Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ZMP based control in 3D passive dynamic walking

Within the context of the 3TU federation the 14 degrees of freedom (DOF) antropomorphic robot `Tulip' is being developed with the goal to compete in the Robosoccer tournament of 2008 held in Suzhoo, China. Tulip will be a dynamic walker able to kick, goal-keep and walk. In order to gain a deeper insight in the dynamics of the design and to design and test motion patterns and controllers, a model has been developped and presented in this report, which will serve as a starting point for further work on the robot.
BEARING CAPACITY OF A GEOTEXTILE-REINFORCED FOUNDATION. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ELEVENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOIL MECHANICS AND FOUNDATION ENGINEERING, SAN FRANCISCO, 12-16 AUGUST 1985

The use of geotextiles as a reinforcing element in soils has gained widespread use throughout the world. One application of geotextile reinforcement is below shallow foundations. Presented herein are the results of laboratory model tests used to study the bearing capacity of shallow foundations reinforced with geotextiles. The parameters studied were the effect on the bearing capacity of a square footing of depth below the footing of the first layer of reinforcement, the vertical spacing of the layers, the number of layers, the width size of the sheet of geotextile reinforcement and the tensile strength of the geotextile. For the tests performed, the bearing capacity of the soil reinforced with geotextiles was increased by a factor greater than three. For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 287689. (Author/TRRL)
Comparison of Two Hierarchical Routing Protocols for Heterogeneous MANET

Abstract : In this report, a study on hierarchical routing protocols for heterogeneous mobile Ad Hoc wireless networks is presented. The main thrust of the investigation is to identify a potential hierarchical routing scheme that is best suited for a heterogeneous tactical Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET). Such networks consist of mobile nodes that are characterized by different communications capabilities, such as multiple radio interfaces. The report highlights the benefits and issues of the different routing protocols, namely the H-OLSR and H-LANMAR, as they pertain to a military tactical scenario. We first discuss the context for the use of a hierarchical routing strategy by describing a typical military scenario where a number of platforms are used each supporting link types of varying capabilities. We then discuss the rational for selecting a proactive hierarchical routing scheme for typical tactical MANETs. We discuss in detail the routing algorithms of the two protocols under investigation. Finally we conduct an experimental comparison study between the two routing protocols. Our experiments reveal that H-OLSR outperforms H-LANMAR for most of the group mobility scenarios that can potentially be used in the operation of a tactical MANET.
The development of capabilities during firm growth

A major research strand within strategic management research views the firm as composed of firm-specific capabilities that may result in competitive advantages and firm growth. Most empirical and theoretical research within capability based strategy research focuses on established firms with inherited capabilities and examines the process of gradual change. Few studies have empirically explored the transformation of individual resources into organizational capabilities and the related firm growth from the very beginning. This paper explores and attempts to explain the transformation of individual resources into capabilities by using case studies set in the bioscience industry. More explicitly, this paper focuses upon the transformation and emergence of organization within growing science-based firms. Thus, the purpose is to explore if and how capabilities are formed from separate resources by analysing eight bioscience firms during their growth processes. The paper finds that a) the firms within the bioscience industry started with very different resource endowments, b) these firms were initially characterised by rather atomistic resources, c) the continued resource accumulation during further growth and expansion followed different pathways, d) the firms all went through a general processes of capability development, and that these processes were found within all these firms during firm expansion. These processes are here described by two broad themes. The first theme focuses around the processes leading to internal development of firm specific knowledge and an increasing specialization of individual employees. The second theme relate to processes around the development of a supporting context to the performed focal activities.
An FPGA Based Controller for a MEMS Tri-mode FMCW Radar

In this thesis a Xilinx Virtex 5 FPGA platform based signal processing algorithm has been developed and experimentally verified for use in a MEMS based tri-mode 77GHz FMCW automotive radar to determine range and velocity of targets in the vicinity of a host vehicle. The Xilinx Virtex 5 FPGA based signal processing and control algorithm dynamically reconfigures a MEMS based FMCW radar to provide a short, medium, and long-range coverage using the same hardware. The MEMS radar comprises of MEMS SP3T RF switches, microfabricated Rotman lens and a microstrip antenna embedded with MEMS SPST switches, in additional to other microelectronic components. A CA-CFAR module has been used to eliminate false targets in a multi target clutter affected scenario. The refresh rate for the current design is 2.048ms for each mode of radar which is nearly 40 times lower than the BOSCH LRR3. The maximum percent difference from analytical to HDL calculated range values was found to be 0.16% which can be lowered with further refinement. The developed FPGA based radar signal processing algorithm can be implemented as an ASIC which can be batch fabricated to lower down the production cost so that automotive radars can become a standard item for all the vehicles on the road.
Aligning governmental and organizational missions : building a model of FE organizations in Malta

Purpose: This thesis proposes a first conceptual model using data gathered in 2012, to delineate the assessed alignment between the Maltese government’s policy for the further education sector (FE) and FE organizations’ missions. Although alignment models exist, no research has been published detailing the FE sector and the usefulness of such models in small island states. Methodology: Since alignment is multifaceted, a complementarity blended approach was used to help uncover its complexities. Data were collected from seven FE vocational and academic organizations via questionnaires to academic staff; interviews with principals and other internal and external stakeholders; content analysis of mission statements. Findings: Assessing alignment to create the conceptual model showed that there is only moderate alignment between organizational mission and government policy while organizational missions in practice differ significantly from organizational mission statements. Due to their brevity, mission statements can only capture a part of such organization mission. There may be occasions where organizational realities exceed the expectations of a mission statement thus turning conventional wisdom on its head. Significance: By utilizing systems theory a new conceptual model based on inputs, outputs, organizational processes and feedback is proposed together with a new metaphor of an operating theatre to add to existing metaphorical explanations of the field. Such an alignment model explains the FE sector in the small island state of Malta. The use of a complementarity blended method may be useful to explain educational alignment in other small states.
Modeling of a PMSynRel stator with concentrated windings using FEM and non-linear reluctance networks

Permanent magnets synchronous reluctance (PMSynRel) motors are attractive due to theirhigh torque density and because a lower quantity of permanent magnets is necessary incomparison with other permanent magnet machines. This thesis deals with the analysis ofPMSynRel machines using a finite element method (FEM) and reluctance networks.First, a PMSynRel machine model is built in order to carry out simulations usinga finite element method package. The effect of different design parameters such as thecombination of the number of poles and slots, the number of flux barriers or the numberof magnets can be studied since the implementation provides the possibility to changethose variables.Next, a reluctance networks model, aimed to enable lower computation times thancorresponding finite element models, is implemented for analysing the flux density distributionsalong the air gap of the machine disregarding the magnetic influence of therotor. Finally, the results are compared with FEM simulations. It is concluded that theagreement reached is satisfactory in most of the cases analysed.
Gender estimation based on facial image

Although gender classification has attracted much attention in psychological literature, relatively few machine vision methods has been proposed. However it has been extensively studied in the context of surveillance applications and biometrics. This project is mainly concern with gender classification using purely image processing technique. The way of doing this is by extracting the differences between male and female facial features. Obviously the classification base on a single feature is not adequate since humans share many facial properties even within different gender group. So multilayer processing is needed. This project is working as expected with specified scope of project. Although not many varieties of facial images have been considered like colored hair the basic techniques should be just the same. The proposed methods can be extended to various purposes especially in speeding up the processing time in database searching. The refinement of this project in other hand can lead to more accurate and reliable result by considering other facial properties like eyes, nose and eyebrows.
Conexiones etnomatemáticas entre conceptos geométricos en la elaboración de las tortillas de Chilpancingo, México

En el artículo, se analizan las conexiones etnomatemáticas entre conceptos geométricos evidenciados en la elaboración de la tortilla por un comerciante de Chilpancingo, México. La investigación se fundamentó teóricamente en la Etnomatemática y la metodología fue cualitativa-etnográfica. Los datos se recolectaron a través de una entrevista semiestructurada, aplicada a un comerciante de tortillas de la ciudad de Chilpancingo, México. En los resultados se presentan las conexiones entre los conceptos (circunferencia-círculo-cilindro), mediciones, conteos y sucesiones, que surgen en el proceso de elaboración, forma y comercialización de la tortilla. El análisis de la práctica de elaboración de tortillas, permitió identificar conceptos geométricos que aportan herramientas a la enseñanza de las matemáticas escolares, desde situaciones o tareas basadas en la cotidianidad. Se muestra a los profesores la existencia de otras formas de abordar los conceptos geométricos asociados, usando: papel, regla, lápiz y compás, junto con el software GeoGebra que permite visualizar los objetos matemáticos, y evidencia permanentemente las conexiones establecidas por una persona en las vistas gráfica y algebraica-simbólica.
Towards green universities : a decision support framework for green roof and living wall implementation

This research examined why university campus development has not fully embraced green technology despite common expectations. Semi-structured interviews and a Delphi Study explored universities’ organisational issues and delivery processes for projects with a sustainability focus. Critical organisational components and their internal relationships were studied, and critical factors for project success identified. A decision-making framework was developed to provide strategic directions for universities to optimise organisational environment and overcome barriers in order to better deliver sustainable projects on campuses.
Transformational Leadership, Knowledge Sharing and Innovation Capability: An Empirical Study from Lao Firms

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of transformational leadership and knowledge sharing on innovation capability in term of individual and organizational innovation capability. This study used Structural equation modelling (SEM) to check proposal hypotheses using empirical data collected from 216 participants at 45 small and medium enterprises in Laos. The research findings revealed that knowledge sharing mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and innovation capabilities. Notably, the findings highlight the greater influence of TL on organizational innovation capability in comparison with its effect on individual innovation capability. In contrasts, knowledge sharing activities induce greater influence on individual innovation capability compared with its effect on organizational innovation capability. The paper has, therefore, significantly advanced our insights of how transformational leaders foster employee knowledge sharing activities for stimulating innovation capabilities of organizations. Keywords: Transformational Leadership; Knowledge Sharing; Individual Innovation Capability; Organizational Innovation Capability
Study on the Relationship of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and Intact Parathyroid Hormone in Chinese Young Adults

Background : Vitamin D plays an important role in bone health and other diseases, however, there is no consensus over the optimal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration. Many studies defined a level of serum 25(OH)D at which serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels decreased and reached a plateau might be the optimal status for vitamin D sufficiency. This study was performed to study the relationship between 25(OH)D concentration and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) concentration in the Chinese non-clinical young population aged 18-44y. Methods : The serum samples of young adults aged 18-44 years old were selected from the established serum bank of Chinese Chronic Diseases and Nutrition Survey (CCDNS, 2015-2018). The serum 25(OH)D concentration was determined by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometer, and the iPTH was determined by electronic chemiluminescence method. The relationship of 25(OH)D and iPTH were analyzed by partial correlation analysis, and the threshold of 25(OH)D was analyzed by locally weighted scatter plot smoothing method after adjusting the iPTH by age, season of blood draw, BMI, waist, sex and latitude. Results : 623 serum samples (293 male, 330 female) of 25(OH)D concentration and iPTH concentration were analyzed. Significant higher 25(OH)D concentration was found in male than female. And the samples from the southern China had higher 25(OH)D concentration than those from the northern China. Samples from autumn had higher 25(OH)D concentration than those from spring and winter. The inversely relationship between 25(OH)D concentration and iPTH concentration was observed when the 25(OH)D was below 17.6 ng/mL for both sexes. The threshold for male was 16.2 ng/mL and it was 25.6 ng/mL for female. Conclusions : The threshold and the relationship between 25(OH)D and iPTH differs by sex among Chinese young adults aged 18-44y. Further study is needed to evaluate the sex-specific ranges of optimal vitamin D. Trial registration : Not applicable.
Calibration of a Measurement System for High Frequency Nonlinear Devices

The research work described in the thesis is situated in a broad technological context. It is explained what vectorial “nonlinear network” analyzers are and why they are needed. The importance of traceable calibrations is highlighted, in general as well as applied to the vectorial “nonlinear network” analyzer.
Structural and evolutionary studies on CaMKII oligomerization

Author(s): McSpadden, Ethan DeNardo | Advisor(s): Kuriyan, John | Abstract: Calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) plays a critical role in animal learning and memory (Giese et al. 1998). CaMKII operates as a multi-subunit holoenzyme and can detect the frequency of incident Ca2+ pulse trains entering the cell (Chao et al. 2011; De Koninck and Schulman 1998). CaMKII holoenzymes become destabilized and appear to exchange subunits following catalytic activation, which results in the spread of kinase activity to inactive holoenzymes (Stratton et al. 2014; Bhattacharyya et al. 2016). This phenomenon is not fully understood and is under active investigation.This work focuses on the structural and biochemical characterization of CaMKII hub domain assemblies, which are essential to holoenzyme formation (Shen and Meyer 1998; Kolb et al. 1998). The crystal structure of a dodecameric human CaMKII-α hub domain assembly shows how the protein may be able to sense the activation state of the CaMKII kinase domain. This helps explain why kinase activation destabilizes CaMKII holoenzymes and promotes subunit exchange.The characterization of CaMKII hub domains from evolutionarily divergent organisms is also presented. Hub domains encoded by three related green algae assemble into 16-, 18-, and 20-subunit oligomers. These are the largest known CaMKII hub domain assemblies. A crystal structure of one, the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 18-mer, revealed multiple intra-chain hydrogen bonds not present in the human isoform. When these hydrogen bonds were engineered into the human CaMKII hub domain by mutation the protein oligomerized into larger assemblies. A larger CaMKII holoenzyme is predicted to be more resistant to deactivation by protein phosphatases and thus may be useful in studying the consequences of aberrant CaMKII activity. These hydrogen bonds are also predicted to inhibit subunit exchange in human CaMKII by dampening structural fluctuations in the hub domain.Work is also described on an interfacial mutation in the hub domain that weakens the integrity of the CaMKII holoenzyme. CaMKII dimers are present in solution as a result of this mutation. Catalytic activation increases the dimer population, demonstrating that the hub domain interface weakened by the mutation is further destabilized when CaMKII is active. This suggests that dimer release is a central component of activation-triggered subunit exchange between CaMKII holoenzymes.
A Comprehensive Model for the Concurrent Determination of Aisles and Load Stations for Aisle- Based Material Handling Systems

We have developed a set of procedures that convert a block layout into a material handling layout by simultaneously determining the aisles and the locations of the load/unload stations for carrier based material handling systems. The procedures can be applied for several vehicle dispatching policies and for unidirectional and bi-directional aisles. We will report on computational results for standard mixed integer and linear programming solutions as well briefly discuss our heuristic solution procedures and software implementation. Determining the set of aisles and the locations of the stations on the aisles for an aisle-based unit load material handling system is an important problem faced in facilities design. Existing research has addressed either the problem of 1) determining the aisle selection set when the station location is given, 2) the problem of determining the station location set when the aisle set is provided, 3) while accounting for the transportation costs only and ignoring fixed aisles costs, or 4) while ignoring the unloaded vehicle travel. This research develops a comprehensive network flow model for the combined problem of determining the aisle set and the station locations and accounts for the fixed as well as the transportation costs. Models for determining unloaded vehicle travel by "simulated first-come-first-served" and "minimum empty travel" dispatching policies are developed. Preliminary studies have indicated that solving the models by standard optimization mixed integer optimization techniques for medium to large data sets requires prohibitive computer time. Initial results of some of our heurstic solution methods are presented. Results from this research are especially well suited for a "green field" design approach. The material flow network along with the block layout can then be used to perform the detailed layout of the facility.
SEM-REV : un moyen d'essais en mer multi-fonctions pour les énergies marines renouvelables

Dans le cadre du CPER 2007-2013 de la Région Pays de la Loire, L'Ecole Centrale de Nantes a mis en place le site d'essais en mer, SEM-REV, dans l'objectif de compléter ses moyens et ses compétences sur le développement et la validation des EMRs. Le site d'essais est géré par le LHEEA, Laboratoire CNRS, dont un des objectifs principaux, depuis plus de 20 ans, est centré sur les EMR : houlomoteur, éolien, hydrolien, technologies hybrides. Le site d'essais est en phase finale de construction mais est déjà opérationnel pour les projets de R&D depuis 2010 et pour les démonstrateurs non raccordés depuis 2013. Il est opéré par une équipe spécifique du LHEEA. La présentation aborde les raisons qui ont conduit à sa mise en place, les étapes administratives et techniques de la construction, la description du site d'essais, les objectifs et le mode de fonctionnement, les perspectives. Un focus particulier est mis sur le modèle de fonctionnement mis en place avec le support de l'ANR pour accompagner les projets de R&D collaboratifs.
Ethnomethodological Research on Proactive Safety Behavior of The Young Workers

This research project aims to contribute to the existing research on proactive safety behaviour. Specifically, it investigates how the concept of proactive safety behaviour can be applied in order to understand and improve safety outcomes for younger workers in a Malaysian context. The increase number of accidents and injuries involving this age cohort of workers motivates the focus on younger workers. This research is innovative as it integrates a human resources framework of ability, motivation and opportunity with theoretical perspectives on proactive behaviour. It is hypothesized that proactive ability proactive motivation and proactive opportunity will predict proactive safety behavior amongst young workers. This study also aims to identify a range of positive outcomes for workers engaging in proactive safety behaviour. This research is an ethno-methodological study intended to gain an understanding of Malaysian young worker perceptions of proactive safety behaviour.