Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Radiative effects in induction plasma modeling

While it is generally accepted that in small-scale discharges plasmas can be treated as optically thin, radiative energy loss from an induction plasma has been neglected in most one-dimensional theoretical analyses. The authors have shown (Plasma Chem. Plasma Process., vol.4, p.129, 1984) that 30-40% of the energy dissipated in the plasma can be lost as radiation. In the present study, a comparative analysis has been made between available literature data on volumetric emission of an argon plasma at atmospheric pressure and their effect on the computed temperature fields. The role of radiative energy transfer from the plasma has been found to be particularly important in the presence of small concentrations of metal vapors, which are known to increase the volumetric emission of the plasma considerably. Typical results are given showing the corresponding integral emissions from pure argon plasma and from an argon plasma in the presence of copper vapor resulting from the injection of 1 g/min of copper powder in the discharge. <<ETX>>
The Comparison of Blood Glucose Check Results Using Photometer and Glucometer

Diabetes mellitus is a disease caused by high blood glucose levels. Blood glucose is a sugar that functions as an energy source for humans, formed from carbohydrates consumed and then stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. Examining blood glucose levels can be done in two ways, namely using a photometer and a glucometer. This study aimed to determine differences in the results of blood glucose checks measured using a photometer and glucometer. The research was conducted with an analytic observational design with a cross-sectional approach. The study was conducted in June 2022. The population in this study were all Prolanis participants at the Klirong 1 Public Health Care Center. The sampling technique in this study used the accidental sampling technique. The data analysis used paired sample T-test. The results of the blood glucose checks using a photometer and glucometer showed a p-value (0.000) and alpha value (0.05). So it can be concluded that there is a significant difference between the results of blood glucose checks using a photometer and a glucometer.
Stitching Repair for Delaminated Carbon Fiber/Bismaleimide Composite Laminates

Due to the excellent mechanical properties and heat resistance, bismaleimide matrix composite materials have been widely used in aircraft. However, they are susceptible to low-energy impacts, such as bird hits, gravel, tools falling, etc., which can easily result in delamination. The delamination can significantly reduce the compression performance of composites and become a potential hazard for aircraft in service. In this paper, a stitching method developed from the Z-pin manufacturing process was proposed to repair delaminated laminates. Firstly, the delaminated area was stitched by fiber bundles that were pre-impregnated with glue. Then, the fiber bundles threading through the laminate become the pins after the curing process, thus producing the bridging effect between delaminated layers. As a result, the in-plane compressive properties of the laminate are enhanced. The parameters, including the size, number, and position of the stitching hole, for the stitching repair were optimized, and the factors affecting the repair effect were discussed through both finite element analysis and experiments. The results showed that for a carbon fiber/bismaleimide composite plate with a circular delamination roughly 30 mm in diameter, the in-plane compressive strength can be recovered from 54.45% to 84.23% of the pristine plate, and the modulus was fully recovered.
Flame Retardancy and Thermal Property of Environment-Friendly Poly(lactic acid) Composites Based on Banana Peel Powder

Banana peel powder (BPP) was used to prepare poly(lactic acid) (PLA) bio-based composites and the flame retardancy was enhanced by introducing silica-gel microencapsulated ammonium polyphosphate (MCAPP). The results showed that the limiting oxygen index (LOI) of PLA containing 15 wt % BPP was 22.1% and just passed the UL-94 V-2 rate. Moreover, with the introduction of 5 wt % MCAPP and 15 wt % BPP, the PLA composite had a higher LOI value of 31.5%, and reached the UL-94 V-0 rating, with self-extinguishing and anti-dripping abilities. The PLA/M5B15 also had a lower peak heat release rate (296.7 kW·m−2), which was 16% lower than that of the PLA/B15 composite. Furthermore, the synergistic effects between MCAPP and BPP impart better thermal stability to PLA composites. According to the investigation of the char residue and pyrolysis gaseous products, MCAPP with BPP addition is beneficial to the formation of a higher quality char layer in the solid phase but also plays the flame retardant effect in the gas phase. This work provides a simple and efficient method to solve the high cost and flammability issues of PLA composites.
Optimal Orientation Detection of Linear Symmetry

The problem of optimal detection of orientation in arbitrary neighborhoods is solved in the least squares sense. It is shown that this corresponds to fitting an axis in the Fourier domain of the n-dimensional neighborhood, the solution of which is a well known solution of a matrix eigenvalue problem. The eigenvalues are the variance or inertia with respect to the axes given by their respective eigen vectors. The orientation is taken as the axis given by the least eigenvalue. Moreover it is shown that the necessary computations can be pursued in the spatial domain without doing a Fourier transformation. An implementation for 2-D is presented. Two certainty measures are given corresponding to the orientation estimate. These are the relative or the absolute distances between the two eigenvalues, revealing whether the fitted axis is much better than an axis orthogonal to it. The result of the implementation is verified by experiments which confirm an accurate orientation estimation and reliable certainty measure in the presence of additive noise at high level as well as low levels.
Research status and development trend of welding seam tracking technology of intelligent welding robot

Welding technology is the foundation of structure forming process in mechanical industry, and welding seam tracking is the key technology of intelligent welding. The scholars current study of welding seam tracking has been a lot, but mostly involves complex visual identification, complicated control algorithm and multi-sensor data acquisition, brings to the system to deal with the heavy burden of data operation, and in practical production because of the different welding conditions, to have different demands, this paper in all kinds of welding conditions for classification principle. The advantages and disadvantages of various weld tracking methods are summarized, and the tracking methods with adaptability under various working conditions are put forward, which can be used for reference by readers of various research directions.
Filler–gap dependencies and the remnant–correlate dependency in backward sprouting: Sensitivity to distance and islands

The relationship between the wh-remnant and the null correlate in the type of ellipsis known as backward sprouting is superficially almost identical to the relation between a wh-filler and a gap in a wh-question. In both cases, there is a dependency between the wh-phrase and a later null element. We conduct a sentence acceptability experiment to test whether the remnant–correlate dependency in backward sprouting exhibits two well-known properties of a filler–gap dependency in wh-questions: sensitivity to clause boundaries (distance) and sensitivity to islands. The results show that both dependency types are sensitive to clause boundaries, although the effect is larger in the case of filler–gap dependencies, but that only filler–gap dependencies are sensitive to islands. These results present a challenge to analyses of sprouting in which the ellipsis site contains a full representation of the structure of the antecedent clause, since such analyses predict island-sensitivity for remnant–correlate dependencies. The results also suggest that island-sensitivity cannot be reduced to simple processing demands without regard to the syntactic representation of the dependency, since such a view would predict greater similarity between filler–gap dependencies and remnant–correlate dependencies than is found.
Effects of Different Routes and Forms of Vitamin D Administration on Mesenteric Lymph Node CD4+ T Cell Polarization and Intestinal Injury in Obese Mice Complicated with Polymicrobial Sepsis

This study compared the efficacies of enteral cholecalciferol and/or intravenous (IV) calcitriol administration on mesenteric lymph node (MLN) cluster-of-differentiation-4-positive (CD4+) T cell distribution and intestinal barrier damage in obese mice complicated with sepsis. Mice were fed a high-fat diet for 16 weeks and then sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Mice were divided into the following sepsis groups: without vitamin D (VD) (S); with oral cholecalciferol 1 day before CLP (G); with IV calcitriol 1 h after CLP (V); and with both cholecalciferol before and IV calcitriol after CLP (GV). All mice were sacrificed at 12 or 24 h after CLP. The findings show that the S group had a higher T helper (Th)17 percentage than the VD-treated groups at 12 h after CLP. The V group exhibited a higher Th1 percentage and Th1/Th2 ratio than the other groups at 24 h, whereas the V and GV groups had a lower Th17/regulatory T (Treg) ratio 12 h post-CLP in MLNs. In ileum tissues, the VD-treated groups had higher tight junction protein and cathelicidin levels, and higher mucin gene expression than the S group at 24 h post-CLP. Also, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and its associated cytochrome P450 1A1 and interleukin 22 gene expressions were upregulated. In contrast, levels of lipid peroxides and inflammatory mediators in ileum tissues were lower in the groups with VD treatment after CLP. These results suggest that IV calcitriol seemed to have a more-pronounced effect on modulating the homeostasis of Th/Treg subsets in MLNs. Both oral cholecalciferol before and IV calcitriol after CLP promoted cathelicidin secretion, alleviated intestinal inflammation, and ameliorated the epithelial integrity in obese mice complicated with sepsis possibly via VD receptor and AhR signaling pathways.
Thermal Effect on Thin-Film Formation of the Polymer Sheets by the CO2 Laser with the Copper Base

A method that makes polymer sheets partially thinner with continuous-wave carbon dioxide (CO2) lasers has been developed. This method can create thin polymer films by attaching the polymer sheets to the copper base by vacuum suction through the holes in the base. Applying the method to polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), the thin-film formation is confirmed in PP, PET, and PS but not PTFE. These polymers have the similar thermal properties. PP, PET, and PS show fluidity with increased temperature, but PTFE does not have fluidity. These characteristics of the polymers indicate that the fluidity of polymer is the important characteristic for film formation. The experiments with PP and PET sheets of different thickness show that thicker sheets make thicker films. The fluid flow of the molten polymer is considered to form the thin film at the bottom of the groove made by laser scribing. The numerical simulation of the 2D thermal model also indicates the week cooling effects of the base on the film formation and importance of polymer fluidity. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) show thermal degradation of the films. To decrease the heat’s effect on the films, the polymer sheets should be processed at the highest laser-beam scanning speed that can make thin films.
NOWPAC: A provably convergent derivative-free nonlinear optimizer with path-augmented constraints

This paper proposes the algorithm NOWPAC (Nonlinear Optimization With Path-Augmented Constraints) for nonlinear constrained derivative-free optimization. The algorithm uses a trust region framework based on fully linear models for the objective function and the constraints. A new constraint-handling scheme based on an inner boundary path allows for the computation of feasible trial steps using models for the constraints. We prove that the iterates computed by NOWPAC converge to a first-order critical point. We also discuss the convergence of NOWPAC in situations where evaluations of the objective function or the constraints are inexact, e.g., corrupted by numerical errors. We determine a rate of decay that the magnitude of these numerical errors must satisfy, while approaching the critical point, to guarantee convergence. In settings where adjusting the accuracy of the objective or constraint evaluations is not possible, as is often the case in practical applications, we introduce an error indicator to detect these regimes and prevent deterioration of the optimization results.
Robot manipulators : mathematics, programming, and control : the computer control of robot manipulators

"Richard Paul is perhaps the world's leading authority on the science of robot manipulation. He has contributed to almost every aspect of the field. His impressive publication record includes important articles on the kinematics of robot arms, their dynamics, and their control. He has developed a succession of interesting ideas concerning representation, specifically the use of homogeneous matrices. Paul's book is written in his usual clear style, and it contains numerous interesting examples. "--Patrick H. Winston and Mike Brady, editors, The MIT Press Artificial Intelligence Series"Robot Manipulators" is firmly grounded on the theoretical principles of the subject and makes considerable use of vector and matrix methods in its development. It is the first full treatment to be published, and it is designed for graduate courses in robotics as well as for practicing engineers. Following an introduction, the book's ten chapters cover homogeneous transformations, defining transformation equations, solving transformation equations, differential transformation relationships, motion trajectories, dynamics, digital servo systems, force transformations, compliance, and manipulation languages.Paul writes that the impact of robot manipulators on the workplace and the economy over the coming decade could be profound: "While currently available industrial robots will probably not have a major impact on manufacturing, a low-cost, mass-produced, sensor-controlled robot could have a revolutionary effect. Such robots would represent the conclusion of the industrial revolution, replacing the type of labor required at its outset to perform the repetitive machine-linked tasks whose ideal performance is characterized by our conception of a robot, not a human. Based on current research work, laboratory demonstrations, and the general level of technology in this country, we believe that it is possible to achieve such a robot within the coming decade. "
Energy Minimization for NOMA Cellular Networks With Two-Dimensional Resource Allocation

In this paper, we investigate the energy minimization for the cellular networks with non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA). Different from most of existing studies in NOMA networks that considered the resource allocation in only frequency domain or time domain, we discuss the two-dimensional time-frequency communication resource allocation. We formulate the considered problem as a mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP), and decompose it into three nested subproblems: transmit power optimization, communication resource allocation, and NOMA group partition. Then, we solve them iteratively. For the transmit power optimization subproblem, we first propose a transmit power iteration (TPI) algorithm, after the simplification of the rate requirement constraint, to obtain the transmit powers of cellular users (CUs) in the special case such that a group of CUs only occupies the communication resource in one sub-channel, and prove its optimality and convergence theoretically. Then, a rate requirement allocation based TPI (RRA-TPI) algorithm is further proposed to obtain the transmit powers of CUs in the general cases. For the communication resource allocation and NOMA group partition subproblems, a two-dimensional resource allocation (TDRA) algorithm and a coalition game (CG) algorithm are proposed to solve them, respectively. Simulation results show that via two-dimensional time-frequency resource allocation, we can achieve a significant system energy reduction.
Articulating lay theories through graphical models: A study of beliefs surrounding vaccination decisions

How can we leverage the cognitive science of lay theories to inform interventions aimed at correcting misconceptions and changing behaviors? Focusing on the problem of vaccine skepticism, we identified a set of 14 beliefs we hypothesized would be relevant to vaccination decisions. We developed reliable scales to measure these beliefs across a large sample of participants (n = 1130) and employed state-of-the-art graphical structure learning algorithms to uncover the relationships among these beliefs. This resulted in a graphical model describing the system of beliefs relevant to childhood vaccinations, with beliefs represented as nodes and their interconnections as directed edges. This model sheds light on how these beliefs relate to one another and can be used to predict how interventions aimed at specific beliefs will play out across the larger system. Moving forward, we hope this modeling approach will help guide the development of effective, theory-based interventions promoting childhood vaccination.
Simple supersymmetric methods in neutron diffusion

We present the supersymmetric Witten and double Darboux (strictly isospectral) constructions as applied to the diffusion of thermal neutrons from an infinitely long line source. While the Witten construction is just a mathematical scheme, the double Darboux method introduces a one-parameter family of diffusion solutions which are strictly isospectral to the stationary solution. They correspond to a Darboux-transformed diffusion length which is flux dependent
Performance Enhancement of Silver Nanowire-Based Transparent Electrodes by Ultraviolet Irradiation

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) are used as transparent electrodes (TE) in many devices. However, the contact mode between the nanowires is the biggest reason why the sheet resistance of silver nanowires is limited. Here, simple and effective ultraviolet (UV) irradiation welding is chosen to solve this problem. The influence of the power density of the UV irradiation on welding of the silver nanowires is studied and the fixed irradiation time is chosen as one minute. The range of the UV (380 nm) irradiation power is chosen from 30 mW/cm2 to 150 mW/cm2. First of all, the transmittance of the silver nanowire film is not found to be affected by the UV welding (400–11,000 nm). The sheet resistance of the silver nanowires decreases to 73.9% at 60 mW/cm2 and increases to 127.6% at 120 mW/cm2. The investigations on the UV irradiation time reveal that the sheet resistance of the AgNWs decreases continuously when the UV irradiation time is varied from 0 to 3 min, and drops to 57.3% of the initial value at 3 min. From 3–6 min of the continuous irradiation time, the change of the sheet resistance is not obvious, which reflects the self-limiting and self-termination of AgNWs welding. By changing the wavelength of the UV irradiation from 350–400 nm, it is found that the welding effect is best when the UV wavelength is 380 nm. The average transmittance, square resistance, and the figure of merit of the welded AgNWs at 400–780 nm are 95.98%, 56.5 Ω/sq, and 117.42 × 10−4 Ω−1, respectively. The UV-welded AgNWs are also used in silicon-based photodetectors, and the quantum efficiency of the device is improved obviously.
A modified branch line coupler with compact size and ultra wide harmonics suppression band

ABSTRACT In microstrip branch line coupler (BLC) design, there are significant parameters, including size reduction, insertion loss, and harmonic suppression, which affect the performances of the device. In this paper, a modified BLC with compact size, wide harmonics suppression band, and low insertion loss in operating band is designed. In the proposed design, four types of resonators are used together to create proposed BLC with superior performance. The proposed BLC works at 900 MHz with only 0.1 dB insertion loss at pass band. The proposed BLC provides wide harmonics rejection band from 1.8 to 8.1 GHz, which suppresses 2nd to 9th unwanted harmonics. The conventional coupler occupies 0.25 λ × 0.25 λ, which has undesirable size. But, the proposed BLC occupies compact area of only 21.95 mm × 30.55 mm (0.12 λ × 0.09 λ), which shows more than 81% size reduction.
Gap Filling Cloudy Sentinel-2 NDVI and NDWI Pixels with Multi-Frequency Denoised C-Band and L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Texture, and Shallow Learning Techniques

Multispectral imagery provides unprecedented information on Earth system processes: however, data gaps due to clouds and shadows are a major limitation. Normalized-Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized-Difference Water Index (NDWI) are two spectral indexes employed for monitoring vegetation phenology, land-cover change and more. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) with its cloud-penetrating abilities can fill data gaps using coincident imagery. In this study, we evaluated C-band Sentinel-1, L-band Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle SAR (UAVSAR) and texture for gap filling using efficient machine learning regression algorithms across three seasons. Multiple models were evaluated including Support Vector Machine, Random Forest, Gradient Boosted Trees and an ensemble of models. The Gap filling ability of SAR was evaluated with Sentinel-2 imagery from the same date, 3 days and 8 days later than both SAR sensors in September. Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 imagery from winter and spring seasons were also evaluated. Because SAR imagery contains noise, we compared two robust de-noising methods and evaluated performance against a refined lee speckle filter. Mean Absolute Error (MAE) rates of the cloud gap-filling model were assessed across different dataset combinations and land covers. The results indicated de-noised Sentinel-1 SAR and UAVSAR with GLCM texture provided the highest predictive abilities with random forest R2 = 0.91 (±0.014), MAE = 0.078 (±0.003) (NDWI) and R2 = 0.868 (±0.015), MAE = 0.094 (±0.003) (NDVI) during September. The highest errors were observed across bare ground and forest, while the lowest errors were on herbaceous and woody wetland. Results on January and June imagery without UAVSAR were less strong at R2 = 0.60 (±0.036), MAE = 0.211 (±0.005) (NDVI), R2 = 0.61 (±0.043), MAE = 0.209 (±0.005) (NDWI) for January and R2 = 0.72 (±0.018), MAE = 0.142 (±0.004) (NDVI), R2 = 0.77 (±0.022), MAE = 0.125 (±0.004) (NDWI) for June. Ultimately, the results suggest de-noised C-band SAR with texture metrics can accurately predict NDVI and NDWI for gap-filling clouds during most seasons. These shallow machine learning models are rapidly trained and applied faster than intensive deep learning or time series methods.