Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sound radiation of simply supported rectangular plate using finite element method

In this paper sound radiation of simply supported rectangular plate has been reported. The novelty in this research paper is a new method is prescribed for sound radiation calculation. The phenomenon of uncoupled structural acoustics have been followed such that structure is the critical part in structural vibration using modal analysis and harmonic response calculation for frequency range of interest 0 to 200 Hz, but in harmonic acoustic analysis the structure does not takes part in physics point of view but is used for only for transferring the normal velocity from wetted surface of the structure to the interface acoustic medium i.e. air. Sound Radiation parameters like Sound Pressure Level, Sound Power Level and Sound Radiation efficiency has been reported. Upon comparing the results with that from I. Zaman’s literature, it is found that the results are quite varying due to the fact the speed of sound in air as taken in literature is unjustified. So true simulation using correct data has been carried out in this paper and sound radiation results has been reported for frequency range of interest 0 to 200 Hz. It is found that the maximum sound pressure level is 72 dB and maximum sound power level is 78 dB which is suitable for noiseless environment.
The impact of economic and social environment on the diffusion of Information and Communications Technologies

In this PhD thesis, the impact of economic and social environment on the diffusion of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) is studied. Initially, broadband diffusion process in Europe is examined and suggested an approach to measure the digital convergence of countries participating in the analysis. Through a nonparametric analysis between broadband penetration and socioeconomic parameters, it is shown that the impact of the influential parameters depends on the level of broadband penetration. Furthermore, a causal analysis between the economic status and the level of broadband penetration is performed in many countries. Then, a new metric, the “Utilization of Communications Network Potential” (UCNP) versus public practices aimed at enhancing new technologies is proposed. The impact of UCNP is examined in a series of socio-economic parameters. Next, a new index is introduced i.e. the “Maturity Level of ICT” (IMLI). The calculation of this index allows the ranking of countries on the basis of their economic status, highlighting best practices. Finally, a theoretical framework for developing business plans operating optical networks is developed, along with an analysis of population restrictions regarding Greece.
Phenol biodegradation at high organic loads in a complete sludge reactor by activated sludge

The presence of phenols in industrial discharges have phenol concentrations between 35 and 400 mg/L. But there are extreme cases, with concentrations of 30 to 80 g/L. The methods used for its treatment include: degradation, elimination and recovery. Its biological treatment is complicated because it causes the inhibition of microorganisms. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the organic load on the phenol biodegradation rate of an industrial effluent. An activated sludge reactor was used at 1.76 and 2.81 days of hydraulic retention time (HRT), 25±0.5°C and air flow of 2.5 L/min, without pH control. The results showed a HRT of 1.76 days, with an organic load of 11.2±0.3 kg COD/md (run I), a lower COD removal rate, compared with the phenol biodegradation rate (30 and 41%). At 7.97±0.12 kg COD/md (experiment II) and the same HRT, the COD removal rate was higher compared to phenol biodegradation (56 and 37%). And with 3.3±0.2 Kg COD/md) (experiment III), the rate of removal of COD as of phenol biodegradation was 34% at 2.81 days of
Customer Ethnic Bias in Service Encounters

As ethnic diversity continues to rise, customer bias in interethnic service encounters becomes an increasingly problematic issue for the parties involved, the service firms, and society at large. Against this background, the aim of our research is to examine ethnically biased customer responses, their key psychological mechanisms, and the effectiveness of enacted service scripts to shape interethnic service encounters. Building on the aversive racism framework and homophily theory, we propose a baseline effect of majority customers’ ethnic bias toward minority employees in the form of less positive behaviors in interethnic service encounters. In an initial laboratory study, we use experimental video simulations of frontline service encounters and confirm the robustness of this effect across two replications. In a subsequent field experiment, we test an extended framework of customer responses to interethnic service encounters, finding that customers’ experience of rapport and identification with the firm represent two serial mediators that facilitate the effects of interethnic service encounters on customer loyalty intentions. Together, these contributions enrich our understanding of how psychological mechanisms facilitate the incidence of ethnically biased customer behavior and also provide insights into viable ways to improve such encounters.
Income Inequality and Inflation in Developing Countries : An Empirical Investigation

The main aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between income inequality and inflation in 46 Developing countries for the period 2000 to 2012 using dynamic panel data methodology. The GINI coefficient has been used to measure the income inequality while the inflation rate, the growth rate, the unemployment level, the openness of the economies and the variables of governance have been used as independent variables. Contrary to the more previous studies, we test for a non-linear effect of inflation on income inequality. Using GMM estimator to address endogeneity issues, the econometric results support the hypothesis that there is a non-linear relationship between inflation and income inequality and inflation has a positive significant effect on income inequality. Higher inflation is associated with higher income inequality. As inflation goes up, inequality increases, reaches a maximum with an inflation rate of about 109%, and then starts decreasing again. Further, the paper examines through graphical analysis the channels of causality underlying the relationship between inflation and income inequality. The graphical analysis shows the consistency of the data with the hypothesis according to which openness, GDP per capita and political stability mediate the effect of inflation on income inequality. The author thanks the editors, John Conley and Sajal Lahiri, and two anonymous referees for their useful comments and suggestions in the early version of this paper. Any views expressed are those of the author. Citation: N'Yilimon Nantob, (2015) ''Income Inequality and In flation in Developing Countries : An Empirical Investigation'', Economics Bulletin, Volume 35, Issue 4, pages 2888-2902 Contact: N'Yilimon Nantob nyilimon@yahoo.fr. Submitted: July 19, 2015. Published: December 26, 2015.
Antibiotics in Acute Liver Failure (ALF)

2 Constantine J. Karvellas, R. Todd Stravitz, Holly Battenhouse, William M. Lee, and Michael L. Schilsky, for the US Acute Liver Failure Study Group. Therapeutic Hypothermia in Acute Liver Failure: AMulticenter Retrospective Cohort Analysis. Liver Transpl 21:4–12, 2015. Divisions of Hepatology, and Critical Care Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC; Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; and Division of Digestive Diseases and Transplant and Immunology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. The benefit of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) in acute liver failure (ALF) has not been previously demonstrated in a controlled fashion. This study sought to determine the impact of TH on 21-day survival and complications in ALF patients at high risk for cerebral edema. This was a retrospective cohort study of ALF patients in the US Acute Liver Failure Study Group with grade III or IV hepatic encephalopathy. TH (32 C–35 C) was used in 97 patients (8%); 1135 (92%) who were not cooled were controls. Intracranial pressure was monitored in 38 TH ALF patients (39.2% versus 22% of controls, P < 0.001). Rates of bleeding (12% for both) and bloodstream (17% versus 18%) and tracheal infections (21% versus 23%, P > 0.5 for all) were similar. Unadjusted 21-day overall (62% versus 60%) and transplant-free survival rates (45% versus 39%, P > 0.4 for both) were similar. Multivariate models were created for acetaminophen (APAP) patients (n = 582) and non-APAP patients (n = 613). For APAP patients, the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease [MELD; odds ratio (OR) 0.91 per increment, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.89–0.94, P < 0.001] and vasopressors (OR 0.16, 95% CI 5 0.11–0.24, P < 0.001) were associated with decreased 21day spontaneous survival. Survival was improved with TH in APAP patients who were <25 years old (age of 25 years: OR = 2.735, 95% CI = 1.001–7.467) but worsened al and Experimental Hepatology | March 2015 | Vol. 5 | No. 1 | 95–97 ACUTE LIVER FAILURE SHALIMAR H ep a to lo g y Esew h re for APAP patients who were 64 years old or older (age of 64 years: OR = 0.167, 95% CI 0.028–0.999). For non-APAP patients, MELD (OR = 0.93 per increment, 95% CI = 0.91–0.95, P < 0.001) and vasopressors (OR = 0.60, 95% CI 5 0.40–0.90, P = 0.01) were associated with worse outcomes, whereas TH had no impact (P = 0.93). In conclusion, TH in ALF was not associated with increased bleeding or infections. Although young APAP ALF patients may benefit, TH did not consistently affect 21-day survival. A prospective trial is required to clarify the utility of TH in ALF patients.
NVH INVESTIGATION OF VEHICLE HYDRAULICS PUMP

This work presents a method to analyze the noise an d vibration problem caused by hydraulic pumps of power steering systems and body c ntrol system of vehicle. This methodology is based on experimental research and coherent analysi s of observed system. Experimental investigations are conducted to get da ta in order to determine dominant excitation of hydraulic system. Measurements were performed in di fferent working conditions: pump number of revolution was constant and pump number of revoluti n was variable. Pressure of oil in hydraulics system is varied too. A new method for assessment and determination of do minant NVH pump excitation is presented. Experimental results are used as input and output d ata for partial and ordinary coherent analysis. Results of analysis showed that measurement points and measured signals can be reduced especially in high frequency domain. Obtained results can be u sed for experiment planning.
Interpreting OLS Estimands When Treatment Effects Are Heterogeneous: Smaller Groups Get Larger Weights

Abstract Applied work often studies the effect of a binary variable (“treatment”) using linear models with additive effects. I study the interpretation of the OLS estimands in such models when treatment effects are heterogeneous. I show that the treatment coefficient is a convex combination of two parameters, which under certain conditions can be interpreted as the average treatment effects on the treated and untreated. The weights on these parameters are inversely related to the proportion of observations in each group. Reliance on these implicit weights can have serious consequences for applied work, as I illustrate with two well-known applications. I develop simple diagnostic tools that empirical researchers can use to avoid potential biases. Software for implementing these methods is available in R and Stata. In an important special case, my diagnostics require only the knowledge of the proportion of treated units.
Validity Evidence for Off-the-Shelf Language-Based Personality Assessment Using Video Interviews: Convergent and Discriminant Relationships with Self and Observer Ratings

Technological advances have led to the development of automated methods for personnel assessment that are purported to augment or outperform human judgment. However, empirical research providing validity evidence for such techniques in the selection context remains scarce. In addressing this void, this study focuses on language-based personality assessments using an off-the-shelf, commercially available product (i.e., IBM Watson Personality Insights) in the context of video-based interviews. The scores derived from the language-based assessment were compared to self and observer ratings of personality to examine convergent and discriminant relationships. The language-based assessment scores showed low convergence with self-ratings for openness, and with self- and observer ratings for agreeableness. No validity evidence was found for extraversion and conscientiousness. For neuroticism, the patterns of correlations were in the opposite of what was theoretically expected, which raised a significant concern. We suggest more validation work is needed to further improve emerging assessment techniques and to understand when and how such approaches can appropriately be applied in personnel assessment and selection.
Genetic Diversity for Seed Yield and its Components Using Principal Component and Cluster Analysis in Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

Development of sunflower hybrids with better performance in current scenario of climate change is a dire need of present time. Currently, almost all the hybrids grown by Pakistani farmers are of exotic in their origin. This study was intended to evaluate the locally developed sunflower hybrids for seed yield and its components. Twentyeight sunflower hybrids were grown in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replication during Spring 2015. The data was recorded for days to 50% flowering, plant height, stem diameter, leaves per plant, head diameter, 100 kernel weight, kernel per head, kernel weight per head, days to maturity, oil percentage and seed yield. The data was evaluated by using cluster and principle components analysis (PCA). Principle component (PC) analysis revealed that out of 10 PCs, first 2 PCs has the Eigen value larger than one. 73.7% variability was assessed among the sunflower hybrids for yield related traits, contributed by these two principle components. PC 1 contributed the maximum (59.7%) towards diversity and all the traits in it showed positive factor loading. Plant height, stem diameter and days to 50% flowering being the most important characters in PC 2. Cluster analysis grouped 28 sunflower hybrids into three diversified classes. Cluster 1 and 2 comprises of 7 and 8 hybrids respectively, while the third cluster embraces 13 sunflower hybrids. All the traits except 100 kernel weight in the cluster 1 had highest values hence, contributing maximum in seed yields. Selection could be made from cluster 2 for 100 kernel weights. Cluster 3 had the minimum values for days to 50% flowering, leaves per plant and 100 kernel weight. Selection may be avoided in these parameters from this cluster. For achieving higher 100 kernel weight cluster 1 and 2 may be combined and likewise for accomplishing higher oil contents cluster 1 may be combined with cluster 3. Out of 28 sunflower hybrids, FH-516 proved its worth by producing seed yield at par with Hysun-33. [Fida Hussain, Muhammad Rafiq, Maria Ghias, Rizwana Qamar, Muhammad Khurram Razzaq, Amir Hameed, Sajida Habib and Hafiz Saad Bin Mustafa. Genetic Diversity for Seed Yield and its Components Using Principal Component and Cluster Analysis in Sunflower. Life Sci J 2017;14(5):71-78]. ISSN: 1097-8135 (Print) / ISSN: 2372-613X (Online). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 10. doi:10.7537/marslsj140517.10.
A Modified DQ Impedance Model of Three-Phase Grid-Connected Inverter-Grid System Considering Coupling between Inverter and Grid

This paper presents a modified dq impedance model of the three-phase voltage source grid-connected inverter (GCI)-grid system considering coupling effect between GCI part and grid part for small-signal stability analysis. Steady-state terminal voltage and current information of the GCI part which are necessary in conventional dq impedance modelling methods are calculated based on grid parameters, i.e., grid voltage and grid impedance, and current references of current-controlled GCI or power references of power-controlled GCI. In addition, effects of dynamics of grid voltage and phase-locked loop (PLL) on dq impedance characteristics of grid part are also investigated, which enables the modified dq impedance model of grid part to relate with that of GCI part. The modified dq impedance model of the GCI part which takes the effects of grid voltage and grid impedance into account need not know steady-state terminal voltage and current information. In addition, the modified dq impedance model of grid part may provide accurate stability analysis during grid voltage changes. The insight of instability mechanism of the GCI-grid coupling system may be facilitated using the modified dq impedance models. Simulation results are given to validate correctness of the proposed dq impedance model of the GCI-grid system, and effectiveness of the dq impedance model for stability analysis.
Learning to Perform a Tetris with Deep Reinforcement Learning

Video games and simulated environments have been a popular testing ground for many recent RL algorithms because of their speed, repeatability, and scalability. However many of the state-of-the-art algorithms still fail at games requiring longterm planning. In this work, I train an agent to consistently perform the eponymous Tetris (clearing 4 lines at once).
Dynamic Hand Gesture Recognition Using Multi-direction 3D Convolutional Neural Networks

The static hand gesture recognition under simple or complex background has become mature, but the dynamic hand gesture recognition against simple background is still challenging. The reason is that we need pay attention to not only spatial features but also temporal features in dynamic hand gesture recognition. In this paper, we mainly research the drivers’ dynamic hand gesture recognition applied in automotive users interfaces to ensure the safe and improve the comfort. We use 3D convolutional neural networks(3DCNN) to classify the dynamic hand gesture, which can effectively extract temporal-spatial features. Our contributions have three aspects: 1)We extract the key frames from the origin video by computing the optical flow of two adjacent frames; 2)We propose a new data augmentation method–data temporal cropping, which can improve the recognition accuracy and prevent overfitting effectively. 3)We propose a novel multi-direction convolutional neural networks(mdCNN), which can extract the distinguished temporal-spatial features from the short videos. In the end, we present experiment results based on VIVA dataset and achieve recognition accuracy of 65.35%, which is higher than other methods.
ADSORPTION OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS ON PEANUT SHELLS ACTIVATED CARBON

Adsorption isotherms at 22oC of eight organic contaminants (acetone, pyridine, phenol, iodine, methylene blue, Congo red, reactive navy and tannic acid) onto an activated carbon obtained from peanut shells, have been studied. The experimental data were analyzed with the Potential Theory and the Dubinin – Astakhov equation and collapsed into one general characteristic curve. This analysis allows us to obtain the affinity coefficient for each organic compound using phenol as the reference substance. A useful correlation for the calculation of the affinity coefficient as a function of relative parachor is presented.
Spatial scales in the genetic diversity of allogamous Antirrhinum micro -

The relevance of spatia ll y explicit studies of genetie diversity in threatened taxa along with the importance of understanding that biologica I proccesses and environmental factors that determine the genetic structure is examplified in the study case of Antirrhinum microphyllum Rothm . (Scrophulariaceae) an endangered narrow endemie ofCentral Spain. The approaeh al a regional sca le including ali known populations was based in allozyme analys is of 184 individuals (46 individuals per population) and showed little differentiation among populations. [n a second step Bolarque population was approaehed through RAPO analysis. The study showed that the population was genetically structured in neighborhoods. Pollen transport may be responsible far the maintenance of genetic vicinities whereas sporadic long-distance seed dispersal is IikeIy to explain the re latedness among certain patches. Ali these features carry aut important implications far conservation.
Optimization and analysis of novel thermoelectric module

Optimization and analysis of novel thermoelectric module is proposed in this research paper. The simulation for four thermoelectric modules were performed in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.4 software and detailed analysis of these thermoelectric modules were carried out. The three thermoelectric modules showed the efficiency and power output above-average thermoelectric modules. It also indicated that lead telluride based thermoelectric modules could be used in isolated areas due to toxicity of lead whereas tetrahedrite based thermoelectric module could be used in non-isolated areas due to its non-toxic properties. The proposed thermoelectric modules can be utilized in applications such as industries, deep space explorations, automobiles, thermal power plants, renewable electricity generation, hybrid renewable systems, etc. in an economically viable manner.