirculating hydroponic system.

Zoosporic fungi are among the most destructive root pathogens in recirculating hydroponic cultural systems, and zoospores have been implicated as the primary, if not sole, infectious propagule responsible for the spread of these pathogens via the recirculating nutrient solution. In vivo experiments employing cucumbers as the susceptible host and Pythium aphanidermatum as the root pathogen demonstrated the efficacy of surfactants in the control of root disease caused by this fungus. Amending the recirculating nutrient solution with a nonionic surfactant (final concentration, 20 micrograms a.i./ml) resulted in complete control of the spread of the fungus via the recirculating nutrient solution. Zoospores were identified as the sole propagule responsible for pathogen dissemination in the recirculating nutrient solution. In the absence of a surfactant all plants within a recirculating hydroponic unit were killed within 5 to 6 weeks following hypocotyl inoculation of a single plant in the hydroponic unit.
Nitrogen Occurrence Characteristics and Reason Analysis in Different Trophic Status Freshwater Lakes

Based on one-year monitoring about the different trophic status freshwater regions of Lake Taihu, the temporal-spatial distribution and occurrence characteristics of nitrogen in the water, porewater, and sediments and their correlation with main aquatic environmental factors were analysed. The results showed that the concentrations of TN in overlying water and sediment ranged from 0.22 to 7.74 mg/L and 551.5 to 1542.8 mg/kg, respectively. The concentrations of NO3 -N in overlying water, sediment, and porewater ranged from 0.04 to 3.86 mg/L, 14.3 to 42.5 mg/kg, and 0.01 to 0.72 mg/L, respectively. The concentrations of NH4 +-N in overlying water, sediment, and porewater ranged from 0.03 to 0.25 mg/L, 17.7 to 78.2 mg/kg, and 0.41 to 7.03 mg/L, respectively. NH4 +-N in overlying water had no significant spatial-temporal variation, and the annual mean of NH4 +-N in sediments was highest in Meiliang Bay. The annual mean of TN and NO3 --N in overlying water and sediments was highest in Western Taihu Lake. The spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of NH4 +-N and NO3 -N in porewater were roughly consistent with those in sediments. Nitrogen in the sediment occurs in the form of organic nitrogen. Nitrogen in the overlying water was principally of NO3 --N in Meiliang Bay and Gonghu Bay, and was principally of organic nitrogen in Xukou Bay. In the Western Taihu Lake, nitrogen in the overlying water was principally of NO3 --N in summer and fall, and organic nitrogen in spring and winter. The results suggest that the type of organic matter in sediments was an important factor affecting the nitrogen occurrence characteristics and trophic status in aquatic environment. The correlation analysis showed that TN and NO3 --N in overlying water was positively correlated with various forms of nitrogen in sediments, indicating that there was a strong exchange of nitrogen nutrients between water and sediments.
An Agile-Based Integrated Framework for Mobile Application Development Considering Ilities

The development of mobile apps during the last decade has had a significant increase in its share of the software market. While there are specific characteristics that separate it from traditional software development, there is a lack of guidance on issues encountered during the mobile software development process. With the aim of defining a mobile application development framework that considers the specific characteristics of developing mobile apps, we started by carrying out a systematic mapping study of the software development process for mobile applications, then we administered a survey and completed a qualitative study with industry experts. These studies allowed us to identify the main trends in the software process for mobile apps, and to uncover the main challenges for app development. We have organized the findings in a framework that integrates the specific challenges of mobile development, which we call Mobile Ilities, with software development activities that are linked through an agile process. The results of early tests carried out with computer science students are encouraging. Our proposal has served as a guide for novice developers throughout the process of creating a final product, combining the existing knowledge of developers about Scrum with the specific characteristics of mobile development, and providing mechanisms to link these characteristics with the elements of the development process.
Enhanced antioxidant and size controllable Cu@Ag core-shell nanoparticles conductive inks for flexible printed electronics

Cost-effective Cu nanoparticles (NPs) for flexible electronics at low temperature sintering and in atmosphere conditions is difficult in response to their poor antioxidation. In this paper, a novel Cu@Ag core-shell nanoparticle with high antioxidant and size controllable characteristic using chemical reduction method was synthesized, and the corresponding conductive pastes by low temperature sintering was successfully applied to flexible printed electronics. The distinct thicknesses of Ag shell with the different [Cu]/[Ag] molar ratios were obtained. In contrast to sintering of conductive thin film of different thicknesses of Ag shell at low temperature, it is obvious that thicker Ag shell was beneficial for sintering densification and enhancing antioxidant, the corresponding resistivity significantly declined from 34. 85μΩ•cm to 15. 31μΩ•cm at 240°C. Besides, this air stable Cu@Ag NPs with excellent oxidation resistance were saved beyond 30 days and hardly oxidized during the process of sintering below 270°C. Finally, the flexible conductive thin film exhibited good bending-resistance with different bending radius and cycles under low sintering temperature, which has a promising potential to be applied for flexible printed electronics.
Improvement in Voltage Recovery Delay Phenomenon Caused by Air Conditioners Specific Performance

Fault Induced Delayed Voltage Recovery (FIDVR) can cause a threat to the power system voltage stability. Due to the increasing penetration of Air Conditioning (A/C) loads in the power system and the specific behavior of these types of loads, the speed of voltage recovery is significantly reduced when a short circuit fault occurs in the power system. In this paper, a number of common A/Cs installed in the tropical region of southern Iran are investigated and their developed models are compared against the results of the related experimental modeling in other references. Subsequently, a comprehensive model is developed to simulate the behavior of A/C loads in a power system. To determine the power system vulnerabilities to voltage recovery, a screening method is proposed. Additionally, to increase the speed of voltage recovery, the “Impedance Deviation based Load Shedding” method is proposed. Using this method, the most effective buses in the improvement of delayed voltage recovery, are found and subsequently, the amount and priority of the load elimination needed to reduce the effects of FIDVR are determined. The results of simulations on the IEEE 39-bus test system, verifies the high performance of the load models employed and also the load shedding method used to address the FIDVR phenomenon.
A Comprehensive Study of Medical Image Analysis

Modern medicine has become reliant on medical imaging. The application of computer has proved to be an emerging technique in medical imaging and medical image analysis. Each level of analysis requires an effective algorithm as well as methods in order to generate an accurate and reliable result. Different modalities, such as X-Ray, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Ultrasound, Computed tomography (CT), etc. are used for both diagnoses as well as therapeutic purposes in which it provides as much information about the patient as possible. Medical image processing includes image fusion, matching or warping which is the task of image registration. Medical image analysis includes Image enhancement, segmentation, quantification, registration, which is the most predominant ways to analyze the image. There are various difficulties in medical image processing and subsequent stages like image enhancement and its restoration; segmentation of features; registration and fusion of multimodality images; classification of medical images; image features measurement and analysis and assessment of measurement and development of integrated medical imaging systems for the medical field. In this paper, the techniques used in medical image analysis have been reviewed and discussed extensively. The vital goal of this review is to identify the current state of the art of medical image analysis methods as a reference paradigm in order to accelerate the performance of existing methods.
Designing a Neuro-Fuzzy controller with CRPSO and RLSE algorithms to control voltage and frequency in an isolated microgrid

With increasing the distributed energy resources in the power system, voltage and frequency control in microdrigs becomes one of the major concerns for the system operators. In this paper, firstly, a type of improved droop control is proposed and secondly, in order to remove the dependency of droop to transmission line parameters in the complex microgrids, the authors have used the neuro-fuzzy controller with learning system based on the Craziness-based particle swarm optimization (CRPSO) and Recursive least square error (RLSE) methods which has enough convergence in neuro-fuzzy controllers. Following this, the results are compared with the conventional neuro-fuzzy controller (BP-LSE) and the simulations verify the effective performance of theproposed approach. Finally, the proposed controller is simulated with 1,3 and 11 buses test systems
Simple sequence repeats and diversity of globally distributed populations of Pyrenophora tritici-repentis

Abstract Genetic diversity and relatedness in Pyrenophora tritici-repentis, the causal agent of tan spot disease of wheat, were examined in a geographically diverse collection of 80 isolates representing the eight races of the pathogen. Thirty-one simple sequence repeat markers were designed from the P. tritici-repentis genome which amplified 31 different loci in the isolates tested. Data were examined using: (i) Nei's analysis of genetic diversity and genetic distance, (ii) analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), and (iii) clustering by the unweighted pair group method using arithmetic averages (UPGMA). A significant genetic differentiation (ΦPT = 0.153, P ≤ 0.001) was detected among populations, with isolates from different origins having similar levels of genetic diversity. Nei's analysis of genetic distance revealed that isolates of P. tritici-repentis can be grouped into four distinct populations based on their region of origin. The AMOVA showed that Canadian isolates have less than 9% genetic dissimilarity with isolates from the Caucasus region, while they have up to 32% genetic dissimilarity with isolates from the Fertile Crescent. Isolates were also compared by race, genetic distance and cluster analysis based on pooled allele frequency. Ptr ToxA non-producing isolates clustered together but were distantly related to Ptr ToxA-producing isolates, suggesting that the host-specificity imposed by the different Ptr toxins could lead to differentiation among isolates of P. tritici-repentis.
Methods and Sensors for Slip Detection in Robotics: A Survey

The perception of slip is one of the distinctive abilities of human tactile sensing. The sense of touch allows recognizing a wide set of properties of a grasped object, such as shape, weight and dimension. Based on such properties, the applied force can be accordingly regulated avoiding slip of the grasped object. Despite the great importance of tactile sensing for humans, mechatronic hands (robotic manipulators, prosthetic hands etc.) are rarely endowed with tactile feedback. The necessity to grasp objects relying on robust slip prevention algorithms is not yet corresponded in existing artificial manipulators, which are relegated to structured environments then. Numerous approaches regarding the problem of slip detection and correction have been developed especially in the last decade, resorting to a number of sensor typologies. However, no impact on the industrial market has been achieved. This paper reviews the sensors and methods so far proposed for slip prevention in artificial tactile perception, starting from more classical techniques until the latest solutions tested on robotic systems. The strengths and weaknesses of each described technique are discussed, also in relation to the sensing technologies employed. The result is a summary exploring the whole state of art and providing a perspective towards the future research directions in the sector.
Interleaved Tri-state Buck-Boost Converter with Fast Transient Response and Lower Ripple

A new Interleaved Tri-state Buck-Boost converter (ITBBC) is introduced in this paper. The interleaving technique is applied in Tri-state Buck-Boost converter (TBBC) to achieve lower ripple in input current together with output voltage and due to Tri-stating technique, the proposed ITBBC has right-halfplane (RHP) zero free duty-to-output (DTO) transfer function. In this way, transient response as well as power handling capabilities of ITBBC has been improved. The closed-loop transient response of proposed ITBBC has been investigated under various conditions i.e., change in load resistance and change in input voltage. It is found that the proposed ITBBC appears superior transient response to any uncertain disturbances. The input current along with output voltage ripple of ITBBC and TBBC has been examined and it is seen that ITBBC produces lesser ripple than TBBC. It is also seen that the proposed ITBBC is more energy efficient than TBBC.
An Improved SVM Model for Flight Delay Prediction

Flight delays are aggravated by the increasing number of flights. Although it cannot be avoided completely, early warning through accurate prediction is an effective way to mitigate the impact of delays. There has already been numerous studies on delay prediction, but still exists room for improvement. The selected feature factors can be further optimized. And the daily periodicity of flight plans should not be ignored. Besides, changes in hourly flight delays in historical data also ought to be concerned. In this paper, an improved Support Vector Machine (SVM) model is established to predict the flight departure delay. In the feature selection process, a more comprehensive consideration of the factors affecting flight delays is introduced from three major aspects: the airports, airlines and aircraft. For reducing model complexity, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is adopted to achieve dimensionality reduction. The typical flight plan data of each flight is filtered into the training set so as to avoid tag jumping. Furthermore, thanks to the periodicity of flight plans, the number of departure flights and departure delay rate in historical data are provided to SVM as prior knowledge. Finally, the prediction model is validated using historical data of the Beijing Capital International Airport.
Parametric Evaluation of Ride Comfort and Traction Stability of Hub Motor Driven Electric Trucks

This paper presents a methodology for analyzing the effect of hub motor configuration and longitudinal battery placement on the driver ride comfort and longitudinal traction stability of a hub motor driven electric truck. The torque size split between the front and rear axles and battery longitudinal location were parametrically varied to realize the variation in vehicle mass distribution. The variation was analyzed for ride comfort of the truck driver and traction stability during starting gradeability using IPGTM TruckMaker simulations. The results were then compared with a single motor direct-drive configuration, ISO 2631-1 standard and user demand. It was observed that the drawbacks of increasing unsprung mass in hub motor drive of electric trucks could be compensated by varying the split factor and battery position effectively.
Design and Optimization of a New TFPM Generator with Improved Torque Profile

This paper aims to address the design, modelling and optimization procedure of electrical generators for direct drive wind turbine application by introducing a new transverse flux permanent magnet machine (TFPM). The proposed TFPM benefits from characteristics such as: using ferrite PMs instead of rare-earth PMs, fully utilization of PMs, employing only one PM per phase, and cancelling all the even order harmonics. Design algorithm of the TFPM for direct drive wind turbine application is proposed which employs 3-D magnetic equivalent circuit method instead of time consuming finite element analysis (FEA). The MEC method is developed by taking account of rotor movement, iron saturation effect and fringing flux. The MEC results are compared with FEA in terms of accuracy and processing time. In order to improve the TFPM torque characteristics, the Taguchi optimization method is employed and the rated torque along with torque ripple are improved significantly.
Unit Commitment with Price Demand Response based on Game Theory Approach

Unit Commitment program is an important study in the operation of power systems which objects to achieve the minimum system operating cost by considering network and unit constraints. In conventional UC, competition between independent units to maximize their profits is not considered. To overcome this shortcoming, in this study, a game theory-based approach has been employed to address the above points. In this regard, we introduce two types of players including power plants and system operator, and solve UC problem with Nash Cournot and Nash Bertrand techniques. Indeed, the main goal of this study is to find a way that maximizes the profit of the system operator by considering the independent units' behavior. To verify the robustness of the proposed method, the introduced UC approach is employed on the IEEE six-bus power system.
Serum-free media for cultivation of spiroplasmas

Serum-free media that contained bovine serum albumin and lipids (fatty acids, cholesterol, phosphatidic acid, and phospholipids) to replace serum were formulated for the culture of some fastidious strains of corn stunt spiroplasma, Spiroplasma kunkelii. These media also supported good growth of other spiroplasmas, including epiphytic, entomopathogenic, and phytopathogenic strains. The growth rates attained in these serum-free media were comparable to those in media which contained serum. The serum-free broth and agar media were of major importance for culture of several fastidious strains of corn stunt spiroplasma because the serum-containing media supported little, if any, of their growth. Colonies of these fastidious strains were readily formed on serum-free agar media in aerobic, candle jar, and anaerobic environments, but were not readily formed on the serum-containing media. The serum-free media were less subject to deterioration during storage or incubation, and the growth-supporting capacity of ser.
Comparative micromorphology of nectariferous and nectarless labellar spurs in selected clades of subtribe Orchidinae (Orchidaceae)

Floral nectar spurs are widely considered to influence pollinator behaviour in orchids. Spurs of 21 orchid species selected from within four molecularly circumscribed clades of subtribe Orchidinae (based on Platanthera s.l., Gymnadenia-Dactylorhiza s.l., Anacamptis s.l., Orchis s.s.) were examined under light and scanning electron microscopes in order to estimate correlations between nectar production (categorized as absent, trace, reservoir), interior epidermal papillae (categorized as absent, short, medium, long) and epidermal cell striations (categorized as apparently absent, weak, moderate, strong). Closely related congeneric species scored similarly, but more divergent species showed less evidence of phylogenetic constraints. Nectar secretion was negatively correlated with striations and positively correlated with papillae, which were especially frequent and large in species producing substantial reservoirs of nectar. We speculate that the primary function of the papillae is conserving energy through nectar resorption and explain the presence of large papillae in a minority of deceit-pollinated species by arguing that the papillae improve pollination because they are a tactile expectation of pollinating insects. In contrast, the prominence of striations may be a 'spandrel', simply reflecting the thickness of the overlying cuticle. Developmentally, the spur is an invagination of the labellum; it is primarily vascularized by a single 'U'-shaped primary strand, with smaller strands present in some species. Several suggestions are made for developing further, more targeted research programmes. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 160, 369-387 ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: deceit - epidermal striations - nectar secretion - papillae - pollination - resorption - reward.
REAL: Logic and Arithmetic Operations Embedded in RRAM for General-Purpose Computing

As the need of data-intensive applications is growing, it is challenging to scale von Neumann architecture to meet this need, due to its unavoidable data movement between processors and memories. To address such a challenge, processing-inmemory architectures have been proposed which are implemented by either conventional or emerging memory technology. However, such architectures typically support a narrow range of operations; for instance, some of them only support logical operations such as AND, OR. Hence, it is hard to be applied into a wide spectrum of applications (e.g., some need arithmetic operations). Furthermore, some operations need to add additional CMOS logic or significantly modify standard memory array structures. This paper proposes a set of comprehensive logical and arithmetic operations that are primitive operations of today’s computer instruction set and can be embedded into RRAM; they include seven bitwise logical operation and three arithmetic operations. In addition, a new multiplication algorithm is proposed to be easily embedded into RRAM. The evaluation shows that our proposal reduces the delay up to 46% using fewer or the same number of memristor devices as compared to the state-of-the-art.