Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Moving Aerial Anchors Assisted Network Localization

To provide effective wireless connectivity, the use of aerial vehicles has been proposed as a promising solution in a wide variety of applications. In some of these applications, however, to achieve desirable performance, knowing the location of users may be a necessity. One promising approach for solving the problem of obtaining user locations is through the locations of some nodes (called anchors) and measuring the distance between connected nodes in the network. In this paper, we propose prominent techniques to improve the performance of the localization using multiple moving aerial anchors (MAA). In using MAAs as anchor nodes, the anchor nodes in our scenario have movement capability. This provides us with more flexibility to enhance the accuracy of the localization with taking into consideration the power consumption of MAAs. In fact, we propose an MAA placement method by which each user can be connected to at least one MAA while MAAs communicate with as small as possible power consumption. Then, we propose a path planning for MAAs by which distances between users and MAAs can be measured in order to estimate the locations of users. Our simulation results show that our proposed localization scheme can provide highly accurate location estimations.
Synthesis of Antibacterial Oxide of Copper for Potential Application as Antifouling Agent

Copper oxide nanoparticles have become very important due to their numerous applications and ease of synthesis. Out of the two oxides of copper, cuprous oxide exhibits better antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antifouling properties. The study aimed to find a way of synthesizing stable and eco-friendly oxide of copper and test it for antibacterial properties. The precipitation method was employed for the synthesis of nanoparticles. NaOH and Moringa Oleifera leaves extract were used as the reducing agents to obtain two different sets of samples. Good phases of copper oxides were formed for all the samples (cuprous as well as cupric oxides). SEM studies showed that the structure of cupric oxide (CuO), formed at higher calcination temperatures, is well defined when synthesized using a hybrid method. Our studies indicate that the hybrid method of synthesis used by us is a more effective and quicker way of synthesizing cuprous oxide (Cu2O), which exhibits higher antibacterial properties as compared to cupric oxide (CuO).
A comprehensive analytical model for ambipolar transport in nano-dimensional VOPc/p-6P OHJFET for applications in organic electronics

This paper presents a compact analytical DC model for high mobility VOPc (vanadyl pthalocyanine)/p-6P (para-sexiphenyl) ambipolar organic heterojunction field-effect transistor (OHJFET). The proposed model accounts for both unipolar and ambipolar regimes of VOPc/p-6P ambipolar OHJFET by considering spatial charge carrier density in the channel. The model incorporates subthreshold conduction phenomenon in addition to describing beyond threshold transport. The model is extended to describe ambipolar regime occurring in subthreshold region at low drain to source voltage, V DS. Device characteristics and various parameters obtained are presented and are further used to model recombination zone and channel potential profile. Results obtained, are compared with available experimental data and a good match is observed.
MCA en MKBA: structureren of sturen? Een verkenning van beslissingsondersteunende instrumenten voor Nuchter omgaan met Risico's

Maatschappelijke Kosten-Baten Analyse (MKBA) en Multi-Criteria Analyse (MCA) kunnen nuttig zijn bij afweging van milieurisico's, maar zijn geen panacee. Het nut van beide beslissingsondersteunende instrumenten ligt vooral in het structureren van complexe en veelsoortige informatie. Dit is vooral van belang bij afwegingen vanuit het beleidskader Nuchter omgaan met Risico's. Een essentieel element in dit beleidskader is immers de weging van de gevaren en risico's van een activiteit tegen de maatschappelijke kosten en baten van die activiteit. MKBA en MCA kunnen daarmee het Beoordelingskader Gezondheid en Milieu aanvullen. Voorlopig zullen MKBA en MCA nog geen sterk sturende werking in de besluitvormingsprocessen hebben. Er is nog te weinig uniformiteit en standaardisatie in benadering en de uitkomsten hebben nog een zeer grote bandbreedte.Bij zeer complexe milieu-gezondheid problemen met grote onzekerheden over de risico's, is het afwegingsproces zelf en participatie van belanghebbenden belangrijker dan de keuze van het beslissingsondersteunende instrument. Dit blijkt uit een verkennende analyse die het RIVM uitvoerde in opdracht van het Ministerie van VROM. Deze verkenning werd aan het RIVM opgedragen door het Ministerie van VROM in reactie op een motie de van Tweede Kamer.Het rapport verkent de voor's en tegen's van toepassingen van MKBA en MCA en beschrijft enkele praktijkvoorbeelden. Het rapport geeft een aantal aanbeveling voor verdere ontwikkelingen van het Beoordelingskader Gezondheid en Milieu en doet een voorzichtige eerste aanzet tot handreiking voor beleidsmatige afweging van Nuchter omgaan met Risico's.
Flyback-based high step-up converter with reduced power processing stages

This study proposes a non-isolated converter derived from the conventional flyback topology based on the concept of reduced power processing. The proposed converter has higher-voltage gain, improved efficiency and reduced component stresses owing to recycling of leakage energy and clamped power switch voltage when compared with the conventional flyback converter, and yet retains the advantages of circuit simplicity and low cost. A complete analysis including converter operation and its dc and ac characterisations are presented in the paper. Using a 60 W laboratory prototype operating at 100 kHz with 24 V input voltage and 200 V regulated output voltage, experimental evaluation of the efficiency improvement, steady-state and transient-response performance are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed converter.
A unified model for the flicker noise in metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors

A unified flicker noise model which incorporates both the number fluctuation and the correlated surface mobility fluctuation mechanism is discussed. The latter is attributed to the Coulombic scattering effect of the fluctuating oxide charge. The model has a functional form resembling that of the number fluctuation theory, but at certain bias conditions it may reduce to a form compatible with Hooge's empirical expression. The model can unify the noise data reported in the literature, without making any ad hoc assumption on the noise generation mechanism. Specifically, the model can predict the right magnitude and bias dependence of the empirical Hooge parameter. Simulated flicker noise characteristics obtained with a circuit-simulation-oriented flicker noise model based on the new formulation were compared with experimental noise data. Excellent agreement between the calculations and measurement was observed in both the linear and saturation regions for MOS transistors fabricated by different technologies. The work shows that the flicker noise in MOS transistors can be completely explained by the trap charge fluctuation mechanism, which produces mobile carrier number fluctuation and correlated surface mobility fluctuation. >
Soft Robotic Manipulation of Onions and Artichokes in the Food Industry

This paper presents the development of a robotic solution for a problem of fast manipulation and handling of onions or artichokes in the food industry. The complete solution consists of a parallel robotic manipulatior, a specially designed end-effector based on a customized vacuum suction cup, and a computer vision software developed for pick and place operations. First, the selection and design process of the proposed robotic solution to fit with the initial requeriments is presented, including the customized vacuum suction cup. Then, the kinematic analysis of the parallel manipulator needed to develop the robot control system is reviewed. Moreover, computer vision application is presented inthe paper. Hardware details of the implementation of the building prototype are also shown. Finally, conclusions and future work show the current status of the project.
Factors Contribute to Project Governance Practices: Case Studies in Malaysian Rural Poverty Housing Projects

Poverty alleviation projects are implemented as part of the national development and prosperity agenda. This study aimed to gain an understanding of the factors that contribute to the project governance practices in poverty alleviation efforts for the rural poor in Malaysia, which will lead to better project delivery and the successful outcome of the projects. Multiple case studies were conducted on two public initiative housing assistance projects in rural areas of peninsular Malaysia. It explored how dealing with the rural poor influences public officials in conducting projects through stewardship-governance notion. A qualitative approach through multiple case studies was utilised in this study where multiple sources of evidence were used such as semi-structured interviews with 12 public officials, document analysis and observation. The study discovered five factors that contribute to project governance practices, namely altruistic empathy, intrinsic motivation, effective leadership, learning environment and shared vision where these factors interplay with each other towards the achievement of project outcome. Hence, this article contributes to the dynamic understanding of how public officials embraced motivational factors in conducting their works related to the rural poverty alleviation projects. Appropriate utilisation of project governance practices drives for better project delivery to the target groups.
Flight Stability of Rigid Wing Airborne Wind Energy Systems

The flight mechanics of rigid wing Airborne Wind Energy Systems (AWESs) is fundamentally different from the one of conventional aircrafts. The presence of the tether largely impacts the system dynamics, making the flying craft to experience forces which can be an order of magnitude larger than those experienced by conventional aircrafts. Moreover, an AWES needs to deal with a sustained yet unpredictable wind, and the ensuing requirements for flight maneuvers in order to achieve prescribed control and power production goals. A way to maximize energy capture while facing disturbances without requiring an excessive contribution from active control is that of suitably designing the AWES craft to feature good flight dynamics characteristics. In this study, a baseline circular flight path is considered, and a steady state condition is defined by modeling all fluctuating dynamic terms over the flight loop as disturbances. In-flight stability is studied by linearizing the equations of motion on this baseline trajectory. In populating a linearized dynamic model, analytical derivatives of external forces are computed by applying well-known aerodynamic theories, allowing for a fast formulation of the linearized problem and for a quantitative understanding of how design parameters influence stability. A complete eigenanalysis of an example tethered system is carried out, showing that a stable-by-design AWES can be obtained and how. With the help of the example, it is shown how conventional aircraft eigenmodes are modified for an AWES and new eigenmodes, typical of AWESs, are introduced and explained. The modeling approach presented in the paper sets the basis for a holistic design of AWES that will follow this work.
Joint Optimization Framework for Minimization of Device Energy Consumption in Transmission Rate Constrained UAV-Assisted IoT Network

Due to their high maneuverability and flexible deployment, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) could be an alternative option for a scenario where Internet of Things (IoT) devices consume high energy to achieve the required data rate when they are far away from the terrestrial base station (BS). Therefore, this article has proposed an energy-efficient UAV-assisted IoT network where a low-altitude quad-rotor UAV provides mobile data collection service from static IoT devices. We develop a novel optimization framework that minimizes the total energy consumption of all devices by jointly optimizing the UAV’s trajectory, devices association, and respectively, transmit power allocation at every time slot while ensuring that every device should achieve a given data rate constraint. As this joint optimization problem is nonconvex and combinatorial, we adopt a reinforcement learning (RL)-based solution methodology that effectively decouples it into three individual optimization subproblems. The formulated optimization problem has transformed into a Markov decision process (MDP) where the UAV learns its trajectory according to its current state and corresponding action for maximizing the generated reward under the current policy. Finally, we conceive state–action–reward–state–action, a low complexity iterative algorithm for updating the current policy of UAV, that achieves an excellent computational complexity-optimality tradeoff. Numerical results validate the analysis and provide various insights on optimal UAV trajectory. The proposed methodology reduces the total energy consumption of all devices by 6.91%, 8.48%, and 9.94% in 80, 100, and 120 available time slots of UAV, respectively, compared to the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm.
Determination of Anthocyanins Content in Prosopis farcta L. Callus Cultures

The current study succeeded to initiate callus cultures of Prosopis farcta L. from hypocotyls stems which induced on the agar-solidified MS* medium supplemented with 4.0 mg/ L TDZ alone or with addition of 1.0 mg/ L NAA. Callus initiation percent reached 100% after 7 days of culture when hypocotyls stem segments were cultured on MS medium with addition of both TDZ and NAA. Whereas when TDZ alone were added initiation percent reached 60%. The results revealed detection of high amount of Anthocyanins which reached 440.98 µm/gm of fresh weight of callus cultures, grown on MS* medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/ L NAA and 4.0 mg/L TDZ, then 182.24 µm/gm of fresh weight of callus grown on MS with addition of 4.0 mg/L TDZ alone.MS* : MS medium with increasing KNO3 to 2000 mg/ L, Thiamine-HCl to 0.5mg/ L, Pyrodoxine-HCl to 1.0 mg/L
DEVELOPMENT OF A TOTAL SYSTEMS APPROACH TO MULTI-PEST MANAGEMENT DECISION ANALYSIS

The concentration of wheat production in the Northern Great Plains has resulted in the development of specialized multitrophic agricultural pest complexes whose members interact in both positive and negative ways. In this context, management recommendations based on the traditional single-species pest control paradigm may lead to undesirable outcomes. Our goal was to develop a modeling framework to make multi-pest management decisions that take into account the existence of direct and indirect interactions among pests. We a Bayesian decision theory approach in combination with a analysis where observed intermediate nodes were replaced with error terms. This model holds several advantages current decision models, in particular it allows intuitive of coefficient estimates as the total, direct and through pest interactions, impact of management on the. We evaluated interactions between Bromus tectorum), Fusarium crown rot, and Cephus cinctus (wheat stem sawfly) as well as assessed the joint response of these pests to wheat seeding rates, cultivar competitiveness, and cultivar stem sawfly tolerance. Results indicate that yield differences be more readily explained as a result of the effects of on pests and multi-pest interactions, rather than just by direct effect of any particular management scheme on yield. Our provides a framework for finding the balance between simplicity and the complexity of the process being modeled, also bridges the gap between making inferences from experimental observational studies and ecological management decisions.
Positional protection of transmission line using fault generated high frequency transient signals

This paper presents a new technique for high-speed protection of transmission lines, the positional protection technique. The technique uses a fault transient detector unit at the relaying point to capture fault generated high frequency transient signals contained in the primary currents. The decision to trip is based on the relative arrival times of these high frequency components as they propagate through the system. Extensive simulation studies of technique were carried out to examine the response to different power system and fault conditions. Results show that the scheme is insensitive to fault type, fault resistance, fault inception angle and system source configuration, and that it is able to offer both very high accuracy and speed in fault detection.
Railway monitoring and train tracking by fiber Bragg grating sensors

The aim of this work is to demonstrate the efficiency of fiber Bragg grating sensors to be used for in situ railway monitoring and train tracking applications. In the specific case, FBGs (Fiber Bragg Gratings) sensors have been bonded to rails in order to perform two different kinds of measurements: dynamic strain to analyze the characteristic frequency response of the rail and train tracking (speed and rail deformation when loaded by running trains). The efficiency of the sensing system has been verified in terms of significance of the information retrieved by the sensing data resolution and the high speed response. The obtained results confirm the real possibility to adopt fiber optic sensors based on FBG technology as excellent devices to ensure multipoint monitoring of railway structures taking advantages of the typical peculiarities of FBG such as long distance interrogation, easy multiplexing, electromagnetic interferences immunity.
Bayesian Hierarchical Models for Measuring Varietal Improvement in Tobacco Yield and Quality

Abstract We measure the economic impact of varietal improvement and technological change in flue-cured tobacco across quantity (e.g., yield) and quality dimensions under a voluntary quality constraint. Since 1961, flue-cured tobacco breeders in the United States have been subject to the Minimum Standards Program that sets limits on acceptable quality characteristics for commercial tobacco varieties. We implement a Bayesian hierarchical model to measure the contribution of breeding efforts to changes in tobacco yields and quality between 1954 and 2017. The Bayesian model addresses limited data for varieties in the trials and allows easy generation of the necessary parameters of economic interest.
Genetically transformed hairy roots producing agropine induced on Trigonella foenum-graecum L. plant by Agrobacterium rhizogenes 1601.

Inoculation of leaves and stems explants excised from field-grown Trigonella foenum-graecum L. with engineered Agrobacterium rhizogenes 1601 inoculum of optical density 1.90, 2.06 and 1.96 led to the formation of hairy roots on these explants. The highest percent of infection with inoculum of O.D 1.90 was 20% in leaves, and was 53.3% in stems using inoculum of O.D 2.06. Infection percent was 50% in hypocotyl compared with non-inoculated explants. The results showed that inoculation of seedlings lacking roots were slow in hairy root formation and take long time compared with their formation in intact seedlings inoculated with the same inocula. Results of paper electrophoresis of these root proved the incidence of their genetic transformation. Moreover, these transformed roots grow happily in liquid WP medium with an average fresh weight 5.9g after four weeks of culture, whereas fresh weight of normal roots was 1.02g under the same conditions.
Virtual Focus Group Discussions: the new normal way to promote reflective practice

ABSTRACT Academic institutions were not spared from the onslaught of the global pandemic as they were forced implement radical changes in academic policies. Adapting to the new normal way of learning, teacher education institutions should provide experiences and opportunities among student teachers (STs) to become reflective practitioners. Virtual Focus Group Discussions (VFGDs) offer a venue for STs to discuss their practicum experiences with their peers and teachers in the new normal set-up. This study aimed to find out how STs described their experiences in conducting VFGD for reflective practice; and to uncover their perceptions in the use of VFGD as a means to promote reflective practice and as part of teacher training. Qualitative action research design was utilized, following the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle that will help teachers improve their practice. Graduating elementary educators were the participants. The findings discussed the reflective practice of the participants and the conduct of the intervention. This provides teacher educators and future researchers with a guide in conducting the same or similar experiences among STs undergoing their practicum.
Architecture: a ‘rewarding’ career? An Anglo-French comparative study of intrinsic rewards in the architecture profession

Careers in architecture are characterized by higher levels of job insecurity and lower levels of remuneration than other equivalent professions. Likewise, the ‘traditional’ rewards associated with professional employment—professional power, status and recognition—have been eroded. Raising the question of what are the rewards associated with an architectural career, the concepts of informal networks and relationships in particular are examined as compensation for the poor financial rewards. Drawing upon the rewards literature in conjunction with professional identity and career management data from 84 in-depth interviews with UK and France-based architects, adopting a grounded theory method within the interpretive paradigm, findings show these relationships provide a significant amount of intrinsic satisfaction and thus reward which has been hitherto overlooked. The importance of these relationships could not be foreseen nor can they be actively planned but exist as a powerful intrinsic reward.
Stress, caffeine and psychosis‐like experiences—A double‐blind, placebo‐controlled experiment

Psychosis‐like perceptual distortions can occur in the general population, and both stress and caffeine can enhance the proneness to psychosis‐like experiences, such as hallucinations. The current study aims to explore the effects of acute caffeine intake and acute stress on perceptual distortions in a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled experiment.