Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Magnetic small-angle neutron scattering on bulk metallic glasses: a feasibility study for imaging displacement fields

Denis Mettus,1,* Michael Deckarm,2 Andreas Leibner,2 Rainer Birringer,2,† Moritz Stolpe,3 Ralf Busch,3 Dirk Honecker,4 Joachim Kohlbrecher,5 Patrick Hautle,5 Nemanja Niketic,5 Jesús Rodríguez Fernández,6 Luis Fernández Barquín,6 and Andreas Michels1,‡ 1Physics and Materials Science Research Unit, University of Luxembourg, 162A Avenue de la Faïencerie, L-1511 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg 2Universität des Saarlandes, Experimentalphysik Campus D2 2, D-66123, Saarbrücken, Germany 3Universität des Saarlandes, Chair of Metallic Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering Campus C6.3, D-66123 Saarbrücken, Germany 4Institut Laue-Langevin, 6 Rue Jules Horowitz, Boîte Postale 156, F-38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France 5Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland 6CITIMAC, Universidad de Cantabria, 39005 Santander, Spain (Received 28 September 2017; published 11 December 2017)
Improving functionality of vibration energy harvesters using magnets

In recent years, several strategies have been proposed to improve the functionality of energy harvesters under broadband vibrations, but they only improve the efficiency of energy harvesting under limited conditions. In this work, a comprehensive experimental study is conducted to investigate the use of magnets for improving the functionality of energy harvesters under various vibration scenarios. First, the nonlinearities introduced by magnets are exploited to improve the performance of vibration energy harvesting. Both monostable and bistable configurations are investigated under sinusoidal and random vibrations with various excitation levels. The optimal nonlinear configuration (in terms of distance between magnets) is determined to be near the monostable-to-bistable transition region. Results show that both monostable and bistable nonlinear configurations can significantly outperform the linear harvester near this transition region. Second, for ultra-low-frequency vibration scenarios such as wave heave motions, a frequency up-conversion mechanism using magnets is proposed. By parametric study, the repulsive configuration of magnets is found preferable in the frequency up-conversion technique, which is efficient and insensitive to various wave conditions when the magnets are placed sufficiently close. These findings could serve as useful design guidelines when nonlinearity or frequency up-conversion techniques are employed to improve the functionality of vibration energy harvesters.
SPEAKER SEGMENTATION AND VERIFICATION

Speaker recognition has recently become popular in biometric security applications because voice is easier to obtain and speaker recognition is easier to apply remotely on networks or telephones. Speaker recognition can be classified into speaker identification and speaker verification, as well as text-dependent and text-independent recognition. Speaker changing point detection which is a key pre-requisite to speaker recognition is investigated in this thesis. Speaker changing point is defined as the moment one individual stops speaking and another starts speaking within a single continuous audio signal. Speaker changing point detection then is the process of identifying these points within a given audio signal. In this thesis, speaker changing point detection is investigated under the following conditions: there is no a-prior knowledge of the number of speakers or speakers’ identities and it must be a fully automated detection process. First, Bayesian information criterion was used to detect speaker changing point. Different kinds of speech features were applied and compared in this system. Second, a method using support vector machine to combine different speech features for speaker changing point detection was developed. It is valuable to combine features and make use of the different speaker information they contain. Instead of just concatenating different long vector features, their Bayesian information criterion values were combined. The result shows that the proposed method improves the F -score performance which is calculated from Recall (RCL) and Precision (PRC) percentage provided by Ajmera, McCowan, and Bourlard (2004) from a base-line of 0.6151 to 0.6414. Speaker verification is used more frequently in security application because its performance is better in one to one matching when compared to speaker identification. Speech features are one of the key factors affect the performance of speaker verification. The performance of different speech features on speaker verification system 5 ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library
Herschel-HIFI observations of high-J CO and isotopologues in star-forming regions: from low to high mass

Context; Our understanding of the star formation process has traditionally been confined to certain mass or luminosity boundaries because most studies focus only on low-, intermediate- or high-mass star-forming regions. As part of the "Water In Star-forming regions with Herschel" (WISH) key program, water and other important molecules, such as CO and OH, have been observed in 51 embedded young stellar objects (YSOs). The studied sample covers a range of luminosities from 10^5 L_sol. Aims; We analyse the CO line emission towards a large sample of protostars in terms of both line intensities and profiles. Methods; Herschel-HIFI spectra of the 12CO 10-9, 13CO 10-9 and C18O 5-4, 9-8 and 10-9 lines are analysed for a sample of 51 YSOs. In addition, JCMT spectra of 12CO 3-2 and C18O 3-2 extend this analysis to cooler gas components. Results; All observed CO and isotopologue spectra show a strong linear correlation between the logarithms of the line and bolometric luminosities across six orders of magnitude on both axes. This suggests that the high-J CO lines primarily trace the amount of dense gas associated with YSOs. This relation can be extended to larger (extragalactic) scales. The majority of the detected 12CO line profiles can be decomposed into a broad and a narrow Gaussian component, while the C18O spectra are mainly fitted with a single Gaussian. A broadening of the line profile is also observed from pre-stellar cores to embedded protostars, which is due mostly to non-thermal motions (turbulence/infall). The widths of the broad 12CO 3-2 and 10-9 velocity components correlate with those of the narrow C18O 9-8 profiles, suggesting that the entrained outflowing gas and envelope motions are related independent of the mass of the protostar. These results indicate that physical processes in protostellar envelopes have similar characteristics across the studied luminosity range.
Selection of a new Pseudomonas chlororaphis strain for the biological control of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici.

Fluorescent pseudomonads possess several physiological characteristics exploitable for the biological control of phytopathogenic fungi. A group of 11 pseudomonads able to inhibit tomato pathogenic fungi in vitro were identified using the Biolog test and the phylogenetic analysis of recA. Strain M71 of P seudomonas chlororaphis was selected as a new potential biocontrol agent. This strain drastically reduced Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici pathogenicity on tomato plantlets in seed assays and greenhouse trials. Moreover, the strain produced several important secondary metabolites, including proteases, siderophores and antibiotics. The presence of a region involved in phenazine production and the biosynthesis of N-acyl homoserine lactones were also assessed.
Lithuania in the Euro Area: Monetary Transmission and Macroprudential Policies

This article develops a two-country monetary union new Keynesian general equilibrium model with housing and collateral constraints calibrated for Lithuania and the rest of the euro area. Within this setting, and following the recent entry of Lithuania in the European Monetary Union, the aim of the article is twofold. First, it studies how shocks are transmitted differently in the two regions, considering the recent common monetary policy. It then analyzes how Lithuanian macroprudential policies should be conducted in the context of the EMU. The proposed macroprudential tool is a decentralized Taylor-type rule for the LTV which responds to national deviations in output and house prices. Given the features of Lithuania’s housing market, common shocks are found to be transmitted more strongly in this country than in the rest of the euro area. In terms of macroprudential policies, results show that the optimal policy in Lithuania with respect to the euro area may have a different intensity and that it delivers substantial benefits in terms of financial stability.
Event-based stabilization over networks with transmission delays

This paper investigates asymptotic stabilization for linear systems over networks based on event-driven communication. A new communication logic is proposed to reduce the feedback effort, which has some advantages over traditional ones with continuous feedback. Considering the effect of time-varying transmission delays, the criteria for the design of both the feedback gain and the event-triggering mechanism are derived to guarantee the stability and performance requirements. Finally, the proposed techniques are illustrated by an inverted pendulum system and a numerical example.
Study on Improvement of Indonesia Shipbuilding Productivity with Theory of Constraints

Indonesia is a big country having big population, huge area and huge Exclusive Economic Zone area. For world harmonized growth, it is quite important to realize steady economy growth on Indonesia. Growth of Indonesia’s shipbuilding industry specifically is an important part to achieve Indonesia’s maritime vision, but by far as for the shipbuilding market, 3 major countries, China, South Korea and Japan have obtained almost 100% share, which means it is quite difficult to increase the world share. In the volatile marine world, fluctuating oil price often affect production capacity, and investment decision is hard to get with TOP management. Indonesia shipbuilding industry has big mission under severe management and environmental condition. We clarify basic dilemma / conflict inhibiting the growth of Indonesia shipbuilding industry under assumption of severe management environmental condition, with Theory of Constraints (TOC). The basic dilemmas are solved by erasing the reason of existence of opposite activity and the Indonesia shipbuilding ever-lasting development logic is proposed with the solution of basic dilemma.
Dysfunctions of the Motivation System from the Perspective of Employees of the Local Government Units

The lack of extensive research with regard to personnel management of local government units (LGUs) prompted the authors to undertake analyses, the purpose of which was to give the voice to the respondents, according to the assumptions of the constructivist paradigm. The purpose of the study was to identify the main management problems from the perspective of LGU employees. The basis of the conducted analyses were the essays of LGU employees concerning the management problems they noticed at their workplaces. The qualitative methodology has been used (the content analysis combined with the elements of grounded theory). The motivation system model applied in LGUs was reconstructed, from the perspective of the respondents, and factors were distinguished, which – in the opinion of the employees – cause the functioning system as not motivating in the intended scope. On the basis of a comparison of the existing legal regulations and the respondents’ narratives, a list of recommendations was prepared, with regard to design and functioning of the employee motivation systems at LGUs.
Potential Effect of Date Pits Fortified Bread on Diabetic Rats

The present work was conducted to evaluate the effect of fortified pan bread with 5%, 10%, and 15% date pits powder on the chemical constituents, the nutritional value, and rheological characteristics of different dough samples using farinograph and on its sensory properties. The rheological properties of dough referred that there was an increase in water absorption in all blends compared to the control sample, and there was an increase in dough development, dough stability and degree of softening at 15% compared with 5% or 10% only. Pan bread fortified with 15% date pits showed the highest score in overall acceptability when compared to control pan bread and other various concentrations of pits. Twenty four adult male albino rats were divided into four groups. The first group (6 rats) fed on basal diet as a (negative control group). The second main group (6 rats) was injected with alloxan to induce hyperglycemia (positive control group) and then the rats fed on the same basal diet. The other 12 rats after being injected with alloxan were divided into 2 groups (3 & 4) and received basal diets containing fortified bread with 10% and 15% date pits powder for 45 days respectively. Biological evaluation was carried out by determination of body weight gain and food intake. At the end of the experimental period rats were sacrificed, blood samples were collected from the aorta then separate serum to determine glucose, insulin, HbA1c, total cholesterol and other lipid , and also to determine each of kidney and liver functions of experimental rats. Liver and Pancreas were removed to demonstrate histopathological observation. Our results showed significant reduction in the glucose, HbA1c, TC, TG, LDL-C and VLDL-C, as well as reducing hazards on liver and kidney functions compared with positive control group. Histopathological observation proved that the last group diet (with 15% date pits) looked like the negative control group. So date pits powder fortified bread is recommended to gain nutritional and healthy benefit to decrease the risk of diabetic diseases.
Modelling and Controller Design of Resonant Thermoacoustic Solar AC Power Generators

Abstract This paper installs resonant controller on thermoacoustic engines to increase their power ratings enormously. The thermoacoustic engine under design for solar power is assembled by alternative current generator, Rijke tube, and switching radiation-to-heatflux actuator. A limit-cycle generator is programmed into a microcontroller embedded with a DSP engine, which temporally keeps the switching frequency of the photo valve on one of resonant frequencies to pump up vibration power. Furthermore, the Rijke tube is longitudinally shaped to make power transmission more efficient. Through the following developments, we arrive at a sound design: (1) Synthesis of limit-cycle generators with online adjustable frequencies for power-rating boost; (2) Analytic Rayleigh Dynamics to shape the Rijke tube for efficient power-transmission; (3) 2D transfer-function to transform the overall design into feedback systems for optimizing impedance matching of Rijke tube and AC power generator and assessing resonant frequencies; and (4) Conservation law of Rayleigh storage to Figure out engine cycles that provide fundamental principles to thermoacoustic engines design.
A Single Stage Flux-Corrected Transport Algorithm for High-Order Finite-Volume Methods

We present a new limiter method for solving the advection equation using a high-order, finite-volume discretization. The limiter is based on the flux-corrected transport algorithm. We modify the classical algorithm by introducing a new computation for solution bounds at smooth extrema, as well as improving the pre-constraint on the high-order fluxes. We compute the high-order fluxes via a method of lines approach with fourth order Runge-Kutta as the time integrator. For computing low-order fluxes, we select the corner transport upwind method due to its improved stability over donor-cell upwind. Several spatial differencing schemes are investigated for the high-order flux computation, including centered difference and upwind schemes. We show that the upwind schemes perform well on account of the dissipation of high wavenumber components. The new limiter method retains high-order accuracy for smooth solutions and accurately captures fronts in discontinuous solutions. Further, we need only apply the limiter once per complete time step.
Distribution and sources of particulate organic matter in the Indian monsoonal estuaries during monsoon

The distribution and sources of particulate organic carbon (POC) and nitrogen (PN) in 27 Indian estuaries were examined during the monsoon using the content and isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen. Higher phytoplankton biomass was noticed in estuaries with deeper photic zone than other estuaries receiving higher suspended matter. The δ13CPOC and δ15NPN data suggest that relatively higher δ13CPOC (−27.9 to −22.6‰) and lower δ15NPN (0.7 to 5.8‰) were noticed in the estuaries located in the northern India, north of 16°N, and lower δ13CPOC (−31.4 to −28.2‰) and higher δ15NPN (5 to 10.3‰) in the estuaries located in the southern India. This is associated with higher Chl a in the northern than southern estuaries suggesting that in situ production contributed significantly to the POC pool in the former, whereas terrestrial sources are important in the latter estuaries. The spatial distribution pattern of δ15NPN is consistent with fertilizer consumption in the Indian subcontinent, which is twice as much in the northern India as in the south whereas δ13CPOC suggests that in situ production is a dominant source in the southern and terrestrial sources are important in the northern estuaries. Based on the Stable Isotope Analysis in R model, 40–90% (70–90%) of organic matter is contributed by C3 plants (freshwater algae) in the estuaries located in the northern (southern) India.
Identification of Four Soybean Reference Genes for Gene Expression Normalization

Gene expression analysis requires the use of reference genes constitutively expressed independently of tissues or environmental conditions. Housekeeping genes (e.g., actin, tubulin, ribosomal, polyubiquitin, and elongation factor 1‐α) are commonly used as reference genes with the assumption that they are uniformly expressed. In many cases, however, this assumption was shown to be incorrect. To provide reliable reference genes in soybean [Glycine max (L.)], we surveyed a set of genes that showed little variation in a nodulation study across a series of soybean microarray experiments. More than 200 putative reference genes were identified. We focused on 18 for further analysis using additional cDNA and Affymetrix arrays and quantitative reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reactions. Taken together, these experiments allowed us to test the expression stability of these genes in 130 different conditions, confirming four soybean genes as new reference genes (annotated as ATP‐binding cassette [ABC] transporter, F‐box protein family, metalloprotease, and CDPK‐related protein kinase). These genes should be useful for normalization of gene expression studies in soybean, an important crop plant.
Fish predation after weakly synchronized larval release in a coastal upwelling system

Author(s): Rasmuson, LK; Morgan, SG | Abstract: Timing of larval release by many shore crabs is cued by environmental cycles to occur during nocturnal spring ebb tides, when larvae are transported away from high densities of planktivorous fishes in the dark. However, a recent laboratory study indicated that larval release may be weakly synchronized relative to this safe period in upwelling regions, potentially increasing fish predation. We determined the timing of larval release and predation in marshes in an upwelling region by sampling plankton and fishes during flood and ebb tides on either side of high slack tide. Larval release was weakly synchronized, peaking during spring and intermediate ebb tides in twilight and darkness. Almost all larvae (99.8%) were eaten at twilight during peak release, when they likely were more visible than at night. However, larvae comprised only 4.1% of the diets of the 3 fish species that ate them. These fish species were often absent when conditions would make larvae most vulnerable to predation, and they preferred other prey to welldefended larvae. Larvae released outside the safe period were eaten more than those that were released during the safe period, providing selection for the timing of larval release. However, despite the large numbers of larvae present outside of the safe period, predation by fishes was much lower than expected. Thus, the selective effects of fish predation may be relaxed, raising the possibility that the strength of fish predation as a selective force varies among coasts and other selective forces that may affect the timing of larval release. © Inter-Research 2013.
The emergence of Tuscany as a wedding destination: the role of local wedding planners

ABSTRACT This study concerns the development of Tuscany as a destination for wedding tourism. The focus is on local entrepreneurs—specifically local wedding planners—and the aim is to describe and discuss their role as coordinators and innovators. The findings suggest that local wedding planners act as coordinators of teams of local practitioners. Beyond the local level, wedding planners experience difficulties in finding collaborative partners; in relation to this, a recently developed regional project could prove supportive. The wedding planners’ role as potential innovators seems to be limited due to the lack of market orientation by some local authorities, the newness of wedding planning as a form of employment in the Italian context and the related lack of recognized legitimacy, the presence of some improvising wedding service companies and the absence of certified professional associations.
BIAS IN PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSIS DUE TO CORRELATED OBSERVATIONS

A common practice in many scientific disciplines is to take measurements on several different variables on each unit from a designed experiment. This practice is cost efficient and results in data that may be analyzed using multivariate statistical methods. Usually, principal components analysis (PCA) is conducted by decomposing the covariance matrix of the several dependent variables using eigenanalysis without accounting for possible correlations among the observations. To evaluate how correlated observations bias PCA results, we used algebraic derivation and simulation for several different types of correlation structures. Our results indicated that sampling error generally had a much larger impact on the bias of PCA results than correlation between the observations. If we ignore the sampling error and there are no time trends or treatment effects, the PC's and the percent variance explained by a PC is not affected by correlated observations, however the eigenvalues are biased. If the sampling error is considered, for moderate sized correlations between observations and reasonably sized designs, bias was generally small enough to ignore for the first PC, otherwise SAS PROC MIXED may be used to easily correct for correlated observations, resulting in less bias in the PCA results.