Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coupled Electro-Mechanical Analysis of Adaptive Material Systems-Determination of the Actuator Power Consumption and System Energy Transfer

This article presents a coupled electromechanical analysis of piezoelectric ceramic (PZT) actuators integrated in mechanical systems to determine the actuator power consumption and energy transfer in the electromechanical systems. For a material system with integrated PZT actuators, the power consumed by the PZT actuators consists of two parts: the energy used to drive the system, which is dissipated in terms of heat as a result of the structural damping, and energy dissipated by the PZT actuators themselves because of their dielectric loss and internal damping. The coupled analysis presented herein uses a simple model, a PZT actuator-driven one-degree-of-freedom spring-mass-damper system, to illustrate the methodology used to determine the actuator power consumption and energy flow in the coupled electromechanical systems. This method can be applied to more complicated mechanical structures or systems, such as a fluid-loaded shell for active structural acoustic control. The determination of the actuator power consumption can be very important in the design and application of intelligent material systems and structures and of particular relevance to designs that must be optimized to reduce mass and energy consumption.
Preparation and Characterization of Polypropylene Composites Filled with Different Structured Mesoporous Particles

Monodisperse nanosized mesoporous particles were synthesized by sol-gel reaction. This study investigated the effects of different types of nanoparticles and amount of nanoparticles on mechanical performance of polypropylene (PP) composites. Four different types of nanoparticles, namely, mesoporous MCM-41 (without template), mesoporous MCM-41 (with template), SBA-15 (without template), and SBA-15 (with template) were considered. PP composites containing (0.5-5 wt%) mesoporous fillers were prepared by compounding. The mechanical properties of the composites determined as a function of the filler loading and the different types of nanoparticles were found to vary with the different interface between different fillers and the matrix. In addition, mechanical tests suggested that SBA-15 (without template) can be regarded as better fillers for PP because of the larger pore size (5.9 nm) and thick silica walls (3.8 nm) as comparable to MCM-41 (without template) and can simultaneously provide PP with strengthening and toughening effects at a rather low filler content. Because the P 123 (EO20PO70EO20) surfactant of large PO/EO ratio in SBA-15 (with template) possessed relatively higher hydrophobicity than the n-hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide surfactant in MCM-41 (with template), PP/SBA-15 (with template) composite showed better mechanical properties than PP/MCM-41 (with template) composite.
Ballistic penetration of conically cylindrical steel projectile into 3D orthogonal woven composite: a finite element study at microstructure level

Ballistic penetration of conically cylindrical steel projectile into 3D orthogonal woven composite (3DOWC) was investigated from finite element analyses and ballistic impact tests. Based on the observation of the microstructure of the 3DOWC, a microstructure model was established for finite element calculation. In this model, the cross-section of warp, weft and Z-direction fiber tows was regarded as rectangular. The noninterwoven warp and weft yarns were bonded together with Z-yarns. The impact damage and energy absorption of the 3DOWC penetrated by a conically cylindrical steel projectile were calculated from the microstructure model and compared with the testing results. Good agreements with experiments have been observed, especially for deformation, damage evolution, and strain wave distribution in the 3DOWC under ballistic penetration.
York University at TREC 2009: Relevance Feedback Track

We describe a series of experiments conducted in our participation in the Relevance Feedback Track. We evaluate two traditional weighting models (BM25 and DFR) for the phase 1 task, which are widely used in text retrieval domain. We also evaluate a statistics-based feedback model and our proposed feedback model for the phase 2 task. Currently, we are waiting for the overview paper to facilitate further analyses.
Surgical reconstruction of chronic anteromedial rotatory instability of the knee

The clinical records were reviewed of 142 men and 7 women (average age 26.8 years; range, 15 to 58 years) who had surgical reconstruction for anteromedial rotatory instability of the knee. All were treated consecutively at the same clinic during a 15- year period (1960 to 1975). Preoperative and postoperative symptoms were rated both subjectively and objectively by de vised scales and analyzed by a computer program. Comparison of the three major surgical procedures show that the subjective success rate was 87% for the pes anserinus transfer, 70% for the posterior oblique ligament reconstruction, and 72% for the combination procedure. Of the 149 patients, 130 had been injured in sportive activities and 110 were able to return to some degree of athletics. Accurate and detailed recording of clinical data allowed construction of subjective and objective rating systems for computer analysis in review of a large series over a period of years. This approach enhanced our ability to obtain correlation and objective evaluation of the data. Com mercial equipment for evaluating the quadriceps and ham- strings is beneficial in determining that a patient has achieved complete rehabilitation or if there will be a permanent decrease in function after surgical intervention.
Adaptive Structures

The performance requirements of advanced space systems of the future have motivated a new approach to structural design. This paper surveys the field of adaptive structures and proposes a general framework for categorizing the various approaches be ing pursued. Examples are described in each category to place the work in relative per spective and to describe the similarities and differences between the approaches.
Antenna Integration with Composite Sandwich Structures using Gain Enhancement Methods

In this study, a new design method for antenna-integrated composite sandwich structures is proposed. First, the effects of sandwich geometry on antennas are investigated in the transmission line analogy. Changes in the gain of an antenna due to a sandwich geometry have been determined. For a facesheet layer, the condition that provides the greatest antenna gain is called the open condition and it is exploited to allow the presence of an antenna in the sandwich structure without loss of antenna performance. Two types of structures are designed, one which uses a stacked-patch microstrip antenna, and the other using an aperture-coupled microstrip antenna for wideband performance. The measured electrical performances of these fabricated structures show that the gains are superior to original antennas, and bandwidths are as wide as specified in the requirements of the present study. Structural performances are the same as those of a conventional sandwich structure, according to the three-point bending test, so that perfect integration is confirmed without reducing either of the mechanical and electrical performances.
Organoclay Effect on Mechanical Responses of Glass/Epoxy Nanocomposites

This research aims to perform a symmetric investigation regarding the organoclay effect on the mechanical behaviors of glass/epoxy nanocomposites. Tensile, flexural, as well as interlaminar fracture toughness are of concern in this study. To demonstrate the organoclay effect, three different loadings, 2.5, 5, and 7.5 wt% of organoclay were dispersed in the epoxy resin using a mechanical mixer followed by sonication. The corresponding glass/epoxy nanocomposites were prepared by inserting the organoclay epoxy mixture into the dry glass fiber through a vacuum hand lay-up process. Tensile tests revealed that longitudinal tensile strength decreases as organoclay loading increases; on the other hand, transverse tensile strength increases with the increase of the organoclay. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy observation on the transverse failure specimens indicates that the enhanced mechanism is due to the improved interfacial bonding between the fibers and the surrounding matrix modified by organoclay. The increasing tendency was also found in the transverse flexural strength of the nanocomposites. However, mode I fracture tests indicated that with the increase of the organoclay, the corresponding fracture toughness of the nanocomposites decreases appreciably. For the quasi-isotropic glass/epoxy laminates, since the failure is dominated by fiber rupture, the strength is not influenced significantly by the organoclay.
What Affects Participation in the Farmland Rental Market in Rural China? Evidence from CHARLS

Land fragmentation and the small size of land parcels are still the major bottlenecks for agriculture sustainable development in rural China, and an efficient land rental market could consolidate land plots and realize agricultural management at a moderate scale. However, transaction cost is still the main obstacle of land transfer. It is, therefore, essential to reduce the excessive transaction costs in the process of transfer; the primary task is to identify the roots of transaction costs. In order to accurately identify the sources of transaction costs, a generalized ordered Logit model with thresholds that allowed transaction costs to affect different directions of land transfer was developed using the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey in 2015. The results suggested that the roots of transaction costs presented significant differences regarding the supply and demand of cropland. For the supply of land, the land titling program, land transfer intermediaries, and well-planned roads were the three most important factors that reduced transaction costs. For the demand of land, the three critical measures for reducing the transaction costs were well-planned roads, land consolidation, and the land titling program. The government should continue to push forward the land titling program and land consolidation projects in rural China, especially in hilly and mountainous areas. The infrastructure that greatly restricted agricultural development should be improved at a moderate level and the system of land circulating intermediary services at the township level should be established.
A low-cost custom-built robotic arm on the TurtleBot platform

This document presents a project that covers all the necessary steps to build a low-cost mobile platform equipped with a robotic arm. A Kinect-guided custom robotic arm on the TurtleBot platform provides the vacuum cleaner with basic manipulation capabilities. All stages in the project involve standard hardware components and open-source software modules. 1) The robotic arm is built with off-the-shelf parts and controlled from an Arduino board. 2) A Kinect sensor is used for object detection. 3) Two ROS nodes manage all the elements, commanding the mobile base and defining targets to be grasped. The arm has been evaluated in order to identify the accuracy that can be expected with this setup, and a demonstration program, which simulates a simple cleaning task in which soft objects are moved out of the way, is described. The setup and algorithms used are simple and easy to replicate, and the experiments show notable robustness and performance from the system, making this set up useful for educational and research activities. This initial prototype has a simple pincer that enables grasping of easy objects only, while future work will address improvements for more advanced recognition and grasping strategies.
The Mediation Model of Actual Ought Self Discrepancy between
Attachment Anxiety and Codependence

Abstract: In this study, it was aimed to investigate the mediating role of actual-ought self-discrepancy between attachment anxiety and codependence among a group of international university students in Turkey who are fluent in English. Considering the high intensity of agitation-related emotions in individuals with codependence, it is hypothesized that discrepancies between actual and ought to self-states scores are mediating the relationship between preoccupied-anxious attachment style and codependence scores. Data were collected between March and May 2016 from 67 (34 females, 33 males) university students with at least one dysfunctional significant other. They were recruited via e-mails and web-based online survey applications. The age range of the participants is between 18 and 25 (M=21, SD=2.074). In addition to a short socio-demographic information form, three self-report instruments were administered to participants: The Revised Adult Attachment Scale (RAAS), the Self Concept Questionnaire – Conventional Constructs (SCQ-CC), and the Codependent Questionnaire (CdQ). Regression and mediation analyses were utilized, and it was found that actual-ought self-discrepancies scores to mediate the relationship between preoccupied-anxious attachment and codependence scores. The results of the study are expected to have important implications for clinical interventions and prevention programs in addressing the attachment insecurities and emotion regulation difficulties of the individuals with codependence.
Recent progress of molecular cytogenetic study on scleractinian (stony) corals

Chromosome study of scleractinian (stony) corals had been restricted to only counting chromosome numbers and measuring their lengths to delineate the chromosome types to establish their karyotypes for the past thirty years (before 2012), because chromosome preparations, which were made by the conventional squash-method, had not been suitable for molecular cytogenetic techniques. To advance the chromosome analysis of stony corals, it was necessary to utilize a molecular cytogenetic technique, such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with DNA probes. We devised a newly improved method for suitable chromosome preparations made from coral embryos for FISH and made significant progress in molecular cytogenetic study of stony corals by FISH using our methods for making chromosome preparations. FISH made it feasible to carry out the establishment of their precise karyotypes, the gene mapping, FISH marker isolation and ascertainment of sex chromosome in stony corals. Molecular cytogenetics is useful for connecting and understanding the gap in classification between morphological and molecular (DNA sequences) analyses in the scleractinia. Therefore, better understanding of chromosome features may help to integrate the systematics of the data from both morphology and molecular sequences of stony corals. This review offers an overview of our research on molecular cytogenetics of stony corals; we are presenting our new findings on some stony corals using FISH, and overviewing former cytogenetic reports. The information provided here should be useful for the ongoing study of stony coral chromosome evolution, classification, genetics, and genome projects.
Techniques for Interpreting Abstruse English Idioms into Arabic

Idioms exist in every language. They are words or phrases that aren't meant to be taken literally. For example, if you say someone has "cold feet," it doesn't mean their toes are actually cold. Rather, it means they're nervous about something. At the present time, idioms, in all languages around the globe, are commonly used not only in texts, business, press, novels, short stories, plays and social media communication tools, but also articulated in everyday spoken language. In fact, idioms are commonly used in all aspects of life and in all world cultures and languages. For example,in Armenian, "stop ironing my board" means stop bothering me. In French, "when chickens have teeth" means something's never going to happen.In German, "an elephant made out of a fly" means to make a big deal out of nothing.In Italian, "to treat someone with a fish in their face" means to disrespect someone. In Japanese, "my cheeks are falling off" means the food is really delicious. In Polish, "mustard after lunch" means it's too late to do something. Consequently, all these examples prove the importance of interpreting idioms into various languages. But interpreting idioms is not an easy process, since interpreters may encounter many challenges and problems while interpreting them into another language. This study investigates the techniques of interpreting abstruse English idioms into Arabic. The data of the this study are collected from a number of well-known dictionaries such as : A Dictionary of English idioms : English Arabic, Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture, AlMawrid AL-Hadeeth : A Modern English-Arabic Dictionary, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. The data analysis of this study reveals that there are many techniques can be used for interpreting English idioms into Arabic. These techniques are selected and gra ded according their own priorities.
The Unique Nostalgic Shopper Nostalgia proneness and desire for uniqueness as determinants of shopping behavior among

Background Millennials, or Generation Y, represent one of today’s most prominent age cohorts: with their increasingly stronger purchasing power and importance in the global economic landscape, it is no wonder that marketers are striving to find new ways to appeal to the taste of this peculiar generation of consumers. Among the various modern research fields in business, one in particular is offering incredibly interesting insights to both scholars and professional marketers: the concept of nostalgia proneness in consumer behavior. While several studies examine the dynamics of this phenomenon, none of them so far examined the impact of nostalgia proneness in shopping behavior, especially examining the dynamics on a sample of Generation Y consumers. Purpose This study was conducted in order to explore the dynamics of nostalgia proneness, linking the constructs to both desire for uniqueness and shopping behavior, using the framework provided by the Consumer Styles Inventory (Sproles & Sproles, 1990). Method After a theoretical review on the matter, several hypotheses and a conceptual model were developed to serve as the core framework of the quantitative analysis. The data, obtained from a convenience sample of 222 respondents, were subsequently examined using several statistical techniques (ANOVA, correlation and factor analysis), with the intent to test the hypotheses and shed light on the research questions. The outcome was then presented and interpreted using both the theoretical background and other complementary relevant literature. Conclusion The results showed a positive relationship between nostalgia proneness and desire for uniqueness, with both variables being further connected to several shopping traits of the Generation Y consumer. The cluster and factor analysis eventually showed patterns that could be interpreted using the theory of hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations.
Does External Monitoring from the Government Improve the Performance of State-Owned Enterprises?

This paper investigates how external monitoring from government influences the performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), by affecting managerial expropriation in procurement (proxied by input prices) and shirking in production management (proxied by productivity). Because firm-level input prices are usually not observed, we apply a structural approach of production function estimation to estimate them together with firm-level productivity, providing a methodologically practical approach to overcome the common data limitation. Using a nationwide policy shock in China that strengthened government monitoring on SOEs exclusively, we find enhancing monitoring can substantially improve SOEs’ input prices and productivity. Moreover, as spatial-dimension evidence, higher monitoring costs increase input prices paid by SOEs and reduce productivity. Such negative effect is largely alleviated by the monitoring-strengthening policy. The results suggest that government monitoring can be an effective policy instrument to improve SOE performance.
Myoelectric Control for Upper Limb Prostheses

State-of-the-art high-end prostheses are electro-mechanically able to provide a great variety of movements. Nevertheless, in order to functionally replace a human limb, it is essential that each movement is properly controlled. This is the goal of prosthesis control, which has become a growing research field in the last decades, with the ultimate goal of reproducing biological limb control. Therefore, exploration and development of prosthesis control are crucial to improve many aspects of an amputee’s life. Nowadays, a large divergence between academia and industry has become evident in commercial systems. Although several studies propose more natural control systems with promising results, basic one degree of freedom (DoF), a control switching system is the most widely used option in industry because of simplicity, robustness and inertia. A few classification controlled prostheses have emerged in the last years but they are still a low percentage of the used ones. One of the factors that generate this situation is the lack of robustness of more advanced control algorithms in daily life activities outside of laboratory conditions. Because of this, research has shifted towards more functional prosthesis control. This work reviews the most recent literature in upper limb prosthetic control. It covers commonly used variants of possible biological inputs, its processing and translation to actual control, mostly focusing on electromyograms as well as the problems it will have to overcome in near future.