Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Digital PWM controller for DC-DC converters with minimum analogue circuits

A digital pulse width modulation controller is proposed for DC–DC converters. Most conventional digital controllers have required analogue-to-digital converters (ADCs). However, because of the significant power consumption of the ADC, as well as the design time and silicon area, use of digital controllers for battery-operated systems has been limited. To overcome the disadvantages of ADC, a simple but effective deadzone comparator is proposed.
Seismic Vulnerability of Ancient Churches: II. Statistical Analysis of Surveyed Data and Methods for Risk Analysis

In the context of a seismic prevention strategy, vulnerability analysis has the aim of acquiring knowledge of the buildings in a region, with particular reference to their predisposition to be damaged by an earthquake. The goal may be both at a territorial level, to assess the damage scenario expected after an earthquake of given intensity, and at a detailed level, as a support to the planning of seismic improvement interventions. The latter objective is very important for ancient churches, due to their architectural and historical value. They definitely need a more profound analysis. The survey with the new form proposed in Part I of this paper allows us to highlight the specific vulnerability with regard to the different collapse mechanisms that are typical of earthquakes, taking into account, if present, the damage due to historical events as an observed vulnerability.
Preventive Behaviors, Barriers, and Drivers of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia: A Cross-sectional Survey

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a public health concern worldwide. This study aimed to assess the preventive behaviors, barriers, and drivers, including the knowledge and self-efficacy of COVID-19 in Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the COVID-19 outbreak by using a self-administered questionnaire. The instrument used was adopted from the World Health Organization resources. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the categorical data. Chi-square and independent t-test were performed to evaluate the associations between the variables and preventive behaviors. Results: A total of 465 (97.3%) respondents were recorded. The mean age was 34.3 +/- 11.8 years old. A high percentage of the respondents (99.4%) were aware of the COVID-19 outbreak, and their knowledge mean score was 18.74 (Standard Deviation [SD]: 2.51). The mean scores of self-efficacy, barriers, and drivers were 11.07 (SD: 1.72), 5.20 (SD: 2.81), and 39.71 (SD: 5.17), respectively. Barriers (Odds Ratio [OR]: 1.10;95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.01, 1.21;p < 0.05) and drivers (OR: 1.12;95% CI: 1.07, 1.17;p < 0.001) were found to be predictors for social distancing practices. Conclusions: Knowledge and self-efficacy were found to be at good levels, whereas self-efficacy, barriers, and drivers were revealed to be the predictive factors in determining the preventive behaviors. Adherence to preventive measures was largely affected by the behavioral drivers.
A new lightwave-microwave signal conversion method

A novel method of lightwave-microwave signal conversion has been developed and studied in detail. The proposed method offers many advantages, providing a high mixing product in a wide frequency range. An optimum adjustment has also been found. A comparison of results obtained by using HEMT (high electron mobility transistor) and FET devices is also presented. The HEMT lightwave-microwave mixing results in a higher converted signal than the FET mixing. <<ETX>>
Multipanel Limited Angle PET System With 50 ps FWHM Coincidence Time Resolution: A Simulation Study

In this simulation study, we evaluate the performance of a limited angular coverage PET system consisting of two/four fast-timing 50 ps FWHM CTR flat-panel detectors made of 5–20 mm long pixelated lutetium oxyorthosilicate crystals. We studied image quality and count rates following the National Electrical Manufacturers Association standard, spatial resolution by imaging a Derenzo phantom and a hot rod, and investigated the sensitivity of different scanner designs. We demonstrated the possible use of such a scanner by imaging a human head and a torso of the extended cardiac-torso (XCAT) digital phantom. All the designs were compared to the reference scanner, based on Siemens Biograph Vision PET/CT scanner geometry. We show that good coincidence timing resolution (CTR) can compensate for lower detection efficiency or smaller angular coverage. Good image quality can be obtained with a simple limited-angle PET system without distortions or artefacts. Substantial degradation of the spatial resolution with increased crystal length is observed in the two-panel design due to the parallax error, but not in the four-panel design. The four-panel design simulated with a CTR of 50 ps FWHM is comparable to that of the current state-of-the-art clinical PET/CT scanner. Similar fast-timing limited-angle planar detectors could enable much less expensive total-body or single organ (dynamically selectable) imaging devices.
A microfluidic device towards shear stress analysis of clonal expanded endothelial cells

Cell heterogeneity in genetically identical cell populations is becoming a well-known and important phenomenon in cell biology. Current methods commonly utilise population-based analysis founded on averaged result. Hence there is a need for high-throughput cell assays on the single-cell level. By using miniaturised devices it is possible to enhance spatial and temporal control of the individual cells, increase the potential throughput and minimise the needed sample and reagent volume while enabling a wide range of biological applications.This thesis is based on the results generated with a miniaturised microwell slide for cell assays. The microwell slide’s high-throughput compartmentalised configuration enables several hundred isolated experiments to be run simultaneously. The bottom of the wells is made out of a thin glass slide, which supports high-resolution imaging. The slide has a standardised format and its’ compatibility with conventional instruments is used extensively throughout the thesis. The presented papers all contribute to the development of the microwell slide by adding technical value or increasing the number of potential applications. For example, the slide was success-fully implemented as a chip-to-world output format for single microfluidic droplets in Paper I, by interfacing two miniaturised systems with fluorescence-activated cell sorting. In Paper II and III, microfluidic channels were integrated to increase spatial and temporal control of the added samples and reagents. In Paper II an automated stepwise concentration gradient generator was developed delivering a drug gradient to adherent mammalian cells in designated wells. In Paper III fluidic-imposed shear stress on endothelial cells was studied. In Paper IV, the slide was functionalised by coating the surfaces of the wells with several antibiotics at a defined concentration range. The coated slide was used for multiplex antibiotic susceptibility testing of bacterial pathogens, using an algorithm-based identification of the point defining lag to exponential phase transition. It successfully determined the pathogens susceptibility profile in 3-5 hours. Finally, in Paper V, a method to retrieve bacteria colonies with a desired phenotype from the wells for downstream genetic analysis was developed. In summary, the presented work has furthered the development of miniaturised high-throughput tools for various cell heterogeneity assays.
Vehicle Platooning System with Tensor-based Space-Time Coding Schemes

—In this article, we discuss the platooning system and propose models for its implementation based on multilinear algebra. It is investigated a model with Khatri-Rao Space-Time (KRST) coding and another model that combine a Tensor Space-Time (TST) and Kronecker Space-Time (KronST) codings, using Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC) and Tucker decompositions. A performance analysis is carried out to illustrate and compare the efﬁciency of the presented algorithms.
Heuristic rescheduling of crude oil operations to manage abnormal supply chain events

Globalization and the resultant complexity of today's supply chains require that enterprises be agile and proactive. This communication looks at a refinery supply chain where disruptions such as crude arrival delay could make the current schedule infeasible and necessitate rescheduling of operations. Existing approaches for generating (near) optimal schedules for a real-world refinery typically require significantly large amounts of time. This is undesirable when rectification decisions need to be made in a short time. Further, when the problem data given to the existing scheduling approaches are changed, as is the case during a disruption, the optimizers follow different solution paths and result in substantially different schedules. A heuristic rescheduling strategy is proposed that overcomes both these shortcomings. The key insight exploited here is that any schedule can be broken into operation blocks. Rescheduling is performed by modifying these blocks in the original schedule using simple heuristics to generate a new schedule that is feasible for the new problem data. Our strategy avoids major operational changes by preserving—as far as possible—the blocks in the original schedule. The major advantages of the proposed method are its real-time computational performance and the minimal changes to the operations as compared to total rescheduling. Further, the proposed strategy can also identify many feasible schedules and allow refinery personnel to select one by considering other factors that cannot be adequately modeled in a scheduler. Our method is illustrated using five types of disruptions occurring in a refinery. The various factors that affect the robustness of a supply chain in the face of disruptions are also discussed. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2007.
Micro-Hardness of PA6 Influenced by Beta Irradiation

In this paper, the effect of the electron beam irradiation on the indentation hardness, indentation modulus and indentation creep have been studied by means of the Depth sensing indentation (DSI). Cross-linking is a process in which polymer chains are associated through chemical bonds. Radiation doses of 33, 66 and 99 kGy were used for unfilled polyamide 6 with the 7% crosslinking agent (triallyl isocyanurate). Beta irradiation of the examined thermoplastic caused the growth of values of material parameters as micro-hardness, indentation modulus or indentation creep etc. From this point of view, there may be new application in areas with mechanical properties higher than their original properties. This study compared the mechanical properties of irradiated and non-irradiated PA6.
Design and Implementation of Network Operational Management Systems for Integrated and Automated Management of LANs and WANs

This research includes an integrated network management architecture that can simultaneously manage both LANs (Local Area Network) and WANs (Wide Area Network) with either a standard or proprietary network management. The features of the proposed architecture are analyzed in comparison with integrated architecture and common platform architecture. The design and implementation of integrated and automated network/service management platforms that can seamlessly configure services, monitor service/network performance, and detect network faults are of great importance and interest to the service and network providers. It also includes networks supporting services and applications that require high availability and reliability as well as fast reconstitution time, in the event of failures.
A 2 × 1 multiband MIMO antenna system consisting of miniaturized patch elements

The design of a compact two element multiple‐input‐multiple‐output (MIMO) antenna system is presented. The antenna operates in four bands. It resonates at 750 MHz, 1.17 GHz, 1.7 GHz, and 2.35 GHz. The elements of the MIMO antenna system are patch antennas loaded with complementary split‐ring resonators (CSRR). A CSRR is used to lower the resonant frequency of the patch as well as to achieve multiple resonances. The antenna occupies a total space of 120 × 60 × 0.8 mm3. Measured results of fabricated antenna show good agreement with simulation results. The evaluation of antenna for various parameters including bandwidth, isolation, total active reflection coefficient, mean effective gain, correlation coefficient, and radiation patterns is presented in this article. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 56:1371–1375, 2014
Transnational mergers and acquisitions: The impact of FDI on human rights, 1981—2006

While globalization advocates have argued that market liberalization and economic integration will strengthen human rights by promoting economic development and facilitating the diffusion of rights-supportive norms and values, critics contend that the same processes threaten to undermine human rights through economic exploitation and the repressive actions of pro-growth governments. To contribute to this debate, the authors examine the relationship between one aspect of economic globalization, foreign direct investment, and human rights performance. But the authors go beyond existing studies of the human rights impact of foreign direct investment, which generally lump all forms of FDI into a single aggregate indicator, by focusing on one specific form of FDI, transnational mergers and acquisitions (M&As). This is a particularly important area to explore given the human rights literature’s emphasis on multinational corporations as both potential violators of human rights and catalysts for improvements in human rights performance. This study examines the impact of cross-border M&As, which have become an increasingly prominent form of foreign direct investment over the last 25 years, on human rights performance globally from 1981 through 2006. The results of the statistical analysis show that transnational mergers and acquisitions have a positive impact on human rights conditions across several indicators, including physical integrity rights, empowerment rights, workers’ rights, and women’s economic rights. This positive impact of cross-border M&As is particularly pronounced in developing countries.
Factors affecting recurrence following arthroscopic Bankart repair in recreational athletes

Detailed evaluation for recurrence following arthroscopic Bankart repair (ABR)s is important to develop strategies to decrease recurrence rates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes following ABR and to investigate clinical, functional and demographic data by recurrence status in recreational athletes. A total of 67 consecutive ABRs (63 males, 4 females) with a minimum 5-year follow-up were included in the study. Preand post-operative clinical and functional outcomes were evaluated using VAS, shoulder ROM, ASES, UCLA, Constant-Murley, Oxford Instability and Rowe scores. Patient characteristics were evaluated to investigate the correlation with the outcomes. Factors associated with recurrence were also evaluated. The mean age was 30.8 ± 7.7 years and the mean follow-up was 87.7 ± 19.1 months. Good to excellent postoperative functional and clinical outcomes were obtained in the last follow-up compared with the baseline (p<0.001). Eleven shoulders (16.5%) experienced recurrent instability. Contact sports, glenoid bone loss, Hill-Sachs lesions and smoking habit were associated with recurrence status (p=0.007, p=0.043, p=0.023, p=0.017, respectively). Only postoperative abduction degree was significantly higher in recurrence (-) patients compared to recurrence (+) patients (p<0.001). No major complications were occurred in perior post-operative period. Forty-seven patients returned to their preoperative sports activity levels. Good to excellent mediumto long-term functional and clinical outcomes were achieved after ABR. Contact sports, glenoid bone loss, Hill-Sachs lesions and smoking habit were associated with recurrence after ABRs.
Tracking Control for Nonholonomic Wheeled Mobile Robot With Wheel Slip Dynamics

In order to model a Wheeled Mobile Robot (WMR) system to improve its maneuverability in a real environment, wheel dynamics, which may violate no-slipping and pure rolling constraints, needs to be studied. In this paper, wheel dynamics with slip is modeled and introduced into the robot overall dynamics. Wheel slip phenomenon is captured and at the same time accommodated. Considering both lateral and longitudinal slip phenomena due to traction, a WMR system becomes an underactuated dynamic system with second order nonholonomic constraints. Position tracking control law is developed to asymptotically stabilize the system while it is converging to the desired trajectory, if the traction is not saturated. Simulation results are provided to validate the theoretical results.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
MMIC applications of heterostructure interband tunnel devices

This paper deals with recent achievements in the field of an emerging technology termed the quantum monolithic microwave integrated circuit (QMMIC). QMMIC consists of a heterojunction interband tunneling diode and a high electron-mobility transistor monolithically integrated to obtain a new functional device. This technology enables the realization of low-voltage, high-density, and high-functionality circuits. A detailed description of the design and analysis techniques for several circuits such as an amplifier, an oscillator, and a mixer, along with the analytical treatment of the principle of operation are given in this paper. A number of prototypes implemented in InP technology constitute the proof-of-concept of the unique features of QMMIC circuit blocks for low-power wireless systems.
Analysis of Laser Evaporative and Fusion Cutting

This paper presents an analytical description of the evaporative and fusion laser cutting process. The model incorporates the effects of heat conduction, phase change, beam divergence, surface absorption and plasma absorption (for fusion cutting of metals) to estimate the geometry of the cutting front for given process parameters, material properties and workpiece geometry. Model estimates for kerf shape were developed for continuous-wave CO 2 laser cutting of polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA), aluminum oxide and 304 stainless steel. Comparison of model estimates with experimental results showed good agreement for cutting front geometries for PMMA, good kerf width agreement for aluminum oxide and model underestimation of kerf profile for 304 stainless steel. Results for the comparison of predicted and measured profile and centerline angles of inclination are also presented.
Indoor characterization at production scale: 200 kWp of CPV solar simulator measurements

In order to complement ISFOC’s characterization capabilities, a Helios 3198 CPV Solar Simulator was installed in summer 2010. This Solar Simulator, based on a parabolic mirror and a high-intensity, small area Xenon flash lamp was developed by the Instituto de Energia Solar in Madrid [1] and is manufactured and distributed by Soldaduras Avanzadas [2]. This simulator is used not only for R&D purposes, but as a quality control tool for incoming modules that are to be installed in ISFOC’s CPV plants. In this paper we will discuss the results of recent measurements of close to 5000 modules, the entire production of modules corresponding to a small CPV power plant (200 kWp). We scrutinize the resultant data for signs of drift in the measurements, and analyze the light quality before and after, to check for changes in spectrum or spatial uniformity.
THz generation from optical rectification tilted-pulse-front pumping scheme with laser pulse focused to a line

In this study, we investigate THz pulses generated from optical rectification with tilted-pulse-front pumping scheme in which the laser beam is focused to a line in a stoichiometric lithium niobate (sLN) crystal. A cylindrical lens and a common lens are used to focus the pump laser beam to a line. The power law of THz pulse generation and the redshift induced from the sLN crystal are measured. The spectral shapes of the laser pulse are changed by inserting a filter into the pump laser beam, causing the THz radiation to change. The filter is a metal wire with 2 mm diameter. Experimental results show that this method can change the generated THz time waveforms but not their spectra. Such method offers a simple means to change and manipulate THz field generated from optical rectification with tiled-pulse-front pumping scheme.
RDMA-Enabled Concurrency Control Protocols for Transactions in the Cloud Era

Online transaction processing (OLTP) is widely used on modern cloud infrastructures to complete important businesses such as payments and stock exchanges. Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) is a technology that enables ultra-low inter-server memory access latency - which is critical for implementing high-performance concurrency control protocols in distributed OLTP. In this article, we develop RCC, the first unified and comprehensive RDMA-enabled distributed transaction processing framework containing six serializable concurrency control protocols—not only the classical protocols <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${{\sf NOWAIT}}$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi mathvariant="sans-serif">NOWAIT</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="wang-ieq1-3116516.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>, <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${{\sf WAITDIE}}$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi mathvariant="sans-serif">WAITDIE</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="wang-ieq2-3116516.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>, <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${{\sf OCC}}$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi mathvariant="sans-serif">OCC</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="wang-ieq3-3116516.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>, but also more advanced <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${{\sf MVCC}}$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi mathvariant="sans-serif">MVCC</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="wang-ieq4-3116516.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>, <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${{\sf SUNDIAL}}$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi mathvariant="sans-serif">SUNDIAL</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="wang-ieq5-3116516.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>, and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${{\sf CALVIN}}$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi mathvariant="sans-serif">CALVIN</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="wang-ieq6-3116516.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> — the deterministic protocol. Our goal is to unbiasedly compare protocols on OLTP workloads in a common execution environment with the concurrency control protocol being the only changeable component. From RCC, we obtained new insights on building RDMA-based protocols. We analyzed stage-wise latency breakdown to develop more efficient hybrid implementations. Moreover, RCC can enumerate all stage-wise hybrid designs under a given workload characteristic. Our results show that throughput-wise hybrid designs are better than RPC or one-sided counterparts by 32.2% and up to 67%; three hybrid designs are better than their pure counterparts by up to 17.8%. RCC can provide performance insights and be used as the common open-sourced infrastructure for fast prototyping new implementations.