Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Numerical modelling of elastic behaviour of concrete reinforced with steel short fies in plane stress conditions

This work describes a numerical model of fie reinforced concrete elastic behaviour implemented using the finite elements method (Hughes, 2000). In structures made of this material, each point is formed by steel fies embedded into a simple concrete matrix. The reinforced concrete is represented inside a finite element as an orthotropic material having random material direction based on the vanishing diameter fie model (Dvorak and Bahei-el-Din, 1982) and the mixing theory modified for short length reinforcement (Oller, 2003). Statistical analysis consisted of repeating the problem's numerical simulation where the direction of fies was modified by a random function to set up a sampling database from the results and measure their variability. A sensitivity study of finite element size and the number of sampling data was then carried out in terms of total strain energy. Finite element size and sampling data are recommended. The average structural response of a reinforced concrete beam with different quantities of steel fies where minimum data dispersion was observed is given as an example of applying the above.
Improving tracking performance of automotive air conditioning system via μ synthesis

In order to improve the performances of air conditioning systems, it is desirable to track time-varying trajectories generated by optimization algorithms, which H∞ synthesis techniques have been proved to successfully solve. However, the control-oriented models of vapor compressor cycles used for algorithm development, even if built from first-principles, suffer from model uncertainties introduced by modeling assumptions, calibration inaccuracies, and linearization errors. The differences between the actual plant and the control-oriented model, mainly in the form of unmodeled dynamics and parameter uncertainty, undermine the stable margin as well as the performance of the closed-loop system with H∞ controllers. In order to solve the problem, the concept of the structured singular value μ is used to analyze the influences of model uncertainties on robust stability and robust performance. Based on μ analysis results, μ synthesis techniques compared to H∞ methods achieve better stability and performance margins over the same set of uncertainties. Furthermore, simulation results show that the μ controller achieves better performances of output tracking and disturbance rejection than the H∞ controller for the automotive air conditioning system studied.
Electrostatic aluminum micromirrors using double-pass metallization

The fabrication of aluminum spatial light modulators has so far required costly process engineering efforts. In this paper, a low-cost process approach is presented, suitable for the manufacture of electrostatic micromirror arrays. The mirrors are made from the second metallization of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) or bipolar processes deposited in two passes. This metal2 is protected by a photoresist layer that can be patterned using the top passivation mask of the process. No additional layer deposition and layer structuring is necessary during postprocessing. The actuators are released in a simple surface micromachining postprocessing sequence based on a sacrificial aluminum and silicon dioxide etch. Our approach allows one metallization to be used for both the circuitry and the electrooptomechanicaI devices. Deformable mirror arrays of up to 16/spl times/16 pixels were fabricated. Static self-consistent electromechanical simulations using the finite-element method (FEM) toolbox SOLIDIS were performed for a theoretical analysis and optimization of the actuator devices.
The Mechanisms of Implementation Support - Findings from a Systematic Integrative Review

Purpose: Mechanisms of Change (MoC) explain how strategies used to enhance the uptake of evidence in social and human services enable change in the behaviors of individual practitioners, organizational leaders or entire organizations, and systems. One such strategy is the use of implementation support practitioner (ISPs). This study examines the mechanisms through which ISPs facilitate behavior supportive of the implementation of research-supported interventions. Methods: A systematic, integrative review was conducted. The conceptualization of MoCs built on a model by Dalkin and colleagues. Results: Based on a unique combination of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, ISPs install trust in and among their stakeholders and utilize this trust to promote meaningful and relevant learning; provide ongoing opportunities for learning, reflection, and support; help to span boundaries; and positively motivate stakeholders. Discussion: ISPs do not represent a short cut to better implementation. They represent an additional implementation challenge that requires dedicated attention and resources.
Self sensing spaces

In the past few years the field of pervasive computing has expanded and infiltrated down to everyday consumer activities. Smartness of devices is constantly increasing. Smart products are widespread, not just limited to appliances and electronics. With the availability of such products, there becomes an increased need for scalable smart environments that are capable of integrating them to harness their combined benefits. Sensing a space to find out about its devices and opportunities they offer is a particularly important capability in smart spaces. For example, it is very useful to be able to discover the location of a certain device, reason about its role and possible participation in a certain application, and finally be able to control it remotely. Such self sensing and delegation of control is needed by many applications like remotely pinpointing the location of a certain device that is causing some kind of threat. Self sensing requires world modeling when physical world entities are mapped into model artifacts. In this dissertation, we introduce three approaches to creating useful world models. First, we present SensoBot, a mobile sensor platform that has the ability of mapping the space, creating the respective floor plan, locating important landmarks, and approximately locating furniture. In addition, we discuss the implementation of smart plugs, a novel way to locate and control smart devices within a real smart house. We then propose a novel approach in which classical computer vision algorithms are empowered by opportunities presented by the pervasive space. Our approach, which we call PerVision, extends classical object recognition and tracking algorithms by adding a self-assessment/adjustment loop in which sensors and actuators of the pervasive space are used to vary scene parameters to minimize errors in the recognition process. We present the PerVision concept and algorithms in the context of locating and tracking dumb objects such as furniture in a smart house. Collectively, SensoBot, Smart Plugs, and PerVision take us a few steps closer to realizing the ambitious vision of completely self sensing spaces.
Validation of a thermal non-equilibrium Eulerian-Eulerian multiphase model of a 620 MWe pulverized fuel power boiler

The use of a thermal non-equilibrium Eulerian-Eulerian model for the simulation of a 620 MWe power boiler is proposed for capturing the combustion and radiative heat transfer found in the pulverized fuel systems. The models eliminates the use of a Lagrangian reference frame in tracking solid fuel particles thereby reducing the computational expense and time. The model solves the scalar transport for the particle mass, energy and radiation interactions between the pseudo-particle and continuous phases. The goal is to apply the modelling approach to generate a simulation database for different load cases and firing conditions which in turn will be used to study flexible operation. The model is validated against both numerical and applicable site data measurements. It is shown that the model is able to adequately resolve the furnace and superheater wall heat fluxes. Additionally the resolution of the flow field, combustion dynamics and wall fluxes are demonstrated for both an 80% and 60% operational loads. Moreover, it is shown that the Eulerian-Eulerian model results in approximately a 30% computational resource reduction when compared to traditional modelling approaches.
Effect of aging on the spectral response of transformer oil

Recent studies have characterized the response of the absorption of transformer oil to in-service and laboratory aged transformer oils. The results, established using a laboratory grade spectrophotometer, indicate that both for transformer oil degraded in the laboratory and for transformer oil drawn from transformers that have been in service for extended periods of time, the transformer oil absorbance increases by a significant and easily observable margin over a range of wavelengths. This result is substantiated by theoretical analysis of the products of the aging process. The aging processes explored include degradation by arcing, thermal stress and excessive exposure to atmospheric air. Based on the spectral absorption characteristic, a novel methodology for on-line transformer health assessment using ultraviolet absorption was developed. The new system, an optical monitor for the health assessment of power transformers, provides an alternative or complement to on-line dissolved gas analysis for predictive maintenance programs. The measurements performed with the prototype system are validated with a spectrophotometry measurement and an independent oil testing laboratory.
THE ROLE OF IMPULSIVITY IN PREDICTING THE SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING OF STUDENTS IN PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate associations between attention impulsivity, motor impulsivity and non-planning impulsivity measured according to the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS) and indicators of subjective well-being (SWB) measured by the Flourishing Scale (FS) and Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) in students at selected private higher education institutions (N = 514, 52% women, 48% men). The aim of the current study was to explore the impact of gender on the aforementioned associations. Relationships between impulsivity and subjective well-being were examined taking into account the multifactoral structure of impulsiveness. The main findings of the study show that: (a) attention impulsivity predicted low prosperity and low levels of satisfaction with standard of living, health, personal achievements, safety and future security; (b) motor impulsivity showed bivariate but not unique relationships between prosperity and satisfaction with personal health, achievements and personal safety; (c) non-planning impulsivity was found to be uniquely associated with lower subjective prosperity and lower satisfaction with personal achievements and personal relationships; and (d) gender did not moderate the relationship between BIS components and SWB indexes. Impulsivity substrates explained between 4 and 17% of the variance in subjective well-being indexes. In sum, the results showed that the three components of impulsivity are distinct yet partially overlapping. Article visualizations:
Managing Human Resources in Albanian Public Administration

Main goal of this paper was to interpret theoretically the important presence of human resources practices in performance, including both individual and organizational performance. Then interpreting the results of the survey done through public organizations especially with human resources specialists. Identifying “a bunch” of best human resources management practices and show their application in our public administration in order to improve individual performance was another issue discussed in this paper. It seems that formality and law are the main pillars supporting the procedures of human resources management rather than finding an opertating mechanism that tend to identify, to fit and to improve performance as it is predicted. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2013. v2n1p331
Wind-tunnel study on a 65-deg delta wing at sideslip

The leeward vortices occurring over low-aspect-ratio delta wings typical of many current fighter aircraft cause highly nonlinear forces and moments. Near stall the vortices break down over the wing surface and introduce additional discontinuities and transients in the aerodynamics. Experimental studies of these flows are needed to develop mathematical models to represent the interaction between the vehicle motion and the forces and moments. The models will permit design for increased maneuverability in future fighters. Many static and dynamic tests of a common 65-deg swept delta wing in pitch and roll were conducted. Here, the effects of sideslip on the flow over a flat-plate 65-deg swept delta wing tested at a geometric angle of attack of 30 deg are described. At this angle of attack, the major part of the flow over the wing is affected by vortex core breakdown. Sideslip causes a strong asymmetry in the breakdown location
Enhanced Micro-Electric Discharge Machining-Induced Surface Modification on Biomedical Ti-6Al-4V alloy

In the midst of a huge demand for high-precision miniaturized medical implants made up of potential biomaterials, the biomedical Ti-6Al-4V alloy meets the uncompromising standards for longevity, biocompatibility, and sterilizability required to interact with living cells in medical settings. This research tailored the existing capabilities of a traditional micro-electric discharge machining (μ-EDM) setup by adding 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 g/l bioactive zinc powder-particle-concentrations (PPCs) to the dielectric. A copper and brass micro-tool electrode (C-μ-TE and B-μ-TE) were employed in association with each PPC, and experiments were executed using one-variable-at-a-time (OVAT) approach. Machining time and dimensional deviation were chosen as the response variables of Zn powder mixed-micro-EDM (Zn-PM-μ-EDM). According to the analytical findings, the combination of C-μ-TE and 6 g/l Zn PPC achieved 23.52 %, 3.29 %, and 17.96 % lesser machining time, dimensional deviation, and recast layer thickness, respectively, compared to the B-μ-TE. The detailed study of this surface endorsed a significant modification in terms of improved recast layer thickness (26.44 μm), topography (Ra = 743.65 nm), and wettability (contact angle < 90°), suggesting its dental application. Additionally, the observation of ZnO and TiO in X-ray diffraction and appealing in vitro cytocompatibility encourage the subsequent biological and therapeutic studies to validate the anticipated anti-viral activity of the modified Ti-6Al-4V alloy surface against coronavirus (COVID-19).
Reliability enhancement of Ohmic RF MEMS switches

This contribution deals with capacitively actuated Ohmic switches in series single pole single throw (SPST) configuration for DC up to 4 GHz signal frequency (<0.5 dB insertion loss, 35 dB isolation) and in shunt switch SPST configuration for a frequency range from DC up to 80 GHz (<1.2 dB insertion loss, 18 dB isolation at 60 GHz). A novel high aspect ratio MEMS fabrication sequence in combination with wafer level packaging is applied for fabrication of the samples and allows for a relatively large actuation electrode area, and for high actuation force resulting in fast onresponse time of 10 μs and off-response time of 6 μs at less than 5 V actuation voltage. Large actuation electrode area and a particular design feature for electrode over travel and dynamic contact separation lead to high contact force in the closed state and to high force for contact separation to overcome sticking. The switch contacts, which are consisting of noble metal, are made in one of the latest process steps. This minimizes contamination of the contact surfaces by fabrication sequence residuals. A life time of 1 Billion switch cycles has been achieved. This paper covers design for reliability issues and reliability test methods using accelerated life time test. Different test methods are combined to examine electric and mechanical motion parameters as well as RF performance.
Novel Dual-Band Beam-Scanning/Switching Network Based on a Hybrid Coupler with Synchronously Tuned Phase Differences

This paper proposes a novel feeding network that enables the antenna array to perform dualband continuous beam scanning and beam switching between forward and backward directions. Specifically, the switchable beam is controlled by the network input and the beam in each direction is continuously steerable at either frequency. To support a wide range of beam-scanning angles, a novel dual-band coupler with synchronously tuned differential phases is applied to the feeding network, together with a pair of phase shifters. The operating principles and design equations of the dual-band beam-scanning/switching network, coupler, and phase shifters will be given in detail. As a proof-of-concept, a 0.9-GHz/1.8-GHz beamscanning/switching network was prototyped alongside a 1W4 linear array. Experimental results show that the array can scan and switch its main beam from -24° to -42° in the backward direction and from 24° to 34° in the forward direction at 0.9 GHz, while the beam scanning is from -12° to -24° and from 12° to 22° at 1.8 GHz.
THz pulse train generation through ultrafast development of surface plasmon-polariton modulation instability

Propagation of high-intensity electromagnetic waves in a waveguide structure could initiate nonlinear effects resulting in drastic changes of their spatial and temporal characteristics. We study the modulation instability effect induced by propagation of surface plasmon polaritons in a silver thin-film waveguide. The nonlinear Schrodinger equation for propagating surface plasmon wave is obtained. It is shown numerically that the modulation instability effect can give rise to ultrafast spatial redistribution and longitudinal localization of surface plasmon-polariton wave energy in subwavelength scale. The dependence of plasmon wave dispersion and nonlinear characteristics on metal film thickness is considered. We demonstrate that the use of films with the thickness varying along the waveguide length allows reduction of the generated pulse width and increase of frequency comb bandwidth. The proposed technique is promising for design of ultra-compact (tens of nm) optical generators delivering pulse trains with the repetition rate higher than 1 THz.
In Situ Junction Temperature Monitoring and Bond Wire Detecting Method Based on IGBT and FWD on-State Voltage Drops

Junction temperature monitoring and bond wire detection are crucial for the condition monitoring and protection of insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and freewheeling diode (FWD). on-state voltage drop is one of the most popular parameters for junction temperature estimation and bond wire detection. However, there is still a lack of cost-effective on-state voltage drop measuring techniques for both IGBT and FWD with a fast response. This article proposes an in situ junction temperature monitoring and bond wire detecting method based on IGBT and FWD on-state voltage drops. The proposed technique can measure the on-state voltage drops of IGBT and FWD online with high accuracy and fast response. The on-state voltage drops of IGBT and FWD under low load current are linearly dependent on their junction temperatures. Besides, the on-state voltage drops under high load current are closely related to the bond wire degradation. Therefore, the junction temperatures and bond wire conditions of both IGBT and FWD can be monitored based on the on-state voltage drops during a period of alternating current. The experiment results validate the feasibility of the proposed on-state voltage drop-based method for junction temperature monitoring and bond wire detecting. The proposed method has characteristics of high response speed, noninvasiveness for normal converter operating, and simple structure.
Vision systems for PCB manufacturing in Japan

Current vision systems in Japanese printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing lines are described. Vision systems have been introduced into almost every level of PCB manufacturing in Japan. They include mask pattern inspection machines, PCB pattern inspection machines, surface-mount device (SMD) mounters with visual positioning, mounted SMD visual inspection machines, soldering inspection machines, and assembled PCB visual inspection machines. Most of these vision systems were integrated successfully and achieved significant benefits. Rapid development of SMDs necessitated the development of new types of mounters and visual inspection systems. <<ETX>>
Spatial Metabolomics Reveals Localized Impact of Influenza Virus Infection on the Lung Tissue Metabolome

The influenza virus is a major health concern. Over 1 billion people become infected annually despite the wide distribution of vaccines, and antiviral agents are insufficient to address current clinical needs. ABSTRACT The influenza virus (IAV) is a major cause of respiratory disease, with significant infection increases in pandemic years. Vaccines are a mainstay of IAV prevention but are complicated by IAV’s vast strain diversity and manufacturing and vaccine uptake limitations. While antivirals may be used for treatment of IAV, they are most effective in early stages of the infection, and several virus strains have become drug resistant. Therefore, there is a need for advances in IAV treatment, especially host-directed therapeutics. Given the spatial dynamics of IAV infection and the relationship between viral spatial distribution and disease severity, a spatial approach is necessary to expand our understanding of IAV pathogenesis. We used spatial metabolomics to address this issue. Spatial metabolomics combines liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry of metabolites extracted from systematic organ sections, 3D models, and computational techniques to develop spatial models of metabolite location and their role in organ function and disease pathogenesis. In this project, we analyzed serum and systematically sectioned lung tissue samples from uninfected or infected mice. Spatial mapping of sites of metabolic perturbations revealed significantly lower metabolic perturbation in the trachea compared to other lung tissue sites. Using random forest machine learning, we identified metabolites that responded differently in each lung position based on infection, including specific amino acids, lipids and lipid-like molecules, and nucleosides. These results support the implementation of spatial metabolomics to understand metabolic changes upon respiratory virus infection. IMPORTANCE The influenza virus is a major health concern. Over 1 billion people become infected annually despite the wide distribution of vaccines, and antiviral agents are insufficient to address current clinical needs. In this study, we used spatial metabolomics to understand changes in the lung and serum metabolome of mice infected with influenza A virus compared to uninfected controls. We determined metabolites altered by infection in specific lung tissue sites and distinguished metabolites perturbed by infection between lung tissue and serum samples. Our findings highlight the utility of a spatial approach to understanding the intersection between the lung metabolome, viral infection, and disease severity. Ultimately, this approach will expand our understanding of respiratory disease pathogenesis.
Low damping resonant magnetoelectric sensors

The signal of magnetic sensors based on resonant cantilevers comprised of elastically coupled piezoelectric and magnetostrictive materials increases as the damping decreases. Here, we demonstrate that air damping which normally is suppressed by evacuation can also be substantially reduced by lowering the resonance frequency. We show that a Si-cantilever structured to include a seismic mass features a resonant magnetoelectric coupling coefficient of 1.8 kV/cmOe at 330 Hz in air.