Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A study on setting standard time using work achievement quotient

A method is proposed for setting standard time using a work achievement quotient approach. As an example, the vehicle safety inspection service for fork-lift trucks is considered. Conventionally, standard time has been set using a Predetermined Time System (PTS) method such as the Work Factor (WF) and Method-Time Measurement (MTM) methods or using a stopwatch method. The PTS method sometimes may be inappropriate because the analysis is too much trouble when the method is used for a work of a small manufacturing volume or of a long cycle time. Although simpler WF methods like the Ready Work Factor (RWF) method, etc., have been developed, users of these methods are expected to be trained and have completed hands-on analytical practice through a formal training course and to acquire the necessary skills in order to obtain accurate time measurements. When the stopwatch method is used to conduct the rating, subjective impressions can influence the results. To obtain accurate time measurements, a thorough training using films, etc., is necessary. In contrast, the method for setting standard time using the work achievement quotient approach can grasp individual variation of workers in time sequence and evaluate it dynamically. Thus, calculation is possible using a small statistical sample.
Synthesis-powered optimization of smart contracts via data type refactoring

Since executing a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain costs money (measured in gas), smart contract developers spend significant effort in reducing gas usage. In this paper, we propose a new technique for reducing the gas usage of smart contracts by changing the underlying data layout. Given a smart contract P and a type-level transformation, our method automatically synthesizes a new contract P′ that is functionally equivalent to P. Our approach provides a convenient DSL for expressing data type refactorings and employs program synthesis to generate the new version of the contract. We have implemented our approach in a tool called Solidare and demonstrate its capabilities on real-world smart contracts from Etherscan and GasStation. In particular, we show that our approach is effective at automating the desired data layout transformation and that it is useful for reducing gas usage of smart contracts that use rich data structures.
Exploring teacher written feedback in EFL writing classrooms: Beliefs and practices in interaction

As an important instructional affordance, teacher written feedback is widely used in second language (L2) writing contexts. While copious evidence has shown that such a pedagogical practice can facilitate L2 learners’ writing performance, especially their writing accuracy, little is known about how novice writing teachers conceptualize and enact written feedback in contexts of English as a foreign language (EFL). To fill this gap, we examined four novice writing teachers’ espoused written feedback beliefs and their actual practices in Chinese tertiary EFL writing classrooms. Based on data from semi-structured interviews and students’ writing samples, we found that they adopted a comprehensive approach to feedback provision, and were most concerned with errors in language, particularly grammar when providing feedback. These teachers almost reached a consensus in their beliefs about feedback scope and feedback focus, but they held varying beliefs about feedback strategies. Additionally, this study revealed the complexity of belief-practice relationships, in terms of the coexistence of consistencies and inconsistencies. Specifically, these teachers’ beliefs paralleled their practices in feedback scope, but their beliefs and practices mismatched with regard to feedback focus and feedback strategies. This article concludes with a discussion of the important pedagogical implications.
Settling Time Optimization for Three-Stage CMOS Amplifier Topologies

A new settling-time-oriented design methodology for the most common three-stage operational amplifier (op-amp) schemes reported in the literature is presented in this paper. The proposed approach allows the systematic sizing of the compensation network in order to reach the best closed-loop op-amp settling behavior. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the methodology and the correctness of the analysis, the examined three-stage op-amp topologies are designed in a commercial 0.35-¿m CMOS technology. Circuit simulations show that the proposed design approach, for each investigated topology, guarantees a significant settling time reduction with respect to the compensation network sizing strategies proposed in the past. An ad-hoc figure of merit, which evaluates the trade-off between the settling time, the load capacitance and the total op-amp stage transconductances, is also defined in order to estimate the op-amp efficiency in terms of time-domain performances.
Characteristics of lightning surges observed at 77 kV substations

In order to improve power supply reliability, it is necessary to prevent lightning faults in transmission lines and substation apparatus. However, faults are caused occasionally in lower-voltage power systems, particularly at the 77 kV level. The governing factor for insulation strength of substation apparatus is the lightning impulse voltage, and it is necessary to know the voltage level and distribution in a substation caused by lightning surges in order to investigate rational insulation coordination. For this purpose, the authors measured lightning surges at two 77 kV conventional substations from 1990 to 1993. In this paper, the characteristics of induced lightning surges and back flashover lightning surges are described. Comparisons of related surge voltages at two substations, the power line phases in grounding faults, and the equivalent capacitance of the substations are also discussed. © 1998 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 124(3): 40–48, 1998
The Education and Training of Future Protection Engineers: Challenges, Opportunities, and Solutions C-6 Working Group Members of the Power System Relaying Committee

It is getting increasingly clear that electric power systems are undergoing rapid changes due to deregulation, the penetration of new technologies and the adoption of efficient computation, communications and control mechanisms. The primary goal of this paper is to recognize the importance of education and the training of future protection engineers, and, secondly, to suggest course content needed to meet this challenge. Keywords—power system protection, relaying, deregulation, education and training, engineering curriculum
Deformation of multilayer flexible electronics subjected to torque

Flexibility is one of remarkable characteristics of flexible electronics. Therefore, the analysis of flexible electronics deformation caused by external torques will help its design. In this work, analytical derivation is conducted for flexible electronics treated as multilayer structures. In experiments, an electric motor under computer control exerts a torque to generate torsion, whose twist angles are obtained by using both optical encoder measurement and theoretical calculation. Comparisons are made between experimental and theoretical results for bare PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) substrates of different sizes, multilayer PET (polyethylene terephthalate) substrates, and ITO (indium tin oxide)-coated PET substrates. Finally, a laser displacement sensor is used to measure the out-of-plane deformation for validating the proposed theoretical model.
Basics of forming the functional literacy of schoolchildren

The article examines the formation of information skills as an integral part of the student's functional literacy in conformity with both international and Russian studies. Its conclusions are based both on the analysis of these studies (the content of tasks, the results of diagnosis) and on specific features of federal educational standards and educational and methodological publications concerned with the development of information skills. In the course of the research, the authors have revealed that the formation of information skills in students is influenced not so much by the choice of textbooks but by the teacher's work, use of techniques, means and methods of organizing the activities aimed at mastering all the skills listed in federal state educational standards in relation to data processing. The conditions influencing the achievement of the planned results in mastering the educational program related to the search and transformation of information as an integral part of the functional literacy of schoolchildren are as follows: work with continuous and non-continuous texts.
Analysis of crosstalk between 10 Gb/s x 64 channels in two‐pump fiber optical parametric amplifier

We present a numerical study of 64 signals amplified by a two‐pump fiber optical parametric amplifier. The amplifier was alternatively simulated with two fibers with different values of nonlinear coefficient but the same length. The gain remained constant in both cases. The performance of the amplifier is improved when it is designed with the fiber of lower nonlinear coefficient. Also, it was observed that the performance of the amplifier is strongly dependent on channel separation. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:926–929, 2013; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI: 10.1002/mop.27408
Terrain modelling in simulation-based performance evaluation of rovers

In this work, we investigate the effect of terrain modelling on the performance of planetary rovers by evaluating various design concepts under typical rover manoeuvres. The analysis is based on implementations in CMLabs’ Vortex, a dynamics simulation environment for complex mechanical systems. Vortex can be used to model the contact of wheels under various terrain conditions. The particular focus is on motion on soft terrain, investigating the physical phenomena exhibited by such terrain, and the possibility of modelling these with the primary purpose of representing the effects of the terrain on rover behaviour. Two semi-empirical terramechanics models are used to represent the effect of soft soil. The implementation of these terramechanics models in Vortex and their adaptation to fit a multibody dynamics simulation environment are explained in detail. The effects of terrain modelling approaches on the performance of rover concepts under typical rover manoeuvres are investigated. These include: (i) stra.
Prediction of MEEF using a simple model and MEEF enhancement parameters

In low k1 optical-lithography generation, there is a non- linear amplification of mask critical dimension (CD) error during image transferring on a wafer. This error factor is called mask error enhancement factor (MEEF). In ArF system, it is premature to use commercialized simulation softwares and ArF resists. To evaluate the real resist system, we made a simple model that uses aerial images. Through the simulation, we calculated MEEFs for 180nm and 130nm line/space pairs in KrF resist system and compared them with experimental MEEFs to obtain the resist blur that satisfies the current experimental MEEFs. With a current KrF resist system, the resist blur is ~0.05 micrometers . In case of ArF resist system, the resist blur is a more important factor in MEEF and must be suppressed to lower than 0.05 micrometers to meet the proper process margin.
A Novel Interaction Controller Design for Robotic Manipulators With Arbitrary Convergence Time

In this brief, robot-environment interaction control problem of n-link robotic manipulator system without force sensors is investigated. At first, a novel sliding mode (SM) based two-layer adaptive force observer is proposed to estimate the robot-environment interaction force. In comparison with the most existing force observers, the proposed force observer ensures arbitrary-time convergence of the observer errors and relaxes assumptions on the external force. Moreover, an admittance controller is developed to ensure exact trajectory tracking within arbitrary time. It is mathematically proved that both trajectory tracking errors and force estimation errors will converge to zero at any setting time. Finally, numerical simulations and comparisons show that the proposed force observer-based control scheme can provide superior interaction performance.
Graphene Oxide-Copper Nanocomposites Suppress Cariogenic Streptococcus mutans Biofilm Formation

Introduction Dental caries is a biofilm-dependent disease that largely relies on the ability of Streptococcus mutans to synthesize exopolysaccharide matrix. Graphene oxide-based metal nanomaterials, as the derivatives of graphene, are potent agents against pathogens by their impressive antibacterial and anti-biofilm biofunctions. Previously, we fabricated the novel graphene oxide-copper nanocomposites (GO-Cu), maintaining a long-term release of copper nanoparticles. Here, the biofunctionalization of GO-Cu nanocomposites against cariogenic S. mutans is investigated. Methods Growth curve observation and colony forming units counting were applied to detect the antibacterial effect of GO-Cu nanocomposites on S. mutans. Scanning electron microscopy and the crystal violet assay were used to detect nanocomposite effects on biofilm forming ability. The production and distribution of exopolysaccharides within biofilm was analyzed and the expression of genes required for biofilm formation was explored. Moreover, the regulatory landscape of GO-Cu nanocomposites on S. mutans pathogenicity was probed. Results It has been found that GO-Gu nanocomposites were antibacterial to S. mutans and 10 μg/mL GO-Cu nanocomposites could inhibit the bacteria bioactivity instead of killing them. The biomass of S. mutans biofilm was significantly reduced when treated with 10 μg/mL GO-Cu nanocomposites. Also, 10 μg/mL GO-Cu nanocomposites could alter the biofilm architecture and impair exopolysaccharides production and distribution, and dysregulated the expression of exopolysaccharide-associated genes. Conclusion In all, we found low-dose GO-Cu nanocomposites could disrupt exopolysaccharide matrix assembly and further impair optimal biofilm development with minimal cytotoxicity. Therefore, GO-Cu nanocomposites can open up a new avenue for the development of alternative anti-caries biomaterials.
QUGA - Quality Guarantees for Autoencoders

Autoencoders are an essential concept in unsupervised learning. Currently, the quality of autoencoders is assessed either internally (e.g., by mean square error) or externally (e.g., by classification performance). Yet, there is no possibility to prove that autoencoders generalize beyond the finite training data, and hence they are not reliable for safety-critical applications requiring formal guarantees for unseen data. To address this issue, we propose the first framework to bound the worst-case error of an autoencoder within a safety-critical region of an infinite value domain, as well as the definition of unsupervised adversarial examples that cause such worst-case errors. Technically, our framework reduces the infinite search space for a uniform error bound to checking satisfiability of logical formulas in Linear Real Arith-metic. This allows us to leverage highly-optimized SMT solvers, a strategy that is very successful in the context of deductive software verification. We demonstrate our ability to find unsupervised adversarial examples as well as formal quality guarantees on a real-world dataset from the medical domain.
RE-EXAMINING THE ROLE OF TIME IN HUMAN-ALGORITHM INTERACTION BY

How fast we interact with technology has been one of the most salient topics for both the users and designers of computing systems. Experimental results since the days preceding personal computing era characterized short response time as an agent for user satisfaction, productivity, and engagement, and we have invested a signiﬁcant amount of engineering eﬀort to make our computers faster ever since. However, the role of speed in human-computer interaction is much richer and more multi-faceted than what today’s culture of moving fast makes it out to be; where faster interaction oﬀers us eﬃciency, slower interaction oﬀers us a chance for reﬂection, serendipity, and a moment for deliberate thinking. As we transition into the days of advanced algorithms and AI where even the most consequential and often problematic judgments are made on our behalf, I see an opportunity to revisit our belief in speed, and examine what slowing down can do to empower users in the interaction between humans and algorithms. To this end, this thesis explores concrete, measurable beneﬁts of slower interaction in improving users’ assessment of an algorithm’s accuracy in human-algorithm interaction. Speciﬁcally, I report a series of online and in-person between-subject user studies in which I isolate the impact of an algorithm’s speed on how users incorporate the algorithm’s advice when making judgments in the context of simple visual recognition tasks. I ﬁnd that the participants followed good quality algorithms more and bad quality algorithms somewhat less if the response time of the algorithm is slower. Furthermore, qualitative analysis of the in-person study interviews reveals that the waiting was not time wasted, but was often used to reﬂect on, and think deliberately about the task and the estimation process of themselves and the algorithm, and to compare and reevaluate the two processes. Based on these ﬁndings, I outline design implications for future algorithmic systems.
Ab initio-guided X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy quantification of Ti vacancies in Ti1−δOxN1−x thin films

Ab initio calculations were employed to investigate the effect of oxygen concentration dependent Ti vacancies formation on the core electron binding energy shifts in cubic titanium oxynitride (Ti1−δOxN1−x). It was shown, that the presence of a Ti vacancy reduces the 1s core electron binding energy of the first N neighbors by ∼0.6 eV and that this effect is additive with respect to the number of vacancies. Hence it is predicted that the Ti vacancy concentration can be revealed from the intensity of the shifted components in the N 1s core spectra region. This notion was critically appraised by fitting the N 1s region obtained via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements of Ti1−δOxN1−x thin films deposited by high power pulsed magnetron sputtering. A model to quantify the Ti vacancy concentration based on the intensity ratio between the N 1s signal components, corresponding to N atoms with locally different Ti vacancy concentration, was developed. Herein a random vacancy distribution was assumed and the influence of surface oxidation from atmospheric exposure after deposition was considered. The so estimated vacancy concentrations are consistent with a model calculating the vacancy concentration based on the O concentrations determined by elastic recoil detection analysis and text book oxidation states and hence electroneutrality. Thus, we have unequivocally established that the formation and population of Ti vacancies in cubic Ti1−δOxN1−x thin films can be quantified by XPS measurements from N 1s core electron binding energy shifts.
Clustering multivariate time series using dynamic Bayesian networks

Multivariate time series are extremely popular in today’s society since they are a convenient way of organizing and storing big amounts of information. In this thesis, we describe CRATES, an algorithm that speciﬁcally addresses the problems related to clustering multivariate time series. These problems are mainly caused by the possible existence of categorical values in the time series, which makes clustering very tricky. There is a known method that oﬀers a workaround by using Hidden Markov Models to model each Time Series as well as the Kullback-Leibler divergence to achieve the distance matrix necessary to perform partitional clustering. We propose an alternative that uses Dynamic Bayesian Networks instead, with an assortment of diﬀerent statistical distances to improve cluster quality as well as overcome some obstacles for the original algorithm. We started by testing the devised method with synthetic data, showing that it is able to perform proper clusterings. Then we performed tests with several real-life datasets and compared the results with state-of-the-art methods using commonly used clustering validation indexes to prove it is a strong alternative to the few existing algorithms, showing tremendous potential.
Learning Laplacians in Chebyshev Graph Convolutional Networks

Spectral graph convolutional networks (GCNs) are particular deep models which aim at extending neural networks to arbitrary irregular domains. The principle of these networks consists in projecting graph signals using the eigen-decomposition of their Laplacians, then achieving filtering in the spectral domain prior to back-project the resulting filtered signals onto the input graph domain. However, the success of these operations is highly dependent on the relevance of the used Laplacians which are mostly handcrafted and this makes GCNs clearly sub-optimal. In this paper, we introduce a novel spectral GCN that learns not only the usual convolutional parameters but also the Laplacian operators. The latter are designed "end-to-end" as a part of a recursive Chebyshev decomposition with the particularity of conveying both the differential and the non-differential properties of the learned representations – with increasing order and discrimination power – without overparametrizing the trained GCNs. Extensive experiments, conducted on the challenging task of skeleton-based action recognition, show the generalization ability and the outperformance of our proposed Laplacian design w.r. t. different baselines (built upon handcrafted and other learned Laplacians) as well as the related work.
On Kekulé’s insight

In this paper, we would like to retake a historical controversy on the alleged discovery of Kekulé’s Benzene structure formula from other possible epistemological viewpoints which might perhaps put into a more right historical perspective this apparent and unmotivated riddle, also with the aid of some elementary psychoanalytic considerations. Moreover, one of the purposes of this paper is also that of understanding some possible, general aspects underlying a creative process.
WHICH PATIENTS SHOULD RECEIVE RADIOTHERAPY IN POSTOPERATIVE DISEASE RECURRENCE?

SUMMARY After radical prostatectomy (RP), up to 60% of patients with high-risk prostate cancer (PC), such as high Gleason score, extracapsular prostatic extension (ECE), positive margins, seminal vesicle involvement (SVI), will develop biochemical relapse and they will require further local treatment. Radiotherapy (RT) to the prostate bed has been used as adjuvant (ART) or salvage (SRT). In patients with high-risk PC, radiotherapy immediately after RP or adjuvant radiotherapy may eradicate residual localized microscopic disease and improve biochemical, progression-free survival, and overall survival. Only a few observational studies have compared RP patients who have received only RT with patients who have received RT with some form of hormonal therapy. A few of them have reported improved progression-free survival with addition of hormonal therapy to SRT, but benefit in overall survival (OS) is not yet known.