Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thermal Conductivity Measurement of Vacuum Tight Dual- Edge Seal for the Thermal Performance Analysis of Triple Vacuum Glazing

A vacuum tight glass edge seal’s thermal conductivity is one of the principal factor in determining the heat distribution towards the centre of pane, ultimately influences the thermal transmittance (U-value) of a triple vacuum glazing. So far indium and solder glass have proven to be vacuum tight edge sealing materials but both have certain limitations. In this chapter, a new low-temperature vacuum tight glass edge seal composite’s thermal conductivity, Cerasolzer CS186 alloy and J-B Weld epoxy-steel resin, were measured and validated with the mild-steel and indium using transient plane source method with a sensor element of double spiral and resistance thermometer in a hot disk thermal constants analyser TPS2500s are reported. The thermal conductivity data of Cerasolzer CS186 alloy and J-B Weld epoxy steel resin were measured to be 46.49 and 7.47 W/m/K, with the deviations (using analytical method) of +/- 4% and +/-7% respectively. These values were utilised to predict the thermal transmittance value of triple vacuum glazing using 3D finite element model. The simulated results show the centre-of-glass and total U-value of 300 x 300 mm triple vacuum glazing to be 0.33 and 1.05 W/m2/K, respectively. The influence of such a wide edge seal on the temperature loss spreading from the edge to the central glazing area is analysed, in which the predictions show wider edge seal has affected the centre-of-glass U-value to 0.043 W/m2/K due to the temperature gradient loss spread to 54 and 84 mm on the cold and warm side respectively.
Spatial damage identification in composite plates using multiwavelets

The wavelet transform is one of the most effective tools for many tasks concerning signal and image processing, however it is difficult to obtain all of the necessary properties in one scalar wavelet. This leads to the development of new types of transforms such as a multiwavelet transform, which possesses more than one scaling and wavelet function and makes a possibility to combine these functions in order to obtain necessary properties. In the present study the CL2, LV and DGHM multiwavelets were used for an identification of spatial damage in a composite plate based on the analysis of its modal shapes. The obtained results show that some properties of the multiwavelet transform may improve the damage identification algorithm and replace the classical wavelet-based methods.
pEPI for Gene Therapy Non viral episomes and their Application in Somatic Gene Therapy

Nowadays, in most gene therapy trials virus based vectors are used because of their high efficiency. Nevertheless, safety risks like transformation of the cell by viral proteins, insertional mutagenesis, or innate immune reactions cannot be excluded. Basing on the idea of an ideal vector for gene therapy that is highly efficient but lacks these safety risks, non viral vectors systems represent an attractive alternative. With the construction of the non viral, S/ MAR based vector pEPI at the end of the last century, a first step towards non viral gene therapy has been made. S/MAR based vectors do not contain any viral elements, do not integrate and show stable transgene expression in the targeted cell or organism. Within the last decade, S/MAR based vectors were further improved and modified, and find now broad application in basic research and also become more and more recognized in gene therapeutic and clinical trials.
Breeding a Culture of Experience Innovation : A Case Study of Co-Existing Values

In the past decade, consumer spending on experiences relative to material goods has increased dramatically. Despite the vast quantity of innovation literature in business, much of the empirical research focuses on new product development in the manufacturing context. In contrast to the traditional product/service paradigm, innovation in experience firms is collective, incremental, and ongoing. An updated perspective on developing and maintaining organizational capacities for continuous innovation in the experience economy is needed. This study employed an organizational ethnography approach to examine a zoological attraction’s culture through rich description of the firm’s operations at varying levels. Data was collected in three phases and included front of the house and back of the house observations, interviews and conversations with 42 employees and 5 senior managers, attendance at new hire orientation and senior management meetings, and review of internal documents. The summary findings are presented as a case study, providing a rare back of the house view of the workplace practices of an organization that espouses experience innovation as its overriding objective. Important themes are revealed to include coalescing the past, present, and future, balancing cooperation and competition, trust and transparency, and business and emotion. Findings also highlight that in experience-centric organizations, the core experience serves as the lever for innovation activities and design decisions.
AdaptiveMeasurement of Individual Change

DOI 10.1027/0044-3409.216. 1.49 Abstract. Adaptive measurement of change (AMC) was investigated by examining the recovery of true change. Monte Carlo simulation was used to compare three conventional testing (CT) methods with AMC. The CTs estimated individual change moderately well when the test was highly discriminating and when the Þ level matched the test difficulty. However, AMC measured individual change equally well across the entire range of Þ. AMC with more discriminating items produced the most precise estimates of individual change. AMC was shown to be superior to CTs under all conditions examined. In addition, AMC is efficient – it can dramatically reduce the number of items necessary to measure individual change. The results indicate that AMC is a viable and effective method for measuring individual change.
Robust speed control of five-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor using super-twisting sliding mode control

This paper is devoted to the study of the performances of a robust speed nonlinear control of five-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). The dynamic response speed and overshoot is contradictory and the system is weak in terms of anti-interference in classical PI speed regulator. In this work, the controllers are designed using two methods: the first one using a nonlinear control based on sliding mode control (SMC). In the second, the super twisting algorithm sliding mode speed control (STSMC) is used to overcome the occurring chattering phenomena. This second solution shows good robustness with respect to parameter variations, measurement errors and noises. Finally, simulation results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness and the good performance of the proposed control methods.
ROBOVOLC : Remote Inspection for Volcanoes

This paper discusses the state-of-the-art in the area of mobile robots for outdoor applications with particular attention to extremely rough environments such as those found in volcanic and planetary exploration applications. The paper looks at the areas of locomotion, manipulation systems, sensors, control and navigational methods that are currently available so that the most appropriate can be identified. A design criteria for the proposed ROBOVOLC robot is presented by considering the environment to be faced and the tasks involved for exploration studies.
Protection of Caprock Integrity for Large-Scale CO2 Storage on the Norwegian Continental Shelf

Large-scale CO2 storage requires advanced understanding of the geomechanical response of the caprock subject to pressure buildup in the reservoir. CO2 injection into basin systems will need to approach rates of 100 Mt/y in order to achieve significant reduction in worldwide emissions and realize the large capacity of saline aquifers. High pressure build-up is expected, which may activate existing fractures and faults in the seal and create leakage pathways for the CO2 plume. New fractures may also evolve at higher pressures. To avoid creating leakage pathways for the CO2 plume, the pressure must be kept under an upper bound that is determined by the caprock weakest point or initial stress. To date, there has been great uncertainty in critical knowledge needed for planning and execution of safe large-scale CO2 storage projects. Within the PROTECT project, we advance methods and reduce uncertainty regarding the mechanical response. The research study focuses on three subareas: data collection, experimental studies and computational tasks. The studies are performed at small scale (scale of individual cracks, cm to m) and at large scale (reservoir or basin scale, 10 m to km). Data are synthesized, and a benchmark study of large-scale geomechanical simulation is performed. The Utsira Formation on the Norwegian continental shelf has been used as a common case study for integration and benchmarking activities. Finally, recommendations are made for future research based on knowledge gained in this study.
Tonkean macaque behaviour from the perspective of the evolution of Sulawesi macaques

Our vision of macaque societies has long been shaped by the study of rhesus and Japanese macaques (Macaca mulatta & M. fuscata). It was a historical accident that knowledge about these species' social behaviour developed earlier and more extensively than for any other monkey taxa (Altmann, 1962, 1965; Rawlins & Kessler, 1986; Fedigan & Asquith, 1991) and that both species exhibit very similar social relations, including weak interindividual tolerance, intense aggression and submission, strong kin preferences, strict rules of rank inheritance among females, and little affiliation between mature males. Such patterns were once believed to be typical of the whole genus Macaca. The finding that tolerance is more developed in bonnet macaques (M. radiata) (Rosenblum & Kaufman, 1967; Sugiyama, 1971) slightly modified this stance. Subsequent studies in other species enriched our knowledge of some of the variations occurring within the genus, about mating patterns and male care of infants for instance; however, they did not question the belief that the social life of macaques is ruled by nepotism and dominance, in line with the main tenets of behavioral ecology and sociobiology (Kurland, 1977; Dittus, 1980; Silk, 1984). In the eighties, direct comparisons revealed marked interspecific contrasts in patterns of social interactions (Thierry, 1985a & b; de Waal & Luttrell, 1989) as well as in individual responsiveness (Clarke et al., 1988). The intensification of research in Barbary macaques (M. sylvanus) showed that not only may females mate with any male at the time of ovulation (Taub, 1980) but that they do not follow the rules of rank inheritance described in rhesus and Japanese macaques (Paul & Kuester, 1987). The study of Tonkean macaques (M. tonkeana) produced a set of data which departs from what was considered as the norm for the genus Macaca. These data are reviewed in the present paper, allowing a broader perspective on macaque social evolution.
What Caused the Decline in the US Saving Ratio

We investigate whether the mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW) mechanism is useful for explaining the large declines in the US personal saving ratio in the last two decades. MEW depends on house price inflation and mortgage rates. In addition stock prices may affect saving ratio. Therefore, we estimate a VEC model with these four variables. The impulse response analysis shows that saving ratio decreases with positive shocks to asset prices and increases with positive shocks to mortgage rates.
Regional Governance Matters: Quality of Government within European Union Member States

Charron N. , Dijkstra L. and Lapuente V. Regional governance matters: quality of government within European Union member states, Regional Studies. This study presents novel data (European QoG Index – EQI) on the ‘quality of government’ (QoG) – understood as low corruption, impartial public services and rule of law – for national and sub-national levels in twenty-seven European Union countries. The EQI shows notable within-country variations: while high-performing regions in Italy and Spain (for example, Bolzano, País Vasco) rank amongst the best European Union regions, others perform well below the European Union average. The index is highly correlated with sub-national levels of socio-economic development and levels of social trust, yet political decentralization is uncorrelated with greater within-country, or higher levels of overall, QoG.
Developmental Functions of miR 156-Regulated SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE ( SPL ) Genes in Arabidopsis thaliana

Correct developmental timing is essential for plant fitness and reproductive success. Two important transitions in shoot development—the juvenile-to-adult vegetative transition and the vegetative-to-reproductive transition—are mediated by a group of genes targeted by miR156, SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN (SBP) genes. To determine the developmental functions of these genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, we characterized their expression patterns, and their gain-of-function and loss-of-function phenotypes. Our results reveal that SBP-LIKE (SPL) genes in Arabidopsis can be divided into three functionally distinct groups: 1) SPL2, SPL9, SPL10, SPL11, SPL13 and SPL15 contribute to both the juvenile-to-adult vegetative transition and the vegetative-to-reproductive transition, with SPL9, SP13 and SPL15 being more important for these processes than SPL2, SPL10 and SPL11; 2) SPL3, SPL4 and SPL5 do not play a major role in vegetative phase change or floral induction, but promote the floral meristem identity transition; 3) SPL6 does not have a major function in shoot morphogenesis, but may be important for certain physiological processes. We also found that miR156-regulated SPL genes repress adventitious root development, providing an explanation for the observation that the capacity for adventitious root production declines as the shoot ages. miR156 is expressed at very high levels in young seedlings, and declines in abundance as the shoot develops. It completely blocks the expression of its SPL targets in the first two leaves of the rosette, and represses these genes to different degrees at later stages of development, primarily by promoting their translational repression. These results provide a framework for future studies of this multifunctional family of transcription factors, and offer new insights into the role of miR156 in Arabidopsis development. PLOS Genetics | DOI:10.1371/journal.pgen. 1006263 August 19, 2016 1 / 29 a11111
INSHORE FISHERIES AND FISH POPULATION CHANGES IN LAKE KARIBA

Since the creation in 1958 of Lake Kariba, situated on the Zambezi River and shared between Zambia and Zimbabwe, substantial changes in both its fisheries and in the fish communities have been observed. Although probably one of the best studied fresh water systems in Africa (Karenge and Kolding, 1995a), the sustainable exploitation levels of its fish communities are still largely unknown (Anon., 1992; Kolding, 1994). Fear of overfishing, or at least indications of fully exploited resources, has repeatedly been expressed (Marshall, 1981; Marshall, Junor and Langerman, 1982; Kenmuir, 1982; Marshall 1985, Machena and Mabaye, 1987; Marshall and Langermann, 1988; Moyo, 1990; Scholz, 1993; Sanyanga, Machena and Kautsky, 1995; Sanyanga, 1995; Machena and Kwaramba, 1997), whereas other studies have contested these views (NORAD, 1985; Ramberg et al., 1987; Marshall, 1992; Machena, Kolding and Sanyanga, 1993; Kolding, 1994; Karenge and Kolding, 1995a). Most of the attempts to calculate sustainable yields (Marshall, Junor and Langerman, 1982; Marshall, 1985; Moyo, 1986, 1990) are from classic fisheries stock assessment models based on catch and effort variables, with the underlying basic assumption of ecological stability and constant regenerative capacity. Most of the results from these analyses have proven of dubious value (see Box 5.2 in Volume I).
Performance of Smallholder Agriculture Under Limited Mechanization and the Fast Track Land Reform Program in Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwean government has long been committed to expansion of agricultural production through mechanization and pursued this goal under the unpopular fast track land reform program (FTLRP). The acquisition and use of tractors by arable crop farmers in communal and resettlement state land were encouraged. This research examines the performance of the program in the Bindura District. Ninety farmers were interviewed using a multistage sampling technique of structured questionnaires to collect data on demographic background, investment levels and production in terms of costs and returns. The Stochastic Frontier Model revealed the significant impact of the program on participating farmers, highlighting the significance of land and other productive factors. While overall production and productivity remain low, triggering a hyper-inflationary situation due to supply constraints, practical implications for agribusinesses are foreseen.
A Learning Analytics Methodology for Student Performance Assessment in a Distance and Open Education Environment

Advances in data storage devices and data collection techniques have enabled the capturing and persistent maintenance of all the information related to the interaction between students and instructors in the context of the learning processes, supporting a 360-degree view of the student profile. Data Mining, Data Analytics, and Exploratory Data Analysis techniques can be used to make sense out of these multidimensional and endlessly generated data in order to offer added value to the higher educational academic institutes and universities. In this paper, we present a learning analytics approach that has as its goal to improve both the learning experience of students and the instructional experience of tutors, as well as the institutional strategic view of the university. By exploring and analyzing all the collected data, we build models that explain and assess the effectiveness of the learning environment, so as to address the needs of the aforementioned members of these organizations. In this underlying framework, we also present and evaluate a case study that focuses on analyzing educational data for assessment purposes from a big data infrastructure, which is under development in the Hellenic Open University in Greece.
Endogenous Information and Privacy in Automobile Insurance Markets

This paper examines the implications of insurers’ offering a voluntary monitoring technology to insureds in automobile insurance markets with adverse selection and without commitment. Under the consideration of the inherent costs related to the loss of privacy, the paper analyzes the incentives of insureds to reveal information, whereby they can decide how much or what quality of information to reveal. It is also allowed for the possibility that high risk individuals might mimic low risk individuals. The resulting market equilibria are characterized and it is shown, that it might be optimal for insureds to reject the monitoring technology, but also that under certain conditions, which are specified in the paper, it might be optimal for insureds to reveal complete information. Concerning the welfare effects of introducing voluntary monitoring of insureds, if low risk individuals reject it, there will be no change to either risk type. If they accept it, this will make them better off and high risks may either be made better off or worse off depending on the initial equilibrium before a monitoring technology is offered. Unless it is optimal for individuals to reveal either zero or complete information, an all-or-nothing nature of the monitoring technology will not be efficient.
NON-TRADABLE AND EDUCATION SECTORS IN A MULTI-COUNTRY ECONOMIC GROWTH MODEL WITH ENDOGENOUS WEALTH AND HUMAN CAPITAL

Abstract This study deals with international economic interactions with capital accumulation, human capital accumulation, economic structure and international trade by integrating the Solow growth model, the Uzawa two-sector growth model, the UzawaLucas two-sector growth model, and the Oniki–Uzawa trade model within a comprehensive framework. In addition to learning by education in the Uzawa-Lucas model, we also consider Arrow’s learning by producing, and Zhang’s learning by consuming (creative learning) in the human capital accumulation equation. The model is built for any number of national economies and each national economy consists of one tradable, one non-tradable and one education sector. National economies are different in propensities to save, to obtain education and to consume, and in learning abilities. We show that the dynamics of the J-country world economy can be described by 2J differential equations. We simulate the model to demonstrate existence of equilibrium points and motion of the dynamic system. We also demonstrate how changes in the propensity to obtain education, the population, the propensity to save, and the education sector’s total productivity affect global economic development.
Exploring the biological activities of the Hylocereus polyrhizus extract

In the current study, the chemical constituents of the methanol extract of Pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) were identified. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated via cup agar, and disk diffusion methods using five pathogenic bacterial & fungal strains Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, and Fusarium oxysporum. Also, the total antioxdant capacity (TAC) was evaluated via phosphomolybdenum method, and total phenolic content (TPC) was evaluated via Folin-Ciocalteu’s assay. The GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of five identified compounds representing (91.15%) of the total composition viz., 5-cedranone (73.05%), β-selinene (7.25%), eucalyptol (6.54%), and terpinolene (3.69%). The results showed that the methanol extract exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against the five strains expressed by inhibition zones as 29, 29, 29.5, 17.5, and 29.5 mm by cup agar method, and 9.5, 11, 10, 8, and 16.5 mm by disk diffusion method against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, and Fusarium oxysporum respectively. Moreover the TAC value was 726.73 mg AAE/g dry extract, and the TPC was 432.88 mg gallic acid equivalent/g dry extract. In conclusion, the methanol extract of Hylocereus polyrhizus fruit showed strong antimicrobial activity, which may be return to its oxygenated terpenes like 5-cedranone, eucalyptol, and α-terpineol.
I Can Help! Cooperative Task Behaviour through Plan Recognition and Planning

This paper presents a framework for integrated plan recognition and automated planning, to produce cooperative behaviour for one agent to help another agent. By observing an “initiator” agent performing a task, the plan recogniser hy-pothesises how a “supporter” agent could help the initiator by proposing a set of subgoals to be achieved. A lightweight negotiation process mediates between the two agents to produce a mutually agreeable set of goals for the supporter. The goals are passed to a planner which builds an appropriate sequence of actions for satisfying these goals. The approach is demonstrated in a series of experimental scenarios.