Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A study of optical burst switched networks with the jumpstart just in time signaling protocol

This thesis studies the optical burst switched (OBS) networks. It consists of three parts. In the first part, we present a detailed analysis of three major wavelength reservation schemes for OBS networks: JIT, JET, and Horizon. The contributions include: (i) analytical models of JET and Horizon (on a single OBS node) that are more accurate than previously published ones and valid for general burst length and offset length distributions; (ii) determination of the regions of parameter values, such as burst offset length, optical switching and hardware processing overheads, so that a more complex reservation scheme reduces to a simpler one; and (iii) a new reservation scheme, JIT +, which is as simple to implement as JIT, and its performance tracks that of Horizon and JET. We compare the performance (in terms of burst drop probability) of the four wavelength reservation schemes on a single OBS node, as well as on a path of OBS nodes with cross traffic, under various sets of parameter values. Our major finding is that, under reasonable assumptions regarding the current and future state-of-the-art technologies in optical switch and electronic hardware, the simplicity of JIT and JIT+ seems to outweigh any performance benefits of Horizon and JET. In the second part of this thesis, we present the results of a simulation analysis of OBS networks employing the Jumpstart JIT signaling protocol. We study the performance of various network topologies in terms of burst drop probability and investigate the effects of several system parameters, including message processing time, OXC configuration delay, user-to-switch propagation delay, and switch-to-switch propagation delay. We also investigate the effect of wavelength converters. In the third part, we develop a suite of adaptive and non-adaptive wavelength assignment policies for OBS networks. We also apply traffic engineering techniques to reduce wavelength contention through traffic isolation. Our performance study indicates that, in the absence of full conversion capabilities, intelligent choices in assigning wavelengths to bursts at the source can have a profound effect on the burst drop probability in an OBS network.
Regulation of a PWM rectifier in the unbalanced network state

The modeling and control of a PWM rectifier in the case of network variations are studied. The aim is to limit and stabilize stable variation of DC output voltage and line currents in such circumstances. A line current compensation loop method coupled with identification of network parameters is compared to another approach using a robust DC voltage regulator. <<ETX>>
Progress in Germanium Tin (GeSn) Photonic Crystal Lasers

We report on lasing in two types of Germanium-Tin (GeSn) photonic crystal lasers, with band-edge and H4 hexagonal cavities. A GeSn 16% step-graded structure was used as the optical gain material. The strong out-of-plane emission observed in the band-edge cavity was attributed to the thick optical gain layer, in addition with the presence of leaky band-edge modes above the light cones and a high photonic density of states. The maximum lasing temperature in both types of photonic crystal lasers, 180 K, was lower than in a micro-disk laser fabricated from the same stack, i.e., 230 K. Meanwhile, the lasing thresholds at low temperature (15 K) were very similar (120 kW/cm2 for a band-edge cavity and 140 kW/cm2 for a H4 cavity, to be compared with 134 kW/cm2 for a micro-disk cavity). Since the injected carrier density is governed by the pump power, we suggest the strong variation of optical gain at low temperature, for a small variation of injected carrier density, as a possible cause of such a phenomenon.
Design, Fabrication and Testing of SAW Butterworth Filters

Techniques for the design and fabrication by direct optical projection of linear-phase, Butterworth-frequency-response SAW filters are presented. Experimental results for a 190 MHz (1.2 mu m linewidth) device fabricated on the 40.04 minimal diffraction cut of Bi/sub 12/GeO/sub 20/ are given.
Examining Teachers’ Agricultural Mechanics Professional Development Needs: A National Study

Agricultural mechanics remains prominent in many school-based agricultural education (SBAE) programs. SBAE teachers need a wide range of knowledge and skills to competently teach agricultural mechanics. A lack of teacher competence can create issues within educational settings. Teacher competence can be improved through effective professional development (PD). Understanding PD needs as they relate to agricultural mechanics is crucial to help ensure teachers are as competent as realistically possible. We underpinned our study via human capital theory (HCT) as we sought to describe SBAE teachers’ agricultural mechanics PD needs. Through an electronic instrument constructed using Borich’s (1980) needs assessment model, we sought to collect data from 374 randomly sampled SBAE teachers from across the United States. Three hundred and sixty-four teachers received our instrument and 100 teachers responded, yielding a response rate of 27.5%. Using mean weighted discrepancy scores (MWDS), we found teachers have the greatest agricultural mechanics PD needs in: (1) American Welding Society (AWS) standards for welding procedures, (2) Use of electrical measurement units (ex. amperes, volts, Ohms, etc.), and (3) Principles of metallurgy (ex. identifying metals, proper use of metals, etc.). To help improve teachers’ competence in agricultural mechanics, we recommend various approaches emphasizing agricultural mechanics knowledge and skill development be undertaken by SBAE stakeholders.
PEMANFAATAN LIMBAH CAIR CPO SEBAGAI PEREKAT PADA PEMBUATAN BRIKET DARI ARANG TANDAN KOSONG KELAPA SAWIT

Ketersediaan Tandan kosong kelapa sawit (TKKS) dan limbah cair crude palm oil (CPO) sebagai limbah industri minyak kelapa sawit yang belum termanfaatkan cukup banyak di Indonesia. Melalui penelitian diketahui bahwa TKKS dapat diolah menjadi arang, dan limbah cair CPO diketahui dapat dimanfaatkan sebagai bahan perekat, sehingga apabila keduanya dicampur dan diolah lebih lanjut dapat dibuat menjadi briket. Selain dapat memberikan dampak yang positif bagi lingkungan, pemanfaatan TKKS dan limbah cair CPO ini juga dapat digunakan sebagai alternatif bahan bakar minyak (BBM). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui konsentrasi yang tepat dari penggunaan limbah cair CPO dan arang tandan kosong kelapa sawit dalam pembuatan briket. Dengan perbandingan limbah cair CPO dan arang tandan kosong kelapa sawit yaitu 30% : 70%, 35% : 65%, 40% : 60%, 45% : 55%, 50% : 50%, 55% : 45%, 60% : 40%, 65% : 35%, dan 70% : 30%. Briket hasil penelitian ini telah memenuhi standar mutu briket sebagai bahan bakar dilihat dari nilai kalor dan kadar air. Komposisi optimal antara limbah cair CPO dan arang tandan kosong kelapa sawit yaitu 30% : 70%. Secara umum, penambahan konsentrasi limbah cair CPO ke dalam Arang Tandan Kosong Kelapa Sawit akan menurunkan nilai kalor bakar dan kadar zat mudah menguap, serta menaikkan nilai kadar air lembab dan kadar abu briket arang yang dihasilkan.
IEEE and international harmonic standards impact on power electronic equipment design

Standards limiting harmonics in end user and utility power systems will influence the selection of power electronic equipment design. Harmonic standards from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the 1992 IEEE Standard 519 impose specific limits on levels of current harmonics and voltage notching. Many end user's procurement specifications reference these standards limits. Consequently these standards will dictate different power electronic circuits and some system interface magnetic designs. In most applications it is not difficult to meet these standards, however, the most economic choices are still being developed. This paper outlines the different standard's requirements and reviews how power electronics design options measure up to the limits. To accomplish this the most popular harmonic reduction methods for both single and three-phase equipment is described. Simulation results are used to verify performance in a typical power system.
Construction of a Model of the Upper Gastrointestinal System for the Simulation of Gastroesophagoendoscopic Procedures

We describe current work on the construction of three‐dimensional anatomical models of the upper gastrointestinal system, its computer navigation using a virtual endoscope, and the modeling of physical interactions of the model and the endoscope, including lens distortions and illumination conditions as well as collisions. This model will be part of a computer‐simulation system for the training of gastroendoscopic procedures.
A Novel Virtual Reality Assessment of Functional Cognition: Validation Study

Background Cognitive deficits are present in several neuropsychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer disease, schizophrenia, and depression. Assessments used to measure cognition in these disorders are time-consuming, burdensome, and have low ecological validity. To address these limitations, we developed a novel virtual reality shopping task—VStore. Objective This study aims to establish the construct validity of VStore in relation to the established computerized cognitive battery, Cogstate, and explore its sensitivity to age-related cognitive decline. Methods A total of 142 healthy volunteers aged 20-79 years participated in the study. The main VStore outcomes included verbal recall of 12 grocery items, time to collect items, time to select items on a self-checkout machine, time to make the payment, time to order coffee, and total completion time. Construct validity was examined through a series of backward elimination regression models to establish which Cogstate tasks, measuring attention, processing speed, verbal and visual learning, working memory, executive function, and paired associate learning, in addition to age and technological familiarity, best predicted VStore performance. In addition, 2 ridge regression and 2 logistic regression models supplemented with receiver operating characteristic curves were built, with VStore outcomes in the first model and Cogstate outcomes in the second model entered as predictors of age and age cohorts, respectively. Results Overall VStore performance, as indexed by the total time spent completing the task, was best explained by Cogstate tasks measuring attention, working memory, paired associate learning, and age and technological familiarity, accounting for 47% of the variance. In addition, with λ=5.16, the ridge regression model selected 5 parameters for VStore when predicting age (mean squared error 185.80, SE 19.34), and with λ=9.49 for Cogstate, the model selected all 8 tasks (mean squared error 226.80, SE 23.48). Finally, VStore was found to be highly sensitive (87%) and specific (91.7%) to age cohorts, with 94.6% of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Conclusions Our findings suggest that VStore is a promising assessment that engages standard cognitive domains and is sensitive to age-related cognitive decline.
Upgrading The Packaging And Branding Towards Sustainable Marketing Channels

Sustainable marketing activities has key importance to expediate the business performance. It is important to highlight the major factors effecting on sustainable marketing channels. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the role of packaging and branding in sustainable marketing channels. By using a quantitative research approach, a questionnaire survey was carried out. Data were collected from the employees of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Employees of the SMEs in Thailand were selected as the respondents of the study. Results of the study highlighted that packaging design and branding strategy has important role in sustainable marketing channels. Furthermore, brand personality also has important role in marketing activities. Brand personality reflect the positive effect of packaging design and branding strategy on sustainable marketing. Therefore, this study has vital importance for the management of SMEs to promote marketing activities.
General stability criterions for zero phase angle controlled loosely coupled inductive power transfer systems

Loosely coupled inductive power transfer (LCIPT) systems are designed to deliver power efficiently from a stationary primary source to one or more movable secondary loads over relatively large air-gaps, however this becomes more difficult as the complexity of the system grows. A general analysis of such LCIPT systems is essential for optimal system design. This analysis is undertaken for LCIPT systems that attempt to operate with zero phase angles between the primary input voltage and current in order to achieve minimum cost and maximum performance. The paper develops general boundary conditions that if followed ensures only one operating condition exists for any practical load thereby assuring stable operation and power transfer capability. This is verified by measuring a contact-less electric vehicle battery charging system.
An In silico Approach for Structural and Functional Annotation of Uncharacterized Protein Rv0986 present in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is an ancient infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). MTB is a human pathogen. Surprisingly, TB has become the top disease for its death rate worldwide. The uncharacterized protein Rv0986 is closely related to the transporters of the ATP-binding cassette domain, therefore, take part in the export of macrolide as well as a lipoprotein. Furthermore, it is associated with cell division protein. Hence, the protein has a significant role in mycobacterial infection. But, so far, the uncharacterized protein Rv0986 is not elaborated. As a result, in this study, the structural and functional annotation of the protein is described through in silico approach. The predicted tertiary structures of the protein generated by Swiss Model, Modeller, and Phyre2, and documented by the Ramachandran Plot analysis with PROCHECK, Verify 3D, and Swiss-Model Interactive Workplace. Z-score also applied for the overall structural assessment. This study will unleash the importance of the uncharacterized protein present in MTB, therefore, it provides an opportunity for drug and vaccine targeting against infection by MTB.
Current source converter on-line pattern generator switching frequency minimization

On-line PWM pattern generators for current source converters offer a number of control advantages over off-line optimized patterns. However, when implemented using the principles applying to voltage source inverter PWM pattern generators, the switching frequency is equal to: (a) the carrier frequency in standard carrier-based implementations and to (b) 2/3 the cycle frequency in space vector implementations. This paper shows that this frequency can be reduced to 1/2 of the respective frequencies. Two pattern generators are investigated: (a) a carrier based technique, namely the modified dead-band technique; (b) a space vector based technique, where the advantage is taken of the extra zero state available in current source converters. It is shown that a significant reduction of AC line current distortion is obtained with the modified dead-band technique for modulation indices greater than 0.4. Furthermore, with the two proposed pattern generators, there is no penalty on the distortion of the DC bus voltage. The principles of operation of the proposed schemes are explained. DSP implementation algorithms of the space vector scheme are given. Experimental results on a 5 kVA current rectifier and a 5 kVA current source inverter confirm the feasibility of the proposed pattern generators, and illustrate the input and output frequency spectra obtained. <<ETX>>
Design and simulation of an attitude determination system based on the Extended Kalman Filter for Cube-Sat Colombia I

The purpose of this document is to describe the design and simulation of an attitude determination system (ADS) for the CubeSat Colombia I picosatellite, based on an extended Kalman filter EKF [1,2]. In this development the propagation of the State of the system has been implemented through a Runge-Kutta procedure instead of traditional State Transition matrix method, improving predictions from the EKF filter without making direct measurements of angular velocity, it was obtained a reduced prediction time by incorporating a deterministic algorithm (the TRIAD algorithm) within the EKF. The results validated through simulation are those shown in this article.
The effects of restricted workspace on lumbar spine loading

Coal miners often handle heavy electrical power cables, weighing up to 10 kg per meter. These cables are manually lifted and attached to the mine roof to prevent damage from mobile underground equipment. Data suggest that workers who commonly perform cable-handling tasks experience a high rate of lost-time back injuries. In this study, six male underground miners performed a total of 12 cable-hanging tasks in standing, stooping, and kneeling postures, during which kinematic and ground reaction force data were collected. Reductions in vertical workspace were found to result in a linear increase in the peak moment experienced by the lumbar spine ( p 0.05). Average lumbopelvic flexion during the tasks was highest in stooping conditions, followed by standing and kneeling exertions ( p< 0.05). Implications of this data with respect to design of cable handling tasks are presented and discussed.
International Conference on Science and Innovated Engineering (I-COSINE)

Preface International Conference on Science and Innovated Engineering (i-COSINE) is an inaugural conference organized by the Lhokseumawe State Polytechnique. It was held on 21 and 22 October 2018 at Mata Ie Resort, Sabang, Aceh, Indonesia. The main goal of i-COSINE is to bring together researchers, scientists and experts in universities, companies, institutions, communities, agencies, associations and societies to provide them a unique platform for sharing worldwide ideas as well as the recent developments on science, innovation and engineering technology. This conference has received nearly 200 participants from various field of technology, engineering, and sciences. It attracts researcher and academician from ASEAN region to gather in Sabang for this conference. A compilation of articles that represent the significant results of the conference has been selected to publish in this volume. Three core research topics have been compiled as listed: Science • Chemistry • Mathematic • Physics Engineering • Chemical • Civil • Electrical • Environmental • Mechanical Innovative Technology • Food technology • Computer science • Green and social innovation Editors USMAN NELLY SAFITRI SULAIMAN WADI HARUN ANAS ABDUL LATIFF List of Conference Photographs, list of committee available in this PDF.
Community sense and response systems

The proliferation of smartphones and other internet-enabled, sensor-equipped consumer devices enables us to sense and act upon the physical environment in unprecedented ways. This thesis considers Community Sense-and-Response (CSR) systems, a new class of web application for acting on sensory data gathered from participants' personal smart devices. The thesis describes how rare events can be reliably detected using a decentralized anomaly detection architecture that performs client-side anomaly detection and server-side event detection. After analyzing this decentralized anomaly detection approach, the thesis describes how weak but spatially structured events can be detected, despite significant noise, when the events have a sparse representation in an alternative basis. Finally, the thesis describes how the statistical models needed for client-side anomaly detection may be learned efficiently, using limited space, via coresets. The Caltech Community Seismic Network (CSN) is a prototypical example of a CSR system that harnesses accelerometers in volunteers' smartphones and consumer electronics. Using CSN, this thesis presents the systems and algorithmic techniques to design, build and evaluate a scalable network for real-time awareness of spatial phenomena such as dangerous earthquakes.
Formative Evaluation of Massachusetts Audubon Society?s Coastal Waterbird Program

I conducted a formative evaluation of the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Coastal Waterbird Program (CWP). Specifically, I used document analyses, interviews, and a mail census of CWP staff to assess the appropriateness and adequacy of CWP design and implementation actions. I identified that the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) could be used as an appropriate social science foundation to improve the program design and the identification of additional implementation actions. Most implementation actions seemed to focus on the monitoring of nest success and fledging rate of protected bird species that nest on beaches and reacting to public behaviors that are disturbing to these birds. According to TPB, additional benefits likely could be achieved by developing implementation actions focused on proactively engaging the public to prevent disturbing behaviors before they occur. Survey results indicated that field staff already engage in proactive actions despite not being trained extensively to do so. In addition, staff held substantially more positive evaluative beliefs about proactive interactions than reactive interactions. Rather than identifying problems confronting the CWP, these results identify opportunities that can be built on to improve the program.
Like Father, Like Child: Social Reproduction in the French Grandes Écoles throughout the 20th Century

Educational systems expanded over the 20th century in developed countries, and while most scholars found that it promoted social mobility, some argue that the top of the social hierarchy remains shielded over generations. In France, the most prestigious Grandes Écoles are elite institutions for higher education. They constitute the main pathway to top positions in the public and private sectors. The present work provides the first results on intergenerational social reproduction in these schools over more than a century. We construct an exhaustive nominative dataset of 224,264 graduate students from ten of the leading Grandes Écoles, spanning over five cohorts born between 1866 and 1995. We develop a new methodology within the literature using surnames to track lineages and find that families from ancient aristocratic lineage, Parisians, as well as descendants of graduates are highly over-represented in the top Grandes Écoles, throughout the 20th century. Across cohorts, children of Grandes Écoles’ graduates are 72 to 154 times more likely to be admitted, and up to 450 times to the exact same school than their father. This advantage appears remarkably stable for all cohorts born since 1916 and persists across multiple generations, emphasizing the existence of a “glass floor” for the French elites. JEL Classification: J62, I23, N34.
A sliding mode speed and rotor time constant observer for induction machines

This paper describes a new closed loop approach to estimate induction machine speed and rotor time constant from measured terminal voltages and currents for speed/torque sensorless control. For this purpose, a new state estimator, which eliminates flux information of the machine, is defined and a Lyapunov function is derived to determine speed and rotor resistance. The proposed algorithm is analyzed and verified experimentally.